Chapter Sixteen

Chapter 16: A Dark
Heart



Kade awoke with a ringing in his head that could be the death of him.
It was too bright out, even behind his tightly closed eyelids. He wanted it to go away. He wanted it all to go away.
Why couldn't things be just the way they were before? All this magic, and all these strange things on Falion gave him nothing but an unwanted headache.
Maybe that's why they decided to ignore each other. He thought glumly. Too much of a pain to think other wise.

Moments slipped by and he realized he was cold. Freezing.
He finally opened his eyes and was blinded with the bright sunrays. When his eyes had finally adjusted he rose into a sitting position. All the leather he wore was stiff, making it hard to move. He moved his hand out to help himself up, but jumped back when they came in contact with something wet and cold.
   "What in Eleyos' name....?" His voice was gravely and horce. A groan left his lips as he forced his muscles to work with him. When he rose he looked around, and saw nothing but white to the north, but as he turned around, nothing but black dirt covered the south.
The winter chill nipped at him, a shiver ran down his spine as he pulled his cloak closer.
   "Where in the blazes am I?" He mumbled, rubbing his hands together, trying to keep them warm. Snow fell from the sky like ash, landing in his hair, and on his eyelashes.
He knew he had to keep moving or risk freezing, but there was the decision on which way to go. The north looked like a barren waist land full of snow and harsh winds, that didn't look inviting, but then it was either that or another barren waist land that was black instead of white. Neither option looked good.
   "Kade..."
He jumped and turned in a full circle. Seeing nothing but the snow, he suspected the voice had been his imagination.
   "Marvelous, I'm loosing my mind as well. It's all because of that bloody ghost, and that bloody Magi." He grumbled.
   "Kade..."
He rationalized that he wouldn't imagine the same voice twice. It was a child's voice. But it seemed to float across the wind, making it difficult to pinpoint the origin.
   "Who's there?!" He called out.
Only silence answered his call. Kade scowled at himself, now he was talking to the wind. Of course it wasn't as silly as talking to a ghost.
   "Kade..."
This time he was able to pin point it's location among the wind. It was coming from the south. Having no better idea, or place to go, he headed south.

The snow fell thickly around him, soon covering his eyelashes, and what ever black hair that poked out from under his cowl.
He shivered as the chill froze him, starting from the fingers and toes, and going up.
   "Kade..."
He growled at the voice.
   "It's definitely a child. Only children are this annoying. Well them and this gang of idiots I've been stuck with." He grumbled to himself.
As he moved towards the black ground, the chill grew stronger, eventually his whole body was going into spasms that made the going harder.

   When his feet finally met the black soil, he couldn't make it out, why would there be snow everywhere, but here?
   "What is this?" He whispered, bending down and grabbing a handful of the dirt. It was as light as snowflakes, and as it slipped through his fingers, he saw that it was more like snowflakes then he thought, it didn't look like any kind of dirt he had seen.
   "Kade."
His head jerked up as he realized the sound was closer than before. He spotted a figure a little ways off. It was small, but he couldn't tell if it was an illusion. He walked towards the figure, not knowing what else to do. But he unsheathed his broad sword as he did.
Better safe than sorry, he thought.
The closer he came to the figure, the more he realized with a shock, it really was as small as it had appeared to be.
Before long, he was standing face to face with a child, that came no higher than the middle of his chest. His pure gold hair was long, brushing his shoulders as it moved in the wind. His eyes matched his hair, Kade realized in disbelief. Sonera was the only one with a shocking complexion, but this boy was even more shocking. Another thing that bothered Kade, was that the boy wore only a light tunic and pants. No shoes were on his small feet, and he didn't seem to even feel the cold at all.
   "Kade, you've been forgetting me." The boy said.
Kade figured a normal child would make this statement with resentment, and hurt. But neither of these were in this strange boy's tone. Instead it was sadness, but not for himself, Kade realized, but for him.
   "You have forgotten my promises, and my commands." The boy stated again.
Kade shook his head and placed his sword back in his sheath, realizing the boy held no immediate danger for him.
   "Who are you? And what in Eleyos' name are you going on about?!" He asked, annoyed with the way the boy was looking at him. That even though he was just a sprout, he looked at him as if he held all the secrets of the world.
The boy's eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly, as if Kade had said something right.
Kade was confused by this and didn't know what to make of this.
   "What?" He asked as the boy gestured for him to go on.
   "You said my name. I had thought you had forgotten me!"
Kade looked at the boy like he was insane for a moment before it dawned on him. And then it was disbelief.
   "Unbelievable.' He muttered. "Are you series? You can't be..."
The boy just looked at him and smiled.
   "For someone who claims to be my friend, you are not very loyal."
Kade shook his head and ran a hand through his hair before laughing nervously.
   "This is insane. I must have hit my head, or that bloody ghost's magic messed up with my head. Because this conversation isn't happening. You are not real, I am dreaming that's all. And I'll wake up back on Cevlon and still have a job, still have the one I love and -"
There was a sudden stinging sensation on his jaw. He hadn't seen the boy move, but he stood now in front of him, a hard look in his eye as he lowered his hand.
   "You have never known how to love me Kade. You are an Infidel. You are a fraud. you do not believe what you preach. You never learned how to love, and that is why, Kade, you find yourself alone, with no friends to turn too."
The violet eyed boy stood speechless, as the sudden slap in the face awoken him to how he had lived his life.
He was suddenly overwhelmed by grief. He saw moments in his life when he had let other things take first place in his life instead of Eleyos which he had always claimed to follow. He realized that he thought his status and occupation was far more important than his faith. He remembered how Sonera lived her life. She always put Eleyos first before her status. He remembered the fire in her blue eyes when she objected to him killing Elowen. That was putting Eleyos before her occupation, she had been doing that all her life. But he had never learned from it.
   "You are sorry." The boy realized, his expression softening back into sadness. "I know you thought you were doing the right thing. But you should learn from your friend. She has been on the right path, while you veered from it."
Tears streamed down his face as he felt the remorse, and grief hit him like a crashing wave.
   "I'm sorry." He cried. "I do not deserve to follow you. I have done nothing but defy you, over and over again. You should have struck me down."
Eleyos shook his head, his gold hair ruffled against the wind.
   "No. I give people second chances. I do not with hold that from them. I love them too much. It hurts me when I know they don't want me, so I give them chances to turn back to me. But Kade, I want to know if you'll follow me with your heart and your mind. I want to know that you will not let earthly things stand in your way of following me to where I ask you too go."
Kade nodded eagerly, and fell to his knees. He felt so overwhelmed with emotions, that he knew that Eleyos was showing him his own grief when one of his followers turns his back on him. And he couldn't bear it.
   "I will do as you say, I swear it."
Eleyos saw the sincerity in his eyes and nodded.
   "It's nice to have a friend back." He said with a wonderful smile, that showed the joy that flooded over him and into Kade's heart.
   "But this is not the only reason why I have brought you here Kade. There is something I must show you."
Eleyos led the way across the black dirt to what seemed to be some sort of rift. Kade marveled as flowers, and green grass appeared in his footsteps as if spring had come again, leaving behind small luminescent flowers, but then his eyes were drawn to the black dirt once again.
   "What kind of dirt is this? I have never seen it before." Kade ventured to ask.
   "It's not dirt." Eleyos said, turning his head so he could look at him. "It's ash."
Kade jolted in shock as he glanced down at where his feet stood warily.
The two continued walking for some good time. Eventually Kade's muscles warmed up enough to work properly, he even began to get feelings back in his fingertips and nose.
The rift came closer steadily. And Kade realized it was wider and deeper than he could see.
   "What is this?" He asked as they came to the edge of it. He cautiously stepped on the edge and peered into the darkness. His jaw fell as he realized why the area around the pit had no snow on it.
Down in the darkness, a glow could be seen of lava that moved around gently, lapping at the edges of the pit of rock, occasionally an air pocket would burst through the surface, making a splash.
   "This is Viglour's prison." Eleyos said calmly.
Kade's eyes grew wide. As if invoked by his name, or Eleyos' presence, a man appeared in the lava. His torso was bare, his arms stretched out at his sides, chained to the walls by massive chains that could hold a boat down and crush it. His long black hair covered most of his face, but no one could mistake the great evil in his eyes that shone bloodshot red. But what scared, or surprised Kade the most was the set of black feathered wings on the man's back.
Yes, everyone knew the story that Viglour was the greatest angel, but had fallen when he tried to over throw Eleyos, but Kade had never imagined that he had yerto wings on his back!
   "Eleyos," The man said. Though he did not raise his voice into a shout, he could still be heard as plain as if he were standing right beside them.
   "How wondrous of you to grace me with your presence." The man faked a bow with his head before giving them an evil grin.
   "Viglour has been working on getting free." Eleyos explained, turning to Kade.
   "Slowly, he has been chipping away at the magic that restrains him. I can not keep him back on my own."
   "Is this why you need Elowen and the rest of them to get the Lost Gems?" Kade asked.
Eleyos nodded.
   "Yes but that is not the whole of the plan. I have someone very special in mind for a very special task. But it will take time for her to be ready."
Kade nodded slowly, understanding the boy's plan and caution. But he wondered why they were speaking of this plan in front of the enemy.
Eleyos turned and looked down at Viglour.
   "Viglour, I brought Kade to you to show that he is no longer yours to control. Your grip on his heart has slipped, he no longer belongs to you. He will keep your plan from working, he's the one who will delay it."
   "Ah, delay it! That does not mean I wont get out eventually!" Viglour snarled.
Eleyos shook his head in a sad manner.
   "Unfortunately, Viglour, you never took my word to mean much. You have always tossed it aside, always questioned my authority. But now I tell you, you will not win. Just because you will be delayed, doesn't mean you wont be destroyed if you keep this path."
Viglour seemed to roll his eyes at the boy and shook his head.
   "It's always the same speech with you Eleyos. You are so predictable. I'm shocked you haven't given up yet."
Eleyos still had that sad look in his eyes.
   "I never give up on anyone."
Viglour scoffed and looked like a parent that knew he would not get through to his child.
   "Kade, I have a special task for you." Eleyos said, guiding Kade away from the pit.
In low tones, he explained what he wanted for him to do. Kade nodded in acknowledgement, but one thing bugged him.
   "I was teleported here by magic. How am I to get to Asmodea?" He asked.
Eleyos smiled, rose his fingers to his lips and let out a loud whistle.
Kade looked hesitantly at him.
Who was he going to call in the middle of a barren waist land? He wondered.
A dark streak made it's way across the dull sky. He looked eagerly, his hand going to the hilt of his sword on instinct.
As the streak got closer he realized with a light heart, that he recognized those feathered wings!
   "Thorodan!" He cried excitedly at the sight of his old friend.
The yerto landed a few feet away. Squawking when he rushed up and hugged his neck.
   "Go, and make hast. Show them this," Eleyos handed him an orb which he produced out of thin air. "they will believe you then."
Kade nodded, saddened to leave Eleyos, but knowing the weight of what he had asked him to do.
   "Safe travels Kade. And do not give hope, things aren't always what they seem to be."
Kade thanked him by touching his fingers from his forehead to his heart. Eleyos did the same and moved away as Kade nudged Thorodan into flight, making an oath to himself that he would never veer from the narrow path Eleyos had placed him on once again.
Never again would he fail him.