Heart of Darkness

"You can kill him." 

Skender finally gave his approval to kill Lord Davis. He called Lazarus and Acheron to his room and appointed them to do it discreetly. Perhaps the problem could still be solved if more words didn't reach the public yet. 

Lazarus could see that Skender was torn about his decision but there was no other way than killing Lord Davis at this moment, since he was planning to attack the castle tonight. 

"We will take care of it," Acheron said, giving him a pat on the shoulder. 

Lazarus gave him a nod, and they both left Skender behind. They walked into the darkness of the night, moving toward the camp where Lord Davis and his men were preparing for their mission. 

"It has been some time since we were sent on a mission." Acheron said. 

"I miss it," Lazarus replied, feeling excitement pump in his veins.

But these were humans, and they would probably be done in no time. Lazarus wished they were facing other creatures. 

"I wished Skender would cause more mishaps so we would have more mess to clean up," 

"Why would you wish suffering on an already tortured soul?" Acheron asked with a hint of humor. 

Lazarus smirked. Skender had not even faced half the torture of what he or the other members faced. His torture was often self-caused. They all ruined things for themselves but Skender was the king of causing trouble more than he was the king of Kraghorn. 

"Well, he has to suffer to get used to it. We won't be escaping our fate for a long time. Perhaps never." Lazarus said with a shrug, pretending that he didn't care. 

But his friend knew him too well and looked at him with those strangely bright green eyes. 

"Zarus…"

"Don't say anything, Ash." Lazarus cut him off. 

It was easier to pretend than to acknowledge. 

"Let's go kill some humans then." Acheron suggested. 

Focusing on their mission, they went to the camp setup for Lord Davis' mission. They walked toward the largest tent and two of the guards stepped forward when they spotted them. 

The guards put their hands around the handle of their sword, ready to attack in case they found anything suspicious. Acheron was too excited and teleported to stand behind them before snapping their necks. 

When their bodies fell to the ground Lazarus raised his eyebrows at his friend. "You could have at least left one for me." 

"My apologies." Acheron teased. 

Removing the thick curtain that covered the entrance of the tent, they walked inside. Lord Davis was explaining a map on the table before they disturbed him. 

He looked at them confused for a moment before he made up his mind.

"Kill them!" He commanded. 

"Alright then." Lazarus said, pulling his daggers while the others drew their swords. 

He began to avoid their attacks not wanting the fight to end quickly, but he soon realized these men were more skilled than he expected and they outnumbered them. 

As he began to fight them he knew these creatures were not human. These men were shades disguised as humans. 

The shades were dark spirits and creatures of the night. They could take the form of different cat and dog animals which made them dangerous, and they were enemies with the demons. 

Lord Davis had been working with creatures of the dark to fight other creatures of the dark without realizing. 

Lazarus knew they were stronger than this but were trying to appear human while fighting. He did his best to defend himself but they needed backup. 

He tried to reach the other's telepathically but realized they had already arrived. Acheron reached them faster. 

All of them were fighting three or four shades each. A few humans joined here and there but they were easier to knock down. 

The shades eventually realized they couldn't hold back their powers, so they shape shifted into different animals. Suddenly a large dog sank his teeth into his arm and Lazarus tried to fight it off while fighting other shades. 

The tent had collapsed, and now they were fighting under the night sky.

Blayze came to his rescue and tore the dog away from his arm but his skin and flesh followed the dog's teeth. Lazarus groaned in pain. 

"You are welcome." Blayze shrugged and then stabbed the last shade that ran toward them. 

Lazarus held his bleeding arm that had lost half its flesh and looked around. There were dead bodies everywhere and Lord Davis was one of them. 

Skender stood next to his body with a sunken shoulder and an empty expression. The sword in his hand was soaked in blood that slowly dripped down from the tip. It became dead quiet. 

They could all hear the calm night breeze, which was unlike this chaotic event. 

Acheron went and put a hand on Skenders shoulder. "You did what you had to do. At least you killed him in battle." He tried to console but nothing in Skenders expression changed. 

It would take time for him to forget it. Or perhaps, this would be something he would never forget. 

Skender looked up at them. "She knew it. That is why she said word would spread fast. She knew shades were involved."

"And how did the shades find out about us? It must have been because Lord Davis was going around spreading our secret while you waited." Blayze said. 

"Let's not fight, Blayze." Acheron tried to keep the situation calm. "None of us are happy about this situation. Now the shade knows about us and we have to deal with them as well. We weren't good at keeping secrets so we have to be very careful from now on. We can't change the past, so let's think about the future. We have to be on our guard now that the Shade knows about our whereabouts." 

One problem had been solved but now they had another to deal with. 

"Do you think the Arch will get involved?" Vitale asked. 

The shades main goal was to take down the Arch. The Arch were a group of powerful archdemons who ruled over the rest of them. They had many responsibilities including keeping their race hidden from the humans. 

"Even if they get involved, we will have to clean up our own mess. They won't do the work for us." Acheron replied. 

Blayze nodded. "And Lucrezia is probably waiting with her punishments for us." 

Every group of demons had an archdemon appointed to them. For those like himself, punished for their sins, Lucrezia was appointed. The goddess of punishments. And rewards but she rarely rewarded them and they rarely did anything to be rewarded for. 

Lazarus looked at his arm. It was starting to heal slowly. In no time he would have his skin and flesh back. 

"The dog was hungry. Reminds me of someone." Blayze smirked. 

"I don't have an appetite today but I am sure Ash does." Lazarus said. 

He had no desire to do anything today. He just wanted to go home and rest. But first they would need to clean up this mess.