Topic: The Forging of a Vile Alliance

Tala

Date: 2011-10-03 20:18 EST
"So there's something inside of the girl that you want, and you want me to get her for you." The Mord-Sith lifted her eyes to the man seated before her, her blue gaze meeting his golden one. "What's the catch?" When he shifted a little, she continued before he could even rouse his voice. "Why not just capture the girl yourself instead of going through another means such as me" Obviously there is something that is keeping you at bay. What is it?"

"The boy," Malachi growled. If there was one thing that annoyed him the most, it was things that got in his way. And the boy was certainly just that. "He has her holed up in some church that's protected by barriers of some kind. Even I can't get through. Not without going through her mind, and that's not enough. But you..." The demon smiled. It was a slow, malicious smile, splitting his lips in two to reveal the finely tapered points that crowned each one of his teeth. "Rumor has it that the Mord-Sith are able to bend magic to their will. Is this true?"

"Yes," Tala said, reclining back in her seat so that she could cross one leather-bound leg over the other. Every move she made, every thing she did be it walking, sitting, or even just talking, was done slowly and was calculated a hundred times over within that insane brain of hers before being done. This conversation was no exception. "It is true. But even so, there are some magics that even my kind are unable to touch. And if this boy's church is as powerful as you say, able to keep even a..." Eyes flicked down the man's figure and then back up, blatantly judging him. "Being such as you out, I doubt that I'll be able to break them all down. Some, perhaps. But not all." She may have been full of herself and she may have been crazy, both with their own proper reasons, but she wasn't a fool. Putting herself in a severely compromising situation just for the sole purpose of trying to prove herself, and ultimately for the benefit of someone else, didn't seem like the best of choices to her. The thought was worn plain across her face.

"But you could break some of them down." Malachi wasn't about to give up. He had worked hard to get this information about the boy and, in turn, the girl, had worked hard in finding out just who this red-clad woman was. And he had worked even harder at actually finding her and scheduling this little meeting of theirs. He wasn't about to let this possible ally simply slip through his strangler's fingers. "You could distract those of whom are helping the girl, enough so that she wouldn't be as well protected. And you could threaten her family, flush her out."

"Mmm....Yes, I could do that." The thought of scrambling the wards binding the security of such a well-established church, and one who's major focus seemed to be reflecting creatures of the darker nature, sent a ribbon of pleasure rippling through her mind. "But what of the boy' From what you've told me, he hardly ever leaves her side. And from what I know, he's willing to risk himself to protect her." Her hands had been brought across her leather-bound middle, one arm folding atop of the other, and they hadn't even brushed the Agiel that sat sheathed by her left hip. But even still, just at the mentioning of the boy and the memory of how his screams had tasted, it began to vibrate and hum, the sound inaudible and only communicating directly through the Mord-Sith's mind. She couldn't help but inwardly smile at the memory herself, but she didn't allow herself to reveal it through her features. "He could prove to be a problem."

Malachi didn't answer. Instead he just leaned back in his own seat to study the red-leather woman in silence. He had heard about the Mord-Sith but more specifically about this one in particular. Rumor had it that she was a fierce fighter, privy to a weapon of insurmountable agony and pain, and that she had chosen the title of Slaver to wear, one which she reportedly wore with a chilling, yet unarguably earned, pride. She hadn't been chased out of Rhy"Din by the other few slavers that laid claim to the region, which alone said a sizable amount for her determination and character, and even after having been resident to the realm for over a year, no one had yet to be able to locate her tower. She had been known to temporarily corrupt the Wards that encircled the Rings of Honor, compromising the safety and protection of the fighters, and she had even be able to break and train a previous holder of one of the famous Towers.

But rumor also had it that she was incurably insane. She actually enjoyed what she did; beating, torturing, twisting peoples minds until they broke - Training, as her kind called it. And from all accounts, it's all this Mord-Sith lived for.

All of this impressed Malachi more than he'd ever let on.

Slowly, let his grin spread.

"You're right. The boy hardly ever leaves her side. But as much as it seems like a thorn in our sides, it's actually exactly what I've been hoping for." Watching Tala's finely angled brow slowly creep up had Malachi chuckling, his smirk dangerous and low. "The girl has been forming....feelings for him and by them spending more time together, they keep growing. It's been making the girl's powers amplify." Another pause, Tala's stare still unwavering and absolutely unchanged. "The more she falls in love with him, the closer to the surface her powers become." Malachi clarified, then his golden eyes narrowed and his devilish grin curled. "And the easier it will be to take it from her."

Tala let her brow slowly descend and now it was her turn to silently study the demon sitting before her. He was, indeed, a demon, and a decently powerful one at that. She had sensed that about him the instant she had stepped foot through the door. His scent had the unmistakable stench of sulfur and his aura, while probably near indiscernible to mere humans, hovered around him like a thick, malevolent cloud. Even the powers that dwelled within him were sensed by the Mord-Sith as if she could feel the very pulse of it through his black-filled veins. It was dark and it was strong. And it posed no threat to her whatsoever.

It was her turn to let her grin spread.

"So what do I get out this little deal" I know you've offered money but I've got plenty of that and little use for it. Power, I have even more of and, pardon me if I seem rude but, I doubt I have any use for any of your kind." She could feel Malachi's pride bristling like a threatened animal who had just been flushed from its den. She smirked. How she loved watching people squirm when they began to find out that their secrets weren't really secrets to her at all. How she loved to tarnish people's pride. "So what do you offer me, demon' What can you possibly give me that I couldn't take on my own?"

Malachi's pride had indeed bristled and he had narrowed his eyes threateningly at the Slaver. But he knew better to attack her, knew better to even lash out at her mind. He wasn't so easily goaded as some of his lesser kin may have been and it was that fact that had him biting down the innate anger he felt bubbling up from within. Instead he offered her the quick flick of a grin.

"You may have money and you may have power, but I can promise you a gift that only few are lucky to have outside of my kind." Tala's unconvinced features had Malachi continuing. "I can give you the control of some of the creatures that my kin use to do with as you will. They are better than your mortal guards, that much I can assure you, and I believe that in very little time you will discover how valuable they can be."

Were it anyone else but the Mord-Sith sitting before the demon, they probably would have been grinning like a fool at the idea of obtaining complete control over a horde of lesser demons. But since it was the Mord-Sith, this Mord-Sith, Malachi was greeted by nothing more than a constant, maybe even angry, stare. He thought, for a moment, that he could feel her anti-magic licking up around him like the burning of flames. Quickly, he licked his lips. What else could he offer her that would whet her appetite" What else could someone of her kind, of her mindset, want' Suddenly, an idea came to mind. Malachi's lips spread thin and wide.

"Also, I'll let you train him," he said. The Mord-Sith's eyes shot down to the dark-stained table between them. Not out of shame but out of contemplation. He decided to seal the deal. "Both of them." He watched as those cruel blue eyes slowly lifted back up to him, her deep-seeded insanity flickering there, and, as if to complete the predatory nature of her gaze, a slow, wicked grin spread out across her lips.

"I'll send word when the training is done."