The succubus trod softly, silently through the ancient forest that stood tall like quiet royalty. Here in this cursed place the sun never shed it life-giving rays and the animals had fled long ago to places more kind. And yet strangely, the forest still lived standing as a silent reminder that even here good will not die.
She pondered this as she passed over fallen moss cloaked trees. The wind blew softly through her almond hued hair. She stopped but a moment running her black gloved fingers through her hair and then rounded sword in hand its tip at the throat of a hunter.
The being stood, his arms to the side and his head pulled back avoiding the life-taking sword that poked him promisingly. His hand moved slowly up and pushed the weapon to the side as he gazed non-threateningly into the eyes of the scowling sapphire-eyed woman.
"You must be Lana…" He said softly, his white-feathered wings relaxing at his milky white skin. He smiled a slight smile and his silvery eyes sparkled under stray locks of silver white hair. "The Firestar, said I could find you here."
Her face softened slightly and she spoke she sheathed her blade with eyes locked on his. "Raziel said nothing about a companion, movanic deva." Then with emphasis, "And he never leaves anything out- ever."
The smile faded, as his face grew serious- with jealousy? "I was an after thought- an add on." Slowly he walked forward, and Lana could feel the angel's eyes on her sword and quiver of arrows, "He told me a master vampire resides here."
"Yes, tales say he's guarded by four monsters." She said as her eyes ran up the castle's spires that pierced the sky and cut through the tree line like a malevolent giant. "We have to kill them in order to win our audience with the castle's master."
He motioned with his hand and smiled, eyes twinkling brightly. "Then shall we?"
"…We shall. Ladies first." She said referring to the angel at her side.
"Very funny."
The black forest and its reaching grabbing limbs parted to a grassy meadow cloven in twain by a deep crevasse and in the center the palace its jaw bridge down like a yawning lazy maw.
It seemed to call them with a sinister welcome. And as they passed the threshold a whiff of stale mood chocked the angel's unwary throat.
"Great," Lana whispered out a stern reprimand. "Why don't you just take out a bullhorn and tell every monster we're here?"
"I'm… I'm sorry." he said, his eyes downcast his voice quiet and embarrassed. "The air is… bad."
"You want to be one of Raziel's spies and assassins and you can't take a little mold?" Her eyes turned away and she pursed her glistening burgundy lips in thought, slowly her eyes came to his again. "And Raziel thought this would be the perfect job for you to start your career on?"
"You don't believe me?"
"I'm a succubus, I don't believe anyone." She drew her sword slowly and turned and walked away. "You want my trust? Earn it."
He stood there silent watching her as she walked away, her soundless footfalls kicking up tiny clouds of dust as she reached the rusted iron door. The door gave way to her pull, and over her shoulder she called out softly, "Are you coming?"
The hall's walls were lined with burning candles whose flame flickered and danced casting frightful shadows of shadowy laughing devils that taunted those foolhardy enough to tread these halls. The long hall opened to a vast chamber with brightly burning bronze sconces with grinning lions staring outward wrought on their sides. Each lion faced sconce placed in the four corners of the chamber and two on either side at the height of the stairway's small flight filled the room with menacing unholy light.
The small statured succubus stood alone at the center of the raised floor and scanned the arcane circles that lined the far side of the upraised floor in a half circle. "Teleportation circles… but where do they lead?"
"What did you find?"
"Teleportation circles." She said as she turned to him. "Were we to stand in the center of one they should take us to another place, most likely another portion of the palace."
He walked the stairs slowly and stood next to one of these singular circles, the one in the center right. "So we should just pick one and see where it leads?"
She ran her fingers through her hair and thought a moment before looking into his silvery eyes. "I suppose so… I guess one's as good as any."
He waved his hand in the direction of the arcane circle just before him. "Ladies first."
A short sigh escaped her lips, her hand grasping the hilt of her unique blade. "I hope you're not playing me."
"Fine then…" he said with an easy smile. "I'll go first then if that'll make you trust me."
"It doesn't. But I'll follow you anyways."
The two took a solitary step forward and watched as arcane energy swirled about them like a zephyr. The light grew brighter blotting out all but the whiteness of their passage and the strange falling sensation one gets sometimes in their sleep just before they awake with a start.
Soon the light faded, dimmed to a subtle comfortable glow. All around them the sights of a defiled opera house loomed over them, seemingly leering at them with a hundred vacant eyes.
"Well…" Lana said as she choked the hilt of her sword and looked slowly around the room. "This place certainly needs a woman's touch."
"I'm glad you think so." She rounded quickly and found him standing there, the angel smiling smugly at his side. "Because you'll never leave this castle."
Her face flushed red and her brows slanted in anger. "You… you betrayed me!"
"Wonderful wasn't it? To imprison the great Lana, Raziel's chosen." He chuckled darkly before he continued. "Really, I surprise even myself."
"I feel no enchantment here. You sprung you little trap too soon." She tumbled effortlessly acrossed the room, each motion a step in a larger sensuous dance. Seemingly floating and dancing haphazardly like a razor-edged snowflake she whirled and twirled, her cobalt short sword clanging ever faster against Walter's and the angel's steel great swords.
The angel fell, his sword sliding acrossed the floor. And yet in the same circular motion that took him from his feet Lana's sword cut through his neck sending his head rounding and flipping in the air before landing with a thump beside its limp blood soaked body.
Her dance grew faster and magnetic energy surged from her sword pulling at the angel's castaway sword. It flew through the air towards that strange cobalt weapon and yet as it neared it inexplicably seemed to bounce in mid air as if it struck some unseen barrier as it was flung almost controlled at the vampire's chest. But with a huff and a swing of his sword he expertly batted it away like a fly.
The succubus' sword came down swiftly in an arc taking his saw-toothed sword from his hands, and it zigzagged back again acrossed his shins, she rounded in a continuous circular motion her blade cutting deep into his chest and as her body twirled into the air her feet slammed hard into his face with a loud crack blood raining from his broken nose and split lip like rain. He stumbled backwards and fell hard over the railing and to the dusty dull gray carpet below breaking and crashing through a beetle eaten wooden desk sending shards of dry tunneled out wood acrossed the room.
She raced to the wooden railing and leapt from its height and as her feet came to rest silently at the vampire's side she drew her sword and held its point at his throat. "You're beaten Walter, your plans for me have failed."
Slowly he pulled himself to rest on his elbows and smiled a sly grin. "Is that so? You may be the better warrior Lana; in fact your style is simply amazing. However, skill is not all that wins a battle."
"What do you mean?"
"Let me show you." He held out his hand and a pitted iron flask slowly materialized.
Her jaw dropped in fear and surprise- she knew the object the vampire held. "The Iron Flask of Tuerny the Merciless, it can't be!"
A smile crossed Walters face and his eyes seemed to sparkle with domineering glee. "Ah, so you know it?"
"Every fiend knows it, Walter." She spat, her words red with hatred. "The bastard made it to imprison my kind so he could use us to conquer a kingdom because he was too pathetic to do it himself."
"Yes…" he said as he stroked it lovingly. "But eventually the demons, the tanar'ri, imprisoned within escaped and took his soul back to the Abyss."
Slowly he tugged at that ancient stopper and as Lana tried to escape a terrible pull on her body took her like an enormous grasping hand. She struggled in vain and desperation, but all was for not as she was pulled whole into the metal bottle. Walter's laughter was the last sound she heard before the stopper shut tightly locking her within. And it was then she knew that she was his, Walter's fifth protective monster.