by JK Ensley
I know now why Larie thought I should have no problem blending in with the night people of Praetoria. They just keep getting curiouser and curiouser.
“Loveliest of ladies, my name is Jago. I am humbled by your grace and beauty.”
Jago knelt on the ground before my chair. I saw Decimus roll his eyes.
“Did you not hear the lady, Jago?” Decimus’s mouth was turned up in a harsh smirk. “She cannot be swayed by flattering words nor bowing at her feet.”
I smiled sweetly. “Mind him not, Lord Jago.” I winked at the dual-toned man kneeling before me. “I never said anything about bowing.”
Decimus rolled his eyes again, but he no longer seemed quite as bored as before.
“Come, beautiful creature,” Jago said. “The night is full of magic and I wish to experience it with you. Would you grace me with an honored dance?”
He took my hand and helped me up. Actually, he insisted I stand.
“I fear I’ve been too long with the wine, Sir Jago. I may stumble and embarrass Your Grace.”
“Nonsense,” he said dismissively. “I will lift you up and be your constant support.”
Wrapping his arm around my waist, Jago whisked me toward the dance circle. Apparently, declining was not an option.
As the darkness of night began to lessen with the approaching dawn, the obvious spokesman for The Thirteen, Hamish, stepped forward and raised his hands.
“The sunrise will bring an end to Beltane, our holiest of all holidays. Come now and let the offering be given, ensuring us another bountiful year. A year rich with love, rich with harmony, and wholly blessed with many beautiful offspring.” He looked to his companions. “Has the sacrifice been approved?”
The remaining twelve members had joined their leader, each nodding to him in turn.
“It is settled. Come, dear friends, and let us partake of the sacred wine of life and fertility.”
A table was set in the midst of the arena and a giant silver bowl was placed in its center. Larie, myself, and each of our original party was given a bottle of wine.
“Just follow my lead,” Larie whispered.
She led us to the ornate bowl and poured her bottle in, emptying it entirely, shaking out every last drop. I did as she had and each lady followed suit until the bottles had all been drained. The Thirteen gathered around the half-filled basin, joining hands as they began chanting. Jago turned, offered his hand to Larie, and led her into the circle. Josephine turned, took the hand of another girl standing near me, and their chanting circle closed once more.
I didn’t understand their words nor could I see what was happening within. Their ominous rhythm came to an abrupt halt as the last within our party, save me, was pulled within the circle.
“The time of the sacrifice is ripe.”
The Thirteen parted at Cashiel’s proclamation, revealing my new friends standing opposite the basin from me. Larie held her hand over the bowl and Jago pierced her palm with a strange metal claw he now wore upon his right finger. Larie smiled, her face lit up as she clenched her hand into a fist. The drops of blood hitting the wine made a sickening thick plop.
“Thirteen drops from each maiden called. Thirteen drops of magic blood. May each bear a child this night,” Jago chanted.
“Because the night is full of magic,” the entire assembly echoed.
I stood there, bewildered, as each member from The Thirteen led a woman to the bowl and repeated Jago’s words with the crowd responding in kind. When each had taken their turn, there remained only Decimus and I.
Raising one eyebrow, I cocked my head slightly when he turned to look at me. “Do you have something you wish to ask of me, good Decimus?”
His smirk was even more blatant than it had been. “I had no intention of asking.”
Josephine and Cashiel grabbed my arms. I didn’t resist them.
I chuckled. “Why so much ado over thirteen little drops of blood?”
“With the last moments of our sacred Beltane,” Hamish announced. “We fill the Basin of Life with a most rare and beautiful sacrifice.”
“Because the night is full of magic,” the crowd responded.
One corner of my mouth pulled back in a taunting grin. “I see. So, you need a little more than thirteen drops from me. Is that it? Tell me. Who’s this honored deity that they should claim my life?”
“For thousands of years we have worshipped only the Goddess Ashtoreth, and given only unto her what she requires. No more and no less,” Hamish answered.
I gasped. “Thousands of years? You mean to tell me you’ve murdered thousands of innocent women to honor a demon?”
“Hold your tongue, Witch,” Cashiel hissed. “Or I shall rip it from your mouth.”
I looked deep into the older man’s graying eyes and saw exactly what I’d expected. Silently, I cursed my wine-addled mind. Had I been master of my faculties, I could have easily seen the ancient man for what he was when first he approached me.
Leaning against him, I tiptoed and quickly licked his neck. Cashiel yelled, jumping back when my tongue touched his flesh. I burst out with laughter at what I tasted within him. Decimus tore me away from Josephine, placing a blade to my throat. I kept my gaze fixed on Cashiel.
“Tell me, old man. What could you have possibly done to be forever parted from your wings? It seems an almost unbearable fate for one who once stood so high.” A cruel chuckle emanated from my lips.
He gasped. “Wha-what are you?”
“Me?” I cocked one eyebrow and held my arms out wide, displaying the whole of me. “Why, I am your rare sacrifice, am I not?”
“Decimus, check her hand,” Cashiel yelled frantically. “Upon her finger, is she marked?”
“Aye, that I am, O Fallen One.”
I placed my hand over Decimus’s and changed to Vashti. He released the blade, stumbling back.
Jago gasped loudly. “By all that’s holy…”
“Ah, ah, ah, now let us not bring God into this, Jago.” I smiled sweetly. “We were speaking only of demons and fallen Angels. Is that not right, Cashiel?”
“Tell me who you are,” he demanded.
“My name isn’t the important one here. You wouldn’t know of it. You have been gone too long and I am yet a newborn. But my husband… well, him you may have heard of.” I chuckled wickedly. A tingling of darkness fluttered within my wings. “Pray, tell me of your twelve friends. Or shall I taste them as well?”
“Hamish, kill her!” Cashiel yelled.
I barely flexed my shoulders, expanding my lethal wings just as the man charged me. He ran straight into one and was sliced completely in two. I released my angelic mask but retained my diamond weapons as the crowd screamed, running from the arena, leaving me alone with the twelve left standing from The Thirteen.
“Ugh, I hate demon slime. And now it drips from my lovely wing,” I complained. “Tell me. Are you all quite finished now? Or shall we continue our little dance?”
One by one the demons attacked. And one by one, the demons fell. Until only Cashiel, Jago, and I remained.
I almost felt bad killing Decimus. He seemed so lost and confused by the chaos. But a new demon is still a demon.
“If you’ve been practicing your fake religion for thousands of years, why have the Vanir received no summonses against you?”
“We have met the Vanir many times,” Jago said. “They punish but never kill.”
I laughed at his words. “Ahh, so it was one of my brothers who claimed your wings.”
“Your brothers? You are no Vanir,” Cashiel spat. “You have no right to our judgments.”
“You didn’t seem too concerned about rights when it was my life you meant to take.”
“We are not demons and you are not Vanir. You’ll not have such an easy time with us,” Jago threatened.
“No, I am not Vanir. I’m God’s executioner. And your hair gave you away, Jago. I knew you to be an Angel without using my tongue. Yet, I am curious. Tell me. What were
you the Guardian of, anyway?”
“That’s none of your concern. If you know us to be Angels, then you know you cannot kill us,” Jago boasted. “Only another Angel may claim that honor.”
“Ahh, but the night is dark and full of magic, my good friend. And my husband yet lives within me.” I winked at him then. “I believe I can manage.”
“What lie is this? Whose name do you claim?” Jago spat.
“I claim only mine own, sir. And you will meet my loving husband in but a breath.”
I sliced off Jago’s head as I tore out his heart. His body fell to ash and blew away.
I turned to face Cashiel. “You have destroyed many beautiful souls, Angel, and led countless others astray.”
“Give me your lover’s name,” he demanded.
“Under one condition.” I approached the broken old Angel, placing my hand upon his shoulder.
“Then speak it,” he said.
“Tell my loving Vindicus I miss him. And make sure you kneel before him and use his proper name when you say… Apollyon, Prince of Darkness, I am a gift from your loving wife.”
Horror filled his ancient eyes a split second before his ashes were carried away… and I entered the clouds once more.
Chapter 40
Byzantha
(bye-ZAN-thah)
Once I’d left the carnage of that arena on layer seven, Praetoria, I entered the stomach-churning clouds and let faith lead my wings yet again. They carried me to Byzantha, the realm of layer two.
Walking through that darkened forest, I realized… I’ve never been to Byzantha before. I’ve only ever heard the rather colorful stories Vinika has shared with me about this place.
My dear friend and sister Vanir had been here many times and had meticulously described the enchanting forest I now walked through. The orange moss covering the northern side of the ancient trees. The glowing rainbow-colored toadstools growing in large clumps scattered about the forest floor. And the pulsing silver veins running throughout the massive tree trunks, extending all the way to the spidery tips of every leaf. I knew exactly where I was.
How can the forest be so dark and feel so cold… when all this amazing color and life are vibrantly flourishing within?
Vinika told me how the moss closed in on itself when touched and how the pretty toadstools shrank back from even the slightest breath. It was true, all of it. Barely touching the fuzzy orange growth caused it to collapse inward, and the mushrooms reminded me of when I was a child playing with snails… the way their eyes would sink down into their head and then extend right back up.
One thing she’d failed to mention, and I find that odd in itself, was the music. Not only were the fauna and flora extremely shy, they screamed at me. They had no voice. Yet each touch brought with it a strange, eerie note. Touching four mushrooms, one at a time, I was met with four different notes. The smaller fungi produced a higher, tinkling sound… while the larger ones had a deeper, richer tune to play. When I touched all four in unison, it was like a tiny symphony. The toadstools were as a piano, the moss a flute, and the tree trunks were definitely the percussion section.
I tried to remember my lessons from school, but it was useless. I was horrible with music back then and my talent, or lack thereof, hadn’t mysteriously developed any.
I wonder what the leaves sound like.
I flew to the glowing canopy to sate my curiosity. Just as I had expected, tinkling brass bells.
How could Vinika have left something as amazing as musical plants out of her description?
I placed my palm against the ancient trunk. The deep humming ran up my arm, pulsating through my insides. Two palms doubled the effect, so I wrapped my arms around it as far as I could. The drumming throbbed within me, vibrating my bones. The glorious drums pounded in my ears. I ran one hand down and across the soft moss, a melodic flute joined in my magical concert. I was smiling so big my cheeks hurt.
All I needed to figure out now was how to touch everything at once; the tree, the leaves, the moss, and the mushrooms. I just had to find a place where I could reach them all at the same time. No easy feat, since the trees were so tall.
And that’s exactly what I was pondering when I felt a gentle rub against my thigh.
Looking down, I was shocked to see a giant cat nuzzling my leg. I mean, this thing was huge. I could have easily ridden him. I didn’t try, no, but I’m certain I could have. My heart skipped a couple of beats and I’m almost positive I stopped breathing. I was frozen, terrified… until I felt and heard his pleasing, rhythmic purring. When I released my held breath, it gushed as a wave.
Of course he’s not ferocious. How could he be? If your intentions are to eat someone, you wouldn’t normally start out by loving on them, begging to be petted. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself.
His purring and nuzzling increased. I sat down on my bottom and he curled up in my lap, well, as much of him as could possibly fit in my lap. I wanted to hold this giant kitty. But since he was larger than any dog, it was a rather impossible task. I stroked his soft fur. He closed his eyes, lazily swishing his long tail.
“Wow… You are beautiful.” My hand glided out the length of his body. “Where did you come from, Kitty? Never have I seen a chocolate-colored cat before, makes me want to gobble you up.” I giggled then. “You must be one of a kind, a rare beauty. Who do you belong to?” I was stroking his silky side with one hand and scratching him under the chin with the other. “There’s no way a friendly guy like you is feral. Do you live near here? Are you hungry, Kitty?” I chuckled. “Seems cats are always up for a bit of milk or a juicy bite of fish. Is that it, Kitty? Did you get my attention because you need me to go fishing for you?”
I wasn’t expecting an answer, and of course, he didn’t provide one. I snorted out a chuckle as I sat there on the warm earth, stroking that magnificent feline while looking around… trying to determine the best place to play the flowery recital I’d been pondering prior to the arrival of my new fur-friend.
“There are some leaves close enough to neighboring trunks. I could fly up and do that part easily enough. But the moss only grows closer to the ground. And there’s just no way to touch a leaf and a mushroom at the same time.”
The cat slowly opened his glistening brown eyes, gazing at me, completely uninterested.
“I do so want to hear all four at the same time, Kitty. Perhaps there’s a sapling closer to the forest’s edge. I don’t see one this far in. That might work. If I could find a sapling with leaves I can reach while standing upon the ground, but… I didn’t notice the moss or toadstools until I walked deeper within.”
I sighed and leaned back against the tree. The drumming resonated through me. I began bobbing my head to the hypnotic beat. Reaching back, I rubbed the moss while I stretched out my other arm and barely touched a tiny purple mushroom.
I giggled. The cat just stared at me.
“Have you ever heard the whole symphony at once, Kitty?”
He only continued to purr in response.
“I want to experience the entire concert. Surely people have done it before. If only Vinika were here now.”
I quit talking and lay down beside my comforting new friend, burying my fingers in his luxurious fur, continuing to glide my hand along the length of his sleek side. I kept my lower back against the tree so I wouldn’t lose the relaxing beat of the vibrating drums as the sun slowly set on another eventful day. With the rhythmic sway of the tree, combined with the warm humming purrs of my new friend, I was soon lulled into a magically blissful sleep.
The first rays of a new dawn caused me to stir.
“Good morrow, my angelic friend.” His words rolled over his tongue, a verbal purr.
I blinked twice and stretched my arms before closing my eyes, curling back into a cozy ball. “Good morning, Kitty.” I yawned out my words. “I dreamt you could talk.”
“Do all your dreams come true, Ajená?”
I sat up quickly, banging my
head against the tree trunk. Drums echoed through my addled mind.
“Did you just speak? For real?” I was holding his cheeks in my hands, forcing him to look at me.
The cat kept his warm brown eyes fixed on me, only meowing by way of response.
I rubbed the side of my throbbing head. “Stupid dreams,” I grumbled.
I yawned, stretched again, and took in the sheer beauty of this magical realm.
“I like it here, Kitty. I wouldn’t mind staying for a while. I have nowhere else to be right now.” I rolled my head to either side, listening to the bones in my neck pop. “Be nice to have a cup of tea, though.”
“It’s strange you can hear the music. Only a select few born of this world can hear nature’s symphony. And you were definitely not born of this world.”
I spun around to find the owner of the seemingly disembodied voice. There was only me… and the cat.
“That was no dream. You did speak.” I put my face down close to his, our noses almost touching. “Do it again,” I whispered.
The cat only meowed and swished his long tail across the lovely orange moss. I heard the melodic flutes once more.
“Oh, Kitty! You can do it too.” I was way more excited than a grown woman should be.
The cat meowed and lazily swished his tail across a nearby patch of mushrooms. A plethora of notes rang through the quiet forest.
I giggled and clapped my hands. “That’s perfect, Kitty. You just keep doing what you’re doing. I’ll join in with the leaves and trees.”
Without even considering the fact I was talking to a cat, I shot up to the canopy. Lying upon a large drumming limb, I whimsically touched the silver veined leaves. First one, then another, then many, and back to just one again. The harmonious tune rippled through every cell of my being. Over and over, the magical orchestra played on.