“Seran…Seran!” Yelled a voice from somewhere down the hall. Seran moved toward it, but the hall began to twist, the floor becoming a wall, then ceiling, then wall again. As she walked, she naturally rotated with it, staying on the cobbled path. “Seran…” Came the voice again. She attempted to respond, but her mouth would not open. Rounding a corner, she came to a room with expensive-looking furniture and a roaring fire. She knelt by the fire and gazed at its beautiful oranges and reds for a moment. “Seran…” She turned around to see her father kneeling before her. Blood began to spout from his neck, as if he were stabbed. He fell over, his head rolling across the floor. Where he had once knelt, Seran’s mother stood. “Seran… Now we can be together… Live in civilization…” The woman said.
Seran bolted upright in her tent. It was only a dream. She left her tent and went toward the woods, passing the assassins’ tent. The piercing cold chilled her to the bone, comforting her from the horridness of her dream. “Mother… Father…” Se said into the night air, watching her breath fly up in a cloud.
ΘΘΘ
Raziel had been waiting for twelve hours, never once leaving the hospital. He felt personally responsible for Alexis’s injuries. He had not gotten word yet on her condition. Eznezio had other business to attend to, and had only spent three hours at the hospital. Finally a doctor came in to retrieve Raziel. “She’s in rough shape, but we should be able to get her back into shape.” The doctor said as they moved toward the recovery room. Raziel was greatly relieved to see Alexis’s peaceful face sleeping, not dead or unconscious. “What’s your relation to her?” The doctor asked.
“Just a friend.” Raziel replied.
ΘΘΘ
Vittur grabbed the keys. He unlocked the cell door and ran. Leaving Tartarus was the first thing he had to do before anything else. Guards tried to stop him, but he quickly dispatched them. Finally, just a short distance to the spiral staircase, Vittur slowed. That was a mistake. A menacing Dreikopf reared its ugly heads. In canine fashion, it prepared to chase Vittur. I absolutely HATE these dog-beasts! Just the one, Cerberus, is enough! Vittur thought angrily, already sprinting for his life. Whatever he tried, Vittur could not shake the Dreikopf, only stall his doom.
ΘΘΘ
Pashkur and Lisa waited at Obsidian Terminal for his sister, Naretta. “The train should be here any minute.” Pashkur said. The train that Naretta was riding on was the newest and fastest Necromancy-powered train, nicknamed the “Scream Engine”, it could travel at two-hundred miles per hour. Its shape caused noises, when at high speeds, which gave birth to its name.
“I think I can see the Necromancic smoke from it.” Lisa said, looking into the distance.
“It’s been years since I’ve seen my sister. I wonder how she’s changed.” Pashkur said thoughtfully.
“However she’s changed, she’ll still be your sister. There’s some kind of unbreakable bond between siblings, no matter how far they drift apart, no matter how different their decisions are.” She replied.
“You really think so?”
“I like to think I know so.”
The first car of the train was now fully in view. Then the second, then the third. It was almost upon the station.
“Wow, it does move fast!” Lisa exclaimed. The scream-like sound could be heard now. It was almost terrible enough to hurt one’s ears. Almost.
The brakes of the Scream Engine screeched louder than its speed did. The train came to a stop just in time to be lined up with the platform. The door opened, and many passengers exited.
“Mind the gap.” Lisa muttered with a chuckle. Finally, Naretta exited the car. A dark purple dress graced her lovely form. Her luminescent blue eyes settled on her brother and she moved toward him.
“I’ve missed you, big brother.” She said, embracing him.
“I’ve missed you too. There’s someone I’d like you to meet. This is Lisa, she’s in my band.”
Naretta pushed her red hair out of her eyes. “Nice to meet you, I’m Naretta.” She said with a smile.
“Nice to meet you too.”
ΘΘΘ
Raziel sat in the chair by Alexis’s bed. She seemed so serene, lying there with her eyes closed, the machines beeping, her form steadily rising and falling with each breath. A stark contrast to her state only thirteen hours before, battered and bleeding on a sidewalk, almost killed by what may or may have not been gang members. So much had gone wrong. Samael kidnapped… Alexis hurt… Raziel hated not having been able to stop this. He felt inadequate, like he had been given these tasks without the proper means to accomplish them. Raziel cursed. No matter what obstacles laid themselves before him, he knew he had to press on. His friends, and possibly the fate of the Underworld, depended on him.
ΘΘΘ
Trudging up an eternally frozen mountain is not amusing. Trudging up an eternally frozen mountain with no sense of destination was even less amusing. Still the assassins and Seran continued on.
“How much further do you think we have to go?” Nexus asked.
“Don’t know. Just keep moving.” Seran replied.
“For all we know, this guy has already left Darkwing Mountain
“There is something Vlad did not tell you.” Nexus responded. “This man has been apprehended by the Wardens of Thurnal. There is no way he has escaped them. If their fighting prowess wasn’t enough, their thirty-foot thick walls of Sikander metal are. That stuff’s indestructible.”
“Why… Why wouldn’t Vlad tell me that?” Jenxier asked.
“No telling. He keeps a great many secrets from a great many people. I doubt anyone but he knows all of his plans.”
Seran put out her hand to stop them. “Look.” Ahead of them, down the slope, was a rectangular black structure.
“The Prison of Thurnal. Didn’t think we’d get to it so quickly.” Nexus grinned.
ΘΘΘ
Vittur was now on the Dreikopf’s middle neck. “Let’s see you rend my limbs now!” He shouted. Unsheathing his claws, his took a swipe across the beast’s leathery skin. The penetration wasn’t deep, but crimson liquid began to seep out. The thing howled in anguish. A few more hacks and that head had fallen off. This is going to be easy. Vittur thought. Then things got tricky. The Dreikopf began to roll on its back, intending to crush the demon. “Oh no you don’t!” Vittur yelled as he jumped to gain higher ground on the Dreikopf. A stab with the claws, and another head was down. One head to go. When a Dreikopf loses two of its three heads, it becomes very defensive. It rolled again and leapt into a menacing stance. Snarling, it rushed Vittur, who quickly jumped out of the way. Necromancic blasts flew into the side of its head. It turned around and rushed again, intending to bite. With a swift jump, Vittur landed again on its back and successfully lopped off its head. As its corpse laid on the ground, and blood pooled, Vittur noticed something odd. “Underworld inhabitants don’t bleed. Our energy goes up in black wisps… Why did this beast bleed? Why!?”
To Be Continued…
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