“Still want to play, demon spawn?” Alassane asked and held up his flaming hand.
Ardeth seemed to consider that. “I guess we’ll have to save it for another time.” He said. The blades in his palms slid back in and were replaced by claws. He turned around and jumped up against the back wall of the alley. Ramming his claws into the wall, he dragged himself the rest of the way and landed gracefully on the roof.
Looking over his shoulder he shot a smile at Selissa. “I’ll see you soon, princess.” And then he was gone.
16
Her head was spinning and she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep conscious much longer. She was barely able to raise her head, when she felt Alassane kneel down next to her.
“How did you do that?” She asked. Her voice sounded raw and she had to force out the words. Alassane shot her a quick look, but kept quiet as he started looking over her injuries.
“You got your ass handed to you, stupid girl.” He said, but his sarcasm didn’t fool her this time. “You really should start thinking—“
“Answer me.” She interrupted. She wouldn’t let him get out of this one. She was sick and tired of everyone keeping her in the dark.
Alassane sighed. “You almost got yourself killed.” He said. “What about worrying about that first?”
Selissa wanted to scream and shout at him. She didn’t know why she was almost killed either. She knew nothing. She didn’t know who he was. She didn’t even know who she was.
She opened her mouth to say something, but couldn’t remember what she was going to say. She couldn’t think. Everything was going black.
She closed her eyes and welcomed unconsciousness.
ℓ
She had been at the temple for two weeks. She hadn’t been able to leave her bed the entire time because of her wounds.
She was scared. She didn’t remember anything. The priests were trying to get her to feel at home, but all the unfamiliar faces scared her.
She had woken up to the sound of someone praying. When she opened her eyes she saw a boy kneeling by her bedside. He couldn’t be more than a few years older than her. He had blond hair and a gentle face, and his eyes were closed in concentration.
He didn’t notice her watching him, merely kept praying for her recovery.
“Merciful Arnath, please give her your blessings and heal her undeserved injuries…”
The praying continued, but this time it was not Calen’s voice. The light in the room was soft, but it still stung her eyes and made them water when she opened them.
The melodious chanting stopped, and Selissa turned her head to see Serendia watching her with a relieved look on her face.
“Where am I?” She whispered. She immediately regretted it. It still hurt to speak.
“In my chambers. Your companion brought you to me after you fainted.” She said. Her soft voice was calming and Selissa felt herself relax.
“…Alassane?” She asked. She hoped Serendia understood, because she didn’t seem to be able to speak in full sentences at the moment.
“I sent him outside, so I could clean and dress your wounds.” She helped her sit upright, mindful of the hisses of pain that escaped her.
Her clothes were nothing more than rags now, and she didn’t protest when Serendia ripped the remains of her shirt apart.
Serendia picked up a wash cloth and was just about to clean the wounds on her back, when she stilled. Selissa looked at her confused, unsure of what had made her pause. It took a few seconds before she suddenly realized what the problem was.
The black symbol showed clearly against the paleness of her skin. The black lines that snaked their way across her back were clear for her to see, and suddenly Selissa felt very naked.
She closed her eyes and held her breath, while she waited for Serendia’s reaction. She didn’t know what she expected… Shock, repulsion or even fear…
She stiffened in shock when she felt fingers slowly trace the symbol on her back. She turned her head slightly to see Serendia study her back intently, a look of fascination on her face.
“The mark of Cadeyrn…” She whispered, wonder in her voice.
Selissa jerked around, forgetting about her injuries. She doubled over in pain, clutching her ribs.
“You know what it means?” She gasped, desperate to find out what she could tell her about the symbol she had carried on her back for as long as she could remember.
Serendia looked stunned, as if she had just woken from a trance.
“You don’t know?” She asked, surprise evident in her crystal blue eyes. Selissa forced herself to keep calm and answered.
“No… I don’t.” She said. Silver met blue as she held Serendia’s eyes. Serendia seemed to be taken back by the intensity, because she lowered her voice slightly.
“So you don’t remember how you got this?” She asked and traced her fingers slowly down the mark.
“No. I don’t remember much.” She admitted. It felt weird saying it out loud. The only one she had ever discussed her loss of memory with was Calen. Even Alassane didn’t know.
Serendia watched her thoughtfully. “This mark… I have only ever seen it in books. It isn’t used anymore…” She said.
“Why?” Selissa asked. Why hadn’t she been able to find it anywhere?
Serendia hesitated slightly. “I’m afraid that is a longer story…”
Selissa held her eyes and even the mighty archmage seemed unnerved by her silver stare. “Do I look like I’m going anywhere?” She asked.
The archmage sighed in defeat. “Let’s get you cleaned up first. Then I will tell you what I know.”
As much as Selissa longed for answers, she knew the other woman wouldn’t cave. Closing her eyes, she reluctantly let the mage clean her wounds.
17
With her entire body covered in bandages, she followed Serendia to the room where Alassane was waiting for them. She felt very uncomfortable in the borrowed mage robes she was wearing, but tried not to let it show.
Alassane watched them silently as they entered.
“I’m no healer, but I did the best I could. I would suggest for her to rest as much as possible though…” Selissa noted with a bit of irritation that Serendia was addressing Alassane instead of her. Who did she think he was? Her keeper?
Serendia turned to look at her. “Please sit down. I will try to explain what I know about your mark.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Alassane stiffen. “Her mark?” He said warily. Serendia nodded.
“Yes… I never thought I would ever see it…” She said.
Selissa plopped herself down on the couch next to Alassane. “What does it mean?” She asked impatiently. She had waited years for answers. She didn’t intend to wait much longer.
Serendia sat down calmly on a chair opposite them. She didn’t seem fazed by Selissa’s impatience.
“The mark on your back is the mark of the archangel Cadeyrn.”
“Archangel?” Selissa said confused. “There’s no archangel named Cadeyrn…”
“Are you sure about that?” Serendia said, some emotion Selissa couldn’t define shining in her crystal blue eyes.
“Yes, I’m sure!” She said irritated. She grew up in a temple, for Shi’laran’s sake. “I know the names of all the seven archangels, and none of them goes by the name of Cadeyrn.”
“That’s true.” Serendia said simply. “After all, Cadeyrn was the eighth archangel.”
Selissa just stared at her in disbelief. “I didn’t sleep through ALL of the priests’ preaches. There are only seven archangels.” She deadpanned.
“Now there are seven. Originally, they were eight.” Serendia said. Selissa opened her mouth to protest, but Serendia held up her hand to silence her.
“This story I’m about to tell you has been forgotten by most, centuries ago. Only very few still know about what happened.” She could clearly see that Selissa wanted to interrupt,
because she shot her a fixed look. Selissa sat back in her seat and reluctantly kept quiet as Serendia started her story.
She took a deep breath, before starting to speak. “Almost 600 years ago, a powerful demon plagued our world. His name was Azarial.” Selissa started at the name. Azarial… Why did that sound so familiar?
Images of a mark drawn in blood flashed through her mind. The symbol painted by the murdered boy’s body. She remembered recognizing it as the mark of Azarial. But how did she know this?
Her turbulent thoughts were cut short as Serendia continued.
“Azarial brought terror everywhere he went and soon grew so powerful that he became an immense threat to humanity. To prevent him from destroying this world, the eight archangels decided to fight him.”
Selissa felt Alassane shift next to her, but ignored it. She leaned forward and watched Serendia intently.
“It came to a confrontation between Azarial and the angels.” Here Serendia paused, so Selissa took the chance to speak up.
“What happened? Did the angels kill the demon?” Somehow she already knew it wouldn’t be that simple.
“No…” Serendia said. “At that point, Azarial was far too powerful to still be mortal. When the angels realized that they couldn’t destroy him, they decided to seal him away.”
“What does all this have to do with Cadeyrn?” Selissa asked confused.
“Sealing away someone as powerful as Azarial takes an incredible amount of power.” The mage continued. “To power the seal, the angel Cadeyrn decided to sacrifice himself.”
“So he died?” Selissa asked shocked. She had never heard about an angel dying, no less an archangel.