Demon Warden: A Paranormal Urban Fantasy (The Cursed and the Fallen 1)
Page 35
Her throat becomes tight with foreboding. She knows exactly what demon has been protecting Dinah; she remembers that energy signature from what often feels like a lifetime ago.
Astherinox, one of the most powerful demons in existence and Prince of Hell. His power has but one rival, his mother, Lilith, Queen of Hell.
Getting Dinah out of his clutches will be difficult, to say the least. To go against Astherinox on her own would be folly. Despite her power, she’d be an insect to him. She needs help, the kind of help that will come only once and reluctantly from Dinah’s father.
She places a hand against her trembling stomach. Facing Dinah’s mighty father is almost as terrifying as facing Astherinox himself.
A shiver of anticipation runs down her spine.
She casts a spell, a familiar one she’s used several times before to track down the powerful Nephilim. The rubble lights up with an orange-golden flash, more bursts of remnant energy surround the property and the forest.
Dinah’s stronger than I thought.
There is no way of using a tracking spell on Dinah’s energy, all the remnant magic has been expertly sealed in order to prevent such a thing. But the evidence of the Nephilim’s might is plain to see.
It’s too late to try to bind Dinah’s power with the purpose of making her fertile. Little mortality if any must remain in her.
Her power has changed.
She’s intimately familiar with the chaotic force of Dinah’s power. After all, she was bound to it for more than a decade through a magicked quartz implant. But the evidence scattered all around her property suggests there’s been a shift in the Nephilim’s power.
She’s certain that if she were to try a binding now, it would singe her very bones.
That means it’s time.
Dinah’s fate has been decided long before her birth. She will be the catalyst, the flame that will ignite the cleansing fire that’s been long overdue in this polluted world.
She closes her eyes and breathes deep, her wavy, golden mane floats in the chilly morning wind. A tear slips down her pale cheek.
The time has come, and she is ready.
Nothing will stop her from playing her part.
Dinah Novak will be destroyed, and all her wretched demon friends will fall with her.
THE SERVANT
It’s agonizing.
A chill so deep it feels like fire burning in his veins, every inch of reconstructed flesh and bone hurts more than the previous.
Kazzian wonders if it’s because of who destroyed his physical vessel.
He’d underestimated the Nephilim, that much is clear. Her fire had weakened him severely. He should have left the moment she unleashed it on him. But the temptation was too great. Her soul called to him like a syren’s song.
If only I could’ve convinced her, he mourns.
His whole body shakes with the sense-memory of the stab that seared his old heart as a new one begins to beat. Dinah had imbued enough ethereal energy inside him to leave a hole through his body.
And then, to make matters worse, Astherinox had burned his vessel until only ashes remained. Making it impossible for him to try to reconstruct himself in the mortal plane.
Kazzian wishes for a moment to die. If Astherinox had destroyed his soul, he’d not have to go through this pain, or what’s coming.
The mercurial waters of the Souls Lake filter inside his new lungs, but it doesn’t drown him. He’s grateful for the liquid suffocating his screams. If only he can finish with this horrible process and find a portal back to the mortal plane before facing him…
He daren’t lose hope.
After what feels like years of agony, Kazzian is finally able to swim towards the shore. His limbs are weak, his energy almost fully depleted. Like a newborn foal, his legs shake as he rises and steps on the black sand that surrounds the massive lake of silver waters. He braces his hands on his knees as he coughs and clears his airways from the remnants of silver water. Stretching, he turns to look at the gently rippling lake. It seems almost endless in the mauve light of the Mother Star; surrounded by walls of obsidian stone. Sacred even for the most unscrupulous of his kind. Others are going through the same horrific experience, he can feel them.
Kazzian shivers, looking down at his pale flesh, his white hair drips with mercurial water. His physical vessel is as perfect as always, he preens. Slowly, he walks towards the exit; his feet sink in the soft black sand. He decides not to waste energy summoning clothes, his kind is hardly shy, and he needs all of his strength to reach his favorite hidden portal. He needs to get back to the mortal dimension as fast as possible.
He leans against one of the massive pillars of black diamond that are the entrance to the holy grounds of the lake. Leagues of forest extend in all directions, bathed in soft mauve light. The black trunks of the trees gleam, leaves made of gold and silver shine, casting an ethereal glow over the gray pastures.
Kazzian sometimes forgets how beautiful his home is.
He begins to walk, slower than he’d like. Ironic that humans think there’s only fire and brimstone in Hell. If they knew the sort of riches that abound in the nox’s realm, they’d try to make the cross.
An unnatural chill curls up his spine, stealing his breath. Kazzian shakes harder, unable to stop himself from turning towards the source of the powerful presence.
“Kazzian,” says the nox Prince.
Kazzian swallows hard, afraid to meet the bottomless black eyes of the male in front of him. Almost seven-foot-tall with platinum-blond hair that reaches his shoulders and severe sharp features. His pale skin seems to glow subtly; dressed in a suit fashioned with the finest spider silk, a cane with a ruby the size of a fist in his right hand.
“F-father,” Kazzian stutters.
The demon Prince lifts an eyebrow. “Do you think you’ve earned the right to call yourself my son?”
Kazzian falls to his knees. “Prince Molokh.”
“Where is the Nephilim?”
Kazzian’s teeth clash together, he keeps his eyes on the ground. “Astherinox, he protects her, I tried, I swea—”
Black energy coils around Kazzian, forcing him to lift his head, sinking deep in his new body and pulling, burning, threatening with making him undone.
“I am not interested in your feeble excuses, worm,” Molokh says, his voice velvety, black eyes bright with unending hunger. “I am aware of what you tried to do, take her for yourself.”
Kazzian tries to deny it but he’s paralyzed, he’s dimly aware of the black ichor pouring down his nose.
Molokh takes a step closer, his malevolent energy coiling tighter, eliciting a broken cry out of Kazzian.
Please, he wants to beg, useless as it is.
“Did you think her power would save you from your duty to serve me?” Molokh asks in the same emotionless tone. “How ungrateful of you.”
Kazzian’s throat burns with the cry he can’t let out, his body convulsing, ichor pouring from his eyes, nose, ears, pooling in his mouth.
After minutes or hours, Kazzian doesn’t know, he is released. The fresh grass a balm against his face, air reaches his lungs calming the searing ache.
“I-I’m sorry, my lord,” Kazzian croaks. “I will make it up to you, I swear.”
Molokh laughs ruefully. “No, you will not, worm. Your period of utility has ended, I will take care of the Nephilim child myself.”
Kazzian feels shackles clamp to his wrists, a firm tug drags him to his knees. Two robbed figures hold the chains made of obsidian and black quartz, unbreakable magic courses through them.
“No, no, no!” Kazzian cries desperately. “Please! I’ll do anything you ask of me.”
Molokh’s eyes shine with bottomless malice. “Anything?”
“A-anything,” Kazzian mutters.
Molokh’s lips curl in a cruel smile. “Then you will bleed.”
Kazzian hangs his head, feeling tears mingle with the drying ichor bathing his face. He’s yanked to his
feet, and he takes a few steps before pulling, connecting a feeble blow to one of the robbed demons. A whipping sound echoes in the night as pain lances across his back.
Kazzian cries out, feeling his flesh torn open and ichor pour down to his legs.
Molokh holds a whip made of dark energy. “This will be the last time you disappoint me, worm.”
Kazzian’s knees bend and he falls to the ground. The robbed demons pull tight on the chains, stretching his arms to the point of tearing as Molokh lashes him over and over. Within minutes he is bathed in his ichor, the pale flesh of his back in ribbons, his throat can’t produce any more sounds. He knows he’s awake only because his father wishes so.
In a small corner of his mind, Kazzian wonders if Astherinox will be able to protect Dinah from Molokh’s hunger.
The small part of him he has tried to squash for centuries hopes that he can.
SEQUEL AND BONUS SCENE
Dinah and Nox will be back! For now, are you ready to read the first summoning scene from Nox’s POV? Hit this link to grab it:
https://mailchi.mp/2571cd4cada3/demon-warden-bonus-scene
MERCH
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Notes
CHAPTER 3
1 Magic reveal
2 I create fire!
CHAPTER 6
3 I create fire.
4 Flare.
5 Shield.
CHAPTER 17
6 Magic reveal
CHAPTER 21
7 Prince of light and darkness, I summon you.
8 Light core of the universe, flow through me, and repair the broken one.
CHAPTER 24
9 Astherinox, I am here.
About the Author
Selene Kallan is a fantasy author who daydreams about her imaginary worlds most of the time. Her obsession with vampires and all things supernatural has made her an avid reader. She loves writing, discovering new Metal bands, and watching superhero movies. Her debut novel, Starlight: Immortal Heritage 1, was released on October 27 2017 She is also feeling a little crazy while writing about herself in third person, but apparently, this the way to go.
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Also by Selene Kallan
STARLIGHT: IMMORTAL HERITAGE 1
https://amzn.to/3dV7gZt
A deadly secret
Two broken hearts
One destiny
For Nick, moving to a new city is one more burden to endure on his already complicated life. His parents believe the change will help him overcome the death of the one that he loved. But a new school can’t stop his nightmares or change the fate that was imposed on him before his birth. His transformation is closer than ever.
Dahlia lives a lonely, secluded life by choice. Fearful of hurting those she cares about with her powers, which she hates and battles to master. Her self-control falters when the hunger she cannot avoid appears to take away her sanity.
Under the Starlight, they will find each other. But when their worlds collide, will their connection save them? Or destroy them?
The first installment of the Immortal Heritage Saga.