Sooner Nation - FICTION

Sooner is the bestest and smartest person, who tells the greatest stories.

*sits patiently on the waiting for more story couch*

Book III part IV

Cerise was not a quitter. She'd never given up in her life. She couldn't get herself free, she was cut off from her magic, and couldn't do anything to help herself. So she lay still and quiet on the floor while the demons appeared to ignore her, and she watched and listened, carefully, to everything they said and did. Perhaps something would help her.

Ciara moved across the floor with a sway in her hips like an exotic dancer. She kept glancing over her shoulder at Conall with a sparkle in her eye and a secretive smile on her lips. Cerise craned her neck to keep her in view. The outer edges of the room were bordered by rocky outcroppings. Some were small, just the right size to trip over but not useful for anything else, others were of a size and shape to be used as shelves or pedestals, and many did serve that function. However, a few were enormous, and the one Ciara approached could have hidden an armored car.

Cerise wiggled forward. All she could do to help herself was watch and listen. So, she wanted to see everything. Ciara trailed her fingertips over the rough edges of the stone while Conall watched her. His expression spoke clearly. He did not want to see what Ciara had planned. His eyes flicked to the floor and back up over and over again, while that tiny female demon inched closer to him as if seeking comfort.

The demoness smiled. "Oh, I think you will find this interesting, Conall." With a gesture, a panel in the rock appeared and slid open. Cerise gasped. Inside was a small room, featureless except for a pillar of rock extending from floor to ceiling. Chained to the pillar was a woman with blue skin and black hair and tiny black horns. Ah, not a woman, another demon. Except... this one is different. The chains were not tight, but they held her arms overhead and her feet at shoulder width at the base of the pillar. Black wings were pressed flat against the pillar and held in place by the position of her arms.

Her head snapped up. Pitch black eyes opened wide and fixed on the demoness's face. "Ciara!" she breathed.

"Na'rul, my sweet," Ciara soothed. "Come out and say hello to Conall. Conall, are you surprised to see Na'rul?"

Na'rul's dark eyes flicked to Conall. "Conall. Hello," she breathed. She was panting, her eyes flicking about frantically. A narrow black tail wrapped itself around her leg while her hands opened and closed.

"Surprised? Yes," he answered shortly. "I assumed she was dead. Or took better advantage than I did of your imprisonment."

"And are you pleased to see her, then?"

Conall sighed, "I have not wasted a thought on her in centuries, Ciara. I am neither pleased nor displeased."

Ciara's smile spread. "Ah, my poor Na'rul. All that time, and he has not thought of you."

With another airy gesture, the pillar began to move forward out of the tiny room. The rumbling roar filled the enormous space. Na'rul let out a small shriek as she began to move, then was still and trembled. The pillar slid smoothly until it came to rest just a few feet from Conall. "No. My little devil was not dead, and she did not escape me. She was trapped here with me. Until one day she angered me and I locked her away to think about her actions and her loyalty to me." Ciara reached out and twirled a lock of Na'rul's raven black hair between her fingers. The devil shuddered and closed her eyes. "And did you Na'rul? Did you think about it?"

"I am so very sorry I displeased you, Ciara." she answered quietly.

Ciara tugged gently on Na'rul's hair. "You would like me to release you then?"

"Yes... please."

Conall's face was dark and grim as he watched.

"I have two things I will ask you to do after I release you, my sweet," Ciara said. "You will do them for me, will you not?"

"Yes, of course," Na'rul answered anxiously. "I'll do whatever you wish"

"You see, Conall, my pet, what a few...." she paused. "How many centuries has it been, Na'rul?"

"I do not know," Na'rul answered, and tears began to flow from her eyes.

"Do not fret, my lovely one." Ciara soothed, and stroked the long black hair. "I am afraid I don't even recall how many centuries our little devil has been chained to this stone pillar inside that tiny room. At any rate, you see what a bit of discipline can do for a minion's disposition?"

Conall nodded sadly. "I see that you have broken her, Ciara."

"No no, she merely grieves now that she understands how she disappointed me and she longs to do better." Ciara tapped the chains with a bit of magic and the blue-skinned devil fell free. She collapsed to her hands and knees and was still there for a moment. "Stand up, Na'rul. It is nearly time for your first task."

The devil stood, obeyed Ciara instantly.

"Conall, my darling pet, my once favorite. Do you remember how you came into my service?"

Conall Cian flinched. Cerise watched, eyes wide, as he stared at the floor then flicked his gaze back to Ciara. "Of course I do. I was a fool."

"Your brethren in the host denied you when you asked for their help, did they not?"

Conall's eyes began to burn, flames licking from the sockets. "They said it was not their place to get involved."

"You needed your revenge, and so you came to me-"

"You came to me and offered your help, as I recall it," Conall answered with heat in his voice.

"...and you accepted it!" Ciara spat at him.

"To my regret. Yes."

"Na'rul. How did you come to be in my service?"

Something flicked over Na'rul's face, and her skin faded to a slate grey.

"Ciara... I...." Conflict was clear on the devil's pretty face. "I displeased my master, and he gave me to you."

Ciara reached out and stroked Na'rul's hair again, twirling it and combing her claws gently through it. "Such a pretty thing you are, Na'rul. How could you have displeased him?"

Cerise felt sorry for the devil. Evil she might be, but she was obviously in conflicted misery over whatever was going on.

"I betrayed him. He set me to a task.... that I did not want to finish. In his anger, he gave me to you as my punishment."

Ciara turned back to Conall. "and, Conall.... Why did you need my help?"

Conall's face was a study in suspicion. He knew there was a trap somewhere, but he couldn't see it yet. He frowned when he answered. "I had a need for revenge that I was not strong enough to pursue alone."

"Ah, my sulky ones. Perhaps there is an easier way to drag answers from your reluctant lips."

Na'rul cowered. "Please, Ciara!"

"Shhh... pretty Na'rul. Shhh. It is not your turn. Conall.... for what offense did you seek revenge? Answer me."

Conall glowered at her, but answered, "For the death of my human love."

Cerise gasped, shocked. The little one, Excruciatrix was the only one that seemed to notice. Her eyes flicked to Cerise, and wore an equally surprised expression.

"Conall, my poor bereft pet. Who killed your human woman?"

"The devil Cad'strum."

"Now, Na'rul. Who was the master you displeased?"

Tears were flowing freely down the devil's cheeks, but she answered. Her voice was reluctant, but she answered. "Cad'strum."

Conall's head snapped up. "Was it you then, Na'rul, who murdered my Sadb?" he growled. "Did I kill the wrong devil?" ["Sadb" is pronounced Siev]

Ciara laughed. It was the delighted bell sounds of a happy girl. "Oh, Conall. I will miss our chats and your temper. We have played this game long enough." She whipped back to Na'rul, so fast the cowed devil flinched. "Show him!" Ciara barked.

"Ciara! Please, don't." Na'rul pleaded.

"You'd prefer another century chained inside a rock, perhaps, Na'rul?"

Na'rul hung her head, defeated. In moments her shape shifted, her skin paled, her hair flowed like water. And in just a few seconds, the blue-skinned devil was replaced by a human woman. Her skin was pale, her hair, hanging down in shining waves to her hips, was a red-gold surprising similar to Cerise's own, her eyes a jewel-like blue. Her face was sweet and pretty, her body was full and curved. She hung her head, shame clear in every line of her body.

"Sadb?" Conall choked out. "I don't understand..."

"What was your task that you failed, Na'rul?"

She began to cry, sobs that shook her body. "I was to take on the form of a comely human woman and seduce... " she gasped for the words. "Seduce... him." she pointed at Conall. "But I fell-"

"Enough." Ciara said. "You have done well. Be silent now." Na'rul's jaw snapped shut, though she still weeped. Ciara turned back to Conall, cruel triumph on her face. "So, Cad'strum caused you to fall in love with this deceitful devil who you thought was a woman, then made you believe she'd been taken, abused, and killed. And because of that, you gave yourself to me for the power to defeat him."

Conall didn't answer. His eyes were wide, his teeth set in an expression of pure fury, but his body told a different story. He was defeated. His wings sagged, his shoulders drooped.

"Your great love, Conall. The love for which you gave up everything was a lie. And her death... for which you gave yourself to me, well.. that was a lie as well."

Cerise was brought nearly to tears herself as she watched Conall's head bow.

**************
Editorial comment: one of the downsides of posting up a story in a serialized fashion like this - where I start posting the beginning before the ending is finished- is that the beginning is set in stone. Normally, if you were writing a story, and you suddenly hit upon a new idea, you could then go back and edit the first parts to lay the groundwork for the cool new idea. Then when - say, the blue-skinned devil suddenly popped up in the story, the reader can say - Oh! Of course! It's Na'rul! They kept talking about her. I had no idea she was there all along! However, if you come up with the idea well after the points at which you would ordinarily have started laying the foundation have passed... well.. you're left with a couple options. One is to frantically and rather awkwardly start establishing the new idea, the other is to continue the complete silence on the subject. The first option just seemed rather clunky to me. So, I took a cue from Conall's statement that he hasn't thought about her in centuries. If that's true, then he wouldn't have talked about her. So, all I can say is this: If I HAD taken the time to write this whole thing before I started posting it, Na'rul's existence would not have been a surprise. Her prior relationship with Conall would have been hinted at. But... since that wasn't possible..... SURPRISE!!!!
---Sooner

Read my stories!

Payback...

Oh yes, it is coming, like a long, long freight train, it is a comin'.

*sigh* patience rewarded. (for more story that is)

Ciara thinks her victory is close at hand, and of course she is now making that fatal mistake most evil beings make as their victory...

Hubris.

She should have read Peter's Evil Overlord List!

The highlights...

6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.

11. I will be secure in my superiority. Therefore, I will feel no need to prove it by leaving clues in the form of riddles or leaving my weaker enemies alive to show they pose no threat.

13. All slain enemies will be cremated, or at least have several rounds of ammunition emptied into them, not left for dead at the bottom of the cliff. The announcement of their deaths, as well as any accompanying celebration, will be deferred until after the aforementioned disposal.

20. Despite its proven stress-relieving effect, I will not indulge in maniacal laughter. When so occupied, it's too easy to miss unexpected developments that a more attentive individual could adjust to accordingly.

22. No matter how tempted I am with the prospect of unlimited power, I will not consume any energy field bigger than my head.

24. I will maintain a realistic assessment of my strengths and weaknesses. Even though this takes some of the fun out of the job, at least I will never utter the line "No, this cannot be! I AM INVINCIBLE!!!" (After that, death is usually instantaneous.)

26. No matter how attractive certain members of the rebellion are, there is probably someone just as attractive who is not desperate to kill me. Therefore, I will think twice before ordering a prisoner sent to my bedchamber.

40. I will be neither chivalrous nor sporting. If I have an unstoppable superweapon, I will use it as early and as often as possible instead of keeping it in reserve.

47. If I learn that a callow youth has begun a quest to destroy me, I will slay him while he is still a callow youth instead of waiting for him to mature.

61. If my advisors ask "Why are you risking everything on such a mad scheme?", I will not proceed until I have a response that satisfies them.

62. I will design fortress hallways with no alcoves or protruding structural supports which intruders could use for cover in a firefight.

71. If I decide to test a lieutenant's loyalty and see if he/she should be made a trusted lieutenant, I will have a crack squad of marksmen standing by in case the answer is no.

74. When I create a multimedia presentation of my plan designed so that my five-year-old advisor can easily understand the details, I will not label the disk "Project Overlord" and leave it lying on top of my desk.

75. I will instruct my Legions of Terror to attack the hero en masse, instead of standing around waiting while members break off and attack one or two at a time.

81. If I am fighting with the hero atop a moving platform, have disarmed him, and am about to finish him off and he glances behind me and drops flat, I too will drop flat instead of quizzically turning around to find out what he saw.

89. After I captures the hero's superweapon, I will not immediately disband my legions and relax my guard because I believe whoever holds the weapon is unstoppable. After all, the hero held the weapon and I took it from him.

93. If I decide to hold a double execution of the hero and an underling who failed or betrayed me, I will see to it that the hero is scheduled to go first.

Book III part V

Ciara's Prison
Trix cowered behind the enormous throne while Conall Cian slumped where he knelt on the floor. On another occasion she might have spent the time thinking about what she had just overheard and trying to find a way to make it best benefit her, but now was not that time. She had seen more than enough of how Ciara treated her minions and she wanted no part of it.

She peeked around the high back of the throne. The recently-freed devil wept, her head down, the red-gold hair of her human form falling in waves around face and body. Ciara stared at Conall with cruel triumph clear on her face. No one was interested in the actions of a frightened imp. Trix scurried through the scattered shadows to the human girl laying on the floor and watching everything. The girl's green eyes flicked to Trix and alarm flared over her face.

"What are you doing?" she hissed. The human wiggled, trying to push herself away from Trix, but succeeded only in smearing her own blood across the stone floor.

"Shh..." Trix cautioned urgently. "Do not draw her attention." Trix did not allow herself to be distracted by the human's injuries or blood, though it was sorely tempting. Instead, she cocked her head, examining the magic bonds on the girl's wrists and ankles. For Trix to be free of Ciara, Conall must be free. And if Trix understood correctly, for Conall to go free, this human must be freed and able to act.

"You... you were at the carnie house!" the human whispered suddenly. "I saw you! I remember you! Why were you there?"

"Shhhhhh!" Trix hissed again. She glanced at Ciara and back at the human's wide eyes and answered, "I was helping you. I am trying to help you now. Please! Be silent!"

Trix studied the magic, the shape of the spell. It was a far more detailed crafting than Trix could do, and more powerful as well. The barrier keeping the human from her magic was smooth and flawless and strong, like thick glass. The bonds holding her helpless were woven of pure dark magic and Trix did not have the power to break them. But the girl... Trix knew the girl could control significant power, if she could get to it. Perhaps giving the girl the strength to fight them off herself would be enough. But when Trix tried, when she lifted her hand and tried to give power to the human, nothing happened. The compulsion to obey Ciara - You are forbidden to use your magic to aid him in any way - prevented her. She left out a furious hiss of frustration.

"What's wrong?" the human asked her.

"I cannot free you." Trix said.

"Try! Please! She's going to kill us! Please try again!"

Trix hissed. "Human! I cannot. You have to be silent. Perhaps there will be another chance.... unless you bring her wrath down on us both!" Trix scampered away and left the human to watch Ciara once more.

---

Ciara paused to savor the turmoil she'd caused among her minions. Her lips spread in a broad smile and she chuckled softly.

"Na'rul, my lovely one. Are you ready for your second task?"

Given permission to speak again, Na'rul turned to Conall and reached out her hands, "Ruadh*!" she called to him, "Please! I-" ["Ruadh" is pronounced "Roo-ah"]

Ciara slapped Na'rul, a hard blow that spun her around. "Do not speak that name! EVER AGAIN!" Her voice rose to a thunderous, furious roar. "His name is CONALL! He is MY Conall Cian!" Whether it was the power of her voice or the surge of her anger than accompanied it, the room itself seemed to shake with the force of her roar.

Na'rul pressed one hand to her face. Her dark eyes pleaded with Conall, but he would not look at her. Finally she lifted her eyes to Ciara and straightened.

"My pet failed in the last task I gave him, my sweet. I need you to complete it."

"What do you need me to do, Ciara?" she asked quietly.

"Go and KILL Colleen Nation!" she growled.

"NO!" Cerise screamed, shocked. She resumed her fruitless struggles against her bonds, twisting frantically. "No! She has nothing to do with this! You don't need her death! You have me!"

Ciara turned and looked directly at Cerise for the first time since she'd been bound. "You foolish child! I don't need her death. But I do want it." She smiled. "And I want you to know that she is going to die at the hands of my pretty Na'rul here."

Ciara ignored Cerise's protests and turned back to Na'rul. "You still have the pets I gave you so long ago?" Na'rul nodded, and Ciara went on. "Then go, now. And bring me back her heart. Do not fail me, Na'rul."

"No... no Ciara. I will see it done."

Cerise screamed a furious denial as a magical portal opened and Na'rul, still wearing her human form, stepped through and vanished.

"Ah, my Conall...." Ciara said, turning back to the motionless demon. "Do you see. You have always been mine. You will always be mine. You will never be free of me. Your attempts to escape have lead you only to this: pain and punishment."

He lifted his head and stared up at Ciara. His voice was flat and utterly devoid of emotion as he spoke. "You will die screaming, *****. Someday, you will die screaming. I swear it. And if I have to move the earth itself, I will be there for it."

Ciara threw back her head and laughed. "I suppose this sort of thing is why I am so very fond of you, my pet. If you could be easily tamed, I would not find you nearly as entertaining. Now." her voice changed to raw command. "Get up, my faithless pet." Conall pushed himself to his feet and stood before Ciara, slumped and defeated. And Cerise saw something familiar in his stance, she had a flash of recognition that faded before she could grasp it. "I know you regret your failure, Conall, but rest assured, our little Na'rul will correct your mistake. She will not risk displeasing me again for at least a few centuries. I'm not sure how much longer she could have stayed in there without going completely mad, really. I suppose, for her sake, it is just as well that you failed." Ciara began to stroke her hand over his shoulders and back, his head and his cheek.

Crowne Memorial Hospital
Na'rul arrived in the human world and quickly darted for cover. While she might look human to their eyes, her body was barely covered and she needed time to find her way. She could feel her target like a beacon calling to her, but she would take the time to make sure the task was properly completed rather than rushing in and risking failure.

Devils are creatures of discipline and control. Though her body and spirit were still reacting to the trauma of her unexpected freedom, her confrontation with Ciara and Conall, and now her sudden entrance into a vastly changed human world, she put it all aside. She would not risk allowing Ciara to punish her further, and once this was done, perhaps she would have centuries to find another chance to talk to Conall. He knew only a part of the truth. But that... was for another day. For this day, she needed to put her concentration on the task at hand.

She watched from her hiding place, the people that came and went. Who was supposed to be there? Who did the humans pay attention to and who did they ignore? They were all so strange to her, the clothing and behavior so very different from what she remembered. But she watched, she observed, she learned. When she found what sort of human could travel the halls of this healing place unnoticed, she would take on that guise, she would behave as they did, and she would complete her task.

Ciara's Prison
Cerise laid her head on the stone, feeling rather defeated herself. They had thought their mother was safe. She pulled again at her bonds, desperate to rush to save her mother from whatever Ciara's devil might do.

"Now, you failed with the mother, but let's see, my pet, if you can succeed with a bound and helpless little girl." She took Conall's chin in her hand and turned his face to hers. "Kill her, Conall. Make her dead. Spill her guts on the floor.... Is that clear enough?"

Cerise froze as Conall sighed one time, then turned to face her. "Yes, Ciara." he answered woodenly.

He began to move toward her, one slow, shuffling step at a time. She fought against her bonds, reaching for her magic, but it wasn't there. He took another step, a slow shuffling old man's gait. "No!" she cried out. Heroes know they can die, but she'd never anticipated it being like this. Like a slaughtered animal, a helpless victim. "No!" she screamed again.

She stared up into his face. He was tired, hurting, beaten in both flesh and spirit. And suddenly recognition flared. "Rory! You're Rory!" She had a moment of hope again, because she knew Rory wouldn't hurt her, but then she remembered the line she'd heard so many times in her dream, you must trust your enemy, though he will kill you. "Rory, are you really going to kill me?" She asked, a sob choking her throat.

He crouched beside her, and she saw heat starting to come into his eyes, his shoulders straightened, his tail began to flick. She didn't know why he was suddenly angry again, but the brief resemblance to her friend Rory fled before the wrath of the demon. "I have no choice, child," he growled.

"But... if you kill me, she wins," Cerise pleaded.

Flames roared from his eyes, and suddenly it was the face from her dream, the demon that would kill her. He grabbed the base of her skull in one hand, clenched his fist in her hair and dragged her to her feet. She cried out in pain, pulling and fighting, but as helpless as a kitten in his grip. "I know." he said.

Read my stories!

Never have I been so glad that magic went awry.

This is like LotR: The Two Towers. You get to the end of the movie and you're like "WTH!?! Where's the rest of my movie!!!11!!eleventy-eleven!!!11!!" Even after having just sat through 3 hours of the film.

Book III - Part VI

Ciara's Prison
Emotions were a human weakness, nonetheless, Conall was battling his. His mind whirled, his emotions tumbled. He was angry, he was grief-stricken, hopeless, frustrated, and bitter. His mind could not grab hold of what he'd learned. The last pure thing he could remember was loving Sadb. The last honorable thing he could remember doing was avenging her death. All the years - all the centuries - of being bound to Ciara, all the torment, all the things he'd done in her name.... he'd had the solace of knowing he'd done it to right a horrible wrong. The things that had been done to his Sadb... but, no. Those things had never happened. The warm, soft, sweet woman he'd loved had never truly existed, which made the endless centuries since then a horrible and cruel waste.

His grief and confusion slowly fed on themselves and became an emotion he was much more familiar with: rage. Lying, deceitful devil! To play on his emotions, to make him a fool. He'd fallen for her like a love struck pup, like a foolish youth. And Ciara... the conniving *****! She'd taken advantage of his grief, of his need to avenge himself on a stronger enemy. She'd taken his freedom, taken his very will from him, and remade him in her own image.

He glared at the young woman hanging in his grip. Frightened and helpless, but still seeking a way out. She was calling on her friend Rory, she thought there was a part of him that might care for her. She thought she could manipulate him to her own ends. Foolish girl! His heart and his life had been toyed with by demons and devils! This human girl... would find nothing left there but shreds.

Her green eyes widened as his grip tightened, her body twitched with the pain from his grip. Human fool! He'd handed her and her sisters their victory on a platter! He could not have made it easier! He did not know what those stupid women had done to his portal, how they had managed to misuse his simple spell, but they had ruined all his work, all his plans and effort. Everything for naught. "Rory, please," she whispered. His eyes flicked to her red-gold hair, hair so very similar to Sadb's... the woman who had never really existed. Her Rory was no more real than his Sadb had been.

It was all for naught.

He didn't allow himself to think of what it meant for him. What his eternal life would be like.

With a single resolute sigh, he struck. He slashed at Cerise's belly with his free hand, his claws slicing her open, rending her flesh. He slashed first from the right to the left, then turned his hand and stuck again, left to right. She let out one shocked shriek and jerked, but then his hand moved again and things that were never meant to see the light glistened in the torch's flickering fire.

He turned back to Ciara. "It is done."

He dropped Cerise to the floor where she crumpled into a bloody mess. Her eyes were wide and her face pale. She whimpered once and then went still. Her life ran out onto the stone around Conall's claws while he watched. It was his life bleeding away as well.

When Cerise drew her last breath, when her heart shuddered and stopped, there was a long moment of stillness, then the magic began to move and swirl around them. The magic that been trying to get to Cerise was lost. It filled the space like a frantic twisting wind, then it found a familiar target, the cabochon sphere that powered and focused one third of the spell that had bound Ciara for centuries. The magic slammed back full force into that weakened and cracked sphere, but it was no longer strong enough to hold that much magic. The sphere sputtered, flared and then exploded. The magic was free.

Ciara reached her hands up as if to gather it in. She laughed and spun in her moment of triumph. "Isn't it beautiful, my pet!" she crowed. "Finally!"

Conall waited. He knew she wasn't through yet, and he wasn't fooled by her good cheer when she flopped into her throne and called, "Come stand before me, my Conall." She was silent, watching him with a little smile playing over her lips as he limped his way back to her.

"Enough, Ciara..." he growled when he stood before her. "Enough games."

"Perhaps it is not yet enough for me, my troublesome pet. Your betrayal hurt me, wounded me. My dreams to have you at the head of my armies, crushed. My Conall... You hurt me."

"I have never been yours. Forced to comply, yes. But loyalty cannot be coerced. I am not now yours, and I will never be."

She gazed at him in silence, a long moment that stretched out. He could almost see her considering her possible responses and ticking them off one by one. Finally, she stood. "Perhaps you are right, Conall. The time for games is over." This time, when she reached out her hand to stroke his face, he pulled away from her. It was over for him. She would already do her worst, a small rebellion at this point wouldn't make a difference. Besides, he wasn't sure he could tolerate her touch right at that moment.

Her face twisted with anger, then returned to its facade of sweet reason. "This is a joyous day, Conall, and I will not allow you to spoil it with your petty behavior. As soon as I find that one's sisters, I will be free and I will possess the power I have sought for so long. And you, my pet, will tell me after a few centuries whether or not you are mine!"

Conall realized just a moment too late what she was about. The slithering sound behind him was too subtle for him to take notice of it until the chains attached to the pillar had already grabbed him. He roared with fury as they clamped onto his wrists and ankles and dragged him stumbling back. He lunged for her, but snapped to a stop against the magical chains. "Ciara!" he roared, but any further threats were cut off when his back slammed into the pillar on which Na'rul had hung for her unknown years of punishment. His body, still injured from his beating, flared into new heights of pain from the impact. He twisted and pulled, but he was held fast. The position of his wings was already uncomfortable and he couldn't imagine what it would feel like as time passed.

She advanced on him, triumph and cruelty clear on her face. "Shall I shut you away now? Or leave you to watch the last of your hope die?" She pondered for a moment. "I think I would like your last sight in this world be when I destroy the last sister ó Floinn and your hopes of ever being free of me with her." She patted his cheek and walked away.

He roared, too full of fury to even speak as Ciara turned away from him. She spied Excruciatrix still hiding in the shadows and waved her hand in an airy gesture at Cerise's body. "Take that away," she instructed. "My imps can tell you where the refuse goes." Excruciatrix let out a quiet mournful howl as Ciara glided out of sight.

---

Caryn pushed the pace as they ran through the maze of halls. Ahren ran beside her and Ben vanished and reappeared ahead of them, guiding them through. Her gut roiled with anxiety and fear for her sisters. It was all wrong. It had all gone so very wrong. Her eye caught sight of Ben, flashing into sight and then vanishing again. She smiled. At least one good thing had come of it. She'd found Ben again. Even if they never got out of there alive, she'd at least have that.

"It's this way!" Ben called, but that was when Caryn stumbled, cried out, and collapsed. She pulled her hands from her belly expecting to see blood, but her hands were clean.

"What happened?" Ahren demanded, poised for a fight.

"Caryn!" Ben appeared beside her, looking her over anxiously. Soothing energy washed over her, and she smiled at him sadly.

"It's Cerise... I think. She-" Caryn broke off, looking at the world with her magical vision. She'd never seen the colorful swirls so agitated. "I think Ciara just killed my baby sister." She put her face in her hands and struggled for composure. "Oh no... no... Cerise is-" The magic erupted into frantic sparks. Something profoundly important had just happened.

"Are you sure?" Ahren asked, his own face a bit pale.

Caryn pushed to her feet. "As sure as I can be. Come on. Let's get there."

Ben took her elbow and pulled her to face him. "I thought it would take all three of you to defeat her."

"Yep," Caryn answered shortly. "That's the way the story goes, anyway. But I'm not going to sit on my *** in this prison and wait for her to come kill me."

Ahren nodded, "Ok. Ben, lead the way."

"I'm sorry you guys got dragged into this," she said, and that was the only admission she intended to make that they were going to lose that fight.

"Wouldn't have missed it," Ahren responded.

"I'm just glad we got to see each other again, Caryn," Ben smiled.

"Ok, then. Let's go."

Caryn didn't let herself think about anything but the fight ahead. She couldn't think about her baby sister or the bad things that were going to happen when Ciara was free. All she could think about was slamming a foot into that *****'s face.

They resumed their sprinting journey, and if the urgency wasn't there, a new intensity had replaced it. The hallways gave way abrupty to carved stone tunnels, and Ben kept leading them onward.

"We're close, now.... Hold up!" Ben put up a hand and urged Caryn and Ahren to stay back. "We've got company."

With a quick flare of light, Ben faded into invisibility.
---

Cydney, watching the mirror raptly, felt the blow as if Conall's claws had raked through her own skin. She screamed, from the pain, from grief, and from the realization that they had lost. They couldn't win without Cerise. She crumpled to the floor with her cape covering her. She could barely hear the conversation between the two demons over the roaring in her ears. Her breath came fast and hot, her heart pounded, her thoughts circled uselessly around memories of her baby sister and worry for her mother - one dead, the other might be dying at that very moment.

It's all over but the dying, she thought with a resigned headshake.

She shook her head once and grit her teeth. This was not the time to give in to grief, to let emotion make her helpless.

She pushed back to her feet and let out a startled yell. Ciara Banenighe stared into the mirror, satisfaction in her fiery eyes, confidence in her smile. Cyd's eyes narrowed and her emotions focused into bitter, pointed anger.

"Come to me, Daughters ó Floinn," the demoness crooned. "It is time we were done with this game. You've lost. Let us finish it, now." She threw her head back and bellowed, a roar that vibrated through the walls. "COME TO ME!"

"Oh, you hellish *****... I'm on my way," Cyd murmured.

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Oh, ####!

Oh my...

Goodness

Book III - Part VII

Ciara's Prison
Trix was a tiny and dainty creature and Cerise Nation had been nearly twice her height. Slender the hero might have been, but she was still much larger than Trix. Nonetheless, Trix complied with Ciara's orders. Not her wishes, necessarily, but her orders. She dragged the body behind her out of the large stone room, not even glancing back at Conall. No, Better to let Ciara forget that a small, resentful imp was still loose in her lair.

When she was well out of sight, and hopefully out of mind as well, Trix released her grip on the dead human's wrists and tried to pour her own energy into her. She tried... she knew could make the heart beat again, the lungs to breathe again, than her magic could support the human and bring her back. But that compulsion stopped her again. She could not use her magic to aid Conall, and bringing this hero back to life would definitely aid him. She tried to convince herself that it had nothing to do with Conall, that she was trying to resurrect the hero for her own reasons... but nothing. She could not use her magic to bring Cerise Nation back to life.

She spat out an angry curse and indulged herself in a single frustrated foot stomp. Time was the enemy. The more time passed away, the less likely it would become that any magic could help the human. Finally, she stuffed the parts that were not supposed to be outside back inside and rearranged the leather bustier to cover the death wound as much as possible. Then she grabbed the human's wrists and began dragging the body again.

She did NOT seek out any of Ciara's imps to find out where the refuse should go - as the demoness had suggested - she just kept moving, ever further from Ciara.

Crowne Memorial Hospital
Witch-Frost sketched intently in her notebook while Glacius paced like a caged tiger, Rasta pretended to snooze, and Zemuron leafed through a magazine. "I think... maybe.... I've got it," she murmured. "Glacius, do you remember? Did this glyph curve deiseal or widdershins?"

Glacius glanced at the drawing, then back to Witch-Frost. "Witch, I don't have the faintest clue what you just said, but it looks ok to me, I guess." He looked up as the elevator door opened and a pretty nurse entered the floor pushing a cart, an attractive redhead with a curvy body not well hidden by her scrubs. He glanced at her name badge and noticed the special keycard that allowed admittance to this floor. "Were there this many, ah... wavy lines over here?" he asked when he turned his attention back to Witch's drawing.

Witch raised a brow at him. "Magic really isn't your thing, is it?"

"Just keep trying, Witch-Frost," he said. "Our friends are counting on us."

She sighed, considered telling him how hopeless this task was, then shook it off and went back to work. He might have been right. There probably were too many wavy lines....

None of them paid any more attention to Na'rul as she continued down the hall and into Colleen Nation's room.

Ciara's Prison
Trix knew she couldn't continue far dragging the body with her, so when she found a space between a pair of rocks she stuffed the body inside and hid it as much as possible by stacking nearby rocks. Then she took to flight and began looking for help. The girl's sisters should be here. She wouldn't stop until she found them, but the place was a labyrinth. She carefully marked the spot and began her quest for help.

To her pleased surprise, she rounded just one corner when she saw movement ahead. The woman was clearly one of the sisters, her short red hair the exact same color as the dead one. There were two men with her, and they were moving fast toward Ciara's throne room.

Trix was considerably smarter and more cunning than she allowed others to see. It took her just moments to calculate the best route to intercept the trio, and she immediately reversed her course to get ahead of them. She also knew that if they spotted a demon, even one as small as her, they were likely to try to kill her on sight. So, as she flew, she used the ability to change her shape she learned from Conall. She formed the image in her mind of a pixie she'd played with long ago and concentrated on her form.

Her red bat-like wings changed in mid-stroke to pretty pink, red, and purple sparkling butterfly wings. Her skin turned a deep forest green, her claws shrank back into her fingers, and her tail vanished. She left the rest of the details alone, tiny and dainty would work just fine for the role she would take on, and she would only need to play it for a few moments.

Her timing was perfect. She made it to the crossroads flying frantically just before the heroes. She raced ahead, casting terrified glances behind her. However, she was taken completely by surprise when she slammed into a human chest she hadn't seen. She tumbled down to crash onto the stone floor, but meek and frightened was a familiar role to her. She rolled herself up into a tight ball and cried out “Do not hurt me please!”

The man became visible, a tall, powerful human with dark hair and eyes. “Who are you? WHAT are you? What are you doing here?”

She put her hands up in a frightened warding gesture, “Trixie! I'm Trixie!” she cried. “I need help, please! Help for the girl!”

The man glanced to his right, where the other two were surely hiding, “What girl?”

“The human! The red-haired human girl! Ciara killed her.”

The man frowned. “Damn... I'd hoped Caryn was wrong about that.”

Before he could say more, the sister darted into sight. “You have Cerise?”

Trix cocked her head at the sister. “She looked like you. I have her body. Can you come and help her?”

The second man appeared, stalking closer. His eyes were dark and suspicious. This one was even bigger and broader than the dark haired one, but Trix lived in the company of Conall Cian. No human was big and powerful enough to truly impress her. “How did you come to have the body?" He demanded. "What are you doing here?”

She cowered from that one, refusing to even look his way. “She ordered an imp to take it for disposal. I took it away instead, and hoped I could find someone who could help her."

A glowing spirit appeared beside the dark haired man, and he looked at it. “I can do what?” he asked.

“Ben?” the sister asked.

“Oh! Grandfather says you can't hear him. He says I should look at the... look at her.” The one called Ben looked back at Trix. “Take us to her, Trixie?”

“Yes! Yes! Hurry! Too much time has passed already!” Trix took to her wings and hurried back to the girl's body. She started to remove the rocks, but the sister knocked her aside and tossed the rocks out of the way.

“Oh.... it's Cerise. And....Ahren, she's dead.” the sister turned away, her face ashen.

With the Heroes attention completely on the body of the dead girl, Trix faded carefully away. She would have liked to have joined with them and helped defeat Ciara, but the demoness could compel her to obey. Better to stay away entirely than risk being forced to fight against the ones who could free her - and Conall - from Ciara.

---

Ben put an arm around Caryn and turned her away from the sight of her sister's body stuffed into the rocks like a bit of trash. Ahren carefully reached in and pulled the body out, laying it carefully on the stone floor. The wound that had killed her was partially covered by her top, but enough was visible to explain her colorless complexion.

Grandfather crouched nearby. “Benjamin. It is up to you. Find the power, give it to her. You can bring her back.”

"What do I do?" Ben asked urgently.

"Find that power within the earth, and give to her."

"Ben? Can you...?" Caryn asked, and the look in her eyes...

"Grandfather says I can."

An expression of doubt passed over the spirit's face. “If it hasn't been too long.”

Ben looked back up at Grandfather. "What?! I just told her I could do it!"

Caryn frowned. "What's going on?"

Grandfather went on, "If the spirit has been gone too long from the body, nothing you can do can save her. But you MUST try."

Ben looked at Caryn's green eyes once again, and back at Grandfather. "If it can be done, I'll do it." he said with more confidence than he really felt.

"Please Ben... please." Caryn pleaded softly.

"Hold up!" Ahren said suddenly. "Where did that little fairy-thing go?"

"If I'm going to do this, I have to start now!" Ben said.

"I don't trust this, what was it doing down here?"

"Ahren she was clearly terrified," Caryn said, "And look... it's Cerise. What choice do we have?"

Ahren didn't answer, he just nodded grimly and kept casting about for Trixie.

"Go, Ben, go!" Caryn urged. "Bring my sister back, please!"

Crowne Memorial Hospital
Na'rul maintained a bored, mildly distracted expression on her face as she walked past the humans in the lobby and down the hall. As expected, in her role of nurse, the humans ignored her. Another waited, a woman wearing a skin baring red, yellow, and orange costume. The costume and the power Na'rul could sense from her made her one of this world's Heroes, but Na'rul's disguise might as well have made her invisible. The Hero glanced at her, flicked a glance at her name badge, nodded, and continued looking around.

As she had observed others in her role doing, Na'rul picked up the metal backed chart from the foot of the bed and proceeded to glance over it. While still appearing to read, she carefully assessed the situation. Her target was a human woman with numerous bruises and bandages visible. She'd obviously been badly injured recently and that was why she was in this healing place. She was dozing quietly, and Na'rul dismissed the target as a threat to her success.

The hero at the door, however.... Even though that one was more intent on watching the hallway, she did turn back into the room periodically. She was obviously standing guard, but she assumed the security measures that guarded access to this floor meant that the "nurse" inside the room was not a threat. That didn't mean she wouldn't react when blood started flowing, and Na'rul had no intention of failing. She would take her time and get it right.

She stared down at the chart as if studying it intently while she considered how best to succeed in her task and still escape with her life.

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Book III - Part VIII

Crowne Memorial Hospital
In his old life, before he was assigned to an experimental space station, before that station exploded, burned his skin red and granted him his powers, Zemuron had been a doctor in a hospital much like this. He leafed casually through a waiting room magazine, but something was bothering him, working in the back of his mind. Something was not right. He glanced at Witch-Frost, still busily working away in her notebook and smiled fondly at his old friend. Glacius still paced about the lobby, his agitation showing in the way the Kheldian energy leaked from his eyes, his hands, trailed in his foot steps. Zem was pretty sure if Glacius didn't get to punch something soon, he might just start chewing the wallpaper.

Zem stood and stretched. "I think I'll go check on Colleen, quick," he announced to the room, and began his long legged stroll down the hallway. Cherished leaned her back against the wall outside Colleen's room, but despite her casual attitude, she watched alertly

Zem paused in the doorway, "Good evening, Cherished," he said as he watched as the nurse study the chart. He cocked his head. Something definitely wasn't right. "How is she?" he asked the nurse.

The pretty red-head in the dark blue scrubs startled and glanced up, and the look in her eyes made his suspicions begin to crystallize. Beside him, Cherished became aware of his tension and she began turning to face the room as well.

At Zem's voice, Colleen stirred. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at the nurse. "Oh, you're new," she said. "I haven't seen you before." Colleen glanced at the nurse's name tag and frowned. "Wait.... you're not Amy," she said and sat up, alarmed.

The nurse froze, and her eyes locked on Zem's. Cherished stepped forward and took a ready stance. The moment stretched, and then the "nurse" flung the chart at Zem. Cherished's hand burst into flame and she started to advance into the room, but the nurse sketched a glowing design in the air - drawing it with living fire - and suddenly a noisy eruption shook the floor behind them. Before Zem could do more than flinch from the flying chart, one of the demons in the hallway clobbered him, slamming him back into the door frame.

Na'rul, Ciara Banenighe, and Conall Cian - even little Excruciatrix - possessed a terrible beauty. Their forms were of ideal humans, fit, muscular, well proportioned bodies, and smooth faces with exceptionally attractive features. The addition of horns, fangs, claws, and tails, the tinting of their skins to colors that no human could ever be revealed their diabolic nature and made them more fearsome, but their essential perfection of face and body remained. Terrible and fearsome beauty. Na'rul's demons, however, possessed none of that beauty. They were just terrible and fearsome.

Cherished bellowed, "We've got TROUBLE!" She was correctly focused on the danger in the room rather the danger behind them, but she couldn't get free of their attackers to act.

Ciara's Prison
Ben knelt on Cerise's right side and sought to reach that calm place that Grandfather had taught him. Caryn positioned herself to Cerise's left, across from Ben, and took Cerise's cold and motionless fingers in both her hands. Ahren went to one knee nearby, his head bowed. Grandfather stood quietly at Ben's shoulder.

"You must hurry, youngster... time is not your friend." the spirit urged.

Ben reached down into the earth, seeking that energy. It was familiar to him now, and once he calmed, it came to him easily enough. He drew on it, more than he'd ever drawn before, and then poured it into the body of the dead girl before him. "Good, Benjamin, very good," Grandfather murmured, and Ben pushed even more energy at Cerise. He opened one eye and was filled with elation and hope when the horrible gashes on her belly began to narrow and close. Caryn reached out and smoothed the torn leather over the now unmarked skin of Cerise's belly, but the body lay quiet, no breath, no color, no warmth.

Caryn's eyes flicked from Cerise to Ben and he could see the hope and the question in them. He nodded at her unspoken, "Keep trying," and drew more energy into himself so he would have it to give to Cerise.

Nothing happened, nothing changed, and Ben was starting to feel the strain. He was more than just a conduit for the energy and it was becoming tiring to continue.

"What's wrong?" Caryn asked finally.

Grandfather's eyes shifted away. "But you must," the spirit said abruptly. "It doesn't matter what you want, that you are tired. You are needed."

Ben started to turn to answer Grandfather, to explain that he wasn't giving up, that he knew how important this was, but then his eyes widened and he looked at Caryn. "Grandfather is talking to Cerise.... I think."

Caryn blinked and looked up at the glowing spirit. "Tell her we love her! Tell her how much we need her back!"

Grandfather ignored the living in the room, "Youngster, pain IS part of life. As is joy, and sorrow, and love. But none of that matters. You have a task here, and it is not finished."

Ben held Caryn's gaze. "I don't think she wants to come back," he said sorrowfully.

Crowne Memorial Hospital
She had expected this to be so much easier. An already injured human resting in a place of healing.... she had not expected a challenge once she reached her target. Ciara had not warned her the human woman would be guarded by Heroes. Na'rul summoned more of her demon pets to slow down the two heroes. It was so important that she succeed, but for Na'rul, escaping with her life was especially important. So long.... she'd been locked away for so very long. Nothing to see but the same stone walls, nothing to hear but her own voice, nothing to feel but the stone at her back, no odor, no taste. And now she could move again, breath fresh air, feel things, see things, hear, smell, taste. She enjoyed each new sensation and she craved more. She was not ready to be locked away again, as she surely would be if she failed and she was certainly not ready to die. Though she was alone in the room with her target, she had no escape. Killing the already injured human would not be a challenge, but dying for one of Ciara's errands was not acceptable. And so she fought.

She lashed at the heroes with her magical whip, striking the woman called Cherished with the lash and earning a furious glare in return. She poured her energy into her demons, supporting them, powering them. Whenever a bit of human flesh crossed the threshold, she struck out with her magical lash again. But then the Heroes from the lobby arrived to help, Na'rul finally began to suspect she might not be able to win the fight. She hissed with frustration and moved closer to her target. Perhaps she could bargain with the woman's life for her escape - a bargain that would leave a loophole for her to complete her task, of course. Whatever else happened, she would succeed.

Cherished finally pushed her way into the room. "You get away from her!" the hero demanded. Her hands flared with fire and her eyes flashed angrily.

Na'rul quietly allowed her right hand to change back to its natural form. She slipped that hand under the blankets and laid the points of her claws on Colleen's throat. "You cannot hurt me, human. Your fire will harm the one you want to protect as well as me."

Colleen gasped as she felt the needle-like points close on her throat, but Cherished never took her eyes from Na'rul. "Just back away from her. No one needs to get hurt here."

Na'rul's gaze flicked back to the hallway where a light unlike anything she'd seen before flared. Her demons fought bravely, but the Heroes were just more powerful. The red skinned man did not appear to be especially proficient at hand-to-hand, but he was fighting back, and he appeared to be empowering his allies. A winter's storm was raging just outside the door, one powered by a impressive depth of power. There was a sickening green energy assulting her demons and weakening them. And there was a man, big, muscular and white-haired. He flared with white-hot power and he fought like a demon himself to get the red-skinned man free of the demons. Na'rul cocked her head at him. He was not like the other humans. Her curiosity was just another sensation she hadn't felt in far too long, and it was getting the better of her as well. She was very curious what manner of creature that one was.

The red skinned man scrambled free and began to lob dark energy back into the fight, but the white haired man, the one glowing like a star, shoved his way into the room. His eyes flared with a blazing hot energy so intense that for a moment it reminded her of Conall at his most furious. "I don't know who you are, *****, or what you have in mind, but you will take your hand from that woman or I will take it off for you," he growled.

So interested was she that she barely even heard his words. That power, it was so strange and beautiful. She wondered what was its source, and could she find a way to use it. She cocked her head again, "What are you?" she asked finally.

He moved from stillness to attack so quickly that Na'rul almost didn't have time to react. He didn't just leap at her, he lifted into the air and flung himself through the air at her. He covered the few feet between them in the span of a few heartbeats. He slammed into her, his bulk driving her back, his momentum knocking her off her feet, his power slamming them both into the curtain covered window behind them. They smashed through the window in a crystalline cascade of glass shards and a sudden flare of sunshine contrasting sharply with the dim light inside the hospital room.

They fell together, the surprise instantly transforming her back to her true form. Her wings wrapped up around them both, and her tail fluttered in the wind of their fall like bit of rope in a strong breeze. Whatever that white energy was, it surrounded them both and her skin vibrated with the power of it. Their bodies plummeted toward the earth stories below, but even in her surprise, she reacted instantly. Her hand shot up over his back and she began sketching designs in the air. Demons formed in the air above them, falling after them both.

She could see his face when he braced for the impact, so she took that moment to bring her right hand to her chest to show him the blood, blood she'd ripped from Colleen Nation. Her claws had shredded the woman's neck, and the force of his blow had helped. "I win," she laughed.

Then they slammed into the sidewalk of King's Row, their combined force shattering the sidewalk underneath them.

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