Song of the Damned

[Requiem of Insanity]

ONE WEEK AGO

The air was humid and hot as two silent warriors walked upon the narrow corridors to the plains of Hadia, their feet kicking up trace amounts of dirt as they wandered deeper and deeper into the twisting network of caverns. They both looked exhausted with their trek, but still their feet dragged on. It was as if something was keeping them from resting, an unseen guide moving them forward as they marched to the beat of their hearts.

One was a woman with long flowing black hair with a hint of blue that reflected off the light. Her face was a pale color, with rose red eyes that glinted in the glow of the torch light. A gnarled black oaken staff was strapped to her back, and around her neck was a long chain that was connected to a book that was the size of her fist. A deep red cloak draped behind her as she walked showing her curves in a dark light as it fell to her hips. Her thigh high heeled boots were laced tightly and she bent low to adjust the bands and tighten them again.

Behind her a man stopped, bending over taking in a long drag of air before the two continued. His eyes were deeply sunken and he wore black eyeliner around the edges of his eye, giving him a skeletal appearance. His hair was shoulder length and gelled down with gray lines of premature aging around the edges. Upon his back was a scabbard to an axe and a sheath to a sword, with a traveling bag hidden between them. Across his chest was a simple silver ring surrounding a golden triangle with three silver pendulums.

"What time is it?" he stretched his arms out and yawned making his chest heave. The girl shrugged in response, standing with a groan of exasperation as she held her hand out to her companion. He took her hand, pulling with against the tired wishes of his muscles and they walked forward again.

"We wouldn't have to rush if it wasn't for that damned detour in Knife's Edge. We didn't need that item for the ritual and I'm curious as to why you went to so much trouble for a stupid dragon's hide cloak." The man laughed at her annoyance, a feigned chance for mirth as he looked down the corridor.

"It's something that you wouldn't be able to comprehend, blood mage." he teased. "Sometimes a little more is needed than just the bare essentials. To bring her back requires us to pull out all the stops. Do your job and you shall have your reward." She looked to him with curious intent, but shook her head. "What?" he said irritably moving ahead of her.

"Well," she said smartly as her eyes narrowed. "since you asked. What's changed in you, Kane?" she jogged a bit to catch up to him. "I mean, when we first met you nothing but a damned moron, but now...it feels different." He turned to her, his eyes brimming with a red glow hiding his pupils behind his black mascara. He let the side of his mouth curl into a snarling grin as he showed his teeth to her.

"A blood puppet such as yourself is expected to take things at face value. Things aren't always as they seem, Linette. Remember that well and it may one day save your life. Come, we have more work to do." The blood mage snorted at him as she walked, scoffing at his arrogance.

"Don't forget that it was with my magic that we were able to get here, and it's by my magic we can bring back your little friend. Remember that well and it may save your life." Kane began to chuckle, before a rolling primal cry of laughter escaped his lips as he howled to the heavens. Linette let him get his laughs in as she watched, then when he calmed down she decided it was better to just change the topic.

"Why exactly did you want to resurrect this woman anyway? Sure, there are all the simple reasons, but it's deeper than that I'm sure." Kane laughed a bit more in a cruel chuckle as he walked forward, getting ahead of her.

"Because this woman is not just any woman. She's my dark companion, my twisted lover, my dear deluded dutiful darling. It's her that fills my void with her tainted song. Her voice can alone raise my spirits and open my ears to the beautiful Requiem of Insanity. It's a sound, a chorus that I've never known and to lose it would be such a terrible waste. By the love we share is the reason I struggle to save her from the abyss. Is that reason enough, Linette, or do you have any other stupid questions you wish to ask?"

Linette looked to Kane with a new light, and suddenly she felt a wave of understanding hit her. "Now I do see the reason." she licked her lips and felt a new vitality fuel her. "Now I see things all too clearly." she whispered as she grinned to herself.

[Requiem of Insanity]

The way was barren except for the littered mass of bones and debris, and Kane felt a calming rush of dread wash over him. At least this feeling was natural unlike the feelings he had been experiencing lately. This was terror he could understand and know why he felt the tingle down his spine. But the feeling he got from Cassandra's dark companion was not so clear to understand.

He walked down the cleared path towards Knife's Edge, capitol of Salvar. It was home to many hundreds of different people and place of call for trading and the famous Bazaar network. He had two missions to complete in this town, and he felt the grip of parasite within him tighten around his heart.

He had become more and more quieter as of late, which was perfectly fine to Kane who never liked the bastard to begin with. He had forced him to accept the mission of finding lost treasures and relics to bring back Cassandra Remi from the afterlife. So far he had two of the items he needed. The Anima Revixi and the Orior Ab Glarea. Now all that remained was finding a cloak make of Dragon's hide and someone to perform the ritual inside the pages of the Orior Ab Glarea.

He adjusted the weapons he had been collecting, feeling their burden lighten a bit. He now carried an axe and sword on him, but he wasn't at all confident with either weapon. It was more of a way to weed off predators, like having a cannon in your front yard. It made people think twice about Kane could be capable of, and that was enough of an edge for him. He never thought what would happen if somebody decided to try their luck against his skills.

He looked to the walls of Knife's Edge and let out a low whistle. He was taken in by the mere massiveness of the town, and now he could see the defenses up close he could understand why it was such a barren wasteland around the city. Unique cannons with multiple rotating barrels lined the upper walls, while hundreds of bolt throwers lined the lower section. The walls were curled towards the top to prevent enemy troops from using ladders to board the walls, and he was more than positive the statues that lined the bottom and adorned the tips of the defensive walls were not just for show. Kane figured an entire army of well over ten thousand troops would be sundered breaking their military strength along these hollow walls. Looking at the bones around him he concluded many generals and leaders had tried despite that fact that had only taken him a simple moment to figure out.

He approached the checkpoint half a mile from the city walls, and he took out his bag and emptied it upon the wooden table, feeling the cold start to chill his bones. It was welcoming to him, but soon his body radiated off heat and the feeling numbed away. He sighed thinking of the gift he was given. His soul was exchanged for the power of Cassandra's twisted ambitions, and so long as Cassandra remained dead he would continue to take and destroy everything Kane cared about away from him. Despite his hatred for such an exchange, it had allowed him to survive the extreme temperatures of Salvar's climate.

He yawned as he waited for an officer to enter the room, and at long last he looked to the door deciding if he was ever going to leave only to thank the gods it was opened. A young officer entered the room, her hair tied in a long blond pony tail that was extremely tight to her scalp. Her uniform was a simple long sleeved jacket top and she wore a long black skirt that hugged her hips. Her heels clicked against the pavement as she took her seat across from Kane and lowered her glasses to the table opening a file folder and grabbing a pen.

"Name." She said distantly.

"Kane Kucan." he heard her scribble onto the sheets of paper with a quill she unlatched from the folder's edge. She wrote a few extra lines of commentary and then looked into his eyes.

"Eye color is amber-red." she stated writing it down upon her notes. Kane felt a tingle run down his spine as he thought about how his eyes were brown. The darkness within him was taking away his eyes as well now.

"Weapons: Axe and Sword...odd combination. Axe is enchanted and sword is...not really a sword but a giant's butcher's blade." she noted this upon the documents as looked back at Kane. "Hair is graying, beard is trimmed and kept." She noted this as well making Kane sigh in boredom. "Shows signs of attention deficit disorder." she noted that as well. Kane gave her a scrutinizing look as he mouthed the disorder to himself before shrugging and leaning back in his chair.

"Got a name?" he asked trying to break the tension.

"Carries in bag a tattered diary and ancient tome." she ignored Kane as her hand reached over to the smaller diary. She thumbed the edges of the book and was about to open it when Kane felt his hand lift and slam onto the cover to keep it shut. His eyes widened in shock of what he did, and the woman looked to him with her own curious eyes. "That wasn't very bright." she said calmly. "Explain yourself."

Kane felt the weight of the world upon his shoulders as he looked for something, anything to get him out of this predicament, but just when he was about to talk he felt his mind split as a pounding headache beat his eyes closed. He spent every last reserve of his will not to crumble to the ground, and when the dark companion came to the fore of his mind he felt the pain numb away. He heard a deep chuckling echo in his ears, and he could feel his lips move without his consent. You've been so quiet because you're trying to control my body! Isn't that the reason? Huh? Kane felt his heart tighten and his body shivered before the twisted lover of Cassandra talked through Kane.

"It's...it's just my writings...I'm embarrassed to let anyone read them." The woman gave him a look of disbelief, her eyes narrowing in challenge as if he just insulted her. "It's true...I just. Well. I hear there is a poetry exposition going on here and I wanted to see if my macabre lyrics could entice the soul." Kane wanted to roll his eyes. Like hell she'll believe that.

"If that's so, why don't you read me one passage. Time to get over that stage fright." she said pushing the book into Kane's lap as she reclined in her chair. Kane felt his hands rise to the spine of the book, edging them seductively as he opened to the middle, looking for a passage. She watched him with a careful eye, but she relaxed all the same as she crossed her arms over her breast.

"If I have to search, I'll search forever. My mind cannot fathom eternity without you. My heart is bleeding, bleeding in a steady drip drop upon my soul as I claw to the heavens for you. Knives dance within my mind as crawl through them, taking the torture, the abuse to see your smiling face again. I'll shed a thousand tears and inch my way forward with every shallow breath until your nails dig into my back again. When I look upon your face and see you looking down upon me I'll at last be at peace."

Kane closed the book with a snap, dropping it carefully upon the table. That was the biggest pile of garbage I've ever heard. Like hell she'll fall for it. Kane felt the darkness recede, and he was back in control of his own actions again. It was nice to feel his limbs again as he heard the dark companion laugh at his words.

"Until you see the darkness in ones soul, Kane, you will never have the upper hand. Look to her longingly and your in." Kane lifted his eyes to match her gave, and he lowered them intently to her. The officer looked to him, her lip quivering as she quickly wrote upon the paper numbers and lines.

"Give this to any damned guide you need to, and meet me at this address past midnight when I'm off. I want to hear more of what you have to offer..." she said seductively, shoving Kane his things. "Guards, allow passage for Kane Kucan!" she shouted. She filled up the folder and winked to Kane as she got up, leaving the room.

Kane could only hear the echoing howl of tormented laughter as he looked incredulously at the address on the paper.

[Requiem of Insanity]

The city of Knife's Edge may have well been an entire country on its own. Kane was impressed and humbled by the sheer size of the towers and the hustle and bustle of the streets below them. He saw elves, dwarves, humans, and all kinds of other creatures moving amongst each other unaware of anything but their own tiny world.

"Look upon the fools of this world. Like ants in a colony you are blind to events outside your won feeble existence. You care not for anything but yourselves and it's amazing how you can live day to day in such blissful ignorance." Kane snickered at his comment.

"Day by day, moment by moment the races of this desolate planet will march on in a never ending beat to drums of time. Those who dare get in our way will be trampled beneath our feet and forgotten to the eons of yesterdays long forgotten." The darkness rose in his mind, impressed at Kane's mindless rant.

"Hope yet reigns for you, Kane. Your starting to embrace that darkness within you. I'm so proud." Kane rolled his eyes.

"My dad told me that. Well...when he was sober anyway." Kane mumbled. The parasite within him clawed his mind like he was a pet cat, and Kane felt both perturbed and at ease by his touch.

"I've been looking into the deeper recesses of your mind, Kane. It's a miracle you only let your darkness harbor you to a life of small time pety theft. You could have been great you know." Kane let out a low snort of irritation.

"Sorry, I have my sanity. Something you clearly lost ages ago." The darkness released him, laughing into the pits of his mind as he let Kane get to work. He looked up to the maps of the place, and as it seemed simple to read, he felt it wasn't so easy to figure out. He mapped out his way to the bazaar and he began to walk, moving like a shambling zombie in the sea of bodies. He made a left at the light post, and then walked for fifty feet before he turned left, following the brick and mortar buildings up the street as he powered up the hills. He saw a few tarot reading card shops, a local knife emporium, and watched people eat at the corner shop cafe's. As he walked forward into the next area he was flabbergasted at the expanse of the wide open streets. It wasn't the bazaar he walked in on, but the carnival going on.

"At this rate, we'll never find the local bazaar." Kane said in a defeated tone. He felt the darkness shuffle within him, and his gaze was turned to the left a little. Before him was single man, his body covered in a dragon's cloak as he whipped at a baby hydra. The beast hollered into the air, a mighty shriek that made Kane wince. But the beast master raised a whip and beat the beast to silence as he ushered it into a cage. Kane watched the event and realized he had found his prize. "On second thought..." Kane said as he moved towards the shadows to observe his new target.

[Requiem of Insanity]

The night was chilling but inviting as an army of street lamps all lit as one, creating an earthly blue white glow. It was as if Kane walked upon the streets of the gods, and the hustle and bustle of every day activity continued to reign on despite the change of atmosphere. Street performers began to line the edges of the pathways shouting for all to come and watch in hopes of making a few spare coins.

Kane anchored his nerves in the crowd, feeling uncomfortable in such a large gathering. When he walked the earth with Cassandra she had beat into him a sense of worthlessness he didn’t know a man could achieve. That feeling made him uncomfortable being around large gatherings. He used to cut into himself with a knife to feel numb, but those days were long gone.

He moved in the crowd, looking around for a guide of some sorts, realizing he had a mere hour before his meeting with the sentry guard from earlier in the day. He wasn’t even sure what he would do, but currently he didn’t have enough gold coins to eat and stay at a hostel. He would have to use her for food and board and hope she was a fool to fall for it.

His eyes scanned the horizon’s and he settled upon a small girl no older than sixteen. She smiled to him as he flagged her down and when he approached her she leaned against a wall with a confident look in her eyes. He handed her the piece of paper and she nodded, motioning for him to follow. “Not to far out, about a forty minute walk. Where you from?”

Kane smiled sweetly as he thought of a place to hail from, and when he settled upon one he replied in a jovial tone. “Black Sun Isle. It’s a very beautiful place. Gardens of roses and green land as far as the eye could see. It’s so peaceful there.” The girl giggled.

“Heard of that place. They are the only place besides Fallien where the Black Rose blooms. They also import a rare type of coffee called Black Gold.” Kane nodded to her and looked as they passed into another large passageway. This was lined with tables and merchants who pedaled their wares to anyone who walked by. Crystal ball gazers tried to convince Kane how he could find the woman he loved in their all seeing eyes. A man tried to sell him a few throwing axes with the enchantment to return from flight. He passed them all by and felt his hand gripped by the tiny girl’s as she led him down a pathway.

“You don’t like large groups, don’t you?” She asked innocently. Kane nodded. “How come?” Kane felt a darkness shift within himself. He thought about the meaning, and decided to lie.

“Claustrophobia.” He said easily. The girl nodded giggling again.

“Makes being intimate rough, doesn’t it?” she teased as her hand stroked his. Kane recoiled immediately from her touch. She coked her head to the side, her black hair falling down her shoulders as she cocked an eyebrow. “Ouu, prudish aren’t we?” She gave off a light laughter. “Don’t fret, I won’t bite.”

Kane took in a deep breath as he reganed his composure. “No offense,” he stated smarmy like. “But aren’t you a little young to be hitting on me?” She tilted her head all the way back and laughed, the sound echoing off the walls of the closed shops. “And the joke is?”

“You don’t get out much, do you sir?” She asked as she looked back to him. “I’m twenty seven. I just happen to have a very girlish figure and natural youth. Comes with the territory of my primary job.” Kane lowered his gaze.

“And that would be?” she sighed as she looked up into Kane’s eyes, seeing the red glint cast off by the lighting.

“Blood Mage. I dabble in the arts of reading people’s blood. In fact, I am one of the few Blood Magi in this region. We help the people of Salvar out with Rituals and spreading our word. The branch of magic we perform is very unique and rare.”

And quite possibly the luckiest coincidence. Kane mused to himself. No doubt your doing. He thought to the dark companion. He in return shifted around his heart, a soft chuckle echoing in his ears. “What a coincidence…” Kane said lightly. “I happen to have need for a ritual performer. Do you have a fee or do you take the blood of chickens?” The girl laughed.

“Well, our fee depends on the ritual. The more powerful it is, the heavier the fee. And we don’t do summons. That’s against our code. If no blood can circulate the body of the victim without the aid of undeath, than we won’t summon it.”

“What about total body resurrection? Mind body and soul?” The woman dropped her smile instantly.

“Not only is that obsurd to even comprehend, but impossible to perform. No magic can do that.” Kane lifted up his finger to her mouth. She gave him a warning look.

He lifted the Orior Ab Glarea from his satchel and handed it to the woman. She studied the ancient edgings with a careful eye and made a move to grab it. Kane pulled back and lifted the book up and away from her. One hand went to the hilt of the Butcher’s Bill as he gave her a cautionary look. “In a world derived of all sorts of magic you cannot tell me you don’t believe in the unbelievable. Surely as a mage you of all would understand this.”

She gave him a look of longing as she eyed the tome before dropping to her knees in supplication. “Let me glance at that ritual, please! That ritual may be the key to unlocking our greatest works ever! Immortality rests within those hollowed pages!” Kane shook his head as he pocketed the book.

“Not going to happen, yet. But tell you what.” Kane got a devilish idea as he began to think rapidly of all the possibilities. “Take me to the woman at the address and don’t wander too far off. If you can help me gather the last item needed for the ritual I’ll let you…I’ll let you keep the book as payment for everything!” The mage looked to him with suspicion, but he lifted the tip of it out and she crumbled in a heartbeat.

“Deal,” She said sticking her hand out. “But I have one stipulation!” She quickly retracted her hand. Kane motioned for her to continue. “I want to read the book, make sure that it’s not some false trick.” Kane pondered her request, before he nodded.

“On the condition you do so in front of me.” Kane added. The mage returned her hand, and Kane lifted his to shake it. “Be mindful, Kane,” The dark companion warned. “You are making deals with powers far greater than yourself. If you falter I cannot save you from her.” Kane took her hand and shook it. She smiled as she led him to his destination, her thoughts her own as she remained silent the rest of the way. Kane just hoped that whatever was in store for him he could survive it with his wits.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Kane looked at the wooden door to the home of the woman he was supposed to meet. The blood mage told him she’d fly by in an hour to pick him up and went off to do her own things while he stared at the frame. He lifted up a hand and lowered it, feeling a coldness well up inside him each time he did.

“Gods be damned, Kane!” The dark companion bellowed within him, stirring to the front of his mind. “Would you just knock already?” Kane felt his ire rise as he looked down upon his chest in irritation.

“This wouldn’t be such a problem for me if you didn’t seduce her!” Kane looked back to the door and looked through the window in the back. “I don’t even know what she is expecting from me.”

The dark companion laughed within him. “I thought that was easy. She wants to take your body and ravish you. She wants to take your seed and implant it within her. She wants to fuck your brains out.” Kane rolled his eyes.

“Even better.” He sassed. “I didn’t want a romantic link to her. I just wanted to establish a place to stay tonight and get some food…not get some.” The companion didn’t chuckle at his play on words. “Well I thought it was funny…” he muttered.

“Stick to acting like a moron.” The twisted ambitions of Cassandra stirred in his chest and began to melt, and Kane sighed heavily before he knocked on the door with the tip of his knuckles. The wood reverberated the sound within the house and at first their was no answer before he heard a muffled sound of greeting and for him to come on in.

Kane opened the door slowly and poked his head in, taking stock of the well furnished home. There was a nice fireplace with two bookshelves cramped with old books that seemed ready to burst at any moment. As his eyes wandered down the hall he met the woman from before with her hair down wearing a very tight short silk robe. Her breasts seemed to heave from within her confined clothing and her legs were covered with black hose. She gave Kane a nod of greeting with a sultry smile as she walked over to her couch, sitting and offering Kane a seat as she reached for a glass of wine. Kane sat near her and she took one leg, starting to tap his shin with it ass he smiled some more.

“I’ve been waiting all night for you.” She admitted with a little rose coloring her cheeks. “You were kind of the highlight of my week.” She smiled again and drank more wine, and Kane was convinced she had started far before he even got to the home.

“Thanks, that’s quite the compliment.” Her leg began to reach up his thigh and Kane shivered, before he felt a head splitting ache in his mind feeling the tendrils of the dark companion start to take over. “I should take over for you, since clearly you are out of your league.” Kane felt his body starting to submit and before long he had lost control completely. The dark companion moved his hand to her leg, lifting it up as he scooted closer to her with a roguish grin upon his face. She smiled back sweetly as her legs draped over his knees and she giggled as his hands began to stroke her thighs.

“Normally I have a ritual of playing around with my playmate,” she admitted. “Make them guess if I’ll sleep with them or not. But I don’t know. Something about you in that room just told me that you’re…you’re special. Like you are some kind of lustful demon.” She titled her glass and took a sip. “I figured my games wouldn’t appeal to you, and I would be loath to let a fun night like this pass.” Kane felt his lips part into another grin before his hands began to reach up her robe to her upper thigh.

“That was a wise idea,” Kane felt his mouth moving and could hear the words coming out that didn’t belong to him. The experience was very awkward and he felt like vomiting. But try as he might he had no control of any part of his body. “I knew you were smart and wouldn’t be a waist of my time.” He lifted his eyebrows in an inviting manner, bringing her closer.

“Aggressive aren’t we?” Kane laughed at her comment. “Well then why don’t you be a good boy and take me to my room…” Kane noticed his hands lifting the woman up by her hips as he carried her to her room. She gave him directions into his ear as she licked and gently bit the earlobe, softly blowing at intervals to make his hair rise on edge. The dark companion didn’t seem to mind nor notice her advances as he kicked her door opened and placed her on the bed. “Good, now lie down on the bed…” She whispered, but Kane felt his finger rising to her lips where he shushed her.

“No, tonight must be extra special,” He said lightly. “You play the part tonight, and I’ll make all your dreams come true.” She shifted uncomfortably by this sudden role reversal, but her eyes looked into his and she melted in agreement as she scooted herself up to the post board and rested her head on the pillow, spreading eagle for the dark companion.

Not even missing a beat he found in the darkness her chains to her bed, and he seemed to admire them as he gently placed them around her ankle. He moved over to the other post and tied up her other foot before methodically kissing her inner thigh all the way up to the bottom of her robes. He could feel her heat upon the nape of his neck as he hovered over her, making a small dip to kiss her clit through the soft fabric of her underwear. She tensed up in pleasure making a sharp gasp as he moved back up her body and felt around for her handcuffs. Easily he found them under her pillow as he kissed her, his tongue darting around hers as his fingers nimbly opened the cuffs. He placed them around her wrists and locked them in place as he took another chain attached to the post board and linked the cuffs to them.

Now that she was tied up he removed himself from her in a very cold way. His back turned to her he went out of the room. “I’ll be right back,” he said sharply. Before she could reply he went back into the front room and grabbed his bag, ripping it open at the top and stalking back into the room where he emptied the entire thing onto her dresser. Carefully and quickly he began sorting out all the knives, setting each book gently upon each other as he stacked them off in the corner. He reached the Anima Revixi and placed it underneath the bag as if hiding it and turned back to her, discreetly opening a door and finding her pleasure riding whip. It was made of flimsy material and he seemed to snarl under his breath as he took it and playfully began to tickle her with it.

She groaned in pleasure as he playfully swatted her thighs and the side of her butt, asking her if she wanted more, which she clearly did despite her protests to saying no. Eventually the whip made its way to her robes where he dislodged them, exposing her naked breasts to the world. He prodded her nipples with the whip before he gave them each two good whackings and then rubbed them again as he lowered before his mouth gently licked the areola. Just as she started to moan in delight he bit her nipple hard, making her yelp in pain. “No neighbors to worry about, right?” he said in a low hypnotic tone.

“None,” she said passively. “What’s the safety word?” Kane smiled devilishly.

“Please, no more.” He said lightly. She smiled to herself, thinking of how wrong the nights activities were about to become. Kane felt his tongue lick her nipples a bit more before he retreated and hit her again with the whip, retreating back to his table of belongings.

NO! Kane thought darkly. The twisted ambitions of Cassandra began to laugh, mocking his words before it looked deep into the mirror. “Now or never, Kane. You can silence me for quite a bit of time, but be warned. A monster lurks within and if I don’t feed on her screams I’ll go crazy. You have to be the one to do it. You have to be the torturer. I can’t do it myself or it won’t be as filling. Feed me, Kane, and I’ll be quiet for a long time.”

Are you mad? You’re asking me to kill her! I can’t do that, no matter how much you want me to!

“PLEASE!” the parasite begged, making Kane’s mind go blank. Never had it begged before. Kane took stock of the situation, realizing he wouldn’t be doing this unless he absolutely had to.

No, I will not take her life for your twisted pleasure. Kane thought miserably.

“I said please! Isn’t that what you humans ask when you want something?” It lashed into the mirror as Kane let out a snort of amusement.

Only small children who bitch when they don’t get what they want beg. The dark companion snarled as his hands reached for the filet knife upon the table, his eyes wide with rage as he lifted it up.

“My darling?” the woman asked. Kane felt his torso turn to her.

“Shut your trap. Speak when spoken to bitch!” He snapped. Her soft giggling was heard in the background as she remained quiet, not making a peep. His hands began to edge around the tip of the blade, feeling the metal against his skin. “Last chance, Kane.” if said in a deadly tone. “Do it for me, or I’ll do it myself and you’ll have to deal with this again in the near future. You have a rare opportunity to feed me according to my whims so I can feast upon her remorse. That will sate me until Cassandra is back. But if you make me waste my energies to feed it won’t do anything other than settle my upset stomach.” He gently walked over to the woman holding his blade up over her pubic area.

“Wh-wh-what is that?” She began to panic as she fought her bonds, suddenly feeling trapped. “What are you doing? Please, stop!” She shouted. The knife went into her hip, taking off a meaty chunk making her howl into the air as Kane stood erect, his nose lifting in the air as he took a deep breath of ecstasy. “It hurts! Oh my god it hurts!” The knife lifted over her stomach and began to graze it. She stood still despite the pain, tears welling up in her eyes. “What the fuck is wrong with you! Please, no more!”

Kane arched his back all the way to get in a deep bellow of laughter as he felt the chilling shadows of the room echo his cry of mirth. The woman was paralyzed at the sound as she began to tremble in fear. “What will it be, Kane?” he asked one last time, glaring down at his chest. Kane trembled inside his own mind, looking at the blood soaking into the white sheets and feeling a wave of anxiety wash over him. He felt his body regain control, and he looked to her, feeling the twisted companion inside him stir in eagerness like one waiting to see a play at the theater.

“I, I have something deep within me, and it wants me to hurt you.” He said. The woman looked at him with tear stained eyes as she cocked her head in confusion. “It wasn’t me doing those horrible things. It’s the twisted darkness of somebody I once knew, and it’s infesting me. It wants me to kill you, but…”

“Please, stop it. No more, no more!” she begged in a sobby tone. “This is sick and twisted. I don’t want to be a part of you twisted love making!” Kane shook his head quickly, his hand reaching in instinct to hers to calm her down.

“I’m sorry, but this isn’t a twisted game or some sick form of love for me. I am possessed!” The woman cried out in agony as she twisted and turned in pain.

“Don’t hurt me, please…” she was getting fainter with her words, and the dark companion began to growl in challenge to Kane’s decision. “…Help…me…Please…” Kane heard her say. He looked down to her, and then the knife before he sadly closed his eyes. She screamed in terror pleading, making promises and doing everything she could to keep him with her, but Kane turned his back on her.

The dark companion ripped through his mind like a knife through warm butter and the hand gripped the blade, his teeth snarling in rage as he began to hack away at her. Kane kept his mind’s eye closed as he huddled in fear of his own failings, tears dripping down his face as he watched the blood cover him from head to toe.

He couldn’t get her screams out of his mind.

[Requiem of Insanity]

Kane looked at the bloody body upon the bed, his eyes filled with tears as his body trembled. Deep within his mind laughed the parasite within him, mocking his frailty and whispering his hatred for Kane’s inability to do the job himself. It was a sudden thing, her death, and he wasn’t sure what to expect when he was given control of his body again.

His mind snapped back into focus when the door was opened out in the main hall, the blood mage’s voice ringing out into the air as she asked if anyone was in. Kane gave her a swift reply to wait for him as he looked around for something to hide the body with.

“You are kidding, right? You’re trying to hide the blood from a blood mage? That’s akin to hiding meat from a starved dog.” Kane’s mind flashed with images of what could happen if she found out. He found himself being beaten by city police. Locked away with other crazy inmates. He saw the blood mage screaming at him, casting a spell to blow him up.

“This is all your fault! If you could just be normal for once and control your urges we wouldn’t be in this mess! Oh god she was a government worker! It’s not likely they’ll forget her in the morning when she doesn’t show up!”

“Who you talking to?” The blood mage asked in the hall. Her footsteps started to echo louder as she approached closer and closer to the room. Kane freaked out as he ran a quaking hand through his hair, his mind a daze for thoughts.

“Uh, uh…” Kane looked towards the doorway. The blood mage stood within the frame and looked to the body, her eyes widening in shock. Kane began to panic as he reached slowly for the knife of the edge of the bed.

“You fool, look at her eyes…” The dark companion muttered angrily. Kane did so and what he saw made his body swell with a different emotion. He was now unsure whether to be afraid of being caught, or afraid of just what the hell situation he was in now. The blood magi just looked to the body with a morbid sense of curiosity, her sudden startled appearance replaced with a look of bliss. She sauntered over to the body, and her hands touched the blood gently like a finger in a pool of water. She brought up the crimson liquid to her lips, taking it in and flapping her eyelashes in pleasure.

“What a fool, Hester,” she said lightly. “You always found men to play with. You used your charm and seduction to bring them to your house where you would convince them to sleep with you. In the heat of passion you convinced them to be your slave, tying them up and humiliating them. But it didn’t end within the bedroom. No you vile bitch you had to remind them of it after the fact. You ruined my brother, got him so humiliated in front of his employers that he lost his commission. Not content with him losing his job you had to humiliate him again, just to humiliate me. Guess this is your just desserts, you bitch.”

Kane stood with his jaw dropped. “She, she was quite the bitch huh?” Kane asked stupidly. The girl just nodded her head.

“I told her she was twisted and cold as ice,” she glared at the dead body. “In return she told me that the tip of iceberg wasn’t even hit upon, and the next thing I know my brother is tied to a lamppost, barking like a dog. That humiliation was too much for him to bear, and he killed himself. That in return shamed me and our family name. I have never felt so enraged, so vulnerable, so…empty in my life.” She admitted.

You knew? Kane thought to the dark companion. He heard a soft chuckle in the back of his mind. Why didn’t you just tell me? Kane became enraged, but felt his blood turn cold as the ambition’s of Cassandra constricted his heart like a snake.

“Would it have made a difference to you? Good or bad, a life is still a life. Just because someone has made a poor decision gives another the right to decide their fate? How idiotic a notion to even conceive. The world is not justice, Kane. The world is convenience, it’s the sinners who inherit the earth.”

Ya, but…She was a monster it sounded like. She deserved her fate… Kane felt his heart drop at those words.

“Oh? Kane, if I’m not mistaken, you just made a decision to end someone’s life. This was justice to you? Kane gritted his teeth as he curled his knuckles making them turn white. “Doubting our convictions are we? How laughable.” He chuckled deep within Kane’s mind. “Why don’t we try a game, ask the mage this question, and answer it honestly yourself. I am intrigued to hear what you both have to say. Ask her: While one man fights to defend a loved one, another man fights to avenge one. Who is right, and who is wrong?” Kane felt the question burn a hole through his mind, and his heart began to waver. He shook his head in response. The dark companion laughed loudly now, his echoes pounding his ears.

“Exactly Kane. The world is full of evil and the world is also full of good. It’s balance. It’s harmony. One man is right and the other is wrong. Who is correct in these assumptions? Who is the man full of righteousness and who is the one full of wickedness? These aren’t the questions mankind should ask, Kane. The question is, who are we to answer them?” Kane felt a cold shiver of fear wash down his spine as he listened to the twisted head games of the parasite, and he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that accompanied them.

“So, why exactly did you kill her?” The mage asked, not inquiring for a investigative stance, bur just a casual conversation starter. Kane shook the questions and words of the dark companion away as he scratched the back of his head.

“Well, she was wicked and evil…she was…just plain wrong.” The blood mage nodded.

“The wicked need their blood expunged from the earth.” She said heatedly. “So, what’s the plan now boss?” She asked lightly sitting on the blood, taking out a few vials and filling them with the draining blood.

“Boss?” Kane murmured. “How about for starters you call me Kane.” he said smartly.

“Okay, then you can call me Linette. Now that introductions are handled properly. What’s the game plan?” Kane scratched his chin with his free hand placing the blade back on the dresser with the others. With little thought left he came up with the simplest plan he could.

“How do you like the carnival?” Kane asked slyly.

[Requiem of Insanity]

The carnival was full of all sorts of exotic tents and shows from sword swallowing Fallien denizens to telekinetic psykers that performed shows with the crowd. There was two cages that was filled with two men in each cage, fighting it out in mortal combat with their bare fists, but these weren’t normal fighters. These men were hardened veterans and masters of thousands of matches just like they were participating in. A few roaming gymnasts walked amongst the people, doing quick tricks to pass them tickets to the main events under the big top.

Kane was positive he was about to hyper ventilate. The strange crowds and the clowns made his anxiety run haywire, and it was all he could do to keep himself from running away from the scene. Deep within his mind he could feel the weight of the dark companion resting just behind his eyes, like a cat in a window looking out lazily into the world. Next to him was Linnete who seemed to be enjoying herself in the moment as she pointed out strange occurrences.

Kane lifted his hand, pointing to the caged off area where the tents were located for the carnival mates. The two wandered over to the cage, being wary of any guards located nearby as Kane screened for Linnete. She took out a small vile of blood and dropped it upon the chain linked fence and it began to bubble instantly as she said a few words of power. It sizzled and popped for a few seconds, the smell likened to burning bread and it made Kane flinch his nose. As a big enough hole was made Linette patted Kane’s leg and moved to the other side. Kane followed suit and the two began to walk towards the mess of tents.

A cry pierced the air and the two stood frozen as they heard men shouting. One man above them all screamed in pain and his body was shortly seen being tossed in the air with the crest of a hydra’s head was seen. Kane felt his blood thin to ice as he shivered in fear at the terrible might of the beast. Linnete was a little better off as she moved first, grabbing Kane’s hand and moving him with her. Kane shook his head to eliminate the feeling of fear and moved with her. She pointed to the man wearing the dragon’s cloak, and Kane nodded as they watched him whip the hydra back into submission. After the beast was quelled he turned to his lacky’s, shouting at them about keeping a better eye on the beast as he retreated back into a small square tent in near the cage’s.

The two moved swiftly, trying to act natural as they rounded the tent flap and entered it, Kane first, then Linnete. Kane watched as the man poured himself a drink, sighing loudly and muttering to himself as he ran one hand down his oily black hair. He turned on the two and nearly dropped his drink. “Who the fuck are you?” He exclaimed as he gave them a careful scrutinizing eye.

Kane lifted up a single hand to calm the man, giving him his best smile. “We are both fans of your work. Taming a hydra is no small feat.” The man snorted loudly as he took a sip of his alcohol. “I dare ask, how do you keep it from breathing such deadly flames on you?” The tamer gave them one last careful look before he thumbed to his cloak.

“Keeps the bastards flames away. As a baby it just flounders around over and over so it never gets concentrated. But if all five heads start to burn on me at once nothing will protect me from it. That’s why you need to have a minimum of three handlers. Two need to keep it from concentrating.” He sipped some more sitting down. “Why exactly you a fan of my work?” he said awkwardly. “It’s not like I’m well known.”

“Because,” Kane said softly, looking to Linnete for help. The blood mage took over the conversation stepping forward and clearing her throat.

“We’ve been watching you for awhile, trying to find the best tamer’s in the land. Clearly you have heard of what has happened to Black Isle, right?” Kane turned to her with a curious look in his eye,

“Ya, dragons. Hundreds of em.” He finished the drink in one gulp smacking his lips and grabbing the bottle of rum and drinking right from it. “Poor place is up in flames last I heard. Even their big pride and joy, the Machiavelli, was sunk by a sky dragon. Crazy shit.” Linnete nodded her head as she began to pace the tent.

“Exactly. We are trying to attempt a very dangerous, but very profitable adventure into the lands of Black isle. There has got to be literally millions in coinage and magic items left behind. A man’s weight in gold is just the tip of the wealth you could make on a courageous expedition.” He eyed her carefully, sipping more rum. “We already signed on two black magi, as well as a few blood magi to aid this expedition, but we need good tamer’s to join them.” The man laughed as he lowered his bottle eyeing her like she was crazy.

“You gotta be out of your mind,” he chuckled a bit more before he gave her a dead blanket stare. “Dragons aren’t hydras. They are sentient beings with a will of their own. They are prone to the same human emotions as we are, but they are masters of it. A dragon will not bend to the whip, you nutcase. A dragon will only bend to the will of a human if the human’s will is stronger. And anybody crazy enough to go to a land where there are HUNDREDS of dragons is so beyond stupid it’s baffling. Both of you, get out of my fucking sight.” He said irritably taking another sip of his ale.

“Last chance,” Linnete said sternly. “Eternal glory is all yours.”

“What’s good gold when your bodies to dead to spend it?” He pointed to the door flap with his bottle. “Out.” Kane gave Linnete a worried look, but she smiled all the same as the two wandered out.

When they walked a safe distance away Kane turned to Linnete. “That went well.” he sassed. Linnete nodded her head in agreement giving Kane a wild grin.

“It went just as I wanted it to. You really need to get out and socialize more, Kane.” She said smartly. “That man was drinking when we left, and that’s what I wanted him to do. And what better thing to do when drinking? Thinking. It goes hand in hand. The more something confuses a drunkard the more they drink to understand it. It’s an all to common thing called human stupidity.”

“I don’t follow you exactly. You are saying because he’s a drunk he’ll only think about how silly a request you made and drink more and more. How does this help us?” Linnete sighed and even the darkness within Kane groaned at his thickness.

“You are such a useless tool, Kane.” Linnete leaned against the chained fence as Kane crawled under it.

“How about when we return tonight it’ll make more sense.” Kane gave her a worried look but remained quiet on the situation at hand. It didn’t help his confidence that the dark companion made no comment about her either.

[Requiem of Insanity]

As night returned to the town of Knife’s edge the carnival began to take down shop for the evening. The clowns and the workers all returned to their tents as they sleepily sauntered away like zombies. In this mass of movement it was easy to lose track of two people who shuffled in with them, escaping towards the chain linked fence and moving into the hole. Kane snuck behind a crate and began to strip as Linnete moved out to patrol the area. When she returned Kane was inside of Cassandra’s old sneaking suit, the fabric hid him perfectly in the darkness and at first she had trouble seeing him, but a few sniffs in the air and she looked right into his eyes making his spine shiver.

“How’d you vanish like that?” She asked curiously, her eyes glowing with a red aura that began to dwindle away.

“A sneaking suit,” he said casually. “It’s designed to reflect all forms of light so the wearer is invisible in the dark. How’d you find me?” She smiled pointing to her nose.

“Blood mages can smell the blood on a person until they wash themselves of it. You didn’t wash that suit since the last time you shed blood.” She quirked her head to the side. “We got a little time to kill, so who did you axe off anyway?” Kane’s hand instinctively moved towards the hilt of Hope’s Requiem, the titanium axe of Tabitha.

“I…I got this from a woman named Tabitha. She was a very special person to me,” Kane said honestly, but as he began to remember her the dark companion gripped his heart tightly and growled like a pit bull.

“Forget that whore, Kane. She was a bothersome eyesore and you should never have involved yourself with her.” he warned. Linnete looked out and smiled happily.

“The last one has moved past the guards, the coast is clear. Now, stay out of the light or you’ll probably get noticed.” Kane snorted in irritation.

“I think I know how to use my own suit.” He said lowly as he got up and shoved his backpack in her hands. “You hold onto this. And don’t think about running off with it.” Kane warned. “I took the Anima Revixi out and placed it around my neck, so the book is useless to you.” Linnete gave him a genuine look of shock.

“You dare to accuse me of treachery? I’ve been with you this whole time!” Kane lifted a finger to her mouth to silence her.

“I trust you, Linnete, but something inside me doesn’t. It’ll make sense after the ritual.” She glared at Kane as he began to move away, before she turned her back on him in hurt.

“You are such a fucking idiot, Kane.” The monster inside him scolded him. “She didn’t need to know that. She didn’t need to know anything! Your mouth has so far gotten you into bigger trouble that she’s worth, and as soon as you grab the dragon’s cloak I’m taking over.” Kane remained stationary as he heard the threat, as if he was taking a defiant stance.

“You can’t have me,” He whispered. “I can abort this right here and now. And nothing you can do can stop me. I’m on to you parasite! You need to feed in order to control me, and you haven’t fed in quite a while. I don’t think you have a chance without me at this point!” The dark companion remained quiet.

“You are right,” It replied at last. “Let’s just do this so we both get what we want.” Kane nodded as he moved forward into the darkness, his body moving swiftly and silently as he recalled his days of thievery. This was no different for him, and he felt a rush of confidence within him. He had this whole situation under control now. He was in his element and he felt good about it.

He easily passed the guards and made his way into the tent that help the hydra tamer, seeing the man snoring loudly on his cot while his dragon cloak was still attached to him. Without even thinking twice he went to work moving over to the man and pushing at his shoulders until he rotated onto his stomach. Carefully he made his fingers loosen the cloak, one small furl at a time as he smiled to himself under the suit.

The snoring stopped for a moment as the man adjusted himself in his sleep, and he fought at the robe ripping the chord and removing it without even looking at Kane. With his snoring fast returning and Kane’s blood pumping in his ears he slid his hand over to the cloak and easily parted it from its owner. Excited that he accomplished his mission he began to turn and leave when suddenly his entire body froze, his mind splitting as if a wave of water was breaking through a dam.

“No, not now!” Kane said startled. “You bastard, you don’t have the energy for this!” He said louder. But his hand’s betrayed him as they reached for the knife in his pocket.

“You are correct, I don’t have enough energy to take control for the entire trip, but I do to kill him.” The dark companion shifted into his entire being as it laughed, it’s presence moving like a coiled snake. “I do have enough, however, to make you kill this man for me and feed enough to hold my grasp on you until the ritual is complete!” Kane fought with all his might, his will surging like a wave of electricity as he fought to be free the control. “Come on Kane, fight me, show me everything you have to offer!” It said using Kane’s own mouth.

For all his efforts he managed to get one hand freed from the control of Cassandra’s ambitions. He used it to grab the knife, and Kane felt his body rumbling with laughter as the shadows joined in the chorus of mirth. “Yes, Kane! Struggle, fight me and show me your anguish in failure!” It howled in challenge. The man upon the cot startled awake and swore as he saw Kane hovering over him with a knife in hand. The knife plummeted down quickly and it was stopped just inches by Kane’s hand as he wrestled with the weight behind the grip of the dark companion.

The tamer screamed in terror as he rolled off his cot and dove towards his bag. Kane’s body lurched after him, ripping upwards out of reach of the other hand as he dove downwards lunging with the blade. It connected with the man’s upper thigh and he howled in agony as he gripped his bag trying to grab his own weapon. Kane wrestled with himself, and at long last he realized he had but one choice. Taking his only free arm he gripped his own testicles and squeezed for all he was worth.

The dark companion bellowed in rage and pain as did Kane within his mind. His hand released the grip and the body rolled away, leaving the knife stuck within the man’s leg. He had grabbed his hunting knife and jumped upon Kane, lifting it up to kill him. Both hands lifted as one to grab hold of the wrist, and Kane’s feet curled in and lifted up on the man’s torso flipping him over. He landed hard on his back, his slapping hard on the ground with the knife still stuck in. He howled in pain and the dark companion took advantage, grabbing the hunting knife and lifting it up, slamming it down upon the man’s chest. He cried out again in pain and he lifted the blade up stabbing over and over.

As his wails of pain and agony filled the air Kane felt his control on the limb weakening, before long he was pushed back into the depths of his own mind and he lost all control of his body. A howl of triumph escaped his lips as the parasite coiled through his entire being like a tidal wave, laughing with sadistic glee as he repeatedly stabbed the man until his cries were no more. “You were a fool to challenge me, Kane. I hope you enjoy it in there.” It taunted as it pulled the dagger out of the dead tamer’s thigh. He exited the tent covered in blood and turned to see a rushing mob of carnival members charging him, screaming at him in fury.

He turned to run but his feet trembled as the ground quaked. He looked to his right and saw the hydra thrashing about knocking over tents and crates as it ran towards the mob of people. Linnete’s laughter was the only thing Kane could hear over the screams of terror in the people as they turned tail and ran away from the beast. It roared it’s rage at its oppressors as flames washed over the back group, sending men to the ground in fiery mounds. The beasts tail flailed wildly into a group of barrels, and black powder flew over the area. One of the heads haphazardly blew a sprout of flames causing more of the carnival to explode up in flames.

“Is this not the perfect distraction?” She cooed as she laughed wildly at its mindless destruction.

“Aye, that is! But how?” She giggled as she lifted a vile of blood.

“Merely broke it’s bonds, but beforehand I was able to notice that they cut it, and I took of its blood four vials. Hydra blood is great stuff for us Blood Magi.” She added offhandedly mid rant. “I took one of those Vials and used it to communicate with it via the blood bond we were sharing using its blood and mine. It said I could take what I needed of it so long as it could run free and kill those who dared to chain it. I took back one last vial which I spent and I broke him loose.” She smiled as she watched it howl at the meager attempts to restrain it as it lashed out more fire.

“Than we must make our escape while we have time on our side!” Linnete nodded as the two ran under the cloak of destruction and darkness.

[Requiem of Insanity]

“This book is impossible to comprehend,” Linnete whined as she flipped through the pages of the Orior Ab Glarea. “The ritual must take place within the Vault of Whispers. And than we need to use the Anima Revixi to…to…net her soul. Then we need to release through the vortex of the Anima Revixi a solitary soul that can free her from the net and return her back.”

“It seems pretty crystal clear. Open a rift, let my soul in and pull her back from the abyss.” Kane lifted Linnete up from a patch of rocks so she could climb a small passageway that led into the legendary Vault of Whispers, the place where one can commune with the dead.

“Ya, well unless you know how to release a soul from a body without causing permanent damage we have a slight problem.” Kane laughed. “What’s so funny?”

“Your lack of faith.” he replied happily. “Don’t be so…unimaginative. Believe in that which you can’t comprehend with all your heart. The doors will lift just like that to illuminate you to the world of possibility.”

“Dig that out of a fortune cookie?” Linnete teased as she looked upon the bridge leading to the vault. “There it is, the Vault of Whispers. Any last regrets?” Kane chuckled at her comment.

“I feed upon people’s regrets. Let’s go child.” he said walking forward. The two walked across the bridge, and the haunting sound of the dead began to huddle within their ears as they made their way across.

Once they entered the Vault they were standing within a room that seemed to rise up towards the top of the mountains above ground. Glowing slime covered the walls, and a giant podium rested within the center of the Vault. It seemed large enough to comfortably fit the Orior Ab Glarea. Facing to the north upon the wall was a hollowed out portion of rocks designed to fit the Anima Revixi.

“It seems the dwarves were the first to have taken this from it’s resting place. Its only fitting then that I returned it while taking everything from them in the process.” Kane mused as he remembered back to the dwarves hold where he stole the relic to begin with. Linnete only placed the book on the table as her form of reply, her finger tracing the ancient text as she began to prepare herself for the ritual.

“Okay, from here on out Kane the ritual is my priority. Once it’s done I’ll take my payment and we part ways. Agreed?” Kane nodded his head once. Linnete cleared her throat as she dropped her belongings and prepared for the ritual.

As she turned the page she slowly began to read in a slow cant, her eyes following the page as she felt the dead in the Vault of Whispers speak to her, as if aiding her in her ritual. “Be born, be alive, grow and learn. Take things you have been taught and return. In the death of life the song begins, a song of the damned that ever ends. Death is a journey, a road with no end, find your peace, or be swallowed within.”

The Anima Revixi’s golden pendulums began to rise in power, the triangle in the center starting to glow with a goldish glow. Kane’s teeth parted in a vile smile.

“The soul is singing a lyric to the chorus. The song of the damned must never end.” A small purple and black rift began to swirl from the edge of the Pendulums. “Hear them sing. It goes on. Hear the damned as they cry their song!” The rift parted into a wide circle as it exploded in power, the eldritch energy wracking up the walls of the Vault of Whispers. Kane cackled with merciless glee as a terrible wail of anguish escaped into the Vault. The subtle whispers of the Vault cried out in a chorus, a true song sung only by the damned. “Pluck out that harp string to the song, let it be reborn again! Let the soul live and grow and die again. The death shall be two fold in the end, her song shall wail loudest and never end!” Linnete pointed to Kane, and a darkness filled the room, eclipsing the light that was being cascaded out by the Anima Revixi.

Kane’s mouth parted into a wide howl of anguish as the shadows enveloped his body. Slowly and surely a dark silhouette of a snake began to uncoil from within his chest and leave his mouth, it’s black tongue hissing in the air like a cackling insane fool. The power of the Anima Revixi waxed strongly as his laughter joined the chorus to the Song of the Damned, and in that inhuman rhythm a solitary voice rang out, off key compared to the other members of the choir. The song upon this souls lips was a sweet nectar to the darkness, and it bellowed a guttural, primal call back in an infernal tongue.

It was homing in on Cassandra’s song; the Requiem of Insanity.

[Requiem of Insanity]

As the wails of the damned beat upon Kane’s ears he fell to his knees in agony. The process of the Cassandra’s dark companion leaving his body left him virtually drained of all his energy. His knees even buckled at the trauma he felt and he landed flat upon his face.

Linnete let out a wild howl of amusement as she snatched up the book, slamming it shut and running towards Kane’s bag of belongings. His eyes woozily were able to follow her as she stripped out of her clothing, giving him a wonderful view of her assets. She began to slip into Cassandra’s sneaking suit and Kane felt a rush of fear rip into his heart. Oh shit, she’s going to betray us! Kane felt his ire rise, giving him a measure of strength. Slowly he stood to attention, but his body felt a cold knife up against it.

“No you don’t, worm. It took me a while to figure it all out, but I caught on just in the knick of time. I thought you didn’t have that killer instinct on you, and I was right. It’s been some parasitic demon inside you pulling the strings. And by the looks of him he’s very, very strong. He’ll make a wonderful addition to my power.”

“How do you plan to accomplish that?” Kane replied tiredly, his mind unable to think of an escape. “I’m just a pawn you know.”

“Once I kill whatever bitch is walking through that portal and take her blood I will be able to fuse his essence into my own.” Kane snorted in mirth.

“He’s a terrible roommate. He has a tendency to act on his own. He never calls ahead when he’s coming out of his shell, and he has the nastiest temper.” Kane began to laugh at the notion of someone wanting him for a source of power. “Cassandra’s ambitions are not meant for mere mortals to comprehend. This is a fool’s bargain and if you had any brains at all you’d be high tailing it out of here.” The portal began to shuffle in power, and Linnete looked as she saw a slender frame of a skeleton walk forward, the snake coiling around it as it began to merge with the shadows making the form of a human male.

“I think I’ll take my chances.” Linnete said as she slowly dragged Kane off to the shadows. “Just remain quiet and you may live to be my pawn.” Kane felt her breath of the nape of his neck and he his heart began to beat faster.

“Pawn?” Kane replied, feeling his choler rise. His hand dragged across the leather hilt of Hope’s Requiem. “You want me to be a pawn to you?” He asked again, a little more courage in his voice.

“Silence, you fool! Or I’ll kill you! Be a good boy and I may let you live…” Before Linnete could comprehend what was happening she felt a sharp pain in her teeth as Kane’s elbow bounced off her mouth. He darted forward twisting to face her, a look of pure frenzied hatred in his eyes.

“I am sick of being everyone’s fool! My life is no longer the plaything of others! I would rather die than by anyone’s slave any longer!” With that he charged forward, a new vigor in his veins as he howled like a banshee over the wails of the dead. The axe head swung wildly from side to side in deadly arcs, but Linnete easily parried and dodged the attacks.

“You idiot!” She cried out. “You are no match for me! I am a blood mage and you are just an insect!” Kane spun on his heel, rotating his body horizontally as the flat edge of the axe slammed into her chest. She bounced off the wall hard and his shoulder tackled into her causing her to sprawl to the ground.

“NO MORE!” Kane shouted in a peak of rage. His axe bit deep into the earth as huge rended chunks flew into the air. Linnete had to roll to avoid being cut into pieces, her mouth cursing the entire time.

As last she was able to trip of Kane, causing him to stumble forwards giving her opportunity she needed to get up. Back to a vertical basis she easily ducked in underneath Kane’s swing and slid past him wrapping her arms under both of his and holding him in a full nelson. Her dagger inched its way to his neck, and he snarled in anger as his eyes couldn’t hide the terror he felt. She smiled to Kane, kissing him on the cheek as she moved her mouth to his ear. Her breath was heavy but she purred like a kitten as the ecstasy of battle took over.

“And this is the part,” she said lovingly. Kane felt his skin being pierced and he cried out a sharp pain of agony.

“Where you die.” came an all to familiar voice. It was soft and inviting like a beautiful singers, but deep within the tone was a vile, ugly connotation. Kane looked to his right and saw the blade of the Butcher’s Bill covered in blood. He felt Linnete’s weight go limp and he dashed forward, turning in time to see a naked Cassandra holding the giant Dehlar blade one handed as it pierced through the back of Linnete’s skull out her gaping mouth. Blood dripped down her mouth and with a quick flick of her wrist the top half of her face was cleanly ripped apart. Blood rained down upon the ground as the vortex to the Anima Revixi began to close, staying open long enough for Linnete’s soul to pass over and join the Song of the Damned.

Kane looked upon Cassandra’s body, seeing her stunning jet black hair. Her eyes glared upon the falling body of the blood mage. Blood streaked down her face in an almost seductive manner, as if the act itself was a form of pure sexual bliss. Her eyes darted around up to Kane, and he felt his spine shiver as his body trembled. All the energy he had left him as a powerful, almost incapacitating wave of dread washed over him. The axe he was wielding dropped to the ground as fell upon his knees again, his eyes looking to Cassandra like she were a goddess. But as he looked into her eyes he saw something dark and wicked behind them. Something he had only seen once before and that was when he still had all of his sanity in tact.

It was at that exact moment Kane had made a realization that would haunt him until the day he died. Despite all the misgivings, all the wrongs he had ever committed he had been unable to rationalize this one terrible, horrible mistake. As he looked into those eyes he had realized he had summoned back a terrible person who killed. Who killed for fun, for the attentions of a sick and twisted ambition that just wanted to hear people scream. She was dead for a reason, and he had damned the consequences as he made the last mistake he would ever commit.

Cassandra Remi was alive again, and it was all his fault.

[Requiem of Insanity]

“Make sure nobody disturbs me, Wilkins. In fact, why don‘t you all just take the night off.” The woman said boredly as she walked along the bridge to her inner sanctum. The guards all gave her a worried glance, but one stern look made them all nod and salute as they exited the redoubt. “Ugh, what to do, what to do. Things sure have gotten lazy around here. And when the hell is dad going to come back? Probably off doing more of the council’s will…” She opened her door and sighed as she sat at her desk, looking at arcane books and lighting her oil lamp.

Serenity Dahlios sat upon the chair in her inner sanctum in Lavinya, looking at floor plans to the guild halls as well as to the tower where Seth Dahlios slept. Ever since she mastered Sin Harvest she felt a confidence to take him on. Her skills with her daggers have become expert, easily dispatching three men at a time. That was of course with the help of her large assortment of Hex spells she had at her disposal.

The wind blew gently in her room as the laced curtains fluttered timidly in the wind. Her eyes read the books with a bored eye, already upset with the knowledge within. She tossed the book aside and got up yawning, her eyes shut tight as she reached for the moon. When she was done with her stretches she opened one eye, and saw a familiar face looking to her with a look of anguish and relief on his face. “I know you…” she studied him a bit more. “Kane right?” He nodded. “What the hell are you doing here? I thought I broke the foundation’s of her hold on you!” she said remembering the night she pushed Kane aside in his mind and wiped out all of Cassandra Remi’s mental damage.

“You did, but her ambition’s lived beyond the grave. Thanks to careful work and constructive use of time I managed to do something terrible. I placed her essence within me and traveled with him for a full four months. It was quite,” he shuddered in fear and smiled in joy. “Enjoyable.”

“Your just as insane as she is.” she lifted her hands to her belt, but found no daggers.

“Your biggest weakness Serenity is that you underestimate those around you. A king cannot win at chess if he throws all his pawn away. Cassandra was wise. She brought me to the brink, made me tread the line of the abyss, but never discarded me as a worthless piece to her game.” Serenity lowered her gaze as she lifted a hand, but Kane rushed forward, faster than Serenity was ready for, and he stuck her with a syringe. He pushed a liquid into her, and she beat him relentlessly until her limbs grew numb.

“What did you do to me?” She asked feeling her mind go foggy. Kane remained quiet as the darkness surrounding her vision began to laugh at her.

~*~*~

“You’re probably wondering why you are here.” Kane said awkwardly, his body in clear view of the light. Serenity felt her limbs tingle as she regained consciousness, and she licked up the drool at the edge of her lips.

“You should be in the shadows when you do that, Kane.” She sassed as she tested out her bonds. She was naked upon her bed, tied to her posts with simple rope. Kane laughed nervously as the darkness howled in laughter behind her ears. She paid the shadows no mind, refusing to be afraid.

“I guess you are right. This is all so new to me.” Kane said as he retreated into the shadows. “I even forgot my blade.” Serenity thought this whole situation was to easy as she lifted her right hand, a globe of gold energy building up in her hand.

“Remember last time? Remember when I asked If you liked dark places?” the orb shot out into the darkness, and Kane shouted in alarm. She felt a measure of triumph as she called for him to her. There was silence, not the silence of an empty room, but the silence as if everything in the world suddenly had no sound. The crickets, the howls of the wolves, nothing made noise except for Serenity's suddenly increasing breath.

After what seemed like an eternity, just when Serenity was about to call out to the void the sound of heels clicking across the stone ground echoed just beyond the vision of the room, and slowly but surly it made its way closer to her, the shadows chuckling towards her. At last the sounds all ceased again, until one voice spoke out from the darkness.

“You’re probably wondering why you are here,” A soft, seductive voice said. Serenity felt her heart skip a beat, and she damned herself for showing weakness. The echoing steps started again until a pair of very fine legs walked into the light, a pair of calf high heels leading up towards the slender, slim body of an elegant woman. Her curves were just right, her hair that perfect length to grab with a frame you could toss around and have your way with. But her hazel eyes were cold and uninviting, and her smile was the manifestation of sinister.

“You, you…” Serenity looked upon Cassandra Remi, unable to comprehend how she could be standing before her alive when her hex spell killed her off into thousands of tiny gooey pieces. “I killed you!”

“I was dead,” she admitted as she walked closer to Serenity, leaning on her knees as she whispered into her ear. “But I feel much better now.” Serenity felt fear wash down her sides as she listened to the darkness cackle at her.

“Don’t you feel like life is passing you by!” She shouted as a red orb flew at Cassandra. She laughed wildly as it exploded off her, and the scales of the dragon cloak fluttered behind her from the blast.

“Don’t you think it’s time to shut up?” Cassandra offered. “Dragon’s are naturally immune to magic, and Hex magic has no sway over them. My devoted deluded darling knew this, and he made sure to acquire one for me when I returned.” Serenity gave her a confused and scared look.

“I guess I should start from the beginning. When I died you made one stupid mistake. You freed Kane’s soul from my grasp. This in turn allowed my dark companion to infest him like a parasite. Using Kane despite his will he made him gather the items required to perform the ritual of Orior Ab Anima; Awaken the Soul. This trinket around my neck, the Anima Revixi, or Soul Reviver,” she pointed to the silver pendant around her neck. The golden loop with matching pendulums and silvered triangle center. “Allows me one hundred percent complete body and soul function. If it were to leave my grasp I would no longer be operating at peak efficiency.” She smiled sweetly before she lifted a fillet knife up to Serenity’s face, poking her on the cheek. “You have no idea how long I have wanted to do this to you.” Cassandra said darkly.

A soft cut left her cheek bleeding, and Serenity squealed in agony. “Your screams are going to make a brilliant verse to my Requiem…” she whispered into her ears, cutting around the edges of her breast. Serenity cringed in pain, her whimpering making Cassandra’s eyes flitter in pleasure.

She ran into the darkness, returning with other knives as she dropped them on the bed. She picked up the butchers knife and wildly swung it at her toes, taking off a few of them and cutting a deep chunk into her skin. Serenity howled like a banshee as the pitch reached so high a note no sound was coming out. She did it again to her other set of toes and managed to cut off four of them. The dangling pinky toe she moved over to and slowly began to pull at it like a hanging nail. Serenity cried out tears of agony as she cursed and screamed in pain.

She lifted up the Santoku knife and moved over to Serenity's fingers. With expert precision she began to dice up her fingers as if they were an onion, making powerful cuts that turned the flesh into pudding. As she finished one hand she moved up to Serenity’s face, patting it gently to awaken her.

“Come now, no sleeping my darling. We have all night to play!” She said laughing wildly into the air like she had no cares in world. Serenity howled in anguish as Cassandra carefully stabbed the potato peeler into her eye, making sure not to pierce to deep as she shredded her eye socket. “That’s it my darling! Sing it to me, sing to me my Requiem of Insanity!”

[Requiem of Insanity]

Cassandra danced whimfully along the dirt road as she raised her hands up in supplication to the moon. Her mind was racing with the slaughter she had bestowed upon Serenity Dahlios. The Hex Magi screamed loudly into the night, despite the grave wounds that Cassandra placed upon her. She made her drink poisons, cut off her fingers one at a time, took violent bloody chunks out of her. She ripped her vagina apart with the potato peeler and inserted the Butcher’s Bill into her anus until it pierced out her belly. She then began to hack wildly into her arms and legs, cutting them off with the sword. She admired Serenity, for she lived through all of it. It wasn’t until after she cleaned the mess on her blades using the hex mage’s hair that she finally felt the cold kiss of death upon her.

Kane walked behind her, his head held low as she turned to him on her heel, a smile upon her face. “Oh Kane…” she said lovingly opening her arms for him to embrace her. “What a rare gift. You were able to receive the attentions of my love, and he told me all of what you have done to bring me back.” Kane lifted his head, giving her a half smile. “This death, this kill I offered to you Kane. In gratitude for what you have done.”

Kane let out a soft sigh as he bowed low. “I am, and always will be your eternal puppet.” Cassandra looked to him lovingly, and then with the gentle touch of her dark companion she nodded lifting up the Butcher’s Bill and swung down. Kane was hit square on the shoulder, his left arm going instantly limp as it danged in place. He used his right arm to cradle his wound as he retreated, his eyes looking to her in confusion like a dog that was just hit by its master. She was amazed he didn’t even make a peep at the injury.

“Why, my mistress.” Kane said softly. “Why?” He said dropping to one knee. Cassandra’s eyes swelled up in tears as she lifted the blade.

“I’ve never in my entire life had to count on others for help. And the entire time I was in that hell, I couldn’t stop thinking of you. You were my hope, Kane!” She said as she fought back the emotions swelling up inside her. “I knew you would save me, I somehow knew you would! I have never in my life felt this feeling! I never once felt this…vulnerable!” She sobbed a bit as she withdrew.

“Oh gods,” Kane whimpered. “Oh by the gods, Cassandra. You love me?” He was in disbelief at the notion of it, but her choked back sobs and gentle nodding was more than he was able to handle. He began to cry as well as he slowly got up to his feet. Cassandra lowered the blade, but held it back up.

“Stay away from me!” She hissed.

“Don’t listen to him, Cassandra!” he said sternly, fighting for her very soul. “He’s vile and twisted. I know who you really are!” She could feel the grip on her shoulder grow tighter as her dark companion began to whisper into her ears. “Cassandra,” he said lightly. “I love you too!” She fought off the grip of her twisted companion, dropping the Butcher‘s Bill and ran to Kane, embracing him tightly as she cried into his ruined shoulder. He returned her passion, his own tears gently hitting her back as stroked her. He moved his head towards hers, their lips meeting for a fledgling moment as they kissed passionately. Cassandra felt the ire, the rage, the hatred of her dark companion wash over the two, but she ignored it as she kissed him with all her heart. Kane looked to her, his eyes full of life and hope.

“I love you, Kane.” She whispered. He smiled, but only blood escaped his lips. He looked down to see one of her prized knives deep within his belly, and he broke off the hold as he stumbled backwards, falling onto his right knee.

“I…Love…” Kane fought to say it, despite the pain he was feeling. “You…Cassandra…” She sat there, shivering on the spot as she watched Kane’s life leave his eyes, and she turned away from him, feeling a coldness swell up within her.

That feeling was soon warmed however, as the loving arms of her dark companion wrapped around her. She held back onto them, and cried. She cried and cried as she looked back at Kane and sobbed as she felt that emptiness slowly be filled by the warmth of her deluded twisted ambitions. When she was done crying she went over to Kane’s body, picked up his axe and walked forward. She never looked back at Kane as she walked.

“I’m sorry, my love.” She said earnestly to her dark companion. “I stumbled, but I am back now.”

[Taskmienster]

Song of the Damned :: I’ll be taking this one for you. If you have questions or concerns just PM or IM me if I’m on.


Continuity 7

Setting 6

Pacing 7

Dialogue 8

Action 7

Persona 6

Technique 6

Mechanics 8

Clarity 8

Wild Card 6

Score:

69!

Rewards:

2287 exp | 165 gold
((You lose the Orior, two knives, and no gold due to the fact that I'm feeling gracious and enjoyed the thread. You gain: Kanes goods, as well as the link to your soul with the Anima Revixi))

[Taskmienster]

Exp and gp added.