by A. C. Heller
“Sweeter.”
Silas’s shadowy arm strikes out hitting me right in the center of my chest. He's not nearly as strong as he thinks he is, so I manage to hold my ground. Silas makes one critical mistake, he assumes that since I have been purified that I am not as strong as I once was. He’s right, I’m stronger. With one hand I reach out and grab him by the throat using every ounce of strength in me. He wraps both of his arms around mine, trying to break my hold, but his actions are in vain. This ends now.
Lifting Silas off his feet I quickly pivot, using the inertia to slam his body into the ground. The floor is crushed in with the impact and he gasps for breath, but doesn't stop struggling. Silas’s foot connects with my ribs, but he only causes me to grunt from the pain. Willing my palm to heat against his throat I squeeze harder, fully intending on crushing his throat. Totally focused on his death at my hands I do not notice that someone is standing next to me, not until I feel a soft hand come to rest on my arm.
Chasca is standing there, staring at me with disapproval in her beautiful gray eyes. She shakes her head once and I let Silas go. I'm unsure why I do, but at the moment, I know it is the right thing to do. Silas doesn't attempt to get up, he's lying motionless on the ground staring up at Chasca. The look on his face clearly says he believes that she just saved his life, but my instincts tell me there is much more to her actions.
She kneels down on the ground next to him and lifts a hand, caressing the scarred portion of his face. His eyes close, and he rests his face against her hand utterly enthralled with her touch. The sight alone makes me want to kill him, but Chasca's words stop my murderous thoughts.
“This can't go on, Silas.”
Silas is once again staring at her with adoration in his eyes, but it's then that I see Chasca discretely lift her pant leg and pull an unfamiliar dagger out of the inside of her boot. The dagger is surrounded by a black mist for the briefest of seconds before the engravings shift to a dim golden color. She is controlling his blade. Chasca caresses his face once more and just as his eyes close she lifts the dagger and plunges it into his heart. His eyes snap open and bulge for only a moment before his body falls limp to the floor. The mist around him dissipates and only his lifeless corpse remains.
Chasca's hand trembles as she pulls it back from the dagger leaving it imbedded in Silas’s chest. She turns her tear filled eyes on me and I immediately wish it had been me that wielded the blade. She was right, Silas had to be stopped and taking his life was the only way to truly keep her safe. Peering around the room I see the destruction the Sapient has caused and I know she didn't do it for herself, she did it for all of us.
Crouching down beside her I pull her into my arms. Her body is shaking and I know from experience it's a mixture of adrenaline and shock coursing through her veins. Across the room I can hear Aiden and Angelo barking orders to the men to ‘clean up the mess’, but my focus is on the amazing female in my arms.
“It had to be done. You know as well as I do that he wouldn't have stopped.”
She shakes her head against my chest and tilts her head back to look me in the eyes.
“Too many people have been hurt or killed because of me. I had to end it... I had to!”
“Shh, shh. I know, my love. You did the right thing.”
Chasca wraps her hand around the back of my neck and pulls herself up. Her nose brushes mine, and as she speaks I can feel her breath on my lips.
“Your arm is hurt.”
She places her hand on my arm over the deep abrasions Silas scored into my forearm. A warmth washes over the skin and the wound starts to mend. Evidently she hasn't lost all of her abilities. Chasca's eyes are shimmering, and for the first time her eyes are open while using her healing ability. I'm suddenly filled with pride, she's gaining confidence. That's my girl. Angelo and Aiden choose that moment to make it over to us. Angelo is smiling and nodding his head in approval at Chasca.
“The perfect balance. Takeo brings the pain and Chasca takes it away.”
Aiden nods in agreement and looks me in the eyes, and I know what he's about to say before it even leaves his mouth.
“She's the other half of your soul, Brother.”
Chasca is smiling at him, but our eyes are locked. Wordlessly, Aiden and I communicate. He has always understood me, even when I was considerably more corrupted then he has ever been. This is one of the many reasons I call him brother.
Over the years I have witnessed battles for both good and evil, seen both wins and losses, and for this small female in my arms I would fight on either side, at any moment, just to make sure nothing harms her. Chasca turns her eyes on me and her expression is puzzled.
“Takeo?”
“Yes, little one?”
“Since you guys are all badass, and you’re… I mean we’re all descendant from the Fallen, how did they manage to die off?”
Always curious, my Chasca. Smiling down at her I place a soft kiss on her nose and whisper softly in her ear.
“I never said they were all gone.”
Epilogue
Thousands of miles away in a Tuscan villa a man stands silently watching the sun set. The room is filled with priceless treasures he has procured over the course of his life but his eyes slip past them all and shift to a large mahogany bookcase. Only there are no traditional books on it, but instead hundreds of journals. The man grasps a worn leather journal in his hand and settles into an oversized throne style sitting chair before opening the journal to a blank page.
May, 2013
One cannot escape their fate, but their path may be altered, potentially resulting in a different outcome. Some consider it divine intervention, or a miracle. Others consider it to be coincidence or happenstance. In some cases both are true, but there are always exceptions. Mere seconds can prove to be crucial components when the result of one’s fate is hanging in the balance. Often times a minute amount of influence is all it takes. Planting a seed of doubt or inspiring hope when all seems to be lost.
This is why those who are as I am do not interfere. Granted, there are always exceptions. This entry is not to justify my actions to myself, but to catalog yet another pivotal moment of my existence. There is very little I do not know, and far less that I do not see. Nevertheless, when I choose to act it is out of necessity. When the fate of more than one is in the balance.
The course of events was very clear. The female was to be abducted if she was to fulfill the prophecy. However, her captor’s idiocy nearly ruined everything. Their paths were meant to cross at a specific time, and at the rate this was going he would be arriving just as she was leaving. Thus causing her path to be altered and her destiny to remain undiscovered. Which I would not allow.
Plotting the series of events in my mind I come to the conclusion that a simple distraction would right their paths once more. Careful to conceal my identity, I make my way over to the female and position my shoulder at the proper angle. When our shoulders collide 'accidentally' her keys fall from her hand. Quickly running through the series of events once more I see that their paths will now cross in approximately one minute.
Standing in the shadows of an abandoned house, I watch as the woman is abducted. Her captor is merciless, but there is no action I can take that will not disrupt the proper course of events. For now all there is to do is wait.
Sensing the female’s path altering only days later, I find myself inside the compound that belongs to the Order of the Fallen. Under the pretense that I am here to help control her I carefully watch her course unfold in my mind. Her thoughts are erratic and emotional, and if her path continues on its current course she will die at the hands of a Sapient as well as her warrior. This cannot happen.
The female is tied to a warrior who resides under the very same roof as her, yet they both remain unaware. In the dark of the night I force the inevitable to happen. Opening both of their doors only enough to be noticeable. Whispering into the woman’s mind a simple phrase, “Pity not those who refuse to
help themselves.” I watch in the shadows of the hall as she stirs and abruptly sits up. Scanning my mind for the potential outcome I smile as I see that her path has been righted once more.
Only hours later the female loses control of her abilities due to a premonition. Thus, causing me to have to act. The next day, I decide it is time to introduce myself to this female. Never in my time on this earth have a met a human so bent on disrupting her own path. It's infuriating, yet there is something very endearing about her fortitude. The woman is immediately afraid of me and this was to be expected. However, this is the only way I will allow it to be. She is afraid but there is still a defiant spark in her that needs to be quelled. In a frustrating turn of events several days after I strike fear into her hearther path falters again.
After writing out a cryptic warning I leave the folded up message in a place the female will come across it first. At this juncture of her course all I can do is set variables in place and wait.
The woman is going to leave. Her decision has been made, but while watching her path progress I see that there are circumstances beyond her control that she will not be able to conquer. In the dead of night is when I interfere once more. The forest around the compound is dense and the terrain unforgiving, she will need a way to get to civilization faster then the elements can get to her. The garage adjacent to the compound has several old motor bikes and I know the one I've chosen will not be missed. Once I make it to a very distinctive looking stump, I rest the motor bike against a tree and make my way back inside.
The cryptic warning and mode of transportation are not enough to right the female’s path. There's something missing, she needs motivation. Something to inspire her to surmount the odds building against her. Upon entering a seemingly forgotten gas station, I immediately cast my eyes on who I am here to see. An old man locks eyes with me as I approach him, his gaze never faltering. Fearless.
“Can I help you, son?”
“In a manner of speaking. I do not expect you to answer, I expect you to think on this. Would you be willing to sacrifice your life for that of a perfect stranger? If that moment presented itself, would you cower or stand resolute?”
There is so need to wait for the man to respond. The man’s soul is pure and in his heart he has already made his decision. The door chimes as I step back into the night, waiting, and watching as the path is corrected once more.
The woman has fallen. The love her and her warrior share are the only tether holding her to our plane. But this is not as it should be, the warrior must let her fall. Rendered emotionless decades ago even I can see the warrior’s heart breaking before my very eyes. However, the warrior does not know as I do what is about to transpire. Taking my leave I step out of the room just as the female’s essence re-inhabits her body. The smile that forms on my face is one of personal satisfaction.
All that I have done has not been to shift the balance in my favor. But to right the path for two souls who were destined to find one another. The child born of these two souls will know not the suffering of mortal man, nor the burden of the Nephilim. The child will be the dawning of a new age, awakening those who were once thought to be absent.
“One cannot escape their fate. But a sacrifice, no matter how small, can pave the path to conquer insurmountable odds, even Fate.”
-Damiano.
Table of Contents
Dedication
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Epilogue
