Yay! Finally a new chapter! Back from my hiatus. Not easy being a Demonic Clown. Places to be, People to scare, not enough time end energy to do all the fun stuff. Anyway, here is the next to last chapter of my River story, or next next to last...We'll see. Depends on what pops into my head when I write. ENJOY! /Penniewise

She's made of hair and bone and little teeth

and things I cannot speak

Marilyn Manson

The clearing was silent and dark as Trish stepped cautiously through the undergrowth. She had travelled for hours to get here, sometimes walking, sometimes running. During her journey her wounds had healed and her mind had cleared. Dante was going to survive and if she succeeded in her mission there would be no more danger for him here. She could sense the presence of a demon ahead and she knew who it was. Kaelus.

He was waiting for her. Trish was sure of it. She had been his pet project. Teaching her to follow orders without questions had been one of his greatest pleasures, as it seemed. She still shivered when she remembered their sessions. The few permanent scars she had on her body were put there by him.

Trish stopped at the edge of the woods, her guns ready at her sides. She saw no one, but the stench of Kaelus aura permeated the clearing ahead and filled her with fear. She had never been able to beat him in the past, had always been the loser in their battles. His mere presence had made her shake, dreading the pain he would inflict on her. He had been her master, more so than Mundus, since Kaelus had been the one responsible for her so called upbringing. She took a deep breath, readying herself for the upcoming meeting. She knew that he was waiting out there, waiting for her. She stepped forward, through the tree line.

Kaelus stood in the middle of the clearing, stretching his wings and glowering at her. Trish hesitated in her stride. Her hands tightened involuntarily, the butt of her guns branding her palms. The goat demon smirked. Trish mentally scolded herself for letting him see her fear. She knew how he thrived on it.

Kaelus bared his teeth in anticipation. He watched Trish stride towards him across the grass covered ground. It still bore marks from their previous fight. He inhaled the sweet smell of blood and burned ozone that still lingered. He revelled in the moment. Finally he would catch Trish and there was no one that could interfere, especially that irritating devil hunter. He growled at the thought of Dante. Still growling he let his eyes rest on Trish's approaching form, noting her confident movements and the contradictory fear in her eyes. His irritation subsided as his most priced toy came closer. She was ready for a fight, brandishing her big guns as if they could do him any harm. He laughed inwardly at her confidence in those human contraptions.

Trish took aim at Kaelus' chest. She felt her hands shake as she met his scornful gaze. Fear shot through her entire being. Steeling herself she took a few measured steps forward before she stopped. Kaelus grinned as he looked down on the slim blonde in front of him. The guns in her hands reflected the fading sunlight as she slowly pulled both triggers.

The recoil made the guns jump in her hand. As the bullets hit Kaelus they buried themselves beneath the thick skin. Rivulets of blood spilled from the wounds. Kaelus threw his head back and roared with laughter.

"Is this your plan, to shoot me? Don't you know that human weapons can't harm me! You have become weak during your time on Earth!" Still rumbling with laughter he stalked towards her. As he swung out an arm to grab her by the waist, she back flipped to get out of reach. Trish trained her guns on him again. A wry smile pulled at her lips.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but these are not made by a human." She pulled the trigger of her gold tinted gun. Sparkles trailed through the air as the bullet tore away from Scratchy's barrel. The shock as it hit Kaelus made him stagger and howl. The stench of burnt flesh filled the clearing. Trish had charged her gun with her own electric energy. It sent shock waves of pain through his body. The demon had no time to recover before she started pumping more electrified bullets into him.

Trish circled him, constantly firing. Kaelus roared madly. Flailing around he tried to grab her with his claws. His wings coiled around him for protection, but the barrage of bullets tore at them relentlessly. The electricity crackles over him, blinding his eyes and stunning his muscles.

Trish ducked and rolled as another swipe of his claws threatened to tear her arm off. Blowing strands of hair from her face she quickly got to her feet again. She backed up a few steps, cautiously watching the enraged demon. The bullets weren't enough to kill him, she knew that. Hesitantly she drew her blade and eyed her opponent. Kaelus still staggered around blindly, flailing his wings and claws wildly in an attempt to protect himself. Seeing an opening, Trish launched an attack. Ducking under his arm she slashed his side. As she quickly rolled out of his reach she felt a sudden pain. His blood had coated her skin and it was burning her. Licking her lips she grinned. Maybe I can do this; maybe I can finally kill him. She ducked again as he tore through the air with his claws. She could feel Sparda hum in her hand, the taste of blood awakening the blade.

She fixed her eyes on the demon, looking for the slightest opening. Electricity snaked across the edge of the sword as she readied another attack. There. She took a quick step forward before she leaped into the air. She put all her strength in the swing, bringing Sparda down on Kaelus' unprotected skull. The sudden impact numbed her hands when Kaelus caught the blade with his claws.

For a brief second she hung in the air, staring into his mocking eyes. Then Kaelus flung her across the clearing with a great sweep of his arm. Trish lost her grip on Sparda as she slammed into the tall pines. Broken trees crashed over her when she rolled to a stop. Through the ringing in her ears she heard Kaelus laughing. Trish gritted her teeth and tried to push herself up from the forest floor. She whimpered when she felt her broken ribs grind against each other. Fumbling around, Trish tried to find Sparda. After a few seconds she felt the cold metal of the sword against her fingers. She crawled closer and then stumbled to her feet as her fingers closed around the hilt. Her vision was dimmed and she quickly swept her hand across her face to dry the blood out of her eyes.

Kaelus was still standing in the same place. Trish cautiously moved her limbs to see if something important was broken, while she inwardly beat down the treacherous thoughts that whispered that she could not beat him. Once again she searched for an opening before launching her attack. Rushing forward she swept the sword back, preparing for a sideways slash. Kaelus readied himself to block her slash with his steel like claws. Seconds before impact Trish twisted her body, making Sparda cut through the air in an upwards arch. She could see Kaelus' eyes widening in surprise before the blade tore into his flesh from hip to shoulder. Trish stumbled sideways, clutching her side with her free hand. The broken ribs threatened to puncture her right lung. Kaelus crashed down on the ground. Trish leaned against Sparda, trying to prevent her legs from folding under her.

Trish never heard the soft footfalls behind her. Never saw the sunlight reflected off the dagger that was thrust towards her back. She only felt a sudden pain and then numbness as the poison on the blade took effect. She slumped to the ground, not seeing the blonde woman that wiped her dagger on the grass and then strode over to Kaelus' unmoving body.

.

-:-:-:-:-

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The smell of blood and burning flesh assaulted her nose. Trish forced her eyes open with difficulty. One eye was almost swollen shut. She slowly came to the realisation that the flesh that was burning was her own. Searing hot metal slid across her back, leaving deep wounds and cauterising them at the same time. A gasp of pain had her broken ribs grinding against each other. The pain tried to take over and shut down her other senses but she blocked it out, as she had done so many times before. She was getting good at blocking things out.

She could not feel her arms any more. The chains that she was hanging from cut into her wrists and tore the skin. She tipped her head forward and stared at the floor that she was gently swinging over. She could see patches of blood discolouring the flag stones. Blood dripped from her toes. With detached interest she watched a drop of blood lose its grip on her little toe and splash onto the floor. I'm like well hung beef. A dry laugh forced its way through her throat. Hours of screaming had cracked her voice, and the laughter came out as a hoarse cackle. Someone emerged from the shadows of the room and a clawed hand gripped her chin.

"What's so amusing, my dear? Are you enjoying my company that much?" Her head was raised by the clawed hand and she found herself staring into the eyes of the goat demon.

"Kaelus…" she whispered, straining to focus her eyes on him. "How…? I killed you…"

"Ah, I must admit that you caused quite a… mess. But I only expected as much from you. You were after all my favourite, the toughest of my pets. The others were never so… durable. They all broke so easily." Kaelus shook his head. "When you left us and joined that cursed son of Sparda, I had to find another. It wasn't easy, I had to search hard to find a good replacement. Go through all my knick-knacks."

A sudden grip in her hair pulled her head back and Trish found herself staring into the darkness above her. The hot steel that had seared her back was making the skin on her jugular bubble. Someone hissed in her ear. Kaelus smiled. "I found something useful, though. Something I had forgot I had lying around." He made a beckoning gesture. The heat from the red hot poker vanished and with a final tug of Trish's hair the person standing behind her sauntered into view.

Trish stared at the blonde woman now walking out from behind her and snuggling up to Kaelus. She couldn't believe her eyes. "Eva…" she whispered with numb lips. "You're dead. I … saw you…dead."

Kaelus chuckled. "No, not Eva. Even though she is spawned from her, just like you. This is Lea. She's in fact your elder, if that is the correct term. She has proven herself to be quite useful. Maybe I'll send her up to the son of Sparda. Would he be able to tell the difference? She is of course all human, not mixed with demon like you." Kaelus grinned and pulled Lea's slender body closer. "But she's a lovely playmate." Trish could see how a content expression passed over Lea's face. She was clinging affectionately to Kaelus whilst giving Trish a menacing look.

"She can't speak of course; I cut her tongue out years ago. I like my pets to be silent." Kaelus rubbed his chin and gave Trish a thoughtful look. "Maybe I should have cut out your tongue too. You are too beautiful to have such a foul mouth."

"Go fuck yourself," Trish growled hoarsely.

"Which proves my point perfectly." Kaelus gestured towards Trish. "Lea, cut her tongue out."

Lea took the dagger from her belt with a content smile and advanced on her chained doppelgänger. Trish could see the hate and madness shining from her eyes. It was clear that she longed to get rid of the competition for Kaelus affection. Trish blocked out the pain from her abused arms as she gripped the chains above her head and tensed her whole body. She knew she had only one shot at defending herself. Black spots had started to invade her vision and she felt herself teetering on the edge of unconsciousness. Staring fixedly at Lea, Trish waited for her moment to act.

Lea raised her arm and stepped closer. She reached for Trish's face, grinning madly. Trish tightened her grip on the chains and with a growl quickly pulled up her legs and hooked her right foot behind Lea's neck. Her other naked foot pressed against the side of Lea's chin. Trish hesitated for a second, and then with a hard jerk she snapped her neck. Lea's body slumped to the floor as Trish swung back limply in her chains, swallowed by unconsciousness again. Kaelus stared at the body on the floor. It was twitching lightly. A roar broke through his lips and he lunged at Trish.

"YOU B-" Kaelus froze in his tracks as a growl cut through his angry daze. A large Shadow blocked his way and it continued growling as it slunk closer to Trish's lightly swinging body. Kaelus look around and suddenly realised that darkness had started to crowd the room. It snaked across the floor as if it was a living creature, engulfing the objects in its path.

"Do you mean to harm my daughter, Kaelus?" A husky voice rang out from the shadows, making Kaelus bare his teeth. A slim female became visible. If was as if she had formed out of the shadows that surrounded her. Her waist length golden hair gave more cover than the shear pieces of clothing that she wore. Thin chains fashioned with silver bells encircled her ankles, jingling as she sauntered across the floor. A cold smile showed a hint of sharp pointy teeth. She walked over to Trish who was hanging limply in her chains. She tilted Trish's head up and studied her face. Frowning she then let it fall back down again.

"I liked her better when she didn't look like that weak human wench." She absent mindedly patted the Shadow's head, making it purr with delight.

"Mara…"Kaelus tried to hide the irritated growl in his voice. The female gave him a questioning look. "I was going to bring her to you. I was just… detained."

"I know you were, but I also know that you have a tendency to play with your prey. That's why I thought it better to come get her myself." Mara waved dismissively towards Trish. "Take her down."

Kaelus obediently loosened the chains and took Trish's unconscious body in his arms. Giving Mara a quick glance he stalked towards the darkest corner of the room. The murky darkness reached out for the burden in his arms and enveloped it, swallowing it whole. The goat demon stepped back quickly and made way for the Shadow that slunk into the dark, disappearing with a final menacing growl. Mara followed her pet towards the shadows and as she passed Kaelus brushed her hand over his arm, drawing blood with her sharp fingernails.

"Don't forget your place, Lord Goat. I will be the next ruler of the Underworld so you'd better keep on my… good side." She gave him a final cold smile before she melted into the darkness.

Kaelus clenched his fists, muffling the growl his visitor always stirred in him. He knew that Mara was too dangerous to anger. Her whole nature was after all death.