The Spark Ignites Pt. 04

I leaned in as she paused to take a drink from the sink she had. She cupped her hands, filling them before drinking. I was curious now, she sounded like things were about to kick off. Maybe I will be free sooner than I could have hoped. Once the elf was finished, she flicked her hands dry before facing me again.

"The plans are ready, but Lady Graves has told me that there is one piece left that needs to be prepared. She has assured me that he will be ready soon, but has shared no more than that. To ensure that this plan goes off, I know the bare minimum. That way, no matter if I am tortured for information or not, there is nothing they could do to to halt the process. One thing I was assured of, that bitch dies, no matter what."

"Alright, and all I need to do is survive?"

She nodded at me, her mouth in a thin line.

"Yes, though that is more if you want out of here, you being here really doesn't change anything with the plan, it might even make it easier."

I nodded, I assumed that Death had access to some of the greatest military minds, or barring that, had some crazy guys who could handle hordes of lesser demons while a more powerful person took on the big guys. I did have one last question though.

"What's your name?"

"Laina."

She replied simply before turning away to lay down on her cot, ending the conversation. I got up and washed the now dried blood off my face before laying down myself, closing my eyes. I wasn't planning to sleep, but as soon as I closed my eyes to rest, I went under in an instant. The only thing in my mind was what had happened just before I was taken, how Bri kissed me, confessed that she loved me more than a brother and sister should.

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Chapter 19

I was laying in bed, and judging by the light coming through the window, it was maybe a couple hours after sunrise. I was about to get up, but the bed shifting drew my attention to a person joining me. It was weird, almost like I wasn't actually in control of my body, just that I was there, along for the ride in my own skull. My head turned to look at the person, and I noticed that it was a woman, with her back turned away from me. When I tried to look at her face, it was hazy with dark hair. That didn't matter as much after a moment, because she turned around, and she was heavily pregnant. The unknown woman leaned down and gently placed a kiss on my cheek.

"V, it's time to get up. Your daughter won't let me sleep, so you have to wake up too."

I felt a groan escape my lips, but my body wouldn't move, I was comfortable where I was. The woman sighed, but then let out a giggle as she swung a leg over mine, straddling my lap. Now, the haze around her face started to lift, and I could see her lips set in a playful pout.

"V, get up, seriously, Anna wants her daddy to wake up."

I sighed, but felt myself lean up to plant a kiss on her cheek. She giggled again, then nuzzled her head into my shoulder. Then, she grabbed my wrist and placed my hand on her belly. Just as I was about to ask her what she was doing, I felt a few weak kicks before she settled down.

"See? I told you Anna was already a daddy's girl. She's been kicking me so much, but now that you're awake, she's taking a nap, thankfully."

The woman sighed happily before bending over, her face now inches from mine, and the haze cleared further. The general shape was still just blob-like, but her eyes came through the fog. They were a stunning azure, it was the goddess I had met before I first woke up here! But before I could contemplate that, she leaned in for a gentle kiss. It was a slow, passionate thing, no rush at all as our tongues danced together softly. After several moments, she finally pulled back, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, but her lips were split in a soft smile.

"I love you V."

I felt myself respond before I could even think about it.

"I love you too Bri."

At that, the haze around her face cleared completely, revealing my little sister, sitting on my lap, half naked and smiling at me. My mind raced a mile a minute, questions blurring together. When, how, why, all in the same instant, but before I could unravel them, I felt the world start shaking. Bri was still smiling happily in my lap, then was suddenly so far away as everything went dark.

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"Get the fuck up, your next match starts in ten minutes and I have no intention of fighting this one by myself!"

The shaking increased in frequency until I snapped my eyes open and lashed out with an instinctive right hook. Above me, Laina pushed my arm back down with the same ease and grace that I expected from both an elf, and a possible assassin. I narrowed my eyes into a heated glare, one she already had plastered across her face.

"Because of you and your showboating on how easy you can take on a mindless beast, now I have to fight in a team battle, and I'm making it your problem as well. So get up!"

I sighed and turned so that I was now sitting at the edge of the bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes for a moment before standing up. I heard my back popping as I stretched my arms above my head.

"How did my fight make you have to fight a team battle?"

She scoffed as she turned around and started walking out of the cell. Three horned demons that looked like they were our escorts were waiting outside of the bars, they moved aside as the elf passed them by.

"You don't always go for the kill, it lets them reuse beasts, and I was supposed to fight it next, until you crushed its head."

I winced as I followed her, passing by the demons who silently fell into step behind us, preventing us from running deeper into the complex. We walked quietly for a few minutes, my eyes watching the area in front of us, refusing to look at my supposed partner for the coming fight, my mind was still spinning over my dream. I wasn't really sure what I actually felt about my sister now. Beyond that, I still wasn't entirely certain I wanted to even have more women join my relationship. I thought I was having trouble keeping up with Kari and Nereah. Now I was having dreams about a time where I had a relationship with my sister. A voice I really didn't want to hear interrupted my thoughts.

"I'll take them from here, I need to have a few words with my new fighter and his little friend."

I looked to the left, and there was the forge demon. She stepped from a hallway that I hadn't noticed before. She had a serious look on her face, and a slight trail of smoke coming from her nose with every breath. I turned, seeing the three demons salute before walking off down the corridor she came from. She waited several seconds before turning to address Laina, and her words put me on edge.

"I want in."

The elf scoffed, shrugging off her words as if they were nothing. I was panicking internally, did the forge demon hide nearby while we spoke? Were the cells wiretapped? I didn't know, but before I could think further, Tiria'Golath got into the elf's face, glaring at her.

"I heard every word, corpse walker, I want in. I still remember the last raid that your people did, there were several cities that were wiped off the map. I want to be part of the winning side."

Laina glared right back at the demon, not intimidated in the slightest. It almost looked like the shadows around the three of us started writhing, the main concentration coming from Laina's.

"And what could you possibly do that would allow us to let you survive this? You're a slaver and a part of the hierarchy, you should burn, with the rest of these savages!"

The red haired elf hissed as a tendril of shadow curled around her arm, coming to rest in the shape of a bladed gauntlet. The demon smirked, and a similar tentacle of magma from her hair snaked down her own arms, coming to rest in the shape of armored fists. I was about to step in and try to break them up, but the next words from the flaming woman's mouth froze me in my tracks.

"Simple girly, I'm the only person who can even allow you both to live to see the end of this."

I took a step back from them as Laina looked like she was considering striking the demon down, her muscles were tensing. The tension ramped up rapidly as the demon began raising the temperature in the area, while the elf leaked dark energy that just sent shivers up and down my spine. Their eyes remained locked together the entire time, and I was about ready to bolt, when they both suddenly stopped. The temperature rapidly returned to normal, and the overbearing feeling that Death himself was scrutinizing me also dropped. Laina sighed before allowing the shadow blade to melt into nothingness.

"Fine, but why do you want to betray your entire faction? You're high ranking here, I don't really understand what could have wronged you enough to put this place to the sword."

The demon leaned back, and the gauntlets on her hands turned back into tongues of magma before slithering back up to rejoin her flaming hair. She groaned as she leaned against the wall, dragging a hand down her face. The action was so human that I felt myself relaxing, just a bit.

"Zarika has me soft locked in second place when I am far more talented than the first ranking forge master, I am given second rate materials along with a lower pick at any forge thralls that are created, all because I refuse to warm her bed at night. The bitch is also the reason we aren't nearly as respected around the other factions as we should be, her playing Kra'riloak like he's a puppet isn't unnoticed. He's seen as weak for it, and she has a long-reaching reputation that the upper crust knows well. But we can discuss this later, you both have a match coming up, and I wanted to make sure to increase my chances of survival by helping your chances."

That was a fair reason, and I suppose that if she wanted Zarika dead, then I could trust her, to an extent, obviously Laina was willing to work with her. I was about to ask what she was going to do to help us when Tiria reached into a pouch at her side and withdrew a pair of knuckles made from a dark purple metal. She glanced at them once before tossing them to me. I grabbed them from the air, and noticed how light they were.

"Ebonite construction with channels designed to help channel fire magic through them, should make blasts more controlled. You will need them for this next fight. Zarika has sent two of her enforcers to be your opponents, counters to you both."

I looked down at the dark weapons on my hands before slipping them over my fingers, marveling at how the grooves slowly lit up the same color as my flames. I could feel my powers react happily with these knuckles. While I marveled at how right they felt on my hands, the demon kept talking.

"They're a duo that has won some dangerous matches before, a large, dumb brute named Kassial and the brains between them, a small lightning mage named Riolep. It would be best if you handled Riolep, your fire could counter his lightning, and you are physically stronger than him, just close the gap as you're so fond of doing and eliminate him. Girl, you take on Kassial, you're faster than he is, and can put your blade through his back."

I clenched my fist, and nodded, I wanted to live, so that I could get home. There were a lot of things I needed to figure out, and maybe talk to my shrink. The dream from last night was still there, just tickling the back of my mind, but I couldn't focus on it. I had to prep myself, because I needed to be on my A game to make sure I didn't ride the lightning today. I was certain I would get a little singed today, but I was determined. I would survive.

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Chapter 20

Tiria didn't say anything else as she led us down the corridor. It was up to Laina and I to roughly plan, which pretty much came down to whoever finished first would help the other out. Simple, but those were the best plans. We finally started to hear the roaring of the crowd, and Tiria paused one last time just as the opening came into sight to address me.

"Remember, she wants you broken and begging at her feet, channel your rage, all of your hate, I've heard exorcists say 'my armor is contempt' before, take that as you will, and remember, they want you dead, do not give them any courtesy they wouldn't give you."

With that, she moved aside and motioned us forward. The elf and I walked out into the heat side by side. I raised an arm into the air, hand clenched into a fist. As I did, I heard the crowd get even louder with cheers and jeers. Just as I was about to keep hyping them up, I felt an elbow in my ribs. Laina glared at me before hissing a warning for me to stop showing off as the announcer did his thing. The crowd was getting wild as he finished introducing us. I apparently had the title of 'The Burning Star', while Laina's was "The Shadow Warrior'.

"Aaaaand their opponents, the dynamic duo, the brains and brawn, Thunder and Lightning, Kassiel and Riolep!"

The door burst open and in rushed a large, musclebound demon wearing a massive set of chainmail armor with stone-gray skin. He roared, spittle flying from his mouth. He had a massive spiked club slung over his shoulder and his arms looked like he could swing it like a baseball bat. His eyes were a murderous red and gleamed with hatred. Behind him was a hunch backed wiry creature with deep blue skin, its arms were so long that the hands almost reached its knees, and they were lean, almost like there was barely anything to them but skin and bones. The little guy looked sickly, it was a little unsettling if I was being honest. The worst part was the growths coming from his back, which looked like a mixture of bone and crystal. The gangly thing twitched its fingers, and sparks jumped between them before running down his arms. Around his body was little more than a thin sheet that barely covered his modesty, but that was a blessing. I had no desire to see what that thing's junk looked like. So these were our opponents, the big guy looked like he could take a few hits, but the twiggy thing would break if a strong breeze hit it.

The two of them glanced around at the crowds for a few moments before setting their eyes on us. I saw the big brute's face split into a savage grin as he eyed Laina like a piece of meat. The little guy cackled like a lunatic in a high squeaky pitch. It grated on my ears to even hear it from this distance. They moved apart and started moving towards her, completely ignoring me.

"Hehe, puny woman, Kassiel will have fun ravaging you when we're done."

"Yes, yes! We will both have fun with her, I call seconds!"

Well then, I now really wanted to hurt them both, badly, but before I could even raise my arm to send a blast at them both, Laina lightly shoved me.

"Go take out the one with freaky powers, I'll handle the big tough stupid one."

I grunted, but gripped my ebonite knuckles and felt my anger start burning in my veins. I was about to create another explosion to propel me forward when my dangersense sparked. Throwing myself into the dirt made sure I avoided a blast of lightning that would probably have burned a hole in my chest. I rolled to the side and back to my feet just as another blast turned the sand into glass. As I looked up, I saw Riolep looking at me, his head cocked to the side, and a sadistic grin across his face.

"Man thing will have to die first, mistress commands it, and it will be done! Then-then! I will be able to have all the pleasure slaves I want!"

His spines cracked, feeding more electricity to his hands for another blast, but I was ready. While he was rambling, I gathered enough power to launch myself at him. The gap closed in an instant, but the thing just twitched out of the way, moving like a jittery rat. Riolep cackled again and sent another bolt my way, but I rolled again, feeling the electricity raise the hair across my body. I sent a blast of fire at him in retaliation, hearing a yelp as I kept on the move. My flames seemed to come even easier than before, the grooves on the knuckles seemed to funnel them forwards, as Tiria had said they would. I heard a screech, and glanced over to see Laina shoving her shadow blade into Kassiel's leg, making him collapse to one knee, but another bolt of lightning hitting the ground a foot from my face made me focus on my own fight again.

As the dust kicked up from our duel settled, I saw that I had hit his left arm, covering it in burns as the skin bubbled. The gangly bastard threw his head back with an insane laugh before standing up straight, the sound of joints cracking ringing out.

"Oh, I will be even happier now, mistress offered me every woman you care about as my personal toys, and I will take great pleasure in their screams!"

His words grew fuzzier as he spoke, Zarika was threatening my friends, my family?! My pulse boomed in my ears as my eyes widened. My powers were going haywire, jets of flame appearing around my body as I pushed myself back onto my feet. I heard a deep rumbling coming from somewhere deep in my mind.

Riolep was still ranting about how he would hurt my women, my family, my sister, it just made me angrier and angrier. I heard a sound become clearer every second. It demanded that I hurt this creature, that I make him suffer as he planned to make the people who made my life worth living suffer, and before I knew it, the entire world around me was on fire. I heard some beast letting out guttural roars as heat raced across my entire body, fire burning away the armor across my chest. I was standing now, bare chested, just like the very moment when my life turned sideways, but this time, the only thing on my mind was wrath. The sounds of a monster still rung out, and it took me a moment to realize that they were coming from my own mouth. The crowd was drowned out, and the little bugzapper in front of me had slammed his mouth closed when I lit up.

Riolep was backing up now, terror written all across his face. He raised his hands, sending blast after blast of lightning at me, but they caromed off my body, almost like I was wearing armor. I hated this thing, this scum that was below even a sewer rat, and my hatred of him prevented me from even feeling anything. I swept one hand to the side, and a blade of flame launched out to hammer into the ground mere inches from the blue fucker. I heard words whispering in the back of my head, and they quietly left my mouth.

"I will step on your ashes, not even bury what's left."

He jumped away, but I could still see the burns appearing across his side as the heat scorched his skin. I saw him open his mouth to say something, but I used a jet of flame to get myself in his face, a fist coming out to smash into his left shoulder. I felt his collarbone crack under the force of the strike as his body was sent flying. He hit the ground, bouncing and rolling to a stop at least twenty feet from me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Laina drive her blade into the big guy's chest, finding a weak spot in his armor, but my attention was bought back to the sparky fuck as he sent another desperate blast at my face from his remaining arm, which I dipped under. In response, another gout of flame was sent his way, catching his right leg and causing it to collapse as the pain raced into his brain. Riolep was then begging for his life, promising all sorts of things I knew he would never deliver on as I walked slowly to him. This demon, this animal, needed to be put down. I stood in front of him now, flames coating my entire body as I spread both my arms wide, and held them there for a moment.

"You will be hopeless and begging, YOU WILL KNOW PAIN!"

Blue flames appeared in my hands, and I whipped my arms forward, sending massive blasts of flame at the little blue fucker. He screamed, loudly for what felt like a very long time, but it probably only lasted a few seconds. I finally released the fire, and the overwhelming columns started fading, revealing nothing in front of me but ashes and glass. I had never felt more alive than I had in that moment, my powers embraced me, and I responded. I didn't care that I had slipped, that I had let them off their leash. I stood in the ashes and glass, like the king of a wasteland I had created. But before I could truly comprehend how far I had gone, Laina was next to me, jabbing an elbow into my side as she tried to steer me out of the arena. The crowd was just now starting to get their voice back, and were chanting our titles as we made our way out.