Rebellion

by J. D. Netto

  The Lesser let out a hair-raising screech as I shot my knee against its rib cage. It withdrew its hands, giving me the opportunity to reach for my sword.

  My fingers tightened around my sword’s cold grip. With my gaze set on the Lesser, I sank my blade in its side.

  The Lesser drew its upper lip back and growled, falling on its side. I shot up to my feet, looked down at the creature, and struck its skull. Its screeches turned to gurgles as a puddle of blood surrounded its body.

  I turned away from the creature, heading toward the door. I urgently sought my companions.

  The pungent odor of burnt bodies filled the air, bringing tears to my eyes. The houses of the village were diminished to cinder and ash. Smoke billowed from the burnt bodies that were scattered around me.

  My eyes widened when I saw Sela’s headless body lying on the ground. One of the blood-drinkers drank from the blood that oozed out of her wounds. With his tongue over his chin, the blood-drinker licked the ground around the girl. He was dressed in rugged clothing and boots up to his knees. His dark wool cloak was smothered in blood.

  “You enjoy killing things?” I screamed, raising my sword above my head. “Then why don’t you try to kill me?”

  His blue eyes were fixed on me. His dark tangled hair cascaded down his neck. He gave me a menacing smile, showing me his fangs. He wagged his wings, darting his way into the sky.

  I was prepared to go after him when I saw my mother and father strolling out of the house.

  For a brief second, I watched them.

  “Dad!” With great joy, I sprinted my way to them. “Mom!”

  I came to a sudden halt. A glazed white mist covered their eyes. With their jaws open, they aimlessly ambled around, their arms dangling in front of their bodies.

  “Mom…” I whispered. Her head tilted my way. She let out a single groan, walking away.

  She does not know who I am, I thought, keeping my eyes on her.

  “Dad…” I ran to my father. “It’s me,” I said, expecting that he would say something. His eyes remained fixed on the war that raged around us.

  I looked at my mom and back at my dad.

  “It is me,” I repeated. “Your son, Isaac.”

  No words came from them.

  My cheeks trembled as tears filled my eyes.

  I reached for my father’s face, touching it with my fingertips. His skin was ice-cold.

  “You are not in there, are you?” I tasted my tears as they touched my lips. “You are gone.”

  No pain from my past could compare to this. Hope had already become a distant feeling, and now it was nothing more than a vague memory.

  “All the kingdoms of the world will be covered in shadow,” my father said in a dark voice. “The reign of Lucifer will expand.”

  “Foolish are those that have not yet bowed before him,” my mother added. Their faces were void of any emotion or desire.

  “Such words are not being spoken by you.” I used my wrist to wipe my tears. My father lifted his eyes to the sky. I heard him hum a melody, which turned into a song.

  “Darker days, moonless nights

  A reign of fire will consume every desire

  Cries and moans will resound as songs

  Fear not the dark, flee from the light”

  My chest rose as I breathed in the frigid air. I knew my parents would never have sided with Lucifer. They had done much to protect us all. The words they spoke did not belong to them. Now I understood what Nephele had meant when she’d said they had given them a gift.

  “All the kingdoms of the world will be covered in shadow,” my father repeated. “The reign of Lucifer will expand.”

  I rested my hand on my father’s shoulder, looking deep into his eyes.

  “At least I got to look at your faces one last time.” I pressed my eyelids together. The sound of my blade piercing my father’s chest was excruciating. I felt his blood trail down my hands, dripping down my arms and onto my feet. When my eyes opened, I caught sight of his pale face. His body wobbled as his eyes rolled in the back of his head. I placed my arm behind his back, laying him on the snow.

  As quick as a breath, I turned to face my mother. A waterfall of tears ran down my face. I bore my eyes into hers.

  “Lucifer will reign,” she uttered in a raspy voice. “His kingdom will expand—”

  Her words turned to groans. My sword penetrated her chest, striking her heart. I turned away as I removed the blade; her body thudded on the ground.

  I screamed. I did not care who listened. Though a battle raged around me, the war within my heart was much more difficult to fight now. I fell on my knees, sinking the tip of my sword in the snow.

  For a moment, Lucifer and all the other dark forces did not matter. I stared at my parents’ bodies.

  “Isaac.” I glanced over my shoulder and saw Demetre and Xylia sprinting in my direction. They were a few feet away from me when a dark shadow hurled their bodies against an old tree. The shadow assumed the shape of a male figure.

  “I have to say, that was a very brave thing you just did.” The shadow turned into Erebos.

  Though I wanted to help my friends, I could not find any strength within me. Demetre struggled to help Xylia stand. His watchful eyes were set on me.

  “Isaac!” he cried.

  I turned my head, staring at my blood-covered sword while Erebos approached me.

  “Though none of you can be killed yet,” he said in a spiteful tone, “you can certainly be harmed.”

  Vivid memories of my childhood flooded my mind. For a moment, I could see their faces smiling at me. I recalled the sound of my mother’s laughter when we went fishing, and my father’s awkward advice about life.

  Give me death, I thought.

  “I have a secret to share with you,” Erebos continued, standing inches away from me. “It was I who cursed your parents.” My eyes shot in his direction. “I was the one who used the Dark Exchange on them and ripped from them all memory and emotion.”

  My previous thought was erased from my mind. I clasped the snow beneath my hands. My chin quivered as anger overcame my sorrow.

  He laughed. “Your mother begged me to stop while your father squealed like a dying pig.”

  As the words drifted from his mouth and into my ears, it was as though all other sounds and voices around me had disappeared. Without any reluctance, I landed a punch on his jaw.

  He gasped, his eyes widening. He wiped the blood from his upper lip with his right wrist.

  “You should not have done that,” he said, licking the small cut.

  “Should not have done what?” I spread out my arms. “This?” I repeated my previous act.

  With great fury, he fixed his eyes on me. Drumming sounds and eerie screeches echoed around me.

  “The Capios will teach—”

  “I think it is better if you never finish that sentence, Nephilin,” said Demetre as his blade cut its way through Erebos’s back, piercing the left side of his chest.

  Xylia approached from my right, standing inches from Erebos’s face.

  “May death greet you with open arms,” she said, sinking her blade into his skull. The drums and screeches ceased as I watched Erebos’s body turn to ashes, which were taken by the blowing breeze. His sword disappeared like smoke.

  With reluctant stares, they set their eyes on me.

  “We have to go,” Demetre said through ragged breaths, wrapping his left arm around my shoulder. Xylia placed her hand on my face.

  “It will all be alright,” she said.

  I shied my eyes away from them, not finding the strength to utter a single word.

  My wings retracted beneath my skin as we ran. I surveyed my surroundings, looking for our companions, but they were nowhere to be found.

  Nephilins, blood-drinkers, and Lessers battled amongst each other, killing as many of their adversaries as possible. They did not seem too worried about our presence. It was as if they battled out of pride, longing to sho
w which kind possessed more power.

  I caught sight of a blood-drinker decapitating one of the soldiers who had aided us on the Road of Ahnor. With his hands, he ripped the skin from the man’s chest while he screamed. His pain-filled sounds ceased when the blood-drinker ripped his neck open with a single bite.

  Some Nephilins struck the Lessers in the air while others attacked them from the ground. I searched for Nephele.

  “Where are the others?” I managed to speak with a tremulous voice. “Are they safe?”

  “Yes,” Xylia responded. “Devin led us into the woods.”

  “You were taking too long,” Demetre added as we approached the burning rubble of the wooden wall. “We decided to come looking for you.”

  Smoke billowed from the fire that consumed the houses. I gasped once when I saw Arundel’s body lying on the ground. Wounds and bruises spotting his arms. His clothes were covered in dirt and blood.

  Xylia ran to him, kneeling by his side.

  “Arundel,” she said, shaking his shoulders. “Can you hear me?”

  She screamed at the sound of a loud explosion that caused one of the houses to crumble to the ground. My visibility grew dim as the cloud of smoke spread.

  “We have to keep on moving, Xylia. We cannot linger!” Demetre shouted.

  She gave Arundel three quick slaps on his cheek.

  “Can you hear me?” she asked. Her lips curved into a smile when she heard Arundel moan.

  Demetre and I rushed his way, helping him stand on his feet. He grimaced, grasping his right shoulder with his left hand. His breathing came out in sharp, shallow breaths.

  “It might be broken,” he said.

  “Ballard might be able to help him,” Xylia said. “He might have something that will reduce the pain.”

  Arundel bowed his head. “Have any of you seen my father and sister?” he whispered.

  “They are well.” My response was immediate. I did not want to give Demetre or Xylia a chance to answer. They both shot me cold stares; they knew his father and sister were dead. Though I was aware that I had lied to him, it would bring him no benefit if I divulged the truth at this moment.

  I dodged every branch and jumped over every rock as we ran through the trees. I cringed as a sudden sharp pain spread through my head.

  “You may run now, Isaac, but know that we will find all of you,” Nephele’s voice whispered as her face appeared in my mind. My eyes narrowed to thin lines as the throbbing pain continued. “Our ally inside Tristar will soon be revealed to all. No matter where you run, we will come for you.”

  My lungs gasped for air as the images vanished. My heartbeat accelerated under my chest.

  “Are you alright?” Xylia pressed her brows together, setting her gaze on me.

  “There is a traitor.” My breathing grew shallow. “He is in Tristar.”

  Demetre stumbled back a few steps. “How do you know this?”

  “I heard Nephele’s voice.” I pressed my hands together “She said that their ally inside Tristar will soon be revealed.”

  Silence loomed over us. Xylia used her hand to support her body on a tree trunk, her face shrouded in fear. Demetre pressed his fingers against his forehead while Arundel stared at me.

  “We must tell the others,” said Xylia.

  XVII

  The sounds and cries of battle fell behind us as we ventured deeper into the woods. The wind whistled as it blew through the trees, their dry, ruffled branches crackling as they moved.

  Demetre had tied pieces of old fabric to a few trees to aid him and Xylia in finding the others.

  “How are you?” Demetre asked, adjusting his sword belt.

  “Later,” I responded in a cold voice.

  He nodded in silence, turning his eyes from me.

  Xylia sighed. “Isaac, should you need to talk to—”

  “I said, later!” I screamed. “I do not want to talk about this now.”

  She turned away and furrowed her brows.

  I knew they both meant well. The truth was that I was not ready to speak of what had happened. There would be a time when I would mourn their deaths, but this was not it. We were at war.

  Arundel cleared his throat. “Are my father and sister with the others as well?” His right arm rested over his chest.

  We all ignored his question as our feet sank deep into the snow. From the corner of my eye, I saw confusion forming on his face.

  “Can any of you answer me?” he insisted, his voice escalating.

  Demetre turned to Arundel. “Isaac will know the answer to your question.”

  Arundel darted me an angry stare, quickening his pace.

  “Did you lie to me, Isaac?” His voice loudened. “Are both of them alive?”

  “Arundel…” I sighed as my voice trailed off. I tried to find a way to divulge the truth to him. The real reason I did not want to talk about his family’s death was that it would make the memory of the events I had just witnessed even more vivid.

  “Are they with the others?” he asked again, his eyes already glistening with tears.

  Silence was my response to his question. His chin quivered; his face showed great distress. Tears ran down his cheeks.

  So much death, I thought as he sobbed. I was overwhelmed by the whirlwind of emotions raging around me. Arundel rested his back against a tree. He pressed the edge of his hands against his head while cowering.

  I continued walking, seeking solitude. These were moments when I wondered whether or not siding with the Darkness would have been an easier choice.

  The ground trembled at the roar of a mighty thunder. I looked up and caught sight of threatening storm clouds racing across the sky. Cold drops of rain fell on my face, and jagged bolts of lighting struck the sky.

  I wept as the raindrops turned into a torrential flood. I laid my head on a tree and gave in to my thoughts and feelings.

  A hand tightened its grasp on my shoulder. From the corner of my eye, I saw Demetre. His blue eyes were swollen, his cheeks red.

  “Um…”

  “You don’t have to say anything, Isaac,” he said. “You just to have to keep on being brave, my friend.”

  My tears mixed with the rain that dripped down my face.

  “What I just did will never compare to anything I have done or am yet to do.” I slammed the back of my hand against the tree. “I wounded their bodies with my own sword, Demetre.”

  He was silent. His tears streamed down to his lips.

  “The sorrow and agony I felt in the Wastelands of Tristar are like a morning breeze compared to this.” My words ceased. I tried to contain my almost inhuman sobs, but they were stronger than my own will.

  For a while, I allowed my emotions to flow out of me without restraint. Demetre stood by my side, quiet.

  “We have to keep on going, Isaac,” he said when Xylia approached with Arundel. “The others are not far from us.”

  I desired to stay here, isolated from everything and everyone. Part of me wanted to forget that the Diary had ever come into my possession. The hardest part of this journey was that I knew I had to keep on fighting. I closed my eyes and attempted to fill my mind with the memory that always gave me strength.

  I saw his scarlet eyes, his fur as white as snow. I recalled his empowering voice. “Know this: I am watching your every move and will be with all of you until the end.”

  No matter how burdensome our quest grew for me, I had to believe in our victory. Though darkness increased in strength every day, my heart had to cling to the hope that we would live to see Lucifer and his forces defeated.

  Demetre walked ahead of us all, leading the way. I slowed my steps, allowing Arundel to go in front of me. His eyes hardened when they met mine. I understood his anger. I had lied to him about the death of his family. He caught up to Demetre, walking by his side.

  I waited until Xylia walked next to me.

  “How are you?” I asked.

  “I’m alright.” She gave me a thin smile. “
I should be the one asking you that question.”

  “I will survive, though I am sure these memories will never be erased from my mind. They will haunt me forever.”

  “At least you were privileged to have your parents for eighteen years,” she said. “I can recall the day I started to understand that my family was different.” Her fingers trailed through her hair, fixing it behind her ears. “A curious little girl living with a man without a wife. One day, I decided to ask my Uncle Ihvar where my mother was. I was nine.”

  The wind howled as the raindrops turned into a deluge. The snow on the ground melted, mixing with the carpet of dirt and mud that covered the forest floor.

  “Up until that day, he had told me that he was my father.” Her face grew despondent.

  “How did you feel after you discovered the truth?” It was hard to look at her due to the strong rain.

  She sniffled, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand.

  “Angry, used, abandoned. After a while, I did come to understand why he had hidden the truth from me.” She raised her eyebrows as she pursed her lips. “He wanted to protect me.”

  My fingertips trailed her hand. She gave me a shy smile as our fingers intertwined.

  “You are a strong woman, Xylia,” I said, feeling the warmth of her skin against mine.

  “The day I turned eighteen, my uncle handed me my book. He shared the tales of its mysterious past, saying it was called The Book of the Justifier. Raziel appeared to me that same day in a dream. My uncle did not seem surprised when I mentioned what Raziel had said to me.” She narrowed her eyes. “It was as though he already expected him to visit me. It was hard leaving my uncle behind, but I knew I could no longer be protected by him, no matter how much he loved me.” She fixed her eyes on the trees ahead of us. “I miss him. He is the only family I have left.”