Chapter 153: 153
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Azrael had taken hold of the eternal flame, that has been no secret to me. Through my own sheer willpower I have managed to puzzle together the pieces of his actions, but never got so far as to figure out his plan. It had always seemed to abstract: what could the eternal flame do for Azrael that his powers, or a wizard could not?
As far as I know, it helps to create and sustain life, an artefact that helps keep the Folk of Faey thriving and surviving through disasters and doom, along with its counterpart that resides within the foundations of my people. It gives us angels our power, maintains our strength against the vampires, fills our souls with magic. That was why it was so imperative that I retook it for my kind, before we sunk to little more than an empty husk of what we once were.
I think on that second, until my heart slowly grinds to a stop. If Azrael has the Eternal flame… oh no oh no oh no.
Once again, my vision flashes back to the eternal flame, somewhere deep underground in a room not privy to mortal eyes, guarded by a white haired individual who paces and claws with frustration, his red eyes gleaming with malice so strong it could wipe out life in this world without a second thought. Solitary, the eternal flame sits alone, shedding out a glorious golden light as the screams of the dying echo around the empty halls that drip wet with fresh, ruby blood. The screams…
Realisation hits me with the weight of a thousand bricks. My heart sinks in my chest, filling my stomach with an empty and all consuming dread, dissolving my insides to little more than pure, liquid fear.
"You used the eternal flame to extract a soul- the mind soul from its previous host, didn't you? But you have already have had that soul for a while now, so that can't be what you are up to now... The missing people, Kal mentioned there were Folk disappearing… you have been practising, you want… no…. You want another soul," I stammer, horrified, looking Azrael up and down, as if finally seeing him for the first time. Azrael redirects his attention to me, eyes gleaming villainously.
"Ding ding, we have a winner," he chuckles darkly, raising my chin with his fingers, his body pressing up against mine, wetting his lips hungrily. I hold back a grimace at his touch, a sickening feeling rising in my throat.
You sick fucking bastard, I think bitterly, but hold my ground.
Azrael continues, smiling with a perverted amusement.
"I always knew you were smart- much smarter than my brother at least. Yes. As you can imagine, getting one soul of power in my body was quite the challenge- a lot of sacrifices had to be made- two thousand and fifty four to be precise. Two souls of power will be even more difficult- a single person was never meant to have more than one soul. But I have finally perfected it- the binding on multiple souls together. And now luck would have it I have two souls new right here- in this very palace! Oh, I am spoiled for choice!" Azrael throws his head back, laughing maniacally, his spit flying across the room.
Kal watches, shaking, quite obviously distressed, his eyes flickering between the two of us. I can tell he would like nothing better than to launch himself at Azrael, to knock him to the ground and burn him on a pillar of stakes and fire until he is screaming for the sweet release of death. Even to me, the prospect is only becoming more and more inviting by the second, but such an action would be rash at best, and deadly at worse.
If it is as Azrael says it is, if he has perfected what no one has ever dared to attempt before, then we are all in horrible danger.
"Oh Serena, you and I could be so powerful," Azrael whispers dotingly, the sudden quiet of his voice making him all the more terrifying. Suddenly, he brings his face up close to mine, so close the two of us are sharing the same heated breath. His cold, merciless fingers trail up across my arm, eliciting goose bumps to rise like blisters up from the skin.
Endure it. I think to myself. Just a little longer.
"I thought you wanted to kill me. You said yourself there are two souls of power in the palace, and I am one of them. Surely that means you plan to take my soul, you have no point in keeping me alive," I point out doubtfully, but do not shy away from the closeness of him- that would show I am afraid, and that is not another ego boost I am prepared to give him. At this, Azrael only grins.
"Oh my dear, little, Serena. Don't you understand? I only need one of your souls, after that I will already be far greater than either of you. Not to mention there are two other souls out there just ripe for the picking. The question is, which one of your souls will it be? I would rather not have to take yours, as I am quite fond of yours, but that, my dear, depends on whether you can find my brother quick enough to save him. "
"And if I don't manage?"
Azrael smiles, a cruel, wide smile.
"Then," he says slowly, his lips brushing up against my jawline, rough and brutal. My skin tingles at his touch, like acid on a wound, blistering and bubbling with undiluted loathing. I want him off me, I want him to get his filthy hands off me- perhaps I would burn them off if I could, it would certainly make a statement. But not yet, there is still some information left to glean.
"Then," Azrael repeats with a slightly greater intensity than the last. "I will take his soul instead of yours, and you shall become my wife. After all, when I reshape this world, I am going to need a Queen."
At this I have heard enough. With full force, I shove him away from me, using my energy as a newly awakened hybrid to send him rocketing across the room, and straight into the throne.
Make me his wife? As if that is ever going to happen.
Something cracks with the force of impact, sending a seismic impact rocketing through the ground, rattling me to the core. Flames curl at my wrists as I ready myself for attack, watching with a spiteful hatred at the crumpled for of Azrael at the foot of the throne. Even Kal overcomes his shock filled terror to stand beside me, his stance rigid, his black eyes wide.
"I can't believe this," Kal whispers, shaking his head, watching with a mixture of fear and amazement as Azrael's crumpled form folds itself back into a relatively humanoid shape. "He's after the souls."
"Not just one soul," Azrael grins, rising now like the moon towering in the sky, his eyes glowing with malice. He licks his lips, wiping away the debris from his entirely ruined suit with an air of dismission. "I require all five, in some form or another. Then, and only then, will I be able to reshape this world into a being of my own creation. Scum like my brother won't exist any more. I shall create a world of cold blood and ice, and once all is said and done, I shall be the one to rule it."
"You are foul," I scream, twisting my hands as I dig down deep inside me for that power that Soren had taught me to harness. I aim my hands forward towards the white haired vampire who descends down the steps of the dais towards us in a manner so casual one might suppose he didn't just get rocketed into the throne at tubular speeds. A flaming white tiger forms itself from the fires in my hands, leaping out in front of us to shield us from the oncoming vampire. It bares its flaming teeth and roars, shaking bits of dust and roofing loose from the ceiling. Azrael, for the heartless monster that he is, appears mildly impressed.
"Impressive, I will grant you that. But I am not here to fight you, not that I could anyway," he admits with a long sigh, gesturing the stake in his chest with a long, forlorn look. Black magic crackles around Kal, his membranous wings splaying behind him like a bat stretching out under the moonlight. Between us, light and dark swim between the air, a vision of light at dark that only fills Azrael with a faint amusement.
The white haired vampire steps closer.
The tiger roars with disdain. Pointing my finger towards him, the tiger bounds into action, launching itself at Azrael with full speed, clamping its flaming maw around his arm. Azrael rages a scream as the fiery teeth sink into his stony flesh, the fires of the heavens coursing through his body, burning up blisters on his arm. The fumigating stench of cindered flesh fills the air as Azrael wrestles with the tiger, both roaring like animals in a fight for dominance. For a moment the tiger appears to have the upper hand, flaming paws raking their way down Azrael's flesh and tearing apart the all too thin fabric of his clothes. Blood seeps down Azrael's sickly white skin, fanning out over his clothes as he grunts and heaves at the tiger I am controlling.
Then he takes a hold of its head, the solid flames obviously burning his hands, and with one swift movement, tears through its head.
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Azrael had taken hold of the eternal flame, that has been no secret to me. Through my own sheer willpower I have managed to puzzle together the pieces of his actions, but never got so far as to figure out his plan. It had always seemed to abstract: what could the eternal flame do for Azrael that his powers, or a wizard could not?
As far as I know, it helps to create and sustain life, an artefact that helps keep the Folk of Faey thriving and surviving through disasters and doom, along with its counterpart that resides within the foundations of my people. It gives us angels our power, maintains our strength against the vampires, fills our souls with magic. That was why it was so imperative that I retook it for my kind, before we sunk to little more than an empty husk of what we once were.
I think on that second, until my heart slowly grinds to a stop. If Azrael has the Eternal flame… oh no oh no oh no.
Once again, my vision flashes back to the eternal flame, somewhere deep underground in a room not privy to mortal eyes, guarded by a white haired individual who paces and claws with frustration, his red eyes gleaming with malice so strong it could wipe out life in this world without a second thought. Solitary, the eternal flame sits alone, shedding out a glorious golden light as the screams of the dying echo around the empty halls that drip wet with fresh, ruby blood. The screams…
Realisation hits me with the weight of a thousand bricks. My heart sinks in my chest, filling my stomach with an empty and all consuming dread, dissolving my insides to little more than pure, liquid fear.
"You used the eternal flame to extract a soul- the mind soul from its previous host, didn't you? But you have already have had that soul for a while now, so that can't be what you are up to now... The missing people, Kal mentioned there were Folk disappearing… you have been practising, you want… no…. You want another soul," I stammer, horrified, looking Azrael up and down, as if finally seeing him for the first time. Azrael redirects his attention to me, eyes gleaming villainously.
"Ding ding, we have a winner," he chuckles darkly, raising my chin with his fingers, his body pressing up against mine, wetting his lips hungrily. I hold back a grimace at his touch, a sickening feeling rising in my throat.
You sick fucking bastard, I think bitterly, but hold my ground.
Azrael continues, smiling with a perverted amusement.
"I always knew you were smart- much smarter than my brother at least. Yes. As you can imagine, getting one soul of power in my body was quite the challenge- a lot of sacrifices had to be made- two thousand and fifty four to be precise. Two souls of power will be even more difficult- a single person was never meant to have more than one soul. But I have finally perfected it- the binding on multiple souls together. And now luck would have it I have two souls new right here- in this very palace! Oh, I am spoiled for choice!" Azrael throws his head back, laughing maniacally, his spit flying across the room.
Kal watches, shaking, quite obviously distressed, his eyes flickering between the two of us. I can tell he would like nothing better than to launch himself at Azrael, to knock him to the ground and burn him on a pillar of stakes and fire until he is screaming for the sweet release of death. Even to me, the prospect is only becoming more and more inviting by the second, but such an action would be rash at best, and deadly at worse.
If it is as Azrael says it is, if he has perfected what no one has ever dared to attempt before, then we are all in horrible danger.
"Oh Serena, you and I could be so powerful," Azrael whispers dotingly, the sudden quiet of his voice making him all the more terrifying. Suddenly, he brings his face up close to mine, so close the two of us are sharing the same heated breath. His cold, merciless fingers trail up across my arm, eliciting goose bumps to rise like blisters up from the skin.
Endure it. I think to myself. Just a little longer.
"I thought you wanted to kill me. You said yourself there are two souls of power in the palace, and I am one of them. Surely that means you plan to take my soul, you have no point in keeping me alive," I point out doubtfully, but do not shy away from the closeness of him- that would show I am afraid, and that is not another ego boost I am prepared to give him. At this, Azrael only grins.
"Oh my dear, little, Serena. Don't you understand? I only need one of your souls, after that I will already be far greater than either of you. Not to mention there are two other souls out there just ripe for the picking. The question is, which one of your souls will it be? I would rather not have to take yours, as I am quite fond of yours, but that, my dear, depends on whether you can find my brother quick enough to save him. "
"And if I don't manage?"
Azrael smiles, a cruel, wide smile.
"Then," he says slowly, his lips brushing up against my jawline, rough and brutal. My skin tingles at his touch, like acid on a wound, blistering and bubbling with undiluted loathing. I want him off me, I want him to get his filthy hands off me- perhaps I would burn them off if I could, it would certainly make a statement. But not yet, there is still some information left to glean.
"Then," Azrael repeats with a slightly greater intensity than the last. "I will take his soul instead of yours, and you shall become my wife. After all, when I reshape this world, I am going to need a Queen."
At this I have heard enough. With full force, I shove him away from me, using my energy as a newly awakened hybrid to send him rocketing across the room, and straight into the throne.
Make me his wife? As if that is ever going to happen.
Something cracks with the force of impact, sending a seismic impact rocketing through the ground, rattling me to the core. Flames curl at my wrists as I ready myself for attack, watching with a spiteful hatred at the crumpled for of Azrael at the foot of the throne. Even Kal overcomes his shock filled terror to stand beside me, his stance rigid, his black eyes wide.
"I can't believe this," Kal whispers, shaking his head, watching with a mixture of fear and amazement as Azrael's crumpled form folds itself back into a relatively humanoid shape. "He's after the souls."
"Not just one soul," Azrael grins, rising now like the moon towering in the sky, his eyes glowing with malice. He licks his lips, wiping away the debris from his entirely ruined suit with an air of dismission. "I require all five, in some form or another. Then, and only then, will I be able to reshape this world into a being of my own creation. Scum like my brother won't exist any more. I shall create a world of cold blood and ice, and once all is said and done, I shall be the one to rule it."
"You are foul," I scream, twisting my hands as I dig down deep inside me for that power that Soren had taught me to harness. I aim my hands forward towards the white haired vampire who descends down the steps of the dais towards us in a manner so casual one might suppose he didn't just get rocketed into the throne at tubular speeds. A flaming white tiger forms itself from the fires in my hands, leaping out in front of us to shield us from the oncoming vampire. It bares its flaming teeth and roars, shaking bits of dust and roofing loose from the ceiling. Azrael, for the heartless monster that he is, appears mildly impressed.
"Impressive, I will grant you that. But I am not here to fight you, not that I could anyway," he admits with a long sigh, gesturing the stake in his chest with a long, forlorn look. Black magic crackles around Kal, his membranous wings splaying behind him like a bat stretching out under the moonlight. Between us, light and dark swim between the air, a vision of light at dark that only fills Azrael with a faint amusement.
The white haired vampire steps closer.
The tiger roars with disdain. Pointing my finger towards him, the tiger bounds into action, launching itself at Azrael with full speed, clamping its flaming maw around his arm. Azrael rages a scream as the fiery teeth sink into his stony flesh, the fires of the heavens coursing through his body, burning up blisters on his arm. The fumigating stench of cindered flesh fills the air as Azrael wrestles with the tiger, both roaring like animals in a fight for dominance. For a moment the tiger appears to have the upper hand, flaming paws raking their way down Azrael's flesh and tearing apart the all too thin fabric of his clothes. Blood seeps down Azrael's sickly white skin, fanning out over his clothes as he grunts and heaves at the tiger I am controlling.
Then he takes a hold of its head, the solid flames obviously burning his hands, and with one swift movement, tears through its head.
Azrael had taken hold of the eternal flame, that has been no secret to me. Through my own sheer willpower I have managed to puzzle together the pieces of his actions, but never got so far as to figure out his plan. It had always seemed to abstract: what could the eternal flame do for Azrael that his powers, or a wizard could not? As far as I know, it helps to create and sustain life, an artefact that helps keep the Folk of Faey thriving and surviving through disasters and doom, along with its counterpart that resides within the foundations of my people. It gives us angels our power, maintains our strength against the vampires, fills our souls with magic. That was why it was so imperative that I retook it for my kind, before we sunk to little more than an empty husk of what we once were.I think on that second, until my heart slowly grinds to a stop. If Azrael has the Eternal flame oh no oh no oh no. Once again, my vision flashes back to the eternal flame, somewhere deep underground in a room not privy to mortal eyes, guarded by a white haired individual who paces and claws with frustration, his red eyes gleaming with malice so strong it could wipe out life in this world without a second thought. Solitary, the eternal flame sits alone, shedding out a glorious golden light as the screams of the dying echo around the empty halls that drip wet with fresh, ruby blood. The screamsRealisation hits me with the weight of a thousand bricks. My heart sinks in my chest, filling my stomach with an empty and all consuming dread, dissolving my insides to little more than pure, liquid fear."You used the eternal flame to extract a soul- the mind soul from its previous host, didn't you? But you have already have had that soul for a while now, so that can't be what you are up to now... The missing people, Kal mentioned there were Folk disappearing you have been practising, you want no. You want another soul," I stammer, horrified, looking Azrael up and down, as if finally seeing him for the first time. Azrael redirects his attention to me, eyes gleaming villainously. "Ding ding, we have a winner," he chuckles darkly, raising my chin with his fingers, his body pressing up against mine, wetting his lips hungrily. I hold back a grimace at his touch, a sickening feeling rising in my throat.You sick fucking bastard, I think bitterly, but hold my ground.Azrael continues, smiling with a perverted amusement."I always knew you were smart- much smarter than my brother at least. Yes. As you can imagine, getting one soul of power in my body was quite the challenge- a lot of sacrifices had to be made- two thousand and fifty four to be precise. Two souls of power will be even more difficult- a single person was never meant to have more than one soul. But I have finally perfected it- the binding on multiple souls together. And now luck would have it I have two souls new right here- in this very palace! Oh, I am spoiled for choice!" Azrael throws his head back, laughing maniacally, his spit flying across the room. Kal watches, shaking, quite obviously distressed, his eyes flickering between the two of us. I can tell he would like nothing better than to launch himself at Azrael, to knock him to the ground and burn him on a pillar of stakes and fire until he is screaming for the sweet release of death. Even to me, the prospect is only becoming more and more inviting by the second, but such an action would be rash at best, and deadly at worse. If it is as Azrael says it is, if he has perfected what no one has ever dared to attempt before, then we are all in horrible danger."Oh Serena, you and I could be so powerful," Azrael whispers dotingly, the sudden quiet of his voice making him all the more terrifying. Suddenly, he brings his face up close to mine, so close the two of us are sharing the same heated breath. His cold, merciless fingers trail up across my arm, eliciting goose bumps to rise like blisters up from the skin.Endure it. I think to myself. Just a little longer."I thought you wanted to kill me. You said yourself there are two souls of power in the palace, and I am one of them. Surely that means you plan to take my soul, you have no point in keeping me alive," I point out doubtfully, but do not shy away from the closeness of him- that would show I am afraid, and that is not another ego boost I am prepared to give him. At this, Azrael only grins."Oh my dear, little, Serena. Don't you understand? I only need one of your souls, after that I will already be far greater than either of you. Not to mention there are two other souls out there just ripe for the picking. The question is, which one of your souls will it be? I would rather not have to take yours, as I am quite fond of yours, but that, my dear, depends on whether you can find my brother quick enough to save him. ""And if I don't manage?"Azrael smiles, a cruel, wide smile."Then," he says slowly, his lips brushing up against my jawline, rough and brutal. My skin tingles at his touch, like acid on a wound, blistering and bubbling with undiluted loathing. I want him off me, I want him to get his filthy hands off me- perhaps I would burn them off if I could, it would certainly make a statement. But not yet, there is still some information left to glean."Then," Azrael repeats with a slightly greater intensity than the last. "I will take his soul instead of yours, and you shall become my wife. After all, when I reshape this world, I am going to need a Queen."At this I have heard enough. With full force, I shove him away from me, using my energy as a newly awakened hybrid to send him rocketing across the room, and straight into the throne.Make me his wife? As if that is ever going to happen. Something cracks with the force of impact, sending a seismic impact rocketing through the ground, rattling me to the core. Flames curl at my wrists as I ready myself for attack, watching with a spiteful hatred at the crumpled for of Azrael at the foot of the throne. Even Kal overcomes his shock filled terror to stand beside me, his stance rigid, his black eyes wide."I can't believe this," Kal whispers, shaking his head, watching with a mixture of fear and amazement as Azrael's crumpled form folds itself back into a relatively humanoid shape. "He's after the souls.""Not just one soul," Azrael grins, rising now like the moon towering in the sky, his eyes glowing with malice. He licks his lips, wiping away the debris from his entirely ruined suit with an air of dismission. "I require all five, in some form or another. Then, and only then, will I be able to reshape this world into a being of my own creation. Scum like my brother won't exist any more. I shall create a world of cold blood and ice, and once all is said and done, I shall be the one to rule it.""You are foul," I scream, twisting my hands as I dig down deep inside me for that power that Soren had taught me to harness. I aim my hands forward towards the white haired vampire who descends down the steps of the dais towards us in a manner so casual one might suppose he didn't just get rocketed into the throne at tubular speeds. A flaming white tiger forms itself from the fires in my hands, leaping out in front of us to shield us from the oncoming vampire. It bares its flaming teeth and roars, shaking bits of dust and roofing loose from the ceiling. Azrael, for the heartless monster that he is, appears mildly impressed."Impressive, I will grant you that. But I am not here to fight you, not that I could anyway," he admits with a long sigh, gesturing the stake in his chest with a long, forlorn look. Black magic crackles around Kal, his membranous wings splaying behind him like a bat stretching out under the moonlight. Between us, light and dark swim between the air, a vision of light at dark that only fills Azrael with a faint amusement. The white haired vampire steps closer.The tiger roars with disdain. Pointing my finger towards him, the tiger bounds into action, launching itself at Azrael with full speed, clamping its flaming maw around his arm. Azrael rages a scream as the fiery teeth sink into his stony flesh, the fires of the heavens coursing through his body, burning up blisters on his arm. The fumigating stench of cindered flesh fills the air as Azrael wrestles with the tiger, both roaring like animals in a fight for dominance. For a moment the tiger appears to have the upper hand, flaming paws raking their way down Azrael's flesh and tearing apart the all too thin fabric of his clothes. Blood seeps down Azrael's sickly white skin, fanning out over his clothes as he grunts and heaves at the tiger I am controlling. Then he takes a hold of its head, the solid flames obviously burning his hands, and with one swift movement, tears through its head.
