2. The Cemetery

2

The Cemetery

Morgana

T he location I select is not what most mortals would choose for an adventure, as it is supposed to be a place of farewells and respect. The West Hill National Cemetery consists of green plains filled with tombstones and well-kept grass. Many plaques of the deceased have been obscured with filth over the years, names forgotten to time. For many of its residents, it is a final resting place covered in vibrant flowers, placed by loved ones who still care and miss them. But for others, their only visitors are the maggots in their caskets and the wilted, lifeless flowers that are never replaced, making them permanent, unwanted roommates.

Well, I suppose the maggots aren't the worst companions one can have…

My bitter thoughts are mirrored in my annoyed expression as I pierce through the darkness at three unruly teenagers sitting at a grave a few feet from where I lean on a tree. Even though it's dark out and the moon has long since taken its place in the sky, I can see the peasants all piled on a gravestone, sharing a bottle between them, and surrounded by a handful of candles. One of them leans against the stone itself, their disrespect concealing the identity of the rightful owner they have decided to make their lounge chair. It's one thing if no one cleans the tombs or plaques, allowing moss to hinder their name naturally because they have no one alive to clean it, but to nonchalantly block it from existence with their ignorance is unacceptable.

Even though all demons are visible to mortals, I can be invisible to them if I so desire. They can't see my powers though, which to them would look like black shadows moving like a Kraken's slimy tentacles at my feet. The pitch-black scenery of the cemetery also helps disguise our presence even if they could perceive us, but it doesn't stop us from seeing them. Thanks to the demons that pledge themselves to me, I can see in the dark just as easily, despite being an Angel.

My annoyance boils into pulsing anger when I see one of the teenagers pull a can from a backpack, and start spray painting insignificant scribbles on the tombstone next to them. I feel my shadows grow under me, energy vibrating as I extend it across the rows of graves and towards my target. Suddenly, a thick white fog encapsulates the teenage boys who freeze, their measly little candles doing very little to give them visibility. Alistair looks at me with a confused expression, knowing I was responsible for the abrupt fog. I barely granted him a glance as I planned my next move. "Humans are disgusting. They can't even show the dead some respect. And if they insist on behaving like this, I'll be more than happy to teach them a lesson." I state in place of an explanation, turning to look him in the eyes. My pet doesn't seem very perturbed by my sadistic grin. "Go stand next to them quietly. I have a plan," I instruct over my shoulder as I calmly start walking towards the group. The booming laughter and jokes have ceased, replaced with hush whispers, wondering what is happening. With a wave of my hand all the lampposts and candles go out with a flicker, plunging the mortals into the dark abyss. I feel my smile grow at their shocked gasps. Alistair passes me as I stop a dozen feet from the mortals, and I wait for him to become visible before calling on my powers once more. I feel the energy surge from deep within, eyes switching from blue to ruby red again. Turning over both palms toward the sky I feel my feet leaving the ground as I begin levitating forward to the pathetic thrio quivering on the ground, and place myself behind Alistair. Everyone went quiet, human intuition telling them they were in danger even if they could not see me. Taking a deep breath, I started chuckling menacingly. My hands started glowing a burning orange before igniting in a roaring blaze, flames licking in the direction of the clouds. Simultaneously all the previously unlit candles blew into a fiery rage, sending all the mortals screaming and propelling themselves backwards and away from the flames.

"Do you mortals believe the dead hold grudges?" I ask them, making my voice deeper, overlapped with more voices as if there were dozens of spirits speaking at once. The blood curdling screams once they saw Alistair standing in front of them, backlit by my flames, rivaled the ones in the dungeons. My pet plays the role of a mysterious figure haunting them well, with black horns, red eyes, and all. The screaming produced at his presence could be heard all the way from the parking lot as the mortals ran for their lives and sped away in their vehicle. I float to their abandoned campsite, drop down, fire extinguished from my hands as I burst out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer. My manacle cackles echoes in the now deserted cemetery grounds, only the dead as a witness. Well, the dead and my unamused demon. "Oh come on, Alistair. That was fun. I have to do that again sometime," I say before bursting into tears of laughter once more after spotting him approaching me looking unimpressed.

"Yes, my lady." He grunts, not sounding very convinced but agreeing nonetheless. As he should, he is my servant after all. That means, serving and agreeing with everything I do or say. So, I am not bothered by his tone as he is just a lowly pet demon, though an attractive one. As my laughter winds down, I order Alistair to clean up the candles, bottles and spray cans the humans left behind. I took care of disappearing graffiti that disrespectfully marked the gravestone by using my magic to erase their wrongdoings, leaving it in pristine condition. I looked to Alistair as he finished burning the rest of the items on one hand with his fire, leaving only ashes to blow away in the wind. Wearing a fitting black suit, dress pants and white dress shirt, looking sharp and well dressed like we all must be since father values appearances. Dark curls blowing in the night air, illuminated only by the bright red glow of his eyes and the fire emanating from his hands. I stared at his sharp cheekbones and square jaw a second longer before switching to his many piercings.

A small black hoop piercing on his right nostrils as well as a large black one on his septum, the last one matching the one on the middle of his bottom lip. Two sets of identical curved barbells piercing on each end of his eyebrows. And four sets of identical black piercings on each ear from cartilage to earlobe; from horns at the top, a set of skulls, an inverted crucifixes and ending with arrows on the earlobes. My eyes trail down to his neck and chin where some of his many tattoos are apparent, swerving lines and curves painting a myriad of symbols. Some are the crests of his family, others are summoning pentagrams for him, and other purposes. My thoughts wandered off as I stare.

As soon as he finishes, Alistair turns to me awaiting new instructions, pulling me back into the present. Wordlessly, we go back to patrolling the rest of the grounds, Alistair two steps behind me to my right like always. After a few minutes, I stop at a particularly large and ordinate grave to read the silver plaque. Out of nowhere, I sensed an energy stronger than anything I have ever felt in any of my excursions to the mortal world. I swiftly turned towards my left expecting to see an angel or maybe even a high ranked demon but was greeted with emptiness. "Did you feel that?" I ask Alistair, not taking my gaze away from the direction the energy originated from.

"I didn't, my lady. Did you sense something?" His answer comes to no surprise seeing as I am Lucifer's daughter, his pure blooded lineage is the strongest Angel blood in existence. No matter that I am half-mortal, my blood overcomes any impureness of my mother's human blood and grants me with powers that exceed any working demon's powers.

Alistair can't sense them but I can tell they are close. "Come out and identify yourself, now." I state into the darkness, commanding the stranger to appear. I wasn't expecting my response to be a blast of energy, shadows knocking Alistair and I on our backs. We both hit the ground, and I lay on my back for a second getting over the shock. The energy was strong enough to take my breath away.

Sharp pain explodes in my chest as I try to breathe. It feels like a thousand Soul Crystals are digging into me. I look down, grabbing at my chest squirming in agony. I see a red hilt of a dagger on my left side where my heart should be, the blade buried into my chest. Strange symbols are on the dagger in gold but I am too concerned about the obsidian blade plunged into my chest to make any sense out of the symbols. I attempt to grab the hilt as everything faded.