Heavenly Mortals-Act One

XVI-Calum ( I )

Calum followed the Commandment out of the circular hall. It felt surreal dreaming about this place and then actually visiting it.

He recalled a detail in his dream that made him wary of the Commandment. He probably wasn't happy to have his-as far as he was probably concerned-defective soldier back. The silver-armoured Prasidius obviously wasn't the reasoning type. Anemos, Calum remembered from his dream.

A few minutes here and he felt that he had awed more than most would in their entire lifetime. They walked through the massive halls which made Calum think of a different version of Vouno's cavern.

Whenever they needed to fly, one of the elite guards would kindly carry him. He kept glancing at Qi'ra, her current complexion clashing horribly with the colour scheme of the palace.

Aella hovered beside him, maintaining the bed of wind that Qi'ra lay on. He felt a twinge of guilt. The poor Aureo was probably exhausted out of her mind.

They reached a door in a large hall with groups of Prasidiei flying here and there. Calum realised that unlike the other halls with their white, gold, and blue theme, some of them had golden marble floors and walls painted yellow, which made Calum think it was a sunbathed ballroom.

Anemos knocked on the door, which was a glossy yellow with designs of golden curls. The doors opened and they stepped inside.

It was the size of an average room in a mansion, with enough space for two fully-grown whales stacked on top of each other. Like the hall, it had the same golden colour scheme.

The beams of light emanating from the golden arches in the ceiling enhanced the impression. There were tables piled with books and metal trinkets, bookshelves with even more books, and large silver containers with taps on them. Calum guessed they were filled with sanctified water.

Calum noticed a seat of sorts in the middle of the room, reclined so it would be like lying on a bed, encircled with golden rings.

Behind it was a large contraption; an intricate frame of gold like one of an hourglass, with a large glass orb in the middle. Calum saw two large canisters the size of cannons attached to the frame, filled with crackling energy-lightning. A dozen Prasidiei in golden armour adorned with white lines saluted to Anemos, "Oh, oh by the Gods," One of them gasped at Qi'ra. "Never have I seen anything like this,"

"But can you get her purified?" Anemos asked sternly. The Prasidius nodded, signalling to his comrades, who were armed with strange looking spears that crackled with energy.

They formed a semicircle around the glass sphere, one of them standing beside a golden lever, his shoulders tense.

Anemos stood at the door with the four elite guards. He nodded to Calum.

The Prasidius in charge gestured to the reclined seat, "Place her here," Calum carried her in his arms and slid her through the rings and onto the seat. "If I may ask, what is this contraption for?"

The Prasidius explained eagerly, "This machine makes the task of extracting, containing and destroying a demon vastly safer and efficient. The rings are bathed in holy energy, which helps extraction. The demon will be channelled into the glass sphere, and then the energy from these containers," He patted one of the cannon-sized containers crackling with lightning, "Will utterly destroy the demon."

The explanation of the machine didn't reassure Calum. It was almost as if the machine's designers didn't account for the safety of the possessed victim.

"If I may," The Prasidius asked, "What is that you are holding?" He pointed to the energy orb Calum held in his hands.

"Just extract the demon, Ireis," Anemos growled. Calum decided not to tick him off any further. He pondered on whether Ireis was the Prasidius' name or a title. Calum recognised it as ancient Granoan for "Priest".