Octavian's Undoing (Sons of Judgment)

by Airicka Phoenix

  “Riley?” Kyaerin was watching her. “Still with me?”

  Riley mentally shook her head. “Yes, sorry. I was just looking at the…” She squinted at the open page on her menu. “Drinks…” she finished lamely.

  Kyaerin chuckled. “You were staring so hard at them I was beginning to wonder what they’d done to offend you.”

  Riley snapped the menu shut and set it down on the table. She used the tips of her eight fingers to scrub at her forehead. “Kyaerin, I am so sorry.”

  “For what, Riley?”

  Riley raised her head to focus on the woman across the table. “I’m not usually so scatterbrained.”

  “Well, you have quite a bit on your mind. I can understand—”

  Riley shook her head. “No, that’s not an excuse. I’m being rude. You must think I’m the worst person in the world.”

  “On the contrary.” Kyaerin rose from her chair. “Why don’t I get us some tea and I’ll tell you why.”

  With an affectionate smile to Riley, Kyaerin moved to the glass counter across the room, her sensible suit in caramel moving flawlessly around her perfect frame. The calming lights overhead shimmered in her curls, making the strands gleam like polished gold. She looked beautiful and every bit the business woman she was. Riley wondered if she could ever pull off looking that amazing in an outfit and nearly laughed. No one could pull of elegant and sophisticated like Kyaerin Maxwell.

  A moment later, she returned with a moony-eyed boy of about nineteen trailing after her like a lost puppy. He carried a brown, plastic tray laden with cups, a steaming teapot, a platter of tiny sandwiches and a small bottle of honey. He practically tripped over himself setting everything in front of them, then took a step back with the tray clutched to his chest as he stared at Kyaerin.

  She smiled fondly at him. “Thank you, dear. I’ll let you know if there’s anything else.”

  Barely containing his excitement, the boy inclined his head, turned on his heels and all but skipped back to the counter.

  “Is that normal?” Riley asked when Kyaerin busied herself pouring cream and sugar into her cup.

  Kyaerin blinked. “Hmm?” Her blue eyes went to where the boy stood, watching them with a bit of drool hanging off the corner of his mouth. “Oh, pay him no mind.”

  But Riley was intrigued now. “Did you hypnotize him or something?”

  Kyaerin pursed her lips as she set down the metal cream dispenser. “I dislike that word, hypnotize. I prefer silk speech.”

  “Is there a difference?”

  “Well.” She picked up a spoon and stirred her tea. “I like to think so. With silk speech, you’re planting a suggestion. You’re influencing their decision making.”

  Riley bit back a grin. “Sounds like hypnotizing.”

  Kyaerin cast her unimpressed scowl. “Hypnotizing sounds so… crude.”

  Apples and oranges, Riley wanted to say, but refrained.

  “So are Selkies like Sirens?” she asked. “I know Sirens lure fishermen to their deaths by singing or something, right?”

  Kyaerin’s eyes widened as though Riley had asked to see her underwear. “We do not associate with Sirens.” She spat the word as though she’d taken a large gulp of something bitter.

  Riley actually recoiled at the outrage in the statement. “Why not?”

  Kyaerin’s lips curled in a disgusted sneer. “Sirens are the vermin of our world, like leeches or slugs. Although they possess a partial soul, they are blood thirsty, evil things with no remorse or mercy.”

  “Do Selkies have souls?” she asked.

  “We do, but like all Veil Creatures, we are born with only a partial soul. We’re not human, but we can still dwell in the human world undetected.”

  “What’s a Veil Creature?”

  “We are,” Kyaerin said gesturing to herself. “Mermaids, Sirens, Werewolves, the Fey and Elves, beings with partial humanity or soul, if you will. We are the ones that look human.” At Riley’s slack-jawed expression, she chuckled. “When the Great Mother Lilith birthed us, the Children of Discord, the Angel’s separated the world by a veil to keep the human world safe. Only those with a soul can pass through. What they didn’t take into account was those of us with partial souls. We can dwell in both worlds. Demons can only be brought over if they are summoned or if they pass through a door.”

  “Like the doors at Final Judgment.”

  Kyaerin gave her a mischievous grin over the rim of her cup. “Correct.”

  “So are Selkies demons?”

  “Heavens no!” Kyaerin replaced her cup back on its saucer. “There are three beings in this world, not including humans. There is us, the Children of Discord, there is the Forsaken and then there are Demons.”

  “What is the Forsaken?” Riley asked.

  “The Forsaken.” Kyaerin paused to dab her lips with the corner of a napkin although she had yet to touch anything. “Are not children of the Great Mother. They were born when the first human was viciously slaughtered by someone they trusted. Upon dying, five drops of blood struck the earth. The earth, disgusted by the ferocity of the death, rejected the offerings. The ground boiled and from it five creatures rose. They were monsters with a lust for blood, killing everything it came into contact with. With a single bite, they would turn whole villages into soulless creatures like themselves. But because they were birthed by man and earth, they were given half a soul and access through the veil into the human world. It is because of them that we exist we continue to exist rather than return to our lives before the war. As long as they and demons exist, we must continue to guard the humans.”

  “So, they’re not demons?”

  “In the sense that they regard no life as precious, they are. All of Lilith’s children crave flesh and blood. It is the one gift our Great Mother bestowed on each of her children.”

  Riley thought this over carefully before asking, “So, what’s the difference between Demons and the Children of Discord and the Veil Creatures?”

  “The Children of Discord are the Veil Creatures. The Veil Creatures is the name we were given after the Great War by the Angels. As for demons, we were born of the day while demons were born of the night and cast beyond the tall grass in shame.” The last part was said with an amused snicker.

  Riley blinked. “Come again?”

  Kyaerin giggled again. “It’s a sort of joke. Mother Lilith was the first wife to Father Adam. When she was asked to submit to him, Lilith rebelled. She left paradise and ventured into the unknown territories, the place they were forbidden to go. Angels were sent down to persuade her back, promising everything, but what she wanted, equality. The Angels swore she would never find happiness again, that all her children who weren’t from Adam would become a plague on the earth. When Adam was given Eve, Lilith would sneak into his dreams and seduce him—”

  “Why?” Riley interrupted. “I mean, she left him.”

  Kyaerin laughed. “We women are selfish creatures like that. If we can’t have the man made especially for us, then no one can. Also, I think she wanted to rub the Angel’s faces with it, that their golden boy still lusted for her and she could have him whenever she wanted.”

  It made sense although she wasn’t sure how she felt about the whole thing. “What happened then?”

  “The children birthed of those unions became the Children of Discord. We were born into the light for all to see. It is because of this that we have half a soul. But Lilith also gave birth to children not of Adam and those she brought into the world under the cloak of darkness and hid them from sight behind the tall grasses. They became demons. You can always tell a demon is near by their aura. They have a very powerful, dark aura that cloaks them. It always stinks of malice. More often than not, they’ll have glowing eyes or horns. It takes a very powerful demon to shield themselves completely.”

  “So have you ever met Lilith?” Riley asked.

  Kyaerin shook her head. “That was far before my time.”

  Riley narrowed her eyes.
“So how do you know it really happened like that?”

  Kyaerin seemed to think about this a moment. “I don’t. When I was conceived, the Veil had not yet been erected. There were thousands of us right alongside the humans and the world was enormous. Adam and Eve were already gone and after Adam’s death, no one ever heard from the Great Mother again. Some say she died with him, others say she lives, but is in mourning for his death…” She trailed off with a delicate shrug. “These stories are what our parents would tell us as children while tucking us into bed at night. They are our fairytales.”

  Riley snorted. “Messed up fairytales. What ever happened to Little Red Riding Hood?”

  Kyaerin chuckled. “I don’t think we had those stories back then. The world is much, much older than people think. Countless civilizations have risen and fallen over the many millenniums. I have not been here for all of it, but I have seen the world change, the people in it and how, with every passing century, they lose another speck of their humanity. Back in the days I was still young, people feared the things in the dark. They were cautious not to speak their names and offered tribute to protect themselves. Now, people welcome demons into their homes for amusement. They slaughter each other in hopes of reaching a plain they never possibly could. It saddens me, especially when my children fight so hard to protect them. I believe the Angels fools for protecting mortals when they don’t wish to be protected, when they carelessly toss away their humanity, and for what? Demons cannot be controlled. They cannot be kept as pets or servants. Demons are creatures that thrive on chaos and destruction. They loathe the humans for their freedom and will do anything to take the world back and humans are simply allowing it.”

  Riley felt a stab of guilt go through her. True, she had nothing to do with it and couldn’t remember the last time she ever summoned a demon, but she felt ashamed for the human race.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Kyaerin blinked, all the anger receding until there was nothing but miles of endless blue once more. “What? No! Oh, Riley, I didn’t mean you. I’m sorry. I’m ruining our lovely afternoon with my own mindless ranting. Ignore me.”

  “But you’re right,” she murmured. “There are a lot of stupid people in the world.”

  Kyaerin shrugged. “There are a lot of stupid demons in the world, too. I think every race has a… what do you call it? Village idiot?”

  Riley laughed. “So these flesh-eating demons that you were just talking about, they’re the ones that come into Final Judgment every night, aren’t they?”

  “Yes, but they will not harm you,” Kyaerin assured her quickly. “They are forbidden to harm humans as we are, but above that, Final Judgment is a sanctuary for all creatures, Demons and Veil alike. It is prohibited to harm anyone within the walls.”

  “Is that why Octavian killed Billius?”

  There was no remorse in Kyaerin’s gaze as they leveled on Riley. “The rules are very clear. To have shown him mercy would have been showing weakness and that cannot be had when handling a roomful of malicious demons who would like nothing more than to revolt and kill us.”

  Riley shuddered. “I didn’t know that.”

  “We understand the importance of maintaining balance. Those who seek to overthrow that which has been set into place for eons will either succeed and slaughter us all, or will be stopped by the Casters. If there is ever so much as a hint that we will falter in a decision those at the diner will not hesitate to attack like wolves at the scent of blood. We must always show that we are in control and why one of the boys is always at the diner.”

  It was all beginning to make a great deal of sense now that it was being explained better.

  “Is that what you hunt? Demons?”

  Kyaerin took a dainty sip of her tea, reminding Riley that she had a cup in front of her as well. She quickly added some sugar and cream into the dark brew and stirred it as Kyaerin mulled over her question.

  “We hunt the Forsaken and those who break the contract,” Kyaerin said, setting her teacup down gently. “Since the treaty, we are forbidden to harm demons unless they’ve broken a law. But an inanimis—”

  “I know we’ve talked about this before, but what is that? An inanimis, I mean?”

  “Inanimis means soulless in Latin and is one of the two kinds of Forsaken. Whereas a demon is birthed by a demon, an inanimis was once human before they sold their soul.”

  “There are two kinds of Forsaken?”

  Kyaerin nodded. “There is the inanimis and the strigoi. A strigoi was a human bitten by an inanimis or another strigoi. Those who lose their soul through the foolishness of their own making become an inanimis and fall under our annihilation code.”

  Now it was just becoming confusing.

  “Okay, let me get this straight.” Riley shifted higher in her chair and leaned forward. “A strigoi that was bitten is safe from Casters. An inanimis that gives up his soul is hunted and killed. Why?”

  “During the transformation, a strigoi will exchange his blood for the blood of his victim. In doing so, he will pass on the blood of man that courses through his veins. This is what permits them to live amongst humans and walk in sunlight. They must continue to drink blood in order to survive, but otherwise, they are nearly entirely human. An inanimis that sells his soul to a demon is a threat and can only live in darkness and must feed on flesh to survive. They will feed on their own mother given the chance.”

  “Can an inanimis get their soul back?” Riley wondered.

  Kyaerin shook her head. “Never. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”

  “But not the strigoi?”

  “During the Great War that divided Demons and the Children of Discord, the strigoi struck a bargain with Heaven. They and their children were not to be harmed and in exchange they would not become involved in the war. The strigoi, as I told you earlier were created by the five drops of blood from the first slain human. Those five drops became the strigoi Masters. Each Master is the leader of a single coven of strigoi.”

  “Why would the Angels agree to that if they want all demons killed?”

  “Had the strigoi joined, no one would have survived. It would have been a blood bath. Inanimis and strigoi would be running amuck, turning humans at will and thus ending all mankind. It was safer to accept the terms and live in a tenuous alliance rather than suffer the consequences. They were given a limit to the number of subjects they were permitted to turn, which of course they get around by turning only the most faithful while converting the rest into mindless servants. The Angels, I suppose, hadn’t thought of that, but seeing as the human isn’t harmed… I think they tend to overlook the matter.”

  “Whoa, whoa!” Riley put her hands up. “Hold on, back up. What?”

  Amused by Riley’s reaction, Kyaerin giggled. “Like the features of a strigoi and their scent, humans are easily addicted to their blood. When given a drop of the Master’s blood, the human because a…” She trailed off, waving her hand in a circular motion as she fished for the right word. “Zombie, I think is what you call them. They become addicted to their Master’s blood and enamored by the Master himself and will willingly do anything that is asked of them.”

  “So if a strigoi has its soul still, does that mean they look human?” Riley wondered.

  “Yes. The strigoi, unlike the inanimis, look remarkably human until you get close and notice the flakes of red in their eyes and their fangs. Because they prey on creatures that are attracted to pretty things, strigois are very alluring. They are attractive to humans the way Sirens are attractive to fishermen because of their singing. They will glamour their prey and lure them into their web. An inanimis is the opposite. They are all fangs and yellow eyes and evil to the core.”

  “Okay so is Final Judgment the only gateway to Hell? Are there other Gatekeepers? How did you get chosen? Did you apply for the position?”

  Kyaerin laughed at Riley’s rapid fire of questions. “There are other four other gates and each gate is guarded by an elemental creature.�
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  Riley frowned. “A what?”

  “Creatures that possess powers over one of the five elements. Selkies, Mermaids and Sirens are creatures of water. We can manipulate it and bend it to do our bidding. We are bound by our elemental water magic. It’s what makes us who we are and the powers we wield. Our control over oceans and seas make us impossibly powerful, especially since seventy percent of earth is covered by water.”

  “What about Sirens or Mermaids? Are they keepers of the other gates?”

  “Mermaids and Sirens can’t walk on land. They are water-bound. Selkies are the only water creatures that can shed their skin and become fully human, but we can never stray far from the pond. It is where we draw our powers. When we were elected gatekeepers, the Angels chose us to guard the gates of the north.”