The Pentagram Child: Part 2 (Afterlife Saga Book 5)

by Stephanie Hudson

  “Proud is not a word I would use for this day.” I retorted as he came back to face me, all the while keeping a suitable distance from the Aeolus’ eye.

  “Oh but I disagree, for I am proud indeed. You see you being here can only mean one thing…” I raised an eyebrow but kept what I knew to myself.

  “My successor has succeeded.”

  “Yeah...? Succeed this!” I said before I grabbed him by the black rags he wore and threw him into the vortex. I heard his screams of torture but before he could start to regenerate back into the heart of the Aeolus’ eye, I did what I had come here to do. I slammed my hand down into the centre of the eye and as soon as the blood I had poured into my palm touched the stone, the vortex vanished.

  I looked up as the last of the destructive force evaporated into nothing and then looked down at my palm to see the blood gone from my skin. As Sammael had been too busy with his speeches of grandeur I had already tipped half of the blood onto my hand. What can I say other than I found it a justified act in getting him to shut up.

  “Was that really necessarily?” He asked just as soon as his lips had reformed. I jumped out of the pit, cracked my neck to the side to relieve some of the tension and said,

  “Let’s go asshole.” I walked on and cared little for the body struggling to move behind me. With each step I knew a little more of his form had regenerated as pretty soon he caught up to me.

  “Give me the key.” He demanded and for that alone I wanted to break him.

  “You will get nothing until I know my Electus is safe.” I threatened making him smirk.

  “Ah your Electus, how is the little dear…oh wait I gather if you are here then she’s not doing so well…I wonder if she has bled to death yet as I’m sure…” He didn’t finish his sentence as he soon found it difficult to speak with his air supply being cut off by my hand. I slammed him up against the wall of the cell block causing the stone to crumble around him.

  “Mention her again and I won’t be able to stop my demon from killing you.” I heard a bone snap before I finally released him. Uncurling my fingers from around his throat was one of the single most difficult things I have done when faced with an enemy. I knew now, right at this very second that my failing, my weakness was not having Keira in my life as I had once thought. It was not being there for her as I should have been.

  I thought having me in her life was the cause of her danger but it wasn’t, she was always in danger for being who she was, not who I was. As with I, the Gods had sent me here to defend life in its many forms and they had sent Keira to me to help maintain that goal. To aid us all when the prophecy came to pass but wait…was it to aid…or more importantly was it to…

  Rule.

  Was she the one in fact needed to lead this army into battle? She had up until now been unknowingly recruiting all the major players in my world. All the most powerful beings that were allowed to find solace on earth were slowly coming together one by one and everything up until this point had in fact been for that very reason.

  I couldn’t believe it but it took looking into the slitted eyes of evil to come to the crucial decision that Lucius had been right. She was the flame to not only the biggest moths but also every creature out there with wings. It wasn’t loving me that put her in danger, it had been the Gods loving her that had.

  “Fuck!” I shouted and tore myself away from the soul I wanted to destroy. Before he could say anything I barked out my order,

  “Let’s get this done!”

  We had been walking for what must have been a fair distance, that or my impatience had me close to breaking point. The self-discovery of the true nature of why Keira had been born to the Earth was of little matter to me. Yes, the realisation certainly had its impact on me but it merely cast a heavenly shadow behind her perfection. I wanted Keira back for my own selfish reasons, none of which had anything to do with any damn prophecy! She belonged to me, body, mind, heart and soul and the rest of the world and realms above and beneath it could be damned!

  My obvious foul tempered demeanour was all Sammael needed to keep his distance and not speak again as there was no telling what my demon side would do. I could feel it growling beneath my skin, pacing like a captured beast with the bars of my will buckling with every thought. I needed to find my calm in the storm raging inside me and with the lack of my heavenly side to aid me, this was proving even more difficult with each step I took. It was as though the deeper into Tartarus I got the louder my demon became. In fact by the time we finally got to the centre of the mountain I was shaking with unleashed fury.

  “It is a gallant show of control, however I am afraid it will not help you here.” Sammael spoke just as we walked through the last archway needed before coming face to face with the prison of Gods.

  “Not what you expected?” Sammael said as I took in all that was before me.

  The prison was nothing like I would have imagined and it was now confirmed that all stories about this place were exactly that…just stories. Chinese whispers that had lost words of truth along the journey on the winds of time.

  At the belly of the mountain, in this cavernous vast space stood a magnificent Aztec shaped pyramid. It was built with stepped blackened lava blocks with veins of magma glowing through each giant sized brick. Up the centre of each of the four sides ran a river of the molten liquid, defying gravity and flowing upwards towards the flattened top. At the four corners stood huge Roman pillars of pure white that looked as if they had burst through the lava stone at their bases.

  From up here it was clear to see that the small rivers of lava flowed over the top and around each corner where the pillars were each situated. The cooled black rock that stood at each base had burst upwards like an exploding star, so lava couldn’t touch it.

  It was as though this was all that was left of the other half of the lost Temple of Olympus and its gleaming white marble was therefore untouched by any damaging force below it. It was the only reminder left that this had once been a holy place of worship and it was a staggering sight to behold.

  With nowhere else for the destructive force to go, it poured down into the centre of the Pyramid. I could see well enough from up here that the Pyramid was hollow, stepping down in on itself and inverted inwards, creating a smaller version and in the shape of a V.

  All around the inside of the mountain was built up of not just rock but years of growth from soulweed roots that had burst its way through the mountain to get to the surface. Looking down at the sea of lava that surrounded the pyramid I realised it was also a feeding ground for the roots of the soulweed. And in turn they acted like a network of electrical cables keeping this place fed with energy.

  I looked down at the steep staircase that was so crudely cut into the rock that it barely merited the name. It snaked its way down around the rock face and used each and every natural crevice as a footing. It would take us at least another hour to get down the trail before we even reached the thin arched bridge. One that was the only part connecting you to the rest of the mountain.

  “I think not” I said grabbing Sammael by the wings as he started to take on the staircase before me. Then before he could get out a word of protest I jumped off the arched ledge, taking Sammael with me.

  We both fell and plummeted down as I refused to open my wings until the last possible moment. When I finally did they acted as a parachute, rapidly slowing our decent enough for me to drop Sammael, forty feet from the bridge. As his body fell I watched as my suspicions about his useless wings were confirmed. He slammed into the narrow stone as my own wings guided me down to where I wanted to be and just in time to grab Sammael before he rolled off the edge.

  “Oh how you must want to drop me right now.” Sammael mocked looking up at me and knowing full well the inner battle I faced. Just one tiny movement, one slight loosening of my grip on his arm and the threat to human kind would be eradicated. The realms above and below would continue as before and a new day would at least see the light of the sun o
nce more. But if the Titans were released then the only thing that new day would bring is fire and death…Ironic really that the blood spilt from the war of the Gods bred new life in that of mortals and now those that were defeated wanted that life back.

  “Oh don’t worry, your death will come soon enough, but for now we have business to conclude.” I said forcing myself to move in a way that would set him back on his feet. I watched as he straightened the black worn rags he was wearing. It was in the similar style to that of what Buddhist monks would wear only with the added addition of the iron chains that dragged along the floor under the torn skirt.

  I turned my back on him and proceeded to walk the narrow bridge that led not only to the Titans but also the end of life as we all knew it. I had a plan set in place but the chances of this working out in my favour were not looking good. Was I really willing to murder the world for one life and with no guarantees to go by?

  Well we were about to find out because there in front of me was the key stone that awaited one simple key…

  Blood of the Titans.

  As we approached I could feel Sammael almost buzzing behind me. This was something Sammael had spent most of his life waiting for. Being once that of an Archangel his deception came at a price indeed but the power he gained more than made up for it. He started life long after the war of Gods and his duty was, granted, an unpleasant one. Life in the form of mortals had grown at an incredible rate and with it, death quickly followed. This was the price mortals paid for their free will and a realm of their own. After all they were created by the death of Gods, it was only fair that they were granted a life of choice as they had little in the first place.

  The mistake often made in any religion is not which God made mortals, as many did but it is often how. The blood of the Gods did indeed rain down that day to the beauty below and that untainted blood was the catalyst needed to kick start the evolution of man. The power in that blood is what gave Homo sapiens the power of thought. And therefore both science and religion are one and the same.

  So as the world below began the circle of life, the Ouroboros came into effect. Angels of death were needed and Sammael was the first to step up for the job.

  “I am curious Sammael, what was it that day? What changed for you to cause such betrayal to your maker?” I couldn’t refrain from asking as we neared the end of our journey.

  “Maybe you should have asked me this before you banded my lips with metal, condemned me to a life in Hell and murdered the one I loved.” His response made me growl angrily before quickly facing him and hitting back with the truth,

  “You being silenced was your punishment, Hell was your prison and killing your love was an act of mercy!”

  “There is no mercy in MURDER!”

  “No, there is mercy when one has begged for death, one you refused to grant her in every life she was forced to live!” I snapped and when he winced I knew I had finally hit my mark but more still, I had just found the answer to my question.

  “That was it wasn’t it? You were sent that day to take her life?” He scowled at me for a few seconds and the hatred was clear to see until he tore his venomous gaze from mine.

  “That day it was decreed that the two last surviving pure bloods, one male and one female were to find death at my hands, yes. I hadn’t even known of their existence until the order came, none of us had.” He said sombrely and obviously reliving that time so long ago.

  “But what had the Gods hoped in keeping them alive so long?” I had to ask.

  “It soon became obvious that they were different to the rest of the mortals. For one they wouldn’t age, however like the Titans had learnt, they could die through great injury. The Gods had hoped they would reproduce, like some fucking experiment or rats in a fucking cage! When it became clear of Cronus’ plans to release the Titans they knew it was far too dangerous to keep them alive.”

  “Enter the Angel of death.” I said folding my arms and figuring out the rest of the story for myself.

  “Yes, enter me! Oh you stand there casting judgement on me when you yourself entered the same forbidden realm in loving a human.” At this I laughed but it was without the mentality of humour attached to it.

  “You really think you loved her! You took away the one thing that word represents.”

  “And what is that!?” He asked and for once I felt the tiniest amount of sadness for not just him but for anyone who didn’t understand it.

  “You took away her choice…her God given right to choose, whether it be to live, love or die. You were no better than the Gods that had kept her alive for their own amusement or their blatant, arrogant ignorance and disregard for one of their own. And when they finally decided to do the right thing by the good of not just mortal kind but of every kind, you chose differently and why…because you lay claim to love her…” I let the anger I felt fuel my words of disrespect for such decisions, decisions to not only ruin the innocent life of a woman but to put every single life in jeopardy.

  I stepped towards him and continued…

  “Tell me Sammael, did she honour your feelings by loving you back…did she make such bold claims in the face of your own? Did she not put up a fight when you took her against her will, not once, no but with every reincarnated life you forced upon her…is that what you call loving someone?! Because that love you speak about is not only received but delivered back to you in equal amounts. The only thing that girl did against your will was to finally find peace at my hands…one she begged me for!”

  “YOU LIE!” He came to rush at me as the truth seeped into his core and rooted there for all to see. I grabbed him and his feeble form, easily over powering him and turned to get him in a lock with my arm banded around his throat.

  I wanted to force the difference between real love and obsessive betrayal of free will. Oh I had no doubt he loved her in the only way he knew how but my next words I hoped haunted him for his actions for what little time I knew he had left…

  “For real love is about letting them go. It is about doing what is best for not your own gain but for theirs…That is love. And she died in my arms knowing the difference…because I was the one that gave her peace, a peace you had refused her for far too many lifetimes.” I pulled tighter on his neck and whispered something that I hoped would finally break him…

  “And guess what, she died with a smile on her face and honestly...it looked like the first damn smile she ever gave freely.” I finished when I felt him go limp in my arms and finally give up the fight. He slumped forward and I took a few steps back hoping this had been enough to end this madness, one that should have finished the second the light of Eveleen’s soul faded from her eyes.

  “You can stop this Sammael. You can give Eveleen the memory she deserves and not invite destruction to the realms in her name. You can choose the right path…” As I said this he raised his head where he had remained on his knees. But something I had said made him snap the other way and instead of giving up his resistance he fought harder for it. He raised himself up and stood with his back to me.

  “Your Gods and their precious mortals had their time…now it is time for mine!” He hissed at me turning his head with the last threat before walking past me and stepping up to the keystone.

  “The blood of my kin, hand it to me.” He demanded.

  “No.”

  “No...? You realise what will happen if you refuse?” Oh I knew alright and I could only wish I had the strength needed to follow through with that refusal, however it was a startling revelation to realise I wasn’t. Would I murder the world…I wanted to lower my head in shame but I knew with shame came knowing that my decision wasn’t the right one and every fibre in my inner soul knew I was doing the right thing.

  “I will give you the key only when I am assured she is safe.”

  “And I can only do that when I return.” This was a hopeless battle of a trust neither of us held for each other or ever would but what choice did I have?

  “I demand a
blood oath.” I stated hoping it was enough to hold up against such a being. The terms of a blood oath were up to the being it was offered from and if accepted then it was binding.

  “Very well, set your terms.” I felt my tension ease slightly in spite of what I was willing to give in to.

  “Upon your return you will free Keira of the curse and swear she will not be harmed by your hand or that of your kin and in return I will let you release the Titans. If these terms are not met or honoured then you will be forced to your knees and await death by my blade once having your will stripped bare and your choices swiftly taken from you…do you except my terms?” Sammael stared boldly at my eyes, raised a hand to his mouth and bit forcefully into his flesh. He never took his eyes from mine as he accepted the only option he had if he wanted to follow through with his plans.

  “I accept your terms and leave my blood onto you as it lays witness to our treaty made.” He then slapped his hand to mine and I felt the power of the pact forge into one of absolute. Our binding was complete and it was time now for me to fulfil my end of the bargain.

  “It is done.” Sammael said as he too felt the same force of power bind us. He nodded to the keystone that stood at the top of the arch, situated in the very middle. The doorway was yet to be revealed by the protruding arched blocks but by them being here told anyone alike that this was the door to the Titans’ prison.

  The keystone was the face of Cronus himself with his mouth open and ready for a taste of his own kin. The blood of the Titans.

  I pulled the vial from my jeans’ pocket and lifted it up to eye level to see only half of the blood remained. Sammael’s slitted eyes widened before they narrowed for a second. I handed it out to him all the while forcing such actions and demanding submission of my demon from emerging.

  “Change of plans.”

  “What?!” I said frowning in obvious distrust.

  “You’re going to release the Titans.” I shook my head unable to think why he would want such a thing.