"Mistress? -" the woman's face contorted in agony as searing pain ripped through her body. She opened her mouth to shriek but Melody silenced here with a finger on her lips.
"Shhhhh, you suffer in silence my dear." Melody's hand remained clamped on the poor woman's shoulder and the power given her by her Mistress flooded out of her, changing Lucille's body.
Lucille convulsed in agony as her torso and jaw lengthened to ridiculous proportions. Muscles grew to an obscene size and a feral, wild fog filled her mind. Melody hummed happily to herself as she forced the transformation, making the beautiful woman into a hideous beast.
As always, she timed it carefully and stopped the transformation just before her victim lost all intelligence and humanity. It was important the creature be intelligent enough to obey. Besides, the true torture lies in the victim's awareness of what had been done to her with no hope of restoration. The moment came and Melody released her grip from what was now a huge, reptilian parody of a woman. The transformation would continue on its own for a bit, making Lucille more of a monster.
"You're disgusting," Melody said to the poor creature. "Go find a sewer to live in until I have a use for you."
The beast that used to be Lucille wailed internally and hastened to obey its goddess.
* * *
Lyric was deep into his Soul Song, when again he encountered that troubling spot where he and Acheron were tied. Something else nagged there though, an invisible movement on the edge of his vision that he could not see. Gradually he became aware of a presence and brightness on the other side of his eyelids. Opening his eyes, his voice fell silent; sitting across from him in the other chair was a man who radiated light. He was beautiful; there was no better word to describe him. He had short, light hair, crystal green eyes and flawless features. It was clear that he was much larger than an average man, although he sat comfortably in the chair it was not so much that he fit it, as it seemed to grow to accommodate him. He wore white robes that seemed dingy compared to his face. There was an air of power about him. It caused an unreasonable terror in Lyric's chest. He could easily be an artist's depiction of an angel. That thought seemed to resonate in Lyric's head. Somehow, he knew it to be true. This was an angel. They sat appraising one another in silence for a time when the other spoke.
“Do you know who I am?”
“You are Genesis,” Lyric's voice sounded much steadier than he felt. He paused in confusion, “how do I know that?”
“I am the beginning of everything, including you. I watched the Composer write the score of creation. Wisdom and I argue about who came first." The glowing man shrugged, sparks of light flew off his shoulders, "the Composer just chuckles but won’t answer.”
“You’ve been in the presence of the Composer?” Lyric whispered in awe.
Genesis nodded, Lyric tried to pull himself together.
“That doesn’t explain how I know you. I’ve never seen you before, yet I know exactly who you are.”
“That’s because I am present at every important beginning. That includes the first moment of every human life. I am the first face every newborn sees. That is how you know me. I am the one who whispers the names of your parents into your ear and tells you that I watched with joy as the Composer wrote your part and how important it is to the score. Then you forgot me as every child does after I make sure they arrive safely. And you will forget me this time too, but you will remember my words, and that's why I'm here."
"Words? Will you tell me how to sever my tie to this demon?"
Genesis smiled kindly.
"No, I'm the beginning, not the revelation. I can't tell you how it's going to end I can only send you on your way. Your tie to the demoness has set you on a most remarkable path, one the Composer wrote out with many turns and trills. You are one of the mysteries of creation that we are not allowed to understand yet. As a Singer, you will experience everything magnified. It is the nature of your temperament and gifts. Your joy will be elation, but your sorrow will be despair. I've seen your part though, and while I can't fathom its complexity, one thing I can say with assurance: it is glorious."
"I'm meant to be tied to a demon then?"
"I don't know. What I do know is that you have been given the most powerful soul song I have ever seen written and the demon you tied is one of the strongest in existence. Now listen to my words. You must find the Prophet Man."
"The Prophet Man? Who’s that? Is he the one who can sever the tie? Where do I find him?"
“I don’t have your answers, Lyric. All I can tell you is he's real, he's insane and you need to find him. But now, you need to prepare to defend yourself.”
5 MYSTERIOSO
Lyric jerked his head up. It was just a dream. Wasn't it? He wasn't sure. Already it was fading into the haze of half-remembered imaginings. One thought echoed through his head, "find the Prophet Man." He sat quietly in the predawn darkness mulling that over. If it was just a dream, he could ignore it. Why then, the sense of urgency to do what it said? Besides, how do you go about finding someone with a ridiculous name like the Prophet Man in the United States? Was he even in the United States? He could be anywhere. With billions of people on the planet, how do you sort out the correct insane person from the many lunatics who might happily claim such an ostentatious moniker? He supposed the place he began would be the internet. Since there is no cell coverage in Dacapo, he decided he would worry about it later.
Dawn was stealing quietly across the horizon, as though afraid to awaken the birds. The birds? Why weren't the birds sounding their usual cacophony of morning greetings? They always started their day before the sky. Lyric tensed, his tie to Acheron surged as though responding to his disquiet. Something was wrong.
Lyric stood and looked about for Acheron. Not seeing her, he began the long descent back to the car alone, assuming she would show up. The thought occurred to him that he was risking an awful lot by not waiting for her, but he dismissed that idea as a non-issue since he did not send her away.
An hour down the hill he was still casting about uneasily for the peace that should be filling him after a night on Dacapo. The birds remained silent, the insects, all of nature seemed to be holding its breath, waiting for...something.
He approached a large clearing in the trees, about the size of a football field. He hesitated before leaving the trees, considering going around the open space. He entered the clearing. His heart was pounding, and irrational fear threatened to send him running back to the relative safety of the forest. He chastised himself for being ridiculous. He was one of the deadliest men alive; he feared little. Besides, he was on Dacapo, one of the safest places on the planet. Nothing malignant could even set foot in the hill. Then again, he argued with himself, Acheron is on the mountain and she's a demon. Maybe it isn't as protected as you believe.
By now, he was halfway across the clearing and starting to relax when a sour feeling laid hold of his body. As the hairs stood up on the back of his neck, he knew with certainty that he was not alone.
* * *
On the other side of the mountain Acheron looked up from the trail she was following. She'd seen a yellow beast moving through the trees that she was certain didn't belong here. A surge of fear reached her across the tie to her idiot singer. Annoyed at this interruption she abandoned her hunt and sped through the trees to find Lyric.
* * *
The singer forced himself to turn slowly on the spot. The horror that greeted his gaze walked straight out of a nightmare. Ten yards away standing Six foot at the shoulder, a vaguely canine shaped mass of muscle that weighed a ton at least, golden eyes with two pupils each and snout the length of his arm filled with bone colored knives that could only be teeth. At first, it seemed to be covered in strange glowing blue fur. Closer inspection revealed that rather than fur it was covered in short cobalt flames, which added to its alien appearance.
Lyric recognized the monster from his studies. It was much bigger in person than it had appeared on a page
in a book... Hellhound. Trytohn's pet monsters that wreaked havoc on entire cities just for the pleasure of killing. He had been traveling on and off as an active Singer for three years, and with all he had seen, he never before encountered a Hellhound. They were mindless killing machines kept on a tight leash by the Shining One. The only time you saw one was when it was preparing to kill you. The only thing they enjoyed as much as killing was chasing.
Pitching his voice soft and low, he began to sing. The hellhound did not intend to let him finish. With a snarl, it leapt at him. Lyric steeled himself for battle, preparing to take the demon dog down whatever way He could.
A black streak exploded from the trees and slammed into the side of the giant dog.
"That's a bad boy, " Acheron lifted the beast bodily from the ground and hurled it across the clearing into an enormous red oak so hard the tree split in half and fell down on it. Surging to its feet, the monster shook the oak off its back as if it were a minor nuisance and turned to face Acheron. As soon as it saw her, it stopped moving, still as a statue. Without turning, it slowly backed up and vanished silently into the forest.
"Thank..." Lyric stopped as Acheron held up a silencing finger. Looking around warily he realized the birds still were not singing.
"Start that tune back up, Lover, I don't know how many of those I can take before you get hurt."
Lyric did not pause to question. Standing erect, he elevated his rib cage, relaxed his shoulders and began his song. Extending his hearing he pulled the key from the wind passing through the branches overhead and allowed his heart to provide the tempo. He became aware of huge bodies moving through the trees toward him. Not one hound then, but a pack. Listening carefully for footfalls he finally singled one beast out and pulled the rhythm of its tread into his song. Watching Acheron's graceful form flitting around the perimeter of the clearing, peering into the trees, he let the song build.
As one, forty hellhounds stepped into the clearing, surrounding Lyric and preparing to spring. Immediately they started dying as Acheron danced among them, grabbing, tearing, hurling; within seconds, half of them had fallen. The rest of them ignored the lethal demoness and broke into a run toward Lyric. Allowing the rhythm of his song to match their movements, the Singer abruptly changed meter as he cast his song like a net over them. Each of the monstrous demon dogs plowed a furrow into the ground as they simultaneously lost their footing. Raising the pitch sharply he lifted them all off the ground, their feet bound by invisible ties.
Acheron looked at twenty, dark blue Hell hounds the size of compact cars thrashing about, suspended in the air by invisible ropes. Nodding, impressed.
"Not bad, Lover. Being that they're dogs, I feel justified in saying that is pretty bitchin'."
Lyric rolled his eyes and changed his song. Soft, sweet, numbing, each of the creatures snarled angrily as the song laid hold of their consciousness and wrestled it from them. One by one, they closed their eyes and slept.
"They'll be out for a while, let's go."
Acheron followed him away from the clearing then said. "Hang on, I'll be right back." without waiting for a response she disappeared in her familiar way.
Lyric was ready to go back to look for her when she reappeared at his side, her body giving off a tremendous amount of heat and smelling faintly of smoke and lilacs.
"What did you do?" Lyric frowned.
"I disposed of them."
"You killed them?"
"Of course not, Hellhounds can't be killed. I burned their bodies to ash." Acheron continued walking down the hill.
"How is that not killing them?" Lyric walked beside her.
"That’s disincorporating them. Burn their bodies and they are reborn as puppies in Hell."
"Please don't say that."
"What?"
"Puppies in hell, everything about that sentence just sounds wrong."
Acheron laughed.
“You have bigger problems to worry about, Lover. Hellhounds are not sent out often, and most packs are only six to seven dogs. This begs the question. Who sent them and why?”
“My assumption would be your demonic superior sent them to retrieve you.”
“I have no superiors,” Acheron said archly. “And if Trytohn sent someone for me it wouldn’t be a bunch of hopped up doggies.”
“You said yourself you didn’t know if you could take them all.”
“I wasn’t sure I could take them all before they killed you. I have no fear of Hellhounds; they are an annoyance at worst.”
“So you think someone in hell sent them for me?”
“That's what makes sense.” She stopped suddenly and grabbed his arm, spinning him toward her. “Do you not understand what it means that you silenced Hell?" The fierce expression on her face told Lyric to pay attention. "That you cast past the verge, into perdition and tied one of the strongest demons in existence? If I am going to keep you alive, you need to understand the gravity of your situation. You, my reluctant Lover, who is more theory than actual Singer, are perched right at the top of Hell’s most wanted list. "
"What makes you one of the strongest demons in existence?" Genuine curiosity asked the question before he could remind himself she was a liar and not to be trusted. She’s the enemy, stop talking like friends, stupid!
"Names are important." She said cryptically. "Let's focus on the issue at hand."
"Fine, who do you think is sending hellhounds after me?”
Acheron shrugged and began walking again.
“The obvious answer is everyone. If I hadn’t been the one to tie to you, I’d be sending more than hellhounds after you."
"Why?"
"Several reasons," she started ticking them off on her fingers. "You're a Singer, one of the only mortals on this planet to give a demon pause. Your order is dedicated to my kind's destruction. Not banishment, but actual destruction. You have a Soul song so powerful it entered Hell and then exited with one of the Nychta Polemistis tied to you and bound to protect you."
"Nychta Polemistis?"
"The Night Warriors, Trytohn's generals." Lyric looked at her blankly. "Me stupid! Stay focused. Right now, short of the One Himself, there is no one more dangerous to my kind than you and me. Whoever manages to kill you will have the extremely rare good will of Trytohn. Plus, for those assholes looking for a way to get rid of a certain sultry demoness you would be an irresistible target."
"You're a general?"
"Really? That's where you want to go with this conversation?"
"So basically What you're saying is it’s not a matter of who’s coming after me, but who isn’t."
Acheron smiled that glorious smile that caused his back to twinge.
"Now you're getting it. No worries, Lover, as long as you're with me you're safe."
"After everything you just said, you'll forgive me for not feeling very safe."
A few hundred yards ahead, a large boulder near the path began to smoke and glow black. Lyric looked questioningly at Acheron. The demoness shrugged.
"Not me."
They made their way to the boulder; the odd smell of burnt stone filled the air. Blasted an inch deep into the rock, black letters read:
You're not safe on Dacapo. You're not safe anywhere.
Acheron frowned at the message.
"Well, that’s unfriendly."
* * *
Lisian growled in anger, her fingertip blackened and looked up from her master's scrying pool. Trytohn stood with arms crossed, one immaculate finger tapping his lip thoughtfully. Every time she looked at him since she had clawed her way into his elite Nychta Polemistis, she fell deeper in love with him. The demoness would happily sacrifice herself for her lord, had begged to go retrieve Acheron herself. Trytohn in his wisdom, refused, seeing things in the situation she did not. Still, perhaps a reminder.
"Master, we know where she is, send me for her. I will bring her back, whole or in pieces." Lisian twisted her ring in agitation, the unconscious repetition soothing her, twi
st, twist, twist, twist, pause, twist, twist, twist, twist, pause.
Trytohn's beautiful eyes found her own and once again, his loveliness caused her to stop breathing.
"My beautiful Lisian, you aren't a match for Acheron when she's on her own. You would stand against her and this Singer for what purpose? To impress me with your swift and pointless death? No, sweet blossom, make use of your agents. Follow, harass, but do not face her. Use whatever means to kill the boy just so long as your attention is fixed entirely on severing that tie. I want her back; you must catch her before she’s taken to Judgment." Trytohn gently caressed Lisian's cheek and shudders of ecstasy wracked her body. The high prince smiled. "Acheron is far too strong to be used in His service, but I don't wish to lose you either. Be careful... and relentless." His graceful hand flicked disdainfully toward the scrying pool. "Perhaps motivate your pet to improve his efforts. The Hellhounds would have fared better if Acheron wasn't there. They love her." An annoyed frown creased his exquisite brow. "While you're talking to your man, let him know there will come a day I settle with him regarding my hounds. I lost forty of my favorites today." His face relaxed into a glorious smile that made his words all the more sinister. "Forty he will have to answer for."
Lisian cursed her puppet under her breath.
"Lisian."
She jerked to attention back as her master said her name.
"First your agent missed the High Master. Now another one is responsible for the death of my personal pets." Trytohn's smiling eyes did not mask the threat behind them. "You are ultimately responsible for these offenses. You should probably move forward in that knowledge."
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