HAGEN: 1. Revelations

by Jadhe HAMILTON

  Tara nodded. Everything suddenly seemed very dismal to her:

  “So, if I save our daughter, you and I are condemned?” she asked gravely.

  “Not necessarily. We can fight. If you choose to defend Lou, you’ll have to face the guards and all the angels under the Congregation’s command.”

  “But there are thousands of them!” exclaimed Tara desperately. “We might as well give Hagen back to Tendor and hand ourselves over to the Congregation right now.”

  “You think it’s that simple?” replied Nina with a cynical grin. “Do you really think They’ll just behead us and leave our daughter in peace? No! As long as the Decision-Makers rule, Lou’s life is in danger.”

  “So, what do we do then? Are you saying you want to overthrow the Decision-Makers?”

  “If we have to. We can’t deny that a fight is inevitable.”

  “Nina!” Tara cried. “We’re alone, just you and I in the face of the Decision-Makers!”

  “No!” replied Emily. “There’s us too, and all those who will be willing to follow Diane. You have allies in the Sphere. The Decision-Makers won’t have unanimous support. Your daughter doesn’t deserve to die, their law is completely unjust. Any normal angel will recognize that!”

  Tara was pensive. The Decision-Makers had always appeared to her as the Masters of the Universe. She never thought she’d have to defy Them one day.

  “You’re right Nina… It’s better to die trying to save Lou than to kneel before the Congregation.”

  Nina couldn’t hold back a cry of relief.

  “We’re leaving right now,” Tara continued. “The demon will leave my niece’s body when all of this is settled.”

  She approached Julie’s body, still sprawled out on the couch. The little girl was staring at the ceiling, haggard and completely entranced.

  “Demon!” Tara called, authoritatively. “Tell your master we’re on our way.”

  “He already knows...” answered Julie with a wicked smile.

  Tara felt a twinge in her heart seeing her niece in this state. Nonetheless, she turned around and walked out the door. Nina followed suit. A few minutes later, they arrived in front of the Dominican convent.

  When they entered the small alley, the door to the convent was wide open. This time, they didn’t have to break in: the chapel was calling out to them. Even the stairwell seemed to be inviting them up.

  “This convent belongs to Tendor,” Nina assumed, analyzing the gloomy surroundings.

  “Enkaz sent us into his territory on purpose, so we would kill Tendor’s demons and piss him off!”

  “They were probably hoping he would return our daughter to us.”

  “He’d never do that,” Tara said, looking up at the bell tower. “She belongs to him now.”

  “No, she doesn’t! Lou will always be my daughter.”

  Nina led the way as Tara watched her climb the stairs in anguish: the coach seemed to have forgotten that she had almost lost her life within these same walls a few days earlier.

  “The demons must be angry with us,” Tara said, fearing for Nina’s life. “You should let me go first.”

  On these words, the coach turned around to look at her:

  “Lou is my daughter as much as she’s yours,” she replied.

  Then, she briskly turned back around and continued climbing the stairs to the chapel. Tara knew she wouldn’t be able to reason with her.

  They hadn’t taken out their spheric weapons, thereby proving to the demons that they had come in peace. Thus, it was defenseless that they pushed open the large wooden door and stepped into the chapel.

  There was a deadly silence. No evil spirits seemed to be waiting for them in the shadows. They slowly walked between the benches, stopping in front of a huge, dark spot on the floor. Tara shivered when she realized it was Nina’s blood. Trembling, she looked nervously at the coach, hoping that this time the demons wouldn’t attack her.

  Suddenly, the chapel’s front door opened. A blinding light came into the room from the corridor, preventing them from discerning the dark silhouettes that now stood before them.

  But after a few seconds, their eyes adapted enough to see them. Standing in the doorway were two gigantic argomenons, devouring them with their eyes. This time, Tara was able to get a good look at them: their small blue eyes seemed to be sunken into their tarred heads, and their two gigantic curved horns pointed upwards like the teeth of a pitchfork. They seemed much stronger than the demons she had fought the other day.

  She glanced furtively at Nina who had her hand on her necklace, ready to call her weapon into action in an instant. Tara was tempted to grab hold of Hagen too, but she knew they couldn’t afford to give in to panic now. Convinced the demons wouldn’t kill them without Tendor’s command, she stood up straight and raised her chin, showing them that she wasn’t afraid.

  Nonetheless, she was losing her self-confidence by the second as the argomenons approached them with their heavy and threatening footsteps. She could feel it: they had the upper hand. They were the masters of their territory.

  Only a few yards away from them now, they still hadn’t slowed down. If they continued at this pace, Tara thought, she and Nina would soon be sliced in half. Her hand trembled with the desire to tear Hagen from her neck and wield her mighty weapon, but Diane continued whispering to her to not give in to her fear. Her heart pounded as she stood there motionless, watching the two monsters as they approached. For the first time, she entertained the thought that Tendor might actually want to kill her. He had agreed to protect Lou under one condition: that Diane give Hagen to him as proof of her good faith. By retrieving her weapon, she had broken their deal, and perhaps even declared war.

  The two monsters were only a meter away from them now. With their spheric weapons still around their necks, she and Nina were completely vulnerable. It was too late to change their minds. They had to go all the way. Finally, the two argomenons stopped only a few inches away from them. Dripping, they smelled like corpses. It was an odor that Tara hadn’t noticed the first time around when she was fueled by the adrenaline rush.

  Close as they were, Tara realized that if they had wanted to stab them, like they had stabbed Nina the other day, they would have done it already.

  As they laid their cruel eyes on her, she stood tall and tried as she could to maintain her warrior appearance. Nina did the same. As they stared into each other’s eyes with disdain, Tara pictured herself two hundred years earlier, in the pine forest. The demon had desperately wanted to kill her then too, but he held himself back while preventing her from saving the marquis from his imminent death. The demons were indeed ferocious, but she had to admit that their submission to their master was akin to the angels’ submission to the Decision-Makers.

  Finally, after several seconds of hostility, one of them spoke in a chilling voice:

  “The bodies stay here. Diane will travel with me.”

  Tara nodded. The argomenon continued, pointing to the other demon with a sign of the chin:

  “He’ll take care of the legionary.”

  “Very well,” replied Tara, in the authoritative voice of a seraph. “What are you waiting for?”

  The demon seemed unpleasantly surprised by her domineering attitude. His deadly gaze increased in intensity tenfold. With a violent jerk that Tara didn’t see coming, he brutally grabbed her skull. She screamed out in pain, trying to free herself from his grip, but she had no hold on the beast.

  The demon’s arm deformed so quickly that even before she had a chance to fight, she felt her head disappearing inside his tarred limb. The pain became so excruciating that she thought her head would implode under the pressure the argomenon was placing on it. Convinced that she had fallen into a trap, she fought against the sticky, tar-like substance that had started to cover her body little by little, making her run out of oxygen. In the distance she could hear Nina screaming and demanding her release, but to no avail. Tara sank into the demon’s body, completely po
werless against him.

  When she reopened her eyes, Diane found herself standing beside the demon in a field of poppies. They were surrounded by volcanic mountains with razor-sharp peaks as black as coal. She knew by the vibration of the place that she was neither on Earth nor in the Sphere, but in a world unknown to the angels. The sky was grey and full of ash and the air was hot. Her blond hair and hazel eyes stood out in a striking way in this desolate environment where only black and red, ash and fire, seemed to exist.

  Suddenly, she heard a thud next to her: Thece and the second argomenon had just landed. The demon was holding him firmly by the neck while the legionary was vigorously thrashing about.

  However, as soon as they touched the ground, the argomenon let go of him and joined the first demon. The two monsters exchanged a few words before beginning to walk through the poppy field, not giving Diane and Thece another glance. As for Diane, she remained standing, motionless.

  Seeing Thece in front of her with his strong physique, solid features and dark quality, her heart had begun to beat frantically once more. Free again, the legionary had turned towards her and looked at her with his penetrating lagoon-blue eyes making her shiver. God, she loved him!

  Seeing how she trembled in his presence, Thece approached her and took her hand. He understood. Turning his head towards the two demons, he declared in a solemn voice:

  “Let’s go find our daughter.”

  Diane’s heart was beating wildly, but she didn’t respond. They began to follow the argomenons who were moving across the field with slow and heavy steps. Under their feet, the ground was rocky, hard and dry, akin to the demons’ hearts. The flowers were the only living organisms in this world of lava and rock, taking root between the grey and black stones. They walked until they arrived at a gigantic black lake that looked dreadfully calm and deep. The field of bright red poppies contrasted with the volcanic stone that surrounded the stretch of water. When she and Thece arrived at the edge of the black water, the argomenons suddenly turned around and headed back to where they came from. Yet, there was still no sign of Tendor.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  But the demons vanished without saying another word. A fiery gust of wind from the volcanoes in the distance violently whipped their faces. Tens of miles away, they could hear the explosions of hundreds of erupting volcanoes and the lava flows that ensued. The earth was in hyperactivity. Its energy was so intense that it had to be released through lava and fire to prevent it from exploding entirely.

  “How beautiful you are in this landscape of fire!” exclaimed a voice behind them.

  Startled, Diane and Thece turned around. Standing a few dozen yards away from them, the great Tendor looked at Diane with a smile on his face. Dressed in a long purple toga, his two immense, dark violet wings were folded behind his back. His short, curly hair was a bright golden blond, and his large, smiling gold eyes contrasted greatly with what one could have expected from a ruler of evil. With his slightly protruding jaw, and his broad shoulders, he seemed to be using his charm to seduce the seraph. So much so that Diane didn’t have even to look at Thece to feel his possessive mistrust. However, the legionary would have to control his temper, or he would have no chance against Tendor.

  “Thank you for having us Tendor,” said Diane, slightly bowing her head.

  “Do you like it?” he asked proudly, opening his arms wide in admiration of his territory. “I created it.”

  “Where are we?” she asked, unable to deny the savage beauty of the place.

  “Somewhere in the Universe,” Tendor replied simply, as he walked towards them.

  “And does the Congregation know about this place?” Thece asked in a cold voice.

  Tendor stopped in his tracks. Amused, he lowered his head and tried to hold back a mocking laugh. Finally, he lifted his chin and said in a mischievous tone:

  “The Decision-Makers don’t know everything.”

  He resumed walking in his imperious and serene manner.

  “You have done me an immense disservice!” he exclaimed joyfully. “First, Diane, you go down to Hell, on my territory, to kill one of my demons and steal the weapon you gave me...”

  “Tendor, about Hagen...”

  “Then,” he interrupted without losing his smile, “you go to my convent to kill the baby demons to whom I had promised an exhilarating future in the earthly dimension.”

  Diane and Thece didn’t respond. Tendor continued, still approaching them:

  “Diane, I’m sure you understand that I can’t just forget about this... Not that it hurt me... But think of my army: what would my demons say if I let all these crimes go unpunished?”

  Diane preferred to remain silent. Tendor was now within yards of them. He didn’t seem upset. On the contrary, he was radiant.

  “Nonetheless, it delights me to see you again,” he said, devouring her with his eyes. “She needs a mother, you know.”

  Diane felt her heart race.

  “She also needs a father,” Thece reminded him.

  Amused, Tendor slowly turned his head towards him. For the first time since they had stepped foot into his kingdom, he finally deigned to acknowledge him:

  “I’m her father now.”

  Diane felt a strong hatred take hold of Thece. She prayed that he would remain calm and not make any detrimental mistakes. However, Tendor took a malicious pleasure in ignoring the legionary as he turned to her again:

  “Would you like to see your daughter? She’s right there waiting for you.”

  Diane didn’t answer. Her mouth was literally paralyzed. She who had sacrificed her life as a seraph to save her child, had never imagined she would see her again. She felt the grief she had buried inside her rising to the surface all at once. Without her being able to do anything about it, her legs began to shake.

  Tendor continued:

  “She often asks me who her mother is. I tell her that she’s a great warrior.”

  Diane gritted her teeth. Her tears were preventing her from seeing Tendor clearly.

  “She looks like her father,” Tendor continued, turning gently to Thece who felt his heart stop.

  Her heart torn to shreds, the seraph struggled to remain standing. Tendor gently put his hands on her shoulders, and with a simple gesture of the chin, he invited her to turn around.

  Diane, who had never even dared to dream of this moment, turned around. At last.

  When she saw her, a whirlwind of emotion went through her entire being as huge tears ran down her cheeks.

  When she had entrusted Lou to Tendor, her daughter was still a ball of light energy, just beginning to take shape. Today, curled up on a rock by the water’s edge, a little angel with golden wings looked at them with shy curiosity. Approximately the same age has her niece Julie, the little one was looking at her with her penetrating blue eyes. She had her father’s gaze. Her long wavy hair was as black as the volcanic rock and reached her lower back. She was absolutely sublime.

  Crying now with joy, Diane let out a sigh of relief. Unable to wait a second longer, she ran to meet Lou and hugged her tightly. The little girl, intimidated, let herself be embraced while she looked at Thece who was running towards her too.

  “This is your mother, Diane,” Tendor said as he joined them. “And this is your father,” he added, as Thece took her into his arms.

  On these words, Lou suddenly looked at Diane and Thece as if the most beautiful gems in the world had just been offered to her. Her gaze was pure and innocent, her skin soft as a newborn baby.

  Overwhelmed with emotion, Diane began to kiss her enthusiastically. She felt so guilty for having abandoned her for all these years that she could no longer let go of her.

  Discreetly, Tendor grabbed her toga and pulled her towards him. Without question, Diane got up, leaving Lou with her father who was now kneeling before her like a knight kneels before his queen.

  “Mommy’s coming back,” Tendor told Lou, as he and Diane walked away. “We need to
talk about grown-up things first.”

  Torn, Diane turned her back on her daughter and followed Tendor. He walked calmly, enjoying the burning landscape that he himself had created. They walked further and further away from Lou before he spoke again:

  “Did you see her little golden wings?” he said with admiration. “They have no equal in the Sphere.”

  Too moved to answer, Diane remained silent, holding back a sob.

  “I created this world for her,” Tendor continued, happy to be able to share it with Diane. “It may lack a little color, but I’m amazed by the bright red flowers that grow between the dark stones of the volcanoes. This world resembles Lou... When she grows up, she will reign with me!”

  They continued their march until they left the poppy fields and found themselves on the edge of a cliff. The world created by Tendor stretched out in front of them in all its splendor. It was nothing but rocks, lava and volcanoes. At the edge of the cliff, as the warm wind grew stronger, Tendor turned to Diane:

  “A little while ago, you stole something from me that no longer belongs to you.”

  Calmly, he looked at the handle of the sword that was protruding from behind Diane’s back.

  “I want it back,” he continued coolly.

  “What will you do with it?” Diane, who was no longer crying, replied.

  “Whatever I want,” Tendor answered, raising his shoulders, “since it’s mine.”

  The warm wind blew on Diane’s face with such force that she felt like she was standing in the mouth of a volcano.

  “Does my daughter play here by herself,” she asked.

  “I come to see her often,” Tendor reassured her.

  Diane nodded. She knew that Tendor would never hurt Lou. She was even convinced that he took great care of her. She felt a fatherly love emanating from him, similar to Thece’s. Tendor had adopted her.

  “Tendor, I didn’t take Hagen from you by force. A demon gave it to me.”

  “One of my men saw you in Hell, on my territory,” Tendor replied, showing her that it was no use lying to him. “You disemboweled the beast that was protecting the sword, then you retrieved it and returned to Earth.”