Angels of the Knights (2 page)

As though moving through a dream, Fallon walked through the realm of Emperica and could only describe it as a true paradise in every sense of the word. After the blackness of the first tunnel and the whiteness of the second, the vivid colors were simply blinding to look at—the hues unlike anything that existed on earth.

She glided beside Leah along a path that wound through lush verdant meadows scattered with wildflowers so luminescent that they did not seem to be solid. Birds of every variety sang while they dipped and played in the air overhead, their trilling calls magical to the ear. Animals and children romped together in the sunshine, and blue waterfalls splashed into rivers that sparkled with life.

Wherever she looked, the scenery filled her vision with unimaginable beauty.

“We are here,” Leah whispered reverently and stopped in front of wide stones stairs that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

“Here?” Fallon asked. “Where is here?”

Leah pointed up the stairs, and Fallon gasped loudly. Standing on a platform at the top was a tall figure immersed in a halo of light. He wore a white robe and had white, shoulder length hair and a short beard. His kindly gaze swept over the new angels, and Fallon knew instantly that she was loved by his man beyond anything in her reference as a human being.

This was the Creator.

His eyes were the most remarkable feature about him. Full of unconditional love, yes, but also wise and all knowing as his focused stare took in the newcomers. And, as much love as she could feel coming from the figure, Fallon also knew that he was capable of incredible wrath. Not for the angels of Emperica or the mortals of earth, but for the evil that stalked them and threatened them with harm.

Leah pressed her hand into Fallon’s back and urged her forward with a smile.

Fallon waited in line as one by one the Creator welcomed the newcomers into his open arms, swallowing them whole in the aura of his light. As each angel emerged from that glorious embrace, Fallon noticed newly formed wings protruding from their backs.

By the time it was her turn, Fallon glided into the Creator’s arms eagerly and tears poured down her face from the sheer joy that flowed into her body.

Welcome home, child.

The words were spoken inside her mind instead of aloud.

Hello, Father.

His embrace felt like a cocoon of warmth and tenderness.

Your mortal mother came to me just moments ago.

Is she okay, Father?

Of course. She wanted me to know that you are a very special angel, and she thanked me for granting her the opportunity to be your mother for the short time she had you.

Fallon continued to cry tears of happiness and no matter how hard she tried, she could not stop.

You will probably not see her as often as you did on earth, as she will be pursuing her own spiritual path just as you will follow yours.

Fallon nodded. The knowledge did not upset her. The singular love she had for her small family on earth was quickly being replaced by an all-encompassing devotion to the Creator and all of the angels in Emperica.

Choose your path wisely, Fallon. Your mother was correct. You are special.

Thank you, Father.

He released her then and she drifted back down the stairs to make room for the next angel. With a shrug of her shoulders, the back of her shirt ripped open and a majestic pair of wings unfurled behind her. A dizzying sensation of weightlessness coursed through her, and she lifted off the ground with every step she took. She was so giddy with pleasure that she wanted nothing more than to take flight and soar into the clouds.

Leah flitted to her side. “Your choice of caste, Fallon. I know you have not had a lot of time, but you…”

“I do not need any more time, Leah. I know what caste I want to join.” There could be no doubt as to what her path would be. “I want to become a Knight.”

In the Creator’s embrace, she felt his fury for the Kjin that walked the earth and wanted more than anything to aid him in his eternal battle against evil.

But, there was another reason to fight. One that was equally as compelling.

She finally remembered what happened to her the night she died.

34 Years Later

C
HAPTER
1

The Girl

The girl had no idea that she was in mortal danger. Like a typical teenager of this age, she talked animatedly into the phone she carried, oblivious to her surroundings. She probably felt safe walking the main street of this small, active college town. The unusually warm fall night brought out many of the students, and she walked among them as they stood in large groups in front of the stores laughing and horsing around. One boy called out to the girl, and she waved back distractedly as she turned onto a less populated side street.

Fallon shadowed the girl’s movements, trying to anticipate from which angle the attack would come.

The Kjin was very near.

She could sense his desire.

He wanted the girl.

The Kur on her arm heated. The hunger of the Kjin was growing.

Fallon quickly took off her hoodie and tied it around her waist, pulling the Aventi from the back pocket of her jeans.

The girl, still lost in conversation, turned down a dead end road. Had she looked up, she would have noticed that the street light was out. The Kjin obviously had been stalking this girl for some time and knew her habits.

Out of the corner of Fallon’s eye, she noticed a young man approach the girl from the opposite side of the street. His boyish good looks did not fool her and it was not just because her Kur erupted into a flaming sear on her arm. Even from this distance, she could see the evil in his eyes.

Fallon started to sprint.

The Kjin, focused on his prey, did not see her. He walked up to the girl as she was putting her cell phone back into her book bag. Smiling at her disarmingly, he caught her off guard when his fist lashed out and struck her in the face. Before she fell, he grabbed her around the neck and clamped his hand over her mouth. The girl dropped her book bag and struggled against his tight grip, but he was too strong and managed to drag her behind the garage of a house with darkened windows.

“Shut up!” he whispered harshly at the girl, and she did so immediately. Fallon could tell that she was terrified.

“Let her go.”

The Kjin whipped his head toward her, but did not release the girl. He had no way of knowing that Fallon was a Knight. “Get out of here or you’ll be next,” he growled at her.

She slammed the Aventi against the Kur on her arm, and the night lit up with the brilliance of the sword as it flared in the dim recess at the side of the garage. The girl’s eyes widened as much as the Kjin’s. Hers held fright and his recognition.

The Kjin rammed the girl’s head into the side of the garage and she crumbled to the ground. He turned to face her. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with,” he commented through thin cruel lips.

“Nor do I care,” she responded and lunged with supernatural speed. He tried to dodge the thrust, but she was too quick and the sword pierced his side. He hissed in pain but managed to spin in a circle and bring his leg around toward her head. With her left hand, she caught his ankle in a vise-like grip inches from her face. With her right, she sliced his throat.

He made a clumsy attempt to hit her, but he was already dying from the cut she made, so she let go of his ankle and pushed him to the ground.

His death did not take long and within seconds, a black, snarling wraith exploded out of the corpse, searching for a nearby body to steal. It roared menacingly when its eyes found Fallon, but she did not hesitate. She plunged the Aventi into the center of the dark mass and it disintegrated into a pile of ash.

The threat eliminated, she walked over to the body of the young man and looked down at him with sadness. His head lolled to the side and his eyes were glazed over in death but already she could see the change in him. His face showed such innocence now. She wondered when the Kjin took his body. Was he a child at the time? Was it more recent? Had his family detected the changes in his personality and wondered at the cause?

She knelt by his side and whispered, “Your Aegian guide awaits you, my child. There you will find your peace.”

Whoever found his earthly body would assume he died of natural causes. That would be better for the parents to accept than the fact that a demon had been living in their son’s body.

All that Fallon cared about was that there was one less Kjin in the world. They could not reproduce so every one slain was a step closer to having an earth free of evil.

The girl moaned.

Fallon quickly went to her, picked her up and brought her back to the sidewalk. As soon as the girl opened her eyes, Fallon waved the Aventi before her eyes. The pupils dilated and went out of focus for a moment and then regained their vision.

“Are you all right?” Fallon asked.

“Yes, I think so,” she said, getting to her feet. “What happened?”

Fallon refused to lie. “It looks like you took a blow to your head.”

“I…I must have tripped and blacked out.”

She did not correct her. “Can I help you home?”

The girl shakily picked up her book bag and slung it over her arm. “No, I…I think I am all right. I live just down the street. Thank you for your help.”

“No problem. But, hey, be careful next time, okay?”

The girl gave her a grateful smile and walked away.

Fallon turned and went back the way she had come. She was late now for her meeting with Father Tomas at St. Mary’s Cathedral Church. She had not expected to find a Kjin here so quickly.

Alden was a typical upstate New York college town—peaceful and quaint with the requisite non-working fountain in the center of Main Street. Old and stately homes dotted the surrounding streets, many of which had been converted into apartments for the students that flooded into the area every fall.

Fallon untied her hoodie from around her waist and put it back on, pulling the hood over her head. Back on Main Street, she passed through the crowds without making eye contact, but their easy companionship made her long for Julian and Nikki, the only friends she had here on earth. Any friends Fallon had prior to her death were most likely busy making plans for retirement or caring for grandchildren.

Still, she did not feel envious. She was following her calling and knew that Darius was pleased with her efforts to eradicate the Kjin and save human lives.

With a smile, she thought back to her first day of Knight training.

Leah, the Patie, left her after she received her wings, so Fallon walked into the vast arched doors of the Hall of Knights on her own. Beneath a domed ceiling at least one hundred feet high, male and female angels engaged in a variety of combat drills. Some were learning defensive moves and others were being lectured in small groups. Most, however, were sparring with a sword of light. The speed and agility with which the angels moved was otherworldly, and Fallon wondered if she, too, would have these same abilities when her training was complete.

The door opened behind her and three angels, two boys and a girl, similar to her age walked into the hall. They immediately approached her. “Are you going to train to be a Knight?” one asked, a tall, blonde-haired boy.

She nodded.

“My name is Julian,” he told her. “And, these two are Blane and Nikki.” Blane was also tall but with dark hair, and Nikki had her long auburn hair pulled back into a high ponytail.

“Hi, I’m Fallon.”

She was about to ask them questions when a male angel dressed in a white pants and a sleeveless white shirt belted around the middle with a tie glided toward them. At least seven feet in height, he was much larger and glowed brighter than anyone else in the room.

Julian nudged her and whispered. “It’s an Elder.”

“What’s an Elder?” she asked.

“There are four Elders in total, one for each caste. I guess you could say he is our new boss.”

“Angels,” the Elder greeted in a rumbling, deep voice. “My name is Darius and I am the Elder for the Knight Caste.” He reached into a bag with a drawstring that hung from his belt. He handed each one of them a gold cuff. “You are to wear this on your arm. It is called a Kur and it is a device of great power.” Reaching back into the bag, he handed them another object. It looked like a simple black tube. “This is your Aventi. Your sword. It is the only weapon capable of killing the Kjin. To ignite its power, you simply touch the Aventi against the Kur on your arm. I will demonstrate.” Darius stepped back and tapped the black tube he held to the Kur around his bicep. Immediately, a sword of light burst into existence with a slight humming sound. He slammed the hilt of the Aventi against the Kur once again, and the white beam was extinguished.

“Amazing,” breathed Nikki.

“You will learn more as you train, but I will give you a little background now before we begin. Back in the early days of the world’s creation, a sinister presence developed from the seed of man. His name was Tyras, and he was very successful at whispering dark insinuations into the ears of the flawed men and women of earth. Soon, he developed a large following of evildoers. The Creator knew what Tyras was up to and banished him and his followers into the underworld of Mordeaux. Many years later, Tyras discovered a way to break out of his prison and let loose thousands of his demonic brethren into the world. The Creator was able to capture Tyras and send him back to Mordeaux where he sealed him once again into his underworld prison, but the others, we call the Kjin, were not so easy to find. They appear as normal people, but are not. They are the murderers, the rapists, and the terrorists that live to torment humans. The evil wraiths live in the host bodies of those they kill, and when that body dies, they simply move on to another. If not for these creatures, there would be very little sin on earth.” He paused to make sure his young audience was listening. “The only weapon that can kill the Kjin is the Aventi of a Knight of Emperica.”