Prologue

1998 Words
The storm clouds rolled across the jet black sky as smoothly as the way the man in the shadows exhaled the smoke from his lungs. His cold blue eyes gazed across the landscape, slowly taking in every detail. The only light in the darkness coming from the glow of the flame on the end of his cigar. He leaned against the black barked tree, the wind softly blowing his auburn hair across his face. Just a few feet away from where he stood were six puddles of clear water. Each one told a story, a horrible maddening story of a soul trapped in pain and terror. The man watched them in silence, refusing to take a step towards the soul he knew he was supposed to help survive. "Jack, you're here early." A beautiful woman walked out of the shadows behind him. Her long black hair flowed behind her in the calm wind. Her bright eyes didn't leave his icy blue eyes as she came to stand in front of him. "Athena." Jack greeted her with a swift nod. Athena came and stood next to Jack, following his gaze across the landscape. The silence seemed to stretch on forever. The clouds grew thicker and darker, the wind became more aggressive. "Why haven't you gone to him yet?" Athena asked casually, breaking the silence between them. She watched the water that held the image of a boy with fiery red hair being forced to his knees by a man much bigger than him. "Why haven't you gone to her?" Jack retorted, casting a quick glance at a separate puddle that held the image of a young girl with long black hair running through an empty house, calling for her parents. Athena smirked softly. "I've already gone to her, Jack. I'm only here to help you. What's holding you back from him?" Athena asked softly. Jack turned away from her, throwing his cigar to the ground and killing the flame with his boot. "You know what will happen if I do." "I know what will happen if you don't, Jack. That boy will die." Athena said. Jack kept his eyes focused on the black earth beneath his feet. Athena took a step towards him. "You know the law, Jack." Jack clenched his fists and spun around to face Athena, his cold eyes glaring into hers. "Of course I know the law. I was there when it was written, Athena, and so were you. But don't pretend like you agree with everything they think is right." Jack kept his gaze steady with Athena's. "We both know what they do to people like us. It won't matter if laws are broken or not. They'll turn on us no matter how loyal we are to them." Jack paused and looked around. Athena gazed calmly at Jack, tilting her head to one side and smiling. "Tell me why, Jack." She said softly. Jack didn't answer, he focused his gaze to the ground. "Go on, say it." Athena encouraged softly. Jack narrowed his eyes. Athena smiled and slowly reached her hand out, resting her palm on his chest. "Because they know that deep down in here, we will never belong to them," Athena whispered, voicing the thoughts that were screaming inside his mind. "They'll never truly own us, Jack." Jack remained silent. Athena pulled her hand away, her face serious.  "But that isn't an excuse to let that boy suffer. The laws don't dictate our responsibility to protect the children. It's the only reason we exist and you know that." Athena said firmly. She glanced over at the reflection of the boy in the water.  Jack followed her gaze. "That boy needs you, and from what I see, you need him too, Jack," Athena said. Jack looked at her, his blue eyes calm and unblinking. Athena smirked. "Now go to him." Jack returned his gaze to the boy in the reflection. Athena watched him closely but her focus shifted when she heard movement ahead of them. Jack followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes at the dark figure emerging from the shadows. "Having second thoughts, Jack?" The shadow growled through sharp fangs. It's yellowish-green eyes glowed brightly in the darkness. Athena crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the shadow.  "Reaper." She hissed through her teeth. The shadow paused for just a moment then continued walking forward, each step bringing it more and more into the form of a tall man dressed in darkness. "What are you doing here?" Athena asked, keeping her arms crossed and eyes focused on Reaper.  Jack didn't need to glance behind him to see that Athena was on edge. He could hear it in her voice. Reaper chuckled. "I have orders to follow too, Athena. A vessel that needs my... expertise." Athena narrowed her eyes. "Oh really? And what kind of monster do you plan on turning that poor child into?"  Reaper cast his gaze over Athena and smirked, revealing his sharp teeth. "Monster? Must you be so cold?" Athena glared at him but bit her tongue and kept quiet. "I'm here to do my job." Reaper turned his attention to Jack. "Which is more than I can say for you, old friend." Reaper took a few more steps closer. "What's the matter with you? This kind of work should be easy for you now." Jack didn't speak but kept his eyes on Reaper, watching his every move. "Oh lighten up, will you?" Reaper growled. "I'm only joking." "If I remember correctly, making deals with souls for s*x is a pretty heavy crime these days. Punishable by death, isn't that right Reaper?" Athena smirked. Reaper snarled angrily. "Putting your nose in places it doesn't belong is a crime in my book, you'd better step lightly if you want to keep your secrets in the dark." Athena hissed. "Is that a threat?" Reaper smirked. "You tell me, how many skeletons are you hiding in your closet?" Jack took a step forward.  "Maybe you should get to that vessel like you were told to do, you wouldn't want to be breaking any laws would you Reaper?" Reaper glared at Jack. "Practice what you preach, Jack." He growled. "The Council wouldn't be very happy if they knew you were having second thoughts at the very start of a vessel's torment. It's bad for business." Reaper smirked. Jack narrowed his eyes but didn't reply. Reaper turned away from them and made his way to the reflection that held his vessel.  He held his disfigured hand over the water and the clear surface began to ripple and glow. Reaper smirked and took a step away from the water as it slowly rose up from the earth. Reaper glanced over his shoulder at Jack and Athena. "Try not to waste too much time you two. A dead soul is a lost cause." He chuckled before stepping into the bright light and dissolving into the rush of the water. The bright glowing liquid suddenly shot up from the earth and raced towards the pitch-black sky like a rocket. When the water hit the surface of the sky it exploded with an earth-shaking crack of lightning and set the sky ablaze for a split second before a deafening silence took its place. Jack sighed and once again set his gaze on the reflection of the soul he was ordered to save. Athena came and stood next to him, briefly placing her hand on his shoulder. "Don't let them bring you down like this Jack, you're better than that." She said softly, giving his shoulder a quick squeeze before walking to her portal in the earth. Athena knelt down and gently touched the surface of the water, watching as it rippled beneath her fingertip. She stood up and glanced back at Jack as the glowing water rose from the earth. Jack watched her as she placed herself into the light and slowly dissolved into it before being shot into the clouds. There was another explosion as the bright light hit the surface and cracked like lightning. The silence that followed wrapped itself around Jack as he gazed up at the sky, but it didn't last long. Movement in the shadows grabbed his attention as two young girls came racing out of the shadows, the eldest holding the youngest's hand. At first, he didn't recognize them until the oldest of the pair made brief eye contact with him. He recognized Athena's daughter immediately. "Alienia wait!" Jack called out to the eldest girl but she didn't hear him. Jack watched as Alienia touched the surface of the water, stepped away while it rose from the earth, picked her little sister up in her arms and jumped into the light. In a matter of seconds, they were gone, shooting towards the sky into the next world where their vessel would be waiting for them. Jack clenched his fist. "Damn it." He cursed. He looked around in the shadows, where were the others? Time was beginning to run out. The wind was gusting and changing direction every few moments making it difficult not to stumble. Jack waited a few more moments in the chaos before growling under his breath and removing his blade from his belt and stabbing through the surface of the water. The light shattered like glass but rose from the earth like the others. Jack reached out his gloved hand towards the light and watched as his hand and arm began to dissolve into the light. He cast a swift glance over his shoulder at the sound of someone running through the shadows but it was too late. The light grabbed hold of him and pulled him into the water. "Help!" A woman cried out in the darkness. Jack looked up ahead of him as he was shot towards the sky at incredible speed. Clenching his fist and gritting his teeth, Jack glared at the sky as it came closer and closer. A low growl started deep within his throat and turned into a roar as the water hit the surface of the sky and exploded with lightning.  The noise was deafening. "Help!" The woman cried out again as she broke through the trees, her gold dress tearing as a branch with thorns grabbed hold of it.  She turned in circles as she searched for a way out. Her breathing was ragged, her eyes darted in every direction until she saw the little girl in the reflection of the water closest to her. The woman reached her hand into the water and watched as it climbed up her arm like a snake wrapping around her. "Hurry... Hurry!" She whispered urgently.  She glanced around her and jumped as the shadow that had been chasing her came closer and closer to the trees she had escaped from. A branch snapped making the woman jump up and step backwards into the water as it wrapped around her body. The woman reached her hand out towards the shadows. "No... please!" She cried out. In the split second the water took to incase her and shoot towards the sky an arrow was released in her direction, breaking through the water and stabbing into her chest and taking her breath away. The blinding light flashed and the explosion in the sky as the water hit the surface shook the earth below. The monster in the shadows backed away silently as another soul broke through the trees, racing to the final portal that would take it to the last vessel in need. The light shot into the sky and exploded as it broke through the realm. The storm raged violently for just a few more moments before it finally died down. The wind relaxed, the clouds lost their darkness and drifted away slowly. The thunder faded and the smell of rain went with it. All that was left was silence and remains of the storm, empty holes in the earth where tainted water had been.
Free reading for new users
Scan code to download app
Facebookexpand_more
  • author-avatar
    Writer
  • chap_listContents
  • likeADD