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The Demon and I (jvj9000 & JellyFish)

J

JellyFish

Guest
Nightfall was upon the forest and every animal hushed their calls to prepare for the darkness. Some would be drifting away into a long slumber until mornings rise and other would stretch aching limbs and search for an unsuspecting victim to sink it's claws into. And thus goes the circle of life. And for one woman in particular this would be the beginning of a sleepless night. She had planned and plotted, seething in her loathing for the village outside Black Forest. She remembered the day they had thrown her out, she remembered how they had beaten her, how they had taken away her innocence, and when they scarred her body with molten metal. She remembered when her sister was stoned to death and she ran away. She ran for all she was worth and sister's lifeless eyes would forever haunt her, accusing her till the day she died.

An outlaw banned by her home and a traitor to her family. And what was she banned for? What could she have possibly done that would destroy her families name and her reputation? She was a witch.

It was really a family business. Healers and those who were thought to play with the dark arts wore the title witch or warlock. Having to keep their talents hidden from the world they took normal guises as to have a peaceful life. Most were born with these gifts, or more like curses. Those who knew what they were trembled in fear for what the future might bring if they were to ever be found. They denied themselves of the truth and were chained to an eternal lie. Karis knew this and she too was scared of what she was, of what her mother trained her to be. Her mother was now gone. Dead. Killed by the same people who killed her sister. You see, if someone in your family was found out to be a magic user, you yourself was a magic user. Her mother was found out, treating a person dying of an incurable sickness. It was a mistake and she hadn't been careful of whom she let into her home. The man who was ill was only pretending, the man who she had rejected and embarrassed in front of the whole town. The mayor, wanted revenge. So he concocted a story that Ana was a witch. He soon found that his story wasn't as made up as he thought.

Karis and her sister, Maia watched in horror as the people of the village dragged their mother out by her hair. Friends became foes, friendly people became monsters, and these monsters hacked their mother to death. Boys pushed the girls into the dirt, iron poles lowered and the stinging heat made them howl. They were kicked and held down by boots, as the men whipped their skin with the searing heating. Finally it stopped. Karis had looked up only to be met by blades that dripped with scarlet and crazed eyes that turned on the huddled girls. Karis screamed and fought the rough hands that had held her down, watching as Maia was thrown into the center of the town. Karis's clothes were ripped from her body, pain filling her as a pure, white flower was tainted in darkness. Harsh breath insulted her neck and crude words filled with taunting evil filled her ears. She cried and yelled, not for herself but for her sister. Bloodied hands raised together and the stones flew. Hours upon hours did she watch, body spent and eyes glazed in tears. Finally Maia stopped moving, her small dirt covered face cut and bruised like the rest of her body. And red pooled around her. Red marked the ground and Karis reached to touch the bright color, sobs never ending. A rage filled her heart on that day, a fury so vengeful even the worst of villains would have quivered. And so those villains did quiver and shake as she pushed the man on top of her off, instantly dead by her touch. Gray eyes became black, and tears mixed with blood ran from her face. But she didn't fight, she didn't take their lives like she wanted. She ran. Naked, she ran into the accursed forest none would enter and that was where she found home.

Ten years had come and gone, and she was now ready. Ready to fulfill the revenge that her sister and mother's blood cried for. She paced around her cottage home, herbs of all assortments hanging from the ceiling as they dried. Bottles of all sizes lined neatly in rows on her shelves and she stared at a one of these bottles that laid in front of her. A ocean blue bottle, glass inscribed with twirling leaves and vines. And was was once tied to that bottle in golden thread, a letter. No, a warning. 'Cursed are you whom opens this vessel. Beware the beast that lies within, trickery and betrayal are it's sin. No chain keeps it bound, no promise to keep true, beware the beast who shall be the end of you.' Karis had not known long ago what the message meant and traveled to different kingdoms and villages to find the answer. And finally she did, and old man told her of the story of the bottle and what it kept hidden inside.

Long ago a kingdom was plagued by black birds. Birds that held teeth to slice a man open with a single, slight touch. Towering at the height of a young tree, they dove down upon the people snatching them up for it's feast. So the people hid in fear for their lives only able to taste the fresh air and feel's dawn's rays when the monstrosities went to sleep after eating to it's full. The king could no more. His people were dying and the population was dwindling. And not only that, the birds were spreading to other villages in and out of his kingdom. So he left castle and took hold of a sorcerer, begging the old man to rid him of these monsters. The man agreed and the left. But what the sorcerer did next would be his final mistake. He summoned a demon, his own monster to destroy the winged beasts. However he could not control the power of his tool. The demon rammed a sword right through the old man's chest and departed for the kingdom. When he arrived, he did certainly kill all the birds and the people rejoiced. Until he turned on them. He began slaughtering the villagers, killing them left and right. It was only until the old sorcerer came from behind him, blood pooling from the open wound in his chest and the blue bottle by his side. He opened the cork and a heavy wind sucked the demon into he bottle, but not without a sacrifice to pay. The man's soul was also tucked away into the bottle, coating it in it's protective covering that refused the demon it's escape.

Karis then went home, looking for anyway in which to the open the bottle. All rationality had flown clear away and she only wanted to open the bottle to release the demon so it could destroy her enemies. But she had paused in her research. The demon could turn on her just like it did it's master. So she took a different approach. She found that the bottle was made from obsidian, a volcanic glass that absorbed liquids. Making an elixir that would normally have to be drunk to take effect, she soaked the bottle in the liquid hoping for the best. The elixir was suppose to be able to control a person's movements and will based on the casters own desires.

So now here she sat, staring at the bottle. Worry was placed on her shoulders as she debated with herself. Would this be the right decision? If this were to ever fail her life would be at risk and the lives of many other innocent people. The only way she could ever put the demon back were if he gave her consent, and she knew that would never happen. Thunder roared outside and rain began to fall, pelting the roof. "Yes, the is my decision. And it will work." She took hold of the bottle and unscrewed the cork.

It was done.
 
Darkness and anger. That was the entirety of reality. There was no time and there was no light and there was no respite. All of the world was shade and fury at the audacity of a weak and fleshy man who had managed to bind the thousand-named demon, and the thousand-named demon stewed. What made it worse was that he knew that all the revenge he would ever find on the fool who had been foolish enough to release him and lucky enough to ensnare him had already been meted out. He relived the pleasure of that kill a thousand thousand times in his prison, but it served only to remind him of his own fatal error. If only he had twisted his blade, if only he had raised it high above his head and split the sorcerer from belly to brain -- if only.

That he was bound to heed the spell that summoned him gave him no comfort. He had no choice but to attend to the frightful birds, of course, but couldn't he have resisted for that one extra moment to see the sorcerer die at his feet?

It didn't matter anymore, of course, but it was all he had to dwell on. And if ever he found his way to the mortal plane again he would not make that mistake again.

And then something changed. Had it been an hour? A millennia? An endless, timeless time after he was sealed away there was a crack in the blackness, a circle of light. And the creature watched the circle glow brighter and brighter and something other than rage filled his thoughts.

The bottle in her hand shook and the cork seemed to propel itself out of the bottle like it held champagne or was sealed under pressure, all but jumping into her hand. As it was uncorked, the bottle spewed forth shadow and blackness, sweeping over the small room and making it darker inside than the stormy night beyond. The blackness coalesced, gathering near the ceiling and in the shadows, and the demon was free. His deep laugh seemed to fill the room, to come from every corner, and his only thought as he regained corporeal form was to not repeat the errors of the past. His only thought was to kill.

His shape was still forming as he dropped from the rafters toward Karis, black and shining like the obsidian of the bottle, a figure of masculine strength carved with an eye to perfection. He was smiling, teeth white in the black planes of his face, and from his hands extended a short curved blade. It gleamed with otherworldly fire, seeming to shine with every color of light and somehow still look blacker than the deepest night. He fell toward her, a lunge generations in the making, and swung with the strength of a hundred strong men, with enough force to split the girl in two, and just as the edge found her forehead, just as her view was full of nothing but the wicked imminence of her own death and his smile behind it, he stopped.

Or something stopped him.

Surprise on his perfect face, and slowly his brow arched as he looked down at her. He couldn't finish the swing, and the muscles of his arm jumped from the exertion as he tried with all his considerable strength. Through clenched teeth he growled, "you are wiser than your predecessor."
 
Blood.

That was all she could see behind closed lids, moments of her family's deaths pass before her memory. She flinched and had shut her eyes tightly, waiting for either unbearable pain or a form of darkness to take her under into the depths of eternal suffering. But it never came. Karis gasping in relief, pushed herself as far away the chair would allow her. "O-Of course I'm wiser than him. You can't repeat the mistakes of the past or you'll get the same results." She sucked in a breath, her heart unable to calm.

It was then she realized his sword was still raised in a threatening fashion. "Put that stupid thing away!" A weapon that was much too close to her was unwelcomed, just as it should be to any normal person. Carefully, she pushed the blade away and stood at hr full height. A mere five feet' four inches wasn't exactly intimidating, but what was to be expected? This was like a mouse squeaking at a cat and thinking the feline would jump in fear!

Karis trembled before what was suppose to be her tool, bit the fury and rage that swirled beneath the depths of his eyes made her want to curl under a rock. Somehow her voice was much braver than her own feelings and she took a step forward towards the creature which she had released. "I am your mistress. Take the words for however you believe but I expect you to do as I say", she hissed in stubborness. "I went through too much shit for you to treat me as you did the old man. I swear if you even try anything, I'll find a way to make your life miserable even if it kills me I'm the process!"

She took in a struggled breath and pointed to herself. "I'm Karis, your new master and commander. I opened that bottle so you could preform a duty for me." She passed a moment and decided not to continue. She couldn't be sure he would do as she said. The potion did a minor miracle bit would it complete the full deal?
 
To his immense surprise, the demon found his bared blade halted, and he was absolutely shocked that at her command "put that stupid thing away!" his arm pulled back and he turned the blade away from her. There was no sheathe, of course -- there was no stitch of clothes on him -- but as he slid the razor sharp sword past his hip it vanished as though sheathed invisibly. When he opened his hand the hilt hovered for a split second before fading away, and it was gone.

Leaving the demon standing well over a foot taller than the small woman before him, glowering down at her armed without even a stitch of clothes. His muscular chest rose and fell with deep breaths through his nostrils. His jet black flesh positively rippled with rage, from the bottom of his obsidian feet to the tip of the gleaming curved horns that rose from his temples amidst the raven bird's nest of hair atop his head. He stood like that for a long moment as she spoke, and then, slowly, a smile split his lips.

A beautiful, amused smile. And then a deep, resonant laugh. "If I treat you as I did the old man, you'd already be choking on blood and crafting your revenge, Karis. Perhaps I shouldn't be so quick to repeat that mistake lest my freedom be curtailed even more swiftly, hmm, Mistress?"

He was smirking as he dropped to one knee, his head still very nearly level with hers. "So tell me what you want me to do, and for your sake I hope I get to kill." His tongue slid out over his lips as if savoring the idea of making someone pay for his years of imprisonment, even if the only person truly responsible for his fate was dead for generations.
 
Karis nearly gagged when he fell in front of her, face turning red in embarrassment. "For my sake? Is that some kind of threat?" She narrowed her glare, only realizing he wore no clothing. She turned her back on him, leaving him to stay were he was. Never had she been so flustered in her life. "Why the hell isn't he wearing clothing? For what reason, I ask?!" She mumbled under her breath as she pulled out a blanket from a shelf.

Marching back to where the demon knelt, she threw the blanket in his face. "For you sake, you better cover yourself. You idiotic creep..." The thunder outside cracked, making her jump. The rains seemed to pour down an outcry of anger that she was unable to place and she sighed. She could question his nudity later.

"I want to know your name and your history. I'm sure parts of the legend told is off in some way and I want to know. Now tell me."
 
"Idiotic Creep? My gratitude for my release extends exactly as far as to spare your life for that insult, but do not mistake the luck of your survival for mastery, Karis." He spoke, deep booming words seeming to come from all around, and as he did he rose to stand. His jet black form nearly reached the rafters of the cabin, his already substantial height seeming greater than before -- perhaps it was. His chest thrust out and his sword cut through the blanket she threw, slicing it neatly in two.

The two halves fluttered to the floor, edges smoldering as if the blade were hot enough to ignite.

"You presume to command me, to demand I perform and submit to your whims and interrogations?!" His dark lips split into a smirk as he took a step toward her, the blade once more vanishing beside his hip. "Your lips aren't worthy to taste my flesh, nevermind my true name. I wear nothing because there is no need for armor when the blades of men are no threat, and every part of me -- every part -- inspires awe and fear." Outside the lightning crackled and thunder clapped. The rain fell so fast now that it sounded as if the cabin were under a waterfall.

Faster than seemed possible his hand shot out and seized the bottle that had been his prison. "You confuse your spellcraft that keeps me from harming you with a right to command," he said as he held the bottle in his hand. "But there are ways to hurt you beyond the limits of your magics, Karis, and your threat to me," his fingers closed on the bottle and outside there was a tremendous clap of thunder that hid the sound of shattering. He opened his hand, and the black dust that fell to the floor was all that remained of his prison. "...no longer exists."
 
Gray eyes widened in complete shock and she froze, keeping her stare on the delicate shards that danced in a array of reflected color. This was probably the time when she realized that she should have listened to the warning and never even touch the stupid thing. But her stance was defiant. Everything thing she did showed refused not to have her way in the matter.

"That's a very silly thing to even say", she purred lightly. Stepping lightly around the demon she took the two sheets, looking over the pieces. Karis raised her head, smiling at the male under dark lashes. "Besides, the threat still remains. You seemed to have forgotten that such magics can be duplicated. The spell that kept in this bottle isn't what makes people stop and scratch their heads." She looked thoughtful for a moment, listening to the patterns set by falling raindrops.

"It the price you have to lay down for such a feat."

She tapped her finger against crossed arms, eyes closed as she spoke. "You honestly think I never thought of what would happen if the bottle was destroyed? Tsk. I don't mind using another soul to place you into a different bottle, even if it's mine. So the threat always has it's stand." Her eyes flashed open, the iris of gray swirling in a mix of black and white. A scowl was easily seen on her delicate features, anger and spite fueled. "So don't even think for a moment you're safe."

But with a light hearted smile, her whole composure changed. "And I gave you the blanket because awe and clear did not come to mind. Just wanting to be able to see the next morning was really the thought. So either you do something like change into a mouse or simply become decent.”
 
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