Voyage into Slavery

~Demons are creatures of Earth and Fire, Blood and Bone. These are their attributes, and they are at their strongest in the presence of these things. Angels are creatures of Air and Water, Tears and Spirit. These are their attributes, and they are at their strongest in the presence of these things.~

First Year Magician Lesson

-Devnik-

I awoke to total darkness.

The cave smelled foul. Blood and vomit had mixed in the air, creating a putrid odor.

Water still dripped from the ceiling, and the cold was fierce and biting. My hand strayed back down to my stomach. My gut wound had closed, leaving nothing but a hole in my shirt to remember it by. I tried to stand and I managed to rise with something resembling grace.

I stretched and yawned. I felt muscles uncoil as the fog of sleep temporarily lifted from my mind. I held up my hand and concentrated.

Red sparks danced across my finger tips, sending a lurid red light dancing across the cave walls.

I did a silent little jig in the dark.

My powers had returned.

I quickly turned my attention to the squalor I had to endure while my magic was depleted. With a sweep of my hand the blood and vomit disappeared. With another wave I removed all stalagmites. I wasn't taking any chances with those pointy bastards...

I then focused on making the place more livable. I replaced the cave floor with a plush black rug. I created a table with some chairs around it. In the corner where my stalagmite had been I erected a marble fireplace complete with fire. Then I moved my comfy armchair so that it faced the hearth. Finally to round off my new luxury accommodations, I created a king sized four poster bed, with red silk canopy and red silk bedding.

I stretched again.

I threw myself onto the bed and sighed. No matter where I was I always created the same room, with the same furniture. It felt very ... comforting.

I yawned. The fog of sleep was resettling

I was tired enough to sleep for a year. I still wasn't completely recovered, and with my new furnishings I felt very contented.

Very contented indeed ... I gazed at the crackling hearth.

And I drifted back to sleep, with flames dancing before my eyes.

-Maria-

The trip back down was horrible. With every step I took I felt like I was damning myself. My footsteps grew heavier and heavier, and it felt like a great weight was being pressed down onto my shoulders.

Why did my supposed eternal husband like to live in a cave I wondered?

Then I remembered.

Oh, that's right; he's a filthy demon, that's why he likes caves. Oh, and he stole me away from my true Awakener, who would have been my true angelic love.

I sighed, and continued my trek down the long winding passage ways. While the trip to the surface had been an exhilarating sense of freedom, this journey back down seemed like a voyage into slavery.

I shook my head, and put such thoughts out of my mind. I concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, while my hands stayed close to the cave wall, ready to lend support should the path prove treacherous.

It did, numerous times, but finally I began to see the familiar flickering of orange light. I silently sent up a prayer, blessing that lone candle for lighting my path. I moved through the gap between the two rocks.

My jaw dropped.

This was not the same sordid cave that I had left behind.

The room looked like a noble's chambers.

A soft rug of black wool lay covered the hard cave floor. A dinner table and chairs set with silver plates and cutlery occupied a corner. What I had mistaken for the lone candle was actually a roaring fire, set in a breathtaking white marble fireplace. But that's not what caught my attention. Sprawled on a four poster bed was the demon. His dark hair a tangled mess over his perfect pale face. He was shirtless. His body was well defined, and his alabaster chest was hairless.

I edged closer to him, trying to get a better look. While sleeping he looked utterly harmless. With his taunting red eyes closed he seemed more like a boy of eighteen-years, rather than the twenty-year old I had mistook him for. I slowly reached out a hand, and I brushed his hair out of his eyes. His eyelids fluttered, but he stayed asleep.