“Well, I am a wizard. Since your daughter has a birthday tomorrow, I thought that it would be exciting for her and everyone else to see some magic.” Devan smiles the friendliest smile that he can think of. He waves his hands and produces a single white rose. Devan stands up and hands the rose to Joanne.
Joanne blushes as she takes the roses from Devan. The sweet smell of the rose is intoxicating. Little tingles race throughout her body, making her feel alive. She stands there in silence soaking up the moment as it lasts forever. Devan leans closer, whispers in her ear to go fetch the others, and she nods her head. Joanne turns to leave with the white rose still in her hand.
As she walks outside, her husband and kids not paying any attention to her are playing tag. Joanne sniffs the white rose and its intoxicating fragrance deepens her mood. Joanne stands oblivious and continues drinking in the white rose scent. Lucien catches a glimpse of his wife standing there like a stone statue, motionless to the world around her. He stops playing with the kids to check on his wife. Walking up to her, Lucien notices a hollow stare coming from her eyes.
“Honey, are you okay? And who gave you that rose?” Lucien asks as he reaches for the rose. Joanne pulls away from him and replies. “You guys need to follow me. I have a surprise for you all.”
“Honey, you know how much I hate surprises, remember?” Lucien slowly follows her back into the house with the two kids shadowing him.
Joanne steps one foot at a time slowly moving forward. The family moves closer and closer to the living room. Joanne blocks the view so no one behind her can see the person sitting down on the couch. Justin and Lucia race around their parents to see the person sitting on the couch. To both of their surprise, a man in a wizard's cloak sat with his hood back up to help cover up his face and head.
The two children walk up to Devan, “Are you a wizard? Can you do magic?”
“Yes, I am a wizard, and I can do magic. Would you two like to learn some?” Devan holds out his hands with his palms facing up. The two kids nod their heads and each put one hand in one of Devan's hands.
Lucien stands behind Devan and watches his every move.
He thinks to himself, 'If this man thinks for once that he is going to pull a fast one on me than he's got another thing coming.'
“Now, you kids repeat after me. Okay…” Devan watches both children nod their heads.
Devan speaks in Latin, “Lift, lift, Father, Father, higher, higher, off the ground.”
Lucien lifts into the air like he was still standing on the ground.
“Okay kids, here is going to be the tough part. Remember just repeat after me,” Devan smiles back at the kids and speaks in Latin. “Swords of fear and tears come forth and claim your victim. For he is the one that is floating!”
Out of thin air, thirteen swords appear to pierce the flesh of Lucien and tack him to the wall. Fearful screams fill the air as the two kids rip their hands away from Devan. The kids run to their mother to hide from Devan's evil eyes. Joanne stands like a statue not moving when her children tug on her hands. Devan stands up and chuckles as he turns towards Lucien.
“Did you think for one split second that you might have the upper hand over me? What do I look like? A second rate wizard?” Devan summons one last sword and sends it into Lucien's chest, piercing his heart. Lucien screams as blood gushes from his chest cavity.
Before he passes away, Lucien says to Devan. “You're going to burn in hell for this.”
“I'm looking forward to it. You’re not the first and defiantly not the last. I think I am going to save your children for last because they have more spunk left in them,” Devan turns to Joanne and the two kids.
“Kids, you’re doing it all wrong. You’re supposed to take the rose from her hands to free her from that spell that she is under.”
Lucia reaches up and grabs her mother's hands. Justin grabs hold of the stem of the rose and pulls downward. The white rose reluctantly slips through Joanne hands, scratching them in the process. With one last pull, the blood covered white rose comes loose from Joanne hands. Her body becomes limp to the touch and falls to the floor. The two kids shake their mother, trying to wake her up. Devan walks over to the blood-stained rose and crushes it with his feet. He watches Joanne take her last breath.
“Oops, I forgot to tell you that your mother's life force was transformed into the white rose. I am so sorry about that,” Devan puts out his hands. “Now that your parents are dead. You can come and live with me if you would like to.”
“Never!” David shouts as he slowly enters the blood-stained room. Justin and Lucia hold onto their mother's frozen body weeping in grief. The closer that David gets to them, the more delighted Devan becomes as he anticipates for the confirmation that he begs for. David stops five feet away from Devan. An evil grin comes across Devan's twisted face.
Alfonzo whispers in David's ear, “Be careful, we do not know what this man is capable of.”
David's anger level rises quickly as he remembers where he met Devan.
“If you hurt them I'm going to kill you where you stand.”
“Do you mean these two children? The two children that lost their parents in an awful accident?” Devan holds out a hand towards the children's heads.
“You killed them. You killed my parents. You monster!” Lucia yells at Devan.
“Is this true? Did you kill my sister and her husband?” David's eyes begin to glow red.
“Well, since you put it that way, yes, I did, and it was fun. You should have seen the look on their faces after they repeated the spell that did this to their father. It was to die for,” Devan laughs wickedly.
David clenches his fists as smoke pours out from the spaces in between his fingers. His breathing becomes heavier with each breath. David searches his thoughts to what to do next.
“Now, don't do anything or I shall kill these two little brats,” Devan realizes that David is not what he thought that he was. He is questioning what he has started.
“To the death,” David speaks softly.
“To your death and theirs,” Devan chants a spell quickly. Watery spikes extend from his hand piercing the children. The watery spikes come undone and make a puddle underneath the children. Their limp bodies fall onto Joanne’s dead body.
“I am going to kill you now,” David says calmly as his arms ignite in flames and armor forms over his skin. He lifts up one hand and looks it over to judge his skill. Looking back at Devan with death resting in his eyes, David screams at the top of his lungs and charges.
The two souls collide in a thunderous boom.
Death stands outside watching over this fight. She realizes that in all her years collecting souls she has never seen a broken, pieced together soul before.
Death thinks to herself, 'I need to take a closer look. I need to figure out what I just found.'
She comes into the house to find two people fighting, one with a broken soul, and one with a whole soul.
Alfonzo watches as David begins to win the battle. David knocks Devan down only to have a spell knock him back. Alfonzo looks around the room as she senses a presence that she has not felt in a long time. Standing off to her left stands Death watching and waiting for the next to die.
'Dear God, no,' Alfonzo thinks to herself. 'I will not let David die here.'
Within that split second, David bear hugs Devan and begins to recite something that he should not know.
“You will die in my arms right now,” David says as blood drips from his mouth. With his last breath, David whispers the words, Phoenix's Kiss.
Death realizes that Alfonzo is in the room. Death looks around to find Alfonzo because she cannot sense Alfonzo's soul.
'This is different. How can you change your signature on your soul?' Death thinks to herself. 'Alfonzo is a halfling, and that is a human. How is Alfonzo reading like a human soul?'
Alfonzo has seconds before the spell takes effect, and Death claims another soul. Coming out of hiding, Alfonzo uncloak
s and flies towards David with her claws out. Gripping David's shoulders, Alfonzo pulls him away from Devan. David's hands tear the robe off Devan to reveal his scarred chest. Alfonzo shoots a fireball into the ceiling to create and escape route.
Death watches Alfonzo and David soar through the opening in the ceiling to escape the spell that was cast. Turning her attention back to Devan, Death watches him chant a counter spell to save his own life.
Devan's skin tingles as a fire ignites inside of him, burning pieces of his soul one by one. Screaming in pain, Devan rolls around on the floor. With each breath, another piece of his soul is burnt up leaving an empty hole in its place. Lying in the fetal position, Devan chants an old spell, as he lies dying on the floor. Death is in shock because Devan is using a spell that has been forgotten for thousands of years to save his life. Devan is only halfway through the spell as he begins to stand up. A single flame emerges from his body. Devan holds out his hands and forces the Phoenix Kiss spell away from him, incinerating everything within one hundred foot radius. Devan stands alive and only a little bit scarred.
Death stands watching and waiting without a mark or burn. Compelled to know what is standing before her, Death exposes herself to Devan. She walks over to Devan and grabs him by the neck, lifting him off the floor. His hands immediately grip her forearms to brace himself. Devan peers into a faceless hood as he quickly realizes, Death is holding him. Shivering from fear, Devan hears the voice of Death.
“Where did you come from? Who made you? You are not on my list of souls to collect here,” Death looks deep into Devan's soul and sees something she has never seen in all of her existence. “Interesting, you are a jumbled up mess of broken souls that once died. It appears to be that you did not come away from that spell unharmed. Your good pieces have been burnt out leaving only darkness and chaos. You are going to keep me busy for a very long time. I guess that I should thank you,” Death drops Devan on his butt and walks over to the now incinerated corpses. Reaching into the remains of the deceased, Death pulls out each soul one by one. Each person that Death collects has no recollection of what happened. They are only happy to see their loved ones. Death leads all four of the Egleton family away.
Just before Death leaves she turns to Devan, “One day we will meet again, and that day will be your last.” Death disappears through a black hole.
Devan sits in a pool of ash of the former building, still hurting from the Phoenix Kiss spell. Devan knows that he will not last long if he stays there. Lying on his back and chanting, Devan reaches out to anyone that he can find. Each person he sees is connected to another soul.
Devan thinks to himself, 'Where are the souls that have no one?'
Devan drifts in and out of concussions. Devan finds a soul that seems like he knows it from somewhere. As if he and this soul have met before.
Devan contacts that lone soul. “Help me! Help me! I am dying, and I need your help.”
“I hear you, and I shall help,” The soul responds and starts walking in the direction of the voice in his head. Jack only knows one thing at this time and that is someone calling him. This someone may have answers for him; answers that he searched for all his life. He will seek out this voice and help it.
A full day passed before Jack arrives at Devan's location. Jack finds a half naked man lying in a pool of ashes and blood. Checking to see if Devan is still alive, Jack puts his hands on Devan's chest and mouth. Devan's eyes pop open making Jack jump back. Devan waves his hand to make Jack come closer. Jack leans in over Devan's face to hear him better. Devan speaks some words, but Jack cannot make out what they are. Jack lifts Devan up off the ground and puts Devan on his back to carry him. Jack walks in a new direction that he has never been. Devan's body hangs limp off of Jack's shoulder as he hangs on to his own life. Knowing that he is safe, Devan passes out as Jack walks on to find the next town or home.
After walking for a couple of hours, Jacks finds a lonely house sitting on the outskirts of a town. Jack walks up to the door and knocks. While waiting to see if anybody is home, Devan wakes up and whimpers from the pain. An old lady answers the door.
“Can I help you, young sir?” squinting at Jack, the old lady tries to make out who he is and what he is carrying.
“Yes ma’am, my friend is badly injured, and I was hoping that you could help us.” Jack replies.
“Yes, Yes come on in. Please set your friend on the couch. he can rest. How badly is he hurt?” The old woman gets a pillow to put behind Devan's head. Jack lays Devan down on the couch. The old woman fetches a rag and a bowl full of water. Jack and the old woman begin to clean up Devan. The more they clean the more they see. Scars, scratches, and cuts cover Devan's body.
The old woman thinks out loud with Jack sitting next to her, “What did your friend fight? A wild animal?”
“I wish that I could tell you. I don't even know. I found him like this.”
An hour goes by as Jack and the old women treat Devan's wounds. They wrap up his arms and chest leaving his head and lower body untouched. The old woman covers Devan up with a spare blanket.
“I hope that we are not any trouble for you ma’am.”
“No, not at all. I am enjoying your company already. I live alone here, and no one comes to check on me. It is nice to be helpful and wanted again,” The old woman replies as she washes her hands.
Jack smiles back and thinks to himself, 'I am going to do whatever it takes to help this man. Some how he is my future.'
Chapter 39
A week passes as Alfonzo watches over David and waits for him to wake up. Alfonzo is exhausted from sleepless nights of hearing David cry out in his sleep. He cries for his parents and for his missing younger brother and sister. David's dreams are plagued with demons tearing at his family souls as he stands back watching them cry out to him for help. He is trapped in a glass box with seams sewn together with golden string. He screams and pounds on the glass to get out to help his family without luck. David awakes from his nightmare only to find Alfonzo watching over him.
“How long have I been asleep?” David says rubbing his burning eyes.
“You have been asleep for a week to the day now.”
“Have you been waiting here for me to wake up? Watching over me?” David tries to sit up but falls backwards hits his head against the headboard of the bed.
“Now, don't try to get up just yet. You are still very weak from the battle. I brought you to an old angel's home that is no longer used. I want you to stay there and get some rest,” Alfonzo wings stretch out with all of their might.
“How can you sit there and tell me to rest when there is a killer out there? We need to get back to my sister's house and dig up some clues then hunt this murderer down before he can kill again,” David tries to stand and falls flat on his face.
“What are you going to do? You're too weak. You go out there, and you will be killed,” Alfonzo peers at David as if waiting for his next move.
“We need to bury my sister and her family with due respect. We also need to go to my brother's house, if it still stands, and take a look around to see if the killer left any clues,” David pulls himself back onto the bed.
“I'll make you a deal. You let me rest for one day, and I will help you find this killer you seek,” Alfonzo turns around to face away from David.
“Deal, and you must help,” David responds.
“I'll see you tomorrow,” Alfonzo drifts off into dreamland.
David lies back, and daydreams about catching this killer.
“Tomorrow will be a new day,” David says out loud.
The next morning, David and Alfonzo arrive at Joanne’s house and discover that no one has been there. Using his shirt, David begins to collect the burnt bones of his sister and her family. David collects each and every bone trying not to miss a single one.
Holding the tears back, David says to Alfonzo, “Please find a place to bury my family.”
Alfonzo soars into the air to cover more land faster
and notices a small house only a hundred or so yards away from David's location. To get a better look, Alfonzo gets closer to the house. Memories flood Alfonzo's head.
'It was not only a couple of weeks, but a couple of months ago that they buried David's brother in the same ground. What has come of his family?'
Alfonzo flies back to David to help him out.
“David, your brother's house is just through those trees to the east. I did not realize that we were so close. Please let me help you,” Alfonzo flies within a foot of David's head, hoping to land on his shoulder.
“No, this is my burden, my family. My curse to suffer, not yours,” dead silence again. “I remember where their house is now. Thank you.”
The rest of the afternoon Alfonzo helps David bury Joanne and her family next to his brother and family graves.
David walks inside of his brother's house. He just stares at the kitchen covered with dried blood. Alfonzo tells him to go to the next room and sit down on the couch. David, exhausted, does what he is told. Lying on the couch, David lets his mind drift. He thinks about everything that has happened in the last couple of months.
'My family is being hunted down like animals.'
With that thought David drifts off to sleep.
Chapter 40
A week passes for Jack and Devan. Devan lies in bed as Jack and the old women tend to Devan's wounds. Waking up one morning as Jack is tending to his wounds, Devan turns to Jack.
“You must finish it. You must kill them all. He still has more family members. I can feel them walking. Talking. Playing their little games with each other.”
“What am I supposed to do? I don’t know magic.”
“I will teach you.” Devan takes Jack's hand and draws a symbol on it. "Go draw that on the ground outside and repeat the words, locate my enemy’s bloodline, in Latin. The symbol will do the rest.”
Jack nods and heads outside, he draws the symbol into the dirt and repeats the words. His eyes begin to glow, and he can see a house and people walking, talking and playing games as if they were right front of him.
Enigma of the Soul - Book 1 - Pieces Page 12