Final Masquerade

I sit here on an old rickety couch. I let my lungs fill with the scent of sage and burnt Apple, awaiting my last and final hope to walk into this room. The walls are peppered with wallpaper so old that it’s begun to curl out and peel off at will. Thin fabrics draped over the seating as well as over the wall for decoration. Everything I see looks to be decade’s, if not centuries old. There are jars scattered around on shelves containing things like fur, hangman’s blood, rat tale, lavender, the eye of newt, and more.

I can hear Heidi’s warning in my head “Miss, I beg of you. Do not see Momma Mosley.” Sorry to disappoint you, Hidi; at this point, I have no other choice.

“Come, child,” a Jamaican accent beckoned.

Pulling my attention next to me. I quickly get to my feet. My heart begins to race; no going back now. I bow my head. “Thank you, Momma Mosley.”

Momma Mosley stood tall in a tattered dress. Her dark skin glowing in the natural light. Her hair is as long as a hot summer day. Leaves, beads, and torn fabrics are delicately intertwined in each individual dreadlock. Momma Mosley looks like she is barely out of her twenties. She has what looks to be an odd-looking tattoo on her cheeks. Reaching out one of her hands, covered in rings and bangles of all kinds, she begins to wave me over.

I follow behind her as she leads me down a dark hall only lit by a few black hall candlesticks. I do my best to calm my nerves. After the things I have seen lately, I have no doubt that the Queen of VooDoo herself can help me. It’s only a matter of her price. To which, I will pay anything.

Momma Mosley walked through the dangling beaded doorway. I paused after entering the room. In front of me is a table with a tattered lace tablecloth. On top of the small table, a large candle burns, laminating the contents of the room. A pair of chicken feet and a mouse skull look to have been strategically placed around the candle. Old dolls and grass people pinned to the wall surrounded me. I gazed on, watching Momma Mosley light more candles in the room.

“What is it you have in your hand there, child” Momma Mosley wondered, lighting the last available candle.

I looked at the black vile in my hand. Small enough I can hold gently yet big enough to have more than a shot of liquor. Holding the vial by the neck, I showed Momma Mosley, “This vial is full of Dragon tears. It is an acceptable source of payment, so I understand.”

Momma Mosley, for a second, seemed shocked. Immediately she composed herself, “Why don’t you tell Momma Mosley everything. You clearly have a story to tell” she pointed to the chair opposite her.

The chair moved out enough for me to sit in it. Without hesitation, I took the seat offered to me. The chair is obviously made from an old oak tree. Its cushions made of cotton are soft to the touch. Gripping the bottle tight in my hands, I began, “For you to understand what brought me here, I should explain a few things. My name is Rory Payne-Orcurs. My father is the King of Hell, and my mother was human. I have been hunted since before I was born and even more so now.” I looked up to see if I had explained everything well so far.

Momma Mosley looked at me with a calming expression. “Do go on; I know you did not bring such a payment for such a simple thing like being a mixed offspring.”

I shook my head. “A while back, we killed the demon who had been hunting me. Or so I thought. Once we thought I was safe, all the lies my father and others had told unraveled. In a panic, I ran away. After some time, I came back for Astreal, my dragon. I had left him behind, and it was the single biggest mistake of my life; at that point. So I went back for him. That’s when I discovered that the demon that I thought was dead, in fact, is very much alive.” I began to remember the events so vividly.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“I know what I heard,” I yelled, chasing after Loki through the castle.

“It’s not that we think you’re lying,” Eliot explained, rushing to keep up “it’s just.”

“It’s possible. That’s what it is,” Loki hissed over his shoulder. “Nothing can survive and Obsidian Dragon’s Fire. Nothing! If you wanted to come back, you didn’t need to fabricate such a story to do so.”

“Excuse me,” I growled in astonishment. Taking a moment, I paused, watching Loki walk away, his broad shoulders stiff and his head held high.

“Demons are flammable when it comes to dragons, is all” Eliot tried to cool the tension.

Bursting into the sunroom, Loki walked to his desk. Placing a hand on his head, he paused. “So you think you heard a dead demon’s voice.”

I glared at him. The nerve of this guy. It’s like his ego can’t handle the truth. “Astreal heard him too,” I declared. I watched as Eliot gave Loki an unsure look. Loki’s regular stone face expressed frustration and confusion.

Loki walked over, placing his hands on my shoulders. “You don’t seem to understand; a Demon can’t survive what happened to Yarh. There is not enough power in all the realms to have protected him. It’s not possible.”

“Then what was it if not Yarh” I demanded. Astreal sat at my feet, watching the exchange completely content.

Loki returned to his desk at this point. “Your powers are stronger here because they are tied to Astreal. The closer you two are, the stronger and more profound they become. After such an absence, it’s stirred up some memories, given unpleasant memories, memories nonetheless.”

This is unbelievable. Loki honestly expects me to believe that load of crap he just called gold. “So it was all in my head then,” I questioned.

“Rori,” Carter exclaimed, entering the room.

I glanced at Carter for a moment. Standing next to him with her arm intertwined with his stood Hyland; she smiled at me, giving a brief nod then returning my attention to Loki. “Don’t you dare call me crazy? Don’t you dare say it’s in my head? Not once could you help me? Not once did you know when he was here or that I was even in danger” I pointed my finger angrily at him? “Don’t you dare dismiss me? I don’t know how, but Yarh is alive. All I see you doing is sitting on your ass as usual.”

“I don’t think you understand how this works,” Eliot responded.

Loki scowled, “Do you comprehend just what Angels and Demons are and do?”

Unamused, I responded, “I would if anyone would actually tell me the truth! Because I know what I heard, What I heard was Yarh. So that means he’s not dead. And once again, you all lied.”

Eliot placed his hand on his chin, thinking hard. “Sweety; Angels and Demons are not as Abrahamic religions would have you believe Angels and Demons to be. Um. Were.” Eliot paused again, thinking hard, “How do I explain this.”

“Humans have a soul, per se,” Loki interjected. “It’s not in the way most humans think they have a soul. It gives off an energy source that Angels and Demons pick up on.”

“Yes,” Eliot exclaimed, eager to agree, “You see, Demons and Angels feed off specific energy given off by the ‘soul.’ Angels feed off the lighter emotional energy. Think Happiness, Love, Joy, and the like. Demons, however, feed off the darker emotional energy given off by the ‘soul.’ Think Anger, Fear, Hate, Sadness, and the like. This is how we survive and how we can live such long lives. It’s because of the way we feed off the emotional energy of Humans.”

“So it’s in our best interest to keep the human population alive,” Carter explained. “As long as humans are around, we are around. Therefore, we encourage humans, much similar to a muse, we encourage humans to thrive, to move forward to keep going.”

“Do you see now, Rori” Loki questioned. He looked at me with his blank look. “For Yarh to have survived a powerful blow like the one Astreal unleashed, there would have to be some sort of miracle.”

“Shouldn’t you be scared of what God would do to you for feeding on humans like that” I questioned, scowling at Loki.

Loki tossed his head back, giving a hearty laugh. “God is as real to us as he is to humans.”

I stood there dumbfounded. Just what is it that he’s getting at? “Then if that’s true, why do you eat” I wondered.

“Food tastes good,” Carter nudged me.

I sighed irritably, “I’m serious.”

“Food is good to eat, helps sustain the body just not our life source,” Eliot explained.

“Think of humans like a battery and Angels and Demons being powered by the battery,” Loki suggested. “Food does for us as oil does for cars. Just as human energy is to us as what gas is to a car.”

“So you’re telling me there is no possible way that he could have survived,” I asked doubtfully, knitting my eyebrows awaiting a response.

Stone-faced Loki responded, looking at his paperwork, “Not a chance.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Should have known, you never believed me, and you never will. Oh, how safe I feel being back here once again with your royal ass.” I quickly turned on my heels, leaving the room more frustrated than when I arrived. I have no reason to lie about this. I know what I heard. I’m sure of it.

“Outside,” Astreal begged. I glanced down at him. He couldn’t care less that I was absent for so long. All he cares about is that I’m back and here to play. I nodded, opening the door to the garden. It couldn’t hurt to take a walk and release some of this pent-up frustration.

I followed as Astreal frolics around, stirring up the birds and field mice. He is quite the sight. I gazed at him, so carefree and full of hope. Loki had turned the garden into a complex maze in my absence. It had become a tall lush, and vibrant entity. I feel like it has a life of its own. Anticipating my moves and needs. Just as I thought I needed to sit for a moment, the wall opened up, showing me a stone bench. I smiled at the intuition and the thoughtfulness of the maze. “Thank you,” I said, passing through the doorway.

Taking a seat, I glanced around. The flowers are now mostly budding. A few early bloomers have arrived. The sun beating down on my face gave me a sense of calm. I felt as if everything in this moment would last forever.

“Enjoying the day I see,” a voice startled me. Jumping at the unexpected visitor, I glanced to my side. Sitting back with his arms leisurely resting on the back of the bench, his short silver hair glistening under the sun.

“What do you want?” I hissed. What possible reason could he have for an unannounced visit?

“You have been doing a lot of drastic moving here lately,” Alexander paused. “So, naturally, I’ve been sent to check on you.” Seemingly pleased with himself, Alexander smiled. I rolled my eyes. Of all the people to show up, I think I would’ve instead have dealt with Loki. “Is there anything you wish to clear up” he questioned.

“Not particularly,” I stated, wholly annoyed with his presence.

“Hum,” he thought out loud, “you traveled across a continent twice in a short amount of time. And you have no reasoning behind that?”

“Nothing that concerns you,” I grumbled.

“You could just say that you had a falling out with your keepers and ran away from your responsibilities. Then had a change of heart instead of posturing,” he snapped, frowning at me.

I Gawked at him, “how would you know that?”

He smiled at me. “Just because I’m not always around, you assume I’m not watching you? It’s my job to watch you. I thought that was obvious. Besides, I’m not the one who should be answering questions here. What could you possibly have to excuse such a drastic life change?”

“I don’t like being lied to. It’s not something I would expect you to understand; I get the feeling that you enjoy watching people when they are being fooled.”

“Just finding out that love is a complex thing I see,” Alexander jested.

“No,” I replied.

“No,” Alexander wondered.

“Love is not complex; humans are the ones who complicate it. Love should not be complicated. You don’t have the right to lie and defend your lies by saying you did it out of Love.” I gazed at Astreal; he will never understand what I did. In his eyes, nothing happened. He waited all this time faithfully, all the while I punished him and myself for others’ faults. “Do angels love” I wondered out loud.

Taken entirely by surprise, Alexander recoiled in disgust, “Angels do not have such failures,” he declared!

“I’m not saying that they fall in love with humans, but do you feel love for another?” I asked humbly. I watched him gaze at the ground in a fugue state.

Soon his facial expression turned to disgust. “Love has no place among Angels or demons. The fact that you are alive should never have come to pass. Why I was tasked with babysitting you is beyond me. My talents are better than just sitting here watching you fail.”

With that, just as suddenly as he arrived, Alexander left. I suppose I hit a nerve. Here I was led to believe all my life that Angels were the good guys, kind and loving. Now I see they are just as human as the Demons are. Whether they wish to believe it or not.