Alive At Crepusculum ✓ [TPL Book One]

XXII

Just before the clocks turned from July to August, Richard sat on a chair in the cellar of his new Koltsland home. A single lightbulb dangled from a string. Across from him was Owen Orem, asleep and not dead, for now, and laying on a blood drawing of a demonic circular gate symbol used to call upon demons. The blood was Owen's and the demon, Marbas, was coming.

The walls and floor began to shake. Owen's body shook violently and twisted in weird ways. With a crack of bones a black spear shot up through his body, penetrating his heart and throat, but there was no blood. Shadows gathered around Owen, crawling to his body, pushing itself in his mouth and taking over his body. Owen's body lifted from the ground and a metallic scent of blood mingled with the scent of burnt flesh. His body twisted and cracked, bones snapped back into place and his head lifted.

When his eyes snapped open, his skin turned black, and his veins were like rivers of lava on charcoal. A mouthful of yellow, razor-sharp teeth gave a sinister smile.

"Who summons me?" came a deep, growling voice. Owen's feet touched the ground but didn't leave the circle gate. "If you will not answer, I—"

"Stand your ground, Marbas," Charcoal growled and emerged from the shadows. Owen's head twitched as Marbas tried to move his head to see.

"Vassago! My honorable prince, my liege." Marbas made Owen bow, bending his body in half, snapping, and cracking more bones while healing them.

Richard scoffed. "Did you do that to me when we first connected, C?" He never saw his own connection and was, truthfully, quite disturbed seeing how a demon was willing to bend the human body in impossible ways.

"It takes a while for a demon to get used to such a physical body and its limitations." Charcoal explained. "It also takes time for the body to get used to a demon and his possibilities."

"Can we trust him not to foil our plans?" Richard narrowed his eyes as Marbas made Owen stare at his hand with curiosity. He had heard Marbas was usually in the form of a lion in the spirit realm. That meant he was probably more used to walking on fours than twos.

Charcoal grunted. "All I can say is that he only answers to me. If I command, he will obey."

Marbas now had Owen down on all fours with his legs twisted in opposite directions. He twisted them back and healed the bones. Richard knew it would be a lot of work to get both demon and human accustomed to each other, but he knew it would be worth it. 

Marbas was a tracker, a hunter, and was the only one who could effectively sniff out and identify angels along with their counterpart demons. If he could access a proper sigil, he could slip back into the demon's abode and find the counterpart.

A glimpse of a vision tickled Richard's peripheral then and he focused on it. He saw his new journey and he saw Mallord there, standing atop a sand dune with pyramids behind. A chill of excitement made him shiver. It was going to come true. He would find Mallord in Iptaj and there, the Arcan seer would die. No one would ever amount to Richard, forever thirty-two, seer of the future, and with a powerful demon companion.

"The future is looking sweet," Richard licked his lips, "and soon, I will indulge in it, and in you, Mallord Beagle." He decided then, to candy Mallord's eyes. He simply could not wait.

* * *

Outside, was crepusculum, a time between light and dark, a single oxymoron within twenty-four hours. A tint of blue basked the country of Koltsland, and in the same way United Arcan. Beneath a roof, a legendary detective sneezed so furiously it woke up his wife.

"Must be Michael, thinking about you," she said.

"Perhaps." Mallord fell back asleep, drifting into dreams of orange sand, stone statues of once great kings, and a sunset that made a river run gold.

============ T H E    E N D ============

Author here!

Wow, thank you for reading to the end of Alive At Crepusculum. What a ride, huh?

B-But, what happened to Michael, and Owen??? What about Richard? Mallord? Or Anastasia, will she find her beloved Kostya?

Hold your horses, peeps, for there is a sequel ;) Yes, Alive At Crepusculum is part of a duology called "Their Posthumous Lives".

Continue on for a sneak peek into Book Two: "Dead By Sunrise", glossary of terms, and character aesthetics/art.