Halfling (editing in process)

Chapter Four

Aria had been lost to the shadow realm for around three days and in that time Lucien had busied himself with the spoils of his master's human slaves. He wasn't sure how long the girl would be in there, Azael had been pissed when she wouldn't come to him after all. He was lounging on a couch; watching the rise and fall of the human woman's chest as she slumbered on the floor where he had left her. It was then that a small ribbon of darkness appeared above him before abruptly dropping Aria from thin air onto his lap. He cursed as the breath was knocked out of him and rolled her onto the floor on top of the other woman. The human didn't stir, and it seemed that Aria too was out of it. He rolled his eyes and rose to his feet; with a simple snap of his fingers he was dressed again. Now it was his turn. He reached down and picked Aria up and carried her deeper into the castle to a room, bare for all but the star-shaped slab of obsidian in the center. Usually any that were brought back here would be tied spread eagle, but he only needed her left arm for his part. He moved her this way and that before his fingers moved to the front of her shirt, abruptly ripping it open and pulling the fabric from her body, causing her to stir. His finger traced over her collarbone, his eyes fixed upon her slender throat. Her eyes opened then; and before she could surge upwards he hit her with a bolt of blue lightning that stilled her movements entirely. He could see the struggle to resist it in her eyes, and saw the thundering of her pulse in her throat.

"Relax Aria. I will not molest you, though by the time I am done you may wish I had. Luckily for you I have something else planned against your daddy's wishes. He just wants to bind you so he can pull you here to fuck you whenever he wants. I am sure you aren't up for demon incest; besides, Payne and I have bigger plans for you my sweet." He commented idly; pushing her hair back from her shoulders. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind. Not that you can do much about it anyway."

If she could have spoken she would have cursed him and her father; all she could do however, was watch as he drew a dagger from his sleeve. The blade was long and spiked towards the end; the handle crafted from a deep red stone, carved into the shape of a tortured woman. Lucien must have caught her gaze he flipped the dagger in the air and caught it before bringing it closer for her to view.

"Payne's. She tends to have a flair for the dramatic, as much as your father. I'd show you how alike their decorating is but we haven't the time." He rolled his eyes. "Now then; let's get started shall we?"

He drew his attention away from her, all emotion fading from his eyes. He lifted her arm and, using the very tip of the blade, cut a ring around her middle finger. From there he cut the outline of a concave triangle onto the back of her hand. Then the tedious work began. Five hours passed. Inside the triangle, up her arm and onto her shoulder he had cut intricate lines, swirls and symbols that all connected to one another. The cuts continued down her shoulder to caress the side of her breast and ended with an elegant swirl over her heart. Aria's face was tear stained, her eyes holding the agony she couldn't voice. She had been thrown from one torture and into another; and for some reason having Lucien as her torturer seemed far more painful, more personal. She should have been numbed to the pain after the time she had spent in the other realm, but the agony was still there, every slice, every piece of flesh that he flicked away from the blade caused bile to rise in her throat, threatening to spill over if not for the paralyzing spell.

Lucien stood back, stretching out his body and cracking his neck before tucking the dagger away. "Almost done Ari, then I'll take you back to that little shithole you call home. Be glad Payne isn't here. You surely don't want to be around her, paralyzed for that matter, when she's on that high; worse than a damn succubus." He shook his head.

He pulled a vial of what looked to be black tar from his pocket. "Brace yourself." He muttered and poured it onto her hand.

The sludge spread out and started to slither up the fresh cuts, and Aria found her voice. She screamed as the substance burnt its way up her arm, watching helplessly as pain turned to terror, as it rose from the end of the swirl over her heart and formed a long point. She let out a choked cry as it pierced into her skin, her screams going silent the moment it pierced her heart. Cold began to flow through her with an intensity so great it burned. She could feel it spreading through her, felt as it seemed to coat the inside of her skin. Her vision ate away to darkness; the cold that slithered through her accompanying her into the bliss of unconsciousness.