by K R Leikvoll
"Go to Alvir. I'm going to talk to your brother. Afterward, I'm going to go to my meeting with the council. I'll see you later," he murmured to me. His lips brushed my hand, ignoring Arturio's scoff and pushed me gently toward the path. I reluctantly left him behind and followed the road to Alvir's plain wooden door.
I knocked softly in case he was still asleep. The door was thrown open immediately, and I was greeted with his beaming face. He welcomed me inside eagerly as if he had been waiting on me for hours. The old man had tidied up considerably and prepared a spot for me to sit that time. I sat down on a lavender pillow across from a small table low to the ground. He gave me some fresh-brewed tea while he prepared his pen and ink.
"We have a great many things to discuss. I thought we might start with your early life. How did you get to Earth?" he asked, ready to jot down my answer. I took a sip of tea.
"I'm not sure exactly, but James. Uh, James, I don't think he has a last name, he somehow betrayed Vince to bring me there," I replied. He looked mildly surprised and copied what I said into his blank tome.
"Vince's James, eh? How long did you know him? I am assuming he is dead based on his absence."
I swallowed hard. The grief of losing him was never going to end. I wasn't sure if there was ever going to be a time where my heart didn't physically hurt when I thought of him. "I knew him my entire life. He stayed with me until the day Kirin brought me here," I replied. "What's confusing to me is that he never mentioned any of this."
Alvir nodded as if he understood something I didn’t. "Vince has connections far beyond Praetis. James probably sought to keep you safe from them," he guessed as he wrote.
His words concerned me. "There's demons on Earth?" I asked, my heart dropping into the pit of my stomach.
He saw my concern and put a kind hand on my arm. "Indeed, but they are far younger than the demons of this world. You should have no troubles with them after killing Nakarius," he replied. "Onto the ring... when you first put it on, what was the vision the Divines granted you?"
It was hard to think that far back, but when I remembered the darkness that choked me and the booming voice of the Void Lord (which is what I assumed that presence had to be), I felt the distress all over again. "I was in the darkness and a red eye told me that I couldn't escape," I answered as the flashing image entered my mind.
Alvir stopped writing abruptly. "A vision from Vince? How peculiar and magnificent. I had not thought about that being a possibility, though it seems obvious now." That bothered me a lot, too. It was the only vision where I wasn't watching it in third person. It was as though it was actually happening to me. "Have you had any more like this?"
"My second vision I met him in a valley and he seemed to be speaking to me directly," I said, remembering our first encounter. As if he could hear us talking about him, his shadowy form appeared behind Alvir. His armored hand stroked Alvir's face. I couldn't help but feel instantly enraged. Our eyes met and his usual prissy smile got wider.
Alvir caught on that something was happening and looked around. "Is he here now?" he asked excitedly.
"Yes," I replied with a clenched jaw, glaring at Vince as angrily as my face would let me.
Alvir actually let out a giddy laugh. "Vince! It has been awhile! How do you fare?" he asked the air.
"Free of the Void, old friend," Vince's voice whispered in my ear.
"H-he said he's free of the Void," I stammered. The first demon that committed mass genocide wasn't having to suffer the consequences of his actions. Complete injustice. It made me sick.
Alvir continued to scratch down my words. "Interesting, let's continue. Vince, you are welcome to stay for tea, but I must finish my life's work," he said as though the bastard was invited. Vince's shadowy form crept its way around me. I tried my hardest to ignore it.
"What have you been seeing in your visions?"
"Just the events leading up to my conception," I mumbled, trying not to think about Eve getting raped by the monster that stood behind me. "The visions have been trying to tell me that Vince is my... gene donor, but I'm not sure how that's useful or how it'll help me beat any demons."
The spectral shadow of Vince's hand seemed to be hovering over my shoulder. That's all it took for me to snap.
I stood up instantly as if I had been electrocuted. "Don't ever fucking touch me again!" I yelled, whipping around. That made him chuckle, which in turn only made my emotions worse. I tried to swipe at him to shove him away, but my hands went right through him. "I fucking hate you! I HATE you! Get out of my head!" I screeched. The more I thought about his horrible actions, the more enraged I grew. I grabbed my tea off the table and chucked it at his form. It shattered against the wall behind him.
"Now, now, sweet child of mine, that's not a nice way to treat our friend's house," his voice jeered at me.
I wanted to scream. Had it not been for Alvir's hand on my wrist, I would've continued to destroy his home in my rage.
"I take it you two do not get along?" he asked, curiously pulling me back.
"He raped my mother!" I yelled in disgust.
"She tasted truly divine, what can I say?" he whispered with a smile.
"To bring you here, yes. Horrid, Eve was a wonderful woman, but he created the Nephilim! I would have never thought through his research that he would actually achieve his goal," Alvir said, writing more down.
"He was trying to make the Nephilim?" I asked in horror.
"He was trying to create the Nephilim for quite a while. At some point, he must have figured it out that it had to be through Eve. Otherwise, how would you be here?"
I looked angrily back at Vince.
"So was that the plan?" I asked him, furious.
He shrugged with an aggravating expression on his face, like he was teasing me or something. I wanted to keep yelling at him, but Alvir cleared his throat.
"Please! Both of you! Vince, you know how important my work is. Perhaps you could stop distracting her from our task?" Alvir pleaded with me and the air.
I crossed my arms and sat back down. It was hard to think about anything besides my absolute hatred for Vince. It was so bad that black shadows were wrapping their way around my arm. I had to calm down before I set something on fire by accident.
"Why would he make the Nephilim that would destroy him?" I asked, pulling myself mentally away from his shadowy form.
Instead of disappearing, he decided to sit behind Alvir to antagonize me some more. "I don't know. Why would I, Alvir?" he taunted with a wicked grin.
"I believe he sought to control the Nephilim to somehow gain the status of a god, though I do not think he foresaw Lazarus' betrayal," Alvir said, pouring me a fresh glass of tea. At the mention of her name, Vince's entire physicality changed. His shoulders slouched inwards and his eyes spaced out, clearly deep in some kind of thought about her.
"Did he even care about her at all?" I asked, looking past Alvir. Vince was either ignoring me or still thinking about something based on his lack of reaction.
Alvir scratched his white hair. "Probably not. I have not known him to care about anyone," he replied with a shrug.
"Then he should've expected it. That's what happens when you're an abusive sociopath," I said more to Vince than Alvir. "No wonder she's psychotic."
"She is the chosen one, unfortunately. Carrying a Void Lord will drive a person to madness. Anyway, next topic: your abilities. What have you been able to do with the ring?" he asked.
Vince's shadows evaporated around us, disappearing back into my mind. In some way, I felt like I won that encounter. Sure, he made me angry, but his retreat was duly noted.
"I've been able to block stuff, heal myself. I guess I've created a few portals," I replied.
He quickly wrote down my answer. "And your first experience with demonic power? How did you know you were the Nephilim?"
Hmm... hard to remember. "When I absorbed the essence of a demon Kirin killed. It somehow caused me to, um…"
I didn't think about that small fact too often. I had completely stopped menstruating—which was a huge blessing with my obvious lack of feminine hygiene products. I guess it was a good form of birth control, too.
"You absorbed the essence? An ability of Vince's—magnificent! It will help you become more powerful over time. What did it cause you to do?"
"I… I lost my, um... womb," I said choosing my words delicately. It was kind of embarrassing to be discussing it with anyone other than my doctor.
He nodded understandingly. "Yes, it’s the light's will to deny you the right to procreate. It had to reincarnate this far to reach you. They gave you this beautiful gift of long life, and it is getting close to its climax."
He closed his tome and folded his hands into his lap. His words put my death right in my face again.
"Let us discuss the light first. There are many abilities for both sides that you will learn over time, like illusion or invisibility for example. It is important that you learn to summon a weapon so you can defend yourself without using demonic power. We can work on that tomorrow. You preferred a staff last time; we will see what weapon is fit for the Nephilim.
"As far as demonic power goes, I am sure you do not need me to tell you that it is a steep slope of violence. Events may get out of hand, you may hurt people you care about. Fortunately, demons do not feel those emotions, so it does not bother them. For you, it will hurt the light inside you to do evil things to your companions, so heed my warning. That being said, it truly will be the biggest ally in your quest. As the demonic power grows inside you, you will be able to do all sorts of things: gain strength and agility, see through walls, command those with lesser minds as thralls, for example. My research suggests that demons created by you, the Nephilim, through the Dark Sacrament won't be bound to the Void because you are not bound to it. With Vince's blood, any demon you create will be fiercely loyal. You will have to use this gift to help you win."
"What happens if you do the Dark Sacrament with someone that's already a demon?" I asked, instantly thinking of Kirin. If someone wasn't bound to the Void, then it was basically like giving away free powers with slight consequences.
"Nothing. I know you speak of your proselyte. Maundrell, is it? It is obvious that he is bound to you, but no. He has already been through the Dark Sacrament. Keep him close though; a demon as loyal as him is a valuable ally."
I wasn't really sure how the Dark Sacrament was performed, nor did I want to subject anyone to flames. On the other hand, if they weren't bound to the Void, they would get free demonic abilities. It could come in handy if I was in a pinch. Plus, if the person would suddenly become super loyal, maybe I could even use it on an enemy. It was hard to think about manipulating someone like that, though.
Alvir and I discussed various things afterwards, like his long-standing friendship with Vince and the word Naazvaba. That was the term for the four Void Lords collectively. Somehow, I was going to kill all of them... likely alone. He still hadn't told me how to get back to Earth, but I was going to have to get back if I was going to get any leads on the next Void Lord, Azmordius.
I was going to make my weapon the next day. That would be interesting. I wasn't at all sure what kind of weapon would fit me. Maybe a bow like Alex? I hoped it wouldn't be a sword or something close-range.
Alvir's age and growing sicknesses made it hard for him to work for too long, so he dismissed me in the early evening. I was pleasantly surprised to see Kirin waiting for me outside Alvir's house. He was leaning against the stone wall watching everything going on around him. At some point, he had changed his clothes. I was assuming it was Evyan based on the design; the robes were deep garnet colored with thin silver embroidery. It was striking on him. He always wore black. In fact, I think it was the first time I had seen him in a different color. After our separation all day, I was embarrassed that I felt utterly infatuated when I saw him. When he reached out his hand for mine, I was blushing so bad that my face was burning up.
"You look like you've had a rough day," Kirin said, pulling me beside him. We started up the long trek to the silver geode.
"Yeah, well... I'm better now," I mumbled, burying my face into his arm for a brief moment. "What did you figure out?"
"Our mutual ally, Femora to the north, will be overrun by the Infernal Army soon if we don't aid them. With our combined forces, we can march on Duskwraith and take the fight straight to Lazarus," Kirin responded. "It will be difficult, but it is our only option."
"Sounds like the same thing you guys did with Eve," I said after pondering it.
"This time we will have the Femoran army and the Nephilim that has already been confirmed as the killer of Nakarius. It will work out, one way or another," he replied.
It gave me chills. I tried not to think about it too hard.
We kept an even pace up to the geode. I stopped caring about people seeing us hand-in-hand. If I was their prophesied messiah, my personal relationships shouldn't matter. Most people we passed were polite enough not to stare, but once we entered the silver geode, the "nobles" weren't as kind. They all stuck up their noses like snooty bitches and acted shocked. Kirin decided to put his entire arm around me as we got closer to our destination, which made the stares worse. He was beaming as though their discomfort pleased him. It kind of embarrassed me, but it made me feel special at the same time. The only occasion he had put his arm around me like that was back at his castle... it felt like such a long time ago. His touch was soothing now.
He had led us to the top of the geode versus where my room was. There were two guards standing outside of a set of massive crystal doors. When we approached them, they were pulled open and then shut behind us. It led into another white hallway with several doors. Kirin walked us leisurely to his room and waited for me to enter first.
We were in a ridiculously over-the-top decorated... condo? I had to assume it was the place they wanted Kirin to stay. The walls were made of the same silver crystal as the door; parts were cut out for bay windows. The floor was covered in massive black furs leading to the center of the room where a crystal table and two plush red chairs had been set up in the candlelight. Beyond that, I could see a bedroom with a big bed draped in white blankets.
"Divinus!" two voices said excitedly. The sisters rushed out from the bedroom with happy faces. Before I could stop them, they started dragging me toward the bedroom, away from Kirin's grasp. I tried to pull back in protest for a moment before he gave me a reassuring look. The girls shut the door behind me.
I was a bit flustered when the taller one started to take off my white robes. The shorter one pointed to the bed. "The Naadean King picked this out for you to wear for your dinner," she said with a happy tone. On the bed was a dress, but it wasn't at all like anything I had been forced into. It was made of dulled black silk and reminded me of a flower. The dress had been tailored into sections to mimic dark petals like a rose. It was by far one of the prettiest dresses I had ever seen; the thought of me wearing it felt slightly humiliating. I mean, wearing anything but plain clothing was strange those days.
While the shorter brunette took her time tying me into the dress, the taller sister started to paint my face with the Evyan equivalent of makeup. It'd been so long since I wore it; I hoped she wouldn't make me look like a clown. After I was fit in the dress, which besides being slightly too long was perfect, the shorter girl started to style my hair with a million pins. By the time I looked in a mirror, I didn't see myself.
I saw Vince.
The way my skin clashed with the black of the dress, my eyes were two big orbs of fiery orange shaded with dark grays. Even my pale lips—lightly painted pink—were the same shape as his. The only difference was my startling white hair tied up in some fancy Evyan style.
"Black suits you," Vince's cruel voice whispered in my ear.
"Feeling pretty active today?" I asked numbly as I stared at my reflection. It was almost like he was glaring back at me through my own eyes.
"W
hat was that, Divinus?" one of the girls said.
"Nothing, sorry," I said, shaking my head.
I wasn't ready for them to open the door when they did. I had to rip my eyes from the mirror and turn my attention back to Kirin.
He was sitting at the table fidgeting with something until he noticed the door was open. Kirin’s silver eyes lit up when he saw me. He smiled, clearly pleased that I hadn't fought wearing the dress. He motioned to the chair in front of him, which I shuffled to as he directed. The girls left the room, leaving us alone.
"What's with all the fancy stuff?" I asked as he poured himself wine. He chuckled.
"I suppose after your time here this would seem fancy," Kirin said after taking a sip. "Truthfully, I thought you could use a stress-free environment to eat."
"Are you sure that's the truth?"
"Or perhaps I'm trying to seduce you. I'll let you decide," Kirin replied. I held my glass out, and he poured it full.
That made me laugh a bit. Somehow, I had fallen for a guy that technically kidnapped me from home. Someone that had a lot of issues, alcoholism, and carried a weapon made to destroy me. He was a demon, and I was some kind of fallen angel. What a pair.
"Up until last night, you would've called that sacrilege," I noted.
He squirmed slightly at my words. His fingers brushed my hand to take off the tension of his thoughts.
"Valentine... your touch, your blood, your presence... it's hard for me to hide my demonic nature around someone so intoxicating. I've fought from the moment I met you not to consume you, to obey the will of the light. The blood bond made it harder to contain, then you pushed me too far. Now you are stuck with me, as I am, not as I aspire to be. I don't think any other person has had this privilege."
"Even Danielle?" I asked bravely daring to enter that territory. It was probably not the most appropriate thing to say, but my mouth was faster than my mind. I was genuinely curious about his feelings between us. If he was over her, I would've never brought it up. Everything I had seen suggested he wasn't.
He looked cut by her name. Naturally, he reached for his wine for comfort. After he emptied his goblet, one of the brunette sisters brought two steaming plates of food. Meat and strange fruit. I was actually hungry since I hadn't eaten all day. I was mildly surprised to see Kirin was given a plate, too. I hadn't seen him eat a single thing since I met him. The girl rushed out as if she was worried about disturbing us.