The Lost Book of Chaos: How to Divide the World (The Secret Wars of Angels 1) (17 page)

Then the consciousness of Judas shifted, and he found himself in another place. He was in the body of another being.

“The life is in the blood,” Al-Kain said. “The life is in the blood! Brother, oh, my brother, what have I done?”

Al-Kain slurped the blood of his brother's corpse. In his mind, he was trying to save his brother Ab-El. Though his brother was already dead.

“I did not mean to kill you brother,” Al-Kain wept. “You know I didn't...”

Judas could see everything, hear everything, feel everything, taste everything, smell everything. And even hear the very thoughts of Al-Kain. The only difference was, he couldn't control the actions of the body that he was in.

All the memories of the man called Al-Kain were now opened to him.

There was a shuffle in the bushes, but Al-Kain responded too slow. By the time Al-Kain stood, two people stood above him.

“Al-Kain,” the old man said.

“Ab-El!” the old woman said.

“What have you done?” the old man said quietly.

“Father,” Al-Kain said, “I did not mean to kill him... You know I didn't mean to kill him...”

“I... I tried to save him...” Al-Kain said. “I wanted to save him. We fought... He said some insulting words... And we fought... He fought back... I pushed him... He fell on the grass... But his head got hit in a rock, hidden in the grass... And... And... I wanted to call for help, but you were too far. I couldn't leave him. Then he was no longer moving. I tried to save him. See? Life is in the blood. See? His life is now in me. My brother is still alive in me. See?”

Judas felt Al-Kain's lips form into a smile, trying to tell his parents that everything was now all right.

“What have you done...”

The two parents sobbed as they took the body of Ab-El in their arms.

The memory shifted and gave way to another memory.

This time, Al-Kain was running. The tribesmen, wrought on revenge, were hunting him down.

Ab-El was not only his brother, but the leader of the tribe of shepherds.

While he, Al-Kain was the leader of the farmers.

But there were too many of them. After hours of running, he no longer had the strength to continue, and in time they cornered him.

“Please,” Al-Kain said, “I did not mean to kill him...”

The tribesmen surrounded him. He had nowhere to escape.

“You drank the blood of your own brother,” their leader, who had replaced Ab-El after his death, announced. “You have eaten his flesh.”

“I didn't eat his flesh,” Al-Kain said, “He was already dead. His body was already dead. So I drank his blood. I only drank his blood. To save his life! Life is in the blood, you know it don't you? Life is in the blood! He is still alive, he lives in me, he talks to me right now. What I say is true, why don't you believe me?”

But the tribesmen were no longer listening. While most of the tribesmen surrounded him, the others went around gathering stones to begin the ritual.

Every stone was at least the size of a fist, some were bigger.

The first stone hit Al-Kain's side.

The second hit his shoulder.

The third hit his leg.

The fourth hit the side of his head.

Blood gushed forth down his face, and unto his body.

Al-Kain grunted with every blow, but it didn't stop coming.

“Please...” Al-Kain pleaded. “I didn't... mean... to...”

The stones continued.

He was going to die.

He remembered thinking...
I want to live.

I want to live...

I want to...

Everything faded into black.

Even when his vision went dark, the stones continued.

In the darkness, he saw the bloody face of his brother Ab-El, cursing him.

Al-Kain could still feel the stones, but now the pain felt dull. His whole body felt dull.

I want to live...

After a while, the stones stopped coming.

He was barely alive.

He heard them cursing at him. Cursing his dilapidated body, now unrecognizable.

Then, even the tribesmen left.

Then there was a clear voice.

“Such willpower,” the voice said. It was a deep, guttural sound. “Even on the brink of death...”

“But I'm afraid I came too late,” the voice continued. “If only it were Enki who came here, he would have been able to save you. Or even Kron-us, he would have done something. As it is, I can only give you... a little life. Do you want it?”

Yes...

Al-Kain thought. Though he couldn't speak, he willed everything he had left into that answer.

“Very well,” the voice said, seeming to respond to his thoughts..

Al-Kain felt life flow back to him.

But as soon as he gained consciousness, something was immediately different.

He looked around.

Everything appeared...

Dead.

It was as if it was the same world, but all color had been taken away from it. Even the sound of the trees, the light from the sun, the color of the sky, everything appeared dead.

He was filled with regret. This life... was not life!

“You will be neither alive nor dead,” the voice explained. “But you wanted to remain in this world, so I granted your wish. Now, no one can kill you nor destroy you.”

Hatred welled up inside him. Yes, at least hatred made him feel alive.

Al-Kain looked up to see the figure of a man. What immediately struck Al-Kain were the two horns protruding from the man’s head. The horns were like the horns of an ox.

Horns were the symbol of divinity. It signified the nature of the being before him, who was not a man but an angel.

Rage welled up inside of Al-Kain. He growled, rushed forward, and bit the angel above the shoulders. Even Al-Kain was surprised with the speed and power by which he moved.

“What are you—?”

The man struggled, trying to push him back, but Al-Kain was strong. Even as a man, Al-Kain’s strength was unparalleled. Now, with his new life, Al-Kain's strength had multiplied several times.

Blood sprayed from the angel's wound.

Al-Kain tore the shoulder off.

The angel attempted to run, but not fast enough.

Al-Kain tore the angel's arm.

The leg.

The angel screamed.

It was a beautiful scream, Al-Kain thought.

The hatred, the rage, the screams, they put meaning in his life. They took away the dead feeling from his world.

The angel was now crawling on the grass, still trying to get away.

“How could I,” the man with horns said weakly, “a half-man, half-angel, be defeated by a mere man, who has little life left in him... Forgive me, I have given birth to a monster.”

Al-Kain wanted to shut the man’s yapping, so he tore the man’s neck.

The half-man, half-angel died, twitching, until he finally lay still.

A half angel.

Not bad.

He wondered what a full angel would taste like.

How would full angels taste like? How would they scream? Would they bring color to his lifeless world?

Al-Kain, victorious, stood over the half-angel’s corpse, laughing a mad laughter. Then, Al-Kain consumed the half-angel, piece by piece.

In eating the angel and his blood, the half-angel too became part of him.

He no longer was Al-Kain.

He was the Immortal King.

When the black ship flew in the air, Arcana had sensed it. She possessed the other half of the amulet, which allowed her to pinpoint the location of Judas whenever she wanted.

At one moment, Judas was in the sky, riding the black metal ship. Only, there was a problem—the Immortal King had taken another form. That was nature of the Immortal King, he could take many different forms as he willed. The Immortal King became a gigantic, black mass of blood and corpses that ate up everything in its path. The dark mass formed into a black spear of death and sped behind the black ship. The dark mass pierced through the ship's underside, causing a loud explosion from under the ship.

In mere moments, the black ship was falling.

That was not good. Falling at that speed, Judas and the angel would not survive unscathed. Another explosion sounded as the ship crashed into the trees.

Arcana reigned in her horse, and at this the others followed. The extra horses were brought in by Gnaeus and his men, there were enough for all of them with a few more to spare.

“We need to go to where Judas fell,” Arcana said.

“But the angel—” Varak said, protesting.

“The angel would be a problem,” Arcana agreed, “but we can't leave Judas behind. He risked his life for us.”

“I agree,” the fat man, Ichab said. He was wearing strange clothing, in that the clothing mostly covered his shoulders and his sides, but it revealed his big bulging stomach.

One time as they ran up the hill and escaped from the camp, Arcana looked back as they ran and spotted Ichab running. She found it hilarious when she saw Ichab's stomach bounce up and down as he ran.

Ichab's stomach went... Boing! Boing! Boing! She could almost here that strange sound in her ears.

It was all she could do not to laugh, as she didn't want to display anything unladylike.

“We should help him,” Ichab said, insisting.

Varak frowned down on Ichab, because to Varak, Ichab had no say in their decisions. After all, the others were just recent additions to their team. In Varak's mind, this was between him and Arcana, not any of the newcomers. Varak still did not trust them a bit, especially Gnaeus. Judas, well, Judas was a bit okay and had proven himself a few times. But the others, he had to keep an eye on them.

“Wherever Arcana goes,” Gnaeus said, “I will follow and support her.” The men of Gnaeus hooted at their Captain's remarks. Arcana judged the men of Gnaeus as hardy soldiers who would go wherever their Captain commanded them.

Varak grumbled, but Arcana ignored him. Varak was loyal to her, but sometimes he was too loyal that he sometimes didn't care about other people's circumstances.

“I guess that settles it,” Arcana said with finality, steering the horse in the direction she had last sensed Judas. “We'll figure something out when we meet the angel.”

Arcana refocused and pointed in the direction that Judas and the angel had fallen. The rest followed, Varak quite unwillingly, but still determined to protect her.

As they rode, however, they watched in horror at the mass of blood and corpses. It was like watching a black sea, undulating.

“Do not be concerned,” Arcana called out to the others, “we have fought the Immortal King before and survived. But be careful that none of them cause any mortal wounds to you. The corpses are tainted, and if they touch your wounds you will die from the taint and become like them.”

The soldiers grunted agreement.

Arcana turned to look at Ichab's figure. Even on the horse, the effect of Ichab's bouncing stomach... Arcana forced herself to face forward, covering her face with her hand, to hide her giggle. She had grown a liking to Ichab, though she had barely met the man. It was probably because Ichab was a friend of Judas, and any friend of Judas was her friend.

Varak, on her side, noticed.

“Are you well, My Lady?” Varak asked, concerned. “You look flushed, maybe it's better if we turned back.”

Arcana composed herself.

Hearing Varak's words, another rider pulled in.

“I heard you were feeling sick My Lady?” Gnaeus said. “Perhaps, it's better if you ride behind me, as I am expert at riding horses in these forests. I can navigate smoothly, so you'll have a better time here.”

“Perhaps,” Varak offered, “I can ride behind your back instead? And how about I slit your throat while I'm at it?”

Arcana ignored the bickering of the two and focused at what was happening ahead. The black mass of corpses had reached Judas and the angel. She could sense great power from the angel, so she assumed the angel was fighting back. Indeed, as they neared, Arcana could see lighting arcing in the air, striking at the black mass of corpses.

Then something happened, and the lightning stopped coming. Arcana tried to feel the angel's power, and to her surprise it was waning. What was happening there? She had to hurry.

A few moments later, a different power appeared. Though it was much smaller than the angel's power, it still was a strong power considering it came from a human. It was the strange power that Judas had acquired earlier. Arcana had no idea how Judas had received such a power, but she had seen it first hand and was impressed at the speed at Judas moved. The way Judas had fought against Shaul The Inquisitor was no small feat. Had that fight been equal in numbers, and not hundreds against a few, they would have escaped.

There was something strange about the sword that Judas carried as well... But she could not quite put a finger to it yet.

Arcana urged her horse to move faster.

She felt the presence of Judas dash forward towards the mass of the Immortal King's black form. Then Judas dashed backwards and stopped. At that moment, Arcana noticed a change in the black mass of blood and corpses.

What had happened?

The mass had stopped moving. She felt the angel's power, but even that had waned considerably, so whatever caused the black mass to stop must have been something else. With how little the power she sensed in the angel was, the angel must have been wounded. Somehow, Judas must have successfully saved the angel. At the same time, paralyzing the Immortal King's form.

But how?

Arcana hurried forward.

The presence of Judas was moving farther and farther, and fast. Judas must have been running away, now that the Immortal King was paralyzed. That was a good sign.

Arcana steered her horse gently in the direction that she could sense the presence of Judas heading. She would meet them there.

She looked behind at the black mass of the Immortal King, which still had not moved. As they rode farther, the Immortal King no longer was within range.

The men behind her had no trouble keeping up. And, after a while of riding, they reached the place where the presence of Judas stopped. Arcana made sure that The Immortal King was indeed out of range, and to her relief, it was so.

“Judas,” Arcana called.

But the first thing she saw was Judas lying with his back against tree, unconscious. The angel stood beside the tree, his back turned to Arcana.

Hearing their approach, the angel turned. He was unarmed, wearing a simple white robe.

Immediately, Varak and Arcana dismounted. Varak unsheathed his sword and Arcana took out the Blade of the Zohar.

They put their blades less than an inch to the angel's neck.

The angel, however, made no move. Arcana noted the wound on the angel's side.

“Peace be to you and your House,” the angel called out. “My name is Gabriel.”

“There is no peace with angels who are hunting us,” Varak bared back. “Tell us why we should let you live.”

By now, Gnaeus and his men had also dismounted, as well as Ichab.

Ichab, sensing the situation, ran forward and tried to stand in their way.

“Wait,” Ichab said, “I think there's a misunderstanding. Gabriel is a friend of my Teacher Judas.”

“But this angel is hunting us,” Varak said. “Even if he's a friend of Judas, we can't just let him go. He might call the others and capture us.”

Gabriel's eyebrows went up.

“Twice now you say I have been hunting you,” Gabriel said, “but I am not here for any such mission.” Then Gabriel's gaze fell on Arcana's blade.

“I see,” Gabriel said. “Now I understand the situation. You bear the key to the Forbidden Weapon.”

“The Forbidden Weapon?” Gnaeus asked.

“It is the weapon that damaged the world,” Gabriel said, “plunging the world into desolation for four hundred years.”

Varak's blade pressed closer, threatening to cut through Gabriel's flesh. Arcana had never faced an angel before, so she had no idea if ordinary weapons would be effective against it.

“We are in a dilemma,” Gabriel said, “me being a friend of Judas, and you being something that angels would normally hunt.”

“So,” Gabriel continued, “might I suggest a recourse?”

Varak looked just about ready to cut off the angel's head.

Arcana signalled for Varak to stand ground.

“And what suggestion might that be?” Arcana said.

“Angels of Sky Jerusalem are best known for keeping their word,” Gabriel began. “When we make a Covenant, we always make sure that the Covenant holds true forever. So if I promise not to hunt you down, to keep your location secret, and to never speak of your secret to anyone, then you can be sure that I will keep my end of the Covenant.”

True, angels of light were known for keeping their promises.

“And why would you offer us such a deal?” Arcana said.

“I am wounded when I fought against the Immortal King,” Gabriel responded, “and I would rather save my energy than trying to heal myself. If you heal me with your power... That would be the best option for all. In return, I will keep my side of the Covenant.”

“I don't trust this one bit,” Varak said.

“I think we should take it,” Ichab offered. “The angel is our friend. And Teacher needs the angel to get to Sky Jerusalem.”

Arcana glanced at Judas, who was still unconscious. Then she swept a look to the others, including Gnaeus. Captain Gnaeus said nothing, though she knew the man would probably say the same thing—whatever she chose, the Captain would support her.

“It's a fair enough deal,” Arcana said. Then she raised her hands and said the words that would heal the angel.

The angel's wounds began to heal, and the hole on Gabriel's shoulder began to close.

“There,” Arcana said, finishing the spell. She felt drained, especially since the spell involved instantaneous healing.

“Thank you,” Gabriel said.

“We need to move,” Varak grumbled. “The Immortal King might come at us at anytime. The farther away we are from that creature, the better our chances of survival.”

Arcana nodded in agreement, and ordered one of the horses for the angel. One of the men of Gnaeus carried the unconscious Judas.

“What do you plan to do now?” Arcana asked the angel.

“In the meantime,” Gabriel answered in a deep, commanding voice, “I am waiting for Judas to regain consciousness. I sense nothing wrong with him. And the Immortal King did not wound him. On the contrary, it was he who attacked the Immortal King. After that, the Immortal King had stopped moving.”

Arcana's suspicions were right. Judas had attacked the Immortal King, after which, the mass of black corpses had stopped moving. She could not judge a lot of details from just sensing the presence of Judas from afar, but this confirmed it.

“What happened to Judas?” Arcana asked, as they rode away.

“I am uncertain,” Gabriel said, “his body is fine, but it's mind that seems to be struggling. It may have something to do with the golden serpent bracer that he is using.”

“The serpent bracer?” Arcana asked.

“The sword and the golden scales that surround his arms when he fights,” Gabriel said. “Though I have never seen such a nature. I suspect the nature of the sword to change, considering that Judas drank from the Cup of Life.”

“The Cup of Life?” Arcana said. There was a lot in the angel world that she did not know, so now was a good time to find out. Angel's of light were also known for being straightforward and honest. And besides, Gabriel didn't seem to be hiding anything.

“The Cup of Life,” Gabriel answered, “where the Master's disciples drank from his blood. In so doing, they received some of his powers. Each disciple receives a different aspect of his power. It seems like Judas received the power to heal anything that touches his blood, and to gain the memories of the others that he wounds.”

“So what you're saying is...” Arcana started, her expression changing from calm to horrified, “That right now, Judas is reliving the memories of the Immortal King?”

Gabriel nodded.

That must be horrible. No wonder Judas was unconscious.

“We need to help him,” Arcana said. “Maybe if I cast a spell of healing—”

Gabriel shook his head.

“I already tried that,” Gabriel said, “and it has no effect. His body is perfectly sound, but he is trapped in his mind. All we can do now is wait.”