Welcome back, readers. Hope you are safe and healthy in the midst of this crazy pandemic. Anyways, we return to our story. This will be another episode style-chapter, with flashbacks, in which many things will be revealed. Elaiel will be forced to inspect the major decisions in his life and decide what is truly important for him. After this chapter, the final two will arrive that will conclude this story in an epic and grand fashion. Can't believe I'm reaching the end. Thank you to everyone who has stuck by this story since the beginning.
Just like last time, I am putting some faces to my main characters. Here they are:
Elaiel - Sean Faris; Ana - Olga Kuylenko; Sylvia Ganush - Lorna Raver; Christine - Alison Lohman
and last but not least
Ahziel - Yvonne Strahovski
There is one more main character left but I am going to hold his face's reveal for the final part of this chapter.
Without further ado, let's dive right into it. This is what happens:
CHAPTER VIII – RECKONING
(1)
Elaiel found himself in what appeared to be a tunnel. Its walls were made out of stone, which led him to conclude that he probably was inside the caverns of the mountain where Ana and the other humans had taken shelter, lit up by torches left and right. Before he could make sense of everything, two things happened, one after the other. Firstly, several human souls approached him, reaching their hands toward him and begging for his help. Secondly, soon after, an echo swept across the tunnel like an arrow splitting the air in half as it passes through. Elaiel could immediately distinguish what it was. A laughter, sinister and unrelenting, coming from every visible corner. It emanated an insidious aura of both amusement and vileness, as whoever or whatever was releasing it, was undeniably entertained. Not to mention how unnatural the laughter seemed, let out with the help of the deepest of voices.
Elaiel recognized whom the laughter belonged to. Lamia. The demon was close. Therefore, without any care, he pushed the humans aside and started running toward the source of the guffaw, traversing the tunnel until its end. But when he got there, two more tunnels extended in front of him. Stopping to better focus in determining which way to go, Elaiel was again approached by human souls, desperately pleading for assistance. "Save us!" They wailed but to no avail. The angel completely ignored them and continued on his path to find Lamia.
To his vexation, he again reached a tunnel crossroads. He turned back and took the other turn at the first split he encountered. Dozens of humans stood in his way, demanding the same as the latter ones. Elaiel treated them as mere obstacles, going past them like simple objects on the ground. The laugh was becoming more and more intense and it was greatly irritating him."Show yourself, you cowardly piece of crap!"
He was so bent on getting to the source that he failed to take into account how many turns he took, how many tunnels he entered, if he was going anywhere at all or just spinning in circles. He did not care. The fiend that took Ahziel away from him was in his grasp and he was not going to let it escape through his fingers. He had to press on, no matter what. "Son of a bitch!" He cursed, noticing a presence moving at the end of a particular tunnel he was going through. He activated his supernatural speed and, in a split of a second, he arrived to where he thought he had seen movement. Nothing there. This was getting to be very tiresome and he was losing his patience. He used the same angelic speed to check every tunnel in sight. A faint flash of light went through each and every one of them. It was the only thing that made him visible to the naked eye given how fast he was moving. But even with that, he again came up empty. No trace or sign of the Lamia. Just his ever present, louder and louder, unnerving laughter.
At one point Elaiel stopped at a large confinement with dozens of tunnel openings. He was beyond frustrated that he was getting nowhere with this chase that was apparently for his own tail. What made it even more annoying was the satisfaction he thought Lamia was getting out of all of it. He couldn't bear it anymore. "Lamia!" He shouted as loud as he could, anger overtaking every fiber of his being.
However, before he could collect himself, Lamia's laughter transitioned to a high pitched buzzing which was extremely harmful to Elaiel, causing him excruciating pain. He fell on his knees, holding his head in between his hands, roaring from ache. The pain was so intense, he felt as if his inner, divine light was being shredded to nothingness. It was suffering the likes of which he had never experienced in his entire life.
And to add further fuel on fire, Lamia materialized right in front of him. "I'm here," he said, grinning. Despite being in intolerable pain, Elaiel's will for vengeance forced him to muster up new levels of energy and attempt an attack. He manifested one of his luminescent wings and summoned a feather from it, which formed into a sword. The angel proceeded to swing it at his enemy and performed quite a strong attack given his weakened state. The result however left Elaiel shocked. The sword broke on impact, without inflicting so much as a scratch on the demon.
"No, not there. I'm here!" He heard Lamia's voice behind him. When he turned around, he felt as if a thousand boulders just crashed on his shoulders. There was a second Lamia there. He could not believe what he was witnessing. "Right here." A third one appeared in the corner of his eye. "Over here." A fourth one announced his presence as well. Soon after, a fifth and a sixth followed, along with a dozen more. Elaiel could only gape at him being surrounded by a small army of Lamias.
A voice louder and more emphatic than all the others combined suddenly rose and begged attention from above. Still reeling from the agonizing buzzing, the angel looked up to see a giant version of Lamia staring down at him. "I'm everywhere." It said before lunging its mouth filled with sharp fangs at the angel.
Elaiel woke up in a brutal and startled manner, chaotically jerking away and jittering profusely. He felt his back land on something as he kept launching himself backward. Turning around to inspect what it was, he discovered vertical bars. The investigation of the rest of his surroundings led to more bars. They were everywhere, locking and trapping him in a very small confinement. Obviously he was in a cage. It was very strange because, a mere moment ago, he had been in the caverns of the mountain. How did he get from there to his current location, where he was caged, so soon?
And then Elaiel realized where he truly was, remembering that he had been captured by Lamia and was now imprisoned, under his grasp. What he experienced before had probably been a vision, forced upon him by his demonic captor to toy with and rattle him. If that was the case, then it meant Lamia had complete control over him and would be subjecting him to whatever torture he could come up with… endlessly…
TITLE CARD
The cage was in the shape of a rectangle, quite spacious, big enough for one to walk in circles inside. It was lit by an unknown light source, coming from above. It was the only illuminated thing in the place. Beyond it, there was nothing but pure darkness, similar to the void in Christine's mind. Because of the light, a small hill could be seen under the cage, which the latter was most likely placed on it. Furthermore, it was impossible for one to tell if the place was located inside or outside. Listening to any kind of sound did not offer assistance toward that purpose as well, for the desolate silence that dominated hell's landscape was also present here. It added to the surrealism of the entire scene which emanated a false sense of peacefulness and tranquility, to be ever deceived by the uncertainty of whatever could come out of the darkness. There were not any threatening elements yet the feeling of uncertainty was very tangible. Passive, for sure, but enough to slowly drive a mind beyond breaking point with worry, fear and paranoia. And that without taking into account whatever the demons had in store for any prisoner unlucky to fall in their grasp.
Inside the cage, Elaiel was sitting down, his head lowered to the ground, in an almost lifeless state. He appeared to be completely oblivious to his surroundings, as if he did not mind whatever danger he would find himself in or what new methods of torture he could be subjected to. Everything outside the cage swirled around in a vortex of nothingness, without need of his presence or existence. He was as motionless and still as his prison, as the supposedly peaceful atmosphere beyond the bars.
"Elaiel?" He thought he heard someone calling him. It was a very familiar voice that had managed to rob his attention and make him look to discover where it was coming from. His inner energy was about to explode when he identified who had beckoned him.
Standing outside the cage, radiating light from her fair hair and white dress, was Ahziel herself. A natural glowing beauty, her visage could cheer up the most troubled of minds. Her blonde locks stretched a little further than her elbows, flowing downward from her head like a cascade, complementing her bright red cheeks and ocean blue eyes. Her facial characteristics were well defined and gracefully symmetrical, daring to aspire to some sort of physical perfection, just like the rest of her body. She appeared to be in shape, fact proven by the way her skin was placed on her shoulders and chest, visible from the exposed part of her garment. It fitted her more than well, creating an impressive sight, stunningly gorgeous and downright magnificent to any beholder.
Elaiel froze, gaping at the woman like a mentally challenged individual, paralyzed from the shock and surprise of her being there. He blinked a dozen times to confirm what he was seeing was actually true. He couldn't move at all but he had a whirlwind inside.
"Elaiel." She spoke again, the sound of her gentle voice caressing him like the sweetest of harp songs played in heaven. At that point, all Elaiel could do was simply jump on his feet and rush to her. Upon arriving at the edge of the bars, he realized they were standing in his way. He furiously started to pull, push, kick, going so far as launching himself into them, hoping to break them down, driven to do whatever it took to remove the obstacle standing between him and Ahziel. But along the line, she stopped his erratic fit by grabbing his hand with hers and pulling it out of the cage, placing it on her cheek. It was all it needed to lay him to calm. Her skin was soft and smooth, just as he remembered and the warmth of her hand was very comforting. "Ahziel…" Although he was ecstatically happy to see her, Elaiel barely contained his tears, emotions fully overwhelming him. "I thought I would never get to see you again." She continued tenderly caressing his hand in response, without saying as much as a word. With such a simple gesture, she provided the necessary consolation he had been desperately craving for ever since she had died, and casted all his troubles away. For the first in a long time, he didn't feel alone anymore, sensing to be safe and protected. A great weight had been lifted off of him and he released a prolonged sigh of relief.
"I've missed you so much!" He confessed with a jittery tone. "I am so sorry…"
Suddenly, the kindness and goodwill that had emanated from her face faded away. It had been quickly replaced by a cold and blank expression which emitted all kinds of dark vibes. Elaiel had noticed this rapid transition. It shook him beyond normal levels and created ripples of anxiety inside. "Ahziel?"
She replied by taking his hand and launching it back in the cage, to him, in a brutal manner. Elaiel was beyond confused. "It's your fault." She firmly followed, her voice sounding very different from before. It was no longer gentle and soothing, but rather upset and frigid. Even her eyes were devoid of warmth, casting menacing glances at him.
"Ahziel…"
"This is all your fault!" She practically roared, sending chilling shivers on every molecule of his being.
"No." Elaiel caught on to her meaning, placing a step backward.
"Yes!" Ahziel enforced her accusation. "All your fault!"
"No. Please Ahziel, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry." He retorted, taking another step back, guilt spilling out of every syllable.
"You're sorry?" She asked, seemingly annoyed from his apology. "You think sorry is going to undo this?"
She pointed to her stomach which was suddenly split open, divine angelic light pouring out of it like water from broken glass. Elaiel widened his eyes at the horrific sight. It was monstrous and unbearable and stirred a storm of regret inside. "No… That's not… I didn't do that…"
"So you didn't do this either?"Ahziel resumed, showing the wound that almost decapitated her. Her neck was connected to her torso only by a small portion of flesh, the rest of it being severed, as if someone or something had forcefully tried to pluck it. The white light bleeding from there covered most of a macabre image, yet it did not help Elaiel even the slightest. He felt his knees weak and a nauseous feeling creeping within. "Please… not that…" He begged, unable to look at her any longer. His view was forced away.
"Look at me, you son of a bitch!" She yelled, grabbing the bars with forceful determination. When he complied, the shock of what he saw threw him on his back. A large chunk of Ahziel's head was missing, along with her left arm. "You think you can just ignore what you've done?"
"Ahziel…" He let out with watery eyes, shaking intensely.
"Take a good look at your handy work, Elaiel. You're the one who killed me after all."
"No… it was Lamia…"
"Bullshit! You did this to me and you know it. Don't try to run or hide away like the pathetic coward you are. You've always been a coward."
"Please, Ahziel… Please…" Elaiel insisted, trembling and fidgeting like a frightened child. He backed away until he hit the other side of the cage.
"It's all your fault Elaiel. All your fault! All your fault! All your fault!"
As Ahziel kept at it on and on, she drove Elaiel on the brink of collapse. He wanted her to stop or at least find a way to stop hearing what she was repeating. He covered his ears with his palms and lowered his head to not see her. "It's not true. It's not true. It's not my fault." He whispered to himself while rocking back and forth. Ahziel's voice began to fade away in the background. When it ceased completely, Elaiel realized silence had returned. He looked up to check if his former lover's monstrous apparition had left. And it did. He was once again alone. Only for a couple of seconds though, for the next words spoken startled him out of his position.
"Is it just me or does this cage seem notoriously lax?" The stranger addressed him, from outside the cage. "Whoa, take it easy there, feathers." As he noticed the angel's reaction to him. "What's the matter? Lamia got you on a short leash or something?"
Regaining his composure, Elaiel settled into a corner, without so much as even glancing to his new interlocutor. Whatever he had witnessed before, seeing Ahziel, left a deep imprint on him. Was it real? It felt very much so. Was it imaginary? Was it another vision, imposed by Lamia's mental torture? Or was he starting to finally lose his mind?
The stranger went on. "You look specifically trampled on. Which is kind of true, considering how you ended up here. But, as I see it, you're still breathing so I guess things turned out alright for you. For now, at least…"
The angel was too immersed in his thoughts about his vision of Ahziel to even mind the stranger, much less form a response.
"If I were you, I really wouldn't push my luck further. I mean, the way you crashed and burned by your own hand, as hard as you did… Phew, talk about sticking yourself with the pointy end."
"Of course you'd be enjoying this." Elaiel broke his silence.
"Oh, be still my heart. He speaks."
The angel growled in response.
The stranger went on. "You know, I gotta hand it to you. Quite the revenge you managed to get. I mean it must have felt very good to have Lamia punch you in the face again and again and gloriously kick your ass in a stylish manner. And now, you bask in the glory of success, sitting in his cage, like a locked animal. I applaud your craftiness, great sir. You truly are the spirit of vengeance."
"Shut the hell up!" Elaiel spat, irritated by the stranger's emphatic sarcasm. Although he wouldn't have admitted it, his words were eating at him. Ripples of fury, fueled by his failure in his battle with Lamia, were barely contained.
"I have to ask. In your moments of thorough planning for this master strategic victory, did you take into account the variable of you being a complete idiot?" The stranger kept at it, unfazed by Elaiel's aggressive reply.
The angel rose on his feet and violently grabbed the bars in front of the other. "You're one to talk. Standing there as a mere illusion, thinking yourself better when you're nothing but a coward! Why don't you show your true form and face me?"
"Oh yes," the stranger retorted, "I should be more like you. The brave one who rushes into fights, no matter the consequences, throwing caution to the wind like nothing. I warned you about facing Lamia."
"Since when do I heed the word of scum like you?"
"That's just it. I warned you…But you wouldn't have it. And I wondered why. Why would someone, who wants revenge more than anything, would rather throw himself into an unwinnable battle than wait and do it properly? You knew you wouldn't stand a chance against Lamia, you've had to have known. And yet, foolish bravado aside, you still wanted to face him, head on, without any kind of planning or ace up your sleeve. And then it hit me. What if you wanted to go into an unwinnable battle where you would certainly die?"
"Leave!" Elaiel demanded while turning his back.
"At first, I thought it was a bit farfetched but then again, all your actions lately have been in the same tone. Coming to hell alone, risking your life to mind meld with a mentally troubled human, attacking the demons without any cover whatsoever? Oh yeah. It's not farfetched at all. So tell me Elaiel… You didn't come here for vengeance, did you? The real reason you came to hell is to die."
Elaiel looked away, being reminded of something from the past.
In a luscious green valley trapped between towering peaks, Elaiel, in his casual robe attire, was walking near a forest tree line, marveling at the sheer beauty of the landscape in front of him. The sound of the water flowing down from a spring nearby induced a peaceful serenity and an overall relaxing atmosphere that aided the angel into achieving a near-perfect detachment from all his worries. In such places, the energies of his grace blossomed like a flower during spring time, his aura being fueled by the purity of the spiritual essence that engulfed the entire area. A place of utter tranquility, comfort and complete wholesomeness, marking the perfect manifestation of all that is the divine realm of heaven.
Elaiel took a long, deep breath to take in everything that the location could provide. The inhaled air was successful in making him forget about his duties and enjoy the nice respite he benefited, being on leave. His latest assignments had been particularly stressful and he more than welcomed the first opportunity of taking some time off. And being here filled him with a sense of satisfaction he rarely had come across. "Hey stranger!" Suddenly, he heard, from behind. Instantly recognizing the voice, he turned around, adopting the most gleeful expression ever.
It was Ahziel, radiating, as always, an irresistible charm through her smile. She approached him and administered a playful punch to his right arm. "Wait a second," she suddenly stopped as if realizing something, "what were you doing out here, by yourself?"
"Nothing." He responded with a suspicious tone, as if he had been asked more than an obvious question. "Waiting for you. Enjoying the peacefulness of this place."
"Mhm… is that how you call 'touching yourself' now?"
Elaiel grimaced in reaction while she barely contained her amusement by giggling through her teeth. "Do the guys from 22ndnot allow you with skin flicks or something?"
"Yep, that's hilarious. Tell me something, Ahziel. When the great powers that be made you, did they opted void for brains?"
"No denial AND a deflection." She retorted. "So you WERE whacking the mole."
"Oh bite me, Ahziel!"
"Anyways," the female angel adopted a more serious tone, "how did it go? Did you get those refugees out?"
"Barely," he responded, sitting on a stone close by. "I'm telling you Ahziel, I will never ever go on escort missions again. I got bored out of my mind. Tedious as hell."
"Let me guess. You would have preferred an incursion job instead."
"At least I get to actually do something." He admitted, sighing. "Babysitting for a bunch of lower life forms is grueling."
Ahziel turned her head away from him, hiding a stare that appeared quite upset.
"Did you get reassigned yet?" Elaiel asked.
"Nope." She returned to her cheerful demeanor. "Waiting on Daroiel to get those papers done. Lazy bastard needs eons to submit a couple of documents."
"He can be as lazy as he wants as long as he keeps his eyes to himself." The male angel said in a displeased manner.
"Oh my goodness, you HAVE GOT to be kidding me. Are you still clinging on to that?"
"Like I haven't noticed how he was staring at you at that reception. His eyes were all over you. The minute I 'interrupted' him, he almost spilled his drink all over his robe."
"Huh…" She let out as if surprised. "Was he that focused?"
"YES." Elaiel shot, as if being heard on the topic for the first time.
Ahziel seemed to ponder on something. "Think I got a chance with him?"
His expression became blank. "Oh you have jokes. I'm dying of laughter, honestly."
After a short chortle, she knelt in front of the stone he was sitting on and grabbed his hands. "Tell you what. Why don't we forget about everything and everyone, and just have some fun? What do you say?"
"Can't say no to that." He replied while looking into her eyes with delight and eagerness. Like always, her presence made him very happy and nothing in existence was capable of distracting him from her. She had his full attention, Elaiel committing himself to every little gesture or action Ahziel performed. She was the center of his universe. He was enthralled by her, hypnotized beyond any kind of control or restraint. Restraint was not a word that existed in his vocabulary while around her, being fully at ease and always comfortable next to her. With Ahziel, he felt complete bliss, incomparable to anything else.
Their silent, tender moment was interrupted by a telepathic announcement. They both caught unto it because it was on a general wavelength so that all angels could access it.
"Huh," Ahziel let out, surprised. "Looks like there's an opening in the SOD Tactical Group." However, as soon as she finished her sentence, she displayed astonishment, as if stumbling upon a great revelation. "Elaiel… The elites… This is your chance."
The Special Operations Division Tactical Group, more commonly known as the elites, is a highly capable military unit of heavily trained soldiers, formed to take part in the most critical and challenging missions that are beyond the means of the standard celestial forces. Its members go through constant and ridiculously impossible sessions of training, almost without cease, ever perfecting their skills and abilities, in order to successfully handle the difficult operations they are called upon. They are the best of all regular angel soldiers and the most revered and respected group among all the Celestial Host's ranks.
For the longest of time, it had been Elaiel's dream to become an elite. The glory, honor and prestige that came with it was something he aspired to in every single moment. Not only would he be taking part in the most dangerous and exciting missions, he would also have the honor to serve with the best heaven had to offer and fulfill tasks that would earn him a respectable place among all the angels in creation. It was his way to become a legend, a hero of the Host. And, toward that end, he fully dedicated himself to accomplish it. He put in extra hours of training, he took considerable risks during his missions to stand out and get noticed, much to his superiors' chagrin. He even went so far as to line himself up to numerous competitions to prove his mettle.
However, the admission process was extremely difficult. Aside from the fact that there is the lottery phase to get past, where the heads of the SOD handpick applicants according to their background, abilities and other, less known criteria, there are also the demanding trials one must complete to demonstrate capability and competence and be allowed actual entrance into the Tactical Group. A rite of passage in its own, only one final applicant can enter these trials. If they succeed, they officially become an elite. If not, the deciding board has the right to offer the candidate a second chance, or multiple, until they complete all required trials. If not, then they are rejected and the opportunity is passed down to the initial runner-up.
Upon hearing about this opening, Elaiel's eyes lit up like a sun. He could feel his eagerness and enthusiasm grow inside beyond his levels of control. Finally, a good and solid chance that could bring him one step closer to his dream come true. His wish seemed like it was on the path of fulfillment. He was allowing ecstasy to overwhelm him. It showed on every pore on his face. It compelled Ahziel to release a laugh of pure gladness for him…
That's it for now. Let me know what you think. Part 2 will come soon.
