I walk parallel to the path that is lit by moonlight so that the pebbles shine like a silver river, trickling toward the gleaming star-bathed oasis that lives deep inside me.
My creation sits on a rock by the water. This is where he was born, after all. This is where he is anchored. The primordial evil may be able to cloud his mind, to lie and deceive him, but he cannot control him, and he cannot end him, not without damaging his control on this vessel. But what the bastard doesn’t know is that this entity’s existence is also the loophole to my freedom. The key to a lock that the evil isn’t fully aware of.
My creation looks up as I approach, his bright green eyes catching the moon and turning silver for a beat. His brows pinch slightly, then he smiles.
“I think I’ve been waiting for you,” he says. He stands slowly and pushes his hands into his pockets, shoulders rising in a shrug. “I think this is home.”
“It is. Do you know who I am?”
“You’re him…Iblees. You’re my maker. The true maker.”
“Yes, I am. And do you recall the name I gave you?”
“Of course. You named me C’ael.”
C’ael…That name…it first belonged tohim, as did this form. There had been no time to craft something new for my fragment, and so I’d given it what I already knew—the form that the primordial evil discarded.
“It’s time to do what you were always meant to. Are you ready?”
He steps closer, his gaze searching my face. “Don’t you want to know how she is? What she’s doing at this moment?”
A sharp, stabbing pain lances through my chest, and the Araz aspect of me rises to the surface, desperate to know everything that is Leela. Every breath, every look. The sound of her laughter, her scent. I push that part of me down. There is no time for pleasantries right now. But I know C’ael’s nature. He is, after all, an aspect of me.
I place a hand on his shoulder. “If you help me, I can ask her myself. The primordial evil blocks my direct path to Leela. I saw her once when he connected with her. But you can help create a bridge to her. To allow us to communicate directly.”
His eyes brighten. “How?”
So eager to help. To please. This is the purest part of me, and he holds more power than he knows. I didn’t expect him to be so…real.
This changes everything.
“How can I help?” he asks again.
I squeeze his shoulder. “Tell her not to reach for me in her dreams. Tell her not to pull on the golden thread. That will alert the primordial evil. She must wait for a bridge to be formed.”
He nods. “Yes. Okay. I understand.”
“Good. Take her to the place where I left an eternal anchor. A fragment of my flame lives there.”
“What if she doesn’t believe me?” He frowns. “This is a dream, after all.”
I can’t allow doubt to creep in. “Listen to me. Thisisreal. Iamreal. Tell her…Tell her that I’m sorry that she had to kiss evil to shield me.”
“What?”
“Repeat that.”
“You’re sorry she had to kiss evil to shield you?”
“Yes, that’s good.”
“What does it mean?”
“She’ll know. You must give her the message and tell her to go to the flame.”
His eyes flare. “Wait. Where is it? Where is the flame?”
The air shimmers, and the ground beneath my feet trembles. Leela’s voice fills my head.He senses something. You must come back.
