Queen of the Fallen (Second Death Book 2) Read online

  Queen of the Fallen

  Book Two of the Second Death

  Brian Rella

  Illustrated by

  Jake Logsdon

  Elder and King

  Contents

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  PROLOGUE

  1. JESSIE

  2. BOOK OF RAZMUS

  3. KURIEL

  4. TITUS

  5. BRENNAN

  6. FRANK

  7. BOOK OF RAZMUS

  8. KURIEL

  9. FRANK

  10. JESSIE

  11. TITUS

  12. ROY

  13. BRENNAN

  14. FRANK

  15. TITUS

  16. BOOK OF RAZMUS

  17. KURIEL

  18. FRANK

  19. ROY

  20. TITUS

  21. BRENNAN

  22. FRANK

  23. TITUS

  24. JESSIE

  25. BOOK OF RAZMUS

  26. KURIEL

  27. ROY

  28. FRANK

  29. TITUS

  30. JESSIE

  31. ROY

  32. FRANK

  33. TITUS

  34. FRANK

  35. BOOK OF RAZMUS

  36. DALKHU

  37. FRANK

  38. ROY

  39. FRANK

  40. JESSIE

  41. FRANK

  42. JESSIE

  43. FRANK

  44. ROY

  45. BRENNAN

  46. ROY

  47. FRANK

  48. TITUS

  49. RAND

  50. JESSIE

  51. JESSIE

  EPILOGUE

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  Thank You for Reading!

  About the Author

  Also by Brian Rella

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  PROLOGUE

  October 21, 2015

  New York, New York

  Jack had always been a dreamer, even as a baby. At least that’s what his mother had told him. But he'd never had a dream this lucid or long before. It seemed to last all night…

  In the dream, he was standing on a road that went on forever. He turned to his left, and saw the earth had been scorched black, burned to ash and soot. The trees… Some of the trees had been burned to stubs, and looked like cleats turned upside down. Others were still tall and stabbed into the ominous sky, like spears trying to pierce the blazing orange sun setting on the horizon. A thunderous heartbeat pounded from somewhere. He could feel the vibration through his Nikes and up into his body. He had never been so scared in his life than he had been hearing that sound.

  A song came to him on a gentle breeze from his right. He knew the tune but couldn't place it. A lullaby? A church hymn? One of his first memories was his mother humming it to him as a toddler. He turned to gaze in the direction of the sound. To his right, lush green fields of grass and wildflowers spread across fertile land. Trees, as tall as skyscrapers, slow-danced on an easy wind. Far off, past the fields and trees, a majestic mountain stood stoic under a bright yellow sun. The sun breathed warmth on everything it touched. A tranquil calm came over Jack as the tune played on the wind, lifting his spirits into the scattered clouds that accented the deep blue sky.

  Thunder boomed, startling Jack from his gaze on the serene scene. He turned left as lightning slashed at the blackening sky and the silhouette of something purple-black and thudding in the dead landscape flashed brilliantly for an instant. Jack was filled with dread that tingled all over his skin as the images came rapid fire, slicing through his brain. His jaw fell open and he screamed, but he couldn’t hear his own voice over the cadence that reverberated through him.

  A girl…

  A purple heart…

  An ice-breathing monster…

  Tarek… Tarek is dead…

  The name resounded in his head. He bolted upright in bed, wide awake, his vocal cords vibrating until they were raw and painful. He was vaguely aware his mother was holding him. That sound…that sound…The cadence was a terrifying rhythm; an endless thrumming.

  A heartbeat…

  His hands slammed over his ear holes and his voice was like a steel rake running through the inside of his neck. He tasted blood in the back of his throat. His mother held him to her bosom, and rocked him and hummed to him. The tune she hummed—it was the same tune from the dream. The words found him and his screams trailed off into sobs.

  Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,

  That saved a wretch like me.

  I once was lost but now I'm found,

  Was blind, but now I see.

  1

  JESSIE

  October 26, 2015

  Dreamlands

  The sweet nectar from the King of the Fallen flooded her veins, anesthetizing her fragile mind and her wounded body. Tangled in the mesh of His embrace, Nalsuu cradled His princess in His many limbs, and kissed her softly. She moaned as His teeth sank into her. Her mind drifted with His, safely away from the memories of her most recent battles. He spoke to her in the dreamlands between the juncture of their worlds, His voice and clasp a soothing cushion on the hardness of her life in the land of the living.

  You are safe in my arms, my princess. I will heal you once again and you will remember that only I am with you in this life; only I am true to you; only I am your King and protector.

  She could not respond in her rapture. She was drifting away from His consciousness, like a puff of smoke in the air. Nothing was real. It was all a dream. Her tortured life was someone else’s nightmare; the demons at her command were someone else’s; her battles with the Watchers clippings from some other person’s life, manifested in her ethereal state. She would wake at any moment and be back in her father’s arms, like that day on the playground not so long ago.

  Her withdrawal from the truth of their bond concerned Nalsuu. He loosened His grip and withdrew slightly from her, intending to bring her focus back to Him. She was taking the euphoria He injected her with too far; taking it to a place where their true purpose was forgotten, content to lose herself in Him.

  Come back to me, princess. You are mine and I am yours, and this is all real. His heart-shaped body thundered a rhythm around her, trying to wake her from her self-delusions. Do not slip so far from me, Jessie. Remember who you are. Remember who I am. Remember what we must do.

  The video clip of the other person’s life faded and she merged with His memories again, becoming one with them, understanding that it was she and not someone else who was living this life. Yet as she returned to reality, she fought against His thoughts and words, her true self returning to the fore of her mind. Who had she become? What was she doing? An image of her father penetrated her mind once more. She reached for her father, and pushed Nalsuu away.

  No, Nalsuu. I do not want this! This is not me. Let me go back to my father. I do not want this life. I want to be free of the pain. Do not make me. Please…

  His voice was deafening in her mind, and a spiking pain shot to her core. Nalsuu gripped her tightly, choking the thoughts of her father and past life out of her. She was as a child rolled into a ball, holding her hands over her ears. Her screams vibrated in her throat, but could not be heard over the explosions of His heartbeat in her head.<
br />
  Stop! Please! You are hurting me…

  Immediately the thunderous heartbeat fell away to a soft rhythm, and His grasp on her became gentle and supple. She was still stiff from the shock of His anger, and He comforted her in the network of His vein-like arms.

  You must free me, Jessie. You must bring me back to the land of the living. You do not understand the danger. You do not know, but you must.

  Tell me, Nalsuu. What is it?

  There is one who has come into the world who will attempt to destroy me. If he succeeds, he will destroy me and everyone I love, including you, my princess.

  There is no going back. Your father is dead—that life is gone. You must free me and help me. He is the One from the prophecy of Razmus. He must be stopped, and only you and I can stop him—together.

  My father…is dead…

  The pain of that day came back to her in an instant. She shuddered. The air left her lungs in a gasping sob. She saw the images from that dreadful day, the day that changed her world for the worst forever after.

  The police officer coming to the door…

  The look on her mother’s face as she fell in a heap on the floor…

  The casket being lowered into the ground while she stood by her mother’s side, dressed in her best church clothes.

  She had squeezed her mother’s hand, but her mother had pulled her hand away, unable to comfort her. And Jessie was left alone. Alone that day, and for many days after. Her father gone. Her mother absent. The men that had come and gone, filling one hole or another in her mother. But no one had been there for Jessie. And that pain, the pain of being without her father, of being alone, unwanted, and unloved, was deeper, and harsher, than any pain before or now. And Jessie had felt that pain for a long time, until He had found her. Until Nalsuu had spoken to her, and showed her how it felt to be cared for again. Showed her how He…loved her. And she was pulling away from Him, deluding herself with falsehoods. She cursed herself for being such a child, and the anger began to build inside of her. Anger at herself for her childish wishes, and rage at the threat to the only one that truly loved her.

  Who? Who is this monster? I will strangle him with my own hands. I will destroy him. I—

  He is a prophet of great power, marked by the Creator, and given the pure light of the Creator to combat me and my kind. He will come among the living and will destroy me and all that I am. He will doom me to exile unless you help me, my princess. Will you help me? Will you help me defeat him? Will you help free me from this prison and return to the land of the living, so that we can be together forever and rule over this wretched world, reshaping it to our imagining? Will you be with me, Jessie?

  The tears flowed freely down her cheeks. He needed her as much as she needed Him. And He loved her. And He had proven His love to her. And she had wanted to deny Him, deny Him the very heart of His desire. To be free. To be among the living. To be with her.

  Forgive me, my King. I am yours, as always. We will destroy this One. Tell me where he is. Tell me what I must do. I will destroy him for the both of us, and bring you forth into the land of the living.

  His mouths gently suckled her and spread His venomous poison through her in a wave of gratitude. She moaned passionately at the darkness that seeped into the deepest places of her body and soul.

  I will know when he has come. But first, you must free another to help us. He shall raise an army so great, none shall stand in our way, not even the One.

  Who is he, my King? Tell me, how can I find him?

  He is known by many names. Some call him Dalkhu, others call him The Dead One. He is Shepherd of the Soulless, and he is close. I will heal you and then you shall find him. For now, you must rest and heal. A great journey and challenge await you, my princess. Are you ready? Will you help me?

  I will, my King.

  2

  BOOK OF RAZMUS

  Chapter 1: 1-6

  And from the words of the righteous Razmus:

  Wherewith I was among the living after Adam and Eve were cast out of Paradise.

  During the second temptation of man, I did have my eyes opened by the Creator.

  That I may bear witness to visions of Kuriel, the Protector, and his descent into darkness.

  I take up this parable, and say to all who will listen:

  From the ether, the Celestial, Kuriel the Protector, came unto the world.

  With whom the Creator had entrusted the souls of man.

  And he did stand over the Earth, gazing upon us, in accordance with the Creator’s decree.

  And he became smitten with lust and envy for that which they had, which he did not.

  And though he was sworn on high to protect, he did fall.

  3

  KURIEL

  Earth

  The song-like voice of Uriel passed through the ether, and Kuriel was compelled to go to him. The Celestial’s voice carried the meeting place on its notes, and as soon as Kuriel heard his superior’s call, he felt the pull of his obligation as a subordinate in the hierarchy of the Creator’s laws, and was forced to tear himself away from his resting place among the stars. He sped through space and time, arriving almost instantaneously at the Creator’s newest world on the other side of the universe. The planet was haloed in vibrant shades of blue against the canvas of black space. He floated closer to the planet, joining Uriel, who hovered above the new world cloaked in an aura of shimmering brilliance. The jolting journey was a slight annoyance to Kuriel, who had just ended a long commission and was at leisure for the first time in Aeons. Regardless, he obeyed the laws, and had arrived as instructed.

  “His will,” Uriel said.

  “Is my law,” Kuriel responded.

  “What is His bidding?” Kuriel asked, showing due respect to his commander and the laws of His universe while trying to hide the minor irritation he had felt before.

  Uriel turned his attention to his ward, and Kuriel knew his elder and overseer saw right through him, seeing exactly how he truly felt. “Kuriel, put aside your self and gaze at the wonders beneath us,” Uriel said, and Kuriel obliged, shifting his focus to the planet and its inhabitants.

  It was wondrous indeed. Beneath the blue hue of the planet were many of the best elements and combinations of the universe. The species of creatures were many and diverse and Kuriel was impressed and curious.

  “What is this place?” Kuriel asked.

  “It is His newest creation,” Uriel said. “This place has been bestowed with gifts and wonders we are all in awe of.” His words were full of vim and vigor, and his brilliance swelled as bright as the yellow star behind them. It was contagious, and Kuriel became filled with the same emotions.

  Kuriel took a moment to absorb his surroundings, letting his attention wander beyond the planet below. The yellow star. Eight other planets of different compositions, and their moons. But only this one fostered life on virgin earth. The others were dead. Curious. Why only this planet? Had there ever been life on these others?

  “They were always dead, but necessary in His plans,” Uriel said, reading his ward’s thoughts. Kuriel wished he could do the same of Uriel, but His laws prevented subordinates in the hierarchy of the Kingdom from having this ability. “This one planet is special. He made its inhabitants…unique.” He motioned for Kuriel to glance back to the planet, and Kuriel felt the force of his commander’s wishes on him, and shifted his focus away from his own curiosities.

  “Which inhabitants? What is special about them?”

  “Look again. Do you see them now?”

  Kuriel’s focus was drawn to the specific creature his superior desired him to gaze upon. It was a fleshy thing, soft and fragile, with four limbs, of which two were used for moving from one place to another. They were uniform looking for the most part, with some subtle differences. There were males and females, a distinction which He had done to other species before.

  “I see them. What are they called?”

  “Humans.”

  “
And why are they special?” He felt the pull of his leader again, moving his focus to the sparkle coming from one of their number, and knew the answer to his question right away.

  “They have our light?” Kuriel was shocked. He had been charged to watch over new species before, but none had the light of the universe—His light—inside them before. Only the Celestials who were of Him had the light within them. The humans were not Celestials at all. How do they have our light?

  “They have His light, as do we.” Uriel’s response was powerful and severe. Kuriel wished for the second time his superior could not read his thoughts. He sighed and gave Uriel his full attention again. “But look closer, Kuriel. They have darkness as well.”

  Kuriel did as he was told, and refocused. They did indeed. The light and dark energies of the universe swirled within them, as if contained in a vessel. The darkness was small in most of them, yet it was there nonetheless.

  “How? How do they have both our—His light energy and dark energy in one? This is a new law!” There had not been a new law for Aeons. He’d seen many creatures before, but none had been made like this. Uriel was right. They were unique, and mystery surrounded them.

  “He allowed them a vessel to contain both. A soul.”

  “A soul.” The word had a musical quality to it, like a perfect note. Kuriel’s interest held him captivated and thousands of questions sputtered from his consciousness, thickening the space between them. They all stemmed from the only question that really mattered.

  “Why?”

  Rueful impatience radiated from Uriel. “Why? It is the law—that is why. We do not question. We obey. You obey. You are to look after them. They are your charge, Kuriel.”