The Two Kings Part 18

"You will not have long to wait until we meet again but for now, I will leave you with a gift." He nodded behind me and I turned while my hand was still locked in his. There, a flaming body emerged from the smoke filled room and the screams could be heard across h.e.l.l's valley below. I could just make out the body of a young girl with long blonde hair and a small thin curved frame. Her arms were bleeding from the deep cuts there and her naked legs were covered in melting flesh. The screams of agony pierced my ears and then I realised my own screams mirrored hers as we were one and the same. My other self stood dying in front of me and I cried out to help her. She fell to her knees and I did the same. We looked like a mirror image of good versus evil, living and dying.

Lucius walked over to the burning me and picked her up into his bulging arms. His wings wrapped forward in a protective way and he started to walk back into the bed chamber. He looked back over his shoulder and said, "Remember Keira...soon, very, very soon." The flaming me in his arms started to scream once more and when I woke from this h.e.l.lish nightmare, I thought it was still my screaming that could be heard. It took me a moment to come to my own senses and not those of Lucius' control. But when I did finally calm, I came to realise that I could still hear the screams, Only this time, they weren't mine....

Chapter 19.

The Temple The screams belonged to a girl, that much I could be certain. The room was just as I had last seen it before the dream. It was only me that remained altered from the horrors I had witnessed. I inhaled, filling my lungs finally with the usual scent of the room I loved like home. There was no burning oak smell, no flaking of the material under the flames that licked at them and most importantly the balcony was empty and intact.

However my mental state was left fragile and frightened. I tried to shake off the feelings of dread and thankfully the full moon provided enough light for me to locate my clothes. I moved so slowly, like I was half expecting something to jump out at me and the constant sound of pain wasn't helping my nerves.

Once I was dressed, I wiggled my sockless feet into my trainers and moved towards the door I knew lead further into the fortress that was Draven's home. I opened it and the crack flooded the room with light, however this wasn't the only thing it let in. The sound was almost unbearable to hear and it wasn't only the dream that had caused my distress. My memories of my own living nightmare came back at me like a wave of unsuspecting cruelty. This is what made my feet move from behind the safety of the door.

I knew that if I had been heard when Morgan had me locked away, then my horrific past may not have left me with such a deep scar. How I had wished for just one person to find me, to save me from his madness and my hopelessness. I had screamed and screamed until my throat was red raw and my lungs left empty. But no one came....No one ever heard my cries but the man responsible.

I knew that if ever I had heard the same, I would rather risk my life to help, than to live the rest of my years knowing that I had just walked on by....not when I could have done something....anything! I just prayed that I saw Draven along the way, or at least someone that I knew could help.

I started down a long narrow corridor that I knew, as I had used it a few times, normally when being dragged away by Sophia. It consisted of stone arches that came down to blend with the soft stone walls. Luckily there were light fittings attached and the flames, although needed, they were also an unwanted reminder of the nightmare that Lucius had left me with...his gift.

I pulled my zip up sweater closer to my neck and even pulled the large floppy hood over my head, this way I felt more secure. It still didn't stop the s.h.i.+vers that convulsed my body, when the screaming stopped. I had to move faster, I had to get there and couldn't let my own fears prevent me from saving a life.

When I got to the end of the corridor my knowledge of where I was ended. I knew if I turned right it would lead me to Sophia's room and I half considered it but when the screams got louder I knew they were coming from the left so with my mind set, I started walking down to opposite of where I knew. It seemed to be leading away from where people were or at least where they must have slept because it started to grow colder and not as well lit. I wished that I had a candle in my hand because I now feared that when I walked though the next door, darkness would greet me.

My hand made contact with the metal handle and I looked only to realise I didn't have my gloves on. I found myself feeling even more vulnerable as I stepped through on to what felt like a balcony. The night air hit me for the first time tonight even though my mind wouldn't easily accept this truth, the dream had felt that real. I closed the door behind me as I knew I would soon be screaming myself if I allowed it to slam shut.

It didn't take me long to realise why the sight in front of me seemed so familiar. I had been here before, or so I thought. I was stood in a long corridor that was open to the night on one side. The bal.u.s.trade was connected to large pillars that formed arches to the roof above. The walls held the same wrought iron lamps that lit when walked past, making me jump every time the sound of flames igniting in their cages happened.

I had been here before, only then I was lead to believe it a dream. I looked over to see the ma.s.sive courtyard far below and it looked as though a huge section of the house had been removed to fit in a Temple. The domed roof shone in the moonlight making it look like copper and I remember last time thinking the sculpture on top was a bird but now I knew better, as the figure of an Angel could easily be seen.

I was staring down at it from a different angle as now I was on a different side of the house but I could just make out the side from which I had first seen it. I remembered that night well and Draven had found me lost and scared in the darkness. At first I didn't know it was him, only after he saved me from falling to my death did I soon come to realise who my dark knight had been. This was yet another incident when his sister had been involved and tried to throw me into his path but he had dealt with it in other ways. In other words, just another time that I was made to believe it had been all in my head.

I continued along the cold open hallway until getting to the door at the end and I thought how nice it would be, if like last time, Draven was there waiting inside. It didn't take me long to find out my wish did not come true. Instead it opened into a cold landing and the only way left to go was down. The stone spiral staircase made my fear of heights rear its ugly head and a wave of nausea washed over me. My head spun at the sight of how far down it went and only when the screams started up again did it remind me why I was here. So I swallowed hard before venturing down them.

They seemed to go on forever and I found myself glad that they went down and not up, as my chest was already getting tight from my lack of fitness. I was at least glad that the moon was full and the sky clear because there was no soft glow of any candles but there were lots of little slit windows that allowed the moon to s.h.i.+ne through. The further I got, the more difficult it became as the stone wall was damp and the steps slippery. I lost my footing more times than I could count but thankfully I remained up right until finally I reached the bottom.

Now of course, the screams could be heard even clearer and as soon as my foot hit the last step I broke out into a run to get to the next door. The door was jammed but with a little persuasion, it creaked open, allowing me access. Thankfully in the next part I found that I could breathe more easily, mainly due to the well lit room and warm air. I could instantly tell that there would be people down here or why would there be lamps lit and the hum of voices in the distance.

The room I walked into looked like a shrine, with large holes cut out of the walls filled with what looked like artefacts and strange glowing orbs. One in particular reminded me very much like the one I had seen in my dreams, on my first night in my new home. It was purple and when I got closer it started to spin and pulsate in its place as though it was responding to my presence.

Other holes held things that couldn't be explained without their owner present. In the centre of the room I had to walk round a gla.s.s case containing a sword that lay sideways. It was held there by stone hands gripping it tightly at each end and on the blade's end blood constantly dripped into a pool of black water from where the hands emerged. It seemed so strange a scene that it took my mind far from the reasons I was here.

I imagined it to be Draven's collection and then I quickly started to wonder what he would think about me being here. Would he be mad that I was venturing into the unknown or would he see my quest as a n.o.ble one?

I quickly hurried past and on to the next part and although worried for the girl's life, I couldn't help but be intrigued at all the new things my eyes were laying witness to. This truly was another world....Draven's world! And I knew this was one part of his life he tried desperately to keep separate from his human girlfriend. There was so much that I still didn't understand and only the love in my heart made it all less important. To me he was just a man and most of all, the man I loved. I knew sometimes I doubted myself but in this I was absolute.

The next hallway was wide enough to get a bus down and the mouldings were breathtaking. Stone carved into art work. Pillars that looked like sandstone men holding up the ceilings with bulging muscles and endless strength. Huge arches cut off into smaller half moons that were covered and framed with flowers that were gilded gold. The pillars also held gargoyles, before they reached the elaborate ceiling and they were not weathered like the ones I was used to seeing.

No, these looked like they could have been carved yesterday and this added to the fear they produced. I almost expected their eyes to start glowing and for them to growl as I went past. So, of course, when the sound of stone moving above me could be heard I screamed, proving that no amount of preparing myself could have prevented my fright. I looked up but the grotesque creatures were still, only now their heads turned towards me looking down. This made me quicken my pace as now my heartbeat sounded in tune with the girl's screaming. It pounded in my chest and every step I made was then followed by the turning of a monstrous stone head.

"STOP IT!" I stopped and screamed out at them. I bravely stood facing their judging looks as my anger got too much. I mean, what could they do to me? I didn't give it much thought as one by one they slowly turned to face the other way and I was amazed to see my little eruption had any affect on them.

By this time I reached yet another door and before I went through it, I braced myself as I knew I'd come to the end of my journey because the screams could be made out as words of help. A girl's voice was pleading to be freed and at least I knew I wasn't too late. I took a few deep breaths and walked through to face my mission.

Of course I was wrong... this door wasn't the last to lead me to her. The screams stopped as soon as my foot entered the room, well I say room but it was more the size of a football stadium! The floor was a broken collection of tiles that made shapes and pictures I didn't understand the meaning of. There were lighter patches attacking darker ones, like clouds in a battle, merging into one sullen colour of grey. It actually looked like the floor was alive with energy and at first I stepped back against the door that had now sealed behind me. I turned in a panic but it was fruitless. I was locked inside what I soon discovered to be a tomb!

I let my heaving chest calm before walking into the centre where there stood the biggest pillar like the largest tree trunk in existence. Thoughts of the Jura.s.sic age came to mind as that's how I imagined the green life to have been back then. Of course, being made of stone only made it look more like a fossil as stone vines worked their way up the great structure. I didn't know whether it was there for effect or was actually holding something mighty up above.

My eyes followed in awe, as I reached the ceiling where it spread out like life finding home. The vines continued along the ceiling as if being a life force that at one time that had sucked needlessly at the air. Now, of course, it was being closed in by the roof but it looked like it once belonged to something much more. I found myself looking up until my neck ached, in pure awe.

I momentarily forgot my situation and unfortunately when I did look elsewhere I found the walls, floor to ceiling, covered with holes. It didn't take long for someone with half a brain cell to know what lay in these holes. They were the perfect size for a coffin to fit in widthways and I knew this is where the tombs of Draven's dead ultimately found rest. My mind raced with questions upon questions and I bit my lip as to what the answers could be. What had I found down here?

I knew one thing.... Draven was not going to be happy!

I moved round the open s.p.a.ce with my breath caught inside my body, only to be released when absolutely necessary. I feared as though I may wake the dead with each footstep I took and given the size of the place, I took quite a few of them. When I finally crept across to the other side, I found that one wall was covered in the stone vines that seemed born from the fossilised tree that acted as a pillar. They had snaked their way up, produced from the trunk in the middle, and rained down this wall as if to guard something beneath.

I knew I should turn back but it was as if something powerful wanted me there. My fear was slowly being replaced with a need and a want so great, I couldn't do anything to save myself....from myself!

I felt my body react to my recklessness. My hairs stood on end thanks to the raised b.u.mps on my skin. My heart rate doubled or even tripled as all my ears could make out was the beating drum that now played a doomed beat inside me. I tasted the acid that a nervous stomach produced and swallowed hard when I came only a foot away from the vine covered wall. My body wasn't my own, being forced by a mind I only half controlled.

"Touch us!" Whispers of the dead beckoned from each hole in the room. I spun around half expecting to see thousands of decomposed corpses all stood there edging closer to me. I turned back to the vines and raised my hand causing a wave as they all hushed, waiting in turn for my mistake to play out like a Greek tragedy. My fingertips needed to find the vines that polluted the wall, concealing a truth I needed to find. I only paused a second but it was enough for the whisperers to urge me on, one last time.

Then my skin came into contact with the cold stone that caused a reaction. The stone moved under my fingers like I was finding a pulse on a sleeping corpse. It started to pulsate more violently before quickly producing thorns that p.r.i.c.ked my palm and pierced it enough times over to extract my blood.

"Ouch!" I yanked my hand free and that wasn't the only thing the pain freed, as now my mind was completely my own again. I looked down at my hand and found there a strange symbol that resembled a birthmark I had under my hair line. It was more noticeable when I was a baby, when I had only thin wispy hair but now it was completely covered under my thick blanket of blonde locks. It was an odd shape, like a quarter moon with its back to a sideward V. The blood had stopped escaping as I wiped it on my jeans but it was still red and sore.

I heard a noise and when I looked up the vines were now wide awake and alive with the new blood they had fed on. The part which had tasted my blood had turn a lush green colour and it grew thicker before retreating back behind its stone brothers that lay behind it. Then I staggered backwards as the whole wall became alive with motion that reminded me of light grey snakes all slithering to get away. It all pulled back at once, as if my blood had been acid and the vines needed to get away from the infected area.

I don't think my eyes had been held open so wide or my mouth been hung down in shock as long ever before. I gasped as the retreating vines revealed a huge wooden door that belonged at the back of a castle drawbridge. Well that was just great.... I had revealed a door, yes, but I would have to be the size of a two story building to open it!

Then, as if my thoughts held some greater meaning, the door started to split in the middle and allow an opening big enough for the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk to pa.s.s through. But this didn't just allow me access to go in, it also allowed the girl's screams access out. This spared me any hesitation as I ran inside to find the crying girl I had to save.

I ran until my eyes adjusted to the dim light that came from the end of a tunnel I had been granted entrance too. My legs felt like jelly as it felt as though I had been walking all night but I didn't want to think about it now, I could rest later. Now I had to find her and considering now her voice could be heard, crying little sobs, I knew the next room would be where I would finally find her.

I walked through a bright light that I thought came from the room but when the energy made my body tingle I knew it had in some way acted as the door. I stepped through to the other side blinking, to clear my now blurry vision. It was like someone had taken a picture and the flash had me seeing nothing but black dots. When it cleared I wanted to scream at what the next room held....I was now, clearly, inside a prison!

The walls held heavy metal doors with only small barred windows in arches. The locks were strange and instead of holes for the keys to fit, they held little flat dishes that looked ready for a liquid to be poured in to. They were the weirdest looking locks I had ever seen. But this was all small factors compared to the banging and screeching sounds that my presence was causing.

"I smell human sweat upon fles.h.!.+" One gargled voice spoke and I s.h.i.+vered before nearly running back through the brightly lit portal.

"I smell a ripe fruit ready for plucking!" Another voice spoke, only this one made my bones near to shaking as its deep demonic edge continued, "One I would gladly tear apart, skin from flesh, flesh from bone!" I wanted to start screaming myself but then the girl's sweet voice brought me round from my own nightmare and reminded me of her own.

"Help me, please." Her voice sounded strained from screaming and again the memories. .h.i.t me harder than any of these monsters threats. I walked towards the door I thought the voice came from cautiously, knowing the other creatures did not think kindly of my interference or maybe they did, considering they seemed to be thinking of me as a happy meal!

The doors went on and on, but the voice led me to her. I hesitated before going up to the door, remembering all my other mistakes I had not long ago made. But, when she pleaded one last time, my senses left me, being replaced by my guilt and memories. The metal door was cold and I noticed a bluish light filtering through the window in the door. I thought this must be from a window inside the cell but when I reached up on my tiptoes I was wrong. The blue light came from the silhouette of a young slim girl that only wore a long white muslin gown. She had her back to me and her black hair hung straight down her back like black beauty's tail. For a second I was like a deer caught in a car's headlights. I was frozen at the sight and the blue glow deepened a shade at my reaction to her.

"Are you human?" I asked the figure that still sobbed quietly.

"Yes and I am very afraid, will you not help me?" Her voice floated over to me like a warm blanket of re-a.s.surance. How could such a velvet voice be immoral?

"What can I do, I don't know how to open the door?" She began to cry more and I knew the sound well. It was my cry. The same hopeless cry I had once been unable to stop. I pulled on the door with every ounce of strength but it was useless, I wasn't even making the metal rattle.

I pulled my body upwards to the window again but now I saw something only the deepest, darkest corners of my mind knew about. The vision made me want to die from the pain it inflicted.

I looked through a watered vision at myself sat down on the floor by an inflated bed. I wore dirty clothes and my hair knotted from weeks of neglect fell in front of my face, which hid my misery. I began to pull up my sleeves and feel the smooth skin there on my inner arms. I rattled my own body against the door at the vision.

"Stop it! Don't! Don't do it!" I cried out as the girl produced a small wooden box from behind her and when opened, the music that filled my mind with hate and revulsion played out. It was my very own private death song and I cried louder being now the one full of pleas.

"Please don't do this!"

"There is only but one way to save those that I love." She spoke my words before continuing on with my hysterical actions. She smashed the box to the floor and the mirror shattered into a life changing weapon. She took the largest piece to her pale arm and drew the first red line across near to her elbow.

"STOP IT!" I screamed before looking away in my own disgust. It was like watching my own destruction being carried out in a dark, gothic play, by a girl I didn't know. But I couldn't look away for long and the darkness of my past compelled me to see it through as I did years ago.

I raised my head but now my scream was for a different reason. The black haired beauty was now inches from my face and her features were covered, only showing me the whites of her eyes through the black river that was her hair. Her hands weren't holding onto the bars like mine were, so she was rather very tall or floating.

"You are my last hope, they come to kill me...stop them...stop them now!" As soon as she said it there were footsteps and voices that could be heard. I had to move if I was to help in anyway. I would have to see who it was that held her here and more importantly, who wanted to kill her.

"I will be back, I will do what I can." Before I let my body fall down I saw her mouth, something that seemed far too familiar than I would have liked but at the same time my mind was coming up with a blank wall. I got the feeling that she was trying to warn me against something or was it someone?

My hands hurt and my knuckles cracked from holding most of my weight for so long. I could hear the footsteps getting closer and panic set in as I searched desperately for a place to hide. My head whipped round for some dark corner, when I saw a pillar thick enough to hide behind. Once there, I could still hear her plea for me to help and tears filled my eyes at how hopeless a saviour I was. If only I knew where Draven was, then he could help, he could stop all of this and one thing was for sure....people would surely get punished!

I tried to stay completely hidden but the need to look was far greater than the warnings that were ringing in my head. The pillar I was frozen behind was in the shadows, so when I peered round to see, I wasn't noticed. There stood three figures covered from head to foot in long purple robes which had a strip of gold symbols running down the middle like a racing stripe.

It looked like ancient scriptures, like hieroglyphics or Mayan text, but without being close enough I couldn't tell. The appearance of the men caused a reaction with the other inmates as shouts and bangs against their cells erupted. This was short lived as with one blood curdling command from the man in front, the room grew silent. He had spoken a language I had never heard and one that sounded as if it was very unlikely to have still been used today.

I watched as the taller one in the middle approached the door as the other two stood back to await the prisoner. I presumed the one in the middle to be the leader as he seemed to order the others to be ready. He then raised his wrist to his mouth and to my disgust he bit down hard on his own flesh. I swallowed hard at the sight of him taste his own blood before allowing it to drip onto the lock. I now knew what the little dishes were there for, as I heard the lock start to move and click open. I let my shoulders fall as I realised I would never have been able to open them as they required the blood of the supernatural.

I watched the leader lick his own wound like a dog, while he waited for the door to swing open. Once it did the young innocent girl came screaming out like a banshee showing her other side....a desperate one. However the two guards were ready for her and caught her body as she tried to kick and scratch her way to freedom. I so wanted to run to her but I knew I was next to useless up against these three. I felt the tears release down my cheeks as I watched them drag the screaming girl away down the corridor they had come from, the very corridor where I must now follow.

I tried to compose myself before I continued. I inhaled deeply and wiped my wet face with the back of my arm. Half of me wanted to run away and find a corner to curl up into, till I was found but I knew the half of me that willed me to do good in life would win. So with my overbearing need to help the girl I didn't know, I stepped from behind my hiding place and followed the path to where, hopefully death would not greet me.

My feet struggled over the deep cobbled floor and I was glad when I reached the narrow corridor so that I could steady myself on the walls. I continued down and the air felt tight and muggy. The damp walls made my hands slide from them as I felt my way along for support. Then as I turned a corner the light that had come from the prison could no longer be seen and plunged the tunnel corridor into darkness.

I froze and leaned on the wall until my breathing calmed. I counted to ten before forcing my feet to move on. I had to use my other senses to find my way out of the darkness and I started to concentrate. My nose filled with the scent of wet stone and my touch only proved the reason. It was my ears that gave me hope as I started to hear the hum of chanting and then my eyes saw a gentle glow of candle light work its way across the walls. The bright end told me I was near to where I would no doubt find the girl and who held her. I gulped the frightened lump, forcing it down my tight throat and moved into the next room.

Here my eyes came into contact with my destination....

The Temple.

Chapter 20.

Impossible Reasons I walked closer inside where the brightly lit temple hall hurt my eyes which had become accustomed to the dark. I stood still, blinking franticly so as not to be taken by surprise, hoping that one of the pillars I hid behind was enough of a barrier from the droning voices that filled the room. My heart nearly stopped and my blood froze from being so scared.

The chanting wasn't like anything I had ever heard. Not only was the language strange and very unnerving but it seemed to be pa.s.sing between demonic lips. Its loud echoing felt as though it could crack the walls and destroy cities with only a few words. I couldn't choke down the fear that kept rising back up my body like a growing illness. It kept getting louder and louder which proved to be too much for my fragile human ears.

I could feel the marble floor beneath me vibrate and this was the only reason I hadn't yet crumbled to it like a frightened child. Nothing could compare to this moment. I had never experienced terror like it and I had never prayed so hard for it to be just another horrible dream. But as I felt the beads of sweat roll down my trembling face, I knew that no amount of hope in the world would make it so. My body shook so violently that I thought it would crumble into pieces.

Only when a great roar cut through the other voices did it all go quiet. This finally made my senses return to me, along with my resolution. I decided to move further round as now I knew I was still completely out of sight. I walked slowly to the next ma.s.sive pillar which was like a masterpiece in its own right. Painted blood red at the bottom, turning into flames of orange and gold as it curled upwards to the painted sky on the ceiling and dome. My eyes followed the story around the room that was a great war between Heaven and h.e.l.l. There were Angel warriors on horseback attacking winged Demons from a flaming sky.

The painting was so skilled and accurate that I almost thought them real enough to touch. I shuddered at the idea that this could actually be based on a truth. An unknown war that humans were utterly oblivious too... thankfully! The s.h.i.+ny floor looked like liquid and the reflection of the painted heaven gave the marble a bluish tinge making it resemble a lagoon.

Finally, once I had finished looking around my magnificent surroundings, my eyes fell on the imposing figures that were stood around the room like a secret cult meeting. Each clothed in red robes that matched h.e.l.l's representation they stood by. My mind counted seventeen red bodies draped from head to foot in blood velvet then followed on as the next set of six bodies wore purple with thick gold symbols at the bottom.

This reminded me of a strange display of the signs of the zodiac combined with ancient runes. These weren't quite the same as the men who had taken the girl but I soon came across them as my gaze rested at the top of the large circle that all the bodies created. At the top was a huge stone slab that acted like an altar and it too was covered in carved symbols that matched the robes.

I could feel my sweaty hands slip from the smooth cold marble that I tried to keep hold of. I was far too close now and knew this was very wrong but my will to turn away, wasn't half as strong as my will to stay. I bit down on my lip and rolled it back and to, through my teeth. If I hadn't been here witnessing this cult based nightmare then I'm sure I would have felt the pain I was causing myself.

Instead I focused all my attention and energy onto the scene that was being played out in front of me like a s.a.d.i.s.tic opera. The group was clearly waiting for something or more like someone and I had a sick feeling it was the girl who I had made it my mission to save from her cruel fate.

I didn't have long to wait for the crescendo as a huge tall cloaked figure walked out through what looked like a series of guards that bowed respectfully as their master pa.s.sed through. He dominated the room and like a Mexican wave at a football game, all the robed cult followed suit and fell to their knees and started the mind numbing chanting again forcing me to place my shaky hands over my ears.

The deafening beat rattled my mind like thousands of war horses charging into battle and I could feel my courage getting beaten with every step. I looked on through a watery glaze and held on with shaky limbs. They all started to sway as the momentum increased into a powerful finish and as before a great roar projected off the domed roof and echoed about the room, creating a deadly silence that followed. I peered round again to see the leader of this demonic choir hold up his hands as he demanded the rest to stand once more.

His imposing figure wore an all black robe that draped long over his face. It was decorated by one large gold symbol, positioned over his chest. It was the same circled symbol that mirrored the stone altar he stood in front of. It reminded me of the different moon cycles all intertwined. Then it hit me where I had seen that symbol before. I looked down at my palm and saw the half moon with a V shape attached to it.

The skin had dried blood around the edges but the deep red shape could be seen easily. It was unmistakable. The same symbol was not only on my hand, thanks to that strange vine entrance, but it was also on the back of my neck under my hair line. Hiding there like a dark secret, waiting until this moment to make its reasons known. A birthmark that sealed my fate and brought me here to find my true path. That thought terrified me far more than the demons before me. I was in no way part of this sick and twisted cult! I wouldn't allow myself to think it. Then it hit me....what if the man in black was Lucius?

What if this had been his plan all along, to get to me? First to control my dreams and then to play on my insecurities. Surely if he'd had access to my mind then he would know my past. Then all that was left to do was to make me hear the girl's cries and I would come running. Just like he said "I will not have long to wait and you will soon come to me". I started to shake yet again at the thought.

The man terrified me to my very core and to make it even worse, I was also a little bit fascinated with him. Lately I had been trying to reject the idea and banish it from my mind like some law I was breaking. It felt against nature thinking about him but in some sick twisted way, I was drawn to him like bees to pollen. This forced me to be more afraid of myself and my own irresponsible actions. I didn't know what I would do when faced with the man that haunted and consumed my dreams but when I thought of him and his lips to mine it made me quiver with both revulsion and a burning hunger.

I tried to put it all down to his powerful mind control and wished more than anything that I was strong enough to push him out and once again gain control over myself.

I started to look at the black figure a little closer and the size of his frame matched that of Lucius. He was tall, with squared shoulders but I couldn't see any of his features as most of his robe covered his body and face. My mind raced with thoughts and ways that he could have penetrated the fortress that was Draven's home. Then my hands flew to my mouth and the panic hit me. What if he had overpowered Draven somehow? It was the man himself who told me that Lucius was the only one that was equal to his power and being able to control the mind of anyone, including Draven, was sure to have an advantage.

Before I knew it my face streamed with tears as the image of Draven been overpowered by Lucius got stronger in my mind. I was about to turn around and run away, forgetting or more like not even caring about the girl that I had come here to rescue. Now my main concern was the man I loved and the overwhelming feeling that I had walked straight into a trap.

I turned my back to the pillar and could feel the beads of sweat from my back roll down and turn to ice as it came into contact with the marble. I shuddered as I leaned my body's weight against it for support while I thought a moment about what to do next. I needed to find Draven at all costs but would I have enough nerve to even move from this spot?

The seconds that ticked by felt like a lifetime and just when I had my mind set on getting out of this h.e.l.l, the demonic voice of Lucius brought my attention to full alert and made my blood rush through my veins like a liquid inferno.

I turned to look back at the cloaked followers and realised they were all waiting for something to happen. Their heads all turned to one side of the hall to an opening that, at first was invisible but only when a snow white woman emerged could the entrance be seen. At first the bright light behind her just made her glow like a heavenly ent.i.ty but when it faded back to where it came from, the features of an old woman could be made out.

She had flowing white hair that flowed around her as though each individual strand was controlled by an unseen force. The long dress she wore did the same as it wrapped in and out of her tired looking legs. The sleeves opened up into a V shape and the tips came down to the floor reminding me of Robin Hood's Maid Marion. Her face looked kind, despite its numerous wrinkles and her soft light eyes could even be seen from the other end of the hall where I stood locked to the floor beneath me.

She reminded me of what mother earth would look like if she were in a human form. I felt connected to her through my love for all things pure and natural. This was how I knew this woman was most definitely an Angel. It was the same feeling I felt around Vincent when I first saw him in his Angelic form. They had a pull towards them and I could imagine that it was probably the same that evil people had towards Demons. Something in our genetic makeup was forged by the same hand. We were undoubtedly connected to these creatures and throughout history even though our beliefs had never been proven, they had never faltered. Now of course I knew why.

Then Lucius held one hand out towards the old lady and motioned to take her hand, which the woman looked more than delighted with. She gracefully floated over to him and placed a frail, wrinkled hand in his. He bowed to her and lead her to one side of the altar. My eyes remained locked as everyone now turned to the opposite side to where the old lady had entered.