Beast was the first to speak, his voice low and rumbling. "Malice.. the palace you described.. the Skull, the Obsidian windows, the knife- flame chandeliers.." he growled before exhaling sharply. "That wasn't just any Palace."
Slayer's eyes darkened. "It belongs to my eldest brother, Wycked."
Malice's breath caught. "Wycked?"
Slayer nodded once, jaw tightening. "Yes. Wycked. The oldest of us, the most evil, the most corrupted and the one that every demon fears. The Demon Lord of Corruption and Death."
Beast continued, his tone grim. "That Skull Palace is his domain. It's carved from the remains of a Titan he killed himself. The Obsidian windows are said to be made from the souls of the strong demons and warlords he devoured. And those chandeliers.." Beast shook his head, growling low in his throat. "Those flames are the colors of the spirits he's corrupted."
Malice swallowed hard, wings wrapped around him snugly. Slayer stepped closer. "And the river you saw - the glowing green one beneath the glass walkway - that's the River of Eternal Entrapment."
Beast nodded. "The river where the most wicked, tainted human and Demon souls are cast. Once thrown into that river, they never will leave its waters. They claw at anything living, desperate at the chance to steal the life force of any who ventures too close to its waters. What you saw.. that was Lord Wycked's Realm. In the Realm of the Dead"
Malice's breath trembled. "And the demon with the eyes.. the white foggy ones.."
Malice's question went unfinished. Slayer's expression hardened. "Those eyes you saw belonged to Wycked. Without question. His eyes are fogged white and he can look and see right into your very soul and he also sees through the souls that belong to him as well."
Beast added, "He hates the living. He hates anything with breath. He controls corrupted spirits, he kills for pleasure and finds killing thoroughly enjoyable. When in his presence you will feel the pure unbridled evil that emanates from him and an intense feeling of hopelessness and despair, that one couldn't even begin to know how to describe. You can somehow feel him suck all of the hope, joy and good out of the world, replaced by despair and absolute agony. And you getting a glimpse of him.. Malice, that's not someone Vishious would ever want you to witness. Unless, he personally was handing you over to him."
Malice's heart pounded. "And the human? The one that was begging?"
Slayer exchanged a look with Beast - a look full of confusion and unease. "That human had to be begging my brother to take his soul," Slayer said. "To take his humanity and turn him into a demon. That would in turn serve him for eternity."
Beast shook his head slowly. "But humans aren't allowed near Wycked. Most don't even know he exists and being in his presence would make a human go mad. For a human to be kneeling before him and be in his Realm - while still living... that's impossible? That is something that really is troubling and hard to make sense of." Beast snarled darkly. "And the gate," Beast continued, "The green - black flames.. that's Sprague."
Malice blinked. "Sprague?" He wasn't sure if he had ever heard that name before, but he was so exhausted he was having a hard time getting his mind to really think about much of anything.
Slayer nodded. "The Demon City. The one that belongs to Vishious, I had told you very briefly of the city when you informed me of Vishious's letter that had been delivered. It's the city where the Sun never touches and where shadows breathe. The city that only demons dwell of various types but mostly inhabited by the Night Creatures and only the strongest survive and live there." Slayer's voice was short and low.
Beast's voice dropped lower. "If you saw Sprague.. and Wycked.. and a human begging for his soul to be taken and turned into a demon of eternal servitude.. Malice, Vishious is involved in something far bigger than we realized." His snout curled up to reveal his deadly sharp teeth. His black serpent tongue came out to lick his lips, before he growled venomously.
Malice hesitated. Then something came to his mind and he quickly asked, "And the woman.. the one with Emerald green eyes..?" Slayer's expression shifted - confusion, then realizing what could be the only likely explanation of this unknown, mystery woman. "She must be the one Sinyster had been worried about," Slayer said quietly. Speaking his theory out loud, "The one she feared Vishious would hurt?"
Beast frowned. "Emerald green eyes.. underwater one moment, walking the next.. she must be a mermaid. Or something close to it." Beast let out a low hiss. Bringing his arms up to cross them in front of his chest. His eyes stayed on Slayer after hearing his theory that seemed to be one that would fit and make sense from what they knew right now.
Slayer nodded and shrugged his shoulders slowly. "It fits."
Malice looked between them and then asked in total confusion, "Why would she be with Vishious and from what I saw she never appeared to be someone Vishious held as a prisoner or hostage? The memory almost seemed intimate.." none of the three could think of anything to say to this but this confused them the most of Vishious' memories that Malice had revealed to them.
Slayer's jaw clenched and he let out a growl of irritation before saying, "That's what we need to find out."
Beast also let out a soft growl. "And why Wycked was in the same memory and how it is all tied together."
Just then the little strength that Malice had left in him gave out and his arms that he had been bracing himself up by holding onto the bed, no longer was able to support him and he suddenly fell forward.
Slayer caught Malice before he hit the floor face first. A faint, weak groan was all that came from Malice as he lay slumped in Slayer's arms.
"Before we figure out what's going on with Vishious or anything else, Malice needs to rest." Slayer said as he stood lifting up Malice's body he was still holding in his arms and laid him back on his bed. Malice had lost consciousness and just just laid there unmoving. Beast let out a low growl agreeing that Malice would be useless to help with anything in such a weakened state.
"I will leave you for the night and go endulge myself in some killing before the night's over. I will return tomorrow night to discuss things further, Sir." He snarled darkly as he started walking towards the large double paned window, unclasping his wings as he spoke. He lifted up the latch that held the window closed and let the window swing open, feeling the Night Time air come rushing in the room. He then slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder at Slayer who was standing by Malice's bed looking down at the unconscious Kamaira with a look of anger that was evident on his face, his brows furrowed together and his jaw clenched. Slayer then moved his gaze to look at Beast who was standing at the window looking over his shoulder at Slayer, his black serpent tongue slithering in and out of his mouth. He gave a short nod of his head to Slayer before turning his head to look forward, stepping up onto the stone window frame and launched himself forward out the window.
Slayer looked out the window and saw Beast's massive form flying off in the distance. Slayer figured that he'd head to his bedroom and maybe have one of the maids to entertain him for the remainder of the night and drink fresh blood from. Walking to the door and opening it he stepped out into the corridor, pausing to have the lights in Malice's room extinguish, closing the door behind him, leaving Malice to rest.