Ways of the Heart - FICTION

Really good stuff Sooner.

This puts Conall's future deeds in a rather different light.

Never bargain with a demon.

*sighs* Poor Ruadh.

I was reading this, and it dawned on me that not only do we get the "origin" of Na'Rul and Conall, but also much more dimension on Ciara. Makes the whole saga blossom with a bit more color


If you don't take the time to study Ciara's origin, you don't get the fullness of why Conall and Na'Rul are who they are. Very clever, Sooner

*checks watch*

*taps foot impatiently*

Part XI
Once again, Ruadh stepped through a portal Ciara opened for him into Cad'strum's lair. His rage, his need to rend and tear his enemies filled him, but he held it in check. He had to remain cautious. He wasn't sure if even bolstered by Ciara's power he could defeat all four at once. So he stalked the carved stone halls like a wolf on the hunt, lean and hungry for blood. He reached up to pat the pouch hanging at his neck, the one that held Ciara's spell, the one that would grant him his vengeance.

He wore his dark angel form as he prowled. His skin and wings were a dusky black onyx and his eyes, completely black, glowed with a faint pale light. The crystal that coiled around his arms and legs was the color of smoked glass. His wings mantled over his back, the black feathers framing his body.

The place was an enormous maze of halls and tunnels, some natural, some carved. As he advanced deeper and deeper into the lair his fury grew and it became more difficult to remain cautious. But then heard voices, and a laugh. Oh.. yes. That laugh. He snarled and ducked his head. He remembered hearing that laugh over and over again while Cad'strum's minions held him down and beat him. An expression that was more bared teeth than smile spread across his face. The last vestiges of reason and caution warned that he should check to make sure that all four of his enemies weren't in the room together, but he ignored caution and charged into the room, roaring a wordless battle cry.

Ira'tus and Trist'us lounged in a comfortable sitting room, warmed by a fire that cast a flickering golden glow over the room. Trist'us held a half-eaten fruit in his hand while Ira'tus gnawed the last of the meat from a bone. They were frozen in shocked surprise, their black eyes wide, their mouths dropped open in comically identical O's. Ira'tus reacted first, dropping the bone and jumping up so quickly that his chair toppled under him. Trist'us was slower, more cautious, setting down his fruit carefully as if he wanted to make sure it didn't get soiled before he returned for it.

"Well, look at you," Ira'tus sneered, looking Ruadh' up and down. "Not so exalted now, are you?"

"How did you get here?" Trist'us demanded as he stood more slowly.

Ruadh ignored them both, for the moment, as he surveyed the room. Then his dark gaze traveled back to the shocked devils. His smile had no warmth in it at all. "I fell."

He waded in with a roar and Ciara's spell began working. While his fists and crystalline claws flashed, Ciara's magic began to funnel through him, adding strength and speed to his attacks. Fire, which Ruadh had never controlled before, began to flare around his fists. And, completely unseen and unfelt, that second spell flared into life. It began prodding at the part of his brain that controlled his temper, spiraling his rage up and up. It also began forging heavy and strong magic chains around Ruadh's will.

"So you came here, fallen. Cad'strum thought we would have to find you, wallowing somewhere in your own self pity," Ira'tus said with a mocking smile. "You know we're going to kill you?" He began to laugh, and Ruadh growled low in his throat like a wolf pushed to the edge. For just a moment he was back in Sadb's tiny home, held down while Cad'strum dragged Sadb away, and Ira'tus laughed.

With a roar of equal parts rage and anguish, Ruadh charged at Ira'tus, colliding with a force that knocked the devil sprawling on the ground. While Trist'us vaulted the table, Ruadh slammed his fists and his crystal claws into Ira'tus. The devil struggled to get free, but Ruadh's bulk and furious strength held him down. After just a few moments, Ira'tus had ceased any type of actual fighting. He could only scream and struggle uselessly to get free of his enraged attacker.

Trist'us grabbed Ruadh by the shoulder and tried to pull the fallen angel away. Without even looking, Ruadh channeled more of Ciara's power and raised his fist. The back of his hand slammed into Trist'us's face like a sledge. His wings extended and he struck Trist'us with the hard bony joint in the crook of his wing. The devil staggered back, and Ruadh ignored that one again.

The sounds his fists were making had gone all moist and soft and Ira'tus had stopped moving when something slammed into Ruadh's back with a crash. He turned with a snarl, a mad beast pulled from his kill. Trist'us had broken a heavy wooden chair over Ruadh and succeeded in gaining the fallen's attention.

Ruadh reached down and picked up a horn broken from Ira'tus's head and flung it at Trist'us. "Your turn...." he growled, his voice gone so animalistic it was nearly unintelligible. And as he advanced on Trist'us, Ciara's spell continued spinning its chains more and more tightly around his will and poking at his rage, stoking the fires until they roared white hot.

"Wait! Wait!" Trist'us protested, and then Ruadh was on him, clawing, punching, biting, kicking. It was as if combining his magic with the demon's had somehow magnified both their powers, making him stronger than if they had just been added together. In the end, Ruadh strangled Trist'us to death with what might have been the devil's own tail, but the devil was, by that time, such a mangled mess that he likely wasn't aware of it.

Ruadh pushed himself up, unaware of the blood covering his body and staining his clothes. He shook his head to clear it and his mat black wings stretched out and shuddered to clear the blood. With his head ducked down, and his wings mantled high over his body, he advanced further into Cad'strum's lair.

His rage continued to smolder and grow. He thought about Sadb and how frightened she must have been. He thought of his first trip to this lair, easily defeated by Cad'strum and flung out by the side of the road. And he remembered his former brethren, denying him, judging him, damning him, casting him out. The more angry he became, the harder he drew on Ciara's power, unaware that the more of her power that flowed through that crystal, the stronger and tighter the magical bonds on him became.

He turned a corner and found himself in the same hall where he'd arrived on his first trip to this lair, which meant he'd likely find Cad'strum in the next room. A smile that was more snarl than anything else painted itself across his face as he stalked ahead, anticipating finally coming face to face with Cad'strum, finally seeing justice done for his Sadb.

A shadow moved on the wall ahead and Ruadh slowed. Were he less consumed with rage, he would have sought a place to hide, a way to assess the approaching danger before engaging with it. But his mind was filled with the need for blood and so he made ready to fight.

Atru'vum, who had been a friend when they were both still among the host, rounded the corner. He was looking down, lost in thought and was unaware of his danger until Ruadh grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him back into the stone wall. "Ruadh!" the startled devil gasped. "Wait! Wait!"

"Sadb has waited long enough," Ruadh growled.

Atru'vum shook his head, a bitter laugh rose from his chest. "If only you understood...." he murmured. He lifted his black eyes to Ruadh. "I told you to stay away. Why did you go after I tried to warn you? My old friend... all of this could have been avoided had you stayed away."

Ruadh twitched with the rage washing through him, "You DARE to call me friend after your part in this?"

"Ruadh, please, you need to know the truth.... Ruadh, do not kill me!" Atru'vum pleaded.

Any interest Ruadh had in the "truth" Atru'vum mentioned vanished with the devil's plea. "Did Sadb beg for her life?" He snarled. "Did it help her?"

Ruadh didn't wait for an answer. His hands began to move before Atru'vum even began to answer. His right hand plunged forward into Atru'vum's throat, his fist crushing while the crystal spikes rended and tore. His left hand dragged down Atru'vum's chest and belly, slicing him open. Even as the devil collapsed, bleeding, twitching, and choking, Ruadh wrapped his left hand around a horn and dragged the dying devil into Cad'strum's lair.

Ruadh deliberately turned his eyes from the place where he'd seen Sadb's body pinned to the wall. He was already enraged, but when his eyes found Cad'strum, pushing himself up and out of his throne, his rage went cold.

Cad'strum took just moments to compose himself. His alarm and surprise vanished behind a smooth veneer and by the time he was fully standing, he showed no more emotion than if Ruadh had arrived a few minutes early for a dinner invitation.

"Ruadh... this is unexpected. I had thought I would have to find where you'd landed before I could kill you." He took a step down, a step closer to Ruadh and cast a curious eye on Atru'vum's last few twitches of life. "I suppose my other servants are in a similar condition?" he asked, as if the answer mattered not at all to him.

Ruadh tossed the corpse to sprawl on the ground between them. "You are the last, you motherless *****."

Cad'strum cast one last glance on Atru'vum and shook his head. "I suppose I should ask how you came to be here, but there really is only one answer. That demon-***** Ciara, correct?"

"I am here to kill you, Cad'strum."

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Aye, well... since the chains, the bonds are already caste...

... Ruadh... make Cad'strum's death... SPECTACULARLY HORRIBLE!!! *growls and frowns*

I believe we're looking for...

BRUTALITY!!!

That is one of my favorite parts of this part. His two word answer "I fell". So much emotion conveyed... in just two words.

*pokes thread with stick*

Don't make me get out the hose, woman.

Oh, I'm chomping at the bit, too. I just don't think we need to break out the poking sticks just yet.

Part XII

"I am here to kill you, Cad'strum," Ruadh said.

"Of course you are. And, I intend to kill you." The devil cocked his head, studying Ruadh. "And after I kill you, I will find Ciara and bind her to me. And AFTER I have control of her, she and I will discuss her conspiring with my enemies."

"Before we end this, Cad'strum... just tell me why. Why did not you just come for me? You did not have to hurt an innocent woman!"

Cad'strum laughed and gestured towards Ruadh, a swirling hand motion that started at Ruadh's feet and rose to the curve of his wings. "Look at you. Even wearing the dusky feathers of a fallen, you still stand there so full of self-righteousness. So confident of your own moral rectitude. And yet, we are both cast out, neither of us are welcome among the host ever again. You could have turned away, Ruadh! You did not have to fly away to the host like a child tattling on another. And you did not have to stand there before the host and condemn us, condemn me! If you did not want to be part of my world, you could have just... WALKED AWAY!" Cad'strum bellowed the last two words, the first time his composure had cracked since rising from his throne.

Ruadh shook his head. "Angels do not rule over men. We do not hold property, or seek wealth or power, and we.... they... do not hold themselves above the host. Even if I HAD turned away, even if I had accepted your offer to join you, how long before you began to demand your subjects pay you tribute? That they worship you? How long would it have been before the entire Host came to punish you for your transgressions?"

Cad'strum dismissed his words with a gesture. "I would have been ready for them...." he said quietly. "But it was not the host who ended my rule... it was you. And so it is not enough to kill you, Ruadh. I want you to suffer first. You obliged me by falling in love, gave me another way to cause you pain." He cocked his head and Ruadh could see his eyes go just a little unfocused. A faint smile crooked one corner of his mouth. "What exactly did Ciara offer you, Ruadh, that you agreed to this?"

"She wants you dead. As do I. That was enough."

Cad'strum began to laugh. "You do not know... " The devil tossed back his head and laughed, the power of it shaking his whole body so that even his wings and tail shook with it. "Ah... I should thank the faithless *****. Even if what she gave you is enough for you to win, I will still have had my revenge on you. Whether I win or lose this, Ruadh, I have won."

Ruadh shook his head. His anger, spurred on by the relentless prodding of Ciara's spell, roared so loudly it overrode any sense his mind tried to make. There was a part of him that knew he needed to understand what Cad'strum was saying, but that voice was small and growing weaker as his rage rose within like a rampaging mob.

"I will have my revenge for Sadb," he growled. He dropped into a combat ready crouch, with his wings flared around him, his hands up and ready, his weight carefully balanced.

"Oh, you poor dumb fool," Cad'strum said as he crouched as well. "You have been nothing but used, Ruadh, first by the host, then by me, and now by Ciara. "

"Enough!" Ruadh cried out, "You shamed the host with your actions and you have tormented me long enough. We end this now!" He declared and charged at Cad'strum like an enraged bull.

The devil evaded Ruadh's attack and launched himself into the air. He darted on membranous wings, keeping his distance, attempting to assess his opponent's power. Ruadh leapt into the air, as focused on his prey as a hunting cat. Cad'strum evaded and Ruadh pursued, spiralling higher and higher into the vaulted ceiling of Cad'strums' home.

Ruadh was too lost in his rage to think beyond his need to hurt his enemy, so he was taken by surprise when Cad'strum turned abruptly and charged back towards Ruadh. They collided in mid-air and plummeted downward. Cad'strum took first blood with his surprise attack, but Ruadh was even stronger than the devil had anticipated. They clawed and pummeled at each other, tumbling down towards the stone floor. Within moments he fought free, and though Ruadh bled first, Cad'strum bled more.

Once again, Cad'strum kited around and around the room, flying higher, dropping lower, and occasionally darting closer to Ruadh to attempt a quick slashing attack. The strategy worked for him at first. He was hampered by the wing Ruadh had torn in their first clash, but he was still nimble enough. He was able to surprise the enraged fallen angel with quick slashes to the face, shoulder, and wing. But Ruadh had still more of Ciara's power to draw upon, and while he was enraged, he was not as blind as Cad'strum believed. So the next time Cad'strum darted quickly in to attack, Ruadh feigned a clumsy dodge one direction, and then lunged at Cad'strum, wrapping his arms around the devil and driving them both into the stone floor below.

Cad'strum took the force of the impact and lay motionless for long enough for Ruadh to grab hold of Cad'strum's dark hair. Ruadh retracted the crystal spikes - he wanted Cad'strum to pay in blood and pain for his crimes for a very long time before he died. He slammed his fist into Cad'strum's face, and again, and again, relishing the way the skin split and blood flowed. He roared with triumph, bellowed out his pain and grief and he struck Cad'strum over and over. He began to rain his blows down on the devil's chest and belly, he the delicate frame of the membranous wings. Cad'strum began to fight and struggle against Ruadh's grip, finally managing to roll free by wrapping his tail around the fallen's ankle and pulling off balance for just a moment.

The devil was at a serious disadvantage after the beating he'd just taken, and he knew it. One eye was damaged badly enough that it might never recover, even if he were to live. The other was rapidly swelling shut, and hampered still more by blood running from his scalp down over his face. His nose was smashed so he could not breath through it, and his lips were shredded after being smashed into his sharp teeth over and over. In fact, several of those teeth were now broken or fallen out entirely. One arm arm hung uselessly, the other was raised in a warding off gesture. He tilted his body to the right in an unconscious effort to guard the broken ribs there. However, a fine mist of blood flew from his mouth with every breath and no one could tell if it came from hidden internal injuries or from the numerous wounds to his face.

He staggered away, fear clear in his one open eye. He wiped the blood away from his mouth and circled, finally managing to put some of the room's furnishings between them.

"The demon - she gave you.." Cad'strum gasped, "So.... much." He stumbled, caught his balance on a heavy wooden table, and then backed further away.

"It will suffice," Ruadh growled. He advanced straight forward, like a siege engine plowing over everything in his way. He shoved chairs aside, kicked ottomans, picked up a priceles carved ivory side table and flung to smash against a wall. "You should never have touched my love."

Cad'strum coughed again, and spat out a mouthful of blood. "And if you had not touched her, we would not be here now."

"I LOVED her!" Ruadh roared again. "And YOU took her from me!" He stalked straight to the heavy wooden table, crouched, and flipped it over. Then his eyes flicked to the legs pointing to the ceiling. His furious, burning eyes flicked from the table to Cad'strum and back. Then he grabbed one of the table legs and pulled at it, finally stepping up on it until it broke and splintered away. He repeated the actions with a second leg and then continued his pursuit of his enemy, a sharp pointed spear of heavy wood in each hand.

Cad'strum tried to evade his death, but by that time, he was struggling to draw in air. He was weak and dizzy and becoming clumsy, his blue skin gone a dusky slate grey. He couldn't get away and Ruadh herded him back step by step, until Cad'strum slammed into the stone wall behind. His dark eyes were full of fear as Ruadh drew his arm back, and his body with it, and plunged one of the table legs through Cad'strum's shoulder with such force it drove chips from wall behind. Cad'strum howled with the pain and fought like an animal stuck in a trap, but he was well and truly stuck.

Panting for breath, he turned back to Ruadh. "No! No no!" he protested as Ruadh drew back again with the second table leg and thrust it forward, slamming into the left side of Cad'strum's body and into the wall behind.

Cad'strum's hands fluttered over the two wooden shafts before they fell away limply. "You... did not.... win," he breathed out finally.

"You will soon be dead. I am still alive." Ruadh sneered.

"You have... lost... every..... thing."

Ruadh sighed. He had lost everything that mattered to him. It was true. "Perhaps so. But I have avenged my love. That will have to be enough."

"Ask her.... about..." Cad'strum stopped and coughed, crying out weakly from the pain, before he continued, "her new servant."

"Why would I care about that?"

Cad'strum coughed once. "...fool..."

Ruadh shook his head. The crystal spikes on his wrists reappeared. "Will you still be prattling on after you are dead?" he sneered. "Let us find out..." His fists flashed. The left slashed, opening Cad'strum's throat, and the right plunged forward, the crystal spike piercing Cad'strum's heart. He pushed again on the right, driving the crystal spikes even deeper into the devil's quivering heart. The vibrations traveled up the crystal and resonated within him as the devil's heart tremored and fluttered and finally stopped.

When it was done, when his enemy was finally dead, Ruadh threw back his head and let out a scream of rage and grief, victory and loss. He yanked his claws from Cad'strum's body and dropped to his knees, his shoulders shaking with sobs and cries of exhaustion.

"Rest, Sadb, my love" he said when he could speak again. "Be at peace now. You have been avenged, and whatever price I paid is worth it if you are at peace because of it."

He didn't look up. He never wanted to set eyes on another devil again. He didn't look ahead, his future too uncertain. He looked back, imagining Sadb's smile, her laugh, the way she would look up at him through her lashes. He remembered the way it had felt to hold her body against his. And he smiled a small, sad smile.

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Well we certainly got Brutality and carnage, and sorrow to put it in perspective while she was at it. Nicely written.

Part XIII

Na'rul watched the image in Ciara's crystal avidly. She crept forward, though Ciara had already shooed her back twice. Her hands and her wings opened and closed in rapid jerky motions and her tail lashed so rapidly that it stung when it struck her own ankles. She was filled with conflicted emotions and even though it hurt her to watch, she couldn't take her eyes from the image in the crystal of Ruadh and Cad'strum fighting. Ciara laughed like a delighted little girl, but there was no delight in Na'rul. Guilt, as unfamiliar as that feeling was to a devil, yes... she was filled with guilt for her part in ruining Ruadh. Still, he was glorious and savage even with his wings darkened in disgrace, and she still wanted him - oh, yes, she did. Right at that moment, as Ruadh slammed the first sharp wooden stake into Cad'strum, more than anything else, she felt a dark and vicious joy to watch the devil who had forced her into this situation die an ugly death.

But, as satisfying as that was, that meant that Ruadh would share her fate - a fate Na'rul already understood would be profoundly unpleasant. And even moreso for him as he struggled to understand and accept not just his new place in the world, but the loss of his will to Ciara.

Na'rul, however, was already looking ahead. First she would have to talk to Ruadh, make him understand why she had gone along, make him see that she'd had no choice at all. Then... make him believe that she loved him. Truly loved him, the depth of it, the strength of it so intense she thought her heart might burst. At another time, she might consider the philosophical ramifications of whether a devil was capable of love, and, if not, then was she truly still a devil? But that... was for another time.

Once they were together again, they could work as one against Ciara, gain their freedom, and make their own place in the world. She had never been ambitious for herself, but for Ruadh... for him... she would pursue any goal, follow any dream. She felt just a sliver of hope. Ruadh would live, there was no question of that. And she was confident that if the two of them were together, they could do anything that needed to be done.

"My pretty one," Ciara spoke suddenly, "Look... it is nearly over."

Na'rul growled with profound satisfaction, spared a moment to imagine Ciara getting a bit of the same treatment, and smiled as Ruadh killed Cad'strum once and for all. Then tears sprang from her eyes when she heard the pain and grief pouring out of a soul-deep wound as Ruadh spoke Sadb's name. She ducked her head, she didn't want Ciara to see how she'd been affected. She would heal Ruadh's soul wound. She would let him know his love wasn't dead, merely caught in the same trap as he.

"There, my sweet Na'rul. His love has been avenged." The demon smiled at her. "I think it best we leave it at that, do you not agree?"

"I do not understand," Na'rul answered carefully.

"He has suffered enough. There is no need to put him through any more pain by letting him know that his human love never existed, that this was all a scheme to bring him to just where he is now."

"No! He must know the truth. You can't let him continue to believe -"

"Believe what, Na'rul? If he were ever to learn your part in this... if he were to learn that his wonderful, beautiful, pale, sweet, innocent human woman was actually an evil, treacherous, wicked, blue, scheming devil playing him as a fool and using his emotions in order to bring about the end of a master she hated... why, my pretty Na'rul... if he were to learn that... I believe he would do worse to you than he just did to your former master. Do you not agree?"

"You would not!" Na'rul protested furiously. "You would not tell him that!"

"Yes, my sweet. I would."

"Stop calling me that!" Na'rul protested. "I am not yours!"

"But you are, Na'rul. With Cad'strum's death, you become mine for always. As Ruadh will be. And therefor - are you listening? - therefor, you will not tell him that you once played the part of his Sadb. You will not speak to him of any of the details of how he came to fall, nor of your part in it. Nor will you tell him of my part in it. Do you understand?"

Na'rul fought the compulsions, fought them with all her might. If she couldn't tell him...he would never know the real truth. She fought, but it was useless. As soon as the words left Ciara's mouth, Sadb's dreams of ever being free with Ruadh withered and died.

---

He felt magic moving behind him and pushed to his feet. Ciara was there, stepping through the portal. At her heels was a female devil. Ruadh sneered at the sight of the devil, then turned his attention to Ciara.

"Oh, Ruadh... you have done so well! I am pleased. After I claim this as my home, I will drink a toast celebrating your victory!" She turned to the devil, "See, my pretty one? Cad'strum is dead, as I told you he would be."

The devil's entire being vibrated with emotion. Her face was alternatively angry, frightened, sad, and - when her gaze would fall on Cad'strum's body - fierce. Then her dark eyes would flick to Ruadh, fill with even more emotion, and then flick away.

"Who is the blue *****?" Ruadh demanded.

Ciara laughed, and it was the delighted sound of a bell's chiming rising up through the vaulted room. "This is my pretty new pet, Na'rul. She and I were just discussing you." Ciara reached out and stroked Na'rul's hair and smiled.

Ruadh shrugged. "Just keep her out of my way," he sneered, "I have seen enough devils and their foulness for today. But now, our deal is done and I am -"

"Oh, no, my fallen one. Our deal is not done. Not at all. There is still that matter of the favor you owe me. Until that time, our deal holds." She smiled at his dismissive shrug. "But, you are right. I did promise that my first spell in that pouch would end after the last devil was dead. Let me take care of that now." She gestured and the magic and power that had been flowing into Ruadh reversed, flowing out again. He staggered, his head spun, and then he sank down to one knee. It was an effort to remain even that upright, as if all his scant remaining energy were consumed by the simple acts of breathing and continuing his heartbeat.

"What... is this?" he gasped. "What did you do to me?"

"Most immediately, I have taken back the power I gave you. You used well more than was truly yours, hence your exhaustion. But..." She stepped closer, shrugging off her hooded cloak and revealing a curvy female body just barely hidden by a few strategic straps, "I think it best you be in this condition before I explain the rest of your situation to you." She reached out and rested her hand on his head. He twitched away, but the gesture lacked any strength and she followed it easily. "You are now my pet. My red wolf, my hound, my soldier, my messenger. You and Na'rul will be the basis of my ascension to power. Together, the pair of you will lift me high in the ranks. I will reign, and the pair of you will sit at my left and my right. My pretty Na'rul and my magnificent... no... "Ruadh" will not do. Not a name to strike fear into the heart..."

She paused, thinking, and Ruadh reached for the energy to stand, but it was not there. "I will never serve you, demon *****. Never."

She laughed again, "My pet.... you already do. You knew you should be careful dealing with a demon, and yet... you let yourself be trapped. Perhaps you simply wanted what I offered so badly you didn't care to look behind the gilt covering." She crouched and took his jaw in her hand, lifting his head so his eyes met hers. "Our deal stands until the day you do me a favor." Her lips spread in a wide smile. "But that day will never come. What need have I to ask you a favor? You will be compelled to follow my orders."

"No!" He spat out his defiance and struggled to his feet, pushing aside the waves of weakness. He awkwardly brushed her hand away. "NO!"

"It is done. You are already mine. I hold your will in my hands." She gestured and he could feel her pull on his will.

"Release me, you *****! Release me immediately!" he demanded.

"Why... why would I give you up? You are magnificent, and you will make all my dreams come true." A broad and delighted smile crossed her face and she lifted her hand into the air. "But first... you must have a form more fitting to stand at my shoulder - I cannot have feathered wings at my back. You will become a demon, my demon servant. But... huge, and strong and powerful, terrible... and beautiful."

Ciara waved her hand at him and his form shifted explosively. It was excruciatingly painful, but at least it was fast. The form of the fallen angel exploded away from him. From the skeletal remains of his wings, a thick, black membrane grew. His skin darkened and turned a deep brick red. He threw back his head and screamed as thick dark horns erupted through his scalp to curl over his skull. He grew needle sharp fangs and claws burst from his fingertips. His entire body grew taller and broader, his form changed from a muscular human shape to a brawny and powerful monster. When it was over, an enormous red skinned demon stood where the fallen one had been. Heavy membranous wings stretched overhead, and a barbed tail flicked around his ankles. Fire burned in his eyes, but for just a moment, he noticed the devil Na'rul had tears rolling down her cheeks and he wondered why.

Ciara cocked her head at him. "You are everything I had dared hoped you would be."

"I will escape you," he declared. "I will be free of you, and I will see you dead."

She chuckled, low and soft. She stroked him, his head, shoulders, his now membranous wings. His skin twitched at her touch, but at that moment, he was helpless to stop her. "We will wreak havoc on the human world! You, my pets, will bring me all the power that should always have been mine! Na'rul, you will be my pretty one, my pretty pet." She turned to him. " And you... You will be my red wolf. You will be my Conall Cian."

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