The Prisoner

Dakota's knowledge about the history of Aerie is expanded as she meets a few of the prisoners from the previous war on Aerie's Nephilim.

Six months later…

 

    Four months ago, Dakota began to train with Joel.  She’d begged the life out of Lazerous to let her train with the Nephilim - as she found out most of the people of Aerie were.  They were the children of angels and looked a lot like them; down to the strange colored eyes and hair and the wings.  She kept watching them fighting.  The newer ones were learning how to fight in midair, the older ones taking on more opponents.  They all had an angelic beauty about them that made you so scared to watch them but, made it so hard not to.  

 

   When Lazerous finally relented to her begging, he assigned her to Joel.  He led her up to the roof to meet him.  Joel had been training with a thin, dark-haired boy who looked more deadly than his fighting seemed to be.   Joel and the boy came down to the roof at the first sight of their leader.  To Dakota, Joel looked like a boy who was always ready to fight and would make one if he got bored enough to.  He had this emo-style jet black hair, lavender eyes that held a mischievous glimmer, and a clear arrogant stance.  The corner of his lips was always turned up slightly, like he was trying to be cute or just found humor in everything.  

 

   Even four months after meeting him, Dakota struggled to hold onto the respect she’d forced herself to have for him.  He was eighteen, two years into being a Nephilim.  He’d been through countless battles with countless creatures and only so much help.  He’d watched many of his friends, even his little brother who’d begged him to let him go fight beside him, die.  So, despite his annoying ways of criticizing her movements when she practiced, she reminded herself of his losses and how much respect he deserved for his skill.

 

   Joel spun to face Dakota and grazed her with his knife as she ducked.  She didn’t expect the kick afterwards and fell on her back in an effort to not get a broken nose.  He loomed over her, his shirt clinging to his toned body and his dark hair pasted to his forehead so she could actually see his whole face, but hardly breathless.  

   “You do know how bad a position you’ve just put yourself in, right?”  He quirked an eyebrow.  

   Dakota banged her head against the mat.  If only it was a piece of marble and not a mat I could be finished with this boy for the week.  Dakota thought with an annoyed sigh.  If she didn’t reply he’d go off on a fifteen minute lecture about how if he were a demon or vampire and she’d thrown herself on her back to avoid getting kicked in the face, he could simply jump on her and tear her throat out or - in the vampire case- bite her and suck out all her blood.  So she groaned and said, “Yes, I know.  I should’ve backed off and dragged my knife through your gorgeous face and walked away while you sit here screaming and laughed about it while I shower and go to sleep.”  Dakota stood and smiled innocently at him.  

   He regarded her with concealed impatience in his lavender eyes and smiled back with sarcasm.  “I see you’ve found the gory, creative mind of a Nephilim.  All you need now is the cooperation between your mind and body to make those things happen.  If you hate me enough to want to cut my face open, do it.”

   Dakota wiped the smile off her face at this.  “I’m not stupid enough to try it.”

   “Why not?”  Joel tilted his head.  His eyes hinted at a challenge.

   “You know what I want to do and you’ve had two years of training.  That’s not a fair fight.  You’d kill me.” Dakota replied.

   “Five.” he said when she turned away to get some water.

   She looked back at him as she walked. “What?”

   “I’ve trained here for five years.  My home was destroyed by demons trying to kill me.” Joel explained, staring at the mat, twirling a knife between his fingers.

   A bit of pity flared up in Dakota’s chest.  

   “I wasn’t as lucky as some of us Nephilim to have had a Guardian Angel, someone to watch over me and keep me and my brother safe.”  He looked at her, his face free of that little smirk for once.  

   Dakota started to say something but, he waved her off.

   “No, no.  Don’t pity me.  Show me pity and I’ll hurt you.  It’s over now.  No need to dwell.  That’s something you need to learn about: not dwelling on things.  I should get Nirvana to teach you that” Joel smiled a little.

 

   Nirvana was Joel’s girlfriend.  She’s a pretty Nephilim girl about a year younger than Joel but, almost as deadly a fighter.  She came close to being Dakota’s trainer but, Lazerous decided against it.  Nirvana still needed her own training and there was no arguing with Lazerous.  

 

   Dakota sighed and took the cap off her water bottle.  “Oh Lord, no.  Training with you is bad enough.  Having Nirvana as a teacher of some sort to school me into being numb to most everything will be a slow death.  Not that training isn’t a slow death as it is.”

   “She can’t seem that bad.” Joel said rubbing his face with a damp towel.

   Dakota was about to reply when, Joel stiffened, his shoulders rigid, his eyes focused into space.

   “We’re done for the day.  I have to go.  You can keep practicing if you want, I’ll send someone in to sub for me.”  Joel turned to go, grabbing his weapons and walking out.

   “Wait.  What happened?”  Dakota asked, going after him.

   “It’s not for you to worry about.  If Lazerous wanted you to come along, he would’ve called for you too.”  Joel snapped, continuing down the hall and up the wooden stairs to his room.

 

   Dakota stared after him in frustration over how these angels and Nephilim keep all their emergencies secret from her.  It always made her feel like she was just there to exist and get more and more frustrated.  Anything that had anything to do with their world was kept from her until she found some way to make Lazerous give her access to it like she did to get permission to train with them.  

 

   “Gotten tired of begging to be a Nephilim yet?” a soft voice asked over Dakota’s shoulder.

  Dakota didn’t jump; she’d gotten used to the silence of the Nephilim and their occasional attempts at scaring her.  

   She turned to see Noah standing behind her, his bright blue eyes seeming to be looking through her.

   “If you mean, ‘Getting tired of being here’ Then, yes.” she replied tiredly.

   “I actually didn’t mean that.  I meant what I said.” Noah smiled.

   “That’s a yes too.” Dakota headed back into the training room and grabbed her stuff.      “I just wish I could go home.  I’d rather be in danger and have something to do with my life than be dealing with nothing.”

   Noah’s smile vanished. “You don’t know what you’re asking for, Koda.  I mean it.”

  

  Hearing Noah call her Koda like David had done six months ago startled her and for a second, she froze.  She remembered the first time he’d called her Koda, just throwing it out there like he’d done it forever.  He’d seen her cringe and had apologized but, she’d allowed him to because he was nice to her since she came to Aerie.  He didn’t throw her any looks like the others did.  They looked almost disgusted to see a normal person walking their halls and living with them.  Noah was the complete opposite and she accepted him for that.  It was her way of thanking him for being so welcoming and guiding her through all the things the Nephilim do and learn.  She wished he’d be her trainer instead of Joel.

 

   Dakota walked into her room and Noah followed her, flinging himself onto her bed.  

   Dakota groaned. “Noah, please do not lecture me on demons and crap like that. If you do, I swear I’ll throw you down the stairs myself.”

   Noah laughed. “We all know you’d get Malachi or Elijah to throw me for you.  Then again they like me so, you’re out of luck.  But, as I was saying, out in the normal people world, you can see everything now.  You can see the angels, the demons, the Nephilim, the vampires.  You can see them now, they can see you.  The second they see you unprotected, you’re done.  They will come for you and kill you.  That’s how most of us got here.  Some of us barely made it out without at least ten ugly scars and you’re sitting here wanting to go out there, thinking you will survive.”

 “OH MY GOD, Noah!  Leave me alone!  I just want to do something other than sit around here training to do nothing.” Dakota yelled.  

   “You’re the one who begged to get someone to train you.” Noah shrugged.  

   “Yeah because I wanted to have Lazerous see that I can do more here than be a prisoner.” she snapped.  

   Noah leaned back on his hands and looked at her in that steady way Sumaria used to.  “You’re not a prisoner, Koda.  Trust me you’re not.  We have prisoners here in Aerie and sweet Lord if you think you’re a prisoner, you are so incredibly weak and spoiled.”

   

  Dakota’s eyes flew wide at the thought of anyone at Aerie being held prisoner for real.  She hadn’t heard or seen anything of a prisoner here.  How had Noah gotten the chance to see one?  Then again, he may have been one of the few to bring one in.

 

   “See, you didn’t even know that we have prisoners here.  How lucky you are.” Noah smirked.

   “How is that lucky?” she asked.

   “Like I said if you only knew what prisoners here are treated like, life for you would seem like candy land.” Noah said.

   At her look of confused interest, he added, “I’ll show you.”

 

   After Dakota showered and changed, she followed Noah down to the “Dungeon” as he called it.  It was so far down beneath Aerie that the light didn’t touch a single wall except one little part of the far wall.  There must be a tunnel for the light to come in down here.  A long one, Dakota thought.  The dungeon looked as you might imagine it to look.  IT was dark and made of stone.  There were jail cells lining each wall with bars that shone in the minimal light like silver.  Noah flicked on a small light by the door they’d come through.  The prisoners in the range of its glow huddled back in their cells letting out various noises of protest in their different ways.  He led Dakota around to the first cell.  The walls blocked the light coming from the lamp beside it and the monster within was a huge, dark, horned being.  Its cell was almost too small for it.  The enormous dinosaur horns curling from its head nearly scraped the wall as it turned to look at them.  It made no attempt to reach through the bars and hurt them.  It simply stared angrily at them through the bars with its glowing eyes.  

   “It can’t hurt us out here.  Those bars are made of holy metal.  Anything with a damned soul that touches those bars will be burned.  This one has tried multiple times to escape.  You see the burns on its body.  They’re everywhere.” Noah explained, pointing at the infected burns all along the demon’s sides.  In the dim light, Dakota could just barely see the dried blood and shredded skin along its ribs.  The demon seemed to watch her and she saw its forked tongue flick over its long fangs like a starved animal staring at fresh meat.  

 

   He led her to the next cell where an angel was imprisoned.

   “Why-”

   “This is an angel that’s been trying to kill off the Nephilim for centuries.  Damasen.  He’s one of our most dangerous enemies.  He killed nearly half of the army sent to kill him before Lazerous decided to take him prisoner and use him to fight for us when we need him most.” Noah explained, practically glaring at the angel that was nearly dead before him.

   Dakota strained her eyes as she tried to get a good look at the angel.  He wasn’t technically in a cell so much as chained to a wall.  His hands and feet were chained in golden cuffs engraved with strange symbols.  He’d clearly given quite a lot of struggling against the cuffs because, there were deep gashes carved into his wrists that were bleeding all down his arms and the blood had smeared onto his body.  His wings were covered in filth and the feathers had molted off all around him like bloody dust bunnies.  Dakota imagined that his wings must’ve been beautiful in some gory way since they were truly the color of blood like he’d painted them with the blood of his victims.  The angel was lying on the floor shivering in the damp cold; his face was buried in his hands.  His wings no longer looked as if they could be used; the angel himself couldn’t be used.  He was as malnourished as an abandoned child.  He was thinner than Dakota had been when she came to Aerie.  

   Nothing should be treated this badly, Dakota thought. He’s clearly been in this dungeon for more than a couple of years.  He should’ve been freed a long time ago.   She knelt down beside the angel.

   “Koda, don’t.  Don’t let him fool you.” Noah hissed at her.

 

   Still she reached out, whispering the angel’s name.  He slowly lifted his head to show his face.  It had that naturally sorrowful look about it that made a lot of girls fall for a guy.  His eyes were like the birthstone opals with their rainbows of colors mixed together, only lighter.  

   “Mortal.” he whispered, looking at her. “You’re a mortal.  You can see us.”

   “Koda, get away from him.” Noah warned.

   Damasen looked up at Noah and laughed. “Then why did you bring her here?  Did you think that a mortal girl who can see us wouldn’t feel pity for an angel chained by his own brothers?”  He looked back at Dakota.

  Then, faster than any eye could process, Damasen grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.  He had her in a headlock and she could feel his breath down her neck.  With his free hand, he brushed away the loose hair that hung down her back.  His nail traced a strange symbol on the back of her neck.  

   She could feel the laugh shaking his chest like an earthquake.  “You’re a lucky one.  You’re protected by Sumaria.  If I dare to harm you, it will mean my death.”

   Damasen tossed her aside like a piece of trash.  She flew across the stone floor, landing painfully hard on her back.  She winced and rolled onto her side, hearing the angel’s laughter echo in her head.

 

   She looked up to see that she was in front of another prisoner in an open cell like Damasen’s.  This one was a Nephilim though.  She’d learned to tell the difference in her short time here.  The Nephilim have fewer marks than the angels.  This one leaned on the far wall like a runner that had pushed himself past his limits.  He too seemed to be freezing like Damasen had though; he seemed to be more abused than the angel had been.  Dakota wondered why.   He looked like the Hulk back in human form.  His shirt was scraps of fabric at his feet; his jeans were half shredded his hair a nasty mess.  His skin was shining with sweat, his muscles tight.  He was still very much alive.  Dakota could see his chest heaving as if he really had been running.  

 

   She almost whispered to the guy to ask him why he was here if he was a Nephilim but, Noah cut her off, asking if she was okay.  She struggled past the sharp pain in her shoulders as she rose.  

   “Noah, who is that?  Why is he here?  He’s a Nephilim right?” Dakota asked aloud, hoping the boy against the wall would answer her.

   Damasen laughed loudly in the background.  “He’s here because he’s different.  He’s no longer Nephilim.”  Damasen broke off in more hysterical laughter.  “They can’t handle those among them that are different and can’t be controlled easily.  If I were you mortal, I’d get away and be careful of what I do.  Otherwise you’ll be down here when they catch you and I promise you won’t like what you see coming from that one.”

   Noah rolled his eyes and looked at the Nephilim boy on the wall.

   The boy’s eyes opened momentarily and he shifted onto his back, sliding down the wall to the floor, his eyes closed again.

   “His name’s Darius.  He was one of our best before Damasen came with his army, the day he’d found Aerie.  He’d brought his army of evil angels as well as his army of loyal demons.  Werewolves, vampires, warlocks, other demon species.  Naturally, Darius was on the front line with Lazerous and some of the other fallen.  He’s one of the few who doesn’t entirely believe in pain.  He’s pretty numb to most things.”  Noah looked at Dakota who was watching the boy - Darius - with amazement.  

   “Towards the end of the war, Darius was killing off the more deadly of the werewolves.  The wolf tackled him and as Darius tried to get it off him or kill it were it was, it...bit him.  It bit deep into his shoulder, almost taking the whole shoulder-blade off.  Darius killed it and - the rumor is- that Darius begged his girlfriend to chain him down here so that when the Change takes place, he can’t hurt anyone but himself.  The first Change has long since passed but, I think he’s waiting until he can control it before he tells anyone to set him free.”  Noah explained.

   “Why does he look like that?  Why does he look like he’s been running a lot?” Dakota asked.

   “It’s what happens when a werewolf goes through a Change.  It’s said to be really painful for them and takes a lot of work to control.”  He replied.

   

   Dakota looked at the Nephilim boy and saw that he was looking back at her, confusion clear on his tired face.  She felt really bad for him.  Clearly there was no cure for the werewolf disease that he’d received.  If there were, he wouldn’t be in the dungeon, chained to a wall, sentenced to the pain of the Changes the werewolves go through.

 

   That night, Dakota’s dreams were haunted by the images of the demons in those dark cells in the dungeon.  Demons with glowing red or gold eyes with their infected burns and gashes in their sides and backs from trying to free themselves.  She dreamt of Damasen chained to his wall, the blood trickling down his arms like liquid snakes working their way to biting his filthy face as he laughed at how the Nephilim willingly chained one of their own because he was no longer a true Nephilim; he was part demon.  She imagined Darius in one of his Changes.  The moonlight coming in from the window just behind him, catching his eyes and igniting the werewolf inside him.  He closed his eyes in an effort to hold it back, control it but, it wouldn’t stop.  He bit back a scream in pain from the Changes that racked his body with horrible, searing pain.  The fur came first, crawling up his back and arms like grass sprouting in fast forward.  The claws on his hands came next, black talons like a tiger’s.  They clawed at his scalp as he still fought the change.  But, it wouldn’t stop.  His arms and legs were now that of a wolf’s and it was too late.  The pain was horrible as the Change worked up to his face.  The scream couldn’t be held back any longer.  He let it go.  His scream resonating in Dakota’s mind, as loud as any scream could be.  It slowly became a howl and then he was fully a wolf.  His eyes were a silver-gold color; his fangs were almost too big for his mouth.  He seemed to look straight at Dakota…

   Then, she woke.

 

   Dakota sat bolt upright in bed gasping.   She’d fallen out of bed though her sheets were tangled around her legs.  Moonlight slanted through the window by her bed in a soft silver glow, glancing off the light sheen of cold sweat on Dakota’s arms.  Her tank top clung to the center of her back and her hair clung to her neck and face with sweat.  She decided to not go back to sleep.  Especially when the image of the werewolf watching her with its dangerously beautiful silvery gold eyes.  Her heart was hammering in her chest like never before.  

 

   She tried to take a hot shower to relax but, when she got out, she found herself slipping on gym shorts and a T-shirt.  She crept downstairs, having had wonderful experiences with how light the angels and Nephilim sleep at Aerie, one of them including a moment when Joel tackled her, choking the air out of her lungs, and having a sword tip pressed into her chest drawing blood.  She remembered the fierce predatory look in his eyes in that moment.  It sent a shot of ice down her spine.  

   

   She slipped into the training room toward the back of Aerie and heard the howls of Darius and the jangling of his special chains as he struggled to free himself of his pain.  Each howl made Dakota wince and almost want to cry in pity for the poor Nephilim.   She resisted the urge to go down to the dungeon and try to comfort him and closed the door behind her quietly.  She didn’t turn on the lights.  Noah always told her it was sometimes more fun to train in the dark and it’s always better for when you’ve got to actually fight in the dark.  Shafts of moonlight filtered through the windows and carefully outlined the punching bag and the mats covering the floor.  Weapons gleamed a soft silver in the far right corner.  Dakota put on her earbuds and turned up the song: When Dreams Become Nightmares by Abandon All Ships.  She started off stretching, simple yoga-type stretches like pigeon and lunges.  Moments later, she left the gloves off when she started up with the punching bag.  

 

   She punched, kicked, spun, kicked, and elbowed the punching bag hard enough to make her feet and elbows bruised and her knuckles bleed.  She’d finished her whole playlist of Abandon All Ships and was onto Breaking Benjamin - Dance with the Devil.

   She decided to give her knuckles a rest and started doing crunches.  She’d done them every day with Joel and could do about fifty or more without stopping.  They always did them until Joel decided she’d had enough pain or he just decided to start the actual training for the day.  It depended on his mood.  There were days where he’d be upset because of some issues with Nirvana or something and he’d do around one hundred or more despite the pain that was clear on his face.  She’d never bother to ask him what happened or anything, she’d just stop when she couldn’t take any more on those days.  She imagined he was there now, counting aloud.  “Keep your chin off your chest.  Pretend there’s an apple under your chin.  Letting your head drop to your chest won’t help you.”  He’d say.

 

   Dakota wondered where Joel was now.  She hadn’t seen him since he’d left training earlier. She hadn’t seen him at dinner either.  Nirvana had looked worried last time Dakota saw her and had thought to ask her what had happened with him but, had decided against it.  

 

   After reaching one hundred crunches, Dakota’s stomach burned.  She stood and took five knives off the weapons table.  She focused on the target on the left wall.  She remembered how Noah had thrown these knives with beautiful, dangerous grace and had managed to pin them all in the center of the target no matter what sort of movement he did before throwing them.  Once, he’d been messing with her and didn’t even look when he threw the knife.  It landed just barely a centimeter outside the center.  

 

   She took a deep breath, pulled her arm back and threw the knife.  It landed above the center.  Far above the center.  She tried again.  It landed to the left of the center.  She tried again and again with the last three knives and they all landed outside the center.  Only one came about half an inch away from the center.  Her best improvement.

 

   She’d retrieved the knives and was turning to go back to her place when, she saw... him.  The battery on her iPod had died and the silence in her ears was painful.  She shoved her earbuds into her pocket and stared, frozen in fear and wonder as to how he came to find her.  How’d he get here?  He shouldn’t have been able to get up here, Dakota thought.  Oh my God.  I’m dead.

 

   He stepped in the door.  The golden chains jingling on the hard tiled floor like eerie Christmas bells.  His silvery gold eyes were fixed on her as he slowly crept up to her.  His claws clicked on the floor like crabs scuttling along the tiles.  He didn’t look at her hungrily like the first demon had.  He looked almost curious despite his nearly glowing eyes and the fangs that stuck out of his mouth like icicles, dripping saliva on the mats.      His claws tore into the mats as he crossed them like they were made of rice paper.  As he drew closer and closer, Dakota’s heart pounded like a jackhammer in her chest.  He could hear it, she knew.  He came closer at a slower pace, his head tilting slightly to one side.  

 

   Dakota pressed herself to the wall and closed her eyes, hoping that if he was going to kill her, he’d make it quick and painless.  But, he’s Nephilim, she reminded herself. He doesn’t want to kill you.  But, what if he isn’t the same person when he’s a werewolf?  She opened her eyes and saw him standing in front of her like a real person.  His silvery gold eyes were just inches from hers and she was staring into the black centers.  His hot breath ruffled her sweat soaked hair and the collar of her shirt.  She closed her eyes again, squeezing them shut in fear.   That’s when the heavy breathing stopped.  She opened her eyes to see the fur melting away like water and finding the boy from earlier standing before her.  His eyes were closed and he wore a face of pure bliss.  He was almost as tall as Sumaria, probably five-eleven.  He opened his eyes then and she could barely see their true color.  A cloud had covered the moon and it made the room nearly pitch black.  The only thing she could see of his eyes was the gold ring around the centers that she’d been staring into just moments ago.  He still shone with sweat and smelled of it too.  The Changes really did take a toll on a person.  She could most definitely see it in the way his face held such a tired expression.  

 

   “You’re a human.” he mumbled.  

   “Yeah, and you’re a Nephilim wolf.” she replied semi-playfully, starting to ease out of her fear.

   “You can see us.  What are you doing here?” he said.

   “I could ask you the same thing.  You’re supposed to be chained to a wall in the dungeon.” Dakota replied.

   His hand came up faster than she could’ve anticipated.  A single wolf claw dug into her jaw, forcing her head up.

   “Don’t get smart with me.  I’m being civilized.  Do the same for me or I will make your death look like the worst possible accident.  Trust me, it will.” he snarled.

   A cold fist clenched around Dakota’s stomach.  “I wasn’t...getting smart with you.” she said, struggling to speak with the claw pressed up against her jaw.

   “Answer my question.” he growled.

   “My Guardian Angel, Sumaria, revealed himself to me because he knew I could sense him.  When he did, it put me in danger.  All these demons were apparently getting ready to come for me.  He brought me here to keep me safe.” Dakota explained.

   Darius’s claw came down from her jaw and shrank back to become normal.

   

   He backed away, looking shocked.  “That’s not good.” he whispered. “Demons gathering that quickly, even from the scent of a Guardian Angel…” Darius turned away, biting his lip.  Dakota couldn’t see his wings on his back and she remembered that the Nephilim folded their wings beneath their skin when they weren’t going to use them.  She saw scars crisscrossing his back in strange mazes.  

   “Aerie might be in for another war with how it’s been sending its best out almost every other day.” Darius said ominously.

   He looked at her adding, “And Aerie might just need every soldier it can get.  That includes even a human girl who can’t throw a knife right yet.”

Reviews

[Broken.]

This chapter was extremely descriptive (in a good way) and it really painted quite a picture! I am starting to see the different creatures now and understanding a lot more about them. I am intrigued, and I also want to know more about what happened with Joel. The foreshadowing on how there might be a potential war in Aerie, and anyone's involvement in it, was also very exciting stuff. I can't wait to read the next chapter (:

[Inject Positivity]

Hmmmm.....so here she comes Dakota... What I loved about this chapter more is that you made it visual to my eyes, it was like I could sense the activities of Joel, along with his conversation with Dakota... Then with unexpected entrance of Noah, his difference from the others in Aerie build my interest more... Then comes the revelation that there were also prisoners in Aerie which Dakota never imagined...

When Noah took her to the dungeon and the way you described the roads to reach it was extremely mysterious and sounded angelic... When Dakota was caught by Damasen I thought he might hurt her but thanks to her guardian angel...

Now with Darius's entry I got more excited... Dakota's dream was another terror stricken one... You have ended the chapter with something to think about, and I can guess that something going to happen soon in the next chapter... I can tell you I have become a lover of this fictional write...

Sincerely
Dhiman

[Tessa Melendez]

I don't know why, but this review had me laughing a little bit. I'm glad you loved another chapter and that I am the reason you have found an interest in some fiction. :) I patiently await your next review.

[Inject Positivity]

Lol, I'm glad I could make you laugh...

[Tessa Melendez]

Thank you :)