A/N: I advise you to google for "Diablo Sanctuary Map". I have to warn you that I didn't read and will not read Diablo books or some kind of expanded universe. Not interested.

This chapter will introduce the first "playable character".


HARRY POTTER AND THE BURNING HELLS

by CreatorZorah

Chapter 9: The demon hunter

She wouldn't make it to Kurast in three days. Tracey realized that as she flew south to the Strait of Twin Seas, that was connecting the Inner Sea and the Outer Sea. Two continents were there just mere kilometres apart. It reminded her of the Strait of Gibraltar, with the Eastern Continent as Africa and the Western as Europe. To fly straight over the Outer Sea would be a suicide.

The broom was fast, but not nearly as stable as Nimbus or Cleansweep and it was very tiring to fly for multiple hours. Five hours in the air with two two-hours-long stops were her daily limit. And if she didn't want to fall off the broom she had to restrain herself from flying any faster and longer. She didn't even reach the Strait in a single day, had to set up a heavily warded camp for a night in the middle of desert.

And the next morning it got even harder because of the sleepless night. She couldn't help but think about Harry and her quest, dangers of the deserts and the snorkacks, which were the Fallen Ones as one of the books in the library called them. It didn't help that she saw a few quite horrible huge monsters while flying over the deserts. The world was a horrible place!

Around the midday she reached the Strait and decided to rest for a hour before flying over the water. Tracey was frustrated that it was taking so long to get there. According to her new calculations she would get to Kurast in six days counting the current day. It was the only large city, located relatively near to the ruins of Viz-Jun. If everything she heard about Viz-Jun was true she would need to hire mercenaries to continue her quest, therefore would spend a few days in Kurast.

She wouldn't be able to use her broom to get from Kurast to Viz-Jun with mercenaries. And that meant boating the river against the current because the road through jungles of Kurast would last forever. If her sources were right the average time needed to get to Viz-Jun was ten days. Ten bloody days! She wouldn't be back to free Harry for almost a month. Tracey shuddered when she thought about how much time she would need if they hadn't made the brooms.

And appart from anything else she felt alone, utterly so. With Harry there was some kind of of normality in her life at Lut Gholein, but without him she felt lost in the strange dangerous world. And being isolated from everyone else flying somewhere in the middle of nowhere made it almost unbearable.

Her stomach made itself known interrupting her thoughts and she sighed. She was hungry. She took a piece of dried meat from the bag and began to chew on it. Not the best meal of her life, but it would do for a few days until she would reach the Kurast. Perhaps the jungles of the Eastern continent would provide her with more diverse food.

Tracey didn't plan to take off for at least a hour, so she decided to invest some time into meditation. She wondered for a moment if Harry would be able to learn something about the sorcery from Zanashi. The thought about the sorceress made her mood even worse. Tracey hoped that the tart didn't lie to her.

Tracey shook her head and glanced at the sea. She was on a sandy beach. It was a sunny day... well, there wasn't a cloudy one since they got here. But sitting there under clear blue sky and playing with fine yellow sand under her feet, glancing at the shiny quiet water made her feel like she was at some prestigious resort. If only Harry was here with her...

She sighed and closed her eyes trying to meditate. She was aware that Harry had some Occlumency training, but he wasn't nearly as good as she, that's why she found the meditation much easier. She was already on the next step. She was trying to feel arcane energies, not that she was any successful though.

A hour later she mounted her broom and continued her journey. She was glad it wasn't stormy, otherwise it would be really difficult to control the broom. Half a hour later she saw the land. Unlike the endless almost lifeless sands of the West, the Eastern continent met her with tropical rainforest full of life. So much green! After her time in Lut Gholein she was glad to see all these rich colours of the jungles. So close, but so different. Most certainly it's the magic at work.

Tracey knew that the jungles were dangerous, so she decided to stay close to the coast even if it wasn't really safer. She was reluctant to sleep deep in the forest and therefore was glad to see a fishing village enclosed with palisade. It was an opportunity to spend a quiet peaceful night, to have some rest in a normal bed not worrying about monsters getting through the wards.

To not scare the villagers Tracey descended from the sky and dismounted her broom. Then she walked towards the gates on foot. When the guards noticed her, she saw them drawing bows, but thankfully not shooting at her. But just in case she put an invisible shield around her.

"Stop there, stranger," a guard shouted at her. "What's your business here?"

She stopped and looked at the man. He was quite tall and broad. The guard was wearing a scale mail, a helm and leather pants with armored boots. He had a short sword in his hand and shield behind his back. He actually looked like a warrior unlike the other guards who looked just like ordinary villagers that took weapons in their hands. "I'm merely seeking a place to stay for a night," she answered.

"Where did you come from?" he asked.

"I came from the Western continent. Lut Gholein."

"That's a long way, sorceress," the guard said eyeing her staff.

"It's the first village on my way. I would be grateful if you'd let me enter and stay for a night before I continue my path to Kurast."

For a few seconds he didn't answer, buit then shouted, "Open the gates!"

"Thank you," she said, relieved that she wouldn't have to sleep outside.

He nodded. "But don't make me regret my decision to let you in, sorceress," he said.

"I won't," she assured him looking at the buildings inside. "Would you be so kind to tell me, where I can rent a room?"

"The tavern," he said. "Just go straight until you see a large building. You won't miss it, it's the only three-storey building in this village," he said and added, "Be careful there. This morning a Viz-Jaq'taar came to the village, but not quite. She looked too young... with those yellow eyes of her. A bit... weird too."

Tracey wondered who was a Viz-Jaq'taar, but didn't say anything nodding thankfully at the advice. Going through the village she was studying it and people that were living there. Unlike the Lut Gholein all buildings here were made out of wood. And it was understandable seeing as the village was located between the endless forest and the Inner Sea. People didn't look as clean and rich too, but she didn't expect the fisher, hunters and warriors to look any different. They were looking at her with a great suspicion.

Soon she stood before the tavern. Just like the guard said, it was hard to miss. She opened the door and looked around. It was dark there, small dull windows were letting only so much light through. The fire pits and candles were practically the only sources of dim light in the hall. She had to not forget to place anti-fire wards in her room before going to sleep.

The majority of clients were probably the locals which were consuming some drinks with alcohol after a long day of work. A few were eating something, but the meals weren't looking promising. They obviously didn't hear here about hygiene. Tracey sighed wishing to be back in Lut Gholein. Then she noticed a human that looked different. In the darkness of the room, the hood was hiding the stranger's face, but Tracey could swear that the person was looking at her, studying her.

It had to be the Viz-Jaq'taar and since the guard said 'she', it was a woman. A young woman. Tracey knew that the hooded woman was dangerous, since she was practically emanating the power. Tracey let out a sigh of relief when the Viz-Jaq'taar lost the interest in studying her and continued to eat her meal. The redhead wasn't sure if she would be able to fight the hooded woman.

As she looked around once again, Tracey scowled when she noticed that every single table was occupied. So she had a choice of sitting with men that were looking at her as if she was a piece of meat, or sharing a table with Viz-Jaq'taar. She wondered if she should just wander around the village for a few hours until some table would be free, but people here were quite suspicious and she didn't want to make them any more nervous. Not that she feared them, no, but she knew that they, probably, had a life hard enough without worrying about weird strangers.

Tracey could rent a room and go there, but she wanted to eat something that wasn't dried meat. So the redhead went to Viz-Jaq'taar. Even if the woman was quite scary, it was a much better choice than the alternative.

"May I sit here?" Tracey asked.

Viz-Jaq'taar looked up and Tracey could see her face for the first time. It was a very young woman indeed, not much older than she. A year or two, perhaps. She had a black hair and yellow, she could swear, glowing, eyes. An old scar was running from her jaw to the cheek. Not a deep one, just an almost faded reminder. And for Merlin's sake, why are all women in this world are so beautiful? Well, not all, but it was getting ridiculous. "You may," the woman said.

"Thank you," Tracey said taking a place at the opposite side of the table. She ordered some vegetables to eat and rent a room, the whole time secretly studying the Viz-Jaq'taar, wondering how a young woman like her could be so scary.

"Why are you starring at me?" the hooded woman asked suddenly.

Tracey blushed. "I was just wondering," the redhead said, "The guard said you were a Viz-Jaq..."

"I'm not," the woman interrupted her. "And as a sorceress you should know that."

"I'm not from one of the clans," Tracey said quickly earning an amused glance.

"Oh? A rogue? Then you're lucky that I'm a demon hunter, not a Viz-Jaq'taar."

Tracey looked at her with confusion but her meal was brought. As she began to eat, she asked, "May I ask you who are Viz-Jaq'taar?"

"Mage slayers that hunt rogue mages like you," the demon hunter said with a smile.

The redhead paled and whispered, "But I'm not a rogue mage. I didn't have a clan in first place."

"Relax, they won't hunt you down. I'm Selia, by the way."

"Tracey. Why did the guard think you're Viz-Jaq'taar?"

"We do not often appear in these places and my appearance is similar to one of assassins," Selia explained. "My turn to ask. What brings you here?"

"A place to sleep. I'm heading to Kurast. You?"

"We heard about demons attacking villages in these lands. I came to investigate," the hunter answered. "There is a smaller fishing village to the east, three days of walk from here. Everyone was killed. Men, women, children."

"Morgan, was that a work of demons?"

"So say the people, but I'm unsure, have to see it with my own eyes," Selia answered. "Who is Morgan if I may ask? A god?"

"A powerful witch of old," Tracey answered and hesitated for a few seconds before suggesting, "If you want, I'll take you tomorow with me to the village. If it's three days of walk, we'll reach it in a few hours by my means. I'm heading in the same direction anyway."

"You would?" the hunter asked surprised. "I'd appreciate it. Thank you."

"It's not a problem," the redhead said.

It was so good to talk to someone. The demon hunter sounded like a good person and a good company. If only she would accompany her to the Viz-Jun... Tracey was sure that the hunter would be very helpful with all that power she was emanating. The redhead though back of Harry and wondered how was he.

Unknown to her, at the same time, almost thousand kilometres to the West, in an ancient tomb, an ancient ghosty sorceress was lying on a conjured bed with a certain raven-haired boy in her arms. She was quite pleased with herself, while the boy looked irritated.

"For the next lesson, Harry," the undead said smiling. "Take off your clothes."

"No," he answered.

"Oh come on, my dear apprentice, do you feel shy before the dead woman? No one will remember that and I saw you without clothes anyway, so what's your problem? Besides do you want to stop our lessons? It's because of me, you can feel the arcane energies. I'll teach you to tap into it and use it not instinctively like you do, but to get the energy under control. And the price is just to make me feel your warmth, your love. Is that so hard? Why are you so cruel?"

"You're a pervert."

"I'd like to see you after three thousand years without a woman," she said and caught his lips with hers in a long kiss. "So sweet..."

"Don't know, I've managed until now," he said.

"Are you saying that you never was with a woman?" she asked as her eyes widened in surprise. "I'll be your first."

"I'll strangle you, if you demand that for the next lesson," he said. "I'm not going to do it with a dead woman."

"We'll see," the sorceress whispered touching his ear with her lips.

He sighed, she would drive him mad. "Zanashi, you're... well, you're beautiful, I won't lie. But you're a skeleton and your body is just an illusion."

"It's not an illusion," she answered, "I wouldn't feel your warmth otherwise. I would feel nothing at all. It's a real body I created with magic."

"But still... It's not real."

"Nothing is real," she noted.

Harry rolled his eyes and said, "I don't want to get into a philosophical debate." Then a thought came to his mind. "I wondered, you're a very powerful sorceress. How could they do that to you? I mean to force you..."

Suddenly she disengaged from him and he was startled as she teleported to the other side of the chamber looking away from him. Has he said something wrong to her?

"I was betrayed," she whispered almost silently, but he heard her. "By the man I loved. He was my husband and I trusted him. That was my mistake." Then she glanced at him and said, "Do not trust anyone, everyone will betray you in time. They always do."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't need your pity," she hissed sending beams of violet flame towards a statue destroying it in her irritation. "I was forced to tie myself to this thrice damned tomb to save my soul." She closed her eyes and said, "Let's not speak of the past. Let's start the lesson, my apprentice."