Savior (21 page)

              “Find anything of interest?” he asked. Alyssa shrugged and focused on the words, trying to read them. A slight smile crossed Slypher’s lips as he saw her struggling. “You’re trying too hard.”

              She looked up at him. “What?”

              “You’re trying too hard,” he repeated. “It should be natural. You’re making too much of it.”

              Alyssa ignored him and focused harder. Slypher sighed and rolled his eyes. “Give it here,” he growled impatiently. Alyssa handed over the book and sat down across from him, watching him expectantly as he began reading out loud to her.

              . . .

              “Somehow I doubt that I will ever be able to read these,” Alyssa said mournfully as she glared down at the tattered piece of parchment in her hands. Although it had been hours, the torches were still brightly lit. When she had commented on this, Slypher had said that it was because of magic and went back to reading from the book in his shadowy hands. He seemed to be almost as interested as her in what they had to say. Alyssa had considered, briefly, if letting him see the books and scrolls that Marcus kept in the chamber was the right thing to do or even safe, but in the end she had brought them in for Slypher to see.

              Now, hours after that decision, they sat together on the floor with neatly stacked piles of books and scrolls all around them. She had also brought out a few small processions, nothing more than trinkets really to someone as uneducated in the ways of magic as her, but she knew that they must mean something to Marcus. At present she twirled a small blue jar in her hands. The detail on it, down to each delicately carved leaf, was exquisite. There was a liquid inside of it, thicker than honey and smelling of cinnamon.

              Alyssa didn’t dare taste it although Slypher had suggested that she might like it. They had formed a sort of friendship in these long hours, though neither of them dared admit it. Slypher was evil, but

              Alyssa also pitied him and felt some fraction of care for him. And although he had remained coarse with her, there were few in the world that could resist anyone with angel blood.

              “Perhaps your people could help you learn,” Slypher offered softly as he turned another page of the book he was absorbed in. She nodded and continued trying to read. Alyssa wasn’t sure which people he was referring to, but she doubted that they would be able to help. “Try sounding it out,” he suggested as he saw her struggle over a line.

              “Over the cen… centur…” Alyssa started, growling quietly to herself as she strained to make sense of it. There was a soft sweep of cloth as she made room for Slypher beside her. He looked over her shoulder, his chin against her neck. His form was cold, sending shivers along her spine, but she didn’t pull away.

              “Centuries,” he said, pointing to the word that had given her trouble.

              Alyssa nodded and continued reading. “Over the centuries, there have been many names given to…” her voice trailed off as the words became smeared beyond recognition.

              “You would think,” Slypher said, noticing her disappointment at the smudges, “that with all

              Marcus’s power and money he could afford books that were actually readable.”

              Alyssa gave him a slight smile and put the book down, moving to another one in the pile. This one was in a language that she didn’t recognize, but still tried to read. “Elvish,” Slypher said with more than a hint of disgust. “Vile creatures that think only of themselves and their precious forests.”

              “Marcus likes them,” she replied softly.

              “Yes, well, he would wouldn’t he?”

              Alyssa giggled softly and turned the pages until she had reached the end and put the book aside.

              She turned to Slypher, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. “How long have you known Marcus?” she asked.

              Slypher was slightly taken aback by her question, but grinned anyway. “A very long time,” he replied in a pained whisper as if they memories hurt him to remember.

              “Did you know him when he was… well…” she frowned, unable to make herself say the word.

              “Evil?” Slypher said for her. She quickly nodded and stretched out on the cold stone, her hands crossing over her stomach. “Yes, I knew him when he was evil. He was much nicer then.”

              “He was?”

              Slypher nodded and caught her gaze. “Would you like me to tell you a story about him?”

              She smiled quickly and asked, “Could you?”

              He took a deep breath, allowing himself to think of where to begin. No one had ever asked him about Marcus before. There was so much to tell, but he knew where to start. “Many, many years ago,” he began softly, his voice taking on the quality of an experienced story teller. “I met a man named Marcus

              Lakyle. He was a young man then, barely older than you are now. There wasn’t anything exceptional about him, other than his understanding of all things magical. Wherever he learned to use his gift, they taught him very well. But as I heard it, he got tired of healing and all other good magic. There wasn’t enough power there for him. So in his greed he turned to black magic and all the wonders that it possesses. Needless to say he was very good at it and enjoyed using it. The Marcus that you know now is a very different person than the man I met so long ago. Back then he wouldn’t have thought twice about killing you, especially since you have so much good in you. It wouldn’t have even been a question, you would have been dead.” He paused as he saw Alyssa tremble slightly. “Do you wish me to continue?”

              Unable to bring herself to speak, she merely nodded.

              “He went around slaying all that was good. If there was even a hint of good around him, it would be dead within the span of a thought. And he wasn’t just content with humans. Unicorns, forest sprites, and so many others fell to his wrath.”

              “Angels too?” she squeaked.

              Slypher regarded her cautiously as he saw her eyes grow wet with tears. “Yes, even angels. He murdered hundreds of angels. And we were all very proud of him for it.” Alyssa nodded and wiped the back of her hand across her eyes.

              “So what happened?” she asked.

              “What?”

              “Well, he’s good now. If he enjoyed it so much then why is he good?”

              Slypher’s gaping hole of a mouth twisted into a grimace. “Jasmine.”

              “She convinced him to give it up?” Alyssa asked as she sat up. Her hair was a tousled mess and she tried desperately to fix it as they spoke.

              “That girl?” Slypher laughed. “She couldn’t convince him to change his shirt if it was soaked in blood.”

              “Then what did she have to do with him being good again?”

              “She died,” he replied. Alyssa nodded and he continued. “When she died, he decided to go back to good and give up everything that he had learned. If you ask me, it was a very stupid decision.”

              “But they cared about each other,” she protested. “He must have been deeply hurt when she was murdered.”

              “Yes, but that doesn’t mean that he should have given up everything now does it? You don’t give up a great cause just because of one little casualty. She was expendable, just like so many of the other wives.”

              “There were more women in this sort of marriages?”

              Slypher chuckled and nodded. “Hundreds more. All are dead now of course. They were all human after all.”

              “Did other men care for their wives like Marcus did?” she asked.

              “If they did, they weren’t supposed to. Most men actually ended up killing their wives after a few years.”

              “Why would they kill them?”

              “Men grow bored with seeing the same woman every day. Haven’t you ever noticed that?”

              Alyssa had of course, but she didn’t say it out loud. Most of Ruben’s friends had been married, but sharing a bed with someone else was altogether different than murder. “Did Marcus ever grow bored with Jasmine?”

              “I doubt it. He was busy too much to do anything about it if he did. I would guess that she grew bored with him though. What’s the use of a husband that you never see?” Slypher said with a wicked smile. “Speaking of which, how often do you see Marcus?”

              “Enough,” she replied quickly before turning the questions toward something that didn’t directly involve her. “Wouldn’t Jasmine be too afraid of Marcus killing her if she slept with another man though?”

              “Probably. You’d have to ask her yourself though. I barely ever spent time with the woman. She got on my nerves too easily,” he said simply.

              “She did?”

              “Oh yes. She was always talking. Or if she wasn’t talking she was being too quiet. Marcus seemed to care for her though so I didn’t say anything. He seems to like his women chatty,” Slypher added with a meaningful look in her direction.

              Alyssa’s nose scrunched up and she nodded. She rose to her feet quickly and brushed off her gown. “Fine, I will leave you then.”

              “You may stay. Just, being down here for so long with only the traitor for company would make anyone a little grouchy.”

              “Why do you call him ‘the traitor’?” she asked as she leaned against the wall.

              “He turned his back on us all to go back to a world that only exists in his head,” Slypher spat angrily. “Why do you think that wall is up? To protect his adorable little forest animals?” She nodded.

              “Well, it’s not. He put that wall up to block out the rest of the world. He’s hiding here like a hermit, afraid to come out and face the men he betrayed. He’s a coward and a liar, and-“

              Slypher was cut off quickly as Alyssa stuck him across the face, her nails digging painfully into his shadowy form. Golden streaks ran like scratches across his face where she had touched him. “You will not speak of Marcus like that,” she growled.

              “I will speak of him however I wish little angel, and if you ever so much as touch me again I will kill you,” he shot back. The pain of being touched by someone as good as her was making his eyes water and his skin crawl.

              Alyssa’s gaze narrowed harshly and she stormed into the other chamber, only to return seconds later with a small sash in her hand. She dipped a few fingers into the sash and as she pulled them out

              Slypher’s eyes widened. The golden unicorn powder was thick on her fingertips and before he could back away she reached up and closed a fist around his neck, sending him instantly to his knees from the pain.

              “You will not speak of Marcus like that,” she whispered darkly, her eyes catching his and holding them. Alyssa stroked a golden thumb over the demon’s neck causing him to howl in agony. “And, if you ever threaten me again, I will be happy to destroy you Slypher. Do I make myself clear?”

              The creature whimpered pitifully as she continued to hold him, closing her fist even tighter around his neck as she spoke. Rage like she had never experienced before had taken hold of her, quickly overcoming her with emotion. She neither thought about nor cared what she was doing to him. The only thing that mattered was that Slypher had to be made to pay for what he had said about Marcus. As her anger subsided though, her fingers slipped from his neck, allowing Slypher to collapse in a trembling heap on the floor. Something had snapped inside of her and it was that more than what she had done that scared her. Slypher watched her with glistening eyes as she clumsily gathered up Marcus’s belongings and put them in the other room. Alyssa was still shaking violently as she stumbled up the ladder and disappeared into the bedroom.

              “You know Marcus, they are talking again.” Solara stretched out her vast wings and made herself comfortable in the grass.

              “I know, she is so caring that she cannot see anyone so lonely, not even the evil that is in the demon’s heart. I am sure Slypher is telling her all kinds of things about my past, sometimes I really wish it was as he tells it.”

              “Why do you say that Marcus? I am sure he is telling her that you killed countless people just for the fun of it. He will tell her that you stole money because you had intense avarice, why do you wish that is the way it was?”

              “Solara, those things are but mortal flaws, any normal human can be greedy or get some sick pleasure from the torment of others. Of course those things are terrible, but they are not truly evil, I was evil Solara.”

              “What do you mean, if those things are not evil, what does it mean for something to be truly evil, is not Slypher himself truly evil?”