Seduced By An Entity Ch. 26
Date: 05.02.2010
Keywords: By, An, 26, Ch., Entity, Seduced,
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"We are half evil, but we are half human as well," Drake reminded her. "Without the evil influence of our father I have the freedom to choose my own path. And I hereby choose the path of good. I will seek out my evil brothers and slay them."
"And I will join you," Frederick bravely announced. "I still do not fully understand all of the words you have spoken, mother, but my loyalty to Drake is as certain as the rising of the sun. If we must embrace death, then we do it as one."
"Our death is certain, even in our success," Drake realized. "I will kill you myself to stop this evil, and will expect you to kill me as well. But eleven others must fall first. To this task I fully commit."
Frederick hesitated and finally responded "And I commit as well."
"Spare the thirteenth child, for now," Juliette begged them. "He is an easy target in his youth, I know this. But his mother knows none of this and is just as much a victim as you. Please, let him be the last. It would kill me to have experienced your death at such a tender age."
"The thirteenth child will be last, before us," Drake assured her. "But we must all perish."
"I know," Juliette acknowledged. "I almost wished I had not grasped that shackle pin."
"No!" Drake exclaimed. "It was that single act of courage that will save humanity from evil. And I swear that I will do all I can to defeat it."
Silence fell over them as they struggled to grasp the enormity of the reality that they confronted. Their lives had changed in an instant.
"You will require holy weapons," Juliette informed them. "Francesca killed the beast with a singing blade thrust into its rapidly beating heart. The blade itself perished in the performance of its task. More will be required. Brother Wallace may be able to aid our cause."
Frederick looked to Drake, who carefully considered their plight. He silently wished he knew more of half-beasts and their weaknesses.
"You must approach him alone, for our presence would have him doubt the sanctity of our cause. He would not believe one half-beast would be willing to slay another," Drake considered. "And we must discover how a half-beast can be killed by another. I suspect the singing blade would seek my heart as anxiously as that of my victim. Other weapons must be conceived."
Juliette reached her arms out and hugged the boys that were now men. Tears of pride filled her eyes as she admired the men of honor they had become. She wished Francesca could have lived to see this day, but it was not to be.
"I will find the answers that we seek," she assured them both. "Please, do nothing until I return. Do not risk your identities in trivial matters for as surely as we conspire against it, evil searches for its forgotten sons."
* * * * *
Brother Wallace read the ancient prophecy for anything he may have missed. The signs were discouraging. Seven of thirteen provinces were now controlled by men that he suspected were evil beasts. Only six more remained to be ruled. How many more years would elapse before evil reigned over the land? Would he see it occur? The thought triggered a cold chill that refused to be ignored and would not leave him.
"The woman has returned," a scribe hesitantly announced. Further clarification was not required.
"Show her in."
He was surprised she had survived. Few humans were successful in slaying a beast. Nearly half an hour elapsed before her cloaked, slender form darkened his doorway.
"I am impressed," he confessed. "The beast is dead."
"But his thirteen sons survive," she reminded him. "Was the death of the beast himself enough to foil this plan, or must they all die?."
Brother Wallace sighed and folded his arms over his chest. There was no sure answer. His wrinkled forehead and white hair betrayed his elevating age, and in the years that had elapsed since the woman first brought news of the signs of evil there were no more restful nights as he struggled with his discovery to find more answers. But in the end there were only more questions, and hers now added to them.
"Evil exists and it adapts to the environment, of that I am certain," he said in a confident tone. "I have no doubt that the evil sons that William raised will continue in their quest for power. Can ten fulfill the prophecy? Can five? Can one? In the end all the provinces are united under one flag and ruled by one beast. It may only take one, but I cannot say with certainty. But I am confident that if all are dead, the prophecy will not come to pass."
"Then they shall be killed." He heard the determination in her voice and found it quite surprising.
"And how do you suggest they be killed?" he questioned, suspecting a carefully constructed plan existed in her clever mind already.
"Three remain forgotten. Evil has not found them...yet. Two have sworn to slay their brothers. We require weapons and knowledge."
"Half-beasts killing half-beasts?" Brother Wallace questioned in amazement. "The idea is preposterous! It will never occur."
"But if it did, how could it?" Juliette asked. "Could the singing blade be restricted and not seek the heart of a well-intentioned beast?"
"A beast is a beast to such a weapon," he replied. "A singing blade will seek the closest evil heart it is thrust toward. Should the victim turn the weapon toward his attacker, it would seek that heart instead. Its use would incur great risk."
An uncomfortable silence surrounded them. Finally he spoke. "How certain are you of their devotion to good?"
"I risked my life to slay the beast, and that of my elder sister," she reminded him. "I would give my life to stop this plan. I beg you, please place the weapons in the hands of our sons to stop this. They have sworn to slay the others. Inaction will lead to our demise."
Brother Wallace sighed heavily, as if under a great weight. "I will have to seek the church's council and convince them of your cause. They alone have the weapons that you speak of, or the skills and knowledge to forge them."
"If we did have such weapons, must half-beasts be in beast form to be killed?" she inquired.
"By their very definition half-beasts are half human, and can be slain in either form," he answered. "But do not be lulled into thinking of them as easy targets. They possess the same skills as their father and have been taught to wield them, unlike the forgotten sons of which you speak."
She seemed unaffected by his cautionary words.
"These men are leaders and command armies," he added as he tried to convince her of the enormity of the task at hand and its unlikely accomplishment. "Two boys might kill one, but no sooner than he falls will his brethren be alerted to the danger. And when they are, the search for them will know no bounds and none of us shall be safe."
"Yes, you're right," she agreed to a portion of his statement. "We'll enjoy surprise but once, and it must be used to kill the strongest brother first."
"Let it be Lord Chadwick, the eldest," he replied. "He looms as the largest threat. He's ruled for five generations and is a formidable force. Scout out his terrain and weaknesses while I plead my case to the church. I will find some way to alert you when I have succeeded in obtaining the weapons our cause requires."
"Our cause?" Juliette questioned.
"I'm as much a part of this as anyone else," he confessed his growing sentiments. "Let my life have purpose. The boys may require my wisdom as much as your nurturing."
As Juliette returned home Brother Wallace prepared for the long and arduous journey to Rome.
"Decades went by and although our sexual trysts continued, the time we spent together became more and more empty. I tried to talk to her but she never let down her guard. I could use her body but that was all. She would never again open up to me. As I aged, my longing for physical pleasure waned and it was for laughter and friendship that I yearned. What was done was done however and I tried to satisfy myself with being her lover. I also fooled myself into believing she must care for me. After so many years of giving each other pleasure, I told myself, how could she still hate me?
"I understand now that if anything, her hatred for me grew. I found just how much when finally, as an old man, I lay on my deathbed alone in an empty house. My last threads of life expired and I tried to get up. I couldn't. I was paralyzed.
"Estella walked up to me and she spoke. 'Now you are the one who is powerless.' She held her arms out and chains grew out of the ground like weeds. They slid around my body, embracing me. I begged her to stop. She said nothing. Once my body was enveloped in these chains she left.
"I screamed for help and struggled against the chains but nothing worked. I knew nothing about the afterlife and what methods she had used to imprison me. All I knew was the feel of the chains boring into my flesh. Estella was revenged.
"The time I have spent in chains is slow time. It has felt like an eternity. I imagine it has been many years but who can say for certain. Estella never came to visit me. Not even to gloat. All I have had to keep me company is silence and memory. It has been torture but in the end, it is those very memories that save me."
"What do you mean?" Charles queried.
"One day, amid my endless sequence of tormented days, I was remembering the first night when I stood naked in the pentagram and summoned Estella. Suddenly I was there. I was still bound in chains, but I was lying a few paces behind my naked younger self. The vision lasted a few seconds and then disappeared. I was once more in limbo. I quickly figured it out what had happened. I had traveled in time. Estella had told me many times about her journeys through time. Somehow, I had gone backwards.
"I could not repeat the feat at first but time was something I had in abundance. I tried myriad different approaches until eventually I succeeded. Through experimentation I began to understand the limits of my time travel.
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Keywords: By, An, 26, Ch., Entity, Seduced,