Immortal Alliance (IMMORTAL ALLIANCE SERIES Book 1) Page 11

  Seere scoffed, “Oh please, we’re getting along aren’t we? Maybe the problem is we don’t spend a lot of time together in the first place. Demons and angels aren’t that different from each other. You know, aside from you being created from dead babies and all, and we’re actually born.”

  Iaoel chuckled. “‘Dead babies’? I’ve never heard it put that way.”

  Seere shrugged her shoulders. “All I’m saying is, it could be fun.”

  “It could be. But not all angels are as open to the idea as I am. Take Gabriel and Kaleus for example. The two are a clashing force that can’t be stopped. They hate each other. I’d be surprised if they aren’t tearing each other to shreds as we speak. This place wouldn’t be left standing if they were here.”

  Seere laughed at that.

  “I don’t know about that. I know Kale better than anybody, and I think he enjoys playing with Gabriel. Besides, I’ve never seen him hate anyone more than Lucifer, for obvious reasons…or Lillith—she gets under his skin like a damn leech.” She sighed and put her hands on her hips. “Are you going to tell me why we’re here? You didn’t answer me before.” Seere asked again.

  They reached the top of the steps, looking straight ahead at the large stone archway into a dark entrance. A cold draft drifted from the darkness, smelling of moss and rotting wood.

  “Gabriel tasked us with asking around. We will have an easier time speaking with Watchers and Caktis inside the realm they primarily operate in,” Iaoel responded.

  They moved closer towards the darkness.

  “Right…and what realm is that again?” Seere asked, looking up at the large archway as they passed under it. Was the Ethereal realm not good enough?

  “Purgatory,” Iaoel said bluntly like it was obvious.

  Seere gaped. “Ghost land? What? Wait, am I even allowed in there? Demons who get stuck in there and never come out. If I go in there with you am I gonna get stuck?”

  Seere gradually began to panic as they got further into darkness.

  “What the fuck, Iaoel, are you trying to get rid of me?”

  Eventually they could no longer see the light of the outside world, surrounded by darkness.

  Iaoel grabbed Seere’s arm to stop her from walking further. Their skin prickled at the touch.

  “Relax, Seere. I’ll make sure the Caktis let you out when we’ve finished our business inside.”

  They stood in silence for a couple minutes. Listening to the subtle sound of wind coming from further in the darkness.

  “What are we waiting for?” Seere whispered impatiently.

  Iaoel sighed. “Purgatory isn’t like the Ethereal realm. We can’t just shift into it, not like the archangels, it’s more heavily warded because of all the wandering souls that reside inside. We have to wait until a Cakti comes to usher us in,” Iaoel explained.

  Seere nodded.

  “Ah, I see. Well can they hurry up? I’m bored.”

  Not long after Seere spoke a soft flickering glow started to move closer to them, eventually revealing a pale bald figure wearing a brown dhonka and shemdap.

  Their eyes were pale blue, the color leeched from them, adapting to the low light of their environment. The low-glow emitted from their outputted grace surrounding them acted as a torch, giving a small light to the otherwise pitch darkness.

  “Iaoel, you wish to pass into Purgatory?” the Cakti spoke in a low whisper, almost as though it didn’t speak often and had lost its voice.

  “I do, this demon is coming with me, we will both be returning together as well,” Iaoel explained.

  Those ice-cold eyes landed on Seere. “Demon’s aren’t allowed to come into Purgatory or face entrapment,” it stated.

  “I’d like to see you try and entrap me, pale-face,” Seere dared, her loud voice echoing in the darkness.

  Iaoel shot Seere a warning glance to keep her from speaking further.

  “I have permission from Gabriel, if you must check with him I’d understand,” Iaoel stated.

  The Cakti nodded in response.

  “I’ll trust your word, follow me.” It turned and began walking further into the darkness.

  They were silent for a few moments, walking deeper towards a cold draft.

  “So, how does this work exactly? Will there be a door? Or is it like a slide?” Seere joked, chuckling to herself.

  The Cakti ignored her playful tone and simply answered the question.

  “The passage isn’t entirely hidden behind a door. As I’m sure you know it runs parallel with the mortal realm like the Ethereal realm does. This is why you feel the chilled air currents from Purgatory.”

  “Right, but that doesn’t exactly answer my question, baldy.”

  The Cakti turned and gave Seere a sneer riddled with disgust then asked Iaoel, “How do you manage to travel with this filth, it never shuts its mouth.”

  Seere’s answering glare was ignored by the Cakti.

  Iaoel sighed, breaking the eerie silence they were filled in. “It isn’t without difficulty, I assure you.”

  The Cakti continued forward. “To answer your rudely delivered question, demon, the passageway will feel a lot like passing through a bubble. You’ll barely feel it, but once you’re inside, the air will be colder and damp. You’ll also be able to see, and travel to different parts of the world much faster and return to this passage with ease.”

  Caktis were the border angels of the realms. Those who watched and guided the Purgatory realm were the most strict, due to the high concentration of various souls going in and out. Demons had been known to use Purgatory to invade a poltergeist’s soul, or if they were summoned in by a human opening a portal.

  The mortals never knew that their childish games with unfiltered magic could open small portals into Purgatory.

  Purgatory was where the lesser demons could cross into the mortal realm without excessive use of power. So, some warding and guarding was put in place to keep them trapped inside if they tried.

  Most of the time when demons were given permissions to leave hell, they were restricted to using the Ethereal realm, and only those with more formidable abilities and strength could safely linger on the border between the Ethereal and the mortal realm and therefore interact and play with mortals.

  Those with the capabilities of doing so were usually the Fallen and their earliest demon spawns, but as their generations lengthened, their power diluted.

  Whenever demons were in Purgatory looking to gain easy and full access to the mortal realm, the Caktis were there to report their presence and occasionally cast them back to hell. If they were unable to stop them, their reports would reach the archangel Uriel, who would dispose of them properly in the mortal realm.

  But even those angels under Uriel’s division hesitated to call for her help.

  Within a minute or so of the Cakti’s explanation the air shifted, as if walking through a thin film into another climate. Coupled with the strong feeling of fog, the darkness began dissipating into a dim gray light.

  The Cakti stopped just inside the realm, extended its hand out further into the fog.

  “This is where I leave you. When you wish to return, simply summon one of us and we’ll lead you out,” it said.

  Seere surveyed around, the complete darkness wasn’t anywhere, as if it had never existed.

  “Right, and how exactly do we summon you?” she asked.

  The Cakti sneered slightly at her, then turned to Iaoel. “You may trust the hell spawn, but I won’t exercise that same level of confidence. Iaoel, you know how to. I’ll trust you to leave the demon here if it misbehaves.” And with that the Cakti vanished.

  Seere snorted, the sound slightly echoing in the mist. “So little faith for such a faithful group.”

  Iaoel ignored her and lifted their hand to the mist, looking deeper into it, but not really looking with her eyes.

  “So, how are we supposed to know where to go, who to look for? If the entirety of Purgatory is like this, it must be impo
ssible.” Seere walked a small circle around Iaoel, feeling the air on her fingers.

  “To a demon, yes. There are very ancient and powerful wards in here that keep demons from navigating their way through, at least most of them. First-generation demons and the Fallen can navigate if they have the right gifts,” Iaoel responded, closing their eyes.

  A shadow passed them, Seere reacted by withdrawing one of her blades. Ready to attack.

  “Relax, it’s just a mortal soul wandering the mist. It hardly knows its own name let alone that you’re here.”

  Seere sheathed her weapon.

  “I don’t like it here,” Seere stated with a chill.

  Iaoel’s eyebrows raised slightly. “I’d be surprised if you did.”

  Seere snickered. “What are you doing anyway? Shouldn’t we be moving?”

  “I’m locating Demetri. He’s a Watcher, a personal friend,” they replied simply.

  “Locating? Are you like a GPS angel?” she asked.

  Iaoel opened their eyes and had to turn a full one-eighty to meet Seere’s eyes. “I’m an Angel of Sight.”

  Seere’s brows furrowed together slightly. “I thought those only saw the future?”

  Iaoel shook their head.

  “It’s more than that. And it takes a lot of concentration, and your endless chit-chat doesn’t help,” they stated pointedly.

  Seere lifted her hands up. “Sorry.”

  Iaoel sighed, “It’s fine, I found him already, only a few hundred miles from here.”

  Seere chuckled, shifting her boots. “Only a few, huh?”

  “Don’t worry, we can travel much faster than the souls can. We may not be able to hop, skip and jump like we can in the Ethereal realm. We’ll just have to canter instead.”

  Seere looked around once more, still seeing only dense fog, and the occasional meandering shadow.

  “Do you see this place the way I do?” she asked politely.

  Iaoel gazed around as well. “Not likely. What do you see in here?” they asked.

  Seere tapped the hilt of the blade sheathed to her hip. “Just fog, dense gray fog.”

  Iaoel dipped their chin in acknowledgement.

  “There’s fog, definitely, but it’s mild, I see Earth, or a muted version of it. Living souls have an orb of color around them, those who are trapped here are void of color, dull and shadowed.”

  Seere looked around more, but any souls she saw were mere blurs of shadow.

  Iaoel tilted their head. “It must be frustrating that you can’t see all of it,” they teased, earning a glare from Seere. “You must be much lower on the power scale in hell if you see so little.”

  Seere snapped, “I may be a low-class demon, but I’ll have you know I can fight much better than most of the Fallen.”

  Iaoel didn’t react to her snappy manner, only moving closer to her.

  “Will you be able to canter then? I know a great deal of third-generation demons are unable, let alone a fifth or higher. Will I need to carry you?” they asked.

  Seere started to object, but then looked down. Suddenly being aware that she didn’t in fact have the ability to canter.

  When her and Kale needed to get somewhere quicker than a motorcycle they would winnow. Cantering was running, in a supernatural manner—faster than flying, but slower than winnowing, and an uncommon use of travel for anyone.

  Iaoel was right, they hadn’t ever known a demon further down the scale than a third-generation to successfully canter.

  Seere was lucky she could winnow, but even that required all of her focus, and if she had to carry another, it would often leave her winded and with a headache that lasted for days.

  Seere shifted her boots in place, feeling inferior all over again.

  “Is carrying necessary?” she asked.

  Iaoel didn’t say anything, they only watched the wrath demon.

  “I could…” she took a hesitant breath, “I could take your hand and hover maybe while you canter?”

  Hovering? She was just making things up now.

  It was already likely that Iaoel would need to winnow them back, Seere’s limited power was already waning from the initial trip here.

  Iaoel narrowed their eyes, seeing a demon so insecure was so strange. They were always a picture of arrogance. Though they could suppose that the brutality of their training and upbringing forced them to use those attributes as shields.

  Seere was a lower-class demon, serving as second to the son of Lucifer, she likely had to endure more than the average demon.

  “I’m afraid you’ll find hovering to be difficult in this realm.”

  They watched Seere fidget a bit, she looked around awkwardly. Iaoel too looked around, observing the mirror village just outside the foliage covering the ruins of Reaper’s Creek.

  A trapped soul lingered, watching a pregnant mortal with a purple aura carrying a basket of freshly harvested food into her small home.

  The faded, trapped soul looked sad, feeling so close to his loved one yet so far away.

  Purgatory was packed tight with saddened souls who chose not to go to the Gates. It was a sorrowful place. Watchers and Caktis had to have patient demeanors to spend all their time here.

  Iaoel looked back at Seere, who was watching them closely, then looked in the direction of the souls, but saw nothing. Maybe she was hoping to see what they were seeing.

  A vision sparked to life behind Iaoel’s eyes, sending images into their head of the young wrath demon when she was a youngling in a fighting ring against a much older demon, blackened blood dripping down her nose over her bruised mouth and chin. She was on the ground, her clothes mere rags, and every inch of her visible skin was covered in bruises and cuts from multiple bouts of blows. The older and stronger demon standing on the other side of the ring was clean, aside from the bloodied fists, smiling at her like she was a piece of meat.

  Seere peeled back her lips and snarled through her stained teeth and stood on shaking legs. She didn’t hesitate to lunge for him.

  That image blurred and shifted to another.

  Of Seere gently tending to another young demon’s wounds from a lashing. His back reduced to a slab of shredded meat. Smoke curled underneath his hands as he pressed them into the wall bracing the pain while she cleaned the cuts.

  It was Kaleus, only just a boy, looking no older than sixteen. Seere was speaking to him, saying something to keep him distracted as she cleaned the wounds. But Iaoel couldn’t make out the words.

  Another flash and they were seeing her standing next to Kaleus, both looking not much younger than they were now. Kaleus wiping sweat from his forehead, smearing some of the ash on his hands in the process. He noticed and looked down, his expression turning from lethal chill to a mournful grief.

  Seere reached for his hand, pulling his eyes to her. Seere sent him a sympathetic and understanding look. They both looked in front of them to a charred body.

  The corpse’s gut was burst open from the inside out, chunks of scorched organs spilled out but all other signs of flesh burned black to the bone.

  And in the distant shadows an all-too-familiar figure stared down at them, his glowing crimson eyes and lips formed into a smirk of approval.

  Iaoel blinked and all the images were gone, and they were once again in the foggy realm.

  They hadn’t realized that Seere was carefully watching them. There were a lot of stories in this demon that made them curious for more, so much more to her than what meets the eye.

  Iaoel cleared their throat. “We should be going; I promise to be quick.” Suggesting to Seere that carrying her was the only choice they had.

  Seere looked regretful but nodded.

  Iaoel was small, but Seere was slightly smaller. Iaoel reached down and scooped her up, one arm under her knees and the other around her waist. Seere couldn’t help but cover her face with her hands out of shame.

  “I swear, if you mention this to anyone I’ll fashion those all-seeing eyes of yours as keychains,
” Seere mumbled.

  Iaoel let out a small chuckle. “I’ll withhold this part of the journey in my reports.”

  Iaoel lifted their feet, and then they were whooshing into the fog, the shadows and images a mere blur.

  “You know, I actually find demons fascinating, you’re essential pieces of the Balance, as equally important to it as we are,” Iaoel muttered.

  Seere kept her head low to avoid awkward eye contact.

  “I don’t care what angels think of us,” she replied.