Nephilim Rising: The Complete Series, page 48
part #0 of Nephilim Rising Series
“Yes, the Leviathan got me once, when I first got here. Didn’t know what it was, too dumb to hide from it. It was a lesson learned.” Firelight glinted of his eyes as he considered me for a moment. “You’re struggling to forget, to process?”
I shrugged, looking over my body at the still healing wounds. “It just happened. I’ll get over it, I guess.”
“One never gets over an experience like that. You simply learn to live with it.”
The sound of moaning made me look toward the cave entrance. Edward turned to look as well. A damned soul was hovering there, bathed in dark red light. “Another victim of the Leviathan.” It was a skinny man whose naked body was just one big open wound. I dreaded to think what was done to him. He stared into the cave with pain-filled eyes, and then shuffled off, heading nowhere in particular it seemed.
“He’ll likely get picked up again,” Edward said. “Most of the people you see wandering around here, that’s all they do. They get picked up for torture and then dumped again, over and over.”
The thought of that, going back and forth to that ship, scared the shit out of me. It was unimaginable. “Why don’t they avoid capture?”
“Because most of them are so hollowed out by now they either don’t care, or their minds just grind to a halt after so much torture.”
“Jesus.” I shook my head.
“Jesus would be crucified for all eternity if he was here. The upper classes would love to get their hands on Him.”
“You keep mentioning the upper classes. Who are they?”
Edward gave a snort of derision. “Pompous pricks most of them. The Presidents, the Grand Dukes, the Secretaries. The King himself.”
I snapped to attention at the mention of the King. “What’s the King like?”
“As you would expect. A tyrant, a power hungry beast who rules by fear, like most kings.”
I nodded. And I was supposed to kill this power hungry beast? “You ever met him?”
“The King? Of course not. No one meets the King. He resides in his palace in Pandemonium. Occasionally he ventures out on parade as a show of strength with all his guards marching behind him.”
“So he’s heavily guarded then?” I was trying to sound casual, but my interest in the King didn’t escape Edward’s attention.
“You seem unusually interested,” he said. “Why?”
I shrugged and threw a small stone into the fire. “No reason. Just trying to get to know this place, that’s all.”
Edward’s eyes narrowed. “No, I don’t think so. There’s more to you than you are letting on. Why do you have the body of a demon, for a start?”
“It’s a long story. Back on Earth, I drank demon blood and this happened.”
“Why on Earth would you consume the blood of some vile demon?”
Obviously, Edward had no love for demons. “So I could defeat another demon who was trying to bring Hell on Earth.”
“Abigor, by any chance?”
My own eyes narrowed. “How’d you know that?”
“Word quickly spread here after Abigor’s destruction. Everyone wanted to know about the little Nephilim girl who did it, the one who became a demon.” He laughed. “It might interest you to know that you have somewhat of a following down here. Abigor was hated. Many demons here were glad to see him go.” He laughed again and shook his head. “I can’t believe I actually ran into you, of all people…”
“You want an autograph?” I said, self-conscious now. I struggled with the fact that some in that place respected me for what I did to Abigor. Maybe I could start an army, lead a revolution. Mullin would love that.
“Is that sarcasm?”
I laughed. “Yeah, it is. Forget it.”
Edward pulled some sticks out of his backpack and tossed them on the fire. “You’ve no idea how hard it is to find good tinder down here, especially in this desert. Not many trees. Sometimes I burn the damned. Hard to get lit, but once they take, you get a hell of a fire. The fumes aren’t nice though.”
“No, I guess they aren’t.” I was beginning to wonder if Edward hadn’t gone a little mad in this place. Who could blame him if he had? Hell could do that to you. “What’s your story then? How’d you end up here?”
Edward pulled out a hip flask and drank from it before handing it to me. “The closest thing to alcohol here. Don’t ask what’s in it.”
“I won’t,” I said, drinking from the flask and choking on the vile liquid as it burned my throat on the way down. “Goddamn, that’s rough. Take it back.” I tossed him the flask and he smiled before taking another sip.
“You get used to it. Like a lot of things here.”
“Hard to believe you could ever get used to this place.”
“When you’ve been here as long as I have, you get used to it eventually. It’s still a living nightmare every single day of course.”
“So how’d you end up here?”
He sipped from his flask again. “I was cast down here by angels, insufferable fools that they are.”
I couldn’t help but snort. “You sound like someone I know.”
“Yes, well, angels aren’t all they're made out to be. Have you met any yet?”
I shook my head. “Just demons.”
“Count yourself lucky. Angels will screw you quicker than any demon will.”
“What happened? You were a Watcher, I take it?”
He nodded. “Yes, and a damn good one at that. Back in the 1800’s in England. I even caught Jack the Ripper, who was just a demon who liked to showboat.”
“So how’d you manage to piss of the angels?”
“They wanted me to kill a certain demon, who I happened to be… intimate with at the time.” He expected some kind of look back from me and got none. Who was I to judge after all?
“And obviously you didn’t.”
“No. So the angels killed her and then cast me down here for insubordination.” He shook his head angrily. “If I could get my hands on the bastard angel who killed Sephera…”
“The angels have no influence anymore, you know. Watcher’s rule themselves now. No High Council or anything.”
“Really? I’m shocked. What happened?”
I shrugged. “Don’t really know. I guess they got tired of us, left us to our own devices. I’m new to it all anyway.”
“And why did you land here?” he asked, cocking his head at me. “Something about your situation doesn’t add up. Why is that?”
Should I tell him about my mission? Maybe he could help. He was a Watcher after all. On the other hand, how did I know Edward wasn’t working for the upper classes, or that he wouldn’t turn me in for favors or a chance to get out of here for good? Tipping the King off to a possible assassination attempt would likely curry good favor for Edward.
“You don’t have to tell me,” he said. “I’m just making conversation, something I rarely get to do here. You ever try to talk to the inhabitants of this place?”
“I met a little girl. Her name was Alice, or at least that’s what I named her. She was born here. I lost her when the Leviathan picked me up.”
“I see. You feel bad now?”
“Yes I fucking feel bad. She’s probably lying in pieces somewhere.”
“Don’t wallow too much in your regret. This is Hell. These things happen. Nothing good ever happens here.”
I sat gritting my teeth thinking about Alice. I thought I could save her. She deserved to be saved. “I fucking detest this place.”
Edward laughed. “Of course you do, it's Hell.”
“I know, but —”
“But what?”
“Nothing. Pass me that flask again.” When he tossed me the flask, I took a big swig, wincing at the foul taste. Then I just came out with it:
“I’m here to kill the King.”
Edward froze for a second in shock.
Then he burst out laughing.
22
“I’ll say one thing for you girl. You've certainly got a sense of humor," Edward said. "Kill the King indeed…"
“I’m serious.” I was still opposite him, the fire burning away between us thanks to the logs he added a while ago. His laughter was making me feel like an idiot, like a naive girl who was ignorant and out of her depth.
He only stopped laughing long enough to take in my face. “Dear God, you are serious!”
“That’s what I said.”
He shook his head as he tried to fathom what I told him. "How pray tell, do you expect to kill the King of Hell? You know how many have tried to take him out?" I shook my head. "A lot. How do you even expect to get near him?"
"I might have a contact on the inside, someone close to him." Might being the operative word. I still wasn't sure if I'd even get near my mother, or if she would go along with what I had planned. Who knew how much she'd changed since she'd been here? She was the King's chief assassin after all. Edward didn't need to know that, though. I was already regretting saying anything. There was nothing to say I could even trust him.
“And who would this contact be then?” The mirth had gone from his face, replaced now by steely attention.
“Not sure yet,” I lied. “I’ve still to find that out.”
Edward shook his head. “Well, my dear, if you have any sense you will drop this plan of yours, unless you want to spend the rest of eternity going through unspeakable torture and agony. For if anyone gets wind of your intentions, you’ll be done for, that’s for damn sure. The King doesn’t take kindly to assassins.”
I wasn't about to tell him the authorities were already looking for me. He'd send me on my way quick enough, and I'd be alone again.
Edward sat in silent contemplation of me for a moment. “If you’re telling the truth, I’d guess you’ve been tasked with this impossible mission. You haven’t been here long enough to make enemies, so who wants you to kill the King?”
I wish I'd never mentioned it. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I'd taken a silly risk in telling Edward my plans. I'd only just met the guy. Fair enough, he saved me, and he was also Nephilim, but still, it was Hell, and I doubted anyone could be trusted here. Except maybe Alice, but she was gone now. "No one."
“You’ve spilled your guts already. Too late to pretend you haven’t. It’s obvious you have to do this mission for someone. Maybe I can help.”
“Why would you help me?”
Edward puffed his cheeks out. “This is Hell, what else am I going to do? I spend all my time wandering around the Outer Reaches, barely surviving. I can’t even kill myself. Maybe I’d like something real to do for a change. I was a Watcher once after all.”
I considered him for a moment, what he just said. "You're right. This is a suicide mission I'm on. I'm going to need some help, but I'm not sure I can trust you."
He made a great show of being offended, huffing and blowing, shaking his head. “Did I not save you from being eaten? Did I not tend to all your wounds, nurse you back to health, share my food and drink with you?”
“You did, but—”
"But what? I'm offering you more of my help, and you are turning your nose up at me."
Jesus.
“Okay, okay. This place just has me feeling like I can trust no one.”
“You can’t trust anyone here, except me, that is. I can help. I can get you to Pandemonium and close to the King’s palace. You’d be on your own from there, of course.” He raised his eyebrows at me. “Up to you. Take my help if you want. If not, you can be on your merry way.”
I didn't much like the idea of making the rest of the journey to Pandemonium alone, especially when I didn't have a clue where I was going. Edward did, however, and he also knew the lay of the land, and the dangers therein. He would be useful, no doubt. "All right. You can take me to the city. I can handle the rest from there."
He smiled like I’d just given him a birthday present. “Okay then,” he said nodding. “It’s been decades since I last visited the city, but I can get you there no problem. Although I still think you should reconsider. I’d be leading you to something much worse than death.”
“I know the risks. I don’t have a choice.”
“There is always a choice. It’s just that most of the options are bad. Take this place, for instance. Do you think most of the damned souls are here against their will?”
"Well, I doubt they came here by choice." I remembered the blackened souls on the bridge, clawing their way toward the entrance to Hell. "Not all of them anyway."
"Everyone here had a choice in life. It's just they chose to be completely self-centered and unloving toward anyone but themselves. Hell is a collection of souls who see only themselves. Even the demons, and the once mighty archangels, they chose themselves over God, which is why they ended up here."
“And you, who did you choose?”
Edward poked at the fire with his stick as he looked forlornly into the flames. “I chose myself, of course. I chose my own base needs over those of my wife and children.”
“I see. So the demon you were with, it was just sex? No feelings there?”
“It was complicated,” he said sighing. “Not all demons are bad. This one didn’t deserve to die at the hands of some arrogant angel.”
"So you chose to stand up for what was right. It's not your fault. Angels are assholes."
Edward raised his eyebrows and smiled. “I used to have your youthful defiance, once upon a time.” His smile disappeared. “And look where it got me, a one-way trip to the shithole of the universe.”
“You ever try to make it out?”
“There is no way out. Once you’re here, that’s it. Only the select few can come and go, the demon lords mostly.”
I stayed silent for a minute. “What if I told you there was a way out.”
Edward stopped poking at the fire. “I’d say you were lying.”
“You think I plan on staying here? I have an exit strategy.”
"An exit strategy." He said it like it was some new thing.
“There’s a secret portal that leads to Earth.”
“And where is this portal supposed to be located?”
“In the King’s palace.”
He laughed. “Well, there you go then. Like I said, no way out.”
“You’re a real pessimist, you know that?”
He gave me a sharp look. “Pessimist? Of course I’m a bloody pessimist! I’ve been trapped in Hell for what feels like millennia. There is no room for optimism in Hell.”
“Maybe not, but I’m still getting out of here.”
“And how to you plan on doing that? By killing the King? How are you going to kill him?”
"I'm not going to kill him here. He's too powerful. The plan is to lead him out of here to Earth and kill him there."
“Through this portal that you mentioned.”
“Yes.”
He shook his head. “You know how mad you sound?”
"I don't care. That's the plan, and I'm sticking to it. It's either that or fester in this place for eternity." I realized that I was going on blind faith as far as the mission was concerned. I had hardly allowed myself to think about the details of it since I'd landed in Hell, partly because I didn't want to depress myself over the impossibility of the plan succeeding. When you only have one option, you cling to it for all its worth. What choice do you have?
"Okay," Edward said, standing. "Time for sleep, or what passes for sleep down here. We'll get cracking in a while, and I'll lead you to Pandemonium."
“Then what?” I asked.
He considered me for a moment. “Then I don’t know.” He lay back on the cave floor. I did the same, but I didn’t close my eyes. Instead, I lay there staring up at the roof of the cave, thinking about my mom and wondering if I would even get the chance to talk to her, and if I did, if she would be the same woman she was before she was dragged to this place. What would she do when she realized it was me, her daughter, come to save her? Would she hug me or try to kill me?
Whatever happened, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy for either of us.
23
I was awake before Edward, thanks to the awful nightmares that plagued my fitful sleep. In the nightmares, I was back on the Leviathan, locked in that room with those black tentacles inflicting more damage on me. At one point, my mom made an appearance, her head stuck on the end of one of the tentacles as she spoke to me, her eyes black as any demon’s. “Go back,” she kept saying. “You have no business here.” Through my screams I kept trying to tell her that I was here to save her, to take her home, but she insisted, continually repeating for me to go home, until finally her head shot forward and she opened her mouth to reveal long, sharp teeth that she then used to bite chunks out of me, all the while screeching at me to go home, go home…
By the time I woke up that was all I wanted to do—go home. My emotions got the better of me, and I cried as silently as I could for a while, hoping Edward wasn't awake to hear me.
“Bad dreams last night,” he said after going to the mouth of the cave and urinating. “Your screams woke me.”
“Sorry,” I said. “The Leviathan…”
"No need to explain," he said, gathering up his things from the cave floor, putting his backpack on. "I've been there, remember? Get used to the nightmares. They won't go away for a while."
"I don't expect them to." I walked outside the cave to see what kind of day it was. If you could call it a day, with the permanent twilight Hell was bathed in. Off in the distance, wandering the desert, I saw a few damned souls torturing themselves as they walked aimlessly like zombies across the hard ground. "How do you end up like those sad souls?"
Edward stood beside me by the mouth of the cave, his long hair and beard seeming grayer in the different light outside. "Those chaps are condemned to walk around like that for eternity, unless of course, someone else saves them, which of course never happens because no one gives a shit about anyone else but themselves here."
“What about you? You only care for yourself?”
“I’d be foolish not to, wouldn’t I? It’s all about survival here.”
