Chapter 9: The Demon's Story

In the heat of all the tension, Sagitar blinked and in that moment he found himself in his home. Everything seemed unreal. One second they were in the City Centre secretly in the urban barren, the next, the inners of his household spawn right in his front. A part of him was basking in the euphoria of having an experience of what teleportation felt like. At least he was sure that must have been what was done.

It all happened when Celeste had grabbed Alma's unconscious body, holding Sagitar's hand with her other hand and before he could think, they appeared at the corridor up the stairs of Sagitar's household. Sagitar joined Celeste in moving Alma's body downstairs. He needed to make sure she was alright. Celeste, however, cared less. Left to her, she would have dragged Alma's body to the cellar, knocking it against every furniture that stood in her path.

Sagitar opened up the hidden doorway to the secret cellar leading under the household. It was located in the open confines of the kitchen, the opening under a large carpet perfect for its disguise.

Arriving at the cellar, Sagitar spoke, "Nobody knows about this place, you know. It's a family secret."

Celeste looked at Sagitar unamusingly. "You don't think I know that!" she snapped. "I have been watching you all your life."

Sagitar frowned.

Celeste placed Alma down. Sagitar would follow by dropping the vampire's legs gently onto the ground.

Struggling to think clearly, Celeste scrambled her thoughts together, "Sagitar, I am going to have to put her in chains."

She snapped her fingers and a long chain glowing like a light bulb appeared in her hand.

Sagitar stared in disbelief. He began to really wonder what the extent of the celestial's power was.

Detecting that Sagitar had questions, she began to answer them before he said a word. "These chains are called Chains of Restriction. They can put serious restrain on any supernatural that is bound with it."

"How much of a restrain are you saying?" Sagitar quizzed.

"I once bound a fallen celestial and her blond hair turned grey," Celeste smirked.

Sagitar froze. That celestial aged in a second, Sagitar wondered. "Also aren't you fallen now? Karma must really be an unforgiving bitch," he added.

Celeste hissed. "Shut up!" she retorted. "That's only temporary till heaven is restored to its original glory." She began to unfold the chain. "Get a chair," she instructed, wanting Alma seated properly in order to examine her.

Sagitar wanted to protest, owing to her tone; however, he remembered how the night had gone. He figured that revolting was a bad idea. Sagitar left, proceeding through the kitchen, entering into the dining room. From the dining room, he picked a chair and returned back to the cellar.

Once he arrived at the cellar, he set the chair down. Sagitar lifted Alma and helped get her adjusted to the seating. Immediately as Alma was set on the chair, Celeste bound her in chains.

While she was seated on the chair, Sagitar noticed that all her bruises and cuts had disappeared. Although she was covered in blood, it seemed like it was not hers because there was no cut, bruise or scar. Everything had healed completely. Even still, Sagitar knew that blood red on her face was hers and no other.

"Wow! How did she heal like that?" he blurted.

"She is a vampire. They regenerate quickly and are beings closer to carnates than most mortals. For you, she is supernatural, for me, she is a tad of being natural entirely," Celeste answered.

"Then you're more alike than you'd like to note." Sagitar replied.

Watching Alma in such a frail state had almost made Sagitar forget that she was not human. However, her extremely fast healing abilities which had manifested before him, reminded him exactly what she was.

"No time for that now. While you're gawking, you should know that I need to reach into her mind and get some information. I need to know who she really is," Celeste claimed.

"Alright, guess we'll have to find out" replies Sagitar.

Celeste could sense that Sagitar was not in agreement; however, she continued. She was not worried about her decision or Sagitar's passive acceptance of her next actions because she was persuaded that her motive was right—it was all in a bid to protect him.

Celeste touched Alma's head, trying to scoop details from it. It took a while rather than the instantaneous seal breaking effect she had on Sagitar. Immediately, her eyeballs went grey. It was like she was seeing through the windows of Alma's soul.

"Wow!" Celeste said.

Sagitar was uneasy. "What is happening?"

"She knows of King Magnus," Celeste said.

Sagitar wondered who the King was that shared the same name with him. "Who?" he muttered.

Celeste, however, seeing through Alma's memories, figured out early that King Magnus and Sagitar were related but she chose to keep quiet about it.

"He was a great and wise king." Celeste pointed out.

The fact that Alma knew King Magnus made Celeste uneasy. At that point, she almost concluded that Alma was after Sagitar's bloodline but as she continued to pry into the privacy of Alma's mind, she found out that her assumption was wrong.

Suddenly, Celeste found a treasured memory of Alma. As she saw everything, she spoke it out; in order to give Sagitar some level of peace.

"Her father told her tales of a great Norwegian King, who re-united the Kingdom and brought peace to all the land. His name was King Magnus. Magnus the Good, allowed Alma's noble family to retain control of a secret land called Abriska in Doggerland." Celeste paused.

Sagitar wondered where Doggerland was. He had never heard of such a place before. Also he pondered the relevance of this story to the situation at hand.

Celeste continued, "Alma was loved by her people, while she was in her late youth." Suddenly, Celeste trembled and panted.

Sagitar saw the look of terror on Celeste's face. "What happened?"

"Her land was covered in blood. Certain unknown knights desecrated the territory with the blood of its people. As an adolescent youth, she witnessed the brutal murder of soldiers, all who gave their lives, trying to protect her and her family.

As the battle proceeded and most of the soldiers were taken down, her father and mother had to protect her. They were her last line of defense. If the lineage must continue, she must escape. Therefore, they gave themselves as a decoy, giving her the opportunity to get away." Celeste paused again. Her tone of voice took a melancholy turn. "As she hurried off, she heard her mother beg for her life shuddered by a weapon that injured and disrupted her from speaking. The realization hit Alma that something must have happened to her parent. After further agonizing screams from repetitive bludgeoning, her mother's voice went quiet. The silence that followed, made her believe that her mother was dead—clobbered to a passing."

Sagitar became sympathetic. Alma had gone through such a horrific childhood. The cruel death of Alma's parents reminded him of how he met his father's head splattered on the floor, the day his parents were murdered. Sagitar was sad. Looking at her and wondering how she could still carry on after such an experience, he developed some intense feelings for her.

"Alma, being a smart youth," Celeste complemented, "cut her hair with a sharp tool and wore the dress of a commoner, which she found hidden in a farm house, as she was trying to escape from her land, which was now doused in the bodies and blood of dead guards and dead family. Eventually, a knight caught her as she escaped but as they thought she was a commoner, they let her go. At that point, it became obvious to Alma that it was an assault on her family. Someone wanted her royal bloodline eliminated and the person got what they desired—or almost did."

Sagitar paid rapt attention. The problem with this exercise was that the process of drawing information from Alma, replayed Alma's woes in her own mind and weakened her. Therefore as Celeste continued, Sagitar could see Alma shivering. He considered it nothing. Until he noticed that tears rolled off her cheek and dropped to the ground like loose rock falling from a mountain. Sagitar knew that she was in pain. He held her hand and whispered to her ears. "Hold on. Just a little more. I am here with you."

Celeste continued. "Alma journeyed from region to region on foot. The princess had now become a beggar, scavenging for almost two months. When she couldn't get help, she nearly died from exhaustion in the outskirts of a town, over 20 miles from her fallen kingdom. As she laid, waiting for death to strike her, she was found by a man named Crude Marcillos. He found her less alive than even a general passed away corpse, one that would have died in peace. Eventually, he turned her. He explained to her that she was no longer a mortal but an immortal. He taught her the way of life of a vampire. Crude, like his name, was quite crude. When it came to survival he could be merciless, yet he taught her that life was precious. Therefore whenever she had to feed or whenever she got angry, she was able to restrict herself from killing.

"Crude taught her concerning the history of vampires. How they ruled and dominated kingdoms during the dark ages, using their blood to treat the sick who were of nobility. As a reward for saving lives, they were allowed to feed on humans. But man grew in intelligence and achievement and they desired to unravel the secret of the recovery powers of vampires through experimentation. In those dark times, vampires were hunted, with pitch forks and sabers. They were caught, experimented on and tortured for years." Celeste still had not seen any malicious intent in Alma. All the details she had gathered only kept proving her wrong and even made her see herself as not any better than those who Crude spoke off.

Trying to let her feelings slip by and not get the better of her, Celeste sighed and continued, "Many years passed and a new culture started among vampires, just before the industrial era. Vampires were able to suppress their killing intent. Even while they fed, they ensured to not get overwhelmed by their blood lust. This was in the 1600's. Most of these vampires lived in secrecy. A particular well-known vampire family that lived among humans was the Himura family, which Alma later got to meet during the 1860's. Eventually, Alma had to leave Crude's protection. She had become a woman with her own life to live."

Unbelievably to Sagitar, Celeste would find herself chuckling uncontrollably. "Sagitar, nothing in her story has anything to do with you," she said. "Even all the alliances she made, none of them has to do with you. Nothing related to the Magnus family."

Sagitar was so happy that Alma was clean.

Celeste wondered how Sagitar did not relate the great King Magnus to his own family bloodline. It was a thought that echoed in her mind. It was too obvious. The writing was clearly on the wall but he couldn't see it.

Celeste continued searching through Alma's mind. "Alma wandered the earth alone, living her life as a shadow. As the world changed dramatically in the industrial era, she adapted to the society changing names and environment as often as possible. Later, in 1913, she fell in love with a British Soldier called Malcolm Murrey, who promised to marry her on his return from the World War. For once, she had hopes of a normal life—of love, joy and companionship. However, her hopes were cut short. Murrey lost his life to the war in 1915. On a cold morning in August that year, she received a letter of his bravery in the war. She was heartbroken. Since his death, she had avoided falling in love or enjoying the gratification of bodily pleasure but for some reason, she found herself attracted to you." Celeste removed her hand from Alma's head.

The Celestial didn't realize when it happened but the story of the vampire's wonder moved her so much so that she had been crying unknowingly. At some point in time she had forgot about her composure. Celeste turned away from Sagitar to clean the tears in her eyes. She was trying to hide it from him but he had seen it already.

Sagitar tapped Celeste who had backed him. She who was embarrassed had looked away from sight. This would lead him to let out an empty breath in response.

"Are you okay? I think you're crying for the enemy." He asked.