Reina the Warlock Pt. 05

"So far it certainly beats the sewers," Beleeza quipped, already laying in her usual seductive fashion, anxious to get out of her human skinsuit. Her raven black hair had been let loose, and a fair bit of skin was on display as a hint of generous cleavage showed through her parted robes.

Reina wondered silently if other Warlocks had such problems making their bondmates behave in polite company.

"Please keep your charms under control, at least until we get home," she sighed, drawing a teasing smile from the Daemon. Not that she minded the sight, but one never knew with the moonchildren. It wouldn't do to have Beleeza strutting around with her tits out. If nothing else, for the sake of her own focus.

She was about to lean in and have a closer look at a set of strange instruments made of silver when the entire room started to resonate with a subtle, melodic hum. A sound not unlike as if someone had gently struck a giant glass somewhere in the dark. That's when she noticed their host. Atop the stairs stood a phantom visage of light, pale as a winter moon, draped in butterfly-thin white cloth that billowed by virtue of some invisible breeze. A featureless white mask covered its face, making it appear even more inhuman. It was a kind of mask that all of the moonchildren wore. They were not particularly well suited for the dryness of the desert, even sealed up in a tower like this. The moonchild's limbs were long and slender, unnaturally thin - at least to a human. Its hands were easily twice as long as a human's, though it had only four fingers on each. As it descended the stairs, it almost seemed to hover, like a dreamy vision from some great romantic dream. Reina realized that it was several heads taller than herself. She suddenly wondered if she had let her curiosity get the better of her. When it spoke, it was as if the starry sky itself had sung out.

"I was beginning to fear that my contact had overestimated their own abilities," it said with a melodic voice that was beyond anything human, resonating with the darkness around them. "I am happy to see I was mistaken."

"I'm Reina, at your service." She bowed with a flourish, choosing to play it safe with social protocols. These were uncharted waters.

"And your companion must be your Daemon bond, then, I assume?"

Beleeza had perked up, and joined Reina. Even she found this new acquaintance curious. "Her less serious half, as it were."

"Please, have a seat," the moonchild said and gestured towards an ornate stone table. "I have sent for refreshments. Might we begin with discussing business?"

"Of course, that is why we are here after all." Reina was burning up inside with questions. But they had to wait.

She and Beleeza sat down by the round table that seemed like it had been kept free of instruments and oddities for just such an occasion. Their host sat down on the opposite side, an imposing phantom of a figure in the chamber's glowing light.

"As I mentioned in my missive, I am in need of a certain object for my studies. And after much research, I was made to understand that you might be the most suitable person for such a job. Agreeable, I believe the phrasing was."

"Can I ask who gave my name to you..?" Reina was wary of her name being well known and discussed. One never knew where the Order of Wizards had their prying little ears.

"You have no need to worry. My contacts are loyal to the death. That loyalty extends to those that aid me."

Somehow Reina did not doubt the moonchild's words.

"Let me clarify: I require the aid of a Warlock such as yourself due to the nature of the object I seek. And among all the candidates I vetted, you seemed like the one least likely to cause...complications. While your colleagues in the city are no doubt competent, they all struck me as being more preoccupied with agendas. Opportunistic. Colored by their choices in Daemon bonds, no doubt."

Beleeza let out an uncharacteristic giggle, obviously amused at the subtle dig at the other Houses of the Nether. Reina would have objected, but it was all right on the mark. The other Warlocks in the city were a complicated bunch, one more unreliable than the other. Not due to flaws in their character, but due to fundamental differences in their perspective on the world. Despite everything that could be said about Beleeza's kin in the much ridiculed House of Flesh, they didn't twist your head the same way the other Houses did.

"I'll do my very best to not disappoint then," Reina said with a gesture of humble servitude. "May I ask then what exactly it is that you would want us to find?"

"Certainly." The moonchild straightened up and touched upon a subtle slab of circular glass in the center of the table. With a bright flash the ghostly figure of what looked like an alien flower appeared. It was incredibly ugly, wretched and warped into an abomination. A jagged, thorny mockery of living things.

"A slimethorn?" Beleeza asked before Reina could get a word in.

"Indeed," the moonchild responded with a pleased nod. "Not a living one, however, but rather a petrified one."

"You know of these, Beleeza?" Reina didn't doubt her bondmate's knowledge, but was still surprised at how quickly the Daemon had caught on.

"Let's just say that say that I get why our host needed a Warlock now," Beleeza said with a smug smile.

The moonchild cradled the illusion in it's hands and continued. "As I understand it they are not too rare. But they grow only in the Prime realm. The Nether, I believe the human term is. Thus, as someone sworn to the Beyond, it is wholly inaccessible to me. That is where you come in."

"The Beyond..?" Reina's incorrigible curiosity was starting to get the better of her.

"That is for another time," the moonchild said with a polite but firm gesture of dismissal. "Do you think that you could acquire such a thing for me?"

Reina gave Beleeza a questioning look. All travel arrangements to Hell was her domain.

"Certainly," the Daemon said, cocky as always. But then her face grew stern. Almost threatening. "Finding it will be easy enough. But venturing out where they grow is not without risk. Especially for humans."

"I think," Reina tried, "That what my bondmate-"

The moonchild raised its hand and silenced them both. "I understand completely. You will, of course, be reimbursed accordingly. Money is no issue. Though I suspect that a scholar such as yourself might be more interested in knowledge?" It eyed Reina closely. Supposedly. It was hard to tell with that featureless mask.

"I could never turn down education," Reina admitted. "Depending on the subject matter of course."

"You have my word that I will find something to titillate your intellect. And on top of the money and wisdom, perhaps I could gift you something of a more personal nature. Something to strengthen our new friendship, so to speak. Does that sound sufficient?"

Reina was beyond herself with curiosity now. But she knew a good deal when she heard one.

"Absolutely. That little piece of Nether is as good as yours."

"Splendid!" The moonchild raised it's arms in dignified jubilation, and for a moment the air rang with the sound of tinkling bells. A gentle haze of divine chimes, as if from another world. Suddenly, another far more worldly bell rang at the door. "Ah. That would be our refreshments, exactly on time."

The great doors opened up and the decrepit old servant shambled inside, holding a big tray of crystal glasses and carafes. Reina could not fathom how he'd managed to make it up the stairs without breaking them all.

"For holiness sake," the moonchild sighed. "I do not know why do you insist on doing everything the difficult way Adrietas. Greet our new friends properly, why don't you?"

"Yes, my Sovereign," the old man croaked.

Suddenly, a bright blue blaze flashed through his eyes and great cracks started ripping his body asunder. Blinding beams of light sprung from the cracks, and for a moment it seemed as if he would detonate in a veritable supernova. The room was consumed by his tremendous light, and once it faded the old man was nowhere to be seen. In his place stood a luminous being, almost three meters tall. It was only vaguely humanoid, with great wings like that of a manta ray, a serpent-like tail instead of legs, and a face that was at once both snake-like and human. Like something out of a dream, it shifted in strange colors and lights. A true phantasmagoria from beyond.

"Your refreshments, as it were," it offered, with a voice that rang like crystalline bells.

"You must excuse Adrietas," the moonchild said, turning to Reina and Beleeza. "For some reason my cohort here has developed a fascination for the human condition, and will not stop choosing the oddest ways of expressing it."

Reina could only watched in stunned silence as the slender creature of light almost swam towards their table and tenderly placed the tray of crystalware down without a sound. Even Beleeza seemed dumbstruck, her eyes glue to this new acquaintance.

"One should never surrender the ability to feel curiosity, even at the smallest things. To do so is to die, a little bit at a time." Adrietas' speech was melodic and dreamy, like one pictures the lullabies of childhood. It bowed deeply towards Beleeza. "It is rare that I get to meet one from the Prime realm. I'm honored."

"Likewise," Beleeza muttered in awe, till staring in disbelief.

"I should guess that this is the first time you meet one from the Beyond?" the moonchild asked, somewhat amused.

"It is," Reina said with a reverent nod. "Does that mean that..."

"That I am bonded to this creature as you are to you Daemon? In a way." The moonchild stroked Adrietas gently as the creature served up four glasses filled with some steaming drink. "It is enough to say that our fates are intertwined. Bound by the gentle threads of destiny."

Reina had an innumerable number of questions. But they were far off the map now, and it would not do to pry too deep. Not yet, at least. She tasted the brew, and her mouth was immediately filled with the sensation of countless flowers, fragrant and fresh as few things were in this city on the edge of eternal deserts. Subtle, yet overpowering in its sensuality.

"A union between worlds, one could say," Adrietas said with a gentle laugh as it settled into a coil with a steaming drink in its hands.

"I'm not sure I...understand. Your kind is completely unknown to me," Beleeza finally said, bewildered in a way Reina had never seen before. The Daemon was not at all concerned with etiquette. It was her best and her worst trait.

"Allow me to explain," Adrietas said as it took a sip. "You, as a child of the Prime plane know things I could never hope to know. You see things and can venture to places that are forever out of my reach. The same is true for me. Had I not already met one of your kind in this world, I had probably been as bewildered as you are."

"But I thought there was only the Nether and the Ascended?" For once, the Daemon was activating her upper regions more than her lower.

"I suppose because humans have only managed to reach those two realms. In truth, they are only two pieces of a great prism. One that is greater than we may never truly know. As much as we see, we are still blind to many things."

Reina couldn't keep her quiet anymore. "You mean that there's no way of knowing how many worlds hide beyond? Let alone how deep they run?"

"Yes, in a manner of speaking. When the Gods left, the walls between worlds began crumbling apart. It seems to me that his is only the beginning of a merger of worlds that none of us may live to see come to fruition."

Beleeza let out a deep, guttural laugh. "All these hidden worlds and beings, and you picked the one that teased your loins the most!"

"Beleeza!" Reina hushed her, beyond herself with embarrassment.

"Do not worry," the moonchild said, bemused. "I know quite well how human wants and needs ebb and flow. And Adrietas is beyond judgement."

"Indeed." the creature of light nodded. "Simplistic though the Prime plane may be, it is merely a small facet of existence. A natural part of it."

"I bet I could show you that it's anything but small," Beleeza grunted with a lecherous smile, almost as if posing a challenge.

Reina could have killed her right then and there. But their host thankfully stepped in.

"Now, as stimulating as this company is, I'm afraid we have certain matters that require our close attention. I should hope to see the two of you again soon, however, together with my prize."

Reina desperately tried to make her cheeks stop burning. "Of course. We will take care of it as soon as possible."

"Splendid, then I shall have Adrietas escort you home at once. I wish you good luck and radiant favor." The moonchild stood up and gave them a gentle bow in farewell.

Before Reina and Beleeza could begin to stand, they were consumed by a maelstrom of shimmering lights, hurdling through a radiant void at blazing speed. And then, in little more than the blink of an eye, they were at home again. As if they had never left Reina's house at all. They looked at each other in bewilderment, for once equally confused.

"So you really had no idea..?" Reina finally asked.

"Not a clue. I'll admit, I'm even a bit excited that there is still things out that I know nothing about." the Daemon said, almost reverently.

"You were really thinking about if you could fuck Adrietas, weren't you?"

"Weren't you?" the Daemon said with a teasing smirk.

Reina let out and exasperated laugh. Of all the beings in all the potential beyonds, she had probably picked the most single-minded one of the bunch. But she wouldn't trade her dumb, ever-horny Daemon for the world. She looked at her bondmate, who was still in her raven-haired human form, and stroked her face gently.

"Now, how about we go to Hell?"

* * * * *

The warps to the Nether had always been rough, but this time the trip was something horrid. The fall felt unending, a dizzying flight through shadows and smoke. When it finally ended and they crashed on solid ground, Reina wasn't quite sure whether she had really survived the trip. But somewhere beyond the veil of darkness she could hear Beleeza's voice.

"Here we are...Traveling to the halls of my House is one thing. Going to the Crimson Wastes is something completely different."

Reina tried to respond but the air was thick and oily, and made her lungs cramp in protest. She coughed and retched, desperately trying to catch even the slightest breath of air. But breathing was impossible, like trying to breathe pure smoke. Suddenly, she felt Beleeza's hand close around her mouth and nose in a vice-like grip. A great heat flared up and spread through her face, down through her throat, and all the way to her lungs. When Beleeza finally let her go, she gasped for air and found that she could breathe again. The air still reeked and even tasted like burning hair and rotting sewage. But she could breathe.

"I'm sorry pet," Beleeza purred, not quite apologetic enough for Reina's taste. "I've never actually brought any human all the way out here, and I guess the air is not very good for you... We're learning a lot of new things today!"

"Happy to help..." Reina's voice was half acid, half smoke.

When her vision finally begun to clear, she felt like someone had thrown sand in her eyes. Viscious, angry sand. But soon the true face of the wild Nethers opened up before her: a vast, twirling wasteland that bent and curved at impossible angles, spiraling towards a dark sun in a sickly purple sky. Along the curving horizon, jagged cliffs stretched upwards like skeleton hands, followed by gaunt legions of what looked like metal trees. Gargantuan storm clouds pulsated and rolled, gathering into a massive maelstrom of thunder and lightning that released cataclysmic booms which made the very land tremble. It was a world in a perpetual state of absolute destruction.

"Quite the sight, isn't it?" Beleeza sighed as she slid up behind Reina and wrapped her arms around the Warlock.

"It's something alright," Reina mumbled, taken aback by the veritable opera of ruin that was being acted out before her. "How do we find the...slimethorn?"

"It'll be easy enough. But are you certain you want to stay? The air is not the only thing here that will try to end you..."

"Are you saying you're worried about a human, Lieutenant of the House of Flesh?" Reina couldn't help mocking her Daemon just a little bit.

She didn't receive more than a tepid scoff from Beleeza. That did worry her. Only now did she realize that Beleeza had chosen a quite different form than usual. She was bigger, with what looked like scales and ridges along her limbs. Almost like armour. Her skin was the same colour as the ground, a deep, dirty red mixed with sickly brown. Camouflage. Her usually curved horns were straighter, pointed upwards in a manner that didn't speak of peaceful intentions. Nor did the obsidian cleaver resting at her side.

"Well, if trouble finds us...let me take the brunt of it." Beleeza finally said, without even a hint of her usual mirth.

Reina didn't answer. As much as she resented the notion that she should just stand aside, she was a bit smitten by how readily Beleeza would put herself in harm's way for her. That she'd protect her like that. If anyone had told her some years ago that she'd feel this safe being held by a Daemon, she would have rolled her eyes at them. Yet here she was. Gazing out over the landscapes of Hell, tightly held by her bondmate. Beleeza, Lieutenant of the House of Flesh. Suddenly, a fierce howl rung across the wasteland. A ferocious, unearthly cry, one that Reina had no desire to hear again up close.

"Time to go," Beleeza said sternly. "I do not feel like finding out if it's beasts, cursed ones or something worse."

They set off across the wretched land, which proved to be even more difficult to traverse than Reina had imagined. Despite Beleeza's powers and knowledge of the Nethers, the maze of cracks and crevices that scarred the land turned the trek into a frustrating zig-zag of uneven paths. As if that wasn't bad enough, the very bowels of the earth seemed to want to expel them, ejecting plumes of foul-smelling gas that clung to their skin like oil. Every now and again, they could hear the howls echoing across the wastes, sending other creatures scrambling in the other direction. It was difficult to tell if whatever caused those howls was getting closer or not.

After a good while of walking, they paused at the edge of a cliff, from where they spotted a thick gathering of skeletal trees far below. A big part of the horrid forest had been consumed by a massive gray growth. It was little more than a jagged tumor, larger than most houses, that seemed to heave and breathe with a life of it's own.

"I have a feeling that we'll find what we're searching for down there." Beleeza didn't sound very pleased at the notion of finishing the task. "That big thing is what petrifies things around it as it consumes the world. This one has grown large enough to burst soon, and I would not like to be here when it does."

"You mean that's how it reproduces?" A morbid part of Reina kind of wanted to see that very thing happen.

"In a manner of speaking. Had we found it earlier, we would have burned it. But it's too late for that now."

"Is it really safe to bring back something that has...touched that thing?" Reina said, suddenly a bit apprehensive about the task. It sounded like a recipe for disaster.

"The parasite won't survive in your world. I doubt it would even survive the travel there. Shall we?"

Reina, as usual, had a boatload of questions. But the oppressiveness of the land and the approaching howls was starting to wear her down. The sooner they could go back, the better. There was no other route than down now, however, meaning they had to undertake a climb that was anything but easy. Even with Beleeza's massive strength to aid her, Reina still suffered all manner of scrapes and bruises as they made their way down the brutal cliffs. Not to mention a few close calls when she was almost impaled on the jagged, spear-like rocks that seemed to call out for her blood. But with a lot of sweat and curses, they managed to get all the way down with almost all limbs intact. Beleeza had been forced to sacrifice one of her four arms that had gotten hopelessly caught between two rocks. But she didn't seem to mind too much.