Ultimate Assassin Saga: Woodlands

Smiling, Acheron turned back to the door, opened the door, and stepped out into the stairwell beyond.

Azrieal sat at a table in his library, flipping through pages and looking for the spell that he wanted. He hadn't used the spell in a long time and had forgotten just what to do. So, in an effort not to mess it up and have it backfire, he'd gone searching his library for the spell. It was a spell that would be of great use in the coming war, but at this moment in time, he was just trying to find it so he could use it against his brother now.

He didn't care about the coming war. What he cared about was finding his brother and killing him. From what he understood, Acheron had gone first through the High Forest and then through the Tundra. It was apparent that he was traveling around the edges of the Wilds, gathering allies to fight his brother when the war came. It didn't surprise him in the least that his little brother would pull something like that either.

If there was one thing that Acheron was, it was prepared. Acheron knew that the Emperor would be coming for him, and if he had to, he'd bring the whole Empire of Dalkia with him. That was just a fact that his brother knew and that actually helped Acheron to do what he needed to do which was bring allies together under his one banner. If he could bring the Wilds together under his leadership, Acheron could establish a nation of his own and this war wouldn't just be Dalkia against some rebel faction, but a foreign nation.

The Chaos Demon cursed his brother for ever being born as he threw a book over his shoulder, not finding the spell there. His brother was a big pain in the ass when he wanted to be. He'd been good and loyal to the Empire for a long time, but now that he'd betrayed it, it seemed like he couldn't get to his brother at all. At such a crucial time, he needed to let everyone know that the Empire was as strong and invulnerable as ever.

If he didn't, then more Demon clans would desert and he couldn't have that happen. Dalkia needed to remain strong and impregnable for when his brother met them on the field of battle. There couldn't be a single doubt about the strength and darkness that ran through the veins of Dalkia, creating a darkness on the Mortal Plane that was like no other.

That was what was important to Azrieal.

The last couple of years had flown by for him and it seemed like things couldn't get any worse. It seemed like every time that he got close to pulling his brother back under control, he found a way to slip out and escape once more. It really pissed him off, and despite his constant shows of destruction, he knew that he couldn't survive on that forever. Eventually, he would begin to run out of Demons to kill, and besides, he would need them for the coming war.

The Chaos Demon sighed and stood back, staring around the room. The library was deep in the palace and was well guarded because of the magical secrets that were locked within each of these books. These books had been written by the first Demon Mages who'd created the blood red sky and they'd wanted to pass on their knowledge in the event of their deaths. There were magical spells in these books that ranged all the way from nature magic to necromancy, though very few people could master necromancer magic.

The library was large, taking up an entire wing and it was stacked with books from wall to wall. The bookshelves were tall, standing at nearly ten feet tall, with ten shelves to a bookshelf and each bookshelf could hold more than one hundred books. There had to be over a million books on magic in this room, and if anyone was ever able to raid this library, they would come away with a huge amount of magic. However, that wasn't his concern. His only concern was finding the spell that he was looking for, and with each book he went through, he was getting more frustrated when he didn't find it.

The floors were covered in thick blood red carpet and the walls had globes of golden light crested in them, illuminating the room so all could see. There were several large, wooden tables in the corner where one could stack several books and sit down to read them. However, most Mages took these books to their own offices so they could study and master the spells within. Very few people were actually allowed to see these books and the majority of Dalkia had never been into the study nor would they ever.

The Chaos Demon had already gone through more than twenty books and he was already starting to get frustrated. He'd thrown each book that he'd searched in the floor, not caring if he damaged it. At this point, he didn't care about anything but finding the spell and getting done what he wanted done. He didn't care if he had to destroy every single one of the books in the library to do it either. He held no love for books, knowing all of his spells by heart and not having any intention of passing his secrets onto any other Mages.

There was a reason why he was the most powerful Mage in Dalkia.

Trying to calm himself and failing, the Emperor ran a hand over his face. He could feel the beginnings of a headache beginning and he knew that he could hold it back with his magic, but he had no intention of doing that. That was simply a waste of magic and he would need all his magic for this upcoming spell. That was if he ever found it that was.

Hours of searching later and still he hadn't found it. There were hundreds upon hundreds of books in the floor, creating mountains of paper and leather on the floor, but he didn't care. He was beyond frustrated now and was raging inside, wanting nothing more than to destroy every single last book in this damned library, but he knew that he couldn't. Then he definitely wouldn't be able to find the spell he was looking for.

Cursing low under his breath, Azrieal walked over to one of the tables and he pulled out one of the wooden chairs. He sank down into the chair and he placed his hands on the wooden desk, staring at the stacks of books on the chair in front of him. He knew that it was a long shot, but he might as well check them to see if the spell was within them too.

Picking up the top book - a red, leather bound book - the Chaos Demon flopped it down in front of him and he flipped it open, scanning the pages with his emerald green eyes. It only took him a few seconds of flipping pages before he realized that the spell wasn't in here and he flung it across the room with all of his might. He watched as the book slammed against the wall and fell to the carpeted floor in a heap.

He wished that it had been a body instead of just a dust covered tome. That would've been more satisfying, but as it was now, he was getting even angrier. Grabbing the next book, he flipped through it and repeated the same process that he'd done with the last one. Before long, the table was bare of books and there was another pile of books on the floor of the extensive library.

Knowing that he had no other choice, the Emperor sat back in his chair and he reached into his tunic, pulling out the small crystal that hung from the chain around his neck. This crystal was for communicating with his people around the Empire, and at one time, a crystal similar to this one had hung around his brother's neck. However, Acheron no longer wore his so he couldn't track him and he couldn't contact him either. But, there were still those who were loyal to him that wore the same crystal and he could contact them with ease.

Thinking about who he wanted to contact, he got a clear image of the person in his mind. She was the best person for the job if he was honest with himself. He really didn't want to bring anyone else into this just in case there were more traitors, but he really didn't have much choice. It was either find some help for his search or spend the next few hours tearing the pages from the books in the library in search of it, destroying centuries of knowledge along with it.

Closing his long, clawed hand over the crystal, he closed his eyes and pictured the woman's face in his mind. Then, he reached out with his magic across Dalkia and began to search for her. After a few minutes of searching, he found her mind right here in the capitol city itself. Surprised by his own fortunate luck, he connected his mind with her's and he spoke directly into her mind.

"Darla, I need to speak with you." Azrieal spoke to her mind to mind, his lips not moving. However, his mental voice was strong and it brooked no argument. He felt her take notice of the words and he knew that she was listening to him intently. "Come immediately to the palace library."

"Yes, my liege." Darla replied immediately, her mental voice just as strong, though showing her deference to him. He sensed that she was in the middle of something, but he could also tell that she was going to drop it right away for him. She was simply that loyal to the Emperor. "I shall be there soon."

As soon as he heard that, the Chaos Demon grinned and he broke the connection. He dropped the crystal back around his neck and he sat back in his chair. Reaching up to touch the crystal once again, he tucked the item back into his tunic and he crossed his long legs to wait. There was no reason for him to get in a hurry now. He needed the woman more than he wanted to admit and she was on her way.

It was time for him to relax for a change.

Something Azrieal hadn't done since he'd learned Acheron had betrayed him.

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Darla felt the connection with the Emperor break and she lowered her hand away from the crystal she wore around her neck. She raised her eyes to the men around the table, her eyes searching each of their faces to see if they'd picked up on her slight distraction. It looked like none of them had seen her grip the crystal and start speaking with the Emperor. Good, very good.

She was petite, standing at five foot four, and quite voluptuous. She had long chestnut brown hair that fell to the small of her back in two, thick braids and dark brown eyes set in a pale, girlish face. She wore a black leather vest that her large breasts nearly fell out of, skin tight black leather pants, knee high black leather boots, and a heavy black leather belt with a long, razor sharp dagger sheathed at both of her hips.

What no one at the table knew was that those two daggers weren't her only weapons. She had two more daggers in her boots and another dagger at the small of her back. However, those weren't even her most dangerous weapon. The most dangerous weapon she had on her was the plain silver ring that she wore on her left middle finger. The ring had ancient runes carved into the band and the runes worked as an amplifier for her magic.

Darla was sitting in a bar in the downtown district of the capitol. She had a glass of whiskey next to her left wrist and a stack of gold next to her right wrist. Held in her hands were five black cards and she stared at the winning hand for a moment, not showing any expression on her face.

Being a Human, she had to be very careful or it could get her killed. Whether it was playing cards with four very large Demon men or if it was simply walking to her apartment at night, she knew that she was vulnerable and that she had to watch her back. She was dangerous in her own right, but because she was Human, there were those that would mistake her bloodline for being weak. It was rare that Demons respected the Human cutthroats of Dalkia, and most of the time when a cutthroat came up dead, it was usually because of a Demon.

She didn't have to worry about that though. There was much more to her than met the eye. True, she was a Human, but that was only scratching the surface. She was also a very accomplished Mage and one of the only one's who'd been able to master Necromancy. She knew there were many people who feared her for her ability to raise the dead, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

Darla had quite the checkered past, having lived within the borders of Manathera when she was born. The Human Empire to the east was huge and had more than fifty million Humans within their borders, but she hadn't cared about any of that when she'd been born. She'd just been another Human child born to a lowly, poor farmer and his wife who they couldn't afford, but loved none the less.

She had been born the youngest of five children and the only girl so she was doted on by her entire family. Her four brothers were all old enough to work the fields with their father and they'd happily done so, laughing and joking with one another while they worked. She on the other hand had been made to stay in the house with her mother to do the chores and make sure the men had food when they came out of the field.

It hadn't been because women of Manathera were seen as lesser citizens, but because tending to the fields wasn't something a little girl could do. Her mother had been a large woman, and before she'd gotten pregnant with her, she'd helped her husband and son's in the field, enjoying her time with her family. No, her mother had only stayed inside to take care of the housework because she was too young.

Her family had been a loving one, always caring for one another and sitting down to dinner every night with one another. There were plenty of I love you's in that house, and even though they were poor, none of them ever went without eating. If there wasn't enough for everyone, momma and daddy always made sure that they ate, no matter how much they might complain that there was plenty for their parents.

They'd been a warm, caring family.

All of that changed one day though when the bandits raided their farm. They'd come at dusk when the boys were coming in from the fields and had caught the farmer family unknowingly. Before a word could be spoken, the men were disabled, tied up, and beaten within an inch of their life. Then, the bandits did the most horrible thing a person could do.

They raped her mother and her in front of her father as well as her brothers. She could still remember her father's voice, screaming at them to stop and threatening them with their lives, showing bravery to the very end of his life. It had all been for naught though because the bandits had refused to stop.

When they'd all had their fill, the bandits moved on to the men, and as the women were forced to watch, they were raped next. When they were done and the men were crying from the pain, the humiliation of the whole thing, and the shame, the bandits cut their throats right in front of them. Darla could remember watching the blood of her father and her brothers mingling together on the floor as the bandits straightened, coming towards them. It was a horrible scene, and even though she didn't want to relive it, she knew that she had no choice. It was the beginning of how she'd ended up here after all.

The bandits had killed her mother right in front of her, stabbing her again and again and again, never letting up. Darla could still remember the horrible screams her mother had made with each stab, but the worst part was when she'd stopped crying out. She'd known - even at the age of eight years old - that her mother was dead.

Alone, scared, and naked, Darla had somehow made it to her feet. The bandits had made lewd comments and had stepped towards her. Before she knew what she was doing, she threw up her hands and a ball of blue flames shot from her hands, engulfing the bandit leader. She could still remember the smell of burning flesh and his awful, horrible screams, but she'd been unable to feel any sympathy for what she'd done. He'd been the one to kill her mother, father, and brothers after all.

What she'd done had been justice, plain and simple.

The other bandits had attempted to leave, but she hadn't given them the chance. She'd burned every last one of them alive, and when she was done, she sat down on the blood soaked floor, her eyes empty of all emotion and numb emotionally as she waited for something to happen. At that time, she hadn't known what she was waiting for, but she hadn't had to wait long. It was only an hour later that the Wardens of Manathera - the police force - had shown up at her house to inform them that there were bandits in the area and that they should be careful.

When no one had answered their knocks, the Wardens had opened the door to the grisly sight. Darla could still remember seeing one of the men running out the shack to go vomit, but that hadn't been important. It had been the tears in the eyes of the lead Warden, a large bear of a man who didn't look like he would cry over anything, that had really struck her.

She, at eight years old, had just seen the worst possible things humanity could be capable of, but only an hour later, here was a man who didn't know them crying for their tragedy. It had made her feel better about the world, made her believe that people weren't all evil.

Oh, how she'd been wrong.

"Damn it Darla, would you play your cards already?" asked an annoyed, masculine voice, effectively breaking her out of her reverie. She blinked her brown eyes to bring the Middle Flight Demon across from her into focus and she sighed. The horns that protruded from her head would've frightened another sort of Human, but she was a cutthroat and cutthroats didn't get scared. If you got scared, you were dead - plain and simple.

The Mage looked at the other three men at the table and noted that they all had the same annoyed expression, though most of them weren't looking at her. She looked down at the table and saw that each of the four men had placed all their gold into the middle of the table, all of their cards laid down to show their hands. Checking each one of their hands and then her own, she nearly smiled. Her record remained unblemished.

"You lose boys." Darla said in a gloating tone and she lay her four cards on the table. Four dark gods looked up at them from the cards and she heard the men start cursing colorfully. She chuckled as she reached into the middle of the table, scooping the gold towards her side and she picked up her glass of whiskey with only one more swallow left in the crystal glass. "Better luck next time guys."

The Human lifted the glass and tipped it up, taking the last swallow with ease. She sighed as the burning sensation started in her chest and she groaned, loving the feel. She sat the glass down and smiled widely at the Demon men who grumbled before pushing back their seats, leaving the table.

She shook her head and chuckled a little bit. Those three Demons always played cards with her every single time she came in here, and no matter how many times they tried, they never could beat her. She always bluffed them perfectly so that they thought they had something better than her and they fell for it every single time. No one could accuse those four men of being the sharpest knife in the armory.

Of course, if they paid a little closer attention, they would notice that she cheated by using her magic during the game, but since they never noticed, she didn't suppose it mattered. Until they caught her, nothing was going to happen to her. Even when they did catch her - if they ever did - it wasn't likely that they would do anything. They knew that she was a powerful Mage and few people of Dalkia wanted to go up against Mages, no matter their gender or their race.

Shaking off her thoughts, Darla grabbed the money pouch that sat on the table and she started shuffling the gold into the pouch. With that done, she pushed back her chair and tied the pouch to her hip, careful to make sure that it was tied tightly enough that it couldn't be lifted without her noticing. That done, she nodded to the bartender and she made her way towards the door of the bar.

Wouldn't be a good idea to keep the Emperor waiting too long.

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