Jaylen rubbed his eyes. "And this is a problem why? Don't forget that I am sticking to my vows. I can't willingly work with demons."
"And what about the incubus and succubus who saved your life more than once?" Axaniel asked. "Do they not count?"
He couldn't argue with that logic. "I guess you're right. So what now?"
"We need you, Jaylen, to go into the rift and find a way to shut one of them down. The one you opened should be connected to your soul in some way. If you can find the tethering point and eliminate it, you will not only shut down the rift, but you should also gain some of your dark magic that has eluded you."
"But what if I don't want my dark magic?" Jaylen asked.
"You need it." Aiden snapped roughly. "If you are Tainted, you need to have your dark magic. Just like pure paladins need their light magic, your body and soul rely on your dark magic. It's simply the way it is. Zeriel, you agree with this, don't you? Jaylen will be much better off with dark magic."
Zeriel wrapped his arm around Jaylen. "His light magic is very important to him."
"But that's not how this works. Pure paladins have light magic and tainted paladins have dark magic. Anything else doesn't work. His light magic is killing him. You see that. Give him something he can use. If you continue to go along with your plan of killing Carvael-"
"What?"
"You are planning to kill Carvael, aren't you?" Aiden asked.
Zeriel laughed nervously as he scrambled for the correct answer. "I . . . that wasn't a part of my immediate plan . . . yet . . . at this moment . . . today."
"So you are. Well, if you want Jaylen's help to overthrow Heaven, then he needs to be able to stand on his own. That includes being able to use his magic, light or otherwise. It is clear that he can't use his light magic."
"You have a point. Jaylen, you are going into the rift."
"What if I don't want to go into the rift? You can't make me!"
"Oh, but I can." Aiden grinned as he pulled a dagger from his belt. "My dearest queen, would you like to tell them how I made sure I got my way even when my angel stood in my way?"
"I believe you are one most qualified to tell that story, dearest."
"Who is your angel, Aiden?" Zeriel asked.
"I don't have an angel. I killed my angel two years ago when he tried to stop me from doing what I wanted to do. I wanted to make some deals with demons for the sake of my people, so I did what I wanted and cut off his head."
"That's . . . awful."
"But that's not all I did. I made sure to pluck every single feather before I sawed off his wings. He was screaming so loudly. It was beautiful to watch the blood. I didn't know how much angels could bleed until that day."
Zeriel pulled Jaylen closer to him so he could shelter him behind his ebony wings. "Remind me to stay a safe distance away from you."
"Oh, don't worry." Aiden chuckled. "I hated my angel. You and Axaniel are okay. You two have nothing to fear unless you plan on betraying me."
"Who was your angel?" Zeriel asked.
"Seyel. He was old anyway."
"But Holy Angels don't die from old age. He could have lived for thousands of years more."
"That's not my problem. If he truly valued his life, then he should have thought before he disobeyed me and tried to keep me from doing what I wanted. Seyel brought it on himself. Now, Zeriel, I suggest that you get Jaylen into the rift before I decide to take out my new frustrations on you or Axa."
Chapter 6
Aiden took the syringe from a servant and held out his hand to Jaylen. "This serum will help to alleviate the side effects of your light magic for a while. It will cure your nausea and lightheadedness."
"What is that?" Zeriel asked protectively.
"Just some herbs my healer keeps around and made into a potion. Nothing to be concerned about." He injected the liquid into Jaylen's arm. "There. You will start to feel it working soon. Back to business. You will enter the rift and be transported to a place like The Veil. It isn't real, though. This new rift world exists just in your soul."
His soul? That didn't sound very reassuring. "Uh . . ."
"As long as you are fully in touch with yourself, then it shouldn't be an issue."
"What am I looking for, exactly?" Jaylen asked.
"A key."
"A key? What kind of key? If I'm going to do this, I need specifics."
"It will be a small silver key with clear gemstones. I've only seen one of those soul keys once and that was years ago. It was mine, but I lost it. Actually, it was stolen from me by some paladins who needed the silver to create weapons so they could kill the werewolves. Once you find that, you will need to find the chest that holds your remaining soul segments. This is the very crucial part. No matter what you have to do, keep the nightmares from taking your soul segments."
"Nightmares?" Jaylen asked.
"You'll see. Anyway, open the chest with the soul key and cast your magic into your soul segments. If it's strong enough, you will close the rift."
Zeriel didn't look pleased by the plan. "And if it's not strong enough?"
"Then Jaylen dies."
"That's . . ."
"It's actually very simple."
"But if he casts his light magic, he could die anyway." Zeriel said.
"That is also true."
"I'm sorry that you summoned us here for nothing, but I cannot allow my paladin to do something so risky. It is my duty to keep him safe."
"I know what your duty is, Zeriel. But it's a shame that you no longer have a choice."
"What do you mean?" Zeriel turned around as the Wolfekin soldiers filled the throne room with swords and bows drawn. "What is this?"
Axaniel drew his own sword and pointed it at Jaylen. "I'm sorry, but I have no choice either. Jaylen will go into the rift, or he will die right here. We're not playing games anymore."
"I will die before you send my Master to die!"
"No." Jaylen tugged on Zeriel's coat sleeve. "I'll go into the rift. I'll do it. I'm feeling a bit better."
Sammy whimpered from the backpack.
"What is that?" Queen Sela asked.
Zeriel removed the backpack and held out the grumpy baby. "An infant. I bought him on the street. He looked hungry."
"Fine." Queen Sela clapped her hands and a servant girl entered and bowed. "Servant, take the infant into the nursery and feed him. If Jaylen decides to betray us, then you have my orders to kill it."
Jaylen clutched his chest as his heartbeat weakened and the room spun around him. "Zeriel . . ."
Zeriel reached out to him. "Jaylen?"
Aiden grinned as he circled around the paladin. "Yes, the effects are moving along quite nicely. He will be in the rift soon enough. Don't fight it, Jaylen. Let your body shut down and your mind fade. You will awaken inside your soul."
* * *
Once feeling returned to Jaylen's body and he could breathe again, he sat up and opened his eyes to view the bleak world around him. Thick white fog hung in the cold air above the ground that looked like a mirror. He stared at his reflection for a few seconds before a chill spread over him and fear got the best of him. Nothing else stood out to him in the frozen place except for a single white ball of mage-glow hovering high in the air, barely noticeable through the choking fog.
What could he do now? Without any other answers, Jaylen took off walking over the slick silver surface, his boots clicking against the solid mirror. After a few long minutes of walking in the silence, all of his pain from using his light magic faded to barely noticeable levels. Was it because of the serum Aiden had injected him with, or did it have something to do with this place? Just as he thought it, he jumped backwards when a syringe fell out of the sky and landed not inches in front of his feet. Nervously, he picked it up and examined it closely. It looked exactly like the one Aiden had. How did it get there? The syringe then vanished into the fog, directly out of his hand. Aiden must have tricked him somehow.
When the hatred f
or Aiden grew inside of Jaylen, a black shadow flashed through the air and Aiden appeared in front of him. Jaylen screamed and took a step back. "Aiden?"
No response. The misty figure remained silent and still.
"Is that you?" Jaylen reached out to touch the man, but his hand passed directly through the shadow form. "So you're not real. Is any of this real?"
"I'm real, at least I think I'm real."
Jaylen spun around to see the pale-skinned girl with dark purple hair and the orange eyes of a demon. "Liaxa? What are you doing here? Do you know what this place is? I'm trying to find-"
"I know what you're looking for. It's not here." She came up to him and put her arm around his shoulders. "You look sick."
"My light magic hurt me. Wait. You know I'm looking for my soul key?" Jaylen asked.
"I know you're trying to find it, but I can tell you where it's not. It's not here."
"Where is it?"
"Locked away somewhere else. Don't worry, Jaylen. It's safe."
"How are you here?" Jaylen asked. "Isn't this my soul?"
"Pretty much. Gavin gave me your soul segments. I own part of your soul now."
"Why would he give them to you?"
She smiled warmly, showing the tips of her pointed white teeth. "Because my dearest father believes I need to stop lying to myself and do something about the way I feel. You forget that I am a succubus, after all."
"Oh."
"But not like you probably think. It's actually really embarrassing and I get made fun of in Hell for it by the other demons. I . . . I'm like you."
"What do you mean by that?" Jaylen asked.
"I'm a virgin."
Jaylen groaned and rubbed his eyes. This day just got so much weirder. "Let me get this straight. You are a virgin succubus?"
"Yep."
"How does that even work?"
"I have been resisting my desires and therefore I am hurting myself."
"Why won't you do what you're supposed to do?"
"I could ask you the same thing, Jaylen." Liaxa said. "You're Tainted. Give up on your light magic. It will do nothing but cause you pain for the rest of your life. Embrace the darkness. It will comfort you and hide you away from the awfulness in the world. It's like a giant warm blanket for your soul. It numbs the pain and frees your mind to think about what truly matters."
"Before I think about any of that, I need to find my soul key."
Liaxa grinned as she reached into the top of her purple lace corset and held up the thin silver chain around her neck. A tiny silver key glimmered in the hazy light. "I've got it right here."
"Can I have it, please?"
"So well-mannered, as always. No."
He stomped his foot. "But I need it."
"Why?"
"To open the chest that is around here somewhere. If I don't do what Aiden wants, then Queen Sela will kill Sammy."
She tilted her head curiously. "Sammy? Who is Sammy?"
"A baby that Zeriel bought."
"I'm not going to ask. You can't unlock the chest."
"But Aiden said-"
"Do you believe everything strange Tainted paladins living in werewolf-infested countries tell you?" Liaxa asked.
"Well . . ."
"Listen to me. You can't open that chest yourself. It's part of the security put in place by Sola. Your goddess doesn't like souls being manipulated by their owners."
"Then how do I open it?"
"You don't. I do, but not yet. We still have time before then."
"What happens when you open it?"
Liaxa slid the key back into her corset. "We're not going to talk about that right now. It is obvious that Aiden didn't do his research before sending you here. And as for Axaniel, he's just a pawn in the bigger game being played by forces far above your head, Jaylen. Even if we could get into your soul chest, we won't find what Aiden is looking for. Your soul segments are all gone."
"Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"They are missing. For the past three months while you were recovering, Gavin and I have been working nonstop trying to recover them. We've been following leads and tracing them all through Hell and The Veil, but they're gone. We haven't recovered any of your soul segments. The only ones we have definitive locations of are the ten I have and the three that Sulstair the elf has."
"How many are there total?" Jaylen asked.
"One hundred."
"We're missing that many?"
"Eighty-seven. That imbalance has been the primary cause of your problems with light magic. Without your soul segments, you can't convert fully into darkness. Think of your soul segments as regulators for your soul. All of your segments are tainted and dark. But without them, your soul still believes it is holy."
Overwhelmed by all the information, Jaylen simply spun around and held out his arms as he laughed.
"Jaylen?"
He continued laughing as he tripped and fell to the mirrored ground where his reflection stared back at him. Jaylen slammed his fist into the mirror and screamed. "I hate you! I hate you more than anything in life! Do you hear me, Jaylen Corrifus? You are worthless! You deserved to die in The Cleansing like the coward you are. Die! Die! Why can't I die?"
Liaxa knelt down beside him and gently rubbed his back. "Jaylen . . . don't talk about yourself that way. You have so much life left to live. Don't you remember how you fought to escape the Holy Order when they tried to sacrifice you? Don't you value what Zeriel has given up for you? He believes in you. I do too."
"Believing has never gotten me anywhere. I used to believe in Sola, that the great sun goddess would bless me for being such a worthy follower. Now my eyes have been opened to the truth. Lies. It's all lies. They used me. They wanted to kill me for no reason. Sacrificing paladins won't bring back the sun, will it?"
"No. The sun will always come back by itself."
Jaylen stood up and clenched his fists by his sides. "If they try it again, I will kill them."
"Oh?"
"I'm done being pushed around and controlled by the self-righteous liars in the clergy. I'm ready to do this unfettered by their rules and their false beliefs. I am ready to be myself."
Liaxa joined his side. "That's all nice and good for you to say, but do you actually mean it?"
Jaylen sighed and let his anger leave him. "Probably not."
"Well, it's a start. I-" She stopped talking when a low growl vibrated the mirror under their feet and a thin cat-like shape raced past them then faded into the fog.
That was enough to shake even Jaylen's constitution. He ducked behind Liaxa. "What was that?"
"A nightmare."
"But, but they're actually creatures?"
"Oh, yes. We need to get out of here until you are better prepared to deal with them. If Doran shows up, you'll be dead."
"Doran, as in my father?" Jaylen asked.
"Yes. Nightmares are manifestations of your deepest fears." Liaxa pulled Jaylen's soul key from her neck and summoned a shadow in the middle of the air in front of them. She inserted the key into the lock that appeared and turned it. "Follow me closely. There's no telling where this will lead us."
"You don't know where we are going?"
"There's only a slight chance that we'll end up in Hell."
He crossed his arms. "That's not very reassuring."
"Either take the chance, or stay here with your father."
"Let's go to Hell. That seems like a much safer bet."
Chapter 7
Once the shadows faded from his eyes and the haunting cold was replaced by warm light and the sweet smell of flowers, Jaylen uncovered his eyes that he had been shielding with his hands in case there was something he didn't want to see. As soon as he did, he realized that he did want to see this. He was standing on a grassy cliff next to Liaxa, looking out over hundreds of small brown clay buildings that would have been mundane if not for the clear and green glass sculptures that surrounded them. The glass twisted and melded together into archway
s, staircases, and fountains, all surrounded by countless types of colorful flowers and vines. Flowering trees lined the wide streets where the tall dark grey-skinned people walked, played, and carried bags of freshly baked bread in their arms. The mage-glow was pure and untainted. The white light illuminated everything and a few of the people were actively creating more in their glowing hands.
Jaylen turned to Liaxa. "They're not paladins. Why do they have magic?"
"They are elves. They have their own magic. When we stepped through that rift, I had no idea we would be brought here. I told you we could have been taken anywhere."
Jaylen watched the elf children with their foot-long ears tossing pink pebbles into the crystal-clear fountains of water that sent a fine mist into the air. "Where are we?"
"We are in the Southern Continent across the Onyx Sea and about three thousand miles from Wolfekin. This is the elven capital city of Tivareshen."
"It's beautiful."
"Oh, yes. Elven architecture is fascinating." Liaxa took his arm and led him down the dirt path towards the city.
"I was always told that elves were uneducated primal demons."
"That couldn't be further from the truth. See that blue glass spire in the distance? That is the Grand Library where the elves preserve literature and research from all around Aldexa."
"Aldexa?"
"You really have been sheltered your entire life, haven't you?" Liaxa asked. "Aldexa is the formal name of our planet. Wolfekin, Vilyron, and Tivareshen are all parts of Aldexa."
"Fascinating."
"If you feel some sort of comfort here, don't be surprised. It is rumored that all life began in Tivareshen, millions of years ago. We all come from the same seeds that were planted at the base of Tivare."
Angel of Darkness Books 1-5 Page 17
