Of Kings and Demons (16 page)

Maganus stroked the hawk.
“Pologus seldom misses his targets.”

Jin riveted his eyes on Mathew
and the girl next to him. “What happened after I left?”

Maganus nodded towards the
siblings. “They are the ones.”

“The ones the Demons are
hunting.”

“Who did the Demons send?”

“Count Raum, the conjurer.”

Maganus noticed the scratches
on Jin’s armour. “You had a bad time too. Who was it?”

“Eberhard.”

Maganus’s eyes widened. “He is
back?”

Jin’s turned to the children. “You
have suffered and thank God you are alive.”

“Many Kings and kinglings are
vulnerable. I have also lost contact with Gwyneth.” Jin said.

Maganus’s thick eyebrows
dropped. “Has something happened?”

Jin was silent.

“Gwyneth
will be fine. Did things go well for you?”

“If I had been a moment late,
Eberhard would have changed the course of.”

Maganus shook his head in
dismay, then turned to Mathew as if he were about to speak.

“A new Angel?” Mathew asked.
“Our chances of leaving are boosted.”

Maganus made the introduction
and Mathew bowed slightly.

“The kingling?” Jin asked. “And
a worried one.”

Mathew looked edgy. “Not our
fight really but what can we do…”

Jin dismounted and stepped
forth. “I can sense reluctance in your tone. There is the inability to accept.”
Jin frowned “Residual doubt, my friend?”

“What is it, Jin?” Maganus
asked.

“Your faith is like a flagging
kite in the autumn winds, lost and scattered.”

Maganus eyed Jin before looking
at Mathew. “That is a danger.”

“Danger?” Mathew was bewildered
“Just a doubt. I am entitled to my fears. I…I should be allowed to deliberate. I
am just scared.”

Jin nodded “You are but once
the heart waver, the Demons will triumph.”

Mathew lamented, head dropped.
“I am just worried about Sarah.”

“That is understandable.”
Maganus said.

“You need a lesson in Kings and
the importance of faith, it seems.” Jin interjected.

“What do you plan to do?”
Maganus asked

Jin said “I think he needs a
ride. Patch the holes in his faith and steeled his will.”

“A ride?” Mathew asked.

Before Mathew could utter
another word, Jin had wrapped his powerful arms around him and roped him onto
the saddle of his handsome steed.

Jin mounted and raised the reins,
as a dumbfounded Mathew looked at Maganus for a clue. But the Angel of the
Woods simply stroked his beard and nodded approvingly.

“Journey teaches a thousand
lessons, my boy,” Jin said and urged his steed into a portal of light.

Landsberg Prison 1924

“Where are we?”Mathew asked.

Jin’s was silent and Mathew
struggled but found the Angel’s arms strong and unrelenting “Please tell me
what’s going on. You’re not going sacrifice my sister, too, are you? I must go
back and protect Sarah!”

When Jin still did not reply, Mathew
clamped his jaws.

“Do you know how I feel?”

Jin was silent.

“Jin, did you hear me?”

No reply

“Are you even human? Can you
understand my feelings? My sister is there in the middle of a forest.”

Jin finally spoke “I am not
human. I am an Angel, and that identity comes with responsibility. However, I
was once a human. I understand.”

“But…”

“Sit tight, Mathew.”

Jin’s flat tone jolted Mathew
out of his tantrums and he sat tight and quiet like a tamed child.

The powerful steed galloped
down a tunnel of light. Mathew watched the surroundings change like a
kaleidoscopic map of colors. At times he shivered from a wintery chill; at
other moments he began to sweat from a burning sensation. He felt as if he were
travelling through the seasons.

They left the tunnel and landed
on a lawn, next to a stone-paved road. The path of light disappeared and Mathew
saw a building in front of them. He rubbed his eyes in an effort comprehend the
foreign and ancient-looking architecture.

Jin dismounted and helped
Mathew to the ground. Mathew nearly stumbled and grabbed Jin’s arm for balance.

“What is this all about?”

“I will show you the reason for
this struggle, this fight, and this war between us and Demons. I am letting you
see the importance of staying strong and fighting.” Jin replied.

“But Sarah...?”

“She is in safe hands. Come.”

“Where are we?”

“Germany.”

“Why we are in Germany when we
faced mortal danger back in America””

Jin grimaced. “Mathew, you will
only get this experience once in your lifetime. A man learns most when he learns
to hold his tongue.”

Mathew swallowed. “Fine.”

Jin smiled and led the boy up
the building’s stairs.

“Wait, I think I had seen this
building before. I …” Mathew said.

“Landsberg Prison.” Jin
muttered.

“In 2018, I don’t think it is
still a prison. It is a museum or something.”

“This is not 2018,” Jin said.

Mathew furrowed his brow as he
took in his surroundings.

 “It is 1924, Mathew.”

“But how …”

“This is time travel, my
friend. I have to make you see the point. I am making this exception for you, a
human being.”

Mathew winced. “Thank you Lord
Jin, I am deeply gratified.”

“You are ready to start?” Jin
asked.

When Mathew nodded, Jin clapped,
and they found himself in a dimly lit room, a cubicle about ten feet by
fifteen. A lamp on the wall shed a frail light.

Mathew shielded his nose. “The
stench! How can anybody stay here?”

Jin did not reply but simply
looked towards a corner of the cell.

As his eyes adjusted to the dim
light, Mathew began to see the outline of a man sitting on a bed with a thin
mattress. The man concentrated on a paper pad that he held before him. His facial
features were obscured by shadows and, and Mathew stood unmoving as he witnessed
the man’s fanatic motions of scribbling, striking out the jottings on his pad,
and more scribbling.

“Do you think we should hide?”
Mathew whispered.

“He can’t see us or hear us,”
Jin said.

“How could that be possible?”

“We are in another dimension,
not in his. Time is a medium that you might need years to understand, Mathew,”
Jin said. “Now, just watch.”

Mathew returned his attention
to the inmate, who had begun to roll about on the bed. Then, the man sprang up
and threw his paper pad to the floor.

Mathew had a better view of the
man. His slender face was framed in throbbing belligerence, and a frown seemed
to be permanently etched on his brow; his complexion was sallow from the lack
of sunshine. Mathew became transfixed by the man’s animated movements and darting
eyes.

The man began to ramble. He picked
up his pencil and pad, and scribbled furiously. Occasionally, he bit the tip of
the pencil and then continued to scribble.

His self-talk became a continuous
stream that at times multiplied into loud and intense ramblings.

“German. He’s talking in
German”

Jin snapped his fingers and in
that instant Mathew could understand the man’s words as if a translator had
been inserted in his mind.

“He who would live must fight.
He … who ...”

The inmate stood up and sat at a
small desk, where he continued to write, ponder, and rewrite.

“He who would live must fight.
He … who … does not wish to fight in this world, where permanent struggle … is
the law of life, has not the right to exist.”

Mathew looked at Jin, then back
to haggard man.

“A true man stands up for his
beliefs. He goes beyond conventional means to power. He …”

The man wrote down his words, paused
and continued. “Humanity requires a true man, leading a true race to lead …”
Pause. “That true race is the Aryan race, group of men born to lead.”

The inmate paused, then jumped
onto his chair and cried.

Immediately, Mathew heard a banging
on the cell’s iron door, and the inmate sat down on his chair again. He dropped
his pencil and flashed a sly smile towards the door. “Sie dachten, sie konnten
Nagel Mich. … They thought they could nail me.”

He looked around his cell like
a triumphant conqueror dispensing ridicule to a crowd of disbelievers. “This is
too small for a great man. You cowards out there; all you could do was imprison
me. You can set me back for a couple of years, but I will be out … I will be.”
His thin lips extended into a cocky smile.

He picked up his pencil and
continued to scribble away, babbling simultaneously. “The world needs a perfect
race, a solution to all its troubles. You imbeciles out there.”

Mathew wiped his wet forehead.
He felt his heart pounding in his chest as Jin explained. “This is a man who
could be King of Men but he lost the battle to the Demons. He failed the test
and gave in to the temptations of the Demons.”

“Your loss must have
significant implications for the world.” Mathew remarked.

Jin muttered “Understatement.”

“They captured his heart and
soul when he was very young, seventeen of age” Jin explained. “The Demons saw
his potential and transformed him into a Demon, beyond our wildest imagination.
This is the reason why the Guardian Angels were mandated to defend the
kinglings. Potential leaders of men are highly vulnerable. The Demons are
vultures of souls, waiting for men to falter.”

The inmate continued writing
but Mathew could still hear his jabber.

“Those who want to live, let them fight,
and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not
deserve to live … Even if this was hard—that is how it is! Assuredly, however,
by far the harder fate is that which strikes the man who thinks he can overcome
Nature, but in the last analysis only mocks her. Distress, misfortune, and
diseases are her answer.”

The man smiled and stared
hungrily at his scribbling. He flipped to a fresh piece of paper and continued.
“We will be strong again. Germany will be strong again, run by one true race.
Hell … to all those inferior stock of another race.”

The man released a
deep-throated laughter that was amplified in the small room.

Mathew swore as his pulse
quickened. He turned to Jin, who gave him an icy cold stare. “Adolf Hitler!”
Mathew said. “Writing
Mein Kempf
.”

“Yes,” Jin replied. “The genius
and an evil one after the Demons captured his soul.”

“Hitler ...” Mathew repeated as
he felt the color drain from his face.

“Are you alright?” Jin asked.

“I am beginning to appreciate
the significance of your gesture,” he mumbled.

“Adolf was one of our potential
Kings,” the Angel continued. “Groomed from youth, brought up in adversity; he
had such strength in his character. He impressed many of the Guardian Angels
with his tenacity and intelligence. But all strength carried to extreme breeds
a fault, an imperfection. There was a tendency in him to take extremes. You can
blame the harsh conditions that he grew up in, but adversity does not have
favourites or make exemptions. Adolf made the wrong choice, and no Angel can
turn back a King who had decided on the dark side.”

“Freewill.”

“Yes, no Angel’s power can
overpower the free will of man. In the end, Adolf’s desire for the dark side
was so strong that it defeated our powers.”

“Defeated?”

“Yes. You will know in time to
come. The hatred in a human’s heart is the strongest weapon against all things
good. For Adolf, he had a choice. He had free will, the quality that Maganus
had mentioned to you, but he used it for the wrong reasons.”

Mathew shook his head. “The Demons
won if man had already chosen the dark side.”

Jin nodded. “We lost Adolf
Hitler to a powerful leader of the Demons. They call him Barbatos, Lord
Barbatos.” The Guardian Angel struggled for words. “He saw the potential in
Hitler and seduced him. When we discovered the temptation, the Demons had
already gone too far. We lost him thoroughly. It was a bruising battle I will
never forget.”

“Terrific encounter?”

“Terrific? I am sure there are appropriate
adjectives to describe our battles.” Jin extended his hand and rolled up the
sleeve to reveal an ugly scar that stretched to his bicep.

“He broke your hand?” Mathew
exclaimed.

“It was a wound from his sword—the
Dark Soul, the
Acerbas
.” Jin spoke in a low voice. “I lost my life to
bring the potential King of Men back but failed.”

“Maganus stressed that
quality.”

“He has his reasons for speaking
of it. Do not underestimate that trait. That is the singular power that shapes
the future. It is a strength embedded in every King of Men. Every King will be tested;
his soul put through harsh fires much like raw metal to the furnace. The
outcome of all these tests rests solely upon the decision of the individual.
Angels can assist but Demons can counterinfluence with their stealth and
treachery. Man, alone, decides the outcome with his gift of freewill.”

Mathew nodded. Words failed him
as awareness dawned upon him.

“His choice brought human
civilization to a standstill,” Jin said. “Six years of mayhem could have
reversed two centuries of progress. If we did not lose him, you would have had
a unified Europe, decades in advance, avoiding the cataclysmic losses in human
lives.”

Mathew turned back to look at
the infamous inmate who continued with his incessant and incoherent blather. “Incredible.
I am witnessing the birth of
Mein Kampf
—the political road map
，
conceived in hatred, and rooted in a
twisted ambition to dominate. It became the crystallization of the thoughts
that anchored the movement of hatred that took Germany by storm and plunged
Europe, and the rest of the world, into war.”

“Individuals like him, and all
other Kings, are the vehicle that drives the destiny of mankind forward,” Jin
said. “Once we lose a King, history, the future progression of events, is
completely altered. It is just a train traveling on the railway tracks, you
derail the locomotive, and you changed the entire course. Sometimes, that
happens with unexpected consequences. ”

“Completely altered? The what-if’s
of history?”

Jin smiled. “You only need to
imagine.”

“Imagination has no bounds.
What if George Washington chose to be king? What if Napoleon had won at Waterloo?
What if the Spanish Armada had defeated the English fleet?”

“What if Hitler had not gone
over to the dark side? What if he had resisted hatred?” Jin asked.

Mathew ruminated.

“We will never know the ‘what-ifs.’
” However, we have witnessed the costs of our lapse. Adolf Hitler shifted the
course of history for humanity under our watch. A painful shift, a costly divergence
from the original course.”

Mathew shook his head as his eyes
rolled over to the inmate, consumed in his furious scribbling.

Jin grabbed Mathew’s arm.

“What is it?”

“I think we should go. We must.
Something has happened.” Jin was grave.