Illumination

Chapter Two

The darkness that surrounded him was eerily quiet. The sounds made by the panicked students had suddenly ceased. That was certainly not a good sign. Perhaps this was too much for one Paladin to handle. Samuel sighed. Absurd. Perhaps the vile taint surrounding him was affecting his thoughts.

It was like bathing in filth and Samuel wished to finish this mission as fast as possible. The darkness could hide nothing from his eyes and the corruption could not taint his soul. That did not mean that he was comfortable in this putrid hellscape.

No decent man could be.

Walking upon such desecrated ground was a job hazard that had accepted when he had taken up the cause of the Church. Someone had to do it.

"In the face of your enemies, in the face of harassment, ridicule, and doubt, you held firm in your faith. Even in your abandonment, alone and without friends, you held firm in your faith. Even as you faced your own mortality, you held firm in your faith. I pray that I may be as bold in my beliefs as you, St. Joan. I ask that you ride alongside me in my own battles. Help me be mindful that what is worthwhile can be won when I persist. Help me hold firm in my faith. Help me believe in my ability to act well and wisely. Amen."

Samuel could feel the strength of the holy warrior maiden envelop him like a protective cocoon as he prepared to wage war against enemies of the Holy Church.

First, as he had told the mages, he would need to find them. The devil's agents always worked for their master's cause secretively like thieves who hid in the darkness of night to avoid being seen. They dreaded the light. They were terrified by the prospect of being exposed. The servants of the beast were cowards and on some level they understood the depravity of what they did. They hid in the darkness to avoid judgement.

But His judgement could not be avoided. The light would find them. And for unrepentant servants of evil there would be no mercy.

Samuel had not detected the use of magic from his targets after the barrier had gone up. The only sorcery he had sensed since had turned out to be unrelated, not affiliated with the coven he was after. Like he had said the elimination of his list of targets was more important than anything else. Low level targets whose elimination had not been approved by the Church's leadership were not worth wasting his time on.

He was working on his own and would have to continue doing so now that he was cut off from the outside world. It was more important than ever to focus on his assigned task and ignore factors outside the parameters of that task.

What was this coven doing? As far as Samuel knew the Church had no record of a coven ever performing a ritual like this one. And the records went back quite far into ancient history. Was this some kind of summoning? What were they attempting to summon that required the creation of so much dark energy? According to what Samuel knew about the dark arts a ritual like this one required sacrifices. Tributes offered to the Father of Lies to barter for his cursed power.

To create so much dark energy would take several sacrifices. Was that what had happened to the missing students and staff? How many had died when the barrier went up? How big was the barrier? Was there only one barrier? Unfortunately Samuel had no way of finding answers to these questions without finding a member of the coven to interrogate.

Now where would he find one?

Then as if summoned by the thought a figure dropped down from above and landed on its feet with catlike grace. It was a boy who looked like he was one of the students. He looked to be in that age range. Which didn't necessarily mean that he was in Samuel's experience. The boy was wearing the school uniform. Which supported the theory that he was a student at this school. Unless he was wearing the uniform to make people think that for some reason.

The boy was not one that Samuel recognised from the list but he was suspicious.

Samuel was starting to think that his information was lacking.

"Hey." The boy said. "You work for the church don't you?"

"I do." Samuel replied.

The boy had short black hair that was cut in the military style and eyes that were bright amber and seemed to be glowing.

"And you're supposed to be afraid under the circumstances. Yet you appear entirely calm and unconcerned. As if you know what is happening."

"Good point." The boy said and shrugged. "And you're looking at me as if you can see me. I guess it's true that the darkness can't hide you from the eyes of a paladin."

"And why would you need to hide?"

"Maybe I value solitude." The boy said. "Maybe I don't like people. Maybe I'm shy." The boy shrugged again. "Who knows?"

"I'm assuming that that is a rhetorical question and skip the obvious answer."

The boy frowned in confusion.

"Never mind." Samuel said. "It does not matter. You clearly know something and you are going to share that knowledge."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because you want to live." Samuel said.

"Is that a threat?" The boy asked.

"Yes, it is. I do not know who or what you are but I am starting to think that you are worthy of my attention."

"Me?" The boy asked. "Hardly. I'm not that special. I'm no one important. I'm just some kid."

"Trust not the words of those who serve the Father of Lies." Samuel said. "Believe not the lies of the wicked."

"That's hardly fair." The boy objected. "I haven't given you a reason to call me a liar. What are you basing your assessment of my moral character on?"

"Where are the others?" Samuel asked.

"Who?" The boy asked.

"It does not appear that you are willing to give up your secrets." Samuel said.

"I haven't said that." The boy said. "Maybe I should introduce myself."

The boy extended his hand. Which Samuel ignored.

"I won't give you my real name but you can have my code name. No one alive knows my true name and I prefer to keep it that way. Professionally I go by the name of Reaper. I have been referred to as Jack the Ripper as well. I would say that I am a mercenary while others consider me to be a depraved killer. A rapid beast. It's unfortunate that so many do not appreciate or understand efficiency or professional pride."

"Pitiful excuses." Samuel said. "A killer is a killer."

"An amusing statement coming from a paladin." Reaper said. "You work in the same profession."

"Do not compare me to someone like you." Samuel said.

"Like you said." Reaper said. "A killer is a killer. We have a variety of reasons for doing what we do. But ultimately we're all the same. We're predators and they're prey. It's simple."

"A typical worldview for a servant of evil." Samuel said.

"Why do you talk like they do?" Reaper asked. "Good and evil are words used by the prey to chain us, to enslave us to their world of useless sentimentalities. The prey can't beat us so they cut our fangs and muzzle us. They bind us with their pretty words and their laws. They deny us the reality of who we are. This is not how the world should be. The strong should rule and the weak should perish. That is the prime law of nature."

At this point Samuel decided that this conversation served no purpose. He had discovered the nature of the man who stood before him. This depraved beast pure evil.

"I see that this discussion has reached its end." Reaper said. "A shame."

Samuel sensed a burst of magic and Reaper was enveloped by darkness and vanished. As he vanished he said. "We'll do this later. I don't currently have time."

"Coward." Samuel muttered. He could no longer see or sense the man anymore. He appeared to be gone. Samuel continued to explore the dark building.