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"Mistress Celeste why are we done here?" The demon child asked in a whispered hiss.
"Quiet Adena." Desparos warned.
She fell silent instantly. The demon guard often commanded an authority over others.
The woman peered into the dim room. The dark cloak concealing her face. She had to wear it whenever they went 'out'; Or else someone might recognize her.
"We are here to get a spell book." Celeste said softly, much better with children then her guard.
The child nodded, but still obeyed the command put on her by Desparos.
"Wait here," She whispered when she saw it was deserted.
A firm hand was placed on her shoulder. "No, let me go my lady. I would have a better reason for being here then you. If you are caught..." He didn't need to say what would happen. It would all end. Almost two decades of planning would be blown apart, with a moment's mistake.
Celeste nodded and stepped back, allowing her cloak to envelope the frightened demon-child.
Desparos stepped quietly on the stone floor. The room was a large stone chamber, with a creepy orange glow coming from nowhere. It was completely empty except for an old, tattered brown book floating in the middle of the air; and a strangely oppressive aura. There was heavy magic in this room. All they could do was hope it didn't come after them.
As the tingling sense of power began to take form Desparos began to slide from his human-form into the more powerful demonic body. His tall frame squatted and fin-like spikes tore out of his back. The feet enlarged and became thick, growing claws. The short fingernails grew rapidly to form knife-like razors and a long black mark went across his cheek.
If this was a normal child, Adena would be screaming her head off. But it wasn't. It was a girl with her own demon-form; who saw this transformation only as a sign that danger was near.
Celeste's body was rigid, pleading that Desparos would make it back with the book.
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His clawed hands shifted back to human form to grasp at the thick, worn book; pulling it from the center of the room.
All hell broke loose.
As soon as the book entered his hand; the magic was sucked into a form. A great creature loomed forth. It had a lion-like body and a black scorpion tail. Four red eyes marked the face. Mortals have a name for this mythical creature. They call it manticore.
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Adena almost screamed when she saw it; but Celeste put a quick hand over her mouth.
"Don't make a sound." She whispered to the frightened child.
Adena's eyes were wide; but she made no sound as Celeste dragged her carefully further into the shadows; reluctant to leave Desparos entirely; but knowing her part in the guardian-charge relationship. He would never forgive her if she intervened.
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The manticore hissed and circled the demon, summoned with his theft of the book. It guarded the book as he guarded his mistress.
Desparos began to slowly step towards the door, hoping to avoid a fight.
The creature struck.
With incredible speed the manticore charged; Desparos narrowly dodged the cat-like claws.
He hissed and ripped at the creature at it shot by; cutting deep into the scarlet fur.
The manticore roared and the entire chamber shook, the demon man falling to the ground.
The scorpion tale hit with accuracy; shooting into his shoulder.
Desparos winced in pain; but dug his talons into the tail; using his noticeable strength to actually rip the tail off the body.
The manticore gave one last shaking roar before the greater guardian jumped up and stuck an entire hand through its middle; ripping through demonic flesh.
It was over, and he had won this fight; but the real challenge had yet to come.
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Desparos shifted back into the less frightening, human form and collected himself before he walked out the door to where Celeste had Adena.
"I have it my lady." He said in a slightly harder note to cover the pain from the manticore venom.
Even after sixteen years; she still knew him too well.
"Hurry up to my room and I will clean out your wound." She said in a softly commanding tone.
Desparos said nothing as he followed her up to the hidden chambers. He did not disobey orders.
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Celeste could not rightly return to her old chambers; as she was in hiding. Desparos was a high level demon; and when he basically demanded/stole the chambers from a lesser creature it did not rouse suspicion. These rooms now sheltered Celeste and more recently Adena; who had been taken from the monastery. The monks simply believed that she had run off after Rinshid's demise and would return shortly. How wrong they were.
The rooms were higher up in the underworld wasteland of Azerath, with plain rocky chambers and sparse furniture. Still, she was not one to complain.
"Sit." Celeste's tone had not changed from her calm and gentle voice; but it had regained the air of authority that she had years ago.
He sat; not saying a word as he laid the book on a small dresser.
Adena watched as her new mistress went into a small chamber filled with bowels of different colored dust; a collection of candles and a basin filled with clear water; a rare sight in Azerath.
She walked down the rows of bowels; skillfully selecting two of them and adding a bit of each into a smaller, black bowel. She heated the basin of water over several candles until small bubbles began to form on top; next taking the water and adding it to the mixture of green and red dust.
"What is that Mistress Celeste?" Adena asked curiously.
She smiled at the girl. "Dried herbs; they help with healing when mixed with water."
"Why are there so many?" She said, looking around.
"Well, each wound is a little different. Some of them cure pain, some help to heal faster, some cure poison, and others have even more uses." Celeste answered as she stirred up the bowel's contents.
"Will you teach me some day?" Adena asked, her red eyes wide with amazement.
Celeste found herself unable to lie to her this time. "Perhaps."
She gathered up the bowel and brought it to Desparos, who sat obediently as she wiped the wound clean, rubbed the salve upon it, and finally bandaged it with a cloth; using a bit of magic to make the cloth sink into his tan skin and appear like another star-marking.
"Thank you my lady; but that wasn't necessary." He said stiffly.
"You do such an excellent job protecting my life that the least I can do is save you the trouble of enduring weeks of pain as the poison seeps out of your system."
Desparos recognized that edge to her voice. She was teasing, and commanding him at the same time.
She really is back. He thought with concealed happiness. He thought that sixteen years in a forced sleep would change her; but she was still the same as when she went into the sleep.
"Why did you want the book Mistress Celeste?" Adena appeared suddenly.
She turned to the girl and said, "I am going to teach you to use your powers Adena, to use them to fight Trigon.
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This was pretty much a chapter to build the characters, and to let time pass for Raven until the End begins. Any questions or comments? Please REVIEW!