by Jason Wilcox
Tagen reappeared, but he was over by the door to the room. “I like this guy,” he smiled with a big grin. “Take his advice, and let’s get out of here.”
Sitting up, Caden gave Tagen a scowl. “Tagen! I told you to disappear. Now stay out of this.” Before he disappeared, Tagen hissed at him.
“I think you should listen to your friend. He’s wise,” James spoke with a flat tone.
“I’m telling you I like this guy,” Tagen’s voice could be heard.
Caden wasn’t sure where he had popped up. He didn’t really care. His closest friend was telling him to get lost. It hurt. The whole time they were waiting in the room, Caden was eager to see James. To invite him along on their adventures, but he hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.
Wanting to leave and get on with his own mission, Caden strongly thought about the offer. His anger towards the way James was treating him wasn’t helping him think rationally either.
Looking up at James who stood as he made eye contact, Caden analyzed his old friend. If he were in James’s shoes, he would probably feel the same way or even angrier. The truth was, Caden felt horrible and devastated about what happened to James’s wife, which added to the pain of Bridget’s death.
James looked rough and had aged since Caden last saw him. It made more sense now. He wasn’t going to abandon his friend this time, he was going to take action. The dark souls and the strange humans that had trapped him, needed to die, along with anyone else that had destroyed their country!
“James.” Caden was going to try explaining one more time. “Bridget’s dead as well.” For the first time since Caden had arrived, James’s softer and more compassionate eyes appeared, but only briefly. “Someone shot her the same night we parted ways.” Just saying the words and bringing up that horrible night, made Caden want to cry, but there were no tears able to flow down his face.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” James’s tone was still cold, but softer.
Both of them stared at each other for a little bit, not saying a word. Caden wasn’t sure what to say. He wasn’t sure if he should keep explaining or if he should start asking all the questions he had rolling through his mind.
James broke the silence while standing. “So, those creatures were trying to turn you into one of them huh?” His voice was actually normal, civil, but a little guarded.
“That’s what’s causing me to look so awful,” Caden replied while he got to his feet, hoping no more punches were coming his way.
“And then I heard you say you killed the evil creatures?” James asked.
Caden could tell he was making small talk, uncomfortable with the situation. Knowing James was trying to repair things, Caden decided to get to the issue. “James, I’m truly sorry she died. She was an amazing woman.”
A tear rolled down James’s cheek. He quickly wiped it away, while Caden put a hand on his shoulder. It was good to be with a friend again, to know there was someone he could trust.
“I swear to you,” Caden began, knowing what he needed to do. “I’m going to help you avenge her death. I’m going to stay here and help you destroy the evil in this country. I won’t disappear this time.”
James nodded and held out a hand, Caden pulled his hand off James’s shoulder and they shook. “It will be nice to work beside you again,” James said with a smile. “But I’ll have to admit, it’s going to take some time to get used to your new look.”
“I’m not too fond of the look myself,” Caden responded as they let go of their handshake.
“However, I don’t think I’ll be getting used to the creature that you’ve chosen to follow you.” James’s smile dropped as he spoke.
Tagen reappeared on the bed, lounging. “And I was just beginning to like you.” Looking over at him, Caden glared. It was already going to be hard enough to convince others to be okay with Tagen, it wasn’t going to make it easier if he made ridiculous comments.
Still not wanting to talk about Tagen, Caden decided to change topics. “So you have people that are possessed by demons?”
“Indeed. It happened in dead time.” James seemed to become more relaxed the more they talked. “We were still using it when the war broke out and a couple of our men came back possessed by something.”
“Dead time, huh?” Caden began. “It always made me uncomfortable going in there.” He took a couple of steps over to the bed and sat down, tired from all of his journeying. “So, what did you do with them?”
“Come with me, and I’ll show you.” James walked over to the door and opened it. A number of guards stood outside in the hallway, all of them had guns in hand. Caden was surprised to see so many of them.
Standing up, he walked towards the door. “I thought you would never ask.” Tagen also jumped up and was right behind Caden.
“He has to come with us?” James asked.
Caden looked back at Tagen, who was showing his black teeth to James and growling as well. “Yes, that was the rule the General gave me. He has to stay by my side at all times, or he will be shot.”
“Then we should leave him,” James chuckled as he remarked. Tagen growled even louder and disappeared from Caden’s sight, moving into shadow form.
Worried that Tagen might try to run off, Caden spoke up, “Just make sure you stay with us so they don’t shoot you.”
James walked out the door and past the guards. The men parted for him, leaving the path open for Caden to follow.
“Sir?” One of the guards called as Caden walked past him.
Raising an eyebrow, James stopped and turned to look at the guard, appearing to be almost annoyed. His gray hair was more prevalent in the brighter hallway light. It still shocked Caden to see his friend looking so much older. “Go about your business, he and his creature will be under my watch for now.”
The guard gave a nod and the group walked off, heading in the opposite direction. James led them through a heavy metal door that squeaked as he opened it. Their shoes clapped on the solid concrete steps, echoing up and down the staircase as they made their way down.
“Are any of the other countries helping out with this war against the dark souls?” Caden finally asked knowing that they were the largest country on the planet, and there was a lot at stake.
“No.” James scratched his head. “We asked for help, but when it leaked what we were fighting, everyone pulled far away from us, not wanting the evil to spread to their countries.” They finished walking down the stairs and entered into a concrete hallway with no decorations.
“Don’t they realize that if you lose, the evil will head to them?” Caden asked, especially when there were a number of countries that had been strong allies.
“There are war ships in the waters that surround this nation in hopes of keeping the creatures contained here.”
Tagen reappeared hanging on the ceiling, chuckling. “That’s hilarious. Dark souls are already in all the countries. With no communication with Triaad, they’re either hiding somewhere to stay alive, or they would’ve found a new master like Hermue.” Everyone stopped talking after Tagen’s comment. Caden not knowing what to say, and obviously James didn’t appreciate the dark soul butting in.
After going around a corner, the hallway became cluttered with boxes and odd equipment pushed up against the walls, stacked almost to the ceiling. The smell of old musty documents filled the air. Caden could see a barred door up ahead with two guards standing in front with large guns leaning on the walls next to them. As the guards saw them coming, they picked up the guns and stopped relaxing.
“Okay creature,” James spoke up looking back at Tagen, who wasn’t in shadow form any longer.
“Tagen. The name’s Tagen.”
“Okay Tagen.” James sounded as if he struggled to call him by name. “Here’s a question for you that I’ve been wondering all these years we’ve been fighting your kind. Why aren’t there any girl creatures?”
Tagen chuckled. “Of all the questions you could ask, that’s the qu
estion you most want to know?”
Caden raised an eyebrow. The question was strange, but now that it was asked, Caden became curious as well.
“Well, I know a lot about your kind, I’ve just never been able to talk with one before, but now that you’re with Caden, I can.” James smiled at Caden, a smile Caden hadn’t seen in a while and had missed. His old friend always had a goofy side to him. It was nice to see again, since James had been so uptight since they arrived.
“Is he serious?” Tagen looked to Caden with an astonished look. Obviously, the dark soul wasn’t used to humor.
Laughing, Caden nodded. “Go ahead, answer him.”
“Okay. Well, it’s simple,” Tagen began, sounding uncomfortable with the topic, like he was afraid he was getting set up. “When Triaad threw women into the dark matter cell, their souls wouldn’t take. For some reason a man’s soul will meld into the dying body, but a woman’s soul won’t stay.”
“What do you mean it won’t stay?” James asked with a more serious tone. One of the guards began raising a hand to tell them to stop.
“I don’t know much more than that,” Tagen responded. “All I know is when we would go back to check on a woman in a dark matter cell, their body would be there, but the soul would be gone. Triaad never figured out why there was a difference between men and women. There just was.”
“I guess men are just more corruptible,” James laughed. It was good to hear the laughter for the first time in what felt like a long time. Caden was feeling normal. Like life was going to be okay.
Tagen furrowed his brow and tilted his head, looking at James with a confused look.
Both of the guards lifted their guns and pointed them at Tagen. “Halt,” one of them barked. “What’s going on here?” he asked. Both of them had the lens over one eye and the strange armor on that James had been wearing when they first found Caden.
“It’s okay,” James began. “They’re with me.”
“Is this the creature the General told us about?” the other guard spoke up. “The one we are supposed to shoot if he isn’t with you guys?”
“It is.” James didn’t appear to be in the mood for small talk. “Now if you will let us through, I wanted to show our newest recruit here…” He pointed to Caden. “The nasty creature Toby’s become.”
“Yes, sir.” The left guard moved to the door, unlocked it, and then they both got out of the way. After they passed through the doorway, the guards slammed the metal behind them.
“So Tagen,” James had that tone again. The tone like he was going to ask another odd question. “Do you remember or know who you were as a human?”
“No,” both Tagen and Caden answered at the same time.
“My memories are gone,” Tagen continued. “And there was no way Triaad, our master, was going to tell us who we used to be.”
Prison cells came into view. Most were empty, but each had different barriers to keep prisoners in. Some of them had a strange green netting, like the netting that held Tagen captive when they brought him to Caden. Others had thick glass with wires running through it. Then there were the typical cells with steel bars.
“He’s just up here on the right,” James explained, pointing to a cell that had the glass enclosure. The wires were glowing red.
As they approached, a large man that Caden didn’t recognize, sat in the corner of the room. Two horns poked out of his head and his eyes were black. His skin looked stretched in some places and the coloration was a very pale white.
“Wow. And you’re saying there’s a demon in him?”
“Well, I mean, that’s just what we’ve labeled it as. We don’t know what else to call it,” James stumbled on his words. He reached out and knocked on the glass a couple of times, but Toby just stayed sitting, ignoring the harassment.
“Have you talked to him at all?” Caden asked, fascinated by what he saw in front of him. His scientific side was coming out, and he wished the man were dead so maybe he could do an autopsy.
James shook his head. “No. We’ve tried, but he speaks some language that we’ve never heard before.”
“It’s an ancient language,” Tagen spoke up. He clung to the ceiling looking in at the beast. “And you guys are right about what you think he is. It’s a demon all right. Not sure which one, but Mauldrin here…” Tagen pointed at Caden. “Azgiel, and some of the others put lots of different creatures in cells-of-time as an eternal punishment for the wrongs they did. So there’s no telling who that is or how powerful.”
James looked up at him. “Why do you keep calling him Mauldrin?”
Letting go of the ceiling, Tagen did a flip and landed next to them. “Because that’s his true name. The name he was known as, well before he was known as Caden.”
Being curious, Caden tapped on the glass, hoping to get some kind of response, even though it hadn’t worked for James. Toby shifted his eyes and looked at Caden. His entire face changed, from a calm look to an enraged look. He flew out of his sitting position and charged the glass, slamming into it with an incredible amount of force. Caden quickly jumped back.
“What did you do?” James asked, backing up as well. Toby kept slamming the glass, which caused the wires to glow a brighter red.
Tagen laughed, “You must’ve been the one that locked him away. He obviously remembers you.” With a jump that looked to defy gravity, Tagen gripped back onto the ceiling and disappeared.
With one more loud bang, the wires seemed to release the built up energy and shocked inward, knocking Toby to the ground. He stayed there, his body jolting from the intense shock.
“Will he be okay?” Caden asked while leaning forward to look closer at Toby.
“He’ll be fine,” James responded. “It’s not the first time it’s happened.” He stepped next to Caden. “Boy, he sure didn’t like you. Did he?”
Caden stared at the half man half beast lying on the floor. Toby’s muscles kept jerking, but his black eyes stayed focused on Caden. “No, I guess he didn’t.” The image was rather disturbing, and Caden was beginning to feel worn out from so much he had gone through.
“Do you mind if we go back to my room? I’m feeling worn out,” Caden said as he stepped away from the cell.
Looking down at his watch, James chuckled. “Sure thing. It’s close to midnight. It’s not like you should be tired or anything.”
Caden smiled and they headed out of the cells, with Tagen following somewhere behind.
CHAPTER 16
Frogs croaked by the water and crickets chirped throughout the woods as Azgiel walked down a worn path. He looked at the old carvings in the large stones around their village, the moon lighting them up. They were remarkable. Maselda had done amazing work. The enchantments on them were sophisticated and ornate. In some places they needed fixing, since they were old and had eroded over the years.
Stopping in front of an old tree, Azgiel turned and looked back down the path. He could barely make out the village lights from where he stood. While he was in his cell of time, he grew accustomed to being alone. At first, it had been hard. Seeing people frozen, never being able to converse about drove Azgiel to insanity. Over time, he learned to be at peace with himself. The only thing he ever looked forward to was the time lapse that would come every one hundred years and move him forward. It gave him new things to look at, even if he was alone.
Looking out over the village, he still felt alone, but it was different. He was surrounded by many but close to few. In the past, that would have never bothered him, but in that moment, it hurt. Even over the last two years since he had returned, it had been a struggle. The villagers were closer to Maselda and normally went to her, only to have her come to him.
The earlier fight he had with Maselda really brought the feeling of aloneness to his heart. She was close to everyone, and he wasn’t. He looked to his right, past the bushes and through the thinning trees. The moon reflected on the lake, and the round shadows of the troll huts looked like small mounds circling th
e banks.
He needed to become closer with those that served him. He needed to learn from his love Maselda, and learn to build relations like he had when he was king. War was what had been driving him when he entered his cell of time, and letting go of the deep hatred and anger was tough.
A clicking came from beside him and brought Azgiel out of his thoughts. He looked over to see a preel sitting on a tree trunk. The large beetle clicked and then chirped a couple of times.
“Back so soon?” Azgiel asked.
The preel chirped again while tilting its head upwards.
“I’m impressed. I only sent you in there a couple of hours ago.” Azgiel smiled as he tapped the beetle on the head.
“Go get an anubite and meet me at the Witch’s.” As he spoke, the preel made a purring noise and then flew off. There was only one creature that could understand the preel, an anubite.
Taking in a deep breath and letting it out, Azgiel began walking back towards the village, passing large boulders along the way. If the preel was already back then he must’ve found something.
The village was empty when he got there. Everyone was in bed, since it was the middle of the night. Only a couple of demons walked around. Across the way, at the other end of the village, he could see the preel flying towards his tree, where their house was. An anubite followed behind him, his jackal-like head slumped slightly from his tiredness and his feet dragged along the ground. He was one of the taller ones, probably just shorter than Azgiel, and wore a dark brown robe.
Wanting to be there when the two of them arrived, Azgiel began jogging to catch up. When the anubite noticed his presence, he quickly stood up straighter and stopped dragging his feet.
“Thank you for coming to help at such late notice,” Azgiel said as he came up beside them. “What is your name?”
The anubite turned to look at him, ears perched. Azgiel realized it was a girl. Strange that the preel got a female and not one of the males.
“Linsc,” she spoke and then looked forward once again.
“Good to meet you, Linsc. Did the Preel tell you what we need?” Azgiel was trying hard to be more like Maselda and make those around him feel comfortable. Linsc was a great place to start. They arrived at the tree and started the climb up.