by Max Jager
Alerius was, to say the least, intrigued. He was about to ask what else he knew but suddenly Aurela's voice blasted into his head. He looked toward the door they had come through. She was communicating to him telepathically, 'Firius! Don't let him play his game.'
Alerius shook his head thinking he was going crazy.
The voice from the door began to speak again. "Go ahead rogue, ask me your question, and I have the answer."
"You don't even know what I'm about to ask!" What Alerius was really going to ask was how to stop The Yellow Korzen.
"Oh but I do. His weakness is his anger. You must use it in order to beat him. He doesn't even care about his 'retirement' anymore. He's too far over the edge."
Again, Aurela's voice entered Alerius's head. 'Listen to me. Keep focus. He's manipulating you, dear.'
Alerius again shook his head in order to get Aurela's voice out of his mind. Little did he know that that wouldn't work. He closed his eyes and tried to will her voice out of his head but it didn't work. 'He's just using you. He's trying to get inside your head. Don't shut me out, sweetie!'
"Then get out of mine!" Alerius yelled.
The voice from beyond the door simply asked, "What?"
"Nothing! Go on." Alerius hoped that the voice would continue and it did.
"The hellion forces that be, have taken hold of him completely."
"Yes, I know. Tell me something I don't." Alerius said. Aurela's voice again filled his head. 'Good.'
The voice seemed to stop for only a few seconds and then began again. "Okay, how about this, you're afraid of failure."
Alerius groaned a bit, "I am not!" Trying to lie.
'Stick to Wrath Burn, Firius.' Aurela's voice murmured in his mind.
Alerius let out a sigh of disgust, "Look, tell me about Wrath Burn. Are you willing to help or not?" Alerius asked.
The voice seemed to develop a sly tone to it. "Oh yes, quite, but there's something I want you to do for me. Nothing strenuous or violent, I assure you."
Alerius began to contemplate his choices. Aurela's voice didn't even give him a second of silent thought. 'Don't do it Firius. He's not going to make it fair.'
Firius had no idea what that meant. He figured that if this sick monster was going to help them, he was going to have to play by its rules. "What is it?" Alerius asked.
"All you have to do is listen to me and talk to me for a little bit. That's all. Listen, not hear, really listen. If you do that, then I will guide you through Wrath Burn. I promise."
'Don't do it Firius, purpose something on your terms, not his! He'll agree no matter what. You are in control, don't let him fool you. You have the upper hand. Don't forget that! He's been stuck in confinement for ten years! He just wants out. You have the leverage, don't let him take that away from you! Don't let him use your honor against you.'
Alerius thought on her words and the demon behind the door. "What if I said I have a better deal?" Alerius asked. Alerius wasn't good at these mind games. He was a fighter not a psychiatrist. He used guns in battle, not words.
The voice spoke this time sounding irritated. "I don't think you understand your own predicament rogue. You are about to hit one of three of the nastiest planets in the universe! One of which I have profound knowledge on. Now, I suggest you listen to what I have to say or go to Wrath Burn and die a very young, agonizing, and grueling death!"
Alerius was going to try to maintain control here. "What if you guide us to Wrath Burn and then you are paroled from here?" Aurela's voice entered his head again. 'That's right sweetie, keep it on your terms!'
The demon's voice was still and sounded very powerful. "You think I care about a parole? I have only been here ten years. To an ancient entity like myself, ten years is a nanosecond of a million lifetimes. What would ten more or even a hundred more be to me."
'He's lying. He wants out so bad he can taste it. I can hear him thinking it. He can lie to you but he cannot lie to me! That's why he wanted me gone.'
Alerius thought for a moment. "Why did you want the 'angel' gone?"
'NO FIRIUS!' Aurela screamed inside his head. 'Stick to Wrath Burn!'
The voice began. "She is a manipulator. She loves you but she is the one who wants to be in control. She is the one who wants to dominate you. Her being here would get in the way of your rational thinking. You'll make better decisions without her. She is the one you are suppose to be guarding, right?"
Alerius could find no flaw in that logic. Most demons he had come in contact with were vicious brutes. Not creatures you would expect to talk to rationally about important events in your life! He could find no flaw in this demon's logic though. It was rational and most of all, true.
What Alerius was forgetting is that he was talking to…a demon! Not only that, a rational and intelligent demon who could play these head games with him.
'Firius! I love you, I would never try to hurt you, honey. This thing is lying to you. I would never do that to you. I know you are trying to protect me. I am still alive, aren't I?'
The seed had already been planted in Alerius's head though. Now all this evil voice had to do was add a little water.
"I know you care for her and protect her but really, how can you do that when you're not calling the shots anymore. If she gains control, you won't be able to protect her anymore! She'll be in control and you will fail."
Alerius definitely didn't want to fail in protecting her. He wanted her to be safe and the evil voice was right. She was taking control somewhat. If she took total control she might kill herself! The mission would be a failure. That was the last thing in the world he wanted. Alerius looked at the ground. What was he to do?
The demon voice behind the door began to speak again. "When we step foot on Wrath Burn you must listen to everything I say. It is the only way any of us will survive. You must listen to me out there!"
'Firius, don't let him do this to you! Please Firius, please!' Aurela's voice was weak sounding. Just like it had been before her transformation. It was the exact same sound that her voice had made before.
Alerius wasn't paying attention though. In his mind, this demon was making perfect sense! Alerius knew that he could no longer control Aurela with this new found power she had acquired. The only way was to turn his "reins" over to somebody else. Alerius was thinking of this entire situation as a mission again. He was thinking of it as a new mission. Where Aurela must live and also destroy The Flaming Meteorite on Wrath Burn.
The demon behind the door had somehow formed itself into a superior of Alerius's. Through its intelligent speak and its reputation it had acquired; it had become somewhat like a higher commander to Alerius subconsciously. Alerius had not been given actual orders since his mission to Scalobore aboard the Osiris. Now, he was being given orders by somebody he had never met. He was letting himself be too easily taken in by this monster.
"Okay." Alerius said. "Hopefully you won't get us killed." He heard a slight sound from behind the door as if it was laughing. Alerius ignored it though. He walked up to the door and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge.
The door down the hallway opened back up and Aurela stepped through. She walked up to Alerius solemnly and touched him on the shoulder. She then whispered to him, "I won't let him take your control away from you. I love you Firius. He will not hurt you. I promise."
Alerius turned to her, still struggling with the door, and said, "He won't! He has to be in control for us to be lead safely through Wrath Burn."
Aurela just shook her head. Underneath it all though she was in a rage. She knew that all this thing wanted truly was to be free. This demon didn't even have a side it served anymore. It was looking out for itself. Neither good nor bad. She knew that it was planning to kill them both and make some kind of getaway from the planet. Either this one or Wrath Burn, just so long as it was away from either.
She knew this but she would not allow it. She knew that the demon could not hurt her in any way. It wasn't strong enough. Even though it was an ancient
demon and had lots of experience taking care of life forms, she knew it had no chance against her. Alerius, on the other hand, he was extremely susceptible to harm or even death from the monster. He was a bit stronger, faster, and more durable then a human but he was still mortal and could be hurt quite easily compared to her.
Alerius was still struggling with the door. Aurela looked back at the door she had come in from. She made a signal with her hand and the big metal prison door locks released. When it opened, a loud hissing sound was made from the door. It was the air entering into the cell. The cell was obviously air tight so the demon prisoner inside didn't need air to live. It was no wonder that he was one of Hell's best. A creature that didn't need air to survive could sneak in anywhere!
The first thing the two saw was this strange piece of bloody meat. It was probably a torn up organ of some poor alien animal. Alerius and Aurela were both sickened by it. Both of them acted in the same way. A silent pause of disgust and mourning for the creature that this dissected body part belonged to.
Their eyes then drifted upward and at the back wall were these thick chains. They were made into the wall. The wall itself was a thick metal along with the chains. The chains had these huge cuffs on the ends. Along the whole wall though and in the chains were these shining sparks. Diamond. The whole cell itself seemed to be a perfect melding of human and okren materials. Alerius didn't really pay attention but Aurela did.
Inside the cuffs was the demon. Two arms chained to the wall along with four legs. Aurela nor Alerius could see the captive demon to well but they could see his outline. Below his waist was the body of a horse but above was a human looking torso. The head was a total mystery to the two.
Two hounds suddenly went into the cell going past Aurela and Alerius. One was carrying a big ring of keys while the other had a huge assault rifle. They were from the guard room. The two hounds circled the prisoner carefully. The one with the keys slowly approached the first cuff that had the demon's left arm chained. The demon took a quick lunge at him. The hound instinctively jumped back and the other aimed the rifle right at the demon's head.
At least, that's how it looked to Aurela and Alerius. It was so dark over the prisoner they really couldn't see anything of it or the hounds.
The hound with the keys approached again and unlocked the left cuff. The demon's arm dropped to its side. The chain fell to the ground with a loud clunk. The hound went around to the right and released the other. Again the monster's arm dropped to its side and that chain fell to the ground. The hound with the rifle kept poised to destroy the prisoner. The hound with the keys unlocked the legs and backed off quickly to Aurela and Alerius's side.
The chain's fell to the ground and the demon was free! The hound with the rifle kept poised and slowly backed up towards the other hound. Aurela waved her hand and said one word to the two. "Leave."
The hounds quickly went down the hallway and back through the guard room door. Meanwhile, Aurela and Alerius were left looking at this massive shadow. It was at least seven feet high. A voice spoke from the darkness and both Alerius and Aurela could tell it was the voice from before. "I could have killed them with ease."
Aurela gritted her teeth and took a step deeper into the cell. She had no fear of the monster. Why should she, she was far more powerful then this monster could imagine. Alerius tried to stop her but it was no use.
As she walked into the cell, the metal around her began to illuminate with this strange light. It was just like when Alerius had first found her in the cave. Only this time, instead of the light coming from some mushrooms, it was emanating from her!
Suddenly, the demon was in clear view. Alerius looked at in fright! The bottom half of its body was shaped like a horse. It had these spiked like hooves, like a rams, and it legs were strong. Instead of having a bristled like tail, like all horses; this thing had a scorpion stinger! It curled just like a scorpion tail and was a slick black matching the color of the whole body.
The torso was reptilian looking. Almost identical to a volcanis only this was pure black and not red, orange, and yellow. Its arms were also reptilian looking with these huge black claws at least more then half-a-foot long. They were sharp and looked like small sickle blades.
The face looked just like a volcanis's only this was even more reptilian looking. On the sides of its head were these long ears. They looked like crocodile ears only long, thin versions. They were a little bit longer then a man's finger.
It was extremely muscular and its eyes were the worst and most horrifying part of its anatomy! It eyes were just pure white orbs! No ocular sensors of any kind. Just pure white eyeballs.
The demon took two steps towards Aurela as she approached. She then looked at it directly in its eyes. "If you even try to hurt anybody out there, I will show you what this 'daughter of light' can do!"
Alerius was still in somewhat of a paralyzing fear. The two entities of power though just stared each other down. The demon took a step in Alerius's direction and said, "Are you going to let her take control like this?"
Alerius was speechless! He opened his mouth several time to say something but nothing came out.
Aurela looked back at him and smiled. "He seems to be a little off-set by your presence."
The demon growled at her. Aurela just walked back to Alerius's side. She had this strange smile on her face.
Alerius finally had a few words slip out of his mouth as the demon took several more steps towards the two. "You're…you're a centaur!"
The demon seemed to slightly smile at Alerius. "I see you know your Greek mythology, rouge. You may call me Braxus."
Alerius was still in a little bit of shock! "I've never seen a demon like you!"
"Your not likely to again. I am only one of a few select group of about forty centaurs left."
"So…" Alerius was still a little shook up. Braxus's presence alone was enough to shake up Alerius. Not to mention, the tremendous evil he could feel emanating off the monster.
"So, I have been in the service for quite some time." Braxus finished.
Aurela kind of gave a short smirk at Braxus. "If you have, then why did you get caught?"
"Was I speaking to you?" Braxus wanted absolutely nothing to do with this Leyline! It wasn't because he hated her. It wasn't because she was more powerful then him. It wasn't even because she was working for the side of light. It was because he was afraid of her! He had never seen anything like her in his life! He had always faced down powerful mortals. Wizards, knights, soldiers of all types. Intelligent animals, even scientifically enhanced humans, but nothing came close to Aurela's level!
He was more of a bully then an assassin. He was tough until he came up against something that was even a challenge for him. He was no respectable warrior or a professional killer. He was nothing but a killer and he didn't like anything that wasn't an easy kill.
He walked up to Alerius, he wanted him to move so he could walk out. Alerius was a little intimidated but he tried not to show it. Braxus could feel it anyway. He just said to Alerius, "Come on, you don't have to be shook up. I'm working for you, not against you."
Aurela got in between Alerius and Braxus. "You think he's afraid of you? The only thing he's scarred of is what he'd do to you if he got half a chance!"
That made Alerius feel a little better but it made him more mad then anything. He looked at Aurela and said, "I don't need a bodyguard Aurela! I am here to protect you and that's what I'm going to do. Now, get out of his way before he hurts you." He pushed her away.
Aurela was a little shocked but she understood what was going on. She knew, that he didn't know, Braxus had no chance of hurting her. He was also just being that way because she had taken control of another situation. She had never really seen this side of him before. Of course, she had never exerted herself like this before. She had always been in the dark about everything but now she had changed. Ever since her transformation, she felt like she understood the world better. That she knew what was goin
g on. It was like a great awakening.
Braxus walked out into the hallway and looked around. "Freedom."
Alerius and Aurela both followed behind him as they all walked into the guard room. Three out of the four hounds had their rifles pointed in the demon's direction. Rock was behind them. Braxus's tail kind of swung a bit with amusement. He smiled and said, "Please, if I wanted to escape, you think those pitiful weapons could stop me? The only way you could get me was the way before."
Alerius leaned into Aurela. "How did they get him before?"
Aurela leaned into him. "A Leyline."
Alerius stared at Aurela with wonderment! He couldn't help but have one question pop into his head and it could be summoned up into one word. 'You?' He was about to ask when Aurela left Alerius's side and went over to Rock. "We need to get outside."
Rock growled something to her.
Aurela smiled at him. "No ship. Just outside."