“Oh my God, there's too many of them.”
“There's no God, just Hell and the misery it brings.”
“You don't believe in much, do you?”
“Look, kid, the only thing I believe is life and death, nothing more. If you spent the same amount of energy controlling your ride as much as you talked, you'd be a better soldier. Now shut up and fight.” That seemed to silence the younger of the men.
With everything he's seen, he didn’t understand why no one believed in a place like Heaven. It was always about Hell, which scared him. This was a different world from which he came. He understood this, but the ideals and values were the same. Human behavior was the same.
That night held a rare treat for the troops, as the women had cooked a large feast to brighten the dismal spirits of the men. But he wasn’t interested. His sole focus was to see his daughter. She was special although he wasn’t sure why, but he would fight to his last breath to make sure she was safe.
“My Lord, please join the others in the festivities. You haven't been sleeping well and your temperament has been unpleasant. Let the celebration cheer your soul.”
“There's no reason any of us should celebrate, not yet anyways. As for sleep, I won't rest until her safety is guaranteed.” He brushed past the wench and made his way to the tent. It wasn't until he was inside that his mood improved. He found his daughter curled in her mother's arms, sucking on her thumb. It was a sight which broke his heart.
How was it possible that something so innocent could stay untainted in these dark times?
His wife kissed him and smiled. “How did today go?”
“The usual, death by fire, what else? I don't get how Admiral Orio can be such an asshole about life and then mourn for the fallen. You'd think he has a heart.”
“Don't let his harshness get to you. He's the best we have, and he's good at what he does. So…we lost another one?”
“Yes, we did. Young kid too, sixteen years old from my guess,” he said as he knelt down to pick up his daughter. He kissed her forehead, “My precious Talyn, how I’ve missed you. You're the only thing that matters.”
“What about me? Do I matter?”
“Yes, come here!” He smiled with sexual intent as he closed in for a kiss.
“There will be no activities of that sort while the child's still awake young man!”
Startled, the young couple turned to face the person owning the sharp reprimand. “Mother, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be harassing one of the younger people?”
“No, Jeanette. My place is here, for now. I had a premonition there will be trouble in the next couple of hours,” the old witch said with stern proclamation.
“What kind of trouble?”
“The bad kind.” The witch glanced at her son-in-law. “The kind you've been feeling in your heart all week. I tolerate you because my daughter loves you; despite my wishes she married her own kind. But it's too late now, isn't it?” The hag glared at him in the dim candlelight, making him uneasy.
“Mom? What did you see?”
The elder of the two women turned her gaze to Jeanette. For the first time in her hundred years of life, she cried. “The two of you lying in a ditch, burnt to a crisp and Talyn being tortured by those hideous things this dimwit tries to fight. I've seen death for this entire world. I could go into finer detail if you wish?”
“No, you’ve said enough. If your visions are right, what shall we do? Leave and never return? Where would we go?” Jeanette sounded fearful as she glanced at her husband and daughter.
“I don't know, but we must leave.” The ground shook with a violent tremor. Screams were everywhere. The old witch stuck her head through the tent flaps and shouted, “It's already begun! We need to leave. Pack as much as you can carry and don't forget the child!”
Outside, mass chaos was everywhere. Shadow creatures were devouring the terrified villagers. Admiral Orio shouted orders for his soldiers to mount their dragons for a counterstrike, but no one could hear him over the noise.
Without warning, a blazing orb of smoke and fire came hurtling down, exploding on contact. More and more of the orbs followed; and just as quick as it started, it stopped. Everyone froze. An eerie silence filled the air while faint footsteps could be heard in the distance. One of the village women screamed, and everyone turned towards her direction to see enormous figures passing through the smoke and fire.
“The Moldera are here, run!”
At seven feet tall they had a massive build, but their appearance was less than impressive. Their rotting flesh smelled of brimstone and disease. If they didn't kill you, the stench would. The permanence of their decaying structures made one wonder if, or when, a body part would fall off.
A soldier tried to attack, but before he could raise his sword, one of these creatures grabbed him. With a fanged grin, it opened his mouth and tore the skin off the soldier's neck.
“Back on Earth, that's what we would call a zombie.” The young man cowered from where they stood outside their tent.
“These creatures are far worse than any zombie you can imagine. If they don't kill you, you might as well kill yourself. Yes, the Te'skor can heal any wound, but we can’t save those touched by the Moldera. Their minds turn to mush moments before the madness begins. Although the bodies will decompose, they won’t die. Their eyes turn green while pus discharges from the eye sockets. Welts and sores form on the skin, and when they pop, an odor like no other is emitted, and more pus oozes from the sores.”
The old witch took a deep breath before continuing, “They never eat or sleep. The madness is the only thing that fuels them, causing them to go on murderous rampages. The Moldera are not zombies as they have bat like wings. They're demons from the Brimstone Mountains–what you might consider to be Hell and they love preying on little children.”
“Mother, stop it this instant!”
“What? I'm trying to educate this boy on the difference between the two so he can survive. Now come, we must leave while they are distracted. We don’t know if they're here for the Te'skor or for your baby.”
♦ ♦ ♦
They fled into the forest. Talyn not knowing what was going on, thought it was playtime and laughed. But her father placed his hand over her mouth in fear she would give away their location. Throughout the night they ran. The old witch led the group since she refused to tell them where they were going.
“We'll rest here. Those demons are nocturnal creatures, so we should be safe for a while.” She glanced up at the sky to see the sunrise, “Besides, we should be to our destination by the time the sun sets tonight.”
“Where would that be?” The man asked with curiosity.
The old woman took a drink from her water pouch and stared at him. “I'm surprised you're not eager to go back home. I thought by now you would have become tired of our world.”
“You don't mean–”
“Yes. Beyond those hills lies one of the Crystal Flats; one of the few existing doorways to Earth. I thought you knew?” She stopped to look at her son-in-law and smiled, “That explains why you've stayed as long as you did? You had no idea…”
The man glowered at the elderly lady as he bent down to play with his child. The child was different, but the Te'skor wouldn't tell him why. Even his beloved wife and mother-in-law refused to say, but he didn't care. Watching as Talyn crawled on the ground, burrowing through piles of leaves and laughing that charming laugh of hers, he forgot why they were on the run. A few minutes later, they were back on their journey towards the Crystal Flats.
Neither Jeanette nor her mother said much. They both held an ominous tone, which frightened him, but he dared not ask what was wrong. About an hour before sunset, they reached their destination. The old woman explained they couldn't leave just yet as they had to activate the portal.
“An hour,” Jeanette told her husband when he asked how long it would take. She kissed his cheek and reassuring him that everything will be fine. Submitting to her kisses, he left them alone to do what they needed to do. Just as the sun set, an army of the Moldera approached the area.
“Dammit! Jeanette, I know you can fight even though you refuse to, out of respect to my beliefs. But, now's not the time to placate me. Help that idiot husband of yours keep those bastards away while the portal opens. I ask little from you, so do this one thing to make sure we have a safe getaway.”
With sadness in her eyes, Jeanette handed Talyn to her mother and turned around to help her beloved. Closing her eyes, she summoned Sargarah, the dragon bound to her since birth. Thunder boomed from the heavens as a large purple dragon appeared through the clouds. At rapid speed, Sargarah descended from the skies, landing inches in front of them. Jeanette climbed onto the dragon and joined her husband in battle. As they flew past Talyn, Sargarah gave the child a reassuring wink, making the baby scream with delight.
The old lady muttered under her breath for the portal to open as the battle moved closer to them. Hearing a scream, she glanced over to see her daughter and son-in-law, lying in a ditch, covered in blood from their fatal injuries. There was no time to save them as the portal had burst opened with gleaming light. As the witch stepped through, she glanced back. “I love you both. Please forgive me and my sins.”
With tears in her eyes, Jeanette took one last breath before dying.
♦ ♦ ♦
“WHERE IS SHE?” The shrill voice of Sara Lightrider, former Queen of the Te’skor pierced the room. Sara was in the dungeon of her castle interrogating a prisoner chained to a moss covered wall.
Laughter rose from the gentleman as she punched him in the face. When she stopped, he smiled. “Oh sweet Sara, what’s the matter?”
Enraged, she punched him again. “Where is she? If I have to destroy the world to find her, I will.”
Nightmare, the King of Dreams continued to smile. “By now, Renee and the child should be far enough away from your murderous grip. Give up Sara. As long as the bloodline remains intact, this planet and the Universe will stay intact.”
Sara punched him one final time before pulling out a gilded dagger that sparkled like sapphires. She dragged the tip of the dagger across Nightmare’s neck before stabbing him with it. “You bastard,” she said coldly. “The throne is mine, regardless if my husband is alive or dead. My family has been ruling the Te’skor for centuries, and I’ll be damned if some two-bit whore takes the crown away from me.”
With an unwavering smile, Nightmare stared at her for a moment. “Renee is no whore. Her bloodline is far stronger than yours and is the most compatible to handle the power of the Te’skor. If Lucian had married before your stepson, you would still have a claim to the throne.”
The dagger twisted further into Night’s neck as Sara sneered. “If my stepson died, Lucian wouldn’t have to worry about marriage. He would have been King upon his thirty-fifth birthday.” Pulling the blood soaked blade out of his neck, Sara took a step back.
As the King of Dreams, Nightmare belonged to the Council; a chosen group of Inhumans who swore to protect the Universe at all costs. Aside from Nightmare, eight others held a chair on the Council. After she stole power from the Chasm, Sara disbanded most of them, but Death eluded her. He, along with Dream, was the key she needed to take full control of the Universe.
Sara never asked for much in life, but she would be damned if she allowed her birthright to be stolen. Aside from that, the Council allowed her husband to die. A gentle soul who would never harm another living being, Pierre was the love of her life. That was until the bitch Karma came to take him away as retribution for his killing of Sara’s parents. It was a necessary evil as Sara’s parents prevented her from ascending to the throne.
After Sara remarried, her stepson Nico fell in love. Since Nico was older than Lucian, he would have taken control of the kingdom upon his thirty-fifth birthday; which is adulthood in the eyes of the Te’skor. Once an adult, the next in line for the crown would become King or Queen. So Sara ordered Lucian, her son with Pierre, to kill Nico to protect the throne. It wasn’t fair as Sara did nothing wrong to be treated with such disrespect. It was only right that she fight for what’s hers.
Sara wasn’t stupid. She was aware she couldn’t kill Death as it would disrupt the natural order of things. But, she could kill Dream. Without dreams, people wouldn’t have hope. They wouldn’t have a place to escape the brutality she had planned.
“You can’t kill me Sara, despite what you think.” Night’s voice turned cold before continuing, “You’ve done dark things. Do you think we wouldn’t have noticed? And then there’s the prophecy of a young female bringing peace to the two kingdoms, and the rebirth of the dragons.”
Sara ignored him as she walked towards the wall opposite them. With the dagger, she traced an intricate pattern on the wall. “You talk a good game sweetie, but nothing will save you now.” The moment Sara completed her task, the wall behind Nightmare opened. Wind howled as a vortex swirled in the middle. As she pushed him into the vortex she screamed, “It’s off to Oblivion for you.”
Just as quick as the portal opened, it closed. With a sigh of relief, Sara turned to leave. As she walked out of the room, a glimmer of light on the floor caught her eye. Curious, she knelt down and found a pale yellow diamond. How did this get here? As soon as she touched the diamond, a snakelike creature sprang forth from the stone and bit her neck, draining her of her soul. Once fed, the creature disappeared and Death emerged from the shadows.
“Hello Your Highness,” Death said as he bowed in front of the withered shell Sara had become. “You killed my associate and almost destroyed Daemor in your quest for power. The prophecy will happen, but you won’t be around to see it. There’s a special place in Hell reserved in your name.” As he walked to where Sara was now cowering, he pulled his scythe out of thin air. He whispered in her ear before decapitating her, “Purgatory has been waiting a long time for you.”
Her body teleported to an impenetrable fortress that was Hell’s prison for the most hardened criminals. There, her body would be placed in suspended animation where she would never be able to hurt anyone ever again.
With a sigh of sadness, Death faded to nothingness.