Rise of Tempest Merlin

Chapter 24

The endless rain was pouring down in torrents when they dragged the Demon in by her arms, thrashing and cursing them the whole time. Raphael watched silently from his post as the woman kicked one of his soldiers in the groin, got an arm free and punched a soldier in the face, and bit into the last soldier's arm as the other two soldiers quickly recovered and body slammed her into the mud. He watched as her head lolled in the muck and she lost consciousness to his men's relief. One man tossed her limp body over his shoulder like she was a saddlebag and they hurried inside to throw her in a cell before she woke up.

Raphael shook his head as he finished his cigarette. He didn't allow himself that many even though the nicotine didn't affect him much, but he enjoyed the buzz. It had been raining for weeks out in this wasteland and while most of his men were depressed from lack of sunlight, he didn't mind the weather so much. He wasn't here on vacation either way and the weather kept him on his toes. He gulped down his black coffee and flicked the cigarette into the wind.

The man couldn't blame the woman for fighting like a rabid animal. His men had just burnt and slain her entire tribe, including her father and everyone else she had ever known and cared for. His men were only following his orders, whom he carried on from the general himself. The only reason this Demon girl was still alive, was because the general wanted this girl for himself as a lesson to all other Demons not to poke at the powers of the Confederate Arms. An overused phrase by higher ranking military officers was that 'threats must be dealt with'.

The man spat with contempt of his country and the things he was forced to do. Like all other boys of 16, Raphael Griffin was drafted into the military and showed a surprising knack for military tactics, a quick wit that only improved under pressure, and a talent in killing. His parents were quite surprised that he moved up his ranks so quickly, for he had always been such a gentle and quiet child growing up. He began in the army, and transferred over to the marines, where the toughest and most brutal soldiers were bred nowadays. Raphael became a hollow eyed mercenary after the invasion of Mexico and the horrors he had witnessed and had been forced to participate in had permanently changed him into a shell of his former self. This problem with Demons was relatively new and he wasn't sure what to make of these people.

The rain continued to pound on the iron overhang above him and Raphael turned as he heard boots behind him against the concrete.

"Sir, the Demon has been detained in cell B6. She is almost ready for interrogation."

"Thank you soldier."

The soldier saluted, then left.

Raphael let out a deep huff of breath, gazed at the foggy mountains in the distance, and became the curt and cold lieutenant Griffin. He turned on his heel and descended down the stairs towards the cell block.

When Raphael turned the corner of the long hallway, he was greatly surprised to see 5 men posted in front of the heavy steel door to the prisoner's cell. When they saw him, they all silently saluted.

Lieutenant Griffin smirked at the men. "Does one female Demon, locked behind 5 feet of concrete and steel really need to take 4 men from their posts?" With that said, 4 of the men apologized and went on with their duties while the one soldier assigned to be guard remained.

The last man stood silently by the cell door and Raphael slid back the tiny window in the door to see what the girl was up to. It appeared that she was just coming to, with a nasty looking gash at her temple, still wet with fresh blood.

Lieutenant Griffin ordered the soldier to get a medic to stitch the wound. He had promised the general that she would not receive permanent damage or death before she was handed off to him. Like a fresh canvas, Raphael thought

When the medic arrived with two soldiers to help, Raphael watched as the girl was pinned down on the cement bench. He almost winced as the medic sloshed pure alcohol over the open wound and began to stitch the edges of the raw flesh together. The girl closed her eyes in pain as the alcohol burned her skull, for she hadn't been given any kind of pain relief as the thick thread pulled on her burning scalp.

Raphael gritted his teeth but didn't want his men to think he was sympathetic to this girl. He remembered that it was because of her and her people that many of his soldiers were dead and their skulls used to decorate spikes on the battle fields.

He instructed the guard to bring the girl to an interrogation room where he would be waiting in an hour.

The girl didn't look afraid as she was forced down into a chair before Lieutenant Griffin. She didn't look up as he began to address her as the two guards who had brought her began to lock her wrists behind her back in handcuffs. She allowed them to.

"You are very lucky someone holds a special interest in you, otherwise you would be dead just like all those other dog fuckers you called family."

Raphael didn't get the rise he wanted to out of her. She merely looked at the porous cement wall behind his head. The two guards left and closed the door behind them to continue to keep guard outside. Raphael was now completely alone with this girl with nothing else but a digital recorder bolted under the table.

He continued, "What is your name?"

She still ignored him.

Raphael was already impatient. "Give me a f*****g name."

Silence still.

Raphael ground his teeth and decided that he needed to show this girl that he was no one to not take seriously.

"One more chance Demon. Answer the questions." He stood up and leaned against the table right in front of her. She still never even looked at him, so Raphael darted forward and grabbed her by her matted and dirty hair and forced her to look him in the face. Her black eyes were colder than any human's and Raphael imagined the thoughts of gore running through her head, but instead he twisted harder forcing her to grit her teeth and squeeze her eyes shut.

"Your name!"

"Rain."

Raphael smirked. Her voice was low and husky with her fury. Her pupils contracted and Raphael caught a glimpse of thin golden rings around them.

Raphael needed to break this defiance. "Are you afraid to die?"

"No."

Raphael let go of her hair and leRaind back in his chair.

"Do you want to know how we found you?" Silence was her response. "Looking everywhere in the country that would be totally secluded, free of most pollutants, have abundant wildlife, and difficult to reach?" Raphael paused for effect. "Do you know how many places are left in this country that fit that exact description?"

Rain stared at the wall behind his head.

"There are about 5 left. But only one has such an extensive cave network that hasn't offically made it into the network. Did you know that there are 5 platoons of soldiers on their way to those caves as we speak?"

Rain's eyes flashed. Then she spoke in a gravely voice, "Each and every one of your men will die with as much pain as their bodies can muster."

If she didn't have to remain unmarred for the General, Raphael would show her the meaning of pain himself if he could and she'd be begging him to kill her.

Raphael glanced at his wristwatch. It was almost nightfall, 6 o'clock. It was almost dinnertime for most of the soldiers. His stomach growled in hunger, and he knew Rain had heard it. He heard her stomach growl as well, but he knew she wasn't going to get a bite to eat until somebody caught a rat. Raphael almost chuckled aloud at his private joke.

"My men watched your cave for 3 days until they had identified the King and you. Then they shot everyone who wandered too far from the cave, slowly moving in until there weren't enough dog fuckers to resist us and you and your so called King-daddy were right in the middle of that bulls-eye. So f*****g obvious by the way those mongrels worshipped you two."

The Demon's face became weary at the memory. Raphael didn't care at this point. What was done got done right for once. A promotion might lay in his future, but Raphael didn't care much about rank when there was always someone higher up pulling the strings. The pay was the only incentive at this point.

"What do you suggest I do right now?"

A slow and evil smile crept across her cherry lips. "Join your men and venture down into our caves. How I wish I could be there to see it."

"I wish you could be too, but sadly you wouldn't be able to see a thing because you would be dead. That is because the country's top scientists have just mutated a deadly virus to make it only effective against Demons."

"I'll tell you something useful if you take off my handcuffs and give me something to drink." Rain knew perfectly well that any question he asked her would not help his cause at all. Only a Demon would have a chance at using any information Rain knew. It was time the humans learned that their only advantage over Demons was their population and Rain wouldn't say or do anything to get in the way of that ever happening.

"No to the handcuffs, but we'll get you some water if you make an effort to impress me."

"It's a deal."

Raphael cleared his throat. "Why do the Demons consider you as their leader?"

Rain didn't even have to think about the question. "Because my father is pure Demon and is the son of the true Demon King. All the others are born from parents of half Demon or less. I have the purest and oldest Demon blood running through my veins, now that my father lies dead in a pile of burning bodies like mere trash."

Raphael nodded. "Can you speak the language of Demons?"

"Of course."

"Then tell me what this says." Raphael pulled a folded piece of paper from his breast pocket. There was a photograph of a cave wall with a Demonic carving of 5 winged beings tearing apart a human before a huge monster with 6 arms, huge ram-like horns and a wolflike snout. In it's hands it held a burning sword and a skull. The human had a look of anguish upon it's face as the beasts tore its limbs off and pulled out its intestines. Below the carving there were 2 rows of hieroglyphics.

"I said I could speak the language, but I can't read this. Along with the Demon polulation, most of the language was lost to us as well."

Raphael frowned. It was very important to certain people that this image was deciphered.

"Do you think any other Demons can still read this language?"

"No. If there are, I wouldn't know."

"Do you know who these beings are in this picture?"

Rain studied the picture and frowned. "The 5 with wings are the children of the larger monster. He is a god."

Raphael folded the paper and tucked it back into his pocket. He looked under the table and made sure the recorder was one. The light was blinking red.

"I'm going to ask you a question in English and I want you to respond in the Demon language."

Rain nodded.

Raphael asked her the seemingly unimportant question.

She uttered a stream of words in a language that sounded haltingly sharp and gravely, but was captivating by its pure alienity to Raphael's ears. It was a language from practically another world untouched by human cultures. It sounded so strange coming from the mouth of a girl who looked so human, except for her pale coloring and obsidian black eyes.

Raphael had been ordered not to have her translate what she had said for reasons of security, but he couldn't fathom how any answer to such a simple question could be of any significance and why they didn't want him to know. He could probably find out later. He reached under the table and pressed the button that would send the conversation directly to his commander.