Immortali

Chapter 17- Lair of Darkness

He glided over the black, glassy floor. Age had not touched this place, not as it should have. There was no dust, nothing rotted away. There wasn't even a single cobweb hanging in the darkest corner.

Somehow though, this was far creepier. Something about it was just so.... Unnatural.

Samael grinned. It wasn't a friendly grin either. It was the same smile a crocodile would give its prey. As he approached the dark throne-like chair at the other end of the room, he could hear the gentle scrapings of Lilith and Claire's feet as they trailed behind him, like dogs following their master. And as he sat down and surveyed them, they knelt before him.

"We kept it safe all these years Master, knowing you would one day return," Lilith told him, sounding very pleased with herself.

"And yet you never tried to free me from that bottle," Samael hissed. Lilith flinched.

"N-no! We did! We did! But... The Circle put up protective barriers around it. We couldn't find it, and even if we could, we couldn't have reached it anyway. Only a member of The Circle or a mortal could have freed you-ˮ

"And when that mortal had found me and foolishly dropped the bottle, he'd freed me," Samael finished, if only to put an end to Lilith's grovelling.

"Yes! And how grateful we are that he did!"

"Indeed," Samael muttered. "Now, did you bring it?"

Lilith smiled. "Just as you requested, Master. I traced the bloodlines, and this one is indeed descended from Sybella. The gift of prophecy practically sings in her blood."

"Bring her in."

Lilith nodded and snapped her fingers. A group of depraved slithered in, dragging something along as they 'walked', for want of a better term. They looked as though they were experiencing some difficulties though, as their cargo kicked and thrashed. Occasionally, a muffled shriek reached Samael's ears, making his lips turn up in another predatory smile. If he was lucky, he would not only discover how to weaken the Saviour, but also inflict a little bit of pain while he was at it. After all, torture was one of his favourite games, especially when the other contender was mortal.

"Let her go," he ordered. The depraved halted, then threw their cargo to the floor.

Laying there before him was a girl, no older than 18. Her face was marred with cuts and bruises, blood freely dripping on the floor. Samael grimaced. Blood was such a mortal thing. They both craved it and feared it, but for an Immortali, blood was merely a bodily fluid. It held no value to them.

The girl sat up and glared at him. He could detect no fear in her eyes, not even a flicker of uncertainty. Of course, that was to be expected from a Seer. Often, they already knew their fate, and would strive toward it unafraid. This young woman here already knew she was going to die, and she already knew what he wanted to know.

"Tell me," he prompted. The girl merely stood there and stared at him. Samael restrained his anger. "Tell me what I want to know, now."

This time, she spoke. "I foresaw your return years ago. I knew it was inevitable. I also knew you would seek me out to discover the weakness of the one person who can destroy you. This is where my dreams had ended, as I was yet to make a decision. And now, I have; you will get nothing out of me."

Samael's nostrils flared. Stupid Seers and their predictions. She knew she was going to die anyway, so what reason could she possibly have to tell him?

And then his smile returned.

She would tell him what he needed to know so that he would grant her a quick death.

"How many mortal generations have passed in your family?" He asked, changing the subject, but the Seer didn't look surprised.

"Six," she answered.

"Six generations? My, my, Sybella's gift must be strong."

"You know how powerful my great-grandmother's gift is. She made the prophecy you've been trying to avoid for millennia. And, even now that you know it's real, that she exists, you're trying to fight against your fate."

He stepped down from his throne and began circling her. "Nothing is set in stone, my dear. You should know that better than anyone."

"Not quite. Some things cannot be changed once certain events have been set in motion. When you decided to move against The Circle, you sealed your fate."

Quick as a flash, Samael drew a sword out of thin air and at stabbed her through the stomach. She let out a gasp of pain, her hands quickly moving to cover up the wound.

"Tell me what I want to know now, or I'll leave you here to bleed out."

The Seer closed her eyes and moved her hand away from the wound "So be it. My time has come, and I will not run from it." Though her words were strong, he could hear the shake in her voice as her mortal body failed her.

"You could end it all now. You could make the pain go away. All you'd have to do is tell me what I want to know."

"Never."

He rolled his eyes. "Always so heroic. I never did see why mortals, of all people, would choose to risk their fragile lives for someone else." He then summoned a dagger, digging it into her back deep enough for it to hurt, but not so deep that it would kill her. He could hear her laboured breaths. She was trying to fight the pain, and failing. Or so he'd thought.

"The-the reason why we risk our lives... it is for the greater good. By not giving away our Saviour's weakness, I am saving lives. Many more lives than my own. And that is why I will not tell you!"

Samael paused. He didn't know what it was, and he'd never understood it, but he'd tortured many people in his long lifetime, and he'd always been able to tell if they would give him information. And, right now, he knew he wouldn't get anything out of any Seer, or, at least, any Seer that actually had power. And why would they? They knew that, in the long run, they were sacrificing their lives for the lives of every other living being in every universe.

They would be of no use to him.

"Leave her in the pit. I'm sure my demons are hungry after all these years."

A look of barely quenched horror flashed in the Seer's eyes. Then it was gone. She'd already moved on. She didn't scream, or even struggle as the depraved marched her out of the room.

Samael resumed his throne.

"Claire, you fought your cousin once. Is there something that I can use against her? A weakness of some kind?"

Claire looked up. He could tell the girl was not used to being asked questions, only following orders.

"Apart from her obvious inexperience with magic... her family."

Samael cocked his head to one side. "Family?"

"Yeah. For some reason, she actually cares about what happens to them. When I had her pinned up against the wall, I said something about her family. It was like a switch being flipped. She was so delightfully angry..."

"So her family's the sore spot?" Samael sat back and grinned to himself.

"Why does this work in our favour, Master? Do we get to kill them?" Lilith asked, sounding excited.

"No. Not yet. If we want her to fight for us, then killing her family will only deter her. No, we threaten to kill them. We put their lives in her hands." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Ready the demons. When I return, I shall have the most powerful being in the universe in tow."