The Seer

Chapter 1

“No . . . stop! Don’t come any closer!”

Viktor stood at the side of the girl’s bed and paused. For a second he thought she woke up, but the girl turned over again and continued to mumble. He snorted, and a sulfuric odor filled the room. He inched closer to her, electricity coiling under his skin, ready to be unleashed on her. Metal glistened from her shirt collar, and he leaned down to examine the new necklace dangling from her neck. His body instantly recoiled at the sight. It was a cross, which would make his task more difficult. 

Nevertheless, he had a job to do. 

Viktor leaned toward the girl’s ear and began whispering. His words were meant to terrify. To seep into her dreams and find her, hold her there until he deemed it time to release her from her nightmare. The air in the room grew cold, and Viktor watched as goose bumps rose on the girl’s skin, and she began to shiver. Even if she woke up at this point, she would not be able to see him, but no doubt she could feel his presence with the ice sweeping through her veins. The smell of burning hair would linger in the air, triggering a thought that she wasn’t alone. 

However, this would not always be the case. The girl was the last of her bloodline, one more victim for him to cross off his list. One more target to eliminate. 

She was a Seer. 

“Step away from the girl.”

Viktor instantly recognized the voice and snarled. He finished his vile dialogue in the girl’s ear and then turned toward the intruder. “Hello Matthias, of course they would send you.”

“No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to get rid of you.” The angel’s booming voice filled the room. His hand instinctively rested on the sword hanging from his waist, a stance which was perfected by hundreds of battles, but Viktor had fought hundreds of battles too. 

“That hurts, brother.” Viktor walked away from the girl and toward the angel. Matthias towered over him, but he was not worried. Matthias had always been bigger and stronger than he was, but Viktor prided himself in being quicker and more cunning than most angels and demons he had encountered. 

“You stopped being my brother long ago.”

“You have never stopped being mine.”

Matthias’s eyes narrowed. “Pretty words coming from such a wretched heart.”

“I regret every day what I have done!” Viktor roared, his body shaking, a snap of electricity sparking from his fingertips. He closed his eyes, forcing his body to calm down. 

“I didn’t think it was possible.”

“Of course I have regret. I feel everything.” Viktor pointed to the girl. “Everything they feel, I feel. Every scream that escapes their lips, every thought that enters their mind, echoes in mine. Every inch of cold fear that flows through their body floods mine first.”

“You knew that would be the price for your treason. You chose this life of misery.”

Viktor laughed, shaking his head. “Yet here you are again, big brother to the rescue, unable to give up on me.”

Matthias pointed to the girl. “I’m here for her.” He pulled his sword out with his other hand and pointed the sword at Viktor. “You mean nothing to me.”

“Then why is your voice quivering?” Viktor walked closer to Matthias, then looked up at him and whispered. “Will you ever forgive me?”

For a brief second, Viktor watched as pain flickered across Matthias’s face. 

“How can I when you tore our family apart? When you fell from heaven, you took our entire family with you.”

“If I could go back, I would. I would choose the right path.”

“What has changed?” Matthias asked, his face momentarily relaxed, and Viktor knew he had thrown him off guard. 

Viktor raked a hand through his long hair, moving it out of his eyes, and gathered his thoughts. “Everything. I am weary of the endless bloody battles of hatred, and vengeance. I’m exhausted from the lies, from this prison of torment. You have to believe me.” He reached a trembling hand toward Matthias.

Matthias leaned down toward Viktor, searching his eyes for any hint of distrust. A sudden burst of pain, which ricocheted from Viktor’s head and throughout his body, broke his calm demeanor. Pricks of pain intruded in his thoughts, alerting him he was being watched by The Gatherer and his thoughts were no longer his own. 

“Lies!” Matthias grabbed Viktor and hurled him from the girl’s bed and into the wall. His electricity pulsed under his skin, begging to be released. 

“Stop!” Viktor moaned. “I’m not lying to you.” He tried to calm down, to take back his mind. 

“Prove it. Tell me why you are here. Why her?”

“He wants her.”

“Why this Seer?”

“I don’t know.” He panted through another burst of pain; sweat began to drip off his brow. The Gatherer did not allow him to speak of such things. He was trespassing in dangerous territory. 

Matthias landed a punch to Viktor’s face, and blood trickled from his nose. “You want to try again?”

“Because she’s the key.” Viktor’s body began to shake, the pain sending jolts down to his toes. “The key to the city.” Viktor gasped for breath, white dots blotting out his vision. Couldn’t Matthias see what was happening to him? He was being punished for such talk. “Don’t make me say anymore.”

Matthias hauled Viktor to his feet, twisting his arm back behind his body, and nearly wrenching it from its socket. Viktor roared, the two pains fighting against each other. 

“If she’s dead, then he can control the city.” Viktor’s eyes rolled back in his head and his body started to spasm. “I can’t do this anymore. You have to help me.”

Matthias released his hold on Viktor. “You know there’s nothing I can do. You chose your path.”

Enraged, electricity awakened in Viktor’s body, flying out toward Matthias, knocking his sword out of his hand. He sprinted, going in for a tackle, but at the last second, Matthias dodged, reaching for his sword. Viktor lunged at him, this time connecting with Matthias’s arm. The electric shock sent him to the ground, but he quickly rebounded, grabbing Viktor by his hair and slamming him onto his back. 

“Deny your master and say that God is the only God.”

Viktor rolled over and escaped Matthias’s foot coming at his face. He stood to catch his breath, frustration rolling off of him in waves. “You know I can’t do that here. He will kill me for even thinking the words.”

“Then I can’t help you.”

“You have helped others escape to Bethesda before,” Viktor pleaded.

“I can help by putting you out of your pathetic misery.” Matthias steadied his sword and pointed it at Viktor.

“You wouldn’t kill me.”

“I enjoy killing your kind.” Mathias took a step forward. 

“You wouldn’t kill your own brother.”

“I would do it without blinking.” Matthias placed the sword on Viktor’s chest. 

“Go ahead. Do it.” Viktor closed his eyes and leaned forward. The cold steel blade went through the fabric and pricked the skin underneath. He opened his eyes and looked up at Matthias. “But what does your God think of the hatred you have for your own brother? Does he approve?”

Matthias hesitated, his muscles twitching. “To me, you are nothing more than another demon sent for me to destroy.”

“What about her?” Viktor pointed to the girl.

“What about her?” Matthias asked, his eyes narrowing. 

“If you kill me, he will send Torqueo.” Viktor smiled. “You know how bloodthirsty he can be.”

Viktor watched as different emotions played across Matthias’s face as he weighed Viktor’s words. He had heard tales of Matthias’s battles with Torqueo, how Matthias lost dozens of angels, barely making it out alive. 

“What are you suggesting then?” he asked through gritted teeth. 

“I will go back to my master and beg him to let me try again. Then we will take the girl, and you will help me get to Bethesda. She stays protected, and I get to start over.”

Viktor followed Matthias’s gaze over to the sleeping girl. There was so much at stake. This girl could very well be the last of her kind, the last human to be able to see the spiritual realm. The girl’s life was now tethered to his, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it. If he carried out his orders and killed her, he would never be able to go to Bethesda. If he spared her life and helped Matthias, then a price would be issued on his head, and his days were numbered. Viktor hated it had come down to this. That it came down to one measly teenage girl. 

Viktor watched as Matthias stared at the girl, weighing his options, the sword still pushing against his skin. Matthias would have to decide what he wanted more. How important was the girl to his brother? Viktor’s life was nothing to Matthias; he was simply a cockroach to be smashed. 

Sharp pain exploded in his brain as Matthias pushed the sword through his skin. Viktor gasped for breath as the pain ricocheted throughout his body. Matthias twisted the sword inside his shoulder, and tar-like blood oozed from the wound. Waves of dizziness crashed over Viktor as Matthias turned back to him. 

“Now you can tell your master that you barely escaped with your life.” He twisted the sword back once more and then yanked it from his body with such force that blood splattered all over the front of Matthias’s shirt. 

Viktor grinned in spite of the pain. He would heal, but the scar would be a lasting reminder of his betrayal to Lucifer. “You better be prepared for the wrath of hell that will follow us once her eyes are opened.”