Darkest Descent

There was nothing humble or simple about their master’s house. It loomed over them like a malevolent sentient being well aware of their presence. The house raised three stories high and stretched out for what seemed like miles.

Hugh was unimpressed, and only gave the castle a glance before his eyes were once again glued on Lydriel. The conversation they’d had during the trip here was still fresh in his mind. It was the first time (that he could remember anyway) he had ever seen the Doushe so nervous and secretive. Just what was Lydriel worried about? What was it that the Doushe was not telling him?

“Remember what I told you” Lydriel said, a worried look remaining on the Doushe’s face.

“How can I forget? You continue to remind me every second” Hugh muttered.

Lydriel gave the boy a look, before going to help the other boys out of the wagon. The two slaves, Issiac and Belise, were awestruck as they looked up at the castle. Neither of the two had ever been outside the walls of the slave house, and so, to see a sight like this was truly fascinating.

“Our master must be a very wealthy man” Belise said, a wide smile on his rounded face as he tilted his head back to look up towards the roof of the castle.

There were gargoyle-like statues mounted on the top as was to be expected. What was not expected was when they suddenly took to the skies.

“Chimeras!” Issiac exclaimed, turning around to watch the creatures as they continued to soar through the air.

“They are watchers,” Lydriel said with an enigmatic smile on his face as he watched the flying chimeras. “I would not stare too hard at them if I were you.”

The massive stone doors at the entrance opened, revealing two blonde haired girls. Between the two of them, neither girl looked strong enough to be able open the door. Both girls were dressed in black-colored maid uniforms. The only difference were that the girl on the left wore a red colored apron; while the girl on the right wore a yellow colored apron. Both girls wore brown colored silk ribbons in their hair.

“Welcome back Lydriel” the girl on the right said. There was a dark circle around her left eye like the ring around the eye of a raccoon.

“The master has been awaiting you,” the girl on the left said. Her eyes were wide, like she was in constant state of surprise.

The girls stepped aside and allowed Lydriel and the others to enter the castle; and with unnatural ease, closed the stone doors once Lydriel and the others were inside.

Unlike Lydriel, the new slaves, and the many others who lived inside the castle, the girls were not slaves. They were not indentured servants either. All that was known about the twins were that they were the daughters of a very wealthy aristocrat. Their reason for being at the castle was unknown. Even Lydriel did not know why they were here. The only thing the Doushe did know was that they were very close to the Master, and did most of the speaking for the man.

“We shall go inform the master that you are here” the girl with the wide eyes said, before giving a brief bow and leaving.

“Please wait here for the master,” the other girl said to the slaves, before turning to Lydriel. “You should come as well to speak with the master.”

For a split second Lydriel looked worried, before the stoic facade slipped back into place, and remained there as he headed towards the curving staircase to the right.

In that split second, however, Hugh had seen that look and it worried him even more. The Lydriel he remembered had never been worried about anything. Then again, the present day Lydriel was nothing like the Lydriel he remembered.

“Hugh, what do you think our master is like?”

It was Belise that asked the question. When Hugh turned to look at the slave he felt sickened to his stomach. He knew Belise too well to not be sickened by the question. The boy was a back-stabbing liar that thought only of his own personal goals and gains.

In the slave house, any time the trainers received information of the wrong doings of another slave, it was usual Belise that had given them the information. More than once, Hugh had suffered at the hands of the trainers because of Belise.

In short, Hugh hated him

The Irish boy could already guess Belise’s course of action. The boy would try to get as friendly with their master as he possibly could to ensure his own good fortune. Of course, Hugh did not plan to let Belise have his way. Now that they were out from under the sadistic rule of Faggers and his trainers, Hugh was free to revert completely to his old ways, and he planned on making Belise pay.

“I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough” Hugh muttered, before stepping away and taking a seat on a couch placed against the wall next to the door. Just because he had been told to wait here did not mean he was going to stand.

xxx

An hour passed before the slaves were allowed to meet their new master. As the dark clad figure transcended down the steps, even Hugh felt a tiny bit of fear creep up inside him. It was nothing that could be easily explained, and there were no features about the man that seemed apparently frightening, but the fear came nonetheless. It seeped into the soul and whispered a warning that there was something frightening, something unnatural, standing before them.

The only person that did not feel fear was Jessui. The young Doushe stared at the figure slowly coming down the stairs with a look of both surprise and adoration on his face. Whatever it was whispering to the others to be afraid did not reach Jessui. Instead, it warmed him and drew him closer to the man.

The first thing that stood out was the height of the man. He was tall, maybe above eight feet, but as he walked down the stairs, his height began to decrease. Then there were the man’s features. He had a lean, but muscular physique, that was only brought out by the tight black garment he wore which clung to his body.

The color of the man’s hair was the next thing that stood out. It was neither black nor blue, but a very dark shade that existed between the two colors. The color of his hair made the unnaturally pale blue color of his eyes, and the pale color of his skin, stands out even more.

“Beautiful,” Belise whispered, unable to take his eyes off the sight of the man.

When the man reached the bottom of the stairs he stopped. A humorless smile was on his face as he surveyed the boys standing before him. He seemed to be in deep thought; perhaps, he was judging them, making mental notes in his head about what things would be best suited for each boy.

“I welcome you to my home” the man said in a deep, melodic voice.

The two girls appeared at the top of the steps with a very uncomfortable looking Lydriel sandwiched between the two of them.

“The Half wing and the Doushe will be placed under my protection” the man said, though it was not made certain if he was announcing it or simply informing the people in the room. “The others may be done with as you please.”

“Master!” Lydriel exclaimed, a look of distress on his face.

“It surprises me to hear you speak so urgently, Lydriel,” the man said, as he turned to look at the Doushe standing on the stairs. “What is it?”

“I…I ask that the slave known as Hugh be placed under my care…and protection” the Doushe said.

The man smiled and nodded, and turned to face the slaves before he could see the look of relief wash over Lydriel’s face.

“Have the Doushe attended to by Douya. Once he is ready, have Douya bring him to my room.”

“What about the Half wing?” The girl with the ring around her eye asked.

“Hmm, you and Eve may attend to him. I am sure you can understand the pain he is facing better than anyone,” the man said.

“He’s lost his other half” the girl with the wide eyes, Eve, murmured sorrowfully.

With the orders given, the man excused himself and traveled back upstairs. It would be two nights until the other slaves, excluding Jessui, would see their master again.

xxx

“What the hell was that?” Hugh muttered in an angry tone as he removed the worn down shoes the trainers had dressed him in.

Lydriel, who now sat on the bedroom windowsill, peering out at the sky, had laid out an outfit of fresh and expensive clothes on the bed for him.

“I had forgotten how crudely you people from the Old World speak” Lydriel said, sounding unusually listless.

“If you don’t start giving me answers you will have to deal with more than just crude talk!” Hugh said, thrusting his arms into the sleeves of a white cotton shirt.

“Why are you so concerned?” Lydriel asked, looking over at him. “Is it because you are afraid?”

The Doushe barely missed the shoe that was thrown at him. It bounced off the wall and landed on the floor with a dull thump.

“What do I have to be afraid of?”

“You’re afraid of being owned again,” Lydriel answered. “You’re afraid of loosing me. What is it that makes you desperately cling to me like this?”

The answer, and the question that followed it, angered Hugh to the point where he saw red. It felt like he was being mocked; and being mocked with the truth always made it that much more painful to deal with.

“Go to hell Lydriel,” the Irish boy muttered, zipping up the black pants that had been set out for him.

“There is no Hell in this world” Lydriel replied.

The Doushe climbed down from the windowsill and walked over to Hugh. He was a few inches taller than the boy, which pleased him a little. During his younger years, Hugh had been taller than him.

“I am sorry I have upset you” Lydriel said, leaning down to place a tender kiss against the boy’s forehead. “I know why you cling to me. It is because I wish you to do so.”

Lydriel was not like Jessui, who was painfully unaware of his heritage and the power that ran through the Doushe blood. Lydriel understood the power, and knew how to use that power. Meeting Hugh, a person from the Old World that carried none of the New World prejudices against him, had brought light into his otherwise dark world. It was a light that Lydriel feared would be taken away from him someday, and was the sole reason he had used that power.

“So you’re saying you cast a spell on me?” Hugh asked, wanting to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it.

“Do you still not believe in magic?” The Doushe asked.

“No, I believe. I just, can’t believe you wasted it on something as stupid as that” Hugh replied, shaking his head.

Lydriel laughed as he slid down onto his knees before Hugh. The view from this angle was much better, in his opinion.

“I was frightened you would leave me behind,” Lydriel said, pressing the palm of Hugh’s hand against his cheek. “I knew you were going to leave me behind, so I had to…”

It had occurred to Hugh before that his feelings towards Lydriel might not have been entirely his own doing. After knowing the Doushe for only two days, Hugh had felt the need to “mark” Lydriel, and had done so by scarring the Doushe’s face.

“So you cast a spell and made a slave out of me?” Hugh asked, chuckling softly.

“No!” Lydriel said, before looking up at Hugh. “I cast a spell so you could make a slave out of me.”

With skills honed by practice, Hugh slowly unbuttoned the shirt that Lydriel wore. He pushed the folds of the shirt aside to reveal the dark skin of the Doushe’s flat chest. There were more scars here as well, but these were not Hugh’s work. A person of skill had done them, and they were still new.

“ You’re supposed to look ashamed, since it’s obvious you‘ve been cheating on me,” Hugh said, shoving the Doushe down onto the floor.

“It is not like I had a choice,” Lydriel replied.

The Irish boy sealed his mouth over one of the scars and traced over it with his tongue. Lydriel shivered beneath him from the pleasure of it, before that pleasure became pain as Hugh bit down into the skin, tasting blood.

“If you cry and say it hurts I’ll forgive you,” Hugh said, licking sweet darkened blood from his lips.

Hugh could understand what had gone on between that bastard Trenton and the Doushe boy. There was something about the sight and scent of a Doushe that drove a normal person wild. It had happened before to Hugh, just like it was happening again now. Each slow rise and fall of Lydriel’s chest made the boy want to tear away his clothes and bury himself deep inside him. The desire coupled with the anger inside and turned it into a passionate, violent lust.

“Is this part of your spell too?” Hugh asked, as he straddled the Doushe’s hips.

“No,” Lydriel said as he shook his head. “This is what happens when you touch something that should not be touched.”

“Something that should not be touched? You mean, this?” Hugh said, reaching to cup the Doushe’s crotch, only to be stopped as Lydriel grabbed his wrist.

The Doushe seemed ashamed as he looked away. “My age is not the only thing that has changed about me” Lydriel said, his voice barely above a whisper as he released Hugh’s hand.

The Irish boy looked confused as he tried to wrap his mind around what Lydriel was hinting towards. When he continued to draw nothing but a blank, he instead decided to stick his hand down the Doushe’s pants. The answer he found quickly made him draw his hand back.

“What the fuck?” he asked, surprise clearly written on his face as he stared down at Lydriel, who only stared back at him with an ashamed look on his face.

xxx

“This is--”

“Douya’s room!”

Douya, the person that the master had announced would be Jessui’s caretaker, turned out to be a very effeminate looking young man with choppy green hair. The young man looked like he was only a few years older than Jessui. The cheongsam he wore was crimson with simple gold frogs on the side.

“Master wants you to care for him. Isn’t that right Lilith?” Eve asked as she led the silver haired boy into the room.

“Yes, Eve is right. You don’t have a problem with that, do you Douya?” Lilith asked, with a sinister smile on her face.

“I know what Master said,” Douya said, casting the Doushe an indescribable look.

“But do you have a problem with it?” Lilith asked again, resting her head on Jessui’s shoulder.

“If you have a problem we can go to Master” Eve said, resting her head on Jessui’s other shoulder.

A look of fear flashed over Douya’s face. Despite his personal feelings, Douya was no fool. He knew what would happen to him if the Master thought that he was being disobedient.

“I don’t have a problem with it!” The man said, as he walked over to Jessui and grabbed him by the wrist.

“Careful now. He is a very valuable child to the Master” Lilith said, petting the Doushe’s head.

Douya eased his grip on the boy’s wrist, and the annoyed look on his face returned. This child was valuable? ‘He just looks like any another half breed Doushe to me’ the young man thought, as he looked Jessui over.

“I don’t need you to tell me that” Douya said, looking at the two girls who watched him like a hawk watched its prey.

“Alright. Just remember. He’s something precious to Master” Lilith said as she turned and walked out of the room.

“Something you’re not” Eve said, before joining her sister outside and leaving a frustrated Douya to deal with his new ward.

Author’s Note: This isn’t a new chapter. I simply revised a few things. The new chapter will be up shortly.