Hey, readers. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday. With two of my siblings who reside out of town coming in for the holidays, I know I certainly did. It is also for this reason as well as work that I had next to no time to get on my computer, and for that I am so sorry. Let it also be said that I am typing this on my house computer, which I unfortunately share with my parents, so when I wanted to get back to typing this, I was unfortunate enough to find them on it. T~T In any case, I forgot how much I dislike the Kingdom of the Dead. More than anything for the part coming up dealing with the three Dead Lords. Ugh... Anyway, on with the next chapter. I hope I can make it up to you guys a little in saying that this was a nice, long chapter. More slightly amusing parts, I hope, more banter (yay, banter!)
Disclaimer: I own none of the Darksiders universe. That belongs to the original creators and developers of the game. Eleyna, however, is mine. The picture of her was made by 'The phantom's girl' on the Dark Fairy creator courtesy of the Azaleas Dolls website.
Chapter Nine: The Eternal Throne
Eleyna shivered as a violent wind picked up yet again and clutched her arms to her shoulders. Her shoulders began to ache from the effort of hunching against the chill. At this rate, she would freeze altogether before they left this place.
This place... Death's thought process froze and he looked about himself. Why in the Three Kingdoms had the tree brought him- them-here? He had been told that his answers would be found at the Tree, and he had made it there- even been sucked into it.
Even more curious, though, was the figure that greeted them as if he were expecting their arrival. He was a strange creature; hump-backed and huddled over, with facial features that resembled those of a goat with two sets of horns. In the bared right hand, he held an incredibly long, worn old wood pipe; the other was covered in various bits of leather. The rest of him was adorned in a gold and auburn-colored robe, save for the various pouches and amulets he had on his person.
"Ah," he began with a deep grumble, but his tone was overall quite cordial, "the Pale Rider. Isn't it odd that so many have come here by your hand? And yet you so rarely visit the Dead Kingdom." The slit golden eyes then flickered to Eleyna's now shaking form. "And even rarer still that you visit with guests- especially ones so fair." Eleyna was too cold to be taken aback by the comment, shaking behind Death's form still. "You must have good reason for bringing a child of Life to a place like this, Rider."
"That is still warranting debate." the mentioned entity answered blandly, ignoring the glare of his newly acquired traveling companion. "I had no plan to visit this wretched place. I sought the Tree of Life. I found it. Now I'm here."
The goat-like entity cackled- a dry sound that was quickly choked off by a sickly sort of cough. "The tree is no destination, my friends- only a portal to other worlds. If the tree is what you seek, then you have arrived."
Death's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "Then I have been betrayed." he seethed. Eleyna looked on in distress, and she suddenly forgot that she was cold in the first place. The goat being waved it off.
"Not so hasty." he added. "The tree is wise beyond imagining; if it brought you here, then here is where you belong. Perhaps I can help."
"I doubt it." Death growled.
"Death," Eleyna admonished.
"You would be wise to heed me. I have a merchant's skill to grant your deepest desire. Tell me, Rider, what do you seek?"
"I would redeem my brother. Restore the balance."
"Mmm, yes! I have heard the tale. Your brother rode, though no call was given- and mankind paid the price." At this, Death was beginning to lose his patience with this individual.
"Guard your tongue merchant." he rasped with slight irritation.
"I give no judgment, friend; only pass on that which I have been told. You were right to seek the tree- but it is only the gateway. What you seek is the Well of Souls."
"The Well of Souls?" Eleyna echoed carefully. Her brow raised as she looked up at Death.
"The Well of Souls can restore humanity?" the Horseman inquired as if he hadn't heard the interrogative tone in her voice.
"And more." answered the greeter. His eyes flickered towards her. "The Well, child, channels the dead into this Kingdom, from every world, above and below. It is also how souls are brought back into creation, when they are ready to be reborn." Grateful though she was for the explanation, Eleyna's brows furrowed further as a thought best left unsaid entered her mind. Death, however, was continuing to lose his patience.
"Tree of Life? Tree of Death? Portals to other worlds?" he snarled. "I know none of this. How is it that I have remained so blind- or does your tongue only spit lies?"
"Much was kept from the Nephilim- and from the four."
"Why?"
"Because power must be tempered with ignorance. If the Nephilim knew the true nature of the tree, all would have perished."
"I forsook the Nephilim- became a warrior for the balance, even killed my own people. I protect these worlds, you and the tree. Yet still I remain in the dark."
"Forsaken, yes. Forgotten, no. The Nephilim live on in you." He let loose a soft cough. "But what do I know? I am but a simple merchant."
"You still haven't mentioned who ye are." Eleyna pointed out, her voice strained as she was reminded quickly of the cold.
"The history of my people, my dear, was burned to ash, along with our world. Forgotten even by those who... destroyed them." His voice was slow and solemn, heavy with sadness. "Now... only the smoke remains. We were not the first, nor will we be the last. It is, unfortunately the way of things." he noted aloud as he saw the forlorn look that had crossed her features.
"The way of things is balance." Death interjected.
"And what balances life?" the stranger asked, nudging his hand toward Eleyna. So unlike her, the rider noted, to freeze at such a question. "Nothingness. Or... Corruption. Eventually, it consumes us all."
"So it would seem." the rider responded.
"That still doesn't explain who you are." Eleyna pointed out.
"I am merely a humble merchant with a taste for the finer things. In life, and in death. I am Ostegoth. And it would amuse me to offer you both my wares."
"What if I wish to return to the Forge Lands?" Death questioned.
"The Tree of Life has many portals, Rider. Some may help you retrace your path. Many portals are closed, but the one to the Forge Lands remains open."
"Pretend that I believe you." the Rider began carefully. "Where should my search begin?"
"You must scale the Serpent's Peak, and summon the Eternal Throne. There, the Lord of Bones slumbers. He will guide you to the Well... or he will have your souls. Before you go, Horseman, a few things to consider. My people may be lost, but their relics remain. You may come across them in your travels. They are worthless to most, but valuable to me. Return them, and I will trade relic for coin."
"And the other thing I am to consider?" the Horseman inquired.
"Your traveling companion... This place is not meant for a child of Life."
"I am more than aware." Death replied. "Was it your intention to inform me of something I already know?"
"The child will not survive, whether from the chill in the air, or from the violent anger of the denizens of this realm. Proper precautions will need to be made."
The Rider looked to Eleyna. "What?" she questioned.
"This is the point of no return, Eleyna. If you want to turn back, now is your last chance."
"Like the nine, blood-soaked layers in Hell I'm going back now." she replied with a knowing smirk. He almost smirked for a second himself before he turned to Ostegoth.
"Do you have something that will protect her?" he inquired.
"Protect me?"
"I might have something here in my wares."
Death contemplated for a moment before stepping forward. There was very little conversation on his end- although for Death to truly converse with anyone would be cause for alarm, she noted- but she could tell that he was indeed taking a look amongst the strange merchant's wares. A light tinkling indicated the exchange of coin; with a satisfied look on his furry face, Ostegoth relinquished a long, thick garment of a color settling between faded violet and a somber grey and placed it into Death's hands.
"A very prudent investment." the merchant remarked. Death paid the creature no heed, but turned to Eleyna, who was made uneasy by the intention he possibly could have had for her. He sauntered toward her, and part of her wanted to tell him to stay back, but she merely stood still until he stood before her, towering over her. She hadn't noticed such the vast difference in height until precisely now and as he raised his arms, she felt her heart rate speed up, for a reason that she couldn't even fathom. Her eyes clenched shut until she felt the heavy material being wound tightly around her shoulders. Upon opening her eyes, she looked up at him as he reached past her head and then pulled another pocket of fabric above her head like a deep hood that very nearly covered the top half of her face. The rest of this cloth was left to dangle like a long scarf. She couldn't complain, however, as she no longer felt as cold as she did before. As she peeked up at him from beneath the drawn hood, he noted how her eyes very nearly gleamed in the shadow, much like how his did from behind the mask- or so he had been told.
He did not utter a word to Ostegoth as he passed onward, but Eleyna offered the merchant a courteous nod before rushing after Death down the dried roots of the tree. After a short distance, he lifted her up onto his back and released her only after the mount had been summoned.
The road ahead of them would have seemed nearly twice as arduous had they the misfortune of traveling it on foot. It traveled like a root through a deeply cut, winding valley. The decline was not so steep until they reached the end of the valley, and it opened up to a wide open clearing. Like a deep scar, a seemingly bottomless ravine lay before them, connecting to the other side by a long, ominous looking bridge.
"I suppose it is a safe venture to say that ye've been here before?" Eleyna asked.
"More times than I care to think about." Death answered as he continued to guide Despair forward.
"So then where must we go from here?"
"Through the Breach." he responded. She said nothing, but her brow arched in confusion. Another part of her paused to wonder just how she was going to use her powers here. This place wasn't called the 'Plains of the Dead' for no reason and she highly doubted that she could just cause a great tree to just suddenly sprout at will any more. There was still...
Her mind, however, was savagely pulled from her mind when his voice harshly called out her name. It was seconds after that that Eleyna noted the bony hand on her ankle and then the harsh contact of her back with the cold ashes on the ground. The next thing she saw was the jagged sword in the hand of the skeleton looming over her. To make things worse, there were two more approaching- no doubt to help finish the job. First things first, she decided as the sword came down- she reached for it just at the right time, just barely catching it between her clasped palms and pushing upward, matching her strength with that of the skeleton's overhead before she pulled off an unexpected move, shifting her left hand so that her palm took the sharp edge of the jagged sword. She hissed in pain, but bared it. Now was better than ever, she decided, placing her hand on the ground beneath her.
From the corner of her mind where she had escaped, she thought she heard something akin to gunshots. No doubt Death was taking care of the others. Good.
He, on the other hand, could only wonder in irritation why she was just laying there, still on the ground until he saw the green of her eyes flash beneath her hood and before his eyes, giant black thorns sprouted from the ground, impaling the skeleton over her. He froze; no druid should have been able call life from the dead ground here, no matter how much power they possessed. So how? Eleyna... what was she?
The girl in question picked herself up from the ground and shook the coarse dust from her person. She could only grunt in surprise and then annoyance as the Horseman approached with a fire in his eye.
"What in the Three Kingdoms was that?" he rasped.
"What is it that ye want me to say?" she asked after a second of hesitation. Still, she glared back up at him, holding firm her ground.
"No being in any realm can call life from death. How did you come by this power?"
"I don't know." she replied. "The only thing I really did know was that I did not fancy being sliced, thank ye very much. Now if yer satisfied with my inner workings, can we get a move on? Suffice it to say, I'm not overly fond of this place." She made a move to carry on, muttering beneath her breath on how the cold, coarse ashes were trying to sneak their way into her boots. That was when Death caught her by the bicep. Their eyes met, with that burning orange cutting into the smoldering green. There it was again- that defiant look, like the one she had given him in the forest on his way to the cauldron. There was something about that stare that forced a chill to go up his spine, a sensation he had not been exposed to in ages. Namely, he believed, that very sensation was likely rooted in her virtually fluorescent irises.
"Remain on your guard;" he warned with a low, raspy tone to his voice before letting her arm go. She winced once he turned away; his grip had been hard enough to bruise.
They approached a door at the top of a rather out-of-place set of stairs, and she shuddered as she saw the eye holes of the numerous skulls on the doors blink to life. Death grabbed onto Eleyna before running them along the wall. His momentum was thankfully saved as he pulled himself back upwards with his extended grip; it was all Eleyna could do to hold on as she was draped over his shoulder. Her eyes clenched shut and her nails very nearly dug into his skin.
When they landed on solid ground, Death finally let go of her before the two proceeded through a door on their left- the only way through, it would seem. No sooner had they stepped into the next room, however, there appeared grates over both doors, including the pair behind them. Before them, like weeds in fresh soil, there sprouted more skeleton warriors armed with nasty, spiny- looking weapons.
"Tell me you have something to summon here." he drawled as he pulled his scythes into battle-ready position. Eleyna hesitated, but then her brow furrowed in determined concentration; she knelt upon the cold stone and pressed her hand down. With a slow breath of pressed concentration, she released her power into the dead particles of soil and brick. She felt the magic falter beneath her palm, as it seemed like the death choked and killed it. This caused her to grit her teeth and force more magic into the floor. With a satisfied smirk, she felt as the dead sediments began to obey and compress and then ignite until they composed a long, thin bit of red-hot material. Immediately did she grab the crude handle that came out from the floor, cooled by the chilled air and with a metallic screech, she sent sparks flying as she pulled the nearly finished sword from the floor- and just in time. Quickly did she swing at the skeletal warrior that made its way toward her. The bones steamed as the blade continued their way through the spine and ribs and what once was a living being was now no more than a limp pile of bones. Eleyna rushed in, blocked a downward swipe from another warrior by raising her blade over her head. With a deft spin, she managed to cut through the warrior.
Death continued to hack through the bones, even managing to set a few of his foes ablaze. Needless to say, as his eye fell upon the blade Eleyna had forged in a small matter of a moment was rather impressive. The battle was short, and Death was moving through the door quickly. Eleyna stowed her new sword through a loop in her wide belt before trailing after him. This next room was comprised of a deep cave, but it looked like at one point some sort of structure might have resided here- that much could be said about the entirety of the Breach, as Death had called it earlier. Further exploration of this room in particular revealed to them that the different outcroppings that made the main level of this area were connected by alternating drawbridges- if one set was up and usable, the other was folded and put away. Eleyna noted that operating them could be done by simply moving a switch protruding from the wall. Death concluded that the best way would be for Eleyna to activate the switch and then he would pull her over the chasm with his extended Grip.
The last part of that proved slightly difficult in practice. The chasm was wider than had been anticipated.
"I'll have to jump to you." Eleyna noted aloud.
"Is it worth the risk that I might not catch you?" Death questioned. Eleyna, however, did not listen, but instead backed up and made a running leap. "Eleyna!" he shouted, flinging out his grip.
Barely.
Just barely did he manage to grab a hold of her around the waist and then hoist her to safety. The girl was short of breath from relief, clutching at the Horseman's bicep in an attempt to calm her nerves; Death also found himself to be recovering from that momentary lapse of his cool, controlled behavior. Once it was back, however, he glared at the girl; she took no note of it until her breathing had slowed back to normal. Then, she felt his eyes on her and as she looked up, their eyes locked. Slowly and without breaking their eye contact, she let go; the cold of his ashen skin still left a tingling sort of imprint on her own.
Something moving beyond him within her vision caused her to break the connection, and her eyes fell upon a rather large beetle- one that nearly came up to her knees. The thing made a loud, shrill noise that caused her to cover her ears. Death meanwhile, in one swift movement turned and lunged at it, but was quick to discover that it was not alone. There couldn't have been more than a solid dozen of them, but they were tricky creatures. A few of them managed to fly away from his swipes, although they could only stay airborne for so long before needing to rest their flimsy wings. The ones that he missed were finished off by Eleyna, who took them by surprise with swift, downward stabs. He could tell, though, that doing so bothered her; it didn't surprise him. In fact, had she not shown remorse about killing living creatures, he would have been concerned.
After trailing up a set of stairs to the end of the main floor, Death had his skeletal spectral arms retrieve the key they needed to get through. Retreating back through the room via the upper level and leaping to familiar ground, they returned to the round room and this time entered through the unused third door until they came back out to the other side of the chasm. Death unlocked the door and opened the way via a long hallway somberly lit by clusters of candles. A pair of skeletal enemies waiting for them at the bottom of sudden drop were but a minor annoyance and they found themselves soon pressing onward. Another, darker hallway led them down a set of stairs. The final room of this fortress was a smaller hall littered with the apparently endless bony guardians. Eleyna dashed in, her blade ready to swing and cleave.
In truth, it surprised him to see her so eager to fight. No doubt it was because she had wanted to move on from this place. The Plains of the Dead were everything he had become accustomed to in his numerous years. Eleyna, on the other hand... he couldn't even begin to imagine how a child of Life could feel being here- and yet she had achieved the impossible by summoning those thorns earlier. How, he was still pondering.
Eleyna had finished and put away her sword before addressing Death with a questioning stare. He stepped forward and with his spectral arms opened the doors into the cool air. She recoiled into the makeshift cloak, holding her hood against the will of the zealous gusts of wind whipping past her. The cold bit at her legs, but she paid it no heed.
"Where're we goin' now?" she asked. Death raised a pointed finger towards the southwest.
"The Serpent's Peak can be reached by this bridge." he answered. The mentioned bridge that loomed over the great chasm branched off towards the very direction he pointed. He then reached down with that same arm and pulled Eleyna to him before summoning Despair and ushering the mount forward, over the weathered bridge. In the process of passing many of the skeletal warriors- many of whom angrily had tried to attack Despair and its two riders.
"Why do they attack ye like this?" she questioned.
"Would you not if I was the one who put you here?" he replied. She sheepishly fidgeted with her hold on Despair's saddle. "As I said before, child, I am well aware that I am not the most well liked being in this universe." They passed under a stone archway and then the path began to narrow and wind about. The ghostly mount's decayed hoofs clapped every now and again on stone steps exposed beneath the heavy mounds of ashes. It seemed that the higher they went, the more the path twisted and turned and the far more narrow it became until it no longer seemed to prudent to be riding a horse, thus Death and Eleyna took to going on foot.
They ascended quickly, yet carefully. There was no shortage of enemies around them, but again, they proved no match for the duo- whether it was Death and the twin halves of his Harvester, or Eleyna and the ash-forged sword. It pleased him knowing that she had already known how to properly use a sword; he had neither the time nor the patience to teach her himself. That was War's specialty, anyway.
At long last, they reached the top of the stairs, exiting through another stone archway. There awaited them what looked like some sort of shrine. From the small stone arch, there hung an enormous, solitary bell made of a dull sort of material. Beneath it was a narrow, unfathomably deep, black pit.
"Is this bell the key to summoning the Eternal Throne?" she asked. Death did not respond verbally, but instead skulked forward. He paused just before it, glancing upon it before he summoned the power from that other side. The dark magic rose around him; Eleyna could only watch as then the dark creature that Death became then flourished its frighteningly enormous weapon and attacked it, slicing more than half of it off. She could only start in her alarm at the ferocity of such an action. The movement and his return to his normal state put him on the other side of the bell and Eleyna slinked by on the inside of the arch.
"Was that absolutely necessary?" she hissed. If he heard her, he gave no such indication. "Death, what're you doin'?" she pressed.
"The Eternal Throne is coming." he replied. "We have to make this."
"Make what, exactly?" she pressed. He looked to her but at that moment, her attention was drawn elsewhere by a screeching cry she had never heard before. After a moment of looking for its source, she saw it on the horizon. A large, decrepit vessel with a grotesque, skull-like face at its bow was pulled by two great worms- leviathans, if she remembered the terminology correctly.
"That's where we need to be?" she asked. "How are we to get on there." she looked to Death, who pulled his gaze away from her toward the motioning Eternal Throne. She froze as the pieces clicked into place. The Eternal Throne wasn't going to just come to them; they had to go to it. She shook her head in horror.
"No, no, Death, don't you dare!" Too late. Death seized her by the arm and pulled her so that she was slung over his shoulder. With that, he dashed forward and then took a great leap at the edge of the great serpent's mouth. He felt Eleyna at his back, digging her face into his sinewy shoulder. Her arms gripped about his shoulders for dear life and she cried out as the wind rushed past them once he made to dive, quickly closing in on the Leviathan to the left. At the last possible moment, he shifted and summoned Despair, landing perfectly. Without even missing a beat, he pushed the mount to ride down the spine of the large creature. About halfway down, he guided the horse to turn and then dismounted to make a great leap to the back of the other Leviathan. From there, he rode Despair down to the tail and then made another great leap after banishing the mount at the last possible second. Although the leap was higher than anticipated, he was able to grab on and slide down, leaping from one surface to the next and then landing solidly on a small walkway.
"Is it over?" she whimpered at his shoulder.
"Regrettably for you, no." he replied as he looked up. As there was no point in letting her down now, he readjusted his hold on her and then made his way forward. Eleyna clenched her eyes shut and reinforced her grip around the Horseman's shoulders as if they were her sole lifeline- which at this point in time, they most definitely were. She could feel his shoulders moving with great force, indicating that he was likely climbing something. The clenching of muscles indicated whenever he held onto something and despite the chill of his skin, she couldn't help it when she again buried her face into his shoulder. As she inhaled, her nose caught the scent of damp earth and something a little less describable, though it brought to mind shadows, not surprisingly. Of all the times Death had carried her, she had never noticed. Upon looking at him, she would have guessed that he possibly smelled of rot, but she was relieved and somewhat pleased that this was not the case. As a matter of fact, it calmed her, more or less. In fact, despite the Horseman's brash actions she felt completely safe knowing that he would not allow her to fall, should it come to that. Though in all honesty the how and why of the situation still eluded her.
Once, twice, three times, she felt the rush of air that came with being pulled by Death's extended grip, and each time, she tightened her grip until her arms ached.
"Eleyna," Death said finally, after he had stopped moving, "I will put you down now, child." Slowly, the young Druid replied letting go and sliding down until she was firmly on her feet once more. She looked at him for a moment before remembering that she was supposed to be angry with him.
"This is exactly what I'm talking about, Death, when I say 'warn a girl.'"
"I had no time, and you would not have let me had I informed you."
"Aye, because obviously one of us has a little sense here." she retorted. Death nearly laughed at the irony of her statement.
"You told me you had no trouble with heights before."
"Yes, when I can see the ground! Thankfully none of my trees were ever planted over bottomless ravines!"
"I will keep that in mind." he grumbled. "Come, Eleyna." he urged. The mentioned girl could only groan, narrowing her eyes at the retreating back of the Horseman.
The inner workings of this ship were almost akin to a labyrinth. Eleyna, relieved at being met with a height she was comfortable with, jumped down after him, but groaned inwardly when Death had to carry her once again, as only the Grip could pull them up the wall. After another drop, they at last arrived at a set of doors, which led to a wide outdoor sort of courtyard.
"It is best if you let me do the talking." Death told Eleyna, to the other's chagrin. "The less interaction you have with the denizens of this realm, the less of a risk you put yourself at." Eleyna hated the idea, but she had to admit that she did not want to die here, which was still very possible- cover or not.
The duo, upon moving forward towards the winding staircases at the head, where the Throne Room likely was, encountered a small group of ghoulish-looking soldiers. Four of them seemed to be stationed around the central dais of the open courtyard. The individual in the center seemed to be the most decorated of the soldiers, with multiple swords strapped to his waist by a thick leather belt. The upper half of his face remained obscured by the hood of a flowing cape, and from what she could see, he was mainly muscle and bone now- no flesh to speak of. Eleyna could barely contain her surprise as Death approached, but remained silent all the same. The warrior in the center stilled once he apparently saw Death.
"Did the Chancellor send you?" asked the hooded warrior with a lightly wary rasp. "Well, Horseman, I've beaten death once. And I can do it again." This revelation did not faze Death; many had claimed that title over the centuries, but when faced with him, they never quite came up to scratch. All the same, this wily talk confused Death immensely.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
The warrior scoffed. "Of course not. You still reek of hope. You couldn't have met the Chancellor. He never would have the gall to involve her!" he spat, nodding towards Eleyna, "She reeks of Life. What mean you by bringing her here?"
"That is my business." Death growled. "Besides, a Chancellor doesn't sound like much."
"For ages, his tongue has dripped venom into the Dead King's ears. He all but sits on the Eternal Throne. Demanding... service."
"Who are you?"
"I am the Master of Blades. And all that remains of a warrior once called Draven, from the Kingdom of Man. I should've passed through the Well of Souls, long ago. But I won my freedom in the Arena, only to fall beneath the Dead King's whip." The hooded gaze flickered to Eleyna. "Tell me, milady, by what method did you come by that sword?"
Eleyna looked to Death, who nodded in the indication that it was indeed safe, pulled it from her hip and held it up in front of her. "I made it myself." she answered firmly. Draven was silent for a moment before giving a stoic nod.
"May it serve whatever purpose it was intended for." he remarked. Eleyna nodded in return and then followed Death towards the stairs.
"Should I wait for you?" she asked.
"Would you?" he replied.
"If it comes down to my presence making or breaking the deal- or possibly getting us both slaughtered, I can stand down this once." she remarked.
"If they know better- if the Lord of Bones knows better- no one will touch you while you remain in my presence... if they are of sound mind, that is."
"Oh," she began simply, thrown off slightly by his words and by the fact that he was so willing to protect her here- when he really didn't have to. A full blush came to her cheeks.
Two guards were posted at the double doors into the Throne Room, and when the duo approached, they declared that no one disturbed the Lord of Bones 'without the say of his Chancellor.' Right on cue, as they were about to wonder as to how to find him, another figure rose from the floor of the balcony. He was a well-dressed figure, also hooded, but the most noticeable feature was the smarmy look on his face.
"A rider? In the Kingdom of the Dead?" he asked with a condescending tone that nestled deep beneath Eleyna's skin- in no way that was good. "No, no. This will never do!" Death could only clench his fist and narrow his eyes as he turned and sauntered over. Eleyna inhaled sharply and kept her distance, lingering behind him.
"I must speak with the Lord of Bones." Death declared. The hooded figure- which judging by the sheer amount of arrogance emanating from the man could've been no other than the Chancellor mentioned by Draven- let out a haughty laugh. "Ohhh," he patronized, "That is not possible." Eleyna narrowed her eyes beneath the hood. "My Lord attends his realm. A burden even beyond your ken, Horseman."
"And what is your use, as a door-stop?" quipped Death. Barely could Eleyna keep the amused smirk off of her face.
"There is but one way to draw him from his slumber. The Gilded Arena. Here, mortals are offered a last chance to earn freedom from the grave... a boon that includes an audience with the King. Defeat the Arena's Champion- and return here with its skull. His Majesty will grant you an audience." At this point, Eleyna had heard enough, and had it not been for the fact that it would probably land her in a world of trouble, she would've throttled this pig already. Still, she kept her tongue.
Death, too, was at the end of his patience.
"And where is this arena?" he asked. Then and there, beneath their feet, the ship rocked as it seemed to collide with something. Again, Eleyna heard the screech of the Leviathans outside the ship.
"Fret not, Horseman." the Chancellor answered. "We have already arrived."
"Let me speak to the Lord of Bones and I will spare you your Champion." the Horseman then demanded. "And perhaps you as well, Chancellor." At this, the hooded cretin laughed nastily.
"You cannot slay that which is already dead. But you're welcome to try. In the Arena."
There and then, Death had lost what was left of his patience, so noticeably that Eleyna reached forward, laying hand on his arm and shaking her head. She was right, in a way, even if she hadn't said anything. It was not worth it, truly. Still, best to leave the threat there.
"Forget what I said about sparing you, door-keeper." And with that, he led the way back down the stairs.
Whew, well, another chapter done. Hopefully, after I finish up a short project I'm working on for my brother and new sister-in-law (which hopefully won't take me very long *crosses fingers*) I will get back into writing regularly. In the meantime, I am going to start, as with 'A Caged Bird's Faith', posting a playlist on my profile, but as not to spoil what I have in mind for this story, I am not going to post every song just yet. Possibly I will post a new song for every two or three chapters; it mainly depends on what I get done. This being said, if anyone knows of any good songs to put on the playlist, message me with your ideas. I look forward to hearing from all of you and I hope you have enjoyed the chapter. Until next time, my dear readers... ^^