Chapter 3

Wine. That was the scent that greeted me as we emerged at the other end of the tunnel. The room was cool but warm enough that I could remove my coat and several of the layers. Phil clicked on the light illuminating the cramped space to reveal dozens of shelves.  All were laden with bottles of wine in varying vintages and type. I noted that there was not a speck of dust on any of the bottles. In fact, if it weren’t for the yellowing labels on some of the bottles I would have thought they had only just been put on the shelf.

Drawing in a breath, I wrinkled my nose as I dropped my gaze to the floor. It had a purplish tinge and the strong tannin smell radiated up from the ground. I had never been a big wine drinker but the scent was sticking to the back of my throat. Clamping my jaw closed, I twitched my nose and tried not to sneeze.

“Sorry about that. One of the hellions got down here and destroyed two hundred bottles of my favourite wine. It had been blessed by a white witch. It’s why the smell is so potent.” Phil offered with a smile, leaning heavily against his cane as he watched us all gather our bearings. “I’ll be taking you up into my private estate. We have much to discuss and it is probably best that the rest of the city is not fully aware of your presence. The Elves have been edgy for the last month and things have been unsettled.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and hobbled his way towards a set of the stairs set into the far wall. I followed immediately, my eyes drawn to the glittering staircase that was carved out of pure white marble with veins of blue running through it.

We journeyed up several floors and wound through several beautifully decorated corridors before he led us into a large open room. I wasn’t sure whether he was trying to confuse us by taking the roundabout route, with so many twists and turns that I would never find my way back to the basement, or whether he was true to his word and was trying to keep our presence hidden from the general population.

The drawing room was decorated differently to every other room we had passed so far. This room appeared to actually be used and not just a pretty monument to be admired at for its beauty. The room was warm, decorated in cream and brown fabrics giving it an earthy vibe. All of the original white stone was covered by draperies or smooth brown stones giving it a welcoming vibe.  

My eyes wandered to the large windows, each of which boasted a window seat. The thick panes of glass were tinted pale green making it feel as though I was looking at the world from inside a glass bottle. If anything it made the world outside the windows all the more magical. Buildings glistened and the streets teamed with people - though the people wandering down below were far from human. Instead of street lamps to illuminate the city as night fell, the pavements and building walls themselves started to glow, ranging from pinks to blue, from greens to oranges.

“Wow,” I murmured, unwilling to drag my eyes away despite the hand tugging upon mine.

After a few moments of gaping at the scenery, I settled down onto a small sofa before the fire place. I was squished snugly between Caine and Castiel, the two angels sitting perched stiffly on the edge of their seats while I relaxed back into the plush cushions. I sighed and shuddered as the warmth of the gently flickering fire washed over me from the heath. It soothed the chill that had lingered in my bones after our trek through the blizzard and loosened my strained muscles.

For the next few minutes each of us was plied with food and drink by our gracious host while the old man himself hobbled around the room, occasionally rubbing his chin as he looked over our group with a drawn smile. He would pause open his mouth to speak before he hobbled on once more without a single word being uttered.

Lucius coughed, frowning as he watched Phil pace backwards and forwards so often that it was becoming dizzying.  

“I suppose I should begin,” the older man muttered when the muted conversations finally dropped away and every eye fell upon him and his nervous pacing. “I have lived a long life - longer than even you Lucius. I was born when the world was new and man had just discovered what fire was. I was always different from the others in my tribe. I was not content to just eat, hunt, reproduce and die like the rest. I sought knowledge and discoveries. I was just more. Different.”

Phil paused beside the fire place, the red light flickering over his skin making the wrinkles in his face more defined… more haunting.

“I left and travelled alone - determined to learn the secrets of the world. And learn I did.” The old man shivered and turned away from the fire, like the images he saw in the fiery depths were chilling him from the inside out.

“Most people think that Lilith is the first demon.” He lifted his gaze, meeting our eyes one after the other. “And I suppose she was because I am not of demon kind. Not truly. I came before her but I am something more than demon and yet something less.”

Settling down into a high backed arm chair, the ailing man released a sigh. “Let’s just say my curiosity got the best of me and I wandered into some things that I shouldn’t. I gave away my mortality and all of the life that comes with it in exchange for the knowledge of the God’s. The ones who created the air, the earth beneath our feet and the fires that keep us warm.  The God’s which formed out of nothingness and gave us the world.”

  Enthralled I leant forwards in my seat, my chin rested upon my hand as I eagerly anticipated the rest of his tale.

“And what I learnt is far beyond your comprehension. “

The darkness to his quivering voice was enough to bring goosebumps along every inch of my skin. He looked directly at me as he spoke again, his words punching into my brain and etching themselves there so that for the rest of my life my dreams would be haunted with visions of these otherworldly spectres he spoke of.

“What the god’s did not realise, when they created life, was that there must always be a balance in this realm. There are things which must exist in tandem with humanity. And so three beings emerged from the darkest recesses of the universe, stretching across the sprawling expanses of cold airless space until they infested every world. Death, war and famine were born.”

“I always assumed life came with death. That war and famine were what came with life and humanity.” I murmured rather unhelpfully.

Immediately every set of eyes was trained on me and I tried not to feel the patronisation behind those stares. Phil, my favourite old man as ever, chuckled and set his twinkly gaze on me.

“That is because it is what you have grown up with. Even Lucius was not around when I was born.  When death wasn’t death, people simply existed and there was no fear. There was just beautiful, ignorant existence.”

I jumped when Castiel pushed forcefully to his feet and trained his cold stare upon the old man.

“Will you stop beating around the bush Mephistopheles? We do not have the time to listen to an old man waffle around.” Castiel’s cold stare surveyed the stooped form before him as the elderly demon settled back in his chair. Immediately his posture loosened up, his mouth softening from the hard line it had been pressed into only moments before. “And neither do you.”

I frowned and looked closely at Phil, trying not to understand what Castiel was trying to imply. But there was no denying it. The arch demon’s skin held a yellowish tinge that only comes with organ failure, a sickly vibe leaking out of his every pore. The old and powerful demon’s body was literally breaking down before them all. And with the resignation and strangely enough the peace in his eyes told us that there was no cure – no way to save the old man.

“You’re right as always Castiel. Since stone henge my magic has been draining away to leave me here mortal - an elderly and sick mortal. I shall be gone within a few weeks.”

I winced and felt my eyes water as his words struck home. Despite his betrayal over a year ago, he was still that kindly old man who had smiled at me and made me feel like a daughter for the first time since my parents had died.  

“Anyway, back to why you were here. My death is not something to lament over, it is a welcome respite after millennia on this earth.” He paused, and gestured for Castiel to sit once more.

At first the fallen angel just scowled at his elder, arms held stiffly at his sides as he stared down at the man that was literally withering away before their very eyes. It took two minutes of intense staring before he gave in and sat down.

“Death, famine and war were beings. Ones who could shift and change their form at will. But they were always there lurking, waiting for opportunity to strike. But they were as susceptible to sin as any other being. As the amount of creatures living on this planet grew, so their lust and greed for power grew also. They started killing and infecting creatures at their whim, tipping the balance and setting the world into chaos.” Phil stretched out an arm, picked up the crystal decanter from the table beside him. He considered its contents for a moment before pulling out the stopper and then raising the crystal to his lips. He took several large gulps, his eyes closing. He released a sigh but continued to hold onto the bottle – unwilling to release his safety blanket.

“Entire species were wiped. The God’s were furious.” The old man shuddered and took another gulp of the bourbon. “That is one thing you should never see, an angry god. It was worse than Tartarus.”

Every person in the room shivered. I feel bile rise up in my throat as my worst nightmares came to the forefront of my mind. I had been kidnapped by a rogue demon only a few weeks before. He forced to relive over and over my worst nightmares.

My eyes were drawn to Lucius and I tried not to whimper as I smelt the tang of blood, helpless to stop my dream self from plunging a knife straight into Lucius’ heart and watching as the life drained away from him. I had no idea, and I still have no idea whether a blade to his heart would kill him but the nightmare was enough to leave me in a trembling wreck.

Hands grasped my shoulders and shook me roughly. Gasping desperate breaths of air, I hugged the person before me with all of my strength, struggling to ground myself once more.

“Urgh Ms Holmes,” Castiel awkwardly patted my back before tugging at me arms. “Savannah.”

I jumped and released him as if burnt.

“Sorry Cass.” 

I shook my head back and forth a few times and waved off the looks of concern.

“Carry on. I was just having a funny five minutes.”

Their stares lingered for a second or two before the old man continued with a nod.

“They and their best set out to capture these beings and put an end to the terror they inspiring. Of course, their foes were no ordinary beings and a war soon broke out.”

“What happened?” Caine asked eagerly when Phil paused for too long.

“We won, but at a great price.”

His eyes in that moment reminded me of Lucius’. Despite their exterior, every person in this room had lived for centuries longer than me. They had seen and probably done things which would make my nightmares seem like a Saturday morning cartoon. And their eyes, in moments when their guard wasn’t up, you could see those horrors reflected in their eyes.

“Anyway, they were locked away in the deepest darkest part of the known universe, the part that is now known as Tartarus. We could not kill these beings because they were needed. The God’s knew that if they were destroyed something worse might form out of the darkness.”

I frowned, regretting the questioned before it had spilled from my lips.

“But what has it got to do with now?”

“Have you not heard of the horsemen of the apocalypse? That is the path we are on, the seals have been opened and the horsemen are out to get their revenge. Wild beasts never like to be locked away.”

Phil tilted his head back towards the ceiling while his fingers lifted from the arm of the chair and caressed the air around him.

“It feels like it did before.” He lowered his gaze and met each of us stare for stare. “You MUST stop them. They are trapped to corporeal form but they can still change their appearances. They could be your mother, your cousin. They could even be your neighbour’s dog.”

Huge wracking coughs filled the air. Phil gasped for breath while Lucius, who had gotten up from his chair, patted him helpfully on the back.

“I thought there were four horsemen of the apocalypse.”

Phil paused in his wheezing and smiled. Despite the looks I got from the fallen angels,  this man seemed to appreciate my input.

“And that is where our solution lies.”

When no one immediately spoke he laughed before breaking into another bout of coughing.  The fourth horsemen, otherwise known as conquest is neutral. They can be swayed to either side. You, all of you, will have to find conquest and convince them to help you lock away their family once more. The only problem is Conquest was never bound to form. They could be anywhere.”

A knock sounded on the door causing each head to snap to attention. I felt my heart race in response but it had nothing to do with the person at the door. I was more concerned with the next mission which had been laid out in front of me. Now I had to find a horseman of the apocalypse and get him or her to help capture and lock away their family once more. Was there no end to this madness?

I startled when the door the room banged shut once more. I hadn’t even noticed the gentle murmuring that had been exchanged between Phil and one of his housekeepers. The serious and solemn tightness in his posture only moments before was gone and in his place was the Phil that I knew and cared about. His eyes were twinkling and he had an excited spring to his step.
“Come, there is something you must see.”