Voice of the Devil, Parts 1-9

Voice of the Devil, Parts 1

(Florarest 11, 10019 ADW, Early Morning - Everwood, Thelahar)

Opalescent eyes focused on the ruins of the village far down below as the morning sun illuminated the brilliant view. Wings beat heavily through the air, the wind rushing through his golden hair. How wondrous the feeling of the wind blowing through his hair was. To stretch his wings and soar through the dazzling azure skies...for too long had he gone without such simple pleasures.

The snowstorm from the night before had long since passed, leaving the land below encased in an enthralling thick layer of snow that glimmered as thousands of diamonds in the radiant morning light. The view was absolutely spectacular. Coming above the village, his large form plummeted down and down, clawed feet crashing into the snowy ground. Flakes of the white fluff leapt from the ground and blew all around him in a flurry, his silvery scales shimmering like the snow around him.

He slowly straightened himself and looked at the remains of the village. The village only offered silence. The village was void of the vile human life that had once plagued it...as it should be. And yet the village was not completely empty. There was someone else within the ruins. He could sense that there was another. A presence he had not felt in many years. The feeling alone brought forth a grin to his demonic face, something that had not graced his features in some time. He slowly turned his gaze to what was left of the village temple.

The night had offered little sleep to the Silent Warrior. Sleep was always difficult to come by for him these days. His gaze turned towards a hole in the wall of the temple. Rays of light shone through the hole, signifying that morning had finally come. The storm had lasted throughout most of the night and brought forth a drastically low temperature along for the ride that had forced him to keep the fire nice and fed. Picking up the last piece of the wood he had gathered, he tossed it into the dying flames of the fire. The wood quickly caught fire.

Xeno looked over to Rhyn. The man appeared to be sleeping for the most part, though; whether or not he was actually sleeping the hunter did not know. Slowly Xeno rose from where he sat and began to make his way out of the temple. Stopping just before the entrance, he turned around to look at the other man. Rhyn was obviously capable of fighting after having saw the magic display the other night and probably did not need any help dealing with the Dominion. Leaving before he awoke would be for the best. They both had their own separate problems to deal with.

A loud crash came from outside, lightly shaking the very ground that they stood upon. Stones fell loose from the ceiling of the temple and clattered onto the smooth stone floor. Attention now focused on whatever had arrived outside, Xeno found his hand already wrapped around the handle of his sword. He could feel the presence of whatever was outside. And whatever manner of creature there was out there...it was powerful. He glanced back at Rhyn to find him now fully awake. A voice cooed softly from outside the temple. A voice that forever haunted the demon slayer. The voice of the being who had destroyed his life.

"Xeno," the voice of the mysterious being called. "Xeeenooo. I know you're in there."

Xeno remained frozen, unable to move a single muscle. This was not good. The snow outside could be heard being crunched beneath the weight of something heavy, something drawing closer with each passing second. Silver eyes looked back to Rhyn. "Run! Run now! Get as far away as possible!"...

Voice of the Devil, Part 2

Rhyn opened his eyes, standing abruptly as the ground trembled beneath him. His stance was still, yet coiled, alert for any sign of attack. Xeno stood ready as well, hand poised to draw his weapon.

He must feel it too, this foreboding presence...

The sensation was familiar. It had an aura of power and menace that stirred old memories of Ishtar and the battles he'd fought there long ago. It reminded him of her. His body tensed involuntarily, and he struggled to relax.

Has she come for me again?

The presence was blatantly strong and... careless... as if the crash had not been a great enough annoucement. She preferred to be more subtle. She was more subtle.

No, this is someone else...

As if in confirmation, the intruder called out Xeno by name, and the demon slayer went rigid, frozen in obvious fear. The heavy sound of approaching footsteps made the temple feel suddenly small and closed in. Rhyn eyed the walls warily, praying they would hold even as the demon hunter found his voice again.

"Run! Run now! Get as far away as possible!"

Shaking his head, Rhyn moved to stand near Xeno by the entrance. "I know what's out there. You cannot face their kind alone." Rhyn looked past Xeno towards the ruined entryway and gestured at the snow piled up against the remains of the door. "And there will be no escaping through that. We shall have to make a stand here."

Voice of the Devil, Part 3

Xeno stared at the monk with a look of disbelieve in his silver eyes. Even though they were strangers to one another this man was willing to stick around and face the unknown. Rhyn declared that he knew what manner of beast was beyond the temple walls. What the man did not know was *who* this being was. Xeno finally broke his gaze from the other man. The creature that was waiting just outside was by no means an ordinary demon. He never would have dreamt that he would once more face this monster here in this ruined village.

A voice cried in the back of his mind, telling him to flee from the village, to get as far away from the demon as possible. The hunter tightened his grip on the handle of the sword resting beside his waist. No. He refused to run. With the snow as high as it were, there would be no escape even if he had wanted to. He would stay and fight this demon. For too long had he dreamt of meeting this creature once more. He would make the demon pay for all the pain he had caused. Or would die trying.

The hunter had not expected Rhyn to remain with him. Surely the man could sense the power emanating from the demon, to know that standing against this creature would more than likely result in their death. Xeno knew that neither of them were a match for the demon, but he couldn't run away. Not now. Not after having waited so long for such an opportunity.

Through the cold morning air his tail swished impatiently. The athdraki crossed his thick arms over his chest. His wing folded over his shoulders to appear almost as a fancily designed cape. A pair of voices came from the shattered temple that brought a grin to the demon. The hunter was not alone. The fabled hunter who refused to get close to anyone was caught in the company of others. How intriguing. This certainly made things so much more interesting. "Xeno, I'm beginning to grow impatient. Why don't you come on out and greet your visitor? It's so very rude of you to keep your company awaiting." He grinned while tapping his claws on the finely decorated metal bracers that covered his forearms. "Are you that terrified to face me, hunter? And here I had been hoping we could get past all these aggressive feelings towards each other.

"If you will not come to me, hunter. Then I will come to you. You really don't want me to do that. We wouldn't want to have a repeat of what happened last time, now would we? Who knows what could happen to your newfound friend."

"Cursed demon!" Xeno muttered through clenched teeth. As much as he wanted to face the athdraki, he did not want to risk the lives of others in doing so. Still neither Rhyn nor he had any means of escape and waiting any longer within the temple would not save either of them. He knew very well that the demon was not bluffing. The temple walls were in no way capable of stopping the creature. The only choice he had was to face the demon.

Xeno took a step closer to the temple doorway, prepared to draw his blade at any moment. He glanced back at Rhyn. He had never intended to have the stranger getting involved with his problems. Fate obviously had different plans for them. "Ready?" he asked the other before sliding the blade of his sword free of its sheath. Blade in hand the Silent Warrior stepped out from the shadows of the ruined temple to face the demon. His silver eyes focused on the full form of beast standing before him.

The demon stood tall and large, his silvery scales reflecting the sunlight. Hair the color of gold blew wildly through the wind. A finely trimmed beard and mustache of the same color framed his face. Little armor could be located on his massive frame. The armor that he did wear consisted of metallic red bracers, leggings, and girth. On the bracers and leggings clear magite crystals lied embedded within the metal. A red jacket of sorts with no sleeves covered part of his shoulders and back though left his broad chest exposed. A platinum crown with large ivory horns rising toward the sky rested upon his head. In the center of the crown a magite that glowed a pale red resided.

The athdraki's opalescent eyes focused on Xeno. Staring at the demon slayer for several seconds he smirked. "I see that you finally gathered the nerve to face me, hunter. I was beginning to think you had gone yellow."

"Shut up!" Xeno shouted in reply. Silver eyes narrowed at the athdraki as the creature chortled. The demon was enjoying seeing him angered. "Why are you here? What brings you to this place...Gornaz!"...

Voice of the Devil, Part 4

"Ready?"

Rhyn didn't hesitate. Hesitation was not his way. He stepped outside quickly and flanked Xeno, prepared to follow the hunter's lead.

Then his eyes fell upon the intruder, and his heartbeat quickened. It was a painful beat made all the worse by his body's sudden unwillingness to breathe. With an effort, he sucked in a gasp, but the sight made him as rigid as Xeno had been only a moment before. Rhyn knew he was staring. He knew his eyes showed white, that his skin had turned pallid, and that his limbs looked just as tension-ridden as they felt - like dead trees creaking in the breeze.

Gornaz.

The name alone was enough to make him flinch. Before him stood the monster responsible for countless deaths on both worlds. At this demon's order, Rhyn's own kind had been massacred by the thousands. An old, primal fear surged through him; that instinctive sense of dread all animals feel when they come face to face with a deadly predator. It had been a long time since Rhyn had felt fear - real fear - and he was as as close to bolting as he'd ever been in his life.

Promise me, came the echo in his mind. Promise me you won't give up ...

Eyes narrowing, he drew a deep breath and steadied himself.

I can't run away...

He was doing his best to maintain his composure when Xeno began shouting. His gaze locked on the hunter, fixing him with a mortified look, but Xeno ignored him. The demon merely chortled softly in response, its eyes furiously bright and sinister. It was enjoying this - every moment, every word.

Rhyn's skin prickled, and he felt his own fear surge again, stronger this time. Tension shook him, and sweat formed a light a sheen on his skin. He'd spoken so boldly of making a stand, but knowing now who they faced, he understood.

They could not run and expect to escape. They could not fight and expect to survive. That left them with only one choice.

I don't want to die.

The very idea stunned him. It had been many years since he'd been visited upon by death, and yet the memory felt oddly fresh in his mind. He remembered all too well the sounds of the struggle, that burning in his chest as he thrashed and fought for his life with every last bit of strength he possessed. And it wasn't enough. It still wasn't enough.

Then they were falling. No, plummeting. Locked hand-to-hand, tangled in that deadly embrace. It was screaming at him, cursing, threatening, flailing. Finally, it bit him, sinking its teeth deep into the muscle. He'd been too weak to scream as it broke free. And then his cloak had torn ... and something else as the demon whipped around. There'd been the soft snap of joints and the crunch of bone.

His eyes began to tear. Through blurred vision he saw it again, those hard, cold walls. The man's face - grim in the half-light - and voices that gave way to blackness.

Rhyn trembled. The pain was always with him. It hardly mattered, but as his gaze flickered between Xeno and Gornaz, he could almost see her smiling somewhere at the corner of his vision. She'd be pleased. So pleased. Rhyn felt his fear slowly become displaced by a cold, seething anger.

His eyes whipped among the buildings surrounding them, searching for something, anything of use. His desperation, which began mounting into a kind of mad fury, nearly overcame him, but suddenly, the import of Xeno's questions struck him like a blow.

What *was* Gornaz doing here?

With no small effort, Rhyn leashed his anger and waited to hear what the reigning Lord of Demons had to say for himself.

Voice of the Devil, Part 5

White orbs that were the great athdraki's eyes stared at the demon slayer. Gornaz found it almost too amusing that this man, this hunter dared to demand answers from him. Arms still crossed across his broad chest the Lord of the Demons snickered. Xeno had obviously forgotten just whom he was dealing with. Perhaps the foolish little hunter was in need of being reminded of just how inferior he was to him.

The demon grinned smugly at the demon slayer. "What ever made you think that I have to answer anything to the likes of you? You should learn to show proper respect to your superiors, hunter! Do not forget whom you speak to. I could eradicate your puny existence from this world and the next if I so deem." His gaze flickered to the man accompanying the demon slayer. To the untrained eye the mysterious man would have seemed to be human. But to Gornaz that celestial aura he tried to hide shone like a beacon of light in a void of darkness. To see a living celestial in this pathetic village was somewhat surprising. Arms sliding to his sides, his head tiled slightly to get a better look at Rhyn.

"Interesting. I have not encountered one of your kind in a long time. You must have been the one who got rid of the bodies. I did not see any when I arrived and I do not see this hunter doing such a deed voluntarily. I am curious as to whether you could enlighten me on how your kind fairs, little celestial."...

Voice of the Devil, Part 6

Perhaps, in some unconscious part of his mind, Rhyn had expected Gornaz to play with them. Not the most pleasant of things to experience, being at the whim of a killer. Still, it was something of a relief, considering that under normal circumstances, the creature would have cut them down, sacked the bodies, and been on its way.

I am alive so that he can ask me what he already knows ...

"I do not know how they fair," Rhyn answered, voice low and subdued. "Nor do I care."

Gornaz raised a speculative brow.

Liar, the word hung, unspoken, between them.

Rhyn could feel Xeno's eyes on him then; that hard stare boring into him like the back of a blade. He set his jaw, averting his gaze. Why must others always look upon him like some sort of filth? Not that he cared what the hunter thought of him. How funny though, that the man should choose this moment, when they were both knee-deep in ...

Judge as ye shall be judged, Rhyn ground his teeth, irritated, and looked up at the demon again.

Gornaz snorted and lashed his tail dismissively. His eyes slid freely to their narrowest, giving that grim, all too patient look of self-satisfaction. Rhyn met his stare. The demon's expression was lazy, but openly curious.

He's looking for information. Just like that man from yesterday.

Rhyn's brow furrowed, but the knowledge made some of his tension drain away. His mind was moving now, turning over the possibilities once more. There was no rhyme or reason to the smouldering ruins around them. It was just a farming community. The whole thing seemed mindlessly done, yet it had been executed with precision.

'There are many such sights to be had, outlander. And if you continue on this way, you will only see worse ...'

Rhyn grunted at the irony.

'There are wars coming ...'

But why here, in this tiny, insignifigant place?

'Demons do not need reason to destroy ...'

'But men do ...'

It was beyond strange. It was wrong, almost like a mistep in time.

Or a challenge, Rhyn realized, feeling the breeze pick up. Gornaz is answering a challenge ... but from whom? The Dominion?

It was speculation on Rhyn's part, not fact, but Mordishant's words rang in his head.

'This village and the lands that surround it belong to the Dominion. We shall, in time, purge this land of evil, and there will be peace ... '

Why were you so concerned with my presence then and not the demons? If this is a demon war ...

'I know who did this ...'

The wind lifted the tips of Rhyn's hair and carressed them. He closed his eyes and there, feather light, came the cool touch of fingers on his skin.

"... little celestial ... why are you so afraid?"

Rhyn shivered, but the words - filled with laughter - were an echo. It was not Gornaz's voice at all this time, but a ripple of sound that flowed only through him - in his mind - and gave him strength. He sucked in a breath and, whether it was courage or stupidity, he straighted his lean frame and faced Gornaz boldly.

"If you will not answer to the likes of the hunter... then will you answer to me?"

The wind, which had become a sudden tumult, arched out around him. He let himself go, no longer hiding, and his aura spread - wide, vast, and beautiful. He could hear her ... singing. Damn her. What was she trying to do to him? This was madness.

"... you belong to me ..."

Rhyn could not see Xeno. The wind was kicking up too much snow, whipping it into a frenzy of white that obscured the hunter from his view. Slowly, it died down, settling to a pale glow.

His voice felt multiplied. "What do you want, Lord of Demons?"

Voice of the Devil, Part 7

The Lord of the Demons had raised his brow curiously. The little celestial claimed that he cared not how his people faired. The man was clearly lying. That was clearly proven by the sheer look of anger he held. Gornaz couldn't help but laugh at the silly little creature. How stubborn the celestials could be. Head cocked to the side the demon watched with mild interest as a brilliant aura of light enveloped Rhyn's entire being. The light slowly faded to that of a soft glow. To many the sight would have been spectacular to behold. To the Lord of the Demons, however, it was nothing more than a fancy light show used to inflate one's ego.

The demon grinned and clapped his clawed hands together. "Bravo, you managed to make yourself glow. How very impressive." Rotating his head in a circular motion, the bones in his neck could be heard popping repeatedly. Crossing his arms once more, his opalescent eyes looked down at Rhyn. "Are you through yet? I'd much rather you didn't waste my time with light shows, little celestial," he said, slight impatience in the tone of his voice, "You and that hunter share many similar traits. Traits that I have found to be rather nauseating. I need not answer to you or any other peon! It will be you who answers to me!"

His eyes shone a crimson hue. The wind around them wailed violently, an unseen force smashing into Rhyn, sending him sprawling into the snow. His eyes slowly returned to their natural color. "Let that be a warning to you, little celestial!" He smirked. "Now that we've cleared up how things will be going for the remainder of our chat, I suppose I could spare a moment to explain my being here. Not as though it is any of your business, of course, but I came here to see with my own eyes that my men had accomplished their task. From the looks of this disgusting husk of a village, I'd have to say they did a particularly well job in executing my orders."

Xeno had found his silvery gaze staring over at the monk. All made sense now, from why Rhyn had taken care of the dead when he held no attachments to this village to why he had called the village by it's original name. Rhyn was a celestial. The once suppressed aura now unleashed further proved it to be fact. Xeno cursed silently to himself. He should have figured that was what the stranger was sooner. His attention returned to the Lord of the Demons. Gloved hands tightly clenched the handle of his sword as Rhyn was sent sprawling into the snow. The demon was only toying with them. On top of it all, Gornaz was the reason this village had been brought to ruin and he was bragging about it! All those lives lost just so that this beast could satisfy his appetite for blood. Still...why this village? There were plenty of other places that held more significance than Everwood.

Eyes never turning from the demon, he slowly approached Rhyn to make sure he was all right. Once knowing Rhyn was fine, his attention returned solely to Gornaz. As much as he wanted to see the demon rot in hell, there was another's life at stake. He hated just thinking about it, but if either of them were to survive this encounter, they would have to go along with the game the demon was playing with them. "Leave him out of it and I'll answer your questions, demon!"

Gornaz stared down at the hunter. To see the mythical demon slayer willing to answer anything he asked for the sake of another. How positively enthralling it was. Never before had he thought he'd see such a day. His dark laughter boomed through the village ruins. "A bargain, is it? Now when did you ever begin to care for the lives others, hunter? Is it because of that little girly you made your apprentice?"

A gleeful grin spread across the demon's lips at seeing the aggravation boiling within the Silent Warrior. He assumed a pondering look. "What was her name again? Teal? No. Tinder? No, that isn't it. Oh, I know! Tindle! Quite a shame it is...her being dead and all. You always did have a habit of losing everyone you had ever gotten close to."

Xeno took a step forward, the anger and fear showing in his eyes. "What was that?!"

"You didn't hear?" Gornaz asked, sounding as though he were shocked, "One of my minions came to me and told me of the dreadful news. I believe you know him as Shade. Well, you see it was the people of this village who had brought forth poor little Tindle's demise. I do not know why, but Shade had actually felt sorry for you and that girl, and so he requested that I destroy the vile worms. I gladly accepted, of course. Those humans do not deserve the life that had been given to them. In truth, hunter, you should be thanking me for ending their miserable lives."...

Voice of the Devil, Part 8

"I need not answer to you or any other peon! It will be you who answers to me!"

The attack was so sudden, so impossibly fast, that Rhyn had no time to move, let alone raise a defense. He managed to brace himself as he was thrown into a nearby snow drift, but the impact was so jarring it knocked the breath from his body and a wave of blackness temporarily overrode his vision. For a few seconds he lay there, blinded and a little stunned, until the snow began to crumble beneath his weight and he lurched forward.

Xeno was at his side, his eyes large and questioning. Rhyn waved him away. He was more humiliated than injured, and as he staggered to his feet, his wounded pride festered under the demon's blatant look of scorn.

He leaned forward, despite his best efforts to straighten, and waited for his vision to clear. His gut ached from the blow. The hunter moved away, his steps slow and cautious. Gornaz was boasting.

Something about tinder ... tinder? no, Tindle ... a girl ... a girl !

The thought made Rhyn's anger ignite like the flash of fire in a cauldron. His head came up in a rush and he scowled, pain and fear washed away in a flood of dark emotions. He didn't know who Tindle was. The name itself didn't even register in his mind. But what he saw ... what he remembered did ...

Promise me ...

Suddenly, he hated this creature, and the more he listened to its taunts, the stronger that hatred grew. He moved to Xeno's side, prepared for anything. Prepared to fight. Prepared to die. He no longer cared. Her face stood, reflected in his eyes, and he was fury incarnate.

" ... little celestial ... ", the sound was faint, almost broken in his ears. "... be still ... listen ..."

His pride revolted.

" ... death is not a short path ..."

"Bastard," Rhyn choked out, but Gornaz did not hear him.

His mind buzzed with whispery laughter.

" ... go ahead then ... be a fool ... a wingless fool ..."

Rhyn flushed darkly, trying to block out the sound of her jeering. It was a bitter battle, one he had to grit his teeth against. Too many times in the past, he'd found himself answering her. Out loud. As if she were really there. How often had it cost him? How often had it distracted him?

Now was not the time. He could not be distracted - here, at this moment. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction!

She railed at him, laughing, not unlike the harpy she resembled, heaping taunt upon taunt until he was black with rage. He had to channel his self-control carefully. No. This was what she wanted. To make him angrier. To make him do something even more foolish than what he just had done.

No ... no, wait, he steadied himself, paying attention to the heated exchange once more. Listen ...

The thought was an echo.

Yes, listen ...

Voice of the Devil, Part 9

Anger. Such great anger reflected in the eyes of the celestial and hunter. The demon silently watched every little move the men made, his opalescent eyes forever calculative. Strands of his gold hair blew in the wind, spilling over his broad shoulders. Odd. The celestial seemed almost distracted. His tail jerked, stirring through the thick layer of snow covering the ground. The hunter had remained silent. All that the man offered was that steely silver gaze. The demon allowed the news he had given to sink into the hunter.

What the Lord of the Demons had said the cloaked man could not believe. Tindle killed by these villagers? Impossible! Though he had not been able to give her as much training as she needed, she had received enough training to be able to handle such a situation. Yet what if she had been killed? Shade. That bastard was the cause of all this. If he had not sent those orcs after them they would have still been together.

"You're lying!" Xeno shouted to the beast. No, he refused to believe Tindle was dead. But a faint voice in the back of his mind continued to tell him that what the demon had said might be true.

"Am I now?" Gornaz maintained a face of stone. "You seem so very confident of that judgment."

Xeno was at a loss of words. What if the demon was not lying? Was Tindle truly dead? No. This was all a mind game. The demon was trying to make him angry. Trying to torment him further.

"Would you like me to repeat what Shade had told me? Every little detail on how your apprentice met her untimely demise?" Gornaz smirked. He could see the fury growing within the hunter.

"Quiet, demon!"

"Did I strike a nerve?" Gornaz extended a hand toward the demon slayer. "You know that it is not too late to join me, Xeno. This vendetta that you have against me is for naught. I can give to you the answers to all those questions that have haunted you for so very long. Defeat is inevitable for the people of this world. Nothing will stop me from obtaining all of the talismans and freeing Jeremas from that cursed prison the humans have placed him within. Join me and stand by my side, and together we shall conquer this world!"

"I would never join you!" Xeno spat.

The Lord of the Demons released a heavy sigh.

"Foolish little hunter. How long do you think you can play hero before everything comes tumbling down around you? You hunters all share the same stupidity that astounds even I. You are fighting for a lost cause! I have already won. Some day you shall see this and you will regret not accepting my generous offer!"

The demon's massive wings flared out from around him. "You should find yourselves fortunate. I will allow you to live this day. Continue to interfere with my plans, Xeno, and I will invoke my wrath upon you." His gaze turned to Rhyn for only a moment. "Live on, little celestial. Heed my warning though. Stay with this foolish hunter and you shall surely perish a death most unfortunate."

His wings beat heavily through the air, the snow scattering out from beneath the athdraki. Soaring high into the azure skies, the demon's voice could be heard echoing from above. "Until next we meet!" his voice called as his large form slowly vanished from view. Xeno clenched the handle of his sword tightly, causing the leather grip to squeak from the pressure. Cursing aloud he lowered the blade. Silver eyes turned to look at Rhyn. The monk appeared nearly as upset as he was. Gornaz had been correct about one thing. He and the celestial held many similarities. Including enemies...