Augur of Shadows Page 12

  Henri rushed towards the potential exit when he heard the utterance of another noise. He stopped to check out the source of the noise, but he still didn’t see anything. Henri brushed the noise off in order to continue to the light. The glimmer only became clearer the closer that he got to it.

  Henri saw that the glimmer was an actual place, and the place resembled a desert.

  “Oh, finally!” His motivation was refreshed with the potential to get out of the dark place.

  He resumed his pursuit of the glimmer, feeling relieved that he might have found a way out. Henri was about to reach the glimmer when he was thrown up into the air and slammed into the ground; the sound of bone breaking echoed throughout the area.

  “My arm.” He screamed, holding the dangling, broken arm.

  Henri’s vision became blurry as his head impacted the earth. He felt something cold and dark grab him by the waist, and it dragged him across the ground.

  He lay there, feeling nothing but pain accumulating over his entire body. The darkness made the experience worse since he could see from where the attack had initiated. Henri’s hope depleted as time progressed; he believed that he was going to die here.

  He smelled the scent of his blood on his clothes. Henri screamed out in pain, but the nothingness covered his screams, striking terror into Henri’s psyche.

  He once again prayed for the blue light to reappear, so he could confront what attacked him. Henri knew that he would die if he couldn’t summon enough strength to fight back.

  Henri pulled himself off the ground, readying himself for another potential attack. He knew that the only way to survive was to get to the desert. He slowly limped towards the light, wishing that he’d stayed home.

  The desert formulated inside the glimmer, revealing to Henri that it was, in fact, an exit. He was excited to see his escape, so he rushed toward it. The closer he got to the exit, the more Henri heard the essence of sound again.

  “Almost there!” Henri fought against giving up. He had to escape. The pain became excruciating, and he didn’t think that he’d make it out alive.

  Henri heard the sound of something massive approaching. The mass created minor seismic quakes, forcing Henri back to the ground. He fell on his broken arm, screaming out in pain.

  He had no strength to get back onto his feet. Henri was ready to give up all hope - especially when he knew something was leaning over him. He felt a very dark presence sniffing his motionless body.

  The massive presence slowly wrapped itself around Henri’s body. He wanted to struggle, but he had no strength. He closed his eyes thinking not seeing his killer would make his death somehow easier.

  “Child, open your eyes!” Henri forced his eyes open, seeing a bright, heavenly light shine in what he thought was the darkest skies.

  “Hello?”

  “Henri, get up. Now!” The light shone down from the skies, knocking Henri’s mystery attacker from his body.

  “I can’t move.” He lay on the ground, soaking up the light’s waves. Henri noticed that the light wasn’t only lighting the way for him, but it was also giving him enough energy to get to the portal.

  He slowly crept back onto his feet, scanning the area for his attacker, but he could only see the area that was in this new light’s radius.

  Henri turned swiftly to make his way to the doorway to the desert, thanking whoever was helping him. He was ascending toward the threshold of the doorway when the something lunged out of the shadows and grabbed Henri by his neck.

  He came face-to-face with his attacker, locking eyes with the creature from his nightmares. Henri stared into the eyes of the monster that had killed Tim Stevenson and devoured a father and his children.

  The creature strengthened its grip on Henri’s throat, bringing him to the brink of a blackout. He attempted to free himself, but the creature’s grip was far too strong.

  A channel of golden light struck the earth behind the creature and Henri, freeing Henri from the monster’s grip.

  “Henri, get going!” A figure materialized from the channel of energy, revealing the archangel Metatron.

  “Metatron?” Henri was relieved to see the heavenly member.

  “Henri, there’s no time for pleasantries!” Metatron laminated the entire area with his holy aura, and the radiant light blew half of the creature’s body to pieces. The sight of the creature’s remains horrified Henri.

  “You will leave now, Henri.”

  “I can’t leave you here. It’s still alive!” Henri saw the doorway only a few feet away.

  “I’ll take care of this abomination!” Metatron motioned to Henri to step through to the other side of the doorway.

  “I’ll see you on the other side.” Henri stepped through the portal, landing in a new place. He glanced through the doorway to make sure Metatron escaped the dark place, but he didn’t leave.

  “Metatron!” Henri tried to get his attention, but his voice didn’t break through to the other side. Henri stood frozen, watching an era-aged war continue.

  Henri wanted to run back through the portal to help Metatron, but he wasn’t able to move.

  “Metatron! Let me help you!” His deep desire to help Metatron gave rise to his mysterious force complete with his glyphs.

  Break.

  One word appeared in Henri’s mind. Following that, a glyph appeared in his mind, bringing forth his power. Henri directed the glyph’s power at the barrier that Metatron had created. The glyph destroyed the barrier.

  Seeing that the barrier was gone, Henri decided to get back to the Dark Place. He peered inside to see the battle raging between an archangel and an ancient creature.

  Metatron sensed that Henri was free of his spell, so he turned to make sure that he didn’t reenter the Dark Place.

  “No, Henri. Don’t come back in here.” Metatron demanded that Henri stay in the safe zone.

  The creature used Metatron’s distraction to his advantage when he vanished behind him. Metatron wasn’t fast enough to guard himself when the creature lunged its sharp claws into Metatron’s back.

  Henri had horrible flashbacks of Tim and the family from the future. The creature screeched in victory as it devoured an archangel. Seeing Metatron’s look of surprise and defeat would forever leave an impression on Henri’s mind.

  Henri stood frozen as he watched one of the major celestial members being devoured right in front of him. Metatron lost his celestial, golden glow, and his feathers wilted.

  In his last attempt to aid Henri, Metatron used the last of his magic to close the portal, preventing the creature from following Henri. The portal grew smaller with each second. Metatron’s body turned into dust, leaving only his soul spark; the creature leaped on his essence, and it devoured the last remaining sign of Metatron’s existence.

  Henri’s entire world came crashing down the moment he saw the creature defeat one of the most powerful archangels that Heaven had ever known. He lost every ounce of hope in his body, and he had no desire to control.

  “If Metatron couldn’t stop this thing, how can I?” Henri backed away from the portal. The existence of the Dark Place became less of a concern, seeing how the only way to it was closing.

  The creature noticed the portal was closing, and it changed direction to get to Henri. He didn’t care if the creature got to him; he had no hope left. He believed that all hope had died with Metatron.

  Henri fell to his knees, weeping for the true fallen angel. He didn’t understand Metatron’s sacrifice, but he was still glad that he had stepped in to assist him.

  “How am I to do any of this? Metatron couldn’t even stop one of them?” Henri uttered into the air, knowing that no one was left to listen to him.

  The feelings of loneliness and despair overwhelmed Henri, erasing any sign of happiness or hope, and without hope, Henri didn’t see much point in continuing on his current path.

  He found it different to forget the last few seconds of Metatron’s existence. Unfortunately, Henri couldn
’t shake the sensations of the creature ripping Metatron’s soul from his body, leaving an imprint on his memory. He wished that he had the time to mourn the loss of a mentor. But Henri knew that Metatron wasn’t going to be the last casualty in this era-aged war.

  CHAPTER 20

  This latest mysterious place’s climate wasn’t recognizable to Henri, and the opposing environmental influences only confused him further. He tried to gather his bearings, but it was difficult because of the vastness of the desert made it appear endless and incredibly daunting.

  Off in the distance, there were numerous soaring pillars, resembling the pyramids of Old Egypt. They were sporadically placed throughout the land in what appeared to be in non-predetermined locations.

  Henri wandered through the desert hoping to find a sign of anyone else. The heat beat down on him, making his trek problematic with his badly beaten body and a broken arm.

  For hours, Henri unwillingly walked through the temperate land seeking help. The throbbing pain running throughout his body was a constant reminder of his own mortality.

  “Where is everyone?” he shouted.

  He hated being in an unknown place, and his frustration at being stuck in a desert was worsening his spiraling depressive emotions and feelings about Metatron’s death.

  The only benefit that Henri saw in being isolated from everyone was time to sort out his feelings.

  “Oh, Metatron. I’m so sorry.” Henri sat on the warm, graded sand, wiping away the tears that fell for his fallen comrade. He never thought that, at such a young age, he would have to deal with the amount of loss he had experienced.

  His frustrations were becoming too much, so he was elated when he reached one of the pillars that he had seen when he first arrived. An unexpected wave of disorientation overcame him. After ten minutes, he was able to recover, and he sought out its cause.

  With nothing obvious in sight, he decided to investigate the pillar to see if he could guess its origin. He discovered numerous, unrecognizable forms of writing on the pillar. He also realized that the structure was more than just a simple pillar. He didn’t know its exact height, but he knew that it reached far into the sky.

  Henri turned the corner of the pillar, and he found what appeared to be a skull on the ground before him. In shock and awe, he gasped audibly at its sight. The mound of skeletons underneath it reminded him of the dream.

  “What the hell?”

  As he approached the remains, he found a staircase lined with various bones, leading up to what appeared to be the pinnacle of a platform.

  Henri was ascending the steps to explore the top when he noticed that nothing he saw was human. He had no idea where that doorway had brought him.

  Stopping momentarily to pick up a skull from the floor, he felt the texture. The solid, weathered, calcified surfaces of the skull were the same as those that rubbed against the soles of his feet. It forced him to realize that whoever was here, and however had done this, they didn’t play around.

  “Well, I hope that I didn’t upset whoever is here. I mean…I am literally walking on top of thousands of skulls.” On closer inspection, they seemed to be a mixture of human and something else.”

  Henri had quickly become accustomed to having conversations with himself.

  He finally reached the top of the platform, and the only thing that came into view was a beautiful golden throne, much like ones he had seen in books about historical kings and queens.

  The throne itself was in the shape of a golden lotus blossom. Henri could sense it possessed a mysterious force in its infrastructure which held his attention. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t take his eyes off the throne.

  On top of the lotus flower, there was an array of golden cobras with the biggest one in the middle. There was also ancient writing on its outer body along with pictographs, obviously depicting some sort of historic tale.

  Time passed by as Henri tried to understand the stories on the throne. Then, out of complete curiosity, Henri reached his hand out to touch the throne. He felt the platform and pillars tremble forcibly, and he fell to the base of the throne. Nervously, he looked around.

  As Henri turned, he caught sight of a mysterious, cloaked figure, forcing him to pause. He felt a presence exuding from the mysterious guest. They possessed a force of power and importance.

  Henri instinctively knew that he had to show respect or he’d end up like the thousands of others that came before him. He pondered this newcomer’s identity, and after a few minutes, the figure had made its way toward him.

  “Who are you?” Henri’s nerves flared once again.

  “Oh, Pamgibar!” a strong, feminine voice sang into Henri’s ears.

  “What does pamgibar mean?”

  “Child, pamgibar isn’t just a word. It’s a beacon of hope,” she explained to the young seer.

  “I guess that is what I am.” Henri didn’t fancy all of the different terms the spirits used to classify him.

  “Do you know where you are?”

  Henri pondered the right answer, but he was lost. “No, I don’t. Should I?”

  “You’ll become accustomed soon,” she said as she pointed out the entire panoramic scene.

  Henri tamed his fleeting thoughts and focused on the matter at hand.

  “I’m the one who was calling to you.”

  A heavy feeling appeared in Henri’s stomach. He had learned to differentiate a divine presence, and the entity that stood in front of him was divine—a god.

  “I am the one that most people fear. For I am the one who brings the end,” she revealed to Henri.

  She appeared as a wise, powerful woman. Her strength and wisdom pierced every particle of Henri’s being. She appeared as a small Indian woman wearing beautiful Indian garments with blue skin. For a moment, Henri thought that Adhira was in front of him.

  “Adhira?”

  “No, Pamgibar. I am not an Ancestor. Yet, Adhira was an avatar of mine some time ago. However, I am the mother who brings order into this world, and the one who will end everything to save everything. My devotees call me Kali Ma.”

  Henri knew who Kali was. Her name struck fear into all that knew her, yet she inspired those who were not familiar.

  “Now, shall we get to why you are here?” Kali demanded Henri stay on track with her words.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Henri tried to stay calm, but the sheer pressure of her being made him extremely nervous.

  She laughed at the sight of Henri shivering in fear, and she reassured him that she was there for a reason. She told him that she wasn’t there to destroy him. The fate of the entire universe was in his hands, and she couldn’t allow anyone to underestimate the importance of his task.

  “Pamgibar, now is the time to open your ears. Oh, and close that mouth of yours!” Kali waited for Henri to comply with her demands.

  Henri didn’t know how to interact with a deity. The last entity to which he gained an attachment, was recently devoured in front of him. The emotional wounds were still fresh.

  As she spoke her immortal words, he settled into one spot. He stood strong and held a conversation with Kali.

  “You know who you truly are, and you know what your destiny entails?” she asked.

  “Yes, I do,” Henri concurred.

  “As the mother that brings the end when the end is needed, my methodology is quite similar as it is in the heavens.” Kali made circles around the platform. Henri couldn’t fathom the idea of seeing this woman angry enough to destroy an entire world.

  “But, why do you do it? Why end everything?”

  “There comes a point in the multiverse when a world has gone too far off track, and it must restart. It’s all about balance.” Henri wondered if that was why his destiny had been activated - the world was in chaos.

  “So, to undue chaos?”

  “Yes, Henri.” Kali manifested an orb of energy which flashed pictures that were confusing Henri.

  “What are those?” Henri desperately wanted
to know what she was showing him.

  “The end, my child.” Kali uttered her immortal words without a blink of an eye.

  Henri was frozen by the images that she revealed to him. Feelings of loss and despair rushed to the forefront of his mind. He saw images of planets ceasing to exist, starts imploding, and millions upon millions of lives ending.

  “There are many different paths in this world: Christianity, Hinduism, Paganism, Islam… I could go on. Every soul in this multiverse is to evolve. And now, there won’t be any enlightenment if the Old Ones succeed. Christians use the term Apocalypse; others simply use the term “the end”. It is your duty to open these gateways to bring forth your own dance, and I am here to discuss with you what that will entail.”

  “These gateways…what are they?” Henri saw the expression on her face, and he was left with strong, unfriendly feelings.

  “Gateways come in various forms in this. Some gateways are physical ones, whereas some are major, catastrophic events. Your gateways though are one of a kind, Pamgibar.”

  “Oh, great!” Henri was fed up with everything being different. He remembered before when the only thing “different” about him was the fact that he was gay.

  “There are four gateways that you must find and open. In the known history of the universe, these measures have never been required to be implemented before. This situation is quite different because the ones bringing the end…are you and the other Destined.”

  Henri hadn’t heard this name before—Destined. He replayed every interaction that he had had with other entities, but none of them had used the term Destined.

  “There aren’t too many of us left, Henri.” Kali seemed to dislike admitting such a truth to a human.

  “How many are there?”

  “That answer I won’t tell you. It isn’t important.”

  “I feel that it is. I want to know why none of you will take care of this threat.” Henri wanted more answers. He didn’t understand why he and the others had to risk their lives when the “Gods” were just waiting around.