Yet again, I apologize for the delay in updating. Life is crazy, ok? I try. Plus this chapter was a...female dog about coming onto paper.

Thanks to Link'sLily and Courage of Awesome for keeping up with this story. Its getting long, and if it keeps up like this, its gonna be a hell of a lot longer than SIG.

Again, this chapter is M for Mature. Even I, the author, found this chapter disturbing. Read with caution.

Your Soul

"Father please!" She threw herself at his feet, hands scrapping against the rough cobblestones of the throne room. Dull, halfhearted sunlight streamed through the open windows that lined either side of the room, making the flames atop the lit torches flicker and waltz mid-air.

He stayed still despite her cries, jaw set in a firm, emotionless line, thin lips pressed tightly together. His dark ebony eyes looking critically down on her shuddering form, uncaring for her strife. He merely pulled one muscular leg up onto the other, to sit cross-legged in front of her, both arms resting directly at his sides, hands gripping the arms of his throne.

A choking sob escaped her throat as she looked up at him from the floor, tears blurring her vision, making him nothing more than a threatening figure glaring unsympathetically down on her.

"Please father. Anything!" she begged, leaning down to rest her forehead against her hands, listening the gentle dripping of her tears hitting the cobbles. "I'll do anything, just please! Not that!"

He made an arrogant growl above her, not moving an inch.

"No daughter of mine will be caught dead doing such a thing." He said, his monotone voice echoing in her ears, his words hitting her heart like a knife. She jerked her head up to look at him again, a fresh wave of hot, angry tears overflowing the lids of her amber eyes and flooding down her angled cheeks. Her lungs seized in another desperate sob, her chest contracting painfully as her emotions pushed her blood to boil and mind to be sent careening over the edge.

She dragged herself to her feet, standing eye to eye with him, body trembling.

"I beg of you-!"

"I will not allow it!" He screamed, leaping suddenly to his feet, coming quickly to loom over her and forcing her to stagger back, fear suddenly consuming every fiber of her mind. Her heel caught on a loose cobble, and with a terrified shriek, she fell back, landing on her tailbone. She looked up at him like an injured mouse that a cat had finally cornered, her breath coming faster and faster. Her heart stuttered in her chest, missing a beat as he leered down at her.

His head tipped back and to one side, his eyes no longer visible from her point of view, and his expression unreadable. His toned, bare chest flexed as he threw one arm to the side, head jerking in the same direction.

With a fearful squeak, two older ladies rushed to his side, heads bent low and shoulders slumped. He upon them with cold eyes, his lips parting slightly, giving them both a glimpse of his teeth, glistening in the dully sunlit atmosphere. Both women immediately dropped to their knees, heads bent down, chins against their necks. To those only giving passing glance, they remained completely still.

But if she watched closely, she could see them shaking.

"Take Keres to her room," he spat, tipping his head forward to glare at her again, unseeing of her hopeless expression. "Lock her in. No daughter of mine will ever marry a man from Ikana."

The women rose carefully to their feet as another heartbroken sob ripped from her throat. Seconds later two sets of hands could be felt firmly wrapping around her shoulders, and without her personal consent, she was dragged to her feet. She shot a suddenly bold, vicious look at her father before she was whipped around, and pulled toward the archway that served as an exit from the throne room.

As they neared the exit, she could hear several pairs of feet striding toward her father. He had called someone else over to him. She craned her neck around as they reached the archway, and could see several tall, cloaked figures kneeling before her father. She recognized them as members of her father's military.

"Go to Ikana Castle at dawn," she could hear her father snap to the men kneeling there. "And kill Igos Du Ikana."

She screamed as his words hung in the air like a thick, sickly mist, trying desperately to break free of the two women's grips. She dug her bare heels into the floor, ignoring the scraping pain as the hard stone floor unrelentingly held firm.

She didn't even flinch as it began to draw blood, rubbing her heels raw and leaving a faint trail of blood through the hallways of the Stone Tower. She screamed until her voice was gone, as she was dragged unwillingly through the seemingly endless stall ways, darkness enveloping the three figures.

When they reached her room, she was tossed inside as if she was nothing more than a piece of garbage, kicked aside like an unwanted dog, and before she could muster the strength, the door slammed shut. She listened carefully, hoping that the women would forget to lock the door, and leave her a way to escape. But it was mere moments after she thought this that a truly sickening click was heard. So instead, she curled herself into a ball, and cried. She cried until there were no tears left, and even after that, she sobbed dryly, shrieking until she tasted blood.

And it was only when every last ounce of her strength had been used up that she passed into a restless, sleep, muscles twitching with fatigue…

"Wake up, girl."

She shifted in her sleep, a soft, hoarse moan passing her lips, dried tears glinting in the moonlight that streamed through her window.

"I have waited for a millennia for the one who could wield my strength to awaken, and yet I am faced with one who will not rise."

She slowly cracked one eye open, muscles aching. She peered toward the window, and screamed again, scrambling to her feet, ignoring the pain in both her throat, and her feet. A large figure was crouched precariously on the window ledge.

She backed as far away as her room would allow her, quickly bumping against the wall. Back pressed against it, her hands roamed frantically over every inch she could reach, eyes never moving from the shape.

It moved slowly, unfurling its obscurely long body from the crouched position, and crawled into her room. Back to the moon, it was nothing more than a silhouette, one that she could not recognize. It's body shape vaguely resembled that of a human, but there were jarring differences. Its knees were bent in the wrong direction, so that when it walked, it swayed like a crane, and as it sauntered closer to her, a tail slowly flicked in either direction, the way a cat swished its tail when it was stalking a rat.

She wanted desperately to scream, to cry out for help. But fear prevented her from moving, she was frozen in place and the only sound she could manage to produce was a pitiful squeak as it came so close that she could smell its breath.

"Do you want out of here?" It asked, stopping only inches from her. Its voice sent a shiver down her spine.

She couldn't respond. She merely shook where she stood, staring up at the looming figure before her. She flinched as it touched her shoulder with a large, clawed hand. Its touch was like ice, making her shiver as the freezing cold seeped through her skin.

Her body trembled as the creature's claws dragged across her skin, over her collarbone, and up her neck, until one claw forced her chin upward, so that she was staring up at what she assumed was the creature's face. Her eyes were suddenly forced shut as a bright yellow light flashed in the creature's other hand. A strange, ethereal warmth suddenly contrasted the icy touch of its skin, as as she slowly reopened her eyes, blinking in the light, she stared in wonder as a fire flickered in its palm.

She could see the creature's palm, she could see thick swatches of burned skin where the fire was settled, fueled by strange, obscure ways she could hardly imagine. But it did not seem to feel pain, it didn't even flinch as the flame slowly crept toward its fingertips, and up its arm, spattering and crackling as it traveled across dry, malnourished flesh. It spread across its shoulders, and then traveled slightly quicker up it's long neck, finally coming to a stop at the crown of its head, illuminating its face for the first time.

Its face was angular, coming to a harsh point at the tip of its chin, with four spiky protrusions on either cheek. At the top of its head, two long, knobby horns grew up, to the side, and back toward its neck, tips looking as though they could do some damage. And finally its eyes. They were just a bit too large for the size of its head, and shaped like cats' eyes, pointed at either end, with a fierce yellow hue, green speckling the very edges and its slit-like pupils burning hard crimson.

It was a demon.

"Do you want out of here?" It asked again. She looked at it for a moment, and before she could even give it a second thought, she nodded.

It leapt backward, toward the window with an odd pushing-off of its backwards legs, giving a strange, hooting cry as it whipped across her room, racing toward the window. She watched in dumbfounded shock as it gave another cry, and with a last, foolhardy bound, leapt straight out the window.

Without hesitation, she bolted toward the window where the creature had disappeared, colliding with the stone, waist-high surface and leaning as far as she could go, eyes frantically searching the black abyss that the Stone Tower had been built beside.

She gasped inwardly when she found that the creature had not fallen into the abyss. It was standing about twenty feet away, appearing to be floating on air. Its feet were set as though it was standing on solid ground, but there was no ground beneath it. Only deep blackness and open space. It flashed her a toothy grin when it met her eyes, smirking with its half-crazy eyes glinting in the moonlight.

And when it reached out a clawed hand, jutting the palm toward her in a beckoning gesture, she found herself frozen where she stood.

"Do you want out of here?"

Was it really trying to help her? Could something so sinister looking possibly want to? Or was it really a demon, like in the stories she had long ago been told? Trying to lure her to her death.

But there was something in its eyes that made her believe it. Something that made her want to trust it, and as if being pulled by some invisible force, she swung herself onto the window ledge, bare feet balancing precariously on the narrow strip of stone.

"Jump." The creature commanded, impatiently flicking the claws of its opposite hand against one another, resulting in a strange clicking noise. She stared down into the blackness for a moment, considering with fear what she was about to do. Was it really a good idea? If this creature was a demon, it would lure her to jump straight out the window, and she'd fall to her death. Then he'd probably eat her.

That was a lovely thought.

But on the other hand, did it really matter? She wouldn't last long being confined to her room anyway. If she died this way, then at least she would be in control of her fate. And in the end, she would finally have gotten the one thing she had wanted, but had never been allowed to have.

A choice.

So with a final breath, she stepped forward, eyes closed, and allowed herself to drop from the window. For a moment, she believed that she had fallen, that she was careening to her death, but after a moment more, she dared crack one eye open, and found herself staring directly into the eyes of the creature.

She too, was floating on air.

The creature let loose a haughty laugh at her confused expression, before grabbing her forcefully around the wrist, and started dragging her at an impressive clip. She didn't even have to lift her feet at first, it was strange, moving, but not having to walk or to ride some creature, but she was scarcely allowed time to think, as before she knew it, the creature had dragged her across the entirety of the abyss, and head reached the main gates of the Stone Tower.

The gates that led to Ikana.

She was starting to wonder if this was a dream. Or rather, a nightmare, as she found herself being pushed onto the hard, solid ground, loosing what little footing she had had and falling, rolling a few feet toward the gate.

She knew very well that the gates were never opened after dark. And as she looked back toward the abyss, there was no creature standing there.

"Princess Keres?!" A voice snapped from beside the gate. She cringed, and looked up from where she was crumpled on the ground. The gate sentry was running toward her, spear dropped to the ground.

"How did you get out of your room?!"

She rose wearily, body aching from the impact, and looking at him, she gasped slightly as he grabbed her shoulder. But looking up, she smirked when two glaring yellow eyes slowly appeared behind the sentry. The next thing either of them knew, five wicked claws wrapped around the shoulders of the sentry, and he was flung against the wall, knocked unconscious.

And without word, the creature bounded awkwardly toward the smaller, well-hidden door beside the main gate, trotting on its backwards legs and grabbing the door handle and flinging it open, uncaring.

She followed reluctantly as the creature bent over, having to bend nearly in half just to fit through, and as she reached the other side, the first thing her eyes fall upon were the sparkling red-orange turrets of Ikana Castle.

Igos. She could see Igos again.

With her newfound freedom, her mind began to race with possibilities. She could run away with him. They could see the world, free of responsibilities. She took a relaxing breath and then started out toward the castle. It was a good thing she knew a secret passage inside, she never thought it'd be so useful!

"And where do you think you're going?" The creature's voice asked, and seconds later claws wrapped around her bicep. She stopped in her tracks, not daring to look back at it. Something in its voice had not sounded friendly. Its claws tightened, slight pain starting to work its way into the muscles underneath, subtly forcing her to twitch beneath its touch.

"Um, away?"

"I helped you get out of there, now I need one teensy-tiny little thing from you."

Her heart sank slightly. She should have expected it to be harder than it had been so far. She turned back to it, nerves starting to take hold. She could feel it in her stomach, like someone had tied it into a knot. Looking into its eyes, she steeled herself, fearing that if she looked weak, it would react like a shark that had tasted blood.

"Fine."

The creature yipped, letting go of her shoulder and bouncing a few feet away. It stopped when it reached a stone dais, stopping and looking at her expectantly. She walked toward him, and as she approached, found that she was looking down into a well. A very deep, very empty well.

She knew the well. It had dried up centuries ago. Some people believed that now it was used as a burial ground for the damned. It was thought that those who had sinned in their lives would be drawn to the well by some evil presence. It was unknown why, but the presence seemed to make those attracted to it act as though they were in trances. They would trudge, blind and seemingly unseeing, directly to the well, and no matter whom would try and stop them, they would fling themselves into the deep recess, guaranteed to their own demises.

"You want me to go in there?" She asked, staring into the unknown. The creature nodded, and gestured toward the rickety rope ladder that led far down into the dark hole.

"Ladies first."

As she walked unwillingly toward the ladder, and turned around to descend, she shot the creature a single, bold glance of distaste, before quickly continuing down.

As she traveled downward, a scent met her nose. Faint at first, it quickly grew to be almost unbearable. It smelled distinctively like death, and the further down she climbed, the worse the smell got. The tunnel seemed to go on forever, as continued, her arms began to protest. True, she hadn't had to do a great deal of physical labor in her time, but the climb, she guessed, was troublesome to anyone who tried it.

The smell didn't help.

And where was that creature? Glancing up, she saw not a hide nor hair of it, but more disturbingly, she couldn't see the sky either. Was she that far beneath the earth?

Her thoughts were interrupted as her foot abruptly met the ground. She let out a squeak as it did, not prepared for the sudden change, and stayed still for a moment, trying to slow the rapid beating of her heart. She didn't realize until now that she was shaking.

It was dark at the bottom of the well, she could barely see. The air was stale, and smelled pungently of death. Dried blood and rotting skin, something she had never smelled before in her life and yet engrained deep in her senses, a warning scent that made the skin on the back of her neck crawl. Breathe hitching, she started forward, walking down the only path available. As the path widened out, her foot caught on something.

She screamed, arms flailing, and fell forward. The ground was surprising soft, and broke her fall, but as she opened her eyes, her stomach tightened, and she had to hold herself back from screaming again. She was staring directly into two, lifeless eyes.

She had landed on a dead body.

She scrambled to her feet, backing away as quickly as possible, both hands clutched over her heart and cheeks puffed out in disgust. It wasn't just one dead body. It was a whole pile.

Their faces were indiscernible, unrecognizable, but across their pale, rotting skin, sickly black bruises had bloomed, and across their arms, and chests and abdomens, old gashes remained open, the muscles exposed rotting where the stale air touched them, and on a few of them, the wounds were so deep that bone could be seen, slowly turning frail and discolored, never having been supposed to see the light of day, or be touched by the atmosphere beyond.

Some were so far gone, that nothing remained but their bones, shattered clothing hung, shadows of their past, forgotten and abused, hidden beneath the earth, lost souls whose own people had shunned them. Judged them, and seen them not as human beings, as their right was, but as immoral, unholy. Unwanted.

But one was still alive. Lying amongst the dead, a lone man shivered in the frightening face of his own death. Eyes closed, mouth open, blood slowly pooling in the cavity of his throat, staining his teeth. As she watched, the blood overflowed, dribbling across his lips, and off of his chin.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed roughly, shuddering with the effort. His hands traveled painstakingly from his sides, both coming to clutch at his left side, hissing as his thick, worker's fingers clasped over the exposed skin. A dark, sickening wound was cut deep there.

She stiffened when his head turned toward her, and his limpid blue eyes cracked open, eyes like those of a speared fish, fogging over as if made of glass.

"Princess Keres." His voice shuddered with pain, but still found enough strength to push the words from his lips.

"You shouldn't be here."

A silence followed, as she refused to, and could not find the strength to answer. And for a moment, she thought that he had passed, his eyes giving no sign of life.

"A demon lives here. If you do not leave, he will find you, and you will suffer a fate worse than death." His voice slowly grew weaker, and his body stilled. It took her only a few minutes more the know that he had died.

She stood, transfixed. She had never witnessed death before. There was something about it that was surreal, like she was witnessing nothing more that a stage performance, and that they would wake, that it was all a hoax, that it wasn't real.

But it was all too real.

"These people did not die from the fall, you know."

She jumped, but dared not move as the creature spoke softly into her ear. Its claws touched her shoulder, making her shiver. The other hand reached from behind, and took hold of her wrist. She could feel its breath on her neck, against the back of her ear, gently rustling a few strands of her dark brown hair.

"You know the legends that surround this well, no?"

She nodded gently, body trembling as the creature's body came to rest flush against her.

"That those who were destined to be damned would be drawn here, and that they would fling themselves to their deaths?" She could feel the creature rest its chin against her shoulder. "Lies. Lies that your people have kept for centuries. Those who your people have thought to sin are dragged here by the Garo. They are flung down here, but they don't die from the fall. No, the Garo follow them down, and they murder them where they stand.

"The Garo leave their bodies here to rot. They leave them here. Do you want to know why your kingdom is dying? Humans are spiritual creatures. To thrive, they require something greater than themselves. But your people shunned their god. They locked him here a millennia ago, left him here to mourn the deaths of his followers, and to await the day when the savior of his people would come of age.

"That savior, is you," his voice rumbled into her ear, as she stared straight ahead, eyes fixed, but unseeing. "And I am the god."

The creature's –or rather the god's- hand slowly dragged away from her wrist, trailing up her arm, underneath, and hooking his elbow with hers, he spun her around, so that she was facing him. He held her body so that she was pressed against him, one hand on her shoulder, the other behind her ear.

"Help me save our people. You would be revered forevermore. They would worship you. To them, you'd be a goddess. Perhaps you could even ascend the steps of immortality."

She looked up into his eyes, one elegant brow arching with curiousity.

"And what's the price?"

The god chuckled softly, and moved his other hand to also rest behind her ear.

"Not much," he leaned so close, their noses nearly touched. His lips parted, revealing the fangs beyond. "Just your soul…"

I'm sorry about the darker turn of events in this story. But thank you for reading and sticking with me. This chapter is actually a two part-er. The second part will appear later in the story.

And I am reinstating character songs! Link'sLily gets kudos for coming up with this idea in her story, According To Legend, and she was nice enough to let me do this in SIG, so now I'm doin' it again.

Keres.

Arsonist's Lullaby by Hozier.

Reviews are appreciated!