The Bright Eyes (The Soulless Ones Book 1)

by Leo E. Ndelle

  As Danka was about to plunge her fangs into Yehuda’s jugular, Sasha used the last bit of strength she had recovered and threw her body against Danka’s. As both women rolled away from Yehuda, Danka ended up on top of Sasha. She wasted no time in pinning Sasha to the floor and sinking her fangs into Sasha’s jugular. Sasha screamed and struggled against the mother luper to no avail. With every heartbeat of Sasha’s, Danka took her fill and Sasha’s life force diminished more and more. As her eyes grew dimmer, and Danka’s red orbs changed to a bright whiteness, Sasha used her last strength to reach for Yehuda.

  It was a very feeble attempt, yet she tried anyway. She stretched and stretched. An inch felt like a million miles. Sasha’s eyes grew dimmer, and dimmer, until her eyes glowed no more. But she smiled in her final moment because right before her life expired, she felt someone take hold her hand and squeeze. A tear trickled down the side of her eye as she freed herself to the warm and peaceful embrace of what lay beyond death. She was at peace; at last, she had found closure from the massacre of her family and her sacrificial death was a final confession of her deepest feelings for the man she truly loved.

  Yehuda’s adrenaline went into overdrive as he saw Danka feeding on Sasha. It was déjà-vu all over. This was the second time he was losing her to a luper and right before his eyes. Yehuda went nuclear! Danka felt a jolt of pain shoot from her rib cage to her entire body as Yehuda planted a solid kick into her rib cage lifting her about five feet off the floor. She rolled on the ground and immediately regained her balance. Her broken ribs began healing, as she waited for his attack. Yehuda did attack, but it was not the way Danka had expected!

  Yehuda faked a downward, right punch and Danka raised her left paw to parry, leaving her chin exposed. Yehuda seized the opportunity and crashed his left knee upwards into her chin. Her head jerked backward as a few fangs flew off her snout. Danka used the momentum to execute a backward roll, crouch lower and zip forward. Yehuda stepped to his right and drove a right uppercut to her partially healed ribs, shattering them to splinters. Danka let out a howled in pain and collapsed to a knee, cradling her shattered ribs with her right hand. He cupped her occiput with his right hand to hold her head in place as he drove his left knee upwards once again. Danka used her left hand to block the onslaught as she stood up on her hind legs. Her left hand fell right in place for Yehuda’s next attack.

  In one fluid and graceful motion, he shifted his weight to his right as he slipped his right hand underneath Danka left arm. Cradling her left forearm on the back of his neck, and resting his right hand underneath her elbow, while maintaining a straight posture and keeping his body in line with hers, Yehuda had her left arm in a complete lock. He then zipped in an almost complete circle. Danka’s left elbow was broken in several places and her left arm hung by a thread of flesh from her shoulder. Paralyzing pain seized her body as she let out a heart-rending roar and collapsed on the floor.

  Yehuda then let go of Danka’s useless left arm and zipped upwards in the air. He crashed his knee into Danka’s spine, shattering several vertebrae. Danka lost control of some motor functions and would need several seconds to heal herself completely. Yehuda then placed his left hand on her forehead to hold her head in place. Focusing all the strength, anger, fury, rage and vengeance that was boiling in him to the tip of his middle, intermediate phalange, he cocked his right hand and brought it down on Danka’s second cervical vertebra; the axis. The tip of the intermediate phalange of his right middle finger traced a bright arc in the air as he unleashed his attack.

  When it made contact with Danka’s axis, the brightness was explosive. Soulless or not, the spine and the brain control the functions of the body. But when a vertebra is shattered to china pieces and the spinal column is severed, the body loses its motor functions. The only reason Danka did not die instantly was because she was soulless. But she collapsed, to the ground as her eyes flashed brightly for a split second before going dim. She would require at least twenty-four seconds to heal herself entirely. Yehuda calmly flipped her over on her back, slipped the fingers of his right hand around her throat and lifted her limp, paralyzed body off the ground.

  Shi’mon saw his brother’s aura fade away right before his very eyes and something in him went very, very dark. In an instant, his recovery was complete and he charged. Dreyko felt himself being lifted off the floor and hurled towards a stone column as Shi’mon drove his shoulder into Dreyko’s gut and continued his forward charge. Andrew’s limp form hit the floor with a thud as the last flicker of brightness faded from his eyes, as well as the life from his body. Instinctively, Dreyko spread his wings and held them open like an aerial brake, causing him and Shi’mon to come to an almost complete halt.

  In almost the same instant, Dreyko folded his left wing and, using Shi’mon’s momentum, he hurled Shi’mon’s body into the stone column. Shi’mon crashed into the stone structure, but his anger and fury at Dreyko for killing Andrew overrode his sense of pain. He rolled forward after his body hit the ground and zipped again towards Dreyko. Dreyko took a step to the left and brought the full force of his knee upwards, expecting that to connect with Shi’mon’s solar plexus. But Shi’mon could read Dreyko’s intention a zip away.

  Shi’mon stopped a few feet in front of Dreyko and shot his right foot forward, catching Dreyko’s upward assault. The unexpected move caused Dreyko to trip forward and Shi’mon unleashed a fiery, left uppercut that connected with Dreyko’s chin. Dreyko’s mandibles were shattered and his fangs were knocked out of his snout with the force of a high-speed train. As Dreyko’s head lurched backward and his body sailed in the air, Shi’mon zipped upwards in the air to maximum potential energy. He then transformed the potential energy to maximum kinetic energy and zipped back downwards. His feet slammed Dreyko in the sternum like a wrecking ball and crashed Dreyko’s body into the floor with so much force that there was a half-a-foot deep hole in the floor. Dreyko would need several seconds to recover fully from that, but Shi’mon did not end there.

  Whatever the last trace of Zen Shi’mon had acquired from his visit to the Shadow of the Soul had disappeared, leaving room for nothing but anger, hatred, fury, vengeance and pure, unadulterated darkness. He flipped Dreyko over with his right foot, slipped his hand around the base of Dreyko’s right wing and tore it off Dreyko’s scapula. Dreyko unleashed the most horrific and monstrous scream Shi’mon had ever heard, but this only fueled Shi’mon’s savagery. Shi’mon reached for Dreyko’s other wing and tore it off as well. He shot a quick glance at Yehuda and was pleased to see Yehuda deliver the spine-severing strike on the back of Danka’s neck.

  Shi’mon then drove a downward punch on Dreyko’s thoracic vertebrae for good measure, resetting Dreyko’s healing time as Dreyko temporarily lost all use of his bodily functions. He then wrapped his right hand around the back of Dreyko’s neck, leaped with Dreyko in the air and crashed Dreyko’s face into the stone floor. Dreyko’s skull was broken in several places with a few bone pieces finding their mark into various parts of his brain. Dreyko’s recovery time had just been reset to twenty-four seconds. Shi’mon then flipped Dreyko over, picked up his limp body by the neck and pulled Dreyko’s face towards his.

  “I offered you a simpler solution, and you refused!” he hissed. “Now, you will wish you had chosen more wisely.”

  Simultaneously, Shi’mon and Yehuda opened their mouths and breathed the Breath of Life into Dreyko and Danka respectively; only that this time around, it was not to give life. This Breath of Life was infused with every bit of negative energy and emotion both men could muster; from the guilt, anger, fury, hatred, and everything else they had let go after their return to from the Shadow of the Soul, to their current states of mind at the loss of those most dear to them! It spewed from their mouths and into The Twins, burning them with a fire that was both real and unreal; burning them with a fire that was both hot and cold. It spewed from their mouths, not as a bright, blue flame anymore, but as bright reddish, indigo flames.

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nbsp; It burned The Twins at a subcellular level. It burned them at an etheric level. It burned them at their very essences. It burned and consumed all that they ever were, along with their present, and all that they had ever conceived themselves of becoming. It burned their illusions and reality. The pain was indescribable and unbearable. The suffering was succinct at a surreal level. They burned! Oh yes, they burned! From inside-out, they burned! By Creation itself, they burned! By the curse of their choices, they burned! And by the cries of countless creatures whose lives they had cut short, they burned!

  And so, The Twins died, with no knowledge of what happened to them. There was no surrender, no hope, no joy, no happiness and no peace in their true death. In their true death, there was only oblivion, nothingness and an emptiness that could not be explained. They burned straight to nothingness, without even turning into ash, as if Creation itself shunned the very thought of ever having them as a part of its history!

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: REDEMPTION

  Finally, it was over! The Twins and the Bright Eyes had been eradicated. Shi’mon looked over at Yehuda. They had paid a high price for their victory over the Bright Eyes. Shi’mon knelt beside his brother’s desiccated, mortal remains, and Yehuda sat on the floor and cradled Sasha’s in his arms. Silent tears traced Yehuda’s cheeks, and Shi’mon brushed a hair from his brother’s face. He was in too much pain to even shed a tear. Yehuda bent over, closed his eyes and kissed Sasha softly on her the thin, dry line that was her lips, wishing with all his heart that she would just return the kiss. Suddenly, a pale, blue mist flowed from his mouth into hers, without him even realizing it. Her chest heaved upwards as she sucked in more of this pale, blue, misty elixir.

  Yehuda opened his eyes and when he realized what was happening, he kissed Sasha even more as if her life depended on it; which, in fact, it did. She grabbed his neck and held him fast as if letting go would spell her death. They continued kissing as life-force flowed into Sasha until her entire body glowed with a pale blue brightness. When the brightness diminished, Sasha was holding Yehuda’s face in her hands and looking deep into his eyes with more love than she had ever had for him. Tears still rolled down Yehuda’s cheeks. But they were tears of joy! He stared at her face as if it was the very first time in his entire existence to behold such a rate beauty. Shi’mon gaped at the couple and his heart was filled with joy.

  “I could feel you; all of you!” she said softly. “Your thoughts, your emotions, your everything!”

  She sat upright and nestled against Yehuda’s chest.

  “Would you really have given your life for me?” she asked, holding his gaze.

  “Anytime, any day, Sasha,” Yehuda replied.

  They smiled at each other and kissed each other again before Yehuda turned towards Shi’mon.

  “He’s your brother!” he said to Shi’mon. “You go ahead and kiss him!”

  The three of them broke into laughter. At least, Shi’mon could laugh because he knew his brother, the last of his family by blood, could be brought back to life! Shi’mon was not going to kiss his brother, but he realized what he had to do. The same sacrificial love Yehuda had shown him when they were in the Shadow of the Soul was all he needed to resurrect Andrew. It was one of the easiest things Shi’mon had ever done. He closed his eyes and visualized unconditional love as life-giving energy flowing from his heart to his brother’s heart. An aura formed around Andrew as the life-giving energy flowed. The aura shone brighter with every passing second. Andrew’s chest heaved upwards as he took in a huge gulp of air to fill his lungs.

  When Andrew opened his eyes, they shone brightly and were full of the new life. His body rejuvenated from ancient-Egyptian mummy to its original form. Shi’mon grinned, offered a hand, and Andrew took it. Shi’mon helped Andrew to his feet. Yehuda and Sasha joined Shi’mon and Andrew, and the four of them hugged in one embrace for over a minute. No words were said. But in that silence, everything was said from the very core of their hearts. They then teleported to a safe house owned by Shi’mon, in Rome. During the last stand, a chuper had escaped.

  “Agent Patrick,” Shi’mon called telepathically.

  “Yes, your supremacy,” Patrick replied telepathically.

  “Chuper on the loose,” Shi’mon said.

  “On it, boss!” Patrick replied.

  “And one more thing,” Shi’mon.

  A few seconds later, Patrick affirmed Shi’mon’s orders and broke off the telepathic link. It was going to be another easy assignment!

  ***

  It was almost 9 a.m. in Paris. A young lady was taking a leisurely walk down a dark street on her way home. She did not feel like taking a taxi or any other form of public transportation. Besides, there was nothing wrong with enjoying the night breeze caressing her smooth face and having her long black hair loose in the wind. She was five-foot-eight inches of stunning beauty, with a body that was a confession of many religious trips to the gym. But she had never been to the gym; not even for a second! Her physique was exquisite, but her personality was her biggest head-turner. She rocked her six-inch high heels as if they were tennis shoes. It had been another disappointing date. So much for online dating! She swore, yet again, never to relinquish herself to the whiles of online dating. Men! Great sales pitches! Pathetic deliveries!

  “Care for some company, my fair lady?” a voice called out in the dark in broken French.

  The lady ignored the stranger and continued walking without breaking her pace. Who the hell still referred to any woman as ‘fair lady’ these days? She thought. Fine! Let’s end this quickly! She said to herself. The stranger zipped and snatched her into a darker alleyway, away from the streetlights and pedestrians. The last chuper left bared his fangs to feed and forge a companion for himself. But the lady shot her arm up and held his throat in a death grip. He was shocked by her strength and tried to break free, but the lady’s grip got even tighter on his throat. Of all the seven-plus billion people in the world, this chuper just had to pick this lady to feed! She turned around and slammed him into the wall and brought her face close to his. Her eyes suddenly glowed with a pale, green brightness and the chuper became mortified with fear.

  “What… are… you?!” he asked between chokes.

  “You would never understand,” she replied and ripped the chuper’s head off with her bare, free hand.

  The chuper turned to ash. The lady bent down and used the chuper’s shirt to wipe the ashes off her hand.

  “I see you took care of one of my assignments,” a man spoke to her.

  She could tell from his aura that he was not evil, but he was a stranger, regardless. She was going to let him be. No need to give him a scare or anything like that. She ignored him and made to walk past him.

  Patrick smiled and said telepathically, “I know who you are, Marissa.”

  She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face him. Very few people knew her by that name. She did not know who this person was, but if he knew her name, he must then be an inducted member of the family. Besides, his auric signature revealed a great deal about him. She relaxed her shoulders and nodded. Patrick took a step towards her and extended a hand.

  “My name is Patrick, and my mentor was one of your father’s apprentices,” he added telepathically.

  She took Patrick’s hand and gave it a firm shake.

  “It is time, isn’t it?” she asked telepathically.

  “Yes, it is,” Patrick replied telepathically, “and my mentor summons you.”

  ***

  Yochanan sliced away. Bodies dropped and disappeared. There were more than two hundred Sinisters on the north face of Mt. K2, in the Himalayas. The Sinisters had found a way to create a portal between their realm, Nimbu, and Earth Realm. Yochanan had to stop them at all cost. But he had gravely underestimated their numbers. He could handle sixty of them at a time, but two hundred was too much for him to handle alone before the incantations were over. And there was no time for him to summon any help.

 
A Sinister continued chanting, and the ground began to hum. Yochanan decided it was now or never. He leaped over the swarm of Sinisters, aiming for the chanting Sinister. Seven sinisters threw themselves at him in mid-flight to derail him. He took out four of them before he hit the ground and decapitated three more before leaping again. The incantations stopped, and the Sinisters all stood still. He slashed at the chanting Sinister, but he was a slash too late. An invisible force slammed into his body and threw him away from the mouth of the cave. Yoch landed in a crouching pose, ready for another attack, but none came. He looked around. The Sinisters were not attacking. They were all was prostrated on the ground and facing the cave.

  A seven-foot, naked, humanoid male with an orange skin tone stepped out into the open, unfazed by the elements at more than twenty-five thousand feet above sea level, just like the rest of them. A Sinister approached this giant, dropped to both knees, lowered his head to the ground and offered his leader a fur coat that was fashioned specifically for his leader. The leader nodded, accepting the offering. Two female Sinisters hurriedly took the coat from their comrade’s hands. They placed it over their leader’s shoulders, and he shrugged on the coat for proper fitting. The two females and the male retreated, heads bowed to the ground and without turning their backs to their leader. The fear and awe in the air were palpable. Yoch and the giant stared at each other for a few seconds.

  “So, you are one of the pests I have heard so much about,” the leader said, telepathically.

  “Rest assured, creature!” Yochanan replied telepathically, “We will crush you out of existence!”

  The right corner of the leader’s mouth pulled upwards in a cynical smile.