Four Elements Book 3 - Sacrifice

Part 17

I've only ever known my life in the Demon Realm. Its dark stone palace, the boiling lava river, the dark dwellings, the Umbras... it's all I'd ever known. I grew up training with my father, and learning to be a ruler. My father always told me he wanted me to follow his footsteps. And I always believed it was what I wanted too. Make him proud, be what he planned for me to be... And I was grateful to him. My father made me strong, determined... in my eyes, I was the best man I could be. If you'd asked me a year ago what I wanted, I would have answered that I wanted the Earth, like my father.

But then, I came across you, Adrianna and Bane. And everything I thought I knew was torn asunder. When I saw you try and keep the other out of harm's way, I couldn't help thinking "they shouldn't be doing that". My father had always described humans as simple minded and pathetic. I'd never expected you to react the way you did. And when Bane was hit to protect Adrianna, my confusion grew. I had never seen anyone in my world put their own existence in jeopardy for the sake of another's. I didn't understand why one would do it at all. And then, the way your power grew so powerful out of grief... I couldn't understand it.

Yes, I know, that does not explain what I'm doing here. I'm getting to it. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Anyhow, after I failed against you, my father was furious. It took days to repair the damage he caused. But I was too distracted to really let it bother me. I couldn't get these questions out of my mind. Why had these humans acted so differently from what I'd expected? Could my father have been wrong in his depictions of them? I decided the only way to know for certain was to find out myself. And sure enough, they were nothing like anything I'd believed. It's true, some fit my father's descriptions. Dirty, selfish and unintelligent. But for the most part, they were very different. A lot were selfish, but others were completely the opposite. Others were brilliant, others were less so. And I couldn't make any sense out of it. There all so different, not only from what I'd been led to believe, but from one another, as well. So I tried to observe them some more, in the hopes of understanding them better. And it soon became clear to me that humans were far more complex than they first appeared.

I then grew curious and watched them more and more often, astounded by how some situations could seem perfectly normal to some and horrifying to others, or how some people were ready to break laws to get what they needed to help someone they cared about, while others did nothing for anyone but themselves. At first, I wondered why my father would want to take that away. It could be a useful asset. But then it occurred to me that while tenacious, they were also too different, too independent. It made them unique, but also unpredictable and difficult to control. This also brought another question to my mind. Why would my father claim them to be something they were not? Lack of knowledge, perhaps. I am not sure, and have never asked him. But the seed of doubt was planted in my mind, and despite my best efforts, I could not get rid of it.

While I was no longer certain I approved, I could not deny the logic in my father's plan when he set out to capture Adrianna. And as I told Bane last night, I can assure you I never touched her, myself. But I could see my father's reasoning. With one of the five reincarnations, he would easily draw out the others and capture them as well. And it worked. Within twenty four hours, you were already charging into the palace to retrieve her. I must add, at this point, that Adrianna showed remarkable courage, no matter how exhausted or mistreated she was.

And then, he told me he wished to use Adrianna's sibling. Hannah, was it? Again, the logic to the idea was fairly easy to understand. And yet, the more I thought about it, the more I found myself feeling uneasy. A grown human, albeit a young one, with the powers Adrianna possessed, was one thing... but a smaller one, who had nothing to do with his plans... I wasn't sure why, but something... something told me that wasn't right. I couldn't explain it, and of course I couldn't tell my father about it or he would just say I was weak. And then, Adrianna was willing to let herself be killed in order to save her sister... I knew there was something very wrong with my father's plan and methods. Which is... I suppose that explains why I let Adrianna take her sister out. And I should add I am thankful that you attempted to cover for me that day. Even if it didn't work for long, I appreciate it.

After that, as you know... my father eventually found out I had let you out. I'm not sure how, but he did. And if he had been furious before, he was enraged when he learned what I had done. He struck me, and when I came round, I realized there was only one thing to do. He would never let me forget it or trust me again. And I didn't want to be forced into that situation again, anyway. So I pushed myself to his office, activated the portal... and went to Earth.

"And now, here I am," Zarias completed.

The others were silent for a moment as they took in everything he'd said.

"So... you're saying you... turned your back on Zorak... to join us?" Isabelle asked.

Zarias nodded.

"I don't want to be that person anymore. I don't want to do things I don't believe in."

There was a silence as they all pondered what he'd told them. He was either an excellent actor, or he was telling the truth... but how did they tell which it was?

"Would you excuse us for a minute?" Andie asked.

He nodded. Andie and the others walked outside and went far enough that they could see Zarias but were out of earshot. Jessica, of course, wasted no time in voicing her opinion.

"Okay, please tell me none of you is actually buying that bull." she said.

When no one answered, she groaned.

"Oh, come on, really?!"

"Jess, his story makes sense. And..."

Andie paused. She hadn't told them this, and wasn't keen to see how they'd react.

"... A while ago, he came to see me at my house..."

As she'd expected, they all burst out asking questions.

"What?!"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"What did he want?"

"Did he hurt you?"

"Guys!" Andie exclaimed, raising her hands to silence them. "No, he didn't hurt me. He wanted to ask me some questions about us. Not about our abilities or anything, more about... why we fought so hard for one another. And this is why I didn't tell you. I knew you'd fly off the handle."

"Well, can you blame us?!" Isabelle asked. "The guy almost killed you!"

"I know. But what if he really does want to change?"

"Or he's making us think that so he can stab us in the back the minute we let our guard down!" Jessica said.

"You know, something's bothering me more than determining what Zarias's motives are," Isabelle pointed out thoughtfully. "I mean, he's Zorak's son, right?"

"Yes," Emily agreed. "Or so he's always claimed, why?"

"Well... does anyone else think it's odd that someone who's supposedly a demon would be so... human, I guess?"

"You mean how he spared Hannah and let us go when she was taken?" Andie asked.

Isabelle nodded.

"Now that you mention it..." Bane commented, frowning. "It is kind of weird... I mean, Zorak's been everything that you'd expect from a demon, but Zarias... he's been much more complicated to read."

"Balon said that makes him more dangerous."

"Does it, though?" Emily wondered aloud. "If we think about it... several times he had plenty of opportunities to kill or capture us, but he didn't..."

"Yeah, but say he means what he's saying now," Jessica insisted. "We go after Zorak or he comes for us. How do we know he won't change his mind at the last minute? Can we risk that? I mean, would any of you be ready to fight your own father?"

There was a heavy silence. Bane cleared his throat.

"Zorak is my father, and I have fought him, so..."

Jessica glanced uncomfortably at him.

"Oh... right... sorry."

"So, then, what do we do?"

Andie sighed.

"The only thing we can do... keep our eyes open."