I had vowed to no longer use Nature’s powers to destroy. It was up to me alone. I could think of only one recourse.
I grabbed my tower shield from the chariot floor and spread my wings. I rose in the air but still held the reins. I snapped them once, mentally giving my steeds direction, then let them go. They bolted forward.
The chariot streaked through the sky like a shooting star. It charged straight for the stronghold and smashed into the side.
A giant ball of fire erupted. Great chunks of stone blasted outwards. The explosion ripped deep into the fortress, shredding stone and metal as if it were paper. Intense flames flared upwards, devouring, shattering stone. Towers and spires crumbled as if made of sand. The stronghold convulsed. Smoke and flames engulfed almost half of it. It began to fall.
It descended slowly then with greater speed, plummeting onto the mountain where it had risen from. The stronghold cracked and broke like a dropped egg. The bottom of the fortress crumpled. Great clouds billowed. Sections of the fortress broke free and slid down the mountain slope.
I reached out with my senses, searching for my son. I felt him. He was safe as I knew he would be. The fortress collapse wouldn’t have hurt my foe, he was too powerful. And I knew he wouldn’t let the child get hurt.
“Forward!” I cried, speeding to the fortress.
We reached it quickly and soared over the aftermath. The destruction of the stronghold was complete. Not one tower stood. Slabs of stone and brick lay scattered everywhere. The falling rain quickly extinguished any remaining pockets of fire.
“There.” I pointed to a wide, flat section of wall that acted as a suitable clearing. My companions set down beside me.
“It will take us forever to sift through this rubble,” said Vvael.
“We won’t need to,” I replied. “He’s right below us and he is very strong. If he’s one of my brothers, you don’t fight, you don’t stand your ground. You flee. Do you understand?” They all nodded. I turned and stepped down from the clearing.
“Who are his brothers?” I heard Vvael whisper to one of the others.
“Damned if I know,” grunted Furmiel. “But if he says run, I run.”
I picked my way through the rubble, clearing aside stone and debris, working my way downward. I saw a few crushed bodies but not as many as I had expected. It was dark in the depths of the stronghold, the acrid smell of burned wood hung thickly. I held my flaming sword before me for much needed light.
Stepping off a ledge, I found myself in a large archway. An elaborate and ingrained wooden door hung crookedly by a single hinge.
I pushed it open and stepped into a large room. It had once been the central chamber in the temple and it was still grand. Surprisingly, it hadn’t been damaged at all and it appeared exactly as I remembered it. Only the trickling waters were missing.
The room was well lit with scented candles in sconces placed along each wall. Polished marble floors reflected the light brightly. Three crystalline chandeliers hung from the high arched ceilings, each representing one of the Holy Trinity. Five intricately wrought columns of polished white stone stood in a circle and rose to the ceiling. Lines of gold radiated from each column to intersect in the exact center of the chamber like a five pointed star. Beyond the columns, plush couches, strewn with tasseled cushions, stood against the walls.
In the corner stood a crib.
My heart raced. I quickly walked over to it, my steps echoing loudly. Within the crib, a tiny figure lay nestled within the folds of a knit blanket. He slept on his side, his hands folded as if in prayer. A small cap of soft cotton adorned his precious head. He was beautiful.
Sheathing my sword and strapping my shield to my back, I gently reached down and lifted my son. He stretched, his little arms waving as his back arched, but he did not awaken. I held him to my chest, tucking his head in next to mine. I felt his breath like soft whispers against my skin.
A sublime joy overcame me. My throat thickened with emotion. I held all that was left of my Requel.
“My son,” I whispered, rocking him gently. His blanket slipped and I pulled it free to rewrap him. That was when I noticed.
This wasn’t my son. He was a she. It was a baby girl.
“Hello Sariel,” said Mephistopheles from behind me.
CHAPTER NINE
“You could have at least let me kept my city. I was rather fond of it.”
Mephistopheles sat on a couch, his legs folded, sipping a glass of wine from a crystal goblet. He had changed little since last I saw him. His handsome and chiseled features appeared youthful but his blue eyes were an ancient fount of knowledge. Shoulder length black hair swept back, cascading down in waves. He wore a white sleeveless tunic with silver trim and belted at the waist with a silver sash. His legs and feet were bare. Only his long wings seemed out of place. They were graying to black.
“Would you like some wine?” he asked, gesturing to a small table beside the couch. “It’s rather good. I’ve been saving it for a special occasion and this moment appears to suffice. We are enjoying a family reunion, after all.”
“Where’s my son?” I still cradled the little girl in my arms.
His eyebrows arched in surprise. “You don’t have him? Truly? How interesting.”
“Don’t play games with me, Mephistopheles, or whatever you call yourself now.”
“Tut, tut, Sariel. Manners. This is my home after all.”
“Answer me!”
“Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”
My companions stood near the center of the chamber, their eyes wide. Only Furmiel stood ready for combat.
I walked over to them. “Time to leave.”
“Good,” said Furmiel, his eyes never straying from Mephistopheles. “That one over there looks like he may be a handful.”
“I’ll open a portal for you,” I said. “Tell Iobel what has transpired here.”
“You sound as if you’re not coming,” said Dirael.
“I won’t be. Not yet. I have family matters to attend to. Here, take the child.”
“Sariel?” Mephistopheles called. “I may have failed to mention that the child isn’t to leave this room. If you try, I’ll kill your friends where they stand.”
“Aye, he may give us a wee spot of trouble, that one,” said Furmiel.
“Go now,” I said. “I’ll attend to the child.”
“I won’t leave your side!” said Dirael fiercely.
“This is no time for heroics.” I turned and waved my hand at the center of the room, visualizing a portal to appear. A flash appeared then vanished unexpectedly. I blinked in surprise. The portal had been dispelled abruptly.
“Before I let anyone leave, Sariel, there are two very important things you should know,” said Mephistopheles, rising from his couch and stretching. He stepped forward, taking another sip of wine. “First of all, you cannot create a portal anywhere within my domain. Nobody can, except me. I’ve blocked all entries and exits in this vicinity, you see. Precautionary measures and all that. I certainly wouldn’t want any unexpected guests. Family is always an exception, of course.”
Focusing more deeply, I tried again to open another portal. Another brilliant flash popped before extinguishing just as quickly. I faced my brother. “Very well, it appears what you say is true.”
“My dear brother, you wound me. When have I ever spoken falsely?”
“Mephistophiel never spoke an untruth or allowed a falsehood to be spoken in his presence. He was an honorable soul and a lover of truth. I loved him dearly. But he is gone now. All that remains is this walking, talking creature wearing his face. I am repulsed by you, and what you say I will not trust blindly.”
Mephistopheles chuckled. “Well that was rude and most unbecoming of you, to be sure. No hurt feelings though. I can see your point of view, Sariel, truly I can. Perhaps after we’ve spoken a bit you’ll come around to my way of thinking.”
“Preposterous. What is your second point
?”
“Oh that,” he said, waving his hand dismissively, taking another sip. “A small thing, really. Pick one of your friends to die.”
I stared coldly. “You’ll not touch them.”
“Oh come, Sariel. Even you have to admit it’s more than a fair trade. I mean, how many thousands of mine did you kill? It’s a matter of honor, you see. You wiped out nearly a quarter of my flock on this sphere. I intend to do the same to you. And since you only brought four, well that makes it kind of simple, doesn’t it? Afterwards, I’ll allow you to open a portal to anywhere you wish and the rest can go frolic there for all I care.”
“No.”
Mephistopheles’ voice turned hard. “Brother, I am trying to be fair here because, believe it or not, I am actually happy to see you. Now if you don’t pick someone to die I will kill them all. Is that what you want?” His eyes softened after a moment. “You were always stubborn. I’ll pick one for you and we can put this ugliness aside and have a drink. How about the brutish one in the middle that wants to stick me with his sword?”
“Come give us a kiss, little one,” said Furmiel, his voice like granite.
“Oh I like him. He’ll do fine.” Mephistopheles raised his hand.
“Choose me,” said Dirael. “I will gladly lay down my life.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but pick me instead,” said Vvael. “The others are more valuable than I.”
“Don’t be absurd,” I told them.
“Enough of this,” said Mephistopheles. “It bores me.” He snapped his fingers.
Nafriel screamed before erupting in flames. She flailed madly. Dirael bore her to the ground and both Furmiel and Vvael smothered the flames. Nafriel stared up at me, her mouth open, tongue charred. Only the white orbs of her eyes seemed untouched. She tried to speak, then died.
“You monster,” I spat at Mephistopheles and drew my sword. “You’ll pay for that.”
“Yes, yes, I’ve gone and upset you. Perhaps it’s best if you open the portal and send your friends away while you still can. Once it opens, I’ll count to three then close it. No tricks, mind you. I’ll be watching.”
An intense hatred filled me and I forced it down like bile in my throat. Trembling, I flicked my sword at the center of the room. A portal shimmered to the ninth. “Go through, quickly.”
Vvael nodded at me, relieved, and stepped through. Furmiel raised his sword my way in respect then followed.
“I’ll tell them, Sariel. I’ll tell them all,” said Dirael. “I’ve born witness to how you scattered the armies of the fallen. All will know, I swear it.”
“Goodbye Dirael.”
He stepped through. Mephistopheles flicked a finger and the portal vanished.
“Now, how about that drink?” he asked.
* * *
“Is life so meaningless to you?” I said, sheathing my sword. I caressed the head of the baby still surprisingly asleep on my shoulder.
“That’s delightful coming from one who’s killed so many.” Mephistopheles poured a second goblet of wine then refilled his own. “I should be asking you that same question.”
“I regret the lives I’ve taken but I would never butcher as you’ve just done.”
“Call it what you will. Killing is killing. Besides, I did you favor,” said Mephistopheles, holding out the crystalline goblet to me. “Did you look into her mind? Did you not notice that she said nothing while the others were so bravely volunteering? She was terrified, Sariel, and the weakest among you. She was going to betray you.”
“You lie,” I snapped.
“That’s twice now you’ve questioned the veracity of my words,” said Mephistopheles, his voice turning to ice. “I’ll not suffer a third, even from family. Now take your wine.”
I took the proffered goblet, still watching him. Incensing him further would not help me at the moment. He was obviously more powerful than I in his lair and there was much I did not know.
Exhaling, I calmed myself, then nodded politely. I let the wine touch my lips but did not drink it. Wine was forbidden. There was a time when Mephistopheles would have thought so too.
He smiled. “That’s better. Quite good, isn’t it? They used to make it on the third sphere in a valley tucked away between two mountains. It was a rocky patch of land and the soil wasn’t good for grapes at all. I met the master wine maker once some odd years ago and he was a stubborn old fool. You would’ve liked him. He refused to let the land decide for him where to make his wine so he persevered. The grapes that sprouted were frail, almost sickly, but concentrated with flavor. The yield was small but the wine was superb. I’ll miss it when this last bottle is gone.”
I refused to let the matter of Nafriel drop. “What did you mean when you said Nafriel was going to betray me?”
“Really, Sariel, you should learn to judge the intentions of your flock better. I looked into her mind. She was fallen. Her job was as a missionary to infiltrate and turn those who would listen. We have them all over you know, especially those whose wings do not darken so much. When you came along, she decided to keep an eye on you instead. I’m surprised you hadn’t noticed.”
I thought back to the brief moments I had known Nafriel. She didn’t say a single word that caused the others to doubt or sympathize with the fallen. Indeed, I sensed her deep regret about the destruction of the temple. I sensed her sorrow, her longing to ask Divine Mother for a second chance. I recalled her bravery when she pulled her bow and stood by my side in the face of fallen. If she was fallen, she wasn’t at the end, I was sure of it. I sent a silent prayer to God on her behalf.
“We can’t all be as astute as you,” I said.
“True, true. Although I must admit I’m impressed by what you’ve accomplished in so little time. It took me months to learn how to overcome the restrictions in the lower spheres, how to work around them. Here you are and it’s only been what, two days? Tell me, how did you do it? How were you able to decimate my armies so handily?”
I shrugged. “I had help.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “What kind of help?”
“Nature. I was Her vessel.”
His lips pursed for a moment, deep in thought, before his face broke into a wide grin. “Yes, I can see how that would work. What an intriguing idea. Very good, Sariel. Very good indeed. But then you were always a fast study. I take it you are no longer channeling Her?”
“No.”
“Excellent. That means I’m much stronger than you at the moment. Hand me the child.”
“What is she to you?” I handed him the babe. If he wanted to harm her, he would have done so already.
“A mystery, to be sure,” he said, placing her back in her crib. He stroked her cheek fondly.
“Why Mephistopheles, if I didn’t know better I’d say you have feelings for the child.”
“Of course I have feelings for her, Sariel. I’ve grown to love her as any father would.”
“Where are her mother and her real father?”
He pursed his lips, eyes narrowing. “Both dead. Does it matter? The child is mine now. Do not judge me, Sariel. Just because you find me here in this place under these circumstances does not mean I’ve changed from the brother you knew. I still love the same things I have in the past. Take this temple, for example. Do you recall that it was I who petitioned for it? That it was I who oversaw the construction and worked so hard to bring it to the masses?” His face hardened and he hurled his goblet, smashing it on the floor. “And you destroyed it!”
“It was destroyed long before I showed up, brother,” I said carefully. His mood swings were peculiar. It didn’t take much to set him off.
“Yes, you’re right, of course,” he said, reaching for the goblet on the floor. The pieces gathered themselves up and came together unbroken in his hand. “I tried to keep the temple whole you see. When the seas drained and the waters dried up, it just wasn’t the same. I had hoped to recreate this place with wind instead of water. Now, we’ll nev
er know.” He stared longingly at the chamber.
“Why?” I asked. “Why did you and Sammael cause all this? To what purpose?”
He smiled sadly. “There are no simple answers to that question, Sariel, I wish there were. I have my reasons, Lucifer has his, although it all started out simple enough. I set out to prove a theory. I had dwelled on the physical plane for some time, you may recall.” I nodded. Mephistophiel was the foremost expert on the evolving physical plane. “I discovered truths there that completely astonished me. Did you know that the strong on the physical plane deserve the right to live and the weak do not? In any given species, the weak are culled and the strong thrive and evolve.
“But you see, this would have been all very fascinating if I hadn’t discovered one disturbing fact – no species on the physical plane has a soul.” He looked at me. “Do you recognize the significance of that, Sariel? No creature has a soul. They’re one with Nature and imbued with an innate intelligence that drives them – but no soul. What does that tell you?”
I shrugged. “God dictates their existence.”
“Exactly!” He slapped his hands together excitedly. “Very good, Sariel. Very good.” He seemed pleased as if I made a breakthrough.
I had no idea what he was talking about. But I didn’t let him know that. “So this is what caused you to wage war on the lower spheres?”
“It was the beginning,” he said, frowning. “If creatures have no souls then they have no free will. Only those with souls are created in the image of God and are free to choose. So let me pose this to you.
“Let’s say a creature has no soul, no free will but possesses in its physical makeup the innate intelligence of God that drives its instincts and its yearning for survival to eat, procreate, and thrive. This creature, without any free will, lives in this fashion without any guilt, remorse, or regret for preying on the weak.” His voice rose just short of shouting. “This solitary creature, this trivial afterthought in the mind of God that came into existence because God belched or sneezed or had an itch, this infinitesimal nothing pops into existence in this fashion, without any soul or free will whatsoever and lives this way! What does that say?” He gazed at me, hands outstretched, his eyes burning with zeal.
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