An Angel’s Road to Hell

Cassandra Pendragon

Lost in thought I swirled the surprisingly good wine around in my glass and took another sip. It tasted fruity with just a hint of saddle leather, the rich, dark red liquid reflecting the rays of the setting sun like a puddle of blood. It could also have been my mood, though. Considering what I had seen, it wasn’t exactly astonishing that I couldn’t come up with a brighter simile.

I sat at the edge of the harbour, far away from the entrance where I could still hear the others argue back and forth, my feet dangling over the abyss. Ahri was by my side and Captain Nightshade was agitatedly prowling along the walkways behind us, coughing quietly in the thick, smoky air. Oh, and my five quiet, obedient shadows were also somewhere close by, far enough away to give us an illusion of privacy, but close enough to act, should it become necessary. Usually, I wouldn’t have willingly put up with the situation, especially turning my back on the dear Captain seemed like a colossally stupid idea, but the large, pitch black raven on his shoulder had changed much. I’m getting ahead of myself, though.

Whatever else my outburst from before might have provoked, at the very least no one had openly questioned my motives again. Not that I had particularly cared about their approval, but it had made the ensuing conversation much more… amicable. Even Brightblaze and her lot had dialled down on the aggression. Consequentially, they had quickly realised that there really wasn’t much of a choice but to stay and fight, especially since they didn’t even have enough ships to get the Captains and their treasures off the island.

Which, of course, had meant a long, boring and quiet pointless discussion about responsibilities, resources and power. Well, I say pointless but in reality it had been necessary as well as informative. I just hadn’t felt like I could add anything of value. There were others who were much more capable when it came to logistics, not to mention interested. My whole family knew what was at stake and my brother had already proven that he was more than willing to step up. With Xorlosh, my mom, Mordred and Viyara around he wouldn’t have a chance to go overboard, either.

Madame Sinis, Vanya and Will, who had tagged along with the dwarfs, had quickly closed ranks with Alassara. I hadn’t forgotten their aspirations to play a role in the future of Free Land and together they represented a force to be reckoned with. For good measure, I had hugged the vampire queen before I had left, though, emphasising my allegiance quite visually. Not that the savvy woman needed my help, but it had still felt appropriate. A few quiet words had reassured her and her newfound allies that we’d only be a single shout away, a promise I had made sure everyone had heard.

In return she hadn’t complained too much about us ushering Captain Nightshade away. I was pretty convinced she’d visit him on her own, sooner or later, but that was his problem, not mine. As to why I had been so intent on having a word with the good Captain… it should be plenty obvious, considering the role he had played. In all honesty, I had been prepared to throw him over the cliffs without much decorum, but before we had even taken more than a few handful of steps, the dark feather duster had appeared out of nowhere and settled down on his shoulder.

I hadn’t needed an explanation, the raven was practically oozing the strange magic of the Broken Wheel, and the message had been equally clear: this one is out of bounds. Touch him and our deal is off.

I had cursed colourfully, the few words of the demon tongue I actually knew somehow finding their way into my tirade. While I had explained to Ahri what the raven meant, I had rummaged through the few unburned stalls along the way until I had found a bottle of wine and a few glasses. Which brought us to where we were, me sitting on the edge of a cliff, sipping wine and trying to puzzle out if the support of a god was actually worth sparing Nightshade’s life.

“Talk to him,” Ahri whispered and clanked her glass against mine. “Maybe there’s an explanation you can stomach.” I snorted.

“Right. And what would that be? The devil made me do it?”

“That’s not funny. You’ve always hated that particular idiom. I’m serious. Not much has changed. You wanted to speak to him, anyways.”

“When I could still simply kill him. Now, I’m probably going to have to swallow my pride as well as most of my anger.” I took another sip, or rather a huge mouthful of wine and lamented: “if we could get drunk, this would become so much easier.” She nudged her shoulder against mine.

“And you’d be well on your way towards an addiction. Come on, Cassy, you probably wouldn’t have killed him anyways. All he’d have to do is mention a wife or a child or some story about trying to do the best he could and you’d be all bark and no bite.”

“Am I really that… mawkish?”

“Didn’t Reia already call you sappy?”

“You saw that in my memories? Yeah, she did. Oh, whatever. How bad can it be?” Even while I said the words, I knew I was asking for trouble. Still, I emptied my glass and got to my feet, trying to ignore the acrid swaths of smoke playing around my body.

“Well then,” I began without turning around, my eyes locked onto the setting sun, “let’s have it. Why shouldn’t I end what you’ve started, all those weeks ago when you sent your people to aid in the ransacking of my home? Or has it been years? Have you already been planning our demise, when your merchants first arrived on Boseiju?”

“Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t even know they were there?” His voice was soft and raspy, almost a whisper, with an unyielding, harsh core of steel.

“A few days ago I wouldn’t have, but now… are you saying the church you’ve founded, you’ve protected has turned on you years ago, without you realising? That’s hard to swallow, especially with that raven perching on your shoulder.” The bird cawed in response, flapping its wings once.

“Is it really?” I heard the rustling of cloth behind me and when I turned around I saw Nightshade opening his coat and lowering his hood. Piercing grey eyes gleamed in a broad, dark face, marred by ritualistic scars on each cheek. His ears were heavy with golden rings and ornaments but I couldn’t get a good look, as he quickly spun on the spot, showing me his entire neck. “You said you’ve encounter our enemy before. Tell me, if I had known, would I still have the ability to make my own decisions?” I raised an eyebrow.

“The mark doesn’t have to be on your neck.” With a thought I sent a trickle of energy to my eyes, scrutinising the intricate web of energies within him. “But it doesn’t look like you’re wearing it. Let’s assume for a second that I believe you. Why are you still alive? Shouldn’t you have been the first one to die? If what you say is true, you should have become a puppet or a corpse, long before we’ve even set foot on Free Land.” He shrugged.

“Ambition. I didn’t mean to, but ultimately I’ve done everything he… Amon, you called him, could possibly have wanted. Not to aid him but out of my own volition simply because I wanted what most of us strive for: power.” He was nestling with his cloak, closing the clasps. “I’m not a good man but I would never willingly endanger this place. It’s my home. Make of it what you will, but all I ever wanted was to grow my influence and fleet. Unfortunately, I’ve played directly into his hands. Why would he bother killing or enslaving me, if I already was a most handy tool?”

“And how did that happen? Why don’t you tell me what you actually know and afterwards… well, I guess we’ll see.” He smirked.

“You’re still considering whether or not to kill me, aren’t you?”

“Of course. Your people burned my home and took my children, whether by negligence or intention, you’re still responsible. And then, there’s also the attack on Alassara’s home. Something I haven’t forgotten.”

“But yet you saved Brightblaze. Brought her back.” I frowned. “Yes, I know what you did. Why is she worthy of redemption, of your forgiveness and I’m not?” He pointedly looked at Ahri and added: “Because she’s a woman and much prettier?”

“If you’re trying to goad me, don’t. You want to know why I didn’t even bring it up with her, yet? Because she, as well as her people, fought, when yours were still trying to conduct a ritual that would have destroyed this whole island, if it hadn’t been for me. They risked their life, their souls, everything they have, even when they knew how utterly outmatched they were. She’s stubborn, misguided and arrogant but she’s also loyal, brave and determined. What are you redeeming qualities again?”

“Assuming I’m even going to see another sunrise, you might just find out. If you’re willing to listen, I’ll tell you what I know.” He moved towards us and sat down, his face turned towards the sun, eyes closed. A soft smile tugged on the corners of his lips and for a moment, I thought I saw something like regret flutter across his features. Or the raven might have pinched his shoulder.

“To understand what I’ve done, you need to know where I’m coming from. I wasn’t born here and I wasn’t born with a silver spoon up my arse. I had to fight every day of my life and I don’t trust people.” Grinning, he added: “Mortals, that is. The two of you… we’ll see.

I came here like most do: in chains. It’s not widely known, but I was a slave, once. In contrast to Blackthorne, I wasn’t destined to fight in the pits but to labour away until my heart would have given out. Do you know why I even bothered founding a church? Because it was all I had left. My wife, my son, my livelihood, it had all been burned to the ground until nothing had remained but ashes. Only my faith, the warm embrace of death remained. Funny thing, that. If you take everything from a man, he becomes a monster. Once you’ve hit rock bottom, you don’t fight to not lose anymore, but to win. You fight with everything you’ve got, until the bitter end.

I didn’t expect to survive when I broke my chains, stole a sword and started killing everyone within reach. I simply wanted to make them suffer and then see my family again but somehow… I survived. And there I was, bleeding, wounded, surrounded by corpses I myself had cut to shreds. I was hurting, exhaustion and blood loss made my vision flicker and when I collapsed, I closed my eyes with a smile, expecting my son to wake me up in the next life.” A romantic sentiment but far from the truth. Rebirth wasn’t strictly imaginary but unfortunately, it didn’t work like that.

“Instead, I woke in pain, surrounded by a swarm of flies, feasting on dried blood. I had a decision to make. Either curl up and die or face the agony of getting to my feet. I chose the latter and when I finally stood, I vowed to never kneel again, I vowed to die on my feet, I vowed to take revenge. What happened over the next year you can easily imagine. Slowly, methodically, I butchered my way towards the Captain who had ordered the attack on my village and when he finally stood before me, I repaid every drop of blood, every iota of pain tenfold. I was baptised by his screams, reborn through the beating heart I cut from his chest and when he finally became still, Dakarai, the man I had been, was dead and Nightshade took his place.

I’m going to spare you the details of how I consolidated my power. It took me another handful of years but ultimately, I became one of the Seven and my first act was making sure the one thing I had left, the one thing that hadn’t been taken from me would survive. My faith.” The raven puffed up his chest and clacked his beak proudly as if to say: I’m just that awesome. I was sorely tempted to sent the creature flying or at least give him a piece of my mind. From where I stood, he had forsaken one of his most loyal followers more than once. There really was no reason to preen. But I wanted to hear the rest of the story and attacking the creature, if only a part of it, Nightshade had just called his one remaining sanctuary would put an end to it quickly enough.

“I’m telling you all of this so you can understand who I am. I was an outcast, alone and wounded, with a lingering hatred for everything this town stands for. I didn’t care for much but my own power, squeezing every last coin, every drop of blood from this place until the anger in my chest would finally peter out, until I would finally feel whole again. The church was my anchor, the one thing I was proud of. I knew my choices had shaped me into a man incapable of building something lasting. So I stayed away, I allowed them to do as they pleased and only made sure they were protected, they had the chance to… help, to flourish and maybe undo some of the travesties I had committed. A grave mistake, as it turned out.” He sighed and buried his face in his hands. When he continued, his voice was muffled and somewhat strained, as if the big, bad, untouchable Captain Nightshade was struggling to reign in his emotions.

“I’ve never heard of your tribe, before I met the Mask, someone I supported from behind the scenes. His… rise to power allowed me to glance behind the curtain. I became aware of the monsters prowling our streets at night and the old wounds reopened. Creatures thriving on blood, humans turned into cattle… is it that much of a surprise that I thought them responsible for my fate? In my mind, the vampires were the source of all the suffering Free Land has brought to this region. Of course, I didn’t dare to act but I waited and I kept my eyes and ears wide open, trying to find out as much about our bloodthirsty neighbours as I could. Now, before I bore you with a tale you already know, I’d like to ask how much you’ve already heard about who they are and where they come from.” I glanced at Ahri and she replied for the both of us:

“Not too much, to be honest. The present has been demanding enough to keep us busy. We know of Alassara and Captain Dawn’s origins and their feud but she never told us much about their dealings in Free Land.” Just as the sun dipped below the horizon, he raised his head again.

“Well, that’s not really surprising. From what I’ve heard, they were… the reason why the Captains even came to rule this town in the first place. In the beginning, Free Land wasn’t much more than a secure harbour, far enough away from any major settlements to appeal to anyone who wasn’t keen on encountering soldiers or guards. Over time, a wooden landing stage and a few huts turned into a small city without regulations or even the structure to enforce them. A paradise for pirates and brigands and… vampires. They stalked the night, they hunted whomever they wanted, they spilled blood and dominated humans wherever they found them. For a few years, long before my time, this town was nothing more than their feeding ground.” I had seen what they were capable of and I could just about picture how life must have been. What he hadn’t mentioned, though, was that neither Captain Dawn nor Alassara were responsible. As far as I knew, it had been their progenitor, someone they had killed with their own hands. Maybe he didn’t know?

“But as it always is,” he continued, “sooner or later, oppressed humans will always reach for torches and pitchforks. They rallied behind seven captains and their crews and they fought back, staking and killing every single vampire they found. It was a horrendous fight and in the end, barely anyone survived. They thought they had ended them all, but in reality, they had simply forced the survivors underground, where they still existed, living amongst them unnoticed.”