by J. D. Netto
“It is dangerous to roam around without protection, Nephele,” Corbin’s voice bellowed from behind me. “Even someone as powerful as you must be careful.”
Quickly I stood to my feet. “There was no need for you to come searching for me, Corbin. You are needed in Aloisio.”
He smiled. “Not anymore. All of the humans were killed and the kingdom was destroyed.”
“Did you find any of the book-bearers? Any at all?” I asked expectantly.
He sighed. “The book-bearers were nowhere to be found.”
I scoffed. To think how close I came to acquire that which we eagerly longed for brought me great disappointment.
“Ely, Devin, and Petra escaped the Prison of Despair and found the other three…”
“How do you know this?”
“I saw them, but I was surrounded…they mentioned that one of the books has the power to open the Prison of Despair. I am afraid we are not aware of all of the abilities these books possess.” Fury possessed my whole being.
“Where are the Underwarriors?” I wanted to know.
“Dead,” he replied without emotion.
Corbin peered up into the dark sky; light snow flurries cascaded lazily upon us. “Worry not. They will be found.” His hand gently caressed my face. “Let us go to Justicia. I need to show you what is stirring in the heart of darkness.” My body turned into a shadow as my eyes gazed into his. We moved toward the borderline used to cross between Justicia and Elysium. I was eager to see what lay waiting for us in Justicia.
XVII
Little did he know about my true desire. I wanted to go to Justicia not only to know what stirred there, but I longed for answers. Rage ignited in me the moment our feet touched the grounds. A thick fog enveloped the landscape. Lightning and thunder ripped the sky. Corbin and I walked silently. After a short while, the silhouette of the castle emerged from the fog.
“You first,” Corbin said, gesturing a sign for me to walk ahead of him.
At every step, I couldn’t refrain from thinking if the Council members were aware of the other powers the books possessed. Were they traitors? Did they hide this information from us?
“You are awfully quiet, Nephele,” Corbin alleged as we crossed the moat in front of the castle.
“My mind is at war, Corbin,” I replied with eyes still set on the castle.
“Against what?” he asked curiously.
“Even though the Council members claim to have sold their souls to Lucifer, I find it hard to believe they aren’t plotting something against us all,” I answered with a bitter voice.
“You believe they knew about the powers the books possess?”
I didn’t answer his question. The moment we were in front of the massive wooden doors, I violently brought them down. The halls inside were dark except for the few lit candles sitting on top of the scattered furniture. Rubble and dust were everywhere; the statues destroyed.
“Where are they?” I asked Corbin angrily. “I need to see them!”
“Nephele, they will answer your every question…”
“Are we sure about that? Are we sure they are not hiding anything from us? Have they turned on us?” I heard faint voices coming from the dining hall.
I walked in and found Mordred, Athalas and the other Council members seated at a table. The table looked rugged and old, as if it was built out of the remnants of wood that remained after the attack of the Aquilas.
“Would you care to explain to me how is it that you did not inform us about the abilities of the books?” I yelled impatiently as I released pain all around the room. Many of them were taken by my attack.
“Nephele, stay this madness!” Mordred yelled.
“I will stop when one of them speaks the truth,” I retorted angrily.
Mordred turned to Corbin. “Would you care to enlighten us on what she is talking about?”
“One of the books has the ability to open and close the Prison of Despair. Ely, Devin and Petra escaped the prison and were seen in Aloisio.”
Clamorous chatter spread throughout the room. Athalas stood to his feet, striking the wooden table in rage.
“How can this be? You mean to say that now we have none of the book-bearers in our possession?”
“Please, Athalas, do not act surprised. You knew…you all knew…” As these words spewed from my mouth, the pain escalated—tormenting everyone it touched.
“We did not know!” a man with a gray beard and light gray hair screamed out. “We did not know of the book’s ability…ple-please…you must be-be-lieve us…”
“I have believed you enough!” The pain rushed out of me with an uncontrollable and fatal fervor. I felt my strength increasing to heights it had never reached before.
“You must believe us.” Athalas fell to his knees. “We knew not…” Beads of sweat fell from his brow.
Corbin approached me. “He may be telling the truth.” My breathing was heavy. My body trembled as anger coursed through my veins. “If you kill them, we will never know the truth,” he added.
I ceased my attack.
“May this be a reminder to all those who hide or have hidden information that may help us retrieve the book-bearers. I have grown weary of dealing with the lack of willingness to fulfill the task the Dark One has asked from you all.”
I walked toward the man with the gray beard and hair; he trembled.
“What is your name?” I whispered as I gazed at him.
“Hor-Horace…Horace Dublin…”
My eyes did not fail to see the wounds on his right arm. Perfect shapes of claws that had tried to rip his flesh apart.
“Are you in pain?” I asked the man. His frightful eyes bored into mine.
“Yes,” he choked. “Once the Aquilas attacked, one of them tried to kill me.”
I sneered, my tongue slowly caressing my lips.
“Do you have family, Horace?” My hands rested on top of his.
Frightened, he stared at me. “No…we…you know we were not allowed a family…. The Creator did not allow the Council members to have one,” he spoke with a quivering stammer.
“I see.” I gently touched his arms. “So, does that mean that you have spent all of your life living here in this castle, caged in the Fourth Dimension?”
“Yes my lady, the Creator chose us during the dawn of days to stay here in Justicia and guard the Diary…. We were not allowed to leave. The other humans, those created to dwell in Elysium, they were the only ones allowed to have families…” His voice trailed off.
“When the Creator appointed the Council to guard the Diary, he never mentioned the existence of the other books or the powers they possess?”
Silence lingered for a while.
“No…”
I chuckled.
“Now that you no longer protect the Diary—or anything else—what is your purpose?”
“To ser-serve y-you and the Dark One…” Tears rolled down his face.
“Indeed you do…”
His eyes turned red, the veins around his neck protruded. He violently screamed as I imparted pain, but the magnified intensity of it was fueled by my rage. I wanted to kill him, here in front of the Council members. I wanted this to be a foretaste of what would happen if any of them turned on us or had undisclosed information about the books or the book-bearers.
“No, please…I live to serve you…” His voice faded as his body melted like ice.
“Indeed, you did…” I mumbled as his body changed into a water-like substance. Shortly after, the floor was wet, his body coursing like water spilled on top of a table.
When I turned to inspect the reactions from the others, they were all awestruck. I walked up to Corbin.
“If you say we should believe the Council members, then believe them we shall.” I sat down in the chair Horace was originally sitting in.
“Please, Corbin, you said you wanted to show me what was brewing in the heart of darkness,” I said as my fingers impatiently squeezed the arms
of the chair.
“Yes, of course.” He stretched his hand and signaled the remaining Council members to take a seat.
They all quietly returned to their chairs around the table.
“In the heart of the Abyss, the Fallen Stars are breeding an army more powerful than any we could conjure up in Elysium. A curse was created by the Fallen Stars to enhance the strength of arms of our servants.”
“A curse?” I asked inquisitively.
“We have given the serpents that inhabit the Abyss the ability to battle. They have grown human features from their scaly bodies and can now walk, run, and some can even fly. We call them Lessers.”
“So they drag themselves on the ground or…” one of the Councilmen interjected.
“No. They have grown limbs, and a torso. The only thing that distinguishes them from humans are their bright yellow eyes, Ahmos. When the Creator sent us to the Abyss, these serpents were already there. After studying them for many years, we came to the conclusion that they could be used for such a curse,” Corbin said.
“What curse?” I asked him curiously.
“We have studied the power since the day we fell but now, it has been perfected to fit our needs. We call it the Dark Exchange. Ever since the Creator banished us from Tristar, we studied ways to fight back. We gathered our forces in the Abyss and looked for ways to strengthen our powers.”
“It simply means that we are able to incubate a part of our being into another living creature, causing their emotions to be aligned with ours,” Mordred added.
“Will you not grow weaker if a part of you is inside another being?” I asked.
“No,” Corbin responded as he paced around the room. “We are duplicating ourselves into them. They will have similarities to those who give them their new mind, but we choose which senses or powers to give them.”
There was silence in the room.
“Is there living proof of this curse?” My hands clasped together as they both rested upon the table.
“The Fallen Stars have brought one, my lady,” Ahmos said from across the table. “It is here in Justicia.”
“Where is it?” My curiosity ignited.
Mordred gave one last glance at Athalas; he stood to his feet and headed out of the room.
“When Athalas returns you will see for yourself,” Ahmos answered with a grin. Shortly after he had finished speaking, I heard a hiss coming from the hallway. Athalas walked in with a serpent wrapped around his neck; its head dangled on his right shoulder. The snake lay still, its eyes looking down. The snake’s dark scaly body had scratch marks stamped around it, probable signs of resistance against its capture. Under its head was a design pattern that traveled throughout the entire torso.
“I thought you brought one of the Lessers, not a simple snake…” I mumbled.
“Be patient, Nephele,” Corbin replied as he laid the snake on the floor. He closed his eyes and stood next to the snake, motionless. I saw the snake slithering, its eyes wide open. The animal lifted its body from the floor and shot a dark stare at Corbin.
Corbin mumbled words that I could not make out; his face displayed a great deal of agony. The snake’s mouth moved, lisping unintelligible words.
I shot a surprised look at Corbin.
“Watch closely,” Mordred whispered into my ear as we both watched the scene unfold before us.
“Can the curse be performed on humans?” I asked pensively. My mind was already drifting away, pondering about other ways this curse could be used.
Limbs grew forth from the snake’s body. The round-shaped head of the creature expanded into a human-shaped skull. Before long, it stood in front of us in its full stature. The body looked human except for the small faded scales that were still attached. The face had yellow eyes, a nose and an abnormally long mouth. Ahmos ran and covered the Lesser’s nakedness with a ripped curtain that was lying in the corner of the room.
“Can it speak?” I asked, amazed at the sight I beheld. I looked at the creature standing in front of me and saw possibilities for the usage of this curse.
“A Lesser is controlled in portion by the mind of those that give them a part of themselves,” Corbin said as he paced around the creature. “A part of my mind is inside him. I can control it from wherever I am.”
“Well, please let us see your power at work,” I said.
Corbin glanced at the Lesser quickly and it turned toward me.
“I will give it the ability to speak,” Corbin said excitedly.
“I serve you…no fear.” The hoarse voice that came from the creature was petrifying.
“What about its speech? Can it use words coherently?” I asked.
“Their brains are partially like a snake’s, therefore they are unable to develop full sentences.”
The Councilmen approached and bowed their heads in reverence to what they saw. Ahmos was on his knees with his eyes fixed on the creature.
“The Lessers will help us take over Elysium and hunt down the book-bearers. We must figure out a way to use the Dark Exchange to enter their minds and force them to open the books and read their pages,” Ahmos stated joyfully. His ashen eyes widened expressively.
“How come we were not informed of this curse before?” I asked Corbin. “This would have made our jobs easier. We had Isaac and Petra in our possession. We could have entered their minds and forced them—”
“The curse was just now perfected.” I was cut off. “We did not want to risk using this curse on the book-bearers,” Corbin replied as he paced around the Lesser.
“We do not yet know the extent of the hidden powers of those books. One is to wonder, what else they are capable of other than accessing the Prison?” I questioned.
No one spoke.
“Councilmen, you are all dismissed. Go now and rest,” Corbin instructed as he turned to Mordred. “Mordred, see that they all go to their rooms quietly.”
“Come, we must be off,” Mordred ordered with a grin on his face as he clapped his hands. “Your master, Mordred, will make sure you are all tucked in for the night,” he said in a snide tone.
I noticed the Lesser exiting out of the room with soft, slow movements.
“Where is it going?” I asked Corbin.
“To the garden, right behind the castle. I have ordered it to sleep there,” he replied as he approached me.
As the Councilmen marched out of the dining hall, I sauntered over toward what was left of the balcony from the attack. The balcony faced the garden that was right behind the castle. Even in the darkness, I could see glimpses of red-colored flowers and statues scattered around the landscape. I could faintly hear the flowing waterfall located near the riverbank.
“Is everything well with you, my lady?” Corbin asked as he walked up behind me.
I took in a deep breath of air and the faint smell of roses that lingered.
“So many possibilities…. My mind is trying to decide which direction we should go with this that would most benefit us.”
Corbin grunted. “That direction has already been taken care of.”
I turned to face him. “By whom?” I asked sharply.
“Me, of course. There is a greater plan that is yet to unfold.”
I was silent, waiting for him to elaborate. “You see, beyond this garden, there is an invisible wall that protects this part of Justicia from interfering with Tristar, where all the Stars and the Creator reside. This wall was built by the Stars after the fall of Lucifer. Since Justicia is the only part of Tristar that is accessible through Elysium, the Creator wanted to make sure the Councilmen would stay here in the castle. We have been thoroughly studying its defenses and…” There was an uncomfortable pause.
“And what, Corbin?”
“The day the Dark One ascends to power, we will attack Tristar through its invisible defense wall. By then, Elysium will be taken by the Darkness and our army will be numerous. We will overtake Tristar and dethrone the Creator.”
My eyes looked out at the nev
er-ending darkness that stretched beyond the garden as my hands clasped together. “They will be ready for us. The Stars will know. The Creator knew of the day the Dark One betrayed him. His all-seeing eyes are always open,” I affirmed.
“He will never expect an attack from inside of his kingdom. All those that have approached the wall thus far have perished, but we have an advantage that he is unaware of. There is one inside Tristar that has sided with us.”
“Do not be a fool. How can he side with us without the Creator knowing? He knew about those that had taken Lucifer’s side. He knows of the one that will betray him…”
“Not this time,” he said, enraged. “We have covered our tracks well. I cannot divulge the secret of how we kept our source hidden, but know this—we will destroy the Creator.” A soft grin stretched upon his face.
“Once they hear of the destruction that has come upon Aloisio and the other kingdoms and villages, they will wonder who was responsible for such doing. When they discover that we were the ones that brought such destruction, they will give in to their fears and will surrender to us,” I affirmed.
“Nephele, they will fall. We have powers that no one can stop. We will gather the five books and we will defeat the Creator.” He placed one of his hands on my shoulder reassuringly. “His body is beyond the invisible wall. The Dark One sleeps in the Wastelands of Tristar,” Corbin said.
I saw the Lesser taking a stroll in the garden. It roamed around, stopping to admire all that surrounded it. The creature crawled onto the dirt and curled up into a ball, falling sleep.
“Not a very comfortable way for one to rest, do you agree, Corbin?”
“Not to us, but he doesn’t mind sleeping out,” Corbin said, staring at the Lesser. “I best be off,” he declared, walking back inside the dining hall.
Thoughts rushed through my mind faster than I could bear. I needed to know more about the powers of the creature that slept in the garden. I looked up into the moonless sky; stars were hidden behind the gray clouds that hovered above me. Endless…endless possibilities, I kept on thinking.
