The Lost Soul

  "I know," he said, startling her as she hadn't heard his transformation take place. "The walls are a little damp. I can only suggest licking them to get some moisture."

  "Eric, how did you survive all this time without food and water?" asked Zalea.

  "I ate and I drank, not very often, but often enough to keep me alive. The same can't be said for the others in there though," he replied.

  "How did you eat and drink," Jack asked, casually leaning against the cave wall.

  "We were brought morsels and a little water."

  "By who? Who fed you?"

  "I'd say they were slaves."

  "Slaves? There are slaves in here too?"

  "Aye, but they don't talk. Don't know if they can. You can ear 'em coming, their ankles shackled together. Walking slowly through those tunnels carrying bread 'n water. It was the same one that fed me, every time. I couldn't see her but I could smell her. She 'ad the same smell. I would ask her questions but she never said a word. Perhaps she were mute, I don't know. But she were a gentle soul. She always 'eld me 'ead so gently as she 'eld the water to my lips and then the bread, and then water again. A few times until she had to move on," he sighed.

  "How long ago was she here?" asked Jack.

  "Honestly, I've no idea my son. Being stuck in here, in the darkness, you lose all track o' time. Most would go insane but I was already accustomed to the solitude from my life before."

  "Erm... you did seem a little loopy when we stumbled across you, Eric," Jack said with a slight chuckle.

  "Aye, I probably was. But you saved me from insanity and I thank you for that. Now, kids, let's get moving."

  Smiling at the man's sudden eagerness, Jack transformed back into a raven and on they went, continuing their journey through the caves, following the scent of the river.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  Carmelo, Walter, Zoltan and Jo stood watching the light become brighter as a new day dawned. All were silent as the sun began to rise in the blue sky beyond the invisible force field that was keeping them trapped within the pyramid. Individually tossed there by a simple flick of her wrist. Calliope. She had powers beyond their imagination.

  Although none would speak their minds, they all feared for the lives of their family and friends.

  #

  "Her name is Calliope and she is one of them, yes. The Nephilim. But she has been on the surface for thousands of years, making her different from the ones below...."

  "What do you mean, Michael? Different?" asked Rose.

  "Let's just say she looks like a woman and those below far from it."

  "But what does she want with us?" December asked eagerly, wrapping her purple cardigan tightly around herself in a bid to get warm.

  Gabriel noticed and jumped up to put another log on the fire.

  "I cannot say what it is she wants. What I can tell you is the Nephilim are incredibly dangerous. They have powers that have only strengthened over the years."

  "What I don't get is the fact she's up here. I thought all the Nephilim were banished to live eternally within the caves?" asked Lilly, moving to stand in front of the now roaring flames of the open fire.

  "We believe some of them found a way out many years ago. The same way some humans have found themselves trapped below ground."

  "Do you mean the vortex?" whispered Tiffani shyly.

  Michael nodded, "In a manner of speaking. Technically, it's not a vortex as such. It is simply an opening which appears on certain days of the year, allowing anyone close by to be sucked in and, we believe, allows some of them to be pushed out at the same time."

  "So when someone goes in, a Nephilim comes out?" asked Millicent who sat upright on the sofa.

  "We believe only a small number of Nephilim have escaped the caves, yet a huge number of humans have become trapped down there."

  "Why?" asked Lilly.

  "We have our own theory but it has yet to be... verified," he smiled.

  "Well, we need to know what it is if we have any chance in hell... oh...erm, sorry. Any chance of rescuing our loved ones," added Tabitha through gritted teeth.

  "I know you are angry, Tabitha. But rest assured none of your family or friends have been harmed, yet. And I am here to help you. To make sure that doesn't happen."

  "Well then we must do something, not sit around here and talk about it," she added. "You're an Archangel, can't you just go down there and kill the Nephilim or something?"

  Michael smiled, walked over to her and placed his calming hands on her shoulders. "No, Tabitha, we do not possess the power to kill them. I am here simply to help you, in whatever way I can. Zoltan is safe. Trust me, Tabitha. Will you allow me to continue?"

  Blushing slightly, Tabitha nodded and sat back down.

  "We believe the Nephilim have been strengthening this escape route, for want of a better name, for hundreds if not thousands of years, in order for them to attempt a massive coup."

  There were gasps in the room before he continued.

  "You have seen what Calliope is capable of and you've heard from your communications with Jack," Michael turned and looked at December with a smile, before continuing, "how dangerous they are beneath ground. If we allow the Nephilim to break free, the world will no longer be as you know it. They will destroy it and all that live in it."

  Moira rushed to December's side and sat on the arm of the sofa, her arm gently cradling her daughter. Lilly turned to look at Gabriel, her face white with fear while the others just stood rooted to the ground in shock.

  Suddenly Tabitha hopped up angrily, "But you're an Archangel. Why can't you put a stop to this? Where is God now?" she yelled, tears pouring from her face. "If there really is a God, why would he do this to us?" she sobbed, crumpling to the floor.

  Both Lilly and December moved to her side, cradling her in their arms. Tabitha had always been the tough one, they'd never seen her so distraught.

  "We are doing what we can but, in truth, we have no power over the Nephilim. When they were cast below ground to be eternally trapped in those caves, the power was lost. We are here to help you, I assure you. We will do everything we can to help defeat them. Tabitha... Tabitha, look at me," Michael said gently, watching her shoulders shake as the sobs began to subside and she looked up at him.

  A soft glow appeared all around him and a warmth enveloped her, "I will help you. I promise. We can defeat this evil."

  The girls stood up and led her to the sofa, where a few others moved so she could sit down.

  "So what do we do?" asked Wyatt, holding his wife's hand tightly, "What can we do to help save everyone?"

  "First, I need to know everything you know. Everything that has happened since this all began. Dates, times, everything. Even the smallest of details will help us."

  "But I thought you knew everything?" asked Lilly innocently.

  Michael smiled and turned to face her.

  "I only know about you, I do not know everything that has happened to you."

  And so, the group of people, human and non-human, inside that small log home in a corner of Powell River began to tell Michael everything that had happened. Not a single detail was left out about their lives... nothing since Lilly's father had mysteriously disappeared that day in London, all those months before.

  #

  "Calliope...Calliope...Calliope...Calliope..." chanted the crowd of men as the beautiful young Nephilim strode through them, her dark blonde hair flowing behind as if blown by the wind.

  Her eyes scoured through them until she locked her gaze on a handsome young man with dark brown hair.

  "You... Benjamin... follow me," she said as his face lit up like a hungry dog. He did exactly as he was told.

  Striding up the three steps before her throne, she turned with a swish of her cloak and sat down. Ben hurried to her feet and bowed.

  "Calliope," he whispered breathlessly, "What can I do for you?"

  She looked down on him hungrily, licked her lips and then stroked his face gently wit
h the back of her long slender fingers. "Come," she said, taking her hand and moving so she was face to face with him. She turned his head to one side and slowly kissed him on the cheek, closing her eyes and savouring the moment.

  "Music," she yelled suddenly.

  And then the gentle sounds of a violin could be heard, filling the pyramid with soft music.

  Calliope stood and pulled Ben up beside her. They faced each other, chest to chest, looking deep into each other's eyes.

  She smiled. He smiled. She lifted her arms. He lifted his. And then, they began to dance. Waltzing around and around as the rest of the room faded in the background. Calliope dropped her head backwards and let out a soft laugh, a laugh that carried through the air, up, up until it reached those trapped above.

  "What's going on?" whispered Jo.

  "If only we could see," growled Zoltan who was growing increasingly irate at the situation.

  Suddenly, they felt themselves being dragged forward. Jo tried to dig in her heels but it was no use, all of them were being dragged to the edge of the pyramid. When they had a perfect view of the lower level, they stopped. Carmelo held out his hand in front of him, a gentle buzzing sound echoed from the force field that was still stuck firmly in place.

  "She obviously heard you," said Walter with his eyebrows raised as the four of them looked down and watched as Calliope and Ben danced around the room. They'd moved down the three steps and waltzed around and around the pyramid. Calliope's face was aglow like that of a young girl in the first flushes of love.

  Jo couldn't help but smile. There was almost a childlike innocence there. It's just a shame she was sharing it with Ben.

  The second the thought appeared in her head, Calliope danced out of his arms and into the arms of another man. One slightly older with blonde hair. He was not someone Jo recognised. She looked on as Ben slowly came to a standstill and then withdrew, blending in with the rest of the crowd.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  As they walked on, Jack began to feel a little woozy. It was a familiar feeling, one that had grown within him when he had met Gwynethea. It was the same sensation he'd felt when they had sat in a trance-like state trying to tap into his sub-conscious mind to recall his lost memories.

  Before he gave it a second thought, he had transformed back into a man. Before he'd had a chance to tell the others, they were upon him, tripping over his body on the ground, causing them both to stumble over. Jack had cushioned the blow.

  "Hmph, ouch," said Eric, "Jack? Me lad are you all right?" as he rubbed his elbow which had banged into the ground with a thud.

  "I think so. Sorry about that. Are you both okay?"

  Zalea stood up and helped Eric to his feet as Jack stayed curled on the floor.

  "Yes, we're fine. What happened," she asked.

  "Nothing really, just a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach."

  "What kind of feeling?"

  "Like I had with Gwynethea."

  "Are you remembering something else, Jack," she whispered.

  Eric said nothing as the two talked, he just leaned against the wall rubbing his elbow, before turning to lick the wall for moisture.

  "I think I might be. I just need a few moments, if that's okay?"

  "Of course."

  Jack closed his eyes and recalled those horrible memories that had flooded back into his mind. The loss of his wife and daughter, his kidnapping and subsequent life in London under a horrible spell, his disappearance and then the memory of his rescue by the faeries from that disgusting pit where bodies had lain to rot and decompose. But something was missing. A huge chunk of memory was gone and considering the empty feeling that sat uncomfortably in his heart, he knew it was about to come back. He lay down and placed his cheek on the cold damp ground. His eyes remained closed.

  A vision appeared in his mind. One that shook his entire core, making him retch.

  Zalea hurried to his side, feeling around to find him on the ground.

  "Jack? Jack, what is it?" she whispered, her voice wavering with fear.

  "Oh god... god," he murmured.

  "Is he all right, Zalea, my love? He don't sound so good," said Eric who shuffled forwards until he found them kneeling on the cold ground.

  "I don't know. I really don't know..."

  "The cage, they kept me in a cage. Huge beasts with wings. They kept me barely alive..." he sobbed as the memory came rushing back, brought on by a scent that hovered in the air. A scent he had barely even noticed because he was so focussed on following the scent of the water.

  "Jack, whatever this memory is, you need to put it aside. We must get out of here."

  "No, Zalea. Don't you see? This memory is here. I can smell it. They're not far away. The water must lead to them not away from them."

  Zalea gasped and sobbed, almost choking.

  "Now, now you two. They ain't got us yet. We're still alive and we're gonna get outta here alive. Come on, son, chin up. Be strong. You got outta here once, you'll get outta here again. Mark my words," reassured Eric.

  Jack, taking note of the sudden confidence that could be heard in the old man's voice, tried to pull himself together. 'He's right, I can do this,' he told himself.

  "I'm sorry... I'm fine, I'm fine..." he said, straightening his creaky legs and holding out his hand to Zalea.

  "Do you want to put some clothes on, Jack?" she whispered, picking up the old dirty trousers that had dropped to the floor. "I think you'd better continue as a man."

  Quickly climbing into the trousers, the three of them continued until they could hear the sound of dripping water. Their drying mouths made them speed up until they reached the spot where water dripped from above their heads, making a large puddle by their feet.

  As they took it in turns to drink from the source, they also stepped into the puddle and washed away some of the staleness from their skin, temporarily forgetting what lay ahead.

  While they rested, Eric gently snored and Zalea's breath steadied, Jack began to remember everything. His head pounded as the memory of all those months trapped in a cage flooded his every pore. The smell that had hung in the air, almost leaving a nasty taste in his mouth, was a mixture of rotting and something metallic, iron, perhaps. No, he knew exactly what it was. It was blood.

  The Nephilim, just like the vampires, they fed on blood. Human blood. And he had been placed in a cage, and kept almost like a storage facility. They didn't kill him because they knew his body continued to replenish its stock of blood. Just like Vivian had done all those years before, kept him purely for his blood. It had happened again.

  Jack groaned inwardly.

  'Why me?' he thought. 'Why my blood?'

  A flash of another memory appeared. The cage. There were more, perhaps hundreds more and they all hung from the ceiling of a massive cavern where crumbling columns stood, perhaps once regally, from every corner. In the centre of the cavern, there were two more columns that had not withstood the passage of time. Underneath them ran the river. The sound of the water trickling away had almost driven him to insanity. In some countries, such tactics were used as a method of torture. It was torture.

  Jack placed himself inside his memory and looked around, urging himself to take in every last detail. A sound from another cage caught his attention. A young woman sat curled up, her knees under her chin. Her short black hair was plastered across her forehead and her once beautiful oriental eyes were open wide in sheer terror.

  She rocked backwards and forwards, looking straight ahead yet not seeing anything. She repeated the same three words over and over, "I'm sorry, daddy... I'm sorry, daddy... I'm sorry, daddy...."

  Suddenly, his ears began to hurt as the high pitched sound of thousands of bats swooshed by him. They fluttered past the young girl, but not even a thousand bats could draw her from her trance.

  He tried to speak but his mouth was too dry, nothing would come out. He needed water. Jack peered down at the river below and tried to swallow.

  "Wat
er..." he managed to whisper, "Water," he repeated a little louder.

  Suddenly, a loud boom filled the cavern, he could hear rattling. The sound seemed to be coming from all around him. Above, below, side to side, yet he saw nothing.

  Slowly, the rattling became louder.

  His cage began to rattle uncontrollably. He held onto the bars tightly, his knuckles turning white as he began to move lower down within the cave. It shook before it came to standstill. Jack watched as the rest of the cages were lowered too.

  When every last one was sat on the ground, the rattling grew louder. The sound of chains and the shuffling of feet. His gaze followed the sounds which now came from a tunnel to his left.

  Filthy men and women appeared carrying bowls of bread and water. They shuffled along until each one reached his or her destination. A cage.

  A man stood before him and held out the small bowl which just fit within the bars. Jack took it hungrily, snatched it from his grasp and devoured every last drop of water before shoving the small piece of bread into his mouth, chewing it around and around in his mouth before he was finally able to swallow it, the dryness causing it to stick to the back his throat. He coughed and swallowed again.

  The man in chains waited patiently and then took the bowl from him.

  Jack stuck his arm through the bars and grabbed the man. He was so thin, it was like holding the weak branch of a tree.

  "Wait," he croaked.

  The man looked at him blankly.

  "What's your name?" Jack asked. "Where are we? Please... help me..."

  But the man said nothing, standing still until Jack eventually released his arm.

  When all the slaves had finished, he walked away with the rest of them. Back into the tunnel from where they had come.

  The sound of creaking resumed as the cages were lifted back up to the top of the cavern.

  He turned to look at the young girl to his side. Her uneaten piece of bread sat beside her.

  "Eat the bread," he had managed to utter. "You must eat or you'll die in here," he'd said.

  The blank look disappeared from her face and she stopped muttering those three words for a moment as she turned to look at him. She picked up the piece of bread and threw it toward him. He held out his arm and caught it.