Dead Time Series by Jason Wilcox Page B

same time. Azgiel disregarded it until he heard a snort
from behind him. Not knowing who was there, he quickly twisted in his bed and
sat up. An enormous beast stood in the doorway. Horns stretched out from the
creature’s head.
    “Azgiel?”
A deep scratchy voice rumbled off the concrete walls.
    “Kaz.”
Azgiel stood up. “Is it really you?”
    “Sir,”
Kaz said with a respectful tone while lowering his large body to one knee.
“I’ve been waiting for this day for far too long.”
    “It’s
nice to see you, too.”
    “Thank
you, sir.” Kaz gave a nod. “The Witch sent me to get you. She is eager to have
you back. She never gave up, always hoping you would find a way out of your
cell in time.”
    “I’ll be
excited to see her as well.” Azgiel smiled. “Is she the one who brought me
back?”
    “No. We
couldn’t figure out how to bring you back.” Kaz stood. His dark red body
engulfed the entrance to the cell, and his long horns almost touched the
ceiling. Tilting his head, Kaz looked Azgiel up and down, analyzing his new
body.
    “How did
you know I would be here?” Azgiel didn’t understand how or why Kaz would be
there, if he wasn’t part of bringing him back.
    “The
Witch. She felt your return and sent us in the direction she felt you. As we
drew nearer, we picked up your scent. It led me here to find you in this
strange, weak human body.” After he finished, he snorted to show his disgust
with the body.
    “We?
Where are the others?” Azgiel asked looking past Kaz.
    “I sent them
back. We aren’t alone here. Domblin is on the grounds. He didn’t see us, but we
saw him. I sent the other two back to inform the Witch.” Kaz took two nervous
steps as he eyeballed Azgiel.
    “Strange
that Domblin’s here.” Azgiel put his hand up to his chin while he paced for a
moment. “Mauldrin’s here as well, in fact you just missed him. He’s gone
stupid. He had no idea who I was. At first, I thought for sure he let me out to
finish the deed, to kill me. Did you see him on your way in here?” When Azgiel
first saw Mauldrin, he had been cautious, not knowing what he was going to do
to him. The situation grew stranger when he found that Mauldrin didn’t have any
recollection of who he was. His mind was gone. Questions rolled through Azgiel,
and he wanted answers.
    “No,” Kaz
remarked as he looked behind him and back to Azgiel. “If he was here, why
didn’t you kill him?”
    “Believe
me, I thought about it. But there are too many strange things going on. It was
almost too perfect, like a trap. I want to know what’s going on first.”
    “That
must’ve been a hard decision.” Kaz gave a sympathetic nod. It had been a hard
decision for Azgiel. Mauldrin had been the one who killed his wife, which
ignited the war so long ago. If Azgiel hadn’t found her so quickly, he would
not have been able to bring her back to life, in the state she is now.
    “Sir, we
should get going.” Kaz backed up and gestured for Azgiel to go first.
    “No,
before I go, I want to find out who brought me back and why, as well as finding
out what is going on with Mauldrin,” Azgiel explained.
    After
being imprisoned in a cell of time for centuries upon centuries, Azgiel wasn’t
too worried about his safety. He wanted to understand why he was brought back;
it fascinated him to no end. There would be plenty of time to get back to his
followers, but if he left now, he might never find out what how he had been
freed.
    “Do you
want-” A shot rang out, cutting Kaz off, followed by a thud. Kaz roared, baring
his sharp teeth and long fangs. He turned around quickly, his wings held close
to his body.
    A man’s
scream rang out, and Azgiel could see the snide, rather plump guard standing
outside the entrance holding a gun, shaking in place from the sight of Kaz. The
man was a fool for bringing a gun to fight a demon.
    “Intelligent,”
Azgiel remarked sarcastically, but his words fell short as no one