Spiritus Dei

Eckmalack emerges and Alex pays the price

Yet, A glimmer of hope resonates as the Spiritus Dei is more than just a sword

Meanwhile, Cassandra takes the offensive.  Forming several husks to overwhelm Richard Donalson and his gun

Transcript

Fiction Disclaimer

SPEAKER_00 0:00

The following podcast is a work of fiction. All characters are the creation of Peter Williams. Any resemblance to someone living or dead is purely coincidental. Thank you. Apologize to everybody who's been listening and about the hurky jerky nature of the podcast. And even sometimes some of the shoddy workman should I have had on some of the episodes. The new setup here has been very good for like getting rid of the sound and everything like that. But it does not make it very easy to do editing inside the booth where I can um stop and re-record when I moved to Tennessee at the end of this week, which is why there was no podcast last week. I'm gonna seek to um make it so that the laptop is in a better position where I can stay in the voice booth. And this way when I have errors or mistakes, I can go back and correct a much easier. Uh this was a temporary move to Ravena where I'm living now. Um I could never get things quite the way I wanted to for my voice or remote. So it's been a little unprofessional. I apologize. I try to give you the most entertaining uh story I can. So that has a lot to do with it. It is just a setup. Um once I'm out of the booth, it's I don't it I do this all by myself. It's just me. I write, I voice, I produce, I edit, I do everything. There's no one helping me. So it's not like I have someone on the other end of this saying, Hey Peter, you messed up that line. And sometimes I don't hear it until I'm in editing, and sometimes I just can't go back and fix it. So I apologize. That's a lot to do with that. Uh second, I do want to remind you, please, okay, it's important to me. Not because I want to make money, because the story is so good. Okay, that's what it has to do with Acolyte, my book. It does stem from the podcast, but it is a standalone book, and I'm telling you, it is a fantastic story. Um, you will love the characters. You actually have characters who are, you know, uh just the good examples. So if you have a between or a teen, and you don't mind the little bit of the that naughty, salty language that I tend to throw out from time to time, um, and a little bit of violence, which you see here in the podcast, then I'm telling you, they'll love the story. They'll just um they'll fall in love with um um Miss Maxwell and uh Luciano. They'll they'll just love the story. So anyway, uh with that being said, uh let me let Lord Beother take over and um do his thing. Egmalok now steps into our world while Alexa's have crippled on the floor of the mausoleum yet. Even now, light breaks through as a gift. What will be for Alex? What will become of the small group of defenders fighting until their last breath? Of course, I need to remind you that this podcast may contain images of graphic violence, adult situations, child endangerment, and of course, naughty, salty language now. Now a sword, a birthday present, an impossible creation stands before the cruel, malevolent Ekmaloch in chapter seventeen. Spiritus Day. The room went pitch black, as if existence itself had been blotted out. The only light was that of the Spiritus Day, as it encapsulated Alex in a pale white glow. Silence filled the void, and Alex could hear even her own blood pushing through her body. A strange weight kept her pressed to the floor as she scanned the darkness for anything, for anyone. Zack's body lay motionless, no longer restrained against a stone altar. He looked ghostly in the ambiance of the spiritus' day, and she couldn't tell if he was even breathing. Zack! Alex called out. He didn't move or respond. Using the Spiritus Day as a crutch, Alex pushes herself up and slowly drags herself over to Zack. But as she nears him, a black flame ignites, countering the light from Alex's own sword. Alex stands back, unsure what to do, as a teenager rolls over and into a sitting position. His solid black eyes look up at Alex with curiosity, and then with the force of will, he looks towards the spiritual day and shakes his head. You won't need that, Echnaloch says in a disapproving manner. I am not a boogeyman that they make me out to be Alex. Alex says nothing. She stands trembling, the very force of Echnaloch's voice cutting into her like a knife. Sit, he says, motions, but Alex refuses, so he commands it. Sit! To be fair, I did ask the first time. You seem pensive, Alex. I am not like Silas. I don't take anything, and I will let you come to me. Want me, and offer yourself. Still, Alex remained quiet. Words have power, and to say anything here could and would be used against her. Ekmalak slid closer and raised his hand to brush her hair aside. I can see fear in those lovely eyes. Afraid to speak, as he runs his hand down from her face and onto her injured shoulder. Speak to me, and I will heal that. Tears run from her eyes. The words are a command, not a request. To not do as he asks causes nothing but pain. He sticks his finger into her wound and starts twisting it, making Alex gasp and convulse on the floor. Insect! I hear your thoughts. I know you want to answer. To say yes to me, to end this pain. It would be so much easier. Alex looks at him. It was becoming clear she would soon break. Her mouth opens as she tries to speak. What, girl? I can't hear you. He jabs her wound again and she falls back onto the floor in a fetal position as pain racks her body, making her cry out, Easy is almost always wrong! Ekmalak smiles. Almost. But not always. But just ask, and it won't seem that way. It will seem right because you want it. Your pain will stop. You want someone to hold and love you, Alex. You want to be free of all your responsibilities that he put on you. Alex had gone quiet again, and Ekmalak's patience began to run thin, slamming her across the face and flinging her and the blade into the wall. Alex could feel several bones break from the force. Her left shoulder now completely uses. Blood seeps into her eye, and she was pretty sure he had punctured the lung. Why don't you give me what I ask, Alex? Drop the blade! Drop the act! Sin isn't an end, it's a freedom! It allows you to be whatever you want. Let me show you. Let me help you! Alex slowly pushes herself up against a wall and raises the spiritual's day in self-defense. You're so stupid, she replies. I will tear you to pieces, but keep you alive so you can feel the bad in your flesh. Alex smiles at the confused monster. Oh. No! You don't have a choice, girl! He begins to step forward, but he finds himself pushed back by the light coming from the spirituous day. I see. That is how you plan on stopping me. Being a coward, are we? Letting this girl be your latest sacrifice! Alex collapses on the floor as blood trickles down the side of her mouth. Another voice comes. No. I asked her to wait. To see if somehow you could see what you have missed. Mist? Alex blacks out, and Arister takes form from whence the blade has fallen. Missed, Arister replies. Ekmalak laughs. Oh yes! I've missed so much. Weak, stupid, selfish creatures! Worthless mud! Yet, she defied you, chose this pain and suffering to try and show you that humanity has such true beauty to it that they can be strong and full of light and love enough to stand even at the cost of everything. For what? He screams. My presence here means you've lost! This boy! This vessel allows me to enter his worthless creation! Have I lost? The boy you've overshadowed is fighting you. He's calling my name, not yours. Even though he's in the darkness, even though his shame and regret burns him, he seeks me. Doesn't matter. He's mine! He's trapped and without a wielder! Something crabs at his ankle. So focused on Aristar and the Spiritus Day, he misses Alex dragging herself over to Zack's body. Her hand burns as she looks up with her pitiful blue eyes at Zack. Zack, come back! At that, Ekmalok flies into a rage and without thinking grabs the spirit's day and with all his might plunges it into the back of Alex Kuchma. Alex screams, grabbing at the blade as Ekmalak sticks her to the floor. Die, insect! At that, Alex finds herself in the darkness of a swirling vortex, the pain from Ekmaloch's last strike strangely gone. Nor did she feel uneasy by the mass of evil spirits flowing through the miasma. She just kept walking down a bleak tunnel towards the sounds of a child crying. There, sitting, wrapped in shadows, was the younger version of Zack. Tears, pain, rage, and fear barking off him like bolts of energy, fueling the thing that now possessed his body. Finally, he looks at Alex, his face and form fluctuating from child to teen and back. I'm sorry. I I I couldn't stop him. I didn't want him to hurt you. I'm sorry. Alex gives him a reassuring smile. Zach, I told you you trust me. I have come to help you. Can you? Alex nods. Together we can, but understand there's a cost to doing this. Will you die? He asks Alex. No. My bond with the spiritual stay is making this possible. Will I die? In a way, yes. I'm scared. I know, but by dying, Ekmalak won't be able to sustain himself. And well, will you stay with me? Yes, Alex replies. I will stay with you until the end. The boy reaches towards her. By taking my hand, Zack, you accept your deeds and actions, and it will be your end. Zack looks once more like the teenager she met only a few weeks back. I'm okay with that. As long as it saves you. However, before I conclude this part of the story, let's return outside and let's see how Cassandra is doing. Cassandra could not understand this. She had covered everything, eliminated the detective, corrupted a burgeoning demon eater, and opened a pathway for her master to return. Yet now, this human was driving her back. Every shot he fired burned and destroyed another chunk of flesh. Even him having the accursed detective's gun should not be causing this much damage. In reality, consuming Nicole should have made that gun and its special bullets useless. And in reality, the only device that had ever hurt her this way was the Eos Delektion. And that was not a human weapon. She thought back to the first time she encountered the detective and his protege now standing before her. The men of mud she had sent to swarm the cottage seeking to obtain Alex's body at that time. Only this man, this human, had held his ground. He had helped supplant their assassin, and yet he was not a member of the Sacred Dawn. He almost seemed as an afterthought. Unable to focus, unable to regain control over the situation, Cassander pulls her own wild card, realizing that he must have a limited number of boards. She just needed to self-replicate. Forming a dozen husks should be enough to make him use up his special armory, leaving him exposed. And in the end, that would be when she would strike. Shedding several tendrils which hit the ground with a prop and a squeal as they slithered off, knowing their purpose. She would not be able to insert the human soul into any of these. No, and in this case, that would be better, since those imperfect forms would always seek a life for their own, and here Cassander needed numbers, not wanting Husk, seeking to please her. She watched a snake-like Tendos slither away into the darkness. A few minutes later, she could sense one after the other as they manifested themselves into a clone of herself. She smiled ear to ear as she could hear the gun go off. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! And then there was silence. He had to be out of ammo. Now, Cassandra could be the hunter. Re-emerging from the shadows and crossing between the grave markers and brush, Cassandra stepped in front of Richard Donaldson. Rich stood alone, all his pockets pulled out, all of them empty around him, several smoldering husks. Finished, are we? Cassandra sneers at Rich turns towards the demonic queen. Rich looks at Cassandra and gives her a half-laugh, the gun cylinder open, the revolver hanging at his side. Yeah, he replied. I guess you could say I am. Cassandra stiffens and lifts one of her hands, forming it into a tentacle-like tendril. Another shadow moved. To his left, it catches Cassandra's eyes. Its form familiar, all too familiar. Nikole!

unknown 16:19

How?

Cliffhanger And Next Week Tease

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I slipped into one of your little huts, mother, and I told our old friend here your plan. Cassandra's eyes open wide as she tries desperately to shift back to the more defensible form. Rich flicks the gun and the cylinder locks into the chamber, bullet ready. He remembers what Nicole had revealed to him about Cassandra. The thing that allowed her existence to continue was a human at the center of all this muck. A poor girl who had been seized and used. Kill her and you kill Cassandra. Nicole made that very clear. It would end Nicole too. She was no longer a free entity, just in some ways the dying cry of a lost soul. Rich focuses his gun, looking deeper into the darkness that formed around Cassandra. He had always been blessed with near-perfect aim, hitting anything he focused on, and now, there! He sees the human shape at her center, the beating of a human heart under all that demonic form. Bang! Rich fires his last bullet. It drove into the vortex of darkness, dispelling its ilk as it tunneled into and through the mass of goo and gunk, all of which had been once human. Like a wave of light, it plowed in until barely, briefly, Rich catches the glimpse of a human face. It had a tear in its eye, and it mouth two words. Thank you. An explosion of light runs across its shape like the core of a sun exploding. It burst inside Cassandra as light pours from every crevice, every pore. As she burns and fades, the husk that had been the remnant of Nicole turns to ash and blows away on the wind. Cassandra has fallen. Her need for eternal life and beauty consuming her. Meanwhile, Arista uses Alex to reach out to Zax encase spirit. Tells him he must choose to accept his errors and die, or allow Ekmalok to have full control. A tough call for such a young man. What will happen? Find out next week with the conclusion of Detective Juan Stevens, Atlaskin Knight, with chapter 18 from Inside the Darkness.