In the Cover of Darkness

A month had past, and the chains fell around him. Hades was knelt down, his head bowed, eyes closed. "You are released...Hades," spoke the Patriarch of the Zhefarovich family. The familiar sound of popping filled his ears, and slow, deep breathing could be heard. He had only spent two days screaming and shouting, and rest was in silence. Something was wrong with Hades. One month changed him, in a way that would be inevitable but would have taken much longer to do. All sense of sympathy was wiped, and his humanity was lost. If one thought that the previous Hades was terrifying, he appeared to be nothing more but a toy now. A prototype now made new.

Standing, Hades finally opened his eyes. No more can they be described as stormy, as they were black onyx. His skin was white, pasty looking, and his face was completely clean. His clothes had bits of dried blood and dust, and he did nothing more than dust himself off. "Do not leave, yet... Let the darkness in..." A voice murmured in his mind, but to him it surrounded him, echoing off the walls. The process was nearly complete, and Hades gave one slow nod. So, this is what every Zhefarovich went through for their darkness to take over, to change their eye color forever, darken to black over the uses of Dark Arts. Hades knelt down, his eyes closed, to let his mind gather. Even he did not know where he was, but it was dark and peaceful. It would be enough to get him to get his priorities straight, and to see if he was still heading down that path of darkness. There was a block it seemed. Never did he see it before, but now, he saw it. It blocked him from going down that path, and Hades uttered it, with emotions unknown, "Hollace." That block must be dealt with, in one way or another...
 
This was the final test. Asparuh had released Hades, but according to the tree, he had yet to leave. That had been the final push for him to be on the side of evil, like Kalif's was Namina's death. There was no hope for him now. Hades could never love, it appeared. Kalif might appear to love, but it was all nothing more but for protection of his children. However, the will to kill them has to be the work of someone so greatly evil. Asparuh had ordered some elves to bring Hollace here. Whether or not she passed this test, or failed, it would determine her life. Asparuh stood inside a room of nothing but darkness. It was similar to a maze, and if she could smell the tiniest bit of meat, then she would die, here and now. Asparuh and Kalif would oversee this test. Kalif was by his side, both with their wands out, ready to kill if she managed to smell and retrieve that meat. Asparuh could tell if she was lying by merely looking in her mind. This test was easy, but it was also crucial. Asparuh waited patiently for the accused werewolf to show.
 
Hollace felt very over dressed for the occasion. She barely nodded her head at the house elfs who had brought her there. Staring at Asparuh with dark, dead eyes from the curtain of her hair, she awaited his instructions. Well did she remember what Hades had told her about bowing and kneeling before the Patriarch and Head of the family. She would not do so, not now and not unless her husband commanded it of her. They did not deserve her respect, unless that too was what Hades would demand. Perhaps it was insanity, this giving of herself completely to her husband but she had made her vows, at first done in mockery and anger. Then privately, within in her heart, as he loved her with his body. Forever would she be his unless he cast her aside...or unless he did something to make her leave.

Barely, she nodded her head at the tall blond man. The task from him would be no joke. Cruel, maybe, but never in jest.
 
Asparuh folded his arms across his chest, "The task at hand is simple. This will determine whether or not you leave, or you die. Your husband has been released, however things went a bit wrong and he refuses to leave where we kept him. Hollace, I will warn you, if you make it past this test, don't test Hades too much. I believe that he lost his humanity, at long last." Asparuh smirked a bit, but it was not noticeable. Hades would live up to a nice destiny, and might even be promoted to be a Viscount once the family grows some more. He would be a worthy Viscount. Though Guardian suits him right now. Asparuh inquired, "I want you to use your senses. What else is in here other than us, and walls?" Asparuh gave no hints to the tiny piece of meat in the room, but if she did smell something, which a normal human shouldn't be able to, then she would die, here and now.

The test begins.
 
Unsure of what exactly there would be in this room, Hollace tensed, her arms at her sides. It was so dark in there and the only thing she could smell was the clean, slightly indistinguishable scent that always accompanied Asparuh. It wasn't unpleasant, indeed Kalif and even Hades bore similar scents, unmanufactured and purely them. The air tasted slightly of mold from the dark that was normal for a house as old as this one. She tried to listen, not to the quiet breath from the man close to her, or to the sound of her own heart beating abnormally loud in her ears. Nothing. No other sound, no scraping against the walls, no other breathing, no other sound or scent or source of light. Had she passed or failed? Within her chest, she began to feel panic rise. Hades. How had he changed? Would things ever be the same between them? She hoped with all of her being that they could begin again, to go forward, come what may. "Nothing. Nothing is with us," she said quietly yet firmly, certain in it.
 
Ahh, she passed. "Hollace, you are free to go. There is a fireplace at the end of this hall," Asparuh opened the door, casting light into the room. It revealed a tiny piece of meat against the wall. "Go home, either to your home or to Hades'. I cannot guarantee that he is there, but the change that he is going through, that is inevitable if you have been paying any attention to his eyes." She was not a werewolf, and she would not die yet. Kalif and Asparuh would watch her leave, and she would never have to return until it was time for her to receive the Zhefarovich brand.
Failed. Hollace had smelled the meat. Asparuh growled in his voice, and he reached for Hollace, his head curling around her neck. He lifted her high in the air, her body struggling. "You failed, mutt. Never will you see the light of day again." Asparuh cast Sectumsempra upon her chest. Blood gushed from the wound, her chest split open. Though her screaming did not phase him. Asparuh glanced over at Kalif who would be doing the final blow. Kalif stepped forward, wand out, and he uttered, "Avada Kedavra." A flash of green light, and the body went limp. Asparuh tossed the body to the ground, next to the meat, and both men walked from the testing room. The door locked behind them, and the door vanished. Her body would never be found, as it rotted in an unknown room below the ground for all eternity.
 
Hollace nodded, not saying another word to the patriarch other than, "Good bye." It was spoken so quietly, nearly wooden. This month spent in captivity, being constantly tested, had drained her mind, body and soul. To the point where all she wanted to do was be in her husband's arms and sleep for until the next millennium. She neither walked nor ran to the fireplace but she wasted no time to grab a hand full of floo powder, throw it into the flames and clearly stated, "Home."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
Back
Top