Annoyed to Death
I sit in the remains of what was once a pristine library. Books are strewn across the room, shelves upended, and pages ripped and burned in my rage. I've torn the room, and every other room in this manor in fact, apart. I've scoured every shelf and every book a hundred times over to no avail. It's not here, the book that details my past and holds my fate in its leather-bound pages.
A knot has formed in the pit of my stomach, knowing the truth is out there. In the wrong hands, this book could be my undoing. If the Knights of Stronghelm get a hold of that information, they'll know exactly who and what I am. They'll have the upper hand. I have to do something, anything, to find that damn book before they do. But how? All my leads thus far have come up empty...
A scream down the hall snaps me out of my rumination. I zip out of the room in a blur, sending scraps of paper flying in the air like a whirlwind. I follow the sound to the receiving hall and come to a screeching halt in the midst of sheer chaos. Risen, or what you modern day mortals know as 'zombies', shamble aimlessly around the room. With black holes where eyes used to be, mottled skin bursting with blisters and oozing decomposition fluid, and a stench that could take the bark off a tree, they aren't for the faint of heart.
There's only one person I know that is capable of raising the dead. "PESTIS!!!" I screech at the top of my undead lungs.
. . .
"Now now, is that any way to talk to your dear friend?" The demon chides, only infuriating me more.
"We are not friends."
"We were friends once, were we not?" He arches a black brow at me and flashes the whites of his teeth. With planes of dark olive skin and sculpted features on a fit body, I would find him drop dead gorgeous, if it weren't for the fact that I knew the truth about him. That he's a freaking psychopath under the thumb of the Demon Lord. With that said, if it weren't for the Blood Oath, I would have killed him a long time ago.
"That's debatable." I cross my arms over my chest as I glare at him. Out of the corner of my eye I catch more Risen coming into the manor, this time with what appeared to be luggage in their decomposed arms. "NO no no! What the hell is going on?! I didn't invite you over!"
"You didn't have to. The Demon Lord did." My head snaps back to him so fast I about give myself whiplash.
"He did?!!" My voice comes out shrill. I glance to the side as one of the Risen trips over a rug and faceplants. Meanwhile the luggage it had been carrying is sent careening into the air, and just as swiftly, gravity takes over. I let out a loud gasp as the luggage lands on the Risen's head, smashing it and sending out a spray of decomposition fluids and skull fragments every which way.
"Really, Gerald? How many times do I have to reanimate you?" Pestis makes a tsking noise.
"GET OUT OF MY MANOR!!!" I screech, after wiping the goop from my face.
"Remember when I said the Demon Lord sent me. I can't very well say no to him, now can I?" He talked to me like I was a toddler. Of course, I knew what happened when you said no to our evil overlord. That fact didn't make me hate the situation I found myself in any less.
"Why on earth would he send you of all demons? Why not send Obsidian? He's his messenger after all."
"Well, let's just say a little birdie told him that you lost a very important book. He wants me to create a locator spell, so you can find it and clean up the mess you've made."
Pestis? Help ME? May the gods take pity on us all...
Comments
Post a Comment