Ultimate Assassin Saga: Woodlands

Because of this, female Blood Demons weren't allowed to be warriors. In fact, female Blood Demons weren't allowed to leave the house without a male escort. It sounded high handed and overbearing, but one had to understand. For even one female to die before giving birth to the next generation would put their entire people in danger. The females understood this and accepted their lives as sheltered individuals.

Shido cursed himself as he lowered his eyes to the office and he stared at the door directly across from him. He often envisioned that someone would come in one day and tell him that the war had begun. He didn't want this war, but it was coming and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. He just wished that it would hurry up and come so they could get this all over with.

The Blood Demon sat back in his chair and tried to relax, but he knew that it wouldn't come. His nerves were on end and they were singing for battle, but he had to keep them under tight reign. If he didn't he would go crazy and the first person he saw he would kill. He couldn't have that happen right now. He needed to save that for the coming battles and the enemy, not his allies.

Knowing that he wasn't going to get any rest this night, Shido sat back in his chair and threaded his fingers together behind his head. That done, he raised his feet and put them on his desk. He crossed them at the ankles and he closed his eyes, losing himself to his thoughts willingly.

There was nothing else for Shido to do really.

XXXXXXXXXX

Leanna, Lady of the Blood Demon clan, walked slowly down the hallway towards her Mate's study. The night was cold without him and she wanted him in her bed with his body pressing up against her. She'd been with him for far too long to take him for granted now and she hoped that he didn't take her presence in their home for granted either, though she did believe that she'd made things a little too easy for him over the years.

She was petite, standing at five foot two, and slender. She had long pale blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders in high ponytail and sky blue eyes glowing out of an alabaster, girlishly beautiful face. She wore a short sleeve white top with a low cut neckline, a short white skirt that barely covered her, and white slippers that encased her small, dainty feet.

Being the Lady of the Blood Demon clan, she was the most respected of all Blood Demon females, but she didn't care about that. She would show love to any of her people at any point in time and be damned with the protocol that spoke out against that. She was the Mate of the clan Lord and she could do whatever she pleased, even if it went against his own edicts.

It wasn't like her Mate was that big of a stickler for rules. Hell, he'd broken his own rules when he'd allowed Breal to live and she was glad that he had. If he hadn't, they would be without family and that would've been heartbreaking. Family was the most important thing to her and she relished in her memories of their late son, wishing that she could see him again.

Many of the clan thought that Leanna was bitter over their son's death and that she blamed her Mate, but that wasn't true. She knew that he'd been the one that killed their son, but he'd only done so to preserve the laws of the clan that he'd set centuries ago. It showed dedication and loyalty to his people above all else, including family. She knew that it had pained him to kill his own son, but for the good of the clan, he'd done so. It was what he'd had to do, not what he wanted to do.

Of course, Shido wasn't suppose to allow Breal to live, but he hadn't been able to bring himself to kill the child in his mother's womb. For all the things that Shido could do, killing his unborn grandchild wasn't one of them. There had never been a moment in their time together that she'd never been prouder to be his Mate than that day and she often relived that day in her dreams when things were getting tough.

Leanna banished those thoughts as she stopped in front of her Mate's office and she frowned. She couldn't hear him moving around or cursing at all. However, she could sense that he was inside, but what he was doing inside was a complete mystery to her.

Concerned but not really all that worried, the Blood Demon female reached down and turned the knob, opening the door. She peered inside and what she saw surprised her slightly, but it brought a slight smile to her fact at the same time. Her Mate was sitting behind his desk with his legs crossed at the ankles on top of the desk and his head tilted back, sleeping. He looked so precious it was hard for her to imagine waking him up, but she knew that she had to. He couldn't sleep in that chair all night or he would be stiff tomorrow.

Shaking her head, Leanna entered her Mate's study so she could take care of him and bring him to bed. He would thank her in the morning.

Azrieal walked slowly from the palace, his boots eating up the ground with every single step. He had a purpose for this day and there was only one other person who knew that purpose. His purpose was to summon the Hell Hounds and get what he needed done, done. The Hell Hounds were the only way to do that, that much he'd come to understand. For some reason, he'd foolishly thought that other Assassins would be able to handle Acheron, but he'd been wrong.

This was the only way.

The streets were full at this time of day with Demons going back and forth between buildings, doing their normal daily work. Cutthroats of either the Human or Elven persuasion moved between them as well, some lifting sacks of gold or even sinking their blades into the backs of those working. The Chaos Demon watched all of this and he walked on, unworried about chastising or arresting someone for what they were doing.

The Chaos Demon walked slowly down the empty streets, his boots echoing off of the buildings of the city. Few people were on the streets, but the some that were on the streets tended to look away from him. The shuffled away, their feet moving as quick as possible across the street and away from the Chaos Demon. They showed the right amount of fear for him, and because of that, he left them alone.

The Demon Mage knew that he could've easily drawn every single person on the streets to a stop with his magic and tear them apart. It was through his own kindness that he didn't do so. His kindness and the fact that he had more important things to do.

The Emperor finally reached one of the gates that lead out into Dalkia and he walked through the open gate. He walked several feet outside of the city and he stopped, looking around in every direction. There was nothing for as far as the eye could see and he smiled. Good, no one needed to see what he was doing right now. If they did see him, they might try to stop him and he would have to kill them. He didn't want to have to waste any energy on killing some fool who got in his way.

Azrieal closed his emerald green eyes and stared at the backs of his lids for a moment. This was a very powerful moment in his time as Emperor and he had to savor it. There wouldn't be many more times in his life that he would need to use this much magic on one spell so he should savor it. He almost didn't want to do it because of the sheer amount of magic it would drain from him and if for a moment he thought his brother would return to lay waste to the Empire, then he wouldn't do the spell at all. However, he knew better.

Acheron was on the defensive, and at this time, he had no army. The only thing he had was the Blood Demon and Ice Demon clans at his side. That wasn't nearly enough to return to Dalkia and hope to wage a war successfully. Acheron would know that and he wouldn't dare return with such paltry numbers to face his brother.

Smiling, the Chaos Demon opened his eyes and stared out across the barren land. There was no grass, no trees, and no nature at all. There was just barren rock that looked like it was on fire and ready to explode at any moment. There had once been nature here, but the taint of Demon influence had drained the life from this land a long time ago. To him, it was beautiful.

The Emperor heard noise off to his right and he turned his head, searching for the noise, but he was pretty certain about what it was. Sure enough, Amber walked slowly towards him, her hips swaying and her hair sliding across her shoulders. She had a wide smile on her face and her dark eyes seemed to glow with some unnamed emotion as she looked upon him.

It was at that moment that the Demon Mage noticed something. She was beautiful, in every sense of the word. From the way she held her head down to how she shined her boots, she was the picture of beauty. She was elegant in her strides and her body language. In his mind, he could see that she might make a good Empress, but he dismissed that thought as quickly as it came. There was no way that anyone would accept a Human cutthroat as the Empress of the Demon Empire.

There was no law against her being a consort though.

Smiling at that, he barely even noticed when she stopped in front of him and bowed at the waist, showing her respect. When she came up from the bow, she was still smiling and she met his gaze. The power she held in her gaze was amazing and awe inspiring, sending shivers of lust up his spine. He would truly like to possess her, but at this time, he knew that he couldn't. He had to rely on her for this spell and to make sure that he didn't get killed by doing it.

With that thought in mind, Azrieal reached for the bag that he had tied to his waist and he pulled it from his belt. Flipping open the top of the bag, he reached inside and began to pull out the items within. There were several palm sized black spheres that seemed to give off their own light, vials with some strange glowing green liquid in it, and most importantly two daggers.

He handed one of the daggers to her and she took it graciously, without question. That was one of the things that he liked about her. She didn't question anything he did, just accepted it and assisted in any way that she could. That showed the proper amount of respect and fear that his station earned from the general population. However, she showed no fear of him. She did it out of respect for him.

"I want you to take these spheres, drop three drops of the liquid in these vials onto the spheres, and coat them with a thin layer of blood before you place them. The places are marked." Azrieal told her, handing her the vials of liquid and the stones. She took the spheres and the liquid without saying a word, nodding her head and smiling, obviously proud that she was getting to do this. It was obvious that she loved serving her Emperor in any way that she could and he would have to remember to reward her for her fealty to him.

"It shall be done, my liege." Amber replied in a soft tone and she bowed her head low to him. Then, she turned sharply and walked away to place the spheres as he'd instructed. He watched her go, a wide smile on his handsome face. It was good to see that someone was actually loyal to him and not just afraid of him.

This could mean big things for her future in the Empire.

XXXXXXXXXX

Amber walked slowly to the spot that had been described to her where she should lay the first stone. The entire time that she was walking, she was thinking of the Emperor and her level of loyalty to him. She didn't know why, but she would do anything for him. Others might've thought that it was because he'd cast a spell over her and was controlling her, but she didn't think so.

Her mind was her own as were her loyalties.

The cutthroat walked slowly to the barren land and she knelt beside one of the rocks that he'd told her to. She set the sphere down on the ground in front of her and she reached for the stopper of the vial, uncorking it. There was no smell to the liquid inside, but that wasn't what she was concerned about. She had to do this right or the Emperor would be mad at her and the last thing she wanted was the Emperor mad at her.

Taking a deep breath, the Mage reached down and closed her hand around the sphere, lifting it from the ground. She held it at the bottom, and with the vial, she dropped a couple of drops of the liquid on the top. It sizzled like acid, but it didn't eat at the sphere and she frowned. She didn't know what the hell the liquid was, but that wasn't her concern. What was her concern was doing as the Emperor had bid her.

When the sphere stopped sizzling, she sat it down on the ground once again. Then, she pulled the dagger from her hip and she took a deep breath. The blade was razor sharp and gleaming as she looked at it, the sound of black lightning striking off in the distance creating a weird tableaux for what she was doing at this very moment.

Shaking off her little bit of fear, Amber took a firm hold of the dagger hilt and she opened her other palm. She lay the blade flat onto that hand and she closed her hand around the razor sharp blade. Closing her eyes, Amber drew the blade sharply across her skin as fast as she could and she hissed at the feel of the blade slicing through her flesh, drawing her blood.

She could smell the coppery scent of her blood and she opened her eyes. She opened her hand and looked down at it. There was a thick line of blood that welled up from her flesh, pouring over the sides of her palms. She gritted her teeth against the pain and she set to work, picking up the sphere once again. She rubbed her blood filled hand all over the sphere, coating it in a thick layer as instructed.

This done, the cutthroat took a deep breath and she sat the sphere down on the rocks. She sheathed the knife again at her hip and she rose to her feet slowly, staring down at the sphere. She didn't see anything different about this sphere from anything else of this world, but she wasn't the master Mage the Emperor was. For all she knew, it could be the skull of a god locked with power and she would never know.

She walked around the area, repeating the process with the other spheres, but it got easier with each set sphere. She grew more confident in what she was doing, and with that confidence, she moved faster. Because of her heightened speed, she finished placing the spheres in their formation and was walking back towards the Emperor. He hadn't moved from his spot, standing there and watching her with emerald green eyes empty of all emotion. It was obvious that he saw this as a necessary thing, and because of that, she saw it the same way.

It was necessary to the Emperor so it was necessary to the Empire.

The Human Mage stopped in front of the Emperor and she bowed low at the waist to him, showing him the respect that he deserved. When he acknowledged her with a nod, she stepped aside and went to stand at his side. She placed her hands behind her back and she stared forward, her face blank of all emotions, but her heart wasn't. Her heart was filled with anticipation, fear, joy, giddiness, strength, but most of all, lust. Not the lust for power that most Mages had within them at all times, but a different sort of lust. A more intimate lust.

The lust for a man.

Amber's blood was on fire as it coursed through her veins, making her heart beat faster than ever before. Her nipples had long ago hardened into little nubs under her top and her sex had grown damp with her arousal. The sheer power that Azrieal exuded was enough to drive any woman crazy, and when you couple that with his sheer good looks, a woman simply couldn't resist lusting after him.

The Chaos Demon stepped forward, his steps slow and long strides. He walked out into the barren field and just stood there, looking at the places where the spheres had been placed. Frowning, she noticed that he stood in the very middle of the spheres and he wondered if that had something to do with the ritual spell that he was using to summon the Hell Hounds.

The cutthroat didn't dare question him for fear of bringing his ire against her. She wanted his caring and his love, not his anger. That was the last thing that woman like her would want coming at her was the anger of the man that she wanted in her bed. She licked her lips at her own salacious thoughts, and even though she realized they weren't appropriate at this time, she couldn't seem to shake the lust that enveloped her.

Her mind was drawn from her lust when Azrieal began to speak, but as she listened, she realized that she couldn't understand the words. She couldn't understand them because they weren't any tongue that she'd heard spoken on the Mortal Plane. The tongue was dark and slid like a serpent across the air, tainting and destroying anything it came into contact with. That could only mean one thing.

The tongue of the Abyss, known only by the Demons of the Abyss.

The Human Mage had never heard it spoken before in her life, but she knew what it sounded like. She'd heard the stories about the Abyss tongue, about how it sounded and how it made you feel. She also knew the stories that said you would know it the moment you heard it. Well, those stories hadn't been exaggerated because she knew and she felt the power of it in her body, making her tremble from the inside out.

She watched as the Chaos Demon raised his hands into the air, still speaking the Abyss tongue and she noticed that his eyes were closed tightly. It was as if he was having to focus on what he was saying, and considering how difficult the language sounded, she didn't doubt that it was indeed hard to say if you weren't born of the Abyss. In fact, she doubted that any being of the Mortal Plane could speak that language and get it right. It was best left up to the former dwellers of the Abyss.

The Cutthroat blinked a couple of times and stared at the raised hands of the Emperor. They were starting to shimmer as if they weren't there, but when she looked closer, she realized that wasn't it at all. No, his hands weren't shimmering into non existence. They were pulsing with pure magic power that was being poured into the spell. She stared with mouth agape and eyes wide as his hands started to pulse even faster now, the words of the Abyss tongue coming faster, slimier.

Amber saw five corresponding bright green lights shoot out from the barren ground, and not surprisingly, the light came from where the spheres were set. As she watched, the lights converged in the sky and seemed to punch a hole in the sky. It was quite the frightening thing to see.

For the first time in her life, the Cutthroat was seeing the other side of the Abyss and she didn't like what she saw from the brief glimpses. It was awash with strength, power, but most of all, screams of pain and torture. She'd heard the stories about the Abyss, but until this very moment with those ungodly sounds coming from the hole being punched into the sky, she'd never thought it would be that bad.

This was beyond horrible.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, she saw movement in the large hole. Not just one thing was moving though. No, there were a lot of things and they were rushing right towards the large hole between worlds. As she watched, huge black shapes began to leap through the portal to the Mortal Plane, coming from the Abyss and not looking to go back. Their dark shapes fell through the air until they fell to the ground, dust creating a barrier from anyone being able to see them right away.

The Human Mage gulped, suddenly afraid of what those things could be, though she already knew. He'd been looking for a way to summon over a thousand Hell Hounds with a single spell and it looked like he'd been successful. However, she knew that there was a possibility - slim as it was, though still existent - that he'd summoned something other than Hell hounds by accident.