Cassandra Pendragon

“Huh, lucky me. But what for exactly? What do you want from me?”

“Like I said, I have a few questions and I think I’ll help you. No, I’m not going to fight your battles,” she added quickly when she saw me perk up, “but I’m going to make sure you have the time to do it yourself.” She sighed. “The last years have been… strange. Most of us thought we would be done when you were gone, but as it turned out, your last death was only the beginning. I asked you before if you know why some of us have changed. I’d like to have an answer, now.”

“Sure,” I shrugged and moved my wings. “That’s the reason why.”

“You cursed them? I thought you couldn’t do that. No angel can, without dying, as far as I know.”

“Of course not. But I’m beginning to suspect that wouldn’t hold true for me. No, the blue energy you see, that’s not mine, at least I don’t think so. It’s… I don’t know exactly what it is, but Chaleb called it Corruption, when last I met him. I think it’s a mixture of angelic and demonic power. Since the two don’t mix very well, most hosts are driven insane.”

“But you’re not, because it doesn’t affect you. I see. How come you know?”

“Memories. A part dates back to the First War, which, incidentally, went on for far longer than you think. The ring you’re so anxious about, it was used to make the Nine Families. I’m speculating right now, but I think it basically combined the antagonistic essences of heaven and hell to make a manipulation on that scale possible. But as always, there was a backlash. No one can deal with that kind of power. It… corrupts, it changes. And when an immortal comes into contact with it…” I allowed my words to trail off, but I think Lilith had already understood what I was getting at.

“But how,” she asked and took another sip from her glass. “The families have been dead and buried for ages. Why does it spread now? Provided it is the reason for what’s happening to us.”

I spread my hands, indicating that I didn’t know. “I… Amazeroth knows, I think. He… him and a few others stumbled across a spark of it that had formed all on its own. He claimed it to be the result of someone wielding transcendent energy who isn’t strong enough to cope with the backlash. It spreads, disperses through space and time and after a while, when enough of the… residue combines, it forms a drop of Corruption.” She tapped her chin with her blood red nails.

“Let me guess, Michael was among the group. They decided to hunt that stuff down and somewhere along the way he came in touch with it… and once you found out, you went all gung-ho on his ass. And now, he’s either forcing others to bind to it, or they did so voluntarily, which is hardly any better. Also explains why Delilah could whoop my ass so easily. Makes sense. I imagine it’s partly responsible for your abilities?” How did she know?

“I can’t tell. I am who I am, I don’t know if I was any different before. You see, the first time I’ve bonded, as you called it, to the energy was aeons ago, when the Families were still alive. I… I went looking for the fallen and took in the sparks they carried in their chests. I can’t remember if it changed me.” If she didn’t ask, I wouldn’t even hint at the transformation I had undergone.

“Neither can I. Is there any way to make sure you’re not completely mistaken?” I shrugged again.

“Possibly. Amazeroth has laid a trail of breadcrumbs for me. I think he wants us to meet in person, but not yet. He… somehow it feels like he has turned my whole life into a challenge. If I survive, I’ll be strong enough for whatever he has planned. And then, I’ll also get some answers.”

“Huh, want to tell me about what happened?”

“Not particularly, unless you insist. I’ve lost quite a lot and I don’t feel like getting mocked for it.”

“I’d never… oh well, I would, probably. Fine, I won’t pry and you better give me credit for that. Alright, two more thing. Where are you currently at? I mean, when did you first sprout your wings, what can you already do. And how does the ring tie back into it?”

“Not too long ago, about two weeks. Since then, I’ve transformed twice.” She whistled through her teeth and looked at me with grudging respect and something else I couldn’t quite place. It could have been curiosity or maybe pride, but somehow… darker, more possessive.

“Not bad. You must have had a heavenly time. And the ring?”

“At first, I thought it had just been a means to an end, you know, something important enough to get the demons to care, but I’m not so sure anymore. It’s of angelic origin, changed… corrupted by demons. The ritual…” I paused, unsure whether or not I should bring up Amazeroth’s past.

“Go on,” she interrupted my train of thoughts. “Tell me.”

“I… you used the essence of an angel, as a medium to contain the backlash, I think, and he… transformed. Don’t you remember any of this?” She shook her head.

“From what you’ve told me, that happened during the Great Wars. My memories of that time are sealed, as you very well know, or do you? Yours should be, too. Why aren’t they?”

“They are, but I can still access them,” I replied haltingly, the twisted, foreboding regions I had been forced to cross to relive those parts of my past flashing before my eyes. “I imagine the spells that keep them locked away can’t shut me out completely. Anyways, I wouldn’t be surprised if the ring is the first manifestation of that subversive, poisonous energy.”

“Which would also explain why you can wear it,” she said, more to herself than me. “If it’s already within you, there won’t be any reaction. Tell me, Cassy, do you know who the angel was? The one whose essence we corrupted to transform the ring?”

“I do, but I’m not so sure you want to know.”

“I see. Fuck. No wonder he has never cared much for his own people.” She put her glass down and massaged her temples in a very familiar gesture. “I should’ve just stayed away. Hide for a few millennia… but no…” She didn’t seem on edge anymore, but tired and I thought it safe to ask:

“Would you tell me why you came here? From what you’ve already said, it appears like you’re hunted? But I’d really like to know. Especially since… well, I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, but if you are, aren’t we in the same boat, sort of?” She sighed.

“We are, in a way. Yes, other immortals are trying to get their hands on me. I had a falling out with Delilah, another demoness, don’t know if you remember her.” I did, very vividly. She was the one who nearly killed Chaleb. “I… eh, you’ll find out, either way. I was one of the demons who were with Michael and Amazeroth when they encountered that first piece of Corruption. It just seems like I was left in the dark, for quiet a while…” she sighed heavily.

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“Power has never been that important to me, believe it or not. And I don’t really care for the bigger picture. A grave mistake, as it turned out. So, yeah, when I heard that you had been corrupted, that you had slain some of your own, I believed it. Especially since I had already seen the colour of your wings. It never crossed my mind that I might have it wrong. And then, you went ahead and stole the ring… which put to rest any doubts I might have had. Of course I sided with those I had known longer, with those who had been tasked with eradicating that vile energy and prevent its creation.” She paused, an ironic gleam entering her eyes.

“Only when Delilah and I... She was… strong. Much stronger than she should have been. For years now, she has been trying to gather support for her ideas of unity and control and after your death, she found quiet a few new followers. I should’ve known… but I didn’t. I’m not going to bow to anyone, whoever they are” she suddenly spat, her eyes igniting with sparks of hellfire.

“I told her as much and ever since, I’ve been running, hiding. It has dawned on me for quite a while now, that you might have been right. It’s a perpetual circle, isn’t it? We strove for power and now we are brought to our knees by what we have unleashed. By what’s not supposed to be.” That much, we could easily agree on. I was struggling to keep up, but if she wasn’t lying, and I didn’t think she was, she had been manipulated almost as badly as Ahri. I just didn’t know by whom. Who had anything to gain from stringing on an arbitrary demoness? Why was she that important? And what about the others who had been there with Michael and Amazeroth? We’re they all just puppets, dancing, when someone else pulled the strings? Would I ever know?

“And now you’re telling me that we might have laid the foundation for our own ruination,” she continued, more calmly, “all those ages ago? By forcing together our essences? By creating that tool of domination you wear and the first traces of Corruption? Quite fitting. And it’s a mixture of angelic and demonic powers, you say? Like two magnets, pushing against each other? Doesn’t that mean… hm, I wonder…” she snapped her fingers and to her right, a pentagram drawn in fire sprang to life. Before I could do more than blink confusedly, her eyes roamed across my body appraisingly, before she whisper in a voice that tore through my very being and touched my core: “Ex Abysso Lux, appare!”

The pentagram flared and darkness swamped me from all sides. A heartbeat later, it felt like I was sliding down a long, cold tunnel and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t beat my wings. Disoriented and panicked I tried to move, but I only managed to shift my weight, to turn around while I fell, faster and faster. And then, it stopped.

I was still in the same room, only my perspective had changed. Now, I was within the pentagram, crackling walls of bluish fire, almost identical to the colour of my wings, rose around me and I felt a constant flow of energy from my core to the arcane symbols. A connection I couldn’t sever, no matter how hard I tried. I was caught, like a fly beneath a glass and my heart thunder in my chest like a drum. That wasn’t good. “Did she just summon you?” Ahri yelled in my thoughts.

“How in hell should I know? But it sure looks like it. Oh crap! I don’t even think can leave the formation!” While I spoke, I already got up, panting heavily and hesitantly pushed against the confining flames. They didn’t budge and the more I struggled, the more energy I lost. It was sucked right out of me to strengthen my prison, a vicious circle I couldn’t break.

Lilith watched me with a satisfied smirk on her face that quickly evolved into laughter.

“Hah, who would have guessed,” she giggled. “Oh boy, if that had been known… welcome to the dark side, Cassy! I won’t have to look for you, ever again. Oh, that’s just perfect. Now, let’s see. Could you do me a favour and lie to me?”

“What? Why?”

“Just do it, I’ll let you out afterwards and even tell you how you can break those chains you’re stuck in.” Fair enough. I’d even do a backflip if she taught me how I might get out of my predicament.

“I’m really glad y…” I couldn’t finish my sentence. The fires swelled and from each corner, a writhing flame shot towards me, bright enough to leave behind a glowing afterimage. They crashed into me, cutting off my words and driving me to my knees. As a silver lining, they didn’t burn me to a crisp, I simply felt like I had been hit by a truck. “Ouch,” I mumbled while I struggled back to my feet. “You knew that’d happen, didn’t you?”

“No, not really,” Lilith replied, grinning widely. “But I surely hoped so. You’re one of us now, which means you can’t lie when summoned. Poor girl, a newborn demoness! I don’t envy you.”

“Understandable. But would you kindly tell me what I’m supposed to do now?”

“No… no, I don’t think I will. Figure it out. We all had to. That’s a lesson you shouldn’t ever forget and being stuck here for a few days will make sure of it. I’ll drop by in a week or so. If you’re still here by then, I’ll devise a fitting punishment. Oh and by the way, the pentagram is fuelled with your own power now, so should you ask the little vampire to damage it, once I’m gone, she’ll simply die, or lose a hand, depending on how overzealous she turns out to be. I wouldn’t risk it, if I were you. Besides, there’s nothing she can do. That’s a task you have to complete on your own.”

“Wait! You’re just going to leave me? Why?”

“Verify your story, make sure Delilah doesn’t find this planet, sow a little chaos along the way... Nothing fancy.” Her eyes roamed across my curves once more before she added quietly: “unless you want to keep me entertained for a while longer, I’m sure I could even let you out in that case.”

“No, I don’t think I will.” I wondered briefly if I should try arguing with her, but the little angel on my shoulder quickly dissuaded me: “are you crazy? If she wants to, let her leave! We’ll somehow get you out of there. Mephisto should know how to break a summoning circle, shouldn’t he?”

“You’re right,” I sighed. “I’m just not looking forward to standing here for however long.”

Out loud I said: “you know, I really thought we could be friends.” Her smile widened.

“Oh, but I think we already are. You’re just too young to realise it, quite yet. Watch, as a token of my appreciation, generosity, call it what you will, I’ll even activate the portal.” She raised her hand, a spark of hellfire flew from her fingertips and slammed into the stone arch. The distorted magic, half active after Lilith’s appearance, shimmered in a mixture of black and red before the same, rippling sheet of energy as before appeared between the engraved runes.

“Once you’re out, just step through. It’ll bring you back to wherever you came from, or close to it, in any case. Keep that ring a secret and the uncontrolled outbursts of magic to a minimum, will you? I’ll be back.” I didn’t doubt it for second. With barely a shimmer in the air, Lilith vanished.

Eyeing the silvery blue flames around me wearily I mumbled: “that went perfectly, didn’t it?”

“You’re still alive, aren’t you,” Ahri promptly replied. “Not to mention unmolested, still in the same place, still healthy… do you need more examples? Yes, it went pretty fucking well.”

“You’re quite wound up,” I teased while the knot of fear in my stomach, that had been there ever since Lilith had appeared, slowly loosened. She was right, it could have been worse, so much worse. And I had learned a few important things. Truly important things. Or at least they would be, if I was ever going to play a role in the machinations of the immortals again. But now, that they had begun knocking on my door, I couldn’t imagine how I might possibly stay out of that particular can of worms.

“Of course I am,” Ahri clamoured. “At least I don’t have to worry about you wandering off, for the moment. Just… don’t move, don’t try to escape on your own. I’ll get back to you in a minute. Let me see what your demonic teacher knows about summoning spells. With a little luck, we’ll have you out of there in no time.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I replied darkly. “Take your time.” Silence was my only answer.

Just as well, I had to make sense of what Lilith had told me, at any rate. By now, I should have been able to form a more or less coherent picture of my last life and why it had ended. Even without the information Amazeroth still held, I felt pretty confident that I’d manage. I just needed a moment to think. But alas, that shouldn’t be.

When I had just about settled down and made myself as comfortable as I could, considering I was stuck inside a burning prison, the runes covering the carved archway began to glow ominously. A heartbeat later, they exploded, the portal itself flickering once, before it vanished. I reflexively closed my eyes and when I opened them again, a new, somehow wider passage had formed.