Halo Rising: Prologue and chapters 1-2

Prologue Part 1:

The sweet breath of darkness graced the deep knolls and valleys where the ruined chapel sat.

The frosted and faded stain-glass windows seemingly hovered in nothingness as the young man raced towards it.

His body was soaked down to nothing as he walked in. Thank goodness the building’s roof was still intact. He brought his arms tightly around him as he tried to collect his thoughts.

It had flooded, damn it all. His car was drowned miles down the road and it took him almost half the night to walk uphill to an ancient church–which was a bet in and of itself.

He sat down in one of the wooden pews and looked about him in the dimmed light of the stars that did escape the mass of clouds in the heavens tonight.

There was a large statue of an angel, its wings folded by its sides in 2 rows. One pair above the other. Its hands were clasped, and its eyes focused up into the holy skies. By its feet were stones—but its body did not seem marred by them. He then looked over to the left of him, where two, large paintings used to hang. There images were unreadable, just marks of splashed paint smeared across ripe canvas. And to the right was a door, which the man presumed closed by rust.

He shivered violently and drew his knees into his chest, resting his back against the arm of the pew. His still wet, tawny hair hung in strips against his pale features. He could tell he was freezing, and falling asleep was not something he could very well do. He constantly had to keep pinching his hands and arms to stay awake—but his eyes began to roll and buck from sheer exhaustion. Slowly, he slipped down into the sudden warmth of sleep—or was it death..?

...His eyes came open in what appeared to be early morning. The cold of the rain was now gone and he could fully grasp reality once more.

From the right of him, where the door was, was now open. He thought it odd, seeing as how he didn’t open the thing—and besides that, it was closed from centuries of rust.

“Hello?!” The young man called out.

With his arms still around him, but not as tightly, he walked the small rows up to the alter where the door sat.

A light graced the threshold and he stopped. He winced as the light came further towards him and the door pushed open.

Standing there was another man; he couldn’t have been any older than himself. He was holding a lantern, dressed in rather old clothes. They had to have been dated to the 1800's—maybe even the 16th century. His crimson, red-hair seemed to hover above his pale face. But his eyes, the other man noted.....His eyes were the brightest cyan he had ever seen. They glowed like the fire in the lantern he held.

“David.” he spoke clearly, “ ...So good to finally meet you...” a smirk crossed his face.

Prologue Part 2:

“How do you know my name..?” David shuttered, now grasping to the coat around him. “How do you know!?!”

The other boy stilled for a moment, then moved forward. David backed up to let him pass. He watched the young man walk past him—but didn’t notice the animal following after until he yelped in surprise.

“Oh my god...” David stammered.

The red-head turned to see what was wrong, as if the panther –a white one at that–following after him was normal for everyone.

“Oh, him...” he pointed down, “Just an escort is all—A friend.” He sat down in the third row of pews while the large cat, his emerald and citrine eyes pierced the darkness around them, sat on the outside, beside him.

“You can come closer. He won’t hurt you.” the man said, another familiar smirk folding his mouth.

David froze.

“OK, then—I suppose we should get to the point after all...” He crossed his legs, “My name is William Thether. Unlike what you may believe from my appearance, I am not from the early 20th century....I went to college not so far away from here...”

“Why are you here...?” David whispered. Seeing all of this had to be a dream...there was no other explanation.

“ I’m here to talk to you, of course.” He stroked the panther’s ears as he smiled. “I just wanted to ask you two questions.”

David walked slowly forward, never taking his eyes off of the cat.

“So what is it?”

“First of all..” William spoke, leaning in, “Have you ever ‘experienced’ something in your lifetime you cannot explain?”

The other man humped his shoulders, “I dunno....how about this for example?”

“Stop being sarcastic. Your no good at it.” William laughed as David cursed him under his breath. His expression suddenly changed and he became very serious. “I mean....something even more dramatic than this, David. And I know you know what I mean.”

David became deathly quiet. His fingers dug into the leather of his jacket.

“...Once...when I was 12...”

“What was it?” William prodded.

“...I–I saw an angel...”

“Care to explain?” William asked simply. His blue eyes glared into David’s.

“Why not...?” The boy humped his shoulders then sat across from William. He sent a slight look to the white panther beside him, but said nothing.

“...I was, swimming...with a few friends of mine when I wasn’t suppose to, in the river. It started to rain, and the stupid river was so small, it flooded easily.” he sighed, reflective, “I wasn’t a good swimmer...and I felt the current snatch me under....and I was drowning.” David paused. He looked up at William who was leaning in, listening to his words. His eyebrow cocked when he stopped.

“I remember blacking out—then...suddenly, nothing but white light shined into my face. I thought it was a flashlight or something...but the light had a face. It had wings. All I really remember was how it felt. It was the warmest thing...it was hot, but not burning...and it had a smell to it....something like....I can’t describe it.”

“And who do you think did that?”

David looked at William as if he was insane, “What the hell does that mean?!”

“Once again, you know what I mean...” William crossed his arms about his chest, he could almost hear the beast from just underneath him growl in support of its master.

“I didn’t do it!” David yelled, “ I couldn’t have! It was something else!”

“No, it was not. And you know it...” William stood up, and passed the animal to stand in front of David. “It’s alright to be afraid...It’s an amazing gift for any mortal....”

“How do you know these things....?” David supported his head in his hands, his eyes slowly watering—the tears burning.

“You know that as well. You know a lot more than your willing to admit.” The red head walked up the rows as he spoke.

“I’m a spirit, David—and this is a dream, as you first thought. I came here to inform you of your ability to summon angels because the spirit realm is in danger.

Darkness is rising. They’re killing off weaker spirits as if it were nothing....I’m assuming they want to reach the lower parts of the spirit realm—the ancient world. For there lies the link between life and death...”

David sat still, his eyes widening. All he could focus on was the angel seated in the middle of the room. Silent it stood, grey with age and climbed over with ivy as he noted, his mind clearer somehow. He looked at William who had a calm stare.

“What can I do alone?”

William sniggered, “You are not alone—I am gifted in many ways as well.” He looked over to the panther who suddenly rose up, fully alive—it stalked over to him.

“This is my weapon, Arlen ...” He looked into the animals eyes and nodded.

...Suddenly the room darkened—light seemed to become darkness as it was absorbed into the animals body...

The air became stale and started to rise higher, up into the ceiling.

He watched as the beast slowly changed...its body somehow hardening from the soft pelt of fur to a hard, almost metallic exterior...

A hilt, that of a sword, was made from what was the tail; The cross-guard was of inter wound snakes, there tongues wrapped up around the bottom of the blade. The blade itself had diamond cut-outs on each side.

The whole of it was milky-white and glowed like the embers of a fire.

In the middle of the aisle he stabbed the blade into the ground and there it stood.

“This is my weapon, as you can see....it was forged by me by my will.” William spoke, looking at the blade seeming to seethe steam. “From sheer will alone, all the rules of the spirit world can be broken...which is how I got here...” He looked at David who was gawking his blade in wonder.

“I can sense the evil in spirits,” he spoke, watching David as he glared back, “And I can kill them; as you can kill demons.”

Prologue Part 3:

“So this is my purpose in life..?” David whispered to himself. William sat in the pew in front of him. His sword in his hand at his side.

“Fate is greater than the both of us...” William smiled, “But I’m sure—you’ll enjoy it.”

Somehow the daylight eventually came, and the dream ended. But the feeling that it was real—that the dream was the inevitable truth—rung inside David’s mind for hours. He was told to stay where he was, that the storms would stop and it would get warmer.

And it did.

What else was true that the man spoke of? His intuition, and his curiosity rose as the hours seemed to fly by. Eventually the sun did set, and the night rose from the east.

Stars dwindled by, the clouds sparse and thin as he started to fade into sleep...

“Glad to see you stayed.”

David sat up to see William dressed more casually than yesterday, but it still was from the old word.

“Yea, I guessed one more day wouldn’t hurt..” He snickered. William laughed.

“Well enough, then.” Then clasped his hands together, “I’ve wanted to tell you something.”

“Like?” David insisted.

“We have to leave here soon...” He spoke in a dismal tone. His face flat-lined, and his eyes burned up in there sockets. “You, as am I, are in danger here—and until you are fully awakened, you cannot defend yourself..”

“..‘Fully awakened’?” He repeated.

William waved his comment, “I’ll explain later. Tomorrow, at dawn, walk up the path, yes, I know it’s a dead end, but turn to your right and walk down the moor. There’s a farm there....I want you to call this number...” William handed him a small piece of parchment with a telephone number scribbled onto its face.

“Let her drive you. Don’t ask anything until we’re all together.”

Chapter 1:

The small trek up the hill towards the moors was not long. Over the slight banister-like fence you could see down into the grassy valleys that splayed over the land towards the horizon. Lazy waves of wind blew the hills into emerald water that ebbed and flowed, shining the rays of the morning sun across them.

Upon hitting the dead end William had told him of, he veered off to the right, passing over an ancient, cast-iron fence that had been shut off for years David presumed.

The hill he was on descended steeply then banked off to the left. Over that crest was the rise of a humble farm home, and cast out into the yard were horses, pawing softly at the earth.

David approached it soon enough, reaching his hand into his pocket and reading the numbers to himself. The task was simple enough, he thought.

“Hello?”

The telephone was located on a wall, nearest the screen door in the kitchen of the small house. The old woman who let him use it was smiling, happy just to see a visitor who was young—and also quite handsome.

“William told you to call me, did he not?” her voice was flighty–its pattern echoed like a song sung in a tunnel.

“Yes—he did.” David stammered, twirling the curly cord in between his fingers.

“I’ll be there soon. Ask the woman for a seat—she’ll be glad to give you one.” then the line went dead in his hands. How could she have known his situation so well?

David only did as he was told. These people, well at least he thought she was alive—were not what they seemed. But, neither was he.

He humped his shoulders in his mind and asked the woman who owned the home for a seat in her living room, which she did offer him in nothing but a cheerful manner.

“I think someone’s here for you..” the old woman spoke from her seat. Beside her, David looked out the window of her parlor and saw a small sedan that looked an awful lot like his, parked outside the house.

“Thank you.” he said quickly. The woman nodded and waved him on his way.

David was dying to drill her with questions, but his agreement frowned upon this until they were altogether at her home. How long until then..?

He brought his smoky, emerald eyes to the passenger window and stared, his head and body reclined far back into the cushions.

“Wait until you see it....” She smiled; David peered at her through his hands which were covering his face in a nap. He cocked a brown eyebrow.

“The spirit realm, I mean....Just wait...”

***

Her home was more like a small condominium. Tall, fluted columns rose up, holding the roof that jutted out from the main building. They were lined up, five of them, sitting on the porch that was scattered with random chairs all about, a hammock and a swing.

“Here we are.” She turned her head, full of smoky, black hair and tossed the keys to him, “I fixed it for you.”

“Thanks.” he grumbled, pushing the keys into his pocket as he stepped out along side her.

The house was set back into the rise of a timberline that started to arch its way upwards towards the atmosphere, about an acre or two back. Its stark, dark contrast compared to the whiteness of the house made it pop.

“Mother!? Father?!”

The lobby was expansive. It stretched out like a small stage from the entrance, then delved down into the main rooms of the house via a small staircase. To the left was the dinning room, cut off by a small wall that jutted out from the back. It was also columned off as well. To the right, was the living room. Strong, tufted furniture sat lonely and organized in a pleasing manner around the television, radio and fireplace.

“Where are they?!” The girl asked, taking her shoes off; she instructed David to do the same. He was becoming more and more anxious as this went on.

“Ah! William!”

The spirit poked his red-head out from behind the wall of the kitchen, “They’ll be up.” Then he looked at David.

“Who is she?!” He frowned, taking his tattered jacket off. He folded it into his arms just as the girl snatched it away and hung it up at the coat rack.

“I am Lenna Huron.” the girl spoke. She didn’t seem as old as William or himself. Her hair was long and frayed at the ends he noticed as she brought her arms behind her. She wore a simple, white dress, covered in eyelet flowers of lace that hit her knees.

“I am from the Huron Clan from the Wolven branch of the Nocturna Society.” She bowed.

“...Hn, that was a longer title than I presumed...” William frowned in question. David laughed as he watched the girl become red.

“Will you two quiet!” She waved them to complete silence, “I may appear to be a child to you, but I am no child...” her eyes started to burn up, flickering like the light of a fire about to die—until they caught fire once more—only this time, they glistened like opals. The brilliance of sapphire and crimson flecks danced wildly at them.

“You have not seen the centuries I have.” her voice had changed dramatically—it no longer was weak, but full—and dark. It was curbed only by respect, for if unleashed, it could have torn them apart.

David swallowed hard as William just stood still–his turquoise eyes glistening at her.

“My mistake, your lady...” William spoke, breaking the deathly silence that had covered the room.

At that moment, Lenna’s parents entered the room.

Chapter 2:

“So this is the prodigal demon slayer and the angel summoner...”

Lenna’s father spoke with a strong, heavy voice; unwavering. His dark hair was tied back with a silver holder. His wife, was a petite thing. She wore the same white dress as her daughter, only longer and thicker. Her light, bronze hair glistened in the light given off from the windows in the room.

“Please, Robert...” she said softly, “All they want is a gate to the spirit world.”

The father glared at the boys, “The faster the better—we don’t need demon’s on our doorstep once more... ”

William and David exchanged looks.

“...You see...the same demon that is after you, is part of a group that is hunting us as well..” Lenna spoke, the calm recovered, “We are in danger if we stay here for too much longer.”

“We understand.” William spoke, following her parents. The other two walked behind him.

They were led downstairs to a basement.

In rows along the narrow walls of the stairwell were lanterns that held crystalline blue and green fires. They blazed quietly as the five of them walked past.

Now standing fully in the darkness of the main room of the basement, Robert cast a light that radiated from the many rings adorned on his fingers. He held his hand up as a flashlight, guiding them to the middle of the room.

There in the blackness was a tall mirror, set on two wooden arms that allowed it to swivel and flip. The glass of the mirror was frosted in a complex, Celtic-looking pattern, allowing only a few constructed spaces to reflect an image.

“Mother..” Lenna whispered as the three of them stood back to back, “Will you start this?” She asked. Her mother smiled thoughtfully.

“Of course...”

The older woman sighed deeply and started to sing low and easy. Sweet, caring notes rang into the air like fireflies flickering...her eyes were closed and her body was frozen in time as she started to sing higher, the notes sharpening. Lenna, William and David closed there eyes—sleep deepening in there souls..

Then the husband started to speak drowsily, as if he had to try very hard to keep himself awake. His voice quivered like the tides of a primordial ocean....

“Transition from earth to earth,

from sea to sea,

We are falling,

Falling lower,

lower, into ourselves...

From black earth,

to white sky,

We are falling,

Falling lower,

towards transition..”

***

...It was midday as the sun rose high. The church bells rung clearly off in the distance.

Small clouds of rain lightly drenched the ancient city streets.

Under the awning of one home stood a young man. He held a tall umbrella by his side. Adjacent to him was the door man.

“What time is it, Arthur?” He asked.

The elderly man standing beside him, reached into his lapel pocket and pulled out a silver, embossed watch that ticked softly.

“It’s just a moment after 12, sir.” He said in a cool, lazy manner. The dark-haired boy beside him nodded. He pointed his umbrella out of the awning and released it.

“Thank you, Arthur.” He answered.

“Have a good day, sir. May the Gate Keeper watch you well.” He waved politely. The boy turned slightly to see over his shoulder and waved his free hand in good bye.

**

Rising mountains cried out in the distance where David, Lenna and William stood.

David tucked his hands into his pants pockets and looked about him. It was definitely something to witness..

Beautiful dark spires of ebony and white ivory speared the clouds where they were. The tall towers of a citadel crowned the easternmost part of the city as flags waved from every home, all of different colors and shapes. They clashed in the wind flying gracefully across the fiends and through the city.

Homes of grassy thatched roofs combined with old, concrete apartments that were painted with reliefs.

From where they stood, they could see the very out skirts of the city itself, fenced off by large, iron columns. They held roman-like arches that cast curved shadows.

“Beautiful....” William whispered in awe. David couldn’t help but agree and yield to the beauty of it. The Gothic construction was something he had only seen in pictures—but was made even more grand because it was now all within reach.

“I told you.” Lenna smiled, elbowing David in the ribs.

William then turned around. His hair seemed to blaze in the sun, “Where to?”

Lenna looked at her wrist watch, one of the few modern pieces on her person, “We have about a week to do what we came here for—until they descent down those peaks...” She pointed to the mountains pushed off in the distance.

“The demons you mean..” David asked. She nodded.

“This is one of the few cities left that hasn’t burned...”