The Light And Shadow Chronicles - Books 1-3

Prologue

Golden leaves crunched underfoot as two figures strode through the deserted woodlands at the edge of Meraxor, the territory of the Brotherhood of Shadow.

Golden leaves crunchedThe smaller figure, Vincent Wilder, trailed at the back with his arms crossed over his uniform, a pristine grey tunic with a black symbol of a phoenix nestled inside a flame. His eyes were dark and shaded, and a frown creased his forehead. He kicked aside twigs and stones, trying to keep his nerves under control and maintain the composure that had earned him his role as the leader of his people.

The large, imposing figure that walked beside him made no sound at all, its feet silently padding across the crisp forest floor. It wore no clothes except for a long black cloak with a deep hood that obscured the area where its face should have been.

The forest was cool, even for a late autumn evening, and the frosted air planted sharp kisses on Vincent"s face. His companion, the Bavelize, didn"t feel the cold; it had no skin to pucker in the freezing air and no bloodstream to pump colour into wind-kissed cheeks. The creature"s hands were not made of skin or bone but thick, turbulent smoke, swirling and rippling, roughly gathered in the shape of fingers.

Vincent had left the city behind him over an hour ago, winding through the dense, uninhabited forest. When he was far enough away from their civilization to be sure they wouldn"t pass another soul, he had called to the Bavelize. It had appeared from the ether, as it always did—materializing from nothing to stand beside him. They had continued their journey together in silence, with Vincent praying that what he was about to do wasn"t a catastrophic mistake. The Bavelize stopped suddenly in the middle of the leafy trail.

“Here,” it said in a quiet, ethereal voice that reverberated around the woods, coming from all directions at once.

“Here? Are you sure this is the place?” Vincent looked around for distinguishing features, but this patch of forest looked the same as every patch they"d walked by for the last hour.

The Bavelize didn"t respond. It turned slowly to face him with the swirling, undulating mass of smoke that made up its face. Vincent quickly looked to the ground. Despite its lack of eyes, the Bavelize stared directly at him.

“What will you do now?” Vincent asked, his voice wavering.

By way of response, the Bavelize began to move its smoky hands back and forth, fingers working away, plucking the strings of an invisible guitar. It raised its arms, reaching up high into the air and back down again, then sweeping over to one side and starting again. After five minutes of no success and no explanation, Vincent grew impatient.

“Clearly this can"t be the right place.”

“It"s here,” the disembodied voice echoed. “This is where the barrier is weak.”

“Barrier?” Vincent questioned, but the Bavelize had returned to rhythmically waving its hands in the air. If it had been anybody else, any human, it would have looked ridiculous, but somehow the Bavelize"s ethereal digits working so frantically was eerie and intimidating.

The Bavelize froze, the billowing fingers of its right hand held aloft. It brought its left hand up to meet it and gently pried at something in the air. Scratching, delicate little finger movements, prying apart something stuck closely together. Its fingers worked faster and faster, into a grey, swirling blur, pulling at the unseen stitching. Vincent frowned and moved in to look more closely.

A line appeared, a thin c***k which hung mid-air. Vincent gaped as the Bavelize stretched and tugged at the widening slit. Vincent caught a glimpse of something through the c***k. Another forest. The trees were in exactly the same place as the trees on Vincent"s side of the barrier, but they were twisted and charred, burned to a crisp long ago by the scorching heat. Now they were merely skeletal trunks, the remains of a forest, a woodland graveyard.

Vincent stared, amazed, as the Bavelize forced the stitching between the dimensions open with a rip three metres high, the tattered edges flitting between their dimension and the one that lay beyond. A gust of stifling hot air swept out from the frayed gateway, and Vincent turned away to prevent his skin being singed. The breath caught in his throat as a surge of sulphuric gas billowed from the gap. He took a step backwards and covered his mouth with both hands, trying not to gag on the foul stench.

The Bavelize faced him with its featureless visage unreadable. “I shall return with the soldiers you need to win this war.”

“Wait! What is that?” Vincent"s eyes were wide with shock and fear. He had known the Bavelize was fetching him some soldiers, but he hadn"t asked where from. His stomach churned as he risked another glance in the direction of the gateway. Scorching heat flared up at him and he had to look away again. It was freezing cold in the forest. This tear in reality was impossible. He could already guess the terrifying answer, but he asked the question anyway, with his heart pounding,

“What is that place?”

“You know it as Hell,” the Bavelize replied. Then it stepped through the gateway and into the other world.

This dimension was the same as the Human Realm—identical terrain and natural features, rock formations rising in the same areas, lakes and streams running the same course. But the rivers in Hell ran with molten fire, sizzling and searing across the barren landscape.

The stifling heat had no effect on the Bavelize"s ethereal form, and it wandered through the blistering air unscathed, where humans would have turned to ash in an instant. It walked through the burnt and barren forest until the charred trunks and branches gave way to a vast plain known in the Human Realm as the Holy Lands. The Holy Lands were covered in lush grass in the humans" world, but here the terrain was dusty, and grainy red sand blew around the Bavelize"s feet. It cast its eyes across the land and saw roaming demons, flying alone or in packs, their wings flapping in the sweltering dry air.

Some demons were immense—three or four times the size of the average human; some were tiny and flickered through the sky like birds. One, a tiny, gnarled demon with teeth that protruded far beyond its withered jaws, flew past the Bavelize and stared at it with hostile yellow eyes.

The Bavelize pulled its hood back to reveal its head, the turbulent smoke ever-changing, flowing, maintaining the vague shape of a human skull. The demon recognised the faceless shape instantly. It gave a low hiss, and with a great flap of its leathery wings, it took off at great speed, hurtling across the barren wasteland.

The Bavelize watched the demon disappear over the dusty horizon until its attention was caught by a maniacal cackling. The cackling came from an immense, hulking creature with staggeringly bright colours screaming for attention from bizarre angular points jutting from his body.

He leant down until his triangular scarlet eyes were level with the Bavelize. “To what do we owe this pleasure?” His voice was melodic, a childlike sing-song, irregular tones changing continuously, like the voices of a hundred people speaking at the same time.

“Thanatos—I trust you are guarding this realm well in my absence.”

Thanatos gave a deep booming laugh before answering in a low baritone. “Never a demon out of place, Master.”

“Good.”

“What can we do to help you?” His voice shifted to a long slow drawl with a sarcastic drift to its words.

“I need soldiers. I want four commanders for the Human Realm.”

Thanatos straightened to his full impressive height, and his voice took on a stiff intensity. “Take them to the Human Realm? You can"t. They can"t be removed from Hell, their souls are tied to the very fabric of this world—you imposed that rule, Master. You should know they can"t leave.”

“I am aware,” the Bavelize replied, “but I imposed those restrictions to prevent your kind from freely roaming the Human Realm and killing people at whim. I choose now to sever the bonds of a select few to help my cause.”

Thanatos"s voice returned to high-pitched and jovial. “I don"t like it. You made me guardian of Hell to watch out for our kind. Taking my demons from their realm breaks every law of the land. No good can come of it.”

“Those laws are mine to break, Thanatos. I can always find another Guardian…”

Thanatos laughed uproariously, “Then take your pick, Master. I"m sure every demon here would relish the chance to take the power of Hell to the Human Realm.”

The Bavelize gave no hesitation. “I need Phantom, Anubis, Malla and Anathema.”

“Anathema?” Thanatos leant in again and whispered conspiratorially, “Are you sure? He"s just a baby. Wouldn"t Fenrir be better? He is strong.”

The Bavelize shook its smoky head, leaving a grey trail in the air. “Anathema possesses the sadism and cruelty I need for this mission. The last time he walked the Human Realm, his path was littered with slaughtered humans. That"s what I need again.”

Thanatos"s voice changed to a gravelly, hoarse drone. “On your head be it.” He turned from the Bavelize and reached behind his back to one of the immense orange spikes that covered his spine. Yanking the pointed flesh aside, he revealed a small instrument that looked like a bugle. Bringing it up to his thin lips, he blew into the device and a deafening, shrill tone cascaded across Hell. Every demon within the realm froze and turned to stare in Thanatos"s direction.

Thanatos took a colossal breath and spoke, his voice impossibly loud: “Phantom, Anubis, Malla, Anathema—you have been called.”

Anathema approached first, his gangly ghoulish form sprouting shredded, leathery wings that flapped in gentle ripples. He hovered just above the ground with his razor sharp yellow claws scraping across the dusty surface. There was a sly, malicious glint in his narrow eyes, and he tapped his fingers together in nervous excitement. As he landed in front of the Bavelize, his joints clicked, making his shoulders and knees jut out at awkward angles. With an amused, lopsided grin, he clicked the bones back into place.

Anubis and Malla came together. Malla"s smooth, rich skin and dark human-like features gave her an intense look, and her piercing eagle eyes flashed as she weighed up the Bavelize, questioning his motives. Anubis"s hulking wolf-like body lumbered beside her. He was nearly twice her size and could have crushed her skull with one colossal fist, but he lacked the initiative to do anything besides follow orders, and he dutifully trudged by her side, bound by her manipulative power.

There was a whoosh of wings and a surge of heat as Phantom landed before the Bavelize. His huge figure was engulfed in searing flames and his eyes burned like torches. In his enormous fiery hand, he clutched a flaming sword, dripping with molten lava. His feet slammed into the ground next to Anathema, and he jabbed at the small demon with his elbow, sending him reeling to the ground. Anathema leapt to his feet with a great flap of his wings and snarled at Phantom with his sharp teeth bared, but he kept his distance.

The Bavelize looked them over, pleased with his choices as Thanatos addressed them in a whisper.

“The master calls you. Heed his word and follow his rules,” he hissed threateningly.

The Bavelize glided forward. “I need you in the Human Realm.”

All four demons" faces lit up with malicious delight. The hulking, menacing form of Anubis shuddered with pleasure. “Are we to purge their realm again, Master?”

The Bavelize shook his head. “Not this time, Anubis. You will be bound to serve a human—a great leader of men.”

Phantom"s fiery eyes glowed with indignation. “We take orders from no human.”

“You take orders from him or you come home…”

Beside Anubis, Phantom hissed with anger and defiance flashed in his burning eyes, but he made no response.

The Bavelize continued, “These are your terms: When addressing humans, you speak to them in their tongue. The language of Hell is not theirs to hear—it stays in our realm. You answer to the human, Vincent Wilder. You will take whatever human disguise you are given. You kill when and who Vincent tells you. Start rampaging and you"ll be brought back. Disobey Vincent and you"ll be brought back.” The Bavelize leaned forwards and with a disconcerting growl added, “Disappoint me and you"ll be brought back.”

The Bavelize stepped up to Malla first and held its hand in the air in front of her chest. It flexed its smoky fingers back and forth, weaving an intricate pattern before her. Streaks of black flickered behind the digits, tracing a pattern that faded gradually as the air swept it away. Its hands moved more quickly as it tore at the seal that bonded her soul to the realm. With a final flick of its wrist, the pattern it had traced glowed blinding red, then shattered into a myriad pieces and the bond was severed. A smile slowly crept across her lips as she felt the restrictions lift.

The Bavelize passed in front of each of the demons, performing the same ritual and tearing their souls from the contract that had them confined to Hell for eternity. When the Bavelize had finished, it took a step back and looked each demon over carefully, weighing up their strengths. Drawing upon the vast reserves of energy that swirled within its smoky core, it fashioned disguises made of human skin, bone and organs.

As it crafted a design for each demon"s human form, it spoke to them.

“These synthetic disguises are made of human tissue, and to the humans in their realm, you will look exactly as one of them. They can easily be repaired, and any damage you sustain in human form will only be temporary. They are realistic, and the humans will never know when they are in the presence of a demon. However, you must be careful not to break the skin of your disguise. No blood flows through this replica flesh, only ash. Blood is a true human element that I cannot replicate. Also, while you may be invincible in human form, if you break out of it to access your demon form, and the strength and power that comes with it, you can be harmed again.”

The Bavelize finished crafting the intricate disguises. Each human form was designed to match the attributes of the demon, made to complement their abilities but also made to be appealing to the specific humans they would need to convince.

The Bavelize marched the demons in their new human forms back across the arid plains and to the charred woods where the tear between dimensions awaited. They each passed through, emerging in the Human Realm, sucking in deep mouthfuls of the cool, crisp freedom.

The Bavelize passed through last, and with a wave of its hand sealed the gate seamlessly. It looked up to find Phantom growling threateningly at Vincent. His human disguise was far smaller than his impressive demonic form, but he still stood over six and a half feet tall and towered above Vincent. Vincent didn"t back down. He held his ground and with strong, dark eyes, matched Phantom"s stare.

“These are your new soldiers, Vincent. They must obey your commands or be sent back to Hell,” the Bavelize said quietly.

Vincent dragged his eyes away from his confrontation with Phantom.

“Understood,” he said assertively, but the Bavelize had vanished, leaving nothing but a trail of smoky residue in its place.