PART THE THIRD: Safety In Realms Infernal
Kurt Wagner awoke amongst silken sheets and satin pillows, and at once, to his eternal regret and chastisement thought of that one night he had spent with a Queen in regal splendour and decadence. He was very nearly a priest now, a man of the cloth, and he should be thinking more godly and pious thoughts. The fact that she was an evil witch queen about to sacrifice his friends to a great tentacled monstrosity and make him her eternal and willing slave, did little to improve his demeanour. That said, he did think fondly of that period of his life, which had come closest to his expectations of the role of costumed adventurer. And he had nothing against witch queens per se, his adoptive mother was one and mostly a thoroughly decent person to boot. In his more lucid moments, which were sadly becoming fewer and fewer, Kurt Wagner would sum up his aims in the priesthood to be to bring some fresh air and tolerance into the Catholic Church and what people perceived it to be.
He woosily laid back on the pillows, still exhausted by his desperate struggle with the those coarse whispering voices that tormented him, and barely saw the blood red sun rise through the thin curtains cocooning him in the palatial four poster bed. He felt no need to worry as this all felt very familiar and safe, he couldn't put a finger upon his location, but nonetheless he felt safe. And the voices were quiet again and his sleep dreamless.
His eyes began to close again, lulled to sleep by the humid heat and the peaceful surroundings, when a voice he knew sounded out loudly, "Here we go! Food to eat for the strangest bloody priest I know! Wonder if he's still asleep? Better find out. Humans are delicate and need their shut eye! Don't want to wake him!" and with that the owner of the voice (who was entirely without a sense of irony) savagely pulled the curtains apart. Kurt Wagner looked up in to the face of Vitchen, a bold warrior, Magik's chief gofer, and an old friend. He was back in Limbo.
The face of the demon broke into a radiant smile with the light of the blood red sun glinting off the many facets of his mismatched teeth. Whilst Kurt still looked haggard, his eyes lacked the haunted look that of late had become familiar to those he knew and loved. Vitchen noticed the flicker of recognition in his otherwise blank eyes and gathered him up into a massive bear hug, "Her Ladyship said you were sick, but when you're well again, Father, we'll have ourselves some fun! Just like last time, except without the fate of all Creation at stake; her Ladyship hasn't made a mistake like that again, not that her Ladyship makes mistakes, of course." Then Vitchen noticed that Kurt had stopped squirming in his massive arms, and quickly put him down upon the bed, concern filling his inhuman eyes. The Lady Magick had taken great pains to remind him that the human constitution was a delicate thing and that he shouldn't be taken in by the young man's deceptive appearance. Just as he was beginning to worry about what might happen to him when She heard that he had smothered her best friend, Kurt's chest moved with a shudder and a gasp of breath issued forth from his lips. A wan smile covered those lips, as Kurt looked up his face cast into deep shadow and regarded the demon.