The Whispers of the Fallen (27 page)

Lucifer moved in my direction, his disfigured face set on me. When he reached arm’s-length, he gave me a kind smile.

“Tell me, Nephele…Am I not kind to you?” His eyes pierced me to the core.

“Yes, my lord,” I said as I lowered my head in respect.

“Do you believe I am a good master to you and your kind?” The breeze caused his garments to move gently.

“Yes…my lord…” Deep inside, I regretted questioning him, but a part of me felt slighted. It seemed as though I was not worthy of his trust.

“Very well, if I believe that it is necessary for you to know any of my plans or strategies—I will be kind enough to tell you. Otherwise, simply obey and do not waste time concerning yourself with an empty soul.”

With his hand, he reached for my face, gently touching it. My heart discerned not if it should fear him, or embrace the attention he was now giving me.

“I must go back now…my spirit cannot be out of my body for this long. Until the books are opened and read, my powers will still be limited. I have called you five to carry out my will.” He looked intently at every one of us. “Of all the servants that I have that roam this earth, I have chosen you to carry out my bidding.” Lucifer gave a halfhearted smile. My heart throbbed with joy. To serve the Dark One in his time of need was an honor, my life’s purpose.

“Adawnas, assist Nephele—help her in battle.” Adawnas bowed her head slowly. “Much rests on the both of you.”

“Athalas, Death is still at your command, correct?”

“Yes, my lord,” Athalas responded.

“Use this gift wisely. Do not be foolish with your authority. Even though your soul belongs to me, you still have a human body. Humans are prone to act foolishly, even frivolously,” Lucifer said as he moved promptly toward Erebos.

“Now you, Erebos…” he said in a low, ominous voice. “Infiltrate the kingdoms of this world. Deceive all the kings and the rulers…make them blind to all truth.” Lucifer stretched forth his right hand.

“Now you, Mordred, you are special, the father of the first Nephilin.” As Lucifer spoke, his eyes widened. “You already know what to do: hunt down the other three. Bring them to me alive and unspoiled.” His face closed in on Mordred. “It would have been a delight to have Isaac shed his blood willingly, but to see his body in your possession brings me great satisfaction.”

Mordred smiled.

“It is my pleasure to seek out the remaining three chosen ones. I will do whatever it takes to persuade them to offer up their blood for your cause, my lord.”

Like dust scattered by the wind, Lucifer’s body slowly disintegrated; swiftly turning into a mere shadow.

“None of you have the luxury of failing. The kingdoms must all be ready when the armies move in from the Abyss. The humans must become demoralized, even more inept than they already are. Keep them away from the truth of the Creator. Do not underestimate our enemies…I have known them since the dawn of the universe and I have seen their battle tactics. The Creator is no fool when it comes to war.” His voice was breaking up as his disengaged body vanished. “Now, I go back to my resting place until I am strong enough to visit you again. I will return when you least expect me.”

As soon as he was finished speaking, Lucifer disappeared into thin air.

XVI

Dark Woods Forest was silent. I glanced behind me to see that my four traveling companions were quiet, deep in thought. For a while, I gazed at the snow-covered trees as I breathed in the crisp air that lingered in the atmosphere.

“I must be off,” Athalas stated. “I must go to Justicia and speak to the other Council members there.”

Without a sound, Erebos came alongside Athalas. “I will accompany you,” he said malevolently.

Athalas looked at him with apparent disapproval of the idea.

“Why is it you feel the need to join me?” he asked curiously.

“Given you are the commander of Death and I was called to deceive the kings, it seems befitting that we work together,” he responded with a beguiling grin on his face.

“That is not a bad idea,” Mordred added. “As a matter of fact, I think we should keep a close eye on this one, Erebos. One never knows what plans may be lurking inside his head. He sold his soul to Lucifer, but he still has a human body.”

Athalas jumped up immediately and stood face to face with Mordred.

“I can guarantee that my loyalty lies with the Dark One.” Athalas reacted in defiance. His face was flushed with blood, and the bluish-purple veins on his neck had stiffened, giving him a disfigured appearance.

“
Enough!
” I yelled as my eyes met Athalas’. With my powers, I flung his body against a tree. I inflicted pain on his body.

“Need I remind you of what I am capable of, Athalas?” My patience had grown short.

“
No…please…the pain…stop…
” he begged.

“The moment I release you from my grip, you and Erebos will take off to Justicia and you will both find a way to work together. Agreed?” He nodded in compliance with my painful suggestion.

My cravings were satisfied to see Athalas in this feeble state; it always energized my depravity to watch this groveling swine brought to his knees. Despite his claims of loyalty to the Dark One, I could never imagine myself being fond of a human, let alone to trust one.

His body wracked with pain, Athalas slowly raised himself and stood upright, his face looking completely distraught.

“Are we ready?” Erebos asked, looking smug with a deceptive smile on his face.

Athalas shamefully acquiesced.

“Erebos, send messengers with reports of all of the plans you devise,” Mordred commanded. Erebos gave a nod of affirmation, then he and Athalas disappeared, vanishing into thin air.

Silence lingered. Adawnas remained motionless.

“Where is Corbin?” Mordred asked me.

My breath faltered at the sound of his voice. I tried to remain strong in his presence but our past was still too vivid for me. The fact he behaved as if nothing had ever happened between us enraged me; I was livid.

“He…he is taking care of some affairs…” I gasped.

“I want him to go along with me to track down one of the missing book-bearers—Ballard Radley,” he said as he turned back to look in the direction of Aloisio.

“He…he is in Justicia with the other Council—”

“Insolent fool,” he cut me off. “Do not think the fact you became a Nephilin gives you knowledge of the extent of the powers and abilities of the Fallen,” he said sharply. As he spoke, he placed his right hand over his chest and breathed in deeply. The moment he exhaled, shining lights came out of his mouth along with sounds of drums playing that moved in sync with the lights. Like fireflies, the lights danced in midair.

“Whispering Lights,” I mumbled.

“Lights, I order you to call upon Corbin. Tell him we must search for the book-bearer, Ballard Radley,” he commanded the lights, which dispersed at the sound of his final words. A gentle breeze followed.

“You are becoming a loyal servant to me, aren’t you? I remember when you were still a human girl. I could not take my eyes off you as you pranced around the forest on that day,” he said as he walked around me. “You looked at me, not knowing I was a Fallen Star. I had to have you…. You took me to your village to care for me, thinking I was ill. I watched you as your gut expanded abnormally in a matter of hours. Your reaction to the damage you had brought upon humanity was gratifying to me. You do know it was because you fell that we were able to get the other women, right? You were the one that opened the door to us all.”

I stared at him in disgust.

“I wonder why the Dark One allowed you to live and ordered all the other Fallen Stars to kill the other women they had slept with after they had their baby Nephilins. Who knows…maybe you would’ve made a great Shadow,” he wondered aloud with a sadistic twist. “All the other women did a great job as Nephilins. I wonder if the memories of their days as humans still linger in their minds even after they became Shadows.”

I was at a loss for words when I heard him say this. I felt a cold chill run through me, the memory of my vivid past haunting me.

“How dare you?” I said, repulsed by his arrogance. “Do you think just because the Fallen Rulers appointed you to take over Isaac’s body that you can say whatever you want? I wasn’t destroyed because I found favor before the Dark One’s eyes. I was spared because he saw courage in me.”

He let out a malefic cackle.

“Oh, please. Nephele, you are a mere puppet. Do you really think he has a spot in his so-called ‘heart’ for Nephilins? The Dark One only cares about his servants as long as they are of use to him. Make him rely on you to do all he wants and he will surely never be rid of you. Can he without doubt rely on you?”

To have my weaknesses exposed and to be in the presence of one that knew me so well caused me to feel vulnerable. I turned my back on him so his eyes couldn’t meet mine.

“You know, it is a pleasure to be by your side again, Mordred. The strategy of the Dark One placing the three of us to work together is ingenious,” I said. I felt as if a knife was thrust into my throat as these words flowed from my mouth. I knew that somehow I was going to have to overcome my painful memories and find a way to work peacefully alongside Mordred, even if it meant the death of me. I needed to prove to the Dark One that I was worthy of his full trust.

Adawnas approached us. “I do find our alliance to be one of our strengths. Like Erebos said, we must be united in order to fulfill the Dark One’s wishes.”

“And this coming from the one that not too long ago believed in a redemption for her kind from the Creator…so insightful,” Mordred replied with a flippant sarcasm.

Adawnas remained quiet. She turned her gaze to me.

“Where are the book-bearers?” she asked.

“Last we heard they were spotted close to the Court of Many Meetings—near the cathedral in Aloisio,” I responded.

“It is time to head back to Aloisio. We must find all of them. We need to capture them and convince them to shed their blood and read the books. Lucifer’s body needs to be awakened.” Mordred’s voice faded into whispers along with his body. He returned to a shapeless dark shadow. At an amazing speed, the shadow surrounded us and in a matter of seconds we were transported to Aloisio, standing in front of the walls. The gates were destroyed and lay flat on the muddy ground. Screams of torment were a delight to my senses as we walked through Aloisio’s streets. The Shadows were destroying everything in their path; some cast their bodies in the burning flames that had overtaken homes and buildings, causing massive explosions.

Mordred, Adawnas and I walked in the midst of the massacre fearlessly.

“Where are the other Nephilins?” Mordred shouted.

“They are probably waiting for our arrival at the Prison of Despair,” I called back.

“Let us head to the entrance of the Prison in the dungeons of the cathedral. We need to find Azaziel and the others and inform them of the bidding the Dark One has commanded us to do. We need to spread out and find them,” Mordred affirmed.

“How are we supposed to identify the book-bearers?” Adawnas asked.

Mordred scoffed. “You will know who they are, Adawnas. Once they set eyes on you, they will tremble with fear—
that
is how you will know who they are. They know we are here.”

The Shadows attacked the women and the children in massive numbers throughout the kingdom. Desert Dragons soared above Aloisio. They descended on the monuments, completely decimating them with their flames. There were children frantically running, calling out for their parents.

The cathedral stood in front of us, shining in full majesty. We entered the monumental structure and found that everything was left untouched. The oil paintings were still hanging on the walls, precisely positioned. The massive windows were intact, but hazy due to the rising dust and smoke. Even the candles were still lit.

“Take us to the entrance, Nephele,” Mordred urged.

Inside the cathedral, on the left side of the wall, there hung a canvas that depicted a warrior smothering a dragon. The warrior sat upon a winged lion and held a sword in his hand. Next to the canvas was the secret door that led to the Prison of Despair. The door was invisible to the human eye and even to some immortals.

“The humans were completely unaware that we built the connection between the Prison and the cathedral,” I remarked as I touched the stone wall. Only one with the power to enter one’s soul in dreams and visions could open the door.