Divinity: The Gathering: Book One (16 page)

I had a large assortment of leather breas
tplates, vambraces, torso shields, pants, boots and gauntlets and I always liked to don something protective whenever I paid a visit to Morning Star’s realm. You never entered his dominion without some sort of armor, magic and weapon at the ready.

I didn’t want to tell her about what Rahab and I discussed on our theories about the dark divine ones Morning Star had been covertly maintaining and r
ecruiting until it was confirmed.

I heard her sigh softly.

“He is in full control right now though.” She commented.

“Full control doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll get his way either. Rahab is going to wait for me here, I’ll be back. If anything important should come up, inform Ryziel and Macai, and they’ll contact me.” I then said as I dressed quickly in a dark hard-leather breastplate, and black leather hide boots, which were the same material that my black fitted pants were made from.

Edanai crossed her arms over her chest, “And why can’t I just contact you directly?” she asked, raising a dark arched brow.

I sighed, “Because I may be busy at the moment.” I replied hastily as I moved past her.

“Cam`ael…” Edanai blurted just as I had brushed past her and entered the open corridor that extended from my bed chamber.

I turned around to see her tanned; heart-shaped face tighten. Her expression was laced with concern and something else.

“What?” I asked her.

“Just be careful.” She sighed with a smile. Though I was sure that wasn’t what she wanted to say.

“Stop worrying,” I told her giving her a quick kiss on the forehead through her jet black bangs.

“I don’t worry about you, but if you’re not back here in three-day breaks at least to check in, I’m coming after you.” She said as she chewed her lip in exaspe
ration.

“Threat taken,” I chuckled.

~~~***~~~

              Though I took part in and enjoyed the lustful debauchery so readily available within the walls of this domain of darkness, I hated being anywhere remotely in this place for any longer than that. The atmosphere and aura all around reeked and riled with foul smut, raw evil, pure hate and the lowest forms of human life energies known to the universe. The streets were made up of both mortal and immortal bones and teeth.

It literally made my own skin crawl, and it disgusted me that I was labeled in any kind of association with these dark fallen and their lord, Morning Star.

His domain was immense, spanning across thousands of acres of black sanded dead lands complete with separate chambers, all grand in design and in the shape of three dimensional, sky-high, polished onyx pyramids. There were hundreds of those but within his kingdom, there was a total of six, all surrounding one elaborate and distinct one that rose above all the rest in height.

It was fitted for a king, and it housed Morning Star’s personal quarters— at the very top floor. Each of the smaller pyramids were homes to his highest ranking arch demons, and they each sustained their own slaves, lesser demons, imps, voids and shadow servants.

Amon had the worst of the dangerous demons in his legion, the voids. Voids had no bodies, emotions or substance of their own, so they are able to acquire and mimic any human in form and voice. They were the ones that were always used to lure, hunt and gather unsuspecting humans with deceit and trickery. However, their putrid odors always gave them away to those of us who knew better and were sensitive to it.

There were several mini pyramids dotted around the areas, which housed prisons, sex and de
fecation arenas, murder, dismembering and torture chambers and numerous conjuring galleries, serving as direct connections to the human realm, like a PA system as well as housing for some of the higher demons and soldiers. The shadows were shapeless masses of evil and negative energies, constantly slinking around in the dark lands and in between the pyramids— awaiting orders, spying and using humans as puppets for their own amusements. They needed no physical dwelling, actual food for sustenance or bodies because they fed on souls like parasites.

Black beasts and hellhounds, which were huge lion-like, three-headed, mutant dogs, were just as fierce and diabolical as they looked, and they maintained that reputation by feasting on damned humans while they were still alive.

There were myriads of diabolical evil pets and creatures that were kept in a large zoo like facility where they were bred and raised specifically for hunting, entertainment and sometimes food by Morning Star’s army. They were all foul and vicious— created by using a combination of the darkest magic, corrupt flesh, stolen and damned souls and auras. Some of the beasts were used to stand watch among each pyramid community like sentry gargoyles, but it was mostly to keep the human slaves in check and from escaping.

Yes, humans could still escape back into the mortal realm pending they could even find the portals to do so but then again, those people never returned the same anyway. I
nsane was an understatement to their transformation if they ever did make it back while still mortal and with their original souls.

It was always dismal and ranged from shades of perpetual murky grays and darkness here at nightfall and orange- red and purple hues during the daybreaks in this place. Not
hing ever grew naturally especially of the earth. There was no real sun, rain or vegetation. The dark fallen and demons here didn’t need those things. They ate souls and people and kept them harvested by forcing them to breed among each other, which meant that there was never a shortage of souls or bodies to sacrifice, play with, use and eat.

The tortured cries and screams were vividly louder here. It fed this place, keeping its energy alive with all sorts of horrors and atrocities involving men, women, children and even infants. This was the place that literally brought sorrow to my being, which is why I never hung around longer than to satisfy my own lusts. Edanai completely detested this place and avoided it altogether as well as the majority in my l
egion, unless it was necessary to our cause.

I was grateful for the light I still had within. I used to revel in taking part of some of the activities planned for the mortal realm, but I never took part in the specifically blasphemous and heinous level atro
cities—those truly sickened me. Even as a classified Demon…I had my limits.

The things I did participate in, which had been the most fun for me back then, was to look for, listen in on and tag those humans in the mortal realm who had just lost a loved one to death. Afterwards, watching the voids take on the image of that person to make the living think they were seeing their ghosts in order to further play on their grief and psyche’s.

‘Haunting’ places, throwing strange lights and orbs and even making sounds to make people believe there were lingering ghosts had been fun too. I remember breaking up marriages and families by temptation or deception at just the right moment— because all demons do is watch, listen, wait, destroy and then move onto the next victims after either soaking up or getting a good laugh at the despair and pain left behind. My most favorite had been the teasing of the ones who swore to possess powers or psychic abilities or called themselves prophets of Elohim, claiming to speak in tongues. Most of the time it was simply a dark shadow taking th
e
m over or speaking through them to the masses or by playing on the darkest fears that lie buried deep within their souls and minds. Ridiculing false prophets into thinking they were actually saying something of holy importance, was the most hilarious to me; although, that was all in the past for me now.

We had a ball with those games and there were far too many gullible humans and charlatans that the source of humor, fun and games were never in shortage.

I never want Star to see this place or to know of my participation in any of it even if it had been a long time ago I would go to the ends of the earth to keep her out of here even after she became a divine warrior.

I didn’t want to move through the rest of the foul garbage, slime, leeches, siphons and idiots meandering through the grounds, below so I toyed with the idea of just ghosting directly into Morning Stars chambers. I knew that may have been suicidal though.  I hated being anywhere around him. His own aura and energy were so wicked, infallibly dark and evil that it literally permeated the air and those around him with a tangible, vile ichor that was almost impossible to get rid of if at all as it worked to consume and taint ones soul further.

Rahab was right. Looking around I could see that some sort of a celebration was about to take place. The main square was decorated with illuminated blood infused lamps and gold chains. Streamers made from
dyed intestines, adorned and painted balloons and statues made from thinly shaved, human skin and hollowed out human skulls decorated shops and the sides of the streets. There were many ‘food vendors’ preparing their stands with signs that read fresh eyeball soup- all colors, tongue, cured hearts and kidneys and both charred and filleted penis jerky…that one actually made me look away with antipathy and discomfort.

Demons and their minions casually crawled, skittered and strolled along the bone and teeth co
bbled streets with the human slaves whom they walked like pets on leashes. All of which, were either naked with some sort of exposed raw wound or wounds derived from being beaten repetitively or had been missing limbs. All were blindfolded and bound by spiked, harnessed collars.

The higher arch demons were decked out in their most formal attire made from dyed and leathe
rized human flesh and hair. Groups of child imps were doing some sort of dance routine to disturbing music, waving colored flaming sticks of sulfur and using still living but horribly dismembered and disfigured smaller beasts and...hybrid human children as props. It was all a disparaging sight to witness, which was why I never ventured around these streets for this reason.

I was instantly recognized by many of the lesser demons, but they refused to make eye contact with me as they grunted and scurried by; watching from afar. Some of the higher arch demonesses were calling my name, but I ignored them. Even if I weren’t on business during this trip, I craved human women, contrary to the filth of the female demons here, and they knew it. I would have to bathe simply walking through these streets alone. I chose to glide a
few inches above the ground so that even my boots wouldn’t be soiled by the powerful decay beneath them. I saw several in my legion scattered about; doing their typical surveillance in gathering more information to be discussed later when we all met.

Many of my acquainta
nces, blended in perfectly with the other dark ones, coming in all shapes, sizes, talents and powers. They did well in paying me no particular attention or even making eye contact as to give way to any notion that we were familiar with each other at all, let alone were in the same legion.

There were far too many wards and security measures at the base of Morning Star’s quarters, and though I would be able to get through without conflict, I didn’t want to waste my time continuing on through the sludge. He had a number of safeguards in place, but he knew my signature, and since I was a regular; he was never surprised to see me when I materialized in. Normally, he would know I was coming before I even ghosted in, and I was sure that he was already being told of my arrival as I began to ascend to the level of his chambers.

I knew that had been the case since I easily bypassed the first seven layers of dark powerful wards that he surrounded himself with. He let those guards down himself, but that didn’t mean he still wasn’t surrounded by some of his most powerful arch demon soldiers either. He was allowing me in without questions or suspicion; perhaps Drakael had been semi correct, in that he trusted me…or maybe this was an ambush. Either way, the one thing any being in this realm knew as a rule, was never let your guard slip around Morning Star or any of his minions, especially in his territory.

I wasn’t surprised to see several couples all naked minus the leashes, gags and other devices meant for sadistic penetration. Some were men with teenage women; some were women and women and unfledged men with men all performing for him, e
ngaged in some sort of deviant sexual play or act while he sat on his throne and dined on what looked to have been a human thigh roasted and dressed to simulate a lamb shank. Though it was presented in an attempt to make it seem appetizing, it sickened me. I instantly sensed his closest commanders were hidden in the shadows all around his grand room with its high pointed cathedral-like ceiling.

I wondered where he had moved the two d
ivine ones he had here the other day. They had been tied up, blindfolded and locked in birdcage looking devices that hung from beams across the upper walls. What did he do with them since I’d last been here? Did they submit to him? I wouldn’t ask, not outright anyway yet as I began to formulate some sort of plan of action to get to them. I simply hoped I wasn’t too late if this was the only task I had the opportunity to complete in order to be able to meet Star.

It was funny. Just as no human ever saw Elohim’s face, let alone any of the angels or demons in their true forms in plain sight; none of them have seen Morning Star either, and I think that if any human actually did…all the preconceived ideas that they’ve maintained or always had would be completely thrown out of the window and stupefy them all.