Lexi could feel Bella's unhappy rumbling reverberating in the stone floors of the corridors as she followed carefully behind Narcissa, and it was doing nothing to improve her mood.
The thought of coming face to face with Eromaug made her skin crawl and without any ability to defend herself if he tried anything, she was more than a little on edge.
She glowered furiously at Narcissa's back and fought the urge to grab a hold of her hair and slam her head into the wall on a whim.
"Why are you doing this?" Lexi spat suddenly.
Narcissa paused and turned to face her with a sneer as her eyes raked over her.
"I do it because I'm told to do it." She answered in a sickly sweet voice, "I didn't ask for any of this. If things had gone according to plan I would still be cozied up with the father of your interfering bitch of a best friend and one step closer to seizing power for myself and my Lord."
"That would never have happened. You would have been stopped before it even got to that point."
Narcissa laughed quietly and shook her head.
"You have no idea what you're talking about, or just how far Eromaug's reach extends so do yourself a favor and stop talking about things that you don't understand. Play your part and play it well, otherwise you'll find yourself ending up like me."
Without another word Narcissa turned on her heel and continued forward as Lexi pursed her lips in a grim line and hurried after her.
They seemed to have walked forever, up and down various sloping corridors that twisted around in a way that, when combined with the vast array of odors that permeated the enclosed corridors, made Lexi feel nauseous.
Finally the corridors opened out into a cavernous opening, the area beyond almost breathtaking in its design.
Lexi gasped as she stumbled past Narcissa in shock and ignored the disdainful snort that sprang from her direction.
The stone walls had been smoothed and polished here to a point that their appearance resembled that of polished Onyx, with the surface decorated with beautifully ornate carvings of various Daemons engaged in a wide selection of scenes.
The larger Arch Daemon's strolled around freely here, some engaged in deep discussions, others engaged in training and sparring with each other in a gated area and most surprisingly of all, some walking with hellhounds pulling at their leads as if they were no more than domesticated pets, past an array of various stalls to the left that disappeared into another cavernous room to the left...
Lexi blinked in astonishment at the insanity of having what appeared to be a bustling subterranean marketplace, and one that was clearly well maintained and she turned to Narcissa with her mouth gaping slightly.
"Impressive, isn't it?" Narcissa sneered, "Perhaps now you understand why I follow him so willingly. Your tiny little world has never seen such magnificence you know. They prance around with their kings in high places and the common folk below…it's not like that here. Not if you submit to his rule."
Lexi caught herself looking at Narcissa like a halfwit and quickly closed her mouth, scowling.
"But you…the way he treats you…all of you magic users…"
"I failed in my assigned duty, I was warned of the consequences of not succeeding and I took that risk." Narcissa answered stoically, "But if Lord Eromaug was in charge of our world…there would be no hunger, or wars…no oppressed species vying for a tiny fraction of what a small percentage of people have…we would truly be free and equal."
Lexi snorted loudly and shook her head.
"Just because something is pretty on the outside doesn't mean that it's not rotten inside Narcissa. All of this…you know it wouldn't be like this up there. The other species would be subjugated whether they liked it or not and forced to bend their necks…"
"It would be worth it!" She screamed suddenly, drawing the attention of some of the closer daemons before she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "You have no idea, Lexi…none of you would give him the chance to show you just how good he can be." She continued her voice calmer.
"Yeah, such a surprise that people don't want to be conquered by a fucking Daemon that has incestuous tendencies and enjoy murdering people who make mistakes to turn them into wraiths so they can serve him for eternity." Lexi mocked as she rolled her eyes, "Such a pity for us.We're CLEARLY missing out."
Narcissa glowered at her before her arm flew up to grip Lexi's shoulder, her icy fingers squeezing painfully into her shoulder as she propelled her forwards into the throng of Daemon's before them.
Lexi tried her best not to stare as they passed the many creatures that mingled about as they made their way towards a towering door at the end set with Gold and Amber reliefs and she tried to imagine what her father's central city was like.
Was it similar to Eromaug's domain?
Her father had allowed her to explore a little in the areas that he considered safer and Steve had always chaperoned her, or her hellhounds had, but the central areas she had not been allowed to enter as some of the most temperamental Daemons often frequented those areas. One wrong breath or look in their direction could spell disaster for anyone.
The two Colossal statues that stood either side of the doors sprang to life as they approached, their Glaives clashing together with an ear splitting sound as their ruby set eyes flashed brightly and seemed to turn towards where Narcissa and Lexi had come to a stop.
Lexi glanced across at her apprehensively, but she seemed unfazed and Lexi forced herself to subdue the loud snort of irony that bubbled inside of her at the thought of relying on Narcissa to take care of her wellbeing.
"Seriously?" Narcissa glowere up at the creatures, "How many times must I come here before you bozo's will fucking let me pass without challenge."
The creatures wheezed at the same time and to Lexi, it seemed almost like laughter. Perhaps Narcissa wasn't as high up the food chain here as she thought and that idea filled Lexi with satisfaction.
"State your business, unliving." a rich and deep voice emanated from somewhere around their heads as Narcissa's eyes narrowed rebelliously.
"You both know exactly what he summoned me here for, and you both know I was due to fucking return as quickly as possible. Now let me through." She hissed furiously as they stared down impassively at us.
She sighed in exasperation as the silence extended and they remained unspeaking and unmoving for far longer than Lexi thought necessary, and then shoved Lexi forward abruptly, causing her to stumble forwards.
"I brought the one he requested." She snapped as Lexi turned and glowered furiously at her.
"Will you quit fucking shoving me or I'm gonna shove the first thing i get my hands on somewhere the sun doesn't shine." Lexi seethed as the colossal beast behind her emitted the wheezing noise again which only seemed to infuriate Narcissa.
The sound of grating followed as a giant hand reached across the creature's front and extracted an overly large dagger that was constructed of the same jet black material that he was, and then offered it towards Lexi.
She stared up at him incredulously, her eyes flicking between the creature's outstretched fist and the weapon it held, and its face.
"Are you fucking serious?! How the fuck am I supposed to lift that?! Let alone shove it up where I intended?!" Lexi snapped as the wheezing sound followed more intensely this time.
"Will you STOP making friends with the whore and planning my next death every time we cross paths!" Narcissa shrieked, her fists shaking furiously at her side.
"Then stop coming here," the creature answered matter of factly as he returned the dagger to its sheathe and studied Lexi closely, "Why have you sealed her?" it asked as its gaze turned to Narcissa once more.
"A precaution," She hissed, " Now let me through so I can deliver her."
The creature wheezed again.
"Lord Eromaug will not be pleased, unliving." It rumbled as their glaives moved back from the door and they pushed it open, the doors moving inwards without a sound.
"Yeah, well, it's my fucking funeral," Narcissa snapped as she gripped Lexi's shoulder again and shoved her forward, "It is a precaution that I would take every time. Besides, unlike you, my death is not permanent. I'll be back, no matter how many times I meet my end."
Lexi couldn't be sure but she felt as though the uncomfortable rumble that reverberated in the air around them as they passed under their figures, sounded like one of displeasure.
"Well aren't you popular here," Lexi commented dryly as she struggled to keep up with the speed that Narcissa was moving.
"Shut up." Narcissa hissed as they moved at almost a run past other, important looking Daemons and further inside whatever this building was, "Save your breath for my Lord. He's been waiting too long already and he's not renowned for his patience."
"Is it far?" Lexi asked, not really wanting to know the answer as panic began to squeeze her heart tightly.
"No. Just through here," Narcissa said as they stopped in front of another door as robed figures with no faces hastened to open the doors for them.
"Just...wait a minute…can we…" Lexi began, her voice rising in terror of the unknown as Narcissa grinned back at her.
"Whatever it is. No. We can't. He's waiting in there, Lexi. He's been waiting for you for the longest time."