Heirot

Mi glanced over her shoulder. "Go check and see what is going on!" Mi said and looked at Eve. Eve smirked and curtsied. "Yes, Mistress," the woman replied sarcasticly and skipped down the hall in the direction of Damien and the others.

Mi looked at the water Mage warily for a moment. "How long have you been trapped here?"

"Not long... A man with red eyes brought me hear and a man with green eyes locked me up," he said and looked around.

"Speaking of which... Have ye seen him? Quite a nasty fellow... They call him the Hand of Death...."

"No, can't say that I have..." Mi said. Mi thought she heard rustling behind her. The Water Mage looked rather startled. Mi turned and looked, however all she saw was the blackness of the hall.

Then a man emerged clothed in black. He wore a black trenchcoat that reached his black boots. His eyes were peircing green, and had only small dots for pupils. His hair was blond, rather long, but not to the point where it reached his shoulders. Mi was startled by how strikingly handsome he was... Too handsome to be human.

"Gods its him! Run! Run!" the Water Mage screamed cowardly.

The darkness seemed to hug the man like a cloak. Mi, however, did not run. She just stared at him for a moment. "Let me guess.... your a...." She placed a finger to her chin and smirked. "You a demon?"

The man smiled, his smile revealed perfectly straight stark white teeth. His smile was enticing.... Attractive. Though, Mi was far more stable in will power than most women. "How clever of you to notice, Lady Mi..."

"How did you know---?"

* * *

Eve came to a hault. "My, my... is someone throwing a tantrum? Come! We found a wee little man!" Even said and giggled as she ran back down the hall.

Screams now filled the cave. They had finally got Thorn to stop trying to bring the place down. Damien pushed passed Eve and hurried down the hallway. The fire that had illuminated his hand was gone as he approached Mi. He didn't even notice the dark figure that stood before her. "What's going on?" he asked a bit sporadic.

Mi looked at Damien and smiled. "Damien, meet Lord Kal Ahriman, the Hand of Death," Mi said and motioned towards the over six foot figure. Arhiman smiled and turned toward Damien. "Ahh... a fellow demon... How wonderful..."

Mi moved over to let the water mage be seen. "This is... Iffrit... A Water Mage... and I believe I found the way out."

Damien nodded to the giant demon. He could feel a hint of something swell up inside him. He knew the feeling well enough as he often experienced it as a child. Ahriman stared at me with studying eyes. Damien thought about burning his eyes out of his head right then, but considered unwise. He didn't know this demon or his strength.

"Where the hell did you get a name like, Hand of Death from?" Damien asked trying to vent out some of his building fury. "Sounds like something from a child's tale."

The demon, standing 6' 6" turned fully to Damein, studying him with an absent expression, his peircing green eyes seemed to stair straight through your soul. "Well, Lord Damien.... brother of Lord Airen..." he smirked and turned towards the tiny little man. For a moment he stared at Mi as he walked towards the watermage, who shivered cowardly in the corner as the presence came towards him.

"If you must have an example of my power... Since that is what you truely want, no? You want to know how powerful I am, so you can know whether you can destroy me or not?" The demon laughed. His eyes fell on Mi again. "I'll grant your wish, Lady De'lorngrey... and his."

He reached out with his left hand as the Water Mage shrieked in terror. With a haunting smile Ahriman placed his hand on the mage. The Water Mage froze... but then gave a perplexed look. Ahriman backed off, neither looking defeated or troubled by the fact nothing was happening. There was a black handprint where he had placed his hand. The spot spread... and soon the blackness was covering the Water Mage. He began to breath heavily, then his breath turned into screams of pain and fear. Shadowy figures came from the walls and laughed at him as he began to turn into dust. His spirt was carried off by Death's Minions.

Ahriman's head looked over his shoulder, his green eyes falling on them as his body turned towards them. He looked at Damien. "Is that a good enough example? I'll remind you, however... That extremly high ranking demons cannot die. They are immortal. That is why some become Gods. My master is Death, and his master is Verin, the God of Darkness. One of you here is destined to die... and be remade as a demon. That is why I am here. I will personally take that person into the Underworld. However, I have arrived early. I hope you don't mind a little help along the way?"

Mi's eyes flashed in his direction. Though, surely no one would noticed. She was to die soon... Though there were so many there at the moment it could be any one of them.

Eve swayed forward and looked at his hand. "Does that happen every time you touch someone?" she asked, batting her green eyelashes.

"No," he said, smiling devilishly down upon her.

"Goody... that would be such a shame if it did..." She winked at him and Mi of course rolled her eyes.

Damien didn't fret the words of the demon. He knew it wasn't him that would die and reincarnate as a demon. He was already a demon, or at least partly. But some other words did grab the fire wielder's attention.

Damien stared at the dark man before him. "How do you know Airen is my brother?" He asked. Disgust poured from his mouth at the name of his enemy. Damien would kill Airen. Even if it brought his own life to an end.

Ahriman laughed. "I know many things, Son of Airis. Like the God of Fire is really your brother's son. He has possessed your brother's son and has taken over his palace..." Ahriman studied the room. "I know that Thorn had an inscestuous relationship with his half-sister... and that Trydent has a secret lust for some of his male prison mates..."

Both men glanced around, backing further into the darkness. Ahriman smirked. "I'm sorry, did you not want those secrets to be known?"

"I know that Eve likes to play both feilds..."

"And that Mi's father is not her real father. He as in love with her mother. When her mother refused to have him, he killed her and took her as his child. However, she just looks far too much like her mother... And we both know what happened then, don't we Mi..." Ahriman smiled at her.

Mi froze and stared straight at him. She didn't know that... How could she trust that he was telling the truth. She always wondered why.... But, no... it couldn't possibly be true.

"See, Lord Damien.... I know everything about you..." Ahriman said. "All of you."

An evil grin rose to Damien's lips, "Then you must also know that Airen will be dying soon," His voice filled with hate. "And as for his love... She will be my slave whore." Damien's eyes burned with all the fires of hell. "And I don't need a fortuneteller to tell me that."

Damien stormed passed Mi and Ahriman. His skin blazed an orange glow that illuminated his entire body. His hair lifted from the infuriating heat.

Mi followed, and Ahriman behind her. Ahriman spoke up. "The future has yet to be written, Lord Damien. Do not believe what you see. Delusions can make it harder for your dreams to come true," he said with a smirk.

Mi walked in a daze... Her whole life flashed before her eyes as one large lie. A lie that frightened her. A lie that caused her to question the very foundations of her beliefs. One that caused her to wonder who she really was... Who her real father was.

Damien stepped through the melted bars and saw the water cascade of water. It poured into an enormous body that could only have been the great Sea of Ongore. As he turned to the right, away from the sea. The water poured from an unknown darkness. "Great," he muttered to himself. He turned around and found a giant. A wall that towered as high as the eye could see.

"I thought this was an exit," he said to his approaching accomplices.

Mi looked at him. "I'm afraid our only exit is the sea... The water mage probably could have gotten us to land with out needing a boat... However, Mr. Knows It All killed him...."

Ahriman smiled as Eve looped her arm with his. "He was a porely skilled Water Mage... He could have put out your fire, though, Mi..."

Eve giggled, "That would be quite unfortunate!"

Thorn looked to Damien. "We could swim."

Ahriman laughed, though Mi didn't see what was so funny.

Damien turned to Thorn with a dumbfounded look. "Do you even know how to swim, Thorn?" he asked.

Thorn looked around as all eyes were on him. "No," he said under his breath, hanging his and and feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Didn't think so." Damien stared out at the water beyond. There was a way they could get to the mainland, though it would require a massive amount of his own energy. He wasn't sure in which direction he should head nor where they would wind up, but it couldn't be worse than the present situation.

Golden embers filled Damien's eye sockets as he spoke in an unknown tongue. The earth rumbled beneath them and the stone wall behind them cracked and crumbled. Pieces of the rock falling around them. Lava busted through the black wall and dove into the sea. A hard black substance formed in the water where the liquid fire touched. Damien laughed maliciously as his power flowed through his veins. It would prickle the hairs of even the most evil of beings.

A ramp formed around the side of the cliff, gradually climbing to higher levels. As it reached the top, Damien began to feel his powers control taking affect. It was slowly consuming his soul and turning him into what he truly was. Once the incline was finished Damien fell to the ground unconscious. Thorn and Trydent looked at him in astonishment then at the sloping exit around the wall.

"I guess we don't have to swim," Thorn mumbled.

Ahriman smiled. "Thank you, Lord Damien." He said and glanced carelessly down at the body of Damien. He nudged it with his boot gently." Yes, it does appear he's out cold... This means the ship doesn't have to come into the cove. If you don't mind extending it towards the ocean..." Ahriman raised his hand and the pear moved out into the bay. As he walked, Mi followed. She was still perplexed by the recent events... and the knew knowledge and longed to speak with Ahriman in private about her so called father.

They stood on the dock that wrapped around the cliffs. Ahriman raised his hand and pointed. "I was going to suggest this, however Damien thinks very fast. I know his desire to go to the Outerlands and seek an army... to get there you will need a ship, no?"

Ahriman turned his hand over, palm facing up. Then he flexed his fingers as if beconning someone with his hand. The waves grew more choppy... and in the distance the water began to rage... then a gaint worldpool appeared and out of it sprung o ship made of iron, wood, and bone. It's sails were black. There was a woman fixed to the front of a ship. She was nude and made of copper. She was consumed in fire and appeared to be in pain. Though it was just a sculpture and not a live woman.

Thorn tossed Damien's limp body over his right shoulder without much effort. There was no doubt Damien had pushed himself to his farthest limits short of killing himself. However, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

"Where in the gods names did that come from?" Thorn asked stepping up behind Mi and Ahriman. Trydent followed and gazed around at all the spectacles that had just taken place.

"Come my simple minded friends and enjoy the comforts of the Underworld," he said as he moved to board the ship, going up the ramp. Men, though at least they might have been men, they were covered in armor and helmets so it was hard to tell.... the sailors stood in a line across the deck of the ship.

Ahriman said something in his demonic language. It was harsh, sharp, and unpleasant to hear. A sailor stepped forward. "He will take you to your quarters," Kal Ahriman said.

Eve was the first one to beginning following the stranger down bellow the deck. He led them to a hall with many doors that led to many rooms. Eve opened up the door and jumped in delight. For a ship of its size the rooms seemed oddly bigger than they should be. The room she found was the size of the ship... as if she had walked into another realm.

"I wouldn't get to comfortable..." Mi said and smirked as she opened up her door further down the hall. "The ship is named, Ferry Cúma S Udún. It means the Ferry to Hell. This is the ship that takes the souls of the dead to the Underworld..."

Eve's smile vanished.

"Don't worry... Your not dead yet." Mi smirked and stepped into her room. She closed the door behind her and left Eve quite unsettled in the hallway.