by Anni Antoni
“These are terrible crimes,” one of them whispered. The others nodded in agreement.
I hung my head in shame and misery.
“Weren’t you instructed never to harm a human?” one of the Council members asked, his voice heavy with accusation.
I nodded. “Yes, those were my instructions. It was emphasized. In my rage, I completely forgot those instructions. I killed humans -- the humans responsible for the deaths of those I cared for.
“Not only that. Many humans will die because of my actions. I have endangered innocent humans because of my rage and lust for revenge.”
I stood with my head bowed and hands behind my back. Surely that was enough to warrant elimination. The grief, the residual rage, the pain of separation from my mate and my human family, ate into me anew with each telling of the story. Simple breathing became difficult. Each breath seared my lungs.
“Have you finished?” asked one of the Council members.
“Yes, I’ve finished. Those are the sins I wish judgement for. I seek elimination; I am not worthy of anything else.”
“Leave us.” The order was barked out. “After debating your fate, we will inform you of our decision.”
I walked out of the room and sat on the bench outside the Council chamber, glad we had this avenue to redress such wrongs as I had committed. Surely elimination would be the verdict.
I looked forward to it, an end to this constant grief, guilt, pain and rage at last. After a while the door opened and one of the Council members beckoned me in.
“Sit down Joshaviah,” he said, not unkindly, taking a seat himself. I sat, puzzled. They didn't provide a chair for me before.
“Your sins are grave,” said another. “The worst sins we have heard committed by earthbound Guardians like yourself. How you came to be on Earth, is a mystery, for it seems you are entirely unsuitable.
The whole program for allowing Guardians on Earth may have to be reassessed because of your actions.” I lifted my head at this. More guilt, I never thought my actions could impinge on other Guardians.
“The responsibility for my actions is mine alone,” I said.
“Very admirable” said a third Councilor, a human, who wore an air of authority. “I note you seek elimination. However…” he smiled, and a chill travelled up my spine.
It was a cold, vindictive smile, as if he was about to enjoy saying his next words. “I am Metraven, the Chief Councilor, and it is my duty to inform you that your request for elimination is denied.”
My mouth dropped open at this. I stood, but my legs would not hold me and I staggered with shock. “But… but…” I stammered, uncertain of what to say.
“Quiet!” He shouted. “Your sins are so grave you must live with their consequences. You are hereby banished to Earth without Guardian privileges, but… you will still have immortality.”
He looked me in the eye and laughed. “Plenty of time to think about your sins, Joshaviah.” He paused and drew a deep breath as I grasped the back of the chair to steady myself.
“You Chosen ones make me ill. Now see if you can enjoy being allowed to live on Earth.” Metraven shouted, his voice laced with a vindictive rage.
He paused again and seemed to gather his equilibrium. “This is our final judgement. Leave us, you are dismissed.” He stood, turned his back to me and walked towards the window, where the view of snow covered mountains occupied his attention.
Stunned, I wondered if I’d heard right. Would my pain never end? How could I face even one more day?
The grief and guilt for the deaths of those I loved, the guilt for endangering innocent humans, the uncontrollable rage that came and went boiled within me, emotions warring with each other. Gasping in shock, I stumbled out of the Council room.
The two beings who brought me there were waiting. “We’re here to take you back,” one said. Taking one arm each, they flashed me back to the field where I had spoken with Marron not long before, and left me alone, in shock and disoriented.
In desperation, I called Marron's name. He was there in an instant.
“Joshaviah,” he said, puzzled. “I didn't expect to see you back here, but I’m glad…”
“My sentence was passed and finalized,” I interrupted. “My Guardian privileges are revoked and I must live on Earth as an immortal, forever remembering the sins I committed against humans, never again being a Guardian.”
I stopped speaking. Perhaps they were right. Perhaps my sins were so great my punishment was just. I turned my eyes up to Marron. He'd gone white.
He reached out and put a hand on my shoulder. “I'm so sorry.” His voice grew heated. “The Council is to blame for this -- I will try to remedy this injustice if I can. You were placed here unprepared for your role, untrained in an awful, savage environment. What did they expect?”
His jaw clenched and I noticed he had clenched his fists. I took some small comfort knowing he felt for my predicament.
“Why not make a home with us?” He squeezed my shoulder. “We are a small community of Guardians and where we live is pleasant and civilized. You would be welcome.”
I backed away from him in horror. “No! I would be out of place. I am no longer a Guardian.” I almost screamed the words at him, then bowed my head and whispered. “I’m sorry. I know you’re trying to help me, but the thought of watching others like me perform as Guardians…” Words failed me as my shoulders slumped and despair weighed me down.
He shook his head. “Come, let's talk. Sit over here.” I sat by Marron on the grass, listless, without hope. A heavy silence lay between us.
“I understand why you won’t come with me, but hear me out,” he began after a while. “I have a suggestion that may help.” He chewed on his bottom lip, as though debating what to say next. “There is a way forward for you -- a way you could redeem yourself. Our ancestors gained favor with the Council by doing battle with demons, and banishing them to the Underworld. If you were to take up residence near the Underworld you could go in and vent your rage on demons.
“The Council would view every demon death as positive. You may not regain their favor entirely, but you would perform a service for humanity and perhaps feel more positive about yourself. Demons will try to harm, trick and enslave humans whenever they can, and they serve no useful purpose. What do you say?”
A ray of hope had been handed to me in an otherwise dark future. I could serve humanity by following my ancestor’s example killing demons -- live in their land and kill. Perhaps I could, in some way, make amends for the wrongs I had committed.
Rage still simmered in my breast. This action would make use of it. If I allowed my rage to surface for long enough, it may eventually numb the gnawing pain of my grief.
“I'll do it. How do I get there?” I said. “All I have here is eternal grief and guilt. Who knows, in the Underworld I may be killed by demons.” A cynical laugh escaped my lips. “That would solve everything.” Meanwhile it would be a blessed relief to wage mindless war against demons. At least I’d be taking action.
Chapter 29.
Getting to the Underworld
Can this be true? The Underworld, a place full of demons intent on harming humans, is just through those bushes?” I scratched my head, unable to come to terms with the ease of access to such a dangerous realm.
“Yes, but it's more secure than it looks.” Marron seemed certain, but I wasn’t so sure.
“Why don’t demons come into Earth? There’s nothing here to stop them.”
He shook his head. “Demons can't come through. They die within a few moments if they try. Something in the air affects them within seconds. But Guardians and mankind can roam freely in their world if we know where to enter. It's safe in there for humans, if they don’t encounter any demons, that is.”
I still found it difficult to accept.
“Don’t humans wander in?”
Once again, he shook his head. “Rarely, even those who live close to such an entrance. They can live here t
heir whole lives and not discover the entrance to the Underworld. However, if they do, they usually don’t come back.” His face grew grim.
Marron and I were standing at one of the entrances to the Demon world. He had flashed us there, and I was preparing to enter.
“So, I can walk through that hedge and I'll be in the Underworld. Is that right?” I couldn't believe it was so close.
“Yes, let me show you. I'll come with you for part of the way,” Marron said. “Make your home close to this entrance and enter when your rage builds.” He gestured with a broad sweep of his arms, then paused.
His face took on a pained expression, and he dropped his eyes. “After a while you might feel able to join me in my community. I hope so.” He placed a hand on my shoulder.
“I doubt it,” I said, not willing to worry him with my real plan. Life on Earth seemed impossible now. I would take my chances in the Underworld, doing battle with as many demons as possible. If they overpowered me and killed me, which was likely, that would be the best way out.
I held out my hand to him and forced a smile.
“Thank you for the swords and the daggers,” I said. It will help me with what I plan to do in there.”
“It's the least I can do, my friend.” he said, taking my hand and shaking it. A note of desperation tinged his voice. “Won’t you reconsider? We would care for you until you’re feeling better. There would be a home for you there, among beings of your own kind.” Tears welled in his eyes.
“Thank you, but no. This is my path now.” I turned towards the entrance to the demon world. “At least I can benefit humanity here, if I can't be a Guardian.”
Marron sighed. “So be it,” he said. “Remember, when you go in there, stay on the outskirts. The further in you go the more heavily populated it is with demons. On the outskirts, there are even some humans, servants of the Demon King and Lords.”
I turned to go, seeing no sense in wasting time standing and chatting.
“Wait.” Marron placed a restraining hand on my arm. “Keep in touch, please. Let me know what happens to you. Perhaps I can help change Council attitudes. The way you were left here, alone, untrained and unprepared is criminal. I don’t want to see anyone else go through what you’ve had to endure.”
I shrugged. “No matter, this is my choice now. I must atone for what I have done. The path to atonement is clear to me.”
I turned to go once more. “Goodbye Marron, thank you for your support.” Again, I forced a smile. Then, without a backward glance, strode through a narrow gap in the hedge into the Underworld.”
“Take care Joshaviah.” Marron’s voice floated on the air behind me.
The first thing I noticed was the change in smell. Air on Earth held a sweetness. Grass, trees, flowers and abundant vegetation suffused the landscape with a lush, vibrancy, full of life.
Here the air was pungent, as though any life force had a vicious struggle to assert itself. The smell clawed at the back of my throat and coated the inside of my mouth with an acrid oiliness. I heaved, until distracted by the next thing I noticed.
There were no colors. What a surprise. Marron hadn't mentioned that. Everything was a gloomy grey.
I kept walking. The occasional bird flew past calling a sorry sound. No breeze stirred the sparse vegetation. Nothing moved. A half-dead, expectant hush hung over everything.
Up ahead I saw a tiny derelict cottage, made of rough logs. As I neared, I remembered Marron had said humans lived on the outskirts of the Underworld.
I wondered whether to knock on the door, when a sudden movement I glimpsed out the side of my eye alerted me. A man, human in appearance, darted inside the house. He must be a demon servant, I thought. Perhaps he could give me instructions on where to find demons.
Walking up to his house, I knocked on the door. A voice trembling with fear called out. “What you want? Don’t hurt me, I’m important to the King.”
“I won’t hurt you. All I want is to talk.”
He opened the door a few inches and peered out. A sorry looking specimen, his hair hung in ratty strings and his teeth were blackened stumps. A nervous tic kept his head jerking.
“I can't help you.” His voice trembled.
“I don't need help, just directions.”
“Why have you got all those swords? You look dangerous. I can't help, my master would kill me.”
Pity for this poor trembling wretch clutched at my heart, but he was not my responsibility. I had a bigger job to do. Ignoring what he said, I got straight down to business.
” Where can I find demons?”
“Just keep walking and you'll soon find them. Not here, they find it too hard to breathe. That’s why I live here. But don’t tell them I told you anything.”
“You’re so close to the border. Why don’t you leave?”
A horrified expression crossed his face, and his eyes darted left and right, “My master won’t permit it. I must wait here to serve him. He calls me in when he wants me,” he whispered, as if someone could overhear him. “Remember, this conversation never happened.” He slammed the door shut. The sound echoed thinly in the grey landscape.
I plodded on. At least I knew I was headed in the right direction. The grey, colorless landscape weighed me down and suited my grief. And I was growing accustomed to the acrid stench of the place, even though it grew stronger as I progressed. As I journeyed on, rage grew fresh within my breast.
The injustice of the deaths of my family and Rachel at the command of the inhuman Prince Evrat, burned within me. Yes, I had killed him and all who worked with him, but still my rage grew like a living entity.
The Prince was as bad as any demon, killing innocent humans. The servant I had just seen was turned into a subhuman wretch by demons. Prince Evrat could do the same to the humans in his care.
The Prince and demons became indistinguishable in my mind as I strode on, with more purpose in each step. I unsheathed my swords and slashed the air with them as I strode. Hatred for injustice and demons burned bright within me. Rage consumed me.
As I walked, I vowed to go down taking as many demons with me as I could. I would fight to the death, avenging all humans who had been unjustly harmed, fight until sweet oblivion claimed me. There was nothing left to live for.
Chapter 30. Demons at Last
On and on I strode, through the acrid greyness. Surely, I’d find demons soon.
Movement. Small darting figures, no bigger than children, materialized out of the gloom and surrounded me, shrieking and laughing. These small, easily dispatched beings couldn’t be demons.
I hesitated. How could these beings harm humans, I wondered, puzzled? More like animals, naked, with no weapons; they looked subhuman although relatively harmless.
Their numbers quickly grew until they poured around me, a ring of hundreds of shrieking, chattering creatures, keeping well out of reach of my swords. As soon as I advanced towards them, they backed away or ran off.
A shimmer hung in the air before me, and a doorway opened in a small earthen rise. Several tall, muscular, human-like beings walked towards me, heavily armed with swords, daggers and axes, grinning as though expecting an amusing diversion.
Demons – at last! What’s more, they seemed to be expecting me. Had they been informed of my coming?
I counted ten demons, eyes flashing red above their grins as they advanced.
Grinning in response, I took a defensive stance, two swords at the ready. They would not be expecting what I had to give.
A demon detached himself from the group and ran at me, axe raised, his movements slow and ponderous. Incredible -- he left his chest completely exposed.
Quickly sidestepping his clumsy blow, I ran him through with a sword. With the other sword, I beheaded him. Simple. It was over in seconds.
The small beings shrieked, jumping up and down with excitement. Several ran in and carried the demon’s body away, acting as though they had collected a valuable prize.
With s
ome satisfaction, I noticed the group of armed demons were no longer grinning. Heads together, they muttered as if planning their attack.
Without warning, they yelled and lurched towards me, each with a weapon raised. Some with two weapons raised.
In their eagerness to attack me, they stumbled over each other. Obviously, they had not planned a coordinated attack.
I whirled around brandishing my weapons. In fright, small beings nearby shrieked and ran away. I had to guard my back, or risk demons surrounding me.
A few paces away stood a rocky outcrop. That would suffice. It had to. It was the best that was available.
I turned to face the advancing demons, letting my feet carry me backwards to the outcrop as I parried their attacks.
Once again, as they attacked, they left themselves unprotected. I ran two of them through and beheaded another so easily it was ridiculous -- almost as though they impaled themselves on my swords.
I sidestepped, as two demons collided, and made short work of them. As each demon fell, the small beings ran in and carted them off, whether they were dead or not.
Still living demons shrieked in pain and fear as they were carried into the distance and I briefly wondered what was happening to them, but I had no time to dwell on their fate. I was too busy avoiding the weapons of the remaining demons.
I slashed at them, sidestepping when they returned the blows. In and out I slashed, retreated and sidestepped. Within moments, I disabled or disarmed them, plunging my sword into the heart of one and beheading another.
The last demons facing me looked uncertain -- hesitation that cost them their lives. With savage blows, I beheaded one and ran the second through the abdomen.
They dropped. The small beings ran in and carted them off shrieking, chattering and laughing maniacally.
“Is that all you have for me demons?” I shouted at the milling crowd, brandishing my swords.
Another shimmer, and out of the hillside burst an army of formidable demons. I gulped. Tall, hulking and muscular, hundreds of demons armed with axes, swords and knives, advanced on me, their eyes glinting red.
