The Darkest Defiance Ch. 01

"No, I mean...they haven't seen anything like you before; you are a female Obsidian. You smell different, and your power feels different too. You aren't normal."

"Blai—those creatures kill females. They eat them. They are demons, Raymond—a curse sent from a pissed off god bent on ending the Three Shades. What better way to do that than create gruesome monsters that munch on their women? And if you haven't noticed, I am female too. Which means the second they see me or catch whiff of me, they will skin me alive and eat my organs."

"No need to be evocative. I am just saying, though. Don't you think they might check twice?"

"They don't think, Raymond. They don't speak. They aren't going to be shocked, nor are they going to be reasoned with. You know this."

He pursed his lips, now pondering. "I wonder if they have come across someone like you, then. They have been around for millions of years—hell, their leader has been around since the dawn of time."

"Don't speak of him; it brings bad things."

"I am just saying..." he said again. "Haven't you ever wondered why Blaises are always male?"

"Dammit," I said, ready to smack him upside the head. Since I didn't hear anything charging after us, I decided that saying their names might be just a superstition. "Of course they are always male. They don't procreate, either—I don't even think they...never mind. They are created from fire and ash—their Leader, Terris, creates them himself. They are the bane of evil, the very abomination that—" I broke off, grunting as I realized I just slipped the big gun's name.

"Yes, I get it. They are evil-woman-eating-dark-magic-bearing-demons. Which, in a sense, means we are fucked. Correct?"

"No. Not quite. Chad said there was a disturbance in Terris—the land of fire that they live in. Something is stirring them up—pissing them off. Which would explain why they are hunting again. My guess is that they are really pushing to end this world's existence. Who knows?"

Just as he was about to reply, we both heard a growl. Not like a feline growl or the growl of a canine, but something darker, abysmal, and sinister. The hair at the back of my neck stood straight on end. I grabbed my gun as I heard my blood pound in my ears. Whatever was out there was watching...

And it wanted to kill us. But not just us—me.

I could feel the hate pouring in waves from this black being. It was in the shadows at the end of the street. Its power shot through me, causing my blood to boil. I became nauseous as I picked up some of its thoughts. It was incomprehensible and tainted with copper; churning and burning with the need to destroy. It even made me hate—it made me want to grab the nearest person and shred them apart. Then, when the animosity burned off, I felt nothing but absolute horror.

I felt to my knees, gritting my teeth and hissing like an animal. It seemed as though my legs had stopped working. Raymond was beside me then, trying to get me up. But I couldn't get up.

I was about to die.

"It..." I spat, unsure on what I was about to say. "Get away from here."

"Get up! Come on!"

"It's close. It knows I am here. It smells me. Run as far as you can run. We should have done a damn shield spell to hide our scents! Go!"

The air around me turned red, shimmering like the heat on a summer country road. Raymond choked and fell forward, his eyes rolling back in his head. He fell to the ground, his head encountering the asphalt with a sharp smack. I clawed at my ears when I heard another god-awful screech, just counting the seconds I had remaining in this world.

I should have been dead by now.

I close my eyes, waiting for my doom. A flash of regret burned through my being. It was stupid to come here and Raymond was right. But I have always been known for doing the most dangerous thing, maybe because nobody would give a shit if I lived or died. Nobody would miss me. I'm an abomination—something that shouldn't even exist.

With my head bowed and my hands pressed on the ground before me, I heard footsteps. I didn't even look; I knew what was there. It was a Blaise, of course, coming to take my life and satisfy its need to kill. The closer it got, the more my skinned burned. It felt like I was slowly being roasted alive.

"Aculous em parte ne mӑson d freit," a deep, growling voice snarled. My instincts told me to run, that I was the hunted as well as the prey. For a second, I felt shocked. Did it just speak? How? Was that even possible for them?

"Get it the fuck over with," was all I said, wondering why it hadn't killed me yet. As soon as it had caught my sent, it should have went into a blood frenzy until I was dead. I peeped up from under my eyelashes when it didn't respond.

What I saw was utterly astounding.

I had never seen a Blaise in my life but I have heard stories: that they are utterly ruthless and fearsome, but appear as human. That they are incredibly attractive—one sure way to lure in a woman just so they could kill them. I gazed at this being, feeling my gut flip, my joints locked in fear. It was pale but tall; willowy and built like a runner or a fencer. Its eyes were completely black, void of the whites, and its hair was dark and stuck to the side of its head which was matted with blood. Its teeth were about three inches long and thin like needles. Its body was covered in dark tattoo-like swirls that were the mark of the demon.

It growled, its lips turning up into a grin.

"I'm right here!" I shouted. It growled when it heard my voice; it hated it. It wanted nothing more than to kill me.

But something wasn't letting it. Or rather someone.

"You. Are. The whore."

I just stared at it, unable to look away. I was the whore? What the hell did that mean? And it spoke English?

"Why haven't you killed me yet?" I asked, now knowing that it could understand me. It obviously wanted something, and was trying very hard not to kill me. It spit on the ground, and as it did so, the ground started to sizzle. It knelt down and sat on its heels, cocking its head to the side. I caught sight of something: a marking on its neck. I wracked my brain for what that could have meant.

Maybe he was the leader of the group? That would explain why he had more markings than a regular Blaise. But he wasn't Terris. Because if he had been Terris, being this close to him would have killed me. That, and Terris never left Terral. This Blaise must have been higher up the scale and very old, therefore giving him more self-control.

"Stand back, creature. I want nothing of you," I said.

"Chrisssssssy. He has long waited for your return." I grimaced at his voice. It wasn't a voice really, but rather a growl.

"Who is he?" I asked, knowing that it probably wasn't going to kill me. If it wanted to it would have done so by now. And how the hell did it know my name? Maybe Raymond was right; maybe they didn't know what I was.

It leaned forward, its face twisted in disgust of me. "Your master."

My blood went cold.

My what? I found myself unable to move or reach for my gun. I would have shot it in the face, not that it would have done any good. I glared at it and felt like a kitten in comparison to intimidation. It felt utterly unreal that I was having a freaking conversation with a demon that should have slit my throat by now.

"Only I know. Only I see. Only I was to seek you out."

"Well, you sought me out," I said, just as my head became dizzy and my mind began to race. I fell all the way forward, unable to move my muscles or support my weight any longer. My eyes closed and I heard roaring in my ears. I patiently awaited my death.

Everything went dark.

****

I woke, my head splitting and my body hurting. That was a good thing, because pain meant I was still alive. I opened my eyes, unsure on what was happening or where I was. I coughed once, and leaned to the side, my eyes stinging. I rose, startled to find myself in a bed.

In a bed?

But it wasn't just any bed. It was a bed about seven feet off the floor with a small set of stairs leading up to it. The covers were silky and golden, and sparkled with some kind of expensive thread. The bed was luxurious. The wood cracked and chipped, showing its age beautifully. I was in a circular room with a low-hanging chandelier with walls covered in large mirrors. The ceiling was high and arched, painted with pictures of angels. The floor was dark green and white checkered, and had ribbons of gold flowing through it. A large window casted an orange light onto the floor, as did the candles that lit the room.

I looked down at myself, and everything was mostly intact. But something was off about this place...severely off. I hopped off the bed, swaying a little, stepping onto the cold floor with my bare feet. It seemed as though somebody had removed my boots. Thunder rolled off in the distance somewhere, shaking the floor and walls.

I walked to the window, my brain fuzzy. I peered out of it, stunned.

The sky was black. Lightening flashed in the sky, but it wasn't regular lightning; it was dark red in color. It appeared to be snowing, too, but it was way too warm for it to be snow. A flake landed on my hand and I brushed it off, only to find out that it created a dark grey smear.

Ashes.

I looked over the lip of the window to find that I was very, very high up in a tower. Down below there was black rock with veins of fire and lava. Smoke filled the air, smelling of thick ash and Sulfur. Sweat beaded on my upper lip. My conscious told me that I was in a very bad place. I looked around, frightened, now knowing where I was.

I was in Terral.

But why? Why would they take me here? Why didn't they kill me when they had the chance? And who were they referring to about 'your master'? How could they stand to have a woman in their midst?

Well, it appeared that only one Blaise knew of my existence besides Terris. Only I was to seek you out, that Blaise had said to me. Said!

But if he had specific orders not to kill me, than that meant his leader knew I was alive. And his leader could only be one person: Terris. Which made no goddamn sense at all, because why in the hell would Terris care about anyone? He was a Demon Lord for crying out loud. He was ten times more dangerous and certainly more animalistic than any other Blaise. I closed my eyes and pictured him as a hissing mass of tentacles and teeth, crouching in the corner with legs and arms jammed in his mouth. Who knows what he looks like? According to popular belief, he is the farthest from human, and his blood is so potent with evil that he is vile and twisted in appearance.

But that didn't matter. What mattered was that he wanted me alive for some reason. But why?

I thought about jumping to possibly end whatever pain and misery they wanted to inflict on me, but knew that wouldn't help the situation. Apparently Terris wanted me comfortable; the nice bed and shelves full of dusty books proved fact to that. Actually, I was pretty impressed that they had that sort of intelligence to read. Could they read? Did they have their own written language? And did they actually sleep in beds, or was that just...for show? Didn't they live in a hole in the ground or something?

That was peculiar, because what savage creature needs a fucking pillow?

I pursed my lips, extremely confused. Basically everything I thought about Terral just came apart at the seams. It appeared as though they lived like humans. Well, maybe the ones up the social ladder did, and the lesser ones were more...vicious and actually did live in a hole in the ground.

I backed away from the window, looking around the small room. I walked around and searched for a way out. There seemed to be stairs that curved and led to a door, but the door was locked. Of fucking course.

On my way back to the bed, I grabbed a book from the shelf. I dusted it off and opened it. Of course I couldn't understand a word it said; it was written in their tongue. So it seemed they were civilized enough to make a literary piece. I tossed the book aside and sat on a small, delicate looking couch with pillows that were coming apart at the seams. The brown woodwork on the frame was chipped and scratched. The carpentry of the room all held the same theme: ancient and delicate, but stunning with age.

I tried to reach out with my power, but found I couldn't. My fifth sense was utterly useless here; it was like the Dark Magic was sucking it dry. I wondered where Raymond was, and if he was okay. And I couldn't feel him anywhere. I held my head in my hands as I tried not to panic. I needed to get the hell out of here. I lifted my head.

On the table in front of me was a piece of paper.

I picked it up, hesitant. I opened the folds and found that it was written in English, but done so with beautiful strokes of ebony. Only a careful hand could produce such majesty with a pen. I read quietly to myself, shocked that it was addressed to me:

Chrissy Angelica Morrin,

As much as it troubles me to see you utterly alive and breathing with your heart ever-beating, I must imply that your existence is necessitated. I would strongly advise you not inflicting any self-harm, as your kind so often does. I would also fret about looking for an out; these doors are locked, of course, and it is such a long way down that I fear you may not endure a fall.

I would also enjoy the accommodations I have so vibrantly supplied you with; you are living rather lavish, wouldn't you say? It was not my idea, of course, but your kind is so fragile that sticking you in my dungeon wouldn't do me any good. You see, we aren't so different from one another. The world utterly hates us both.

And fear not; I plan not to destroy you, as much as my existence voices me to do so. But I am sure you are conscious of our nature. I have a plan for you, and it sickens me to the very core to carry it out; I find you abhorrent, distasteful, and dense. But you are also needed for a plan that will utterly befall the empire. Or, in a sense, save it.

You shall receive your means of nourishment this evening; you will be supplied with the basic food that your kind needs. Also, I would advise that you cleanse yourself in the bathing room. We don't need my underlings to catch whiff of your feminine stench and climb the tower to kill you, would we? To them, you smell like an evening's feast! And it would just break my cold, dead, non-beating hearts!

Until we meet discontentedly,

Lord Valsile Terris U Vedin.

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Hey guys, so that is it for now. Leave a comment and tell me what you think! Thanks for reading!