Kissed by Chaos

Kissed by Chaos (35) - Hell

Kissed by Chaos

Chapter 35 - Hell

Raafi had heard of Malek. ‘The black one’, as his mother called him, too afraid to say his name. She would tell Raafi how Malek stood at the gates of hell, protecting the dark souls that burned behind them. His presence brought only fear and death. Perhaps this was why that in some corner of his mind, Raafi thought that it was fitting for Malek to be here now.

“What… what are you doing here?” Raafi found it almost impossible to believe, but that weak, shriveled voice had come from Dunya. Her – well, Elisabeth’s – eyes were stretched wide with fear as she watched the small soldier step forward. The corner of the man’s mouth lifted slightly in what must have been something close to a smile. Then he burst into a cloud of blackness that circled the entire cave with a sound that made Raafi’s ears ring. The cries of pain of all those trapped behind the gates of Hell resounded through the cave. Claire clapped her hands over her ears and shrank back against Raafi.

“What is this?” she yelled over the drone.

“Hell,” Raafi said simply. He cradled his head in his hands, overcome by the force of a thousand pained voices rising from the depths below the earth, below all life. Dunya’s power was so great that she could make a man crumble to his knees and plead for mercy. Malek’s power was so great that he could rip that man’s soul from his chest and turn it to dust. This was another sort of chaos altogether.

Suddenly, the tortured voices were silenced. There was no sound. Not even the wind dared to breathe. The cloud of blackness lingered in the air, floating as if it were something material. Without warning, it rushed into a single point right in front of Dunya. She held up her arms to shield herself. When she dared to glance up, a single hooded man stared back at her.

Raafi had prayed every night ever since he was a child that he would never have to meet Malek. Yet here he stood, cloaked in the blackness of pain and devastation, his eyes bottomless pits of fury. He towered over Dunya, over any mortal man. Dunya had used up too much power and was unable to retain her form without a human body to support her presence on earth. Yet Malek – he was unafraid, his power knew no bounds. But it was not long before Dunya regained her composure. Soon, the red hot expression of rage and blood thirst returned to her eyes. Elisabeth’s hands clenched into fists as Dunya stared Malek right in the eyes. “Let me finish what I have started. I must take what is mine. If you do not step aside, I will-”

“You will what, Jinn? You forget your place. You forget that I can do this.” Malek sucked in a deep breath and raised his arms out in front of him. Raafi lurched backwards as all around him, the soldiers fell to their knees. He gripped Claire’s hand, as if he could protect himself and her from whatever it was that Malek was doing. He didn’t understand - wasn’t Malek meant to be stopping Dunya, not making it easier for her to complete her psychotic mission?

Raafi did not have to wait long for answers. A second later, each soldier’s head snapped forward. They swiveled sickeningly to face Dunya as they all stood up in unison. Nausea rose in Raafi’s throat as he took in the sight around him. All the men were possessed – their eyes blackened with the colour of Malek’s power. Their movements were synchronized to Malek’s will, smooth and deadly as they shot forward at Dunya. That keening cry – the one that had erupted from Dunya when Claire had set her arm alight – filled the air around them.

“You have no right to do this!” she cried hysterically, as if that would help everything. She raised her arms around her and spat words in a language that rose from the earth and wrapped its claws around Raafi. The ground shook underneath him so hard that his mind spun in a frenzy. He felt Claire’s hand gripping his arm as the struggled to stay upright. In the midst of it all stood Dunya, breathing in the chaos as if it were an intoxicating perfume. Her eyes were closed in utter bliss as figures rose from the dust. The creatures were huge and towering. They were made of sand and dust, yet they seemed so strong and solid as they gathered around Dunya, staring around them hungrily at Mirzan's possessed army.