It was evident that refusing was not an option. Walking back down the stairs was quite tedious but it seemed to Ali that he was even less used to it. Kaliel came down with feline elegance, as if his feet barely touched the ground. He had his hands in his pockets and looked at the steps abstracted in his thoughts. Something was worrying him but he was doing his best not to show it.
Mikah led them to the main nave of the cathedral, just in front of the high altar. Ali noticed that all the doors were closed and the priest, already exempt from his morning responsibilities, was guarding them so that nothing would interrupt Mikah. About twenty people waited sitting in the first chairs. Among them, Ali could recognize only three faces: Jared's, Sharon's and Sabrina's. The latter was the only one to notice her presence and invited Ali to sit next to her with a huge smile. Just when she had settled in next to the nice blonde, Ali noticed that they were in the front row and how uncomfortable that would be.
“At last I see you! Where have you been all this time? In a dungeon?” Were Sabrina's welcoming words.
“I see that that is a common practice here...” Ali said.
Sabrina just laughed.
“And all these people? What's going on?”
“The Redentto? I hadn’t already introduced them to you?”
“Not all of them…”
“It´s because most of them are quite unsociable...” Sabrina said and glanced in the direction of Kaliel who remained leaning arms crossed against a column. “I don’t know how you have done to get along with him... He is the worst of them all”.
“He doesn’t like vampires very much...” Ali remembered the times when Kaliel had referred to them as the disgusting children of Lilith or damn bloodsuckers.
“Ha! He is not the one to judge anyone...”
“You know him well?” Maybe Sabrina could reveal something else about Kaliel.
But she didn’t pay any attention to Ali and continued with her tirade.
“Besides, not all of us here are vampires. I'll show you, since Mikah has decided that you stay here and you must know who to get into” Sabrina said, stealthily turning to observe the other presents. Ali imitated her. “For example, that girl with red and short hair…” Sabrina made a gesture with her head towards a small girl with the face of an elf “…is a medium. Her name is Glister. She made a pact with the devil and is trying to recover her soul, although when she does she will die. That boy with coppery hair is Aaron and he was a sorcerer: he offered his soul in exchange for seeing the future. The girl behind and the boy next to her are twin brothers and they are here because their grandparents made a pact a hundred years ago for which they gave the lives of their grandchildren and now they are persecuted by demons...”
While Sabrina continued with her express presentation, Ali noticed a boy who sat at the back of the room and rested his sad face on his arms on the back of the front seat. His hair was black and untidy. That reminded her of Chase, although this boy had dark eyes.
“That's Max...” Sabrina said sadly, as if she could read Ali's thoughts. “He's one of the most tormented. Of those that I have just mentioned, you can make friends with all of them but I suggest you don’t approach either Max or Zhaira...
Before Ali could ask why, Sabrina looked her in the eye firmly and said:
“Both are demons”.
Ali restrained the words, but at last they escaped her lips.
“And what is Kaliel?”
Sabrina turned to him as Ali tried to decipher her sudden expression of disdain.
“Besides a stubborn, arrogant, rude, proud and moody rebel...?”
“Oh, come on! Say it! Is he something like an angel?”
Sabrina laughed nonchalantly.
“I've seen the wings!” Ali insisted although, in reality, she was never sure.
“He is a lukewarm” Sabrina said and turned her gaze to the front.
Lukewarm. Surely it was some kind of reference that Ali couldn’t understand. She felt stupid. She was going to leave but Mikah stepped in front of the congregation and captured everyone's attention. The silence was abrupt.
“I will get to the point: as you already know, the pact between Heaven and Hell has been rendered ineffective because of the faults recently committed” Mikah said. “This implies that the demons that have managed to pass into this world and their henchmen are going to snatch as many souls as they please where, when and as they please. And consequently, the angels will fight to recover them. Thus the world will become the playground of the infernal legions until there is no free will left... We have met today to discuss our position and our actions in this war that involves us all”.
“We can’t be forever fighting... Someone has to stop them and, in my opinion, this would be the perfect time to annihilate that bastard” Kaliel said.
“It's true; the best defense is always an attack” Jared said standing up. “Let's show the rest why they shouldn’t try to continue this absurd war!”
“Leave it to me” Kaliel said with a smirk. “His ass should be worth many points...”
Mikah turned to him with a mixture of irritation and indignation in his eyes. The amber of his eyes gleamed again.
“Do you think redemption is a game?”
Zhaira got up abruptly then and placed herself in the corridor between two rows of seats.
“And why should I care about the fate of humanity, Mikael?” Zhaira seemed to spit out the words with contempt. “May they seek their own redemption!”
“You see Mikah?” Max spoke with a strange tranquility. “Humans have always been the favorites of Creation...”
“No one protected us!” Zhaira spoke angrily. “They have so many opportunities... We only had one! Enough we have with our redemption as to walk watching over that herd of fools while they spend their pathetic days looking at each other's asses like dogs!”
A tense silence was made when Zhaira finished speaking. The girl had her hands in fists at the sides of her statuesque figure and was breathing agitatedly. Her eyes had turned red as blood and reflected an infernal rage. Ali expected her to launch against Mikah at any time but he didn’t prepare. Mikah looked at her impassively with his arms crossed over his chest in a relaxed attitude. Typical of someone who has an ace up his sleeve.
“We don’t want a war... Believe me: you don’t want a war” said Mikah. “Because it is you who would be most affected by a war at this time, especially when you have shown yourselves to be so far from redemption...”
The atmosphere became increasingly tense. Even Zhaira understood that Mikah's words concealed a more terrifying truth. It was as if everyone, suddenly, began to react and their faces went from surprise to total panic. Ali watched Glister, the elf-faced girl, cover her mouth with both hands. Ali felt that if nobody said anything soon, the growing tension would blow up all the stained glass windows in the cathedral.
“What's going on?” She murmured with a voice to Mikah, who gave her a sweet and indulgent look, like the one that teachers only direct to good students who pay attention.
“If we initiate a war we will stop keeping our identities secret and that would provoke the inevitable action of Gladius Dei”.
A chill ran down her spine and the tension in the room peaked. Everyone had changed their minds. They were crushed against their seats as if dejected; as terrified. Ali felt it too although she didn’t know why. In fact, finding the Gladius Dei was what she most wanted.
“You said it wasn’t easy to find them! They have my father and I want...”
“You don’t know what you say!” Mikah interrupted her with a wave of his hand. “Have you ever heard about the Inquisition?”
“Yes and so what..?”
“Well, the Gladius Dei is an order of exorcists and demonologists who was born of the Holy Inquisition and their practices are not very different... I'm sorry to have to tell you this but they can be even more cruel. And the worst thing is that its members don’t deal only with carnal beings: they dominate
the supernatural. They know…” Mikah emphasized this last sentence “…how to torture a spirit and break it until its total annihilation”. Then he addressed everyone: “if the Gladius Dei gets to catch you now thy will annihilate you and you will have no more time. There will be no redemption for any of you”.
Nobody said anything. Ali saw that Zhaira was sitting again sulking. Mikah addressed Ali again:
“That's why you can’t leave the cathedral, at least, until you know how to control your gifts or the Gladius Dei will discover you and torture you until you confess for each one of them” Mikah moved his hand trying to embrace all present and then stopped it on Kaliel. At first, Ali thought it had just been chance, but at that moment, Mikah narrowed his eyes significantly.
“Of course! Because turning people into vampires in broad daylight won’t get the attention of Gladius Dei, right?” Kaliel interjected.
“We must stop them...” Sabrina said with fear.
“We can destroy them in silence, in their own lairs” Kaliel continued.
“No” Mikah disagreed and the authority of his voice seemed to end the discussion. “If you take the death in your hands you wouldn’t be different from the Great Arrogant of the Heavens. You wouldn’t be different from Lucifer. And let me tell you one thing…” Suddenly, Mikah's face became a bit somber “…not even God destroyed the fallen angels, something that several of you should be grateful for. Why should you do it?”
“Well then let's chain them for all Eternity. Is not that what you and the archangels did with the Watchers?” Sabrina offered, smiling astutely.
Mikah smiled.
“I like it…”
“It would be a peaceful solution and a way to avoid attracting the attention of Gladius Dei and more demons” Sabrina continued, impelled by Mikah's approval. “Then, we will only release them if they renew the Covenant. If the first rebels give way, there will be no reason for their potential followers to continue”.
Sabrina's face lit up more and more with each word. She burned with an enthusiasm that was infecting everyone else. However, Zhaira watched her with deep contempt.
“You've heard. Does anyone have anything else to say or do you agree?” Mikah asked triumphantly. The Redentto stood up and made a slight bow with one hand on their chest in affirmation. Then, Mikah addressed Ali: “You are also in this and it is necessary that you get ready. Kaliel will help you”.
When Ali raised her face, all the Redentto left in different directions, spurred by an inexplicable enthusiasm. She couldn’t understand why they were happy with that resolution or why they were in such a hurry to fulfill it.
“Come with me, I'll show you something” Kaliel said after appearing at her side. A half smile curved his lips from the side. Something in all this gave him a kind of cruel delight. “Let the hunt begin...”
13
Chained
Kaliel took a different path than Ali expected. At first they seemed to be heading back to Kaliel's room in the tower but suddenly, when no one was in sight, he took her by the wrist and turned her around. They walked almost crouched along the wall of a corridor full of doors and slipped through the last one. They had returned to the main nave of the cathedral. There was no one there now and the darkness spread freely through the stone curves of the statues of the angels. Kaliel was still clutching her wrist as he poked his face out to make sure no one saw them.
No. Surely he hadn’t noticed it. His eyes were directed towards the unfathomable darkness of the corridor and he closed them around trying to elucidate any hidden form. His lips were barely separated, ready to smile triumphantly at any moment. And Ali's heart was pounding harder to see him. Then it happened. The touch of his skin, which until now had only made her feel slightly uncomfortable, turned into vertigo as Kaliel turned around with a huge, perfect smile. In that instant she had a feeling that he was not, in reality, that cold, mistrustful being that he pretended to be. In the depths of her heart she could feel that warmth that emanated from the depths of his gaze; he was just an innocent but tortured soul. And in the depths of her soul, she felt that she knew who he was.
Kaliel released her as if he had just noticed how uncomfortable the situation was. He wanted to downplay it, to do it in a delicate way and not to be noticed, but instead, he was peeling off finger by finger as if he were moving away from a slimy corpse. His smile was completely erased. It wasn’t so bad either, Ali thought. That childish attitude had offended her, but whatever it was, Kaliel had also felt that something in that moment of confusion was wrong.
“Follow me” he whispered, avoiding her gaze.
Kaliel climbed up to the high altar and stood behind the lectern. He looked once again to the sides and then pushed it, revealing a stone stairway that plunged into underground floors. But at this point, nothing surprised Ali anymore. Or at least, that´s what she thought.
Nothing of long corridors and dark curves and zigzags. The staircase led directly into a huge stone hall lit here and there by dozens of artificial torches. Ali gawked at the hundred objects that packed tables and shelves, libraries and many other objects that hung on the walls. She approached them without knowing where to start. The first thing she saw was a shield made of gold that was crossed by a spear on one side and a bow with a quiver on the other. Immediately she noticed that most of these objects were weapons and species of strange amulets that reminded her of those her father used to have.
“The weapons room” Kaliel looked at her stupefaction with a satisfied smile. Apparently, he had regained his good mood, as easy as he would lose it at any moment.
“Wow! I can’t believe it...” she said without stopping tracing everything with her eyes. The room was almost as wide as the entire main nave. “It's incredible that up there they talk about peace all the time while they have a whole arsenal of weapons down here...”
“Ironically, peace requires more wars than you think...” Kaliel muttered. “Anyway, these weapons haven’t been made to harm humans...”
Kaliel picked up a sword that was on the wall just above Ali's head and handed it to her. Then he took another and jumped back into an offensive position.
“Come on, defend yourself!”
Ali didn’t even have time to take the sword firmly in her hands. Kaliel struck her a blow that ended up knocking down her sword and flying it far enough. Then he prepared himself again.
“What are you waiting for? Go, take it!” Kaliel smiled but it was those mischievous smiles. Maybe the worst she had ever seen. His eyes were fixed on her as if she were a prey. She knew that as soon as she tried to flee he would attack. Would he dare to really attack her? Yes. Kaliel unleashed a blow of his sword straight at her head but she threw herself to the ground, trembling.
“What the hell is wrong with you!?” Ali yelled trying to protect herself from the next attack with her arm.
“Compassion won’t save you from a demon” he said while making his third blow.
Ali crawled among screams out of reach and came to take her sword again. When Kaliel waved his sword for the fourth time, Ali managed to stop it by wielding hers. Kaliel seemed to have taken it as a challenge. There were no congratulations. Only one blow after another. Ali managed to stand up and began to look for the movements of her opponent to try to guess them and thus be able to reject them. Kaliel urged her with more and more impetus. His catlike eyes narrowed and watched her fiercely. Ali was beginning to be afraid. She noticed that, despite rejecting his blows successfully, she was retreating. She would never win. Two more steps and she felt the cold stone wall chill the bare skin of her shoulders. There was nowhere to go. Kaliel stopped confidently and, with a last and arrogant movement of his hand, knocked Ali's sword out of her hands.
“Well, you win...” she laughed nervously.
But he didn’t laugh. He placed the edge of his sword against her neck, cornering her against the wall as he slowly approached. It was obvious that he was enjoying it but Ali didn’t know if that would be good or
bad for her. The only clear thing was that if that had been a real battle she wouldn’t have had the slightest chance. That way she would never rescue her father. That way she would never avenge Chase. The image of Chase dying returned to her mind; his blue eyes closing forever. She just wanted to cry until she felt Kaliel's ragged breathing on her neck. Then all thoughts slipped away, leaving her completely blank. Empty and full of curiosity at the same time. Kaliel was about to speak but swallowed his words. Instead, too, he looked at her in silence. He scrutinized her as if it were the first time he had seen her. His stern look softened until it became a kind of admiration.
“I could have killed you a hundred times” he murmured. His crystalline eyes shone on hers and kept her immobilized.
Ali knew she shouldn’t let him intimidate her.
“Would you do it?”
A troubled expression crossed Kaliel's face as if suddenly nauseated. The green of his eyes went limp. The question had caught him off guard. However, he didn’t delay in thinking and regaining his composure.
“My duty is to kill the demons”. Kaliel took a step back. “The fate of humans is beyond my jurisdiction”.
“Would you allow someone else to do it then?” Ali took off the wall and stood up. Pride was Kaliel's weak point. “Would you let them kill me?”
“Haven’t I protected you so far?” Kaliel turned his back and started to walk away.
“Yes, of course... Because "destroy demons is your mission"” Ali imitated him comically. “What if it were a human who attacked me? What if it was the Gladius Dei?”
Kaliel turned violently. Then he realized what she wanted to know: if he would be a suitable companion for that mission.
“Who do you think you are so that everyone chases you?” Checkmate: that hurt. “You are your worst danger”. Ali was left speechless. He sighed. “Swords are not your thing. You better dedicate yourself to the vases...”
Dark Temptation Page 9
