*~Warning: this chapter contains descriptions and imagery that may not be suitable for all.~ This chapter can be confusing, please bear with me, all will be explained in Chapter 4. Thank you for reading and please review so that I will know how to adjust and direct.*

Chapter 3:

I hit the ground hard and begin to sob. This horrid gut wrenching feeling cannot control me. The last time I was so distraught… well, I hate thinking about it.

I look around and see Nathaniel’s couch and a few of his things beside me. I phased to hard, taking objects with me through the veil between dimensions. I hope his infrastructure is still intact. Oh Nathaniel, he didn’t deserve that, he has been through so much, I cannot allow my pain to be his burden. I must make it right, but first I must deal with my son. I push myself up from my knees and my feet sink a half inch into the sand. I reach out with my mind and find my cache.

I raise my hands to my temples and concentrate. Slowly I phase three thousand feet below the desert sands of the Sahara into a 2200 square foot room. This is where I keep things, dangerous things. No other creature but the Lord himself could find its way into the bowls of this lair. I have surrounded it with a stream of Ether so strong that any attempt made by something, other than myself, to enter would be swept away into a spiritual current, and they would be lost forever.

Quickly I rummage through crates and barrels of junk and more junk that I have removed from the world. The air is stagnant, but I can manage for a while. I tighten my blades on my shoulders and place more weapons on my belt. Grabbing the rest of what I need I glance to the back corner to make sure it’s still there. The glowing purple surface of it gleams as if winking at me, even though there is no light here. Seeing it sitting on its pedestal I am relieved and slowly push myself through the current of Ether, phasing back up to the surface of the sands.

I must remember to return Nathaniel’s couch. I phase.

The warehouse district is a secluded enough place. The smoke and smog coming out of the furnaces play off the light in the pre-dawn sky. Number thirteen Nathaniel had said. I walk along the street and put up some mental defenses. My hands tighten into fists and my features shine bright.

Standing before the large brown door I stop and breathe deeply. I already know he is here, I need not make sure with my mind. I reach both hands behind my head and grasp the hilts of my blades. Slowly I draw them from their sheaths making them ring loudly. Bringing them down to my sides I trace my fingers along the runes etched into the metal. Ethereal metal, it can only cut and tear at beings without souls. I slide open the doors and stand there at the edge. The billowing stench of flesh, blood, and bile hit me like a wave. The smells were days old.

“Putrid is thy disobedience to me! Worse is the stench of thy ignorance then that of these odors! You shall reap the harvest of thy indignation and drink from the cup of mine wrath! Show thyself to me vile spirit!”

Horrific laughter comes from behind a large container. This is not the voice of my son.

“Father,” the word disgusts me, “You words cut like knives strait into my heart.” The voice belonging to a man standing five foot six. His hair jet black, dark as night, and dripping wet. His eyes sunk into his skull, they held no life. His skin as pale as a sheet, drained of all his blood. He limped because he had no left foot, he walked on the bone of his ankle; he supported his weight with a rusty iron pipe. Lacerations and cuts covered his body. His clothes torn and fragments were covered with blood and bile. This man died more than four days ago.

“COWARD!” I exclaimed. “You are no son of mine!”

More hideous laughter. He motioned to his body.

“You like it?” he asked chuckling and coughing. “It was Urim’s idea.”

“You will pay for this Damone.” I said, my voice think with anger and pain.

“Not anytime soon I won’t!” he said with a smile, “I am completely protected from you like this am I not?”

“No, no that’s impossible.”

“Clearly it is not, otherwise I would be quite dead.”

I lunged at him the blade in my right hand went for the neck and the one in my left the heart. My blades phased through the flesh and my arms recoiled from the force I had exerted. The body still stood in one piece.

“How… there is no soul in that corpse!” I’m scrambling through my head. How could this happen, my swords do nothing to the body!

“Oh, he is here still. He is weak. Would you like to talk to him?” The body fell limp on the floor and a new voice echoed from its throat in a cry of pure agony. The black eyes fixed on my and stared.

“Help me…” he murmured. Then the life left his eyes and a maniacal laugh erupted from his throat.

“You see? I have outsmarted you! You are nothing, you are worthless.” Damone said through his host.

“How did you tether the soul to the body?”

“It’s complicated, I wouldn’t want to bore you.” He said and then looked behind me. I sensed them approaching and spun to meet them.

Four Ash demons in their corporeal form ran at me with daggers drawn. The first and second jumped and came at me from above, the other two went wide and came from the sides. Just before they were close enough to cut me I phased behind the first in the air and cut of his head. It disintegrated into cinder within moments of separation. The body followed it down and burst into flames. Before the others could react I pulled a cylinder from my pocket and threw it at the third and second and fourth. They were both immediately incinerated. The last came running strait at me. I held my sword out to the side and phased right in front of him. His momentum carried him strait threw the molecule-thin edge of the blade and he too fell to his death and caught fire. I phased back behind Damone and his host and began violently slashing at his body.

“This cannot be!” I screamed. Damone could not stop laughing, and coughing. With every cough bile, blood, and spittle came from his mouth and spewed the air. Then more demons appeared and I turned to combat them. Whilst I was fighting Damone seemed to remember what he wanted to say.

“Do you know why I’m here father?”

“No,” I said between swings, “Nor do I care, I will rid this world of your filth.” More and more Ash demons appearing out of nowhere, I was now fighting eight.

“Well, you’re doing such a great job! Anyway, I mentioned Urim earlier, he has decided that we should free the bound Fallen and he wanted me to tell you that we have found the first Orb!”

Words cannot describe the terror that gripped me in that moment; it grasped me like the cold water of the Arctic Ocean, so real I could taste the salt. Distraught, I fell to my knees and daggers tore into my flesh. Gold liquid ran down the length of my coat soaking the ground beneath me. I fell to the ground and felt my lifesblood leaving me.

“Hahahaha, did I catch you by surprise? Tell me did you really think you could hide the Orbs forever?”

I could not speak, my mind began to blur and I began to fall unconscious while the beat of my heart poured out more of my blood onto the ground.