When Angels Fall

Chapter 21 - A Deranged Boy

Hans

The castle shook, almost crumbling beneath the force of the screeching winds and the thrashing hailstones. Hans curled beneath his blankets, escaping the sound of the dreadful storm and the cold that crept into his room despite the closed windows.

Lucian... He must be screaming his heart out in terror out there. Hans clenched his fists in frustration. They just don't understand! Lucian was newly made. He was still not used to the horror of being trapped in that gargoyle, all alone in the cold dark woods. Even Agnes who had been made centuries ago still had her moments of terror until this day. And Lucian had barely completed a few months.

Hans. Get me out of here. Hans could almost hear Lucian's cries now, like he heard them every night at the gargoyles graveyard, and he closed his eyes in sorrow. If only he knew how. Getting Lucian out was as impossible as a human giving birth to a winged one. For centuries, no one had ever found a way to get the trapped souls out of the gargoyles. Not even the witches who had performed the curse. And it was only likely that Lucian would remain trapped there for eternity.

But Hans had tried though. He had tried with Agnes before. He had tried destroying her gargoyle. But the gargoyle stone was indestructible. An ancient rare stone that was powerful enough to withstand even the power of gods. Hans had spoken with other gargoyles from the graveyard as well, in hopes of hearing a story or even a myth, about any success freeing a trapped soul from its gargoyle form.

But he found nothing.

And he cursed Bernard, like he cursed him every night. Bernard... the cause of all evil in this place.

The storm raged louder and the gargoyle screams reached him as he cowered beneath his blanket. But Hans's distress was now replaced by anger as he kept repeating Bernard's name over and over in his mind, mentally killing him in the most insufferable and unimaginable ways. Bernard... Bernard... Bernard... He had taken Lucian away from him. And now he was going to take Mikal away as well...

***

His heart drummed manically against his ribcage. His soul whirled within the confines of his body, throbbing dangerously against his eardrums as it frantically searched for a way to be free. He screamed, but the scream died before it was even born, freezing within his choking throat. Endless terror shook every part of his being. Endless terror that drove him to the verge of madness.

Cold winds slapped against his body, and tree branches scratched against his back. He closed his eyes, in an attempt to escape his horrors. But the horror seized him anew as he realized that he could still see through his eyelids. A night owl flew towards him, green flame flickering within its big round eyes. He screamed again, and again, but not even a moan escaped his frozen throat.

He took in a deep breath and slowly tried to move his fingers. Nothing. He tried to squirm. Nothing. He tried to scream again. Nothing.

Hans knew it was a dream. He knew, because it was the same dream he had every night, among many other dreams and nightmares. But this one was always the most dreadful. Because despite being completely aware that he was dreaming, he could never stop the gruesome terror that consumed him, every single time. No matter what he did, he could never break the dream, no matter how many times he closed and opened his eyes, he could never wake up. As if an invisible dark spell had bound him, confining his whole being into an eternal sleep of terror inside a monstrous gargoyle.

It was eternal indeed, or so he thought, until he lost all hope and stopped struggling. There was no point anymore. He closed his eyes and relaxed, letting his soul float out into the dark...