Amy Blankenship - Shadow Of Death

Coming up behind Michael, Syn pulled another bloodstone from his arm band and rammed his fist into Michael’s back, forcing it through flesh and blood. He held Michael in a tight grip as he inserted the blood stone behind his heart much the same way Michael had once done Kane.

The tunnel around them started to vibrate with Michael’s rage and Syn knew a cave in would soon follow if it was not brought under control. Planting his feet against the side of the train, he pushed away taking Michael with him. Trying to stun him into submission, Syn slammed Michael into the wall hard enough to leave an impact creator but Michael still blindly fought him.

Feeling that rage only gain strength, Syn sighed wearily before gripping Michael’s neck… snapping it.

He caught Michael’s limp body and gently picked him up in his arms. Walking a few feet to an alcove hidden mostly by darkness, Syn carried Michael to the closest electrical room and forced the door open. He laid Michael on the floor and stared down him for a moment before leaving him in there.

Closing the door behind him, he turned around and placed his palm against it giving it a demon barrier so his son would not be disturbed. He couldn’t afford to help heal Michael… the time it would take for healing was needed for that kind of rage to wear off.

He smirked knowing the female Fallen had rattled Michael’s cage then frowned as he glanced back in the direction Angelica was in. Michael’s cage wasn’t the only one being rattled.

*****

Shadow stayed hidden in her self made prison of the maze Night Walker’s called the spirit realm. She might be trapped here in this alternate dimension but that didn’t mean she had to make herself a target for Deth’s unwanted attention or the hoard of demons he’d brought here with him.

She missed the world of life that even now was nestled somewhere on the other side of the thin dimensional wall that separated the two worlds. Stepping through that wall was rather painful but she’d do it in a heartbeat if Deth would allow it. Problem was… he’d never allow it.

She watched as Deth once again gave Myra some of his blood. It was part of the deal he’d made with the woman before killing her in the human world. As promised, he’d raised Myra from the dead, but it was a slow process because the jealous demon had demanded that he was the only one to feed her.

The one thing the woman had going for her was the fact that she’d only been dead a couple hours. That revival was nothing compared to the process it took a zombie to reform after it had been in the grave for years or even centuries. Shadow sighed in her boredom deciding it would be more fun to watch grass grow.

In Shadow’s opinion, stupid demons deserved stupid humans. She’d been witness to the deal… both deals. The one Deth had made with Myra when she’d first had the half-breed child, and the deal Myra had made that allowed Deth to gain at least one of the two things he wanted.

Getting half of what you want never made a demon happy. Instead of looking at it half full, to Deth it would always be half empty.

Shadow recalled that Deth and Myra had started out fighting pretty heavy back then. Myra had spent most of her time running from the mistake she’d made but she’d never been able to outrun the demon that had caught her scent. The more Myra had fought him, the more Deth had wanted her.

Shadow shook her head once again realizing humans and demons were a lot more alike than most thought. Growing weary of the war between them, Myra had finally stopped running and offered Deth a deal.

The first deal had been that Myra would become his lover any time he wished it, as long as he stayed away from the child. Deth had been under the influence of Myra’s hunger when he’d agreed to the deal. Just like a man to think with the wrong head.

The second deal had been interesting though. Deth had threatened Myra with the fact that if he couldn’t watch over Tiara or ever see her, then he would send someone in his place… the deal hadn't forbid that. Myra had panicked and tried to make another deal with her demon lover. It was amazing how she had never learned not to trust a demon though she had put more thought into this final deal.

Myra agreed to cross over into this forsaken demon ridden world and let Deth revive her on this side on the condition that Deth stayed on this side with her. Shadow knew it was the last step to making sure Deth never got his hands on Tiara “the little princess”.

She supposed Myra loved Deth a little but that wasn’t why she’d made the deal… if Myra had been powerful enough Deth would have met his demise before the first deal had been struck.

Deth had also been smarter this time and had revised the deal before agreeing to it. He’d made sure Tiara would have the protector he wanted her to have by taking Shadow’s binding ring and making a clone from it using her Night Walker blood. As part of the deal, Deth would wear the clone and Tiara could choose a human to wear the real ring so he could tap into the binding spell.

Shadow understood more than anyone the secrets the Egyptian binding ring held. She frowned as she thought about the human that was now trapped in Deth's little game by wearing the ring.

With the rings came Deth's true connection to his daughter. Deth could keep tabs on her for him and Myra through the rings. If Tiara was to ever come across an enemy she would fall to, then the ring would alert him and he would be allowed twenty-four hours on the other side to rescue his daughter before the deal would bind him back into this world.

Myra had been a fool to agree to those terms. If Deth was allowed to leave here, then he would find a way to bring Tiara back with him. What he had not told Myra was that the ring also gave him a little control over the person wearing the ring. At least enough control to make that person stay near Tiara if Deth so chose.

She watched as Deth once again returned to staring at the ring. She wondered how long it would take him to decide to send a demon after his own daughter just to wound her so he could go collect what belonged to him. She knew Deth, had known him longer than she could remember. He might love Myra and Tiara in his own way, but he was evil enough to destroy both of them without feeling much guilt over it.

A demon hating you was one thing… but a demon as powerful as Deth loving you was a worse fate. Myra hadn't known that by agreeing to only being revived by Deth's blood she would not be able to fight him like she had in the human world. She would now become little more than an obedient rag doll for Deth to manipulate for eternity. The only thing Deth had not taken from Myra was her soul.

Shadow looked down at the marks on the inside of her wrists and wished Deth had not returned her own soul to her after he’d used a spell to bind her to him as his Night Walker. At least if she’d lacked a soul, the numbness would have kept her from being bored out of her mind.

She dropped her arms deciding it didn’t matter. As long as Deth willed it, she was just as trapped in this world as Myra was. The only thing she was waiting on now was Deth to make up his mind on how long he’d wait before he decided to kill his daughter.

Deth slowly pulled his bare chest away from Myra’s lips and rose from the bed, undisturbed with his nudity. He had built this place between dimensions many centuries before, ruled it from its highest peak with an untouchable army… the thousands of souls at his command.

Like his beautiful Myra, he was a necromancer, but his forte was the enslavement of the souls he drew to him rather than leading them into their afterlife.

Those very souls circled around his magnificent home crying out to be released… but Deth never released something once it belonged to him. He knew Myra did not truly love him, nor did he really care if she did or not. She was his and that was all that mattered.