The Lady Of Shadows

1.4: DAIMON-IN-THE-BOX.

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“If I told you about the Darkness within me, would you still gaze at me like I am your Sun?"

"Yes, I would."

"No, you wouldn't. No one ever truly looks at me without recoiling in fear." .......Recorded conversation between Elia Daneeka and Malik Asael.

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  The Phantom remained swathed in darkness as he led Neriah to the throne room. Despite the enchantment he had cast over her mind, her racing pulse betrayed the glazed look in her eyes. Lothaire kept his gaze lowered, despite the blatant gazes of members of the Court. It was disgusting, knowing she was out of her mind and forced into the cobweb of clothes the White General prepared for her. 

  "Go ahead, Neriah. Do what they tell you to." He gently nudged her forward, dreading exactly what would follow. She turned back to face him, and beneath the veil, her eyes sent a silent plea. Lothaire shook his head. Better her tamed and subservient than bold and dead.

  "Step forward, Neriah." Lucifer's voice was hardened and amplified in the halls. Shadow serpents twisted around him, and the mighty throne he sat upon, entwined with great beast scaling the armrests. A crown of polished bones glinted in the dark of his hair.

  Step by step, Neriah reached the dais. She shivered, knowing fully well what devious looks the rest of his attendants gave her. Lucifer kept his eyes pinned on her honey colored irises. "Come closer, Neriah." Afraid, she inched closer. "I said, closer."  A shadow tugged her forward until she crumbled down at his feet. "There, now that wasn't so hard." He stroked her head, a questioning eyebrow raised when Neriah remained in his grip, without biting her tongue or flinching away. "Lothaire, come here."

  "My lord?" He remained in a curt bow. Internally, Lothaire was seconds away from gritting his teeth in frustration. "I told you to heal her, didn't I?"

"I did exactly as you asked. She is well, is she not?"

Lucifer stared his progeny down while keeping a firm hand on Neriah. "Undo it. Undo the enchantment. Now."

Lothaire glanced at Neriah. "The General will kill her." A shadow propped behind him. "In case you have forgotten, Lilith may rule this Court, but she is still subject to my command. Now do it."

  Lothaire stretched his hand forward. Neriah gasped as the protective shield over her mind cracked open in seconds. Her eyes widened in alarm and she made to shield her nude body. Lucifer kept her pinned to the floor beneath him. "Good, now get lost. You have done enough. Call Lilith before I snap someone's head off." Lothaire gave a final bow, relieved to avoid his master's inspection. He blinked, the echo of distant, gentle laughter resonating in his mind.

  It was the most beautiful sound he had heard in his past eighty seven years of service. It was the sound of Elia Daneeka laughing. It was the one memory he allowed himself steal, a ray of hope that kept Neriah sane. Maybe it would keep him sane as well.

  "Where is Lilith!" Lucifer's thinned patience was dwindling in seconds. The earth shook with his tantrum. "Enough. Will you crumble my palace to dust?" The doors burst open and the White General strolled in, flanked by two nightmarish creatures. In total contrast to her outfit in the Court of Shadows, Lilith wore armored clothes, with a special robe woven from darkness draped over a bare shoulder. A solar crown was fixed into her pale silver hair, glimmering like the collar on her neck.