Fan Fiction ❯ The Soul Reaver and The Spirit Shield ❯ A New Alliance? ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter Seven

"You're not a Sarafan Priest!" Raziel realized with disbelief. Everything around the revived warrior was a confusing haze. She struggled to stand, still dizzy from her rejuvenation. Raziel's voice caught her attention and her head snapped up in his direction.

"You're a Priestess!" he stated the obvious. She stood silent before him, face blank and expressionless. She still seemed to be getting her bearings straight. Raziel studied her, making sure she was of no threat.

She had dark brown hair, with blue highlights around her face. Her hair was pulled up behind her in a loose bun, obviously to keep out of the way during battle. Her eyes were a deep shade of green, almost a jade color. She was of average height, and despite the heavy armor she wore, Raziel could tell that she had a slender, yet slightly built figure, for a woman anyway. Well, she barely seemed to be a woman, just past her teens most likely. Finally, she broke the silence.

"You…you followed me here. Why? How did you…how is it that I am alive?"

"I am not fully sure myself how your life has been returned to you, other than that I used this machine we are now standing in to restore you," Raziel explained. "As for why I followed you, I have some questions I need to ask of you."

She seemed to not be paying attention to Raziel. Her gaze turned downward to where her once lifeless body had rested. Stooping over, she picked up her sword, studying it. This action made Raziel slightly nervous, until he realized this action was of no threat. Assessing the sword, the priestess realized it was now useless with the extreme corrosion it had suffered during her death. She carelessly dropped her sword on the ground, discarding it. Raziel decided to try to continue the conversation.

"I want to know what happened to that town I encountered you in. Why were you haunting it so?"

The priestess's head snapped up in Raziel's direction. "That town used to be my village. It was attacked. No one survived," she said bluntly. She turned away from Raziel, obviously not wanting to continue the discussion.

She knelt down a second time, only this time she picked up the shield she had used during her last battle. The shield seemed to have been affected worse by time than her sword. The rust and corrosion resulted in the shield crumbling slightly when touched. It was utterly useless. This however, seemed to affect her much more than the deterioration of her sword.

"It wasn't supposed to decay like this," she muttered to herself, not caring that Raziel could hear her. "It never decayed like this, not ever. It was supposed to last with my family's bloodline…" She trailed off, lost in thought. With her back to Raziel, he couldn't see what she was lamenting over.

"What is it you have?" he asked her, his voice almost soothing. She turned to him slightly, eyes meeting his.

"This shield has been in my family for generations. It was crafted by an enchanted metal, never able to corrode nor able to be damaged. It has been passed down from mother to daughter for centuries, tied to my family, I guess. But now…now it's destroyed…decayed, like I was…"

She trailed off again, eyes flashing from remorse to anger. With renewed vigor, she rose to her feet and determinedly headed for the exit. Raziel watched her pass, but grabbed her arm suddenly.

"Your scent…it's not normal," he noted suspiciously. The priestess drew her arm away, glaring at Raziel. Raziel noticed that although she smelt human, there was something else there that wasn't quite right about her scent.

"Do not touch me, and do not interfere," the priestess warned. "I have a traitor I must find and kill." She turned again and attempted to leave a second time.

"Wait. Tell me who this traitor is you are looking for," Raziel requested. With her being a Sarafan, he wondered if this `traitor' was one of the few people Raziel had come to trust. She stopped, but did not face him.

"He is known as the Sarafan Lord, but he is no lord of mine, nor is he even Sarafan," she explained, venom lacing her voice. "He is the one who is responsible for my village's demise. The demon you had slain was one of his minions, though his followers would never believe it. He has the human race wrapped around his finger, manipulating them to his will. It was when I learned of his true nature and intent that he murdered my kinsmen and burned my village to the ground. For all his crimes, he will pay."

Seeing that she was leaving again, Raziel called for her to stop. "Wait, let me help you find him," he pleaded. Sighing in frustration, she halted yet again.

"And why would you want to help me?" she asked exasperated.

"You say he is the Sarafan Lord?" Raziel wished to confirm. She responded with a single nod. "Good. Then this Sarafan Lord must know about the Heart of Darkness, that is, if he hasn't got the artifact already." The priestess narrowed her eyes suspiciously at her company.

"And what use might you have for such a powerful relic?" she inquired. She knew from her Sarafan elders the power of the Heart of Darkness. Raziel turned and looked at her, disliking her distrust of him.

"I'm not even sure if I am to use it," he confessed. "I am simply seeking answers. At this point of time, I only know that Janos Audron is not to be restored to life. And if by obtaining the heart I can prevent that, then so be it. Until I figure out Kain's hidden meaning of the Hilden, I must find that artifact so that I have it when I know what I am supposed to do with it."

The priestess looked at him in shock. `Janos Audron? Kain? And the Hilden? How did he know of these people?' she thought. She had only learned of the Hilden race days before her death. `How does he know of the Hilden already? Janos has been dead for centuries. And Kain has been… Yet he talks as if he knows them personally.'

"Who are you?" the priestess finally asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

"My name is Raziel. I am a reaver of souls," he answered calmly, no pride in his voice at the latter statement. The priestess's right eyebrow shot upward disbelievingly.

"Raziel? Your name is Raziel?" she questioned doubtfully.

"Is there something wrong with my name?" demanded the former vampire with irritation.

"Are you ignorant or uneducated?" replied the priestess. "Have you not heard of the legend of the six Sarafan Priests? The priests that the Sarafan Lord bases his crusade upon? You must know! You are named after the strongest of the original Sarafan, Raziel!"

"Not named after…" Raziel muttered, too quiet for the priestess to hear.

"Jenise," the priestess spoke.

"Huh?"

"Jenise. My name is Jenise. Ex-priestess of the Sarafan. Soon to be murderer of the Sarafan Lord," she introduced herself. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, and even more so to have made an ally."

Looking down, Raziel saw Jenise holding her hand out to him. Cautiously at first, he placed his hand in hers, and reassured, he shook her hand tightly in their newly formed alliance. Looking into her grinning face, he replied, "The pleasure is all mine."