[MA]LEVO[R]A: E[x]uviae (She)

[The Infamous]

It was a beautiful night. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. The twinkling stars seemed to look down upon the Earth with joyful activity as the bright half moon remained a still, unyielding force upon the tides and minds of men. There was a small village, out of the way of much travel. It was the home of only a few hundred human inhabitants. Most of those people were inside, cooking or preparing to sleep for the night, but there were a few children still outside, playing, throwing a ball around and running to and fro in an ever-present energy of excitement.

Lightning struck nearby. It was odd because there was not a cloud in the sky. And no thunder followed. A woman stuck her head out the door, oblivious to the incident as she called her children in to eat. But one of the children dropped his toy car and began walking toward the location where the lightning had crashed, in the center of the brick road. The ten-year-old boy stared down at the smoldering black brick just half a dozen feet away. He inched closer. When his mother yelled at him, he finally turned and started for the cabin.

But lightning came again, and in the same place. The boy jumped, hearing the crack and feeling the heat. He spun around and looked, but there was nothing. His mother had seen it this time, and was rushing out to her son. She was screaming for him to get into the house.

She had never heard of lightning striking in the same location twice...

As soon as she reached her son, just at the edge of the yard, a third jagged bolt of light hit the same spot in the brick road, but this time, the color of the lightning was an effervescent green. And the lightning remained, sizzling for several seconds as it scorched the brick and Earth beneath.

The mother pulled her boy away and turned, not looking back. She gulped, not knowing what this strange phenomenon was, but knew it couldn't be anything good. Fear made her heart beat faster and faster as she tugged her son through the short, chain-link front gate and closed it behind her. When she turned around, she saw it: a green and black hole in the space/time continuum, a dimensional portal.

Before she could take another step, two women exited the portal. The mother gasped and staggered back fearfully, her son still in her grasp. The two women were Valkyries, armored scantly and wielding spears. The next person to exit the supernatural doorway was their obvious leader, as the Valkyries stood at attention and saluted with their fists against their cleavage.

Their apparent leader was a muscular man of medium build with a black messy Mohawk. He had piercing green eyes and a scar running diagonally across his unshaven pale face. His attire included a long black leather duster complete with a short cape, black leather pants, combat boots, and a white form-fitting muscle shirt that did very little to hide his rock-hard abs, which was probably the point.

As soon as the man saw the woman and her son, an evil smile slowly spread across his face. The mother moved her son behind her protectively.

"Oh babe," the stranger cooed in an Irish accent. "That's not gonna help."

He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. Another bolt of lightning struck, but this time behind the frightened woman. When she spun around to find out why she could no longer feel her son's hand, she discovered that he'd been burnt to ash. Black flakes that had once been her son crumbled from her fingertips. The mother inhaled deeply, her eyes and mouth agape in shock and horror. Then she fainted.

General Tritus exited the portal behind The Infamous with two bodyguards. His guards were not Valkyries, but Erinyes, also known as Furies. Also unlike The Infamous, Tritus was not human, but a fallen angel.

"My lord Dren," said Tritus. "I sense a non-human presence in this village. Shall we seek her out, my lord?" He stroked his goatee as he gazed around.

The Irish human warlord Dren, known to many as The Infamous, smirked before answering, "Nah, mate. Take the humans. Kill the weaklings. Ye know the drill. Leave the djinn for me."

[She]

She'd been curled up, sleeping in the large, bright marble room that was used like a throne room. The small girl had just awoke, and was lounging calmly, tugging her curls when she heard the thunder. It was close. She couldn't pinpoint it precisely, but when the noise was repeated, she knew it was something suspicious. She sighed slightly, like her realm being invaded was like a rainstorm that ruined her plans for the day. She stood slowly, stretching like a cat before she straightened her dress, a short, white, floaty, graceful affair with a thin black belt around her waist, that contrasted with the spiralling black dragon up her left arm. She wandered down the corridor barefoot, wiggling her fingers in anticipation.
"Oh joy" she whispered to herself, looking out of the window. She was on the hill, a little out of the village, but still a part of it. She didn't want to rule from a palace in the cities, but she wanted to be part of the people. She could see a panicked woman in the distance, surrounded by men. She knew they would be able to feel her, and she could sense their presence like a small itch on the back of her neck. She wanted to go scratch that itch. Ignoring shoes, she padded out to where they were, small and unarmed against what would seem like menacing giants to anyone else of her stature, but the little Djinn stopped, and frowned at them.
"I'd appreciate it if you spoke to me first before you come and terrorise my people." She addressed the significantly taller human.

[The Infamous]

By the time the djinn had arrived, a company of about a hundred soldiers of various races and species had arrived into this world through the dimensional portal. Then it vanished. Dren turned and smirked at Tritus, who was busy delegating orders to subordinate officers.

"Well then," said Dren. "Looks like ye did my job for me, love." He grinned deviantly at the female djinn. "What is your name, darlin'?"

Dren did not need to ask. He did so out of slight respect. Depending on how much respect the djinn gave, Dren would give just as much. If she became belligerent, he'd treat her like a slave...not that he wasn't going to do that eventually anyway. But he had come all the way from his hell dimension in the underworld just for this beautiful creature and he did not want to make her fear him just yet.

He moved toward the djinn slowly, narrowing his eyes as he examined her from head to toe. Yes, she would make a fine addition to his collection of toys in Malevora...

[She]

She narrowed her eyes. "What makes you think that I would tell somebody with intentions something that would give you complete power over me? But I can tell you what I go by, if that is what you want." She stood as tall as her small frame would let her. He was attempting to scare her. Fear wasn't something that happened in her a lot. "If that is what you want, the title I go by is Key Spector. I suppose it is customary to ask yours."
She stepped back slightly, and held her hands out in front of her. "Please don't step on my toes, it would be unnecessarily painful and I'm sure you'd hate that. And also, I would certainly not be pleased if you did that." She smiled, wiggling her toes on the soft ground.

[The Infamous]

"I wasn't going to step on yer toes, pet," Dren said, now only a couple feet away. Either one of them could reach out without fully extending their arm and touch the other if they so desired. The man cocked his head sideways, cracking his neck. "You give me yer title, Key Inspector," he intentionally pronounced her name incorrectly, "and therefore ye will know my title alone: ye may call me 'lord'." His smirk grew ominously.

Gunshots echoed in the distance. Dren turned away from the djinn and stared off at the sunset on the horizon. Screaming and growling could be heard. It seemed as though the villagers were putting up a bit of a resistance. Dren chuckled and shook his head. Those crazy humans.

A nude succubus, her flesh a hot pink, seductively swaggered up behind the djinn, her demonic tail wagging slowly with the sway of her hips. "Master, most of the village has been secured. Only one or two families remain free, my lord."

Dren smirked at the succubus behind the djinn and nodded once. "Yea, they be some feisty buggers. Remind me of me kin, the Celts."

[She]

She pursed her lips when he said her name wrong, but said nothing, despite him poking fun at her. "Why don't you leave them, then, if they remind you of them? After all, its me you want. I must warn you, I've changed my powers somewhat, so I have a little control over whether you get what you desire." She referred to the burden all djinn had, the power to grant wishes. "But it was me you came for, wasn't it?" She didn't move, not letting them scare or intimidate her.
If they were determined enough, they could simply lift her up and carry her off, but so far he was being rather gentlemanly, considering. She considered something that could be potentially disastrous, but possibly save the few remaining people, provided this "Lord" was a man of his word. She sighed slightly, knowing what was going to be asked from her.
"As a matter of curiosity, are you a man who keeps his promises?" She asked, she reached up to brush her hair away from her eyes, and then she looked up, trying to look him in the eye. She was stalling for time, determined not to become a simple whore for him.

[The Infamous]

Dren snickered lightly, gazing into the djinn's eyes as he pondered her question regarding her powers. She didn't seem to understand, did she? The Infamous did not want the djinn's powers. He had enough power to destroy a million worlds a dozen times over. It was her he wanted.

Take her! Take her and rape her and make her pregnant!

Ignoring the voice in his head, Dren became slightly taken aback when she asked if he was a man of his word. Was this monster trying to make a deal with him? His smile almost faded into an angry frown. The Infamous took a step back, his head lowered, his eyes glowering and irises an iridescent green like emerald.

"I don't give me word to the likes of ye," Dren proclaimed. He brought his hands in front of him, shoulder-width apart. "Witness."

He clapped once. Everything within the village - actually, the entire village - was vaporized by a shock wave that was produced from the action. The green grass was even removed to reveal the dry dead dirt beneath. The only two who remained in the crater of destruction was Dren and the djinn. The man even seemed to disappear his own troops.

He stepped towards the djinn. "Give me yer name...or trust me...ye will regret yer insolence."

[She]

She didn't move, frowning as her home was destroyed, and then looked around, studying the destruction he had caused. If she could, the things she would do to him. Decapitation was a particularly enjoyable hobby of hers.
"I'll ignore that comment about 'the likes of me', but do you want me to be afraid of you?" She stared at him. "It takes a lot to scare me. Destroying my home, yes, it upsets me a little, I had a spike your head would have looked good on, but you've ruined that now, haven't you?" She sighed, like it was a trivial thing. "Regret my insolence?" she laughed, "But please don't tell me you really want my name?" She sighed again, treating him like a spoiled child. "No. Certainly not."
She was thinking about what he would do to her if she gave in to him. Probably something unspeakable, and that made her uneasy, but only more determined not to let this stupid, overly aggressive monster control her, ever.

[The Infamous]

"Ye know," said The Infamous, ignoring most of her comments, "normally, I'd just use some sort of psychic power on ye, maybe figure out yer name that way. I could do it, ye know? Yes, I am sure ye do know. I could even reach into yer mind an' find yer deepest darkest fear...and exploit it. But ye see, my dear, what I am attempting to get through to ye, is that ye don't have a choice, and while, yes - I do enjoy the bloody ring-around-the-rosie beating-about-the-bush, ye must know when to give a li'l to get a li'l. Ye see, I suspected yer concern for yer townsfolk was contrived... That means 'made up' like Hansel and Gretel... but I didn't want to kill them. In fact, they're still alive, sent to me world, the great dominion of Malevora. As are me company of good warriors who have seen things ye've never even contrived in tha' li'l brain o' yers."

Dren moved to within inches of the djinn now, his head cocked to the side, looking down at her as if he was examining a potential bid at an auction. But it was much more than that. Suddenly black mist wafted up around them both, circling them slowly in a sinister, barely audible howl. He reached up and touched her face. If she tried to move, she'd be paralyzed. Dren's thumb brushed against her bottom lip.

"Ye're comin' with me whether ye like it or not," Dren whispered. "Ye can come willingly and enjoy the benefits of that choice, or ye can come anyway...against yer will...and be the play thing of several hundred monsters that make ye...and even I...look like harmless dollies."

[She]

She didn't move, his dirty hands were on her. She'd known that she was going to have to go with him, but she would have to. "I'll come." She murmured. "I'll come, on my own terms." She said, trying to move her head away from him. She didn't want to go, knowing what would inevitably happen to her, but she was trapped and, annoyingly enough, she was his.
"I'll not be your whore, though, and my name stays my own." She could feel his breath on her face, and she blinked. She swallowed. "You've taken everything, including that lovely spike you would have suited, so why can't I keep my name?" She asked, smiling.
Determined to stay positive, she thought of her people. No, they weren't her people any more. She wasn't afraid, but she had given in to him. "I'm not scared of you, still. I just realise when I have no other options." She sighed.