Existence: A Dark Paranormal Fantasy (The Devilgod Series Book 1)

by S. C. Lewis

  “No, we haven’t…” I said, as his smile spread.

  “Ah, isn’t this lovely? Father and son…chatting.” Ramiel said. I caught Seth’s eyes wrinkle slightly at those words. I found that strange; it bothered him whenever anyone included those words together, father and son. He looked ill.

  “Can we talk tomorrow, son? I’m quite tired I just want to see your mother and head to bed.”

  He didn’t move. I felt the uneasiness once more as Ramiel closed in from behind. Seth sinisterly grinned at me, refusing to move.

  "No, I’m afraid this can’t wait until tomorrow, Nathan,” Ramiel announced. I didn’t want to turn as I sensed him near me.

  “What’s going on?”

  A hand came to rest upon my shoulder making me spin around to face the tall figure of Ramiel.

  “Relax, Nathan; everything is alright,” Ramiel said again. “We just want to talk to you. It’s the least you can do for the son you hardly see.”

  I turned and faced him, unable to escape. His words ripped into me and I knew that he knew it. I hadn’t been there for the boy and now he was shoving that in my face.

  “What is it?” I asked curiously. What could be so important that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow? Whatever it was, he now had my attention.

  “There’s something we must discuss. It’s been on my mind for some time.”

  I had known Ramiel for a long time, remembered him when he had been cruel. He had been the one that had found me. He had brought me to Sophia. And I wondered why he was now trying to separate us.

  “Listen carefully!” Ramiel said; his gentle face had hardened, and the white soft hair that had once made him glow and appear innocent now seemed enhanced by a hate-ridden stare. His voice roared and lifted like a trumpet.

  From behind, Seth slammed the door closed, startling me. I glanced back. Seth stood a step or two behind. Entrapped by their figures, I wasn’t sure what to think.

  “What is it Ramiel? Has something happened?”

  “Your time has come to an end, Nathan, that’s all…” Ramiel said, as if he had plucked the very thought from my mind. An end, I had seen the end once. I’d been taken from its hands and brought here.

  A vision knocked me back; somewhere in the light, I heard the familiar sound of gunshots. Then, the combined scents of gunfire and death blew in the voice of the wind. I tasted the blood down the side of my mouth as I took a breath, then collapsed to the floor.

  I gasped staring over at Ramiel, who fashioned a cruel smile.

  “Have you forgotten?”

  “No.” I whispered. The word slowly escaped my mouth as the blood had.

  Pain exploded within me. I held myself together, tears fought to escape the pooling in my eyes, as I lay still and prone.

  “I can make it more painful,” Ramiel said.

  “Why are you doing this? Please…Ramiel, stop! Please…What have I’ve done?”

  I held a breath as the pain shot into my body again.

  “You know this was always meant to be. You have served your purpose for the time. Now, you must step aside. You have a choice to voluntarily leave, or I can kill you. Make it easy on yourself.”

  “Please, stop! I did as you asked. I kept Sophia safe, I loved her. Why now?” I gasped and heaved as the pain rode down my stomach; it seized me, ebbing for a moment, but I knew it wasn’t completely gone, and I knew the next time the pain would be twice as unbearable. Nonetheless, somehow, I staggered to my feet.

  “If only you understood, Nathan, that you are only part of the solution. Only a half of what Sophia needs.” I wrinkled my eyes over at him. What did he mean?

  “And I need that part, that half of what you hold inside you to make Seth complete and whole once and for all.”

  I glanced over at Seth in desperation; turning slowly away from Ramiel, I hoped to leave, but there was no escape. I didn’t understand any of what Ramiel was talking about, but I knew he wanted me dead. Seth flashed me a smile, slowly moving aside as I reached out to him, and then I collapsed to the floor, locked in the deepest agony again.

  “Help me, son! Please, help me!” But he moved away. I couldn’t believe he was allowing this. Did the boy hate me that much?

  “This is the only way, Nathan. You think you would live a life that doesn’t belong to you? The life you have is but borrowed…it was never yours to have, my dear Nathan.”

  Ramiel kneeled beside me. I lifted my head, barely meeting his eyes.

  “None of this belongs to you, my dear boy. It was never meant to be for you. You were only getting things ready for the true lord.” He pointed towards Seth, who beamed down over me. I couldn’t tell if he was agreeing with this. He seemed reluctant in some form. “Even Sophia.”

  “No!” I gasped reaching out to him, but the boy wouldn’t acknowledge me.

  “Don’t you see, my dear Nathan? The boy wants you dead more than anyone. With you out of the way, Sophia will now take her rightful place with Seth, where she was always meant to be.”

  I blinked quizzically. “But she’s his mother,” I stuttered

  “The idea that she was his mother was your belief, poor Nathan. Sophia never had a child…”

  “No…you lie. I saw him his birth…I saw.” I ran the memories through my mind.

  “You saw only what I wanted you to see, Nathan. This has always been your illusion, my poor Nathan, to get what I needed from you. And now, the time has come…no more illusions; no more games…”

  “No! No! Why my Sophia?”

  “She’s not yours! She was never yours!” Seth yelled from the other end and rushed forward. He caught me off guard. He seemed just as surprised by his words. He froze, glaring at me angry. His nostrils heaved with a strange rage. What was wrong with him? He seemed like a different person suddenly, one that despised me and wanted me dead.

  “Son? Seth?” I pleaded, reaching out to him, but he walked around me, ignoring me.

  “You’re not even my father. You’re nothing. You’re just a vessel. A tool used, and now, one to discard like a piece of trash!”

  “Just step aside, Nathan,” intoned Ramiel. “take your place, be a part of this. For you still can. You can live on within the boy. You can live comfortably as part of him.”

  What? Live within him? What did that mean? I had to save Sophia and get her out of this wicked place. All this made no sense.

  “No, damn you! No! I love Sophia! I can’t be without her. I won’t leave her! Ramiel, this is crazy!”

  The pain faded again. I struggled to my feet and turned to face Ramiel and Seth, who were both standing before me. Seth’s laughter roared and bounced off the walls of the small office as he loomed upon me, his wicked smile bearing down.

  “She’s mine. She will love me. This is the way it should have been. We’ve been kept apart for far too long.”

  “NO!” I screamed, rising and shoving Seth back, I swung a fist at him. Seth’s head tossed back as my hand knocked the side of his lower jaw. His hand reached over wiping at the scarlet stain upon his lip.

  I backed away unto the doorway; my hands shaking.

  “I won’t let you touch her. I won’t let either one of you hurt her!” I yelled, grabbing for the doorknob. “We are leaving this wretched place!”

  Flinging the door open, I raced out of the office, up to the second level corridor.

  26

  The man of your dreams

  Seth

  I moved to follow him, but a tug from Ramiel stopped me.

  “Let him go.”

  “But he’ll tell Sophia everything. We must stop him!”

  “He won’t do anything. I know him well. Besides, Sophia won’t remember the events of last night or this night well enough to believe him,” Ramiel said. That assured me.

  “What will we do with him?” I asked, feeling over the side of my throbbing jaw and licking the blood from my mouth.

  “Kill him,” Ramiel very boldly said. He seemed stern, like a very emotionle
ss fiend. “I’m afraid I can’t,” Referring to himself.

  “It’ll be my pleasure.” I said smiling back. “That subhuman bastard is as good as dead, as of today.”

  27

  Rude Awakening

  Eric

  Magic is like a combination lock. If each tumbler falls into place, the lock will open.

  I hid as Nathan raced up the staircase past me. I still couldn’t believe what had taken place downstairs in the oval office between Nathan, Ramiel, and Seth, his son. The incident was fresh in my mind, and I couldn’t make sense of it. I wanted to believe I was dreaming, perhaps imagining the whole thing. It would be less troubling. However, I couldn’t pretend any longer that I hadn’t sensed something strange in Seth’s actions toward Sophia. I had never suspected Ramiel to be any part of this, though. Now, I was afraid.

  Confused, but most of all disappointed, all my beliefs seemed to diminish within those few seconds. I was concerned for the safety of Sophia and Nathan. What did all this mean? But more importantly, what did it mean for Sophia and the rest of us?

  I had to warn Sophia. We had to leave, like Nathan had declared, before things got worse. We couldn’t stay another day in this place!

  I feared the worst. Had Ramiel and Seth been planning this from the very beginning? All these questions, with no answers.

  I began to weep; and couldn’t stop myself. Things had been wonderful once; now, they seemed to be falling apart thread by thread. The events of this fateful day rolled from my mind like a floating standard of warning. Earlier, Ramiel encouraged us, even invited us to go shopping, while he and Seth remained back at the Cathedral. Ramiel arranged everything; dropping us off at the Galleria shopping center, and leaving us without a method of transportation home. We were to call whenever we were ready.

  But restlessness had set in my heart as soon as we had arrived. The others did their shopping, but I couldn’t brush the morbid thoughts from my mind. Finally, feeling defeated by the uneasiness that had plagued me, I dismissed myself from my companions, complaining of not feeling well. I took a taxi back home. I hadn’t felt good the whole afternoon. I’d worried I had caught something from our new bartender. After all, the guy had been sick the entire evening. Angelo told me Lucas had been in the bathroom, throwing up most of the day. But then, Angelo had served him several shots before he allowed the new guy a go at the bar. That was Angelo’s steadfast rule.

  “Can’t touch the stuff, if you can’t take a shot!” However, it had been several, and after a while, anyone- even an ardent vampire- would have been sick.

  I struggled to my feet; carefully stepping over the rails, and ducked under the arch, hoping to pass the office unseen and head toward the vaults. However, as soon as I began to descend, a shadowy shape cast itself upon the walls of the Cathedral, heading in my direction. I backed away and scampered back into the spot where I had hid when Nathan had hurried past me. Who was coming?

  I waited nervously, but no one appeared. The shadow seemed to disappear into the darkness of the building. Only the silence surfaced to mock me, a rush of wind hit my face. Paralyzed, I remained where I was, looking ahead. The shadow reappeared rising from out of the floor. A three-dimensional form shaped itself from out of a black cloud taking on a human form without a face. It was completely black, and that scared me.

  The shape transformed further, slowly resembling the appearance of a human. I could see a face now take shape; eyes and lips seemed to surface from out of the blackness. White, long hair devoured the black shell and a man now stood before me. He was a handsome man dressed in a red velvet vest and long silk cloak with beautiful glowing skin, and spectacularly white long hair. He was glowing so brightly that I blocked my eyes with a hand. The glow soon faded, and light hummed from the stranger instead.

  I couldn’t believe how alike in appearance to Seth’s and Nathan’s faces the stranger seemed to be. At first, I thought it was Seth or some kind of joke. But to my horror, it wasn’t. I moved back, falling down. My scuffles drew the stranger’s attention to me. He spotted me ducking in the corner of the passageway.

  The figure gave me a smile, I shuddered as he took a step towards me, but stopped glancing away toward the end of the passageway. He seemed to be drawn away. He glanced at me once more lifting a pale finger and instructing me to be silent.“Ssshhhhhhh!”

  I heard steps coming from the other direction of the passageway and turned with mock courage to challenge the sounds. Who was coming now? I glanced back at the intruder, but the shadowy presence that had appeared had vanished.

  Unable to make sense of what I had seen, I raced down the passageway and under the arch. I would have to escape the long way out of the Cathedral to avoid the other ghost. I wasn’t going to wait and see.

  28

  amael, Be Thou Name

  Nathan

  The hunter must hunt. The moment he stops, he becomes the hunted.

  I entered Sophia’s bedroom and closed the door behind me, locking it.

  I felt pain crawling all over my body, inside and out. However, I had to be strong for Sophia and protect her from the reality of their world. I had to protect her from Ramiel and…Seth! A sob broken through my mouth; I held back, swallowed hard. I had to keep it together. The very idea of what they planned was sickening. How could all this be a fantasy of mine? I didn’t believe it. But why then did I feel there was some truth to it? Had I really seen his birth; had I really bared a son? Did I want to believe Ramiel’s lie for the mere idea of living this life that he claimed was not even mine. The people I trusted with my life had come to take me apart. Had I known it, and merely denied it? Had I sacrifice so much to live a lie?

  Perhaps I had no choice, and was a vessel, as Ramiel had claimed. A tool for their plans to plant the seed of evil? And Sophia, what was she to them? What was her role? The mysteries had always lain in her, from the moment I had discovered her. She was a mystery the first time Ramiel introduced her to me.

  A woman without a past, without a family. All I knew was that I loved her. The past didn’t matter and didn’t scare me. I had all the answers then, but now I doubted my entire life. However, never Sophia; she was the only thing that made sense to me. I knew I loved her, and my great friend and master, Ramiel, was so protective of her from the beginning. I should have known, should have seen the evil he hid. But my love for her had blinded me from seeing anything past what I felt for her.

  “Come in, Nathan,” Ramiel’s voice had whispered softly from inside the room. His tall figure was standing in the dark watching Sophia sleep soundlessly.

  I recalled opening the door, poking my head into the room and stepping in quietly. I saw her shape on the bed near the lamp glowing dimly, next to the coffee table. Nervously, I pushed back black locks, trembling under the eyes of Ramiel.

  The wounds had healed long ago. Yet, now, I couldn’t stop thinking of the pain. What deal had I made? Had I made a pact with the devil? And if so, was it finally coming to an end? I didn’t want to give it up. Not Sophia.

  I gazed over momentarily up at the tall figure of Ramiel, then searched the covers of the bed for the being I loved long before I had set eyes on her.

  “Is that the girl you told me about Master…Sophia?” I recalled asking, looking towards the bed where Sophia lay.

  I cleared my head, holding my stomach. The pain had seized me, and I knew it wasn’t gone. It was only a matter of time before it would come back and make me beg for my life. I walked over to the bed, finding Sophia lying underneath the covers. She still looked the same, like the first time I had set my eyes upon her. Like that night in the dark room, with Ramiel’s figure standing over her, glaring down at me from the side of the bed. It had never occurred to me before how she hadn’t changed, or aged a single day since we met. However, now as I looked at her, it puzzled me, yet made sense.

  I stumbled to the side of the bed, balancing myself on the frame, then stopped and collapsed on the bed next to her. My weight shifted the bed slig
htly, and Sophia suddenly awoke.

  Shaking the sleep from her eyes, she looked at me. A smile spread over her face, and her eyes sparkled to life as she sat up to embrace me.

  I practically fell into her arms, holding her tightly taking her in. Sophia sensed there was something wrong.

  “Nathan, you’re here. Oh, how I missed you so much! I must have fallen asleep; when did you get in? I’m so glad to see you. I’ve missed you!” She seemed to have a million things to say. She kissed me passionately. I didn’t want it to end.

  Sophia held me, as I trembled in her arms. She gently pulled away and caressed my soft cheek, looking into my eyes. I pulled her to me, hoping to hide from her. I kissed her instead and tucked my face against her neck. I just wanted to be with her one more time, before she was ripped from my arms. Before I had to…

  I stopped myself. I didn’t want to think about it, and held her tightly in my arms.

  “Nathan, what’s wrong?” Sophia whispered gently.

  However, I answered her with a kiss, pressing my lips on her soft mouth to make room for our reality.

  Sophia fell back on the bed. I came over her. I could still feel the pain inside me, that part that warned me. I’ll be back! However, I pushed everything away. Closed my mind to the pain and the faces of death that had once mocked me. This was our time together.

  I pushed inside her, kissing the back of her neck tenderly. Immediately, her hands pressed me closer. Her warmth overwhelmed me, and I was lost in her embrace. She quivered beneath as we came together again and again.

  “I love you, Sophia. I always have, and I always will.”