The Hollowers
By Cameron McCurry
"So we finally got the proof right here," Joshua said as he looked
over the documents. "This building isn't an Infernal Tether yet, but it
has the potential to become one."
The assembled angels and Soldiers nodded. The meeting had been
going on for fifteen minutes and a plan of attack had been laid out.
Joshua looked over the street map. The Malakite was quiet as he took in
the location of the house.
"I think our best approach is by the west. Hit them right at
sunrise, go right in and catch them off guard. We do this fast enough,
even the neighbors won't know we were there."
In the house in question, an Impudite was sitting in a chair with
her eyes closed. The other demons and Soldiers waited patiently around
a table for her to speak. Without warning, the Taker's eyes snapped
open. "Perfect. They've taken the bait. From what I heard, the angels
will be attacking by sunrise. They are coming in on the west side.
That gives us enough time to greet them appropriately." She glanced
over at the Calabite that was grinning in anticipation of the upcoming
battle. "The blonde one is named Joshua. He's the team's Malakite.
He's yours."
As the demons and Soldiers made preparations, the Impudite touched a
pendant she wore around her neck. "You did good, my pet. Very good."
Across town, a Soldier of Heaven wiped a tear from his eye as he
screamed in his mind a warning to the angels that he could not say out
loud. He numbly prepared for the trap that was being set for them.
One of the more twisted ideas to come from the Prince of The War was
the idea of making a Human Soldier a spy against the other side against
their will. The method behind this is one of Hell's most closely
guarded secrets and it only taught to a few Servitors of Ball and
Asmodeus.
The process is grotesque and painful. A captured Soldier of Heaven
is stripped of his Ethereal Forces which are replaced with an equivalent
amount of Forces taken from Renegade Demons. The Forces are linked to
an item of jewelry such as a pendant or a ring that is worn by a demon.
Through this link, the demon can hear and see things through the Soldier
which provides some intelligence on the Host's activities. The end
result has been called a Hollower (From hollowing someone out) or a
Mummer; an unwilling agent of Hell.
The Soldier is unable to speak about what has been done to him or
warn anyone about it. The Forces that are tied into the body prevent
any of those actions from occurring. What is even worse, the Hollower
is fully aware of when he is being watched by the demon that holds the
link on the Forces. The poor soul goes through life knowing that he is
betraying the side he swore to help.
Heaven's reaction to this problem has been very harsh. Any demon
found to be creating Hollowers is not even given a chance to beg for
mercy. The only thing that might grant them a swift soul death is
revealing who the Hollowers are in the area and even that is not enough
of a guarantee. Michael and Novalis are working together on a way to
remove the Infernal Forces from the Hollowers and have had some success
to date. But in the meantime, Heaven is becoming cautious around the
humans that serve them.
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