The Dragon Witch

by Drako

  Lucifer turned his black eyes back on her. “As if I care. I have better things to do than to worry about the children I’ve brought into this world who serve no purpose. If they wanted my attention, they should have done something interesting and devastating. They are, generally, free to leave the realm.”

  Desdemona scowled. “You don’t pay attention to anything. My children have wreaked untold horrors on humanity. They have unleashed plagues for which there’s still no cure.”

  Lucifer looked bored, if that was possible. “Those plagues were contained. The only child that came close to greatness was slaughtered by the Black Dragon God. He didn’t even put up a real fight against him. Your children disgust me.”

  “They’re your children too, you worthless bastard!”

  Lucifer rested his head on his hand, further evidence of his boredom. “Come up with something creative if you must call me names. That one is overused. And I’m well aware that I fathered most of these children. Except for one, that is.”

  This made Desdemona smile. “I deserved a chance to retaliate for all the whores you’ve been with. Do you think I don’t know your children? I can spot each and every one you’ve ever had. The only thing sparing them is the fact that I can’t leave here. But when I do, I’ll wipe the little whelps off the face of the earth and laugh as I do it.”

  Lucifer’s eyes narrowed. “Do you dare to threaten me?”

  “Of course I dare. I don’t fear you. What can you possibly do to me?”

  “I could set you on fire and watch your skin boil for eternity, all the while slaughtering your children like cattle before your eyes. I could even snatch your son with the Black Dragon God from Hades and torture him in front of you.”

  “Do I look like some virgin goddess fresh out of the mother’s womb? You can’t get near anything Hades controls, and if you went near my son, his father would break you in pieces and scatter them across Shevat, only to destroy the realm for your impudence.”

  Lucifer snorted. “So confident in your former lover’s abilities. Maybe he’s not a former lover after all. Perhaps I’ve struck a nerve.”

  Desdemona let out a grin. “No, but I know I did. You hate Jarel more than anyone in the universe and that’s exactly why I chose him. It just grates you that he’s had me and oh, did he have me.” She began to trace a finger down from her neckline, between her breasts, and down further south. “I must say that it was quite an experience and so much different from what I’d had with you. And look at the child we bore. Look at the grandchildren that child gave. Those twins are far superior to anything descended from you.”

  Lucifer scowled at her. “Then I’ll take great delight in ripping the little shits limb from limb and feasting on their entrails.”

  Desdemona laughed out loud. “Only in your dreams. Oh, and did I mention the other little tidbit of information I found out about your parents?”

  Lucifer’s scowl turned into a frown and rage simmered in his eyes. “What in the hell are you talking about?”

  Desdemona was certainly enjoying herself now. “Oh, you hadn’t heard? Jarel destroyed Erebus and trapped Nyx in Tartarus. Now you’ve got no parents to hide behind. And I believe that seal on your realm is probably worn off, which means you’re only safe in mine. Doesn’t it just suck to be you?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Lucifer straightened his features out. “With Cronus by my side, I shall rain down death and destruction on Jarel and all the other gods that are allowed to enjoy the other realms while I could only leave to barter for the souls of mortals. That changes here.”

  Desdemona shrugged. “Yes it will. And finally I’ll get real space from you. Having your realm so close to mine is nauseating.”

  “You don’t have to tell me that. The stench of you and your children has plagued me for so long that I can’t even remember what it’s like to live without it.”

  Desdemona slapped him, which got her only a laugh from him.

  “Is that the best you’ve got?”

  She raised her hand to strike him again, but he caught her wrist.

  “Now is not the time for this. Once the ceremony is completed, then we can continue.”

  She snatched her hand back. They would continue later, and he’d feel worse than a slap from her.

  Jarel found himself walking down ancient halls far different from those of his palace on Solaris. These halls were dark, and rarely used. The occupants of this palace did not normally leave it. And he despised coming here. This was the temple of the Moirae, more commonly known as the Fates. The only reason he’d wasted his time coming here was because they had actually requested he come here. Finally, he stepped into the room where the great tapestry was constantly woven. This tapestry held the lives of all who had ever lived since the Moirae were born. Mortal eyes had never once gazed upon this, and in likelihood never would. Standing at the loom were three robed women of varying height. Jarel towered over all three, of course, and as he stood before the loom, he folded his arms across his chest in a sign of impatience.

  “You want to know why we have summoned you,” said the Fate that was of medium height. Her voice was youthful sounding, and her face was that of a very young girl. This was Clotho, eternally in the form of a young girl, and the one that began the threads of all life.

  “We have called you to advise you of what you must know,” said the tallest of the three. This was Lachesis, who had the appearance of a woman in her prime.

  “And of what you must do to save this world,” said the shortest and eldest of the three, Atropos. She had the appearance of an elderly woman, and it was she that cut the threads of life to end it.

  “I sincerely hope you called me here to tell me something worth my time, or perhaps it will be your time to enter oblivion and therein be replaced,” Jarel told them.

  “Look into the tapestry and find what you wish to know,” Clotho advised him.

  “As a master of fate, this is your right to do,” Lachesis added.

  Jarel approached the loom, perhaps pacified by the subtle nod of respect to his power. He reached out and his hand instantly found a thread, which he used his finger to pull out just a bit.

  “Illuminate this thread here, Moirae,” he ordered.

  “For millennia, one god has fled your wrath unlike any other,” Clotho began.

  “This god was given a realm from which you were barred by the former king of heaven, and you have long sought to be rid of him,” Lachesis continued.

  “And this god has risen to fulfill his destiny of resurrecting the Titans and beginning a new war of the gods,” Atropos finished.

  “Explain yourselves,” Jarel ordered them again, his voice low but the power behind it undeniable.

  “From his birth, he has been called the Prince of Darkness, due to being the child of Nyx and Erebus, night and darkness,” Clotho explained. “He is revered as the father of all evil, even among mortals. He is the father of all demons, a trickster, and so long as he lives he causes misery to all.”

  “Long ago, I foresaw that he would bring his form of chaos to the world,” Lachesis continued. “Of all the gods, none can be considered so wholly evil. He was destined to bring the return of the Titans. He cannot withstand your wrath alone.”

  “As we speak, Lucifer is bringing their return, and in this he will succeed,” Atropos concluded.

  “And what destiny have you woven after that?” Jarel asked.

  “We have begun nothing after this point that involves the gods,” Clotho answered.

  “So you spin only the lives of mortals at this time?” Jarel questioned.

  “As we speak, I am measuring the life of mortal after mortal,” Lachesis told him.

  “If you are not spinning the threads for the lives of gods, then what does this mean?” Jarel looked at each of the three women, noting for the first time that instead of their traditional white robes, they wore black.

  “We are as bound by the threads we weave as any other, and I have begu
n our final thread,” Clotho told him.

  “Our lives have been long, and our task has always been to spin and weave the threads of fate,” Lachesis added.

  “And to cut them when necessary,” Atropos added as she cut a thread.

  “Our time spinning the threads of fate is coming to an end.” Clotho began to spin a new thread.

  “We will meet our end shortly, but before we do, we wish to impart upon you the things that you will need to know.” Lachesis measured the thread for Clotho to cut.

  “The world will need you more than ever, Black Dragon God.” Atropos once again cut the thread.

  Jarel snorted. “Since when has the world needed me? I gave it most of the things that go bump in the night.”

  “You adhere to your nature, something most mortals do not understand,” Clotho replied as she began yet another thread.

  “And you have a friendship with Zeus that none other can boast of,” Lachesis told him as she measured the thread again.

  “And your army will join with his to combat the Titans, because you despise the children of Gaea and Uranus.” Atropos followed her trend of cutting the thread.

  There was a point Jarel couldn’t argue. He had hated the Titans, as they were not the model gods they should have been. They were ruthless, remorseless beings with no regard for the humans they were supposed to rule. Only a select few of the Titans had been worth saving, and those were the ones that had helped Zeus defeat the others the first time. And true enough, he’d grown rather fond of the reigning king of the gods. He’d also helped Zeus begin his reign, and he had quite a bit in common with him really. After all, they both had made countless children with mortals and immortals alike, and they shared a wicked sense of humor and justice. More than once he’d warned Zeus about a threat to his reign, and he would do no less now.

  “What of my daughter?” Jarel asked.

  “You know that your daughter is as capable as your sons, and the battle ahead of her will not be easy,” Clotho answered.

  “Currently she must survive the battle with Lucifer, but she cannot destroy him. She simply must last until Cronus is resurrected in the demon realm,” Lachesis added.

  “Once Cronus has come back from Chaos, all gods may once again enter the realm of Shevat, as Desdemona will have violated her ancient pact by reviving Cronus in her realm. You should prepare to enter the realm yourself,” Atropos advised him.

  “And what about you three? Are you truly to meet your end?”

  “Yes, even we must end,” Clotho responded, with no hint of sadness or any other emotion.

  “Fate itself will continue on, but our power will be dispersed among the remaining gods,” Lachesis added.

  Jarel shook his head. “There should only be a few strong enough to actually destroy you. To my knowledge there are four of us powerful enough and none of us are willing to do so.”

  “This we cannot tell you, as it is our time to go,” Clotho responded.

  “You have already meddled with our fate enough, as we were supposed to have met our end ages ago,” Lachesis said sternly, the first hint of emotion in the entire group.

  “I did no such thing.”

  “Are you sure?” Atropos had a hint of laughter in her voice.

  “Believe me, I’m highly unlikely to have spared your lives intentionally.”

  “But you did spare their lives.”

  Jarel turned to the sound of a voice that never failed to bring a smile to his face. The goddess Odele came walking towards him. She was somewhat pale, but nonetheless beautiful, with long flowing dark brown hair and dark green eyes. She, too, was shorter than him, but still tall by normal standards. She wore a loose fitting white gown that failed tremendously at hiding the feminine curves that most would die to explore.

  “Nonsense. I allowed their continued existence because they did a job no one else wanted,” Jarel responded as wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

  “Yes, you spared them when you hastened the fall of Cronus. Cronus was supposed to have destroyed them in response to their prophecy that Zeus would overthrow him. You persuaded Zeus to attack while Cronus was weak, and he did so before Cronus could come for the Moirae,” Odele explained.

  Jarel glared at the Moirae. “Bullshit. You wanted to continue living, so you let me hasten Zeus’ assault on his father. You manipulate everyone, even the gods.”

  “We will not deny the benefit we received, but the price we pay is the end of our existence,” Clotho replied.

  “It simply must come to pass,” Lachesis commented.

  “And if you do not hurry, you will be too late to help your child,” Atropos warned.

  “We will not meet again, Black Dragon God,” Clotho added.

  “Farewell,” the Moirae said in unison.

  Five

  The festivities had begun. The temple was one main forum, with every part of the building eventually connected into it. Victoria and the boys, as well as Krazas, had infiltrated the building with ease and were now in the deserted balconies above the main forum. In the time it had taken them to quietly dispose of the few demons patrolling the grounds, Lucifer had begun the process to resurrect Cronus. The Prince of Darkness had manifested a pool in front of the thrones, and countless demons had clearly been slaughtered to fill this pool. Several other demons in dark hooded robes stood around the pool, chanting in a language Victoria had never heard before, though she recognized it. It was the first language, filled with the awesome power of both creation and destruction. It was a language known only by the oldest of gods. Naturally Lucifer would know it too.

  “Okay, we need to take out the freaks in the robes. The longer they chant, the closer they get to their goal,” Victoria told them quietly.

  “I think we’re too late for that.” Krazas pointed at the pool. “Look at that. The blood is boiling.”

  As they looked down, the blood in the pool began to bubble and boil. Steam rose from the pool as well, and the chanting stopped. The boiling started light, but became heavy quickly.

  “I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that’s a good sign,” Krazas commented.

  “We’re going in anyway.” Victoria turned back to them. “We’re going in as planned. Boys, you get to take out Desdemona. Lucifer is mine. Krazas, kill whatever else moves if you can.”

  At everyone’s nod, Victoria flipped over the edge of the balcony and dropped down to the forum below, right next to the pool. Instantly, all eyes settled on her, including the eyes of Lucifer.

  “And who dares try to circumvent the plans of the Prince of Darkness?” Lucifer questioned in an almost bored tone of voice.

  Desdemona’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Oh, how rich. Jarel sent his only daughter into my realm to get my grandsons out. Who’d have thought I’d get to piss off both the men I hate most all in one day?”

  “Sorry to disappoint, Desdemona, but you’ve got other problems.” Victoria pointed at Lucifer. “Your ass is mine, O Prince of Darkness. I’ll leave the queen bitch to her grandsons.”

  Demun and Brandon jumped down as well, landing on either side of her.

  “Kill them,” Lucifer ordered quietly.

  All at once, the robed demons drew blood stained swords from the folds of their robes. As the blood began to move like a sea caught in a storm, the demons attacked. Brandon merely held up a hand and his power caught the group and held them in place. Victoria began to chant herself, power suddenly emanating from her. White light was emitted from her eyes as the demons burst into flames, reduced to ashes in seconds.

  “That is an unusual trick.” Lucifer rose from his throne. “However, you’re too late. The resurrection of Cronus is virtually complete. All it needs is a little something from me.” He held out his hand and a beam of light shot into the pool. At all once, the blood burst up from the pool, bursting all the way up to the ceiling. Inside, a figure could be made out, a very tall, clearly masculine figure. And from that figure came a large power that in time could
easily dwarf that of Lucifer.

  “Well, this is certainly going to suck,” Demun muttered.

  Krazas snorted. “Talk about understatements.”

  Victoria scowled. “Well, before the king of the Titans steps out of the big blood tidal wave thing, how about we kill the other two gods that brought him back and hope for a miracle?”

  “Sounds like a plan to me.” Brandon unstrapped his sword from his waist and extended the blade.

  Demun cracked his knuckles. “It’s about time I knocked the old bitch off her throne.”

  “Let’s move!” Victoria led the way around the pool and to the thrones, stopping just in striking distance of her target.

  Lucifer scowled. “Can you not just sit back and appreciate the glorious beginning of the end of the gods?”

  “Can you just do the world a favor and die painfully?” Victoria backhanded him across the face.

  Lucifer staggered, surprised by the force of the slap, and caught a kick to the chest that forced him to trip over his own throne and fall beside it.

  Desdemona raised her hand to blast Victoria, but found her hand caught. She turned to look into the blazing red eyes of Demun.

  “Sorry, dear Grandmother, but I’m afraid I’m your real issue right now.” Demun cocked back and nailed her in the face with a vicious straight right, gaining the satisfaction of breaking the goddess’ nose. She fell back and Demun jerked her forward, tossing her across the room like a rag doll.

  Brandon and Krazas, meanwhile, found themselves surrounded by scores of the minor demons. The two stood back to back, looking out at the large force they were up against.

  “So, do you have a plan to get through this to help your brother?” Krazas asked.

  “Demun is fine,” Brandon replied. “Let’s just get rid of the small fry.”

  Lucifer got back up to find that strange light coming from Victoria’s eyes again.