Part II: The Truth About the Keepers
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Liona stared at the high–ceilinged cavern to which Cira had brought her. It seemed different from all the places they had been. The lighting was very dim, giving the impression of an immense space lost in
darkness.
A ball of fire appeared in Cira’s hand, illuminating the space, and Liona stifled a scream.
Before them stood a huge figure made of bones and skulls, with a cloak covering what should have been
its face, and a kind of black iron ring behind it.
There was also a stone table. It rose to chest height, rough and irregular. It seemed to have been carved
from lava. A wide circle carved into the floor surrounded it.
On the table was the skeleton of a person, with ankles and wrists bound by chains fixed with iron rings to
the stone legs of the table. A metal bowl, splattered with disturbing marks, was at the height of what must
have been its heart, with a black knife embedded in the chest.
Liona looked around; there were more skeletons with hands and feet bound to the walls. Liona had seen
many monsters and many horrors, but none of those things frightened her. Yet, in that cave, she felt her whole body screaming at her to run, to flee from that place.
“What is this place, Your Highness?”
“This was an altar used to worship the darkness, to worship the dark king.”
“The dark king?”
“Yes, that’s why we will open the gates of Hades, to let him in so he can transform this world, to eradicate all our enemies from the face of the earth and finally be free. But to do that, I need the keys to open the gates of Hades, but this body cannot withstand its lethal power, so I need to find a way to strengthen it
and take the key I lack.”
“But the other key is with Princess Abril.”
“They are only guarding it. When I can reach the key in this cave, I will take the key she has.”
Cira began to walk, and Liona followed her, as that place gave her goosebumps.
“Please, Your Majesty, don’t leave me behind.”
“Are you scared?”
“No, I just don’t want to get lost; this place seems very large.”
Cira ignored Liona’s response and continued to walk down a long corridor, which was illuminated by her fire, until they reached a large room with several shelves full of books.
“Is it a library?”
“Yes, there’s a book here that can answer any question you ask, but first, you have to find it, so start
< Part II: The Truth About the Keepers
opening books and ask it how to take the key with a mortal body.”
There were thousands of books in that place, and Liona felt overwhelmed.
“We have to search through all of them.”
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“Exactly, so stop wasting time and start searching, and remember to ask the question I told you, because you can only ask it one question, then the book will disappear.”
“And what if someone has already used it?”
“The book is still here, no one has used it yet, so start searching.”
“Yes, princess.”
***
Alessandro had been entering the guardians‘ room for some time, to speak with the first guardian, but he kept telling him that he wouldn’t talk until he said his name. So he decided to say random names until he
guessed his name.
“Tomas, Saul, Barto, Ulises, Frederik.”
“What do you think you’re doing, brat?”
“I don’t know your name, and it seems none of the other guardians do either, so I decided to say random names to guess what your name is.
“That just makes me feel even more offended.”
“Then tell me what I want to know and I’ll stop bothering you.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Then I’ll keep coming back until you tell me, although maybe next time my brother Cassian will come
since I can’t be in this room all the time.”
“What?”
Alessandro saw that the name Cassian caught the first guardian’s attention.
“Wait, is your name Cassian by any chance?”
“No, although it’s similar.”
“Hmm… Castiel?”
The first guardian looked excited, as if he were about to reveal his name. So Alessandro started saying names similar to his brother’s until he guessed the first guardian’s name.
“Cassiel…”
The first guardian’s face lit up upon hearing his name, and a tear rolled down his pale cheek.
< Part II The Truth About the Keepers
“It’s been a long time since anyone called me by my name.”
“That’s because you didn’t tell anyone.”
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“It’s not that. Everyone knew my name. I repeated it to them over and over, but none remembered it, as if they denied my existence and only remembered what I had done, not who I was. I suppose that’s my punishment.”
Alessandro had no idea what Cassiel was talking about, but that wasn’t what interested him, so he ignored
“I’ve said your name. Now tell me the full story of the guardians and Hades. Tell me who you really are.”
“It’s been a long time since I last told my story.”
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