Fear Episode Two

by Nicholas Bella

  CHAPTER THREE

  Raphael

  The catacombs were a bust, so I was up to my waste in foul sewer water under the city of New York. It was all random because we really didn’t know where to look, which was why Katashniel had been able to evade us still. I did feel that New York was the place we needed to visit, couldn’t really give a reason as to why. Just felt lucky, I guessed. As I waded through the water, I didn’t want to even think about what was floating in it to make up this murky soup. I had to carry Lord Oria on my back, because she refused to wade through to muck, even though her clothes were already ruined with blood. Standards, I supposed.

  We had been searching for hours and miles, but I wasn’t ready to give up yet. I felt something was down there even though we hadn’t come across one demon.

  “We should rest now and continue searching tomorrow,” Oria suggested.

  “Just a little bit more, my Lord,” I said. “I really do feel like I’m on to something.”

  “Intuition?” she asked.

  “Perhaps, my Lord.”

  “Very well, follow your hunch.”

  We spent another twenty minutes searching until I came to a dead end that didn’t feel like a dead end. I couldn’t really explain it, because I knew something wasn’t right. I reached out, touching the wall before me, running my fingers along the wet bricks. “This doesn’t feel normal,” I said.

  “Put me down,” Oria said, and I placed her on the ledge so she could avoid all the water.

  She placed her hand on the wall and whistled. “A spell is binding this wall. I’m impressed that you’ve found it.” She turned to look at me. “So, can you break it… the spell?”

  I touched the wall again, trying to sense what spell she was talking about, and shook my head. “I can’t sense any spell, just that this wall feels odd, my Lord.”

  She sighed. “Oh well, you’re still very young. With age comes power. Isabella would be feeling what I’m feeling, she’d know what kind of spell this was. It’s not your fault you’re still too weak to sense this aura. That is why our king was wise enough to pair you with a more powerful demon,” she said with as much arrogance as a demonic lord could muster.

  I bit my tongue, because I knew better than to say what I wanted to say. Instead, I “kept it moving” as Andre would say. “You’re quite right, my Lord. So, what is it that you’re feeling?”

  “It’s rooted deeply with Katashniel’s aura and other demons. It’s so good that you took a dip in the pool and thought to come to the sewers. Other knights have been here, but never this area,” she said.

  “What next, my Lord?” I asked, hoping something good came from me sacrificing my six-thousand-dollar outfit.

  “I have to be careful with this spell. To disturb it in anyway would alert the caster to our presence. But we need to see what it’s concealing,” Oria said as she tapped her chin with her finger. “Looks like I will have to pay a visit to Vahiel.”

  “I have no idea where he is, my Lord, I can’t teleport us there,” I said.

  “Of course, you don’t know. Though you are a knight, you are still low level. Only the lords loyal to King Adriel know of their presence. You will wait here, and I will return shortly.” With that, she teleported in a puff of black smoke.

  Something told me that little bitch could teleport but didn’t want to, letting me do all the work. I leaned against the opposite wall and waited for Oria’s return. Thankfully, she didn’t take long at all, less than five minutes. She had with her an amulet with a red ruby inside what looked like a pentagram.

  “What will that do, my Lord?” I asked, gesturing to the trinket.

  “We both need to be touching it when we teleport behind the veil, Vahiel said. It will mask our presence and the spell caster shall be none the wiser,” Oria said, holding the amulet up to me.

  I nodded and clasped my hand along with hers as we both held the amulet against our palms. This time, Oria did the honors teleporting us inside and in those few seconds, I realized why she had allowed me to do all the teleporting. The images I saw flashing before me nearly made my heart stop. She released me and I didn’t even know I had been screaming until I heard her yelling my name. Only then did I realize it was my voice that was echoing off the walls.

  I stumbled back as far away from her as possible until I hit the wall. My chest heaved as I struggled to regain my sense of self. Sweet Jesus, that was something I’d never want to ever experience again. What the hell had she done to me?

  Oria walked over to where I was still trembling from what I’d seen. She smiled. “What did you see?” she asked in her sweet, innocent voice.

  “I… I…” My voice was still caught in my throat and tears flowed down my cheeks. I wiped at them and stared at the moisture on my fingertips. God, when was the last time I’d ever felt such turmoil? Such fear and anger? “Why?” I asked, looking at Oria.

  “What did you see?” she asked again.

  “My… my son,” I said. We couldn’t have been teleporting for more than half a second, but it felt longer, and in that time, I saw the living corpse of my son. His body rotting away, exposing bone as his flesh fell off in slimy pieces onto a ground made of flames. He pointed an accusatory finger at me, demanding to know why I’d killed him. Why I’d doomed him. “Why? Why did you make me see that?” I raged through gritted teeth.

  “Watch your tone with me, demon,” Oria warned. “I will not remind you again. The next time you raise your voice to me, it will be your last.”

  I collapsed to one knee, my legs unable to hold me up after what I’d witnessed. I cried again, too overcome with emotion to not let the tears flow. My heart ached inside my chest and I could hear the pounding in my ears, so much so, it was what a heart-attack must feel like. I gripped my chest and forced myself to take deep, calming breaths. I was shaking all over and simply beside myself. Was that what my son was going through? Was that what I did to him? Oh god, have mercy!

  “I do not control what one sees in my teleportation,” Oria said. “It was your greatest fear, whatever it was that you saw. You saw your son and I am assuming he was in a horrible state. The only comfort I may offer you is that you must know it was not real. It was only what you fear the most.”

  I looked up at her, sniffing the snot that threatened to pour from my nose. “It wasn’t?”

  She shook her head. “Your son was an innocent when you took his life.”

  I nodded and lowered my head, feeling the centuries old shame that had tortured me all this time. “His soul is in hell where it doesn’t belong. That is what I did to him, my Vincenzo,” I said, my heart aching. After all these years, I was still haunted by his memory. I collapsed on my ass and the tears just flowed from me at the memory of my child.

  Oria came closer, squatting down in front of me. She placed her tiny hand on my crooked knee. “Your king is a benevolent one, Raphael. You may have spent your life up until now avoiding him, but that does not mean he avoided you. He knew of your mistake, of the pain it caused you. He also knew that it was a lesson you needed to suffer in order to become the demon you are today. However, know this; Vincenzo’s soul has long since ascended to heaven. Released by our king all those centuries ago. He has never known the tortures of hell or witnessed any horrors. He is and forever will be at peace. Now, pull yourself together.”

  I wiped my eyes and swallowed so I could speak. “He… he’s in heaven?”

  Oria nodded and stood up. “Where all innocent souls go.”

  “He can do that?” I asked. “My Lord.”

  Oria nodded. “He can and often does when an innocent soul enters his domain. It is what makes him weak to demons like Katashniel. Having an innocent soul burning in the fires of hell would only make our king more powerful. So powerful in fact, none would dare challenge him. Because he frees those souls, he has made himself a target. His humanity is his greatest weakness in many demons’ eyes.”

  “What about in your eyes, my Lord?” I was bolde
r now, stronger and infinitely more grateful that Adriel was my king and no one else. To know that he had spared my son a fate worse than death meant more to me than any word or words could express. I appreciated Oria being honest with me. I’d needed to know that. I felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders, and it had been a weight I had carried since that day. My hand was steady now as I wiped my tears away. Now, I waited for Oria’s reply.

  She smirked. “As a pure demon, I do not agree that humanity is a virtue. For one to be conflicted with what you call morals is only a distraction, a hindrance. I may not agree with everything our king does. However, I will never question or challenge him. I am loyal to our king for all time.”

  “As am I, my Lord,” I said. I was already loyal to Adriel, but knowing what he had done for my son… he had more than my loyalty. He had my heart and my soul.

  “Have you pulled yourself together yet?” Oria asked.

  I wasn’t used to being that vulnerable, that broken. I could only remember two times in my life when I had felt that hopeless. When I lost my son and when Isabella had to rescue me from the demon who’d held me captive. I feared for my life then and was afraid I’d go to hell, where, at the time, I felt I deserved to go. She saved me from more than a demon that day. She saved me from myself. Made me stronger, gave me something to live for. I would always be grateful to and for Isabella.

  I nodded and rose to my feet. “I’m fine now, my Lord. Forgive me.”

  She made an offhanded gesture. “It was an old wound for you. One that I hope has been healed. For now, let us see what was hidden.”

  With that, she turned and I looked past her to see for the first time what the spell was trying to conceal. In the middle of the room lay five demon bodies, two females and three males. Their heads resting at the end of each point of a pentagram. They looked to be sleeping peacefully. There was no decay. Their bodies were being preserved. Inside the pentagram was a talisman orb glowing green and purple with what I assumed were the souls of the demons sacrificed.

  “What does this mean, my Lord?” I asked.

  “It answers a question that has been plaguing us for some time. How Katashniel had been able to remain hidden with only the power of one lord,” Oria said. “What we thought was a triangle of axis power, as it is with our king, is something more intricate. It has more points of axis. Having found one point has put us exactly where we needed to be. Honestly, I wondered if we’d have success any time soon. I’m glad to say that you have done well, Agoto.”

  “The shamans are channeling the power of these demons to increase their own energy, my Lord?” I asked.

  “Exactly. Clever, really. And the spells used kept these little gems hidden from all of our locator spells. It will not be too much longer now. Katashniel’s hours are numbered and after all of these months… I can’t wait to taste his treacherous blood on my tongue,” she said with a wicked grin.

  “How do we track them, though, without them not knowing, my Lord?” I asked.

  “Of course, we will need Rohan for the next mission,” she said, then motioned for me to pick her back up.

  “Will it lead to Katashniel, my Lord?”

  “Maybe, maybe it will lead only to the demons who are keeping him hidden. What is positive is that it will lead us closer to him. Discovering this… marker… so to speak, has revealed more than we knew before. We need to track down each one in order to dismantle the spell protecting that traitor. Now, take me home… I need rest.”

  “And where is home, my Lord?”

  She told me, and I scooped her up. This time, I was more than happy to do the teleporting, landing her inside the luxury home that King Adriel had provided for her. It was a skyrise apartment that was warded off to demons not of a certain level, meaning those not of Adriel’s court wouldn’t be able to enter unless the ward was lowered for them. I placed her down and looked around. What I had expected to see, I didn’t. The layout of the apartment was all shiny, black tile floors, granite and quartz countertops, an open concept. The furnishings were morbid. Stuff that nightmares were made of where every piece looked some macabre torture device. For instance, every chair had spikes in the seating and the rugs were sparkling with shards of glass.

  I could name a handful of demons that would probably think this place was heaven, but I wasn’t one of them. The faster I could get out of there, the better, before Oria asked me to “make myself comfortable”, as if I could.

  “You should keep the amulet, you might need it,” Oria said, then tossed the amulet to me. I caught it one handed and slipped it into my pocket. I didn’t want to have to go back into the sewer, but I might have to. Having this little trinket would help.

  “I will take care of it, my Lord,” I said.

  “I’m sure.” Oria sighed with a wide grin. “My king will be pleased with this new information. He will be pleased that having you take a swim in the Oasis pool has paid off in so many ways,” she said.

  “About that pool, why only now did he request it and why just my triumvirate, my Lord?” I asked, feeling like there was so much more to this.

  “Because…,” she skipped over to the sofa and plopped down, her little legs dangling, “the pool is a deathtrap. Most demons who’ve dared to venture into it die, one of the reasons why no lord would bother.”

  With that reveal, I felt my temperature go up. Actual heat burned within me at the knowledge that my life had been in jeopardy. “And if I had died, my Lord?” I had to contain my anger at her, Saleah, and even a little bit was aimed at Adriel for not telling me the full risks. I just thought you’d either get enlightenment or you didn’t. I supposed I shouldn’t be too upset. Demons were tricky by nature, many deceitful. I guessed I had expected more from Saleah.

  Oria giggled. “Awwww, are your little feelings hurt?”

  I exhaled slowly to force myself to calm down. Being in Oria’s presence really was testing my patience. “I would have just liked to have known the risks, my Lord.”

  “Knowing would have only added more risk. You needed to be as calm as possible, and being an Agoto, our king took the chance that your Agoto would fight for its own survival. He was right, but it was also why it was a last-ditch plan,” Oria said.

  “I thought lords were too powerful to enter the pool and that’s why you didn’t, my Lord?”

  “Yes and no,” was all she said.

  “And if I didn’t get enlightenment, I’d only see white, my Lord?” I was remembering everything Saleah had told me about that damned pool.

  “Well, that wasn’t a lie. Only you’d only being seeing white forever, I suppose. With you being a vegetable and all,” Oria stated. “That’s if you didn’t just keel over.”

  “Jesus,” I fussed under my breath as I reached into my pocket for my cell phone.

  “What are you doing?” Oria asked.

  “I’m going to warn my mates not to bother with the pool, my Lord.”

  “You can tell Brian, but our king wants Andre to undergo the pool.”

  My fingers paused over the keypad and I looked up at her. “May I ask why, my Lord?”

  “You can ask.”

  I refrained from rolling my eyes and left it at that. Regardless of whether or not I knew the reason, it was still an order from our king. I couldn’t interfere. “May I just tell Brian then, my Lord?”

  She nodded. “But keep what you know to yourself.”

  “I will, my Lord.” I texted Brian, letting him know he didn’t need to visit the Oasis. I hoped I’d gotten to him before he did it already. I really didn’t want to take the risk of losing either of my mates and hoped that Andre survived his venture with flying colors, as they say.

  I slipped my phone back into my pocket and looked at my watch. It was late, or very early, however you wanted to look at it. “Shouldn’t we track those shamans tonight, my Lord?” I asked, knowing the importance.

  She looked up at me. “And face demons in our exhausted state? Do you wish t
o die?”

  “No, my Lord.”

  “You, young knight, need to go home, sleep. Then wake up and fuck your mates to replenish your strength. Eat the soul of a demon, not a human, you will need to be at the top of your game. Once that is done, you will come to me. By that time, I am hoping that Rohan would have gathered intel on all the shamans so we can conduct a coordinated attack.”

  “How will he be able to track them, my Lord?” I asked. “He will not be able to wear the amulet in his full demon dog form.”

  “That is a problem Vahiel will have to solve. Not your concern. I have given you orders that I expect you to follow. I can see it in your eyes that you are barely standing. Powerful you may be, I will not go into a battle with a Shakodi demon or Katashniel, halfcocked,” Oria said.

  I bowed my head. “Yes, my Lord.” I wanted to get this whole thing over with and hopefully return to some measure of normalcy, but she was right. I was at the end of my rope having been up for so many hours and having experienced so many emotions. Agotos needed sleep like normal humans, just like we needed to eat food. Our bodies merged with the demon, but still functioned in many ways just like they used to. We still had to piss, shit, and our sperm and vaginal fluids were very similar to humans. Thus, I really wanted to shower and then collapse in my ten-thousand dollar bed.

  “Go then.” Oria gave me an off-handed gesture, dismissing me.

  I bowed again, then left, teleporting directly into my bathroom where I quickly undressed. I showered for at least thirty minutes until I felt clean. When I entered the bedroom, I smiled at Andre already tucked in and snoring. I knew he was home, had sensed him, and was glad to see he was well. If he had been to see Saleah, he had survived. Thank god. I climbed in beside him, but left a little room for Brian. He usually slept between us, a position we enjoyed him in. I doubted he’d be home anytime soon, as he was with Lord Dakkar, but it still felt right to leave that space open. I closed my eyes and the darkness took me immediately.