by James Somers
He stood by her bedside, laying his hand upon her fevered brow. By this connection, he could influence her thoughts by his will. She lay there unprotected in every way imaginable.
Charlotte tried to stop her brother from going to fight with Black, but he refused to listen. Bent on destroying his former master, Sinister tore his arm from her grasp. She could not stop him. He went from her and she was left standing alone.
A terrible calamity happened then in the warehouse where she had been held prisoner. Charlotte ran back, finding many Breed warriors lying strewn across the floor. She stepped lightly through the dead, finding her brother among them. He was still alive, but wounded.
She knelt beside him, examining his wound, wondering where the one who had done this had gone. Sinister gripped her arm tightly, looking into her eyes, his life almost spent.
“Sister,” he pleaded. “Why have you done this to me? Look at what you have done to your own brother.”
The flesh of his face began to peel away, layer by layer, until his skull became exposed. She tried to get away, but his grip on her was like iron. His eyes remained fixed on her despite the grim transformation coming over him.
“Look what you have done to me!” he continued, never pausing, never letting her go.
She heard other voices join with his.
“Look what you have done to us,” they said.
Looking up, she found the decaying corpses of her father, Tiberius, and her husband, Tom, shuffling toward her and Sinister. Charlotte screamed, but she could not escape. Their hands reached for her, blaming her with their mournful calls to acknowledge her guilt in their deaths.
Suddenly, a hand was clutching her throat, attempting to strangle her. Her eyes found Black there in Sinister’s place. He was now standing around her with the others, blaming her for their fates. The angel appeared as he had when he had captured her in London years ago.
“Look what you have caused,” he said. “Their lives were lost because of you. All of them dying when it should have been you in their places.”
“No,” she screamed, trying to break his grip on her throat, but she did not have the strength to fight an angel. Just as he had easily beaten her in that London alley so long ago, she was beaten now.
“I know what others do not,” he purred. “You are unprotected. Your husband and your son put their trust in the Almighty, but you never did.”
“No,” she cried. “I did.”
Black laughed out loud. “You do not have his spirit, so you do not belong to him. You are a liar, only they didn’t know it.”
“I know he exists,” she shouted.
“But that isn’t the same, is it?” he cooed, squeezing down upon her neck, bending her beneath him.
She tried to fight him, giving all that she had in the attempt. Still, he crushed the life from her. Charlotte realized then the awful truth of his words. She had done exactly as he had said. She had wanted to please Tom and Cole. Why disappoint them with her lack of faith, when they would be so pleased to believe that she shared the same with them?
Tears began to stream down her cheeks as Black’s assault continued. She stopped fighting him. What was the use? She could not win. He grinned devilishly at her.
“Forgive me,” she said.
“Foolish girl, I’ll forgive you nothing,” Black said. “You’re going to die by my hand.”
She choked out her words. “I wasn’t speaking to you,” she managed.
“What?” he asked, unsure of what she had said.
Black was thrown back away from her almost immediately. However, it wasn’t Charlotte’s strength that had secured her release. A brightly shining angel now stood between her and her attacker.
Black growled like a rabid dog, realizing what had happened. “You have no authority here!”
The angel loosed his terrible broadsword, striking Black. He was thrust from Charlotte’s mind instantly. The images of Tom and Sinister and Tiberius faded as quickly. Only a bright white world with indistinct characteristics remained.
“What happened?” Charlotte asked.
The angel turned to regard her. “You made the right choice, finally,” he said, putting away his heavenly weapon.
Charlotte smiled. “Thank you for saving me,” she offered.
“I did nothing but to obey the Lord’s command,” he said. “Thank him alone.”
She nodded, looking around at the shapes and shadows moving around them. “Will I wake up now?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “I will escort you home.”
“What about Cole?”
“He is no longer your concern,” the angel said. “Trust in the Lord.”
Charlotte came to her feet beside him. “I do now,” she said.
The angel began to walk, and she followed where he would lead her.
Black picked himself up off of the infirmary floor. His host body had been assaulted as well. The angelic attack had not only thrust him from Charlotte’s mind, it had hurled his mortal host across the room into the wall.
He walked back to Charlotte’s bedside cautiously, thinking twice before touching her again. Then he laid his hand over her mouth and nose. There was no longer any respiration.
He smiled. His attack on her had somehow been successful. Perhaps, he had dealt her a more damaging blow than he realized. Either way, another of his enemies had perished. Soon, all of them would follow.
Aquatic
Upon entering through the doorway, I walked a short distance in darkness, coming through a corridor that deposited me on the bank of a vast lake. There was no way to go anywhere but forward from this point. And the only way to proceed was by water or by stone columns jutting at various heights from the water.
I was startled to realize that the clear blue sky above was not sky at all. The water below, with its stone columns, was duplicated above. Gravity kept my feet on the ground, but it had no dominion over the water above.
What would happen if I attempted to fly through this water gauntlet? I couldn’t be sure, but something told me it wouldn’t be pleasant. This place wasn’t called the Realm of Abominations for nothing.
I knew several things already as fact. The door into this place had appeared only after I placed my fingers on the wall. It had lit up for me, leading me to come this way. That didn’t mean the children had been led this way. Abominations plural, but the only symbol to this doorway had been a fish. Strange, but here was the water. It made sense.
Almost certainly, there were other ways inside with other creatures to deal with. I only hoped Sadie and Cole were still alive to be found. They were strong and resourceful. If anyone could make it, I had confidence it was them.
There was no going back. The dragon was apparently not in this place, so I would have to go forward to find it and them. But what was I up against here?
I tried to view what lay ahead as a puzzle. Clearly it was meant to look straightforward, but it wouldn’t be. No way. If anything, these Realms of Abominations might have been set here in this way to prevent someone from getting to the dragon—perhaps to prevent someone slaying the beast and releasing what lay within.
I was not meant to go through. But I had no choice. The children had been deceived. They were here. Surely, the Lord knew that I must come. I hoped he saw it that way. I dropped to my knees seeking his help in prayer before I took another step.
If the Lord was willing, I would make it through. That was all of the assurance I required. I got up from the ground, walking to the water’s edge. I enhanced my vision, trying to see what might lie beneath the water. Nothing.
This was it. I leaped to the first column and stopped. Nothing happened. No attack, no explosions, no traps sprung. Only the gentle lapping of water against the stone. Still, I was barely off of the shore.
I looked ahead to the columns, attempting to plot a path so I could move swiftly. A pattern revealed itself. I smiled, but then relented. The pathway through kept me close to the water on low lying c
olumns. Presumably that was where any attack would come from.
Reaching back toward the shore, I pulled a rock through the air to my hand. The water above bothered me. I had to know what part it played in this puzzle.
I hefted the stone in my hand. It was a good weight, fitting nicely in my palm, but not too heavy for my purpose. I tossed it in a high arc, reaching well above the midline between the two waters. As soon as it passed closer to the water above, its arc drew it upward at a steeper angle until it finally penetrated the surface there.
“Gravity reverses beyond a certain point,” I whispered. “That might be important.”
High columns came near the midline in the sky. Then medium columns and short columns below. It appeared at first glance to be random. But the pattern was there—easy enough to see so that it seemed the most appealing.
A lesson Helios had taught me came back to my mind. Never take the obvious path. I brought Malak-esh to my hand from the ether. The mercurial blade caught the light, reflecting rays off of the surface of the water. Whatever was waiting there for me, I hoped it had the sense to fear for its life. With my daughter and Tom’s son at stake, I would have no mercy upon what came to stop my crossing.
I wasn’t sure how far I might be able to teleport in this place, if at all. So, I started with something simple. A high column nearly three hundred yards away would be my first target. This would be a good test and set me farther from the water where these aquatic abominations would be waiting.
Disappearing from my short column, I reappeared almost immediately at my destination. Only, the column wasn’t there now. I fell, coming down fast toward the three foot diameter top of another column below. I sent Malak-esh back to my spiritual store just before my feet hit the top of the column.
My descent had been about thirty feet. My landing had been less than graceful. The unexpected drop and impact jarred me off balance. I stumbled and fell. Only a quick transformation saved me. My monkey’s prehensile tale caught the column and drew me over. I clambered back to the top and crouched there, feeling like a complete fool.
Looking back to my previous location, near the shoreline, I saw that the column had risen from the sea to a greater height. In fact, all of the columns seemed to have changed. A shift had occurred during the one second I had been traveling from one column to the other. This was going to be trickier than I had expected.
It was impossible to say whether my teleportation had triggered this response. There was only one way to know. In my monkey form, I leaped to an adjacent column twenty yards away. My landing was nearly perfect for someone who wasn’t used to traveling as a monkey. The columns remained as they had been.
So be it, I thought.
I leaped wildly for the next column and the next, making my way steadily away from the shore, assuming my destination must lie directly ahead. Ten columns later, I received another surprise. The column I was going for turned out to be a perfect mirage. I passed through it, flailing toward the water.
A dark shape appeared beneath the water. I had nowhere to go but down. Another transformation into a flying squirrel. My skin pouches caught the air, turning my flailing fall into a calculated descent. I landed safely on the side of a lower column. Using my trusty claws, I scrabbled up to the top and looked down to see if an attack was forthcoming. The shadow beneath the water had disappeared.
“There has to be an easier way,” I said to myself. Only, I didn’t believe it for a second. This was meant to be nearly impossible and impassable. The dragon was not meant to be disturbed by outsiders who would release the three cherubim.
I became a falcon now, leaping into the wind. I tore through the air toward a far column standing higher than this one. I landed safely and became human again. Looking back, I saw that I was now far away from the shoreline. Before me, the water continued on toward the horizon where a heavy mist hid the rest of this world from view.
I began to wonder if that mist might hold the dangers I was expecting. Then, I heard a voice singing. The melody was dreamy, soothing my concerns about the dangers I faced. A siren’s song, I realized. Its effect was akin to the allure of the sprites, lulling me into a trancelike state.
I clamped my hands over my ears, but the effect did not abate. I produced a small ball of wax with my mind and tore away two pieces. I pressed one into each ear canal and prepared to set off again. Whatever creatures these were, none of them had appeared yet.
“Come to us,” I heard then.
Checking the wax, I found it still there. The voice was telepathic, speaking into my mind. I dug out each ear, so I could hear the world again. No use handicapping myself, when it would do me no good.
I spotted the source of the voice. Thirty yards away, I found a woman’s face peeking out from behind one of the columns. Another woman had her arms resting on a low column nearby. Neither of them appeared to have any clothing on.
I tried not to look directly at them, but kept them in my peripheral vision. I had no idea whether their appearance was meant to entice me, or if they might possess the same ability to control minds that the sprites exhibited. That spell was the very last thing I wanted to happen to me again.
“Love us,” the voices cooed. Others had added their calls to the siren’s song in my mind.
I changed into a monkey again, traveling across several more columns, leaping from one to the other, until I came to one standing very high. Fortunately, all of the columns I had chosen were real this time. I climbed the last few feet to the top and returned to human form. These animal transformations were beginning to tire me out, as they required a great deal of energy to perform.
More of these mermaids had appeared in the water below, dashing between the columns at the surface. I looked up at the water above just in time to see a mermaid shooting from its inverted surface toward me. Her beauty in flight was captivating. Suddenly struck from above, I fell with the mermaid grappling with me. Her beauty transformed then into a terrible beast. There was nothing human about its appearance at all—only a ruse to lure the weak-minded into their trap.
A serpentine tongue shot out of its mouth, wrapping around my throat to drag me into its jaws. I resisted, but the beast was terribly strong. I changed my strategy, as we hit the water near a column, transforming into a shark of considerable size. I could feel the drain on my energies very much with this move, but I had no choice.
The mermaid’s grip on me was broken instantly. I turned back on the creature, striking with row upon row of serrated teeth. I managed to tear a hunk of flesh from the mermaid’s tail before the beast darted away. But more of the creatures—many more—were waiting below the surface.
Angry, I did the irrational thing and went on the offensive instead of retreating like they might have expected. Several coming in received a terrible surprise as I ripped into them with a ferocity I had never known before. Perhaps it was my anger, or even the nature of the shark I had become—I wanted nothing more than to kill.
The mermaids retreated momentarily. I took this cue as the perfect time to make a run for it. Mermaids returned with spears that could jab holes through my tough hide. I swam as fast as my lithe shark’s body would carry me. However, the mermaids appeared to be steadily gaining on me.
Sadie had forced me to study with her on various animals, since she had inherited some of my ability to make transformations. Her werewolf form was the easiest, and required hardly any power to perform, but she could do others and had always enjoyed it. Remembering some of our lessons now, I praised the Lord for her inquisitive nature.
Mermaids came upon me on either side, spears ready to gouge into my flesh. I was feeling fatigued, but still had enough strength left for one more transformation. I became a sailfish with greenish purple scales. Instantly, my speed went from sluggish to lightning quick.
The sailfish shot away from the mermaids like they were standing still. I leaped from the water between pylons, using my airtime to discern my whereabouts. Back under the surface, I s
urged even faster. The mist lay ahead. Maybe it served as a portal leading me to the next place in this maddening Realm of Abominations.
Mermaids came at me from ahead with their spears. I jousted with the first, using my sword-like elongated bill as a weapon. Knocking that one out of my way, I surged past the others while they remained startled by my attack.
The mist was just ahead now. I breached the surface, flying high and long. The mist swallowed me up. For a moment I remained airborne. I never came back into the water. It wasn’t there anymore. However, I could hear the distinctly horrendous cacophony of millions of gallons of water rushing over a gigantic waterfall.
Gravity hurled me ever downward. I came out below the fog, near the rushing water. I was heading for an island of land below with a lake that received all of this falling water. Twisting in the air, I realized I had just come from a similar floating island.
My sailfish form was a bad idea at this point. I returned to the form of a flying squirrel, gliding down toward the island below. Using the air currents I managed to drift away from the humongous plunge pool below the waterfall, coming down into a thickly planted forest. My squirrel form was perfect here. I hit a tree trunk, clinging to its bark with my claws.
I skittered up to a large branch and paused, taking a much needed rest. My energies had been expended with all of these animal transformations. Breathing deeply and trying to relax, I contemplated my location and what my next move might be.
The forest seemed to stretch for miles. I ran to the top of the tree for a better vantage point. My first impression had not been wrong. This island in the sky was made up of a long valley. Jagged ridges trailed along on either side. The forest covered the valley like a thick carpet.