Page 34 of Infernium

And now, nearly as powerless as a mortal.

What a waste to see a warrior, with gifts and abilities like those Vaszhago possessed, be sent to the eternal darkness of Ex Nihilo.

A crawling sensation fingered its way down my spine, a blackness settling over my mind. Sharp pain struck my skull, the blare of metal on metal scraping over my eardrum with such intensity, I screwed my eye shut, jaw clenched. The base of my glass clattered against the desktop, as I blindly slammed it down, and fingers pressed to my temples, I tried to calm the storm raging inside my skull. Jagged bolts of lightning flashed behind my shuttered lid, while thoughts took me back to my time in the nothingness. In the pitch blackness, I could hear the familiar maniacal laughter of my father. A sound that infected my ears like a thousand tiny parasites crawling around inside my head. In my mind’s eye, I saw things. Long black appendages extending out from my body that longed to hook themselves into flesh. I felt urges that I’d long suppressed. Ones that craved blood and screams and violence.

And Farryn.

But I wanted her in a way that sent a shudder down my spine. A way that unraveled every romantic notion and bastardized it into something depraved.

In the very core of my thoughts was that day in the woods, when I’d happened upon my father and his sister, and the cold sensation which had coiled up my spine while watching him defile her. As if she were nothing more than an object. A toy he obsessively longed to keep at his disposal.

I breathed hard through my nose until the pain subsided, and I opened my eye to a too-bright blurry scene that left me flinching. I groaned and reached for my drink, setting the dagger aside.

Another long sip, and I shook my head of the visuals. The headaches weren’t new, and neither were my degenerate thoughts. I’d been plagued by unbidden visuals all throughout my time in Ex Nihilo, and the moment I’d returned to the mortal realm, the first thing I’d craved was Farryn. Not my beautiful, feisty Farryn, but the quiet, subdued version that cowered before me. It wasn’t right. Yes, I’d always wanted to possess her. I’d even developed an obsession for her–one that bordered on criminal--but it was her spark, her fire, which had always drawn me. The warmth of her.

And if things continued to progress, if I failed to control this beastly side of me, one slip could enslave her for eternity. Even then, having her enslaved to me wouldn’t spare her from my father. It’d only make for a miserable eternity.

I needed to track down Farryn’s father, because each day without my wings drew me deeper into the darker half of my soul.

Throughout the course of my life, I’d had moments of having been depleted of vitaeilem, had felt the darkness consume me, which was how I’d come to rely so heavily on a highly forbidden drug, known as seraphica.

It so happened the Noxerians had taken an interest in, and made exceptional coin from, selling the potent tonic made from the blood of angels, so their motives in hunting the A’ryakai were two-fold: eliminate the angelsandharvest their precious vitaeilem to synthesize a watered-down version, which could be consumed by both angels and demons.

A little over a century ago, I’d developed something of an addiction to it. Craved it in the same manner one might fiend for modern day cocaine. Although it was a watered-down version of pure vitaeilem, it kept the malevolence inside of me dormant. Particularly during the years when I’d found myself in the bowels of depravity. It was Farryn’s birth which had forced me to kick the addiction. To heal and replenish my vitaeilem, so that I might be strong enough to protect her.

I surely didn’t want to go back to sucking down vials of it. To become so glutted on the high of feeling good again that I could forsake what was most important to me.

And I surely couldn’t bring myself to murder an angel again.

As I stared out the window of my office, a shadowy form in the distance caught my eye. I sensed him before I could even make out what it was, and I smiled as Cicatrix neared the cathedral.I unlatched the window, allowing the black raven to fly into my office, and he landed on my desk with an obnoxious flap of his wings, rustling the papers strewn there.

Any news on Farryn’s father?I asked through the vinculum bond we shared.

Not yet. We have eyes across the realm, watching for him. We will find him.

With a nod, I stroked my hand along his wings and reached into the drawer of my desk to offer him a piece of dried meat from those I kept in a jar.I thank you for your persistence. Just as well, I may join you in the search. It’s only a matter of time before the Infernal Ones come sniffing around here for Farryn. I need my wings, as I’m sure you understand.

Yes, of course. I will not fail you, Master.

The bird gulped back the proffered treat and hopped along the desk, back toward the window. He flapped his wings as a sign of excitement.“Let us go now!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that yet, my friend,” I said, aloud that time. “I can’t bring Farryn with me, it’s far too dangerous a trek.” Should The Fallen catch sight of her, they could’ve very well tried to swipe her up and hand her over to their overlord, who would then have died at my hands without question.

Which would’ve left me at the same mercy as Vaszhago, having killed a prominent figure.

The article on the desk caught my eye again.

Vaszhago.

Dangerous as he might’ve been, he was an unrivaled and merciless killer who could’ve potentially served as a bodyguard to Farryn in my absence. And my presence. One gnawing concern of mine was that if Farryn’s father failed to remember anything about the Omni, and journeying to find him proved to be a dead end, my weakening angel powers could become more of a threat to her and the baby than any other. In that case, I’d need someone bold enough to put a blade to my throat, and Vaszhago was undoubtedly the demon for that. In fact, the bastard would probably glean some enjoyment out of it.

Assigning him the task would require aba’nixium, a curse which would bind him to Farryn’s life. Meaning, if she died or suffered, in turn, he would suffer the most horrific pain known to a demon. And if he was foolish enough to touch her in a sexual manner, he’d suffer more than that at my amusement.

Undoubtedly, Farryn would surely hate the idea of having a babysitter shadowing her all hours of the day, but I could see no other option. To properly protect her myself andfrommyself, I needed to restore my wings.

In the meantime, I needed a safety net. A means of ensuring that I wouldn’t be the one to harm her--which meant I’d be traveling to Velthrock to barter for the freedom of a demon who’d once tried to kill me.

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