Master of Fire Ch. 06

Ember sat up listlessly when she awoke. Her dead eyes glanced around her: She was back in her room, and Demetri was no where in sight.

She slowly slid out of the bed and stared blankly into the standing mirror in the corner. Her spiritless eyes were slightly sunken and when she lifted Demetri's shirt her ribs poked through the bandages wrapped around her torso. She sighed and sank down in front of the fire place, staring at the flickering flames.

He will never see those flames in my eyes again. She said to herself resolvedly. Never.

Ember reached out one hand and grabbed a stick of charcoal from the edges of the fire. She stood up, walked over to the blank wall on the other side of the room and began to draw.

She drew for what seemed like hours and her fingers were black with charcoal by the time she stepped back to take a look at what she had done: There were beaches covered in palm trees, dolphins jumping out of a tempestuous sea, a house high in the tree tops, a ship chased by a storm, a tiger squaring off with a distant, shadowy hunter, and, finally, in the centre of it all were her own fiery eyes replicated in shades of grey.

Not a glimmer of emotion could be seen in her real eyes as she stumbled back to the bed and crawled into it, black fingers and all, exhausted from channelling all her restrained feelings into her art.

Demetri faded in just as her eyes closed, his arms filled with firewood to replenish the diminishing supply. But, when he saw her flaming eyes staring at him from the wall, he almost dropped the logs. He put them down slowly and walked over to the wall to stare at the drawings.

God they are beautiful.He thought to himself in complete surprise.I had no idea she could draw like this. Not that I know anything about her at all...

He turned around sharply as the halfling stirred slightly. He smiled tenderly at her black fingers and padded over softly to wake her.

Her blank eyes blinked open and she found she could hardly feel his touch as he pulled her into his arms and faded into the kitchen. He set her on her feet and turned her around to face him, brushing wayward strands of hair from her face.

"Ember, will you wash your hands while I find you some food?" he asked. "Just think of what you want and I will find it for you. Please, you need to eat. You look starved."

The halfling nodded slightly and Demetri's heart lit up at that small acknowledgement.

As she washed her hands he began to open up the cupboards. There was nothing in the first few he opened, but when he reached the last cabinet in the row he found a small bag of blood hidden in the corner.

He reached out tentatively and looked it over. There was a label, it was pig's blood. He turned around and looked at the halfling with confusion and concern in his eyes.

"I thought you didn't drink blood, Ember," he said. "I don't understand, why do you want this?"

The halfling's blank gaze looked almost sad as she pulled up her shirt to reveal her gaunt frame. Then she unwrapped the bandages a little so that he could see that her wounds were still open.

He shuddered and looked away, so ashamed of what he had done.

"I see, you don't want it but you need it to survive," he said as he held out the bag to her. "I am sorry."

The halfling grabbed the bag from him and sunk her petite fangs into it, sucking it dry in moments.

Demetri watched in amazement as colour returned to her ashen skin, as the dark circles beneath her eyes disappeared, and as she tore of the bandages to reveal smooth, flawless skin.

But still the fire did not return to her eyes.

"Do you need more?" he asked hopefully.

The halfling shook her head and turned away.

Demetri sighed and grabbed her hand, pulling her into his chest as he faded them back up to her room. They reappeared in front of her charcoal mural and he kept her hand firmly clenched in his as he stared at it.

"I didn't know you could draw, Ember," he said. "Are these things you have seen?"

The halfling sighed and tried to pull away from him slightly, but the ghost would not let go.

"Why did you draw these eyes? These eyes I may never see again?" he asked.

His voice began to darken and he pulled her towards the wall.

"Huh, Ember? What are these eyes for? Are you taunting me?" he growled. He pushed her up against the wall so her back smeared the charcoal sketches.

Ember's lifeless eyes stared at him. They were such a contrast from the flaming eyes drawn above them that it made his blood boil.

"Fine," he said angrily, letting go of her hand.

She watched with grim satisfaction as he faded from the room.

I called your bluff, ghost. It's not my damn fault you have feelings for me.

The halfling curled up in front of the fireplace and watched the flames flickering. Suddenly, Ember got the feeling that she was being watched. She sat up slowly and looked around the room; there was no one there. She turned back to the fire and found herself staring into a pair of eyes as fiery as hers used to be. She backed away from the fire as a man emerged from the flames and climbed into the room.

He was stunningly handsome. His bare chest was smooth and taut, his hair was golden and he reached out to her with strong arms and gentle hands.

"Are you hurt?" the man whispered as the halfling looked at him fearfully.

"My dear," he whispered, "are you hurt?"

The halfling shook her head and accepted his hand reluctantly.

"Good," the man said, his lips curving into a slight smile. "Will you tell me your name, my dear?"

Ember's eyes had been captured by his and she found she could not look away. She wanted to tell him her name, her deepest desires, her dreams and fears. She could trust this man... She could tell him anything.

"Ember!" Demetri's cry shattered the trance and Ember turned to face the ghost as he burst into the room.

"Don't listen to him! He's a demon!" The ghost yelled.

Ember turned back to face the man clutching her hand and found his perfect face had morphed into a hideous visage. She recoiled but the demon would not let her go.

"She belongs to us now, ghost," the demon laughed as he began to fade into black.

"No!" Demetri cried as he grabbed at Ember, trying to pull her back into the light. But the demon wrenched her out of his reach and the darkness closed over her in the blink of an eye.

In that last brief moment, however, Ember's eyes caught Demetri's. For the first time in days fire sparked back into those eyes for the briefest moment to reveal a truth he had long tried to ignore:You could have had me but you said you didn't need me. You said I was nothing more than your revenge. Now you will never have me... and you can choke on your lies.

Then, all at once, the fire faded and she was gone.

++++++++

Ember woke up drenched in sweat and bathed in a pool of amber light. Wherever the demon had taken her was hot enough to pass as hell itself. Beyond the circle of light she was lying in, there was nothing but black.

"Ah, so you're awake now," came a booming voice from the darkness surrounding her. Booted feet came out of the shadows, and then the light illuminated a being who could only be the arch demon. His skin was the colour of burning coals and his body was covered in spiked armour. He unsheathed his sword and held it beneath the halfling's chin, forcing her to stand.

"Rise, half-blood," he commanded as she slowly stood up. "Let me have a look at you."

The arch demon circled her slowly, swinging his blade through the air.

"I can see why the spirit chose you," he said, returning to face her.

Ember kept her eyes empty so he could not see how angry and afraid she really was.

"Take off your clothes," the demon said.

The halfling did not move.

The demon cocked his head and took a step back, then swung his blade down, slicing her and the shirt she was wearing from neck to navel.

She screamed and fell down in pain, gasping at the long gash down her torso.

The demon knelt down and pulled her up by her arm, tearing the remains of her clothes off her.

"I expect you to do as you are told from now on, halfling," the demon hissed. "You will not find me as gentle or restrained as your former captor."

The halfling could barely stand but she nodded even as the blood from her wound ran down her skin.

"Now," the demon said, "you will follow me."

++++++++

It took Demetri five gruelling days to find the demon's lair. He searched without rest for five days before he found the hellish castle. He expected to find her dead already.

He tried to sneak in but found himself being roughly escorted by a band of minions before too long. They dragged him through the cavernous castle until he found himself before the arch demon himself.

"Hello, ghost," the demon said, smiling down at him from his dark thrown.

"Where is she?" Demetri growled.

"Don't worry," the demon laughed menacingly, "you'll see her soon."

"What have you done to her?"

"Minions, bring him to the viewing room," the demon said, rising to his feet.

Demetri allowed himself to be dragged through the castle by the hoard of demons until he found himself looking out of a series of carefully concealed windows into a dark dungeon.

Demetri stared in horror at the halfling. Her body was wrapped in flaming ropes so that her arms were pulled back behind her, her breasts were squeezed tightly by the bindings, and the flames circled her face as a gag. The flaming binds did not burn her skin, but they dug into her viciously every time the demon torturing her yanked her along by a flaming leash attached to a collar burning around her neck.

The demon poked at her with burning rods and burst into laughter each time she squirmed away from the torturous instruments.

Her eyes streamed tears, but the spark had not yet returned; her eyes were still lifeless.

"I can understand why you took her, ghost," the demon hissed. "She is a stunning creature."

"Let her go," Demetri growled, his fists were clenching instinctively.

"Oh, come now, you cannot expect us to release such a specimen," the demon said, his eyes gleaming lustily as the wound he gave the halfling began to bleed again.

"Besides," he said, turning to face the ghost. "I think she looks delicious in red."

Demetri lunged at the arch demon but the host of demons pulled him back. He tried to fade through them but found he could not dematerialise.

As he tried vainly to phase through them, the arch demon laughed at his confusion: "Look at you, your ethereal powers are already waning. You don't have much time left, ghost. And I think I know why..."

The demon pointed down at the dungeon and Demetri fixed his gaze on the halfling once again. The demon torturing her snapped his fingers and the flaming binds disappeared. He flew up to a balcony and laughed as another demon disguised as Demetri himself walked towards the girl. The disguised demon reached out to the girl, but as soon as she lifted her hand to him, he backed away just slightly so that her straining fingers could not reach. Then, in a burst of flame, the being returned to its demonic form and cackled at the demoralised halfling as she let her head fall to the floor.

"Stop this!" Demetri roared. "Let me see her!"

"Very well then," the demon smiled as he snapped his fingers to signal his demon subjects.

In a whirl of fire and flapping wings, Demetri found himself gagged and bound by fiery ropes. He tried to struggle away from his captors and fade through the binds, but he could not escape. The demons dragged the ghost down from the viewing chamber to the torture chamber and strung him up against the jagged wall so that he was forced to watch the halfling's suffering.

The arch demon stalked slowly towards Demetri chuckling darkly: "Be careful what you ask for, ghost."

Demetri's eyes sparked with anger as he tried to break the bonds holding him back.

The arch demon laughed and turned around to loom over the fallen halfling. He rolled her onto her back with his spiked boot and smiled at her battered body.

"I see that wound hasn't closed," he said, baring his fangs in a macabre grin. "Let it serve as a reminder of the importance of obedience."

The demon knelt down and wrapped his hand around her neck. The halfling's eyes did not open but tears leaked from under her eyelashes.

"Do you understand now that you are my slave?"

The halfling nodded as best she could.

"And that you must do as I say?"

Again, the halfling nodded as much as the hand wrapped around her neck would allow.

"And that you are a worthless little whore that ought to be treated like the piece of shit you are?"

Another demoralised nod.

"Good," the demon smiled. He turned her head so that she was facing Demetri.

"Look who's here to see you," the demon teased. "The being responsible for all of this."

The demon laughed as he slammed her head into the floor. The halfling groaned and curled into a ball on the floor. The arch demon smiled as he rose to his feet and spat on her.

Demetri let out a muffled cry and strained at his bonds.

"Oh, you didn't like that, huh?"

The ghost glared icily at the demon.

"You don't like it when I spit on her? You know she deserves it, the stupid cunt."

Again Demetri let out a muffled roar and tried to fade through the fiery ropes.

"What if I had all my men spit on her? Piss on her? Would you like to watch that?"

The demon paced around the panting halfling and rubbed at his crotch.

"Just the thought of such depravity arouses me."

The arch demon reached down and pulled out his massive cock, stroking it as he walked around the girl.

"I wonder if she really deserve the experience I am about to reward her with?" He mused. "You should be honoured that you will be a spectator, ghost."

The demon reached down with his free hand and grabbed the halfling's hair. He pulled her along the floor and then pulled her to her feet before the ghost. He threw her at him and laughed as she latched her arms around his neck to keep herself from falling to her trembling knees.

"I've seen all of this creature's memories, ghost. What was it you said to her?" the demon asked. "Oh yes...'lady's choice'?"