Not What It Seems

This has to be the portal. I thought to myself and I glanced down at the arrow pointing to the wall of stone in front of me. I reached in front of me and took a step forward. I felt a flow of magic connect with my palm, and it felt evil and without light. Taking in a breath, I stepped forward and let the magic envelope me.

The temperature changed immediately, and I knew I was in the right place. Looking around, I took in the darkness of the rock. I noticed that they were wet with red liquid. It almost looked like blood. I cringed at the thought but quickly turned to start looking for Vudu. He was the priority in this mission.

“Hey!” An unfamiliar voice called out, and I glanced to see several demons had spotted me.

I began to run, but they were too fast and quickly caught me by my arms and began to drag me to a new location. Maybe this was for the best. This could take me straight to Vudu, and we could plan a way out. Or, they could take me straight to Xegon and he could kill me once he found out I was no longer a pure soul.

I noticed the sound increased in volume as I entered a new area. This must have been where I was presented to Xegon the first time. It was crowded with all forms of demons. I even noticed some of the original fallen angels of Romos flying overhead.

“Hear me, my demons!” A loud bellowing voice silenced the crowed. But despite his commands, the demons who had caught me continued to drag me through the large crowd.

When other demons saw what they were doing, they began to clear a path, making it so it was easier for them to take me to their master. I looked up at the devil that the world feared and was shocked to see someone who looked so human. If he didn’t have the wings or the red eyes, he could pass himself off as any other mortal on the planet. The thing that brought fear to my heart though, was how massive he was. I was certain he was larger than a giant by at least five times. How could I save Vudu from that?

“This is what happens when you disobey me.” He shouted as he lifted his hand. Vudu was in his grasp.

I let out a gasp as Xegon opened his hand and let Vudu drop to the ground from several dozen feet in the air. He flopped to the ground. I watched helplessly as Vudu began to slowly push himself up off the ground. He looked absolutely beaten. I had to do something.

“Because of this sympathizer, we have lost our means of my escape.” Xegon shouted as he pointed at Vudu. “He has released the pure soul. I know many of you are angered and disappointed just as I am. But take this into mind as well. He is forever an outcast among our people, and the non-demons.”

My eyes stayed on Vudu as Xegon delivered a deafening statement. “He is a Redeemed!”

An outcry came from the demons. Questions filled my mind as I silently begged Vudu to get up. He seemed to have given up, and I didn’t want to see him like that. He needed to get up!

“He is no longer a Demon.” Xegon rallied the others. “And he will spend the rest of eternity rotting in a cell. I want anyone available to get back to work and find me that pure soul!”

“Lord Xegon!” One of the demons holding me called out. “She saved you the trouble!”

I was thrown forward and I landed on my hands and knees. I pushed myself to my feet and glared at the devil. A small smile came to his face, and he changed size to match me. Though he was human height, he still towered over me. He stepped over to me and smirked down at me.

“I’m surprised you came back.” His hand reached up and grabbed my chin.

Slapping his hand away, I continued to glare. “You shouldn’t be. I came back for Vudu. Now release him.”

“And what can you do?” A new voice demanded my attention. I turned and saw it was Ripper. His boot was forcing Vudu to the ground. Vudu looked like a ball of emotions seeing me back in Diab. Ripper continued. “You don’t have your staff. You can’t do magic.”

I gritted my teeth. “I never said that I can’t do magic without my staff.”

Ripper scoffed at my comment, and I turned to glare at Xegon once more. I knew what I had to do, but I wasn’t certain if it would be enough or too much. But I had to try.

“I said I needed my staff to control my magic.”

With that, I let my magic explode from me, and the room was filled with new light. A large number of the demons surrounding me were forced back by the holy light, including Ripper. But Vudu and Xegon remained. The light coming from my person seemed to create a barrier that prevented anyone else from being able to enter. There was only Vudu, Xegon and me.

I continued to glare up at the devil. “Release him.”

His smile was gone. Instead, he only looked unimpressed or disappointed. “And now I see why he is Redeemed.”

Ignoring my demands, Xegon walked over to Vudu and bent down and grabbed his chin to look him in the eye.

“I am surprised that no one told you about who you were until now.” Xegon said. “No one told you what you use to be. No one told you what happens when you show your affection to a mortal. No one told you about Redeemed Demons.”

Grabbing him by the scruff of his cloak, Xegon lifted Vudu and threw him over to me. I crouched down and placed my hands on his shoulders, checking to see if he was okay. He pushed himself up again and his hand reached for mine. I met him halfway and grabbed it and held it to let him know that I was there.

“I guess now is the best time if any, Vudu.” Xegon continued. “You are a special case. As Ripper told you, you were the last pure soul. What he didn’t tell you is that you are capable of becoming Redeemed.”

“What even is a Redeemed Demon?” I shouted, wanting it to end so I could take Vudu away from this wretched place.

Xegon only cocked an eyebrow at me. “Just how it sounds. There are Fallen Angels. Redeemed Demons are the opposite to that. Demons that become more like mortals. How that happens is when they willingly sacrifice themselves for the benefit of a non-demon. Even more, he allowed himself to love, and was loved in return. He is no longer a demon, but a Redeemed. Very few demons actually achieve this. Though any demon could become Redeemed, it is more common with former pure souls because they are Romos’s Blessed, no matter what form they are in.”

“Why are you telling me this now?” Vudu finally found his voice.

“Because I have no use for you anymore.” Xegon said with poison in his voice. “Because of your actions, you left part of your essence connected to her soul. She is no longer a pure soul, and I couldn’t use her to escape if I even tried. You are forever connected. Her soul was corrupted. Now leave my realm and never return. You are no longer welcome here.”

A wave of relief filled my chest as I helped Vudu to his feet. My magic still swirled around us and I focused in it healing Vudu. Soon, he was strong enough to walk on his own. With my hand in his, we began to walk towards the exit. My magic still protected us as no demons could enter the area that was surrounded in my light. I notice though, that the longer I allowed my magic to run wild, the more exhausted I became.

Finally, after what felt like hours of walking, we were out of Diab, and my magic faded. The feel of the realm behind me seemed to disappear too. Reaching back, Vudu pressed his hand against the rock wall, and found it solid.

“Well, he was right.” He stated. “I am no longer welcome in Diab. You’re stuck with me.”

I gave him a simple smile. My knees gave out, and he reached and caught me before I hit the ground. Naturally, I felt into his chest, and his arms went around me. Gaining my footing again, I pressed my hands against his torso and looked up at him.

“I’m okay,” I told him.

He gave me a crooked grin. “You’re already swooning for me? I thought I was the damsel in distress in this situation.”

I laughed at his comment. “So, I saved you from the mirror, and from this?”

“But I saved you from Ripper and the poison.” He countered.

“I guess we are even then.” I said.

His hand went to my cheek, and he began to pull me forward. I glanced over his shoulder at some movement before I looked back at him. When I registered what it was in my mind my smile faded.

“Look out!” I shouted and forced him to turn around with me, putting me in the way of the danger.

A cold feeling entered my back and went through my chest, and my soul froze.