Vivian held the glowing implement closer to Nadiel, who was compelled to approach it like a moth to flame. "Can't you hear him?" she asked, but he was so aghast that he couldn't so much as answer. "He's right here, he's been here ever since you put him here yourself. But you didn't know that, who told you remove the seal from yourself when it was awakened I wonder..." She had let go of the rifle and it had fallen and embedded itself in the soil, but still glowed like a torch. Nadiel stood within arms reach of it but turned to face her. "What would have happened if it had remained in my body?" he asked. She ran her forefinger along the length of his back, this time not to tease him, but to measure him. "An adorable little human of your size would have been burned to a crisp." she answered with a smirk. He scoffed and turned to his rifle "I'll not be outdone by some dried up old fossil." he said angrily as he reached to take hold of it. Vivian smiled, her white lie had irked his pride and motivated him to do as she wished flawlessly. The luminous ribbons of words from the strange language ceased to spiral solely around the rifle and now spun upwards to welcome Nadiel's arm. He hesitated for a moment, he did remember the pain of touching the seal the first time, but gritted his teeth and took hold of it in one forceful movement.
There was a bright flash of light but it quickly dissipated. His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell clumsily to his knees, twitching erratically. A moment later he slowly rose to his feet with a toothy grin. His eyes had become steely and his voice had become deeper as he spoke. "So this scrawny brat is my next potential successor? Is this really the best one you could find, Vivian?" She gleefully picked him up and rubbed him against her cheek. "Don't be like that, he isn't even a quarter-century old and somehow he survived having the seal pulled from him, he just might be the one. Now c'mere, its been ages since the last time we've had some alone time." Nadiel, or rather whoever had gained control over his body, probably would have gladly accepted this offer, but something rather strange interrupted their intimate moment. Nadiel's left arm moved of its own accord and took hold of the rifle, which was still resting in his right hand. "Oho, what's this?" he said, "seems as though the child is resisting." "You see," Vivian responded with a smile, "he can handle it. You just might have some luck after all." Nadiel's captor now struggled to keep control over him, the white-hot rifle was burning away the flesh of his rebellious left hand, but the pain was only making it easier for the real owner of the body to remember its place. "He isn't ready yet. There's still something missing. I'll keep watch over him until he finds it. Farewell for now." And with that the light of the seal faded, returning Nadiel to control over himself.
It took time for him to catch his breath after this traumatic experience, and even longer for him to use his rifle as a crutch to lift himself to his feet once more. He stood there, silent and motionless, until Vivian's voice jarred him to attention. "You heard everything, didn't you?" "Every word." he replied in anguish, "But how, he died ages before I was even born. How did the seal bring him back?" Vivian was quite entertained by his failed attempt to make sense of these happenings. "Poor little human, still haven't figured it out? When Ellis completed his task for the angels the reward he requested as payment was to be returned from the world from which he came. The angels could not grant this wish, so instead they gave him the means to find the path himself. Even when his body failed him, he lived on. The seal they placed in him passed to his children, and to their children. Looking through their eyes and listening through their ears he still searches for the way back home, even if his descendants have abandoned the search themselves." "And you?" Nadiel asked, "How did you come to learn all of this when even my forefathers kept it in secrecy?" Vivian licked her lips as she as she brought the answer to mind. "I heard it from the man himself. A century or two ago he stumbled into my neck of the woods. Much like yourself he was young and foolish, but fighting a war against demons left him with no fear for my kind. He had many hidden talents (Vivian gently stroked her chest with a deep moan when she came to this word), so I let him live." "How very noble of you" Nadiel replied with even more sarcasm in his tone of voice than usual. "But I have my own search to complete, and I'm sure that you know exactly what I'm looking for."
"Yes, the new girl. Some time ago she showed up out of the blue, clueless and scared out of her mind. She had a few interesting traits herself so I watched over her and taught her how to survive in this place. Soon enough she had gotten comfortable with the lifestyle, even a bit too comfortable if you ask me. In time she explained why only now she came to me. It was quite a surprise to hear that as a hatchling she had been adopted by the village founded by my darling Ellis, and that she had come here because she was afraid of what they had in store for some human she knew, and that if she took refuge here it might somehow lure him to her and out of the clutches of his masters. Honestly, who would have guessed that it was you she was talking about. And when you finally show up Ellis goes and decides that he still needs to wait for something else before he can make use of you. Honestly, will the wonders never cease?" Nadiel was now scowling with frustration. "That's all well and good, but any clue where she's been hiding or what it was that she was afraid that my master had a mind to do to me?" "Ask her yourself" Vivian said as she pointed straight ahead towards him, "She's right behind you."
Subject: Ch. 10 -Running the Gauntlet 
Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:42 pm
