Ch 14: Dead Man Walking

Past the decay growing across the rotting hallway, the collection of enemies, allies, sinners and demons ran from the wielder of nightmares. They dared not turn around, for the sounds of the walls behind them being torn into like paper was enough to keep them running. Pieces of the wall fell before them, and a collection of tendrils crushed them as they slighted just out of reach, almost like the demigod was teasing his prey about the possibility of escape. The arachnids had begun grabbing forward to propel themselves further and leave Erosa and Polter in the dust. The mercenaries screamed obscenities at both parties in front and behind them before strands of darkness finally shot forward at an alarming rate, and the two found themselves cornered from both ends.

"The fuck do we do now?" Polter asked.

Erosa turned. There was a hallway to his right with a door at the end. Without thinking he grabbed his wife's hand and the two hurriedly put the darkness behind them. Polter kicked the door open and the two ran inside. The two found themselves in an office, tattered and worn with spots of black and broken cobwebs covering almost everything. The hum of ancient drones scurried behind them, signifying the self-declared demigod was close. Erosa scoured every inch of the room, cabinet after cabinet and corner after corner, until grabbing the chairs and tossing them towards the only entry to the room as it was covered in darkness. The doorway dripped a viscous liquid, almost acidic in nature.

In a burst of survival, Polter grabbed the large table and heaved it to the side before pulling it to the front of the door. By this time, the barricade had already begun to face corruption of the forces on the other side. Frantically, the two mercenaries swept their surroundings one final time, and Erosa spotted the similarities of a portable plastic safe. Assuming the best and with no options, the black cat quickly grabbed the safe before holding it with one hand and extending a claw with the other, forcing it into the lock in a hastily poor attempt at getting it to turn, but before long the box clicked, the lock turning, and the safe was almost ripped open like a carcass. Inside was the handmade firearm from their last job for Sivah. The bottom of the grip had been crudely welded shut, and the hammer had been just as poorly modified and cut open, with a mysterious red crystal placed where the bullets would have been loaded. The crystal was artificial, carved with imperfect lines and edges, presumably by a handheld blace. It was sealed by a rim of metal pressing it together within the housing and a single wire extending from underneath the crystal and disappearing into the back of the hammer. Everything was fixed in place, ugly, poorly made, but it was a gun, and Erosa quickly bypassed his doubts before inspecting the gun. He turned the dial that read "DEATH" and "NO DEATH" to the desired setting. The crystal emitted a high pitch that rose before disappearing to signal its preparation to fire. The crimson glow was faint, but looked deadly just by sight. The grip was warm.

"I think we're gonna die if you use that." Polter pointed out. "Looks like a ghost catcher or something."

"Then get ready to catch one." Erosa said with a smirk.

Having unfortunate timing, Erosa watched as the collection of furniture preventing Sivah from entering was blasted outward into splinters and dented metal. The mercenaries watched where they once stood and realized how close they were to death. This is what the sinners feared and it had never been closer as the tall and slim figure of their despair trodded gracefully into the room with arms spread out in a gesture of domination.

"How ironic." Sivah smiled. "You came to me for a chance to feel alive once more, and now you'll -"

A shot of red fired. The breath was stolen out of Sivah's lungs with a gasp. The wielder of darkness dropped his malicious facade and hurriedly pressed a hand against his neck, which had been scraped by the bullet. Drops of dark black blood fell from between his fingertips, and he began to breathe heavily with eyes of demonic intent now burning wildly in intense hatred for Erosa. The demonic entity outstretched his hand, and Polter was quickly wrapped up in darkness before being turned around and pulled towards Sivah before being grabbed by the neck with a sharp claw at the edge. The reptilian roared in response to being taken hostage, but was tied by the legs and wrists, followed by the covering of her mouth. Erosa watched on in horror, aiming the gun to the side at Sivah's face which donned a sadistic smile.

"Tell me where those two brats are and who you're working for." Sivah snarled with a feral grin of impossibly sharp teeth. "Unless you would enjoy watching your wife dissolve into darkness and join my beloved Roselle."

"I'm not telling you shit if you don't let go of my wife." Erosa violently declared, his voice rough and trembling.

"Just fucking tell him!" Polter screamed, her rage growing impatient.

"They're at the motel." Erosa said. "We're doing a job for Sir Pentious."

"Ah, right, the motel." Sivah mocked. "That explains so much."

"No, seriously." Erosa retorted. "It's called the Motel."

"Seriously?" Sivah asked, surprised.

"Hello?!" Polter shouted.

"Yeah, seriously." Erosa said. "It's called The Motel and it's on Motel Street. I think it actually used to be called The Motel Street Motel on Motel Street. Can you let go of my fucking wife, please?"

"Hold on." Sivah said as he loosened his grip. "Is it the motel on the street it's named after, or was the street named after the motel?"

'Why the fuck are you asking me?" Erosa shouted. "Let go of my wife!"

"I don't think I'll ever have a chance to find out!" Sivah exclaimed. "How often do emotionally compromised villains get to ask simple questions?"

"Let go of my wife!" Erosa shouted before unloading another shot. It miserably passed through the space beside Sivah's head. Polter elbowed the entity in the stomach

Sivah winced. As quickly as he grabbed her and shoved Polter towards her husband, sending the reptile stumbling onto her hands and knees as Sivah stood back up, returning to his full height. The evil bird stared them both down with a smile as Erosa struggles to help his wife from the ground. Sivah formed a smile which grew wider the longer he watched. Polter turned as she was held back by her partner before the two gazed in an unholy silence at their attacker. The raging fires gave his black fur a devilish glimmer. Erosa pointed the strange glowing firearm directly between the eyes of the wielder of nightmares.

"I believed in God once." Sivah began, approaching the duo as a trail of darkness crept across his feet. "I only tell the stories to amuse the people that think them to be true. I couldn't care less about where you're from, or where I'm from, because it doesn't matter. Nothing does. You dedicate your life to a God that does nothing, and you're expected to listen dutifully without question."

"Get away from us." Erosa said sternly, stepping back before being stopped by Polter's back pressing against the wall.

Sivah smiled as he stopped inches from the mercenaries. "All I have to ask you, Erosa, is this: Have you thanked your god today, and if so, why? Because as far as I'm concerned, I'm actually doing things here, and that makes me far more worthy of worship, wouldn't you agree?"

"You're out of your goddamn mind if you think anyone should worship you." Polter snarled.

"On the contrary!" Sivah laughed. "I'm the only sane person in this shit land. You don't understand now, but you will. Watch me from a distance for a while, my friend, and you will turn your portrait perspective into a landscape."

Sivah twirled a finger. The strands of darkness across the floor crept up the legs of Erosa like vines, quickly grabbing the makeshift pistol as the mercenary struggled to fire before landing a close shot underneath a tentacle, sending a collection of black residue across the room in a hot red light. Erosa felt a wave of heat strike his arms, and he instinctively dropped the weapon onto the ground and cursed himself as his mouth was wrapped and stifled. The tendrils spiraled upwards before meeting at the top of his head, and he vanished in the cocoon of vile branches. The bottom began to bubble and slosh downward into the ground, before nothing but a pile of black decay was left. Within seconds, Erosa was gone.

Polter watched in horror, breaking out of her frozen fear and screamed before charging forward and grabbing Sivah by the neck. The reptile slammed the bird into the wall, causing Sivah to gasp with the sudden crushing of his airway and flinching as the wall broke against the force of Polter's retaliation. He grabbed her arms in a struggle, coughing as the wound on his neck began to reopen from desperate attempts to heal. The wielder of nightmares felt fear begin to rise in his chest. He could feel the burning of his magic begin to leave him and weaken his already distraught body. In an act of desperation, he grabbed the side of Polter's head and began a barrage of jolting shocks through the nerves of her head, creeping through Polter's side of her face in the form of a tangle of cracks and streams almost bleeding as they crept across her face. The two struggled in a staredown until Polter's grip grew tighter in a desperate attempt to stop the attack despite the excruciating pain, feeling like her face was decomposing while she was alive, where Sivah felt strained and finally dropped his hand in a strained breath of exhaustion. Polter released her grip and forced the demigod to drop to the floor while hacking as the air returned to his lungs. The relief was short lived, however, and Sivah soon found himself being grabbed and lifted by the end of his chin into the anguished eyes of his victor.

"Give him back." Polter demanded, venom seeping from each word like Sivah's darkness. The side of her face has been left scarred, matted and partially charred.

Sivah frowned. "He's with Roselle now. If you ever want to see him again, you'll do what I say."

"Why don't I just kill you and go there myself?" Polter asked.

"If I die, my forest goes with it!" Sivah exclaimed.

Polter leaned in, her angered breaths trailing down the injured neck of the demigod. "Then I'll keep you on the verge of death until you take me there!"

Sivah stared. He could use more of his powers to silence the reptile, simply snap his fingers and ensnared her like a spider in a web. However, he knew that without the necklace, his essence was restrained and using more would whittle away what little time he had left. It was in his best interest to submit, although he did hold the fate of Polter's partner in his hands, and so he chose to agree in his own twisted way.

"I'll make you a deal." Sivah croaked. "You complete a few tasks for me, and I'll give you back what you want."

"Or I just do what I want." Polter said.

Sivah attempted a smile. "That's not guaranteed. This is. You work for me again, and when you're done, your husband is yours again."

Polter remained with her gritted teeth and grave stare. The rage within her had stopped growing but never faltered. The edges of her vision mixed into a blur of vignette and hyperfixation on Sivah - the only figure in focus. After a moment that dragged on in the absence of time, she sighed through a strained acceptance, and released her grip without moving. Sivah fell to the ground in a coughing fit once again, quickly standing and stepping back while holding his neck. Polter gave a glare of expectations that demoralized the entity, and he kept in the back of his mind that her leash was short and would be removed once he fulfilled his end of the deal. With that, he gave a halfhearted smile.

"Now." Sivah said coarsely. "Let's catch up with the others."