Although the soft moonlight dulled the piercing hum of the sunstones, Ipos still found difficulty in distinguishing his hallucinations from reality. He closed his eyes, trying to find a small bit of peace while the evanescent moon still gave him the strength. He could see a small, beautiful woman kneeling in the middle of a glistening snow-covered field, her long white hair cascading around her. A moonbeam shone on her, giving her fair skin a soft glow. She held a small, dark bundle in her arms. 'Snow Lily.' Despair filled his heart whenever he thought of her.

  A thunderous crash pulled him from his spiraling thoughts. He looked to the door and wondered who would be visiting him this late. Bruised and beaten, Keshiema stood in the open doorway. Her breath came in ragged short hiccups, and blood from her wounded arm fell to the floor in a steady drip. As she stumbled into the room, she called out to him. "Damien, help me." She collapsed in his arms the moment she reached him. "Damien, I feel so cold." She whispered, closing her eyes.

  A fly buzzed past his ear and landed on her bloody hand. "Kesh, please, don't surrender to the darkness, you can rest later." The fly flew around his head again, lingering a bit longer before resting on her hand once more.

  "Damien, I can't do it anymore. I need to go now. Someone else can take the sword."

  "Keshiema, please!" he begged, leaning in to rest his forehead on hers. "I can't lose you again." The fly buzzed around his head again, bringing several others with it. As the buzzing grew louder, he lost his thoughts. A small ray of sunlight pierced through the gap in his curtains. He stared at the light as the buzzing grew into a hum. Looking down into his arms, he watched Keshiema fade away. Tears streamed down his face as he looked around his room. The dull gray walls warped into yellow and orange crystals as his furniture disappeared before his eyes. The rising sun gave the sunstones an eerie glow as they absorbed its strength, weakening him further in both body and mind.

  The door to his cell creaked open, and Sonneillon floated in. "You look horribly pathetic sitting there on your knees. It's like you're begging for mercy. You deserve this, you know. You should have left her alone. I'm serious. Things would have been over much sooner for her if you had. You not only delayed the inevitable, but you prolonged her suffering. The tears she sheds every summer solstice for the family she lost that night... It was almost painful to watch. I'm glad I don't have a face, because I'm sure I would have smiled at her pain. Not that she told me what she was sad about - she did not trust many people with that information.

  "So you want to know how I knew? After all, I didn't have names when I killed those human families. I knew because of the way you looked over her. I knew because every time another student so much as looked at her wrong, they would have night terrors for days. When I discovered that, I dug as deep as I could into her past. She went to that orphanage only two days after you escaped from Nergal's prison. That seemed rather suspicious.

  "So I befriended her. Gained her trust and loyalty. It's going to make my victory so much sweeter when I see the heartbreak of my betrayal in those big, sad eyes of hers. And it's all your fault. If you'd have left her alone that night, she would have been taken away before having to witness any of it. She would still know the pain of total loss and complete loneliness, but at least she would be amiss the trauma of seeing her sister's rapidly decaying body."

  Ipos stared at the sunstone floor in silence. His body ached from being chained for weeks. His heart was heavy and weak with sorrow. He had no strength left to fight. As Sonneillon left, slamming the door behind him, Ipos felt a small presence begin to form. The soft scent of lilacs filled the room. He looked up to see Keshiema leaning nonchalantly against the dungeon door. "He's right, you know. You do look pathetic, I'm worse off for knowing you, and all you've ever done is hurt others." Closing his eyes, Ipos did his best to ignore her words. As her flowery aura faded away, the hum of the sunstones grew louder.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  ***

  Sonneillon greeted Nergal as he entered the war room. "I have returned from the dungeon sir. The sunstones are outperforming our highest expectations."

  Nergal stared at his map of Denim, his eyes fixated on the academy. "The King is wary of me. My use of his messenger seems to have been discovered. Furthermore, I have been unable to contact Phoradendron in weeks."

  "Is it wise to trust him, sir? He has never shown any true allegiance to our cause. Besides, we already have Ipos. I am sure the Hell-Child will attempt to rescue him."

  Nergal sighed heavily. "And how is she supposed to find out I have him?" Sonneillon knew not to answer. Nergal pieced the puzzle together. Only one viable option remained for him to get Keshiema. "You're right; Phoradendron should not be trusted. I need someone who has the Hell-Child's trust already. You must go back to the campus and inform her of Ipos's capture."

  "Yes, sir." Sonneillon let go of his shape and slipped beneath the closed window. While less precise than his upright form, the amorphous state allowed him to navigate swiftly through the city. Not wanting to alarm the sentinels, he found a blind spot in the lineup to enter the campus.

  After checking the cafeteria, Sonneillon drifted to the dormitory. Carefully avoiding students, he crept through the dorm's common areas. Slipping through an open window in a hallway, he floated his way to her balcony to find her now-empty room. Growing frustrated with his fruitless efforts, Sonneillon headed for the Great Temple.

  Treading on the Elders' domain was a risk he did not want to take. As he clung to the shadows, he noticed Prince Stolas nearing the doorway. Carefully timing his approach to avoid discovery, Sonneillon slid through the door just before it closed. As soon as he entered the Great Temple, he moved to the ceiling. Unaware of Sonneillon's presence, Stolas made his way to the war room. Once inside, Sonneillon clung to the wall behind the corner desk and listened intently.

  "Ah, Alex, it's great that you've come." Samael's deep voice sent a chill through Sonneillon. "I need you're expertise in Astronomy. I believe I have a way to open a gate to the King's Stronghold, but the stars have to be in the right position for the gate to open."

  "Is that why you called me here? Where's Merihim?"

  "Hmm? I didn't call you here, and Merihim has been bed-ridden since Keshiema left."

  "Ayperos sent me to you. He claimed you both needed to speak with me."

  Samael's eyes narrowed. "I have not spoken with Ayperos today."

  "First Keshiema runs off and now Ayperos is lying? What the hell is going on!" Stolas shouted as he slammed the door open and left the room. Samael followed, trailed by Sonneillon.

  "We'll find Keshiema. Uvall says she is fated to meet the Davis siblings and then she will return home."

  As he walked down the hallway, Stolas's anger showed in his aura. The crimson tendrils whipped around, striking the air haphazardly. "I don't care what Uvall says. I want to find her before she meets with them. They're too dangerous."

  "Alex, you need to calm down."

  Turning around to glare at Samael, Stolas caught a glimpse of a shadow down the hallway. "We are not alone. There seems to be a mist demon following us." He whispered.

  Sonneillon knew at once he'd been spotted. He needed to get the new information to Nergal. 'Well, if I give them time to plan, I'm more likely to be killed,' he thought as he bolted towards the demon princes. Keeping a serpentine motion down the corridor to make estimating his next position more difficult, Sonneillon concentrated on getting past Samael. Stolas posed a much smaller threat than the Reaper. One touch from Samael would dissipate him.

  As he closed in on the demons, he pushed himself to go faster. Samael clawed at the mist demon. The small increase in speed threw off Samael's timing just enough for Sonneillon to squeeze by unscathed. He was not, however, as lucky when passing by Stolas. The Crown Prince drew a white gold dagger and swiftly sliced at the mist. Sonneillon felt the pain throughout his form, but pushed through it.

  As he reached the edge of the Academy, he found the guards on high alert. 'The high prince must have used his telepathy to alert the guards. No matter.' Sonneillon squeezed through the sentry guards and zipped through the woods separating the academy from the disorganized streets of the city.

  As he slipped through the window of Nergal's war room, Sonneillon took back his true form, bowing at Nergal's feet. Parts of his dark mist turned a light gray as he struggled to send the words. "Sir...I have some things to tell you."