The Soulkeepers

Chapter 40: Into the Dark

                   

Darkness is a relative term. There is the darkness of an evening with a full moon, or of a candlelit room. Or the inky blackness of a bedroom at midnight, where the only light comes between shadows that dance in the space beneath the door. But the darkness that Jacob experienced as he followed his captor, hitched to her wings with sweaty palms, was not like that at all. It was a darkness that had perhaps never experienced real light, a black hole absorbing any flicker into its depths. It was the darkness of the bottom of the ocean, or the cold blackness of a grave. Jacob hoped it would not be his grave.

While the outline of the garden where he'd arrived had been visible, he could see nothing now. He followed Auriel by touch, holding on to the feathers of her wings as she walked. She seemed unaffected by the lack of light and moved quickly. Jacob didn't try to get away. Where would he go? He was helpless here, completely dependent on her.

"Where are you taking me?" His voice was shaking more than he wanted it to. He was trying to be brave, but truthfully he felt there was little hope. An hour ago he would not have believed that this place existed. No one would know where to look for him, if they looked for him at all. The others probably didn't even realize he was gone yet. When they did, what could they do? The only person who could follow through the tree was Dr. Silva and she would have to know where he was to get here. That was, if she even cared to save him.

"We are going to see my father. He'll be very interested in adding you to our collection. You're a rare breed, Jacob. Maybe, if you are lucky, he'll put you on display. Look, we are almost there."

Jacob could barely make out a bluish fluorescent glow ahead of him. A series of steel boxes of various heights appeared on the horizon, illuminated by humming artificial light. A skyline, but there was no artistry to it, no architecture of any kind, just the monotony of box after box. Simply stone and steel.

Auriel approached the gate and it opened before her. She escorted him into a bustling city both beautiful and disturbing. Creatures with wings walked up and down the streets, each one more beautiful than the next. They weren't angels; they were Watchers, fallen angels. They were thin, tall, and muscular with perfect hair and features that would put a supermodel to shame. But as he watched them, Jacob had the undeniable sense they were too perfect. It was like seeing a football field full of plastic surgery recipients. The eye knew it was unnatural, somehow wrong.

More disturbing still were the people. The city was filled with humans just like him, serving the Watchers in every capacity: chained to wagons like horses, on their hands and knees on the sidewalk polishing Watchers' shoes, picking up the trash that the Watchers arbitrarily flung into the street. Some were on leashes, dragged around by the neck. All of the humans were dirty, dressed in rags, and treated like dogs.

Jacob's scalp prickled. Wherever or whatever Nod was, it was not a place that valued human life. As he looked around, the people would not meet his eyes. They hung their heads with vacant expressions, empty shells responding only to the kicks and screams of their captors.

"In here." Auriel held open a door and pushed Jacob through it. As he stumbled over the threshold, it was like walking into the atrium of any office building. A Watcher sat behind a circular desk, her light blue wings in sharp contrast with the dark mahogany of the wood. Beyond the desk was a set of elevators.

"Depositing," Auriel said. The blue-winged Watcher did not look up from filing her nails but nodded her head in response.

"This way." Auriel shoved him toward the open elevator doors and pushed a button at the top of the panel. He was startled when he felt the elevator drop instead of rise. It descended to the thirty-sixth floor below the atrium. When the doors opened, Auriel led him down a sterile white hall to a room with a stainless steel examination table over an ominously large floor drain.