"Requiem" Chapter 4

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If you haven't read the story from the beginning CLICK HERE

By
Christopher A. Kouse

Chapter 4

            

            Valen regained consciousness with the sound of screams filling his head. His whole body seemed to pulse with life now. His mind was on fire and felt as if someone had taken an iron to the wrinkles of his brain. Rising to his feet he could feel the energy of the angel’s blood coursing through his own veins calling for him to rise up; that he had no place kneeling to anyone anymore. Valen examined his arms and chest, slowly getting a feel for the armor he was now encased in. It felt light and clung to him as if it were a second skin; it was intoxicating. Bending and twisting allowed for him to get a feel for the suits dexterity. He dropped to the ground and did a few push-ups; he hated push-ups, but not with this suit. His strength had greatly increased too and he knew it without needing testing. The requiem had given him a heightened sense of himself. Every twinge of his muscles, every movement, and every step was increased in one way or another; and he loved it.

            “Now for a warning,” The angel said.

            “What? Now a warning?” Valen said looking alarmed.

            “Once you have reached the surface world and begun your journey for the Garden, every host of heaven will be out to stop you.”

            Valen cringed at what the angel had just said. He didn’t want to be on heaven’s bad side, he just wanted to kill a tree and go home.

            “Why would they be after me?” Valen asked.

            “The requiem is an extension of me and as such you will be seen in their eyes as they would look upon me; that of an exile.”

            Valen wanted to rebel at what he had just heard, but it made sense. It was too late to turn back now and he still feared the consequences that his failure might bring. There was nothing left for him to do but to press onward.

            “Where do I find the Garden anyway?” Valen asked.

            “There is a map that will show you the way. It was left on earth in traces of blood. The first place to look would be to find the shroud of Turin. Once you find it, the requiem will take a sample of the blood and show you where to find the next piece of the map.” The angel said.

            Valen had heard about the shroud of Turin. It was supposedly the cloth that was draped over Christ’s body after his crucifixion. It was said that his face was engrained in the cloth and along with it a sample of his blood.  More than likely it’s kept in a museum somewhere, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find. He thought.

            “Your assumption is correct.” The angel said

            “You heard my thoughts?” Valen asked

            “All angels have a telepathic connection and because you are still only a human with an angel’s blood coursing through you, it will take some time for you to use it properly. The more powerful the angel the easier it will be read into the other’s thoughts. My blood runs through your veins and has the potential to do many great things that lower angels cannot.”

            Valen looked over his body staring at the requiem. “This suit feels great, I can feel it breathe like it’s an extension of me; what do you feed this thing anyway?” Valen smiled hoping to lighten the mood, but not to his surprise the angel failed to share in his humor.

            The moment came to a halt when a banging came from the door where Valen had originally entered from. The massive ceiling echoed the banging as if it were a giant church bell, causing dust to momentarily fall from the ceiling and vanish before touching the ground. Valen’s face turned in terror towards the door and his heart dropped from the fear of what may be on the other side. He turned again back to the angel still poised on his throne looking none the more worried. The cracks on the inside of the door began to spread with each blow.

            “What is that?” Valen asked.

            “The key has arrived.”

            As Karninfaux’s words hit Valen’s ears the door to the temple burst open with a loud crash; rubble went flying everywhere. The mighty blast was enough to throw Valen across the room, smacking against the wall with a thud. He rose to his feet but was now more worried about what lingered in the dust and debris that clouded the room. His worry also caused him to not take notice that he was unharmed by the blowback thanks to the requiem.

            Valen began walking cautiously to the center of the room. His vision impaired by the thick mist that blocked his sight. He had paused for only a moment when he heard a heavy breathing over his shoulder. He looked up just in time to see the massive hammer with the key engraving come plummeting down from behind him. Without a thought he leapt to his right but he wasn’t fast enough. The hammer came crashing down on his left shoulder causing a loud crash that shattered his armor. The pieces scattered across the floor and quickly dissolved from a solid to a liquid substance.

            “Damn.” Valen winced in pain.

Had the armor not been there to protect him the hammer would have completely taken his arm off. Although his speed had been greatly increased he was still vulnerable to attack. Valen got to his feet and grabbed his shoulder in pain. Blind my whole life and a little dust clouds my judgment… great.

“Giving up so soon?” Karninfaux whispered into his mind.

“…No,” Valen hesitantly responded wanting to sound like he had everything under control, (Although if a truce was an option rather than dying he would have gladly taken it).

“Your armor is broken Valen, to repair it you must bleed for it,” The angel spoke again telepathically.

Valen wasn’t entirely sure what he meant, but anything was worth a shot. He reached up with his right arm to where the damage had been done to his shoulder. The skin was showing through and with his sharpened tip of his gloved hand he proceeded to cut into his arm. As he did, he could feel the blood seep from the self-inflicted wound and begin to mold itself to his shoulder and harden, replacing the gap.

“Well that’s cool.” He said with a smile, unaware of the large teeth grinning ominously behind him from the darkness of a shroud. He hadn’t realized he had just given away his position. Again Valen heard the heavy breathing on his back, but this time he didn’t wait to look up; instead he leapt at just the right time forward as the hammer came crashing down behind him leaving a crater in its path. The massive swing caused the dust to blow from its location just enough for Valen to look back and see the Second Beast staring at him with those black demonic eyes.

“You!” Valen said.

The beast just as unresponsive as before gave no reply. His large teeth in the form of a sadistic smile disappeared back into the dust as it covered the room once again.

“The requiem is not only armor Valen, it is a weapon. It is what you need it to be as long as you’re willing to pay the price,” Karninfaux telepathically invaded Valen’s mind once again.

Valen pondered the word price for a moment, but he didn’t have time to worry about it now. There was a massive creature trying to kill him. An idea shot into Valen’s mind. He grabbed his left wrist and felt as the requiem gave no resistance to his sharp fingertips reaching though the armor and proceeded to pierce his skin. Again the feeling of the warm blood trickled out of the wound and Valen just as before wanted the wanted the blood to become. From his left wrist blood trickled forth and hardened forming an old Chinese fan that attached itself to the requiem. Valen remembered Rachel had one of these fans that they took to ball games together on hot days. He never saw the game but that usually wasn’t why he was there. The memory brought clarity to his mind.

“I will see her again.” Valen said focusing his thoughts on her.

With a mighty swing Valen began rapidly blowing the dust from one side of the room waiting for the beast to be revealed. Slowly the dust began to fall to the ground and as the last bit of the room became visible he stopped waving his arm. The creature was nowhere to be seen.

“He’s behind me isn’t he?” Valen asked the Karninfaux pathetically.

“Yes.”

Valen heard the familiar grunt of the creature raising its hammer above its head again, but this time Valen was ready for it. Valen twisted his body to the left and reached up with the fan still attached to his arm and knocked the hammer away from his body. The impact caused the fan to shatter forcing the beast to wince away from the shards as they showered the monsters face. Valen saw the opportunity and swung in with his right arm connecting with the beast lower jaw. The impact caused the creature to reel to his side. The hammer fell from the creatures hand and its weight pulled at the chain attached to the beast; this caused the creature to be pulled to the ground with a thud.

Valen saw his opportunity to grab the massive key still attached by a long thick chain to the rings embedded in the creature’s sides. Quickly he reached into the requiem and cut his hand again. A long blade formed from the suit and with a single slice Valen struck the chain causing it to unfurl at the creatures side.

“That wasn’t too hard,” Valen said while basking in his victory.

As he reached down to pick up the spoils of his battle he was quickly met with a giant leathery wing that scooped him up and slammed him against the wall; he slid down it landing on the floor like a bird that had just smashed into a window.

Valen looked up from his dazed state to witness the giant beast regain its balance and with the terrifying smile still showing through the dark veil, he watched as the monster stretched its wings to a full wingspan for the first time. It quickly became clear to Valen that before he removed the chain, the beast had no use for its wings. The hammer had kept it grounded, but now that the weight was lifted from it the beast could make full use of its wings; Valen had just done the second beast a favor. The creature took to the air and circled above the room to bathe in its freedom. He recomposed himself and deadlocked onto Valen with those same black eyes that he had shown before. Valen began to hear the souls of the condemned angels that the beast hosted within itself; they were connected to him through the requiem.

Valen felt a single drop of sweat trickle down his cheek, but it wasn’t because of what he heard the voices saying, because they really weren’t saying anything; instead they were laughing, and Valen swore that through the tight mesh of barbed teeth he heard the beast laugh with them.

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