Well, I lost about 900 word so this chapter, RIP previous 900 words I painstakingly wrote, but its the fact that my readers return to this story that I rewrote all of it.
Enjoy!
"We must take you to a cleric Mistress!" Kaile grabbed Isabel's wrist and attempted to drag her towards the door "we must cleanse this at once!"
Isabel resisted weakly, the girl managing to pull her several steps "that will not be necessary... Issac, come in if you will."
The door opened then, and Issac came in mid whistle. The air caught in his throat upon seeing her, the tune dying.
Isabel tilted her head at him "what do you make of this?"
The man brought a hand to his chin, appearing to be deep in thought "I have to say your curves are much softer then I would have imagined and questions do arise about the scars."
The woman glared at him, causing him to chuckle while he moved towards her. She watched as Issac kneeled down and considered the symbol.
"Kaile was it? Might you fetch us some tea?"
Kaile looked torn, but when her Mistress nodded she bowed and left the room in search of refreshments. Several minutes ticked by as the man crouched at her belly, staring at it intently, and the silence that filled the room drove Isabel mad.
"If privacy is necessary I can only assume the worst. Speak Issac."
The man brought a finger up after a moment and with gentle force he went to touch the marked area, but what happened amazed them both. The skin curled away from his finger when it was within centimeters of touching it and as he moved his fingertip back and forth, the odd phenomenon followed.
Stranger...
Again, that same terrified voice spoke through her senses. It was faint, but this time she couldn't ignore it and before she realized what she was doing, she had slapped Issac's hand away and stumbled back.
"Unless you are a contortionist, I have no words in which I could describe your condition." Issac pushed off his knees and went to stand, waving his abused hand back and forth "you've got some strength as well, such an interesting woman."
"You haven't a theory as to what this is? In your research of demonic beings, nothing like this has surfaced?" Isabel demanded, hand never budging from the colored area.
"Research? What research? You mean the few paragraphs within the sea of folklore I have read? No, my lady. Nothing has trickled through as of late. Perhaps your spawn can be of more use in this matter."
Isabel cursed and moved over to her window to gaze out at the dark forestry. Cain would be gone for a week at most, doing her bidding. A part of her had desired for the demon to take care of this annoying task, but now she regretted ever considering it. Every moment the white haired demon wasn't at her side she felt exposed, vulnerable. She was positive she was swayed by the marking on her stomach, but she knew that was only half true. Cain was her knight, her demon, and when her protection was absent so was her power. She sighed and allowed her forehead to tap the glass, fatigue grating at her. Sleep was tugging at her to go to bed, but the fear of what now lay on her stomach had her much too concerned to just jump into bed and greet her dreams. Her eyes scanned the darkness in hopes to see her shadow laced prince, but then another caught her eye.
Light blonde hair stirred in the wind of the night and glowed in the moonlight.
The door opened and Kaile carried a small tray in with tea and cups.
"I have a simple-"
"Kaile, dress me, quickly." Isabel demanded, pushing away from the window and cutting off the girl mid-sentence. Kaile's eyes widened and she put the tray down on one of the end tables. Issac approached the steaming liquid with greed in his eyes.
"Are you going to a cleric?" The girl asked, hopeful.
"No, I will be going out for just a moment. A simple outfit, please. Make it quick." Kaile made easy work of locating a simple dress and cloak for her to wear, and within minutes Isabel was fully dressed yet again.
"I will be back. You may drink my tea, Kaile. Keep our guest entertained."
"You would not have me come with you?" Issac asked, looking over his cup at her, expression amused.
"No, I will be meeting with a friend of a friend." Isabel danced around the two as they attempted to accompany her.
"Should I bring the carriage around then?"
"No, drink the tea and stay put. The both of you." Isabel retreated and slammed the door on the two, leaving them within. She turned and began to sprint down the stairs and hallways until she reached the door that lead to the courtyard. She burst through the thick wooden doors and paused a few steps outside. Glancing up at her window she estimated about the direction she had seen the woman in the forest and then began to run towards the dark forestry. Minutes passed as she lept, dodged, and ran whilst looking for her destination and finally after what felt like twenty minutes, she exited the thicket where she finally found the lady.
Lara, Cain's underling, sat upon a tree stump and with gentle strokes she combed through her long platinum mane. Tonight she wore a long sleeved white dress, making her look ironically angelic, and as Isabel approached the woman looked up at her. With a smile, the woman spoke.
"Hello, mortal. The forest at night is no place for a woman as spoiled as yourself. What do I owe the pleasure?"
Isabel took several long breaths before speaking so she didn't embarrass herself by panting while she spoke "I have questions for you."
Lara scoffed "don't we all."
"What is your relationship with Cain?" Isabel asked, ignoring the chide.
Lara's expression dropped its playful demeanor "you have no power over me, human."
"Nor do you over me, Lara." Isabel retorted, causing the demoness to growl, but regardless the woman approached Lara. "If it is death you threaten me with, I welcome it. If it is pain, then I will endure it as I have all my life. Your threats do not intimidate me, demon. However, if you are willing to cooperate and answer my questions, then I can ensure you that I will tell Cain of your good tidings."
Isabel watched as the demoness considered her words and after a moment she smiled again, her eyes recalling a memory "Cain is my love. I have known him since the dawn of my existence and we have spent an eternity together. I cannot put in simple words the relationship he and I share, but it lays beyond intimacy."
Isabel nodded then and in reaction to the demoness's words, she brought a hand to her throat where she tore at a knot. The cowl fell to the forest floor and within minutes, so did her dress.
"Then tell me, Lara. What is this?"
A flood of emotions filled the demoness's features and soon they were cast in silence. The wind raked against the thick tree branches, causing the clearing to fill with the sound of scratching leaves and faint yips of wildlife. Shivering, Isabel cleared her throat about to address the woman, but Lara stood, making her stop. The demoness's eyes had grown hard, dull scarlets locked onto the near nude woman before her.
"How dare you seduce him, mortal whore." Within a blink of an eye, Lara appeared before her and lifted her into the air by her throat. Pain shot through her chest because of lack of oxygen. Her eyes fluttered, but she forced her quivering hand to point at the marking at her stomach and to cough out the question yet again. She would have an answer.
"What… is it…?"
Lara released her, the demoness watching as the woman crumbled to the ground, but then she was gripping the woman's chin in an iron grip.
"Do not play coy with me, human. You know very well what this symbol means." Lara pushed Isabel on her back and pushed the emblem.
Bad…
Isabel shoved the hand away from her stomach, replacing the area with her own hand and glared up at the demoness.
"If I knew what this was do you believe I would run out here, strip my clothes in one of the coldest nights this season, and ask you questions you assume I have the answers to? Come now, you are not that idiotic are you?"
Lara glared and raised her hand, razors now extending from her nails "apologize, mortal."
"Answer me, demon" Isabel countered.
The two stared each other down, and again the sound of the forest invaded their senses, but after several minutes, something stirred beneath those ice cold eyes and the demoness smiled, pulling the woman to her feet.
"I suppose you are right, and I shall take the pleasure in being the first to tell you of your condition and rob the chance for Cain too." Lara reached for the discarded clothing and wrapped the cowl around the shivering woman.
"You are pregnant, mortal, with a demon's child."
Isabel felt her heart pound and within seconds she was shaking her head "no, I cannot be."
"You can and are, mortal. I actually could not have asked for a more perfect scenario."
Isabel couldn't hear what Lara was saying as shock filled her senses. She fell to her knees and pulled the cloak tighter to her "no, I cannot be with child… I am sterile. I was made so when I was sold into slavery…"
Lara ceased her teasing and grew serious "sterile?"
"Yes, I cannot be pregnant as my body cannot bare a child any longer." Isabel's voice was low, fear and confusion fighting for dominance.
Crickets began their nightly chirping and played a nice melody as the two were lost in their thoughts yet again. However, when the demoness spoke up, the insects paused their song.
"Taking your condition and the fact that Cain is involved, you may in fact not be pregnant." Lara moved to crouch before Isabel again and offered the shaking woman a gentle smile "come, I shall examine you at my estate where we can fully determine your condition."
Terrified violet eyes looked up at the demoness and without recollection, she grabbed Lara's hand.
"NOT THE FACE! PLEASE NOT THE FACE!" Alexander pleaded as Cain twirled the stolen weapon. The death god was entangled in the long shadow like appendages and with every twitch the barbs that had manifested around the lengths dug deeper into the man.
"If anything could use scarring, your face should be the first place you consider. Are you truly a man?" Cain smirked as he brought the Death God's serrated weapon to the cringing man's face.
"Now then, where would you like me first to pierce you with your own weapon, Alexander?"
"Um…" The man opened an eye to look up at the demon "not… in the face, like I asked before?"
"The nose it is-" Pain shot through the demon, cutting off his words and with a snarl he spun to see that three more of Alexander's kind had arrived. It would definitely explain the small scythe sticking out of his back.
"That was awfully rude to interrupt my dinner." Cain threatened, reaching back to pull the curved blade from his spine.
"You cannot eat us, demon." One stated, drawing another scythe much like the one he had now in his hand. The other two produced other similar weapons and with a curse, Cain thrust the spade into Alexander's shoulder and stuck him to the ground. With another twist of his body he threw the scythe back at the three, more so to distract then to harm, but when he heard a cry of pain he laughed in wonderment.
Heh, I impress myself more and more each day.
"My apologies but I must be off now. Demons to rule, humans to eat, and a Mistress to serve, you know the course. Farewell, servants of Purgatory." The dark limbs released the trapped man and wrapped around the demon, encasing him in darkness. With a swirl of motion, the demon vanished.
To be continued.
Let me know what you think.
See you all next chapter!