Divinity: The Gathering: Book One (7 page)

“Star? Hi honey, I didn’t recognize your voice for a minute there. I sure will let her know, and we’ll see you tonight. Thank you for helping out.” Terrie replied.

“Sure no problem, see you then, bye.” I said.

I didn’t even hear Terrie say good-bye before tapping the call end icon.

             
The static in the air was strongest to my right, so I turned to search for the source or cause near the set of curving stone steps that led up to the entrance to the Eastern Hall’s metal double doors--- and it was then that I could see…something.

It was a definite form, a human shape I think, but I wasn’t so sure because it was big…taller than a no
rmal person, and it was outlined by a shimmery almost gossamer lining.

My mouth fell open slightly as I stood up and squinted…trying to make out exactly what I was se
eing. The outline shifted just as I took a step towards it. I raised a brow and glanced around, wondering if anyone else was seeing this, wondering if it were a trick of sunlight or something like a mirage. No, no one noticed it, but they did steal glances at me as if I was some sort of weirdo or simply crazy…the usual looks I got at times.

Though it was a chilly morning, the sun still shone brightly in a cloudless sky creating prisms of light when it hit the windows, the glistening bushes and patches of wet areas along the pavement from the overnight lingering dew.

I held the gossamer outlined figure with my eyes for a long time where it stood until it finally began to move again…this time towards the left. I followed it with my eyes.

“Hey, sorry I’m running late. I’m starving, are you ready?” Joel’s voice pulled me away from my e
ntranced gaze.

I didn’t even hear him walk up.

I reluctantly tore my gaze from the mysterious anomaly to look at him and then smiled with relief. Seeing his handsome face made me feel normal again, despite my momentary perplexing vision and what happened not long ago in Professor Phillips office.

Joel wasn’t wearing his glasses now, and though he was always cute to me, he was even more of a hottie without them on. I often wondered why he didn’t bother putting his contacts in all the time. He was average in build and not that tall though taller than me, and he had smooth skin the perfect tanned color of light caramel. He was of mixed races like me too, but he was both Asian and black; Korean to be more exact. His exotic look, along with his silky black, curly hair and dark-brown almond-shaped eyes under his dark brows and lashes— made him absolutely gorgeous.

We met in during our freshman year at new student orientation. Being unknown to this city without any friends was bad enough, and I had gotten lost not long after the tour had ended. He had been part of the tour too, and he immediately volunteered to be my guide. I thought he was just hitting on me at the time, as several guys had already tried earlier, but there was something personable about Joel that I gravitated towards without question. We went out for lunch later that afternoon, ended up exchanging numbers and then discovered that we would both be staying on campus. We established our friendship from the very beginning on that day.

I was probably an idiot for not taking the friendship to the next level because being the intellectual type and so considerate and caring, he had a lot of friends who were f
emale and girls asking him out all the time. Somehow we ended up in the friend range, and I’m sure it was because of me so that’s where we stayed. I mean, he never brought it up but sometimes in the back of my mind, I did wonder if he was content with just being friends too.

“You weren’t late; I was early, and I’m ready to eat.” I nodded with a smile as I turned back to the where the gossamer outline had been, but it was gone now. I scanned the parking lot and the immediate area around us, but it was out of sight as if it had never been there to begin with.

I chalked it up to be nothing…at least nothing meaning any harm.

IV: Cam’ael:

O
ut of habit, I traced a finger where the recent cut that I had inflicted upon myself had been without much thought even though it had long since healed over completely. The perfect flesh was once again smooth and brand new just like it always remained. This time though, I added extra ferocity, cutting through layers of muscle in order to both receive and release the maximum amount of pain. Flesh, though perfect in the form that was given to me had taken thousands upon thousands of centuries for me to get used to.

I hadn’t done this to myself in a while, but it was warranted this time. I was cold and ca
lloused; giving into the darkest part of me that was steadily becoming reanimated within because it had been the only part I had been feeding for a while now.

The four human women I had finished having my way with all left spent, silent, b
ewildered and empty emotionally. I had defiled them with every sexual deviance, image and sensation that they knew of, some of which they had no idea was even possible, except for actual physical intercourse. The experience had fused the black sin that was a permanent part of me, from my being into theirs. As demons, we could still breed with humans, and I was not about to allow that to happen.

Sexual depravity was never by force. The women, both mortal and immortal, gave themselves willingly, and I eagerly accepted them. They were drunk with their own desires like addicts not even aware of what was ove
rtaking them beyond their personal carnal desires.

For me, it was simply the power of i
ntimidation and conquest. I filtered out the dark, lust into them and in return, I absorbed the resulting pleasure and passion into my being like a dry sponge, to satisfy my own. In mortal street slang terminology— humans could classify me as a sophisticated Incubus, I supposed, but I was a lot more discerning than the majority of the other fallen and Incubus’ here. My anger, frustration and pain could only be vented in the very sin that attributed to my sentence and fate. It sounds ironic but past violence and fighting others of my kind; it was the only outlet that I’ve had the liberty of indulging in for many, many millennia.

Though there was never any reasoning against it, a hand to stop me or even a stipulation that I had to punish myself afterwards, there were times that I did it anyway. It was simply because I could not destroy myself; it was not allowed as part of my condemn
ation. It pained me but it was nothing to mask or compare to the hurt my spirit would forever endure having been banished and marked to suffer for eternity. I was ashamed, disgraced, indignant…and now— a demon.

After this last encounter and my own personal punishment, I had to leave Morning Star’s domain quickly. I had to get apart from and rid myself of the vileness that the darkness of my actions managed to interweave into my soul whenever I was there too long. That is until I could bathe in the Infinite waters, and continue to pray to a being that no longer knew or heard me, and then completely rinse it all away.

There had been an open rift that still remained active since the last major catastrophe which had claimed many human lives— and it was a devastating one. I wasted no time venturing through it, especially when I saw the other shadows darting in and out in mass. That was never a good sign, so I had followed them and sure enough it led me straight her, to this school…the school she was now attending as a college student to my own stunned shock and renewed interest.

This place, this mid-western city in what is called Indiana, was a pla
ce I hadn’t really been before. It was new to me and of all other places, it was the last place I expected to track her down after having briefly been distracted before losing her signature altogether.

I had first taken notice of her when she was a child of about maybe seven years of age. There was no masking or mistaking her aura, which confounded me as to why I’d ne
ver taken notice of her before. It was extremely bright, perplexing and more powerful than all the other divine chosen that we had ever seen from this realm. That observation automatically piqued my own curiosity in trying to understand why. Unfortunately, my attention hadn’t been the only one she had acquired from the spirit realm. There was no way any of us could deny or not notice the intensity of her light; not even Morning Star himself.

  Whenever a divine warrior or chosen is born, it’s like a sparkling diamond just b
eneath the surface of shallow, murky water to us in comparison to regular mortals. Some sparkle brighter than others but hers…completely bewildered me. Even in the sea of many other divine chosen marked all over the world she shimmers, like a beacon on a pitch-black night. I don’t remember another with that type of aura in all the history of mankind outright.

  For that reason and since then, she had my attention and curiosity, so I continued to monitor and keep watch over her from the movement of her family from Florida to New Orleans Louisiana; all the while watching over and protecting her from other countless,
ruthless demons who were nothing more than sycophants of Morning Star until the time of the massive hurricane.

Thinking she perished in that devastating storm; I turned my attention back to my previous bad habits and sins in despair, but I had never forgotten about her. That catastrophe alone was a group effort on the part of the dark ones, playing against and m
anipulating the state of the earth and nature itself in order to tear open a massive hole between the planes that had affected the natural elements of the oceans, temperatures and plate shifting. Once in, they passed through with ease in order to play, gather, recruit and leech.

In the here and now— though years later, it didn’t take long to find and home in on that sa
me unique, dominate aura again, and I immediately crossed over the planes without hesitation.

Once I had entered the mortal realm, I was breathless…she was still alive, and she was even more beau
tiful than she had been before. She was now a young woman, a sophomore in college to be exact. The scent of her womanhood was still untouched and pure and that alone was both alluring and intoxicating to me…possibly dangerous for her.

I vowed this time that I would never leave my watch over her no matter what the cost or circu
mstance. Though I wasn’t sure what I expected the outcome to be because I already knew what it would be in regard to her being a divine chosen. She intrigued me far beyond any mortal or immortal woman during my existence ever had, and it wasn’t because she was a chosen either. I didn’t understand the why actually past her beauty but for now; I really didn’t care.

Though I didn’t believe in fate let alone El
ohim’s assistance since I was shut out from his realm of heaven, and all direct telepathic communication with him so very long ago, it was something short of a miracle that had apparently allowed me to get to her just in time. I ghosted into the room in my spirit form and remained cloaked. The shadow instantly recognized me and took off in fear. Though we were kin, it knew exactly who I was and what I would do to it if it didn’t flee.

I should have known that the shadows were up to something devious and malicious as they always were but the current situation and circumstances were different for me when it came to her.

Under Morning Star’s orders— his generals, servants, voids, imps, the shadowy ones and dark fallen had become more emboldened with their threats and confrontations, so I could only imagine what they planned to use this weak human male for. As soon as I had taken the form of black energy in the office, her reaction surprised me. I knew there was a possibility that she might see me, but I had no idea that she would actually be able to feel my presence. She was fearless in the face of the shadow, but I knew that meant that they would only escalate their attempts after this failure. Well, at least they knew she would not cower easily and that my sudden appearance would show them that I would always be in the vicinity, near her— watching too. Past Elohim and Morning Star, it was my presence that they feared most.

Morning Star was his own lord, and
even though he already ruled it to an extent as it was, Earth was going to become his for the taking permanently, soon. What he had come to surpass was beyond anything I imagined any level of hate, wrath, vengeance, jealousy and anger could ever produce. I despised him with what was left of my original essence and being and if defying him would help relinquish my sins and allow me to re-enter the grace that I lost so long ago; then I along with the others who also chose the same as I have would, until that very moment came.

I would have liked to hang around longer in order to both simply marvel at and keep an eye on her, but I found myself re-entering the spirit realm through the same portal that I had come through once again. I immediately headed back to my dwelling to respond and to wait.

I had been summoned unexpectedly and though being summoned by any being angered me, there were very few that I would not ignore no matter what. This one was one of them regardless of how I really felt about him personally.

Normally, I figured this was going to be a re
tribution or act of penance for this kind of intervention, which I would accept. Other than that, being summoned was rare in regard to any civil interaction between angels and demons so when it happened— I knew it was important or possibly yet another personal request. Maybe some minute part of me still held onto some sort of…hope I guess.