Disclaimer: see Verse 1.
The Everblack Bible
Verse 10
A Brief, Relative Calm
By Random1377
Margarete stood silently watching the path before her, with one hand raised and her head tilted to the left in a clear attempt to hear better. Her companions matched her stillness, though their poses – Yuri, crouched low to the ground, Alice with her hands together and her head bowed – were as different as their physical appearances. After more than five minutes, Margarete lowered her hand.
"Ok," she sighed, "it's clear."
Alice groaned, reaching down to rub her right leg with a pained expression on her face. "Thank goodness," she said honestly, "one more minute and I think my foot would have fallen asleep – I was standing on a rock!"
"What was it?" Yuri asked, staying near the earth and squinting into the forest as he tried vainly to pick up whatever had spooked the spy.
Margarete shook her head, shrugging her shoulders to move her backpack higher. "Only caught a glimpse," she murmured, "but it was big, and hairy." She considered Yuri for a moment. "Kind of like you."
Yuri pursed his lips, ignoring the comment as he continued to scan the trees. "Well, let's get going," he said finally, rising to his feet and twisting his body from side to side, "the map says there's an inn not too far away… and I want to sleep in a real bed for a change."
"Amen," Alice whispered fervently.
"You guys whine too much," Margarete chuckled, "but whatever keeps you going. Come on."
She started off, leaving Alice and Yuri lingering for a moment. "Is she really ok?" Yuri whispered softly, waiting until he was sure she was out of earshot.
"It's been a week," Alice pointed out just as quietly, "I'm sure she's fine."
"But do you believe that she doesn't remember anything about it??"
Alice considered this for a moment before slowly nodding. "Yes," she said simply, "I trust her – and besides, it's very possible that the Everblack is somehow, I don't know, blocking her from remembering so it can…"
"Get her to pick it up again?" Yuri asked grimly.
"Possibly." She regarded him from the corner of her eye for a moment before whispering, "We agreed that we wouldn't keep asking her questions about what happened that night… but you still haven't told me how you knew to Cure her."
Yuri grunted something indistinct, then raised his voice and said, "It's… I don't understand it myself, so I don't want to try and explain, you know? If I'm wrong, it could end up hurting her, I think."
"Please?" Alice asked quietly. "I think… I should know."
"Alright, I…" Yuri shrugged uncomfortably. "When she was looking through the Everblack, I saw that little pendent she wears glowing the same color as your Cure prayer, and I swear – I SWEAR… I heard a voice in my head saying, 'Save me, Cure me, Save me, Cure me,' over and over… so I just… just trusted it."
Alice was horrified. "But what if it was wro-"
"I know!" Yuri hissed angrily. "I know! That's why I didn't want to tell you – I don't know who's voice it was, I don't know what it wanted, I don't even know if we did the right thing by Curing her… I just… I don't know."
"Are you two coming??"
Alice and Yuri started as Margarete reappeared several feet down the trail from them. "I could have been eaten by now," she grumped, "and as much as that idea appeals to me – if done right – I don't savor the idea of having it done literally, by a hairy beast!" She grinned. "Well, not ANY hairy beast."
Yuri shook his head and sighed as Alice went crimson. "M-Maragarete!" she exploded. "That's… you're so shameless!!"
Margarete just shrugged. "Shame is overrated," she said brightly, "it's for old people and prudes like… well, like yourself for example."
"I am NOT a prude!" Alice sputtered.
I'll say, Yuri thought, feeling suddenly tired. Alice had not made any further advances since the night of Margarete's shocking display with the Everblack Bible… but every time he looked at her, the question was in her eyes: 'when can we be alone again? When can I try to make it right? How can I show you that I'm serious?'
She had explained to him, as they watched over Margarete's sleeping form, why she had pushed him away and why – though she wanted to very badly… she could not make love to him until the Everblack was destroyed.
Of course, to Yuri – who was still very much torn over which of his traveling companions he was more attracted too – this only served to increase his frustration. Alice had told him, flat out, that she wanted to make love to him… and Margarate, though she had not said it verbally, had made it clear that she wanted the same, leaving Yuri in the very unenviable position of having to choose between two women he found immensely interesting and attractive.
Fortunately (if you want to look at it that way) he was spared the necessity of choosing until after the Everblack was out of his life, even going so far as to offhandedly mention over their campfire one night that he was looking forward to having the Everblack gone – because there was no way he could even think of finding a girl to be romantic with until his mind was clear of that burden.
From that time, he had noticed, both women had been careful to avoid mentioning anything about love or dating while in his presence. It had made for a quiet, though admittedly boring trip.
And now we're getting close to Naples, he thought, ignoring the two women as they continued trading barbs back and forth. Six more days 'til we get there.
He blinked, holding out his hand as something caught his eye. "Stop!" he called, bringing the others up short. "We know you're there… come out now!"
Margarete and Alice scanned the forest around them, their semi-playful quarrel forgotten as Yuri continued staring straight ahead… but they gasped in unison as the threes around them shook and swayed, the foliage parting to reveal what seemed like hundreds upon hundreds of fierce, animalistic faces.
"Show yourself," Yuri said flatly, keeping his eyes locked onto the spot of orange he had seen peeking through the trees.
"You… dare call us out?"
Alice gasped as the trees parted and a huge, almost-humanoid shape lumbered onto the path. Its limbs were thick as small trees, and its glaring, bright orange eyes were close-set and sunken. This was no prey-creature… this was a hunter – and a powerful one, at that. Its clawed hands dug up huge furrows of earth as it shuffled boldly forward to stand in front of Yuri, its flat snout scenting him with undisguised hostility.
At her side, Margarete swallowed, her lips barely moving as she surveyed the army surrounding them. "Doomhounds…"
- - - - -
"What an interesting development."
The tall man sighed as he pushed himself upright, his muscles aching from the strain on them as he glanced to where the older man sat. "What is it now?" he asked tiredly, "Can't you see that I'm trying to rest?"
"My apologies," the shorter man rasped, coughing weakly, "but it is our own fault for taking that book so lightly…"
"Who would devise such a curse?" the taller man lamented, bringing himself to his feet and making his way over to the chair opposite the other man. "To leave a lingering trace of magic preventing a person from Curing himself is-"
"A stroke of genius," the shorter man nodded. "It will pass in another day, my friend… then we may resume our quest."
"Indeed," the taller man sighed, steepling his fingers. "Now what is so interesting that you felt the need to roust me, hmm?"
"Look there," the shorter man said, nodding to the ball on the table before him.
"A crystal ball?" the taller man asked, arching an eyebrow. "How quaint."
"One uses what one must when one is incapable of performing ones own art," the shorter man pointed out sorrowfully, "let us be glad the effects are not permanent, eh?"
"Ahh, an excellent point," the taller man replied, inclining his head in a small bow, "so what have we here… oh my, it seems our friends have run afoul of our hairy servants. Fascinating."
The shorter man coughed into his fist, shaking his head as he tapped the crystal with his forefinger. "I find it more troubling," he said quietly, "because they have not yet torn the lovely Miss Elliot and her Cro-Magnon companion to pieces."
The taller man eyed his associate over the ball. "I notice that you said nothing of Miss Zelle," he pointed out dryly, "but no matter… so long as the book is taken, eh?"
"Correct," the shorter man replied. "Unfortunately, this crystal does not allow me to hear what they are saying, so I do not know yet why they are still alive… so I was hoping you could assist me. You always were far more talented in the arts of trickery and observation."
"A compliment," the taller man murmured, "how droll. Very well, let's see…" he leaned closer, squinting as he concentrated on the lips of the man currently displayed in the ball. "'…know you've been following us,'" he whispered as if reciting, "'now tell me…'"
- - - - -
"…what you want," Yuri concluded, "or we won't go easy on you."
The doomhound – obviously the leader, by the way the others stood to the side and let it take the lead – chuckled, an ugly, braying sound that jangled the nerves like broken glass shards scrapped across loose gravel. "B-bold human," it growled, "first to demand our presence… then to demand… information."
Its eyes flicked to Alice, and for the briefest moment she was sure that it nodded to her – just the briefest incline of its massive head – as if to acknowledge that it knew she was there.
Strange, she thought, it almost seems… respectful…
She turned her attention to Yuri, who had not taken his eyes off the doomhound. "Answer me," he said flatly, "or suffer, in the name of Gnosharthen."
Alice and Margarete both gasped as Yuri raised his fists, his Nightbird claws gleaming wickedly in the warm afternoon sun. "Y-yuri," Alice whispered, taking a step forward, but freezing as the doomhounds took a corresponding step, closing around them like a noose. "Don't… don't do this!!"
Ignoring her entirely, Yuri met the leader's eyes. "What will it be, ancient one?" he asked formally, "Will you fight, or submit? I demand your answer!"
The doomhound rose to its full height, loosing a roar that shook the forest all around them… but when Yuri simply continued staring, it slowly lowered itself onto its front paws and grunted, "I… submit, Godkiller. Bound by the name of our Father, we recognize your power."
Yuri nodded, lowering his Nightbird claws and putting his hand over his heart. "The old ways are honored," he said, bowing his head respectfully, "and your Father's memory stands proud in our hearts. Do you have any conditions before indenturing?"
"What's happening?" Margarete asked as the doomhounds all bowed low to the ground.
Alice was pale. "It's… an old ritual," she barely whispered as Yuri and the leader of the doomhounds locked gazes, "I don't know how he knew about it, but I think… I think Yuri just made them his slaves."
"We have but one," the leader rasped, "vengeance against one who has wronged us."
Yuri looked unsurprised. "Let me guess," he said coolly, "Jones."
Every member of the group of doomhounds hissed at the name, giving the impression that the forest was filled with enormous, furious serpents. "Easy," Margarete whispered, putting a hand on Alice's elbow to keep her from pulling out one of her bibles.
The exorcist swallowed, nodding as she carefully drew her hand out of her backpack and held it up to show that it was still empty. "Sorry," she whispered, sounding embarrassed, "I just… it was just a reflex."
And can you blame me? she thought, licking her lips nervously as the doomhounds shuffled in a little closer. I can't even count them all… and as strong as Yuri is, I don't think he can take this many at once without Fusion – and I DON'T think they'll just stand by and let him use it.
"That… person…" the leader of the doomhounds gurgled, "must pay."
"Our goals seem to be the same," Yuri observed calmly. "Alright – we have a deal."
Alice could not help thinking how absurd it looked when Yuri held his hand out to the doomhound, seemingly offering to shake hands with it… but when the creature casually reached out and drew its claw slowly down his forearm, leaving a long, shallow cut that immediately welled with blood, Margarete once again had to restrain the younger woman from calling on her powers.
"Our compact is sealed," the doomhound rumbled, bringing its claw to its lips and lapping the blood from it as Yuri winced in pain. "With Blood and Earth, until the day you so command, we bind ourselves to your will."
Yuri nodded as the creature dug a chunk of dirt out of the path in front of him and ate it, its eyes never once leaving his.
Slowly, the doomhounds began fading into the trees, vanishing one by one through whatever powers they possessed until only the leader remained. "We await your call, Godkiller Yuri," it said, rising to its full height. "Forty days."
"Forty days," Yuri repeated, inclining his head, "you'll get what's promised to you, ancient one."
With a final bow, the doomhound turned and strode into the forest, leaving not so much as a bent leaf to mark its passage.
Margarete let out a long, deep breath that she had not been aware she was holding. "Forty days until what?" she asked, wiping sweat from her brow.
Alice was staring at Yuri with a concerned expression. "Until they come to kill him."
"WHAT??"
"Those are the conditions of the bargain," Yuri shrugged, turning to face the women. "They agree to do anything I tell them to in exchange for my help in killing their enemy. And if I can't do it before the deadline… they'll come for me instead."
"Well that's just stupid!" Margarete exploded. "We should have just killed them all – you could have done it, I know you're strong enough to – so why-"
The expression on Yuri's face silenced her immediately. "Look," he said flatly, "I could have killed them all… if I burned this whole damn forest down and killed you two while I was at it. Alice might have been ok – that stupid book probably won't let her die – but you wouldn't… so tell me, should I have done it?"
Margarete averted her eyes. "I… could have found a way out," she muttered awkwardly, feeling a touch warm as Yuri's intense eyes bored into her.
"No," he said bluntly, "you couldn't have. There was so many of them that I would have needed to fuse with Seraphic Radiance and attacked them at once… I wouldn't have even had time to warn you."
There was a moment of silence, then Alice whispered, "Forty days isn't much time, Yuri. What if we can't find Jones before that?"
Yuri shrugged. "Then you two will hide somewhere while I take care of them," he said calmly, looking from one to the other as they blinked in surprise, "what, you think I'm just going to let them kill me?"
"But… but what about the compact?" Alice stammered. "It's ancient law… can you really break it??"
"Guess we'll see," Yuri grinned, holding up his arm, "but for now… do you think you can do something about this scratch? It hurts like hell!!"
- - - - -
"Oh he is the clever one, isn't he?" the tall man laughed, leaning back in his chair as the crystal ball went black and wiping sweat from his brow with a handkerchief. "But it seems our little pets are stronger willed than we thought."
"So it seems," the shorter man wheezed. "I suppose we underestimated them, have we not? I certainly did not expect them to break our compact so easily."
"Well," the taller man pointed out, "he did issue them a formal challenge, and he did offer them choice of fighting or submitting to him as their new master."
The shorter man nodded. "But they did not even attempt to fight," he whispered, tapping his forefinger thoughtfully against his lips. "They have been indentured to us for three years now… what could give them the impetus to seek a new master?"
"We have killed a number of their kind," the taller man said with a shrug.
"They should expect that as part of their servitude," the shorter man said, dismissively waving one hand, "it is the price for failure… and it has always been paid without question."
The taller man nodded thoughtfully. "It is unfortunate that the doomhounds don't have proper lips," he lamented with a sigh, "I had no idea what it was saying, only the boy's replies."
"Such is life," the shorter man said tiredly. "Well, no matter… we subjugated the 'hounds because they were our inferiors – and that has not changed."
"Ahh, but now they have the Godkiller on their side," the taller man mused, "I believe… our visit to Naples will be most entertaining, don't you?"
The shorter man nodded, resting his head against the back of his chair and closing his eyes. "Indeed it shall," he murmured, his mind beginning to formulate plans for their attack on the current owner of the Everblack Bible and her traveling companions.
"Indeed it shall…"
Continued…
Author's Notes: ok, so it took me a while to write this one, big deal. :P It didn't seem that I was getting that much readership (at an average of 2 reviews per chapter, it isn't exactly burning up the charts) so I wasn't feeling too much pressure to hurry up and produce more, you know? I don't plan to wait as long to get the next one out, and after going over my plotline and ides… I think there will be 2, or possibly 3 more chapters, depending on how the writing goes. If I get more inspiration, I might add to it, but for now… it seems that the end is in sight. Oh, and for the record – no, the Everblack is not the spell book from Bible Black… I think that one was the Tome of Wulperagous, or some such. Not that I -cough- watch that kind of smut, you understand… -adjusts halo-
Pre-read was done by Aegis, who muttered something like, "Two months for one chapter…? My cat writes faster than you." :(
Feedback is always welcome on any page with review features, or by e-mailing me directly at random1377yahoo.com