Hellborn

Chapter 2

By the third drink, with the rising of the sun, I started to think about the possibility of calming down. I wasn't usually a morning drinker, but what with the burning portals still smoldering around the city, and around the world, I figured that this was no ordinary morning.

With all of the terrible and nasty things that could be coming soon, that could be biting right now into the soft flesh of humanity, here I was with the bloody actual Crown Princess of Hell sleeping shrouded and silent in my living room.

This was certainly one hell of a situation the bastards had put me in this time, if you'll pardon the expression yet again. How in the name of all that's unholy was I qualified to protect the last of Hell’s royal lineage?

And yet I wondered what she looked like? Does she look like her father? I had only ever seen him once, my immortal creator, in the 11th century, during the second crusades and the third siege of Antioch. It was the first time he had set foot on Earth since the famed fall of Jericho, and I only saw him for a moment before he unleashed his power on the Christian armies. He was magnificently gorgeous, almost painfully beautiful. His majesty and beauty made your heart weep. It was no wonder the Archdemoness LorIthas had fallen so in love with him. I had never seen her in the flesh, but the tales of her dark and terrible beauty were legend among both demons and Hellborn.

What would she be like when she woke? Who is this girl born of both angel and demon natures? What was her nature? Was she cold and aloof, or was she temperamental and chaotic? And the biggest question of all...what would her reaction be when she woke up here, a strange place in a strange world with a strange man-demon as her only protector? Would she think herself abducted, and act with violence, or would she know the truth of why she was here and how she got here.

I knew I had to appear as unimposing as I could be. I knew what she would see when she laid eyes on me, eyes I was curious to see for myself. She would see a man just under six feet tall, leanly muscled yet lithe and nonthreatening. I had already tied my shoulder length reddish brown hair back into a tail, and the almost permanent tan on my skin was a compliment to wintery blue eyes. The stubble on my face, which I thought gave me a sort of rogue look, I should have shaved to appear more innocent.  But there was no time.

With a start of panic I heard furtive movements from the living room, and there came an unmistakable presence of unbridled power. She was awake, and whatever her mood she was going to have to learn to contain that presence. She emanated power like a blast furnace.

And that was when I heard the softest and sweetest voice I have heard in three thousand years. There was touch of anxiety in her voice, along with an air of gentle command, even when questioning.

“Hello?” I heard her say, “who’s there? Where am I?”

Well, no time like the present. I reminded myself, as nonthreatening as possible. It was a start.

In a soft, deep tone I called out.

“Everything is alright. You are not here against your will. You were brought here by the Archdemons for your protection. I can explain everything. But for now I'm going to open the door, ok? Please don't scream or do anything rash. I'm just as nervous as you.”

With that said, I turned the knob and slowly opened the door.

There was not one single experience in all of my thousands of years that could have prepared me for the first time I saw her. Nor could any of them compare to the feeling in my chest, my head and my heart, when the reality of her hit home within me.

At first all I could see was unbridled power, as hers reached out and surrounded my own, making it rise from its usual dormancy. They wrapped around each other, immortal tongues licking, tasting, taking measure and judging both strength and worth.