A Realm of Hell

Chapter 12

Days carried on the same as the first. I was beaten, time and time again. I would wake to a pain so stifling that I was afraid to move. I would eat the meals that the strange man would bring me, I would meet Abbadon in the grass, and my head would eventually lay against its harsh surface. Days went by and only glimpses of her shadows touched me.

The distance let me think, allowed me to breath as I realized that I knew nothing of her or this world. The man who brought my meal, just where did he come from and where did he go? Are there others? There had to be, this fortress was much too large for just Lylith and yet the doors to each room I passed remained shut. My footsteps where the only noise in each of the narrowing halls and there was only one exit that led to the same yard.

A mystery just as dark and eerie as it's owner. From the ground I would sometimes see her shadows as she passed a window. Her gaze always forward, always moving. As if she was restless. The nervousness did not suit her well, instead it only heightened my anxiety on the unknown.

I quickly came to the realization that whatever I was doing was dangerous, including being with her. My heart and soul still yearned for the proximity, but my mind finally called in its warning bells. This mission, this war may very well be my first and last. This was not shocking but the hell that rang everytime, which I admit was much to often, I thought of her was a bit confusing. It was as if my body knew something I did not.

"Are you finally understanding?" Abaddon's arrogant voice calls, I don't turn to look at him.

"And what is it that I was not understanding before?" My voice is angry but the weight I feel in my chest was not anger, but confusion.

"You are not meant for this world," his voice is closer, begging for my gaze. I don't grant it, I don't want to see the truth in his eyes.

"Are you saying that for my sake? Or for yours?"

"Both?" He replies with a chuckle, "it seems that I have been found out."

"Not that you were trying to hide your feelings. It was quite evident," I sigh, starring out into the starry night, "it would be hard not to fall for something out of reach." I don't mean it as an insult. The way I feel, I can see it in every one of his actions. That we are the same, stuck in the web that Lylith has spun.

"Yes," his hand comes to pat my shoulder, touching a bruise that was acquired the day before, I flinch slightly but my eyes still remain in the sky, "the place you are from. The place you are suppose to be is much more bright," I finally look at him. His eyes are trained on the night but I can see his smile from finally having my attention.

"How do you know?"  My curiosity getting the better of me.

"I was there. Well, to be precise I lived there," his eyes slant toward me. His smile growing at my shocked expression.

"What do you mean?" I ask, my brows pulling together.

"A long time ago, before you were even a thought, the light inside was so bright that shadows could not even hide," he stops, his whole body now facing me, my attention solely his, "our world was bright. There was no war. No broken souls that leaked from the underworld."

"And then?" I ask, slightly afraid of this too good to be try fairytale.

"And then she turned it off," his smile pulling wider to show his sharp canines.

"Lylith? She was there?" He nods, "she was in the light? Where I am supposed to be?"

"Yes, she gave it up. To be good seems right doesn't it? Because the world is nothing but good feelings and beautiful skies, right?" He doesn't let me answer, "the world is cruel. You know this. You felt this and she seen it. She saw it for what it really was, so she fell, and we followed."

"Lylith was not always like this? But the shadows?" I question, my hand coming to rubs my forehead.

"The shadows were a price. One she paid for dearly," he whispers, his eyes leaving mine.

"How did she pay for them?" I ask, my anxiety rippling.

He doesn't answer instead his eyes look past me in sorrow, as if the memory was something he was reliving.

"Abaddon?" I call, pulling him from whatever trance he was in, his eyes blink at me and for a second I am struck by his expression.

"The price?" His voice nothing but a whisper, "the price for the shadows, for the choices she made," he clears his throat, his voice still shaking, "her soul. In exchange for the shadows, she gave up her soul..." he stops, his sentence incomplete.

"And?" I press, knowing there was more, "what else did she bargain for?"

His eyes close, "Emotions, she gave up on her emotions. No not just gave up," he starts to pace, his fingers coming to pinch his nose, "no they were ripped from her. Shredded out of her body," he turns toward me, so fast it startles me, "the shadows," he whispers his hands landing on both of my shoulders his voice much to quiet, "the shadows ate them. They devoured every ounce of what made her...relatable. I watched as they seeped into her body and made her into someone I have never met before." His voice, his eyes they seem to be warning. To run, that there is more to this story than what he is letting on.

"She can not feel?" I whisper, my mind flashing back to the caresses, to the smiles.

"Nothing. She feels nothing. Not for me, not for this world," his voice is stronger, more certain.

"And for me? What does she feel?"

He stops. His eyes driving deep into my soul, once again I feel his influence brush against my walls.

"That is the question, isn't it?" He whispers, more to himself than me, "you see my dear friend, you may be bright. You may have light but you are not the strongest. Which begs me to wonder, just what is her plan for you?"