Zaria leans back, taking in everything that David told her, trying to decide what to make of it all. She wonders if he is telling the truth or not.
Zaria thinks to her self, ‘Only time will tell.’
David and Zaria spend the rest of the night talking and catching up.
Chapter 47
Devan sits alone in the wizard’s study. He has not uttered a single word for days. Ever since the day his son died in his arms, Devan ceased to exist. He has gone without food for days at a time. When he does get hungry everything, he eats tastes like salt and rocks. Devan comes in and out of consciousness randomly.
‘How could I have a son? How could I have not known that I had a son?’
‘You didn’t have a son. That was just a boy pretending to be your son. You can never have a child. You are a lost soul, forgotten by all, even by your creator.’
“Who are you?” Devan asks the unfamiliar voice.
‘I am you. I am your subconscious speaking to you, telling you the truth that you deny yourself from hearing.’ Devan’s subconscious answers him back.
“Why have you taken this long to speak to me?”
‘Why have you taken this long to listen?’
“I did have a son that I can never deny. He got through the locked door, which was no problem at all with my blood running through him. I only wished I had known about him earlier,” Devan sits up to look around the room some more.
‘You had a son. Now he is dead. What are you going to do about it? To remember him?’
“I am going to build an army out of other people’s sons. No daughters will be in this grand army that I shall create. If I cannot have a son, then nobody else will have a son.”
He walks over to the window to gaze out, thinking about what to do next.
‘First thing to do is scare some people.’ Devan thinks.
The end product of this grand trick is to go after the throne and rule over the kingdom. Then he will build his vast army, which will help Devan to conquer foreign lands. Then he will conquer all and rule over the entire world.
‘The first thing to do is to make the town’s people and the surrounding area too afraid to go outside. Next, I must make the king look like his jester. No one will care for a king they cannot trust. Then I will kill him and all his supporters.’
As Devan’s thoughts race through his head, he looks down upon the kingdom that he had helped the king take over. Devan realizes that he knows every square inch of this kingdom and almost everyone one in it.
Concentrating hard, Devan uses his powers to seek out bad people to do his bidding. Devan’s soul glides through every bar, pub, and hangout where the most horrible people would be found. Coming across a group of wild men that resembles Vikings, Devan decides that these are the right men to do his bidding. They are the type of scum that would even steal from or kill their own parents. The leader of the group relaxes by drinking the local pub’s hardest liquor and commanding his men to bedevil the pub’s patrons.
‘Put down your drink and pay attention, your life depends upon it.’ Devan begins talking in the leaders head.
The leader puts down his drink, “Who are you talking to?”
The leader stares at one of his men.
‘I am not one of your men. My name is Devan. I am a majestic wizard. I can kill you or anyone of your men if I need to.’
“Prove it.”
‘Who do you hate most of the people in front of you?’
“You know, I have always hated my cousin. He is the stupid one with the squirrel fur hat.”
The leader’s cousin stops in his tracks as he turns to look at him with a blank stare on his face. One of his hands is shaking. The other reaches for his knife. As the cousin holds his hand over his goblet, he slices his own wrist to let the blood drip into the liquor. He starts to recite gibberish as blood falls into the goblet. Others watch in horror.
Lastly, the cousin leans over the goblet, “Accept my sacrifice, my lord.”
The cousin cuts his throat. Blood splatters all over the table and everyone within an arm’s length. Falling to the floor, the cousin lies dying, gasping for air. No air will fill his lungs. Only a bloody, watery death awaits him.
‘Now drink, to accept my gift.’
Still shocked at what happened, the leader freezes and questions to trust the voice within his head.
‘I said drink it! Or you too will suffer the same fate, and I will choose a new leader to replace you.’
Devan’s mental screams make him drop to his knees.
“Okay, I will,” the leader, yells. As he walks over to the table, he wonders if this is a trick or a nightmare he cannot wake up from.
Lifting the cup up to his mouth, the leader watches people look at him in shock. Drinking only half of the liquid, the leader puts down the goblet with a thud, then falls face first to the floor. He trembles with pain and fear all at once. Deafening screams echo against the cool walls of the pub. All of his muscles tense up, then relax to begin the process again. Wounds that are fresh and old wounds heal up. The black centers of his eyes grow to hide any of the whites. His hair changes color from blonde to blackish-blue.
The leader stands, “What is next my master?”
‘Take the rest of the liquid and split it between your four best men. Then go and terrorize the town you are in. Go to every town afterwards to terrorize them. No man, woman, or child can harm you now. Go, my pet. Go and do my bidding.’
Chapter 48
Daily new beginnings happen for David and Zaria as they have run Zaria’s fruit stand together. The time they spent apart only made them grow closer. They have become without equal in every sense of the term relationship. Sometimes they finish each other’s sentences. They think as one person with two bodies.
A couple of days pass in the blink of an eye, making David and Zaria loose track of time. In the back of David’s mind floats a thought that he wishes never to tell. David knows that if this were ever to be brought to the front of the conversation, Zaria would hate him for the rest of her life. But he knows that one day it will be what makes or destroys their marriage. Only time understands the outcome.
A sunny afternoon comes David and Zaria’s way. People fill the cramped walkway in front of their fruit stand. It is half empty already, and they will soon run out of fresh produce. Zaria makes the decision to race down to their supplier for more stock. She grabs a hand basket to carry enough to tie them over until the supplier can get there. Zaria tells David she will be right back. Turning around to leave, Zaria bumps into someone. The basket falls to the ground along with Zaria’s personal belongings.
“Oh, dear me, I am so sorry, ma’am; I am so accident prone that it surprises me I don’t fall out of bed everyday. I really should be more careful,” the woman tries to help Zaria up.
“Its okay. I was in a hurry. Please, I am the one to blame, not you’re an innocent customer that may want to buy some of our fruit,” Zaria comes to her feet to stare at a stranger’s face.
David looks over to see what the commotion is about. He sees Zaria talking to a red-haired woman, but Zaria’s head blocks her face. Ignoring what is happening, David tends to a couple of customers in front of him.
“Are you going to get more fruit for your stand?” The red-haired woman asks.
“Why, yes, I am, Miss. Why do you ask?”
“Because, since I delayed you, the least I can do is to help watch your stand until you return.”
“Oh, he is my husband.” Zaria smiles.
“You lucky devil! So handsome! And all yours! You have to tell me how to catch one like that.”
“I wished I knew. Please just tell him that I told you to help him until I get back,” Zaria hurries along, leaving the red-haired woman standing there.
The woman walks over to David and taps him on the shoulder. “Zaria told me to help you until she returns.”
David stops what he is doing to stare into the face of Alfonzo. She stands before Davi
d as a human. Her hair is pulled back to one side by a flower, and she is wearing a long, blood red dress that leaves David speechless.
“I loved the color so I bought it. I really do think that it fits me perfectly. What do you think?” Alfonzo spins around twice making the bottom of the dress poof out, “Now, what do you want me to do?”
“Whoa, wait a minute, Zaria told you to help me?! Zaria doesn’t even know you. How did you get her to agree to this?”
“You will be surprised what a person will agree to when they are busy,” Alfonzo smiles and flicks David’s nose.
An older man walks up to the fruit stand and David asks, “What can I help you with? Before you ask, Zaria had to attend to some business.”
The older man smiles at Alfonzo and points to a bunch of bananas, “I’ll take one bunch.”
Alfonzo turns to David and waits for a price.
“One dollar, sir.”
The older man hands David the money, takes his bananas, and smiles at Alfonzo, before he leaves.
“Do you know why you and Zaria are so busy today?” Alfonzo asks David as she eyes the fruit to decide which one to eat.
“Yeah, it's because we are a fabulous vender that has loyal customers,” David waits on a couple more people before getting back to his and Alfonzo conversation.
“No, silly, it’s because of magic. Magic is what makes the world play nice.” Alfonzo laughs at David for a moment, “Do you really think that your fruit stand is this popular?”
“Alfonzo did you do something to this stand?”
“Before you get mad at me, I did this out of the kindness of my heart since you help me change into a beautiful woman. I had to repay you.” Alfonzo smiles at David sweetly and innocently; “I cursed your fruit stand in a good way.”
“What do you mean?”
“I cursed the fruit stand, to make all the fruit the most delicious fruit that anybody ever tasted,” Alfonzo picks up an apple and bites into it. “Good, but not as good as the Tree of Knowledge’s apples. Now those are some delicious apples.”
“Wait a minute. You ate the apples from the tree of knowledge. When did you do this?” David waits on another customer then turns back to Alfonzo to hear the rest of the story.
“When I was just a baby, my mother and father would pick the apples fresh off of the tree, rinse them in the River of Time, and then feed them to my brother and me. They were the juiciest apples that an angel has ever tasted. But all this happened before the Great War. Before humans lost the ability to do magic. Times were different back then. I had a family… a mother, a father, and a brother. I only wish that I could remember more,” Alfonzo takes a couple more bite of her apple.
“Who would know more about your past?”
“My father, but you're not ready to meet him yet. He is a king where he comes from, and he has the pride to prove it,” Alfonzo finishes her apple core and all.
“But if we went together then maybe…”
“No, I told you. No! You are not ready for him. He would chew you up and spit you out. Trust me, you are not ready.” Alfonzo turns to depart and bumps into Zaria coming back.
“Oh, I am sorry, miss.” Zaria gets a good look at who she bumped into, “Wow, I see you made it until I got back. Well, how did it go?”
“It went excellent, but I have to be going. Do take care.” Alfonzo walks away until she is out of sight then disappears.
David looks at the huge basket of fruit that Zaria returned with. Coming right behind her were two of the supplier’s children carrying baskets. All the fruit Zaria had returned with shocked David.
“Did you leave anything else for the supplier’s other customers?” David begins to stock the fruit stand while talking to Zaria.
“I told him that I wanted a little bit of everything. His reply was, ‘No Problem, you are my best customer, and you’re only going to get the best.’ Can you believe that? I was so shocked when I heard this. I cannot believe that we have sold all of this fruit off of this old stand.”
“I cannot believe it. It must be magic,” David replies.
The next day David and Zaria decide to have a little fun after their very busy day. They get a basket and put fruit, bread, and some meat in it to have a lunch picnic. After catching a horse and buggy down to the park, David and Zaria walk hand in hand to the little spot they call their own. Zaria lays out a blanket while David finds stones down by the riverbank. David brings four medium size rocks to put on the corners of the blanket. Zaria begins to unpack their lunch while humming a song. David starts singing the words to it. A heavenly voice fills the air as Zaria joins in. Her voice overpowers his voice as birds sing to welcome the morning in a beautiful tone. David becomes quiet as he listens to Zaria’s angelic voice. After a couple of minutes, Zaria stops and David applauds.
“Thank you, thank you, and to all of my wonderful fans I shall be back after a short interval,” Zaria bows and laughs as she sits down on the blanket.
“I have always been mesmerized by your voice every time you sing. It is as if an angel came down from heaven to grace me with their presence,” David picks up the bread and breaks off a chunk to eat.
A large tree provides much needed shade from the hot sun. The river provides them with a cool breeze. Clouds float by, filling the sky with different shapes and letting David and Zaria use their imaginations to pick out different pieces and tell each other what they see. They take turns feeding each other. Sometimes they laugh at each other because of the funny faces they making. The day progresses to night, David and Zaria become sillier as the hours pass. They decide to pack up and head back home.
David stops in the moonlight while Zaria keeps walking forward. She feels a tug on her hand, making her turn around. Pulling Zaria close to him, David kisses her passionately, surprising her. Seconds later, Zaria has to pull away to catch her breath.
“I love you,” David says.
“I love you, too,” Zaria replies.
Alfonzo hides in a tree and watches the two lovebirds, David and Zaria. Sorrow fills her heart because she feels like a third wheel after observed today’s events.
Chapter 49
Relaxing in his study, Devan thinks about what needs to happen next. The first part of his plan is executed. People must die for the second part.
Devan concentrates and relaxes his mind as he searches for his pet in the outer lands. He sees in his mind a village being burned to the ground. The village people run out, trying to escape the monsters responsible for the destruction. Devan lets his mind drift through each of the buildings as he searches for his pet. The first couple of buildings are empty. Then he sees what he is looking for. Two men stand out front while others are inside. Devan’s mind zips right past them and into chaos. His pets are raping and killing everything in sight. Men that stayed to defend the village are being tortured to death. Children are tied down so they can watch their parents die. Women are raped in front of their family, and the best of them go to the leader so he may have his way with them. Devan smiles at this dreadful sight.
‘Stop for a second, my pet.’
“Yes, my master. What do you wish for me to do?” Devan’s pet answers back as he holds on to a woman’s hair.
‘You have done me proud. So proud that I have a new job for you, this one is tougher.’
“Nothing is tough as long as I serve you, my master. What do you wish for me to do?”
‘There are some men that need to die. These men are of exceptional importance to the king but of no importance to me. They are the advisors to the king, and these men will be no trouble to kill. You have one week to make it to the castle. Then I will usher you in, and you will be my personal bodyguards. From there, you shall have access to the entire castle. Then, in one night, you will kill all of the advisors while they sleep making the king appear unstable. This will be the downfall of this once grand man.’
“We shall be there in one week, waiting for your directions, my master.”
‘
Continue with the destruction,’ Devan leaves his pet’s mind and returns to his own body.
“Well, well, it looks like we are alone, again,” the leader stares down at a young woman. She screams in immense pain as he lifts her off the floor by her hair. She kicks and claws at the leader trying to hurt him. He laughs at her.
“Come on now, young lady, all I want is a kiss.”
The men outside of the leader’s room only hear the screaming of the young woman followed by the leader’s voice mocking her as he laughs. The tears run down her cheeks and drown out her cries. She begs him to stop, but this only fuels his aggressiveness. After he is done with her, he drags her body over to the washbowl then cuts her throat to let the blood drain into the water. He tosses her body to the side and bathes in her blood. When he is done, the leader uses a piece of her clothing to dry himself off. As the leader comes out of the building, he sees his men having a good time with the last of the townspeople.
“Kill them all. We have a mission!”
No one was spared, for now the town is a sweltering tombstone for the dead.
Section Five: To Hell & Back
Chapter 50
David sits with Zaria as they eat breakfast and talk about what happened over the last couple of days. The fruit stand has had its struggles, as if the stand had irregular heart. One minute there would be people crowding asking to buy everything that they have then people vanish like turning off a spigot. Zaria cannot figure it out no matter how hard she thinks about it. David has a hunch as to why this is happening. Taking the last bite of his apple, David looks at Zaria.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll figure out the answer.”
David senses Alfonzo at the window. Keeping herself cloaked, Alfonzo talks to David in his head.
‘If you’re done playing with your little toy, we have training to do.’
“I think that I am going to go take a walk to help clear my head about the fruit stand. I am sure the answer will come to me.”
Enigma of the Soul - Book 1 - Pieces Page 17