Still in my restraints but no mask, I laid on the floor of my padded room looking up at the ceiling. Far comfier than my old jail cell. The conversation between Emma, Nekko, and I played in my head but with no sound.

Why?

I inhaled and jerked up.

Sulfur.

I had smelled it here lately. I wondered if Jezebel was here somewhere, lurking. Part of me was curious if she would appear to me. I wanted to talk to her.

The door of my cell cranked open. A beautiful woman entered not in the same nurse uniform as my other caretaker. This woman was in a short nurse"s costume that flaunts things.

The sulfur aroma was stronger now. I smiled.

"Jezebel?"

The woman smiled wide, her skin changed to its dark red tone, a tail drew in the back, horns in the front, and her glowing red eyes twinkled.

"Did you miss me?"

"Just wondering where you had gone off to after your stirrup that got me into this," I pointed out, making an effort to show the restraints.

"Honey, don"t blame me. I already knew that this was going to happen. The only thing that I did was bring the fact that you"re a necromancer to light," she cooed.

She placed her hands behind her back and started to circle me.

"Why?"

"To be frank," she replied, "I needed the attention off of me so that I could get away and hide, sorry."

"You said earlier that you wanted me. To trade for me. Why?" I asked.

Jezebel leaned over and whispered in my ear.

"Why not?"

"Do you know how the necromancer race acquired the green flame of h.e.l.l?" Jezebel poked, straightening up.

This was something that I didn"t know.

"How?"

"They were guides in h.e.l.l, before the fraction. Your kind guided all of the tortured souls to their rightful places in h.e.l.l and kept the order. To aid you in this, you were blessed with the gift of the green flame from my father," Jezebel lectured.

"Why did you cause the fraction?"

Jezebel paused her pacing. She stood behind me, looming over.

"Like all things in the h.e.l.ls, there was a need for new leadership, and I desired the crown. Others weren"t so accepting of that." She replied.

"Interesting," I said.

I kept my gaze to the floor. To be honest, I didn"t know if I was hallucinating or if Jezebel was truly here.

"That doesn"t tell me why you want me?"

As if reading my mind, Jezebel came to the front of me, got on all fours, crawled up to me, and then straddle me.

She wrapped her arms around me, and her tail slithered up my legs.

"You know when I brought things to light, I was genially curious to see what the humans would do to you. Would they except you or destroy you?"

Jezebel put a finger to my chin and brought my gaze to hers.

"And you know what I found?" she asked.

I said nothing, knowing the answer and feeling the pain.


"They didn"t. They acted like they did centuries ago. Even after you corporate, pleaded, begged, tried to play nice, and told them you were a good guy; they just threw you away like garbage!"

I raised my eyebrows. Jezebel smiled.

"You thought that I wasn"t watching you and seeing what was developing?" she whispered, tapping my nose with a finger.

"So, back to your question: why do I want you?"

Jezebel scooted forward and back on my lap.

"After seeing what they have done to you, I want to give you freedom," she offered.

I scoffed.

"I"m telling the truth," she sa.s.sed.

Jezebel got to her feet and stood in front of me.

"You have tried convincing them that you are a good man, but where has that lead you?"

She waved her hand around the room.

"I want to give you freedom, peace, a place that you can be you," she exclaimed.

"And in trade to be your, slave," I tested.

"No."

The devil"s smile faded.

"I need a general," she replied.

I c.o.c.ked my head slightly, pressing my eyebrows together.

"My dear Eugene, these humans don"t want you here. They have made that clear," she convinced.

"You want freedom, and you need peace. For that to happen, there needs to be war, and I want you to lead my armies to just that."

"There"s going to be a lot of innocent people that are going to die," I said, aimlessly.

"Such is war," Jezebel gently stated.

"But with those innocent lives dying, their soul will come to you. They will give you the power to make our cause just," she whispered.

She returned to my lap.

"Necromancer, I accept who you are, and I am here to say that I am sorry for the pain that I may have caused. I want to make things right with you and give you what you"ve been yearning for," she pleaded.

"I, I need time to think about it," I muttered.

The devil smiled wide enough for her sharp canines to show.

"Of course, my darling," she whispered back.

"But here"s a parting gift of good faith," she offered.

Jezebel touched my restraints, and they dissolved like snow. Her tail brushed down my jawline and over my lips. Then, she got to her feet once more.

"Once you have made your decision, touch that mark on your hand," she stated, pointing to my right hand.

There was a small black ink blotch.

She blew me a kiss and was gone. I looked around the room. My cuffs were gone, and the blotch was still there. It must have not been a dream or hallucination. I laid back down far more comfortably and dwelled on the offer.

"A general?"

~~~

"How long have the necro"s restraints been off?"

My sister, Jade, had decided to come and lecture me about how the interrogation could have gone. She was only stopped when she happened to glance at the monitor in the warden"s office.

"His restraints shouldn"t be off period," exclaimed the warden.

Jade flew out the door and to the cell block. I looked at Nekko, who gave me a nod to the door. I busted out the door and was right behind Jade.

The one thing that I had over my sister was speed.

"Emma! Go back to the warden"s office. This doesn"t concern you anymore," Jade commanded.

"What are you going to do?" I shot back.

Jade slowed down and came to a halt forcing me to do the same.

"You are only permitted to be here to interrogate the necromancer. You were unsuccessful, and now I am ordering you to return home," Jade threatened.

"You haven"t answered my question," I demanded.

"What any guard here would do when the prisoner breaks out of his chains," Jade elaborated.

I readied myself, taking a step back and squaring up to my sister. It was a mistake.

My sister pointed her finger at me; my back immediately froze in place as did my whole body. There wasn"t a shred of ice to be seen, yet, my bones were chilled and stiff. Jade slammed a fist into my gut with enough force to cause me to be depleted of all of my breath. During that time, I also couldn"t inhale.

The hallway that we were in started to dim and fade out.

"I will deal with you after I deal with the necromancer," Jade brought down.

It was the last thing I heard before pa.s.sing out.

~~~

"Should I, or should I not," I asked myself.

The offer Jezebel made was beginning to tenderize and become more appealing. There was a small part of me that was resisting my whole mind to be on the same page. Jezebel was right in the fact the I want nothing more right now that peace, but at what cost?

War was on the horizon; Jezebel said that she was bringing it to this world.

"A time for war and a time for peace," I quoted.

Were they ever going to accept me for what I was? Or was Jezebel, right? Is this my fate? The rest of my life?

That was the real question holding me back from touching the little blotch. A single thread of hope was screaming that it was going to end like this and that a miracle was going to happen.

"Should I, or should I not?" I repeated.

I exhaled and stretched.

"I know that I shouldn"t, but," I whispered, looking at the blotch.

I wanted my freedom, and at this time, I wasn"t going to be getting it any time soon.

Am I willing to wait that long? Could I convince them that even though I am a necromancer, that isn"t who I am?

My previous attempts swarmed my mind, and the painful results followed. I scoffed, sitting up.

All of a sudden, the door to my cell swung open, and in came the Director"s right hand. I stood up; the feet were frozen to the ground. With one solid punch to my stomach, the right hand launched me into the wall of the cell.

My hands smacked the wall and were immediately frozen. I hung there, on the wall, a few inches off the floor. I coughed and groaned.

"where are you restrained!" the hand spat.

"What?" I asked, confused.

I was met with a volley of punches.

"Where are your restraints necromancer," she emphasized

"I, they"re," I stumbled.

My face was met with another round of punches. My face was burning, and the once white padded floor was turning pink to red.

"She was here, wasn"t she?" the hand asked.

"She, who?"

"The demon, Jezebel!" the hand shouted.

I coughed, "Yes."

I was beaten again. For what reason, I didn"t know.

"Why are you beating me? I haven"t done anything, and I answered honestly," I whimpered.

The right hand ignored my whimpering.

"What did she want?"

"She wanted to see how I was doing," I answered.

The thread of hope was beginning to rip apart.

Another slam to my gut. I coughed up blood and almost puked the contents of my stomach. I gasped for air.

"I answered honestly," I gasped.

"Master!"

Nekko filled the doorway. Her face, horror-struck at the sight. I tried to look a pleading as I could. One eye was swollen shut, and the other was another punch away.

"Nekko, take Ms. Winters back to home and lock her in her room. She is not allowed to leave until I get home, is that understood?" the hand ordered.

Nekko was paralyzed in the doorway.

"NEKKO!"

Nekko jumped and shrieked, "Yes, master."

She darted down the hallway, and the thread of hope snapped. My head hung there. If I could have cried, I would have, but the tear ducts were malfunctioning.

When the hand made sure that Nekko was gone, she came up, wrapped a hand around my throat, and tightened her grip. What little air I had became thinner.

"You are going to tell me everything," she whispered.

"I thought I already did."

I raised my head to her and smiled, coughing in the process.

"What are her plans?"

"You should ask her yourself," I resisted.

"Where is she hiding?"

"Probably, where the sun doesn"t shine."

The burning from the beating was starting to numb. After a while, I just hung there, taking the swings and not saying anything more. I didn"t think that my mouth could anyways.

"Jade!"

The right hand spun around. The Director was now in the cell with her.

"When I said that you have free reign to interrogate that didn"t mean kill the poor man," he snapped.

Jade took a step back and folded her arms behind her back. The Director examined my bloodied face.

"d.a.m.nit," he scoffed.

He glared at Jade.

"Release him," he ordered.

I promptly crumbled to the floor. I brought all of my limbs up to my torso.

"Where is Jezebel," the Director asked.

"Why don"t you ask her yourself?"

I brushed a finger over the blotch.

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