NEPHALEM : DAUGHTER OF HEAVEN AND HELL

NINE

It had been months after Karrone and Laila's disappearance with Nika.

It was extremely difficult for Khaos who was beyond depressed at the helpless situation he was in.

Florence tried her best at locating her,tracking her grace but it was getting harder by the day,confusing everyone.

In one such days when Florence would sit and talk with an inconsolable Khaos,she revealed the dead end she kept coming to e every time she attempted to track the baby's bright grace.

"It's never happened before"

"So what do we do?" Khaos asked out of habit,he'd said those words more than a million times in the past months.

"We have to retry but we'd do it more extensively this time"

"So what are we waiting for?,what do we need?"

"Get up" Florence gestured and led Khaos into the room Nika was born in.

She went over to the bed of feathers Inka had left behind and ran her hands a centimeter above them.

She smiled excitedly and beckoned to Khaos who moved close to her.

In a frenzy,Florence removed the scarf she had around her neck and spread it on the floor.

She grabbed six feathers from the bed and threw them on the scarf.

"Is there any belonging of Drak in this room"

"Something he loves dearly" she asked and Khaos shook his head.

"Karrone took them"

Without warning,she pulled Khaos' hand and slashed his palm,dripping his blood over the feathers.

Khaos recovered and pulled back with a yell,cradling his injured hand.

On the piece of scarf,smothering hot smoke burst forth and revealed Karrone singing a lullaby to the baby,looking pale and contoured.

"Karrone" Khaos muttered with anger.

Florence pulled out an empty vial from her frock to capture the magical fumes when a large projection of a vile looking female minotaur appeared and broke off the vision.

Both spectators fell back in utter horror.

"A minotaur?"

"Keepers of the evil"

"Karrone is no longer just a cambion Khaos" Florence breathed out,still fazed.

"What'd you mean?"

"She's joined her soul with that of a minotaur. That's why she needed the baby. She can't access the baby's powers all by herself. She got the baby for them"

"To do what?"

"Increase their prominence in the order of beacons"

"Beacons?"

Florence let out a frustrated groan.

"I hate to start a seminar on the hierarchy of demons and anchors of evil in this tiny room of yours but you've left me no choice"

Khaos nodded,ignoring the sarcasm.

"All demons of darkness are beacons of evil,some demons however exist to pave the way for bigger,darker demons to affect the mind.
Demons of sleep paralysis for instance weaken the will of a victim until they give in to the madness and the real demon gets the chance to utterly invade the mind"

"So the minotaurs are trying to 'level up'?"

"Affirmative"

"What do we do?" Khaos practically cried.