Prologue

With every fallen soul there is a purity; that purity is the opportunity of redemption. Though redemption is never free . . . The price is always different; costing what is most cherished to the individual. However, it never varies; always the hardest thing to let go of. But if given the option . . . would you too choose immortality? The fall had knocked her out cold. Awakening in depths unknown Cilia took in her surroundings. It was dark and damp. The ground nothing but dirt and rotted pieces of wood. Sitting up, Cilia tried to remember how she had ended up in such a place. Thanks to a splitting headache, she could not remember a thing other then tripping and falling, and here she was. There was no visible light, no escape to be found. There was not even an indication as to which direction to go or which direction she came from. Standing up Cilia headed North, which looked as good as any other direction she could have taken. She walked for miles and not a single detail had changed in the scenery around her; it felt as if she had not moved at all. What the hell kind of place was this? Frustrated she shoved her foot into the ground and sat on the nearest dead log. Cilia had been sitting all of ten minutes before the eerie silence started to frighten her. There was no wind, no sounds of movement, nothing. The earth was deathly still. Emptiness had already gotten to her, and now loneliness was creeping up right along with it. Running her hands up and down her arms she tried to ease her worries, telling herself not to be frightened by nothing. After an hour or so Cilia got back up and tried again to find a way to somewhere familiar. After the same experience as before she panicked into a sprint through the nothingness. Once out of breath she fell to her knees and started crying. The sound of tears must have triggered something. All of the sudden she was no longer alone. Skelton like creatures emerged from the ground. Screaming she took off, jumping over the dead debris on the ground, doing all she could to dodge the seemingly endless skeletons popping up in front of her. Running in every direction possible she ducked to the left and then ducked to the right. Before she knew it Cilia was surrounded. She kicked one skeleton in the chest, trying to clear a path through the ambush. To her surprise it worked, the skeleton collapsed in a pile of useless bones and she fell over the top of it. Hitting the ground on her hands and knees, dirt in her face, it took all of two seconds to realize a skeleton hand had grabbed hold of her foot and was dragging her toward itself. Flipping on her back, Cilia kicked the skeleton in the head, its skull rolling beside her. The hand on her ankle let up and she ran once again. Wondering how close they were behind her she dared a look back and they were gone. What the hell was going on? Maybe she was going mad. Maybe all this was a dream. That had to be it, a really weird dream. Perhaps it was a concussion from falling, she could have hit her head on something. “There are plenty others all around you, but like you they believe to be by themselves. Let this go on long enough and you are sure to lose your sanity.” “Your assuming I have not already lost my sanity.” Being a smart ass to the being that stood in front of her was not the brightest idea she ever had, but being a dream it didn't matter. “Your soul is pure, there is another chance to be given.” “What are you talking about?” “I am talking about you Cilia Bradley.” The being whispered. The thing in front of her stood at a terrifying height of eight feet. His body was primed for attack, built of rigid muscles and radiating strength. He didn't look like something to be fucked with. “How do you know me?” Cilia was shaking like a scared three year old on the inside, though she would never show her weakness to another. “I know everything about you. I know everything about your life and how you came to your end.” “End?” “That is why you are here.” “Where is here?” Celia shivered, suddenly feeling cold again. “The underworld.” This was one fucked up dream. “Right, the underworld. And how exactly did I die?” "You were raped, tortured, and buried alive." He said this emotionlessly, matter of fact manner. It seemed odd to hear those words pronounced completely void of emotion. As if this dream could get any worse, "Right." Apparently her disbelief was written all over her face because he answered with, "Allow me to remind you." He moved his enormous body closer and it took everything she had to not take a step back. He laid his hand against her forehead and to her surprise it was a more gentle touch than she had expected. All at once the memories of her death flooded her mind . . . She was chained to the basement floor; no mattress, no pillow to comfort her. The only thing in the small cement prison besides her and her chain restraints was the irritating dripping of water from a small pipe in the corner of the room. Cilia could not remember the last time she had anything to eat or drink; leaving her hungry and dehydrated. She was out of stamina and will power; laying naked on the floor, waiting for the man who held her captive to return. There was no telling how many days she had actually been there, but she knew it had been at least four. She had lost count of how many times she had been raped by now. Though it had not taken her long to figure out the more she screamed, the more he liked it, and the longer it would go on. She used her strength the first two days to keep quite through the pain he caused so he would leave sooner, but even that only worked so long. When he wanted her to scream, she knew it. He would cut her, choke her, whip her, and other sadistic things he came up with. She didn’t think she even had the strength left tonight to scream, so she guessed tonight would be the end; she was right. He did everything he could think of to get a rise out of her, but she did nothing. Frustrated he had dragged her out back and buried her. She was finally at peace as the dirt above her sealed her fate; no longer would she be put through hell. Cilia fell to her knee’s, burying her face in her hands at the realization that this was no dream at all, but was indeed reality. Through sobbing she managed to ask, “How did I let myself get into a situation like that?” Without replying he replayed to her that scene as well. She had allowed the paramedic inside her two-story home to aid her daughter, which had another seizure due to her epilepsy. The paramedic waltzed his way through the door and had waited for Cilia to close the door. After which he turned and asked her to lead the way to her daughter. As she stepped foot in front of him he slid a cloth of chloroform over her mouth until she passed out into his arms. Hauling her and her daughter both to the ambulance in body bags, he declared her daughter dead, discarding the body with the examiner. The news the next few weeks played the story of her as a missing mother, who went insane and disappeared wanting to forget the life of her lost daughter. How perfect that no one would even be looking for her. She truly was a lost soul. As if reading her thoughts the man before her spoke, bringing her back to reality. “You are not a lost soul yet. Your soul is the reason you are here.” Cilia looked up in disbelief, the so called Lord of the Underworld believed she had a soul, “If I had soul, I would not have been sent here, to your underworld.” “On the contrary. You have not yet been sent to the underworld. Heaven would not accept you because they believe you are not ready to be put to rest. I am extending to you an offer.” “What kind of offer?” “An offer for revenge. It has been agreed between the leaders of Heaven and Hell to forgive you of one sin, that sin being the murder of the man who killed your spirit.” Cilia's eyes took on a new glow as she stood up the man offering her something so good. “But that means I would have to be returned to Earth, and what if he just kills me all over again? I am not strong enough to fight him.” “Indeed you would return to Earth. However, you will not return mortal.” “Excuse me?” “Bear in mind, immortality always comes at a price.” “What price are we talking about?” Cilia asked. “You are to give our hand in marriage to my son, and be faithful for all eternity. Should you break the vow, your immortality will be lost.” “Why would I agree to an arranged marriage of a man I do not even know?” “There is one more catch. With immortality you will be posses the ability of assassins. Fighting, strength and courage. The next stipulation is you are to protect your husband at all costs, should he die, so shall you.” It took Cilia all of five minutes to debate between death and his offer. With a shake of his hand she agreed to his terms, his glowing red eyes glowing bright as they sealed the deal.