Page 31 of The Time Of Queens (An Afterlife Story #2)

31

THE PAST THAT BURNS

W hatever Draven saw with his enhanced eyesight meant he wasted no time in knowing how to act. He pulled me closer to him, turned me to face the room, and smashed the window, shielding me from any potential shards. Then he released his wings and before I could speak a word, he had me in his arms and was flying us out of the broken window.

I gripped on tightly, burying my face in his neck, waiting for it to be over. Because no matter how many times I had done this before, it still didn’t eradicate my fear of heights. The second we landed, I could then see the blazing inferno that ensued, making me gasp. I could also see everyone running out, along with those I cared deeply for. Vincent and Lucius were the first to join us, with Adam, Pip, Sophia, and Zagan quickly following where we stood not far from the conservatory.

“What happened… did everyone make it out?” Draven asked quickly, his concern for his staff his first priority.

“We managed to save all of the servants, the last few you see coming out now. As for what happened, I’m afraid it’s as we feared,” Vincent said tensely.

“How so?” Draven asked, his frown deepening by the second.

“Chiyou’s brothers set the fire, for they are obviously here for the seal,” Lucius answered this time, giving me little insight as to what they were talking about.

“Ragnar and our men are currently fighting them on the East side,” Vincent added, making me gasp, as clearly, trouble had found us.

“I must go and retrieve the seal,” Draven said, but Lucius had obviously beaten him to it, as he pulled a leather bag from his back.

“Already done, my friend, for the second the flames erupted, I alerted the household staff and made my way to your office, for I knew it was too important to leave to chance,” Lucius replied, handing Draven the satchel. The relief was easy to see, as Draven placed a hand on his shoulder and told him,

“Well done, for your quick actions might have saved far more than these mortal lives.”

Lucius nodded at this praise but said no more.

“And what of the small army of Demons about to descend on us?” Adam asked, now looking down at his wife, prompting her to say,

“I am ready for a brawl!”

Adam grinned, patting her shoulder before telling her, “Easy there, my little warrior.”

“Well, whatever it is, we need to decide quickly, as look, here they come,” Zagan said, pointing towards the stable yard, and thankfully away from where most of the staff were gathered at the other side of the house.

“They must have broken through Ragnar’s defences,” Vincent surmised, making me suck in a quick breath. My worry grew by the second as to what that could mean.

“Pip, Adam, get to the servants, encourage them to make for the woodland wishing well. There, they should be at a safe enough distance from the fight,” Draven said, giving his orders. “Sophia, go with them and take Keira to the fountain. It is the seal they want, which they know will be with me. Keep Keira safe until I can get her out of here. You three, you’re with me, we have some friends that need sending back to Hell,” Draven added, indicating to Lucius, Zagan, and his brother. I quickly gripped his arm and told him,

“Please be careful.”

He wrapped an arm around me, pulled me close, and told me,

“When I have you to get back to… always.” Then after a swift kiss, he nodded to his sister, who replied,

“With my life, brother.”

This told me that they had silently communicated about my safety. I then watched in horror as he ran towards the fight, his two swords traveling down past his hands and flaming purple in the night. His wings also erupted, so that when an enemy got close, they aided him attacking it. I watched as he flew up before dropping on the creature, impaling his weapons into its chest.

An army of humanoid Demons with terrifying features all charged towards us. Their faces looked like pale grey clay that had been baked in the sun. The multiple spikes on their faces, cracked and pitted. Their eyes were an unnerving, milky white with tiny black dots at the centres. Each without eyelids and therefore permanently wide open.

Their distant, creepy stare was a contrast to the fixed Demonic grin each had, with their lips peeled back until near non-existent. Their mouths held exaggerated, human teeth, with two sets doubled up in rows that made it look like too many to fit their gums. Long fangs hung from the top but were thicker and bigger on the bottom row, making its lower jaw protrude outwards. They each had large flat noses, that were wrinkled at the top, giving them fixed snarling expressions. The wrinkles matched the many lines around their eyes and heavy brow line. One that held a flare of spikes that tapered up to the four, thick, black horns at the side of each of their heads.

As for their bodies, these were formed with sinewy barbed muscles poking through the torn remains of red kimonos, that Draven once told me in China were called hanfu. These robes hung tattered from their pale bodies, with ribbons of black material snaking around them like living serpents. Long black hair matched their Demonic attire, as it too floated behind them. Doing so as if under water, swaying with their movements from the leather ties at the back of their heads. This despite being void of anything else but spikes and horns. Each of them carried a double-edged, curved sword, that looked forged from the pits of Hell in which they had come from.

“Come on!” Sophia urged, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the fountain as we followed Pip and Adam that way. Then once we made it, Adam and Pip stopped.

“Winnie and I will go ahead and urge the servants to make their way to the wishing well,” Adam told Sophia, before man and wife went off running.

“What’s happening, Sophia? Who are they?” I asked, my voice strained and panicked.

“I don’t have much time to explain, only that my brother was charged with finding an ancient artifact and returning it to its rightful owner in another realm of Hell. But something must have happened to alert Chiyou to its presence.”

“Chiyou?” I questioned.

“A Chinses entity, a Demon god of chaos and war who is seeking the seal my brother was charged with obtaining,” she told me, making me nod to the army of Chinese demons that seemed to have grown exponentially.

“And these guys?” I asked, making her tense.

“These are Chiyou’s brothers, who are also charged with finding it and bringing it back to him.”

I hated to ask, as I could very well guess the answer but, still, I found myself asking all the same…

“And that’s bad, right?”

“Very bad indeed,” she stated, partially changing into her Demon form, enough for claws to grow from her fingertips. Then before I could ask, she bent down and tore the longer part of her dress off, as if she was getting ready to join the fight.

“Just how bad are we talking here?” I questioned as she stepped up to me, and I didn’t even flinch as she did the same to my dress, no doubt to make it easier for me to run if need be.

“Let’s just say that it could potentially mean releasing Hell on Earth… quite literally,” she said, adding this last part after rising back to standing.

“Okay, so that’s bad,” I agreed as she tossed the length of material off to one side.

“Yes, very… wait, you’re not wearing any shoes.”

“I didn’t exactly plan for your house to burst into flames and for Draven to be off fighting an army of Demons. I kind of had other activities in mind.”

At this she scoffed a laugh before conjuring me up some boots.

After which, I couldn’t help but look behind me, gasping when I saw how many of them there were now. Of course, the three men where certainly holding their own, even against such insane odds, as there was quite literally, a swarm of them.

“How is there so many?”

“I don’t know, but my guess is that they have somehow managed to draw on the artifact’s essence after it was unearthed. The longer it remains here, the more Chiyou’s power will be drawn from it.”

Well, that didn’t sound good.

“Which means…”

“They won’t stop coming,” she finished for me, making me gasp.

“Sophia, he can’t fight them forever!” I said, and her worried expression confirmed my own thoughts. This was bad.

This was very bad.

I watched in fixed horror as Lucius attacked, using his bat-like wings as Draven did, to propel his sword into those below. This before spinning round with graceful movements to dispatch those that had gotten too close, slicing them in two. Body parts fell like shrapnel as he swung his sword with speed, taking out those that had surrounded him.

As for Vincent, he looked like some heavenly warrior sent from above, with his stark white wings glowing in the night. The moonlight glinted off his own sword, and sprays of crimson were cast from every swing as he, too, tried to cut the army down in size. However, I could see from my position that the numbers were too great for them to handle. As more and more kept trying to push their way through the barrier the three were trying to create.

Another boom sounded, and more glass exploded from the house, the bellowing flames consuming the outer walls as the fire rose from the now empty windows.

Pip and Adam joined us, now no mortals remained but me. Adam’s eyes quickly scanned the impending threat, giving him cause to grimace at the sight.

“We managed to get the servants out of harm’s way, but you know I can’t stay here, if my beast feels Winnie is in too much danger, this could go from bad to worse,” he told us, making Sophia agree.

“I know, for you are right. Which means you are both better leaving. Follow the servants and try and keep them safe, but if the danger is too great to Pip, you know you must leave before…”

“I know,” Adam said gravely, no doubt frustrated that he couldn’t be of more help.

“Aww, we will miss all the fun,” Pip groaned, making me shake my head at her before grabbing her and hugging her.

“Be safe, my friend,” I told her, knowing that this was probably goodbye. She squeezed me back and told me,

“Only if you do the same, beastie.” Then she winked at me, as yes, I had taught her this new word.

I let her go so they could get out of here before Adam became too unpredictable. At least I knew they would be safe as I watched them both start running once more.

As for Sophia and I, we stayed by the fountain like Draven had asked, but as the threat started to get closer, it was obvious that Draven had made his decision. He looked like he had just finished commanding Lucius and his brother to continue fighting before he took to the skies and flew over to us.

“There is too many of them, they opened a portal on the west side, and it is being fuelled by the seal’s presence. The only way to stop this is to be rid of it. Go and help the others, until I can return,” he said with a grit of his teeth.

“Why, what will you do?” she asked, and he looked down at me before saying,

“What I must… now go!”

Sophia must have recognised something in his face, because she too quickly pulled me in for a hug and whispered,

“Goodbye, my sister, it was one of my greatest joys getting to know you.”

“Sophia?” I questioned but before I could say more, she pulled away and just as her Demon side started to arise, she told me,

“Take good care of my family!” Then she went off running into the fray, her own smoky ink wings emerging.

“I don’t understand, what are we… oh.” This question ended suddenly when I saw Draven pull a coin from his pocket, wasting no time before tossing it into the fountain. The effect was instant, as the water started to ripple before stepping stones emerged. At the same time, the opening under the spray of water appeared as the stone statue revealed its true nature.

Then without saying a word, he took my hand and urged me to walk the path towards the door. I looked back in time to see the flames consuming half the house, the crashing of the roof as it fell through the rooms below a painful sight. We had not long ago made love in that room and now it was all destroyed. Making me question how it could have turned so badly, so quickly.

But it was when looking back to the house that I caught sight of one of the Demons running towards us, having broken through his brother’s defences.

“Draven, look out!” I shouted just in time for Draven to act. He spun quickly, at the same time the Demon lunged for him.

I watched this all play out as if in slow motion as he pushed me through the opening with one arm, doing so just as his sword emerged from his other hand. Purple flames licked at the steel as it grew, the air crackling around its length before it was plunged into the Demon’s chest. The Demon bellowed in agony, howling not only at the sword in its chest cavity, but as the flames ignited its pale skin, charring it instantly.

The Demon’s eyes soon turned black to indicate all life had left its body, prompting Draven to cast his arm out so its body dislodged from his weapon. Its now lifeless body crashed into the water, where it hissed as the water extinguished the flames.

Draven wasted no time to follow me inside, sealing the door shut and igniting the light so we weren’t in the pitch black. My heart was still pounding, unsure if we were still safe or not. My silent thoughts were soon answered when he told me,

“Come, we must hurry, as more will be on their way.” Then he took my hand and started to lead me down the ominous staircase. The only light from the flames that travelled along the recess came from the stone channel above.

It seemed like a small forever until we reached the bottom, and the last time I was here felt like an age ago. Draven took my hand in his and started to lead me into the huge atrium. The colossal space of the Janus Temple opening up in front of us, like giants had once lived here. Rows and endless rows of doors leading to so many places, it was hard to fathom.

Draven had once described it as being that if Earth had a doorway that led to every city in the whole world, and had asked how many doors would there be. Naturally, I couldn’t answer but unsurprisingly Draven could. Telling me there was around ten thousand cities worldwide. Then he asked, what if each realm had just as many?

Pretty soon, the amount of doors made sense and my head started to hurt, something I admitted aloud, making him chuckle at the time. But he wasn’t laughing now, as there was only one place he had in mind, and it wasn’t any door.

“Draven, what is going on?” I finally asked, making him turn to face me just before the water that was defying gravity. Then he took my hands in his and told me,

“This is the only way to protect you from what’s coming.” My eyes widened with this knowledge, and he paused long enough to cup my cheek before saying in a pained voice,

“I wish I could have kept you as my own… if even for a day longer.”

My tears started to rise in sight of his very own. Which was why I threw my arms around him and held on tight.

As I now knew what this was.

This was his goodbye.

Because he was sacrificing his own happiness to ensure not only my life, but something far greater. I knew this when he told me,

“Embrace our children for me. Tell them that I… that I love them.”

I cried out at this, my heart breaking for him.

“Oh, Draven.”

He swiped my tears from under my eyes, his already falling as he told me,

“You have to know that you made me the happiest man in the world… if only for a few short days, then it was worth it… it was worth the thousands of years I waited, for I would wait a thousand more for just another day.”

I cried out harder, letting the tears flow as I threw myself into him once more. He held me back just as tightly and I felt his own tears continue to fall, now landing on my skin. But then as a huge, thundering bang sounded above, he pulled back.

“They have managed to breach the fountain, quickly, we don’t have much time left.”

“But you… how will you…?”

“Don’t worry about me, but you must take this. Take the seal, give it to me in your time and I will know what it means. This is your reason for being here, Keira… it must be, for Fate has made it so.”

He passed me the satchel from around his back, making me grip on to it tightly. Then just as the sound of the Demon army got louder and louder, he gripped my face and told me,

“Every minute of every day, I will think of you, and I will love you for an eternity waiting for your return back to me.”

Then he kissed me, our joint tears a salty reminder of our combined heartbreak.

“Goodbye, my love,” he told me, and just as the first wave of Demons crashed through the doorway, spilling into the temple, I took the last few steps backwards, telling him,

“I love you, Dominic, always and forever.”

Then I took the last step needed before disappearing into the water.

The last sight I saw tore through me as Draven fell to his knees as his own heartbreak…

Consumed him.