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Trinity
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When I had taken the time to listen to and process what it was that Talia had to say about the vision that she had just recently awoken from, I almost didn't think that I would be able to process it at all. I mean, how was I able to understand that my daughter had seen me die? It wasn't real, at least not yet. And we didn't know for sure if the vision was just a dream or if it was really something that we needed to worry about.
And, if it wasn't a real vision like the ones that she had had twice before now, then why did she have this dream in the first place? What was it that had caused her to have that dream? Was it just the stress of the case and all the things that had been happening? Or was it someone or something influencing some sort of outside force onto my daughter? Was there a person, or some other type of being, that was using magic to make this happen? And if that was the case, then I needed to find them, stop them, and punish them severely.
I'll be damned if I let someone make my daughter see those things and get away with it. I will not allow someone to make my daughter experience that sort of mental and emotional anguish and not get punished. I don't care one fucking bit if I was trying to be a civilized person and show those murdering bastards respect and compassion, I would make sure that whoever it was that sent that dream to my daughter would die a slow and painful death. They would see the beast that they so erroneously called me. They would see the monster that I was more than capable of becoming if it was something to do with someone that I loved. I would become what it was that they feared, and I would destroy them so thoroughly that no one would be able to recognize them ever again. And that there is a promise that I would make sure that I kept.
As I contemplated all of this, as I imagined slowly killing whoever it was that had hurt my baby, I saw that Gabriel and Alexio were coming back over to join the group. They had been talking privately in the corner for the last several minutes, their heads together and their voices so low that even I couldn't hear them.
.....
“Queen Trinity.” Gabriel took on a serious tone when he addressed me. And the fact that he used my title, which he had often stopped using after all these years, told me that he had something important to discuss with me.
“What is it, Gabriel?” I asked him as I gave him a cautious look. “What is going on?” I knew that there was something major. Something of great importance.
“Alexio and I have been talking, discussing what it was that Talia saw earlier. And there is something that he and I have come to understand and agree on.”
“And what is that?” Reece asked them as he leaned forward, putting his elbows on the desk next to me and resting his chin in his hands. It looked like a casual pose to many, but I knew that he was taking this seriously.
“Talia mentioned some names. Three to be exact.” Gabriel continued at Reece's prompting.
“And?” Vincent asked as he stepped up behind me. He and Gabriel were usually in that position together, but now Gabriel was the one addressing us like there was an issue in my kingdom that I needed to address. The fact that there was an issue was beside the point. I knew that this had nothing to do with that at the moment. This was specific to Talia and the dream.
“I recognized those names. Well, at least two of them.” Gabriel finally got to his point.
“I recognized them as well.” Alexio said as he looked at his young charge. “I recognized all three of them.”
“So, they are real people?” Talia looked shocked by what she heard. “The names sounded so fake and made up to me, I didn't know if they were real.”
“Oh, they are real, alright. But they aren't people.” Alexio looked like he really didn't want to talk about this revelation. “You see, those names belong to different beings from my realm.”
“Your realm?” I asked him as I straightened up in my seat. I was alert as well as confused now. “They're demons?”
“No, they are not like me. They are not what is currently known as demons. My species was created centuries ago to guard the underworld, to traffic the souls to their destinations, and to fight in a war that was between those in the celestial realm, the mortal realm, and the underworld. We were created to be the worker bees and soldiers of the Gods at the time. The beings that I am referring to though, they are older, much older.”
“What are you saying?” Reece sounded as confused as I felt.
“The demons that we know have been around less than two thousand years. However, these names that Talia mentioned, are older than that. They predate the demons. They even predate the creation of much of the world. They are known as the Ancients. They were, in their own way, Gods that ruled on a different plane of existence.”
“Gods? Ancients?” Shane echoed the words back to Gabriel as he tried to follow along.
“The Gods that we know are technically the Gods of light, as ancient texts have explained. They were, for the most part, benevolent and helpful to early mankind. They offered wisdom and guidance in exchange for devotion and prayer. The ancients though, they are a different story. If the others were the Gods of Light, the ancients were the God of Darkness. They are what people think of when they hear the word demon. Instead of helping humans and relishing in the worship that they were willing to offer, the Ancients despised the humans. They didn't want to be followed by weak and meaningless mortals. They saw themselves as above all of that.” Gabriel was explaining these things to me in his most serious voice. It wasn't usually one that I associated with a 'we're fucked' attitude, but I was getting that vibe now.
“Alright, so they had a problem with humans, what did that matter?” I asked him. “What happened to them? Where are they now? And why were their names in the vision that Talia had?” I could sense that everyone in the room was soaking up the information that Gabriel was offering, but I sensed that there was an end to it all coming very soon. Judging by the tone in his voice, and the apprehension on his face, Gabriel didn't have much more to offer us.
“Well.” He looked down and fiddled with his fingers for a moment. It was an idle movement that he was only allowing himself to do because he was so tired. I knew Gabriel, and I knew that he was never the one to show his nervousness so easily. “There isn't much else that I know about the Ancients.” He finally looked up, feeling depressed that he was so unhelpful at that moment.
“What about you, Lex. Do you know anything about them?” Talia asked him in a hopeful voice. I knew that she just wanted to have answers about what it was that she had seen. She was still feeling vulnerable and hurt from it all. Her heart was still heavy and broken from the images that would never leave her mind.
“I wish that I did, Talia. However, to me these names were mere legends. I know of them, but I do not know these beings. I had been under the impression that they were long since dead. If they are alive though, there are some beings that I am sure will know more.”
“Who?” Reece latched onto that last tidbit. He was desperate for information that would help us, and I was right there with him. “Who would know more? Who do we need to call? Reece was so intent at the moment that he wasn't thinking about the possibilities here. He wasn't putting all the facts together. He wasn't thinking about who might know these people that were in Talia's vision.
“I think that I know.” I spoke softly, but I knew that they were all able to hear me. “We need to call in some friends of Talia's.” I looked at my daughter then, and she was following along just fine.
“You are right, mom.” She nodded at me, but there was no hint of a smile on her face. She was tired and hurt, emotionally at least. “And I know that they will be more than happy to help us.”
“Who?!” Shane asked in exasperation. “Who is it that we need to call? Who will know these ancient beings?”
“My friends.” Talia smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. It was more of a reflex than anything at all. “Hades, Lucifer and Satan. They are the ones that have been training me the most over the years, so I am sure that they will be more than happy to help us with this situation.”
“H..H..Hades?” Mr. Amadeus asked in a shaking and scared voice. “Y..y..y..you want to call in the Gods of the Underworld?” He must not know about Talia's training for the last eleven years.
“It's OK, Mr. Amadeus.” Talia reassured him. “They are my friends and tutors.”
“I do not know if you are aware, Mr. Amadeus, but Talia is the next ruler of the underworld.”
“I..I..I knew that, but I didn't know she was getting lessons from the current rulers.” He was probably scared, and maybe a little excited. It wasn't everyday that someone met a celestial being. Well, unless you counted me, but that didn't count. I was living in the mortal realm.
“I will call them now.” Talia said as she looked at Alexio for confirmation.
“I think that would be best.” He nodded at her. “I know that they would like to know if the Ancient Ones were still causing problems.”
“I just don't get it.” Shawn shook his head. “What do these ancient people have to do with the Jaegan? What is the connection to that family?”
“I don't know yet.” I told him as I pushed away from the desk. “But I intend to find out as soon as I can.”
I needed to think for a few moments, so while Talia started to contact Hades and the others, I started to pace my office. I had so much to think about now, and so many questions that were as of yet unanswered. What was going to happen next? And how was I going to put an end to all of this? I needed to think. I needed some coffee to wake me up. And I needed to burn off some stress. I didn't know what to do yet, but I knew that I would figure it out soon enough.
