The Ring of Power

The old man.

I looked around and it was her. I wanted her so bad and yet, I knew with her touch, my soul was gone. The old man pushed me down and as I fell, he grabbed my face. His pupils were gone and he had no teeth. "You must stick with your kind or taste death forever." He took a scroll of paper and shoved it down my throat. It was sour in my mouth, but when it got down in my stomach, it was syrupy sweet. Sweeter than anything I’d ever tasted. He pushed me and I slid over beside my friends.

"You must awaken that which sleeps." He said and she stood behind him. He looked at her and she hovered above him. Then, she spit acid at him and he walked out, untouched. The acid simply just didn’t touch him.

"The rumors were right, the stranger still lives." Wole said and grabbed my hand. "The scroll of our future boils in your stomach. You mustn’t eat for two weeks and let its words digest in your heart and emerge from your throat chakra." The others eyed me like something was wrong.

"Don’t worry banger, they’re afraid. If anyone else was out there, she would’ve killed them, but she didn’t. I don’t know myself, but I accept and move on." He said and as we held hands, we walked outside and she walked behind us.

"I shall taste your sweet tongue again. You have seen my nectared pools and drank from my water, the water of life. God sent you to me once and he’ll do it again." She said and walked up to me and inside our ring of power. The others fell to their knees in fright and cringed back, waiting for an attack. I knew she wasn’t attacking and she wasn’t inside in the ring, it was another hallucination.

"Come to me, my love." She said and as she leaned to kiss me, her form blew away like smoke from an incense. I looked at my friends and they stood in shock.

"You truly cannot be touched." They said and as we walked, the ring of power guided us. During the day, it was a soft peach color with a slight buzzing. When demons approached, it changed to a brilliant red. During the night, it was a powerful beacon that brightened the night. So, it was never dark for us and the light guided us everywhere.

When the others ate, Wole forced me to not eat and several times, they restrained me from eating. Yet, the ring of power descended down on me and refreshed me every night. After that, the feeling of hunger just left me and all I cared about was finding stray angels.

"How did you know we were angels?" Wole said, chewing a mint stick.

"I don’t know, I guessed." I said.

"Our true nature eludes the others and if they discover the truth, their egos will change them into demons. All these demons we face were once angels." He said and stretched. The others were talking amongst themselves and he whispered to me. "The prophecy says one will turn against many and the ring of power will leave us, but a comforter will be sent." As he chewed, his eyes glowed with the shining darkness of space and I had one thought, was she after me or my soul?