by Andrew Ly
“As in Alyssa Masters. You’re Peter’s granddaughter!” Nick said.
“What kind of deception is this?” Paul he drew his sword. “Supreme Commander Peter’s granddaughter is a long way from here. You must be an impostor! A demon in disguise!”
She backed away with her hands up. “Wait a second. Quinn is my middle name and Valentine was my mother’s maiden name. I used them as an alias to protect myself. But yes, my true name is Alyssa Masters.”
“Why should we trust you?” Paul said. “You could be making this all up. In fact, you’re probably behind all of this!”
Nick looked into her eyes and there was no doubt in his mind now.
“Put your sword down.” Nick stood between them, the sword pointed at his face.
“Why am I not surprised? You were a fool when Peter picked you up as a child, and you’re a fool now. For all we know she could have infiltrated our organization by deceiving you! I won’t let the opportunity to exterminate a demon escape me,” Paul said.
“Are you blind or just stupid? Garreth obviously knows her, which proves she is who she says she is. Now put down your sword!” Nick said.
“Supreme Commander wouldn’t be pleased if he found out you cut down an innocent civilian based on a hunch,” Matt warned. Paul gave him a look of disdain and huffed angrily, before sliding the sword back into its sheath.
With the threat of death gone, Nick approached her with a question that was burning inside of him. “Of all people…why would you keep this from me?”
“I had to lie. I had to escape it all. Even if it meant risking my life by exposing myself—it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. I spent my whole life hiding in a bubble created by my grandfather. If I didn’t leave then I was as good as dead,” Alyssa said.
“What about us—was that just another part of the plan to escape?” Nick said.
“Of course not,” she said.
“This is bad, this is really bad.” Nick paced around, raking his hands harshly through his hair. The one time he met a girl he liked and it turned out to be Peter’s granddaughter, the same granddaughter the Crowned Princes wanted dead. “I can’t believe this is happening. This is too twisted.”
“You’re freaking me out, Emberson.”
“Okay. Before things spiral more out of control, let’s put this whole thing on pause right now because it looks like we should put Garreth in a hospital,” Matt said.
“Where should we take him? Civilian hospitals can’t treat a wound like this,” Daniel said.
“Bringing him back to his office won’t do either. We should take him to his house, it’s not very far.” Alyssa pointed at the large loft a couple of streets down. “We need someone to take care of the break in the shield in case something else tries to come through.”
“Paul and I will stay behind and repair it,” Matt said. “We’ll meet you all back at Garreth’s place after we’re done cleaning up here.” Paul gave a stiff nod, looking quite regretful for his earlier behavior.
Nick carried Garreth’s body back to the car with both Daniel and Alyssa following slowly behind. His mind was making a million connections a second. Everything suddenly made sense, how she met Garreth, how she knew so much about the Garrisons, and especially her name! The surname of Valentine had great historical significance; it would be impossible for someone to make a mistake. Was he just that stupid then, to go along so blindly without putting the obvious together? Or perhaps he didn’t want to face the facts—the truth that he was lying to her about who he was as well.
They arrived at the three-story building she’d indicated. It was unusually grandiose in design compared to the others around it, taking the curvy shapes and colors from Pailo. Dark red and tan were the main color palettes used to accent and separate it from this otherwise plain looking city. It was extravagant to no end, everything he expected from the boy millionaire.
Nick followed Alyssa with Garreth slung over his shoulder. She punched in the security code at the doorway. It chirped, signaling that the code was accepted and they found an elevator, which they took to the next floor. There they were immediately bombarded by more Pailean influences such as the décor in his living room, with little wood dolls and low tables with sitting mats. Nick propped Garreth on his bed in the master bedroom and returned to the living room.
Nick glanced at Daniel, who seemed to sense the vibe of the room. “Uh—I’m going to help the others. Did you guys need anything while I’m out?”
Alyssa didn’t say a word nor did she look at him.
“Okay…I’ll be right back.” Daniel closed the door softly behind him as he left.
Nick was grateful to Matt for stepping in, as it gave him a chance to collect his thoughts and become more rational.
“Can we talk?” Alyssa asked finally. “I know this is a little hard to take in, but let’s just try to be adults. Let’s be honest with each other right now and just say what we’re thinking.”
“Do you have any idea how bad this is?” Nick asked. “Of all the people in the world, why do you have to be his granddaughter?”
“What does my grandpa have to do with any of this?”
“Look,” Nick said, pacing around the room, “I also have a confession to make. If you are Peter’s granddaughter then you must know all there is to know about demons.”
“I have extensive knowledge on that subject. What’s your point?” Alyssa said.
“Then you know about the Crowned Princes,” Nick said.
“I don’t understand where you’re going with this.”
“Do you know the story of Agrian and Quinn? The love that helped save the world from being enslaved by demons? Do you know what happened to those two?”
“Of course, Quinn gave her life in order for Agrian to be reborn with a soul, and he pledged his life to honor her final wish by searching for peace for all humanity,” Alyssa said.
“That’s not all. Before the remaining Crowned Princes went into hiding, Ozarael vowed they would make him pay. They promised they would destroy everything he held dear as punishment for his betrayal. The only thing that Agrian ever cared about more than himself was Quinn.”
“I don’t understand. Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I am Agrian!”
Alyssa fell back onto the couch in disbelief. “That’s impossible. My grandfather made me spend my whole life hiding so this wouldn’t happen!”
“I guess dodging fate isn’t as easy as I thought. I’ve broken my promise to Peter and now look where we are. To top it off, there’s something strange going on in this city,” Nick said.
“You’re right. This is all happening really fast. I just need some time to think,” Alyssa stood up and walked briskly past Nick. “I’m going to check up on Garreth.” She closed the bedroom door.
Nick sat alone until the others came back from repairing the break in the seal. For the rest of the day Alyssa stayed in the room. Perhaps she wanted to avoid him. If that was the case, he felt he should give her the time to let everything sink in—he needed it as well.
For the time being, they would be settled down here in order to dig up clues about Astaroth’s sudden appearance, and his reasons for using the Den of Pain as a base. Luckily Garreth’s loft was quite large, with three guest bedrooms—more than enough to accommodate their stay. Alyssa had a room, Nick had one, Paul and Daniel shared a room, while Matt volunteered to sleep on the pullout couch.
Nick made the choice to close himself off from the rest of the world, only coming in and out for lonely meals. Deep down he wanted so badly to talk to her and resolve everything, but he couldn’t. It wasn’t the fact that they both lied—that was never the issue—but the fact that he couldn’t face the truth about his own past. How could she reciprocate feelings for a monster? The fact that he was betraying Peter’s trust by lying to his face was one thing, but to find out that he was also putting his granddaughter’s life in the same jeopardy Agrian did years ago was too much of a burden. Becau
se of his hasty actions all the consequences were toppling over like a row of dominos. What of his battle with Astaroth? He destroyed the only link to vital information because he was so hotheaded. And though no one placed any blame on him, he wished to be punished somehow, to be disciplined, and reprimanded so he could find solace.
After that incident, Paul went on the prowl for clues about Astaroth’s involvement and the other unidentified “wet warrior.” Nick had never seen such dedication from a single person. Night and day he was be out for extended periods of time, only coming back for a few hours of rest before resuming his quest with extreme zeal. He was relentless. The trail was still fresh. Patrolling an unfamiliar city must have been his way of finding redemption for not being there to stop him from losing their precious sword. Even now, in the dead of the night, he was on the hunt. Nick could only wonder what would happen if he actually found the root cause of all this.
Matt and Daniel were doing more or less the same, but were making rounds posed as normal citizens to find more clues, always coming up empty-handed. Perhaps this individual knew they were trying to find him, perhaps he knew better than to make another appearance. He had to have been a demon though, since there was no way an average person could outmaneuver Matt.
Nick confined himself in his room for the majority of the day, thinking about what he’d done. He chose to live this way, avoiding everyone for a while. He knew what they probably thought, and looking them in the eye was very difficult right now. It was twelve in the morning. Everyone would be either sleeping or preoccupied with something else. It would be easy to sneak past them.
He walked by Alyssa’s room, and wondered what she was up to. He resisted the urge to pay her a visit and went to the rooftop instead. It was a nice night to train. Being high above the other complexes meant he could use his fire powers without drawing curious viewers.
Nick spent plenty of time honing his demon powers. Transforming his arms was easy now, just like breathing. He could do it by sheer will, the only drawback being the fact that he still wasn’t able to control the shift in attitude that came with the intense emotional rollercoaster of harboring two conflicting souls. It was a double-edged sword since the more he gave in to Agrian, the more he was able to access the power, which amplified his abilities and senses to supernatural heights. But the demon within him was more than willing to look past his natural moral compass. He would have to eventually figure out a way to stop that from happening, before he got out of control and potentially hurt innocent people.
To begin his training, Nick transformed into Agrian. Easy enough. He would hold onto this form until he felt bloodlust or any uneasy thoughts began to take hold, which then would be his cue to revert back. During these trials he became fascinated with ideas that could extend and create better uses for his fire powers. Though it wasn’t perfect yet, he had developed the ability to conjure various shapes and weapons out of the flames. After he was done with that, he’d try more precision-based attacks. He would set up targets on other buildings and strike them with small, but concentrated bursts of flame.
After all was done, Nick went back to the loft and took a quick shower. He was feeling hungry after such an intense workout and decided that he earned himself a snack. He went to the kitchen, feeling his way in the dark. He found some canned chicken soup in one of the cupboards, poured it into a pot and placed it on the stove, letting it heat under a small flame before he noticed an occasional flash of dim light at the bottom crack of Garreth’s room door. He turned the knob and peeked in to see that Garreth was sitting on the floor, polishing his sword while the television was playing infomercials on mute. He was sitting so close to the television the images of the people in the advertisements reflected off his glasses.
“I’m surprised you’re not asleep yet.” Nick turned on the ceiling lights and illuminated the room. “After all that’s happened lately, I would have expected you to be more tired than anyone else.”
“I never sleep when I’m stressed.” Garreth blinked a few times to readjust himself to the sudden brightness.
His eyes were bloodshot; he continued staring blankly at the screen. “I’m used to running a high profile company that usually keeps me up till the break of dawn. But now that the demon problem has made its way into my city, there’s a lot more on my mind. I can’t do a thing about either right now, so this seemed like the best way to pass the time.” He pointed at the television.
“I can imagine.” Nick yawned loudly. Apparently being a millionaire bachelor still meant you still had a lot of responsibilities in order to maintain such a luxurious lifestyle. Go figure. He’d always thought prancing around in suits and looking important was work enough. Maybe he had misjudged Garreth. “It’s good to see Alyssa was able to help you recover.”
“She’s one of a kind, that one. Even if she wasn’t trained as a medic you’d have trouble telling her apart from the real thing.” Garreth paused to turn to face Nick. “I feel terrible that I caused this tension between you two. It wasn’t any of my business. Had I been in a better state of mind, I wouldn’t have said anything. But just so we’re clear, everything between me and her are over.”
“No agenda?” Nick said.
“None at all, I promise.”
“I appreciate that. Don’t worry, I’m not holding what happened against you.”
Garreth rubbed his eyes. “So then, what’s keeping you up at night?”
“The burden of being me.” Nick heard the sounds of rattling and went to check on the pot, which was boiling now. He poured the contents into a bowl. “Soup? I made extra,” he offered as he reentered the room.
“No thank you.” Garreth went back to cleaning his sword. It was already spotless as far as Nick could tell, yet he continued to polish it at the same spot in the same constant motion, like an obsessive compulsive disorder.
“Paul still hasn’t found a clue yet, has he?” Nick asked.
“Not one. It’s quite remarkable actually. He’s always been so good at tracking down demons. He’s had the best reputation for it, at least ever since I can remember. I guess times have changed.”
“Unless, maybe he’s having trouble because he’s not after a demon at all.” Nick drank his soup. It was delicious on this cool evening.
“Are you talking about that sighting in the Den of Pain?” Garreth asked.
“The way he looked and the dressed…do you think it could have been a Pailean knight?” Nick asked.
“Matt’s description was odd. Since I wasn’t conscious at the time, it all seems more than odd. I can’t imagine anyone striking me as ‘wet warrior’ when I visited Pailo. Besides, that Garrison has no business in Glenhaven or Fyria. The location is too far in the east to even know about the problems we have here. I think it was all in his imagination, a compilation of the stress from fending off a horde of Hellbeasts.”
“What about the fact that he blames himself for losing the sword?” Nick said.
Garreth blinked a few times. “I’m sorry it fell into the wrong hands. If only I had repaired it before then it would be safely tucked behind the Garrison walls.”
“It’s in the past. But something else bothers me. I thought demons couldn’t touch weapons imbued with holy magic, but I thought that only applied to it being used offensively. Last time I barely touched a piece and it nearly burned through my hands.”
“A great whitesmith can forge a weapon based upon their level of skills. Perhaps Sir Marcus found a whitesmith capable of crafting a weapon with so much Orichalon that it could repel demons by mere touch,” Garreth said.
“Then how do you explain the Hellbeasts that stole it? Shouldn’t it have warded them off as well?”
“That I can’t answer. Even with my talents, I have never been able to create something like what you describe.”
“I would think being related to one of the greatest archangels of our time would give you some exposure to a few famous whitesmiths,” Nick said.
“So Alyssa
told you. Gabriel’s no brother of mine. Not after what he did.”
“Some say that it nearly drove you insane,” Nick said.
“Emotions are difficult to predict because they can be controlled and manipulated. That’s why most Garrisons are very careful about who they allow into their forces. Demons can easily corrupt the weak-minded. But they have not been able to turn me,” Garreth said.
“Doctor Numerous was a wise man as well. From what I know he was also a brilliant academic, just like you,” Nick said.
“Yes, the similarities are uncanny.” Garreth put down his sword for the first time. “Everyone, no matter who you are, possesses a certain light and darkness inside of them. Sometimes if you’re unstable, it’s hard to distinguish what is supposed to be good or bad. Demons like to find knights at these crossroads, exploiting their vulnerabilities, and bringing out the worst in them to create fallen knights. What’s even worse is that these emotions eventually create a void in you. And you desperately search for some peace, or some way to ease the frustration and the isolation. You eventually turn your back on the people you once cared for and eventually lose sight of who you truly are.”
“I’ve been trying to deal with some inner demons myself,” Nick said.
“Is that why you’ve been hiding out in your room? Alyssa’s been worried about you. She’s wondering why she’s barely seen you the past couple of days. Would you care to elaborate?”
“Just some personal issues I have to deal with on my own.”
“Well, she waited up for you earlier.” Garreth picked up his sword went back to his routine. “She said if I happened to bump into you, to say she’d like to see you.”
Nick cleaned his empty bowl and headed to her room.
Alyssa was sleeping quite peacefully. It had been a tiring day, especially for him. Looking at her though, in her absolute perfection, made him feel a lot better. She stirred slightly. Nick didn’t want to disturb her now. He could talk to her in the morning. As he was about to leave, she spoke.