Glass Hearts

39

"Jeremy, you're pets, they take wonderful care of your company. Your newest one, Dermot? He-" Lance breaks off what he was going to say as he sees Leann's look. "They did a wonderful job of taking care of me." He finishes lamely.

"Did you even remember to check on our son?" Leann asks acidly.

"Yes, and wasn't that a joy. He wanted to come so badly that I literally had to pry him off me. He's pouting now, so we really need to finish off the fun and get back to Earth before he gets to phase two." Lance says with just a tinge of urgency to his voice.

"He's been warned about going to phase two," Leann says and is very angry.

"Jeremy do you know where that councilman's house is?" Jim breaks in.

"Yes," and he starts leading the way. He wants to get back to Tenesa and his slaves.

"If that door is warded against magic how are we going to get in?" Verruca asks worriedly.

"Too many times we over prepare against one thing and forget about another," Lance replies and leaves it at that.

Jeremy finds the house and the door isn't even closed. Apparently when they entered the demons forgot to close it behind them. "This could be a trap." Leann mutters in the silence of the house.

Jeremy lets out his own spell while Verruca lets one of her own out. They both come up negative.

Jeremy leads the group to the stairs and opens the door to the basement. Leann lights the way to the ground. At the end of the short hall there is a metal door, thick and heavy. "Must have taken two demons to fit that into place." Jim muses looking at the door before them.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing there are three of us. Jeremy, why don't you have a spell ready to release once Jim and I have the door open?" Jeremy nods with his wicked smile in place as Lance and Jim take up positions preparatory to opening the door.

Lance has an idea and tries the door first. After all they forgot to close the front door when they fled to this place. His hunch paid off, it's unlocked. He nods to Jeremy who lets loose the spells as soon as they open the door. 

Sounds of panic and pain are heard. Jeremy's eyes start to glow, "My parents are in there and they are hit." He's pleased, now he has a legit reason to torture them and not have to take them before the King.

Lance and Jim open the door fully. As they come to someone that isn't hurt they send them out and told them to start the cleanup outside. About three fourths of those in the room were unharmed. Not as many as the King had hoped but more than Jeremy had expected.

"Oh, there you are mom and dad. I had so hoped to be able to see you again before I had to leave this level. Adon and Gwyndy send their love. The others weren't coherent enough to speak. But I have to say Dympna most definitely doesn't send her regards. She hopes that you live a thousand years in hell with the pains I know you are living right now. I'm inclined to let that happen." Jeremy says and the thought lights his eyes up brighter than Lance's or Jim's ever has.

"Jeremy?" The utter disbelief in their voices as they spoke in unison just makes Jeremy's smile even more.

"Have I become cruel enough for you?" Jeremy takes the knife in his hand and lightly trails it along his parents body's. He leaves behind trails of blood. Jim had left but returns and hands Jeremy a bag. He starts rubbing the contents into their wounds.

"This won't stop the poison that's already eating away in your system. Actually it will enhance the pain a thousand fold. I'll have to remember to do this to Adon if he's still alive when I'm done with you two.

"By now, even if I left and they got you to a healer, the poison is so far permeated in your bodies that there is nothing to be done. Perhaps one of your friends here will put you out of your misery, although I highly doubt it. Perhaps His Mightiness will want to talk to you?"

"Nah, they are too far gone. We won't want to bother him over these two." Lance says as he watches Jeremy carefully. "You missed a spot Jer." Jeremy goes back over to the spot Lance points out and carefully rubs the salt in.

Once he finishes Jim hands him a big jug. "You two must be thirsty by now?" Jeremy asks but they can smell that it isn't wine in the jug and are quick to assure him that they aren't. "Too, bad I don't believe you." He slowly and carefully pours the vinegar over his parents making sure that all the salt is hit with the vinegar.

"Very nicely done Jeremy." Lance is pleased with how in control Jeremy remained during the whole thing. "Are you ready for the next level?"

"Yes, thank you for waiting for me to finish this and for the idea Lance," Jeremy says ignoring his parents cries as he stands and walks away from them.

"Any time Jeremy, anytime. I've wanted to do even more to them and they aren't even my family. We could send them to Earth and I could heal them so we could continue their torture." Lance's eyes light up with that idea.

"I don't have adequate facilities to protect my slaves and Tenesa from my parents. Or I'd take you up on that."

"Well, then I guess we'd better continue on with our search. I had hoped the succubi were on this level. With their luck they'll have been taken to the lowest level still livable." Lance says morosely. Those demons didn't play nice with the sex demons.

"We could skip to that level and see? This way they won't know which level we'll be visiting next," Leann says thoughtfully.

Jim smiles and his eyes light up like Jeremy's and Lance's, "OH, let's, Quintrell has been wanting to play with me for some time. He's the one most likely to have set up the raiding. He loves the stories behind his name." Jim's dislike for this demon is plain and obvious.

"Then by all means let's not disappoint the demon raider." Lance says smiling happily.

Leann is less pleased and sends out a spell. This one goes over the remaining levels before finding the second to last level.

"Dammit Leann you're taking out all the fun again," Lance yells.

"I won't have you making our son an orphan. Nor will I allow you to make Tenesa fatherless again. There will still be plenty of fighting. By the time the spell gets down to the lowest levels it won't be as effective. But it will make it so we have a better chance if they are waiting for us. You might have forgotten the wolf's warning but I haven't." Leann is furious with Lance at this moment and lets him have it with no holds barred. Lance sits back and closes his eyes. He'd let his darker side take over and almost made a mistake that could have killed them all.