Bindings, Curses, and Other Matters » Places

         

Pain under control, Baal was slowly getting to her feet as Asmodeus entered. Her face was tight from the effort, but her expression held the fierce determination that had driven her to this plan in the first place. Closing the book, she looked up at the Demon Prince and sighed. Banter had never been her strong suit, though it seemed to please the other demons plenty. Witty commentary and snide remarks was a little beyond her- possibly she hadn't the pride for it.

"Just what is it that you're doing, Bally? What game are you playing?"

"I should think you would have the intelligence to recognise a binding spell when you see one, Asmodeus." Nailed it.

"You know, you could have just asked me to hand over my Circle instead of going to all this trouble. I would have said no, but still."

She looked at him, something akin to hesitation gracing her expression before it fell blank. She knew he was trapped by the spell by this point, until a viable target came within the range she had set, but for all her planning, she hadn't expected a conversation.

"I assure you it's no trouble at all," Baal replied, though the fine sheen of sweat on her forehead suggested otherwise. "I have no intention of giving you a speech. If you wish, I can provide you with the basics."

She shrugged, the book falling from her hands and floating into the backpack she had brought with her. "I'm not unfair after all."

"I'm binding you to a Templar. You die, they die. They die, you die. You get the idea. When the Templars eventually kills one and then both of you-- yes. I will take your Circle. It's been a long time coming and, frankly, I don't feel like you've been making the most of your power. This is simply... A paradigm shift. Replacing staff."

Az's eyes narrowed, the carefree look on his face finally vanishing. He waited for several seconds before answering. Princes waging battles between one another happened all the time, but most were out of sheer boredom, not actual want for more power.

"You know the cost of upsetting the balance of power, of breaking those seals. Besides that, bound to a Templar or not, you expect me to just roll over and die?" He grit his teeth. There had to more going on to this than she let on. "Are you sure you're ready to accept the consequences? I'd say you'd be condemned, but we're already damned, aren't we?"

Baal remained silent while he spoke, keeping her face neutral. Asmodeus was no fool-- she had expected that. She tensed slightly when he spoke of the consequences.  "If you would roll over and die, that would certainly make the process more efficient," she said. "But factoring in a far more... fragile individual seemed necessary under the circumstances."

It looked as though she was about to say more, when a sudden shift in the atmosphere caused her to look up.

"I took the liberty of facilitating the rumour of a coven operating in the area," she explained. "The cavalry is just in time. This is going to hurt, I'm afraid."

As Lunaria came closer, the circle beneath Asmodeus's feet reacted and began to glow. The spell took effect- binding the two together as designed, seared through their bodies and tightened, like an invisible rope curling around them.

A door behind her opened, and though she didn't turn around to see, she knew the Templars had arrived. Too late to turn back now. Though she couldn't hear what they said, she picked up low whispers as the two humans discussed their plans. As Lunaria began to move forward, Baal bent down to pick up her backpack. Then, doing a half turn towards Lunaria, raised her hand and set the entire warehouse on fire. Hoping this would be enough to distract the mortals for now, she turned back to give Asmodeus a curteous nod. She intended to make her escape before the spell released its hold on him-- though Baal was not averse to fighting, she knew better than to underestimate an emotionally distressed Demon Prince.

"Goodbye, Asmodeus. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

With that, Baal threw a glance in Lunaria's direction, wanting to catch a glimpse of the other person unwittingly involved in her plan. A small smile played at the edge of her lips as she walked into the flames-- and vanished.