An Angel's Tears

Chapter One: Start


The corridor was wide and dank, musty from the countless years it had been denied fresh air due to the spell placed on the entranceway — which his master had unsealed moments prior. As he crawled and crept behind his owner, his snake-like golden eyes darted from picture to picture that adorned the walls. Some of these drawings depicted the faces of powerful demon lords who had once roamed the realm of the humans before they were either sealed away or destroyed. Others were crude etchings of countless devils and demons pillaging and plundering, raping and sacrificing human women, children, and men. However, the most used theme of these ancient engravings portrayed the epic battles among those demonic and their most loathed enemies: Angels.

His eyes narrowed and he hissed at the image of an angel plunging his sword into a devil’s chest. Oh, how he hated them. With their large and full-feathered wings, and blazing swords, they were the creatures whose very existence he despised the most. They were the ones who he would sell his very soul (if he still had it) for the opportunity to tear the wings from just one of those so-called holy beings. He would give his own pitiful life to just hear the screams rip from their precious little throats. To see the pain and agony flash through one of the females' eyes as he took and rode her before the eyes of both of her captured lover and his countless demonic superiors. And, oh, how he would savor the sweet nectar of her blood that he spilled once he had sullied and humiliated her… after he bathed in the crimson liquid of her loved one, of course.

Soons. Soons I will pays thems back for all the indignities that I'ves suffereds, he thought as his lips curled into a feral smile. However, so lost in his fantasies, he didn't notice his master halt before a set of stairs descending into darkness, and he crashed into the taller man’s leather-clad legs.

"Insolent worm!" his master bellowed before kicking him in the ribs. "Do you think yourself so valuable that you would dare to touch me?"

He whimpered like a cowering dog and shield away from the taller male's rage. "F-Forgive me, master!" he rasped, his voice harsh and squeaky. "I ams nothing and live onlys to serves you."

A cruel laugh echoed down the stairwell and something stirred behind a locked door when it heard, "Of course you do." And then the rattling of chains reverberated throughout a cold chamber, shrouded in black, when the beast trapped within heard the familiar crunching of bones and the wailing of screams. Its blood pumped, its heart beating faster and faster, as its nails sunk into its palms — drawing blood that only excited it further. It could feel the familiar traces of demonic aura and its entire body shuddered in anticipation. Too long had it been sealed away. Too long had it been denied the pleasures of the flesh. Too long had it been denied the satisfactions of death and bloodshed.

His chest burned and he crawled miserably after his heartless master, the man who owned every inch of him: heart, body, and soul. For almost 25 years now, he had been the slave to this young demon strutting ahead of him. When ill misfortune befell him, it had been this man who had found him prowling and scavenging the gutters, like some flea-infested sewer rat, for scrapes of food (rats, bugs, garbage… it didn't matter what it was so long as it filled his belly). After he had a run-in with the demon, the man offered him a warm place to stay and a full belly so long as he swore fealty to him. Well, with his mind so scatterbrained with hunger, he had instantly pledged himself to the stranger and by doing so, he also sold away his pitiful soul and freedom. Since then, he has been forced to answer to the every beck and call of his owner and no matter how hard he's tried, he has never been able to escape from the mans clutches.

As they reached the bottom of the stairwell (both of them having made it safely down, thanks to their ability to see in the dark), he watched as his master snapped his fingers and rows of torches on the walls blared with fire and illuminated a short path to a large black door. He watched with caution, making sure to remain a safe distance behind his leader, as the man approached and stood before the age-worn structure. It was large, distancing 15 feet wide and 35 feet high, and was constructed from some strange ebony wood that he had never seen before. Thick and heavy chains barred them from entry, and he crouched lower to the floor in fear. He could feel a dark and powerful aura radiating from within and he felt as if he would suffocate from its intensity.

"Hmm," his master hummed and hovered his hand over the door's surface. "Well now, this is interesting. A trinity symbol."

He cringed when a large, glowing blue symbol flared up on the door brightly. The power of this seal was as immense as the sinister aura within the chamber, but it felt as if these two powers were struggling against each other. They were so evenly matched, that these energies were at a standstill and were fiercely battling for dominance over the other. There was no telling what the outcome or the victor would be.

"M-Master?" he rasped and slowly crawled up to the mans side. "Whats does it keeps out?"

"Fool," a pair of harsh emerald eyes glared down at him and he mewled pitifully. "This is not meant to keep something out, but rather something within."

"W-Within?"

"Yes," his master drawled before his eyes alight fiercely. "But this seal is no match for MY POWER!!!"

He yelped and scrambled backwards as his master's powers flared to life and he slammed his palm down on the door. Fierce blue lights of energy crackled like lightning and the torches flickered out when a harsh and howling wind was conjured up out of nowhere (the only source of light now came from the glowing symbol engraved on the black door). So fierce was this wind that it threatened to drown out his own cries of terror, but it did nothing to dampen the maniacally laughter of his master or the strange groans of satisfaction rumbling from within the chamber. Streams of tears flowed down his dirtied cheeks as he felt threatened to be overcome by the surge of energies radiating throughout the area. They were just so immense that they frightened him witless, something that greatly displeased his master.

"SLAVE!!" the demon screamed. "THE BLOOD! BRING ME THE BLOOD NOW!"

As best as he could, he gathered his wits together and retrieved two vials of blood, concealed in a small pouch that was tied to the rope holding up his torn beige shorts, and he quickly placed them between his teeth and scurried to his owners side (the power was much more intense the closer he was to the door).

"TO THE SYMBOL! THROW THE BLOOD ON THE SYMBOL!" his master bellowed before ripping open the palm of his free hand with his teeth.

He fumbled with the corks, but fearful for his life, he managed to calm himself and splashed the contents of the vials onto the fiery blue seal, where bright lights of blue and white crackled sharply. No more than three seconds passed before his master thrust his bloodied hand on the glowing seal, creating a mass of red electric sparks to mingle with the other two energies. The wind was now screeching and the groans from within had turned to howls of pleasure and they sounded as if they were blaring all around him.

Louds. Too louds. Makes it stops, he thought and cowered behind his master with his face pressed against the stone floor and his hands clamped around his ears.

Howling and howling. Screeching and screeching. Laughing and laughing. It all threatened to overwhelm him and send him to the brink of insanity, but then, suddenly, there was a loud and high-pitched snapping and clattering, before everything went dead silent. The wind simply disappeared, as if it had never been there in the first place, and the torches re lighted themselves. It was all as if nothing had ever happened.

Slowly, he peeked his head up and peered around his masters legs to stare at the door. The chains had broken and now laid before their feet, and the once brightly glowing symbol was extinguished — leaving it a dull and lifeless thing. However, even though that hellish experience he'd just went through was over, what he felt at this moment was much worse. Before, he had felt two energies struggling savagely against the other, but now he could only sense one. The battle was over and the air was so thick with that malicious power from earlier that you could almost choke on it. Something was awake.

"It's done. The seal is broken." His master grinned before licking up the crimson blood dripping from his hand. "Now, to business."

There was a harsh creaking sound as the ancient black door slammed open, overcome by the strength of the young demon who had just broken the seal that was never meant to be removed for all eternity. The sole purpose of the barrier was to ensure the safety of life, but now it was demolished and what had been trapped inside for over a millennium would soon be set free from its shackles. And it was for this moment that the beast had been waiting for ever since its imprisonment. Oh, how it had yearned for the freedom it had been denied for so many years. It couldn't wait until it was free of this damned prison and was able to stretch its wings in the night sky once again.

As they crossed over the threshold, he looked about the ice-cold chamber. Large and rune crested pillars reached up towards the heavens and he could faintly make out the crying faces of countless souls on some of them. The entire room was made up of black stone and it would have been almost completely shrouded in darkness, save for a pale white light shining down from the ceiling (emitting from a rune of some sort) and illuminating a simple-looking fountain placed in the center of the chamber. Unlike the rest of the surroundings, the fountain was carved out of crystal and floating in its water was strange purple roses. The reason they were so odd was because the blossoms were fresh and new, which shouldn't be possible since this place had been sealed away for so long.

When they reached the fountain, he raised upwards and was about to place his knobby hand into the cool water, but he halted when he heard the rattling of chains and a low snarl from in front of him. As his fingers hovered a mere inch from the nourishing liquid, he squinted his eyes before suddenly panicking and scampering to hide behind his master, once again. Near the far distance wall, he could make out the large shape of something encased in white bandages and thick and heavy chains. He had no clue what it was, but he knew that this was the source of the evil aura that he felt licking up his entire body.

"Who… disturbs me?" a mental voice rang throughout the room, deep and husky.

He peeked his head up and watched his master smirk before replying, "I do. Though I shall not reveal my name just yet."

"Arrogance…" it rasped and he whimpered from its dark tone.

"I come to you with a… proposition," his master continued, ignoring the creatures comment. "I have great plans in store for this world, but there is a certain… 'thorn in my side,' so to say. A devil hunter who, through no knowledge of his own, has already forced me to make alterations to those plans. I want you to eliminate him for me and, in return, I shall free you from your chains. I'd take care of the man myself, but, quite frankly, I find it too tedious."

"Bold… you speak as if I were one of those lesser demons," the creature drawled before chuckling in their minds.

"What is so funny?" his master hissed.

"You seem to think that you hold the upper hand here. You believe that I will comply with your request and submit to you in order to gain my freedom…" it chuckled again, the sound low and dark, and he quivered when he saw a milky-white glow flash from within the bandages. "You do not seem to realize that you have already broken my chains."

"What do you mean?"

"The moment you broke the barrier to the main entranceway, you roused my powers. The moment you stepped into this place, you stirred my hatred for my enemies. And the moment you eradicated the symbol on this chambers door… you released me."

His master's powers flared to life again, and a red demonic barrier surrounded them as the creature roared and its chains and bandages ripped free. The entire place seemed to quiver from the ferocity of the sound. Its eyes were blazing maniacally, and he screamed at the terrible sight of it. Now, his own master was an intimidating figure, but this thing… there was no word to describe it.

"FOOL! I SUBMIT TO NO ONE!!"

It leapt at them, but instead of attacking, it reached harshly into the fountain, making the water overflow, and grabbed several of the floating roses. Then it growled and bared its teeth, just as his master was retrieving his weapon, before a purple-black orb generated into its free hand and it sent it flying at the ceiling — large debris of stone sailing down as its wings unfurled and it shot up through the newly made exit.

Thankfully, his masters shield protected them from injury and when everything had settled down, he glanced up at his superior. "M-Master?"

There was no reply and the demon whirled around and stormed out the chamber, his eyes blazing like emerald flames. He was furious. No, he was beyond furious if he did not even acknowledge him enough to even kick him. This was bad.

He did not chase after his master right away, but instead, he raised up on his feet and peered down into the fountains contents. The once sparkling blue water was now crimson red, like blood, and he could see cracks in the crystal itself. But what really stuck out the most to him, was that the remaining roses were no longer fresh and pristine like before. Instead, they were withered and dead… and as black as night.

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Twilight Elf

Edited by Butterfly - May 3, 2008