"You failed me again!" Yickem roared.
Bradas would have cowered but his normal posture was one of cowering servitude and he could not cower any lower than his deformed body allowed. Instead he begged in his whiney tone, "Master, I tried, but your bride was joined by another witch. The other knew how to use his power. I am not strong enough for the task." He tried harder to get his malformed body to fold even more into itself. He hoped to avoid Yickem's rage by being 'properly' respectful. Yickem preferred cowering servitude, which might explain why he chose Bradas to be the demon tricked into servitude. The cowering posture was Bradas' permanent trademark after all.
"Yickem!" Called the soothsayer. The hag continued in a softer tone, "Bradas is right. He is unfit for the task." She glanced disdainfully at the slight demon adding a look of mild revulsion, before dismissing him entirely. "You should have gotten the fire starter for yourself. Now, it's not too late," she soothed distractedly, "but the task will be much harder. The Witch is being helped by the son of a Charmed One." Ignoring Yickem's gasp of hatred and outrage, she continued, "Luckily for you, he is young and unused to his powers. You will have one last chance to 'acquire' your bride. Fail in that," she warned, "and the Charmed Ones could become involved. THAT is to be avoided." Almost to herself, she added, "Even though they have been as powerless as we for the last two decades, they do remember how to fight, and, just as quickly as we, they have acclimated to the return of magic."
"How do you suggest I 'acquire' my bride?" Yickem asked archly.
The small hag strode to the much larger demon and glared at him with almost as much disdain and revulsion as she had shown Bradas, "Must I do everything?" She snapped.