Zhergah wiped the sweat from his brow and blinked. His body was shivering from the strain in his muscles but he could not afford to lose focus, not when he was this close. It had been six days since his encounter with the demoness of the realm Sheol and he had not been able to get her out of his mind since then. Even though he had travelled far on the wind, carried by his demonic wings, to find a place so different from where they had met, everything he saw reminded him of her. And now, more than ever, he hated his dark heritage. The demon in front of him was a particularly ugly one. Zhergah eyed his opponent as he shifted stance and put more weight on his right leg, leaning slightly backwards. The creature had four arms, each ending in a nasty clawlike hand and its human-like torso was covered in blueish scales. The lower body was rather the body of a huge snake and the head reminded slightly of that of a bat. It hissed. Zhergah growled. His hand gripped tightly around the hilt of his sword and once again they clashed together, claws and wings and sword swinging and ripping through the air to find some form of corporeal contact. He was growing tired, both physically and mentally.This had to end soon. But he could not kill the creature, no, he needed it to talk. It was two days ago he had found the trail of demon scent more familiar than any he had senced before and for the first tim in his life, he had actually taken up the hunt of a demon. Normally, demons came to him, to convert him to their domain or to kill him for the power he held within him. Two days had passed and he hadn't slept or eaten. He had followed the trail like possessed to find the demon ahead and just as he had lost the scent, the beast had attacked him from out of nowhere. Obviously he had lost some skills to stay hidden. Snarling like a mad dog, the demon attacked again. Zhergah danced aside, striking out with his wings and connected, ripping a hole in the creatures skin. A black smoke poured out from the wound. The hunter smiled. It had come from The Black Wastes, the same domain his father originated from. This was his ticket to be free of the demon inside him. If he could only stay alive and not kill the horrible thing that was attacking him. The battle raged on for hours, neither of the demons ready to yield to the other until finally, after a quick sidestep, Zhergah managed to get a clear shot at his opponent's back. The strike came fast and connected. With a roar of rage the demon went down and the half-breed was over it in an instant, forcing it down on the ground and locked it there with his sword, which by now burned red with the power it had consumed from the fallen demon. "The gate", he demanded. "Where is it?" The defeated demon snarled and laughed through its pain. An ugly sound which reminded Zhergah of the ways other children would taunt and laugh at him when he was a child and it drove him furious. Slowly he twisted the blade in the wound it sat in. The demon howled in agony. "Last chance, fiend", Zhergal screamed. "The gate. Where is your beacon? Tell me and I will quicken your passing." His voice calmed and took on a hissing tone as he spat the last words out between his teeth. "I can kill you now, or I can make this last for days. Where. Is. It?" An hour later he stood in the forest clearing, next to a small pool of water, eyeing it carefully. There was tremendous force here. A gateway to the Black Wastes was half-open in the water and he could see movement from far below. He knew exactly how to open it enough to pass through but he couldn't very well go there alone. He knew that if he tried, the demon who had served his father would take notice and come for revenge for killing their master. He needed someone to come with him as cover. Someone powerful enough to overshine his own power. Suddenly he hated himself even more as the shadow of Sheol came to his mind. Surely he couldn't use her to do this. He couldn't even begin to think it. And still he was. He twisted and turned the thought, trying to rip it to shreds in his mind, but every time he thought he had found a better way, there it was again, overshining the idea. He frowned. This was not right. Sure, he wanted to see her again, oh how he wished to see her again, but he knew he couldn't. She was a demon and thus, she was evil. Calling her to him would only result in more pain when the time came and she turned on him. He would have to kill her then, and he didn't know if he would be able. She had some strange power over him which he had never encountered before. It wasn't demonic force, no, he knew he was more powerful than her if he unleashed it all and let the demon inside of him feed. He knew he could drain her in a heartbeat, but there was something in his mind making that act impossible. He would not be able to hurt her by will. Not even in the slightest. But still, even though he tried to fight it, he heard himself calling out her name. As his voice echoed through the forest, everything darkened. The wind came icy between the trees, and the scent of Sheol itself seemed to creep into his nostrils. "Abbeline! I need you." ------- She heard it whip about her as the wind carried straight to her ears, as if it was her slave doing her bidding. Her name, his voice. She smiled. Sweetly as she called the blackest of mists to her now. Ah, perhaps he was willing to finally allow his truer side to come into the darkness, the half demon in him that lay dormant by his own will. The black mist curled about her form as if it were caressing her entire body, then, softly, she vanished into it, moving with it quicker than merely floating on air as it swept the clouds before it, causing them to gather together and grow dark as well. By the time she reached the waters edge where he was, there looked to be a full blown storm about to happen. Then, it clamed, slowed, the mist rushed about his body for a moment as the scent of him filled her nostrils from within. “Ah, you have called me. And yet you are well. Come dear one, lets talk ..” and the mist began to part as her body took form from within it. She stepped out, the mist curling about her feet for a moment until it slipped away to wait in the depths of the forest for her to call it once more. She walked up to him, placing a hand to his cheek and smiling sweetly into his eyes. Something, he wanted something from her, but what? It was not what she was expecting, but she was unsure exactly what it was. Then, she sniffed his neck, pulling back, her smile gone as she looked him in the eyes, her sad, filled with what appeared to be loss. “So, you have taken to the actual hunt now?” There was a bit of surprise in her voice as she spoke, as if this aspect of their meeting was not something she had considered. She stepped back from him now, removing her hand form his face and allowing it to drop to her side. Yes, he wanted her. But the reason was not pure. Taking in a deep breath, her look never left his eyes now, she was looking deep within them as if to see the inner meaning behind whatever words he would speak next. “Just tell me why it is you call me my Kingly one. Wait, do not tell me why, just tell me what you want form me. I do not wish to hear lies., so let us leave the why out of it for now, shall we?” --- He saw the mist arrive and heard her voice on the wind. Her first words, clad in velvet, embraced him and he held his eyes closed as she took form. not until she touched him did he open his eyes, showing the sadness that had overtaken him after he had called her. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull her cloder to him, to feel the taste of her lips upon his again, but instead she pulled away as she spoke again. He hadn't really taken up the hunt, not in the way she suggested and he wanted to tell her, to make her understand. He suddenly felt so stupid. Why would she help him in what he was planning? He was going after the one thing she wanted him to give up. To be fully human and to leave his demon self to die. She would never let him. With a sigh, he surrendered to fate and pointed a finger towards the water. "The gate to the Black Wastes", he began. "The realm of my late father." The vision of her standing there cut through him like ice. "I will not survive the journey alone, and still I don't know why I called you. You have no reason to help me in my quest. Maybe I just wanted to see you again... in case I will not return." --- In case he did not return. So, he was planning on going after his father? Was it to gain his fathers realm as his own? No, she did not want to know, as she knew that could not be the reason. She sighed softly and moved to him and placed her hand to his cheek once more. “Ah, you need an ally then. And you thought of me. Even with your distaste for my kind, for what you have deep inside, it was me that you thought of.” She paused, looking up into his eyes. Something bothered him. Something deep. She pushed the thought from her mind as she leaned close and brushed her lips past his softly as she spoke. “I am honored my Kingly one. I will walk with you if you wish me to. Assist in what I can.” And while she did not know truly what it was he was asking of her, she would see it through to the end. She was, if nothing else, a woman of her word. She may be many wicked things, but her word was still her bond as it had been in life, if not more so now. She made her way now, letting her hand slip form his face, towards the waters edge and then turned and held her hand out to him. “Shall we be on with it then?” --- He trembled as her breath was felt on his face, her lips touching his ever so slightly. Why she was doing this, he did not know, nor why she spoke to him as if he was above her in status, as royalty even. She was surely teasing him, playing a game of sorts, but he could not see any hint of it in her eyes. He lowered his head as she moved towards the water and then looked up again as she turned towards him. He looked at the perfection standing there by the gate and then moved towards her, taking her hand. But rather than wlking up to her side to continue past her and into the pathway to the dimension beyond, he stepped up in front of her. He did not know what awaited on the other side. They could arrive in the midst of a pack of hungry Retrievers or worse. This could be the last chance he had. He raised his clawed hand slowly, laying it to rest on her cheek, then the other on the opposite side and pulled her gently towards him. As his lips met hers, he took a slow step forward, putting his weight to a fall, as if to push them both into the water in their embrace. His wings extended slowly, to break the speed of the fall and his teeth scratched her lower lip softly as they fell, tumbling through the black water and down towards the realms below. --- She was a bit surprised when he pulled her close. Her eyes opened wide and looked up into his. But it was only for a brief second as his lips came crashing down on hers in a wanton kiss. Well, at least her beauty was good for something. Maybe, he would give pause to denying what he was after all. She felt his teeth glide roughly along her bottom lip as her arms wrapped about his shoulders and she fell back into the water with him. The water cool against her skin as it got even colder the lower they went. She did not break the kiss from him as they made the way completely down to the gate. As her feet touched the bottom of the lakes floor, she felt the cold slimy feel of it between her toes and she finally broke the kiss, looking at him, her breath held as if she needed to breath, she smiled. If he was looking hard enough he may even see a faint blush about hr cheeks. But the water was dark and it was hard to really tell. She moved her arms from about his neck now, and nodded slightly towards the gate’s opening. She would follow him. Kill for him if he wished. She had given her word. She had no fear of any of it, most certainly not of dying. Not with him here. She could not explain it, but, after their first meeting, she felt she could trust him with her life. ---