Chapter 3 

             Finally, a chance to find out what is going on, Paladin thought as he looked down at Jabal. Trust no one, but what other choice do I have except for a crazy old man? Anything is worth knowing something about what is wrong with me, he thought as he watched blue-white flames drift up from his skin. Anything.

            “Okay, so where to begin? Well I guess from the beginning. This story is as old as mankind itself,” Jabal said with his odd half smile. “In the beginning there were two people on the entire earth, God’s perfect creation that never did anything wrong, because he didn’t know what wrong was, and his partner for eternity in the most beautiful garden ever created. Adam and Eve lived a life of ignorance, and perfect bliss. They didn’t know what murder was, they didn’t know dishonesty, but they also never understood what truth is, or love. If you don’t have evil, you can never appreciate the good in the world,” Jabal said as he finally gave Paladin a serious look.

            “And then, for the first time Evil visited the Earth. A snake crawled through the Gates of Eden and crept up on a sleeping woman. The snake was struck by the vision of naked perfection; the absolutely most beautiful female God has ever created. The snake then fell in love, the first time his kind ever knew what lust truly was. He crawled into her lap, and whispered into her ear, and convinced her to eat from the biggest and most beautiful fruit tree in the Garden. She brought fruit to her husband and they both ate. It was as if they finally opened their eyes. They saw good and evil for the first time, saw that just living cannot be enough, and saw that they have choices in life. It was the beginning of society and civilization, of all the things horrible in this world.

            “God came down from Heaven to walk in His Garden. He called out to his ‘perfect’ creation, and heard a voice reply, ‘I heard you walking in the Garden. I was afraid because I was naked. So I hid.’ God knew that the only way Adam could understand humility was by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. He punished the snake, sent him from the Garden for eternity and made all of his and Eve’s descendants enemies. He cursed the ground so Adam had to work hard for his food, and made man mortal. But God knew that if His creations were to die one day, there must be more. So He cursed Eve, so that when she became pregnant she would have great pain and torment.”

            “But I know this already Jabal,” Paladin said as he began to get fed up with the vampire’s story. “The beginning of sin, beginning of the Bible, and all that. I went to Sunday school.” I don’t remember it though, he thought. “What does this have to do with this fire that won’t go out, or the reason I don’t remember anything?”

            “Be patient child, I’m getting to the good part. Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain was a farmer and Abel was a shepherd. When they brought gifts to God one day, Cain brought some food he worked from the ground and Abel brought the very best parts from his sheep. God accepted Abel and his gift, but would not accept Cain’s. Cain became furious and God said to him, ‘If you do well, I will accept you. But if you do evil, sin is ready to attack you. Sin wants you. But you must rule over it.’

            “Cain and Abel then went out in the field that night, and Cain killed his brother. It was the first murder in the history of the world. God cursed Cain, told him that he would never be able to eat food from the ground again, and he must wander the Earth forever. Cain said to God that anyone who meets him will kill him, and then God put a ‘mark’ on him and said if anyone kills him, they will be punished seven times more. But that was just the beginning.

            “Cain was the first vampire to roam the Earth. God’s ‘mark’ is these teeth that we all have. We drink the blood of our brothers with the teeth of an animal,” Jabal said with disgust. “Cain went east to the land of Nod, and had sex with his wife. She gave birth to his first son, Enoch. From birth, Enoch looked like a normal child. His teeth were normal, and he aged like any other child. Cain was so excited he built a city and named it after his son. But as soon as Enoch was as old as Cain was when he killed Abel, Enoch changed. He grew the teeth, knew the hunger, and never aged a day after that. Cain then knew that he could not stay and watch it happen to his son, he had to wander. Cain has not been seen since, and I would know if he had,” Jabal said with honest pain and sadness. He believes he speaks the truth, said a tiny voice in Paladin’s head. We both know you can trust him.

            Catching the stunned look on Paladin's face he said, “What, are you surprised that a vampire can feel sympathy? Well I am more human than you…might think,” Jabal added belatedly. “I am Jabal, son of Lamech, son of Methushael, son of Mehujael, son of Irad, son of Enoch, son of Cain, son of Adam. My father Lamech had two wives, Adah and Zillah. Adah, my mother, gave birth to my brother Jubal and I, and Zillah gave birth to Tubal-Cain and Naamah.”

            “We were raised in the city of Enoch, and trained and taught by friends of my father, bred to be better than the descendants of Adam’s third son, Seth. Everything was a contest to us; we have always tried to prove ourselves greater than our ‘brothers’. Enoch grew to become a great city, and we brought wonders of civilization to the rest of the earth; domestication, music, tools, and weapons of war.

            “My teachers were not like other men though. They were great warriors that knew things no other man knew. And my half-sister, Naamah, fell in love with one of our teachers named Azazel. She was young then, right before the curse took hold in her, and he swept her off her feet. Azazel was a good man, but he had ties to greater things. And when his master came, he ran and took Naamah with him. The fled to the mountains, and Naamah had several children that they raised alone.

            “His master and his army swept the great city of Enoch and cut our warriors down like wheat before a scythe. They burned the great towers and the streets were filled with the bodies of the dead. My family and I escaped, and we learned to survive in the shadows of civilization, feasting on the blood of the innocent and sinful alike.

            “When his master finally found Azazel and Naamah, Azazel fought bravely to defend his family. He would not surrender, and he killed many of the great warriors. But they eventually overpowered him and imprisoned him alongside my half-sister in the ruins of Enoch. Their children, the Sedim, were forced to guard them for eternity as a warning for others like Azazel. And I need you to help me free them,” Jabal finished with a longing in his eyes much deeper than his hunger.

            “You need me? Why me?” Paladin replied. “What can I do to help them that this Azazel couldn’t do for himself?”

            “I see the strength inside of you. You are much greater than any paladin I have met. I need you to defeat the Sedim and your fire”-Paladin glanced down at the nimbus of flames that surrounded him-“to break Azazel’s chains. I can tell you what you need to know, and part of why you are here if you can just help me save my sister.” And then with a look of despair he added, “Please.”

            Paladin stood there, silently staring back at Jabal. The words of the priest Asmodeus kept repeating in his head, over and over-you must be prepared to take the path that is your legacy-like a mantra, pulling him towards a cliff that he knew he would be sure to fall from. But what other choice do I have, he asked himself. I can either stand up and take what comes before me or run and find another answer. I am not afraid of Jabal, and I don’t have anything to lose. I have to make a choice, and I don’t feel like running.

            “Fine,” Paladin said as he helped Jabal to his feet. “I will help you.”

            Jabal’s face suddenly shown with such happiness that Paladin wasn’t sure if he had ever felt joy before in his extremely long life. “Thank you so much, you don’t know how much this means,” Jabal said excitedly. “The ruins of Enoch are not far from Babylon, just east of here towards the mountains. We can make it in less than a night. You will need rest, and I need some food.”

            “If I am going to do this for you, I can’t let you just go and kill innocent people,” Paladin said as Jabal turned to leave. “And how am I going to sleep if I am still on fire? You have to at least tell me what is wrong with me.”

            “I promise while we are together I will only kill those that deserve it,” Jabal said with his wicked grin. “But I cannot tell you much, I need you to help me.”

            “You can trust me,” Paladin replied. “I will still help you as long as you tell me what is going on.”

            “This is not about trust. This is about need. Do you know what it feels like to spend several millennia with your family chained and tortured every day? For the sins of our ancestor my whole family has been cursed, while the ‘merciful’ God won’t lift a finger to stop the pain we have endured. Every day is spent craving murder, until it becomes just feeding. And then what soul we have left is gone, never to return again,” Jabal said with a desolate look directed at Paladin. “You must help me, and I will tell you everything you must know to help me free Naamah.”

            “Alright, fine,” Paladin said. “So what are these flames and why don’t they burn me?”

            “It is called the Holy Spirit. Every paladin has it, some stronger than others. It is the third part of the Trinity, and the energy hidden in every living thing. It can do amazing things and you will eventually learn to control it. It is one of the paladin’s strongest weapons, but for now I will tell you how to make it come and go. One of my teachers from Enoch showed me this when I was young.

“Just close your eyes and imagine yourself as a ball of brilliant white light.” Paladin cleared his mind and felt warmth build inside as he saw himself as pure light. “Now just see the ball grow darker and darker, until eventually it just fades away into nothing.” As soon as he pictured the light fade, Paladin felt the warmth begin to rush from him, slowly at first but then faster and faster until it felt like an avalanche that swept over him. He opened his eyes as he shook from a cold chill and realized that the flames were gone. “Simple, isn’t it? All the powers of the Holy Spirit are just like that, taking the light in your head and making it do different things. Practice with it while I’m gone, it shouldn’t take long,” Jabal said with his odd grin as he stumbled off into the night with his broken and bruised body.

“Be careful,” Paladin said as Jabal seemed to melt into the shadows again. Thoughts cascaded through Paladin’s mind; distrust for Jabal, memories he could barely make out, and so many worries he couldn’t keep count. Holy Spirit? What does that have to do with me waking in a city I don’t remember, Paladin thought. This is so strange, almost like a dream but more like a nightmare. He looked up above the walls of the alley, seeing a sickly green sky and thousands of tiny lights in the heavens, but not one of them a star.

“I need someone to trust right now, and I don’t know if I can trust Jabal,” Paladin said to himself. “Maybe that priest wasn’t as crazy as I thought he was”-You will have to decide what your quest is for yourself-“and maybe it is time that I decide.” Paladin studied his hands in the pale green light that leaked down between the thousands of buildings. The light made him feel sick and alone on the cold night. “I have to have someone to help me through this, and Jabal seems like my only choice. He’s already helped more than he’s been able to harm,” Paladin said as a small flame appeared on the tip of his finger, almost dancing in the night. “And who knows, maybe I really can trust him.”

Paladin made the flame dance from finger to finger, and then jump from one hand to another. This really is pretty simple, Paladin thought to himself. Just like riding a bike. Suddenly Paladin’s eyes opened wide, and it dawned on him, I have done this before! I have done this hundreds of times, and once did great things with it. The flame began to spin, faster and faster until it became a sphere of light. I know I can’t remember all of it, but parts of it-the sphere began to grow-are like I’ve known them all along. I could do anything with this! Anything I want!

The sphere flew from Paladin’s hands and struck the concrete a dozen yards from him, detonating with enough force to send huge chunks of rock flying in the air. One of them fell down towards Paladin, and he simply held out his hand and white blue fire shot out, swirled around the rock, and left it floating in midair a foot above Paladin’s head.

“This is too easy,” he said as the rock drifted harmlessly to the ground. “But this just leaves more questions. Why can I do this, and why do I remember doing it?”

Because you were meant to, a voice replied as if from right behind him. But more importantly, you were made to. Caught unaware, Paladin exploded in a brilliant ball of white-blue flame that shook the foundations of the gargantuan buildings as he roared, “Who’s there?”

No one replied. He scanned the alley-no one in sight. A feeling of nausea began to rise from the pit of his stomach, climbing up the back of his throat. Now I’m hearing things in the night, Paladin thought. I bet it was Jabal, hiding in the shadows, and listening to me make a fool of myself. “Jabal? Is that you out there? C’mon man, this ain’t funny.”

He was answered by silence. “I guess I am just hearing things,” Paladin murmured to himself. “This has been one hell of a stressful day, maybe it’s time I took Jabal’s advice.” Paladin walked over to the edge of the alley and laid down on a pile of garbage, the best bed in sight.

You were made to, repeated in Paladin’s mind as he toyed with the golden cross hanging from his neck. It seemed like the cross was the only thing that would not reflect that sick green light in the alley. If I was made to control this fire, I was made as a weapon, one hell of a destructive one at that. But who am I supposed to be a weapon for, and who against? Everything is so fucked up right now; I must find someone to trust before I make a decision I can’t change with force. For Paladin, sleep didn’t come easily.

Chapter 4 

Consciousness began to tug at him, pull him towards the surface of the water so high above him. He didn’t want to go, sleep was so perfect, so sweet, and he didn’t want to go back to the world outside-you were made to-and all the things he didn’t understand. But still consciousness would not let go of him, and began to drag him towards the top. He struggled and fought back, but still consciousness would not let go, and he was almost to the surface now. Here it comes, said a thought dancing through his subconscious, like a living being trapped underwater but dancing to enjoy its fleeting life. He could see the surface inches away from his face now, and his body tightened to anticipate the shock of coming around to consciousness. Here it comes. And it came.

Paladin’s eyes opened. He was still in the alley, and still alone. Here it comes, he thought to himself. But what, another vampire or another old freak? He sat up, and noticed he was wearing different clothes. His white shirt and old jeans were replaced with rags. And everything stunk. Everything. It smells like I stuck my head in a two-story pile of shit. He was suddenly hit by nausea, and he turned and heaved on himself. Like that’s going to help, he thought and then added, but it’s not like it’s going to hurt either.

He got up and brushed bits of puke off himself and looked up and down the alley. The signs of his fight with Jabal were gone. The sky wasn’t green, but a dark gray of smog. Then it hit him that he was standing in a different alley. Paladin was stupefied. What is this? Every time I wake up I forget how I get there, there must be something wrong with-and it hit him like a ton of bricks-my mind! That’s it! There are no vampires, no paladins, just one guy who is so crazy he can’t remember what happened yesterday and how he got to a different alley. So I’m just crazy, or if Jabal the “vampire” was right, just on drugs!

Paladin suddenly got up and jumped in the air with pure joy. He couldn’t believe after all the stress of yesterday it was all just him being crazy. This is how the sky used to be, he thought. This is how I remember it. No more green skies and long fangs.

His happiness was interrupted when he heard a sound from around the corner, almost like a muffled groan. Here it comes. Paladin crept up towards the wall and took a deep breath to steady himself. A trembling hand gripped the concrete building as he slowly looked around the corner. Half a dozen men stood in the alley, circling around a single old man in black. The men all wore dirty rags, and every one of them carried a club or a chain. They all taunted the old man, saying things more vile than anything Paladin ever heard, but the old man stood tall and proud in a way that was oddly familiar to Paladin. His silver hair glinted in the night, but Paladin could not see his face. Here it comes. He could hear pieces of conversation, “Give me your wallet…I have nothing…Do you wanna die, old man?” but it was all swept away when he glimpsed the old man’s face.

It was Asmodeus. Paladin was sure of it. The priest was a memory that wouldn’t go away, he would continue to haunt Paladin in every nightmare and there was nowhere to run. Why can’t you just fucking leave me alone? What did I do to deserve all this? Will I ever be free of this nightmare? Questions flew around in his head so fast that the only thing that kept him up was his iron grip on the brick wall. Maybe there is a way I will finally know what the hell is going on, he thought as he began to creep up on the thugs circling Asmodeus. And it doesn’t look like I have any other choice.

One silent step at a time, Paladin made his way to a dumpster, not even a dozen paces from the group of men. He felt adrenaline surge through him, pumping him full of energy, just as the spirit had before. Paladin took a deep breath to steady himself, and looked one last time at the thugs advancing on Asmodeus. Here it comes. Questions still flew through his head like a hurricane, and there was only one choice left.

Just as one of the men raised his club to hit the priest, Paladin leapt from behind the dumpster and charged head on into the group of attackers. He ran with his fist held far back, and as he reached the man he swung down with all his might and connected with his chin. The man’s face whipped around and his whole body followed, picking his feet right up off the ground. Paladin spun and brought down another man with a sidekick that hit him right behind the knee, dropping him toward the ground. He followed through and gripped the man around the neck as he firmly planted his foot on the man’s calf, forcing him on his knees just long enough for Paladin to snap his neck.

Paladin let the body fall limply from his hands as he eyed the remaining four assailants. Surprise was over; it was time for skill. He reached inside, tried to grasp for the fire that hid somewhere deep down, because he knew he needed more than fists and an old man to survive this. Asmodeus is just standing there as if he had shit his pants, immobile as a statue but trembling slightly all over. Come on priest, help me find the fire so we can get out of this, Paladin thought as he stared at the men circling him. Brilliant white light…fill me with strength…where the hell did it go? He felt as if he had never even felt the incredible power flow through him. He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes in concentration, trying to bring the fire back with will alone.

A sound behind him was just enough warning to keep Paladin from getting his skull split open like a ripe melon. He dove to the floor, wind brushing against his head where the club had just been, and dropped the man with a sweep kick. Paladin jumped up to his feet and grabbed a club as it was flying towards his face, spun around behind the man, and twisted his arm enough to make him yell out in pain. Once again Paladin heard the shuffle of feet behind him, and he twisted the man’s arm even more and turned just enough for his next attacker to miss Paladin and strike the man’s elbow, shattering the arm and bringing out a much more horrified scream than the last. When he realized he had struck his own friend, the man looked up with an idiotic expression on his face just long enough to see Paladin’s fist break his nose.

Paladin turned to Asmodeus, and he never thought the man could look so frail. He looked exactly the same as he had in the church, but something was different; this man was weak. Asmodeus’ green eyes regarded Paladin with more fear than thanks for saving him from the muggers. It might have been the thugs, but from the stench in the alley and the horrified look on the priest’s face, I think he really did shit his pants, Paladin thought as he regarded the weak old man.

“Asmodeus, where are we now? Why are you here? Better yet, why am I here?” Paladin said. The look on the priest’s face was the mirror image of the thug that had broken his comrade’s arm. Absolutely no clue whatsoever.

Paladin took a step forward, and the priest took a step back. What the hell is going on? Why doesn’t he recognize me? “I just saved your ass priest. I just took out half a dozen attackers, and all you can do is look at me like a moron?”

Wait a second, Paladin thought as he stared down the priest. Half a dozen…six men…but…I only took out five. Only five? For the third time, Paladin heard the telltale shuffling of feet behind him, but this time he was too late. He turned his head just enough to see a metal pipe for a split second, then his vision became pure white. Paladin felt himself floating down to the ground, although he couldn’t see a thing. Time slowed to a crawl as he fell, and a bright pulse of the most brilliant white flashed as his forehead hit the concrete. Then slowly the white faded to gray, and gray to black…

Darkness.

Paladin awoke with a start, his heart pounding in his chest. He scanned the alley but there was no one in sight. The familiar rubble from Paladin’s fight with Jabal was scattered in the cramped alley, and black soot marred the ground where his fireball had hit. The sky was still dark, and it still had the sick green cast that put Paladin ill at ease. Fast short breaths gradually gave way to deep breathing, and his pulse slowed in response. His hands still trembled though, and it would take more than deep breathing to shake his nightmare. So I’m back where I began. Green skies and tiny specks of light-planes, answered a voice in his head-and vampires. Can’t forget the vampires.

Torn between finding Jabal and getting answers from the priest, Paladin just sat there, wondering about the meaning of his dream. Asmodeus’ words echoed in his head; You have been brought here to help resurrect what has died on its own, bring back what is rightfully dead. The vision of the blank look on the priest’s face would not give him rest, and a sense of irony at the priest’s words and the dream brought a troubled smile to Paladin’s face.

So I’m here to bring you back. And it looks like you are the only one who can answer my questions, thought Paladin as he looked down the alley for Jabal. Only piles of rubble and trash. Where the hell did he go? Oh yeah, he went out to grab lunch. A sick feeling rose in his stomach as he realized how Jabal was going to get lunch. Well I can’t wait forever, and I need to talk to the priest. I must talk to the priest.

Paladin stood up, stretching his back as if reaching up towards the sky. His duster hung low, past his calves, as if he were shrouded in a black cloak. Reaching down into the fog that clouded his memory, he recalled most of the way back to the church and remembered that it would be the only break in the gargantuan buildings. Taking one last look down the alley for Jabal, he set out.

Through alleys and over mounds of debris he marched, alone in a cold desolate world. Overhead he saw ships fly between buildings in a mad race with no winner. He passed a few urchins on his way, but everyone he talked to either ran or would not say a word to him. Time dragged on, and still he had not even reached the Market. Just as the dread of being lost began to rise inside him, a silhouette appeared out of the shadows in front of him.

“Forget something?” a familiar voice echoed down the alley. “Maybe something like…me?” Jabal said as he strode into the light. Some color had returned to his face, as much color as a vampire could hold, and his broken bones had healed. He looked exactly as he did when Paladin first met him, dark and arrogant.

"Didn't forget; left something," Paladin said with obvious distrust in his voice, which Jabal seemed to take with a grain of salt. Life from death must bring out some heavy distrust, he thought to himself.

Once again a wry smile touched Jabal's lips as he replied, "Who ever said humor was only for mortals?"

"Mortals? What do you mean?"

"You'll understand soon enough. We have a long day ahead of us. We need some transportation across the desert, and I have a good idea where we could find it," Jabal said.

"Why can't you just answer my question? You promised me answers, and all you've given me is more fucking questions!" Paladin said as a flare of blue flame erupted from his eyes. He deserves my distrust. Hell, he tried to kill me.

His smile slowly turned to pure determination, grim, almost as if he was carved from stone. "Answers. What a funny thing, answers. There is no such thing as a true answer, because a good answer always leads to more questions. And then where are you? Back where you started; wanting an answer, but to a different question. But what you must understand Paladin, is that we all want answers, every single one of us. Can you tell me why I was cursed? Tell me that, and I'll answer your damn question. I'll answer all of your questions!" Jabal said as his determination quickly became rage. "Don't demand answers, or you will never get the one you want. Remember that, because it's only taken me a few millenia to learn it."

As they glared at each other, Paladin let his flames slowly fade away. Although he wouldn't even admit it to himself, he began to understand Jabal. "So where are we going to find a ride in this city?" Paladin asked.

"Each Legion has all the transportation we'll need. Our only problem is finding a Legion, and that shouldn't be too hard at all with you here," Jabal said as his rage receded. "The trip over the desert should take less than a night. So as soon as you're done wandering around this city, we should set out."

The dream still occupied Paladin's thoughts, beating against his consciousness like an animal trapped in a cage. I have to find the priest first, he thought. He has the answers I want, and maybe the trust I need. But indecision still gripped Paladin. His mind was fighting a war, between his promise to Jabal and his need for truth. Asmodeus' words echoed in his head; You will have to decide what your quest is for yourself, but he knew that he couldn't decide without knowing more about this struggle he had been placed in.

"I have to talk to the priest before we leave," Paladin said with a look into Jabal's eyes.

For a brief second open disgust touched Jabal's face, but it was covered by his mask of arrogance in a blink of his obsidian eyes. "Why would you want to talk to him?" Jabal asked. "That senile old fool has been ignored by the Emperor for the simple fact that he isn't worth the time to imprison, let alone torch his precious little church."

All his mixed feelings were dispelled by the disgust Jabal had shown. "Because I must talk to him. He’s the only one with any answers,” Paladin said as he stormed past Jabal, whose arrogance formed into a furious glare.

“Always demanding answers. Why is the sky blue, why is the grass green, why can’t you run with scissors? Questions are for children, and I had hoped that you were more than a mere child with a blade in your hand. The power you have is only tempered by the ignorance you’ve been blessed with, and I say that with utmost honesty,” Jabal said as Paladin turned to face him once more. “If you knew everything, then you’d would make yourself useless in the war around you. You must learn the truth as you learn to master your unique…gift.”

“I don’t care anymore Jabal. I’m sick of hearing your riddles that have no answer. I’m leaving, and you better get the fuck out of my way before I practice my gift on you!” Paladin said as he knocked Jabal against the wall with a wave of his hand and a ball of blue flame.

Jabal growled as he stood up and watched Paladin march down the alley. “We’ll see what kind of answers the priest will give you! When you realize how wrong you are, I’ll be there waiting.” As Paladin turned the corner and disappeared, he muttered, “I’ve been waiting millennia, I can wait another day.”

 Chapters 5 &6