"Why do you want into the Vilyron camp?"
"I thought it was obvious. I'm defecting."
Xair was stunned. "W-what? Why? Why would you join us after the way you attacked me?"
"For show, of course."
His eyes narrowed as he studied the elf. "I don't trust you."
"You don't have to. I don't trust you, so we're even. Let me make this clearer and easier to understand. I know there's a bit of a language barrier, and I don't speak Ka'taylin."
"Don't mock me. I speak your language just fine, thank you."
Sulstair chuckled lightly. "Fine, fine. Listen to me. I've been acting as Carvael's elven ambassador, his necromancer, his researcher, his tactical adviser, and a host of other things. I'm tired of it. I want Sola out of her cage so I can go about my own life, doing the things I was doing before Carvael got his grubby little hands on all his power."
"So you stole a seraph?"
"Yes." Sulstair watched Ulon through the bars of the cell. "This one."
So it was true? Ulon was the new seraph? Xair continued to watch his young brother's labored breathing. "Please tell me you didn't do that to him. He's starving."
"No, no. The elves in Tivareshen did it to him. They had been keeping him in a basement then removing him only to bathe him and parade him around the streets of the city like he was some kind of sideshow attraction. The only food he got was when one of the spectators would feed him out of their hands. It was disgusting. I was actually in Tivareshen when the incident happened."
"Incident?" Xair asked.
"When he was turned into a seraph. It wasn't pretty. I actually have a home in Tivareshen where I like to go during the times that Carvael doesn't need me. While I'm there, I get to visit some of my family and friends out there. Anyway, I was paying my respects at Tivare, the sacred elven tree we believe all life originated from. As I was kneeling there, I heard some commotion coming down the street. It was a group of elves with their slaves being led behind them. They like having young humans, especially Ka'taylin boys, as their slaves, so I didn't think much of it when little Ulon was being paraded around with the other slaves. It was normal. But that day, there was something different. The elves pushed all their slaves into the courtyard surrounding Tivare then took staves from their backs. I felt uneasy, knowing what they were going to do with those staves. Once the slaves were shirtless, the elves moved down the line, whipping them mercilessly as they were on their hands and knees. It was all a show, of course. The citizens gathered around to toss coins and gemstones at the slaves as payment for the entertainment."
He felt sick. "Entertainment? And the Northerners claim my people to be barbaric. We never tortured anyone strictly for entertainment."
"You aren't an elf. Back to the slaves. Most of them were conditioned to endure the beatings without making a sound, but most of them were older than six. Then I spotted the one on the end. It was Ulon. He was so tiny and shaking. Even before the elves got to him, he was crying. I was curious to see what was going to happen, so I stayed quiet. When they reached the end of the line, their staves were already bloody from the others. When they landed the first blow to Ulon's back, he fell over. They surrounded him and began unleashing blow after blow. Then Ulon cried out with an anguish that I had never heard from any creature. There was a flash of bright light and I looked away. When it died down, all the elves were gawking at Ulon who had grown glowing white wings and a matching halo. It was then that I knew he was the new seraph. He had broken out of the chains, snapped them in half. He was bawling like a baby as his wings left him and he collapsed there."
"Tell me you did something."
"Of course I did." Sulstair held up a key to a set of shackles. "I bought him. Carvael may be an impulsive imbecile, but he pays well enough. I bought Ulon then payed for him to be bathed and tended to by a healer in Tivareshen. I stayed by his side until he was bandaged enough to be moved. That's when I called Pegasa and we flew back here. Aside from my little detour up in the mountains with you, I have been doing nothing but stay by Ulon's side."
"You are my enemy, but I must thank you saving him from those elves."
"Just because I'm a necromancer and an elf, I'm not completely heartless. Isn't that right, Gavin?"
The red-haired incubus with the white mask covering half of his pale face stepped up to the bars of the cell behind them where he had been hidden in the darkness. "Hello, Xair. It is good to see you alive and well."
"What are you doing locked up in here?" Xair asked.
"He is awaiting his trial down in Hell for breaking his contract with a human girl. It is a crime punishable by death. His soul will be ripped apart and fed to the demons after he is tortured for no less than one hundred years."
Xair stared into the soft orange eyes of the incubus he had leashed at one time. Gavin had served him well without question. To think of him being tortured by his fellow demons for a century was unbearable. "Sulstair, can we have a moment alone?"
"As you wish. After all, you aren't truly a prisoner here, Xair."
After Sulstair turned around the corner of the hallway, Xair moved closer to the bars of the cell and whispered to the demon inside. "Gavin, I am still a Ka'taylin. I can still leash you. I can save you from this fate if you wish me to do so."
Gavin turned his back to him then crossed his arms on his bare chest. "No. You've already done enough for me, Ata-Lin."
"Why call me that if you deny my leash?"
"Because I still respect you. I always have. You are a good man, regardless of your past mistakes. But I must pay for mine. I should never have made that contract with the girl to get Sammy the infant back to her. It was my hubris that made me make that contract. I thought that I was untouchable because my soul is half of one shared with Carvael. I thought he couldn't touch me. But Carvael has become so hardened to everything that he is nearly immortal. I am the one thing keeping him alive. If I fight my sentence, then I will never die. If I never die, he never dies. And before you ask, no. Suicide doesn't work. Believe me, I tried. Carvael has to allow me to die."
"Oh."
Gavin shook his head and looked down at the floor of his cell. "Yeah. And the only way to do that is to piss him off enough to the point where he wants me dead more than he wants to live."
"So that's your big plan, then?"
"Do you have a better one?" Gavin asked, turning back around to face him.
"Maybe. With Ulon, all three seraphs are alive. We have our keys."
"Hold on. Where is your key? Carvael has been trying his hardest to find Ulon's to no avail."
"They're not actually on our bodies. Much like Zeriel's shotgun, we summon them when we need them."
"Ah. Okay. Carry on with your little plan."
"The cage that holds Sola was designed to hold Heavenly beings, right?" Xair asked.
Gavin grinned, showing the gaps where his fangs had been ripped out. "Clever. Did you think of that on your own?"
"Yes."
"It's perfect . . . in theory. But I'm worried about the execution of it. There are so many variables, so many things that could go wrong."
Xair smiled at him then held his bandaged hand through the bars. "That's why I need your help. Let me be your Ata-Lin once more."
* * *
"Empty."
Jaylen and Jeremiah looked at each other then back down where Jaycob was examining the Ka'taylin rune on Tarael's stomach. The bard flipped through a book of translations and ancient Ka'taylin runes. Jaylen had seen some of them on Xair's body back when he had been in his human form.
Jaycob stood back up and wiped his hands on his yellow checkered skirt. "Well, there you have it. Empty."
"It means empty?" Jeremiah asked, obviously growing agitated. "What is that supposed to mean?"
The longer Jaylen studied the rune, the more and more he began to recognize it. Then it all came back to him. He held out his arms. "Help me out of my armor."
Jeremiah glared daggers at Jay
len. "What? Why here?"
"Just do it."
Jaycob and Jeremiah began unbuckling the straps of the armor until each piece fell into the mud, leaving Jaylen in his tunic and leather pants. Jaycob set down Jaylen's helmet on the ground. "Why is this necessary?"
Jaylen removed his tunic over his head with his one hand then turned his back to them. "Look at the brand on my back."
Jeremiah stepped behind him. "It's nothing."
"Exactly. I was branded during the soul purge exorcism in order to cover up what was actually there in the first place. If you look closely, you can still see the outline of it below the burns."
Jaycob studied it closely. "May I?"
"Go ahead."
The bard ran his fingertips across the rough patch on Jaylen's lower back. "I see it now. It's light, but it's definitely there. It's the same rune. I know what this is. This is the mark a demon placed on you to claim you. Gavin, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
Jeremiah was obviously taken back by this development. "Are you saying that a demon claimed an angel? A demon claimed Tarael?"
Jaycob sighed then picked up his book and closed it. "It appears that way."
"Why is a demon's mark the Ka'taylin rune for empty?" Jaylen asked.
"Because in most cases, the demon extracts the soul, leaving a body behind. Think of it as a puppet with the demon holding the strings. That is why Tarael was not as powerful as we thought he would be. Whoever was controlling him was a demon who didn't know what they were doing. It was some lesser demon who was new to this."
"So not Gavin?" Jeremiah asked.
"No. Not Gavin."
Jeremiah grabbed the golem that was sitting on Jaycob's shoulder then shook it. "There's a demon in this thing, isn't there?"
Jaycob held up his hands. "Be careful with him. His name is Dusty, and he's fragile. His body is cracking."
"I need this demon to be able to speak. Go make him a mouth."
"I can't put one onto that body. It's a prototype."
"I've seen you making others that have mouths." Jeremiah's voice rose to a shout that caught the attention of all the soldiers in camp. "I don't care what you have to do. Go make Dusty a new body then bind him again. Make sure he can speak."
Jaycob's expression turned to one of desperation. "I haven't done that because I can't run the risk of him dying completely, okay? I can't do it. I can't lose him. He's my friend and everything I have."
Jeremiah held Dusty in the air as he let a pulse of his shadow magic swirl around his hand. "If you want your little demon buddy to continue living and not end up crushed into dust under my boots, then you will obey the orders given to you. You will craft him a new golem body that has a mouth. Then I will interrogate him to get the answers I need. I'm done being nice. I'm done playing around. This is war. Everyone in this camp needs to learn what that means. Stop your bitching and your incessant whining. I need answers and solutions, not more problems that you refuse to fix because of your petty self-serving excuses. Scoop up some clay, go back into your tent, then be a competent human being and do what you've been ordered to do. I am not in the mood for your Hillmen attitude and your ostentation. You have two hours. If you do not have this problem fixed within that time, I will personally flog you in front of the entire camp. Is that clear?"
Jaycob glanced over at Jaylen then looked up to where Dusty was dangerously close to being shattered into pieces in Jeremiah's merciless grasp. "Aye, sir."
"Good." Jeremiah dropped Dusty into Jaycob's hands. "Now go."
Jaylen watched as Jaycob went back to his tent and vanished inside. "Jeremiah, I-"
"Don't."
"But I need-"
Jeremiah spun around then pointed is finger in Jaylen's face. "No. The only thing you're going to do is go into your tent and sit on the floor. I don't want you to speak or sleep or even think. I hate you. I hate you more than I have ever hated anyone. And believe me, I have seen some despicable souls come into Purgatory. Murderers, rapists, child molesters, and temple burners. And guess what? I hate you more than all of them combined. You stole my friend from me. That is unforgivable."
Jaylen gritted his teeth as Jeremiah stormed away. "What about Zeriel?"
"What about him? You didn't care about taking my friend from me. Why should I care about yours vanishing? I don't. Do us all a favor, Finalis. Go kill yourself. Do it somewhere where you won't make a mess in my camp. You have two hours to kill yourself or I swear I will send your precious wife's soul straight to Hell as soon as I reopen Purgatory."
Chapter 8
Zeriel opened his eyes to see the overwhelming color of white. Below him where he was sitting, above him as far as he could see, and in all directions was an endless sea of white. Nothing. There were no walls, no ceiling, no windows, no doors, no wind, no sound. Just white. The place around him was hazy with thin fog, but there was no humidity. It was warm, but cool at the same time. Zeriel stretched out his wings and took a deep breath of the scentless air.
"Oh for Sola's sake. It's you."
Zeriel turned towards the voice to see the dark-haired incubus with the goatee and the slanted orange eyes. "Stephan."
"Yes, it's me. Where in Hell are we?"
Another voice joined them. This one had a thick accent. The black-skinned man with the purple eyes and long white hair stepped out of the fog. "Well, well, this is interesting."
"Karix, what's going on?" Zeriel asked.
"How am I supposed to know?" Karix looked up towards the sky where a blue-winged angel was flying around in endless circles. "What's with him? Did he lose Liaxa's body?"
Stephan grinned darkly. "Looks that way. Hey, Payniel, get down here. There's no way out. I've already looked."
Payniel dropped down from the sky then landed in front of Zeriel. "Who's this? Pretty wings, pretty boy."
Zeriel eyed the dark-skinned angel curiously. "I am Zeriel, Prince of Heaven, Scion of Angels."
A look of recognition and surprise crossed the angel's face. Much to Zeriel's surprise, he instantly bowed in front of him. "I am Payniel, ex-seraph and undead angel."
Necromancy was used on an angel? "Undead?"
"Yes."
"So . . . this is a strange little reunion, isn't it?" Stephan asked, strutting around the immediate area like he owned the place.
Karix spun around then turned the other direction a few times. "Liam? Where's Liam?"
"Where's Liaxa?" Stephan asked. "We can keep asking unanswerable questions all day long, but it's not going to get us anywhere."
"You don't understand! Before we were brought here, I had started the final mating process with Liam."
Zeriel crossed his arms on his chest. "Meaning?"
"Meaning I should be dead right now and Liam should be in an egg. There's the problem. Don't you get it? Even dragon eggs have to be warm and be incubated. Why do you think we have our hatcheries under The Veil in the lava pits? But Liam's egg is out in the middle of nowhere in the snow up in the mountains. He'll freeze to death before he matures inside. Even if he somehow does manage to survive and hatch, he will be a tiny baby dragon with no knowledge of how to find food or fly or anything."
"Are you saying that the dragon that emerges from that egg won't remember ever having been Liam Ulverin?" Stephan asked.
"Exactly. Xair's hatching was a special case due to Sola's intervention. Liam will be born as a brand new being. This is reincarnation, but not of the mind. Liam's soul has been merged with mine, so the dragon that hatches will be a combination of both of us, but completely different as well. Without a heat source or a hatchery watcher, that baby dragon will die."
That made Zeriel even more uncomfortable about the whole situation. "Was there no one else in the temple?"
"Liaxa was. But Payniel there kind of destroyed her."
"Well, now I feel almost bad, Karix." Stephan sat down on the floor and smoothed his goatee with his claws. "Huh. You and Zeriel don't seem so bad here. It's almost like . . . like I
have no desire to kill you two. I don't even feel like fighting anymore. What's this I'm feeling? Empathy? I don't like it."
Payniel sat next to Stephan and played with his blue feathers. "So either way, that boy from the temple earlier is gone and never coming back?"
Karix continued his explanation. "Once the mating is complete, Liam will never exist again. If he is in his egg, Liam's human soul has been destroyed, no matter what kind of spells were placed on it. You hear that, Zeriel? It seems all our worrying about those pages of the Draconia Lexicanum he ate won't matter after all. I only wanted answers so I could protect him and keep him in his human body for as long as I could. I promised Liam that I would let him grow up and experience life as an adult. I wanted him to find happiness, see the world, learn things. Now he'll never get to do any of those things. He was my young rider who looked up to me and trusted me beyond anything, but I . . . I failed him. I failed him just like I failed my son."
Just to change the subject from the depressing thoughts of Liam, Zeriel looked over to the blue-winged angel. "So, Payniel, was it? What's your story?"
"I-"
Stephan interrupted him. "He is a failed experiment. Liaxa failed as well. Payniel was brought back to life. He belongs to me."
"So are you two lovers or something?" Zeriel asked.
Payniel once again opened his mouth to speak. "Not exactly."
"What he means is not willingly." Stephan petted Payniel's short black hair then pinched the angel's ear between his pointed claws. "Ever since I acquired this handsome angel in a ritual, I've had him hidden away for fear of Gavin or Shane finding out and getting angry. But Payniel is more powerful than both of those crazies combined. You see, Payniel's soul was merged with a virgin succubus's soul."
"Meaning?"
"He lost his seraph abilities when he died, but upon his rebirth, he gained the ability to pass in and out of Purgatory."
Suddenly, it all began to make sense. "Let me guess. It wasn't actually Tarael harming the souls in Purgatory."
Stephan trailed his claws down the angel's throat. "Oh, it was most definitely Tarael, but he had help from Payniel. It was intriguing at first, but then I began to lose interest. After Shane ran away from me, I needed some companionship, so I let Payniel out of his cage. And I was glad I gave up that venture because Tarael started acting absolutely insane. It was like he wasn't himself anymore."
Angel of Darkness Books 6-10 Page 59
