by Luke Romyn
Utter foolishness. Soon his master would be released, and Sekiel would be by his side as they conquered the cosmos.
Why, then, did he have reservations?
Help him!
The echoes of that thought, and the feelings he had been experiencing lately deeply disturbed Sekiel. Perhaps Priest was not truly gone, maybe his soul lingered within the demon, and the human still hoped to save the boy.
He had watched the archangel Gabriel willingly sacrifice his existence to ensure the Dark Man could access the mansion. He never imagined any immortal could possibly possess the conviction it would take to surrender to oblivion in order to help another, and wondered if he could do the same.
He doubted it.
In all of his eternal existence, Sekiel could never remember doing anything that didn’t advance his own motives. Even his devotion to Sordarrah was selfish, for without Sordarrah’s power, in all likelihood Sekiel would cease to be. He had to obey his master or he would vanish into the wisps of eternity.
Watching the Dark Man approach the gates, and the Souls of Sordarrah rush out to destroy him, Sekiel had suddenly been seized by an intense urge to throw open the window of the room in which he now sat and fly to the assassin’s assistance. This proved unnecessary however, and he watched in stunned amazement as the Velearstk swooped into the courtyard and protected Vain all the way to the doors of the mansion. Sekiel knew he should move to intercept the assassin, but felt unable to.
Unable or unwilling?
This could not be right. Why had the Velearstk gone against their nature and helped the human? Sekiel knew very little about the beasts, but he did know they had not always been under Sordarrah’s rule. They had once roamed through the cosmos with virtually no limits prior to their imprisonment by his Lord.
Perhaps that was why they had helped the assassin. Maybe the good deed of helping him had somehow freed them from the invisible chains that had held them for so long.
Chains like his.
The man named Priest had believed so strongly in Vain that he had sacrificed himself in order to aid him. His memories spoke of peace and love, usually issues that sickened Sekiel, but after weeks of inhabiting the man’s body and knowing his thoughts, he now felt strangely comforted by them. Priest had spent his entire life preparing for the coming of the Avun-Riah, and his reasons were far from selfish.
Priest had wanted a better world for all of mankind, not just himself. Even if nothing else had depended upon it he would have tried to save the boy. At the last, when Empeth had torn the man’s heart from his chest, still Priest had not hated him. Compassion had filled his soul for the man who would imprison it with chains of fire in the halls of Sordarrah.
Why would a man suffer so much to reach a goal if it wasn’t worth something? A strange feeling began to fill Sekiel and it took him a moment before he realized it was shame.
Help him!
Clearly the end was coming. Sekiel heard the battle in the hall below and sent his spirit through the floors to witness it. He saw Vain clashing desperately against Antarsh and Torresh before losing control of the power of the Glimloche and turning into a beast of hideous power. Even in his spirit form, Sekiel could sense the desperation of the man within the beast, struggling to regain control, but finally succumbing to the dark power.
The very same desperation had been battling within Sekiel ever since he had returned to the flesh.
Help him!
Vain would now become like Empeth, selfishly crushing any who opposed his lust for more power. The boy would die, either by Empeth’s hand or the beast’s. And then Lord Sordarrah would either be resurrected or he would not. Sekiel looked inside himself and found he no longer cared either way.
Every attempt to resurrect Sordarrah had failed. Now that he pondered it more deeply, Sekiel began to feel perhaps there might have been some other force at work against them.
When the guardian Gustav had tried to save the last Avun-Riah, there should have been no way that he could get through to the girl. Their defenses had been virtually impregnable–what with the whole of the German army at their disposal. But the human had managed to make it into the inner-sanctum and even killed Bennael and himself in the process. Killed their mortal forms, their spirits had returned to Sordarrah’s realm to be punished.
This is not right, Sekiel thought suddenly.
He had always believed their cause had been just; humans were simply glorified monkeys to be used and disposed of as the immortals saw fit. But with the memories of Priest flowing through his mind Sekiel saw things differently and began to understand why he had been feeling so unsure. The man had dedicated his life to the service of others, never harboring ill-will or malice towards any of his enemies.
That is how life should be, not the everlasting flood of hate Sekiel and the rest of The Four had always existed on.
Perhaps.... he thought, but quashed the idea instantly. There could never be redemption for one such as he. If God existed, most likely he despised the demon.
For that is what he was: a demon.
An evil demon.
What an interesting concept evil embodied. If a man killed another man defending his property, they hailed him a hero. But if that same man killed another man to gain something belonging to someone else, they branded him evil. Such idiosyncrasies of humanity had always made Sekiel laugh before, but suddenly he found a new perspective.
Now he understood.
Love created more than life. Hope brought more than existence. And this was why the Dark Man now approached.
Sekiel rose just as demon-Vain purposefully stalked up the stairs. Swiftly making up his mind, he strode straight-backed to the door and stepped out into the huge corridor to await the beast. The decision had left him with a curious feeling of peace, and no matter what happened now he knew he’d made the right choice.
The beast turned into the corridor and Sekiel sent out a thread of power, linking with the creature’s mind.
You must return, human, he pulsed deep into the beast’s mind. You must control the power that you have unleashed.
“You think to trick me demon?” challenged demon-Vain. “What is wrong? Are you afraid to fight a god?”
Ignoring the creature, Sekiel increased the power of his mind-link. You must return, without you the boy will die! You will fail if you do not come back!
A low groan seemed to sound within the mind-link, the man inside the beast struggling to regain control. Using all of Priest’s telepathic powers to pierce the veil around the man’s memories, Sekiel managed to glimpse an image of a beautiful young girl, screaming out in horror. He also grasped a name before he was shut out. The beast stood silently now, unable to move while trying to control the battle raging within his mind.
Sekiel brought the image into his sight, and hurled it back along the mind-link into the beast’s brain. Angelique! he screamed. If you don’t return, the boy will die just like Angelique! Return now or it will be too late!
Demon-Vain stood quivering now at the end of the hallway. Holding his head in his enormous hands, a sound not unlike a whimper emanated from his mouth. Pain etched across the features of the beast while the assassin struggled valiantly to prevail in the battle for self. Hurling his massive frame across the floor, a silent howl gradually rose into an audible scream:
“ANGELIQUE!!”
The beast slowly shrank before Sekiel and he watched the ebony features shift and change back into those of the Dark Man. In his human form, clothes reappeared upon his frame and he finally stood, shaking, still with his head in his hands.
Looking up at Sekiel, he said softly, “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I may have just taken away the only chance you had of defeating Empeth.”
“Why did you help me?”
Sekiel stood silently for a moment. “Let’s just say your friend Priest can be very persuasive.”
“What do you mean?” asked Vain.
“He never left. I t
hought I had defeated him, but his essence continued lurking in my head, speaking to me and convincing me of the beauty that is human life. I have existed for an eternity, but I don’t think I have ever had a single day of life as a human would know it.” Sekiel paused.
“Today I feel alive, and it is wondrous,” he explained finally.
Nodding his head in understanding, Vain silently followed, Sekiel leading the way down the stairs to where the ritual was swiftly drawing to a climax, where the boy would be released and then sacrificed. Sekiel now knew why Priest and Gabriel had surrendered themselves:
In life, some things were simply more important than living.
Chapter Seventeen: Embrace Your Enemy
Sebastian wailed against the walls of his cell. Every attempt to pierce the powers that held him had met with abysmal failure. He’d used his powers to their limit now and he fell exhausted to the floor. He knew instinctively that the time drew near, and the ritual had already begun. It echoed within his soul, and the thought chilled him. Sebastian had no idea how long he had been in this place without day or night, and his mind seemed close to breaking.
No amount of pleading with his captors had motivated them to any emotion except scorn. Empeth had laughed heartily and whipped the boy with images of his dead parents until he felt his heart would simply shatter.
At first he had responded with pleas to Empeth’s taunts, but this had only increased his anguish. The images playing across his vision became more and more graphic: scenes of his foster mother tied down and repeatedly raped, his father flayed alive. Their screams still echoed within his mind.
Sebastian soon became so withdrawn that even a harsh word could send him into tears. Yet now, as he sat alone on the floor of his cell, his anger increasingly began to burn within him. The Dark Man had failed him; he had promised to protect him and he had not come. They had all made promises, throughout his life, and they had all lied. They were probably sitting together laughing at his stupidity. Rage began to burn slowly in his heart. He knew he shouldn’t be feeling such intense fury, but it overwhelmed him until he barely recognized his emotions.
The anger burned within him, and suddenly he shouted out into the empty cell, “I’m still here you useless assholes!”
The words echoed throughout the room, and something changed, but Sebastian failed to notice it. His rage had all but consumed him. “Let me out of here you fucking bastards!!” he screamed at the walls.
Sebastian’s fury bounced around the cell, and suddenly the walls shifted and swirled. Sebastian felt his anger disappear like mist on a breeze.
With a loud crack, the cell shattered, and Sebastian fell onto the floor of a large room. Strange symbols had been marked over the grey stone walls and floor, etched in human blood. In the corner of the room, a large pile of bodies were heaped one atop the other in a gruesome mound of discarded flesh. Looking up, Sebastian saw Empeth staring at him with a look of extreme shock upon his face.
“How did you–?” he began, but the door crashed open, cutting him off.
Bursting into the room appeared the demon known to Sebastian as Sekiel, followed by the Dark Man. “Let the boy go, Empeth,” demanded Sekiel.
Empeth’s shock became an expression of thin-lipped ridicule. “My, my. A demon changing sides, whatever are you thinking? Do you suppose you will be accepted anywhere else but at Lord Sordarrah’s side? Do you think these humans will care about you? Give up this foolishness now Sekiel, and slay the Dark Man before it is too late. Maybe our Lord won’t destroy you for your impertinence.”
“He is not my Lord anymore; I don’t think he has been for a long time.”
Empeth chuckled with genuine humor. “Do you think you can achieve redemption by doing this? Do you think your sins against their God will simply disappear? He will despise you just as these humans do.”
“I don’t care.” Sekiel’s defiance rose. “Today I live.” Leaping forward, he almost caught Empeth off guard, but at the last moment the leader of the Souls of Sordarrah raised his hand, and Sekiel stopped mid-air. Vain moved to help the demon, but Empeth raised his other hand, and the assassin froze.
“You are a fool, Sekiel. I have always despised you,” said Empeth casually. “But I never thought you would become a traitor to our cause. Now you will learn what it means when you oppose our Lord Sordarrah!”
Suddenly Sekiel’s body twisted in agony. Bit by bit his outline began to dissolve, becoming less substantial. Gripped tightly within Empeth’s power, Vain struggled to pull free. Sebastian knew within the Dark Man dwelled a great force, but he feared to let it loose, lest he lose control of it.
Sekiel screamed, and Empeth laughed. “I hope you enjoy oblivion, demon. With the ritual almost complete my powers are such that I can now absorb you utterly.”
The demon writhed even more within Empeth’s power, but could not liberate himself. Slowly he dissipated until he was no more substantial than a thin smoke...
... and then he vanished.
Empeth now focused his attention on the Dark Man and grinned maliciously. He moved closer to the assassin and gazed closely at his face. “What’s wrong, Dark Man? Can’t you control the powers of the Glimloche?”
Vain gazed calmly into Empeth’s eyes until he glanced away. “I pity you Empeth,” he said softly. “For all of your power you’re nothing but a little puppy dog, running to pick up the scraps from your master’s table.”
Empeth flew into a rage, hurling waves of blue flame which surrounded Vain. The assassin cried out in anguish. Burning slowly within the conflagration, his mouth open in torment, the Dark Man reached instinctively for the Glimloche and it suddenly exploded out from within him.
The two powers raged against each other, and Sebastian sensed the Dark Man’s control beginning to slip as he poured more and more of himself into his own dark flames. The assassin’s features began to swell and his skin grew darker. Sebastian reached out with his own powers and touched Vain’s mind.
Don’t give up! he pulsed. I believe in you! This seemed to bolster Vain slightly and his features shifted back to normal, but Sebastian knew he could not hold his concentration for long.
Instantly, the look of torment upon the assassin’s face changed to one of incredible serenity. A strange feeling of utter acceptance suddenly flowed from within Vain.
Withdrawing his own blaze, Vain instead drew Empeth’s power into him, using the Glimloche to absorb the flames and destroying the malice contained therein. He opened his arms wide in acceptance, gradually dragging Empeth closer and closer to the assassin.
Realizing the danger too late, Empeth tried to withdraw his own power from the fray, but the Glimloche held him too strongly now, and he felt himself being slowly drained. Panic began to grip the leader of the Souls of Sordarrah and he fought with renewed ferocity against the dark embrace, but with each pulse of force he threw at Vain, the hold grew stronger, and Empeth drew inexorably closer.
Finally, the two were pressing together, and Vain closed his arms around his enemy. Empeth shrieked with fury, but all to no avail, his power draining from within and substance fading much as Sekiel’s had.
Sebastian watched the Dark Man, awed by the force that burned through him. It should have flayed his soul, but the power of the Glimloche held it at bay. At the same time, Sebastian realized, the Glimloche was burning out. Used in a non-aggressive role, it had nothing to feed upon and was starving itself. Little by little, both Empeth and the Glimloche deteriorated until they were both almost gone.
Vain opened his eyes and looked at the wispy figure of Empeth still flailing uselessly within his embrace. A silent scream stretched his mouth, and Vain’s expression turned to one of sympathy. After a desperate surge, Empeth finally surrendered, but before he disappeared completely, his face suddenly adopted a look of utter peace. He smiled faintly at Vain before fading entirely.
The Dark Man slumped slightly as the power of the Glimloche disappeared from within him and he turned towards
Sebastian. The boy rose from the floor and then ran to throw himself into the Dark Man’s open arms. “You saved me!” he cried.
Vain smiled warmly at the young boy. “Let’s get out of here,” he said tenderly.
Together the two descended the stairs and entered the partly demolished hallway. Through the windows, Sebastian could see the now empty courtyard outside and the gates to the mansion stood wide open. In the distance, the blaring of sirens approached, and the Dark Man’s eyes narrowed with concern.
“We’d better go out the back way,” Vain suggested calmly.
The two moved through the hallway towards the rear of the house and into the large kitchen situated there. Out front, they heard the sirens cease, and several cars screech to a halt in the driveway. Uncertain shouts sounded, the police noting the huge splatters of blood staining the courtyard, the various piles of ash and strewn limbs, as their voices echoed closer to the main doors.
Vain’s features hardened and he paused. “I’m sorry Sebastian,” he apologized. “I can’t come with you.”
“What?” cried Sebastian. “What do you mean?”
“They will always be searching for me, do you understand? They’re going to try to blame me for the deaths here, and if they capture me you’ll probably get caught up in it too. Stay here and make out that you’re just some innocent kid who doesn’t know what’s going on and you’ll be okay. It’ll be safer than if you come with me.”
Tears began to stream down Sebastian’s face. “No! I don’t care! I just want to be with you!” Even as he cried the words, though, he realized the Dark Man spoke the truth. His destiny lay elsewhere, and he could not find it if he was always running.
“I’ll make sure that somebody comes to look after you Sebastian. And don’t worry, if you ever need me, I promise I’ll be there.”
As he moved to the door, Sebastian called out to him, “Thank you Dark Man!”