Blood of Betrayal, Part One

            The night was growing old, the mid-afternoon light fading to the weary colors of dusk. Within the castle the routines of the inhabitants reflected this daily cycle, and the unconventional family was just finishing supper. The girls, with the grudging help of Dreymeil, tidied up, cleaning dishes and doing various chores that needed doing before nightfall came. When all was completed, Lilith found her husband in his study, as he often was.

            She slipped quietly into the room and tiptoed behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her chin on his head. He reached up and placed a hand on her arms, a smile drifting across his lips.

            “I think I may sleep early tonight. If you have other things you wish to do, please don’t let that stop you from doing them.” He said, using his free hand to shut the book on his desk.

            “Huu, no, it’s fine. I’ll join you, dear.” Lilith pulled away to allow him to push his chair back and stand. Hand in hand, they left the study and retreated to their room.

            After a short while of reading they both dozed off, forms intertwined under the blankets. Sleep didn’t last long, however, at least for Lilith.

            She woke with a start and looked half frantically around the room for the source of her distress. Eclipse mumbled and seemed to stir, but otherwise remained solidly asleep. Unable to brush the feeling off that something was amiss, Lilith pulled herself from her husband’s side and sat on the edge of the bed, breathing deeply. After a minute or two she decided that she may as well see if anything was wrong, rather than sit there with a nasty feeling in her gut. She stood, grabbed her cloak to ward off the chill of the hallways at night, and exited the room.

            As she walked, the feeling seemed to subside, then worsen, then subside again. Eventually came to the kitchen, finding that she wasn’t the only one up at such a late hour.

            “Oh, hey Lilith. What are you up for?” Cisaya asked, holding a steaming mug between her palms.

            “Oh, huu…I woke up and something didn’t feel quite right. I’m still not sure what it was…” She shrugged, looking disappointed.

            “Ah, well it’s probably nothing. I haven’t noticed anything at any rate. You want some warm milk? It should help you get back to sleep.” Cisaya offered, pointing to the kettle that was sitting on a hot plate.

            “Yes, please. You’re probably right. Thank you, sister.” She stood as Cisaya grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured the milk into it, handing it to her carefully.

            “Don’t mention it. Be careful though, it’ll burn you if you aren’t.”

            The girls stood, leaning against the counter and quietly sipping their milk until it was gone. A few yawns later they both had decided to return to their respective rooms. They had only just parted in the hall when the torrent crashed into Lilith, sending her grasping at the wall for support.

            Hatred, betrayal, anger, revenge!

            The emotions were so strong, so near, that she found herself gasping for air. Just as the wave had begun to subside, something new surfaced. Fear.

            “Ci…Cisaya!” She stuttered, pushing herself off the wall and stumbling in the direction the girl had gone.

            When she turned a corner, she was met with a very unpleasant sight, especially at such an hour. A man, no, creature, large and armored, stood in the middle of the hall, an unconscious Cisaya draped across his shoulder. He turned to see Lilith standing there, and she grasped at her neck for her scythe, only to recall having removed it before going to bed.

            “Pu…put her down!” She cried, not sure how she was supposed to make sure he did so.

            The creature began to laugh a hideous, self-righteous laugh. “Now why do you think I would take orders from such a pasty, scrawny creature such as yourself? I am Ganrhir, mighty demon, not some pitiful mortal man.”

            “It doesn’t matter who you are! This isn’t your home, so put her down and leave, or else you’ll regret it!” Lilith threatened.

            Ganrhir stepped towards her, and she leaned back, attempting to stand her ground but moving out of sheer instinct. “Good, you should be afraid…” His lips widened to reveal a sharp-toothed grin.

            Lilith shook her head. “I’m not scared!” She said, though her shaking voice betrayed the truth.

            “What a big lie for a little girl…” His expression almost seemed pitying for a moment. “Alas…goodnight.”

            With one swing of his hand, her world went black.

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            When Eclipse woke, he immediately realized that something wasn’t right. He sat up, groggily reaching across the bed and only finding twisted bed sheets where his wife ought to have been.  “Li…lith?” A yawn escaped his throat mid-word.

            “That’s…strange.” Though it was indeed, it didn’t immediately strike him as worrisome. She occasionally liked to surprise him by doing things out of the ordinary, and he assumed that was simply the case on this particular morning as well.

            Thus he removed himself from bed and continued in his morning routine as he usually would have before he’d become a married man.

            Eventually he made it to his study, and all seemed fine until Dreymeil trotted into the room looking a little flustered.

            “Hey! Eclipse, have you seen Cisaya around? She wasn’t in her room but her door was open…and I haven’t seen her since yesterday.” He grumbled, leaning against the doorway.

            Eclipse turned to him, raising his brow curiously. “No, Dreymeil, I haven’t seen Cisaya. I suppose I should ask if you’ve seen Lilith though.”

            “Nope! But maybe if they’re both gone they went somewhere together? Those girls are always up to something.” Dreymeil tried to laugh, becoming ever more suspicious of what they might be planning. “Oh well, just so long as they’re back before dinner!”

            The necromancer let out a heavy sigh. “Is that all you think about?”

            “That and women~” He snickered, before turning to leave.

            He didn’t get very far, however. In fact, he’d hardly turned around before Chisoku had blocked his path.

            “Don’t either of you have somewhere to be that isn’t my study?” Eclipse grumbled.

            “Eclipse! I found this stupid thing in my throne room this morning. You need to keep track of your crap. If you don’t I’m going to break the next thing you leave in there.” Chisoku hissed, holding out a clear crystal ball for Eclipse and Dreymeil to see.

            “Chisoku, I didn’t leave that in your throne room….I haven’t been in there in at least a week.” Even still, he stood and crossed the room to take the magical item away from the demon overlord.

            “Tch…well if you didn’t leave it in there, then who did?” The red-haired demon pushed past Dreymeil to actually enter the room.

            Eclipse took a long moment to look the ball over, turning in and staring into it with a blank expression. Finally, he took a long breath and spoke. “This isn’t one of my crystals. There’s a strange demonic aura about it that I’ve not seen before…”

            “Think it has to do with Cisaya and Lilith?” Dreymeil butted in, unhappy with being ignored.

            “I would hope not, Dreymeil…I doubt there is any good associated with this item.” Eclipse’s expression fell from neutral to somewhat disconcerted. After another moment of looking at it, he set the ball on the nearest table. Immediately it began to glow, getting the attention of all three demons.

            “I see you have found my crystal, Chisoku. Very good. Then I can begin to explain the meaning of this. You see, I’m the type to hold a grudge. I’ve been holding one against you for a very, very long time. I’ve honestly lost count of the years since the last great war!”

            Chisoku pushed past Eclipse to get a better look at the image in the ball.

            “Ganrhir! What the hell are you doing?!” He growled, resisting the urge to just smash the thing.

            “Haha! So you do remember me. Good…then it should come as no surprise what I’m about to share with you. I’m challenging you to a battle, to the death! But…to make it more interesting, the stakes have been raised, as you can see…” The image in the ball panned across a stony cavern to a steel cage.

            “Cisaya!” Dreymeil started.

            “Lilith…” Eclipse’s expression fell completely.

            “What the hell are you playing at Ganrhir!? They have nothing to do with this! Let them go now or you won’t be getting your fight!”Chisoku snatched the ball up and held it right up to his face.

            “Oh no, you’ll come, and you’ll fight…because if you don’t, I’ll kill them. But I won’t simply kill them. You know my methods, don’t you Chisoku? Slow, painful torture…I’m good at drawing it out, if you remember. And then, eventually I’ll have them begging for death. Only then shall it come.”

            “Bastard!” The ball dropped back to the table, and Chisoku turned with a vengeful look in his eyes. “You’ll get your damn fight, and you’re going to regret this! You’re dead!”

            “Hahaha, we shall see. Take this crystal with you. It will guide you to your doom.”

            The image on the crystal vanished, and the atmosphere in the room turned silent and cold. The boys avoided each other’s gazes for a while, well aware of their companion’s unspoken sentiments.

            Finally, Eclipse spoke, ever the voice of reason. “Standing here isn’t going to get Lilith and Cisaya back…so we should formulate a plan of attack and start on our way.” He said, going to retrieve the crystal from the table.

            “Tch, what makes you think you’re going with me?” Chisoku grumbled.

            “Obviously the fact that my wife is in danger.” Eclipse gave the ruler a harsh glance.

            “And Cisasya’s my girlfriend so I’m going too!” Dreymeil put in, nudging Chisoku in the arm.

             A deep scowl crossed Chiosku’s lips. “He said he wanted to fight me, not you two. If you guys show up he might just kill them anyway!”

            Eclipse paused to drop the crystal into his coat pocket before answering Chisoku’s logic. “He did not say you had to go alone, Chisoku, therefore there is no reason for you to do so. Dreymeil and I are going too, and that’s the end of it.”

            Chisoku could sense Eclipse’s resolve in his words, and decided not to bother changing his mind. If Eclipse was anything, it was stubborn when he’d made up his mind on such things. “Fine, whatever. Just don’t get in the way.”

            “Pfft, Chisoku you’re such a-” Dreymeil started, but the words caught in his throat as the floor began to shake. “What the hell?!” He grabbed the door jamb to hold himself steady while Eclipse and Chisoku wobbled on their feet. When the shaking finally stopped, he shook his head and stretched. “What was that? An earthquake?”

            Eclipse dashed to the window, taking a long look outside and leaving Chisoku and Dreymeil to wonder what he was looking at. “Someone is trying to destroy the Dark Crystal Mine!” He growled, snatching his staff and heading towards the door. “As much as I hate to say it…you two go and return Cisaya and Lilith home without me. I’ll take care of this mess…” With that, he strode out of the room and down the hall quicker than either of his two companions expected.

            “Tch…fine. Come on Dreymeil, I’m not waiting for you so move your ass. The longer we wait, the worse this is going to…Eclipse! You have the damn crystal!!” Chisoku sped down the hall to catch up with the lich and retrieve it, leaving Dreymeil snickering in the doorway.