Mark of the Chosen Read online

  “Seems my gift has betrayed me…” Mirena climbed to her feet. “It led them right to me.” Her words trembled

  “Most of them have snouts; they would have sniffed you out anyway.” Kao offered to put her at ease.

  For a moment, they were the only ones in the room. But the glare from Garro’s fixation on the interaction reminded them that they had a vicious audience. And the dangerous cocktail of his disgust and jealousy only made the situation worse.

  “Why are you here tempter?!” With lighting speed, Garro appeared almost nose to nose with Mirena.

  “I-I heard the rumors, and I wanted to know for myself.” Unnerved and overwhelmed as she tried to filter out the myriad of intense emotions circling about her.

  “I’ll tell you why you’re here.” Garro turned away from the object of his affection. “You’ve broken one of the rules of the Unknown.” His accusation rumbled loud enough to move the Forevers and the Unknowns. “We all know the laws, and we all know the consequences for rebellion.” He continued with his mock trial.

  Tensions were high, and though the three had conquered the pit together, it was clear that the challenge here would be far greater. He didn’t know what was next, but he would accept whatever punishment he was dealt. Although not able to decipher if his concern for Mirena was real or conjured, he didn’t want to be the cause of her demise.

  “Garro, this is a spectacle to the Unknowns, The Fallen One, and Seth.” Kao wielded an accusation of his own. “You are my under lord. I have failed my assignment, which has caused you embarrassment, and I should be punished. You have no reason to involve Mirena. She has broken no law.”

  Kao had countered all of Garro’s efforts to mock him with one simple statement. The scrutiny shifted among the onlookers who were growing bored with his antics. And Mirena’s adoration of Kao was as visible as the scales of her true form.

  In that moment it was evident. There was only one way to regain control. The stage was set and someone had to be an example. With the two in his sights, Garro formally relayed his indictments.

  “Mirena, you are cited with using your gift to distract and derail a dark warrior. You are guilty of fraternizing!--”

  The other under lords gasped. They were fully prepared to pass judgment on Kao. After all he failed his assignment; there was no other proof needed. But this was an unexpected turn of events.

  Mirena trembled. Her eyes fixed on Kao as if pleading for his help. Even in passing his judgment, Garro was the furthest thing from her mind. Kao’s reaction, however, was fueled with pure rage.

  “You can’t have what you want, so you throw a tantrum like a child.” he barked as he approached Garro. “You are a disgrace to the ranks!” Kao’s words came across as if Garro was his underling and he the under lord. But the fact was that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

  “Kao, you have failed to carry out your orders-”

  “You weak, emotional excuse for a leader!” Kao continued his tirade.

  “But I am your leader, and the punishment for you both is death!” Garro continued over the interruption.

  At an impasse, Garro’s relentless desire for triumph led him to use Kao’s blinding rage against him. Though they stood face to face, he maneuvered past the formidable warrior, his sights set on Mirena. She was the key to Kao’s suffering. He wrapped his arms around her to restrain her movement then covered her mouth and pressed his forearm against her throat.

  Mirena’s eyes fixed on Kao, still pleading for his help.

  Garro’s eyes filled with demise as he began to constrict against her serpent like skin.

  Mirena’s eyes widened as she was confined to the petty under lord’s clutches.

  Kao was unwilling to let this be his last memory of her. He charged the two entangled bodies as if executing a Super Bowl play. The force of his strength ripped them apart, which sent Garro tumbling in one direction and freed Mirena from his crushing grasp. Garro climbed to his feet, fuming, his body temperature climbing as anger forced wrath through his veins.

  “Witness the order of the Unknowns!” he declared to ensure that none of the onlookers intervened. He set his sights on Kao, who approached a dazed Mirena and closed in on his victim. Proof of his immeasurable fury emanated from a flame at his fist, and Garro plunged it through his target.

  The death sentence was carried out by incineration. Kao and Mirena collapsed into each other’s arms as the burning void spread across the demon’s chest. In this moment, this final moment of vulnerability, Kao’s touch yielded more than just his desires. She read the knowledge of the Unknowns he’d gained and even that which was concealed from them all.

  “Brothers!” She released to the amazement of them both. But then it all made sense. “If I’d have known this would happen, I would have used my charisma on. Just for a little while.” Mirena caressed Kao’s face, one last indulgence in their attraction as they prepared to be separated by more than just clans.

  And just like that, there were two.

  *** Nine***

  Kao collapsed while embracing Mirena’s body. His patience died as her eyes dimmed and the ashes of what and who she was crumbled all about him. Consumed with the hunger of revenge, Kao transformed from prey to hunter. He would not be eliminated with some parlor trick doled out when he wasn’t looking. Garro would have to face the warrior head on.

  Garro couldn’t help but gloat in the pain Kao felt in Mirena’s last moment. Rising to his feet, Kao seemed to grow in stature before everyone’s eyes. Though Garro bore the honor of a true form, it was apparent that Kao would not be easy to execute.

  Unable to subdue their ever building hatred, the warriors charged one another, both accepting that at the end of their battle only one would be left standing. Garro threw flame-filled punches at his opponent’s flesh, but underestimated the insurmountable rage within Kao that gave him momentum. The blows bounced off of his human-like skin like bead of sweat as Kao moved in close. He grabbed the ominous horns atop Garro’s head. Using all of his strength, or possibly the force of his unleashed anger, he cast Garro over the crowd into the cavern wall.

  As if attendees at a sporting event, the crowd’s responses to crushing blows echoed all about the clash of the titans. Garro had severely underestimated Kao, one of the benefits of his human appearance. As the Red Sea of gatherers parted, Garro charged Kao in mid-approach. The massive demons fell to the cavern floor, the ground shook, reminiscent of the sound of creatures being released into the pit.

  Unable to subdue their ever building hatred, the warriors charged one another, both accepting that at the end of their battle only one would be left standing.

  Garro threw flame filled punches at his opponent’s flesh, but underestimated his opponent.

  The insurmountable rage within Kao gave him momentum. The blows rolled off of his human like skin like bead of sweat as Kao moved in close. He grabbed the ominous horns atop Garro’s head. Using all of his strength, or possibly the force of his unleashed anger, he cast Garro over the crowd into the cavern wall.

  The very foundation of the Unknown seemed to shake beneath them with word of the battle raging above filling its deepest, darkest crevices.

  No one was bold enough to intervene. A punishment had been decided, and none of the under lords would disrupt the order of another clan.

  Out of the shadows cast by the fighters, a form grew and developed. It solidified into the highest ranking demon lord known. One by one, other leaders appeared and formed a loose ring around the combatants.

  The battle taking place seemed to shake the very foundation of the Unknown with word of the goings on filling its deepest, darkest crevices. No one was bold enough to intervene once a punishment had been decided, and certainly none of the under-lords would disrupt the order of another clan.

  The Fallen One and Seth both sliced through the shadows sprinkled about the cavern walls. Their presence consumed the little air held captive in the space. The onlooke
rs were humble by their leaders’ presence. And none of them expected the bout to continue.

  Oblivious to the recent arrival of their leaders, Garro rested atop Kao with one hand on his throat, and the other hand preparing to incinerate him. At a disadvantage, Kao ripped at any flesh that he could access with his claws in an effort to free himself from the demon hell bent on his annihilation.

  Garro raised the same flame-ridden fist that reduced Mirena to traces of ash.

  Kao was overcome by a burning strength that ascended from the very depths of his being. It engulfed his entire body in a white hot flame giving him a second wind.

  Stunned by the change of his challenger’s seemingly inadequate form, Garro paused.

  The mistake was made. In a split second the tables had turned.

  Kao, feeling indestructible, enclosed a still-dumbfounded Garro’s beastly neck within the inferno of his palms and squeezed. The fire from his white-hot rage bled onto his captive, eating away at his existence.

  His resistance futile, Garro cried out as the fires reduced him to a pile of wretched memories.

  And then there was one.

  *** Ten***

  Kao’s pulse raced as he enjoyed the vengeance he’d so desired. But he only had a vague taste of victory when he realized what had really silenced everyone around him. Still basking in the white hot flame that freed him from the clenches of his enemy, he fell to his knees as The Fallen One and Seth stood before him.

  “I accept my punishment.” He bowed his head in surrender.

  The powerful demons stepped behind the warrior poised in full submission. The Fallen One placed his massive hand on Kao’s left shoulder. Seth followed suit by placing his hand on his right.

  The crowd was prepared to watch Kao torn apart before their very eyes and. And Kao expected to meet his demise. But as the three connected, the Unknowns began to tremble more fervently. Pieces of the surrounding walls fell and cracks appeared all about them like lines on a road map.

  The crowd was startled by the volcanic forces erupting in the room. As thy dodged debris, an outbreak of panic ensued. Their mad dash for the exits abruptly ended with Kao’s gut-wrenching cries.

  “Witness!” The Fallen One commanded of all those in the room.

  Kao’s eyes and mouth opened, his head jerked up; from its bowed position as he relived his assembly with the Oracle.

  “Do you know the prophecy of The Reckoning?” The inquiry of the Oracle haunted Kao.

  “Everyone knows that story; it’s supposed to start when Seth’s Omio is revealed, creating the balancing trinity in The Unknowns.”

  “Ah, you do know the prophecy,” the Oracle replied with a hint of surprise. “The revealing of the Omio will occur by the shedding of his own blood, and when an innocent of the Unknowns is sacrificed.”

  “There are no innocents in the unknown!”

  “You are mistaken. Look a little closer. But be warned, it’s a chain reaction. Once the revealing is set in motion, it cannot be stopped,” the keeper of knowledge cautioned.

  “I still don’t understand why I’m here.”

  “You are one of the three keys of the Unknowns trinity. But whether you are the innocent sacrificed, bloodshed of blood, or the Omio revealed, I cannot say. Just know that the uprising is upon us when three begets three.” The answer rang out in familiar, sing-song riddle. Summoning the words of the conversation that was unspoken but planted deep within him, he understood everything just as Mirena had in her last moments. His body temperature, still white hot following his battle, continued to surge until it surpassed the heat of the damnation all about him. And he knew what was next.

  “Neither the blood of a brother or the blood of an innocent accused can keep destiny at bay,” the Fallen One declared.

  Kao’s eyes rolled shut as a black muzzle pushed its way through his taught bronze skin which shredded into no more. Wings, once beautiful and regal, punctuated by razor sharp talons stretched out into the shadows. The massive cry of a bird of prey erupted from his core, escaping into the roar of a panther with the flick of a serpent’s tongue as the finale against his now ferociously feline features.

  Standing between Seth and The Fallen One, Kao’s was no longer cloaked in human form. Now he was serpent, panther and vulture. His true form was undeniably what the prophecy called Seth’s mirror image.

  The triad had been unleashed, igniting the rise of the Unknowns.

  ###

  *** Coming Soon***

  The Taking

  An Asunder Novel

  There was a shift in the Forevers. Tensions were brewing, and my brother Mikal, fierce warrior that he is, set everyone on high alert and ready for battle. As a newling, he would tell me wild tales of the origae tricked into stepping out of paradise or the angel that fell from Forevers’ grace. Even now, I can hear him saying, “Celeste, the day will come when we will have to fight for mankind and force the others back into the deepest darkest shadows of the Unknowns.” But I always thought they were just fairytales…until today.

  ~

  Though dark warriors are clawing their way from the depths of the Unknowns to wage war on whomever or whatever gets in their way, expanding their kingdom will not come easily. Led by the mighty archangels, the forces of the Forevers are prepared to defend mankind, stop The Reckoning and prevent darkness from rising. But will they be able to avoid losing one of their own in the process?

  Excerpt

  ***Celeste***

  Celeste watched the suns illumination of the path between the Forevers and the Mortal Realm dim right before her eyes. Scattered shadows spread together like spilled puddles of darkness giving birth to demon twins and triplets all fathered by the depths. This was as close to the Unknowns as she had ever come, and she couldn’t move.

  The humans filed into the courtyard like lambs to the slaughter all hoping to witness the darkness occult the sun.

  “It’s a solar eclipse,” the mummer’s echoed amidst the scholar’s shielding their eyes to the unplanned event.

  Still unsure that what was happening, she was pretty sure that the calls of demons being liberated from the shadows meant that this was no eclipse.

  Bursts of wind whipped through her hair joining the cocktail of chaos erupting all around. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as if she were a student watching the clock in her least favorite class. But that was far from the case as what I was watching was an invasion of darkness that could quickly thrust her from observer to warrior at any moment.

  The hordes of demons escaping onto the human dominated territory all seemed to notice her at the same time. On the prowl, they slowly moved in closer as if they couldn’t decipher who or what she was. Relieved when some quickly lost interest in her turning their sights to nearby hosts to invade, but sadly that was not the case for all of the hunters.

  Bolts of lightning jabbed at the curtain of darkness now blotting out the sun. The random flourishes resembling a drumroll warning that an uprising would not be easy. Thunder shook the plain jolting her and reminded her of how to breathe just as Ariel and Rafi swooped in. Even in the midst of the brewing battle the sight of their perfectly crafted wings brought comfort to her.

  They immediately began to thin the pack of predators still sniffing at her. One flipping dark creatures like coins, and the other simply beating one demon with the defeated body of another before tossing the parts back into the fountains of darkness connected to the Unknowns. The sounds of breaking bones and shrill cries served as an alarm clock sucking her back into real time along with the realization that her brothers had come to her rescue.

  “Get out of here!” Mikal appeared from thin air, gripping her forearms. “Taleb!” he called to one if the warriors, “Take Celeste back to the Forevers, she’s not safe here!” he ordered the strength of his wings shielding them both from more fearless predators.

  Her eyes rested on her appointed care taker who seemed more afraid of being
this close to a girl than he did of being in the throes of battle. Her brothers were towering masses of justice keeping power; true forces to be reckoned with. But Taleb stood just barely at Mikal’s shoulders; his skin looked paper thin and was almost the same color. He looked as if he spent more days in Halls of Eios memorizing card catalogs than preparing for battle. She felt more compelled to rush him off to safety, then again her brothers were a little busy ferociously defending a world that had no idea it was in danger.

  I never imagined being this close to the fierceness of darkness. Oddly I didn’t feel any fear, to be honest I didn’t feel anything, except curious. I felt my brother shoving me into the arms of Taleb which was completely out of his “Big Brother” character. Taleb held on so tight that it almost hurt to breathe. He crouched down, his rendition of a running start, and then propelled us upward toward the safety of the Forever's.

  Demons hovering above parted like the red sea as we thrust through them, making a path for our exodus. My hair, now coated in the thick stench of sulfur, beat against my face as we cut through the dark dwellers. Entangled in the grips of my caretaker, they still sniffed and gnashed at me, some so close I could feel their cold claws and breath on my skin.

  The sight of my brothers and their troops getting smaller as we ascended was unnerving and the scope of the hordes attempting to possess the land of the living seemed never ending. But this battle, though unexpected, was destined to fail.

  They are Archangels, specifically chosen to slay demons great and small and this world needed them, as the Mortal Realm was undeniably under siege.

  * * * * *

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