Telfaldetrous glanced calculatingly over its prisoner, trying to understand what was happening inside.
“What will make you turn to my side?” Telfaldetrous said. “What else must be stripped away from you? What do you cling to? What do you still hold dear?
“Perhaps another round of night terrors to find out?” The beast narrowed its eyes.
Faolan looked up and shook his head as he whimpered, but it was too late. Telfaldetrous was already walking out the door.
The seer walked back into the room and shut the door. The seer placed its hand on the prisoner, and the night terrors began anew. Faolan’s screams echoed through the halls as horrible visions flooded his mind. New wounds opened on his body, and blood ran, and again in his visions he saw Caedmon, Treasach, Gavina, his parents, Leith, Ireli, and Ehreion. All were in trouble or in pain.
He was unable to tell how many hours passed before the visions stopped. When they did, his screams died down, and his eyes barely remained open.
The seer walked out of the room, and a moment later, Telfaldetrous reappeared, laughing evilly.
“Guess what news I have,” Telfaldetrous said. “You will want to hear this.”
It waited for his prisoner to look up.
“Look at me!” the beast roared.
Faolan struggled to lift his eyes.
“Your friends,” Telfaldetrous said. “You remember those individuals who aided you near the seal, who allowed your parents to die.”
Faolan listened.
“They never left,” Telfaldetrous said.
For the first time in a long while, Faolan opened his mouth with a weak voice. “What?”
“There were six of them, correct?” Telfaldetrous said.
Faolan fought his fatigued mind and thought hard. Caedmon, Treasach, and Gavina make three. Who else was there? His mind saw them all dying over and over in his head in the seer’s night terrors. Ehreion and Ireli make five. Leith, six. Yes, there were only six . . . no wait, Aili. She makes seven. Which one did the beast not see? Did someone escape?
“What were their names?” He eyed his captor.
“You tell me. You were their friend.” Telfaldetrous straightened up.
He doesn’t know, Faolan thought to himself.
“You are a liar,” he said.
“Am I now? Who was the big one? With blue fur and a wolf head.” The beast leaned over him.
“Caedmon,” Faolan whispered.
“One.” Telfaldetrous led Faolan’s thoughts. “What about the boy with the shield and blond hair?”
“Treasach,” he said.
“Then there was a dwarf and a human?”
“Ehreion and Ireli.”
Faolan’s heart sank further and further as each name rolled off his tongue.
“Two more . . . let’s see. Ah, yes, that is right. There was a female elf with dark hair, who was close to the blond boy. And a slender male elf, rather weak in appearance,” Telfaldetrous said.
“Gavina and Leith.”
“Yes, you remember them. Your six friends did not leave, no, but they did die.” Telfaldetrous smiled. “You are alone now; no one comes to your aid.”
Faolan lowered his eyes. This was his reality now. Nothing existed beyond these walls, save for the news about the outside from Telfaldetrous. His world had grown small, and now he had no one.
A pattern of a blue flower developed on his shirt. The blue petals encircled the exact spot over his heart. His mind shattered further, splitting from the shock of so much loss, his sanity slipping from him.
Yet Faolan held on to the fact that the beast had said nothing about Aili. She was still alive. The elf maiden was his anchor to reality; he mentally held on to her with a tight embrace. She was the only thing he knew to be real anymore.
Telfaldetrous walked out of the room and smiled at its own guile.
The seer did not come in again.
Faolan was left alone.
A small strand of hope rang from his lips in a whisper: “Aili is alive.”
He repeated those three words again and again for that was all he had left. She was his hope and his love. After a while, he recited the Shadow Guardians’ code and Aili’s name.
“I will not falter. I will not fail. Aili is alive,” he would say, over and over, for as long as he was able, before his mind started to toy with him.
He heard a tapping on the walls. He scanned the room but could not tell where the noise originated. He then heard a flickering of fire and glanced up at the single candle. Its tiny flame danced above the melting wax, but he sensed no breeze.
Unexpectedly, the flame stopped moving.
An exhale of air sounded by his ear, and he reacted in fear, frantically searching for the breathing entity. His heart pounded, and his breathing quickened, but he saw nothing.
“Faolan.” A feminine voice echoed in the tiny room.
Startled, his eyes darted around the dark room, but still he saw no one.
“Faolan.” The woman’s voice echoed again.
He wondered if he was back in the night terrors, if the seer had returned without his knowledge, or perhaps, he had finally gone mad. His breathing deepened, and his nerves were on edge.
“Faolan!” A little girl appeared before him.
He jumped back in fright against the wall.
The little girl wore a pure white dress. “Fear not, I will not harm you.”
Faolan did not believe her, not after the terrors he had experienced.
“My name is Igtharia,” the little girl said. She walked over to him and caressed his cheek. “Poor, poor warrior. How you have fallen. Such a sorrowful sight.”
Faolan relaxed at her touch, which was warm and comforting. The feeling was so different from the dungeon and from the pain. Her touch calmed his mind and brought him pure peace as he stared into her eyes.
A soft smile crossed his face as he looked at her.
“Endure this torment no longer,” Igtharia said. “You must fight back. You must protect yourself. These lands are forsaken. Flee this darkness before you become it.”
Faolan felt her warmth; a sense of pure love flowed through her touch. He nodded as he gazed at her precious face.
“Become the righteous warrior,” she said. “The divine instrument of protection and destruction. Delve deep into your mind and remember.”
He listened to her pleasant voice in a warm, dreamlike state, entranced by her heavenly glow.
Two small white wings unfolded behind her. White light surrounded her small frame, and then she vanished, with the dreamlike state fading soon after. In its place returned the burning pain from his wounds and the memories of the night terrors. For a moment he had peace in her presence, but now he returned to the dark, cold room. He wondered if he had hallucinated and struggled again with discerning reality.
A heavy fist smashed into Faolan’s left cheek. He reeled back in agonizing pain from the sudden blow.
“Answer me!” Telfaldetrous appeared before him, furious. “What girl are you mumbling about?”
Another heavy fist slammed into his right cheek. “Are you clinging to someone else? I will rip everything from you. You will join us. You will help us destroy this world.”
Faolan was at the edge of unconsciousness. The blows dazed him, and the room was spinning.
Telfaldetrous roared at him.
The seer stepped back into the room and awaited its master’s order.
Faolan’s head loosely rolled on his neck as he garbled, “I will not falter. I will not fail . . .”
“What?” the beast said.
“I am a Shadow Guardian.”
“A Shadow Guardian!” A mocking laugh rose from Telfaldetrous. It turned to the seer and roared, “Continue until you find what I am looking for!”
The seer immediately started the night terrors again, and Faolan screamed in fear.
“Find the girl,” Telfaldetrous instructed the seer.
The seer searched Faolan�
��s thoughts, sifting through memories and looking for recurring faces. It found something important, but not Igtharia. It found the girl who had kissed him. It poked and prodded the memory, ripping her name from Faolan’s unconscious grasp.
The night terror ended, and the screams stopped.
“The girl’s name is Aili,” the seer said.
“Good,” Telfaldetrous said. “Faolan . . . Faolan.”
Faolan’s weary eyes slid open.
Telfaldetrous was about to tell him the terrible news about Aili but hesitated as it noticed something anomalous. It narrowed its eyes and inched closer as it inspected its prisoner’s pupils.
A faint glow radiated from deep within the dark centers of its prisoner’s eyes.
“Telfaldetrous,” Faolan said frigidly, a young female voice echoing his own.
“Telfaldetrous . . .” The eerie echo sounded again.
“Who are you?” the beast questioned the individual shackled before it.
Faolan smiled eerily, not of his own accord; an unusual force yanked at his body and controlled his movements.
“Who are you?” Telfaldetrous asked again.
“We are your end, Telfaldetrous . . .” The female voice echoed.
“We?”
“We will send you back to the pit!” Their voices raged in unison.
The beast laughed. “You have truly lost your sanity, child. You are alone; you have always been alone. Look at yourself, bound to stone, powerless and hopeless.”
“You are wrong.” The little girl snickered through Faolan’s body.
Telfaldetrous narrowed its eyes in growing frustration.
“You are the one who is all alone. The light and the grace do not surround you.” The girl echoed Faolan’s voice. “You have come to the mortal world, where you do not belong. You were banished to the dark realm for your evil transgressions, yet you defy him yet again. The Divine One is angry and seeks retribution.”
“Then tell him I am waiting!” the beast roared.
“You should choose your words more carefully.” The little girl giggled. “That was not nice; one should never challenge the Divine One. He does not like it.”
“Whoever you are, I will kill you,” Telfaldetrous threatened. “The angels themselves would have to come to the mortal world to stop me!”
She giggled. “We have come.”
“What?” The beast stepped back.
The little girl appeared in physical form next to Faolan, her little white wings fluttering behind her.
“Igtharia! You will have to do more than play tricks,” Telfaldetrous growled. “I will rip off your little wings!”
“No, you won’t!” The little girl giggled, and her small wings beat as she skipped toward him. The color of her pure eyes altered and mimicked Faolan’s: black sclerae and color-changing irises.
Telfaldetrous retreated another step.
“We will kill you.” The little girl giggled. “Prepare yourself . . . the war has begun.”
Then Igtharia disappeared.
Faolan’s head dropped, and the glow in his eyes faded. His sclerae returned to their natural white, and his irises stopped changing colors.
A minute passed.
Telfaldetrous was poised defensively.
Faolan moaned, and his head slowly rose as he looked up at the demon before him.
Telfaldetrous smiled when it realized Faolan seemed to have no conscious recollection of what had just happened. It continued with what it was doing, ignoring the little angel’s taunting and shaking off Igtharia’s presence as a nuisance.
“Faolan,” Telfaldetrous said. “I have something important to tell you.”
His drifting eyes locked on to the demon for a moment.
“Aili is dead.”
Those words froze time for Faolan. His heart ached with a deep burn, the loss was more than he could bear, and at that very moment Faolan’s mind completely shattered. No longer was there a reality his mind could accept. Faolan yelled with fiery rage, immeasurable and unequaled.
The beast held still as it saw Faolan’s eyes turning black and the irises starting to change colors as the eyes of the fallen shown through. Telfaldetrous caught sight of something else, a bright color peeking through Faolan’s half-opened cloak.
A flower with blue petals appeared over the prisoner’s heart. The cloak parted farther as Faolan raged, and the demon could see bloodred vines actively growing out of the flower. Sharp thorns extended from those red vines as they grew and twisted across Faolan’s shirt, weaving and extending down onto his pants and then his cloak. The red vines became gnarled and intertwined on the black background of Faolan’s clothing.
The demon did not understand the meaning of the patterns and colors or the magic embedded in the elven fabric.
The red thorns on his clothing sharpened as the vines coiled and spun on his guardian apparel.
Faolan’s pupils dilated to their maximum diameter. A thick layer of dust exploded off the walls as the air instantly became electrically charged. Telfaldetrous’s skin tingled, and the wool on its legs began to itch.
Faolan’s eyes shifted and glared straight into Telfaldetrous’s.
The beast failed to grasp what was happening.
Faolan’s irises expanded as his pupils became pinpoints. Bright white light enveloped his eyes as his palms turned toward the beast. Lightning exploded from Faolan’s palms and blasted the demon in its chest.
The demon launched backward and slammed into the wall. Telfaldetrous’s momentum was not halted by the thick stone; the explosive energy within the lightning bolt was immense. Its body smashed through the dungeon wall and left behind a massive hole. The demon flew out of the room into open sky, debris trailing its body.
The beast flew through the air high above the ground outside the ancient keep and arced across the sky.
Faolan watched as his adversary slammed into the wall of a tall watchtower across the keep. The watchtower tilted as black stones flew in all directions from the forceful impact.
Chaotic lightning shot out of Faolan’s hands as he roared and wailed. No target was meant for the random bolts of lightning. His rage and sorrow were too great to satiate.
The thought of Aili’s death was the final blow to his psyche.
Lightning charged the stones all around him and scorched everything it struck. Faolan screamed at the top of his lungs.
The watchtower continued to tilt and fell toward the keep, straight toward Faolan’s dungeon. It fell faster and faster as it descended. The tower’s pointed roof raced past the hole in the wall and disappeared below. The castle violently shook when the tower crashed into the ground.
Faolan’s voice died down, and the lightning calmed. One last erratic bolt shot out.
Igtharia appeared before him once more as the little girl. She giggled as she approached Faolan and caressed his cheek.
“The demon’s intelligence is lacking,” Igtharia said. She gazed at Faolan’s catatonic face. She looked into his glowing white eyes and said, “Retribution has come. Let this mortal’s power aid you until you find your righteousness.”
Faolan’s shackles opened and fell to the floor. His irises began to react; his pupils widened. Faolan’s eyes locked onto the little girl. A lightning bolt shot out and ran through her chest and out her back. The bolt passed straight through Igtharia, though she was unharmed and unaffected.
His mind could no longer distinguish what was real and what was dream. He stood up and stumbled toward the wall with weak legs.
“Wait,” Igtharia called to him. “Take these.”
She held out his two swords.
Where had they come from? he wondered. The swords’ sudden appearance was peculiar, but it didn’t matter; he grabbed his swords and walked to the door.
He shot a forked lightning bolt, disintegrating the iron hinges. He pulled the handle, and the iron door fell to the ground with a loud slam, reverberating down the hallway. The doorway was open, and his fr
eedom stood before him.
Faolan hesitated and looked back, but the girl was gone. He looked down at his swords and felt their weight in his hands. He struck one of his blades against the wall, testing its nature.
They feel real, he thought, though he was unsure. He pushed the doubting thoughts aside and walked out of the room.
He traveled down the hallway and glanced through the nearest arrow slit.
What he saw made him wonder, Where am I?
The landscape outside was parched and barren. He could see part of an encircling black stone wall beyond another watchtower. It stood on the far side of a wide clearing and seemed to curve around the castle. The watchtower was tall, and its top could not be seen from the window. Hundreds of arrow slits wrapped around its exterior. There were also thick stone walkways extending from the watchtower’s main structure, enclosed by their own protective stone walls and arrow slits. Several walkways extended to the left and several more to the right. Massive supports held them in the air.
Faolan could not tell where the walkways led as his view was limited.
His attention shifted when he heard a howl sound from down the hall. The howl snapped him back into a rage, and he spun on his toes. A hideous demon charged up a spiral staircase and emerged in a frenzy.
Faolan waited for the gap to close between them, assessing how the four-armed beast might fight. When the beast closed the gap to twenty feet, a lightning bolt arced through the air and struck the demon’s leg. Then another lightning bolt pierced its chest and stole its life. The demon collapsed and slid on the cold floor, lifeless.
Faolan was confused. Did I command it to attack?
He had wanted to see how to react to and fight the demon, but it was too late. He struggled to tell if it was his anger or something else that had caused the lightning to preemptively strike.
He pushed on and ran down the spiral staircase that the demon had come from, burning with rage. He wished for nothing more than to kill his jailor.
The First Seal Page 10