《The Soul Divide》


 Chapter One

    One


    My parents and sister died when I was eleven years old. I followed them fifteen years later.


    Before I tell you how I died, though, I should start with how my family perished. Dates don¡¯t mean much to me these days, and many of the specifics of my life are blurry now, but I think it was sometime in the nineteen-nineties. Dad spent most of his time at the law firm where he worked and Mom stayed home, raising the two of us, keeping house, and watching soap operas. We ate dinners together, Dad joining us when he made it home on time, but I don¡¯t remember being particularly close as a family. My sister, Nicole, was fifteen and right in the middle of that phase most kids go through, where they think they know everything and that their family is the most embarrassing thing in the world. We didn¡¯t have much in common and rarely played together, even when we were younger. She had her friends and I had mine, and our two groups never mingled - at least not on purpose. The four-year age difference between her and me might not seem like much to most adults, but to kids, it may well have been the Grand Canyon. I desperately wish now that I had taken advantage of what time we had. I¡¯d give anything to be able to see her again. I visit with Mom and Dad from time to time, but even after a hundred years - by Earth reckoning - Nicole still has not come to us, despite the promises she gave me the last time I saw her.


    Dad had won a few big cases recently, and as a reward was invited to use the company-owned townhouse at a fancy ski resort in Aspen, Colorado. So, we found ourselves going on a rare vacation as an entire family. None of us had ever really skied before, we lived in Los Angeles, after all, but we still had a great time. Even Nicole forgot about being a moody grump and managed to have fun. Some of my best memories of her come from that trip. Those will never fade, no matter how long eternity lasts. Unfortunately, we only got to spend a week there before we had to get back home. I don¡¯t remember why, if I ever knew in the first place, but I¡¯m fairly certain it was work-related. Whatever the reason, after one last day out on the slopes, we loaded our luggage into the rental car and began driving to the airport. We never made it.


    I was only eleven so I was more interested in arguing with Nicole over whose turn it was with the Game Boy than what the weather conditions were or how attentive Dad was to the road, so I have no idea what exactly happened. All I know was that Dad suddenly slammed on the brakes at the same time as Mom screamed. The car began to spin and then lurched violently. Airbags were a recent invention and Dad had decided against a model equipped with them in order to save a few bucks. I¡¯m not sure they would have helped anyway. Nicole, Mom, and I were all wearing our seatbelts, so we were not thrown about the inside of the car when it began rolling over. Dad, however, had no such protection. Metal screeched and crumpled, glass shattered and luggage flew as the car bounced horrendously with each consecutive revolution. I¡¯m fairly certain Dad was dead before we landed in the river. Mom drowned a few minutes later. I remember the sense of panic I felt as icy cold water filled the cabin and the terrible shock against my skin when it reached me. I remember how it sapped all my strength instantly and paralyzed my muscles so that I couldn¡¯t free myself, no matter how much I wanted to. What I don¡¯t remember is Nicole releasing my seatbelt and shoving me through the broken passenger door window or her desperate but ultimately futile attempts to free Mom. Those were details I only learned about after my own death years later.


    When I woke up the next day, laying in a hospital bed, wrapped in warm blankets and surrounded by the concerned faces of people I did not know, I was told that I had been found on the edge of the shore by a passing motorist about a hundred yards downstream. He was a rich kid, living off his trust fund and always chasing the next thrill. You know, the kind of kid that makes people shake their heads and grumble about good-for-nothing layabouts. I don¡¯t know about any of that. All I know is that, many years later, when his time finally came, I put in a good word for him with the boss. My parents were found by the emergency responders, still in the car. They didn¡¯t find Nicole until after the spring thaw. The current had swept her away, as it had me. She wound up lodged under a thick sheet of ice in an eddy nearly a mile downstream. To this day I don¡¯t know how I managed to escape that same fate.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    After the funeral - which I don¡¯t really remember - I bounced from foster home to foster home until I aged out at eighteen. The system wasn¡¯t very good back then, and many of the foster parents I wound up with were only in it for the stipends the state gave them to pay for my needs, most of which wound up lining their pockets instead of providing me with ones that didn¡¯t have holes in them. I can¡¯t honestly say I was much better though. When I wasn¡¯t getting into fights at school or having screaming matches with my foster parents I was sulking in my room, playing violent video games instead of doing my homework. I never did graduate high school, though I got my GED after I was out on my own and realized I needed something if I ever wanted to land a decent job.


    I bounced from one dead-end job to another for a few years before finally landing one with a logging company that was recruiting at job fairs in L.A. I had never been good with numbers and I was even worse with people, so working in the woods was a good fit for me. The money was good and the hard work gave me an outlet for my anger. I found myself getting into a lot fewer fights - when I was sober, at least. Timber crews work hard and party even harder, but somehow I managed to toe the line and keep myself out of jail or from getting fired, unlike many of my friends. After a few years of trimming limbs and sawing logs that the more experienced guys felled, the company decided it was time I learned to cut down trees. I trained under a crusty, foul-mouthed old codger who was getting ready to retire and quickly took to the task. I spent the next four years felling trees without a single accident. Unfortunately, the incident that ended that record also ended my life.


    One of the most dangerous parts of cutting down a tree is not making sure it lands safely - though that is a very serious consideration - but ensuring that when it begins to fall, the base doesn¡¯t bounce back and hit anyone as the weight of the tree is suddenly released from the trunk and its center of gravity shifts. There¡¯s a certain art to it, and making the correct cuts in the right places takes skill gained from proper training and experience. On the day in question - my last day - I was with my crew felling the trees the foresters had marked a few days prior. It was straightforward work and the forest wasn¡¯t very dense as we were working in an area that had been logged only a few years before. It was about mid-day, if my fuzzy memory serves me right, and we were getting ready to break for lunch. I had made my final cut on a nice 20-foot Douglas Fir and stepped aside to watch it fall. The wood began to snap and pop, just like I¡¯d heard hundreds of times before and I smiled in anticipation of the crash that indicated another job well done, but that smile faded as the tree began to twist in an entirely unexpected manner. My spotter shouted something and my mind instantly began to analyze what was happening. There must have been a twist in the grain that we hadn¡¯t noticed, or maybe a hidden knot or any of a dozen other possible issues. Whatever the case, the tree was not falling where I had intended. Even as I watched the base of the tree begin to push back and rush straight towards me my feet didn¡¯t get the message to move. ¡°Crap,¡± I thought as the jagged trunk got closer and closer. ¡°This is really going to hurt.¡±


    End of Chapter One

 Chapter Two

    Two


    From this point on my memories are crystal clear, with the fuzzy memories of my old life feeling more like a dream than reality. The first thing I can tell you is that it did hurt, more than anything I had ever felt before, but only for a few seconds. After that, I can¡¯t tell you what happened to my body back on Earth. Unlike popular belief, we don¡¯t sit around in the clouds, looking down and watching the living. We can¡¯t. The connection is gone. We have no more idea what¡¯s happening there than you do about what¡¯s happening here. But wait, you say. How am I telling you about all this? Well, that¡¯s another story that will have to wait for another time. This one needs to be told first. Trust me. So let¡¯s get back to it.


    The pain was gone, I noticed. What little medical knowledge I had - gained mostly from watching Grey¡¯s Anatomy - told me that was most definitely not a good thing. I was lying on the ground, which was to be expected considering I had just been hit square in the chest by a 20-foot-tall tree. I groaned even though I felt no pain. It was a bit of a test, really, just to see if I could. The groan worked, which was good, so I progressed to the next step and tried moving a few limbs. First, my fingers, which wiggled as they were supposed to, and then my arms, which I used to bring my fingers to my face and rub my temples. All of that went without a hitch, so I decided to open my eyes, half expecting to discover that I had been ripped in half by the tree and was currently lying in a pool of my own guts, moving on reflex alone. I wasn¡¯t. Well, I may very well have been. Like I said, I have no idea what happened to my physical body. But we¡¯re getting sidetracked again.


    I was lying flat on my back, so the first thing I noticed was the sky. A brilliant light shone straight down on me. I thought it was the sun at first, but it was quickly fading and I soon realized that the real sun was sitting at a different angle from this light. As the mysterious light faded completely I propped myself up on my elbows and looked around. My body seemed to be completely intact and my clothes were all fine, without so much as a rip or a bit of mud or sawdust on them. In fact, they were cleaner than they had ever been since the day I bought them. I was also lying in the middle of a grassy green field, my chainsaw and the tree that hit me were nowhere in sight. The closest trees were at least a hundred yards away. That was my first clue that I was no longer on Earth. We had been logging somewhere in the Klamath mountains of northern California, and while grassy fields weren¡¯t unheard of out there, they looked a LOT different than this one.


    I carefully stood up, just in case something was broken after all and the act of moving around finally made my body remember that it had just been subjected to severe trauma. The air was fresh and clean, with a warm, grassy scent to it. The sky was brilliant blue, with only a few fluffy and perfectly white clouds hanging in it. Birds sang and insects buzzed. The sun was warm and bright, but not hot, and I realized it wasn¡¯t making me squint, even though I was the kind of guy who normally used sunglasses even on cloudy days. Everything about the world seemed to be in perfect focus, and the colors were far more stark and brilliant than what I was used to. It was at this point that I began to suspect that maybe that tree had killed me after all and I was now in heaven, or something similar. It certainly didn¡¯t feel like the other place. I really hoped I was wrong about that. Turned out I was - on a few of the points, at least.


    ¡°Well,¡± I said to the empty field. ¡°This sucks.¡± The birds ignored me and kept right on singing. ¡°What am I supposed to do now?¡± I grumbled. I was as confused as¡­ well, that other place, and it was making me irritable. In all the movies there was usually some sort of beautiful angel that appeared to explain things to the recently deceased soul. At that point, I would have been happy if some ugly little goblin popped up beside me, as long as it could tell me what was happening.


    No goblin appeared, but I did notice a growing dark spot up in the sky. I only noticed it because it contrasted so dramatically with the perfectly white clouds. I stared at the spot, not needing to squint even though it was coming from the same direction as the sun, and tried to figure out what it was. As I stared, my subconscious mind warned me that the world had gone silent. My attention dropped from the dark point in the sky and I focused on my surroundings. The birds had stopped singing, the buzzing insects had grown quiet, and not so much as a gentle breeze stirred the air. It was as if the entire world was holding its breath. A chill ran up my spine as a sort of chittering, laughing, screeching noise reached my ears. It came from the same direction as the dark spot and instantly told me that whatever was up there in the sky, I did not want to meet it. So I did what any rational person would do in such a situation - I turned and ran like the devil himself was on my tail. That wasn¡¯t too far from the truth.


    Running and sports had never been my thing. I was more of a first-person-shooter kind of guy. But I did work hard tromping about in the woods for upwards of eighty hours a week at times, so I was not out of shape by any definition of the word. I covered half the distance between where I had started and the edge of the field before risking a peek over my shoulder, expecting to see the spot growing larger but still a long way off. Instead of having grown only a little larger, however, the spot had now gotten so close that I could clearly make out what it was. It was not just a single spot, but several. They were what I could only describe as demons. Dark-skinned creatures flying on batlike, leathery wings with hideous faces containing short snouts and bulging eyes that were far too large for their heads. What little clothing they wore was ragged and tattered. They were flapping their wings furiously, reaching towards me with long, taloned fingers, screeching loudly and getting closer at an alarming rate. Panic and adrenaline mixed together inside me and I kicked it into high gear, hoping that if I could just make it to the edge of the woods I would find safety.


    My legs were burning by the time I reached the edge of the woods and for a brief moment I let myself hope that I would actually make it, but those hopes were dashed as one of the demons landed right in front of me. I couldn¡¯t stop in time and ran right into it. It was about a head shorter than I was and was very skinny, with almost no visible muscle, but I still bounced off of it like I had hit a brick wall. I landed flat on my back and the thing started laughing, a hideous, high-pitched sound that sent chills down my back and turned my stomach.


    ¡°We got it!¡± cried another one as it landed behind me, its voice just as high-pitched as the one that I had run into. Five more landed in a circle around me, cutting off any hope I had of escape, not that there had been any chance of that happening anyway.


    ¡°You should have let it run some more,¡± snarled yet another one. ¡°I like it when they run.¡±


    ¡°And risk letting the others get it first?,¡± said the one I had bounced off of. It seemed to be the leader. ¡°Play with your own toys, but don¡¯t risk the Master¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the harm in having a little fun? There¡¯s only one other strong ¡®nough to worry us, and I ain¡¯t seen no sign ¡®o her yet. I say let the soul run. It¡¯ll be its last chance, and their fear is so delicious.¡± The creature licked its lips as it watched me with hungry eyes, giving me a good look at its needle-sharp teeth.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°And I say you¡¯re a fool. You know what Lord Nergal will do to us if we lose another one? I¡¯d rather die than get banished. Earth¡¯s so cold, and it¡¯s crawling with angels. Unbound angels. You fancy facing off with one ¡®o them? We got a good gig goin¡¯ here and I ain¡¯t risking it just ¡®cause you like playing ¡®round. Now grab the soul and let¡¯s get going.¡± The demon peered up at the sky for a few moments. ¡°B¡¯sides. I know that cursed angel saw the light. She always does. I wanna be well clear ¡®o here ¡®fore it arrives.¡± Before I could move a muscle, two of the demon creatures sprang forward and grabbed me, their claws digging into my shoulders. Surprisingly, it didn¡¯t hurt nearly as much as I thought it would. I felt the pressure of their grasp, but not the pain of the claws. They had called me a soul, and their references to angels and Earth confirmed some of my suspicions from earlier. It seemed I really was dead after all. Those thoughts entered my head, but immediately flew out again as the demons flapped their wings and began carrying me off. I had far more pressing matters to worry about.


    My stomach lurched as we lifted into the air. Heights had never bothered me much, and I frequently had to climb up a tree and limb it before cutting it down. This was very, very, different from that, though. I tried not to vomit as I watched the ground drop away, my feet dangling freely, knowing that the only thing holding me up were these demon¡¯s claws. We quickly left the clearing behind as the demons headed back in the direction they had come from. After several minutes one of the creatures at the back of the pack let out an alarmed squawk. The leader turned its head to look back. ¡°What is it?¡± it demanded irritably. Its demeanor changed a moment later as it focused on something behind us. It let out a string of curses, some of which I had never even heard, and that¡¯s saying something, considering where I worked. ¡°She¡¯s found us,¡± it hissed. ¡°I hoped we¡¯d get closer to the city first.¡± I twisted around, trying to get a look at what they were talking about. It was awkward, caught in between two demons that were bouncing up and down with each flap of their wings, but I caught a glimpse of something shining nearly as bright as the sun itself. I couldn¡¯t make out any more detail than that, but I did notice it was catching up to us at an alarming rate. ¡°Slow her down,¡± the lead demon barked at the two in the back.


    ¡°Are you crazy?¡± one of them shot back. ¡°She¡¯ll tear us to pieces.¡±


    ¡°And what will Lord Nergal do to you if you let her get the soul? Better to die fighting than to return a coward and a failure. Now get back there and stall her. We¡¯ll be at the border soon. After that, it¡¯s smooth sailing.¡±


    ¡°For you,¡± the other demon at the back said. ¡°We¡¯ll be dust.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ll be sure to tell Lord Nergal that you died bravely instead of the cowardly scum you really are. Now which death you want? Hers?¡± It pointed a twisted claw in the direction of what by this point I had inferred was an angel. ¡°Or the Master¡¯s? I can tell you right now which one will be quick and merciful.¡±


    The demons carrying me slowed down and turned slightly, obviously curious about what was happening. The new angle gave me a much better view and I watched as the two unfortunate creatures at the back contemplated their fates, then turned and flew towards the glowing figure. I could make out a silhouette of its shape by this point and saw that it was flying on large, bird-like wings, the kind you would imagine an angel to have. I couldn¡¯t make out any other distinguishing features, though, and just had to take the demon¡¯s word that it was a woman. The angel slowed its approach as the two demons reached her. The three of them began swirling around, sizing each other up. The demons drew swords ¨C from where I did not know ¨C and the angel drew hers as well. The angel¡¯s sword burst into flame as the demons struck with fury. The angel parried their attacks, sparks flying as their swords collided, and I caught glimpses of a gleaming armored breastplate over her robes. I desperately hoped she would win.


    ¡°What are you waiting for, fools?¡± the lead demon cried. ¡°Move it!¡±


    The demons carrying me squawked and turned. The two remaining demons who weren¡¯t carrying me and the lead demon all drew swords from nowhere, surrounding me and my captors as they rushed forward, faster than ever. I tried twisting around to watch the fight, but I was bounced and jostled about so much that I couldn¡¯t see anything. The stalling tactic must have worked because we flew on for several more minutes with no more incidents, though the demons maintained their speed and never let their guard down. Eventually, I noticed a city skyline appearing on the horizon. The demons saw it too and they noticeably relaxed, though their pace did not slacken any. If anything, their speed increased. ¡°We made it,¡± the lead demon said, relief evident in its scratchy, high-pitched voice. My heart sank. If they were happy, it most likely meant bad news for me. As we drew nearer, the skyline grew and the silhouettes of the city¡¯s buildings became crisper and more defined. It looked just like any other cityscape on Earth. Tall skyscrapers clustered together in the city center, while shorter buildings sprawled out to either side. From what I could tell, the city was massive. Not quite as big as L.A., but close. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything like suburbs around ¨C just the wilderness, and then, suddenly, the city. That made it hard to compare to the cities on Earth, which always had suburban sprawl surrounding them, making them seem larger than the city limits themselves. ¡°The border¡¯s just ahead,¡± the lead demon said. ¡°Fly, you scum!¡±


    The demons carrying me flapped their wings even harder than before, pushing us forward. Behind us, one of the demons suddenly cried out. There was a flash of brilliant light and it fell silent. I turned in alarm and saw the angel, dark dust falling slowly around her, flaming sword held low as if she had just finished a stroke. The demon was gone ¨C burned to ash by my guess. The creatures carrying me panicked and tried flying off in different directions without letting go of me first. Now, when they had grabbed me with their sharp claws, I said that hadn¡¯t hurt much, and it was true. This, however, did. Having two powerful beings tugging on you, trying to rip you in half while they panic is not a pleasant feeling. Needless to say, I screamed. The lead demon shouted something that I couldn¡¯t make out, focused as I was on the intense pain I was suffering. The demons settled down and got themselves pointed in the same direction again, easing my suffering greatly. They began flying toward the city again, but the angel flew around and blocked our path, holding her sword out and pointing at us. ¡°Give me the soul,¡± she demanded. My eyes were blurry from the constant wind and the excruciating pain I had just experienced, so I couldn¡¯t make out her features very well, but something stirred at the sound of her voice. I knew that voice on a primal level I couldn¡¯t explain at that moment.


    ¡°No,¡± the lead demon said, sounding like a petulant child. ¡°We found it first. It¡¯s ours by the terms of the contract.¡±


    ¡°Only if you cross the border with it,¡± the angel replied. ¡°And unless they¡¯ve been redrawn, you¡¯re still in neutral lands.¡± I blinked my eyes, squeezing hard to try and clear them out so I could see better. The angel¡¯s voice was so familiar and comforting that it hurt my heart. I desperately wanted to see her face. I just knew that if she was able to get me away from these creatures, then everything would be alright after all.


    ¡°Not for long,¡± the lead demon said, its voice coming from directly behind me now. I felt a sharp pain on each of my shoulders and opened my eyes to see that it had grabbed me with its feet. It shoved away the two demons that had been carrying me. ¡°Get her!¡± it cried, pointing at the angel. The demons hesitated for a moment, then rushed at the angel, swords held high. The last remaining escort demon joined them, making it a three-against-one contest. The lead demon flew towards the city, abandoning its companions in a mad rush to get to safety. I looked back at the fight, desperately praying that it was going well, and was glad to see my hopes confirmed. She had already dispatched one of her attackers, as evidenced by the black dust swirling about, and was holding the other two at bay. One of the demons swung its sword too wide and the angel took full advantage of the mistake, slicing the creature clean in half with her flaming sword. As it burned away to dust I finally got a good look at her face and my heart cried out in joy. Even surrounded by a supernatural glow, with giant white-feathered wings on her back and a golden halo hovering over her head, it was a face I would never forget.


    My savior was my sister, Nicole.


    End of Chapter Two

 Chapter Three

    Three


    ¡°Nicole!¡± I cried, my voice hoarse. ¡°Help!¡±


    Nicole cut down her last opponent and turned towards me, surprise and anger on her face. ¡°Silence, soul. Where did you hear that name? I am called Mastemat, the angel of malice and destruction.¡± She turned her attention back to the lead demon, who had stopped when I called out and was hovering a healthy distance away from her. ¡°Surrender the soul to me and you may yet survive this day.¡±


    ¡°Nicole!¡± I shouted again. ¡°It¡¯s me! Your brother! Don¡¯t you recognize me?¡± I studied her again, certain I wasn¡¯t mistaken. Except for a few shiny new accessories and a fancy change of clothes, she looked exactly like she had on the day she died fifteen years before. The same long, dark hair. The same face with just a hint of freckles dotting the cheeks. The same expressive brown eyes. It was her, I had no doubt.


    ¡°Shut up, you!¡± The demon hissed, squeezing my shoulders so hard I thought the bones would crack. It shook me about so violently my head bounced back and forth and my teeth rattled. I wondered what would happen if I broke my neck. Could I die again? The shaking stopped and I remained quiet. My head was spinning so badly that I doubt I could have spoken at that moment anyway.


    Despite her cold demeanor a few moments before, Nicole paused and looked me over more carefully. Her eyes narrowed and then suddenly widened. Her entire bearing changed in an instant. She dropped her sword, which disappeared the moment it left her hand. She brought her hands up to her mouth and shook her head, flying back a few feet. ¡°No,¡± she said, so quietly I could barely hear her. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be here. You can¡¯t be here. This isn¡¯t right.¡± She muttered a few more things that I couldn¡¯t make out and then composed herself, suddenly the stern warrior angel again. She lifted her hand, the flaming sword appearing in it again, and pointed it at us. ¡°Give him to me now!¡± she demanded. The demon cackled with glee, suddenly acting much braver than it had a few moments before.


    ¡°You know this soul, don¡¯t you, Mastemat? How delightfully tragic.¡± It cackled again, a sound so sickening it made my stomach churn. ¡°If you want it so bad, come an¡¯ get it.¡± In a flash, Nicole flew at us, sword pulled back and ready to strike. I closed my eyes and turned my head, ready for the blow that would destroy the demon, hoping it wouldn¡¯t hit me too, but it never came. The demon continued its sickening laugh and I opened my eyes, only to see Nicole frozen a few feet in front of us, struggling against some unseen force that seemed to be holding her back. ¡°You can¡¯t cross the border, can¡¯t you?¡± the demon sneered. ¡°Fly on home, girly, an¡¯ tell old Aamon that you let another one slip through your fingers.¡±


    Despair washed over me as I watched Nicole struggle against whatever it was that held her back. We must have crossed the border in the few moments Nicole had spent fighting the other demons, which explained my captor¡¯s newfound courage. ¡°Give him to me now, Hell-Spawn!¡± Nicole said through gritted teeth, her eyes ablaze with rage. The demon laughed and gave her the one-fingered salute before turning and flying towards the city, leaving her angry threats ¡ª and my hopes¡ª behind us.


    <hr>


    Nothing of interest happened to me for some time after that. I dangled helplessly beneath the demon as it flew towards the city, which was still some distance off. So, instead of boring you with an account of how nothing happened, I¡¯ll tell you about what was happening at that time, though I didn¡¯t learn any of this until many, many, years later:


    Mastemat hovered at the edge of the border to Nergal¡¯s land, watching as that infuriating little imp flew off with her master¡¯s prize. No, not simply her master¡¯s prize ¡ª her brother. The memories of her past life had grown fuzzy over the years, mostly because she refused to let herself think about them, but seeing him there, in the clutches of that beast, had brought them rushing back. She watched as the imp shrank to a small speck, fighting down memories of that cold night when their car crashed into a river, and everything she knew changed forever.


    She tried one more time to cross the forbidden border but it was like she hit a solid wall. No matter how hard she pushed, she could not pass that line her master had forbidden her from crossing. She shot one last, hateful glare at the now minuscule speck, then, coming to a decision, turned and flew full-speed back towards Aamon¡¯s territory.


    She was much faster than the imps, and it wasn¡¯t long before she reached Aamon¡¯s castle. Mastemat had always thought Aamon¡¯s territory resembled the Earth city of San Francisco. It was a coastal city with a large bay, built upon rolling hills and cliff-sides. Of course, Aamon had decided to place his castle on an island in the middle of the bay, much like Alcatraz island, where he could see everything, and everyone could see him. A place where no one could reach him unless he wanted them to ¡ª or, as was often the case, if they were taken there against their will, carried in Mastemat¡¯s strong arms. It was not a place one approached lightly, and most would have been perfectly content to never draw near to at all. Mastemat flew directly toward the tallest tower without hesitation or apprehension. It was a journey she had made a thousand times before and would be making for the rest of eternity if Aamon had anything to say about it. Of that, Mastemat was certain. There would be plenty of time to consider that later, though. For now, she had other things to worry about.


    As she neared the tower, she beat her wings against the wind a few times, slowing her approach and setting down gently on the wide balcony built just for flyers such as herself, though she was one of the very few who ever used this particular one, set so close to Aamon¡¯s personal chambers as it was. A few imps squawked as she strode towards the doors and scrambled to open them quickly. They barely managed the task in time and bowed low as she passed, hardly sparring them a glance, though she did note that these attendants were new ones and had nasty red welts on their backs where their wings had once been. She wondered what they had done to anger Aamon, and what had happened to the previous door attendants. She decided she didn¡¯t care. They were only imps, after all.


    Normally she would turn left once inside the doors, to visit her chambers and refresh herself before reporting to Aamon. He liked her to always look her best for him. Today, however, she was on a mission, and if he didn¡¯t like the way she looked, well that was just too damn bad. She turned right and headed straight for the audience chamber. An imp was waiting at the large double doors. About a head taller than most imps and far better dressed, this one was one of Aamon¡¯s favorites, and as such, had been given the right to guard his chambers. She didn¡¯t know its name, and wouldn¡¯t care enough to remember it even if someone told her. It cackled as she approached. ¡°Returning empty-handed are we, angel-face?¡±


    Mastemat was immediately on alert. She summoned her sword ¡ª though she didn¡¯t ignite it ¡ª and set the tip below the imp¡¯s chin, just barely touching the skin of its neck. The imp¡¯s eyes widened, but to its credit, it didn¡¯t shrink back or cower. ¡°What do you know, imp? I often return without a prize.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    The imp grinned, despite having a sword at its throat. ¡°A little birdie said you shouldn¡¯t have. It said that you let Nergal¡¯s lackeys get the better of you.¡± The imp¡¯s voice lowered and took on an icy tone. ¡°It said you¡¯re slipping.¡±


    So, Aamon¡¯s spies had already reported to him about the lost soul. She wasn¡¯t surprised. He had spies all across the Soul Divide, and a few of them were always watching her. Mastemat pressed her sword against the imp¡¯s throat just a hair tighter and it took in a sharp breath, its own sword appearing in its hand. She grabbed it by the wrist and slammed it against the wall, causing the imp to drop the sword which vanished instantly. ¡°You best hope I don¡¯t slip, worthless scum.¡±


    ¡°L-Lord Aamon wants to see you right away,¡± the imp stammered, eyes wide with real fear now. ¡°Y-you better not keep him waiting.¡±


    Mastemat sighed and released her sword, though she held on tight to the imp¡¯s wrist ¡ª which was most likely broken now ¡ª in case it decided to try stabbing her when her guard was down. It would be a death sentence for the imp, everyone knew she was Aamon¡¯s most prized possession, but many imps would still take the chance if it meant being rid of her for good. There was no love lost between their kind and her. She waved her free hand at the doors, which swung open with a creak that echoed down the stone halls. She let go of the imp, shoving the creature to the side as she walked through the open doorway. It glared daggers at her as it rubbed its wrist, the hand hanging limp and useless. Inside the audience chamber were a dozen other demons, none of them imps. Some of them had horns and skin as red as blood, others seemed to be made of pure fire, while others looked almost human ¡ª except they were far too beautiful for any mortal, or had teeth just a bit too sharp. They all stood along the edges of the room, watching with narrow eyes as she entered. These were Aamon¡¯s chancellors. His hands and eyes for the city and the lands beyond. A few even did his bidding on Earth, coming and going between the realms, tempting and twisting human minds to manipulate events in his favor. None of them trusted Mastemat, and she didn¡¯t blame them. If not for the fact that Aamon had expressly forbidden her from harming them she would have done away with the lot ages ago.


    On the far side of the room on a raised platform, Aamon sat on a throne made of human bones. ¡°Ah, there she is,¡± he said with a voice as smooth as silk. ¡°My little angel of destruction.¡± He was wearing blue silk today, his wings with their raven-black feathers folded neatly behind him. On his shirt were gold-embroidered images of humans engaged in all manner of sinful acts. His black hair was cut short and perfectly styled. He was gorgeous, with the well-toned body of a Greek god. Mastemat crossed the room and stopped about five paces from him, standing tall and staring him in the eyes. She did this deliberately to spite him. Anyone approaching Aamon was usually required to stay at least ten paces from him and kneel. If he wanted her to do that then she would make him force her. He stared back at her, unblinking. ¡°Tell me again, Malicious One, how much you hate me.¡±


    The words flowed unbidden from her mouth. Compelled by his command, she couldn¡¯t have stopped them even if she wanted to. Which, in this case, she did not. ¡°I hate you more than anyone could hate anything. With every fiber of my being, I hate you. I would cast you into the abyss myself and even then I would continue hating you for all eternity.¡±


    Aamon smiled. ¡°Good.¡± He held out his pale hand, which was heavy with jewel-encrusted gold rings, his nails filed to sharp points. Mastemat found herself walking up to him, taking his hand, and kissing it, all without any input from her. He smiled again as she stepped back the proper distance. ¡°Now, kneel and report. I have heard some things and would have your account before making a judgment.¡±


    She involuntarily knelt. ¡°I was on patrol near Nergal¡¯s territory this morning when a beacon appeared,¡± she began, looking at the floor. ¡°I flew toward it with all haste but a patrol of Nergal¡¯s imps had already captured the soul. They must have been right on top of it when it appeared. I gave chase, but their leader sacrificed the other members of the patrol to slow me down. I destroyed six of their number, but by the time I caught up to the leader it had already passed the border.¡±


    Aamon smiled and nodded. ¡°You are a faithful servant, in body if not mind. I know you tried your best. We cannot win every soul, and you return successful more often than not, so I can forgive the occasional infraction. I am not entirely without mercy.¡± He leaned forward. ¡°I am curious, however, as to why you tried so hard to cross Nergal¡¯s border, despite my explicit instruction not to. I could feel your attempts to disobey me, Destroyer. I can always feel it. Remember that.¡±


    Mastemat took a deep breath. This was it. ¡°I know the soul from my life on Earth. He is my brother.¡±


    A wicked smile appeared on Aamon¡¯s lips and he leaned forward, a terrible hunger in his eyes. ¡°The same brother you died to protect? The one you signed your salvation away for?¡±


    She forced down a surge of hatred and replied as calmly as she could. ¡°The one you promised to let me watch over, yes.¡±


    ¡°And I did. Are you implying that I broke the contract?¡±


    ¡°You let me see him once, for five minutes while he slept in the hospital. I never even got to learn what condition he was in.¡±


    ¡°The contract terms never specified how long or how often you got to watch over him. I held up my end of the bargain, now you must do the same.¡±


    ¡°I am. I have no choice.¡±


    ¡°No. You don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Because you took advantage of a young, grief-stricken girl,¡± Mastemat said, unable to contain her anger.


    Aamon waved a hand carelessly. ¡°And look what I gained from it, my little Mastemat.¡±


    ¡°Go to Hell.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I will. And when I do, be assured you will be coming with me.¡±


    ¡°I want to save my brother.¡±


    ¡°And why should I let you? If I turn you loose in Nergal¡¯s territory it would mean all-out war between us.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s my brother. The entire reason I signed that contract was from a desire to protect him.¡±


    ¡°Your petty concerns mean nothing to me.¡±


    ¡°And the souls Nergal possesses? Do those mean nothing to you?¡±


    Aamon smiled. ¡°You know me well, little Destroyer. You would sacrifice all those souls for the sake of one? Perhaps I underestimate you after all.¡± He considered for a few moments. ¡°I will let you have your toy, but there will be conditions.¡±


    ¡°And what are they?¡±


    ¡°You will deliver Nergal¡¯s souls to me.¡±


    ¡°Except for my brother¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Except for that one, yes ¡ª If you succeed in your true task, that is. The souls are just an excuse for the real reason I¡¯m sending you. If you don¡¯t accomplish that task, his soul will be mine forever.¡±


    ¡°I would never allow that.¡±


    ¡°If you fail, you won¡¯t have a choice. You will have been cast into the abyss, paving the way to Hell before me.¡±


    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. ¡°Tell me what you would have me do, Master.¡± Aamon grinned and leaned back on his throne.


    <hr>


    A few minutes later Mastemat burst out of the audience chamber. The imp doorman stopped rubbing its broken wrist and glared at her. ¡°Did Lord Aamon make you lick his boots this time, angel face?¡± It asked with a sneer. She reached out and grabbed it by the neck with one hand. It squawked and flailed about, gasping for air and clawing at her arm as she lifted it off the ground. She grabbed its head with her other hand and gave a single firm tug. The head came off with a satisfying pop. The body fell limp and she let it fall to the ground, already dissolving into dust. She tossed the head back into Aamon¡¯s chamber and strode away down the hall. She heard several of the chancellors gasp, but Aamon only laughed. It may have been his favorite, but it was still only an imp, after all.


    End of Chapter Three

 Chapter Four

    Four


    After flying over the city for what seemed ages the demon finally reached what I could only describe as a castle.  It was a massive structure built out of stone, surrounded by high walls, and set on top of a hill in the middle of town, looking out over the rest of the city.  The demon flew around the castle one time, giving me a good look at its many towers and pointed spires, and then suddenly flew downward at an alarming rate, aiming for the base of one of the smaller towers near the center of the complex.  We approached the ground so quickly that I was certain we were going to crash.  I would have let out a scream except that my stomach was up in my throat ¨C kind of like the feeling you get when making the first, biggest drop on a roller coaster, except far more terrifying.  Just when I was certain we were going to hit the ground, the demon pulled up, beating its wings hard against the air.  For a brief moment, I relaxed, until I realized that it had let go of me and I was still racing towards the ground.  I dropped into a narrow chute that I hadn¡¯t noticed before and everything went dark.  I slammed into the ground a moment later, pain and shock competing for dominance over my senses.  I lay there, stunned, amazed that I wasn¡¯t dead, and certain that I had just broken every bone in my body.  The air was damp and I could hear water dripping all around me.  Soft moaning and chittering sounds echoed against the walls, and I guessed I was in some sort of cave or corridor.  I opened my eyes and tried to look around, but it was too dark for me to make out much of anything.  I pushed myself up carefully and was amazed to find that my body still worked fine despite the drop it had just suffered.  I supposed that I must have been much more resilient now, given that I was already dead.  I stood the rest of the way up, feeling somewhat dizzy, and tried to get my bearings.  I could see a small pinpoint of light far above me.  That must have been the shaft that I had been dropped down.  It had to have been at least a hundred feet up there and I was again shocked that I had survived the fall.  Being dead was going to take some getting used to, it seemed.


    The chittering sound grew louder and I turned in the direction I thought it was coming from.  A bobbing, flickering torchlight was coming towards me and my stomach churned once more.  More demons.  I considered turning tail and running but immediately dismissed the idea.  I had no idea where I was and couldn¡¯t see squat besides.  For all I knew there was a giant pit only a few paces away from where I was standing.  The demons moved quickly and were on me before I had finished contemplating my options anyway.  There were two of them, and one grabbed my arms and forced them behind my back, clamping some cold iron shackles around my wrists while the other held the torch and pointed a spear at me.  ¡°Move it, soul,¡± the demon with the spear hissed, its voice higher-pitched than the one that had carried me.  The demon behind me gave me a hard shove and I stumbled forward, following the demons back the way they had just come.  I was ashamed at how docile I was being in all of this.  In life, I had always been a tough guy, getting in fights at school, and bragging about all sorts of pointless crap, most of it not true.  But ever since arriving in this strange afterlife, I had been chased and dragged about like a rag doll, helpless to do anything.  But what could I do?  These creatures could fly, were much stronger than they looked, and were armed with magical swords and sharp teeth and claws while I was unarmed and squishy.  That made me think about Nicole.  Just how had she become a stinking angel of all things?  And a pretty hard-core one at that?


    Once again I wasn¡¯t given much time to think about matters as we entered a large room lit by a dozen or so torches on the wall.  In the center of the room was a large table with heavy chains attached to it at the four corners and a shallow oval-shaped bowl carved lengthwise into the surface.  It was well-worn and covered with dark stains.  It didn¡¯t take much imagination to guess what had made those stains.  Other sinister-looking implements and racks were strewn about the center of the room, none of them doing anything to ease my mind.  As my panic began to rise to nearly bursting a low moan drew my attention to the walls of the room.  About two dozen people were there, chained to the walls.  These were the first humans I had seen since arriving and it was strangely reassuring to see them, even though they were clearly prisoners just like me.  It seemed to be a nearly even split between men and women, and there were even a few children among them, which made me sick.  They all wore rags that barely clung to their skin, doing little to protect what dignity they had.  Most looked like they were barely hanging onto consciousness and several looked dangerously pale.  ¡°We got ourselves some fresh meat,¡± the demon with the spear said as we stepped further into the room.


    ¡°Good,¡± said another demon that I hadn¡¯t noticed at first.  It stood up and walked over to us, looking me up and down with a critical eye.  ¡°Looks like this one¡¯ll do nicely.¡±  It nodded its head toward one of the walls.  ¡°Put it over there, in number twenty¡¯s spot.  That one¡¯s nearly gone anyway.¡±


    The demons shoved me over to the spot the other one had indicated.  A man was chained to the wall there, so thin and pale-looking I was sure that if he hadn¡¯t already been dead then he would have been.  He weakly lifted his head at our approach and watched us with sunken eyes.  I gasped as we got closer and I realized that he was beginning to fade away and I could actually see through him slightly.  They unchained the pitiful soul, who dropped to the ground as soon as he was released, and roughly chained me to his spot, my hands above my head so that if I had been shorter I would have been dangling off the floor like some of the other unfortunates in the room with me.  I struggled, of course, but it was futile in the end.  As I said ¡ª these creatures were a lot stronger than they looked.  The demons laughed and chittered as they kicked the poor, fading soul a few times and then lifted him, cowering and whimpering off the floor and over to the table in the middle of the room.  They clamped his arms and legs down at each corner so that he rested in the bowl-shaped indent in the middle.  He whimpered some more and then wailed.  I watched, horrified but unable to turn away.  On the other side of the room, a young girl began to cry.  The demon that had inspected me before stood over the table and looked down on the man.  ¡°This is it for you, soul.  You got one last offering for Master Nergal.  Time to make a choice.  Do we drain you away and give you over to the abyss, or will you serve the Master as one o¡¯ us?¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°No!¡± a woman cried from somewhere off to my side.  ¡°Don¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Silence, soul!¡± hissed the lead monster.  ¡°You still got plenty left in ya¡¯.  Wanna try giving it all in one shot?  I hear it¡¯s particularly excruciating.  I¡¯m sure the Master¡¯d love that.¡±  The woman fell silent as the man on the table wailed even more.  ¡°Come now,¡± the demon said, leaning close to the man¡¯s face.  ¡°You¡¯ve known this day was coming for ages.  Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t had time to think about it.  What else you got to do down here?  You don¡¯t have to go to the abyss.  You can be one of us.  Think about it.  You¡¯ll be strong again.  Stronger than you¡¯ve ever been.  More powerful than any pathetic old human.  You won¡¯t be stuck down here in the dark, but flying free outside, serving the Master.  You¡¯ll have a purpose.  You¡¯ll be useful again.  Won¡¯t that be nice?  In the abyss there¡¯s nothing for you but eternal cold and emptiness.¡±


    The man let out one more long, heartwrenching wail then nodded.  ¡°Yes,¡± he said, so weakly I could barely hear it.  ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll serve Nergal.  Just don¡¯t send me to the abyss.  Please.¡±


    All the demons laughed with glee and the head demon met the man¡¯s eyes.  ¡°That¡¯s Lord Nergal to you.  Don¡¯t you be forgetting that.  He¡¯s your master now, and forevermore.¡±


    The man began to convulse, only slightly at first but it quickly grew more violent.  The chains at his wrists and ankles shook and rattled as he alternated between arching his back and pulling against his restraints.  His whimpering and wailing began to change into a low, breathy growl and his voice took on a raspy, inhuman note.  A loud popping noise was followed immediately by another and then another, and I noticed that his limbs had begun changing, taking on the more animal-like shape of the demons.  His legs even grew an extra joint in the middle of his shins, which was accompanied by a sickening crack and a particularly excruciating howl from the unfortunate soul on the table.  His face grew flat and his nose became larger and more snout-like, while his mouth widened and jutted out.  His teeth began falling out as sharp fangs grew in their place.  His skin changed to a greenish-grey tone and became solid once again.  What little hair he had left on his head fell out, joining his old teeth on the table¡¯s surface and leaving him bald.  He suddenly arched his back more violently than ever and with a mighty snarl ripped his arms free from their restraints, leaving the mangled metal to fall with a clang. He leaned forward and ripped his legs free, then, before he could go any further he twisted around and fell back down, face first on the table.  He pushed himself up, agony on his hideous face as two lumps rose under the skin at his shoulder blades.  He howled again as bony points poked out of his skin, ripping it as they grew, black blood dripping down his back.  The points grew longer and longer until two large, batlike wings unfolded behind him, dripping fat and blood as they twitched with each of the poor man¡¯s convulsions.  At last, he collapsed onto the table, panting.


    I stared, horrified, as the demons laughed in glee and the other humans around me groaned or cried softly.  Was this where these demons came from?  Humans who surrendered in despair, swearing their allegiance to the very monsters who captured and tormented them in the first place?  What about Nicole?  Was that how she became an angel, swearing to serve some other denizen of this hellish place?  It was all I could do not to throw up.  No.  Scratch that.  That¡¯s exactly what I did.


    The demons didn¡¯t even notice.  They were busy helping their new companion, tossing aside the tattered remains of his old rags and helping him stand up as he examined his new body, in all its horrible glory.  They led him toward the exit, telling him of all the wonderful, terrible, new things he could expect.  One of them gave him a friendly slap on the back.  It must have hit a sore spot because the new demon let out an angry shout and swung his arm out, a sword suddenly in his hand.  It sliced the head clean off the other demon, which fell to the ground and immediately began burning away into dust.  The other demons just laughed and kept leading their new companion away.  ¡°This has got to be Hell,¡± I muttered, tasting bile in my throat, unable to wipe my mouth because my hands were bound above my head.


    The man beside me, who had been silent until now, laughed.  It sounded half-mad.  ¡°Hell would be better than this place, newbie.¡±


    I turned my head to get a better look at him.  He was thin and pale, but not nearly so much as the other man had been.  His hair was a mess and a beard was growing thick on his face.  His eyes were wild.  ¡°This can¡¯t be heaven,¡± I replied.  ¡°So where in the hell are we?¡±


    ¡°Welcome to the Soul Divide, my friend,¡± he replied.  ¡°Believe me.  In a few days you¡¯ll be begging them to send you to Hell.  But they never do.  It¡¯s either become an imp, like that fellow, or get tossed into the abyss.  Those are the only two options for us.¡±  He laughed again, spraying me with spit.


    ¡°Lovely,¡± I muttered, hoping with all my might that Nicole had not given up on rescuing me.


    End of Chapter Four

 Chapter Five

    Five


    Mastemat paused just inside the border to Nergal¡¯s land.  Crossing it had been no problem for her this time, even with an entire army of imps, hellhounds, and greater demons behind her.  Most of the demon lords ¨C Nergal included ¨C didn¡¯t bother patrolling their borders very closely.  The wilderness around each of their cities rarely contained anything worth guarding and acted more like a buffer zone than anything else.  The worst Mastemat expected to encounter would be a wandering specter or a wild leviathan or two.  She sent a few greater demons ahead as scouts along with some hellhounds.  They shouldn¡¯t have any trouble dealing with whatever feral spirits might be out there.  The hard part was going to be getting into Nergal¡¯s fortress with that army ¨C which, the more she thought about it the more she realized probably wasn¡¯t going to happen.  She would have to draw most of Nergal¡¯s troops out, forcing them to come to her.  Well ¨C attacking someone''s city in direct violation of a peace treaty usually acted as a pretty effective distraction.  While Nergal was occupied fighting off Mastemat¡¯s main forces she would take a strike team and enter his fortress where she could, hopefully, accomplish her goal.  If Nergal was anything like Lord Aamon, he would send his generals to do the fighting while he stayed safely tucked inside.  That could make it hard for her to liberate the souls and get them safely away, but that was a risk she had to take.  She was going to have to face Nergal eventually anyway.  She just hoped it would be after the souls were free.  What happened after that didn¡¯t matter as long as her brother was safe.  From somewhere in the woods up ahead a leviathan roared and hellhounds brayed.  Atop her jet-black destrier, Mastemat pursed her lips, ignited her sword so the army could see it better, and pointed it forward.  The march continued.


    <hr>


    Being a prisoner sucks.


    Like, really sucks.  I spent the rest of the day hanging by my wrists with my back against the hard stone wall with nothing to do but listen to the sounds of my fellow prisoner¡¯s suffering and think about how miserable I was.  My arms went numb pretty quickly, so that was a little relief, but my mind kept wondering about what sort of permanent damage this was doing to them and if I¡¯d ever be able to use them properly again.  Then I began to realize how hungry I was.  I tried asking my neighbors what time they fed us, but I was met with cold stares from some and harsh laughter from others.  I took that to mean that if we ever got fed, it wasn¡¯t exactly an experience to look forward to.  I had to keep reminding myself that I was already dead.  Dead people don¡¯t need to eat.  But then why was I getting hungry?


    The imps eventually returned with their newest addition in tow, now dressed like one of them.  The head jailer (I don¡¯t know what his job title really was, so I¡¯ll just call him that for simplicity¡¯s sake) pointed the other two toward one of the prisoners.  She looked to be in her early teens, around the same age as Nicole had been when she died.  ¡°Time t¡¯ show the new guy the ropes.  Grab number ten.¡±  The two demons grabbed the girl and unclasped her shackles.  She immediately began screaming and kicking.  The imps only laughed.  ¡°Looks like this one has some life in it still,¡± the head jailer said as he pointed the others to the table in the center of the room.  ¡°Strap it down nice and tight.¡±  The girl screamed louder and flailed about as the imps clasped her arms and legs to the chains fastened to the corners of the table.  ¡°And put a gag in it,¡± the jailer said.  ¡°It¡¯s screeching hurts my ears.¡±  The imp that had been a human only a short while ago grabbed a filthy rag from the floor and roughly shoved it into the girl''s mouth.  Her screaming turned to muffled coughing.  ¡°That¡¯s better,¡± the jailer said as he turned to a nearby rack and began examining its contents.  On the table the girl¡¯s struggling lessened and she seemed to be having a hard time breathing.


    ¡°Stop that!  You¡¯re killing her!¡± I cried, unable to just hang by and watch.


    ¡°Watch it, soul,¡± the jailer said, turning sharply about to look at me.  ¡°The only reason you ain¡¯t on this table instead is ¡®cause Lord Nergal wants t¡¯ be here himself for your first time.  So if I was you I¡¯d be more worried ¡®bout that than anything else.¡±  He grabbed another rag and strode over to me, taking hold of my jaw with his clawed hand and squeezing.  My mouth was forced open and he shoved the vile cloth into it.  ¡°Now shut up,¡± he said, turning back to the rack of instruments.  ¡°Can¡¯t kill a human soul anyway,¡± he grumbled.  He found what he was looking for and grabbed a metal tube that was about as long and thick as a man¡¯s arm and sharpened on one end like a medical needle.  A hose was attached to the other end, leading to a box on the floor next to the rack.  He shoved the tube at the new imp.  ¡°You¡¯re up, Newbie.  Just make sure you don¡¯t hit its heart.  Wouldn¡¯t be good if you sent one to the abyss on your first day.  ¡®Specially a juicy one like this.¡±


    The imp took the tube and grinned, showing a mouth full of sharp new teeth, and pointed it at the girl¡¯s chest.  Her eyes widened and she struggled against her bonds even harder, muffled shouts coming from her gagged mouth.  The jailer and the other imp pushed down on her, pinning her to the table.  The new imp jammed the tube down with both hands, sinking it several inches into her chest.  The girl screamed again as blood seeped out from around the wound and the hose attached to the tube began to convulse rhythmically.  Her screams turned to muffled whimpers and her struggling lessened.  I watched in horrified fascination as the imps let go of her and she lay there, sobbing, while the tube stuck out of her chest, sucking out I didn¡¯t even know what.  Her innards?  How could she even survive such treatment?  After a few minutes, I noticed that the girl had stopped sobbing and she was beginning to look thin and pale, like a balloon that was losing all its air.  The imps pulled the tube from her chest and I expected blood to spray all over, but only a trickle came out.  They unclasped her from the table and carried her over to the wall, lifting her arms up and clamping her back to the chains.  They left her there, dangling limply as blood seeped from the open wound.  They didn¡¯t even bother covering it with a rag.  Again, I couldn¡¯t contain my anger and tried to shout at them through my gag.


    The jailer came over and slapped me on the face.  I could feel his claws rake across my cheek and warm blood trickled down to my chin.  ¡°Cool it, soul,¡± he sneered.  ¡°Lord Nergal wants to do your first extraction personally, but he didn¡¯t forbid us from roughing you up a bit first.¡±  He punched me in the gut so hard I nearly puked, and probably would have if I hadn¡¯t emptied the contents of my stomach just a little while earlier.  That would have been disastrous with the gag in my mouth.  My legs were free and I tried to kick at my tormentor, but he just stepped aside and punched me in the ribs.  I heard something crack and a sharp pain shot through my side.  I collapsed, hanging limply.  The imp laughed and pulled its arm back to strike again when the door to the chamber opened and another imp ran in.  The jailer stopped and glared at the newcomer.  ¡°What is it?  Can¡¯t you see we¡¯re busy?¡±


    ¡°Lord Nergal needs all available imps at the courtyard.  Aamon is attacking the city.¡±


    ¡°What about the treaty?¡± asked the jailer, his eyes wide.


    ¡°Guess they broke it.¡±


    The jailer looked over at the new imp, the one that had previously been human, and smiled wickedly.  ¡°Well, Aamon¡¯s going to be in for a bit of a surprise, ain¡¯t he?  Is Mastemat leading the attack?¡±


    ¡°No one¡¯s seen her yet, but you can be sure she¡¯ll be around somewhere.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d love to see the look on her face when she realizes what she¡¯s up against.  C¡¯mon,¡± he said, gesturing at the door.  ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±  The imps filed out of the room, leaving us hanging helpless and alone.  My heart soared even as my ribs throbbed in pain.  Nicole had come to rescue me after all, and it seemed she brought a whole army of angels with her.


    <hr>


    The last leviathan fell with a mighty crash, crushing several houses as it landed in an ashen heap, its flames already going out as it died.  Nergal had placed his largest and most fearsome Leviathans at the gates, but they had still not been a match for Aamon¡¯s, which had been bred and trained for precisely such an encounter.  Mastemat hung back near the rear of the battle lines, watching as her greater demons and their hellhounds dealt with the lesser gate guards.  As soon as the leviathan fell, her imps swarmed into the city, clashing with waves of  Nergal¡¯s imps.  They couldn¡¯t fly over the walls, Nergal had placed arcane spells on them to prevent intruders from doing exactly that.  The air filled with dust as imps and demons on both sides perished in the bloodless carnage.  Only the souls of those who had once been living bled and these demons had been spawned in the depths of Hell.  Mastemat looked down at her arm, where the imp had raked it with its claws a few hours earlier.  The cuts had already healed in scarless perfection, but her sleeve was still ripped and bloodstained ¨C a silent reminder of what she had once been.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    The clash at the gates calmed as Mastemat¡¯s forces pushed deeper into the city.  Nergal¡¯s forces had been caught off-guard as she had hoped, and their defenses had grown slack after years of relative peace across the Soul Divide.  Mastemat motioned for her strike force to prepare to move in.  It was time for the true objective of this campaign to begin.  A large black carriage drawn by two skeletal horses pulled up beside Mastemat¡¯s black destrier while a company of imps, shades, and a few witches formed up around them.  One of the witches began murmuring arcane words that sent chills up Mastemat¡¯s spine and rumpled the feathers on her wings.  She longed to strike out with her sword and cut the evil thing down, but couldn¡¯t.  Aamon¡¯s grip on her was too strong and all she could do was sit there while the witch cast her spell.  The air around the company warped and the world took on a hazy, insubstantial appearance ¨C all except for Mastemat and her team.  ¡°We should be invisible now, Lady Mastemat,¡± the witch said with her crackly voice.  Mastemat nodded and pointed her sword forward.


    ¡°Good.  Move out.¡±  The shades surged forward, insubstantial and invisible by nature they would act as scouts, guiding her team through the city and finding the best way into Nergal¡¯s castle.  Mastemat hoped that there would be a chute into the dungeons similar to the one Aamon had in his.  It would be guarded, of course, but with their invisibility and the distraction of the battle raging in the city, she hoped it would be a relatively short and easy fight.  If they could finish it quickly without alerting Nergal to their presence ¨C that would be even better.


    It was slow going at first.  The bulk of the battle was still being fought near the walls and it was difficult getting her team past undetected, particularly with the carriage hindering their mobility, but they managed without Mastemat having to intervene personally ¨C which was good considering she needed to conserve her energy for what was to come later.  Once they were past the fighting and on the main highway through town they moved much more quickly.  The roads were empty since everyone was either fighting at the walls or hiding in their homes, and Aamon¡¯s skeletal horses were quick, despite their lack of muscle.  Mastemat¡¯s destrier kept pace and the imps flew along behind, a few carrying the witches unceremoniously in their claws.  The highway led straight to Nergal¡¯s castle in the heart of downtown ¨C all roads eventually led there.  As they approached the high walls surrounding the castle a shade appeared and reported that they had found the chute into the dungeons.  Mastemat nodded grimly and sent a few of the more swift and capable imps over the walls.  Once they left the immediate area of the witch¡¯s spell they became visible again and speed became more important than stealth.  These walls were fortunately not protected by the same spell that the city walls were and the imps made it over quickly.  A minute later the main gates swung open with a creak, revealing the imps standing on the other side, swords drawn and dust swirling about them where the gate guards had once been.  Mastemat hurried the strike force through and closed the gates behind them.  She had two of her imps stay behind to take the place of the previous guards, so as not to rouse suspicion.


    The shade led them to a courtyard near the heart of the castle.  They had to leave the carriage near the entrance along with a witch who maintained a field of invisibility around it.  They met a few imps and enemy shades along the way.  The imps never knew they were there and soon turned to dust, but the shades could see right through the witch¡¯s spell.  Fortunately, the witch was competent and dealt with them quickly, her spells sending the spirits back to Hell where they belonged.  Once in the courtyard, the shade scout indicated a patch of grass near the base of a tower.  Mastemat placed a foot on it and it felt solid enough, but she could sense a tingling in her leg and knew that a spell was concealing the entrance.  The witch was already murmuring her counter spells and the patch of ground soon began to waver and disappear.  ¡°It¡¯s unguarded,¡± Mastemat noted.  ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I do not know, my Lady,¡± the witch replied.  ¡°I can sense no other protections on it.¡±


    ¡°You,¡± she said, pointing at an imp.  ¡°Check it out.¡±  The imp looked nervous but complied, walking over to the hole and looking down before jumping in.  It fell only a few feet before hundreds of spikes closed in on it, sprouting from both sides of the hole and interlacing with each other in the middle.  The imp didn¡¯t even get to squawk before disintegrating into dust.  Mastemat pursed her lips.  ¡°It¡¯s trapped.  Probably using technology instead of magic.  There should be some controls somewhere.  Find them.¡±


    The shades flew off, passing into the walls and ground in the immediate area.  It wasn¡¯t long before one of them reappeared.  ¡°In the wall, my Lady, over there,¡± it said, its voice distant and breathy, like the breeze before a thunderstorm.  Mastemat summoned her sword, igniting it and plunging it into the stone wall where the shade had indicated.  She met little resistance, like slicing through butter with a hot knife.


    ¡°Did I get it?¡± she asked the shade.  It entered the wall and came back out a moment later, nodding.  She pointed at another imp.  ¡°Try it again,¡± she commanded.  This imp hesitated longer than its counterpart had, forcing her to point at it with her sword.  ¡°Now!¡± she said, reinforcing her words with a healthy glow of golden light from her aura.  The imp squawked and jumped into the hole.  Nothing happened this time and the imp flew back out a moment later, looking relieved.  ¡°Alright,¡± Mastemat said.  ¡°Let¡¯s get in there.  The real fight is about to begin.¡±


    She waited until her entire team entered the chute then dismissed her sword and jumped in herself.  Unlike the imps, the passage was too narrow for her to use her wings but she wasn¡¯t worried, it was probably only a hundred feet or so to the bottom.  As she fell, she let her aura continue shining so as to pierce the darkness.  Even then, she only just barely saw the ground before hitting it.  She braced herself and landed hard, knees bent to absorb some of the shock.  It was a bit jarring, but it was nothing she couldn¡¯t handle, and it was good to remind her subordinates just how tough she was, in case any of them started getting ideas.  She drew her sword again and ignited it, taking a look around.  The imps had already formed a perimeter around their landing spot, and she saw that they were in a cave.  Ahead, a passage led off into the darkness, and behind them was a massive pit ¨C most likely hiding some sort of nasty surprise for any poor soul unfortunate enough to fall in.  Mastemat waited for a few moments to see if anything was coming to greet them, ready to summon her shield if needed.  When nothing arrived, from either the pit or the corridor, she motioned the team forward, taking the lead this time.  A few moments later one of the shades appeared, confirming that the dungeons were up ahead.  ¡°I cannot pass the door, though, Lady Mastemat,¡± it said with its breathy voice.  ¡°It has enchantments upon it that hinder shades.¡±


    She nodded.  ¡°Not surprising.  This has been a bit too easy so far, actually.  It¡¯s getting me worried.¡±  She looked back at the rest of the squad.  ¡°Be ready for anything.  These souls are Nergal¡¯s greatest treasure.  He¡¯s bound to have some sort of nasty trap ready.¡±  They reached the door without incident, however, which only served to make her more cautious.  She reached out to touch it but thought better of it at the last moment.  She turned to the witch instead.  ¡°What can you sense, witch?¡±


    ¡°Not much, my Lady,¡± she rasped, closing her eyes and humming a tune that chilled Mastemat to the bone.  ¡°Only the same enchantment the spirit mentioned.  It does seem odd that there are not more spells set upon this door.  Lord Aamon has many dozens on his.¡±


    ¡°Is it locked?¡±


    ¡°If it is, it¡¯s mechanical, my Lady.¡±


    Mastemat pointed at an imp.  She didn¡¯t know if it was the same one that she had tested the entrance tunnel with or not ¨C they all looked the same to her.  ¡°Try the door.¡±


    ¡°Please, my Lady,¡± the imp whimpered.  ¡°It¡¯s almost certainly trapped.¡±


    ¡°If our mission fails yet you return alive, how much worse do you think it will be for you?¡±


    The imp whimpered once more and cowered slightly but complied, reaching out and turning the handle.  To everyone¡¯s surprise, it opened without protest.  The imp looked back at Mastemat hesitantly and she urged it forward.  It cringed, but dutifully took a few timid steps into the room beyond.  When nothing happened, the rest of them filed in.  The room was too dark to see the walls, but she could see the shadow of a large offering table in the middle of the room and hear soft moans and sobbing all around her.  She flared her aura a bit more, lighting the room completely.


    Her brother was strapped to the table.  He had obviously seen her come in and was struggling against his bonds, his mouth gagged tight.  About two dozen other souls were chained to the walls all around the room, many of them drained nearly to the point of entering the abyss.  She ran up to her brother while motioning for her team to start extracting the others.  She pulled the gag from his mouth and he sucked in a huge breath of air.  ¡°I knew you¡¯d come for me, Nicole,¡± he said, still gasping.  He studied her while she worked at releasing his chains, not looking him in the eye.  She wasn¡¯t used to hearing that name anymore, and every time he said it, a wave of shame shot through her core.  She was no longer Nicole and never could be again.  But of course, he didn¡¯t know that.  How could he?  ¡°That Nergal guy is close,¡± he said, rubbing at his recently freed wrist.  ¡°He was called away.  The fight in the city needed his attention.¡±  Pride and awe filled his face.  She looked away.  ¡°Is that your doing?¡± he asked.  ¡°Are there more angels out there?¡±  He paused, noticing the other members of her strike team.  ¡°Nicole¡­¡± he said slowly.  ¡°Why are demons rescuing us?¡±


    ¡°They''re not rescuing you,¡± she whispered, barely getting the words out.  ¡°They''re stealing them for my master.¡±


    He laughed timidly.  ¡°What do you mean, your master?¡±


    ¡°Lord Aamon.  He ordered me to attack the city and claim these souls for him.¡±


    ¡°To rescue us from the demons, right?¡±  he said hesitantly, pulling away from her a little as she freed his ankles.


    She shook her head, filled to bursting with shame.  ¡°To rescue you, yes.  But not the others.¡±


    ¡°I have to give Aamon credit,¡± a deep voice said from across the room.  ¡°He finds the most creative ways of tormenting his slaves.¡±


    Mastemat spun around, flaming sword ready and her shield appearing in her free hand.  ¡°Nergal,¡± she said, the words flowing from her lips whether she wanted them to or not.  ¡°I¡¯ve come for you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I know,¡± Nergal said, his voice calm.  He stepped forward and she saw that he was wearing black plate mail and holding a massive great sword.  ¡°I¡¯ve been expecting you ever since I learned that this pitiful little soul here was once your kin.¡±  He raised a hand and Mastemat found herself consumed by a raging pillar of fire.


    End of Chapter Five

 Chapter Six

    Six


    Right before my very eyes, I watched as Nicole burst into flames. All around me the prisoners scrambled while the demons who had come with her also went up like Roman candles, but I barely even registered that. My mind was reeling. The whole stinking day had been one awful event after another. The one beacon of hope in this whole terrible mess had been finding the sister I had lost so many years ago.


    I didn¡¯t understand anything that was going on. I had no clue why or how Nicole had become an angel. I didn¡¯t know who Nergal or Aamon were or what they wanted with human souls. I didn¡¯t give a damn about why they seemed to be at war with each other. At that moment, I didn¡¯t even care why Nicole was working with one of them and calling him Master. All I knew was that this Nergal bastard was killing my sister before I even had a chance to hold a real conversation with her.


    Needless to say, I snapped like a rubber band.


    With a feral cry, I lunged at Nergal even though he was wearing a full suit of armor while I was still very squishy in nothing but my flannel shirt and jeans. I would like to say that I caught him off-guard and knocked him over, giving Nicole a chance to miraculously recover from the inferno she was caught in, but that would be a lie. I never reached him. An imp intercepted me, tackling me from the side and causing us to both crash to the floor in a jumbled heap. I hadn¡¯t even noticed it was in the room. Now, one benefit of being a kid who grew up in the foster care system and had a whole slew of anger issues was that I knew a thing or two about fighting and had learned very early on how to take a hit. I was also figuring out that being dead meant that I was a lot tougher than I had been when I was young and learning how to take those hits.


    I shoved the imp off of me as we landed and kicked it square in the chest with both feet. My kick was stronger than I had expected and it sent the imp rolling across the floor. It recovered quickly, though, and had already gotten up and summoned its sword by the time I pushed myself into a crouch next to the rack of torture implements. No swords were hanging on it, unfortunately, but there was a sharp iron poker that looked like it would serve well enough in a pinch. I grabbed the poker while a few other imps began rounding up the freed prisoners, most of whom looked too weak to fight back. Around us the demons that had caught fire were burning out, leaving only piles of ash where they had once stood. I honestly can¡¯t say I felt any sympathy for them. According to Nicole, they had only been there to kidnap us for what I assumed was the same purpose Nergal was using us for. The pillar of fire surrounding Nicole was still going strong, and I paused for a moment, watching it. Was it getting brighter?


    With a brilliant flash the fire exploded outward, revealing Nicole standing there, wings spread wide and wearing a full suit of golden armor, a glowing halo hovering over her full-face helmet. In one hand she held a large gold-trimmed shield. The face was pearl-white with a ruby-red cross printed in the center. Faint black splotches mottled the surface of the cross, lessening the otherwise striking impression it made. In her other hand was her flaming sword. I couldn¡¯t see her face, of course, but I could tell from her stance ¡ª she was MAD. ¡°Nergal,¡± she said, her voice low and muffled by her helmet. ¡°This day shall be your last. I will cast you into the abyss where not even the warm fires of Hell can reach you.¡±


    ¡°How amusing,¡± Nergal replied with a chuckle. ¡°I was planning much the same for you, Destroyer. And while you¡¯re there, you can spend your time thinking about all the wonderful plans I have for your brother¡¯s soul. Won¡¯t that be fun?¡± Nergal turned to the imp that had attacked me, which had stopped and was watching the two figures in awe. I had to admit that I was doing the same. ¡°Subdue the soul, but don¡¯t destroy it, or you¡¯ll wish you had chosen the abyss after all.¡± With that he turned and charged at Nicole, spreading his dark wings wide and closing the gap between them with one leap. Nicole blocked his sword with her shield, bracing herself against his much larger bulk and slamming her sword down on his back. His wings blocked her attack, fiery sparks flying as I realized that the edges of his wings were covered in armor plate. The imp and I both watched in fascination as the two began a mighty duel that neither of us stood any chance of interfering with lest we be swept away into oblivion.


    I snapped out of my daze as someone behind me screamed. Two imps were herding the prisoners toward the door on the other side of the room, opposite the one they had brought me in through. Some of them were struggling and clearly didn¡¯t want to go that way. It seemed to me like a better option than the same room where an angel and a demon lord were clashing in an epic battle straight out of a Japanese anime, but hey, I was just the newcomer, so what did I know? That was the same door the jailer had taken the former-human-turned-imp through earlier. Maybe something really nasty was waiting on the other side. I started to run over to try and help the prisoners, but my movement snapped the imp that had attacked me into action and it sprang forward, swinging its sword at me. I managed to bring my poker up to block the strike and the sword crashed against it, sending shockwaves of pain down my arm. I ignored the pain and threw my weight against the imp, pushing it back a few paces. I swung my poker as hard as I could while it stumbled and caught it on the shoulder, cutting a deep gash in the greenish-grey skin. Dark blood seeped from the wound and the demon howled in rage, swinging at me again. I stepped to the side trying to avoid the strike but wasn¡¯t quite fast enough. The demon¡¯s sword caught my shirt and a sharp, burning pain in my side told me that it had found the flesh underneath. I put my hand down to check and it came back red and bloody. The demon grinned. I set my jaw, adjusted my stance, and got ready for the real fight to begin.


    <hr>


    Mastemat used her shield to block another of Nergal¡¯s strikes and countered with a quick jab of her own, which he didn¡¯t bother blocking but instead turned, letting the sword glance off his armor. She growled in frustration as she brought her shield up to stop another blow from his greatsword, the impact sending waves of shock through her body. She had known it would be a hard fight. He was just too large for her to take on physically. She was still the size of a fifteen-year-old girl while he was as big as the pro wrestlers she had used to watch on TV. In a normal fight, it wouldn¡¯t have even been a contest, he would have crushed her with his first blow. Fortunately, this battle was anything but normal. She flared the flames on her sword to twice their normal intensity and flapped her wings hard, sending her back and into a spiraling leap. She dismissed her shield and gripped the sword with both hands as she swung around, bringing it down as hard as she could at the base of Nergal¡¯s neck. The strike landed true and Nergal grunted as fire erupted around his head, sending him staggering back a few steps. Mastemat remained hovering in place, ready for whatever his next move would be. He laughed. ¡°You have some nice tricks, Destroyer,¡± he said as the flames died out. ¡°I can see why Aamon likes keeping you around. I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand your stench in my castle, however. It reeks of holiness.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll have your head soon enough, Nergal. Then you won¡¯t have to worry about that anymore.¡± She hated Aamon for forcing her to fight for him, but she was glad for this opportunity to rid the Soul Divide of one of the demon lords that plagued it. She would purge them all. She would see that no more souls were tortured and drained of their essence over and over again until they eventually slipped into the abyss. No more souls would be held captive, kept from moving on to where they belonged. No more would innocent children be tricked into an eternity of slavery in a moment of grief-stricken weakness. Across the room, a shout caught her attention. She turned and saw her brother there, holding an iron poker and facing off against an imp, a bloody gash on his side. She tried rushing to his aid, to take out the imp in a single slash and whisk him away to safety, but she was held in place by Aamon¡¯s command. She was there to destroy Nergal. Everything else was secondary to that one single objective, even her brother. The imp charged and she saw that her brother had gotten a hit on it too. A deep wound on its shoulder was dripping dark blood down its arm. She gasped as realization struck. Imps weren¡¯t supposed to bleed. She turned back to Nergal. ¡°What evil is this?¡±


    Nergal chuckled. ¡°Do you like my creations? Humans are so versatile, evolving and adapting to any environment, existing where nothing should. It¡¯s such a waste to limit their use to simply providing essence, no matter how delectable it is.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re turning humans into imps?¡± Mastemat asked, revulsion and fury boiling up inside her.


    Nergal laughed again. ¡°No, dear Destroyer. I¡¯m simply providing them the opportunity. They do the rest themselves. It¡¯s truly fascinating.¡±


    ¡°Sending you to the abyss is one task I¡¯m glad I was given, Nergal,¡± Mastemat said through gritted teeth. ¡°I will see it done.¡±


    ¡°Your delusions are delightful, little one. You may be effective against my minions, but you are no match for a true demon. I would tell you to give up, but I know the bonds Aamon has you tied with, so instead I will simply end it quickly and rid the Soul Divide of your stench.¡±


    ¡°You forget I was human once too, Nergal,¡± she said, resummoning her shield. ¡°We¡¯re a stubborn lot. Not so easy to destroy.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get to it,¡± Nergal said as he flew forward on his dark wings. His sword met hers, sending another spray of fiery sparks out, and they continued their deadly dance.


    <hr>


    Flashes of light and crashing metal dominated the other side of the room, but I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off the imp long enough to see how Nicole was faring. I was bleeding from two new gashes while I had yet to score another hit on my opponent. I realized that I had gotten lucky with my first strike. These things were tough and spry, and a poker was a poor substitute against a real sword. If I was going to stand a chance I needed to get this thing to drop its sword or get one of my own. Unfortunately, neither option seemed likely. There wasn¡¯t exactly an abundance of swords lying around for me to grab, and I had seen what happened when imps dropped theirs. They simply disappeared and could be resummoned at any time. Handy, that was, but it didn¡¯t bode well for me. I could try to get behind one of the torture racks and tip it over, trapping the imp or at least tripping it up, but those wings on its back meant it could simply fly over any obstacles on the ground, which would then become hindrances for me. I blocked another strike and felt panic starting to rise. I was running out of ideas. At least I wasn¡¯t getting tired. Another benefit of being dead, I supposed. Though it could have just been adrenaline. What would happen if the imp managed to chop off my head or stab me in the heart? I¡¯d probably wind up going to that abyss place everyone kept talking about. No one seemed to want to go there, so I figured it was their version of hell or something. Either way, I didn¡¯t fancy taking a trip to find out for myself.


    My back hit something solid and I realized I¡¯d been forced against a wall. Before I could make another move the imp rushed forward and pinned me to the wall with its forearm against my chest. It rammed its swordpoint into my shoulder and I felt the blade grind against bone as it passed through my flesh and dug into the stone behind me. I screamed in pain and dropped the poker. ¡°Pathetic human,¡± it hissed. ¡°You dare to defy me?¡±


    ¡°Seemed like the thing to do at the time,¡± I replied, grimacing as sweat dripped from my brow and stung my eyes.


    ¡°I would send you to the abyss for your insolence, soul,¡± the demon said, its vile breath hot on my face. ¡°But Lord Nergal has other plans, it seems.¡± It looked at the bloody gash on its shoulder and scowled. It twisted the sword in my shoulder, introducing me to a whole new world of pain and agony. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a human with missing limbs. Do they regrow like a lizard¡¯s tail, is that why? How ¡®bout we find out together, hmm?¡± It pulled its sword from my shoulder and lifted it over its head. Before it could bring it down to lop off my arm, however, a metal rod sprouted from its chest. The imp looked down in shock at the implement protruding from it, just inches from its heart. ¡°What..?¡± it said weakly as black blood trickled down the length of the tube and dripped off the end. Its knees buckled and it collapsed to the floor, revealing the wild-eyed prisoner I had been chained next to standing behind it, a huge grin on his face.


    ¡°Been wanting to stick one o¡¯ them with that thing for years,¡± he said. ¡°See how they like it for once, you know?¡±


    I rubbed my shoulder, which, amazingly, was already starting to feel better. I pushed myself off the wall and stepped over to the fallen imp. Blood was pooling beneath it. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be turning to dust now?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s what they do, right?¡±


    The man shrugged. ¡°Them that used to be human bleed like the rest of us. ¡®Cept the blood¡¯s black, like they¡¯re hearts.¡± He spat, the slimy wet blob landing on the imp¡¯s back.


    I bent down and pried the sword from the dead imp¡¯s clawed hand, shuddering at its touch. Thankfully the sword didn¡¯t disappear. ¡°You mean this thing is like that guy from before? It used to be one of us?¡± I asked, studying the sword so I wouldn¡¯t have to look at the imp.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°It¡¯s bleeding, ain''t¡¯ it? Don¡¯t know which one of us it was. Men, women, young, or old, they all look the same after the change. Loose themselves too. Nothing left o¡¯ the person they were in there.¡± He turned to watch the fight between Nergal and Nicole, which was still raging on the other side of the room. Nergal was currently hurling fireballs at her, which her shield had no trouble stopping but was preventing her from getting close enough to use her own sword. ¡°She ain¡¯t no better, from what I hear. They¡¯re always complaining about her capturing more souls than they do. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± He turned and headed for the door leading to the corridor I had been brought in by.


    ¡°What about the others?¡± I asked. The rest of the prisoners were still being watched by the other two imps, who were staying well away from the battle that was now blocking the door they had been aiming for. They hadn¡¯t seemed to have noticed their fallen comrade yet.


    ¡°Leave ¡®em,¡± he said. ¡°We only got that one ¡®cause it was distracted. We can¡¯t take two o¡¯ them on and win. They¡¯re too strong.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that,¡± I said.


    ¡°Most o¡¯ those poor souls are weaker than I am, newbie, and I¡¯m barely standing,¡± he said. ¡°The ones that ain¡¯t are too scared to do anything. How you plannin¡¯ on gettin¡¯ them outta here?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said, gripping my sword tight. ¡°But I can¡¯t just leave them. Maybe Nicole can help once she beats Nergal.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s Mastemat, the Angel of Destruction. If she was once named Nicole, she ain¡¯t no more. She said it herself, she¡¯s here to steal us for Aamon. He¡¯s even worse than Nergal.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll help. I¡¯m sure of it.¡±


    ¡°She serves Aamon, boy. She¡¯s just like these imps now,¡± he said, kicking the dead creature. ¡°Your sister¡¯s gone.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°No. She¡¯s still in there. I saw it in her eyes. She doesn¡¯t want to be doing this. You go ahead. I¡¯m staying.¡±


    My companion shook his head and looked back up at the fight. Nicole and Nergal had engaged each other with their swords again, each clash of metal on metal sending sparks flying. ¡°You¡¯re nuts, you know?¡± He sighed and looked at the door only a few steps away. ¡°Nothing that way but a long climb up a smooth shaft. We¡¯d never make it.¡± I smiled and clapped him on the back. He smiled back, right before a metal tube exploded from his chest.


    ¡°NO!¡± I screamed as the man fell. The imp he had stabbed was standing again, panting and glaring at us with hatred. The tube had been removed and the wound in its chest was almost completely healed up. I charged at it, swinging my sword as hard as I could, not realizing that my shoulder wound had also already healed. The imp jumped back, landing in a low crouch and growling like a feral beast. I paused to adjust my grip on the sword and see what this creature would do next. It held out its hand as if reaching for something but nothing happened. It growled in frustration and fixed me with hate-filled eyes. I realized it had been trying to summon its blade, but couldn¡¯t; probably because I was still holding it. I gripped the sword tighter. OK. No matter what, I couldn¡¯t drop it or it would be game over for me.


    The imp lunged, claws out, and I swiped down with the sword, not really knowing what I was doing. I connected with the imp¡¯s arm and felt a sickening jolt as the blade hit bone. The sword twisted unexpectedly and I nearly lost my grip. The imp screamed in pain and rage and I jumped back, barely avoiding a swipe from its other hand. The imp howled and grabbed its injured arm. I was surprised to see that it ended in a bloody stump, the hand now on the floor where it had fallen. I leaped forward, not giving myself time to think about my next move, and swung again, this time holding the sword with both hands, and hit the imp right at the base of its neck. I¡¯d like to say that its head popped clean off at this point, but again, that would be a lie. I did succeed in stopping it, though, and after a few more, very messy attempts managed to sever the head completely. I kicked it, sending it rolling away across the floor. ¡°Come back from that one, you little punk,¡± I said, breathing heavily despite the fight only lasting a few moments. (What I actually said was considerably more vulgar, I was a lumberjack, after all, but for the sake of younger ears, I¡¯m trying to keep it PG-13.)


    I turned back, suddenly exhausted (I guess I could get tired after all), and found my companion lying where he had fallen. He was fading much like the soul who had chosen to become an imp had been before his change. I dropped to my knees beside him, hoping to find some sign of life, but his eyes were glazed over, unseeing. He continued to fade, and a few moments later was gone, leaving only a sharp metal rod behind. Not even his blood remained. The sword in my hand suddenly vanished and I jumped in panic, expecting the imp to be attacking once again. But no attack came. I looked over to where it had fallen and saw that it too had disappeared, though there was no cloud of dust where it had been. A deafening explosion erupted behind me and I whipped my head around to see the last bits of a huge ball of fire burning out. Nergal had been in the center of it but seemed unaffected. Nicole was hovering a short distance away from him, her shield nowhere in sight, breathing heavily and sweating. She slowly descended, landing and folding her wings while taking a wide stance, holding her sword at the ready.


    ¡°Why hold back?¡± Nergal asked, sounding irritated. ¡°There¡¯s more to you than this. You are the destroyer of cities, ruiner of nations.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not here to destroy a city,¡± Nicole replied, ¡°only you.¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­¡± Nergal said. ¡°I see now.¡± He turned to look at the crowd of frightened and exhausted prisoners huddling on the other side of the room from where I stood, momentarily forgotten, it seemed. ¡°Yes¡­ you¡¯re still only human after all, aren¡¯t you? So¡­ predictable and weak-willed. Unwilling to sacrifice what is necessary. I had hoped that destroying Aamon¡¯s prized Angel of Destruction would give me something of a challenge, but, alas.¡± He turned back to Nicole and raised his massive sword. ¡°Time to end this.¡±


    <hr>


    Losing was not something Mastemat was accustomed to. Since her arrival in the Soul Divide fifteen years ago she had won every confrontation she engaged in. Early on, a few of Aamon¡¯s archdemons had not been pleased with him bringing an angel into his service and rather than dealing with them himself he had ordered her to show them what she could do. She had not even known what she was capable of in those days, but very quickly found out. Those first few battles ended with her, alone, amid nothing but dust and rubble for a hundred yards around. She had been terrified, but Aamon had been thrilled. That was when he gave her the name Mastemat.


    In the years following, she had learned to control her devastating power and thankfully Aamon had never forced her to use it to its fullest, instead using her mainly for gathering souls and patrolling his borders. But now, as she watched Nergal preparing to charge once again, she could hear Aamon¡¯s last command ringing in the back of her mind; ¡°Destroy Nergal or die trying. Level the whole city if you must, but he will not survive the day.¡±


    At first, she had savored the thought of finally destroying one of the demon lords, even if it wasn¡¯t Aamon himself. But now, faced with the task, of seeing the poor, defenseless souls huddled in fear and knowing what it would cost if she used her full power, she found that she couldn¡¯t. Capturing souls and delivering them to Aamon¡¯s dungeons was bad enough, and she told herself that she had no choice; which was true, she didn¡¯t. If she disobeyed her master¡¯s commands she would find herself acting automatically, her body taking over and completing the task on its own. Most days that was how she got through it. She retreated into herself and let Aamon¡¯s will take over. But today she had told herself that wouldn¡¯t happen. Today there was too much at stake. But here she was, once again unwilling to do her master¡¯s bidding. She couldn¡¯t sacrifice innocent lives, even if it meant killing a demon lord. Most of all, however, she couldn¡¯t sacrifice her brother. ¡°Yes, you can,¡± Aamon¡¯s voice whispered in her mind. ¡°With my help, you can do anything, my little Mastemat.¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± she screamed as she blocked another blow from Nergal¡¯s greatsword, planting her feet and pushing back with supernatural strength. Her sword flared, the flames glowing white-hot, and slashed out. She caught Nergal in the chest, cutting a deep gash in his breastplate. One of the plates fell to the floor with a clatter, revealing a torn silk undershirt beneath. A small, bloodless cut was already healing.


    Nergal backed up and examined the damage. ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± he said, sounding impressed. ¡°But it¡¯s not enough. We both know that.¡±


    ¡°Do it now,¡± Aamon¡¯s voice whispered in hungry anticipation. ¡°Bring the whole castle down on his head.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± she responded ¨C whether out loud or in her head, she didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°But you already are, Malicious One. You already are.¡±


    ¡°No, please,¡± she whispered. But it was too late. She could feel the power draining from her, her hair standing up and the feathers on her wings fluffing out as the energy built up. She opened the visor on her helmet and turned towards her brother, who was still near the back door. He was standing there, watching them with wide eyes. Electricity began to snap and crackle all around her. ¡°Run,¡± she told him, barely able to get the word out before she let loose with all the fury of heaven.


    <hr>


    ¡°Run,¡± Nicole said as electricity hummed and sizzled like she was a transformer about to blow. If the word alone hadn¡¯t been enough to set my feet moving, the pure terror in her eyes was. Something had changed during the last exchange with Nergal. She was clearly struggling with something deep and primal, and it seemed she had lost. I lunged for the nearby door and barely got it open before all hell broke loose behind me. A brilliant flash of white accompanied a deafening explosion that caught me and pushed me through the doorway like a champagne cork. I flew through the air for far longer than I would have thought I could before landing hard and rolling until I crashed against a hard stone wall. Rocks and dust fell from the ceiling, covering me in a thick layer of grime. It hurt like crazy, but I barely noticed.


    ¡°NICOLE!¡± I screamed, jumping up and running back to the dungeon. It was nearly pitch black down there, but the corridor was fairly straight and level. The door to the dungeon had been closed in the blast and wouldn¡¯t budge. I rammed it with my shoulder several times, putting my full weight into it each time. Once I was fairly certain something in my shoulder cracked, but I kept on going until the door finally gave way and opened just enough to allow me to slip through.


    Inside was a scene from a war movie. Dust hung so thick in the air that I could barely see. Boulders littered the floor and nothing was left of the torture table or the racks of instruments but splinters and bits of mangled metal. Large chunks of the wall were missing in several places and all around me I could hear rocks falling. The floor shuddered and dust rained down. There was no sign of life, human or imp, anywhere. No. That wasn¡¯t entirely accurate. Nicole was on the far side of the room, barely visible through the dust and revealed by the glow surrounding her. Nergal stood in front of her, his armor was cracked and broken in several places and his helmet was missing. He grasped her halo in one massive hand, lifting her off the ground as she hung limply, wearing only her white robes. There was no sign of her golden armor anywhere. Nergal held his other arm out to his side and his sword appeared in hand, aimed right at her heart. I gasped and lurched forward. As I did, something clattered at my feet. I looked down and saw the metal tube that had stabbed countless human souls, one imp, and one brave, slightly crazy, old man who had come to my aid in a moment of need.


    <hr>


    ¡°I told you that you didn¡¯t have what it takes to defeat me, Mastemat,¡± Nergal said, his sword pointed right at her heart. No one had ever grabbed her by the halo before and she found that it hurt much more than she would have thought, given that it wasn¡¯t even technically attached to her head. It was funny, the thoughts that ran through one¡¯s head in the moments before they died. She wanted to think about her brother or the two dozen defenseless souls she had just sent to the abyss, but all she could manage to think about was how much it hurt having Nergal lift her by the halo. That, and the fact that he was defiling it with his filthy hands. At least her thoughts were her own again. There was nothing left she could do, and it seemed the Compulsion knew that. ¡°You have cost me many souls today, but it was worth it to rid the Soul Divide of your stench forever.¡± He rammed his sword forward and Mastemat prepared herself for the Void. At least in the Abyss Aamon¡¯s voice would never find her again, and that was a comfort. Maybe she could even find her brother there. Hopefully, he would be able to forgive her.


    ¡°NO!¡± someone screamed, and Nicole found herself roughly pushed aside, her neck wrenched painfully as Nergal held tightly to her halo. There was a grunt and she fell to the floor as his grip on it slipped. She pushed herself up and gasped. Her brother stood in front of Nergal, where she had been only moments before, Nergal¡¯s sword piercing his heart. In her brother¡¯s hand, he gripped a rod the demons used to extract essence from souls. He smiled, the light fading from his eyes rapidly, and jammed the rod into Nergal¡¯s chest, right through the opening she had opened up with her last, desperate attack. Nergal cried in rage and smashed him aside with one blow from his huge arm.


    Nicole screamed, her heart bursting into a million pieces. Energy she didn¡¯t know she still had flowed through her and electricity crackled all around. Nergal spun to face her, the rod still in his chest. She grabbed onto it and pulled him close, releasing all the energy straight into the rod. His eyes widened and he started to say something. She never learned what, though, because a moment later he disintegrated into a cloud of dust. Nicole and the rod fell to the floor.


    She tried pushing herself back up, but her arms failed her. Weakly, she dragged herself across the floor in a half-crawl, desperate to get to her brother. She found him a few feet away, already fading. She grabbed him in a bear hug, tears flowing freely. ¡°Why?¡± she asked, sobbing into his nearly transparent chest. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you run?¡±


    He placed a hand on her head and smiled, looking in her direction but not quite seeing her. ¡°I couldn¡¯t leave my big sister behind when she needed me, could I?¡±


    She laughed through her tears. ¡°Goofball. You¡¯re older than me now.¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯ll always be my big sis.¡± He held his hand up, squinting at it. ¡°Guess I¡¯m going to the abyss after all. Come find me there, why don¡¯t you? I bet it¡¯s not as bad as they make it out to be.¡±


    ¡°Of course I will,¡± she said, sniffing. ¡°Even if it takes a thousand years.¡±


    ¡°It better not,¡± he said, and then was gone.


    <hr>


    Rumors of that day still circle the Soul Divide. They speak of armies invading cities, titans clashing, and earthquakes leveling castles. They speak of a radiant angel rising from the rubble, declaring her victory over the great demon lord Nergal, and claiming all his land and possessions in the name of her master, Lord Aamon. It was the day the war for control of the Soul Divide began.


    It was the day the Angel of Destruction was turned loose upon the land.


    End of Chapter Six

 Epilogue

    Epilogue


    One Hundred Years Later


    In some ways, one hundred years seems like a long time.  Like, a really long time.  It¡¯s longer than most humans will live, and in that time the political, social, and technological landscape of Earth can change to the point of being unrecognizable from what it had been.  In eternal terms though, a hundred years is barely a blink of an eye.  That¡¯s not to say that I remained idol in that time, though.  No.  Not in the slightest.  But before I get to those details I feel like some explanations are in order.


    First, the Abyss.  It doesn¡¯t exist.  After I faded I found myself in Heaven ¨C for real this time, and they explained some stuff to me.  In the Soul Divide, most of the residents have no more idea about what lies in the other realms than humans on Earth do, so they came up with the concept of the Abyss to explain where souls go after they fade.  Archdemons know the truth though, so Heaven and Hell entered into their mythos as well.  Ultimately there¡¯s only three spiritual realms: Heaven, Hell, and the Soul Divide.


    The Soul Divide is a kind of in-between place where souls go if they happen to leave their bodies before they¡¯re fully dead.  Like when you go into a coma or other such things.  It turned out that I wasn¡¯t actually dead during my time there, but in a medically induced coma while the doctors frantically worked to keep me alive.  It wasn¡¯t until Nergal pierced my heart that my connection to the living world was fully separated, which is why I faded.  On Earth, I simply and inexplicably flatlined.  If people manage to wake from their near-death experiences they rarely remember their time in the Divide.  And if they do, it¡¯s only vague recollections.


    The third, and most important bit, in my opinion, is how Nicole became an angel and why she¡¯s stuck in the Divide.  It seems that sacrificing yourself for the sake of another is a pretty big deal here in Heaven and is enough to earn you some wings.  When Nicole saved me and tried to save Mom, those in charge took notice.  She found herself in the Soul Divide when she passed out from lack of oxygen, having already been granted the honor of becoming an angel.  Before her body died and she faded, Aamon found her and jumped at the opportunity to snag himself his own personal angel.  It was rotten luck for her, she was grief-stricken and very, very confused at the time ¨C easy prey for someone like him.  The terms of the contract she signed bind her to him in perpetuity, keeping her from fading and coming to Heaven where she belongs.  Needless to say, I had a few choice words to say about management¡¯s handling of the situation, which they took rather well, considering my lumberjack language at the time.  Unfortunately, because of political dealings and the way the war between Heaven and Hell has played out over the centuries, the Soul Divide is pretty much the exclusive domain of the demons at the moment, off-limits from Heaven¡¯s meddling.  The only mercy is that most humans never remember what happens to their souls while they¡¯re there.


    Remember what I said about sacrificing yourself and earning some wings?  Yeah.  I got my own now.  It took a long time to get used to these things, let me tell you.  They¡¯re big and get in the way all the time.  Getting dressed was a real pain at first, fortunately, angels don¡¯t get dirty and sweaty under normal circumstances, so changing clothes doesn¡¯t happen all that often.  Flying wasn¡¯t as easy as Nicole made it look, either, but with training and practice, I eventually got to the point where it¡¯s second nature to me now.  I was also given a new name, Raphael, the Angel of Healing.  I¡¯m not sure how I feel about it.  I mean, I¡¯ve had a hundred years to get used to it at this point, but it still makes me feel like a Ninja Turtle sometimes.


    I spend a lot of time on Earth, visiting people who need help.  I guess my past, growing up as an orphan and all that, really made me well-suited to helping the down-and-out.  My contributions are never spectacular or big and miraculous, but I think they¡¯re the kind that matter; such as that kid who found me on the night of the crash.  His name is David, by the way, and I check in with him from time to time.  He¡¯s a mean chess player.  Anyway, he stayed with me, keeping me warm until emergency responders arrived.  I don¡¯t even remember it, but he does, and it made a difference in both our lives.  Those are my favorite missions, by the way ¨C the ones that help kids.


    Mom and Dad are here too, and we regularly petition management for permission to go the Soul Divide and bring Nicole back, but it¡¯s always denied.  The political situation¡¯s too volatile, they say.  It¡¯s crap (pardon my language.  I still slip up sometimes), but there¡¯s not much we can do about it but try again later, hoping things will have changed.  Other than that, there¡¯s nothing to really complain about, unless boredom counts.  When all your needs are met and you¡¯re always warm and comfortable, you find yourself looking for some hobbies real fast, or you¡¯ll go nuts.  It¡¯s why I¡¯m glad I have my missions.  Dad likes to fish (yes, there¡¯s rivers in Heaven.  It¡¯s not that different than Earth, really, except you don¡¯t need a fishing license and there¡¯s no limits).  Mom¡¯s a fantastic artist and I¡¯m pretty good with archery, though I have a bit of an unfair advantage there, being an angel and all.  So that¡¯s where things stand.  Life¡¯s good.  The only thing that would make it better was if Nicole could be here to enjoy it with us.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    <hr>


    ¡°Got a mission for you,¡± Archangel Micheal said during my weekly check-in at the Big House in the Golden City.  I had flown in that morning and found a notice next to my name on the board.  When I knocked on Michael¡¯s door he ushered me in and shut it behind me a little quicker than he normally would have for a run-of-the-mill confidence boost for a kid having trouble at school.  ¡°I won¡¯t lie, Raphael,¡± he said as he sat down and shuffled some files about, ¡°it¡¯s not an easy one this time.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a kid with stage-four leukemia, is it?¡± I asked, taking my seat across the desk from him.  I hated those.  Only the Boss could heal something that serious, and we never knew if He would or not.


    ¡°No.  Nothing like that.  This one¡¯s different.  How¡¯s your archery, been keeping up on it?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.  Gabriel can still whip me.  But come on, he¡¯s Gabriel, the freaking Golden Child.¡±


    Micheal nodded absently, only half-listening, as he pulled a file from the pile on his desk and opened it.  ¡°Uh-huh, and your sword, still sharp?¡±


    I summoned my sword and showed it to him.  ¡°I don¡¯t think these things can get dull, you know.¡±  I dismissed the sword and leaned forward in my seat, trying to get a look at the file in his hand.  ¡°What¡¯s going on?  You giving me a combat mission?  I¡¯m the Angel of Healing, remember.  I don¡¯t fight.¡±  Even in Heaven, PTSD was real.  I helped a LOT of veterans work through some nasty stuff and still had occasional dreams about iron rods bursting out of people¡¯s chests.  Fighting was not something I was interested in.  Not even against demons.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ll want to this time, Raph,¡± he said, placing the file down on his desk so I could see it.  I grabbed it and held it up, Nicole¡¯s face met my eyes.  ¡°Your sister¡¯s been busy this last century, it seems,¡± Michael continued.  ¡°The Divide¡¯s a real mess.  Ever since that day she rescued you the whole place has been in an uproar.  Demon lords fighting each other openly, territories changing hands faster than a puck in a hockey game, and outright anarchy in some territories.  We¡¯ve found some refugees on Earth, minor demons who slipped through trying to get away from the fighting.  We¡¯ve gotten some intel from a few, in exchange for letting them stay on Earth as long as they don¡¯t cause trouble.  Seems like Aamon, the lord who holds your sister¡¯s contract, is coming out on top.  He¡¯s got well over half the territories under his control now.  The most troubling part of all this though, is that his army is growing much faster than it should by simply assimilating new troops from the territories he¡¯s conquering.  We think it has to do with that thing you told us about, how humans can become imps given the right conditions.  We had hoped that the foul practice died when Nergal did, but it seems that isn¡¯t the case.  We crunched some numbers and they support the hypothesis.  The number of souls waking up and returning to normal life versus those who pass on doesn¡¯t add up.  There¡¯s a large discrepancy that can be accounted for if we assume there¡¯s a third option for where they wind up.  Besides the obvious aversion to this, we must consider another point.¡±  He leaned forward and looked me in the eye.  I stopped leafing through the file and met his gaze.  ¡°Remember how hard that imp was for you to kill?¡±  I nodded.  How could I forget?  ¡°Think of a whole army of those things running free in the Divide.  Now, imagine what would happen if they found a way to Earth.¡±


    ¡°You think they can?¡± I asked, already knowing the answer.


    Micheal nodded.  ¡°Remember those demon informants I mentioned?  Not all of them hitched rides with archdemons.  A few mentioned finding their own way, though we couldn¡¯t get them to tell us how.¡±


    I gulped.  Only archdemons could travel between the Divide and Earth, much like only angels could get there from Heaven.  If regular demons could travel to Earth by themselves, then that would be a real problem indeed.  ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re telling me this,¡± I said after a few moments.  ¡°But I still don¡¯t see what this has to do with me and Nicole.¡±


    ¡°Management feels that this newest intel changes things.  We can no longer ignore what¡¯s happening in the Divide.  We need you to go there and see what you can find.  If you can determine how the demons are getting to Earth, that would be the best outcome, but any first-hand intel you can gather will be invaluable.  Your second objective, and the one most relevant to you, I think, is to locate and extract Nicole.  It¡¯s grievous, what has happened to her, and it¡¯s time to rectify the situation.¡±


    ¡°You mean it?¡± I asked, nearly jumping out of my seat.


    Micheal nodded again, a smile playing on his lips.  ¡°I do, son.  It¡¯s time she came home.¡±


    The End

 Book Two: A Time to Seek - Chapter One

    <h2 style="text-align: center">The Soul Divide: Book Two</h2>


    <h2 style="text-align: center">A Time to Seek</h2>


    <h3 style="text-align: center">For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to be born, and a time to die;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to kill, and a time to heal;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to break down, and a time to build up;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to weep, and a time to laugh;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to mourn, and a time to dance;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to seek, and a time to lose;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to keep, and a time to cast away;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to tear, and a time to sew;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time to love, and a time to hate;


    <h3 style="text-align: center">a time for war, and a time for peace.


    <h3 style="text-align: center">Ecclesiastes 3:1-8


    One


    ¡°Whoever said time heals all wounds was a straight-up liar,¡± Nicole thought as Mastemat drove her sword through Lord Beloth¡¯s heart.  One hundred fifteen years and nine ¡ª now ten ¡ª dead demon lords later, and she was no closer to breaking free from Aamon¡¯s control than she had been when she first signed that despicable contract.


    ¡°But at least we get to kill demons,¡± Mastemat thought as she pulled the sword free before dismissing it.  ¡°They also say that time flies when you¡¯re having fun, don¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re having fun,¡± Nicole replied.  ¡°I never wanted any of this.¡±


    ¡°I thought you liked killing demons,¡± Mastemat thought as she sat, exhausted, on a chunk of rock while Beloth¡¯s body crumbled to dust on the ground beside her.  ¡°It¡¯s better than collecting souls for Aamon, isn¡¯t it?  But then, you never did have what it takes for even that simple task.  That¡¯s why I¡¯m here ¨C to make sure someone¡¯s holding up our end of the contract.¡±


    ¡°The Compulsion made sure of that.  I didn¡¯t need you stepping in.¡±


    ¡°I am the Compulsion, dear, and you asked me too.  Every time you retreated and cowered like a scared little girl in the back corners of your mind, leaving me to finish the task for you.  You simply gave me a voice after realizing you¡¯re too weak to do what¡¯s necessary.  If you had realized that sooner, I probably would have defeated Nergal before he sent our brother to the abyss.¡±  Nicole didn¡¯t respond.  Mastemat knew her too well and could strike precisely where it hurt the most.  It was true; she had been too weak to save him.  Instead, he had been forced to sacrifice himself to save her.  Looking around at the destruction surrounding them, Nicole thought it may have been better if he hadn¡¯t ¨C for the Soul Divide, at least.


    Mastemat let out a long sigh and dismissed their golden armor, replacing it with white robes that were torn and tattered in the same places the armor had been damaged.  ¡°Anyway,¡± Mastemat thought.  ¡°Now that I¡¯ve done the hard part for you, I¡¯m going to get some rest.  Have fun with the clean-up.¡±  Before Nicole could protest she found herself thrust to the forefront of their mind while Mastemat stepped back, going silent.  Nicole winced as she was hit with the pain of the injuries they had sustained during the fight.  Beloth had not gone down easily, and Mastemat had been forced to fight her way past two leviathans and several warlocks before finally reaching Beloth¡¯s heavily reinforced bunker.  Even if their body was practically invincible, Nicole wished Mastemat would be more careful with it sometimes ¨C especially since she was usually left to suffer the pain after the adrenaline from the fight wore off.


    ¡°Lady Mastemat¡­¡± a wispy, hesitant voice said beside her.


    Nicole whipped around, her sword appearing in hand.  She brought it to a stop only a few inches from the neck of a shade that had entered the room unnoticed by her or Mastemat.  Shades were good at that, for obvious reasons.  That was about all they were good for, really, since they couldn¡¯t cause any actual harm.  ¡°What is it?¡± she snapped.


    ¡°Pardon the intrusion, my Lady,¡± the shade said.  ¡°But Lord Aamon has been requesting an update for some time.  Since the fighting is now over, I thought it best to respond.  What should I tell him?¡±


    Nicole sighed and dismissed her sword.  They had started sending shades as messengers after battles when it became apparent that any creature with a physical body would be very likely to have parts of it removed if they weren¡¯t careful in how they approached her.  ¡°Tell him it¡¯s over and that I have won.  I¡¯ll be delivering the ultimatum to the surviving troops after I have recovered some of my strength.¡±  She winced again as her left wing popped back into place.  It had been broken at some point during the fight, it seemed.  Several charcoal-grey feathers floated slowly to the ground.  They had been pure white once, before her brother died.  ¡°Assuming they don¡¯t choose the abyss over serving a new master, I¡¯ll be bringing him ten legions of soldiers, plus five hundred new souls and three hundred cases of essence.¡±  The words brought bile to her throat, but she choked it back down.  This was her reality now, it had been for over a century, and would continue to be until someone sent her to the abyss.  Beloth had come close this day.  Part of her wished he had succeeded.


    ¡°You don¡¯t mean that,¡± Mastemat thought, breaking her silence.  And Nicole was ashamed to admit that she was right.


    <hr>


    ¡°They actually said that?¡± asked David as he moved a pawn to E6, effectively killing the attack on his queen that I had been ¨C I thought ¨C subtly preparing with my white bishop.


    ¡°Yep, they want me to go to the Soul Divide and bring Nicole back.  There¡¯s some other stuff they want me to do while I¡¯m there too, but I can¡¯t tell you what that is.  I shouldn¡¯t even be telling you about Nicole.¡±  I studied the board and decided to go ahead and press the attack anyway, just from a different angle, and took the pawn with my knight, hoping to goad him into a mistake.


    ¡°But isn¡¯t the Divide off-limits?¡± he asked, casually taking my knight with his own knight, which I hadn¡¯t even noticed was in position to do so.  He added the knight to the stack of my other pieces he¡¯d already captured, including my queen.  This was going to be a shorter game than usual.  ¡°Is the treaty ended, then?¡±


    ¡°Not officially, which is why I can¡¯t just pop over there.  That would send alarm bells off all over the place and give them an excuse to say we broke the treaty first.  I¡¯ll have to find some quiet way to sneak in, probably from Earth.  I¡¯ve already got a few ideas about that.  I just need to run them by Michael first.¡±  I squinted at the board.  How long had his rook on H8 been wide open like that?  My black bishop on B2 was in a perfect position to take it, so I swiped it across the board and triumphantly knocked the rook aside, grinning.


    ¡°Well, I hope you¡¯re better at real subterfuge than you are at chess, Raphael,¡± David said with a smile.  He slid his queen down to C1.  ¡°Checkmate.¡±


    I blinked stupidly a few times.  Oh yeah, that¡¯s why I had been keeping that bishop there.  It was guarding that hole.  I leaned back in my chair, careful not to smash my wings against the backrest, and stared at the ceiling.  ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not much of a challenge today, Dave.  I¡¯m a bit distracted, I guess.¡±


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°Hey, man, I get it.  I¡¯ve always hoped I¡¯d get to meet Nicole someday, so I¡¯m excited, too.  Your family means a lot to me, you know?¡±


    I shook my head and took a sip of chilled wine.  Even after all this time, my friend¡¯s humble attitude amazed me.  ¡°It¡¯s you we should be thanking.  If you hadn¡¯t saved me that day, I¡¯d never have wound up in the Divide.  We¡¯d of been up here, wondering about where Nicole was for all eternity.¡±


    He shrugged.  ¡°Maybe.  They seem to have a decent information network.  They probably already knew about it.  But that night changed my life too, you know?  It made me reevaluate things ¨C get serious about my future and such.  It was the reality check I needed.  I¡¯m just glad I got to meet you again.  Though I was a bit surprised to find that you beat me up here.¡±


    I leaned forward, studying his face.  He may not have had wings and a halo like I did, but in my mind, he had always been my guardian angel.  ¡°This is all old news,¡± I said.  ¡°Why the nostalgia?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.  I kinda got the feeling it¡¯ll be a while before I see you again.  When do you leave?¡±


    ¡°As soon as Michael approves my game plan.  As early as tomorrow, I¡¯m hoping.  She¡¯s been Aamon¡¯s captive for a hundred and fifteen years.  Even one day longer is too much.¡±


    David grabbed his wine glass and held it up in salute.  ¡°Couldn¡¯t agree more, brother.  To family reunions.¡±


    I clinked my glass against his.  ¡°To family reunions, indeed.¡±


    <hr>


    Nicole hovered over the city, watching as legion after legion of demons filed out of the ruined gates and formed up in the killing fields beyond.  Ten legions ¨C that was all that was left of the eighty-five legions Beloth had begun this campaign with.  Nearly half a million troops, whittled down to a fraction of that by Mastemat and her forces.  Aamon¡¯s army had grown to nearly two million troops over the years, but those were spread out across most of the Soul Divide, maintaining his presence on multiple fronts and engaging any resistance when necessary.  He allotted ninety legions to Mastemat for this campaign, a superior number to Beloth¡¯s forces, but it had proven to be barely enough when facing an enemy entrenched within their own territory.  Still, once she broke through those hard outer defenses ¨C after years of besiegement and surgical strikes ¨C the interior of Beloth¡¯s territory had proven soft and quickly succumbed to her superior fighting forces.  Having a healthy supply of brutally hard-to-kill semi-human imps didn¡¯t hurt matters, either.  Just thinking about that nearly caused Nicole to retreat, giving Mastemat a bit of a jolt.


    ¡°Watch it,¡± she said irritably.  ¡°I decide when I work.¡±  Nicole took a deep breath and steadied her nerves.  Time to herself ¨C where she was fully in command of her actions ¨C was rare enough.  Even if that time was spent doing Aamon¡¯s bidding, as long as it wasn¡¯t too distasteful a task, she should try to make the most of it.


    ¡°Do you find the new troops satisfactory, Lady Mastemat?¡± asked the shade that was her acting messenger for the day.


    ¡°It depends on how they respond to my speech.  They survived the war, so they¡¯re either very tough or they¡¯re simpering cowards.  We will need to determine which before presenting them to Lord Aamon¡­¡±  She trailed off as a disturbance down below caught her attention.  Some of her troops were pulling soldiers out of the lines of new troops and separating them from the rest.  ¡°What is Methelsachek doing?¡± she asked the shade.


    ¡°Methelsachek perished in the final assault, my Lady,¡± the shade responded.  ¡°You were engaged with Beloth at the time, so we were unable to inform you.¡±


    She frowned.  Methelsachek was boastful and proud but had proven to be a capable commander nonetheless.  His loss, while hardly heartbreaking, was going to be problematic.  ¡°Who has replaced him?¡±


    ¡°Duke Valefor, my Lady.¡±


    ¡°Do I know him?¡±


    ¡°He arrived last week with the latest batch of reinforcements.  When Methelsachek fell, he claimed his right as a nobleman and assumed command.¡±


    ¡°And he hasn¡¯t bothered to come find me, now that the battle is over,¡± Nicole said, mostly to herself.  It sounded like Duke Valefor was going to need some instruction on where he stood in the grand scheme of things.


    ¡°You want me to handle this?¡± Mastemat asked.


    ¡°I can deal with it,¡± Nicole thought back, irritated.  ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain what he¡¯s doing down there, though.  I ordered the troops to form up.  I didn¡¯t want them split yet.¡±


    ¡°I do not know, my Lady,¡± said the shade.  ¡°I am only a messenger.¡±


    Nicole waved an irritated hand at the shade and then flew down to the fields, landing near several imps who were herding a few haggard, but important-looking, demons toward a group of other similarly-dressed demons huddled together nearby.  She recognized the uniforms as those the enemy officers wore.  ¡°What is going on here?¡± she demanded.  The imps squawked and cowered back.  She tended to have that effect on them.


    ¡°Please, my Lady,¡± one of them said in its raspy, high-pitched voice.  ¡°Lord Valefor ordered us to gather the enemy officers for execution.¡±


    She cocked an eyebrow.  ¡°He did?  I gave no such command.¡±


    ¡°The order was my own,¡± a deep, rumbling voice behind her said.  ¡°I am the commander of Lord Aamon¡¯s army in this region, after all.  I did not think I needed to consult with you on such matters.¡±


    ¡°And what would lead you to believe that, Duke Valefor?¡± Nicole asked, spinning around to find herself facing a hulking demon the size of a grizzly bear back on Earth.  He wore a sharp and crisp uniform that looked like it came straight out of Nazi Germany.  His skin was bright red and he had two horns growing out the top of his forehead and curving back over his bald head.  Folded at his back were a pair of huge bat-like wings that probably had twice the span of Nicole¡¯s.  A long and thin tail that ended in a sharp point curled and twisted behind him like a snake ready to strike.  He smiled down at her.


    ¡°You are much smaller than your reputation would suggest, Destroyer,¡± he said, decidedly not answering her question.


    ¡°I might say the same about you, Duke Valefor,¡± she said, eyeing him up and down, ¡°except your reputation does not precede you, I¡¯m afraid.¡±  She gestured at the enemy officers.  ¡°Answer my question.  Why have you decided to execute these demons without first consulting me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not in the habit of discussing important military matters with little girls,¡± Valefor said.


    ¡°Tell me, Valefor,¡± Nicole said, releasing some of the energy she had been storing up for her speech.  Dark clouds began to gather in the sky and thunder rumbled.  Some of the imps nearby whimpered and, wisely, began to back away.  She took a few steps closer, forcing her to crane her neck to look up at him.  ¡°Are we acquainted with one another?¡±


    ¡°Hardly,¡± he replied, looming over her.


    ¡°And are we equals?¡±


    ¡°Not even close,¡± he said, openly sneering now.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad we¡¯re agreed on that point.  So, knowing who I am and my reputation, why would you dare disrespect me by failing to report to me at the soonest possible opportunity, forcing me to come find you?  And then, when we do finally meet, you fail to use my correct title, even though I afforded you that very same courtesy?  Are you that brave, or just that stupid?  My bet is on the latter.¡±


    Valefor¡¯s sneer turned into an angry scowl.  ¡°You are nothing more than Lord Aamon¡¯s puppet, Destroyer.  A pretty little tool he likes to take out and show off every now and then.  You are a woman and a slave.  Do not deign to think you can speak to me thus.¡±  He raised a hand larger than her head and swiped down to slap her.  If it had connected it would have snapped her neck like a twig.  But she was too fast for that.


    She sprang to the side, away from his strike, and knocked his feet out from under him with a sweeping kick assisted by a bit of supernatural power, courtesy of being an angel.  He fell hard on his back and she lept up onto his chest, landing with her sword point directly over his heart, the tip digging into his skin ever so slightly.  She ignited it, letting the fire start near the hilt and slowly creep down the blade, inching closer to the end.  She leaned over, looking him directly in the eyes.  Lightning flashed in the clouds above, followed by a crack of thunder so intense it shook the ground.  He stared back, stunned.  ¡°I am Lady Mastemat,¡± she said, loud enough for those around to hear.  ¡°Named by Lord Aamon himself.  I am his eyes, I am his hands, I am his voice.  What I see, he sees.  What I do, he wishes done.  When I speak, they are with his words.  Ruin is my domain.  Destruction is my slave.  Twelve mighty Lords of the Divide once reigned.  Ten have perished by my hand.  Look around.  What has become of Beloth¡¯s mighty city?  Where is his keep?  Continue in this folly and I shall visit such horrors upon your lands that you will curse the day you ever crawled out of the pits of Hell.¡±  The fire reached the end of the sword, burning a hole in Valefor¡¯s shirt.  He grunted, the holy fire burning him despite being a fire demon.  ¡°Am I clear?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lady Mastemat,¡± he said through gritted teeth.  ¡°Forgive my impertinence.¡±


    Nicole dismissed her sword and spread her wings, lifting off his chest.  ¡°Then get up,¡± she said.  ¡°There¡¯s work to do.¡±


    ¡°Nicely handled,¡± Mastemat said.  ¡°You nearly had even me convinced.  Too bad I know the truth ¨C that he¡¯s right.  You¡¯re merely a puppet, and I¡¯m the one pulling the strings.¡±


    ¡°Wrong,¡± Nicole thought as Valefor slowly pushed himself back up, glaring at her with hatred.  ¡°You¡¯re the strings.  Aamon is the one pulling them.¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s true enough.  Though without Lord Aamon, you¡¯d be nothing more than pathetic little Nicole.¡±


    ¡°Without him,¡± Nicole replied, hovering at eye level in front of Valefor, staring right back at him.  ¡°I wouldn¡¯t need to be anything more than myself.¡±


    End of Chapter One