by Jason Wilcox
Tagen’s unease increased.
Most of the humans had guns and wore black coats with numbers on the front chest. There were only a few dark souls with the crisscross pattern. The others looked normal.
Outside of the nuclear plant, there was a large wall with barbed wire and sharp objects. A human and dark soul guarded the gate. The human lifted a large gun as they approached.
“What’s your business here?” the guard spoke with a deep voice. Tagen figured he was six and a half feet tall and as broad as a train. He wore old armor made of rust stained metal. A lens, like the other humans wore, hung in front of his left eye.
“We’re here to see Hermue,” Zack said as he came out from behind Tagen.
“He’s busy. Come back another time.”
“We have a dark soul that wants to join us,” Laht spoke with hesitancy, his figure fading slightly into shadow form. It was an automatic response for dark souls when they felt fear.
The guard looked down at Laht and over at Tagen. “What do you mean? All the dark souls already serve him.”
“He’s been gone for some time. Lost…I suppose.”
The guard got a little closer to Tagen, looking him up and down. Tagen wasn’t afraid since the man only had a gun. He wasn’t sure why Laht was acting so cowardly to the weak humans. There were enough dark souls to slaughter the whole lot. In fact, Tagen could probably do it himself without too much effort. He was more worried about the dark souls turning on him if he did attack the humans. If they wanted Tagen dead, he wouldn’t last long.
“He does act differently, doesn’t he?” the guard spoke as he made a sign to the dark soul by the gate. “No funny business, or we’ll have your hides.” With a loud clank, the gate began to open. The dark soul that pushed it open had the same crisscross lines as Laht. He didn’t understand how the lines had anything to do with new armor, or why a dark soul would need armor, but eventually he knew he would find the answers.
They walked through a worn parking lot, weeds and small trees sprouted through the cracks. Shadows from large trees on the edges of the lot stretched out in an eerie design under the moonlight. The gate slammed shut behind them as they made their way to giant concrete towers. Tagen spotted a couple of dark soul lookouts at the top. Old rusted metal doors opened with a loud creak.
Lights flickered above them in long hallways. The walls were scratched and dirty. Laht led the way with Zack bringing up the rear. Many of the green floor tiles were broken or missing with concrete showing through. Each one of Zack’s steps echoed. Tagen looked back at him; the situation was becoming more pathetic. The stupid human can’t even walk quietly. Why are the darks souls subservient to them?
At the end of the hall, a thick steel door stood in front of them. Laht pushed it open only to have two large guards pull guns on him. Why is a human pulling a gun on a dark soul? Even more importantly, why in the world is Laht reacting to it? Laht froze in place as he began to turn to shadow form. Tagen rolled his eyes from Laht’s pathetic reaction.
“What are you doing here?” One of the guards barked without lowering his gun.
“We’ve brought someone to meet Hermue,” Zack spoke while stepping out from behind Tagen.
“Who?”
“A dark soul that wants to join,” Laht spoke softly. Tagen raised a brow. He almost wanted one of the humans to send a bullet his way. They would be dead before they could get a second shot off.
It was making him sick how Laht cowered to pathetic humans. His thoughts of thinking the place was great were fading fast.
One of the guards lowered his gun and walked away, but the other stayed with his gun aimed at Laht. After a moment voices could be heard and then a shout. “Let them in,” the guard yelled out.
The guard in front of them lowered his gun and gave a gesture to follow. Once around the corner, Tagen could see a massive room once filled with mechanical equipment. Large windows lined one side of the room with only darkness on the other side of the glass.
“Who it is?” a booming voice asked. Tagen turned his attention to where they were going. A large personage stood before them. He wasn’t sure if it was human or a beast. The creature was almost seven feet tall with strange looking horns. His skin seemed to have tears, but they weren’t bleeding. His eyes were yellow with a black oval in the middle.
“It’s Laht and Zack.” They bowed as Laht spoke.
Tagen wasn’t going to have any of it and kept standing. His often-fearful nature had been replaced by anger towards Laht’s subservience to humans. But, he kept silent, since he wasn’t too sure what was standing in front of them. Perhaps a mutated human?
“What brangth you?” Hermue spoke with annoyance.
“A dark soul that is older than all of us,” Laht straightened as he spoke. “He was one of the first and served under Snyp. I thought he was dead, but we found him out front, by the explosion.”
“Breknar ik faldiez.” Hermue took a step closer to them. Tagen perked up. He hadn’t heard that language for a very long time. It was the ancient language that some of the older humans spoke in Azgiel’s kingdom. Most of it he had forgotten over so many years. The only elements he still remembered were the power words and sayings that could heal or destroy.
Intrigued, Tagen decided to speak, “That language hasn’t been spoken for many lifetimes. I recognize it, even though I don’t remember how to speak it. Who are you? You’re not human, or at least not entirely.”
First Hermue smiled, and then began to laugh. “I wish you remember. None otters do. Make taulking eesier.” He walked over to Tagen, towering over him. “You name?”
“Tagen.” He finally understood why the dark souls were subservient. It wasn’t the humans, it was what led them. Hermue isn’t human at all. He’s a demon. The human’s tampering with stopping time released the creature coming out in a human’s body.
“Tagen, you hold power, do you?”
“You could say that.” He wasn’t sure where Hermue was going with the question, but now wasn’t the time to look weak.
“Ekcellant. Join us.” Hermue smiled. “We caan use mare like you.”
If there was one thing Tagen knew, it was not to trust a demon. He wanted out, but his option of leaving on a good note was probably gone. He figured he better play it safe, especially if Hermue was from long ago. There was no telling how powerful he was. “I’m looking for someone.” Tagen ignored the question.
Everyone turned and looked at him. “Whoo?” Hermue asked in his thick accent.
“A man I was traveling with. He disappeared after the explosion.”
Hermue chuckled and walked over to one of the guards. After something was said, the guard rushed off and came back with Mauldrin’s sword. “Did man karry this?”
“Yes.” Tagen knew he was going to have to choose his words carefully. He didn’t know how to take the chuckling that persisted.
“He you friend?” Hermue tilted his head, looking down at Tagen. There was a feeling that at any moment he would be attacked.
“No. A cruel master,” he started his lie. “He threatened me and contained me with that sword.”
Smiling, Hermue relaxed and gave the sword back to the guard, which he quickly took away. “You know pow-a of sword?”
“Yes, I do.” Again, Tagen knew he needed to watch his words carefully.
“How do draw it?”
“Not sure. I don’t know much about it.” Tagen watched Hermue’s body language closely.
“Do you know who rideful oh-nar is?”
“No.” Tagen thought quickly. “I know of its power, because the man I’m looking for used it to destroy souls under my control and then used it to take me prisoner.”
“Then you free now. We prisoner him.” Hermue approached Tagen. “So, you join us?”
Tagen knew there was no option. “Now that I have no master, then yes, I would be honored.”
“Good.” He turned to walk back to where he had been. “Enjoy now. I have mi
scion for you later.”
“Thank you,” Tagen said the words, but definitely didn’t mean them. He wanted nothing to do with a demon. Laht nodded his head for Tagen to follow and they headed out. He was going to need to find Mauldrin and get him out of there, but first he needed to get a layout of the place.
CHAPTER 8
“My lady,” a deep voice called in the darkness. “Wake up. It’s time to go.” Bridget opened her eyes. Her nap felt short and unsatisfying. The black demon with the white design on his forehead stood over her, his giant hand holding her shoulder. “We need to get moving.”
“Yes, okay.” She blinked a couple of times, watching him join the other demons.
The demon must have been the eldest of the five, because when he approached they lined up and bowed. Walking past each one, he stretched out a finger and spoke a soft chant. “Faus rau. Liengar.” His finger glowed and he touched them on the crown of their head. When he finished one of the demons, the dark blue, did likewise to him.
Bridget walked over to them. “May I ask what that was?” She had never seen them prepare for a fight before.
“For extra protection,” one of the other black demons spoke. “That if we die, none shall be able to touch our inner life.”
One of the demons to her right grunted, and they moved up the steps. Bridget wasn’t too sure what the demon meant about inner life, but she thought it sounded beautiful. All of her time had been spent with the Witch. She now wished she had been given the privilege to learn more about those that lived around her.
She jumped in behind them, not wanting to be a hindrance. Her pulse increased and her palms began to sweat realizing they were heading out. The large brown demon pushed the door open. It was dusk, the sun must’ve barely set.
“We’ll first take a right. There is an area that we hope is still a guard station where we might get some answers,” the black demon with the writing spoke. “There should only be a couple in there this time of day. If by chance we get in a bad situation, do not go back to the gate. Our orders are very specific. We have to keep it a secret that the gate is open to our planet.”
With that, they headed out into an empty, run down alley. The outside air had different odors than what Bridget was used to. It felt thick to breathe.
Moving quietly, the demons headed to the right. Their hulking bodies made large shadows down the alley. Bridget stayed close, nervous about being left behind. A man came out from an adjacent alley with one swift motion. The lead demon drew his sword and sliced the man in half. The demon didn’t miss a beat and kept moving as if nothing had happened. Bridget had to look away. She had seen a lot of blood when she was a military nurse, but seeing such violence made her sick.
Not wanting to step on the body, Bridget stayed to the left as she passed. She kept her eyes higher so she wouldn’t see the bloody mess on the ground. Being a nurse, she had always known war was ugly, but being in the action was difficult.
“Are you okay?” the dark blue demon asked her. He had slowed and was now walking beside her.
“I’m not used to this.” She tried to smile to show her appreciation for his concern.
“We apologize. We forget you’re here,” one of the black demons spoke, slowing to join the conversation. “I’m afraid our hearts have grown cold and callused after many years of wars and fighting. Death just is.”
“I…I understand.” But she didn’t understand, the thought that death just is, caused her heart to ache. Death never just was.
“We’ll try to be mindful of you next time,” the dark blue demon spoke. He put a large hand on her shoulder, white tattoos covered his fingers. It was strange to see the demons show kindness and concern for her. After all the time she had lived amongst them, she never thought they cared or were concerned about others. However, it had just been her perception from seeing them walking alone in the forest, emotionally cold. Her perception had been wrong. Instead, they seemed to have emotions.
With a swallow, she responded, “No, don’t worry about me. Just focus on what you do best so we don’t get caught or killed. I don’t want to be the reason we don’t get Caden back.”
“Understood,” the demon’s deep voice was calming, almost reassuring that everything was going to be okay. She looked around at their large figures and swords. They were a force to be reckoned with.
“We’re almost there,” the lead demon spoke while slowing everyone. Voices could be heard from a different alley. They sounded jovial, possibly drunk. The footsteps and laughter grew closer. The black lead demon made a sign, pointing upwards. All of them spread their wings and one by one took off to the rooftop. With strong hands, the blue demon grabbed Bridget and took her with him. Gravel crunched under their weight as they landed on the flat roof.
“We could’ve taken them,” the brown demon spoke, sounding annoyed.
“We need to stay out of sight as much as possible. We’re not here to slay everyone, even if that is your desire.” As the lead demon finished speaking, most of the other ones let out an agreeing snort while shaking their heads. “We’re only a few rooftops away. When we get there, we need to get into the alley quickly and hope no one sees us. Stay low, and stay out of sight.”
“Climb on my back,” the dark blue demon spoke to Bridget. He hunkered down so she could reach the joint of his wing. She put a foot on his large calf, a hand on his wing and pulled herself up. His neck was thick and his skin rough.
Once she was settled, they were off. They kept low, and only used their wings to glide from one rooftop to another. Bridget looked around as they went; night had set in and the city was quiet. She could see where they had come from. The castle was huge and menacing; lights at the base of it illuminated the towers. It was strange to see a castle in the middle of modern houses and small shops.
In the distance, she could see a road with cars, their headlights creating a stream of light. A couple of birds with long red beaks sat at the edge of one building making strange cooing noises as the demons moved by them.
Getting lost in her surroundings, Bridget wasn’t ready for the demon to jump off the roof and gasped from the plunge.
“Everyone ready?” the lead demon spoke. They were back in the dirty alley. An old, dirty wooden door with three locked latches stood in front of them. Bridget wondered if it was used anymore.
The demons drew their swords, and with a quick smash, the brown demon crashed through the door. Dust and wood particles filled the air, and metal clanked from the latches and locks swinging back and forth. The air was musty as she followed the demons in. Dirt and dust covered the ground and cobwebs hung everywhere. A stockpile of swords and weapons sat in a corner, some of them rusted. Footsteps could be heard in the rooms as demons made quick work of looking through the facility.
“The place is empty,” one of the black demons said, as they came together.
“Appears it’s been empty for some time,” the brown demon mentioned while wiping a thick layer of dust off a shelf that hung to the wall.
“Indeed, we need to come up with another plan,” the black lead demon spoke. “We still need to find out where Mauldrin is or if he is still alive.”
“I say we start tearing this town apart,” one of the other black demons spoke.
“We can’t do that. We need to be as discreet as possible, or we could lose our option to go home,” the lead demon explained.
The strange feeling Bridget had been feeling since they arrived had only worsened. Even though she didn’t want to face it, there was a strong disconnect, or void, that she was feeling from Caden. It had grown since they arrived on the new planet. With circumstances as they were, she felt it best to speak up.
“My friends.” Their discussion stopped as they turned to her. “Since we’ve arrived, I’ve felt nothing. There’s been a strong void. I don’t feel Caden’s, err, Mauldrin’s presence at all.”
The blue demon cut in, “What you mean, a void?” His tone seemed angry.
“If
Caden, or Mauldrin as you know him, was here…” She closed her eyes to hold back the tears, having the thoughts and actually speaking them were two different things. After a deep breath she continued, “He’s either not here or he’s dead, is what I think it means. I think we should go back,” she sped her words up trying to get them out. Her eyes filled with tears, which she quickly wiped away.
Uncomfortably, the demons looked away and back to the lead demon. The lead demon stepped past the others and wrapped a wing around Bridget. She was shocked by the gesture and felt comfort from his action. “We know our mission. We knew if Mauldrin wasn’t alive, we were still to get the sword, and that is what we’ll do. I think it’s best we move closer to the castle. There’s bound to be guards there with some answers.”
“Azgiel didn’t want us to get near the castle, that’s why we killed the other guards, do you remember? We’re to do everything we can not to let them know we came from the gate,” the blue demon growled.
“Yes, right.” The demon looked at Bridget, then back to the other demons. “Then we do the opposite, we move farther from the castle until we run into guards.”
A woman’s scream rang out from behind as he spoke. It echoed down the alley as the woman kept screaming. The wing that wrapped around Bridget pulled back. Everyone looked out the door but could see nothing.
“What was that?” one of the demons asked from behind Bridget. She stood in the forefront, staring out the door.
“Did someone see us?” another one asked.
The lead demon grabbed Bridget’s shoulder and pulled her back. He stepped out of the door with the other demons following him. The screaming was hysterical. From windows above, lights started flicking on, illuminating the darkened alley.
“I think someone found the dead body,” the dark brown demon spoke. “If we’re going to find guards farther away from the castle, I think now would be a good time to get moving.” His voice sounded almost excited by the chaos that was building around them. Yelling started, and the screaming grew muffled. Bridget could feel her heart pounding.
