"Be of guard demon... as thou already noticed... tis' is not a place that will give thou the welcome.... In fact thy stench is enough to drive their desires of cleansing crazy..." The woman acted without any surprise on this place made for angels... She was more interested in the demon and the boy... "... Now I ask young mortal.... If the occasion surges...." Her two colored eyes fixed on the boy's face almost as if she were hypnotizing him. " Would thou let thy demon companion to die for the sake of thy desire??..." Those eyes were strong enough to caught the attention of the angels.. One being gold and the other completely black was already a marvel.. But these eyes hid something within them that go beyond simple coloring.
Raphael wrinkled his nose in distaste, but a wry smile had come to his face. "Oh, I'm sure we can do something to make him more . . .civilized." Just as i did with Talahari. he thought with a smug grin. he'll be a good asset to our armies, or maybe a bodyguard if i can place strong enough wards over him. "Ever heard of Kinra, by any chance?" The Seraph suddenly asked, keeping the growing dots within his gaze as he examined the others coming. There was a strange woman riding on the back of the demon he now noticed... Shaking his head to clear his mind of any unwelcome disturbances -the woman unnerved him in the oddest way- he looked back at Maurice. "I heard she was banished by her own sister, Lilith. Imagine... the princess, just allowed to walk out like that. There are rumors that her powers know no end. But then, that is just a rumor. If we ever managed to get an alliance.. or get her name..." he chuckled darkly as black fury sparked inside him. Though he had managed to capture Kinra, he still could not find her real name. Maybe if he got Maurice to research that his plan would ripen finally. "I could organize something between you and Tala if you'd like for your work."
Maurice Millery Maurice was suprised to see Raphael talk so leniently about a demon. He hid his shock well and kept his gaze fixed on the fast approaching group of soldiers. "Demon socialisation, I can't deny it would be a most interesting experiment. As for the boy, my concern is only for his wellbeing, nothing more." Maurice smiled. He considered Raphael's proposal, "I am not sure how she could be of help, unless she and Hugo happen to be close. I will do as you wish of course, my Lord," Maurice said. The dots had changed into recognizable people now and Maurice impatiently waited for them to land. Hugo Millery He ignored Ivalna's question at first, but he was unable to resist her prying glance. "No," he replied flatly. He had saved Nyxx from Lilith's suffocating control. Why would he desire for the demon to be killed if he willed it? Wasn't it pure evil to desire control over others? Hugo shivered at the thought. Nyxx seemed to obey him but Hugo did not believe the creature had lost his freedom to him yet. Perhaps he should command Nyxx to be free. He considered the option but was distracted by the two men on the wall that they were flying towards. Both looked familiar and Hugo gulped at seeing Raphael again. Perhaps this was all a trick...
Tala squeezed Hugo's leg comfortingly when she felt him tense. "Don't worry, we'll be landing soo-" her words cut off sharply and Tala looked up at the clouds, a metallic tang in the air making her hair stand on end. Oh no. CRACK! Lightning arced down from above, and for a brief moment in time, Talahari wondered if it was the last second in her life. Lancing down towards them like a jagged yellow sword from the heavens, Talahari watched with a strange awe as the lightning forked one, twice, then straight towards her and Hugo. Then if is to me mine, let it not be his. Listing backwards, Tala gripped Hugo's legs for all she was worth as the bolt struck her directly in the chest, sparks scattering in random directions off of the golden chestplate. Incomprehensible pain filled her body, making her hands jolt and shudder, before her wings listed and stilled. Limp, her breath rasped in and out of her lungs, and she looked at Nyxx through glazed eyes. Then she was falling.
An unexpected event, something akin to a lightning stroke the angel and thus Hugo.. Ivalna wasted not time.. She had to save Hugo and the demon, both creatures of her interest... The angel?... she hadn't evaluated her yet... but it was a tool necessary to see what would happen to the mortal.. A black substance emerged from inside her robes, seemingly endless the substance reshaped itself into something resembling wings attached to the back of Ivalna, big and solid enough to keep with a lot of weight, and at the same moment light enough to carry that weight through the sky... Three tendrils were born from inside her robes too, also made of a black substance. The tendrils shaped themselves as ropes that wrapped by itself around the bodies of the angel, the demon and the mortal... She didn't flinch, instead once she noticed they were firmly grabbed and that there was no problem with the wing, she asked to Tala " What could the nature of that lightning?... Angel!, any guess about it's origin?" This could be troublesome.. if that thing strikes me while carrying them I won't be able to defend myself....
Hugo Millery Hugo glanced over Talahari's shoulder. The man next to the Seraph was, undoubtely, his uncle. Maurice smiled, Talahari squeezed his leg and tried to disarm the nervousness growing inside of Hugo. Then a loud crack rented the air. Hugo flinched and tightened his grip aroun Talahari's neck in reflex. Within the blink of an eye Hugo was suddenly hanging upside down, clutching onto the lesser angel. His sight was overwhelmed by a intense, white flash. Red superimposed itself onto his surroundings when he blinked again. He could feel the muscles in Talahari's arms tense involuntarily, before growing limp. The wind soared past him, he saw his uncle's face wide with shock fly up into the sky. The tall white wall became one big smear as they plummeted towards the earth. Hugo's mind had already surrendered to the inevitable, they shock of the fall tore Talahari from his grip. The world turned and spinned at lightning speed, and Hugo could no longer tell up and down apart. He nearly choked when something grabbed him and stopped his fall. He gasped for breath, an ache shot through his bones as they took the brunt of the sudden stop. The earth was just a few feet beneath him. Whatever or whoever had saved him had done so just in the nick of time. Maurice Millery Maurice was flashing his best smile at Talahari and Hugo when disaster struck. The bolt of lightning knocked Talahari out of the air, leaving her and Hugo plummeting towards the earth. This could not be. Yet all he could do was stand and watch. Powerlessly. Shock controlled him, and those in control, Maurice knew, were unbeatable.
Death 'To the manor, for a time,' Death told Famine. 'You have healed this body, but we have both used so much soul magic today that our collective mind requires rest.' Dexter and his hellfire were a most fascinating problem, but one that needed to be investigated another time. Getting him inside without setting off any of the myriad of traps... would prove easy enough, but it meant she was going to have to use even more magic, and grant him a gift. An incredibly useful gift. There was a disturbance. Kinradamni... Death hissed and pushed the soul back into the body it belonged in. A lightning strike like that should not have been survivable, but Death needed Kinra. That demon princess wasn't going anywhere. Not on her watch. It peeved her greatly that the angel Raphael had essentially enslaved such a powerful demon without earning or at the least stealing her name first. The name, when stolen, had some power, but not nearly as much as when willingly given. That angel had no respect for the magics that governed demon society. Nor had he any respect for the beauty of the demon form. Death hissed again, softly. Her Nephilim body was more demon than angel. While she used both sides of the war heavily for her own purposes, she was a little biased. She hoped the demons would eventually gain victory. She was the only sister who held that view - War balanced her out, wishing for the angels to win, and she knew that Plague and Famine both hoped that neither side would be victorious. There was always the glorious possibility the world would be rent asunder, and that was the most appealing possibility of all... Nyxx "HUGO!" he bellowed, pulling his wings close to himself and diving after his master. The princess Kinra was in that moment less important, but as they were both in around the same area, it wouldn't be difficult to save them both. Nyxx was incredibly fast during a dive. His weight gave him quite the advantage in that field. He quickly caught up to his falling master and grabbed the boy in one hand, then adjusted his trajectory... he couldn't reach any part of Kinra in time but one of her wings. Nyxx grimaced in sympathy, grabbed the wing, and then pulled out of the dive, his own wings laboring as Hugo and Kinra's inertia tried to pull him downwards. Then he adjusted his grip on Kinra so that he held her by the waist instead of the wing. That had to have hurt. Such force could potentially have dislocated Kinra's wing... having had a dislocated wing before, Nyxx knew exactly how painful that was. Ouch. Had there been any other way...
She hovered somewhere between the light and dark, watching two figures as they paced about maddly, one's tail lashing, the other's fists clenching. "Free me!" the one with the tail screamed, her curled, antelope-like horns gleaming. "Let me fly!" the angel keened. But I am neither. I can't do anything to help you . . . Tala screamed as pain shot through her wing, and the powerful gust of wind hitting her back brought her fully aware of her surroundings. Panting, she tried to move, but something thick and powerful had wrapped around her waist. Looking down, horror filled her as she realized the demon had caught her. Why? Confused, she blinked several times, her vision flickering between a strange red haze and clarity. When she looked over her shoulder and met the demon's eyes, a flicker of recognition crossed her face, but then just as quickly it was gone. "How-" her words cut off with another cry as her injured wing was jostled, and her legs tucked up instinctively. Angels may not be controlled by names like demons, but their wings were especially sensitive. Many had gone mad when tortured by demons just because of their wings, and the pain that they could not stand. In this state, Tala was worse than helpless. Shivering, Tala gritted her teeth as darkness threatened to drag her back into unconsciousness, not bothering to struggle as she noticed Hugo in the corner of her eye. So he was safe . . . A weak smile came to her face before she blacked out.
Maurice MIllery. His heart was racing, he almost didn't dare look over the edge of the wall. He expected to see the body of Talahari sprawled on the ground, her wings broken and the color of her skin already washing away. There was no doubt in his mind that Edward's son would've met the same fate, lying motionlessly on the ground. A shudder of awe shot through his spine when he saw Hugo and Talahari were still very much alive, kept aloft by the relentless beating of the demon's wings. He didn't adress anyone in particular when he asked, "Are you alright?" Hugo Millery Hugo, noticed the strain on Nyxx's face. He looked at the ground below, it would be a six feet drop at least. Hugo wrestled himself loose and made the drop. His knees were forced to bend to their maximum ability and the landing was by no means elegant. But he lived. His eye caught that of Talahari before she fluttered towards another plain of existance. Still overwhelmed with shock, Hugo motioned for Nyxx to land and settle Talahari down. "Thank you," he muttered under his breath. His eyes flicked over to Ivlana, she had done something as well but it had all happened so quickly. Did she save him or was she responsible for the accident in the first place? Hugo shook his head, they needed to tend to Talahari first.
Raphael watched coldy from the sidelines, but in truth his own heart was hammering. If she had died... everything would have been over. All of his plans... everything. He'd already done so much work to get Maurice off of his tail, and if Talahari died, all of that would have been for naught. Still, at least the demon caught her before she hit the ground. he thought in relief. But his eyes narrowed in speculation as another through occurred to him. Demons naturally recognized one another. Maybe that brute had somehow recognized her? No, he can't have. Raph scolded himself, but his hands clenched anyways. * * * "NYXX!" Lilith screamed, slamming open the doors to her chambers and grabbing a cowering servant on the way by the throat. The human quailed, his feet scrabbling over the ground as he fought to be free of the demoness's grip, but her nails only dug deeper into her throat as she headed towards a large bowl in the floor of the room. "No! No -milady please don't-" he begged, but it was cut off by a sickening gurgle when she ripped his head off. Dumping the torso on the edge of the bowl, Lilith licked her nails clean and watched with barely-controlled rage as a deep pool of crimson filled the basin. She needed to find him, now, before he could get into any trouble that could bring her any issues later on. Tail lashing until the steaming blood finally settled into a mirror-like sheen, she waved her claws and uttered a foul word. "Show me where he is." she commanded, and the blood rippled, an image taking form. A room, drab, dark walls and torn rags littering the fragmented remains of what used to be a bed. The neatly cut cloth of what had once been the Band of Binding set off her rage again, and she splashed the blood with a claw, spattering it over her new dress as she burst back outside: "Where are my Elite? Bring them to me now!" she screamed.
Nyxx Shooting a grateful glance at Hugo, Nyxx did as he was told and landed. A little roughly, because his magic failed him at the last moment, but all things being as they were, that was no surprise. He held a limp Kinra up by the armpits, paying close attention to how her wings hung. The one he had grabbed wasn't hanging right. He let out a low groan of regret. If only he had reacted faster. If only he had had time to go for any other part of her body. A foot, a hand, hell, even her head. Wings were sensitive. They were a weakness as much as they were a strength. And dislocating one hurt like hell. Nyxx, too, had passed out from the pain when he had done his. "She has a dislocated wing," he announced. "Does anyone here know healing magic?"
Hugo & Maurice Millery Hugo limped to Talahari's side. One of her wings looked broken, twisted in a strange angle. Nyxx was right, she needed immediate treatment. Maurice came rushing through the main gates. "Let me," he said. He shoved Hugo to the side and rolled up his sleeves. "This won't take long," he said. Hugo witnessed the air between Maurice's hands and Talahari's wing shiver like a heat haze. Then there was a small orb of light and the wing glowed a sickly green for a moment. The bone snapped back into place with a painful crack. "She will need to rest, for a week at least. Bones take time to recover fully," Maurice stated flatly. There was a shimmer of desire in his eyes and Hugo would've sworn that Maurice hand touched Talahari's cheek, but when he blinked to check Maurice was standing up straight, his eyes fixed on Hugo. "Uncle," Hugo breathed, A smile came to Maurice's face and he braced himself just in time as Hugo launched himself into his outstrechted arms. A strange mixture of joy and grief rushed through Hugo, he buried his face in Maurice's shoulder, he savored the gentle pats on his back. He was safe here. Still, he couldn't help but feel alone amidst the group of grown-ups. He was with good people now, of that he was sure, but they didn't feel like friends or family, just distant relatives at most. Maurice freed himself from Hugo's embrace and rested his hands upon the boy's shoulders. "You need a haircut," he remarked as he ruffled the boy's hair. And a bath, he thought to himself. Part of Maurice wanted to drag Hugo straight to his cellar, his secret workplace, to have him work on the key. But he restrained himself, first he needed to gain the boy's trust. "Come, we'll get you a bath and some fresh clothes," Maurice said as he began to steer Hugo into Raphael's realm. His eyes flicked over to the high Seraph, "With your permission?"
"My home is your home." Raphael waved Maurice in, flicking his wrist once and creating a glowing discus beneath Talahari. "And as for her, I will see that she is placed in her rooms." Moving his palm upwards, the discus picked her up as well, keeping the newly-fixed wing from being jostled again. Tala moaned and stirred a bit, but otherwise didn't seem about to come to. Herding the others inside along with the demon, Raphael couldn't help but marvel at the powerful creature. He was young, sure, but he was quite powerful for his age. Maybe he could get the demon under his control like he had Kinra . . . Shaking his head to clear it, the High seraph decided to consider it at a later time. The demon was obviously bound to the boy, and if Raph could get his true name, then it would be so much easier to change the demon into another angelic warrior for his private needs- That reminded him of his sword being stolen, and Raph couldn't hide the spark of magic coming off his wings in his anger. "Ah, i forgot to mention one thing, Maurice. Apparently Death has stolen my sword, and with Tala in no condition to fight at the moment, it would appear that i am in need of someone to get it back for me. Do you happen to know any trackers?"
Ivalna felt relaxed for a moment. This was indeed a time for rest. So she decided to understand her new (forced) companions a bit better. "So.... We could use this time to speak a little..." she said on her usual ominous tone. "I'm curious about Hugo, his uncle. About the demon, and now that Angel also caught mine interest, I hope she gets better ." said facing Raphael. "So as first I would like to ask... What is that thee are seeking for..." She then fixed her glance upon Maurice. "Also, what drove a human to forge an alliance with the Serpah and his Heavenly host?"
Maurice Millery Maurice stopped to face Raphael. "I know a man who could find it. He is very reliable, if you have the coin to pay him," said Maurice. "His name is Archer. I will call for him to come here as soon as possible, my lord." A strange, bare-footed women stepped up and Hugo cringed at Maurice's side when she began to speak. "So as first I would like to ask... What is that thee are seeking for..." She then fixed her glance upon Maurice. "What it is I am seeking for? Ha, have you been living under a rock? I seek an end to the war of course, with the banners of heaven planted into the chest of the cursed demon Lilith," said Maurice. His face brightened with passion. "It is my duty to restore the kingdom of heaven on earth so that our Seraph might rule in peace, forever." He paused for a moment and eyed Ivalna. "To answer your other question, lets just say I owe my The High Seraph and am forever in his debt." His voice trailed off and Hugo casted a curious glance at his uncle. Maurice shook his head and returned from whatever vision had clouded his mind's eye, "What do you seek, woman?"
"Thank you, Maurice" Raph nodded, and when a servant came up he quickly directed the Nephilim to pick up the assassin. But his eyes narrowed as he spotted something. "Ehh . . . halt. I need to do something that will speed her healing." he muttered, and when the Nephilim paused, the High Seraph flicked his fingers, causing the armor that covered Talahari to disintegrate, leaving her only in a plain white dress that had been beneath all of the armor. Without the bulky metal, she looked remarkably tiny and fragile. Careful to block everyone's vision of her with one wing, he placed a large hand over her exposed throat, just over a huge, black burn mark that marred her upper chest. Only it wasn't a burn mark. Black scales glittered where the angelic flesh had melted away. Muttering a few hushed words, pale skin flowed back over the scales, hiding her identity once more. Waving the Nephilim towards the other wing of the castle, Raph watched until Talahari was out of sight. At least the ward was back in place. No one would be the wiser. "If it would not place an untimely burden upon you, Maurice, i would like for you to check on her once in a while. It was your spell that you cast, and you would be the one to understand its effects best." he said, turning back towards the others.
"What it is I am seeking for? Ha, have you been living under a rock? I seek an end to the war of course, with the banners of heaven planted into the chest of the cursed demon Lilith," said Maurice. His face brightened with passion. "It is my duty to restore the kingdom of heaven on earth so that our Seraph might rule in peace, forever." He paused for a moment and eyed Ivalna. "To answer your other question, lets just say I owe my The High Seraph and am forever in his debt." Ivalna sighed. She didn't say anything, but her face reflected an obvious dissapointment at those words. I guess I expected too much for the mortal that allied with the Seraph... Inside Ivalna's mind, the objective was something considered as "boring".. She had no interest on this great conflict, she had interest in the heart of the participants.. Although if she was betting for a party, humans were her choice, as they considered them more "interesting".. ............ But the story behind that debt may be interesting She smiled again... "I don't seek for the victory of the Seraph..." said without thinking it twice... "But I'm neither thy opponent.... though I may become one if the circumstances ask for it..." "Anyway. Could thou tell me the story of that debt if possible?.."
Maurice Millery. Maurice nodded at Raphael's request. He was about to depart deep into the heavenly city when Ivalna began to speak again. Maurice rolled his eyes, made no effort to hide a deep sigh and rested his eyes on Ivalna. "Anyway. Could thou tell me the story of that debt if possible?.." "Your insolence knows no bounds. Do you expect everyone to share their life's story the first time you see them?" He let his eyes slide over Ivalna, "what are you?" His voice buzzed with contempt. "Listen, women, you helped save my nephew, if you hadn't, I'd have dragged your guts out with a hook." He gazed at her once more as if she was some dirty sewer rat, "Guards take her into custody," he commanded. He then pushed Hugo forward and let the rest mind their own business. They headed deep into the heavenly city, Maurice guided Hugo into his personal office and slammed the door shut behind them. "She is a bit strange," Hugo began. Maurice chuckled, "yes well, she'll do no harm-" "She swore she would protect me." Maurice frowned. "Protect you? Why?" "She said she thought I was..." "Yes?" "...interesting," Hugo finished. "I don't understand, that's all she seems to care about, she scares me." Maurice approached Hugo and ruffled his hair, "you won't need to be afraid of her when you are around me." He grabbed Hugo by his shoulders and lowered himself to the boy's height. "You are safe now." Hugo let out a deep sigh, a sigh that had been bottled inside of him for a year. For a moment all his worries slipped away, like sand slips through your fingers. He was safe with his uncle, all was going to be well. Wouldn't it?
The humans walked away. Ivalna waited for anyone who'll take her into custody. Thou could hath say, I shall not tell thou. That would hath been enough thought the woman at the same time that her face revealed a sarcastic grin... Yeah, very interesting... You're quite right Hugo...
Lilith paced about in her throne room, tail lashing wildly. "I want you to fetch Nyxx. He's escaped my Bonds, and I want him to learn his lesson, Once and for All!" The Queen's eyes blazed as they met those of a shadowy figure's, and her rage seemed to only increase whens he saw the slow, impossibly huge grin that came to his face. "What? You think this is funny?" "No, my Queeeeeen." a deep, rumbling voice responded as a demon detached himself from the wall, his long, bony body bending and writhing until he had crawled all the way to the floor. A thin, whip-like tail twitched, and the ugly thing's many-fanged grin widened even further. "I will enjoy thissssss tasssssk. He isssssss in the Angel'ssssss abooooode, likely with their help. It willllllll be a welcome tasssssk." "Then go, and don't let me see you until you've dragged that pathetic hatchling back where he belongs!" The hunter nodded, and his body melded into the shadows once again as he drifted away out of the castle towards the Angel's city many hundreds of miles away. Incorporeal, many did not see him until it was too late, but he had already passed through their bodies, and hundreds would choke and die before he arrived to seek out the one he had been sent to fetch. Leer had been set loose upon the world, and he was only one of the Five Elite.
Nyxx Nyxx stood ready for a fight, a silent snarl fixed on his face. The stink of angel was so pervasive here that he couldn't think, couldn't move, could barely breathe. Being here went against every instinct. It was a bad idea. But he followed Hugo. He would follow that boy through the gates of Heaven, and if this palace was no place for a demon, Heaven would crush him and smother him until he was nothing but memory and perhaps a dark stain on an otherwise bright landscape. Even if Hugo trusted Raphael, though, there was no way in Hellgates Nyxx was going to.
Hugo spotted Nyxx standing silently in the corner of the office. "Nyxx! What are you doing here?" Hugo's gaze snapped to that of Maurice. Maurice's eyes narrowed at seeing a demon standing in his office. "Get out," he hissed, his hand reaching for the dagger on his thigh. Hugo jumped between his uncle and the demon. "No please, uncle, he saved me didn't he?" "He is a demon, he stinks, he is probably a spy, the sooner we get rid of him the better, now if you'll please stand aside, this will be over with shortly." But Hugo didn't stand aside. "He is not out to hurt you, he doesn't do anything unless I tell him to, he-" "You know his name?" Maurice looked suprised, then his gaze fell on Nyxx again. "I don't know what prompted you to tell my nephew your real name, but it doesn't matter, demon. You'll get to life. Puppet." Maurice then turned back to Hugo. The boy's eyes were wide with relief, "thanks," Hugo muttered. "Get yourself washed and dressed, and keep an eye on your pet. If anything happens, he is done for, do you understand?" "Yes" "Good, now off you go," Maurice concluded. "Third floor, second door to the right, you'll find a bed and a bath there." Hugo nodded and left his uncle in his office. "Come," he whispered to Nyxx.
The Marksman Archer sat on his couch, shirtless, wearing only black satin pj pants, with a drink in hand. He was sprawled, relaxed, sipping contentedly on his scotch. He looked over towards his bed, face blank; his eyes ran over the naked female figure, loosely covered by a satin sheet. He showed no emotion other than slight satisfaction. His eyes drifted vacantly around the room, as if he was far off, deep in thought. A young man knelt, in submission, before a cloaked figure. He was dressed in black pants and a long black military jacket. He had a bow and a quiver strapped across his shoulders and he wore dark sunglasses. He had his head bowed and eyes lowered looking at the ground. The cloaked figure stood over him yelling, spit sprinkling from his mouth, he was not happy. The young man remained calm, silent, seemingly submissive, but a vain in his neck was twitching and pulsing as his blood pumped through. The hooded figure was so involved with his rage that he didn’t notice the young man’s hand move slowly to his thigh, then with one swift…. A knock at the door snapped him out of the memory. He stood, reached for his knife, and made his way to the door. As he approached the door he looked through the peep hole. An angel stood before him, well dressed, with an envelope in hand. Archer unbolted the door and opened it. He stood there saying nothing. The angel looked nervously at his and handed him the envelope. “My Lord, The High Seraph Raphael, requests your presents to discuss a potential job he has for you. Here is all the information you will need. A personal response is to be given in person to His Highness at midday tomorrow, you have till then to consider.” Then he turned on his heels and left. Archer watched him leave, envelope in hand, before turning shut the door with his foot as he stepped inside. He walked over to the coffee table and dropped the envelope before heading over to the bed. He shook the sheet, “get up, I have to go out soon.” The woman stirred and sat up. As Archer moved over to the dresser he threw the woman’s clothes onto the bed. He didn’t watch her get dressed, didn’t even notice as she stood up, naked and started pulling on her cloths. He took his suit pants out of dresser and changed into them; took a fresh, light blue shirt, and pulled it over his shoulder and put on his vest. His boots were last, he pulled them on and did up the lasses. After that he walked over to the table picked up his knife holster and strapped it too his thigh, then he grabbed the envelope, before he opened it he turned. “I had fun. Until next time.” “Me too. Thank you.” The woman smiled, nodded and left. Once she was gone Archer opened the package. His eyes skimmed the paper, once finished he pulled a few wads of cash out. He put them all into his safe and headed for the door. He grabbed his jacket, put it on, then strapped on his quiver and bow. He was ready!
Raphael lounged on his throne, the only obvious sign of impatience coming from his methodically tapping fingers on the arm of the chair. His wings were neatly folded behind him, but one feather stuck out, magic sparking and causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand up. How to turn the demon into another minion without alerting the others . . .? Kinra had been an easy one to subdue. After being banished by her sister, she had fled for the angelic Kingdom -a move of sure suicide had she not been in such a weak state that the guards had only to snatch her out of the sky before she gave in. Oh . . . how satisfying it had been to see one of the strongest demons brought so low . . . but he'd have to give her respect. She'd known she couldn't escape, and when Raphael had offered her sanctuary at a cost, she had only taken a few seconds to consider before saying yes. To give up her demonic past in place of a future where she could at least do something . . . a slow smile tweaked Raphael's wide mouth, and he waved for a servant to run over, scooping up a glass of wine before taking a sip of the dark nectar. Ah, Demons made wine like no other . . .
Some Hours Later Death Without her twin, Death lacked the ability to be everywhere and nowhere, but her spectral horse was fast - very fast - and could carry her hundreds of miles in a matter of minutes. Now that she was rested, it was time to ride for Raphael's palace, and inform him of the location of the manor. Famine would ride for Lilith's palace. Death appeared with her customary loud bang and swirl of smoke. Raphael had company, but that only served Death's purposes even better. The more who knew about this game, the more entertaining it would be. She summoned an illusory version of Raphael's sword. "Looking for something, Angel?" Nyxx Nyxx barely fit in the bath, and it was designed for two. But it was a luxury he had never experienced before. Showers were the best lesser demons like himself were allowed under Lilith, and even those were limited. Demon body odor was fairly minimal, given their scaled hides. They did not sweat. He reveled in the sensation of being submerged in hot water. Last night he had scrubbed each and every scale clean, cleaned the wound on his wing, and buffed his skin to a magnificent shine. He was clean. This bath was purely for the enjoyment of it. Nyxx hummed cheerfully, the tune an ancient human song called 'Bed of Roses', and tipped his head back, closing his eyes. This was paradise, smack in the middle of his idea of hell.
