The Devil's Tear

Chapter 1- Prologue

"I have found the Devil's Tear," Demetri whispered, "Lord Xerxes."

"Who possesses it?" Xerxes responded from inside the cursed, shining mirror. His voice was weak and raspy, like that of an elderly man on the brink of death. 

Demetri's lips formed a sure smile, "A powerless young girl of twelve years."

Xerxes hissed, making Demetri shudder and lose his amusement, "This girl cannot be weak. She possesses the spirit of the Devil." 

The King paused, and spoke again, sending a thin, grey cloud of darkness rising in swirls from the obscure surface of the mirror, "Who is the girl?"

Demetri replied with confidence, "Euphrosyne Rains. She lives with her parents in a small village south of the Golden State."

"Retrieve her, and return," the King ordered. Even in the state of being sealed in a mirror, the King's deadly and ominous aura sent shivers racing down Demetri's spine.

"Of course," he said through gritted teeth, forcing his voice not to crack with fear. 

The dusty oval mirror lost its shine, and became clear. Demetri picked it up with utmost care and placed it inside a large ornate box decorated with exotic jewels of all colors in a random pattern. He quietly shut the box and ran his finger along the top, successfully sealing it from the eyes of even insects.

The hairs on Demetri's neck rose, and he gasped softly. With deliberate movements, he spun in a perfect circle, eyeing every nook and cranny of the small, but simple, room. His lapis lazuli eyes narrowed. It was seemingly empty. There was absolutely nowhere and no way to hide. So why did he feel such an enormous presence? Of course, Lord Xerxes possessed a larger and more powerful aura, but his was evil and sinister.

The aura he currently felt was pleasant and somewhat warm.

"Show yourself," Demetri ordered, summoning a marble red staff in his right hand. The staff began to glow, and the energy from the staff seeped through his skin, and caused his shoulder-length mahogany hair to change colour to jet black.

His dark blue eyes widened and glimmered, and a glowing red light shot out of the end of the staff, seemingly only hitting the wall. A cry of pain filled Demetri's ears, and he smiled triumphantly. Rough outlines of a woman materialized slowly, soon darkening and becoming fully visible. The delicate woman on the ground completely lost her invisibility, and she lay on her front on the dirty red carpet, writhing in pain from the shot. Her maroon-red hair was wavy and ended in beautiful ringlets at her backside. She raised her head, exposing sharp emerald eyes that bore into Demetri's. 

"Artemis," Demetri said her name venomously. 

Artemis stumbled to her feet, using the faded wall as support. She took a deep breath, and acclaimed in a powerful voice, "Lord Xerxes will never be freed. Not as long as I'm alive."

In less than a blur, Demetri pinned Artemis to the wall by her throat. She gasped as he tightened his fingers around her thin, pale neck.

"Then you shall not live," He whispered, pulling her chin up with his other hand. Artemis was unable to respond. Demetri took his hand from her chin and pulled it back, charging it with energy. He released it, stabbing Artemis in the abdomen. Artemis widened her eyes in pain, but made no sound as Demetri placed his now bloody hand on her cheek.

"Rot in hell," He whispered, before releasing her throat and letting her fall to the ground with a thud. "You'll never be forgiven, Artemis. Just you wait. Your mutilated corpse will be tribute to her."

"I'll... protect... Euphrosyne Rains," Artemis whispered, ignoring his threats, before placing her palms together and vanishing from the room.

"Of course you will," He mocked the empty space Artemis had been in, and whispered inaudibly to himself, "Euphrosyne Rains.."

A/N: Hello. :D Thank you for reading this prologue~

Pronunciation Guide:

Demetri Lyte- Pretty straightforward.

Xerxes- Zer-xees

Artemis Delara- Ar-tuh-mis Dell-ayra 

Euphrosyne Rains- Yew-fro-zyne/Yew-fro-zeen Rains

The Devil's Tear is a mixture of Fantasy, Adventure, Mystery, and very small dose of romance on the side. Also, it is quite twisted, like all my stories.  And there are a LOT of characters. Thank you again, and I hope you stick by me till the end of Euphrosyne's tale! ~