Ultimate Assassin Saga: Tundra

There were those who had questioned why he'd betrayed his own edict, but he'd threatened every one of them with their lives. He'd heard the whispers about the many reasons that he might've spared the child, but only one of them had been right. There had been whispers that he'd spared the child to use as an expendable assassin or spy, but that wasn't true. However, the whisper that he'd only spared Breal because of who his father was was in fact the truth. However, no one was allowed to talk about the executed father of Breal and no one was allowed to bring up his heritage. It was Shido and Shido alone who could talk to Breal about that.

The Clan Lord stared out at the black spires of the buildings and he sighed. The Emperor wasn't going to be happy when he found out what was happening right under his nose. The Blood Demon Clan was loyal to the General who had led them and kept them safe in the beginning. Acheron was that General and there was nothing the Emperor would be able to do to lure them away from serving the man. He was strong and kind, never leaving a man behind if he could help it. That was one of the policies that had spearheaded the campaigns to build the Dalkian borders: never leave a man behind and fight for the brother at your shoulder.

It was because of that that the Blood Demons were deserting the Empire and going to the side of their General. He was betraying the Empire, and through his betrayal, the Blood Demons would follow him. There had been other castes of Demons serving under the general centuries ago to carve out the borders of the Empire, but none of them were loyal to the former General. They were loyal to the Empire and to their own Clan Lords, no one else. He found that to be disappointing because if the original Clans could come together under the helm of the General once more, then Dalkia would never attempt to hunt them down because of their sheer power, but alas, it was not to be.

Shido sighed and sat back from the railing. He ran a hand through the strands of his lavender colored hair and he blinked his eyes in the dark. He stared up at the blood red sky and he could remember the blue skies of other countries before they'd been conquered. Of course now they all had blood red skies with black lightning streaking across them, but they hadn't always been that way. During the day, they'd been the most brilliant of blues and at night the most beautiful of velvets. The sky of other nations was a beautiful thing, but Dalkian skies were an ugly and depressing thing. He wanted nothing more than to get out from under the skies of Dalkia and he was going to do it.

The Blood Demon turned away from the city and looked back through the doors of his room that he shared with his Mate. He walked closer to the doors, and when he was standing in the doorway, he saw that his Mate had rolled over onto her stomach. She had her arms underneath her pillow and her knees up under her with her buttocks in the air, barely covered by the dark red silk sheets. He smiled as he looked at her and he wished that he could get a portrait done of his beautiful Mate in this position, but he knew that she would never allow such a thing. She wanted to appear to be dignified and this position didn't exactly scream dignity. In fact, it screamed sex.

The Clan Lord felt himself growing hard under his violet robe, but he fought back his own feelings of lust. He wasn't going to awaken his Mate simply because he wanted her body. He knew that Leanna would allow him to make love to her body and she would enjoy his attention. If there was one thing that he was good at, it was at pleasuring his Mate during sex and she always reached her climax. In fact, he made certain that she climaxed more than once each time they made love before he took his own pleasure and she often climaxed with him even when he was inside of her.

Shido walked over to the side of the bed and he undid the sash that kept his robe closed. His robe fell open and he shrugged out of it, allowing the robe to fall to the floor. He looked down and could see the stiffness of his manhood jutting out from his hips proudly, but his eyes took in a certain two marks on the shaft of his manhood. There were two small puncture scars on his manhood that he knew went deep, but they were small and didn't really hurt. These puncture marks came from the Mating practices of the Blood Demons between partners and between Mates.

It was customary between lovers that each time they made love, they would feed off of one another's blood. Male partners would feed off of one another's manhood's and do so eagerly. Because of their saliva, it didn't hurt and was in fact an intoxicating practices. In the case of Mates, the woman would feed from the male's manhood and the man would feed from the woman's breast, biting around the nipple to draw their blood into them. This consumption of blood between Mates and partners created a connection with one another far deeper than any other thing on this Plane of existence.

The Clan Lord sighed and he closed his eyes, feeling his fatigue. He knew that he could no longer fight his fatigue and he would soon be asleep. He couldn't allow his fears and his worries to deprive him of his sleep. If he did, then Azrieal would catch him at his weakest and would destroy them all. He couldn't allow that to happen so he had to sleep and he had to sleep as many nights that he could manage. Sighing, he sat down on the bed and lay down on his side, pulling the covers up over him while he watched his Mate sleeping on her front with her buttocks still up in the air.

With a smile on his face, he closed his eyes and he fell deep into his slumber.

Breal stared into the darkness of the High Forest and he looked for any enemies, but there didn't seem to be any around. He could sense the sun had come up earlier in the day, but he hadn't moved much from his spot. Something felt off, but he didn't know what it was. That was why he was searching the nearby area with his senses to see if he could find any enemies. However, he'd found nothing as of yet and he was starting to wonder if he was growing paranoid because of his mission. It would be understandable if he was growing paranoid.

It wasn't every day that you betrayed the country that you'd been born and raised in after all.

The Half Demon sat up, pulling his back away from the trunk of the tree. He was high in the lush tree, hidden from prying eyes by the thick, large leaves. He swung his legs over the side of the thick branch and he dropped from the branch. The wind poured through his nape length dark red hair as he fell and his boots touched the forest floor seconds later. He landed in a crouch with one hand palm down on the forest floor and he looked up, searching the surrounding foliage for any enemies with narrowed eyes, but there was nothing around for him to see or worry about.

Rising to his feet, the Blood Demon set off in the direction of the trees, his boots making no noise on the forest floor. He could've easily just taken to the trees and been anywhere in the High Forest in a few minutes, but he didn't want to appear as being a threat. He was a deadly being and the Humans would know that from the first moment they met him. He could only hope that they would be trusting and let him into their village with little problem, but he didn't see that happening. After all, they were Humans and Humans weren't a very trustworthy bunch. Being the weakest of the sentient beings of the Mortal Plane, he couldn't really blame them.

Breal stopped in a clearing and he was about to move forward again, but he stopped when he heard splashing. He frowned and stepped next to the thick yew wood tree at his side, narrowing his eyes. There was a large pool of warm water in front of him and in the water of the pool was a man. The man was naked and bathing in the warm pool of water. For some reason, he couldn't take his eyes off of the man and he found his body reacting to the man's nakedness.

He was tall, easily over six foot, and well muscled. He had long midnight black hair that fell to the middle of his back unrestrained and he could see cobalt blue eyes set in a tanned, roguishly handsome face. He wore no clothes at this time which exposed his frame to his eyes and the Half Demon found himself staring at the other man's body, his manhood hardening in his pants, creating a bulge, but he ignored it. The man had broad shoulders, large biceps, thick forearms, very large hands, a well defined chest, and a well defined stomach. In short, he was a beautiful male specimen.

Water gleamed off of the Human man's black hair and droplets fell to his chest, running down to his stomach. The Blood Demon watched it and licked his lips, his body on fire with lust. For some reason, he wanted nothing more than to rush into the water, tear off his clothes and take the man as his. However, he knew that he couldn't do that and expect to live. After all, the man didn't know him, and when he first saw the Blood Demon, he would assume he was there to kill him so his response would be to defend himself. He could see the pile of clothes next to the pool, but the most noticeable thing was the sheathed broadsword laying atop the pile.

The Half Demon knew that he would have to wait until the man got dressed before he approached him. If he approached him while he was naked, he would get defensive and try to kill him. He knew Humans and how they reacted to people coming upon them when naked. Unlike all other races, they were ashamed of their nakedness and they attempted to hide it, even when they had as beautiful a body as this man did. He didn't want the man to be defensive and hostile towards him when he first spoke to the man. After all, he was pretty sure that the dark haired man was an Amazon.

Several minutes later, the dark haired man moved to the side of the pool of water and placed his hands on the side of the pool, lifting himself out of the pool. As he placed his feet on the ground next to the pool, he stood up straight and stretched his arms up over his head. The Blood Demon's eyes ate up the muscular body before him that was covered in water and his eyes dropped to the man's buttocks. It was smooth and well rounded with muscle obvious. Then, he turned and he licked his lips at the sight of the man's slightly aroused manhood which was quite large. Then, he bent low and began to pick up his clothing, pulling on his clothes.

When the dark haired man was finished dressing, he stood straight and cracked his neck. He was quite fierce and powerful looking in his clothing with all of his muscles bulging out. He wore a long sleeve black tunic with a black leather breastplate over the top, tight black pants, knee high black leather boots, and a black leather belt with a broadsword sheathed at his left hip. He looked to be quite dangerous in his clothing and with his sword gleaming at his hip.

Breal watched the man as he straightened his broadsword at his hip and stood straighter. Seeing his opportunity, he walked from the trees and stood in front of the trees for the man to see. He waited for several seconds, and finally, the man turned to see him. Then, the man fell into a defensive stance and he gripped the hilt of his broadsword. His cobalt blue eyes glowed with determination and he could also see a light of battle lust glowing in his eyes as well.

"Who are you and what do you want?" the Amazon asked in a fierce voice. The Blood Demon watched as the man closed his hand around the hilt of his broadsword and drew the weapon. The steel of the weapon gleamed in the low light and he held the blade out in front of him, holding the weapon tight in his hands. He looked ready to leap forward and run him through any minute. However, he didn't move at all and merely stared at him with battle lust in his eyes.

"I have not come here to harm you or your people. I am here as a friend and that is all. I am a friend of Acheron and I'm here to help you." Breal replied in a calm voice. He stayed still and stared at the man, his hands down by his sides. He knew that he could shoot forward and rip out the throat of the Human if he wanted, but he knew that he couldn't do that. He was here to make friends with the Amazons and killing one of theirs wouldn't be the best way to do that. Also, there was the fact that he found this man quite attractive and it would be a horrible waste to have to kill such a man.

He noted that the dark haired man's eyes had shifted when he'd mentioned Acheron. It was obvious the man knew who he was talking about and he took heart in that. Maybe he'd been one of the people to meet with Acheron and one that had fought at his side. It was obvious he was a warrior and he knew that there had been some sort of battles going on in the High Forest, so maybe he'd fought side by side with him. That would help matters if it were true. An alliance with someone who'd fought side by side with Acheron would be much easier to attain than with someone who was on the fence about even Acheron's true motives.

The Human man straightened, but he didn't sheathe his weapon. It was obvious that he wasn't exactly sure about his honesty and he knew that there was nothing that he could do about that. Humans and their distrusts could make or break him, but he could only hope that the man wouldn't attempt to kill him right off the bat. The man lowered his sword, holding it down by his leg and he narrowed his blue eyes on the Half Demon, obviously wondering what he should do.

"I will take you to my people and we will find out if your being actually honest." the man said in a calm tone. He didn't seem all that hostile anymore though he did still hold his sword. He took a step towards him and he stayed absolutely still, not wanting to appear skittish in front of this man. Also, he didn't want this man to fear him, and if he acted incorrectly, the man might attempt to kill him. He didn't want that, especially now that he'd gotten in so deep with him and was possibly going to the village where this man lived. "By the way, my name is Tide. What is your name?"

The man's question caught him off guard and he nearly reacted out of surprise. However, he fought back that urge and continued to stare at him with eyes devoid of emotion. He noted that the way the man moved was much more agile than someone his size and he found that to be very predatory. The Blood Demon would know all about predators considering that he himself was a predator and his entire Clan were also predators. Blood Demons were not very well known for their kindness and he was no different from the rest of them in that respect.

"My name is Breal." the Half Demon replied in monotone, not giving the man anything from his emotions. He felt a whirl of emotions, but not one of them showed on his face or in his eyes. He was a dangerous man for many reasons, but one of them did happen to be the mask of emotionless that he wore every single hour of the day and night. "I will come with you willingly, and whatever it is your people decide, I will stand beside. If you judge me as an enemy, I will willingly bow and take the executioners sword on my neck."

Breal stared at the other man as he stopped in front of him and he saw the man's frown. His brow furrowed up and his eyes filled with confusion. He tapped the flat of his broadsword against his leg and he still seemed to be thinking on whether or not it was a good idea to bring him to his people. However, he showed no aggression even as the man stopped in front of him and demanded that he hold out his hands. Breal did so without a second thought, and before he knew it, his hands were tied tightly together. Then, the Human man lifted his sword and bade him to walk west.

The Half Demon turned and walked at sword point west. He could only hope that this was going to be easier than what it seemed to be. It was no easy thing to do to get past someone's prejudices, but Acheron had done it. Surely it couldn't be that difficult if he'd done it. Then again, Acheron was quite good at doing just about anything and he didn't fool himself into believing that he was the same as Acheron. Acheron had many centuries of skill on him and he was known as a master manipulator. That wasn't something that the Half Demon was known for, and in fact, he couldn't manipulate anyone at all.

Breal only hoped that this was the right thing.

Acheron walked slightly ahead of the woman at his side, but his attention was on her though she didn't know it. She had her fur cloak tucked tightly around herself and the hood up on her head to prevent any wind from hitting her skin. It seemed odd to him that she would need such a thing when she'd lived in the Tundra her entire life. He would've believed that anyone that lived in this harsh environment their entire life would've gotten use to it and wouldn't bother them any longer. It would seem that he was wrong and he wasn't often wrong about anything.

Because of his Demon blood, he wasn't affected by the extremes of weather and he was glad for that. If he didn't have that on his side, he would've been freezing cold he was fairly certain. However, that didn't really matter now considering that he could resist the weather and it didn't hurt him at all. He was glad for that, but that also meant he didn't know what to do to make Diana warmer. He was as ignorant to how to make the woman warmer as a God was ignorant to the Demons that walked the Abyss. He just didn't know what to do for her and that made him feel slightly useless.

The Chaos Demon turned his attention to the landscape and he found himself wondering if anything would ever change. They'd been traveling all day and were yet to see anything except for snow. The pure whiteness was really starting to bother him and it seemed too quiet to him. It wasn't that he was use to noise all the time, but the Tundra seemed way to quiet and it just seemed unnatural to him. Even when he'd come into the Tundra it had been louder than this, but for some reason, it was quiet now and he worried about that. That sort of eerie quiet usually precluded something bad happening.

He'd seen many battle scenes and there seemed to be one common theme: it was always silent before battle came. He wasn't afraid to go to battle, but he didn't want to have to do so and have to worry about protecting the woman at his side. He would have to fight a battle and worry about her at the same time. That kind of thing could get him killed and he couldn't have that. No, he wanted to protect her and keep her from danger, but if he got killed in the process, it wouldn't matter in the end.

The Command Assassin took another step and he stopped, feeling something hard underneath his boot. He narrowed his eyes and he looked down, but the feeling didn't shift. No, the thing under his foot was just as hard as it had been and it wasn't moving. He looked around, noting that they were between two large outcropping of rocks and there could be just about anything on the other sides of the rocks. However, he didn't feel too worried and he was sure that they weren't about to be attacked. Then again, he could be wrong and he wasn't about to be ambushed.

"Stand back and make sure you keep up your guard. We could be attacked at any time." Acheron said to her and he watched her face change from emotionless to fear. He didn't want to see fear in her eyes, but he couldn't do anything about it. Instead of trying to soothe her, he reached down and touched the hilt of his broadsword. Then, he gripped the hilt of his broadsword and he drew the weapon, the silver blade ringing in the freezing winds of the Tundra.

When she stepped back away from him, he noted that she pressed her back against the tall rocky outcropping behind her. Then, the Chaos Demon took a step back and knelt down into the snow. With his free hand, he began to smooth the snow away from where it was. Then, he scooped his hand lower under the snow and he shoveled it out with his hand, dropping it to the side. After several minutes, he finally found what was so hard under the ground and he gritted his teeth as he reached inside, pulling out a skull. It was perfectly rounded and was obviously a Human skull.