Angel of Darkness Books 6-10

by Mackenzie Morris

  "Yes . . . I miss those days." Zeriel spoke softly as he remembered what they used to have. "We had been so close. You were my best friend. Then after I had my awakening, you changed. You isolated me, treated me like a slave, beat me down, and ignored me. I never knew what I did to deserve that from you. Will you tell me now? I've been waiting for a hundred years for an answer to that."

  Carvael set his fork down then wiped his mouth on a napkin. His joy faded from his face, the lines around his eyes becoming even more pronounced. "I did what I was told to do by my superiors."

  "You were archangel at the time. Your only superior was Sola."

  "And my father. I did what Oviel told me to do. He took me in front of the Angelic Court where they accused me of loving you too much. They said that I had to be harder on you or they would strip me of my title and banish you to The Veil. I didn't understand why, but the word of the court was law. Sola was already in her cage at that point, of course, so she could not intervene. It was then that I had realized that maybe I had made a mistake. I couldn't open Sola's cage. Only the three seraphs could. I made my bed and I had to lie in it. I had no choice other than to obey Oviel's orders or come clean to them all that I had been the one to lock Sola away. They all believed that things were normal in Heaven. If word got out that I had done what I did, then everything would have fallen apart. It wasn't even Sola's complete soul in that cage."

  "Wait. What?" Zeriel asked.

  "After Xair Korvin killed Sola in Ka'tayl, only part of her soul arrived in Heaven. I then locked her and every female angel into that cage where they remain now. Aside from Brinx. I released her from the cage many years ago after she gave birth to Nimiel."

  "Are you saying that when Gavin was mating with Sola, he was actually mating with the imprisoned female angels in that cage with Sola?" Jaylen asked, his confusion growing.

  "Indeed."

  Zeriel picked at the crust on his cucumber sandwich. "And where is the rest of Sola's soul?"

  "I have no idea. It was gone as soon as soon as she exited Purgatory."

  Jaylen and Zeriel glanced at each other.

  Carvael cleared his throat. "Anyway, I never wanted to hurt you, Zeriel."

  Zeriel took a drink. "Back to the cage. How did you get Brinx out of the cage, but you couldn't release Sola without the seraph keys?"

  "The cage is divided into two sections. One is filled with female angels and is secured by common locks from the outside that only I hold the keys for. The other half is where Sola is. Only the seraphs, using all three keys, can open it."

  "So Oviel is the one who made you treat me like that?" Zeriel asked. "But Oviel was always so kind to me."

  "That's what he wants you to believe. Why do you think no one actually remembers what Sola looks like? Or why even Gavin, who mated with her countless times, has zero recollection of the actual event? Or much at all about the actual scriptures and ancient Heaven? I think it's obvious, don't you? Oviel can alter memories. Nimiel isn't the only one who can manipulate dreams and the subconscious. Over the years, I have been able to use warlocks to help me open my mind and remove the blocks that Oviel put in place. That's how I got my memories back, the true memories. Oh, and you should have believed Jeremiah when he accused Oviel of harming Liam."

  Jaylen finished his sandwich. "But the emeralds in Liam's eyes recorded everything."

  "They recorded what Oviel wanted them to show. I only learned about that in the past couple of days. I fear that others among my high-ranking officials are working against me. There have been minutes, even entire hours of time that I don't remember. Then I will wake up as if I had been in a dream to see the consequences of what I had done. But the thing is, I never wanted to do those things. Like the magic draining I put you through, Jaylen. I don't know where that came from. I fear that Tarael, Sulstair, and Stephan do not have my best interests in mind, but every time I try to investigate them, periods of time go missing from my mind."

  A tortured scream echoed in the hallway outside the dining room. The servants dropped what they were doing to run through the double doors and investigate. They returned a moment later, dragging a limp and bruised demon with matted red hair into the dining room.

  "Gavin?" Carvael jumped out of his high-backed chair then ran to the unconscious incubus. "Gavin, wake up. Are you okay?"

  Gavin groaned as he opened his orange eyes and smiled. "Carvael . . . it's gone."

  "What's gone?"

  "Xair's soul. It's not inside me anymore. I'm myself again. I . . . I'm sorry your plan didn't work out."

  "What plan?" Carvael asked, brushing the incubus's bangs out of his mask-covered face.

  "You . . . you wanted me to be a weapon."

  "No, I didn't. You were sick, so I had Sulstair, Axaniel, and Stephan take care of you."

  Gavin shook his head weakly. "No. They experimented on me, tortured me. I lost my mind from having Xair's soul shoved inside me. I was dying and you ordered it."

  "I would never do something like that to you. We are two halves of the same soul, Gavin. You're my friend."

  "No. You ordered this."

  Carvael turned to Zeriel and Jaylen. "Someone help me with this. Get the guards to take Gavin to a bedroom to recover. I need healers stationed in his room and I need to speak with my officials. This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about. I do not remember giving any such order. Something very wrong is going on here and I must figure out what it is."

  "Hold on a minute. If Xair's soul was inside Gavin, but now it's not, where is did it go?" Jaylen asked.

  "I don't know."

  * * *

  Legs drawn up to his chest and his arms curled around his back, the man's eyes opened. Darkness. Emptiness. But so crowded. He couldn't move. All around his body, he felt a squishy sack then smooth spherical hardness on the other side. He looked up to the top of the enclosed space to see a light passing overhead, the luminescence shining down through the hard exterior and into the vein-covered membrane where tiny bubbles slowly rose to the top of the space. His body was warm, suspended in the compact space, and he was content. Like being lulled into a deep sleep, the silky membrane caressed his flesh and exuded a soothing constant heat.

  The man's body was relaxed, his muscles massaged by the slowly shifting sack that clung to his skin. Everything was perfect. From the other side of the curved walls, the soft sounds of flowing water calmed him along with the far-distant roaring of what sounded like thunder. He had always slept well during thunderstorms. How long had he been there? He had no idea, but there was no reason to want to leave. His stomach was full, his mind was clear, and his body was painless.

  Then it all changed. His eyes grew wide as a desperate feeling rose in his chest. His lungs burned, crying out for him to take a breath. He tried, but only thick viscous liquid met his throat. The man choked and panicked. He started thrashing around, kicking as far and as hard as he could against the membrane that enclosed on him. The hard sphere felt impenetrable. But he continued kicking until he broke through the sack. Scratching and clawing at the slimy insides, he finally touched the smooth curvature of the outer wall. With all his strength, he thrust his arms and legs out. With a loud cracking sound, the wall shook and a long hairline crack spread from the top to the bottom. Desperation rose in his chest as he reached out to pry apart the opening crack. Finally, the liquid started to leak through the crack.

  The man pushed back against the bottom of the hard walls to reach the area of air at the top. Breathing in, he felt the much-needed oxygen fill his lungs and the darkness faded from his mind. The gooey liquid continued to leak out of the area, leaving a hollow space behind. The man sank down to hold his knees against his chest again, this time exhausted, wet, and cold from the air coming into what was once his paradise. With a trembling hand, he reached behind him to feel something slick and velvety attached to his back. The muscles there ached a bit as he moved them. Wings?

  The temperature continued to plummet as the mi
nutes dragged by. The man's eyes burned in the absence of the liquid, but he was grateful to be breathing. His midnight black skin was covered in goosebumps and his white hair was slicked with the thick liquid. Little by little, thoughts and memories began to flood back into his mind, but he could not understand any of them. They were blurry, confusing, and as if he was watching someone else's life. The man found nothing he cared about, none of the faces were recognizable, and nothing truly mattered.

  Once the man had gathered enough energy, he set about kicking and punching the hard slick walls surrounding him. Slowly, the crack branched out and spread like a spiderweb, letting more and more light into the tiny space. With one final kick, the walls split apart, sending the man out into the open cavern. He stayed there on his back, observing the foreign world around him. Lakes of lava filled the cavern with orange and yellow light that glittered on the smooth surface of strange spherical objects of various colors. The man sat up to look around him. The place he had just escaped from was in pieces, jagged shards of smooth purple scattered around a clump of straw and leaves. A nest? Then that would mean that he was just in an egg. All the spheres were eggs. This place was some sort of underground hatchery.

  From high up in the seemingly endless cavern, the thunder boomed again. But this time, the man could tell it was not thunder as he had first thought. It was a soothing sound, one that called to him with nurturing protection. He found himself on his knees with his leathery purple wings stretched out and reaching towards the sound. A graceful dragon with glistening white scales and purple spines down its back flew down to land in front of the man. The dragon reached out with its large claws to push the man's white bangs out of his eyes then snorted. It opened its mouth to deposit a clump of white fluffy mana on the cavern floor.

  The man smiled as he crawled on his hands and knees towards the dragon, then sat there underneath its powerful wings and munched on the sweet puffs of mana. He felt nothing but a maternal love from the giant dragon, so he leaned against its legs as he relished in the feeling of his energy returning and complete satisfaction. This is where he belonged.

  Chapter 9

  Jaycob licked the tip of the paintbrush before dipping it back into the pot of white paint. He wiped the dust off of the brown golem's back then placed the brush against the smooth clay. With four smooth strokes, he painted the Ka'taylin rune onto the golem. The wet paint glistened in the candlelight that flickered on the table next to the open book of Ka'taylin runes and various translations. One more rune and it should have been finished.

  Dusty walked up to the other golem and kicked it roughly.

  Jaycob picked up the golem he was painting on and wiped away the smeared paint. "Dusty, what was that for? Now I have to redo all this work."

  Dusty turned his back to him.

  "Are you jealous? Really? I'm not doing this for another demon to replace you. I'm trying to help Jeremiah with some demons he has found roaming around without bodies. If I can trap them in golems, then maybe they can fight for us." Jaycob walked over to the corner of the tent where something large was covered by a white sheet. "This is the future of golems, my demonic friend." He pulled the sheet away to reveal a giant golem taller than him.

  Dusty walked over to sit on the edge of the table and examine the golem. He nodded his head.

  "Do you know what something so heavy like this could do on a battlefield with a demon inside? One swing if its arm would take out at least two men in full plate armor. It's completely solid. Think if we have an entire squad of these things, all filled with the demons that Xair released on his death. They're already probably angry beyond belief. One hundred, two hundred golems on a battlefield fighting against Eternal Eclipse? Not only does it give us an incredible force on our side, but it solves the problem of the demons without bodies. Who knows? Maybe there's a way I can modify the golems to hold more than demons. Jeremiah was talking about having lost souls wandering around after he closed Purgatory. They could be safe inside the golems."

  Dusty hung his head and patted his chest with his hand.

  "Oh, Dusty. I know there's no way of knowing how it would work, or even if it would work. All the research I've been able to accomplish had led to me successfully putting one demon soul into one golem. That's you. You're the only one it worked on and I believe it is because you willingly bonded your soul to the golem. That means that any other demons would have to give their consent. No offense, but you're a crazy bastard to even think about giving your soul to me like this. What other demon would do the same?"

  Dusty stood then picked up the other small golem. He held it to his chest then lovingly patted its back.

  Jaycob smiled as he watched them. "Dusty . . . do you want a friend? Are you lonely? I know it must be difficult being the only golem I have. You're my friend, but I suppose demons want demon friends, don't they? I will see what I can do to help on that front. Maybe you need a nice girl demon to keep you company?"

  Dusty dropped the lifeless golem back onto the table then crawled up Jaycob's puffy pink sleeve to sit on his shoulder. He patted Jaycob's cheek.

  "Okay, okay. I'll do what I can." Jaycob pulled his short pearl-covered jacket on then replaced his feathered hat over his short red hair. "For now, I have to deliver my report to my superior. That's so weird saying that, isn't it, Dusty? Never thought I would be a part of a military force, but Jeremiah is a nice enough superior. He should be awake by now. He'll want to know what we found in town."

  The rain continued to fall over the field where mud-streaked soldiers were wrestling in the vast puddles of rainwater. Leader, in his leather jacket and tall boots, shouted orders at them and gave advice on their hand to hand combat. Today, they were the only ones training this early. The angels and the infantrymen were still in their tents or preparing for cooking breakfast for the entire camp. Amari's tent was still empty, not surprisingly. It seemed that Astrin had given up on maintaining his human form. Though that did raise more questions than it answered. What of Amari and Xair's child? As much as Jaycob knew about dragons, he did not know about that.

  Sinking down into the thick mud, Jaycob pushed through the tent flap into the large artifact-filled tent. "Jeremiah, I have your report from the city. It's . . . um, not what we thought we would find there."

  "Yes? Go ahead and tell me."

  "Xair Korvin's body is missing."

  "It was burned, remember?" Jeremiah asked.

  "No. The rain kept them from lighting a pyre. The body had been moved into the dungeon where it was embalmed and prepared for storage until the storms stopped. When the guards went to retrieve it, it had vanished."

  Jeremiah groaned. "Let me guess. The head is gone as well?"

  "Aye."

  "I see. You are dismissed. Please tell Seraph Nimiel to come speak with me as soon as possible."

  Jaycob turned to leave, but then stopped. "Actually, I was wondering if you could direct me to the unleashed demons that had no bodies."

  Jeremiah slid a wooden drawer open and extracted a handful of demon claws. "Take these to Trevor and tell him to summon them. He's a warlock. He knows how to do it. If he refuses, tell him I'm going to cut Cael's hair. That will get him to help you."

  "Uh, cutting Cael's hair?"

  "Yes. I think the little ishim would be adorable with short hair like mine. Maybe spike it. But no. Trevor wants him to have long curly hair. It's a bit of a contentious point between us. If he helps you, I guess I can allow my son to have long hair, for a while at least."

  Jaycob took the purple, white, and black demon claws in his hand. "How will he know to summon the correct ones?"

  "Those are the claws from the exact demons you need."

  "But Xair destroyed their bodies."

  Jeremiah turned back to his map. "Yes, he did."

  "I-I don't understand. How did you get these from the bodies that were destroyed long ago?"

  "Do you think I got as powerful as I have without learning everything I can from everyone I c
an? I am not above speaking with demons to get the job done. Even demons have families, friends, and enemies. With enough money, threats, and well-timed compliments, anything is possible. You know all about bribery, coercion, and dealing with demons, don't you, Jaycob?"

  Jaycob glanced to his shoulder where Dusty was nodding his head. "Aye, I sure do. Thank you, Jeremiah. Oh, any word on Jaylen?"

  "I will be addressing the troops and everyone in the camp in a few minutes. You will find out when everyone else does."

  "Is he alive? I never knew him, but he's only a kid."

  "I will tell you one thing. It will be better if he was dead."

  * * *

  Jaylen sat in the darkness of his expensively-decorated room in Carvael's mansion as the night dragged by slowly. A cold sweat broke out over his bare skin. He was trembling beneath the pale glow from his white translucent wings and magic hand. He had not summoned the magic. Tonight, it had a mind of its own. The tingling power flowed through his veins, making it impossible to sleep. Even worse than that was the fact that Zeriel was busy speaking with Carvael instead of coming to bed with him. One night away from his angel was enough to give him nightmares. This second night was torture. It wasn't only the magic that was running rampant and keeping from sleep. The voice constantly spoke to him, poking at his subconscious relentlessly.

  "Jaylen, you can't ignore me forever, you know? This is no way to treat us. If you ignore me, you ignore yourself. You're coming to terms with that realization, aren't you? Aren't you proud of what I've been able to accomplish? Every minute we spend here with Eternal Eclipse, the closer the world gets to war. Then the true cleansing can begin. Isn't this exciting?"

  "What the hell is wrong with you, Finalis?" Jaylen asked in his mind, rubbing his weary eyes.

  "Me?" Finalis asked. "What is wrong with you?"

  "Don't talk to me that way. This was my mind first, long before you even came into the picture."

  "But you're wrong. I've always been in the picture."