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Nights of Babylon	By : kruemel Category: 1 through F > Alexander Views: 12920 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Alexander, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 23
- 24
- 25
AN: This time it's a quite short chapter and it has been some time until this upate, I'm sorry. The reason is work. During the last
weeks I've hardly been off with less than 70 hours a week. *sighs*

Thanks for being so patient.

And thanks for the reviews.
Disclaimer: As before: Not mine
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Chapter 24 - The black pool
Jelaia was so pleased with the terrified expression on the golden-eyed incubus' face when she mentioned the gap and
Hephaistion's fate that she didn't realize the danger she was in before it hit her. Alexis had frozen in his motion, fear and
horror twisting his beautiful features at the news the blonde succubus had brought. But Serena shot to action immediately.
She had never before been so angry, had never felt the blaze of hatred so fiercly. "Lousy bitch", she screamed and threw
herself at Jelaia, bringing her down. Clawing at each other the two females rolled on the bloodstained ground, a heap of
limbs and wings and golden and crimson hair.
To Ptolemy things then happened so fast that he hadn't time to react until everything was over.
The other demon tried to run to Jelaia's help, but was blocked by Alexis' fist, the blow sending the male flying across the
arena until his flight was stopped by a wall. Alexis didn't wait for him to stand up again, but nailed him to the ground,
ready to finish him quickly. There was no time to waste.
Hephaistion had fallen into the gap.
He had fallen into the lake.
He had fallen into the graveyard of hundreds of the predators' victims.
The bodies were long decayed and gone. But the angry souls still lingered in the black water, lurid lights hiding in the
endless depths of the dark pool. Their wrath was too strong to allow them a peaceful rest. They hungered for revenge and
their hatred grew with the time while they waited. They could kill and they didn't hesitate to do so. Every new victim,
claimed by them, added another imprisoned soul consumed by the wish for freedom and increased the desperate hatred radiating
from the black lake.
Alexis didn't feel any pain when the claws of his opponent ripped at his skin and flesh, leaving deep bleeding cuts. All he
could think about was Hephaistion, his name echoed through his mind and left nothing behind but fear and despair and a
sickening emptiness in his soul, matching the eternal perdition Hephaistion's own soul was about to vanish into.
The other incubus didn't have much of a chance. He was dead within instants, his blood mixing with the blood of the dead
beasts and warriors and the ground's dust. Alexis moved automatically, driven by his love for Hephaistion, and dragged Jelaia
away from his sister, who had soon lost her dominance to the blonde succubus. Under Alexis' grip the blonde's neck broke as
easily as a dry branch. He slit her throat open to make sure she wouldn't recover and was off towards one of the tunnels
before Serena had managed to get to her feet again.
The dainty succubus was covered in blood, mostly not her own. Her knees were quite wobbly, but she pulled herself together
and dragged a rather perplexed Ptolemy with her, following her brother as fast as she could with the human at her heels.

"Where do we go?", the Macedonian gasped. He wasn't a fast runner and didn't have staying-power for such a wild run, so he
slowed down soon, as a stinging pain in his side and short breath forced him to, and found himself immediately flung over
Serena's shoulder. Ptolemy was reliefed she didn't leave him behind as he didn't want to stay alone in the catacombes,
feeling much safer with Alexis and Serena close by. Serena was a dainty girl and didn't look as if she could carry a man that
easily, but obviously her appearance was deceptive.
"Hephaistion has fallen into the black lake", Serena explained, panting. "We have to get him before they can get him."
"They?"
"The dead."
Ptolemy suddenly wished Serena would have left him behind.

*******************************************************
Hephaistion hadn't expected that the water could get even colder, but when the lurid lights closed in it did.
They were everywhere around him now, even beneath him and their mere presence drained all hope from him and overwhelmed his
soul with despair and a deepening hatred for those who were to blame for his fate. Thoughts about giving up settled in his
mind and he slowed down, allowing his heavy armor to pull him down.

There was nothing waiting for him but his cold wet grave, nothing but darkness. They all had left him alone, all those he had
loved and expected to love him in return. But their love was just a lie, empty words and worthless promises. He wished he had
never met them, wished they had never been born, wished for their death, wished that he would be the one to bring it to them,
as they had failed him.
The coldness was creeping through his body, its icy fist clasping his heart, drenching every joy from it, earasing every
happy memory from his thoughts. With every heartbeat passing he lost himself more and more to his wrath and hoplessness.
He despised Alexander as he was guilty of Hephaistion's situation. He despised Alexis as he hadn't turned up and rescued him.
Both had left him alone, left him to die, left him with the coldness of the lurid lights.
The young warrior stared at the pale shimmer in the water and in front of his eyes the lights began to shape to humanoid
forms, ghostlike shadows of trapped souls, their long spidery fingers stretched out to grab him. It was not a welcome,
they claimed him and he felt too weak to resist, all alone in the darkness their light was the only one which would lead him.

But then there was another light in the blackness, a warm and redish flame flickering in the distance.

The deadly silence was borken by voices calling his name and for a short moment the lurid shapes retreated. With their
withdrawal new hope flowed through Hephaistion's body. He opened his mouth and his lips, already blue with coldness formed
the words which would draw attention to him. It was no more than a thin whisper he uttered and with the fear that he might
not get heard the cold lights returned with all their might and their mere presence dragged Hephaistion under water.
*******************************************************
Had it not been for the sharp pointy ears of his demonic friends Hephaistion's call would have died away unnoticed. Even
to them his distant voice was hardly audible.
They had entered a vast cave, the fiery light of Ptolemy's torch didn't even give an idea where its ceiling began. The passage,
through which they had entered the cave, was edged with stalagmites and stalactites, which gave it the appearance of a
monster's huge mouth. In the beast's womb a dark pool was stretching as far as Ptolem could see. And this lake was illuminated
by thousands of pale lights, which - to Ptolemy's horror - were human shaped.
The human nearly dropped the torch out of shock, and Serena retreated from the water with a frightened whimper, ready to flee.

"He's out there in the water. Somewhere amongst them. You can't save him anymore", she wailed, trying to get hold of her brother's
arm, but the incubus shook her of, his golden eyes burning with determination. The crimson haired succubus could only watch how
he took off and flew across the black water in search for Hephaistion. "Alexis!", she cried, calling him back. But he didn'
listen.
The demon's presence startled the dead, and for a short moment the glowing water swirled and simmered. Then the water lay still
and smooth like a dark mirror again and the wraiths slowly started to rise from the lake, becoming more solid as they did.
Spidery fingers broke through the surface, followed by painfully white skulls with empty sockets of an oily black. Their hair
was sticking to their dead twisted faces, their black mouths shaped to silent screams.
Their hatred was so strong that - although they couldn't reach him yet - Alexis felt as if he was flying against a strong wind,
pulling at his mighty wings and trying to bring him down. Their wrath pressed the air from his lungs and a deadly coldness
banished all warmth from his body.
His instincts told him to flee, the beast within him howled in panic, for once timid and urging him to turn and run, but he
stayed. He wouldn't leave without Hephaistion - cost it what may.

*********************************************************
Often had Hephaistion looked into the face of death. He was a warrior and war was death's dearest. But never before had death's
face been so ugly, as this time death didn't offer him a peaceful rest and a place in paradise, but condemned him to an eternity
of pain and despair even worse than hell.
There was no escape. Still he held his breath as long as he could, fighting against the urge to breathe and the increasing pressure
in his lungs.
The lurid lights approached him slowly, strangely misshapen by the movement of the water. Their fingers were stretched towards
him and with them the coldness returned. Hephaistion opened his mouth to scream one last silent scream, dark water flowing down
his throat. Then suddenly the wraiths snapped back and all attention was drawn away from the human.
Hephaistion would have wondered about their sudden withdrawal had he considered it of any interest to him. But he was tired, so
tired of the endless up and down of hope and despair. He didn't want to fight anymore, didn't want to struggle. All he wanted
was rest.
Then someone grabbed him by his wrist and he was pulled upwards again.
*******************************************************
It was easier to find Hephaistion than Alexis had expected. The wraiths had circeled around him, closing in slowly. Hephaistion was
a dark spot in the middle of a circle of lurid light. Then the young man vanished as the water swallowed him.
Without hesitation Alexis dived down, causing the dead to rise in fury. They reached out to grab him, their icy fingers brushing over
his skin, the breeze of a touch but it hurt like thousand daggers of pure ice. The excruciating pain shot through his body like,
a bolt of lightning, nearly causing him to lose consciousness. He fought for control, concentrating on his task he focused his
mind on Hephaistion.
If he couldn' save him he would never again taste his kisses, would never again feel his smooth skin under his touch, would never
again hold him in his arms.
The incubus dived towards the spot where Hephaistion had vanished, ignoring the sharp pain which drove tears to his golden eyes.
His hand locked around Hephaistion's wrist and he pulled him up, trying to get away from the water and the fury of the dead.
Their black empty mouths were opened to screams of frenzy, but there was no sound. They were now floating above the surface of
the water, their motions strangely awkward, a strong contrast to the smooth elegance of the demon's flight. With mighty
wingstrokes Alexis catapulted himself away from the lake and the wraiths' fury.
Their slightes touch was agony, colder than death himself, and still it burned his skin like the blazing fires of hell. Hadn't
it been for Hephaistion the incubus would have fallen. But his love for the young man pushed him to his farest limits as his
death also would be Hephaistion's.
His eyes were blinded with tears, but Ptolemy's torch led him.

The brunette hang limp in Alexis' arms, his body cold and stiff, but the black-haired demon could still hear the faint beating of
his heart and he was breathing, lowly, though.
With his last strength Alexis reached the shore, collapsing to the ground.
Immediately Serena was at his side. "Good gods", she cried, staring at the black marks of frostbites littering her beloved
brother's body. She cradled him in her arms, stroking his soft hair. One more time the incubus looked up and his golden eyes
met Hephaistion's saphire ones. Then the world around him went dark.

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- 23
- 24
- 25
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Nights of Babylon