by Dahlia Lu
She delivered another slap to his face. “And this is for you! You put yourself through so much pain because of your jealousy and your pride! You were so blinded by your assumptions that you destroyed the bond that was so precious to you!”
She lowered her voice. “Did you ever ask your demons why Lucifer killed Soren? Lucifer did not kill Soren because of me, like you thought. He did it to save our newborn! Soren wanted our baby dead, that’s why he was killed!”
Arvin searched himself to piece the information together. He then looked to his demons for the truth, which they provided by avoiding his eyes.
“Why can’t you see that as his wife, I can never replace his brother? If you were half the brother you claim you are, you would have known that nothing could replace or take away the bond between you and Lucifer. Despite his rage, he spared your life, Arvin. He would have never hesitated if another attempted what you did. Does that not tell you how important you are to him?”
His eyes were screened with a thick layer of tears. He looked to Lucifer then appeared in front of him. “Forgive me, Lucifer,” he said as he wrapped his arms around him. “Forgive me, brother, for what I did not understand.”
Lucifer quickly turned around and created a force field to block the oncoming shots. The force field expanded toward the army and caused an explosion. He looked to Kali to see if she was still safe and discovered the wicked Hana diving towards her back with the used arrow. He raced toward the woman to stop her, but the deed had already been done.
Chevalier ran to her as fast as his power allowed and caught her before she fell to the ground. He turned her to face him, praying to his God, any Gods, to save her. Her violet eyes turned away from him and searched for Lucifer, who stood within her reach. She gazed into his cold ethereal blue eyes and for her last moment, reached out to him.
Chevalier held her closer possessively and guided her face toward him. He softly whispered to her, begging her to look him in the eyes. Abruptly, her body hardened and crumbled in his arms. He watched her ashes slipping out of his fingers and felt a great loss stab through his heart.
He let out a scream like a wounded animal ready for slaughter. His pain could be felt through the vibrations of his coarse voice. He looked down to her ashes again with blurry vision and trembling hands. He closed his fists tightly to hold on to what was left of her before the wind wisped her away. He let out another scream as if he was being torn from limb to limb. Once was enough. Once was more than enough! He could not watch her die again.
He wished that she would have left him dead.
All thoughts of saving this wretched planet drowned in his golden eyes. He found himself in a strange agreement with Lucifer. This world had brought her nothing but heartache. If even he and Lucifer could not grant her a simple wish, there was no justice in this world.
He had been a complete hypocrite. He had tried to convince Lucifer to see the good in this world, when he himself saw none. He wanted to be the good guy, to be the hero who stood by these humans because he was once one of them. All along, the answers had been staring at him in the face. He had always hated himself for being one of them. Chivalry had long been dead, but he was too stubborn to admit it. No one gave a damn about one another, anymore. All that occupied their minds were their own selfish thoughts and the precious minutes of the day. Why did he want to save a world where most consciences were traded in for more time? Anger swallowed him whole and he heard a voice he hadn’t heard for the longest time. His golden eyes glowed viciously with rage.
Chapter 20: Must Be Protected
Chevalier let out a horrified scream at his vision. His body perspired profusely while his heart throbbed inside his chest. He suddenly realized what had happened was only the shadows of his premonition. Still, he could not stop himself from trembling. His pain felt all too real for him to simply dismiss it as an overactive imagination.
“Chevalier? What’s wrong?” Hana’s voice startled him. When her face entered his view, he felt the same heated rage from his vision. He pushed her aside when she tried to reach for his face. Hana was confused and frightened. She could not understand why his usual cold attitude toward her suddenly turned hostile after what was a mere minute of time.
“Are you even yourself?” she screamed at him.
He took a long and necessary moment to gather himself. He was in too much distress to be able to think rationally. Even though his vision showed him a cruel and regrettable future, he could not blame her for a crime she had yet to commit. For all he knew, his vision could have just been a figment of his imagination. He had been wrong before.
His heart still beat frantically inside his chest. The sorrow and rage still lingered in the back of his mind. He had lost Kali once, and he’d be damn if he lost her again. He would hate anything and everything in his vision. Even if there was only a small chance of such an event, he would not allow such thing to happen. The woman may look innocent now, but she was nothing more than a vile serpent motivated by greed and jealousy. If he allowed her to live, she would pose a threat to Kali. It may not be now, but there would be a day when she would sink her venomous fangs into Kali while she lay asleep.
He leaned his body to the side when she reached out for him again. She still could not understand why her touch would repulse him. All she could see in his eyes was rage and more rage. She suddenly felt a jolt of panic surging through her body.
“Chevalier?” she called out his name, hoping that she could call him back to his senses. He approached her step by step and she retreated until her back met the wall. “Chevalier, please, you’re scaring me!”
He stood only inches from her now and he could see the fear dancing in her eyes. She winced when he inched himself closer.
“Please,” she begged, “Chevalier, please don’t scare me like this. At least let me know what I did wrong.”
“What you did wrong, you ask?” Chevalier inquired and she nodded. “I suppose you didn’t do anything any girl wouldn’t do. Your hypocrisy, your greed, and your jealously are nothing out of the ordinary.”
She wanted to protest his accusations, but his once-gentle golden eyes now struck fear into her heart.
“You are just like the rest of this filthy world,” he said in a disgusted tone. “No, you are part of this vile world. You lived your happy life because of the misery of others and without an ounce of remorse. I have never questioned Kali’s choice in friends or lack of them, but you Hana, make me sick to my stomach. If it helped you out, you wouldn’t mind stepping all over Kali. Your heart is devoid of any kind of compassion. It is pitch black, like your soul.”
“What are you going to do me?” she stuttered.
“I will end your sorry existence,” he declared in a tone so cold, it made her shiver.
“And you think you’re doing some sort of justice?” Hana retorted.
“No. I don’t believe in fairness or justice, or anything of the sort. Those things do not exist in this world.” He placed a cold hand on her throat. She began to squirm in panic. “I must kill you to prevent your black heart from hurting the woman I love any further. I have never taken a life before, but what do I care about my soul or my conscience when it comes to her? I may always have to live with what I’ve done to you, but that is better than the alternative. I don’t want her to be the memory.”
He applied strength to his fingers and heard her slender neck break in half. Blood flowed out of her mouth to drip onto his hand. He let go of her, allowing her corpse to drop to the ground. He brought his bloodstained hand up to his eyes and stared at it until the blood became cold. “Better your life than hers.”
From the corner of his eyes, he saw a shaking figure standing by the door. He turned to her and she fell onto the ground in fear. She felt her eyes on him, like a lamb would a wolf.
“I’m sorry you had to witness that, Bi.” Emotions were devoid from his voice now. “It had to be done.”
She took a moment to gather herself and then slowly appro
ached the corpse. With shaking hands, she grabbed the corpse’s hands and began pulling on it with all of her strength.
“What are you doing?” Chevalier asked.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Bi said with great irritation. “I’m getting rid of the mess you’ve made!”
Even though she sounded tough, he could see the tears in her eyes. He reached out to her. “Stop,” he said. He felt her flinch from his touch.
She noticed it too. “I’m sorry…” she cried. “I don’t know why I did that.”
“It’s perfectly normal,” Chevalier sighed. “Leave her be.”
“And then what? Watch you get put away for life?” She wiped the tears from her face. “I have to dump her body in the pond out back, or maybe bury her in the basement…or…”
“I said, stop!” Chevalier shouted. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “This has nothing to do with you! I don’t want you to stain your hands with this! No man would want his daughter to carry this burden!”
She pulled away from him. “I’m not your daughter!” she denied it with all of the strength of her voice. “I’ve never seen you as a father figure!”
He took a stunned step back.
She pushed him aside and resumed dragging the body. “I know what can’t be! You killed this woman for the one you love. Why can’t I dirty my hands and clean it up for the one I love?”
She became quiet. When he knelt down next to her, he could see the streams of tears from her eyes.
“You raised me until now, and I’d be an ungrateful brat if I can’t even do this for you,” she stammered.
He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. She sobbed in his arms. He could still feel her body trembling from the shock. “This woman does not deserve our guilt. Go wash off the blood. I’ll get rid of the body.”
Chevalier jerked up like prey that had just sensed a predator nearby. The crystal chandelier above jangled, the noises mixing together to create a sharp symphony. The earth rumbled ferociously and shook the mansion. Chevalier covered Bi’s body with his own to protect her from the fallout. He could feel the ring of energy originating from the center of the city amidst the noise of Bi’s panicked screams.
“Oh, naughty me,” The intent was to be humorous, but it came out dry. “I guess she didn’t make it in time.”
“Chevalier, shouldn’t you go save the world?” Bi asked between frightened screams.
“I’m not sure if I want to.”
“Chevalier?”
“If you just spend one day on a train with their every human thought, you would find this is a very ugly place,” He looked down at her large, confused eyes and sighed. Her hazel eyes reminded him of Kali’s honey ones. That was probably what made him take her under his wing. “I suppose there are some things still worth preserving,” he turned to his side. “Adria?” he called out to the demoness.
There was no reply. “What was that spell again?” Chevalier muttered to himself. When he remembered, he cast a protection circle around Bi. “This should be enough to protect you from the fallout.”
“Chevalier, I want to come, too,” she protested.
“I have a feeling it will be too dangerous to take you along with me. I would be distracted,” Chevalier lowered his head to take the bag off from around his neck and entrusted it to Bi. “This is very important, Bi. Take it wherever you go. When this is over, I’ll come back for you both.”
She held the bag close to her chest and nodded in compliance.
Chevalier took a moment to locate Kali and traced to her. As in his visions, she was unable to stop herself in time and ran right into him. He caught her by the shoulders and she jerked up to look at him.
The ground beneath them grumbled again. At the first sign of trouble, Chevalier secured her arms around his neck and spread his wings. They were high above the city, where the earthquake could not reach them. The street below began to crack and tear apart. The rifts spread wider apart until the buildings along the street sunk into their depths. From their view of the city, they could see random buildings collapsing in the distance. The debris leaped into the air like sand-colored smoke.
“Look,” Chevalier pointed toward the West. “The ocean…”
Kali’s gaze followed Chevalier’s forefinger and saw the water receding rapidly far off shore. After a moment of absolute silence, the water returned with a vengeance. Its tall waves crashed above the city’s tide barrier and invaded the streets with terrifying power. The waves had turned to a muddy color and swept along everything in their path.
The second waves came in with such a great amount of water that the deep rifts created by the earthquakes earlier could not swallow them all. A number of people were being swept away by the strong current, along with houses and vehicles. Their screams for help lasted only seconds before the water swallowed them whole.
“We cannot waste time,” Chevalier said to Kali when he saw the tears in her eyes. “The time we waste to save a few lives could devastate millions. We must find Lucifer.”
She reluctantly agreed.
By the time they reached the city’s center, it was half underwater and completely deserted. Chevalier frantically searched for the smallest clue of where the demons were heading. He flew in several different directions until he landed on top of a tall building.
“They’re scattered,” he said with heavy frustration.
“Where’s Lucifer?” she inquired.
“Damn it, I don’t know…” He shuffled his hair. “There are too many scents in the air. I can’t tell which belongs to Lucifer.”
“What do we do?” she asked nervously. “We have to find him.”
“We don’t know where to begin,” Chevalier reminded her. He looked up at the angry thunderclouds above and let out a low agitated groan. “If we keep standing out here, we’re going to be struck by lightning. I don’t know how demons fare with hundreds of millions of volts, but I don’t want to find out.”
“We have to find Lucifer, Chevalier,” she insisted.
“I know, Kali, and we will,” he assured her. “We need to find shelter in a building first.” He swept her into his arms and jumped to a closed window below. He gained his footing on the railing and forced his entrance through the window. The lock broke as if it were a mere toy. He helped her before entering. He turned around quickly and tried to close the window securely without the lock. He turned around when he felt a tug on his shirt.
He followed her gaze to the frightened family hiding in the corner of the room. The man was holding a kitchen knife in a defensive position while the woman was covering the young children with her own body. The man’s trembling hands betrayed his aggressive glares.
“We won’t hurt you. We’ll only stay for a little bit,” Kali assured them. She could see from their uneasiness that they did not trust her words. She returned her attention to Chevalier, who was staring out of the window worriedly.
“Stay here with them, Kali. I have to go fetch Bi.” He walked past her and headed toward the door. The family fearfully backed away from his path. “She must be so scared alone.”
He returned an hour later with the crying girl in one hand and a half-full garbage bag in the other. Canned food rolled out of the bag when he dropped it to the floor. The noise startled the family and the girl.
“I’m sorry, Chevalier,” the girl sobbed. “Please don’t stay mad at me.” When Kali came closer to comfort the girl, she jerked away. “I’m so sorry,” she cried out loud.
“Chevalier, what happened?” Kali asked.
“It just gets worse and worse,” Chevalier muttered. He turned toward the frightened family. “Do you have any clean clothes?” he asked. When the father pointed toward the room to the left, Chevalier gestured Bi to go into the room. “Find something your size and change out of your wet clothes or you’ll be sick.”
She complied.
“Will she be alright? She seemed frightened of me.”
“Kids are lik
e that when they’ve done something wrong,” he sighed. “It’s not completely her fault, anyways. I’m just in a very bad mood right now.”
“It’s happening all over the world,” she briefly pointed toward the television. “It’s not just this city. People are dying everywhere.”
“I figured as much.”
“Do you think it’s my fault?”
“What?” He jerked his head as if he’d been hit by a baseball bat. “Kali, you should stop blaming yourself for everything. The humans started it. I was just as angry as Lucifer after what they did to you.”
“We were humans,” she reminded him. “How can you speak of them as if we’re something else entirely?”
“We are something else, Kali,” he said, then shook his head. “That’s not that point. The point is they got what’s coming to them. That may sound cruel, but that’s a fact. I’m sick of this cold and ruthless society. If it weren’t for you and Bi, I wouldn’t give a damn.”
“Has twenty years changed you that much, Chevalier?” Her violet eyes searched his golden ones.
He reached for her dainty hand and placed it on his warm chest. “My view of the world may have changed, Kali, but my view of you can never be changed. Twenty years and my heart still beats for the same woman,”
She slowly withdrew her hand, but he tightened his grasp. “We were very happy, do you remember, Kali? We were going to have a family together. We can still have that. As of now, you still have a choice. Lucifer doesn’t know about what happened. We can be together, Kali.”
She turned away to avoid his gaze. “This isn’t a good time, Chevalier.”
“There won’t be any other time.” He guided her eyes back to meet his. “A chance like this will never occur again.”
“Why are you bringing this up now, Chevalier?” she asked in a half-broken, half-blaming tone.
“Because…” he pulled her closer to his chest, “I cannot lose you a second time, Kali. I will lose my mind. I don’t want to continue to be the idiot who sacrificed everything for your happiness. I want to be the bastard by your side.”