234 Chapter 234 Portent of Destruction

"You already did," Aella said, deciding she needed to focus on getting everything from him she could, before running off to investigate the supposed altars.

"I haven't!" he spat, a look of fear on his face.

"Jozef, your brother was using you," said Aella, trying to stab in the dark at that fear. She honestly didn't know what his brother had been doing, but was hoping to hit something.

"We had it all planned out, until that damn hero of shadow showed up and ruined everything!" he snarled, getting a lost crazy look in his eyes.

"The shadow hero was trying to stop you from ruining everything," said Aella, trying to keep him talking.

"No! The gargoyles were getting too much prestige, and we were failing to get what we wanted because of it," he said, looking away from her, as if he realized he was talking. "My brother will kill me when he finds out I've told you that much."

"Then tell me more," said Aella. "If you are going to die, then tell me everything so I might be able to stop your brother."

Jozef looked at her for a moment, then down at the floor. "You don't understand. My brother can't be stopped once he gets back to this world. He's dead. You can't kill the dead."

"I can kill anything, especially the dead," growled Aella, glaring at him.

"No, you can kill things that have bodies, but he doesn't," said Jozef. "He's going to come back through the rift with an army of dead, some with and some without bodies, and you aren't going to be able to kill them all. Even with fire, you can only destroy the bodies of those who have them. Those who don't have bodies can't be affected by physical things," argued Jozef. "He's going to kill me and bring me back as one of his undead followers."

"What did you mean about the gargoyles?" asked Aella, trying to get him to tell her about that.

"When the demons came to this realm, we were greeted by the gargoyles. They were running the show, having been the first ones to come to this realm. The realm loved them and they acted the part, lording over everyone. My brother and I came up with the idea to separate the humans from the demons and gargoyles, and to start the humans calling the demons and gargoyles as just demons, because it was easier to say.

"However, we discovered that when we came to this realm from our last one, the powers we used to have were gone. Our people no longer had the killer instincts they used to have, and were actually becoming nicer! We had to do something! We were losing who we were!"

"What do you mean you lost your powers?" asked Aella, wondering if the realm had done that to protect the gargoyles. Then she realized what he had said. The gargoyles were the first one's here! Not the last, like the carved tablets had made her think.

"But there are other evil races," said Aella, completely blown away by all this information.

"They were brought over later, after the realm was done getting the main races to occupy the land," said Jozef waving his hand as if those other evil races weren't important. My brother had a plan to change things, and we were going to come out as the heroes and become kings, or at least I would. My brother wasn't interested in actually being on the throne."

"But how did you guys manage to do everything?" asked Aella, trying to sound impressed rather than horrified. Things had been going so well, it seemed, until Jozef and his brother stepped in.

"I changed my name to reflect the deity that the gargoyles worshipped, so they would take more notice of my," said Jozef. "My brother would give me tips from the background, but stayed out of the light.

"I made the humans angry and had them be the ones that drove a wedge between the races. They are so easy to manipulate, especially the hero of light. I made them start calling the gargoyles demons, just like us, because we looked so similar. Some of the demons even had wings like the gargoyles did. Then I helped them create the church, and they did the rest for me."

"What was your brother doing through all this?" asked Aella, wondering how the gargoyles allowed all of this to happen. She knew the common people were easily controlled by lies from her own experiences with ruling. It honestly made her sad.

"This realm wouldn't allow us to have our normal abilities, because they were so evil, so my brother was learning how to use magic. When he found black magic, we had it made. He was in the process of creating a vast network over all the realm, in order to control all of the magic in the entire realm, when the hero of shadow showed up to stop us."

Aella nodded, pacing back and forth. She remembered all of the lines of magic that had emanated from the spell spire. He had been so angry when she cut all of those lines.

"You see, the realm really only cared about the gargoyles, so if we could make all the people forget that, and then interbred all of the demons with the gargoyles, then demons would become the dominate race in the realm," said Jozef with a huge smile on his face as if that should answer all of her questions.

"Except it didn't work," she reminded him.

"No," he said, his smile disappearing into a scowl. "The hero of shadow had been watching us the entire time and used magic against us. He trapped my brother in the spell spire he loved so much, and trapped me in that infernal box. The worst part was he tempered with my mind so I couldn't get out or try to control any of the 'kings' that came through to help me find an escape. You were the first one to come back."

Aella nodded. "I would never have guessed you were so evil. I honestly only wanted guidance from you to be a better king," said Aella.

"My brother figured out how to swap our minds, if not our bodies, so I was able to think for the first time in a long time, and managed to keep up the pretense of being your friend so you would save me when you blew up the palace. I had to survive so I could help my brother come back. The realm can keep itself safe from other realms with that barrier, but the realm where the dead go isn't included in that protection. That barrier is actually very thin, to allow the dead to travel to it easily. Once my brother returns, he will kill all of the gargoyles and other races, so the demons can finally be in charge."

Aella looked at Jozef for a few minutes, trying to think of reasons not to kill him. He had told her so much, that she hadn't known, that her mind was reeling. Could there be more information he could tell her? Probably, but would it be worth not killing him for it? No.

"Jozef, you said your brother was going to come with an army of undead. How? What makes him capable of remembering his life here, and not any of the other dead?"

"He knew he might die so he used magic to tie his memories to his soul. None of the other people had that. It's only capable using black magic. I guess there might be some demons that died shortly after coming to this realm who could have done it, too, but I doubt my brother would have bothered to use them in all of this. They probably wouldn't be dependable enough."

"You realize, that if your brother succeeds in killing all of the gargoyles, then this realm will die? All of the plans you have, of being in charge, are useless if the gargoyles are gone."

Jozef thought about that for a moment, then shrugged. "Then, we will imprison all of the gargoyles and make them our slaves. We'll breed them to keep the realm alive, and use them as slave labor."

"Did your brother use the same black magic on you, to keep your memories tied to your soul?" asked Aella.

Jozef opened his mouth, then shut it, giving Aella the answer she needed.

"If I kill you, all of your memories will be gone, and your brother won't know that the realm will be destroyed without gargoyles. Besides, without you, your brother can't even make it over here."

"You don't think I hadn't thought of that?" he whispered with a chuckle. "There are those who know how to make the altars throughout every race. How do you think the elves had that altar you found your precious pet at? Or the altar in the dwarven minds that your hero of light had destroyed before I built the second one? He will find a way, and he will destroy you and this entire realm."