Author’s Note: Well, here we go on with the story… More character torture! Enjoy!
Author’s Note: Well, here we go on with the story… More character torture! Enjoy!
Caitlin was in a state of shock. Every time a piece of skin was removed screams would echo and dance off the walls. Older wounds had grown back due to Trahern’s healing gift, inevitably drawing out he execution. Caitlin felt as if her very soul were being torn apart with every piece of skin torn from Trahern’s body.
Regent was smirking. His plan was working perfectly. Soon he would be rid of this nuisance and the Guardian of Light would be far to broken to help her friends. He ripped off another piece of skin with his bare claws, not noticing the blood-like mist that was rippling across the floor.
Cassandra and Anne silently entered the dark chamber. Seeing Caitlin, Cassandra went immediately to her sister and cut her down. Another shriek tore through the room. Anne turned and glared at the site of Trahern’s half skinned body hanging from the wall. The black figure before him tore another piece of skin from the tormented body. Cassandra turned to Anne and handed Caitlin to her. Anne was startled to find the Light Guardian shaking.
“Get her out of here. This will guide you to either Ryo or Than, tell them to bring you to Marina,” she whispered, handing Anne a blood red stone.
“What about you?” Anne asked. Cassandra’s eyes glittered dangerously.
“I have a score to settle. Now do,” she said. Anne nodded and disappeared in red mist. Cassandra turned and gripped her scythe tightly. It was time for Regent to pay his due to the Goddess of Death.
Ryo was completely startled to find Anne walking towards him with the shaking Guardian of Light in her arms. The Darkness Guardian held up a glowing blood red stone, showing it to the tiny dragon.
“Cassandra told me you could guide me to Marina,” she said. Ryo glanced at Caitlin.
“So this is the Lady’s sister. What happened?” he asked. Anne glared. She wanted to get to her sister as soon as possible.
“That isn’t your business, now take me to my sister!” she snapped. Ryo jumped from his perch and fluttered in front of Anne’s face.
“Any thing affecting my mistress is my business. Now tell me what happened!” the little dragon yelled. Anne looked down at Caitlin. Her counterpart had fallen into a fitful sleep.
“Regent forced her to watch him torture Myrandel’s son. She’s fallen in love with him,” Anne replied calmly. Ryo’s ink-like eyes widened.
“And Lady Cassandra?” he asked.
“Is dealing with the problem,” stated Anne. Ryo nodded.
“Come, I’ll show you to the Lady of Life,” he said, flying off. Anne followed the little dragon at a half run. Cass, be careful. Caitlin can’t handle loosing both of you at this point, she thought.
Marina burst through the trees at a run, stopping in front of a brightly burning campfire, hands on her knees and gasping for breath. Anna stood up, eyes wide with shock.
“Marina?! Are you ok? Where are the others?” she asked. Abby, Liesl, Heather, Joe and Jason just stared dumbfounded at the newcomer.
“Cass and Anne are trying to rescue Caitlin. I came to find you,” she said, still gasping. Aria jumped up.
“We have to help them!” she yelled.
“No need,” stated a colder voice. Anne appeared beside her sister, Caitlin unconscious in her arms. Anna barely noticed the small black dragon disappearing in red mist behind her. Anne laid Caitlin down on the ground beside the fire. Marina knelt beside her.
“Where is Cass?” she asked. Anne smirked darkly.
“Settling a score,” she replied.
“You don’t mean… no! She’ll be killed! She can’t face Regent on her own!”
Cassandra crept towards Regent, scythe blade raised. When she was little more than an arms length away, Regent spun and caught her wrist, throwing her back into the wall. He grinned and pressed her wrists into the stone as her scythe faded into red mist.
“You didn’t think I didn’t see you Lady Death?” he hissed. Cassandra growled and kneed him in the groin, hard. She twisted out of his grip and ran towards Trahern, her scythe materializing in her hand. She laid a hand on Trahern’s barely healed shoulder.
Regent staggered to his feet, lunging at them and catching nothing but blood red mist. His blue eye twitched at he rose to his feet. He hissed at the fading mist. “Soon, Lady Death, soon you and your obnoxious friends will be dust at my feet.”
Cassandra stumbled into the realms of the dead and collapsed under Trahern’s weight. She laid the now unconscious half-blood on his side and sat up, allowing the subtle power of her sanctuary to infuse her with its strength. She glanced at Trahern and smiled, his wounds, most only skin deep, were already sealing over. A soft glow at her side made the young death guardian jump. She turned to see Myrandel kneeling beside his son. He smiled.
“Is he going to be alright?” asked Cassandra. Myrandel nodded.
“I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but he’s out of danger, for now,” said the angel. “You should return to your friends. Your sister needs you.”
“What about him?” asked Cassandra.
“Take him with of course. He’ll heal faster in the living realms,” replied Myrandel. Cassandra nodded and grasped her scythe, standing.
“Thank you Myrandel,” she said. The angel smiled, watching the death guardian leave the realms.
“No, Cassandra, thank you. For Trahern, and myself… and Jayne.”
Heather was the first to notice the mist collecting at the edge of the clearing. She nudged Liesl, who looked up at her, then at the collecting mist. Cassandra materialized carrying a heavy form draped over her shoulder. She laid the figure on the ground before looking up at the group. Marina rushed forward as the Death Guardian began to collapse from exhaustion. Cassandra collapsed, supported by the golden-eyed Life Guardian.
“Are you alright?” Marina asked. Cassandra nodded.
“Fine, but…” She glanced at the figure beside her. Marina gasped. An unconscious, pale skinned demon lay on the ground.
“Who, why…” she murmured. Heather and Liesl looked on with confusion and distress.
“You remember Trahern don’t you?” Cassandra asked. Marina nodded.
“So this is…”
“Yes.” Heather’s eyes narrowed. Friendly or not, a demon was a demon. They were evil through and through. Anne was about to stand and join her sister when Caitlin stirred beside her. She looked up just in time to hear Heather’s outburst.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing bringing a demon here!?” she yelled. Cassandra gave her a dark look.
“You know nothing of this situation. Whether ally or enemy stay out of it,” she snapped. Caitlin stirred again. Heather stood, her height giving her a truly intimidating stature.
“When I agreed to join this crazy group I thought we’d be fighting demons, not helping them.”
“This one is an exception…”
“No demon is an exception!” Heather cut in. “You can’t trust them. They’re born for nothing but killing and control.”
“You’re right,” said a hollow voice Heather had never heard. She turned to be met with a pair of nearly lifeless blue-gray eyes. “You’re right,” said the unknown woman. “That is how Regent breeds them.” Cassandra stared.
“Caitlin are you alright?” she asked, staring into Caitlin’s dull eyes. Caitlin glanced towards the figure beside her sister as if blind to all else. She stumbled forward, ignoring Anne’s attempt to support her. Finally, she made her way to Trahern and knelt beside him, gently turning his unconscious body in her arms and brushing a long piece of midnight hair from his face. Only then did the rest of the group notice the single crystal wing that had been trapped beneath him. Liesl hissed when she saw it.
“What the hell is he?” she asked. Caitlin stroked his jaw line affectionately.
“A half-blood. Half demon and half angel,” she said quietly, not looking up. “Marina, is he…” Marina turned from Cassandra and looked Trahern over. She raised both eyebrows in surprise.
“Amazing. He won’t have a scratch,” she gasped, astonished. Caitlin smiled distantly.
“Thank god.” Heather’s eye twitched in disgust.
“You mean that thing is going to wake up?” she asked. Four glares, one from behind, were sent in her direction.
“Trahern is the son of the angel Myrandel who prophesized the oracle of the nine maidens. He knows what he is and has chosen to accept his celestial heritage,” said Cassandra, giving Heather a harsh look. “Trust him or not, it’s up to you. But if you harm him it will mean you answer to me.”
“And who are you?” asked Heather.
“Cassandra, Lady Guardian of Death.” Heather’s eyes widened slightly. She turned to the woman kneeling beside Trahern.
“And who are you demon lover?” she spat. Caitlin gave her a surprisingly defiant look considering her current state.
“The Guardian of Light.”
It took days before Heather and Liesl were comfortable enough around Trahern to get to know the newer arrivals. The light guardian, as Heather later learned, went by the name Caitlin and was quite obviously in love with the half-blood Cassandra had brought. Trahern himself completely understood the doubts the two guardians harbored towards him and did his best to calm their fears.
He also began going by a different name, one less odd sounding and one that he had learned, after a long discussion with his father’s spirit, his mother had given him. Not only would the new name help Trahern, now Rhodry, in his attempts to become more friendly towards the more distrustful member of the group, it also served to keep him out of Regent’s line of sight should one of his spies over hear them.
Caitlin had slowly begun to recover from her ordeal, and was now nearly back to her old, happier self. She had taken to calling Rhodry, Rhoddo as an affectionate nickname. During the torture session, she had lost a piece of her innocent nature that she’d never be able to recover, that was evident in the nearly hidden wisdom in her eyes, but not so much in her friendly nature. She had also become more reclusive and quiet then normal at times.
Liesl had, within a few days, begun to see Rhodry more as an ally then a threat and had started to accept him, while Heather was still slightly more cautious.
Anna sighed.
“So, what are we going to do?” she asked. Heather frowned. She had, within the last few days, slowly begun to display her more leader-like temperament. With the exception of her resentment towards Rhodry, the girls had accepted her as the most qualified to lead them for now.
“We have to defeat Regent, if that’s what you’re asking,” Heather answered the Fire Guardian.
“But how, we can’t even get close to him,” Abby told the two. Heather nodded.
“That’s the problem. Regent’s army is heavily based off of his complete command. Kill him and we virtually destroy his army, but how do we get to him?” she muttered.
“Some kind of bait?” asked Anna. Abby gave her a thoughtful look.
“That’s probably our best course of action, but what kind of bait?” she asked.
“With the exception of Anne and my attack on him, the only people Regent has a definite picture of are Caitlin and Rhodry,” said Cassandra, settling down next to the small group. Heather’s eye twitched.
“I don’t think sending Him in would be a good plan. I still don’t trust him,” she muttered. Cassandra rolled her eyes, long used to Heather’s opinions.
“I’m not sending my sister in there alone, plus I doubt anyone else here knows enough about Regent’s fortress for us to find him,” she stated. Abby nodded absently, lost in thought. Even if they could get into the fortress, it was crawling with Regent’s minions. Sending one Guardian and a half-blood in alone would be foolish.
“Couldn’t you get us in?” Anna asked Cassandra. The death guardian nodded.
“I think so,” she said. Heather raised an eyebrow.
“You think?” she asked warily. Cassandra nodded again.
“We won’t know until we try. Regent may have found a way to block my powers by now,” she explained.
“Then how do we get in?” Anna asked.
“The Well?” a new voice suggested. The four looked up to see Caitlin hovering over them, expression thoughtful.
“What well?” Heather asked.
“The Well of Worlds. It’s an inter-dimensional portal that leads directly to Regent’s throne room,” Caitlin replied. Cassandra’s eyes narrowed.
“Too risky,” she told her sister firmly. “If we made one wrong move in there we could be lost for eternity. And none of us can open the portal from the outside. Caitlin fidgeted uncomfortably and frowned, but didn’t reply.
“So Rhoddo and me are going to be the bate then,” she murmured.
“Only if you agree to it,” Cassandra reassured her, sending Heather a warning glance.
“I’ll go, but Rhodry…” Cass nodded, understanding her sister’s discomfort.
“If we could do this some other way we would, but we don’t have much of a choice,” Heather stated bluntly. Caitlin glared at the Earth Guardian.
“Don’t treat me like some frightened child Heather. It’s not my safety I’m worried for,” she snapped. Heather frowned but said nothing in reply. Abby sighed.
“This is getting us nowhere. Cassandra, if you can use your powers to get us into the fortress, than we can all take Regent down together,” she said. Anna nodded.
“I like that idea,” she said. Cassandra frowned and glanced at Heather.
“Well?” Heather shrugged noncommittally.
“If you can get us in, I’m for it,” she said. Caitlin smiled.
“Alright then. When do we start?” she asked.
“At sundown tonight.”
That afternoon, Caitlin sat quietly beneath a tree, mind drifting on the winds. Tonight would end everything, whether they won or lost. It was strange, but somehow she didn’t want it to end. The past few weeks had given meaning to her life when before she had felt helpless. The pain, the heartache, the weight of responsibility, all of it had given her a reason to keep going.
A gentle hand settled on her shoulder. She looked up to see Rhodry smiling down at her, another light in her life.
“Cassandra told me that we’re leaving at sundown,” he said, sitting beside her and curling his crystal wing protectively around her body. Caitlin nodded.
“We’re finally going to finish this,” she said. Rhodry nodded, face focused intently on hers. His fingers traced her jaw line as he demonic wing curled around them, trapping the two in a warm cocoon. Caitlin smiled, leaning into his hand, her eyes closed contently.
“If something goes wrong,” Rhodry murmured. “I don’t want to loose you.” Caitlin gave him a stern glare.
“You won’t. I won’t let Regent win,” she told him. Rhodry smiled, hand caressing her cheek.
“I know.” He kissed her fiercely, the anxieties within him driving his passion. Caitlin returned his embrace just as desperately, twining the light of her soul with the tattered power of his. They stayed like that ‘til sundown, bound forever by their desperate love and eternal devotion.
Cassandra found them as the sun drifted below the horizon. Caitlin’s eyes were closed in sleep and she was wrapped protectively in Rhodry’s embrace. She placed a grim hand on Rhodry’s shoulder.
“It’s time,” she said. Rhodry nodded and gently shook Caitlin awake. She snuggled further into his embrace, blue eyes blinking open slowly.
“It’s time, my love,” he told her. Caitlin nodded, her face unreadable, and stood, grateful for the comfort Rhodry’s presence provided. Cassandra led them to the clearing where the rest of the group as assembled. Rhodry wrapped an arm around Caitlin’s waist, waiting for someone to speak.
“Are you sure?” Liesl asked Joe. The two had been talking for a while now. Joe nodded to her.
“Jason and I will stay in the village and help Alex with the kids. We’d get in the way if we went with you,” he said, gently kissing the Wind Guardian’s head. Liesl nodded, frowning slightly.
“Good luck,” she said, as Joe stepped back from her and waved to the rest of the group. Jason tugged on his sleeve, pulling his twin away. Heather placed a hand on Liesl’s shoulder.
“He’ll be safer here, you know that,” she told the wind guardian. Liesl nodded.
“I know.” She and Heather turned to the rest of the group, all circling around Cassandra. Death’s mistress gazed at each of them in turn.
“Ready?” she asked. They nodded in turn, except for Aria two feverantly shook her head. Cassandra twirled her scythe in front of her.
“Alright, let’s go.” And they disappeared into the realms of the dead.
Regent’s eyes darkened, his focus trained on the Well of Worlds. The fools don’t know what they’re up against. This fortress will be their grave, he thought. Floating on the surface of the Well, the nine guardian stars twirled around each other, gathering together as one. When had the Well begun to follow these stars? Was it truly 18 years past? The demon watched the floating stars with thoughtful detachment.
“Do you truly believe you can win?” a soft feminine voice asked him. Regent didn’t look back at the ghost of a woman beside him, only smirked to himself.
“Destiny will be fulfilled as it was meant, sister of mine. I will not give them victory.” The dark skinned demon woman nodded.
“Then on your head be it, brother,” she said before vanishing.
“This was way too easy,” Abby muttered as they entered Regent’s fortress through the realms of the dead. Cassandra nodded to her in agreement.
“We should split up and find him as quickly as we can,” she replied. Abby nodded thoughtfully.
“Let’s split up into pairs. Me with Anna, you with Marina, and so on. Rhodry can go with Caitlin and Anne,” she devised.
“Alright,” Cass answered and nodded to Marina. The two took off down the left hall. Anne turned to Abby.
“We’ll take the center hall,” she said, before heading off in that direction closely followed by Caitlin and Rhodry. Liesl and Heather took off down the right hallway, leaving Anna, Abby and Aria behind. Anna glanced at the Spirit Guardian.
“Why are we stuck with her?” she hissed at Abby, who glared.
“Because we’re slow,” she replied and turned to the fourth corridor. “Let’s go.”
Cassandra raised a hand, calling Marina to a halt behind her.
“What is it?” the Life Guardian asked. Cassandra’s eyes narrowed.
“I thought I heard something,” she hissed. Around them the darkness seemed to fluctuate. It’s reacting like it would with Anne nearby, but I can’t sense her, Marina thought. A soft, cackling, female laugh began to echo through the hall, gradually growing in volume. Footsteps soon joined the echoing laugh.
“Something’s coming,” Cassandra whispered. Marina nodded, taking on a defensive stance. The shadows seemed to flow like a curtain. Suddenly there was a flash and Marina stumbled, falling to the ground and clutching her shoulder. Cassandra stood still in pure shock at the sword-carrying figure before them. The figure smirked, lifting the blade to her lips and licking the crimson liquid away.
“Why?” Cassandra asked. The figure’s dark eyes glittered with insane amusement.
“Why not?”
“Anne!” Cassandra screamed as she was struck with the dark blade. She fell, a deep wound in her chest.
“You have such sweet blood, death’s mistress. Almost as sweet as my dear sisters,” the figure cackled. Marina shuddered, her body shaking. Her golden eyes glittered with pain and anger. That’s not her. It’s not Anne. You’re not her…
“You’re not my sister!” Emerald-golden light burst through the hall, knocking the shadowed figure back. It vanished into the shadows, shrieking with maniacal laughter. Marina stood, gazing into the darkness. Quickly she healed her shoulder and knelt beside Cassandra who was breathing heavily from blood loss.
“What was that?” Cassandra rasped, voice cracking. Marina placed a hand over the Death Guardian’s wounds, healing them as quickly as she could.
“An illusion. Had that been Anne, I would have sensed her.” Cassandra nodded.
“I hope the others are doing better than we are.”
Regent cursed, a string of insults that ricocheted off the walls and echoed his dark glare.
“So they have defeated one of my illusions,” he murmured with a deadly smirk. Two figures appeared in the Well before him. “Their comrades will not fair as well.
Liesl glanced down the hallway to the right of them. She and Heather had come to a fork in the road and neither knew what to do next.
“I knew this was too easy,” Heather muttered, smacking her forehead. Liesl nodded in agreement. She glanced towards both corridors, wondering what to do. The two halls were nearly identical, both paved with gray stone and shadowed. The one to the left, however, was slightly darker than the other. Liesl’s eyes narrowed as she examined it.
“How about this one?” she asked, pointing to the darker corridor. “That one probably leads outside and we want to get to the center of the fortress.” Heather nodded. It seemed like a solid plan.
“Alright, but keep you guard up,” she told the shorter woman. Liesl smirked.
“Always,” she replied, and the two stepped into the darkness. It was slightly chilly down the dark corridor, and the air felt heavy. Heather fought back a shudder at the chilling atmosphere.
A soft noise a little ways before them made her stop suddenly. Liesl glanced back at her, her forest green eyes asking a silent question. Heather’s blue eyes narrowed as her claws extended from her fingernails. Something was coming.
Suddenly the hall was alight with a brilliant wave of scarlet fire. Heather and Liesl ducked to the sides, barely avoiding being burned to a crisp. Before them, a figure with deep ebony wings and a psychotic smirk on her face stood, flames bouncing in her hands.
“Anne?” Liesl asked, confused. Since when could Anne control fire? Heather’s eyes narrowed.
“What the hell are you doing?” she demanded. The woman before them chuckled, an insane lift to her voice.
“Isn’t it pretty? Fire is oh so pretty. Like blood, especially yours.” Anne hurled towards them with a deranged shriek, drawing her sword as she went and slashing Heather in the side.
“What’s wrong with you! Anne!” Liesl screamed, ducking Anne’s next pass and throwing a windshield between her and their attacker. Heather hissed, holding her hand to her side. The wound wasn’t too deep, but it was bleeding heavily. The dark figure approached the shield, slowly pacing in front of it. Her eyes lit up when she saw the blood dripping from Heather’s side and she lifted her sword, staring at the same scarlet liquid that ran down the blade.
“Pretty,” she murmured. She licked up the blade slowly, rolling the blood over her tongue and staining her lips with the liquid. Her eyes burned a brilliant scarlet. “Sweet too, sweet and strong. You have strong blood.” Another deranged cackle filled the hall. Heather growled.
“Liesl, that’s not her. Anne can’t control fire,” she hissed. Liesl nodded, her own eyes taking on a deadly light.
“Then let’s get rid of this little fake,” she murmured with a smirk. With out warning, the windshield Liesl had created suddenly turned into thousands of raiser-sharp blades that hurled towards the illusion Anne with deadly speed and accuracy. The figure vanished into the barrage, it’s illusionary body ripped to shreds. Liesl shook her head. “You know, if Regent is going to use illusions against us, he might as well make them believable,” she muttered, annoyed. Heather smirked in answer and called in a set of green-brown vines, which she used to bind the wound at her side.
“Well, let’s keep going,” she said. Liesl nodded and the two took off down the tunnel.
Regent smirked, watching the Wind and Earth Guardians race down the tunnel. He was having a grand old time watching these young women.
“It doesn’t matter that you defeated that one. That tunnel you used will drag you to the pits of hell,” he chuckled in amusement. With those two guardians already set on the wrong track, he switched his gaze to where the Fire, Water and Spirit Guardians were making their way down another hallway. They too were coming to a junction, now he just had to lead them down the wrong path…
Author’s Note: We’re almost done! I finally got de-writer’s-blockified on this story. Once I’ve got this one done, and Prophecy’s Angel I can really go all out on Shadow Spirit with out giving to much away. I’m excited ^_^
-Cat