Chapter 6: Homes of the Damned

Part 3: Intisar

Trunam
Second Circle of Inferus
She sighed as she drank the glass of warm green Deasir. She wanted to shed some more tears for him, but it wasn't worth it. It's been months. He wasn't coming back. Ever. Why was she even bothering coming up to these forsaken parts of Inferus, let alone on the surface where she had little control of her abilities?

She walked across the inn towards the exit but two hellspawn stood up and quickly blocked the exit. They were tall and bulky and had two horns on their head and hooves for feet. If you were human, you would've thought you were looking at a heavy-weight half-goat half-human creature. "Well well, looky here. A demoness. What brings you to these lonely parts?" One stood in front of her while the other behind her. Several people and the few and rare local demons looked towards them.

"Stand back, fools. I am in no mood for this." She warned.

"Ohhh.. What's the demoness going to do? Shoot us with some fire balls?" Intisar grabbed one of them by the neck and with her fist clutched in tight, pulling him close to her face.

"Once I get started with you, you'll BEG me to burn you to death." She pushed him away and he fell on a table with a loud crash, smashing it into dust; much to the surprise of his friend.

"Why you little piece of Tartarian Jiffa!" He walked towards her as he took out a spiked mace from his thick coat and started waving it in the air. Suddenly, she disappeared and before the brute could turn around; his neck was wound up with his own mace's chain. She appeared in front of him as he fell down to his knees, choking on the chain. "Few people, if any, know how to merge teleportation and warp into total control of immediate time and space. An old friend of mine trained me that skill." She walked up to him and knelt down, looking directly at his bloodshot eyes. His red skin seemed to turn even redder. "We used to be close you see." Her words tried to give an impression that she was sad, but they simply sounded emotionless.

An old demon walked forward and spoke in the distinctly Sorcerous language of Mafal. The chain turned into dust and the spiked ball fell to the ground with a loud thud. The hellspawn coughed and gagged. She spat on the floor and looked at the old demon. He looked vaguely familiar, as if she had seen him not too long ago.

She walked towards the door and pushed it open as she spoke over her shoulder clearly towards the mysterious person, "You should've let him die, old ‘mon."

The old demon followed her closely, ambling in an aged hobble, "Maybe you were brought up to behave that way, but I certainly learned the wisdom otherwise."

"I don't know who you are. And I don't care that you're a ‘mon sorcerer," Intisar stated through clenched teeth, "Just mind your own business, and let's hope I don't see you ever again."

They stepped outside. She headed towards a valley. She squinted as she looked up towards the violet sun of Lucifer, the temperature was suddenly starting to rise, must be noon-time. "And I thought the underground was hot." She mumbled.

"It is sad, to lose a lover, isn't it, Intisar." The demon said, as they walked down stepping stones that lead to the bottom of the valley.

Intisar stopped and turned around with her exotic golden eyes, "How did you know my name old ‘mon?"

"Hudad, if you please..." He said with a smile then continued, "Locan, was a student of mine, and although he may tell you otherwise, I still consider him what he is, a kinsman of the Eljenn tribe and once upon a time, one of the greatest Satan there ever was. He told me a lot about you. He had genuine feelings towards you."

Intisar pointed towards the barren ground, "If he had genuine feelings towards me, he should've stayed here with me."

Hudad sighed with sadness as he went on, "He made a choice. That's what people do. It was a tough decision, but he made it." She shook her head in defiance but suddenly broke down crying, he put an arm around her for comfort as they continued walking down.

"I helped him escape." She said as they approached a small fort at the bottom of the valley, next to it a lone black Tapuach tree stood, its dead leaves stretched out to Lucifer seeking sustenance.

"I know, Intisar, I was there by your side." She nodded as she remembered that he was, in fact, amongst the other demons when they staged the mock rebellion against the guardians of the gates. "I have to go home now... Back to the fourth circle where I belong. Back where I have no family and no friends." She lamented as she opened the door.

They stepped inside and Hudad gazed at the old portal, the very portal of which he and other sorcerer masters had laid down the first stones to, so long ago that Hudad would have a hard time remembering. "Stay here, if you'd like." Hudad said.

She shrugged, "And do what?"

Hudad sighed at the vague comment, "There are lots to learn about the universe, about life." She raised her head towards him and thought of throwing an insult at him, but looking at his old wise face made her smile instead, it was a sincere smile.

Her golden eyes, washed with swirls of blue twinkled for a moment as she saw a tiny bit of Locan in the old man's eyes, "I very much would like that." She found herself saying.

Suddenly, there was an intensive implosion, Hudad grabbed Intisar's arms before she could get sucked into the time/space vacuum and with his other hand, used his cane to brace himself against the fortress walls.

"What's happening?" She screamed.

"Someone's coming up. Hold on!" He shouted. And as suddenly as the implosion occurred, she fell to the ground and a shimmering green vortex formed within the portal's archway. Three creatures stepped in. A silver-skinned Samarian, and an elderly human couple.

With an ironic shout, the old man who just stepped in demanded: "Who are you?!" His voice echoed, as if his physical form was an illusion of something more grand than what showed.

"My name is Hudad. What business do you have on this plane of Inferus?" Hudad asked as he helped Intisar up.

"You are a demon. Step aside." The old man said with a hint of distrust in his voice. The three visitors walked into the fortress and looked at the two shocked hosts.

"I apologize for the intrusion." Kasrel said, trying to counter Phasarel’s forceful tone. "We are need of information, and help. If you can help us, that will be welcome, otherwise, let us through."

"Mekshilim." Hudad spoke through a grin, "What, pray tell, brings you creatures out of hiding?"

Kasrel and Phasarel looked at each other with a puzzled expression, "A knowledgeable demon, how times have changed." Phasarel exclaimed sarcastically.

Kasrel sighed as her eyes turned upwards for a brief moment, her thoughts slightly blurred, "Demon, I do not know how much you fathom of what is occurring during this time and age, but cataclysmic events are about to occur, and unless you want innocent people to get hurt, I suggest you help us, we can use any helping hand we can get."

Phasarel whispered into her ear, "Demons. That I don't trust."

Kasrel shook her head at the comment, giving Hudad a brief nod in his direction, "Look at his aura frequency, it is positively pure, and strong too. This one is blessed, I can feel it. The other is more on the neutral right range, but she may be trusted."

Phasarel shook his head, "Always naive you are, Kasrel. Anyway, we have no choice."

"Follow me. This is no place to converse." Hudad said as he motioned for the three to follow him.

He looked at Intisar and asked: "Would you care to join us?"

Intisar gave a brief shrug as she weighed the option, "I have nothing better to do, honestly." Hudad raised his hand and cast a lateral teleportation portal; the five entered it, and arrived at Hudad's home, a few hundred miles away from Trunam.

Hudad smiled as he stepped outside the portal with the other four: "Welcome to the home of the exiled."

Kasarel: "Tell me, Hudad. There have been many rumors throughout the past two thousand years on how the Eljenn tribe had been banished from the Nether Regions. Of course, I can see that you are still grabbing onto your beliefs after all these years…"

Hudad: "So you want to know the story about the exile of my tribe?"

Kasarel nodded: "Yes, entertain us, please."

Hudad smiled, holding onto the one thought that kept him grasping onto his alignment despite the fact that they were the only "righteous" demons in existence.

"It all started three thousand years ago."

(Continued...)