It had seemed like forever when the door creaked open and the light flickered on. Lily’s eyes squinted on their own, avoiding the light. “Aiden?”
“Shh.” Aiden put his finger to her lips. “I’m so sorry, Lily Pad. I didn’t know what he had planned, I swear I never would have helped him if I had known.”
“I . . . I trusted you.” Lily shook her head, not wanting to look at him.
“He said he just needed your help. He promised he wouldn’t harm you.”
“Who is he, Aiden? Why does he think he’s my father?”
“Because he is, Lily. That much I’m certain of, it’s a long story and to be honest I don’t know the whole thing, but Leo does.”
“Ah, good you’re awake. Now we can begin,” Davarius stated as he entered the room.
Aiden again positioned himself in front of Lily. “This wasn’t part of the deal.”
“Your cooperation has been most beneficial, dear boy, but I’m afraid you have worn out your welcome. You see, now that I have my daughter I no longer have a need for you.” He smiles.
“I won’t let you hurt her!” Aiden spat out as he clenched his fists together ready for a fight.
“What do you want from me?” Lily shouted from behind the wall of Aiden.
“It’s quite simple really,” he stated calmly as two Voids entered the room and began to ascend on Aiden. “You see, my dear, it appears that when your mother and I conceived you the powers that be were not happy about it decided to use you as an insurance policy against me—a sort of karma if you will. I knew mating was forbidden, with my being a demon and all, but your mother was so intriguing I just couldn’t resist.”
The Voids latched onto Aiden’s arms pinning him in place as he struggled against them. “Let him go!”
“Interesting, even after all he’s done to bring you here to me; you still defend him.” Davarius rubbed his goatee with his thumb and index finger, his jet-black hair glistening under the florescent light. “Don’t worry I’m not going to hurt him, but you will.”
The Voids ushered Aiden out of the room, while Davarius approached Lily with a needle in his hand. Seconds after the Voids exited a man entered, wearing an all-black robe. He was an older looking man with a balding gray head and long beard. “Ah, so this is the infamous daughter. You’ve done well, my protégé.” The man smiled.
“W-what are you going to do to me?” Lily thrashed her legs on the table trying to back away from the needle now hovering above her head.
“Nothing you need to worry yourself with, my dear, we are simply going to make sure that you are unable to do me any harm. My oldest and dearest friend, Luther here, is going to use his magic to extract your soul. It will be harmless, I assure you.”
“My . . . my soul . . . why do you want my soul? That will kill me! I . . . I don’t understand.” She sobbed.
“Oh come now don’t be so dramatic, of course it won’t kill you. There are soulless creatures walking about all the time. It’s quite simple really but I don’t wish to bore you with the details. Now hold still this will sting a little.” He laughed as the needle pierced her neck.
New Plan
“Well, have you seen anything?” Reece prodded as Emily held the article of clothing.
Emily shook her head. “I told you this was pointless, it doesn’t work like that.”
“What about you? Can you catch her scent or something?” Nate asked Alaric.
Alaric turned and glared at him. “I’m not some mutt you can use as a tracking hound.”
“Whoa, lighten up man. I was just joking.” Nate chuckled nervously.
Reece began to pace, thrusting his hand through his hair, there has to be something we can do—something I can do. Blowing out a frustrated breath he walked outside to get some fresh air. Staring up at the sky he wished something would come to him, any idea would work at this point. They had no idea where to even start looking for Lily. “Sam’s laptop!” Reece shouted and bolted back inside, straight into the living room where Sam’s laptop still sat on the coffee table.
The others gathered around him as he powered it on and waited for it to boot up. He was instantly greeted with a video, waiting for someone to hit the play button. In the background the image paused was Sam’s face. Reece puffed up his chest and rolled his shoulders, he wouldn’t shed any more tears, and he couldn’t show any signs of weakness—not when the team was so vulnerable.
“What is it, Reece?” Leo asked as he took the spot next to him on the couch.
“A message,” he responded and hit play.
The screen flashed momentarily as Sam’s image came into focus. He adjusted his glasses on his nose and then began to speak, “Hey guys, I know you’re all pretty mad at me right now. To answer your questions, yes I knew I was going to die. And no, you couldn’t stop it. If I’ve learned anything in life it’s that you can’t mess with fate or destiny—whatever you want to call it. We all have roles to play in our lives and each one is equally important, you may not understand the whys but trust me, okay. Reece, don’t beat yourself up. Nate, yes you can have my stash of Ho Ho’s. And Leo, you did the right thing, Lily will come to forgive you; give her time.” Nate laughed and Leo smiled, Reece remained the pillar of stillness. “Okay, now down to business. I know where Lily is, but there is something important you need to know first if you wish to defeat Davarius. We all know that Davarius is an evil mastermind, darkness itself. I know that probably sounds ridiculous, but darkness comes in many forms. It is not just merely the absence of light. It can come from a place deep within a soul, a soul that by all accounts should be without redemption. The solution you are seeking will not be found in just any light, it will need to come from the only redeeming aspect of his soul; it will be found in Lily, in her soul.”
Reece stiffened as Sam’s message continued. “To find Lily you will need to look in a place with all the resources of a hospital but smaller. I can’t give you an exact location, but I can tell you that it is closer than you think and it won’t be as obvious either. I know it sounds like I’m speaking in riddles but I really don’t know any other way to describe it to you. Ask Emily to help you, she will be the one to lead you there.” Emily rolled her eyes, as Reece looked up at her. “I have to go now, please remember to look out for each other and free yourselves of the guilt you’re carrying. Good luck guys.” And with that, the screen went blank. Leo wiped a tear from his cheek, quickly shrugging it off in order to keep his tough appearance. Reece gently closed the laptop and looked around at his teammates. After thinking for a few minutes he gave his orders.
“Alright, Victor, you use your stealth and swiftness to sneak into the library and grab all the building plans for the area. Leo, you get on Sam’s laptop and do some research of the area, singling out hospitals and clinics—anything resembling medical stuff. Nate, you take Emily and drive around the town, see if she gets any visions. Alaric, you and I are going to call around to the other teams and see what other intel we can find about all the Void attacks and any spotting’s of Davarius.” The guys all nodded in agreement, Emily sighed.
“Why can’t you take me, Reece?” she whined.
“Aw, what’s the matter sugar, afraid to be alone with me?” Nate winked. “Don’t worry, you’re not my type.”
Emily stomped her foot and made her way to the car where she waited for Nate. Nate laughed and made a saluting motion to Reece before hopping in the car. The rest of the team split up into their assignments and focused on finding Lily before it was too late.
Soulless
Do you ever wonder what it feels like to live without your soul? Me either. I don’t wonder or worry about anything anymore. Some days I sit here in this room and stare at the walls or the ceiling, other days I will go outside and attempt to feel something; anything. That’s the thing about having a soul, you never really notice how it affects you until you don’t have one anymore. My father tells me that a war is brewing and that I’m his most valuable weapon. I vagu
ely remember there being a time when I cared, but I can’t seem to recall it at this moment in time. The compound, as I like to call it, has been filling up with more and more Voids, they’re coming in by the dozen now. Perhaps the whole town has been turned by now, I wouldn’t know.
On the up side, I am no longer a prisoner; I am free to roam as I wish. The only problem with that is that I no longer wish to roam. I am perfectly content sitting in here by myself that is, until the silence starts. I can’t stand the silence. Some like to refer to silence as dead, but for me it is very much alive; it haunts me frequently. That’s when the voices start, the ones screaming in my head. Many times I attempt to escape it by playing music to drown it out. Today it has found me. Today it torments me like a puppet on a string, pulling at me from all directions. Think of it like a drill . . . a slow, rusty drill spinning slower than a clock hand right into your skull. That is what silence feels like to me. I can’t stand it.
“Ah there she is. My pride and joy, come I have a job for you.” Davarius smiles as he enters her room, interrupting her thoughts. He leads her down a dimly lit hallway, stopping at the last door on the right. He takes out a card and swipes it down a keypad, buzzing the door open. At first there is nothing but darkness in the room, it’s cold and it smells of mildew and bleach. It’s only when the light flickers on that Lily realizes they aren’t alone. A man is huddled in the corner. Cocking her head to the side, she tries to recall who the man is, her mind is screaming at her but she can’t place his face. The man is bloody and beaten, his hair sticky with sweat. “Lily?” he croaks out, his voice hoarse and strained.
Lily? Yes that is my name, I remember now, she thinks to herself but displays no emotion of the memory.
“Lily, what has he done to you? Your eyes are red, you—he made you one of them didn’t he? You bastard! How could you Void your own daughter of her soul?” the man spat out, hands bound behind his back as he struggled to get up.
“Come now, Aiden, stop all this nonsense. Lily is exactly the way I intended her to be. It truly is astounding what can be accomplished by removing someone’s soul, the very thing that makes them human; give them feeling and thoughts. Without it I have created the perfect weapon, the perfect daughter, and the perfect soldier.” His smile is almost sickly sweet. Aiden, I should know that name, shouldn’t I? Standing up straighter she shakes the thoughts from her mind. “Lily Pad, listen to me. You have to fight it, you have to fight whatever hold he has on you and get out of here. Please, Lily, save yourself,” Aiden pleads, tears streaming down his cheek. “It’s my fault, this is my fault. I only wanted you to myself, I only wanted to ensure your safety; and I’ve done the opposite, I’ve delivered you to the devil.”
Lily walked calmly over to the man as Davarius watched her every move. She kneels down next to Aiden and wipes the tears from his face, then licks her fingers clean. She never would have guessed that emotions could taste so salty and bitter. Confusion washes over his face but only for a moment, as Davarius shouts out something he can’t understand. Lily smiles but it isn’t the smile Aiden is used to, the one he used to get lost in, the one that lit up his world; no, this smile was pure evil, void of all emotion. Sadistic if you will. Lily grabs onto Aiden’s throat and lifts him—with little effort—off the floor, his feet dangling at her knees. He doesn’t attempt to fight back instead he stares into her eyes, which are no longer Emerald green but blanketed in red.
“Lily Pad, I know you’re in there somewhere. I know you can hear me, please,” he pleads.
She flings him back down to the floor, watching him scurry backward to the wall. Davarius laughs and retreats from the room locking them both inside. Lily turns her head side to side, like a puppy trying to understand English. Aiden continues to plead to her, to try and draw her back.
“I love you so damn much, Lily, and I can’t be without you, I just can’t. The love I have for you is so much more than an emotion; it’s a thought, a feeling, a sense of belonging. It’s life changing. That’s what happened when I met you, my life changed. It became so much more. I can’t go back now, don’t you see; trying to live my life before you is hopeless now. My heart simply won’t allow it; it will protest, go on strike and basically stop beating. I can no longer exist without you. I don’t know how. So, if I’ve truly lost you, if my Lily Pad really is gone, then kill me, because I refuse to live in a world where she doesn’t exist.”
Lily shrugged. “Makes no difference to me.” Her eyes gleam as if she’s enjoying herself. She can’t remember much of her past life, but she is sure it involved destruction, it feels so right to her; almost second nature. Without a second thought, she rubbed her amulet and summoned up all the water inside Aiden’s body, and forced it into his lungs. A gasp escaped from his mouth before the water gurgled up into his throat. The moment his eyes went wide and he collapsed to the ground, a twisted smile spread across Davarius’ face. He entered the room applauding her deed. And then with a simple snap of her fingers his limp body burst into flames.
“Very impressive, my dear. It appears Andros’ amulet has increased your abilities more than we had hoped. Who would have thought these stones of his would actually work,” he states while admiring the teardrop shaped pendant around Lily’s neck.
Andros had performed an ancient ritual, nearly impossible to complete. It required dirt from the first Earth Elemental’s grave, a teardrop from a Water yet to reach assentation, a firestone, which are nearly impossible to find, and a baby’s first breath of air. It’s fascinating really, but with Lily now missing her soul, being injected with the Void serum and now the power of the amulet; she was nearly unstoppable.
Recon
Nate and Emily drove around for about forty-five minutes, but Emily had no visions so they decided to return back to the house. Plus, Nate couldn’t stand to be in the car any longer with Emily’s constant talking and annoying voice.
Leo was the most successful; he was able to find one working hospital and two clinics; one of which shut down three years ago. He also found a Vet hospital and an old military base just on the outskirts of the town, no longer working but they had an infirmary. Reece was pleased with the news.
“Okay, we have two other teams coming out this afternoon, ETA two hours. We will send one to investigate the closed clinic, the other to the hospital. Nate, you and Leo with me to the working hospital, and Alaric, you and Victor take Emily and head to the military base. Keep your distance, do most of your recon as far back as you can without actually going onto the base until we know more.”
A few hours later, the other teams had arrived and were given their assignments. Once Reece’s team was about to head out, Emily grabbed onto the doorframe to steady herself. Her head began to throb and the images flooded through her mind. The team waited anxiously to find out what was in store for them, but once the vision ended Emily collapsed to the floor.
“Wow, you hear that?” Nate said with a smile.
“Hear what? I don’t hear anything,” Alaric stated, listening intently.
“Exactly.” Nate laughed and elbowed Alaric, who to his surprise, smiled.
“I’ll take her upstairs to rest,” Victor said.
Victor and Nate were asked to stay behind and wait for Emily to wake up. The rest of the team headed out on their missions to recon the possible locations. Emily remained passed out for nearly an hour. She woke up screaming Reece’s name. Nate and Victor rushed upstairs to her side.
“What’s wrong Emily?” Victor asked calmly.
“Reece, where is Reece?” she asked in a panic.
“He’s out scoping out the locations, what’s with the hysterics?” Nate asked, arms crossed.
“Call him! Get him back here! Do it now!” she shouted.
“Calm down, Emily. Just tell us what you saw,” Victor stated.
Emily blew out a deep breath and ran her hand through her blonde hair. “I saw him die.”
“Who? Davarius?” Victor prodded.
Emily sho
ok her head. “Reece. I saw him die at the military base. It had to have been the base; there were old military choppers in a big warehouse-like building. I saw him crumble to the ground. Lily was there, she was . . . I don’t know, different.” Turning her attention directly at Nate. “You have to keep him here. You can’t let him go to his death for her. I know he loves her, I’ve seen it in the way he looks at her in the vision.”
Nate shook his head. “Reece will do what is necessary to end Davarius. Nobody—not even you—will stop him from his mission.”
“Even if it means he will lose his life, can you live with that on your hands?” she asked, in tears.
“Look Emily, sometimes in life we must make sacrifices for the greater good. Sam has always told us there are consequences for altering the outcome of a vision. We will go on with our orders, we will tell Reece what you saw and he can make that decision for himself, it’s his life,” Nate said.
“She’s going to be the death of you all,” Emily said, as she stood from the bed and exited the room.
Visions
Reece and the others returned within the hour. Nate took Reece into a separate room and informed him of Emily’s vision. Reece paced for a few moments, his face free from emotion. “Does she live?”
“What? Who? Emily? Yeah, she’s fine, it was your death she saw,” Nate answered.
“Not Emily, Lily. Does Lily live when I die?”
Nate nodded. “Well then, what are we waiting for?” Reece stated and started to walk out of the room.
“It’s alright to be afraid you know? I mean, nobody will think less of you, or respect you less if you’re a little shaken, knowing you’re headed to your death.” Nate grabbed his arm as he passed.
Reece looked down at Nate’s hand on his arm and shrugged it off. “What? You want me to run upstairs and cry about it? Innocent people are dying, innocent people have already died, Nate!” he shouted.
Discovering Shadows Page 9