Where All Souls Meet

by S. E. Campbell

  "Do you think we should go see what it is?" Yuri asked.

  "I think we should get out of here as fast as possible," she said, taking a step back. "Gabriel is near, isn't it?"

  "A mile or two," Aaron said, grabbing her arm to get her attention. "We've come a long way. Maybe walking so far has gotten to you."

  "I'm a soul," Eden said. "We don't get tired physically."

  They began to walk again, and she heard the whispers once more. They were low and deep. She swore she heard the words, "I see you, Eden. I see you." She stared determinedly at the ground and Yuri twined his fingers through hers. She held his hand as they walked, and as she grew more anxious, she wondered why the others didn't too. A big part of her wanted to run, but she knew in situations with an unknown follower, doing so could only make things worse. Maybe she was being herded, like she had been in the Blood Stone caverns where she had discovered Satan's plan to close the gates of heaven. Shadow demons had herded her into the worst part of the caves. The incident had brought her into this mess to begin with.

  As the voice continued to speak — "I see you. I see you." — she wondered whether she should acknowledge it. The necklace, her cross which guarded against evil, blazed up in cool, holy flame which could only mean a demon was near. She gazed down, grasped her necklace, and exhaled. As she took a step forward, she sunk ankle-deep into something which felt warm and wet. She peered down and saw she had stepped in red fog.

  Something isn't right. She cried out, jumped back, and almost dropped her lamp.

  "Eden, what's wrong?" Yuri asked.

  Adanna took a step toward her and touched her arm gently. This was the closest Adanna got to speaking. Her stomach still churned with the pity at the thought of the fire which had caused Adanna to become mute.

  "I see… I see…" She stared down at the ground and saw the blood had disappeared. "It's… gone. But how?"

  Yuri's mouth was tense. "I was afraid of this."

  "Afraid of what?" she asked.

  "We did one over on Asag, didn't we?" Yuri asked. "What if his friends are angry?"

  She gulped. Yuri could be right. The two of them had used mirrors, a picture of God, and holy water to force Asag to gouge his own eyes out. He had been following them in an attempt to take her prisoner and get rid of Yuri, and it had been the only way to stop him. He had been so angry afterward he had screamed her name repeatedly, though he could not find her without his eyes.

  "Let's just keep moving," Aaron said, running his hand over his short dark hair.

  "If you see something we don't, ignore it and just squeeze my hand to let me know," Yuri said. "Demons are like bullies. If the demon doesn't get a reaction, maybe it'll stop."

  She knew Yuri was just trying to be optimistic for her sake. She knew demons and so did he. It didn't matter if she reacted or not. The demon would keep torturing her until it got what it wanted. Unfortunately, what it wanted was probably her.

  ****

  Eden continued to hear the sound of whispering in her ear. She shivered, hating the way the voice sounded. Which demon was it this time? Or had she finally done it and angered Satan so much that he was pursuing her freely? If that was the case, then she was going to have to be careful. Unfortunately, it would be hard. It wasn't like she intentionally drew attention to herself, but she had waist-length blonde hair and one green eye and one grey eye. She was also tall and abnormally thin, a trait she had gotten from her mother. As far as girls went, she didn't exactly fit the norm.

  "What is that?" Jared asked, drawing her away from her thoughts.

  She turned and stared where he pointed. At the base of a hill several yards away, there stood a large castle-like fortress which had a moat of glowing orange lava, making it easier to see. There were no lanterns to keep out the Raiders. In fact, the mist appeared to be even thicker around it. Her necklace, which hadn’t stopped glowing, pulsed with more fire. It reminded her of a campfire surging with flame as it devoured wood.

  "The souls couldn't have built something this big in such a short amount of time," Aaron said, running his hand through his hair. "How long were we gone? Four, maybe five, months?"

  "It is odd." Yuri took a step toward the castle, and then paused. His eyes narrowed.

  I don't like it. A strange smell filled her nostrils, but one she recognized. Eden took a step back, repulsed. It smelled so sour it left a bad taste in her mouth, but there couldn't possibly be any corpses in Zemiothstai. Purgatory had only souls and Satan Spawn, which disappeared in a wisp when they were destroyed. The smell grew stronger and stronger, until she was forced to put her hand over his nose to block it out.

  She heard footsteps behind her and whipped around, her lantern swinging once again. There was the sound of high-pitched, cold laughter. If she had a heart, it would have thundered in her chest. Instead her hand quivered as she held her lantern.

  "Yuri," she said nervously and then cast a look over her shoulder.

  To her dismay, her friends had meandered closer to the castle in their curiosity. Yuri had not heard her. She opened her mouth to yell for them to come to her quickly, but she was stopped by the sight of the mist forming into a mass which was twice her height. The mist figure was built like a football linebacker, only bigger.

  This can't be happening. Her mouth dropped open. The Raiders are all women.

  The mist figure sucked up all the mist completely, then tossed back its head and gave an inhuman howl. It opened its mouth and she saw strings of mist between its lower and upper lips. It turned and gazed straight into her eyes. The eyes glowed an eerie golden hue, reminding her of a stray cat peering between garbage cans. When she took a step back and gasped, it smirked, even though it was still misty.

  "G-guys!" she screamed. "Guys!"

  With another howl, the mist figure began to charge toward her and stopped seconds before it reached the edge of her lantern's light. She screamed and fell on her butt in the dirt, almost dropping the lamp in the process. A pudgy Blood Worm that looked like a white cocktail sausage climbed onto her lap and fed from her soul, unaffected by the lamp. She didn't care. She could not take her eyes off of the massive, hulking beast which stood before her with glowing red eyes.

  "What's the matter?" the mist figure whispered. "You look scared. I thought somebody like you would be tougher than this."

  She remembered Yuri's words. "Demons are like bullies." Grimacing, she stood up and did her best to not back down, though the mist figure's crimson irises caused her spine to stiffen.

  "I am not scared of you," she lied. "Who are you? Some new form of Raider?"

  "I? I am more powerful than a Raider," said the mist figure.

  So it is a demon. Only a demon would be so prideful he would hate to be on the same level as the most feared Satan Spawn in Purgatory.

  "So who are you then?" she said. "I took care of Asag, and I can take care of you. You think just one measly demon or Satan Spawn will frighten me? Think again."

  At least, it was what she told the demon. When she had faced Asag, she had been terrified, but that did not make a new foe any less menacing. She wished her friends were here. They should have heard her cry by now.

  The demon began to chuckle. "A valiant feint, girl. You may not find one of us frightening, but what about—"

  Suddenly, many voices — male, female, deep, high-pitched — joined together. "—all of us."

  Within seconds, more mist beings appeared. It was like she peered into a world of glowing red eyes. The mist figures were all massive, but some were women and others were men. The only thing they had in common was the fear they brought into her mind.

  "Wh-what is going on?" she asked.

  "Did you honestly think you could get away with hurting a major demon?" a female to her right said. Even in mist form, she had a fish-like face. "Our lord wants you now. He wants you more than ever."

  She thought back to when she had been in pain with Morsus and Satan had controlled the agonizing memories she saw. At
the time, he had had major demons surrounding him. She searched her thoughts.

  There was a demon who, instead of hair, had a bald head and slimy scales that covered her entire body. Her face was narrow and elongated like the front of a fish or a dolphin. There were shriveled wings upon her back.

  Yes, she could see the resemblance. She was sure it was the same demon. But what was her name?

  "Lady Midday, Abyzou," Satan said, first turning toward the auburn-haired teenager who had been the auburn beauty and then the fish-faced, now middle-aged woman. "Clear off the land and prepare to summon the two million warriors."

  She began putting the pieces of her memories together as she gazed at the mist figure. Her hands trembled at her side as she tried to fight through her thoughts. Where had her friends gone? The fact they had wandered away so carelessly and left her behind made her want to scream. She was alone now; alone with demons that could get rid of her within seconds. Even if she ran, she would not make it three feet without floundering.

  "Agares," she said. "Abyzou, Lady Midday."

  Stunned silence filled the circle.

  "She knows us," Abyzou said. "How can she know us? H-he must have given her powers."

  Though she quivered with fear, she heard the quaver in Abyzou's voice. Are the demons scared of me?

  "Don't be foolish," Agares said. "Satan has made her watch us. She recognizes us from her visions. The girl is clever, but then, she would have to be."

  Abyzou made a horrible squelching sound as if she didn't believe him. I have to get these demons out of here. As she gazed at the mist, she wondered whether her lantern would work against demonic mist figures like it had with Raiders. Even though she was paralyzed with anxiety and the intimidating stares made her feel horrible, she knew what she had to do.

  "Are you controlling the Raiders?" Eden asked. "Making them look and talk like you?"

  "The Raiders belong to us," Agares boomed.

  "Thanks for letting me know," she said. "Now get lost."

  "How dare you?" Agares roared, drawing nearer to her with his mouth open wide.

  Her first instinct was to step back and run away. It took every bit of control she had to walk into Agares and Abyzou. Agares didn't expect her to move forward because, while Abyzou darted backward and away from her, Agares was caught right in the middle of the lantern's glow.

  Screaming in pain, Agares tossed his head backward and, like steam over a boiling pot, began to float upward and then disappear. All that was left was the smell of sulfur.

  Abyzou hovered just outside of the light, and when Eden took a step forward, she cringed.

  "I'll do the same to you," Eden threatened. "Go away and leave me alone."

  "We will never leave you alone," Abyzou said. "Our lord has sent his demon legions after you. You will be his before long."

  Though Eden was afraid, she stepped toward Abyzou; the demon threw up her hands, hissed, and then disintegrated before Eden could reach her. The other demon figures with their glowing red eyes soon disappeared into the darkness too. All that was left of them was the white mist upon the ground, surrounding her. She shuddered as she gazed at it.

  I may have been cocky with them, but I'm in a lot of trouble. She covered her mouth with her hand. The demons are done playing with me. Now they want me for real.

  "Eden, come over here," Yuri said, wrenching her into reality. "You shouldn't walk away by yourself. What were you doing? You could have gotten yourself into real trouble."

  She whipped around and saw she had indeed wandered away from her friends. They were several feet away from her, and judging by their wide-eyed expressions, they had been looking for her. This means they didn't hear me cry out. That's not good, either. I didn't even know demons had this kind of power over souls. Yuri grabbed her arm, pulling her to him.

  "Eden, what's wrong with you?" he asked. "Are you all right?"

  Looking over her shoulder, she sighed. "Yes, I'm fine."

  Last time she had been in trouble, Yuri had become a target too. Maybe if she kept him and her friends out of it, they would be less likely to get hurt. After all, Satan didn't know they were the keys to open the gates of heaven and it was her job to protect them. And her friends getting hurt was the last thing she wanted in the entire world.

  ****

  Eden gazed at the city of Gabriel with wide eyes, and then she turned around and looked at the strange new fortress on the hill which overlooked the town below.

  "I have a really eerie feeling about that building. Maybe we should be heading away from here," Aaron said.

  In her memory, she saw the white mist men and their glowing red eyes. Yes, she knew exactly who waited in the castle. She turned her head away, shrugged, and marched with determination toward Gabriel.

  "Let's go," she said, as Aaron paused behind her.

  Chapter Two

  Eden, Yuri, Aaron, Adanna, and Jared all stood in front of Gabriel. The last time Eden had been at this place, the city had been abuzz with Demon soldiers in the midst of preparing for the Blood Stone ceremony. Now, the city was empty, the seaside shanties were abandoned, and the cobblestone streets were cluttered with debris from buildings.

  Worst of all, she did not see Thema anywhere. Thema would have waited for them, wouldn't she? After Eden had been captured and taken to the hated prison of Cantica, Thema had promised she would wait for her here. Though it was a long time ago, it was easy for her to remember.

  "Listen, Thema has a message for you," Aaron said. "She says she'll wait in the city for you for as long as it takes. We still have a few hours before we depart, and I know where she is. Would you like for me to deliver a message to her?"

  "I do have a message for her," Eden said.

  "What is it?" Aaron asked.

  "Tell her, until we meet again, I'll look after her sister." Eden reached over and squeezed Adanna's hand.

  Now Eden sighed and wished she had not had to leave Thema behind. When she turned her head, she saw Adanna's bottom lip quiver in sadness. No, Thema would not have left here willingly. Eden had a sick feeling that Demon soldiers had taken Thema. And if that had happened…

  "She's here, Adanna," Eden said, though she was attempting to convince herself more than her friend.

  Nodding, Adanna took a step into the city, though Eden longed to tell her not go. The city appeared like it belonged to the undead. The idea made her shiver. She headed into the city too and heard whispering surrounding her again.

  "I hear you fear the undead…"

  Eden stopped and Yuri ran into her from behind.

  "I hear you are more scared of the undead more than anything else in the world."

  It was Agares. How could anyone have this kind of power? How could any demon have the ability to change her surroundings so much she swore he was speaking in her mind? Something in her head clicked then. Morsus. Morsus infected the soul. Were the demons manipulating her and her soul using the same method Morsus did? She groaned and felt Yuri grab her hand, pulling her forward.

  "This will be interesting," Agares said, and she swore he whispered the words in her ear as well as her mind. "The undead will be easy. Too easy."

  Stop, stop, stop. Agares was ten times more powerful than Asag had been, she realized, because he had more powers. She should have been happy with just Asag following her around. The idea of zombies, like the ones she’d seen watching TV with her dad, made her shudder.

  "There's somebody down there," Aaron cried.

  Intense fear coursed through Eden’s soul, but she realized there couldn’t possibly be zombies in Purgatory. No humans died here, so there would be no dead to raise. If there were undead, it would only be in her vision. The person Aaron saw had to be real.

  She pushed her way past her friends and her cross vibrated so hard it began to hum. She focused on the being at the end of the street and saw a tall, dark shadow there. The shadow turned around and focused on her, and she was hit with memories so strong it made her soul run cold.


  Glowing red lights flickered in front of her, and fear gave way to hope. She was almost out. Maybe the passage led to Moloch, the city in the passage between the angel and demon continents. After all, it had lights. She never believed she could be happy to see that city. With a cry, she stumbled into the passage and heard the low moan of doors behind her. She spun around and discovered she had gone through two stone double-doors with images of red-eyed dark shadows devouring children painted upon them.

  And those doors were quickly closing.

  "No," Eden screamed, rushing toward them. They closed with a bang seconds before she reached them. "No, please, no."

  She grabbed the door handle and tried to open it, but it was sealed shut. Closing her eyes, she grabbed the door and pulled with all of her might. The door didn't give. She began to pound at the stone with her fist.

  "Let me out," she said. "Please let me out."

  "You fell for it," the evil voice said from beyond the door. "The humans always fall for it."

  The whispers continued on the other side of the door, and then the halls filled with laughter.

  When she had been pursued in the tunnel five months ago, she wondered what kind of Satan Spawn followed her. Now she knew; it stared right at her with the same glowing red eyes of the demonic mist figures. She took a step back and dirt crunched beneath her shoe. There was no closing her eyes to this danger. It was real, and she had a feeling the shadow figure planned to herd her now just like it had back then. Satan wanted her, and he was willing to do awful things to capture her.

  "Should we call him?" Aaron asked, putting his hand on her shoulder and looking over her.

  "It's a demon," she said.

  Jared peered around her shoulder, frowning.

  "Wh-what?" Aaron asked.

  The demon flashed and was gone. She could hear its movements to her right, then she saw a burst of darkness to her left. I don't know what to do. The last time I tangled with one of these, I fell for its tricks and ended up straight in the midst of hell itself. She dug around in her pockets and felt for a vial holy water. To her horror, she discovered she had only one left. A being like this demon would not be triumphed over so easily.