by JK Ensley
I assumed a defensive stance—with not only my knees apart, but my arms and wings fully extended as well. And… I listened. At first, the eerie silence was deafening. I heard a tiny thud, then another one. I moved toward it slowly. There it was again, almost muffled… thud, thud, pat, drip.
Drip? Something’s dripping onto the dusty ground… pooling there.
Again, the smell came before the mental recognition. It was the sickening sweet, salty, rusty scent of blood. I hated that smell. It always left a metallic taste in the back of my throat. Blood was pooling on the ground. This had to be the origin of the screams.
Blood? Demons don’t bleed blood. Someone’s here… a person.
Then, I smelled it. I smelled him.
“No… Vittorio… No…”
My whispers rang like a shot through the darkness, and were met with muffled grunts. I hurried toward the piteous sounds, ignoring the jumping talisman trying desperately to escape my tunic. Terror filled my gut but rage pulsed through my veins.
The rest seemed to happen in slow motion, but played out with blurring speed. I heard their breathing, smelled their stench, and obtained ripples from their positions. They were everywhere. Demons stood all around me, hovered in the air above my head, hundreds of them. I struck first.
The death screams and gurgling sounds were constant. Acidic blood rained down as if it were a cloudburst. I don’t recall the cuts and blows they landed upon me, but there were many. I chased down the retreating vermin and ripped through them with my clawed hands.
My chest was heaving steadily. The bloodlust which had seized me was ebbing slowly away. I lowered myself to the ground and scanned the area once more.
That was too easy. They must’ve been lesser demons.
“How very astute of you, Angel.”
That voice, I’d heard it before. It was the man who spoke within my head, back in Vanahirdem. But now the lulling, buttery soft tone had been replaced with vile contempt.
“Why did you bring us here, Devil?” I spat.
“I only sent for you. He… was a minor distraction. Nothing more,” he answered casually.
“That minor distraction will cost you your very existence.”
“You dare to threaten me? When last we met, you could neither move nor speak. Watch your tongue, Witch. Or I’ll fast tire of your words and remove them permanently.”
“Why wait? Let’s dance now, you and I. Come. While my hair is already mussed and demon pus still drips from my dress.”
He only laughed.
“Answer me! Why was I brought here?”
“You cannot demand anything of me, tiny human. You cannot defeat me, neither can you stop me. But you amuse me, so I’ll answer you… for now. I brought you here for the ransom.”
“Ransom?” I laughed out the word. “You are mistaken, O Dark One. There is no bounty upon my head, no coin offered for trade.”
“You only wish that were true. I read it within your thoughts. You know you are wanted, hunted. No, you know exactly what I want, and it is neither coins nor rupees nor dollars nor denarii.”
“Then speak your price. See it paid and we will no longer crowd your lovely little abode.”
He laughed again. “You truly are a unique creature. I wonder how you’ll birth. Will the father even make a difference? Will not your offspring be feared by all? Sired by either Angel or devil, it matters not.”
“I will take my own life before I let you touch a single hair upon my head,” I spat.
“Truly now? How is it you jest? Will you bear false tongue to the father of lies? I have no doubt you would do as you say. Yet, now you stand immortal. Even I cannot cease your beating heart. But that doesn’t mean you cannot feel pain. It’s amazing what all you’ll have to live through. Your mind cannot even conceive all the things that won’t kill you.”
I halted my taunting with this revelation. “What’s the asking price? What is it you think I will gain you?”
“I will gain from you either way. If my ransom is met, I will acquire my beloved twin. If not, then I will breed you for all eternity. I’ll build an army of my own blood and snatch my sister from the very pits of hell with my own two hands.”
“Pits of hell?” I could neither hinder nor dampen my laughter. “Know you not what you ask? You have been given ill counsel to hold such dreams as these. The pit of hell is a one-way ticket. There are no take-backs, no do-overs. No one can leave hell. Not even its Prince.”
“You did.”
“Me? That was different.”
“How so?”
“Well… I wasn’t dead, for starters.”
“Go on.”
“Go on, what? I simply passed through by trial, I suppose. Never was I cast into the pit.”
“No, you weren’t. You were cast into his bed instead. What happened? Did Apollyon’s seed not hold? Is the Prince of Darkness, King of all evil, not even capable of planting his spawn within your tiny womb?”
“You disgust me.” I spat my words at him, yet I trembled inside. Things were looking worse by the heartbeat.
“Then you had better hope the gates of hell choose to open this day. For if they do not, I will not fail where your precious Prince did. I will breed you daily. I will chain this Angel-Dog here to your bed. He can enjoy your nightly screams… while I ravage your tender flesh.”
At the thought of my beloved Vittorio’s fate, my heart sank. “But Vindicus cannot leave the realm of his kingdom.”
“Vindicus? Do you try to diminish him? Use your husband’s proper name. Much power comes from a name. Call out to him. Perhaps he’ll take pity on his love and answer your cries.”
“I will not!”
“Why do you protest? Are you trying to protect him? From me?” He laughed. “He doesn’t need your pathetic protection, child. He is King of us all.”
“Vindicus is no demon!”
“Apollyon is King of Demons!”
“Who are you to spew such lies? He may have to rule over darkness, but his heart is gentle and pure.”
“Who am I?” He snorted. “Who am I? I am Shabriri, and you I name Fool. How can you stand next to your angelic consort and cry over your demon lover? Fool is too good a title for you, child.”
I hurriedly closed the last few paces separating Vittorio and myself. Tripping over something too light for my feet to receive the signifying waves, I sprawled upon the ground, sliding through clotting blood and demon muck. My clumsy display brought uproarious laughter from my evil captor.
“You amuse me, little one. It’s not often I find an interesting plaything. I may rethink my proffered exchange of you and keep you for myself. You would be the first human girl to whom I could do all the twisted things I desire, and she not die. The more I dwell upon it, the more I’m taken with the idea. Shibta could stay a bit longer in the pit. There’s no need to rush. Think of it—stealing Apollyon’s true love, ravaging her glowing little body in so many different ways. Breeding her again and again as the darkest of Angels can only watch from afar… suffering through your eternal screams. Imagine—bound forever to his prison pits, powerless to help the only person he’s ever wanted to save, to hold, to love.”
I used the distraction of his morbid tirade to crawl around, find what I had tripped over, and regain my bearings. My mind didn’t fully comprehend what my searching fingers latched onto. Soft and silky… light as a feather.
A feather? Nooo...
They were feathers, mounds of feathers, matted and sticky in places from what smelled like blood. I pulled at one only to find it was stuck with all the rest. I scooped my arms under the billowy heap, lifting to my chest what it was I could not see. Horror ripped through my breaking heart.
“Noooo!”
I screamed from the merciless pain this pinioned revelation forced upon my un-accepting mind. The suddenness of my outburst halted the demon’s putrid speech. I felt his black eyes hard upon me.
“What have you done?” I spoke through gritted t
eeth. “Answer me now, Devil! What horror have you wrought upon this Warrior of God?”
“God? There is no god here, tiny Angel. Your wings will be my real trophy.”
A guttural roar tore from my throat as I flew toward his evil laugh. I slammed into him, ripping and slicing without caution, without fear. I relished the feeling of his substance giving way to my blows.
“Enough!” he yelled.
And then… I was frozen, unable to control even my lungs as they fought for air.
“You will pay the highest price for your temper, girl.”
Do what you will, wretched vermin. I will never give you the satisfaction of my tears, I thought, for my tongue was now bound by him, stilled behind my clenched teeth.
“Oh, but you will. I will eagerly collect each and every tear you will most certainly spill… as you watch every single person you have ever loved fall mercilessly from my wrathful plague. I will bind you to me. Force you to watch the horror in their eyes. Force you to hear the pitiful screams of your beloved damned. Be they human or Angel, be they man or woman, be they mortal or no… each shall be destroyed before your eyes.”
I laughed within my mind and allowed him to hear my thoughts clearly.
Hear them I may. See them I will not.
And for the first time, I was thankful for Vittorio’s horrible gift of blindness. It alone would save me from the torment this creature meant for me.
“Oh, but you will. I vow this to you now, defiant witch.”
What is he talking about? I see nothing.
Shabriri laughed. “Ahh… but your eternity will be filled with images, naïve little Angel. The wretched images of your dearest loved ones… as their entrails spill upon the ground at your feet.”
Chapter 44
Shabriri
(shah-BREE-ree)
I woke, chained by invisible magic to the stone slab my Guardian brother lay silent upon. I dared not speak, guarding my thoughts fiercely. I ran my trembling hand up Vittorio’s unmoving form until I found his beautiful face. His strong brow was furrowed, yet eyelashes tickled my palms, squelching my growing fears.
“You live.”
Only his eyelids fluttered in response to my words. His tongue remained frozen with the rest of his body.
“I will see you free, this I swear. No matter what happens, no matter what you hear… When the spell upon you is broken, get back any way you can to Vanahirdem and see yourself healed.”
His eyelids gave no response.
“Swear it,” I whispered, demandingly.
Ever so slowly, I felt his lashes close and open again, only once.
“Vittorio, my love, you must do this thing. You must promise to live. Live for me if not for yourself. I will gladly and willingly pay any price, but only if I know you’re safe. Reassure me now, my most beautiful of brothers, for I do not possess the strength to see this through on my own. I must borrow my will from you, dear one. Do you understand? You must do what I beg of you. If you do not escape, my sacrifice will be for naught.”
His lashes fluttered against my palm once more.
“Gratitude, sweet warrior. Your promise gives me the strength I did not possess to face what I must. If you vow now to live for me, then I swear to you, Brother… I will stay alive until the day you hold me in your arms once more as we dance under our waterfall. I promise to live for the day when my vision is returned and I can look upon your face, your most beautiful face, as you steal a kiss from me proper. I want to see the look in your eyes when I punch you. No matter what happens to me, Vittorio, I have no choice but to live through it. Promise me you will move heaven and hell to make it back to Vanahirdem. For when I return, I may be alive, but I will be broken… horribly broken. That’s when I’ll need you, Brother, and only you. We are the same, you and I. You must live today so you will be able to mend me tomorrow.”
I kissed his unresponsive lips and wrapped my tethered arms around him as far as I could. When I felt his hot tears against my cheek, I squeezed him harder.
“I love you, and I know you love me more. I don’t have to hear the words with my ears… I feel them in my soul.”
I kissed him once more and sat down upon the filthy ground, trying to assess a formidable strategy. My guarded mind raced through the scrolls Valadrog had laid out before me. Every demon, every realm, every vile detail flashed through my desperate mind.
What did he say? Shabriri… Shabriri… Now I remember! He is Shabriri, demon god of blindness, twin brother to his sister Shibta, demoness of disease and plague. Oh no, demon of blindness… That’s what he meant—
“What did I mean, little one? What’s your fragile mind trying so futilely to hide from me? Do you think I will underestimate you again? No, my love. I will not be at ease with you anymore. You can only move now because I allow it to be so. Soon, the walls in your mind will bow before me and I will gain complete control of it as well. You have much to look forward to, dear one. Before I am done, you will beg for my arms to embrace you, for my lips to caress you. You’ll even long for the pain you know I will bring you. You will mount me of your own accord and curse the name of your helplessly chained dark husband.” He laughed, wickedly so.
“Lies. It will all be lies.”
“Perhaps, but you will think them truths. You will believe you love me. That’s all that matters.”
“You would want a woman to think she loves you? You would rather lie to your own heart?”
“Heart?” He laughed hysterically. “Heart? I have no heart, child. Have you not been paying attention? I have no heart. Neither do I have a soul. With no heart and no soul, there can never be things such as love nor compassion, understanding nor mercy.”
“Oh, but you do have a soul,” I hissed. “Deny it all you want. It may be black and it may be putrid, but you have a soul. Your vile sister’s wouldn’t be writhing in the bottomless pit of hell if this were not true.”
I never sensed his movements, but his hand around my throat was instantly apparent.
“I shall have to teach you to hold that fiery little tongue of yours. Which would you prefer? Punishment until submission, or shall I just cut it out of your impudent little mouth?”
Cut it out if you think it’ll do you any good. But you will never escape my words. I will scream them at you with my mind for all eternity!
“We shall see.”
His lips burned like fire. I tried to pull away but he held me there. Such power I had never conceived. His forked tongue forced my lips apart. I gagged from the horrid violation.
His desire was obvious and his breathing was labored when next he spoke.
“I will wait no longer for Apollyon’s response. I will have you for the first time, now. It won’t diminish your worth to him. I will refrain from damaging your flesh too badly. But I will know you.”
Shabriri grabbed my ankles, pulling me flat upon the ground until my tethered wrists caught and I could go no further. I heard the muffled grunts of my imprisoned brother, but there was no way he could stop this demon. I had pushed him too far and he would exact his pound of flesh in return. I tried to fight, but with my wings pinned behind me, my hands tied to the stone, and the powerful demon holding tight my ankles, I could do little more than squirm… and speak.
“If you do this, you will lose any hope of ever seeing your sister again. I gave a vow to my husband and I have not broken it. If you violate me, Apollyon’s wrath will not be quenched.”
The demon heeded me not. I shivered from his vile touch, even cried out, pleading with him to stop when his disgusting tongue began exploring my trembling body.
“Please, God… Help me,” I whimpered.
“God cannot hear you in Spadroon. But your cries turn me on all the more. Continue, please. I love the little noises you make. My mouth’s watering just thinking about all the delicious sounds you will compose in but a few moments.”
From then on, I kept my prayers within the fortress of my mind as I continually begged for me
rcy. Shabriri spread my legs and pressed his weight upon me as my tears flowed back, soaking my hair. Vittorio grunted and struggled, but there was no hope left to stop this demonic violation.
I quit struggling and tried to concentrate on something beautiful, anything at all. I saw the dainty pink roses covering our tiny cottage. I saw the magical cove Vittorio had gifted me. I even saw the beautiful gemstone streets I’d envisioned in hell. I saw Vybius’s magical amethyst eyes, and then Vindicus’s bright azure hair and warm, loving smile. I relaxed.
This was but one moment in time, then it would pass. But these pleasant things would remain with me forever. When Shabriri bit down upon my neck, I forced myself to delve deeper within. I heard Valadrog’s booming voice as it mellowed out while trying to impress upon me the history of demonology. I started repeating his words aloud as they returned to my memory.
“Shabriri… briri… riri… iri… ri.”
He gasped. “What did you say?”
“Jenevier Olesia Embarr, daughter of God and of man, I have been warned… Beware of Shabriri—Shabriri… briri… riri… iri… ri!”
I shouted the incantation with all my might. The demon hissed, drawing back for but a heartbeat. The ground beneath me rumbled and my tethers snapped. He leapt upon me, pinning me down once more.
“I will have you!” he hissed.
I fought him and scratched him and kicked at him.
“Shabriri… briri… riri…iri… ri, I bind thee within thy watery trap, my sight you will not steal. From your dazzling gaze let me be wrapped, from your blight I will be healed.”
I will never forget the grating sound of his long horns scraping against the granite I’d been shackled to… it rattled in my teeth, caused my very bones to quiver.
The demon’s roar was deafening as he fought my spell and withstood my slashing blows. Holding still my hips with his clawed hands, he was determined to accomplish his loathsome quest.