Chapter 8: Murdred

Dangling in the air with his arm in the firm grip of an adlet's claw, Seth was helpless as he found himself being hauled away from his allies. In less than thirty seconds, they had disappeared from his line of sight, and Seth was now at the mercy of the adlet trio.

Seth had tried everything from trying to squirm out of the blue adlet's grasp to smacking the beast with his free hand and yelling at him in an attempt for the monster to let him go. But the adlet was resilient, and was more than willing to put up with Seth's fighting.

Seth even attempted to use his power over darkness to try and seduce the adlets. He tried to focus as best he could, but alas, his attempt had no effect.

"Where are you taking me?" asked Seth, as the adlets continued scampering across the boulder-filled, rugged wasteland, speedily and meticulously.

"We're taking you to see Murdred," said one of the other adlets. Seth was unable to discern which one had spoken, due to their voices all sounding rather similar.

"Murdred?" asked Seth, who was wishing he hadn't dropped his gear earlier. The situation was only escalating to worse and worse levels. On the contrary, at least he was getting a free ride to the being he had been sent to kill. "Why are we going to see this Murdred?"

"I don't know what you or those unicorns were doing here," said the green adlet, "but there's definitely something exceptional about you."

"But we don't know what that is," said the red adlet. "So, we're taking you to see Murdred. Let him deal with you."

"Consider yourself lucky," said the green one. "If you weren't so special, we'd have probably eaten you already."

"You wouldn't want to eat me," said Seth. "I'm probably not that..."

"Tasty?" asked the blue one. "We've been to your world many times. We like the taste of human. Hardly the meatiest of creatures. But you make such an exotic treat."

Seth could tell that there was no getting away from the three adlets at this point. Even if he could somehow wriggle himself free, the adlets were too tough to fight and too swift for him to outrun. He was entirely at their mercy.

After a few minutes had passed, the adlets were soon approaching a large structure; the first and so far only piece of architecture Seth had seen since arriving in the Demon Domain. It was hard for Seth to get a good view, but the structure appeared to resemble a castle.

Constructed almost entirely out of taupe blocks, the castle appeared to be as wide as a palace, and roughly as tall as a highrise. As the adlets brought Seth closer, he noticed that the castle was surrounded by what appeared to be a deep moat, although it was too hard for him to discern how deep it went due to his perspective.

The adlets soon scampered over the moat on a wide bridge built out of the same material as the castle. Even though there were no walls along the sides of the bridge, it was too wide for Seth to look down into the moat below as they crossed over.

Once they reached the other side of the bridge, the adlets stopped next to the front entrance to the castle. Standing at the entrance was a large sentry of some sort, whom to Seth best resembled a cross between a gorilla and a warthog with purple fur.

The sentry snorted at the group and sneered at Seth.

"We've got a present for Murdred," said the red adlet. "Don't touch him."

"Fine," grumbled the sentry, his eyes still fixated on Seth. "But a measly human makes a lousy present."

Not wanting to say anything, Seth continued to let the adlets carry him into the castle. The entry hall was vast, filled with corridors leading off into dark voids, staircases that appeared to be too large for a human to traverse normally, massive stone pillars and railings lining the upper floors.

The adlets darted over to the central staircase, and proceeded to scamper up the first flight of stairs. Much like Navarog's castle in Iceland, this one had been built on a scale for creatures larger than humans.

After climbing several flights of stairs, the adlets brought Seth down a corridor, filled mostly with flaming sconces. Soon they came across a set of massive doors forged entirely out of solid metal, presumably steel.

"Open," said the green adlet.

Upon hearing the adlet's command, both of the large doors slowly began to open inwards. A vast room was revealed to Seth, with a sizable dais dominating a good portion of the far end.

As the adlets brought Seth towards the dais, Seth could see a large figure, most likely a demon, seated upon what appeared to be a throne. The figure had to be Murdred. To Murdred's right stood two humanoid figures. The closer Seth got to Murdred, the easier he became to make out.

If he were standing up, Murdred would've been no more than eight feet tall. He had inky black skin, at least a dozen horns, rusty spikes protruding from his joints and sickle-like nails and claws. There was also a large indentation, possibly a scar, running vertically down the center of Murdred's elongated forehead.

"A human?" asked Murdred, who came across as sounding rather perturbed, speaking in a deep, gravelly voice. "Why have you brought a human to me?"

"This isn't just any human," said the blue adlet, finally releasing Seth from his grasp by tossing him down at the base of the dais. Although he was relieved to be free from the adlet's grip, Seth did not appreciated being flung onto the stone flooring, and stumbled to stand up.

"Not just any human?" asked the male humanoid. Seth looked up at the two humans and saw that they appeared to resemble full-sized fairies of all things. The male had short, black hair and matching bat-like wings. The female was a redhead, with orange wings that resembled flames. "What makes him so special?"

"He's giving off dark energy," said the red adlet.

"Is that so?" asked Murdred. "Check him out, Helwic."

The female fairy walked down to the base of the dais, and stood before Seth. Not much taller than Seth himself, Helwic placed her hands over Seth and began moving them around his body.

"Xipp was being truthful," said Helwic, lowering her hands.

"What do you want with me?" asked Seth. "Who are all of you?"

"I want you to answer my questions first," said Murdred. "Now, it would appear that you do indeed possess the power of darkness to some extent. But why is that? A human boy as youthful as you are does not strike me as a likely candidate for a dark soul."

"I'm a shadow charmer," said Seth, hoping that his reveal wouldn't land him in even greater trouble.

"A shadow charmer?" asked Murdred, as everyone dropped their jaws in disbelief. "But how? Shadow charmers have all but disappeared. Except for possibly the Sphinx, whom I have been unable to locate. But tell me, shadow charmer. What is your name?"

"Seth."

"Are you from the mortal realm?"

"Yes."

"And how did you wind up here?"

"We found him in the Demon Domain with two unicorns!" said the blue adlet.

"Unicorns!?" roared Murdred. "In my world?"

"Look, it wasn't exactly... pretty," said the green adlet. "They attacked us with light energy! It really stung!"

"Where are these unicorns now?"asked Murdred.

"We dunno," replied the blue adlet. "We didn't want to mess with them."

"I'm more interested in Seth at the moment," said Murdred. "Why would a shadow charmer like yourself associate with such deplorable creatures of light?"

"Look, I'll be honest," said Seth. "I'm not evil like you... folks are. I mean, I'm a shadow charmer, yes. But, I'm not interested in malice."

"So you associate with unicorns of all things?" asked the male fairy. "You must be pretty clever. There's no way any unicorn would be dumb enough to knowingly trust a shadow charmer."

"And just what were all of you even doing in the Demon Domain?" asked Murdred.

"We were... exploring," said Seth. "See, these unicorns wanted to explore the Demon Domain, so they convinced me, a shadow charmer, to help them out."

"Those despicable savages! And you, for willingly working with them! You are a traitor!"

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, most fairies don't really care for me very much."

"Whatever..." said Murdred. "You needn't bore me with all the details. Now, I don't believe that I've introduced myself. I am Murdred. I am the Lord of the Demon Domain."

"Are you the Demon King?"

Murdred snorted. "King? Bah! I am the Demon God! This realm is my realm. I say what I want. I do what I want. And I get what I want!"

"I'm familiar with Gorgrog," said Seth. "He was a lot bigger than you, and he was only the Demon King."

"Ahh, Gorgrog," said Murdred with a smile. "He was powerful, yes. But I'm an even greater force to be reckoned with. You see, Gorgrog inheriting the Demon Throne was purely his birthright. I, however, was Gorgrog's hand-picked disciple. I was originally a human being from the mortal realm, just like you. I got to where I am today through sheer determination, not fate. That puts me in a class even greater than Gorgrog."

Seth couldn't believe what he was hearing. Murdred was once human? He was starting to imagine slowly transforming into a demon himself against his will. Especially with his inner darkness getting greater and greater.

"I get how you chose to arrive at this point," said Seth. "But, what is it that makes a god like yourself greater than a king?"

"Because unlike Gorgrog, I am one with the Demon Domain. All the darkness and ill intent from your world seeps through into this one, and I serve as the focal point for all of it. The creatures here honor and respect me for that sheer fact alone. There has always been hatred and darkness flowing through from the mortal world into this one. And there always will."

"I get it," said Seth. "Sort of. But just how evil are you? And why?"

"That's a tricky question. Some of it is just inherent. I was brought up to believe that people not of my class were worthless scum that I would never associate with. And for good reason. Different classes of people had their own beliefs and values. But the integration of different classes sickened me. Ultimately, I lost faith in humanity."

Murdred's story didn't make a lot of sense to Seth. It was an explanation, sure. But it only made Murdred sound like an insensitive person.

Anyway," said Murdred, pointing to the two fairies. "These two here are Demoric and Helwic. My personal negafae."

"Negafae?" asked Seth. He'd recalled hearing that word before. Of course! Back when they had found the Skullifier, Bravia had speculated that the artifact had been crafted from the Skull of a negafae. "Aren't you like evil fairies or something?"

"Evil fairies?" hissed Demoric. "How dare you say that!" Sneering at Seth, he pointed his finger at him and shot a black bolt of energy. Upon being hit, Seth quickly shrunk down into a much smaller frame. Unable to properly observe himself, Seth could feel that he had grown a tail and amphibian feet.

The adlets and Helwic all laughed.

"Turn him back," huffed Murdred. "NOW!"

"Fine," said Demoric, using his power to restore Seth back into a human. "But don't ever think of us as evil fairies. If anything, fairies are light negafae!"

"I don't think he knew," said Helwic. "There was no need to turn him into a salamander over it."

"I get it," said Seth, "I'm sorry."

"It's not often that we hear the S-word," said Demoric. "Best be careful with this one, Lord Murdred."

"I think he understands who's boss," said Murdred. "Anyway, the three adlets who brought you here are Xipp."

The red adlet nodded.

"Xeero,"

The blue one sneered.

"and Xillch."

The green one smiled.

"And you're a shadow charmer."

"So what?" asked Seth. "I tried to use my power here earlier, but it didn't work."

"It figures," said Demoric. "You haven't adapted to our world yet. The darkness coursing throughout the land is far too great for even a shadow charmer like yourself to contend with."

"Then why are you so interested in me if I'm so useless to you?"

"Because there's still potential within you," said Murdred. "Potential is what changed me from an average human being into overlord of the Demon Domain."

"What are you getting at?" asked Seth.

"Your power isn't very impressive right now," said Demoric. "But we can still harness it to increase Murdred's."

"I'll never work with you! So you can forget it!"

"But being a shadow charmer, as you mature, your power is only going to get greater and greater. Inevitability, this surge in power will corrupt your heart."

"Look, I'm not like you!"

"I'll make a deal with you," said Murdred. "You have two choices. You can agree to join forces with me, and I will crown you as my disciple. By agreeing with me, any trace of love and goodwill within your heart will instantly vanish. Or, we can lock you in the dungeon indefinitely. Either until you change your mind all on your own, or the darkness of the Demon Domain changes it for you."

"I don't want to work with you at all! In fact, I'd rather you just kill me right here, right now!"

"Kill you?" laughed Murdred. "You're far too valuable to consider killing. Your fate is uncontrollable. Now, what intrigues me is your history with fairies and unicorns. How does a shadow charmer become acquainted with fairies and unicorns? The only place where fairies are generally found in the mortal realm are around fairy shrines. Most of which are on those menageries they call preserves. I take it you have some ties to one of these preserves."

Seth didn't want to say anything. He refused to speak.

"I'd take that as a yes," said Helwic.

"Okay!" blurted Seth. "I live on a preserve! That's why I have ties with fairies!"

"And unicorns?" asked Murdred. "A unicorn is a rarity. I don't know how you even discovered the ones you did, but a shadow charmer earning the trust of two of them is unheard of!"

"Look, I didn't earn their trust by being evil. It had nothing to do with me being a shadow charmer. I befriended them."

"Whatever. Right now I am more interested in you than those unicorns. How did you get to become a shadow charmer? Who inaugurated you into our society?"

"I made a pact with a demon," said Seth, starting to wish he hadn't.

"Which demon?" asked Murdred curiously.

"His name was Graulas." The mention of the name earned several surprised looks from Murdred and the negafae.

"Ah, Graulas," said Helwic with a grin. "I haven't heard that name in quite some time."

Seth snarled. "Listen! I am an enemy of your kind. I personally slayed Graulas and Nagi Luna!"

"I find that a bit hard to fathom," said Murdred."Last I recalled, they were wasting away on preserves. If you even did slay them, it probably wasn't very hard to do."

"Well, believe what you want to believe. I don't belong anywhere. Most fairies can't stand me, and it seems that you just want to take advantage of me."

"All I want from you is your will. And I'm going to get it some way or another. If you agree to give in to me right away, it will expedite the whole process and neither of us will need to wait it out."

"Why do you want to increase your power so badly anyway?" asked Seth. "You seem powerful enough as it is."

"Despite our power, the negafae and myself are strongly intertwined with the Demon Domain. Consequently, we are unable to leave this world for long. But, by harnessing the power of a mortal, we would be able to better sustain ourselves in the mortal world."

"You... you want to invade my world!" exclaimed Seth.

"We found you running around in our world!" snapped Xillch.

"You can't invade my world!" said Seth. "I won't... I won't let you!"

"This argument is clearly going nowhere," said Demoric. "I say we just throw him in the dungeon for now. That'll shut him up."

"Agreed," said Murdred. "Maybe Seth here needs some time to stop and reflect on his current situation. Xipp, Xeero, Xillch! Escort Seth down to the dungeon. In the meantime, Demoric, Helwic and myself will try to come up with a game plan of our own."

"Come here, you!" said Xipp, grabbing Seth with his red, hairy claw and hauling him up onto his shoulder, so that Seth was facing backwards.

"I'd rather die than give you the chance to invade my world!" said Seth, looking back at Murdred as Xipp carried him towards the entrance to the throne room.

"Shut up, you," said Xillch, as Xeero told the doors before them to swing open.

The adlets carried Seth out of the throne room and down into a basement of the castle. Before long, they had emerged in the hallway of what had to be a dungeon. Xeero walked up to a metal door with a barred window and commanded it to open up.

Xipp then removed Seth from his shoulder and tossed him through the open door. Seth landed on the stone floor of the cell, just as Xeero ordered the door to close shut.

"We'll be back later to check on you," said Xillch, his green face peering through the bars of the window. "Enjoy your stay."

Seth heard the adlets laughing as their footsteps carried them away and out of the dungeon. Looking around his cell, which was no larger than his bedroom at home, Seth saw absolutely no furniture. Just a cold, stone floor for him to sit on.

Getting back up onto his feet, Seth walked up to the door and gazed out the window. There appeared to be a few other cells in the dungeon, but from what he could tell, they were all empty. He was all alone.

"Open!" said Seth, trying to repeat the command that Xeero had used to open and close the doors throughout the castle. "Open! Come on, open!"

After several more tries, Seth concluded that the door would never respond to his voice. After giving up, he started wondering as to what could have happened to Warren, Bracken and Bright. Seth pondered the thought as he sat down on the hard floor, leaning his back against the wall. Nobody knew where he was, and given how much trouble the two unicorns had experienced in the Demon Domain, the odds of him being found were slim to nil.

"I hate this place," said Seth, curling up into a ball as tears started to run down his cheeks. "I want to go home."