by Luke Valen
She had been kept in the dark far too long—it was time she knew what was really going on. She practiced the questions she would ask as she walked down the side of the ditch bank with great fervor. Pine trees surrounded the narrow dirt road for as far as the eye could see. The forest engulfed her small figure. As the sun began to set, the shadowed treetops darkened the forest floor. Dust flew into the air with each step as she dragged her feet along the ground.
“Daddy, I need you to tell me the truth…”
“The truth. I don’t think you can handle the truth, little cousin.” An airy voice wafted through the air.
Abigail stopped in her tracks. The sweet smell of pine needles slowly began to fade, just to be overtaken by the smell of rot and death.
“Beth?” Abigail asked, just before turning around. “Is that you?”
“Poor little Abigail, you are feeling left out, aren’t you? I told your father to tell you truth ever since you were a little girl. Who knew Uncle even had a soft side?” Beth said through her long black hair dangling down in front of her pale, white face. Her black lace dress flowed in the wind.
“What are you talking about? We are the same age. How would you…” Abigail took one step forward.
A dark voice came from behind her. “Oh, my Abigail. So naive, so young.” Kip, wearing his purple suit, walked into the moonlight from out of the shadowed woods.
“Kip? What are you two doing here?” Abigail looked around. The open field darkened to its final point as the last ray of light disappeared beyond the horizon. A slow fog rolled in from within the trees, circled by the forest.
Kip approached Beth, running his bony finger along her shoulders. “What are we doing here? What are you doing here…all alone?”
The two drew in closer. The white moon seemed to glisten on their skin.
“Does your father know where you are right now?” Beth hissed.
The trees crackled in the wind as if aching to move. Aching to help.
“No, I was on my way to see him.” Abigail’s breath froze.
“Where are your friends? Why aren’t they with you?” Kip asked, grabbing Beth’s shoulders and smelling her neck. The moon now fully lit the ground in a soft blue light. The stage was set.
“Huh?” Abigail crossed her arms over her red jacket.
“Dean and the other two—you are friends with them, aren’t you?” Kip moved past Beth and closer to Abigail, only about six yards away now.
“How do you know about Dean?” Abigail dropped her hands to her side.
“Oh, dear cousin, we know all about Dean,” Beth said, approaching Abigail next to Kip. The two split up and began to circle her.
Abigail tried her hardest not to flinch. What do they know?
“He is very special to us.” Beth’s long black hair danced in the wind. Her pale skin shone brightly in the steady light.
“What are you talking about? You guys are starting to scare me.” Abigail tried to keep her eyes on both of them as they circled her, but it was getting harder.
“Don’t play dumb, Abby. We know you are in love with Dean. We are just trying to protect you. You are family after all.” Beth moved in closer and played with Abigail’s hair.
A sigh of relief came. Maybe they don’t know everything, she thought.
“We also know he is trying to ruin all of Uncle’s hard work. Your father’s hard work. You wouldn’t want that, now would you?”
Abigail quickly glanced up. “What are you talking about?” This could be a clue into what she was looking for. “What work is my father doing?”
“Uncle has been working very hard for a very, very long time to move this family forward. Into our rightful place. We can’t have someone like Dean coming in and ruining it all now, can we?” Beth continued as she played with Abigail’s flowing blonde hair.
“What do you mean, our rightful place? And what does Dean have to do with any of this?” Abigail said with a fake laugh.
“This earth belongs to us. To your father and you and us!” Kip said, raising his voice in excitement. “Your little boyfriend is a worthless piece of trash and has no business even being called an angel!”
Her eyes widened and darted to the floor. They know.
“Let alone an Arch!” Kip was getting angry as he yelled, pacing back and forth in front of Abigail and Beth. His eyes began to burn a deep red as he glared up from the ground and into Abigail’s eyes. His mouth dripped with saliva like a dog exposing his sharpened teeth.
Abigail jumped in fear. Slow, welling tears began to leak from her stony face and wide eyes. Kip moved just inches behind her.
“Oh no, no, don’t cry. Don’t be scared, little Abby. We are not going to hurt you…just your pesky boyfriend.” His breath on her neck evoked goose bumps up and down her body. Kip turned to Beth. “I told Uncle she was not ready. She can’t even handle seeing a true form. Just like her mother.”
“My mother? You knew my mother?” Abigail asked.
“Oh, we more than knew her,” Kip said. “But that’s for another time. We have more pressing matters to address.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Abigail said, fighting the fear, trying her hardest to maintain her poker face.
“Abby, you don’t have to lie to us. We know all about Dean. We know he is an Arch. We know you’ve met your crazy Uncle Flint. You just don’t get it yet, do you? You don’t know who you really are. Why Lucifer has never shown you our true forms. Purebreds,” Beth said, wrapping her hands around Abigail’s chest from behind. “It would never work between you and Dean either way. Your father would just not allow it. The balance would not allow it,” Beth said with a soft, comforting tone.
Tears continued to fall from Abigail’s unwavering face.
“We really have no other choice but to…well, to kill him,” Beth said bluntly.
“No!” Abigail leapt forward, away from her two sickly tormentors.
“Abby don’t make this harder than it has to be. Come with us, little cousin, and we will explain everything. Even tell you all about your mother…and your brother,” Beth said as Kip paced back and forth, fuming.
The trees reached out their branches in a failed effort to help.
“Get away from me! Get away! I don’t believe anything you are saying!” Abigail shouted. Her wrist began to flicker. The winds began to rise. The whistling noise screamed through the branches like a raging choir.
“That’s new…” Kip said as he looked over at Abigail’s wrist. Beth stopped where she was and stared as well, obviously dumbfounded.
“Uncle failed to mention that little bit, didn’t he, brother?” Beth said to Kip.
“Yes, sister. He did,” Kip responded. “Calm down now, Abby. We are not going to hurt you.” Kip slowly inched forward with outstretched arms. His hands were like claws, his eyes red as fire.
“I said, get away!” Abigail screamed.
The winds grew to biblical proportions as they formed around her body. She was the eye of her hurricane. The leaves and snow on the ground were lifted into a tornado-like storm that twirled around her. Her wrist began to glow blindingly bright. Kip and Beth both lifted their arms, shielding their eyes. Their skin began to bubble in the blistering light.
“Stop her!” Beth yelled to Kip over the roaring wind before turning back to Abigail. “Abigail, you need to come with us. We can tell you who you really are. We can keep you safe! Everything is going to be okay!”
“STAY…AWAY!” Abigail screamed. The winds grew stronger, knocking Beth to her knees and forcing her to dig her feet and hands into the ground to keep from being blown away.
Beth’s eyes darkened, all color stripped away, leaving nothing but the blackest of blacks. Her body quickly transformed into that of a ghastly, dark, formless cloud. Allowing the wind to take her, she enveloped the tornado surrounding Abigail. “You can’t escape the darkness within. It is who you are. Sooner or later, it will consume you,” Beth whispered as she circled Abiga
il in the whipping wind.
“Shut up!” Abigail shouted.
The darkness that had lain upon the forest floor was illuminated as if a thousand suns had come up to shine.
“Your father’s blood is strong in you. You are meant for the throne. A woman, not your brother…” Beth was saying as Kip came bursting through the dark tornado, tackling Abigail to the ground and hitting her as hard as he could over the head with a large boulder. His body in his natural form: half flesh, half bone. Completely blackened and burnt, dripping with bubbling oil.
“You girls talk too much,” he said in a raspy voice to Beth as she regained her human-like form.
The winds died down and the darkness swept the forest floor once again. Abigail lay there in her grassy bed, unconscious.
“It seems Uncle has some explaining to do,” Kip said, looking down at Abigail, picking up her wrist and examining it.
“Indeed, it does,” Beth mirrored.
The chill of night returned. The silence was loud.
—§—
KNOCK. KNOCK.
Kip stood next to Beth with an unconscious Abigail draped over his shoulder like a prize-winning kill. Footsteps could be heard as someone approached the door.
Mr. Li’Ved opened the entrance. “What have you done?” he asked in a tempestuous tone, grabbing at Abigail’s limp body.
“Don’t worry. She isn’t dead…yet.” Beth took a step into the house, Kip following.
“Abigail, baby, can you hear me?” Mr. Li’Ved gently asked, supporting her neck and holding her like he once did when she was a child. He rushed her through the castle into his illustrious suit.
“She’s out cold. Kip gave her a good one-two. We had no choice really,” Beth continued,
Kip quickly looked away and down to the ground with his hands clasped together.
Mr. Li’Ved placed Abigail down gently on a side sofa near his king-sized bed. His body began to steam and grow. His ears sharpened, and his skin began to darken. Two nodules began to form just above his eyebrows.
“Wait! Wait! Uncle, please!” Beth said, running over to Abigail and grabbing at her wrist. “This almost got us killed. We really had no choice—she was about to go supernova.”
“Ah!” Mr. Li’Ved screamed, releasing an explosion of thick flames. Beth and Kip flew backward into the wall, and the entire room was condensed into ash and soot.
Kip coughed, standing up. “I’m sorry, Uncle. I had no choice, really.”
“When did this happen?” Mr. Li’Ved asked.
“Just moments ago, in the forest about a mile out,” Kip said.
“What was she doing there? Was she with him?” Mr. Li’Ved asked.
“No, sir, she was alone. We were out there keeping an eye on her. We wanted to make sure she was protected. The balance has been disturbed,” Kip said like a little kid making up lies.
“She was running through the woods crying. We stopped her to see if she was all right,” Beth lied too.
“She said that she was on the way home to see you. To tell you that…well, to tell you that the boy had hit her. He tried to kill her, she said. She said that he had found out who you were. Who she was. And he tried to…” Kip lied. “When she told us the story, she grew enraged. She was so powerful, like nothing we had ever seen before. Almost more powerful than us. She is overflowing with power…a power unlike the rest of us.”
“Almost as if she was…” Beth trailed off, realizing what she was about to say. Her eyes dropped.
“Hold your tongue!” Mr. Li’Ved turned and shouted at Beth, pointing his large finger in her face. His face transformed to a giant mouth with a thousand teeth and six eyes, and back to human in the blink of an eye.
Beth and Kip cowered, backing up and grouping together.
Spit flew from his mouth as he angered. “There is nothing different with her. She is purebred from my very blood! You are not to question that!” Calming himself and reestablishing his controlled demeanor, he said, “You are not to speak of this to anyone. Is that understood?”
“Uncle…” Kip muttered.
“I asked you a question,” Mr. Li’Ved reiterated.
“Understood,” the two answered together in unison as they dropped to their knees.
“Was anyone else with you?” Mr. Li’Ved asked.
“No, Lucifer, it was only us,” Beth answered. “Has Flint brought you what you are looking for?”
“He is to return in three days. We shall see at that time,” Mr. Li’Ved said.
“And of the stone?” Kip asked.
Mr. Li’Ved glared at Kip with a menacing look. “Get out of my house.”
The two bowed and turned to exit. Mr. Li’Ved grabbed Kip by the arm just as he was walking out. “Lay another finger on my daughter, and it will be you who is sent to the ninth this time.”
Kip’s eyes glared at Mr. Li’Ved with anger and then to the ground in obedience. Like a cowering dog.
Mr. Li’Ved shut the door behind them and tended to Abigail. He reached over and examined her wrist. The mark had changed. It had grown larger, beginning to wrap around her hand.
“Why are you doing this to me?” he asked aloud.
CHAPTER 12
FRIEND OR FOE
“Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is Bravo-Niner-Three-Four! Hold your fire, hold your fire!” Scott yelled as the bullets whizzed by our heads. “Switching transponder to 7700.”
“Scott! You said you knew these people!” Jade yelled from the back seat, her voice getting caught in the wind and gunfire.
“We are friendlies! Mayday! Mayday! Hold your fire! Again this is Bravo-Niner-Three-Four requesting to land! My name is Scott Hildman, son of Captain Norman Hildman! Please!” Scott begged with the radio. The other side was just a slew of enraged voices yelling at us in another language. “Dean! What do we do!” Scott turned to face me.
“How am I supposed to know? You’re the pilot! I thought you knew these guys!” I yelled back.
“I do! I did! They must have got new people!” Scott yelled.
DING! DING! DING!
“We’re hit! We’re hit! Brace yourselves! We are going down!” Scott yelled.
This was it. This is how we die. I can’t believe that after everything, this is how we go. I looked at Bryon—his eyes were wide. He was scared. I could feel his fear as he held the sides of the plane and closed his eyes. Jade’s eyes were closed, and her head was bowed, her hands clasped together.
“Please, Father…help us,” I whispered.
“Hang on!” Scott yelled as we approached the ground.
The sky passed by so fast the landscape was a blur. Scott pulled back on the controls. The nose lifted.
“Ah!” We were like the choir.
Ringing. That is all I could hear. Everything was a blur. Nothing was moving anymore. I could feel the hot ground beneath my back and sand between my fingers.
My father’s face flashed in front of my eyes. “Get up.”
I felt myself slowly coming to. “Bryon! Jade! Scott!” I stood, wobbling with each movement. The golden sands stretched as far as the eye could see. The crash site was a flat semi-straight line in the dirt surrounded by rolling hills of hot sand a few miles out of town. The plane was a wreck, to say the least. The wing that had been taped was somewhere off in the distance. The propellers were bent and crooked. The wheels had broken off and rolled about fifty yards away.
I am the undying prayer.
“Anyone?”
“I’m over here,” Bryon yelled from behind the plane about ten feet away.
I moved as fast as I could in his direction. He was lying in the sand.
“Bryon. Are you okay?” I asked, leaning down next to him and lifting him to his feet.
“I’m fine. Just a little rattled. Where is Jade?” He rubbed his head and then his eyes.
“Oh, thank God! Solid ground!” Jade said, spilling out of the aircraft and onto the crash site. Her lips pressed to the dirty floor as she knelt
on all fours, praising the earth and its unchanging form.
“Come on, Miss Jade. It wasn’t that bad!” Scott said as he dismounted from the cockpit. His voice was trembling—so was his body. I gotta give it to him—he held his own in that near-death situation. The kid got us here. Given it wasn’t the preferred method of landing, we did land, and we are alive.
“You!” Jade said. “You.” She ran toward Scott and tackled him to the ground. “You almost killed us!” Jade clearly didn’t see things the way I did.
“Jade! Quit it! Stop!” I ran over and pulled her off him. “We are alive. We are fine.”
“He lied! He said he knew these people! He could have killed us and then everything would have been for nothing!” Jade tried lunging at Scott again, but I held her back.
Scott slowly got up off the ground. “I’m sorry. They must have switched controllers.”
Bryon grabbed his leather duffel bag from the half-wrecked plane. “I don’t know, I gotta agree with Jade on this one. We did almost die about three times, and that was before being shot down. If Dean hadn’t caught the wing and retaped it back over whatever ocean that was, I don’t know…I just don’t know. But, man, it is hot out here! Hot as Hell, in fact! Ha! Get it? Hot as Hell…because we are about to fight the de—never mind.”
Jade and I looked at Bryon unapologetically dead-eyed, though I did smirk on the inside. Good one.
The weather was about fifty degrees Celsius, a scorcher of a day. The fiery embrace of the hot wind was as if the very plasma from the sun itself had reached out for a hug. The sun shone bright throughout the clear blue sky. Jade swung her arms and escaped my clutch, storming off down the dirt strip some ways.
“Wow,” I said, staring at the “plane.” “How did we even make it?”
That poor airship looked like it had seen World War III up in those skies, barely making it down alive. Bullet holes peppered the wings and body.
“Thank you,” I whispered, looking to the sky.
“So where are we exactly?” Bryon asked, seemingly unbothered.
