Chapter 2
Hay prickled the back of Jaylen's legs and arms, poking him into consciousness. His clothes had long since dried from his jump into the water and he was warmed by a thick wool blanket wrapped around him. He felt calm as he breathed in the deep warm smell of leather. The soft golden mage-glow danced on his eyelids as he opened his eyes and looked around at his surroundings. Bales of hay were stacked up in the corners against the dark wooden walls where bridles, saddles, and other equestrian equipment were hanging from nails or perched on shelves. A stable? Jaylen sat up and started to panic. Where was his sword?
A woman's voice drew his attention to the nearby stall. "Good to see you're awake."
Jaylen shakily stood and went to look over the divider. "Kato? Where is Kato?"
"You will be reunited with her soon."
He spotted the woman's back on the other side of the horse. "Oh, I didn't see you over there."
"You're welcome for the ride, by the way. You would have been slaughtered by Stephan and Nimiel if I had left you there."
"The ride? I don't . . ." Jaylen gasped as he watched the horse stand up. It wasn't a horse after all. It was part horse, part human. And it was beautiful. The woman's long blue hair hung down over her tight-fitting leather corset with the rivets and red lacing. Her tanned skin complimented the black coat of her horse half that was speckled with white spots. All four legs were white to the knee and her tail was braided with red ribbons. She was rough-looking, with black eye shadow and dark red lipstick, but something about her harshness drew Jaylen to her even more. He had to remember to breathe. His hand was shaking as he pushed his blond bangs out of his bright blue eyes. "Oh, Sola . . . if I wasn't courting someone already . . ."
The centaur snickered. "You're staring, boy."
"Sorry. Forgive me. I was just . . . admiring you." Stupid. That sounded so stupid. It was much better in his head. He had to find something else to keep this awkward conversation moving. "So, uh, where are you from?"
"The Rift."
"The Rift?" Jaylen asked.
"Yes. The rifts you see that let in demons and other beings are actually doors to The Rift. Think of it as the place that Sola locked away all of her unwanted failed experiments. It's where most of the really bad demons, the gryphons, sphinxes, mermaids, dragons, and centaurs live."
"But dragons are in the human world."
The centaur shrugged her shoulders. "They're not supposed to be, but some of them were called here or forcefully dragged here."
"Is that what happened to you?"
"Yes. There is a group of warlocks working with some red paladins who are enslaving the creatures from The Rift. Your pal Jeremiah helped me out."
"What's your name?" Jaylen asked.
"Naomi. Naomi Light-Racer."
"Light-Racer?"
"I'm light on my hooves and I run really fast. If it wasn't for all those fallen trees in the forest back there, I would have caught you before you jumped into the river. Then I wouldn't have had to drag your unconscious body out like some kind of waterlogged fish with hair."
Jaylen extended his hand to her. "Thank you, by the way. I appreciate the rescue."
"Yeah, you're welcome . . . I guess. I didn't do it for you, okay? I did it because Jeremiah asked me to. I owed him a favor. Enough about me. You need to get off of this continent and go wherever Jeremiah wants you. He wants the best for you."
The front door to the stables opened as Trevor entered with his silver war hammer on his back. Once he spotted Naomi, he leaned against the wall and smoothed his brown beard. "Well, well, well. Look what we have here."
Naomi turned her back to him and began stuffing random supplies into a backpack. "Gross."
Trevor cocked an eyebrow as he watched her. "Hey, baby. You ever done anything with a human man?"
"Don't you have an angel whore to get back to?" Naomi asked.
"Don't call Brinx a whore!" Trevor shouted.
"Then don't treat her like one. It cheapens your relationship when you flirt with other women."
Trevor strutted up to Naomi like a peacock. "So, there's no chance that I can ride you all night long?"
"Oh, if I had a silver for every time I've heard that joke."
"I'm just playing around, baby." He slowly stroked her back leg.
"Call me baby one more time, and I will trample you into dust. Okay, baby?"
Trevor held up his hands as he left the stable.
Jaylen laughed and he watched the beautiful centaur as she braided her long blue hair. "You're beautiful."
"I'm not interested, Jaylen Corrifus."
"Oh, no. I wasn't trying anything like that. Women deserve to be told how attractive they are."
"Do you say things like that to your betrothed as well?" Naomi asked.
"Betrothed? Oh, no. I'm chaste. I will never get married."
"Sure, sure. Denial doesn't suit you well."
"Hold on a second. How did you know about Kato?" Jaylen asked. "Or about Trevor and Brinx?"
"I read minds."
"Seriously?"
Naomi came over to the short wooden divider and rested her head on her hand. "Yes, well, sometimes. More like I'm psychic."
"A centaur psychic?"
"Is there a problem with that?"
Jaylen was so close to her that he could feel her sweet warm breath on his skin. "No . . . I guess not."
"Don't worry, Jaylen. I'm not working for Carvael or for Eternal Eclipse. If anything, I want to destroy them just as much as you do. Though, I am a bit concerned about the way you treat your horse."
"My horse?" Jaylen asked.
"Pegasa? The white one with the wings that you forgot about and left in Ilyan?"
"Oh. Things got really complicated. Is she okay?"
Naomi sighed. "She's fine. She was able to return to The Rift to be with her foals."
"She has foals?"
"Yes. She is a mother of two. Her mate is a unicorn."
Unicorns? "Those exist?"
"You're talking to a centaur, your best friend is an angel, you were eaten by an archdemon, and you ask me if unicorns are real? Yes. They are real. And yes, they only like being around virgin humans."
"I've never seen one."
"Because they're in The Rift. You really are dense, aren't you? How did you ever make it through the Clerical Academy?" Naomi asked mockingly.
"Hey, that's not very nice. If they're all in the rift, then how do you know they like virgins?"
"Because paladins used to ride them." Naomi waited for a reaction that she immediately got. "Oh, I see the confusion on your face. You don't know about that because it was removed from the scriptures. Of course it was. Carvael writes what he wants and has been doing so since before he was an archangel."
"What?" Jaylen asked.
"Your confusion continues. It's kind of cute. But back to the story, the human who was Carver was specifically created by Sola to be the one to unite all of Aldexa. He was given powers beyond most humans so he would be able to intermediate between the humans and the werewolves. But we all know that he instead became corrupted by the darkness. During that time, Carver decided to alter the scriptures so he would be worshipped instead of Sola. He joined forces with the Ka'taylins in order to forge a cage that would hold Sola herself. Once Carver and the Ka'taylins managed to weaken Sola and put her in the cage, Carver was free to do what he wanted. After a few years of manipulating the angels and demons into believing what he wanted them to believe, Carver died in a very strange surge of energy. One half of his soul became Carvael the angel and one half became Gavin the demon."
"I knew that last part already."
"Oh, yes." Naomi said. "You and the incubus were quite close. You have my condolences."
"Condolences? For what?"
"Gavin's death, of course. But I am judging from your reaction that you didn't know about that."
"I thought you read minds." Wait. Was she serious? "Hold on. Gavin's dead?"
Jaylen was too distracted by her beauty. "Do you wear reins?"
"Do you wear a chastity belt?"
Jaylen's face turned many shades of pink as he stumbled over his thoughts to form words. "W-what?"
"Awe, it's okay." Naomi teased him. "You can tell me."
This was far too uncomfortable. "No. No, I don't. Where did that question even come from?"
"It was a joke. You paladin types are all the same. So uptight. Maybe if you were with a woman or a man sometime, you would be less angry. Besides, my question wasn't completely unfounded. Paladins used to wear them."
Jaylen blushed again as he turned away from her. "Enough of that! Let's change the subject, please."
"Okay. You're so cute when you're blushing. No wonder Kato makes you wear that collar to show everyone that you're all hers."
He started to protest, but then he smiled. "I . . . yeah, that's kind of true."
"It makes you smile to think about it, doesn't it?"
Jaylen touched the silver tag on the collar that had Kato's name engraved on it. "Yeah. I like being Kato's."
"But you aren't Sola's anymore, are you? No. I sense something much darker in you. You've abandoned your faith, haven't you? Show me your sun sigil, paladin."
"I'm not a paladin, not anymore anyway."
Naomi tugged on the hem of Jaylen's tunic. "Show me your mark."
"I'd rather not, actually." Jaylen yelped as the centaur woman grabbed him forcefully and ripped the laces from his tunic. "No!"
Naomi pulled his shirt open and nodded. "I see. An apostate mark . . . but it's darker than normal. You're Finalis. You're the Angel of Darkness!"
"Shh. Be quiet. Don't say that out loud. If someone hears you, they will come after me."
"Don't worry so much. All of your friends are here and they are being taken care of while Jeremiah and Trevor work out their differences."
"Their differences?" Jaylen asked.
"Trevor is mad that the seraph adopted his son. They've been bickering all morning, but neither one of them wanted to leave. Both of them keep saying that they're here for you and nothing will make them leave your side again. What is it like to be so charismatic that even enemies decide to put up with each other just so they can be with you?"
"I guess I've never thought about it that way. Though, that reminds me. What happened in the battle back there in town? Did everyone get away okay?"
Naomi waved her hand dismissively. "They're fine. Even though Nimiel has some unique mind control abilities and skill with those swords of his, Jeremiah is much stronger. Jeremiah fights only with his magic because that's all he needs. Jeremiah is the oldest of the three seraphs, so he has had the longest to get used to having his abilities. Nimiel and Stephan retreated back into Carvael's underground palace to get away from certain death at Jeremiah's hands."
"Do you know if anyone is actively hunting me?"
"I don't know. But I do know that Captain Kato is eagerly awaiting your return to the ship. I told her to let you wake up in here on your own. Now you're awake and you seem to be lucid enough." Naomi tossed him the backpack she had been packing. "Take this. Next time you decide to jump into an icy river, make sure you at least have this bag of supplies. It could save your life when I'm not around. I was able to get that amulet of yours too. Your sword is in the corner. I took the liberty of cleaning it for you and waxing the leather on the hilt. If you apply some oil to the blade, it will help to guard it against rusting."
"Thank you." Jaylen slid the backpack on his back then picked up his sword. "Actually, why don't you come with us? We can use someone like you on the ship."
"And where exactly would someone with hooves fit in on the water?"
"We have room below deck. I'm sure Kato won't mind."
Naomi sighed and stepped out from the stall. "Fine. Get on."
Jaylen got far too excited about that. "Really? I get to ride you?"
"Yeah, yeah. Don't make a habit of it."
Chapter 3
"Kato!" Jaylen ran across the deck of the frigate then threw his arms around the captain with the red bandana around her curly black hair. He buried his face into her shoulder and breathed deeply of her honey and rum scent. "I'm so glad to see you're all right. I was so scared."
She returned the embrace. "I could say the same about you, you know? You really need to stop jumping off of cliffs. It's hazardous to your health."
Jaylen laughed then kissed her lips gently. "You're right. Come on, Kato. We should get going."
"Where to, First Mate?"
"We need to speak with Jeremiah to see if there is a way to get into The Veil and stop Liaxa's trial. There should be a rift nearby that we can pass through, right? Time is running out. Even though Liaxa betrayed us, I still can't let her die."
"Good luck. Jeremiah has been holed up below deck brooding while Trevor and Brinx have Cael for the day."
"So they're sharing the baby?" Jaylen asked.
"More or less. More like Trevor threatened to take away Jeremiah's allergy pills and less about brotherly love and compromise. You know how much he needs those allergy pills around humans."
"It's kind of funny."
She scoffed. "Not when you're the one who has to listen to it. If you want to go save your succubus ex-girlfriend, then you need to be the one to go console your seraph friend. I have to get our supplies loaded up and get the crew back from the tavern. You have an hour."
"Yes, ma'am. Oh, and Kato?"
"What?"
"I need some hay."
Kato raised an eyebrow curiously. "Hay?"
"I made a friend with a centaur who is coming with us. Her name is Naomi."
"Her name? I should have known. Jaylen the flirt." Kato kissed his cheek then pushed him towards the steps. "Go on, now. I'll take care of it."
Jaylen shook his head and laughed as he went down the steps into the hull of the ship. His smile immediately faded when he heard someone grumbling in the corner. The tall blond man with the diamonds in his ears, a long grey jacket, and deep purple tunic was sitting on the floor with his knees drawn up to his chest as he brooded. Jaylen rolled his eyes as he went up to the seraph. "Jeremiah?"
"Go away."
"Please talk to me."
He looked up with sadness reflected in his bright hazel eyes. "Trevor took Cael from me."
"Cael is Trevor's son."
"Not anymore. I adopted him."
"Without Trevor's permission. I understand that you want to help Cael be a good angel, but you have to let him have a relationship with his blood father. Despite his dabbling in dark magic, Trevor is a good man who I trust completely. You two need to work out your differences if you're going to stay on the ship. I need you here with us, Jeremiah. And face it, you don't really have another place to go."
"I can always go back to Purgatory." Jeremiah held onto his ruby necklace and absentmindedly stroked it with his fingers as he spoke.
"Do you want to go back to Purgatory?"
"No." Jeremiah sneezed in his handkerchief then dug out his bottle of allergy pills. "Uh, but it would be easier on me. Fine. I'll talk to Trevor."
"Thank you. Now, I need your help to find a rift so we can pass through into The Veil."
"You're going after Liaxa?"
"I owe her at least that."
"After she betrayed all of your friends?" Jeremiah swallowed a few of the pills.
"Yes."
"Oh, I think I am beginning to understand the ways humans view relationships. Was she the first one to be physically romantic with you? Do you feel attachment to her because of that?"
For the third time today, Jaylen felt his cheeks warming as he blushed.
"I see from your embarrassment that I was correct in my assumption. See, Jaylen? I'm learning."
He was desperate to change the subject. "Why did you come back to save me from Nimie
l? I thought you were sworn to destroy any apostates like me?"
"Because I found another book of scriptures."
"Another copy?" Jaylen asked.
"A different copy." Jeremiah stood up and straightened his canvas jacket. "That copy stated that Finalis, the Angel of Darkness, is actually inside of you. He's not actually you. There's still a chance that you can be saved if we figure out a way to get Finalis out of you."
"Then explain the wings."
"What wings?"
Jaylen searched through his backpack until he found the blue topaz amulet and slipped it over his head. Concentrating on the magic flowing through his veins, he unleashed it. Bright glowing ethereal wings spread from his shoulder blades. "These wings. I've had them since before I even got this amulet from Carvael. These wings first appeared when I was being tortured during the soul purge exorcism back in Ilyan. Just when I was about to die, they appeared and I flew off to safety."
"So it's true."
Jaylen let the wings vanish then removed the amulet, watching his left hand disappear as well. "What's true?"
"Maybe you have always been Finalis. Maybe you were born with Finalis inside of you, but not as a separate being. Perhaps part of your soul has always been Finalis. Do you have a genealogy book? Personal records of your bloodline?"
"Um, I'm sure there were records of the royal family, but I don't know who has them now that Vilyron has fallen. As for my mother's side of the family, I have no idea. I don't even know who her parents were."
"I will do some research in Purgatory with some of the lost souls who are still awaiting judgment." Jeremiah said. "They may have some insight. I do know that at least one of your cousins was still fighting against accepting his fate and until he stops fighting it, we can't send him to Heaven or Hell."
"That sounds like my cousins. They were very stubborn."
Jeremiah sneezed again. "Tarael has been trying different techniques, techniques that I do not approve of. But he is convinced that it will work. I do want to be back with the souls, doing my job as I've always done. No one else can help them, comfort them, as I do. They need me. However, you need me more right now. I do know of a rift near here that some of us can pass through. Bear in mind that mortal humans will not be able to pass through without leaving their bodies behind. That will put them in danger."
Angel of Darkness Books 6-10 Page 14
