River of Misery

Christopher

I ended up in my room with Jaden the rest of the day until dinner. Then we all went down to the dining room and ate a very spectacular meal. Some kind of Greek food, I think.

But I keep think about her and throwing glances her way. And Jaden noticed it immediately...and of course, like the best friend and annoying brother that he is, he has to announce it to the rest of the room.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, has stopped what they were doing to overhear every single word that Jaden says. As we finished the meal, everyone starts bickering --Trinity doesn’t allow fighting and things of that nature at the table. As I’m talking with Jaden, I get a summoning to see Rade...my “master.” I use demon sign language to explain to him that Rade is summoning me to see him as soon as possible. Jaden signs back that he had gotten the same message during dinner while everyone was watching us. So, he couldn’t sign to me. I humorlessly smile to Jaden at that. He continues signing that we should go now or else Rade will mercilessly punish me and force him to watch as he’s tied down.

Jaden and I are more brothers in arms than anything, and because of that we are extremely close and protective of each other. More so than I’ve ever seen anyone before us be. It’s because of this, and what Rade would do if one of us didn’t show up, that got us going to our hell hole.

I walk into Rade’s office as the clock strikes midnight, with Jaden right behind me. He has his dark head down, leaning towards his desk. So, I take a quick minute to look around myself. The first thing I see is the darkness with a largely dim pool of light. The pool of light is multicolored. And with closer inspection the floor is a deep pine wood. Along with carpets of black, red, greys, and whites also. The walls are lined with floor to ceiling book cases all the way around the room. Then the objects in the light is a cherry blossom wood desk with very organized papers and pencils. This includes all the computer stuff lying on his desk. Then, there are the chairs that are high backed with cushions on the seat, fully cushioned chairs, and then the cushioned benches. Then over in a very dim corner sits some plush sofas and loveseats. One chair, I know for sure, has chains on it. Mostly just for me when I misbehave. But all the cushions are the same color, black, in case of bloodshed.

When the door closes with a slight snap, Rade looks up from whatever he was absorbed in. Most likely, new torture methods to try out on his slaves. I gave him my best “kiss my ass” look. He glares at me with the most mutinous look I have ever seen on his face. He growls at me as I sit without permission. And Jaden, not wanting to get a beating tonight, waits for his permission to sit while in the presence of “Lord” Rade.

“Sit. Now,” came the growled order.

Jaden sits in a chair on my right, as he does so, he shoots me his patented look of “shut up and let me do all the talking.” I shrug right back at him and do everything in my powers to stop myself from being a smart ass. Hell, it was all I could to stop for the couple of minutes that it took to calm Rade down.

When Rade was as calm as he ever was, he got down to his asshat self, “Chrissy, stand up. NOW!” He barked the last order.

I stand and wait with a neutral expression. After about twenty minutes of standing and waiting, Rade finally gives me permission to sit back in my chair. As I sit, he goes ahead and explains why he summoned us.

“The Demon Master wants to meet with the three of us. He wants to do it now. So, we will go, and you will give me no crap tonight. Neither of you are allowed to speak without being spoken to; if you do you will get severely punished immediately. If you bulk when told to do something, anything, that punishment will get worse. Do I make myself clear?”

We both nod and stand up before Rade gets out of his chair. He heads over to a door in the wall on the opposite side of the door we entered through.

As we walk closer to the door, it opens by itself. Rade goes through first, then Jaden and me. At first, the way looks pitch black. Then, a little color starts to bleed through all that blackness until it starts to look like a room. When we can finally see the room in all its glory, it looks like it is on fire. Then you take a second glimpse and see that the walls have a red lighted waterfall effect.

I gave the room a once over and when I find myself doing it again, I shake my head and my gaze lands on a gigantic throne. It has a goldish black color and has what amounts to bones as the decoration.

As I am admiring the throne, I see the largest man in the universe. He has a shoulder width of maybe six feet. And he, himself, is at least eight feet of muscle. His eyes are like purple cat eyes with a grey iris and an aristo looking face with albino skin.

Since he walked in, he hasn't looked away from me. He just ignores Rade entirely. But the most unnerving thing is that he seems to be looking straight through me and into the last parts of my soul.

“Well, it is nice to finally meet you, Christopher. My name is Ziruk. Jaden has told me about you and I have seen you in my ball.”

I look at Ziruk like he has grown a second head. He has a crystal ball? You had to be kidding me.

I sarcastically say, “You have a crystal ball? Like the kind that psychics and witches have? I don't see you as a crystal ball kind of guy. No offense, but you just don't strike me as someone who would have one.”

He throws back his head and laughs aloud. Then, he insultingly pats me on the cheek, ignoring the fact that I have stiffened. I’m waiting for a blow to the head for what I said. Ziruk looks at me, though, and that is enough to know that he knows. Not only did he see it, but that he knows what has happened in the past to cause me to force myself not to jerk away from a hand.

Ziruk says, “No, no crystal ball. You are right. I don't use a crystal ball. I use something that is rarer. Only a few people can actually use it. Have you ever heard of a metal called Demon Iron?”

I shake my head before he smugly continues, “I did not think so. Only the highest of the high in the demon society have any knowledge of this type of metal. It is the only type of metal that is able to kill every kind of creature in the entirety of the universe. But only a few people have the ability to weld it in any form. Such as my ball, or a sword. This metal has its own mind, unlike steel or human iron. The only thing that comes close to this metal is the elfin iron and they only use that in the makings of swords, spears, or arrows. Do you understand what I am saying to you?”

I nod and look at his face. He smiles and looks at Rade.

“You know,” he starts off, “Rade, you should not try to tame a strong-willed young man like this one the way you have been. There are other methods to taming a pet. Just so you understand what I am saying, I will speak plainly. You should not rape or beat Christopher, Rade. The mistreatment will come back to haunt you one day. I have warned you of this before.”

By this point, my head is as low as it can be without my head being on the floor or me dropping to a submissive position on the floor in an embarrassing heap. I can see Rade nodding from the corner of my eye. But at the same time, I feel all eyes on me, Jaden’s gaze disbelieving, Rade’s holding a barely restrained fury because he believes that I have been talking to Ziruk, the highest power in the demon realm, and Ziruk's gaze holds curiosity. Ziruk is currently looking at me like I am just this interesting puzzle that has not been cooperating with him. Its unnerving to have someone look at you like this.

I know that I’ll be owing Jaden an explanation. I have not been telling him what Rade does when we are alone. The fact that I have been hiding this from him for the five years that he has known me, that Rade has owned me, does not make this an experience that I look forward too.

The next time that I look up, it's been an hour. Jaden is glowering at Rade. Rade and Ziruk are talking, waiting for me to look up again. To hide my humiliation in a dark corner in my mind. Ziruk grins, “Well, it seems that our esteemed soul is finally over his embarrassment. Well, Christopher, I need to talk to you. First, you have to know that this: no matter what, when you address me you do so as LORD or MASTER. Do you understand me?” I nod, and he continues, “Good. Now to our topic for this visit. You do understand that you have a soul that I wish for you to take as your own. Like yours has been taken for Rade’s collection. A servant or slave if you want to think of it this way.”

I bob my head to acknowledge Ziruk’s speech.

“That is good. You know her name, correct?” Ziruk continues after I nod, “Great, then all I have to tell you is that she is going to mean a great deal to you. Also, if this happens before you get her soul, and you decide not to take it, then I will have to punish you. My punishments, as a forewarning, are harsher and crueler than anything your master will ever think of in his lifetime. Do you understand?”

“Yes...MASTER,” I comment, swallowing my pride to get the master out. It really sucks that he has given me a direct order.

“Good. In that case, you and Jaden may wait out in the hall while I speak to your master.”

I walk out to the hall, following Jaden. I keep my head down, avoiding his eyes. Knowing what I've kept from him, I know that his eyes will hold either rage or pity. I don't know which would be worse coming from him.

As soon as we are in the hallway with the door firmly shut and quite a distance away, Jaden whirls to face me. He quietly asks, “Why didn't you tell me what was happening? And don't you think about lying to me. I will know.”

I look at him for a minute, “Fine, but can it wait till I’m in my room at home. Please?”

He looks shocked. This is one of the few times he has heard me say please, but he nods all the same. We wait for about two hours before Rade and Ziruk are finished. But before I can escape with Rade and Jaden, Ziruk calls me back into his office.

We sit there for a few minutes waiting for the other two to come through the door. Only then does Ziruk command, “Stand up and put your hands out in front of you.”

I do what he says, puzzled. He snaps a leather band around my hands. The band has bronze metal spikes that are pointed into my wrists. He does this with both of my hands before he jerks my hands up by the chain that runs in between the cuffs and hooks it in another bronze hook that hangs from the ceiling.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“You are about to taste my punishment. I warned you before that you wouldn't be able to say my name. I always know. And I heard you thinking my name. Mentally or physically speaking my name will get you on my s**t list.”

I look at him and give him my neutral face. He starts by whipping me. I look up once and see Jaden about to step forward. I make eye contact and slowly shake my head. I don't want him in trouble because of me. Ziruk continues whipping me but I don't give him the satisfaction of crying out. But when he gets tired of whipping me, he moves toward a metal rod that has a picture of a crown and a specific constellation, the musca, and Mea Syey ak Meister, or My Lord and Master in Motem Anima. Motem Anima is the common demon language.

Ziruk puts the branding rod in the white-hot flames for about fifteen minutes. When he pulls it out of the fire, he places it over my heart for what felt like hours. I bite my lip to stop myself from screaming. But Ziruk isn’t done with me, he pulls out a set of knives. He cuts me so deeply and so many times that I know that they will scar. But he is careful to cut in places that can easily be hidden from my family.

This continues for hours before he finally takes a break. I lift my head up a fraction to see that Rade and Jaden are both still standing there and that draws Ziruk’s attention to them. He dismisses them before he pours himself a cup of blood.

“I warned you. And the more that you use my name, the longer that I am going to keep you here for punishment. As it is, you will be here for at least a week, but if you keep going I'll keep you here for a lot longer. Understand?”

I weakly nod my acknowledgement.

“Good, now when i'm finished with this cup, we can get back to your punishment,” he chuckles when I drop my head to conserve my energy, while he finishes his cup.

He looks over at the rest of his “toys” of torture for a few seconds before he decides on a needle and several large silver balls. And this continues for close to two months.

The next thing that I remember is Meister roughly letting me down from the shackles that he had me in. Rade caught me as I fell. He is taking me home, and not the hellhole that Rade makes me call “home” but my room at my actual house. I got there with a great deal of pain and I pass out after my wounded body hits my bed.

I woke with a gasp of pain as I feel a presence in my room. I open my eyes to see Jaden standing in the corner of the room with agonized and sorrowful eyes gazing at me. I mentally ask, “What’s wrong?”

He looks at me and says, “You look like you're dead. It's been months and your sisters are freaking out because I won't let them see you. You have cuts on you that are going to scar, new piercings, a brand on your chest over your heart, and who knows what else. What did you do to force Ziruk to do that to you? In all the time I’ve known him, he’s never tortured me.”

“I thought his name. He told me that if I so much as thought his name, he would punish me. He just kept his word. Meister branded me, as you saw, and other creatively cruel ways to remind me that he does not wish me to speak, or think, his name.”

Why did he torture me when he lets Jaden, my brother in arms, speak his name? I look at Jaden and recall the words that Meister told me at one point. I will never be able to be surprised without a major PTSD episode.

“Why does everyone get to be free and I am to be forever punished for those around me? I don’t like pain, but Rade, Meister, my sisters, and everyone punishes me for the misdeeds of others? Why?”

He looks at me in sorrow for a minute then sits with his back to the headboard so that he is sitting next to my prone body. He prays over my head to whichever deity that he worships. We stay like this for a few days while I heal enough to face my sisters and the rest of the family. A truly scary thought all the way to my missing black soul.

When I feel up to walking and talking without coughing up blood, I venture out of my room to face the wrath of the waiting hoard of family. Jaden shadows my every movement, almost like a mother hen. I find my sisters in the kitchen with Kie. I look at Trinity, Mae, and Kie. I finally keep my gaze on Trinity as she gasps when she sees me for the first time since dinner a few months ago. Trinity runs up to me, but luckily, she stops before she touches me.

“What happened to you, Chris? You will be scarred for life with these cuts on your face. What else happened to you? Let me see,” Trinity starts jerking my shirt trying to get it off my body.

I grasp her wrists while I try to catch my breath.

“I don’t want you to see what was done to me, Rin.”

“I need to see what happened. Otherwise, I’ll think it’s worse than it really is. Please, Chris. I need to see.”

I swallow hard, “Ok.”

I take my shirt off and let her look. Her eyes well with tears as she takes in the brand. As she walks behind me, I hear her muffled scream as she takes in the wounds on my back. I pull my shirt back on with a neutral face. I look up at Mae and Kie to see Mae’s horrified look and Kie’s troubled and confused face before I turn to look at Rin. Jaden is holding her as she weeps for me.

I walk over to her and cup her cheeks in my palm. She looks up at me then throws herself into my arms. Unfortunately, I have to set her aside and rush to the sink to spit blood up. Jaden is at my side instantly.

“Are you ok? Chris, talk to me. Are you ok?” Jaden is saying this over and over.

“Yeah, I’ve endured worse. I’ll live. Are you ok? You've never seen me like this before,” I look at him and realize he has never been beaten. If he had since I was taken, I would have known.

“No, hell no. I’m not ok. You just got tortured for using HIS name. And to top it all off, I've found out that your punishments have gotten worse. That you have been keeping stuff from me. How do you expect me to be?” He looks at me as if I’ve gone and lost my mind, but he still holds sorrow in my eyes.

I grab his shoulder and whisper, “I’m fine and you don't want to know what all I’ve been through. It would give you nightmares for the rest of your life. I didn't want to do that to you. You have always tried to protect me since we meet, and I was embarrassed. You would have tried to kill Rade and we can't do that. Our Meister would give us to someone worse. He will never let us be free of him. Just try to be happy that you don't have to know everything.”

I pull back when I feel his trembling has stopped. I look at his eyes and see it dawning on him that I’ve had a harder time then he has in Rade’s hands.

“I’m sorry. I would have helped if I could have. I promise.”

I smile at him. When I turn, I see my sisters and Kie staring at us. I look at Jaden, “Should we just tell them what we are?”

He glances over at the girls and send back, “Rade will kill us...we don’t have permission to tell anyone what we are. But if you are, are you sure that you want to do that? Have you thought about the consequences?”

“I have. They won't tell anyone. Besides, they already know something is wrong. They will just keep asking questions until something changes. And I don't want them to get hurt.”

He nods and says “There is something we need to tell you all. Something important. Chris and I are both demon's souls. Our master found us with the help of a greater demon. We were either tricked or entered into bargains, or anything else that would ensure that we would agree to giving up our souls. Chris is related to the greater demon. Most likely, Chris is this greater demon’s son. But we run errands for our masters, Rade and Ziruk.”

I flinch when Jaden says his name. As Jaden continues explaining, Kie walks up to me as I wrestle my inner demon and try to keep from flinching when Jaden and the girls say the Meister’s name.

“Please stop using the Meister’s name! Now!”

I then show him a glimpse of what the Meister did to me and how much I need them to stop saying his name. I look at him and I see the fury and hopelessness in his eyes. Etched into the lines on his face.

I stare directly at him and say, “I’m fine. I promise. But please you all have to stop using his name.”

“You don't have to beg us, Chris. Seriously, if I see Rade or the Meister ever abuse you again….” He growls before I flash over to him and smack my hand over his mouth.

“Never say that. EVER! Do you understand? If you follow through with that threat or they hear you...they will beat you worse than anything that you can ever imagine. And you won't die from the abuse. They have already told me that if anybody I have any contact with ever goes and tries to kill Rade or the Meister, they will do worse than they have already done. So, for your sake, don't threaten or attempt an assassination. Ok?”

He nods and when I remove my hand he says, “I’m sorry for what you have endured for everyone’s sakes. They have never done half of what you've silently endured to me. And I want to save you from them. Is there anything I could do to help?”

I shake my head and answer in the demon language, “No, nothing but to try to keep yourself out of trouble. And please stop telling the girls what’s happened. I just want to keep it in the past. Ok? Answer in Motem Anima.”

“OK,” he answers in the same tongue, “I’ll leave off you for now. But remember that you promised to tell me some of the stuff that you have had to go through someday.”

I nod to acknowledge him. Then, Kie touches me, feeling my wounds. I flinch slightly every time that she brushes over a wound.