[color=gold]
Tobias' eyes were restless as he listened to Amelia describe what had happened.  Her words painted a scene he had hear a many times before, often from those whom none believed. Yet his question remained in his mind as he watched shadows run to and fro from scintillating torches. They took on shapes in the flash of an eye before melting, dancing with the light as to hide their illusion. A game was being played with the pieces already set in motion, and now they were nearing a final turn. 

Her partner burst into the room. [color=white]“...The King is —“[/color] Tobias' head shot up at those words. [i]Dead?[/i] His mind immediately went to the queen and her prophetic words spoken behind a devilish mask. And remembering the darkness settled behind her, things began to make sense. He could feel one of his brands burn on his stomach. Someone had opened a door beneath the castle's roots and into the depths of the inferno. Someone powerful. 

Once the two of them finished, he watched as Amelia held back the emotion of the recent news. 
[color=white]“What would this attacker want from me? Could it be what killed…the King?”[/color] After a moment of thought, he shook his head slowly. Why they would use this girl was beyond him?

“Clara.”

Both of them looked at one another. He could feel the same dark wind flow over the room. 

“Amelia!” Tobias screamed, as a ghost threw her into a wall. He pulled at his chains in great wrath, blood dripping from the cuffs. The metal moaned as they stretched underneath his growls of resolution. Suddenly, she was dropped as Antoine returned. Tobias fell to his knees with heavy breath, still looking at her. [i]What is that bastards game[/i], he thought. He watched Amelia leave to get the keys to his cell, and then turned his attention to the other man. 

“Boy, see if you can find a nail or any piece of metal equal in size.” Tobias said. Antoine only stared at him from across the room. Eventually, he walked up to the cell with a sullen face. “Hurry, please. They're surrounding us as we speak.” 
“The hell you talking about, heathen?” 
“This place is tainted by dark spirits in its entirety. It seeks to devour all those not like it.” Antoine raised a brow suspiciously, eyes looking into the prison's shadows as if he believed him.
“Like the thing that attacked Clara?” Tobias nodded. “So where is it?” 
“I can't tell. This whole place is filled with so many spirits it blinds my senses.” Antoine kicked at the cell bars in frustration, unsatisfied with that answer. 
“It has harmed the woman I love twice. I will not sit idle for it—“ 

A black ghostly hand took Antoine from behind and lifted him into the air. 
“For it to what?” A horse voice mocked. The man tried to elbow and kick whatever it was, but found nothing but air. He began to gurgle as the claw wrung his neck harder, taking hold of the cell bars and trying to pull away. “Watch closely, Nazarite.” The demon said. 

With it's other hand, it summoned a hollowed coin. Inside it bore a design familiar but unknown to Tobias; and yet, he understood its meaning. Glowing white with fire, the demon pressed the coin into Antoine's neck and laughed as he screamed. It set it there far longer than it needed until the man passed out in sheer pain. 

“That's not possible!” Tobias exclaimed. The demon only smiled as it sat the body down, then caressed its face.
“It is, my dear Tobias. No longer shall we live between the gates of heaven or hell!” It sliced open a scratch across Antoine's back and let the blood flow as its faceless lips reached inhumanly to each side of its face, eyes burning in great hunger. With a shriek it dove into the open cut like the fumes of a furnace returning to its fire, and in moments the body began to twitch. 

Antoine's eyes opened wide like a newborn and glared joyously at Tobias. Working one limb at a time, he slowly stood up against the bars and chuckled. With a moan it clawed its finger across his skin.

“To feel the blood rushing inside, the emotion brimming throughout my brain, the lust of all his desires toiling from his soul! I live again!” 

At the sound of quickened footsteps, the demon took hold of the bars and slammed his head several times into them. Amelia came running into the prison soon after and stopped a few feet from Antoine, he on his hands and knees. She rushed to his side.

“Amelia, no! Run!” Tobias screamed. She looked at him confused before she saw Antoine's hand slap across her face. Trying to unsheathe her sword, he drove his fist into her stomach, all but paralyzing her. Within a flash, the demon had locked an arm around her neck and drew her sword, its tip set against her back.

“Finally! This was taking too goddamn long!” He kicked the back of Amelia's legs and forced her to kneel. When she tried to speak, the demon simply squeezed her throat. “Now, straight to the point. Break—your—contracts, or she dies.” Tobias glared at him, deeply breathing through his nose. To give the Enemy the very weapons they used to keep them at bay was the greatest sin a Nazarite could commit. Closing his eyes, he prayed to God to give him an answer. “Oh, [i]Mon amour[/i], watch as he chooses whether or not to betray you; him and his false god.” The demon pressed his erect member against her back as he spoke. “And after this, I'll take you to a place where we can fuck til the stars fade and no King or Queen will ever displace you ever again.”

“Enough!” Tobias shouted. Head held in shame, he looked up into Amelia's eyes. He was defeated. “Give me a small blade.” The demon tilted its head.
“Why?”
“I will need to...remove the brands I have before I can break the contracts.” 
“That sounds...painful. Mmm, very well.” A knife from Antoine's belt drifted into the air and fell before Amelia. “Darling, would you be so kind as to slide it to him?” The tip of his sword pushed ever so slightly into her back, drawing blood. “Carefully, mind you.” She took a quivered breath and took the knife, tossing it to Tobias. It clattered before him, stopping short. “Oh, you tease! Making him reach for it! Why hadn't I thought of that?”

Tobias first reached for it with his arm, but came up short. With a sigh, he pulled off one of his boots and used it to hook the blade closer until he got it. The demon booed Tobias for the clever trick. Finally, after putting his boot back on, Tobias lifted his shirt revealing those three brands. His hand shook as the blade drew closer, fear settling in his eyes. 

“Come on with it!” The demon jeered. 

Leering at the demon, Tobias ground his teeth together. A strength came upon him, however, and he looked up at her. “Forgive me, God.” 

Closing his eyes, he held his hand around one of the brands and pushed the edge of the blade just behind it. His lips trembled as the knife drove through the skin, though he did not scream. Teeth clinched together, he grunted again and again with each cut. At last when it went through, he collapsed to the ground on all fours in pain. Both the knife and the piece of skin fell beneath him. 

“Oh, he has to cut them one at a time! I'm not sure I'll be able to [i]hold[/i] my excitement for that long!” Tobias did not react to the demon's words. He simply couldn't focus, panting and grunting through the pain. “Hey, we don't have all bloody night, Toby! Oh wait, yes we do. Please, continue.” With a sob, Tobias steeled himself and took both the knife and piece of skin in his hands. And just as he got to one knee, he threw the skin at the torch near in one natural motion. It gleamed blue a second before hitting the flame—and just as the demon pushed the sword an inch into Amelia's back—ignited into a burst of Holy fire. Its light burned at the demon's flesh and threw it back.

“Amelia, go into the cell with my bag!” He ordered. Disciplining herself against the pain in her back she did as he said and unlocked the small cell next to his, shutting the gate behind her. Antoine leapt up from the ground and ran at her, sword slicing through the bars inches away from her. “Take the sword, then throw me the keys!” She quickly found the sword underneath his bag and unsheathed it, parrying another blow. Once she felt safe, she threw the keys at him.

“GODDAMN YOU!” The demon screamed. “YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE THIS PLACE!” 

Free of his shackles, Tobias felt his strength return to him and a renewed wrath burned in his eyes. He ran over to Amelia. “Give me the knife strap in the bag!” She did so. Once equipped, he placed the key chain around his wrist and pulled out two knives in particular, walking up to the gate. Parrying a thrust with one blade, he slashed at the key hole with the other, and instead of sparks water splashed across the threshold. He did this several more times with the other dagger, which released a frost, all while continuing to avoid the demon's sword. 

Knowing what Tobias was doing, Antoine kicked open the gate with a shout, frozen metal flying everywhere. He knew it was his only chance to kill him and slashed his way into the cell, driving back the priest. Knives were not Tobias' expertise, and so he kept being driven back or around to avoid the rapier's bite. And just as he caught the sword between his blades, the demon back-fisted him across the face and almost fell to the ground. Only with the grace of God and his reflexes did he side step away from a cut that skimmed across his belly. 

Anger flashing in the demon's eyes, Tobias rolled underneath a wide slash and drove the icy dagger into its leg. At the same time, he drew another blade with a thronged guard and caught the demon's next swing, punching his last knife into Antoine's ribs. Amelia screamed as she watched him slowly stiffen into a sculpture of ice until at last he moved no more, except for his mournful eyes. 

Tobias withdrew and sheathed his knives, walking out of his cell and to Amelia. She swung wildly at him the second he unlocked the door, almost striking him once before he took her to the ground and locked her wrist.

“We don't have time for grief! There's going to be dozens more demons and their thralls crashing through the door! Steel yourself, now!” She pounded her fist against him in reply, not being able to hold back the emotions of knowing both her father and lover were now gone. After a moment, she simply lied back letting the tears blind her. Tobias let out a shaken breath before taking the sword and going to his bag to equip himself. Once fully clothed and armored, he returned to her and placed a soft hand across her cheek. “Once we leave the castle, I will give you all you need, but right now we need to escape. Are there any passageways out?”
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