Nights of Babylon

Chapter 13 - Atrocious crimes

The wind blew tiny bits of ash through the streets of Babylon, covering the buildings with a thin layer until a new breeze

took the soot with it. Black smoke still rose from the ruins of the temple of Marduk, the stench of burnt flesh lingered in

the air, making it hard to breathe. There were crowds of people everywhere. Some just stood there and stared, others searched

the ruins for survivors, a bunch of plunderers took advantage of the chaos and made some of the valuable temple artefacts

their own, until one of them ran straight into the arriving Macadonian soldiers, led by King Alexander. Face to face with the

golden-haired king and his pitch-black steed the pillager dropped all the things he had stolen and ran for his life. His

comrades followed on his heel, all fearing the king's wrath.

An old priest approached Alexander and his companions hastily. He wore a former white robe which now was staind with grey ash

and black soot. "Who are you and what can you tell me about the assault?", Alexander asked.

"My name is Pollon. I am priest of Nusku. The winged demons have fled, my king", the man said after bowing low to Alexander.

"They have attacked most of the temples and kidnapped some of the priests and priestesses. We don't know yet who is missing

and who is already dead. This is certainly the darkest night that ever has come over Babylon."

While telling Alexander how the demons had sneaked into the temples secretly and murdered randomly anybody who had gotten

into their way, Pollon led the king to his god's temple, a flat building which could be reached by a short flight of steps,

flanked by two big bronze bowls of fire. "You know, my king, priests aren't warriors. They had an easy game with us. They

didn't show any mercy, not even with our students", the old priest added in a griefed tone.

"Does anybody remember who Nusku actually is?", Alexander whispered to his comrades, trying hard to recall what he knew about

Babylonian gods, while he nodded to everything the old man said.

"The god of light and fire", Ptolemy answered without thinking.

"And the enemy of demons and witches", the priest added, who had quite good ears despite his old age. He pointed to some

paintings on the walls of the big hall of the temple, showing a tall male figure, possibly the god himself, who fought

against a crowd of winged demons, shrinking away from Nusku's glory and wrath.

"Can you do something against those beasts?", Alexander asked hopefully. "I have a special friend who is under an incubus'

spell."

Maybe there was a way to free Hephaistion and to win him back. Maybe these priests could purrify him or at least protect him

against Alexis' spell. If there was as spell, the tiny voice nagging at his mind said nastily. Alexander by now had come to

call the golden-eyed incubus by his name instead of referring to him only as the beast he certainly was. Alexander felt dizzy

every time he thought about the golden-eyed incubus' beauty and about what Hephaistion had said about loving him for his kind

treatment. The mighty king felt his heart twist painfully. Hephaistion had to be bewitched, there had to be some kind of

magic at work. If not, how could he, a mere human, possibly win his love back? Alexander shook his head wildly, as if he

could catapult these distubring thoughts out of his head if he just shook hard enough.

"The winged predators don't cast any spells, my king", Pollon said, causing Alexander to turn very pale. If there wasn't a

spell Hephaistion really loved Alexis and Alexader couldn't accept that. "Their beauty is somehow bewitching and lures their

prey into the arms of death. But I have never heard of any of them casting a spell upon someone. They have no use for humans.

To them we are only a short lewd distraction and food."

"But Hephaistion has been with the demon and is still alive. And so am I", Alexander insisted. He didn't want to submit to

the nagging voice in his head.

They had reached the inner temple by now, heading towards the sanctuary, where sacrifices were offered to the god. Pollon

stopped, looking at the king thoughtfully. "You both have mated one of the demons and he didn't kill you?" The priest sounded

truly confused and disgusted.

"Well, Alexis didn't kill Hephaistion, and Serena didn't kill me", Alexander corrected, not noticing the priest's disgust.

"But honestly I cannot remeber much of my encounter. My memory goes blank at some point. However, Hephaistion acts as if

these beasts were special to him and he has met the incubus more than once."

"Two of them? And you know them by name? And both did not slay their prey?", the priest exclaimed, now totally flabbergasted.

He recoiled a little from the king. "I have never heard of that. It is most unusual. I'd like to talk to your friend, my

king. Maybe we can shed a little light upon the strange situation, because up till now I also have never heard that the

winged predators did openly fight against the human race. They always stayed hidden under the cloak of night, a terribly real

nightmare, that would sneak into people's houses to hunt down their prey." He pushed open the big doors to the sanctuary and

stepped into the hall, illuminated by four fires burning in bronze bowls close to every edge of the sacrificial altar. There

was a big form lying on the stone and the air was heavy with the scent of blood.

"I'm afraid they slayed our high priest", the old man continued, pointing at a decapitated corpse lying on the sacrificial

altar. The head was nowhere to be seen. "This is blasphemy!"

"Where's the head?", Cassander asked, pulling a face of disgust.

"Whoever did this, took it with him or her." The priest shook his head sadly. "For what purpose I do not know."

The king and his companions roamed the temple district for a few hours. There was not much they could do. The demons had

vanished as quickly as they had turned up - out of thin air, like some of the citizens would say - and nobody could tell which

direction they had flown to. Alexander's weariness was clearly visible in his face and it took him some effort not to doze of

in Bukephalos' saddle. The others were exhausted too. And so they made their way back to the palace with a priest of Nusku in

tow and a lot of new questions they couldn't answer.

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"Alexander won't like this", Hephaistion sighed, staring at the head of the dead high priest which one of the winged

predators had left as a freaky warning to the king. Serena had put the head down on the pillow again softly as if it were a

raw egg.

"It is the highest peak of stupidity to kill the high priest of Nusku and burn down the temple quarter", the crimson-haired

succubus said. She knew that there was no way she could do a decent hunt during the following nights as the whole city now

was on alarm. The people had seen the winged predators flying through the sky and would fight them with all there might after

the actions of cruel blasphemy done to their holy places.

"Which leaves only two demons who could possibly come up with such an idiotic plan", Alexis said, still looking down at the

burning city. "Ellestias and Tessos." A row of soldiers led by Alexander left the palace, gallopping towards the blazing

inferno. At the same time the palace awoke and footsteps and cries could be heard all over the place when a hasty search

began.

"They have found the dead horse", Hephaistion said. "You're not safe here anymore. What are you going to do now? Do we hide

in the cell again?"

Alexis shook his head. "We have to fly back to the others of our kind and try to bring them to their senses. I doubt we will

succeed, but we have to know what they plan and if there is a possibility to settle things in peace."

As Hephaistion couldn't stay in Alexander's rooms without provoking a lot of unpleasant questions and certainly didn't want

to join the demons there was the dark cell left for him. He didn't like the thought of being locked down there all alone

without knowing what was going on, but there was nothing he could do about it. "Alright then, do bring me back", he

sighed.

"It isn't for long", Serena soothed. "Dawn is quite near."

Alexis nodded. "Yes, we have reached the coldest hours of night."

They left the room behind, soaring straight to the sky from one of the high windows looking out to a small garden, in order

to avoid the guards' watchful eyes. Serena and Alexis then left Hephaistion at the entrance to the underground passage.

Hephaistion hugged both goodbye. "Do be careful", he said already worried, placing a soft kiss on Alexis' lips.

"I will look after him", Serena assured, causing Alexis to chuckle with high amusement. "I'm not that useless", the succubus

sulked. Then both were gone, rising to the sky. Hephaistion watched them until they vanished from his sight, then he stood

for a while looking at the countless stars already fading as the sky grew lighter. "Please, do come back", he whispered.

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"Do you have a better plan?", Serena sulked, sitting on the roof of a stone tomb, one of the last on the cemetery someone

seemed to care for. She had tried to persuade her brother to let her go to the hiding place alone, as she instead of him was

no outcast. "They will rip you to pieces as soon as they see you and you know that. You cannot fight all of them."

"It's not safe", Alexis insisted. "We cannot trust them."

"Oh, and you do think they will spoil all they're nasty plans to you, sheep-lover?", Serena shot back, earning herself a both

hurt and angry look from the incubus. "I can do some eavesdropping , nobody will really care if I'm there. They regard me as

one of their kind."

"Alright, you can go", Alexis sighed, giving in to the impatient succubus at last. He didn't like the thought of Serena

being alone with the murderous brute he called his race. But she was right. She could find out more without him and he was

still nearby. "Meet me here next night."

"Great!", Serena cheered, kissing him deeply. "I'll be back as soon as I can." She behaved like a little girl on an

adventurous tour and this didn't set Alexis at ease. He watched her stroll away, zig-zagging over the cemetery, and he had the

strange and very unpleasant feeling that this would be the last he would ever see of her. It made him sick.

Serena reached the entrance to the demons' hiding place shortly before dawn. The sky was already lighter, but the sun hadn't

peeped over the horizon yet. In front of the ancient tomb a crowd of five of the younger demons had assembled, chatting

simultaneously about their battle and the fantastic victory. Tessos was amongst them, smiling his hideous snarling smile. All

fell silent when they saw Serena approach.

The dainty succubus suddenly felt not so sure anymore that going all alone was a good idea. She wished Alexis was here to

hold her hand and if she hadn't been on a self-enjoined mission she would have turned and run. "Hey folks", she said, trying

to be her usual carefree self, but she felt she had lost that part of her being somewhere sometime during the last two

nights. "What's up?" She smiled weakly. "You've made quite a mess back in the city."

"So, you're not dead", Tessos hissed as a greeting. His cold grey eyes scanned her nude form, drinking in the sight of every

rich curve. Serena suddenly felt very cold. "Where's the sheep-lover? Playing wolf in sheep's clothing?" The others laughed

at the ugly incubus' lame joke.

"I don't know", Serena lied, retreating a few steps. "I haven't seen him for a while." She noticed that the other demons

started to encircle her. Serena swallowed hard. The smile had frozen to her lips, her eyes were wide with horror, when Tessos

got so close that she could smell his bad breath, blowing directly in her face.

"What a pitty that Alexis isn't here", Tessos spat. "Now he can't help you." Serena shrank back from him, but strong hands

laid on her shoulders from behind and held her. "And he can't see you die", Tessos continued. He raised the lump of flesh

which used to be his hand, his claws gliding along Serena's throat, drawing blood. "But first, let's have some fun."

Serena screamed.

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Hephaistion had never thought time could pass so slowly. He sat in the darkness of his cell and wondered how he had been

supposed to survive a whole night if only a few hours already threatened to drive him mad.

He was worried about Alexander, as he didn't know what he was to meet in the temple district. He was worried about Alexis and

Serena, as he didn't know what might happen to them. And soon his mind tortured him with images of the worst cases. He

started to pace up and down the cell, careful not to bounce into the wall, but the disturbing pictures didn't vanish.

At the time when the door to his cell opened and the dim shine of a torch cast shadows on the wall Hephaistion felt as

miserable as he had never felt before. When he saw Alexander he didn't know wether to kiss him or to slap him. He was so

reliefed to see him well, and so damn angry that he had been locked up for such a long time just because Alexander didn't

want to believe him.

Then he noticed the small old man in a dirty white robe who stood behind the king, watching Hephaistion with much interest.

Hephaistion didn't care. He stormed past Alexander as soon as the door was fully open and rushed out of the dungeon, not

listening to Alexander's calls, telling him to wait. The young warrior only stopped when he had reached his rooms, slamming

the door behind him right in front of Alexander's nose.

Alexander entered rather shyly, an unusual behaviour for the king. The strange old man was still with him. "Hephaistion, I'm

sorry that I locked you up. I know I have said so before, but I want you to understand how painful it was for me to do so."

He stood at the door, his hands folded in front of him he looked so much like a little boy who knew he had done something

wrong. Hephaistion gave him the cold shoulder. He didn't intend to make it easy for the king - not this time.

"Here is someone who wants to talk to you", Alexander continued and the old man took a step forward and bowed his head. "His

name is Pollon. He is a priest of Nusku."

"Nusku?", Hephaistion said, suddenly feeling sick. "What does he want?"

"So you have heard about the god who is an enemy to all demons? Does my presence make you uneasy? Well, I thought so. I want

to talk to you. I search for some answers. I have to know if what the king told me is true", the priest answered, stepping

closer, while Alexander stayed at the door as if he waited for a permission.

"What did he tell you?", Hephaistion asked in a cold voice. He was highly suspicious, not liking the old priest at all. What

was Alexander up to now? Had he found another way to harm Alexis?

"He told me you have fallen for one of the winged predators." The old man eyed Hephaistion, scanning him from head to toe.

"What is this?", he asked, pointing at one of the fresh cuts Alexis had caused during their last night's encounter. "So it is

true. You have been with the demon again last night. You sold your soul to this horrible beast and you enjoyed it." The old

man recoiled from Hephaistion, his face a mask of pure disgust.

"That's impossible", Alexander exclaimed. "Hephaistion was locked in the cell all night long." But he looked very unsure when

he said this and somehow lost.

"Was he?", Pollon said. "These creatures know a lot of Babylon's secrets as some of them are as old as the city herself.

There are hidden passages all over the city unknown to men, but still remembered by the winged deaths." The priest turned to

Hephaistion again. "Tell me, treacherous creature, tell me everything you know about those beasts!" It was a command. And it

was not at all uttered in a friendly tone.

"I don't like the way you talk to me, old man", Hephaistion answered angrily. "You know nothing, neither about me nor about

Alexis or Serena."

"So you refuse to answer. You are depraved to the deepest depth of your soul. But beware, the god of fire is watching you.

His blaze will consume your black heart if you walk further on this path of depravity", the priest spat, pointing his finger

at Hephaistion.

This was too much for Hephaistion, and obviously enough for Alexander as well. "How dare you talk to him like that!", the

king roared furiously. "I have brought you here to help, not to insult him!"

The priest spun round. "He is not worth your trust, my king. He has betrayed you. He has a dark and treacherous soul. You

should squeeze everything out of him he knows. Torture him if it's necessary."

The priest recognized instantly he had made a fatal mistake, as Alexander's expression changed from slight anger and

confusion to a mask of terrible frenzy. "Torture him?", he roared on top of his voice, marching towards the frightend looking

priest.

"Torture him?", he cried, gripping Pollon by his collar.

"Torture him?", he shouted, dragging the priest towards the

door. "As if I could torture the one I love most in this world!" He thrust the door open and threw the priest out. Then he

slammed the door shut. His face was bright red and he trembled with anger.

"You are both doomed!", they heard the priest shriek through the closed doors. Then two guards were so kind to show him the

way to the exit.

"Thank you", Hephaistion said with a shy smile, his saphire eyes gleaming with pride for Alexander.

Alexander sat down on the bed. He looked very tired. "I need you, Hephaistion. I miss you. I can't go on without you. The

demons burnt down the temple of Marduk and decapitated the high priest of Nusku."

"I know", Hephaistion said, sitting down next to the king and putting his arm around Alexander's shoulder. "His head is in

your bedchamber."

"Really? Well, we've already been wondering what the beasts wanted with it. Who brought it there? And what have you done

there?"

"I don't know who put the head there. We've been in the bathroom waiting for you when suddenly Alexis heard a noise. But

whoever it was was gone when we entered the room." Hephaistion was very happy about Alexander's unexpected change of

behaviour. Could he understand that Alexis and Serena were no danger? Well, at least Alexis wasn't. Hephaistion wasn't sure

about Serena or why Alexis was so fond of her, although there was something very loveable about her.

"Do I want to know what you did in my bathroom with this demon?", Alexander asked, sounding highly jealous and hurt.

"No, you don't", Hephaistion said, kissing the king's quite stubbly cheek. "But Serena said you are cute."

"Did she?", Alexander sighed contently as the brunette snuggled to him, ignoring the fact that Hephaistion had really escaped

his cell and been with the golden-eyed incubus. At this very moment everything was like it was supposed to be as Hephaistion

was in his arms. Alexander couldn't tell how much he had missed his lover. He just wasn't complete without him.

There was still the problem what to do about Alexis, but Alexander decided not to discuss this matter now since this would

only lead to another quarrel. Right now Hephaistion's affection for the winged predator was an advantage, as he was the only

connection Alexander had to the demons. The king could possibly find the whole brute through Alexis. After the winged demons'

brutal assault he simply couldn't believe that Alexis and Serena were any different, no matter what Hephaistion said. And

Alexander still hoped the young warrior would see through the lies Alexis told him and recognize how false the incubus was

and therefor forgive the king that he was about to use him.

Alexander smiled at Hephaistion, brushing silky strands from his face, kissing his lips tenderly. "Things have gone out of

hand and I do need your help, my love."

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Alexis waited for Serena in the tomb, a place he knew far too well. It had been fifty years since Akani's death, still he

came here quite often, watching the white marble statue of the young woman at the entrance of her tomb. Serena would have

called him a weirdo if she knew but he didn't care. The tomb always reminded him that he had chosen the right way.

Alexis sighed deeply. His sister hadn't been away for a long time, but he was already tense with nervousness. She was so

refreshingly and at the same time unnervingly light-hearted and carefree and he simply couldn't imagine his life without her.

He had always looked after her after Akani had taught him how a brother and a sister should care for each other and that was

the only reason why Serena had reached maturity.

He watched the sky brighten and listened to the birds' jolly chant, trying to lead himself to happier thoughts. He ended up

worrying about Hephaistion, who hopefully by now was released from his cell.

Perhaps he should try and catch some sleep, as Serena would only return at dusk. She was a skilled hunter and as integrated

in the pack as it was possible. There was absolutely no need to worry. Why should anybody want to harm her?

As an answer to his thoughts a high pitched cry echoed through the air, causing the birds to fall silent. Alexis' heart

stopped beating for an instant, then he was out of the tomb, rising to the sky as swift as an arrow. He could see Serena

surrounded by five demons. Two held her to the ground, while Tessos tried to force her legs open.

A terribly white flash of anger rushed through Alexis' body, taking away his sight for a moment. The beast inside him broke

free, leaving the shadows behind with a mighty roar of fury. When the incubus could see again, he was in the middle of the

crowd. A succubus was already lying on the ground, her hand clutching at her sliced throat, dark blood squeezing through her

fingers forming a deep red pool around her. Strangely hollow gargling noises escaped her mouth, her eyes wide open in

horror.

The others stood paralysed. The golden-eyed incubus had come down on them as unexpected and terrible as the wrath of Nusku

himself. They hadn't even understood what was happening when the succubus hit the floor deadly wounded. Tessos was the first

to move again. He had one look in Alexis' eyes, meeting a murderous gaze dripping with bloodlust, and ran for a coward he

was. The others were so shocked of the sudden death of their companion that they fled in a wild rush, following Tessos on the

heel.

Alexis was lucky that they did. He wouldn't have had much of a chance if the four of them had fought him together. The

incubus blazing rage went deadly cold at the sight of Serena's shape. She was terribly hurt, her wings bent in a strange

angle, bones sticking out in completely wrong directions. Her body was littered with deep and ugly cuts, flesh was torn to

the bone, shimmering white through the red of meat and blood. Three of her rips were broken, one sticking out of her chest.

Her breath rattled in her crushed throat, a hoarse and desperate choke trying to force air into her lungs. Dark nearly black

blood ran down the corners of her mouth, her eyes were wide open in horror, the bright gold of her orbs shaded with tears.

She was a painful sight to Alexis, tears welling from his eyes, streaming down his cheeks. Guilt and sorrow tore at his

heart. He shouldn't have let her alone, he should have been there to protect her. Memories of Akani's battered corpse rushed

back to Alexis' mind and the horrible fear of losing another one he loved crept to his heart.

Alexis knew it wasn't a good idea to move her, but he heard the trample of many feet coming up the steps from the catacombes.

It seemed that the other demons had recovered from their shock and found courage in the crowd. Alexis had to bring Serena

somewhere safe. He couldn't stay at the cemetery as the pack would detect them by the smell of Serena's blood and he knew they

would chase him whereever he fled to - except one place. He looked towards Babylon crouching in the distance. It was insanity

to fly to the city in bright daylight, especially after the demons' assault, but Alexis had no choice.

He carefully lifted Serena from the ground and took off to the bright blue sky, racing towards Babylon.

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