The Guardian's Flame

Save me

"Normally such a bold move would be suicide." Your father mused. He rested his elbows on the desk steepling his fingers in front of him. "But on account of your new abilities-" He smirked as you rubbed your arm nervously. "We will be in the perfect position to strike." Your father stood suddenly.

You found yourself locking your muscles into place to keep your body from flinching.

Your father circled the desk and ruffled your hair.

"You might just be useful to me after all, Spark."

You kept gaze on the floor as he spoke only once more.

"Now, go fetch me that gauntlet."

Your memory ended just as you pulled your hood lower. You watched as the last rays of daylight faded behind the horizon. Your foot falls were silent as you came to an old elevator. You had hoped the journey to this elevator would take longer. Even dusk provided too much light for your liking. But your father being the ever impatient man he was, you didn't have the luxury of taking your time.

Still for a few moments you hesitated. Despite the silence surrounding you, your heartbeat sped a million miles a minute. What if your father was mistaken? You would die. There was no question about how the demon bull family would react to the blatant attack.

You had never caught a demon before. You only hoped you could get in and escape without detection.

Shaking yourself from your stupor you rolled your shoulders to ease the muscles there. You would need them for the long decent. You secured your rope to a nearby building then, and tossed the rope down the shaft. The darkness below the elevator sending a shiver down your spine.

"This is a terrible idea." You mumbled as you began repelling down the shaft. You couldn't risk using the elevator, the machine was decrepit. It would make far too much noise.

At first your nerves were on edge. Vigilantly scouring the darkness below you for any sign of movement. But the shaft went on for miles. So soon your mind wandered back to your newfound abilities.

A 'Museling' was what your father had called you. A creature with the ability to control any demon with a single, simple kiss. The ability had dawned from a long forgotten goddess whom had married a mortal. She was then banished from the heavenly realm for the offense. This was the only ability left from her previous powers. Extremely few of her descendants inherited said ability.
You had simply been lucky.

A small snap riveted your attention on your rope. A small sharp rock which jutted from the wall had been soundlessly slicing your rope bit by bit with your movements. Now only strands secured your weight. Panic surged through you and you reached towards the rope. However, your sudden movement was too much for the frayed strands to take and the rest of them snapped loudly. The sound reverberated throughout the cave as you plummeted towards the ground.

Then again maybe you weren't so lucky at all. Your body hit the ground with jarring force but you rolled to disperse the momentum. The method worked albeit barely. Pain resounded through you. Coursing up your legs and back where you had put the most pressure. You checked yourself for more obvious wounds before-

"Well, well, well-"

You stiffened at the low voice.

"Look what we have here."

Your head snapped up, your gaze locking with the heir of the demon bull family. Fiery red hair pulled back into a ponytail, a long red overcoat, and an evil grin that made your stomach turn. Behind him stood several mechanical bull humanoids.