Chapter 15: Turmoil
While Kendra, Warren, Bracken and Bright had been left behind in a chasm somewhere in the Demon Domain, Xipp, Xeero and Xillch had made off with Seth and Sarah. The unicorns unable to follow them, the three adlets had climbed up the wall of the chasm and were now scampering across the badlands that seemingly sprawled the entire realm.
Slung over Xeero's shoulder, Seth squirmed around as ferociously as he could, in an attempt to wrangle himself free of the blue adlet's firm grasp. As Xeero had been holding onto Seth by his ankles, the shadow charmer was free to move his arms around. But alas, Seth lacked the physical strength to have any impact on the adlet's movement.
Seth looked over at Sarah, and saw that she too was being held in the same manner by Xipp. Sarah was also struggling to wriggle her way out of the red adlet's hold on her, but was having no luck in fighting to free herself.
"Sarah!" shouted Seth. "Can't you use your enhanced power to overwhelm the adlets?"
"Don't you think I've been trying?" blurted Sarah. "That power must've worn off!"
"Would you two shut up?" asked Xillch, who was running alongside the two other adlets. "If you don't have the power to stop us now, you might as well admit defeat."
Xillch clearly had a point. As long as they lacked the ability to overcome the adlets, there was seemingly nothing that they could do. The adlets were bigger than the humans, a whole lot stronger, and there were three of them.
"Why aren't the others coming after us?" asked Sarah.
"The unicorns can't withstand too much dark energy," replied Seth. "Something must've happened that ultimately weakened them."
"But what could have caused that?"
"Wish I knew."
"I told you two to shut up!" snarled Xillch. "You're lucky Murdred wants you alive, or we'd have devoured you already."
Not wanting to aggravate the adlets any further, Seth and Sarah both opted to remain quiet for the rest of the journey. Due to the angle he was being held at, Seth was unable to see forward. Conversely, his body was being held upside-down, and he could only gaze back at the land that was behind him.
After what felt like an uneventful quarter of an hour, the adlets had soon returned to Murdred's castle. Seth could tell, as they were now running across the bridge he had already seen at two different points.
Once the adlets had darted through the front door of the castle, they had arrived in the entry hall, and immediately came to a halt.
"Okay, listen up," said Xipp. "Murdred said that if we found these two brats together, that we keep need to keep them separated, and that we bring him the boy first."
"What about the girl?" asked Xeero.
"I'll take her down to the dungeon for now. You and Xillch bring the boy up to see Murdred."
"Seth!" cried Sarah, as Xipp proceeded to run down a hallway, carrying with him the female shadow charmer.
"Sarah!" exclaimed Seth, as Xeero proceeded to scurry up the first flight of stairs, with Xillch accompanying the two of them.
After climbing several massive flights of stairs up through the castle, the adlets had finally brought Seth to the top floor. Xeero and Xillch ran down the hallway to the grand pair of doors that served as the entrance to Murdred's throne room.
"Open," said Xillch, prompting the doors to magically open inwards. As the two adlets then sauntered into the throne room, Xeero moved Seth off of his shoulder and dangled him in the air by his ankles. Now able to look forward, albeit upside-down, Seth could see Murdred sitting on his throne, accompanied by Demoric and Helwic.
"You found him after all," said Murdred. "Well done."
"Sarah too!" said Xillch. "Xipp took her down to the dungeon for now."
"Excellent," said Murdred, locking his fingers together. "Xeero, bring Seth to the base of my dais and set him down. On his feet."
"You got it," said Xeero, as he brought Seth up towards the throne, then turned his body right-side up before setting him down.
"Go now, Xeero," said Murdred, prompting the adlet to scurry back towards the entrance to the throne room, where Xillch was waiting for him.
"Approach me, Seth," said Murdred, looking down at Seth from his throne.
Knowing that he had no way out, Seth took a deep breath, then walked up the dais and stopped in front of Murdred. This was now the closest he had ever gotten to Murdred.
"Demoric, give Seth a place to sit down."
The raven-haired negafae held out his hand and unleashed a black energy bolt from his index finger. The bolt landed near Seth, causing a rather comfortable looking chair to manifest in front of him. Compared to Murdred's throne, it was tiny.
"Sit."
Seth sat down in the chair, which was facing Murdred's throne.
"Some tea, Helwic," said Murdred.
Helwic shot a blast of fire from her fingertip, causing a small table to appear between Seth and Murdred. On the table were two teacups filled with piping hot tea. The one in front of Murdred was significantly larger than Seth's.
"Um, thanks?" said Seth, reaching for his cup.
"I ALWAYS go first," said Murdred in a much fiercer voice, prompting Seth to lower his hand. "Unless I say so otherwise."
Seth waited as Murdred lifted his cup and took a sip, prompting Seth to now do the same. Oddly enough, for something that had been conjured up by a negafae, the tea was actually quite tasty.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" asked Seth. "Instead of locking me in the dungeon like Sarah?"
"I think I've been going about this whole thing the wrong way. Seth, you are a shadow charmer. As such, your body and soul have been imbued with darkness. Do you know where darkness comes from? The very essence and source of darkness?"
Seth took a moment to think. Before he could come up with a response, the doors to the throne room swung open. Xipp came scampering in and ran up to the base of the dais.
"Xipp!" blurted Murdred. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of a conversation?"
"S-s-s-sorry, Lord Murdred!" said Xipp excitedly. "I just locked that girl... What's her name? What's her name..."
"Spit it out," said Murdred. "I hope for your sake that you haven't developed a bloody mental disorder."
"Sarah!" snapped Xipp. "I locked Sarah up in the dungeon!"
"Fine."
Murdred turned his attention back to Seth.
"Um, what do you mean by mental disorder?" asked Seth.
"He's an imbecile," said Murdred. "But beings who truly are mentally inept are a complete waste of a life."
Seth couldn't believe what he was hearing. Even though this was coming from the ruler of the Demon Domain, why did Murdred hold such a grudge towards the mentally challenged?
"What do you have against mentally challenged people?" asked Seth.
"Before we were so rudely interrupted, I was asking you where darkness comes from. The answer? Hatred. Before I became the demonic overlord that I am today, I used to be a mere human being. Although I was near powerless in that state, it was my views, the same that I hold to this day, that allowed me to become the monster who is sitting before you."
"So you used to be human," said Seth. "But, what exactly did you do to become a demon?
"Many, many years ago, back in the middle ages, I was a human being, known by the name Damien Dukes. My parents died when I was very young, so I was left in the care of nuns. Very strict and demanding, they helped shape me into the man who would descend into demon-hood.
"I can tell that we are from completely different eras. But, how did you go from being a disciplined man to a demon?"
"When I was growing up, the nuns seldom gave me any opportunity to play. Instead, I constantly got forced to work and study. It was not a pleasant experience. It scarred me."
"So, you didn't exactly have the best childhood," said Seth. "In those days, I don't think a lot of people did."
"I tried to make amends," said Murdred. "I even went into the business of building toys. But only toys intended for boys. If women could grow up to be as strict and domineering as those nuns, I wanted no part in contributing to their maturity. Men are the dominant gender, anyway. Women are weak. They exist only for reproductive purposes."
Seth bent his head down and rolled his eyes. Murdred was officially insane, as far as he was concerned.
"Well, that still doesn't explain the whole demon scenario. You were a toymaker. Your toys made children happy, didn't they?"
"I was getting to that," stated Murdred. "One of the toys I had crafted was that of a horse. Crafted entirely out of wood, the toy was on wheels and could be pulled around by a piece of twine. It was my most popular creation."
"Okay," said Seth, wondering where this discussion was leading.
"Well, one day I had gone to the bazaar to run an errand. While I was there, I saw a small child playing with one of my horse toys."
"So?"
"Do you care to take a guess as to what gender this child was?"
"Um, I'm going to guess it was a girl."
"That's correct. A girl was playing with one of my toys. My toy, which I had personally crafted by hand, with the intent that a small boy would be able to enjoy it. But instead, I see that a pathetic girl was playing with this toy. And not just any girl. For you see, this girl was the child of somebody's slave. Somebody had probably bought this toy from me and given it to their slave's child."
"How did you know she was the child of a slave""
"Because she was black. I did not create toys with the intention of allowing girls to get enjoyment out of them. Especially black ones. When I saw that this had happened with this toy, and possibly others, I snapped. I followed that girl back to her home, abducted her when she was unsupervised, and drowned her."
"Are you for real?" asked Seth.
"YES, I AM FOR REAL!" blared Murdred. "I was in no way going to live with the fact that a black girl was reaping enjoyment at my expense. Of course, with blood on my hands, and my mind in distress, I had to close up shop and leave town. I went around, looking for others whom I could cleanse the Earth of. Others like her. Like that little black girl who in no way deserved to play with one of my toys."
Seth wanted to ask what it was about black people that aggravated Murdred so much, then remembered that this man had been brought up long before the Civil Rights Movement.
"Um, don't you think it's ironic that you yourself are now a black demon?"
"This is different. As a demon, I am truly black, and proud of it. It is not atypical for demon kind at all. Despite being called black, Negroes are brown more than anything. As far as humans go, I find them revolting."
"Look, I don't know why you have these irate views of the world," said Seth, "but times have changed. People are more open-minded and accepting of other cultures and beliefs. If anything, you're the who's wrong."
"I am NOT wrong," said Murdred. "The modern world was pioneered by my kind. But it is now shared with all kinds of undeserving people of inferior races and beliefs. I hate it. I loathe it. I am thankful that its influence has no impact whatsoever on the Demon Domain. However, I would much prefer it if I could rule your mortal world. If I cannot revert it back to the way it used to be, I would be satisfied in transgressing the mortal world into a world full of demons."
"Good luck with that," said Seth, crossing his arms.
"To do this," said Murdred, "would require a great deal of power and hatred. A degree of power so strong, no creature from the Demon Domain can even possess it. But that is where you come in."
"What do you mean?"
"You are a shadow charmer. Your potential for umbrakinesis is unparalleled."
"Umbrakinesis?"
"The power to control darkness," said Demoric. "Even us negafae have our limits. You theoretically have unlimited power at your potential."
"If only you would apply it," said Helwic.
"Why me?" asked Seth.
"Because you are a human," replied Murdred. "Blessed with the powers of darkness by a royal demon. I was not blessed. I became dark by committing so many murderous acts of hate, that a portal appeared before me, pulling me into the Demon Domain. It had been the doing of Helwic, who had pulled me in at the request of Gorgrog, who was looking for a disciple from the human race. By living in the Demon Domain long enough, I naturally transformed into the abomination you see before you. I got my power through sheer id, not through a blessing like you or Sarah."
"So, you need a shadow charmer to do this?" asked Seth.
"Yes. And they would have to agree through their own free will. If you or even Sarah refuse to agree, you can spend the rest of your lives living as my prisoners."
"And if one of us agrees?"
"Then I increase my power, granting myself the ability to overwhelm the mortal world, which I can then proceed to conquer."
"You really think you can conquer the mortal world?" asked Seth. "You won't get very far. There are more than enough fairies out there that will stop you."
Murdred laughed. "My influence alone will be more than enough to vanquish those fairies. It is why the ones who have ventured here always succumb to the darkness of the Demon Domain before long. If I can grow powerful enough, my influence will spread throughout the mortal world like wildfire, and no amount of fairies will have the strength to stop it."
"I'd rather die than give you the opportunity to take over my world," said Seth. "I may be a shadow charmer, but I'm nothing like you. And neither is Sarah."
"Is that so?" asked Murdred. "You do realize that if you agreed to help me, you could have whatever you want. I could make you a king. Denizens would kneel before you. They would worship you. Do anything for you."
"I don't care in the least for that sort of power."
"Are you sure? I am making you the single greatest offer you will ever come across. Join forces with me and I will make you my second-in-command. You will become a force to be reckoned with."
"Number one," said Seth, "I don't care. Two, how do I know you aren't lying to me? And three, I still don't care."
"I am being sincere. If you are willing to provide me with the power I so greatly desire, I would be indebted to you, and would be more than willing to grant you the position of second-in-command. The only catch would be that you do not betray me at some later point."
"I like the world just the way it is," said Seth. "You want me to be happy, then send myself and Sarah back to the mortal world and leave us alone. I'm not too concerned with what goes on in the Demon Domain, so long as what goes on here stays in here."
"Oh," said Murdred. "So you wish to go back to living on a preserve? Living as a shadow charmer in a world populated by fairies? Do you really want to go back to being the outcast that you are? To living as the one being who ultimately does not belong in the very place that he calls home?"
"What do you know?" asked Seth. "I love my home and my family. And my family loves me. Even if I am a shadow charmer. And thanks to Sarah, I'll never be the only shadow charmer anymore, no matter where in the world she is."
"I am making an offer to you," said Murdred. "You were my first choice over Sarah due to the fact that you are a male. If you refuse my offer, I will be left with no choice but to enlist Sarah, as being helped by a girl is better than getting no help at all."
"I'm not helping you," said Seth. "And neither will Sarah. Final answer."
"One of you will eventually give in," said Murdred. "Unless you wish to spend the rest of your lives as my prisoners. And since both of you appear to be fairly young, the two of you both have long prison terms to look forward to.
"My friends will rescue me," said Seth. "You'll see."
"Your friends can't even tolerate this world," said Xeero. "Every time we run into them, they try to defeat us, but they always seem to lose their strength."
"They'll find a way. I'm not giving up hope!"
"I can see that we may have to resort to more drastic measures," said Murdred. "Xipp! Xeero! Xillch! Take Seth not to the dungeon, but to a nearby holding room and lock him up! I don't want him hanging out with that Sarah girl anymore!"
"Sure," said Xipp, as he and the other adlets stood up at the base of the dais.
"You can come with us, peacefully," said Xeero, "or we can do this the hard way."
"I'm coming," said Seth, getting up from his chair and walking down towards the adlets.
"Come on," said Xillch, as the aldets led Seth towards the entrance to the throne room.
"You'll be back, Seth," said Murdred, as Seth walked through the doorway. "And in the end, I will get what I want."
As soon as Murdred finished speaking, the doors to the throne room slammed behind Seth.
"This way," said Xipp, as he, Xeero and Xillch led Seth down the hallway, before stopping in front of another door.
"In here," said Xeero, as he opened the door and shoved Seth inside. The room appeared to be not only small, but empty as well. Although it was not in the basement, the room felt no better than the dungeon.
"See you later," said Xillch, nearly slamming the door in Seth's face. Seth couldn't help but listen to the three adlets laughing among themselves as they walked off down the hallway.