Prologue - Chapter 2
Piles of large rocks were blackened as she came across the opening to the cave which was hidden by loose rocks and foliage. The air carried a faint scent of sulfur and the sense of peace that existed in the forest that was so close was now gone. Here the air was still as if holding its breath. The birds were silent as they watched her. Taking a deep breath she steadied herself.
Pulling out her Daemoni sword, the one sure thing that could put a permanent end to a Daemoni, she prepared herself for anything. Entering the dark and dank cave she scrunched up her nose at the smell of mildew and rot. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she looked around, her ears only picking up the sounds of small rodents skittering away.
Needing additional light, she pulled out her flashlight so she could look around. Shining her light around the cave, she noticed there was a path off towards the back corner. Following it, she had to duck down several times to avoid hitting her head. Finally the tunnel opened to a large room of sorts that was lit up from the magick of the veil which appeared in the middle of the cavernous room.
It appeared as if it were simply a window looking out to another world. If she could see the Dark Realms through the veil then it was almost non-existent. Normally, realm veils were impossible to see with normal human eyes. No wonder the villagers were scared. They knew about the cave and their young people often enjoyed the excitement of going to a place that gave off an eerie vibe. If they came to the cave, saw the realm veil and any Daemoni on the other side, it would have freaked them out. It would have looked like a window into hell.
As she got closer and looked into the realm veil herself, she was actually surprised to see a Daemoni Prince looking out through the veil almost wistfully. When his eyes met hers she felt completely stunned at the emotion in them. They were filled with pain and despair.
“Who are you?” she asked in Daemoni. She could tell he was a prince by the fact that he had large ridged horns on his head. Each level of Daemoni had a slightly different look but the princes all had large ridged horns.
While she spoke to him in Daemoni, he looked at her in surprise. Their eyes met and she could feel his emotion as strongly as if it were her own. She blinked in surprise when suddenly he howled, almost as if in pain and fled from her sight. Sitting down on a rock in surprise she realized she had never seen any Daemoni show any emotion other than hate towards humans. This Prince, whomever it was, felt a level of sadness so deep it cut into her own heart.
“Who are you?” she whispered out loud again wishing there was some way to help him. In truth, she hated seeing any creature or being suffering as he did. No one deserved that.
“That was Mikael, son of Queen Innara and Lord Lucifer that you saw,” a beautiful woman answered with flowing red hair as she appeared in the cave wearing a smile. “He has been cursed by his mother to be unable to change his form. This has caused him great pain and a weakening of his powers. Worse, he is unable to fight the growing darkness in his soul.”
“And who are you?” Nira asked as she had positioned herself in a defensive mode, on high alert.
“I am Galena, the Seer of Ikisat and sister to Prince Damian, friend to Mikael. Damian has been tirelessly hunting for a way to save Mikael. Unfortunately, he has not been able to find a way to break the curse that causes so much pain to his friend. Today, though, things have changed and I was blessed with a vision of you, sweet Nira.”
“You're Daemoni, why should I trust you?” Nira asked suspiciously. Daemoni Seers were notorious although Galena never seemed to harbor any ill will towards humans. Nira knew her father trusted her visions.
“I mean you no harm. Rather, I like you and your father, Darius. You fight to protect the innocent. We punish those that harm the innocent. Not all Daemoni wish evil onto the world. Soon, in fact, things will greatly change between humans and Daemoni and this change will mean amazing things for all the realms. None of that will happen if Mikael falls prey to the darkness. The darkness that Mordecai gains his power from.”
“Mordecai is completely evil and all would be better off if he didn't exist,” Nira stated emphatically as she slowly started to relax.
“I very much agree, as does my brother. Ikisat and its Prince view Mordecai as their enemy,” Galena smiled at her. Nira was so very pretty with white blonde hair, lavender colored eyes and a petite frame. Despite her size, she gave off an air of incredible strength, a strength she would pass on to her child.
“So what was this vision?” Nira asked as she put away her sword. Galena the Seer and Daemoni Healer was the most accurate of Daemoni seers. She was also the most powerful.
“You will be the one to find a way to break Mikael's curse but first you simply need to show him kindness, something he has never known before.”
“Kindness. That's easy enough,” Nira replied thinking. “How do I break his curse? Did the visions show you that?”
“Alas, they did not. Only that the first step is kindness. I must leave you now, sweet Nira, my Prince needs me. Remember, kindness is the key,” Galena stated before vanishing.
“Well, that was definitely not the kind of Daemoni I thought I'd come across today. It's a good thing I had planned to camp here if I needed to,” Nira smiled with a shake of her head as she started to unpack her backpack. Little did she realize that a certain Daemoni was watching her curiously.
Humming softly to herself, Nira pulled out a type of mat and unrolled it, creating a sleeping area. Sitting down on it, she pulled out her smart phone and checked her reception. She actually had service in a cave which surprised her. Dialing her father she smiled as he answered, “Are you ok?”
“Well hello to you too, Dad. I'm fine. I found the issue. The veil has grown thin. I don't think any Daemoni have crossed over. I just think wandering villagers may have stumbled across it and saw Daemoni on the other side. I'll strengthen it and then keep an eye on it for a couple of days.”
“Ok, do you have enough supplies while you’re there?”
“Of course. Hey, Dad, what do you know of Galena and her brother Prince Damian?”
“Galena is probably the only Seer of the Dark Realms I actually trust. She’s never been a problem but rather has shown herself to be an ally. Damian... he's complicated. He's the most powerful of realm princes and not a fan of Mordecai or Innara. He doesn't want to move against Innara because of his loyalty to Lucifer.”
“Wait, I thought I remembered that he and Lucifer had issues?”
“A very long time ago, yes. Now, not at all. Lucifer has recognized that Damian is strategically brilliant and has always had the interest of the Dark Realms at heart. I do worry about him, though. He has started to show signs that the 'darkness', as they call it, has gotten stronger in him. If he falls prey to it I worry about what that means.”
“Yeah, that would definitely be scary for all the realms. What about Innara's son, Mikael? What do you know of him?” Nira asked. She knew her father was probably wondering about her questions but she needed information.
“Where did you hear about the Cursed One? Has something happened?” Darius questioned her.
“I saw him through the veil and he looked... sad,” Nira told him as she thought about the prince.
“That's not surprising, to be honest. Several hundred years ago, Mordecai decided to make the Dark Realms his home base and turned his attention to making Innara his pawn. Unfortunately, it worked. Before then, the Dark Realms were not nearly the issue they are known to be now. That is all my brother's influence over Innara.
“Mikael was not fond of Mordecai and made his opinion known to his mother. That made him a problem. So Mordecai did what he always does best, he manipulated Innara. She believed that the spell she was doing was only going to keep Mikael from leaving her. Unfortunately, though, my brother modified it so that Mikael couldn't use his power to change forms. The curse also left him in constant pain and slowly drained his powers and fed it into the darkness that feeds Mordecai,” Darius explained. “I have looked into the curse myself and I have yet to find any way to break it.”
“I'm sure there’s a way. There always is. It's just a matter of finding it.”
“Very true. I know you, Nira, stay out of it. Mordecai is not someone you want focused on you,” Darius warned.
“I know, Dad. Don't worry so much.”
“When you’re a parent you’ll understand that I ALWAYS worry. I trust your intuition, Nira, just be safe ok?” he pleaded.
“I will. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Love you!”
“Love you, too. Bye.”
As Nira hung up she pulled out a nutrition bar and sat back against a rock, thinking as she ate. So Mordecai was why Mikael was suffering. She hated that her uncle, someone from her family, had done that to him. She didn't like to use words like hate but Mordecai was different. He was evil. Pure evil and to say she hated him was putting it lightly. Mordecai was the reason her mother was taken from her. He wanted to destroy what his brother had created, her.