I nodded very calmly, and allowed him to guide me to the door. Vraxlon followed on my back, silent, although I felt a small portion of his power being released every second, as if being in the territory of another man was demanding a lot from him so as not to explode in fury "especially when Octavius was this man.When we opened the door, we were greeted by an immense staircase, from an open place and so wide that it reminded me of a stadium, but this one did not contain chairs, and what was in its center was what really looked like a tomb made of dark stone. Although I knew that funerals and burials were not held in hell, it was hard not to shudder at the idea of violating a tomb."I have the impression of really knowing this place "I spoke to no one in particular, narrowing my eyes to the stone structure that lay waiting.Octavius gave me a quick look, as we went down the steps that didn't seem to have an end."My kingdom has always been the one in which you remained the longest, my
I understood who the woman was. I understood which entity would be powerful enough to enter and leave at any time, from anywhere, without needing permission for this. Who would make me almost die to understand my powers and use them. In front of me was Lilith, the first woman created by God. And when the understanding finally came, she opened another wide and long smile. I felt a nauseating place of magic passing through us, I felt my necklace finally coming to life and burning in my chest, and when all I could see was the pain going up and down my body, I screamed."What place is this? What did you do to me?”Lilith watched me in the penumbra, from inside the fog of that unknown and gloomy place, whose only light reached only the place where I was, coming from a very far and high corner. There were no walls, no ceiling, not even a floor in my field of vision. She just watched and didn't answer for a long time. To the relief of my fearful and frightened mind, at least I could see that
Until the day she simply wrote a whole book that, in Latin, taught how to summon demons and other creatures. The nuns understood it as an act of revolt, and the mother superior, Sister Celeste, decided to punish her with whipping. It was hard to look at. Even worse was feeling every time the whip waved in the air and descended against Elena's skin "my skin. Elena suffered for days with those injuries, from the bath to bedtime, the pain accompanied her and the pain strengthened her. Until the day he decided to contradict an order from Sister Celeste, which simply consisted of asking God for forgiveness for her sins, and realized what was happening... He noticed when he looked into the nun's eyes and saw them take on the black color at once, erasing even the white part.That's when she realized that the nun was possessed, that the woman had been touched by evil at some point in her mediocre life. And when she was about to be attacked by that demon, she managed to hit the nun with a lamp
"I don't have time for parties," I said, making an ugly face.Vraxlon gestured with his shoulders."Your prince does not seem so worried about what your majesty really wants, only about the rare chance he has to expose to our world how intimate he is.”I frowned."Why are you talking like that?”Vraxlon pretended to be surprised."In what way, Your Majesty?”"With irony, smart guy. Why are you so ironic and funny now?”Vraxlon opened a little smile that left him with a very egocentric pose, even inside all that steel of his war armor."Parties and banquets always make me excited, Your Majesty. I apologize if my lack of seriousness bothers you in this way.”Even with the careful words, he sketched a predatory singing smile. Maybe he was acting that way for the quick exchange of glances we had on the sarcophagus, knowing that Octavius could make an effort to give me the world from then on, and he would never receive an ounce of the gratitude I felt for Vraxlon, for what he had done for
Faye stretched my necklace, and I didn't dare refuse, moving my eyes away from yours with the excuse of needing attention to close it around my neck."The choice is mine, as you said. And I choose to pay to see.”Even upset and seeming to contain the new sermon that was about to jump out of her tongue, Faye narrowed her eyes towards me, and remained silent. We had a lot to think about as we were led by a pair of those humanoid creatures of Octavius to his throne room. The castle was full of those creatures, even in the lobby, demonstrating a lot about how full the Hall should be.They all knelt when they saw me go down the stairs, with Faye on my lay, and only got up when I passed through the frame of large and high doors that revealed to me the center of the party. Knees bent and heads bent down to let me pass through a path that led to Octavius' altar, where he was standing next to the throne, smiling so much that all his teeth were visible.The subjects of that kingdom were already
"It had been a long time since I visited this despicable place," whispered Faye, hugging her body in the face of the strange sensation that seemed to overwhelm the territory of wrath. "It's so... empty.”In fact, observing the red earth that served to sustain the huge limestone castle that perched against a small "and only" space of land within the entire Aqueronte River, we had much that overwhelming feeling of there being nothing in all that place. The kind of place that would be the result of the devastation of a war, or a tragedy of world scales. What would be left of a ruined castle, built of white and faded stones, in an unexpected place for there to be something that referred to royalty.I prepared to find something without luxury, without beauty, as Vraxlon took Faye and me to a reserved place in the sand castle of Octavius. The prince of pride didn't want to say goodbye to me. In fact, since our first and only dance, he has made no effort to be present. And he did not protest
"It is still a very selfish thought," I said, raising my eyes to see the gargoyles destroyed in front of each pillar of the castle. In addition to being hateful dogs, they were all already with half their heads lying on the ground, their mouths wide open and broken. It was hard to find an entire wall in there. Even the stairs looked like missing steps. The chandeliers with few lit candles, also broken. The place seemed to be in pieces. Patched. "To think that all you should do with your life is to disturb humans.”"And would you prefer me to lie to your majesty?”"I prefer to believe that you are not involved in the rumors of demons that are escaping to possess demons on earth.”When he didn't answer, and the only sound was of small pebbles sliding through the ruined walls of his castle, I turned my eyes towards him. Tennebris sustained my gaze, and a small emotionless smile filled his mouth."And how could I be involved in these rumors if I live only with the company of human souls t
"Thank you," I said, looking for my sandals. I wasn't really in the mood to have my feet pierced by the stones and the broken shards of all the destruction of that castle. I sat on the bed to put on. "If Faye wakes up, let me know that I'm not in danger, I'm just collecting information.”"She's already awake," he warned, leaning against the wall next to the door. I heard a very characteristic sound of something babbling and holding on for a close look, and I thought if it wouldn't take too much to the walls they would also give in to that mass destruction. Vraxlon watched me get out of bed and explained: "We don't need to sleep. Apart from Jensen, the sin of laziness, who needs to sleep to survive, some just do it to recharge their magic. Faye only needs a few minutes... I... I don't need to sleep.”"Oh, is it? And how do you recover your lost magic from each day?”Vraxlon crossed his arms in front of his chest when he saw me taking a few steps to the door, the sword hanging next to h