Page 77 of Infernium

The boy glanced back to the cleaved apple still lying on the ground, frowning at its luring outer perfection. How unsuspecting amongst the rotting fruit. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

“No one said the devil played fair, young baron.”

Perhaps the things he’d seen were not merely illusions, or delusions. Maybe they were real. And maybe evil didn’t always present as perfection to lure. Perhaps it hid in shadows on walls, seen only by those who happened to notice the deviant flicker of movement. “I do wish to speak candidly, if I may.”

“Yes, of course. I am here to answer whatever questions you may have.”

“While in the undercroft of the monastery, I …” The boy hesitated, never having spoken so openly about such a thing. “I saw a shadow. With eyes. It moved across the cell and somehow the cell changed. I changed. It attacked my cellmate, rather violently.”

“What you saw was Eradye. It is the shadow of the Infernal Lands, which exists as a separate plane.”

“Separate plane? I do not understand.”

Solomon stretched out his arms to either side. “All of this that you see, the trees, the sky, the clouds, the apples, the birds. They are all part of your world. The mortal realm. But imagine for a moment that you could peel back what lies before your eyes like a painting’s canvas. The other side would be a new plane. Another world.”

Another world? The baron had studied enough to know more educated scholars would have called the old man a Raver for having suggested such a thing. Yet, Solomon spoke about the other worlds with ease, as if he’d actually seen them firsthand.

“There are multiple planes. The shadow world, which is much like Purgatory, is called Noc’tu umbraj” he went on. “Etheriana--or what you perceive as Heaven. There are the Infernal Lands of eternal suffering, which most humans refer to as Hell. And then there is Eradye, ruled by an ancient who goes by the name Letifer. The latter is the only one which can move and co-exist inside the other planes. Does this make sense?”

“You’re saying that what I saw in that undercroft was another world?”

“It is a darker version. A complete inverse to this one. A barren land of starving souls, which was never meant to be opened.”

Much as the baron hesitated to entertain these ludicrous conversations, he couldn’t help himself. “Who opened it?”

“Letifer.” Solomon scratched the back of his neck. “However, it is your father who keeps it open.”

“So … why did I change, and not the boy?”

“What resides inside of you is something which is capable of surviving in that world.”

“What resides within me?”

The older man’s expression turned grim. “You have seen what your father is.”

At first, the baron did not answer, but lowered his gaze, contemplating the consequences of such a question.

“Is it not why you were punished?”

With a hesitant nod, the baron chewed on the inside of his cheek.

“Your father is a very rare breed.”

“Breed of what?”

“Need I say it aloud?”

In truth, it wasn’t necessary, for he had seen firsthand the evil that lived inside his father. He didn’t need to give it a name to know it was everything the baron didn’t want to be. “And what I saw is what grows inside of me?”

“You are more fortunate than your father. For you also carry the untainted purity of your mother’s blood.”

“And this affords me some exception.”

“It does.”

That brought the baron a small measure of relief. “My mother is kind and generous. Nothing like my father.”

“It is true, her benevolence knows no bounds. But in the presence of something as evil as Eradye, such benevolence can be consumed.Overcome.” Brow quirked, the older man’s lips curved to a slight smile. “Would you believe me if I told you that your father did not always carry darkness in his heart?”

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