Darkness Below

Malek Dread stared at the phone on his desk. His fist shook as he fought to control his anger. Just one more round of bad news on a day like this and he was going to lost his mind. 
After a long moment he shoved away from his desk and marched into the captain's office. "If you think for one moment I'm teaming up with a witch...!" He roared, bursting through the doors without bothering to knock. "I have enough problems without bothering myself with one of them!" His fist shook at his sides. "We have an orc problem on south street that's turning into a riot. A murder of a high ranking elf in the upper city. My ex wife has taken my kids and and all you can do is pair me with a goddamn witch!" His chest was heaving. There had to be something he could do or say to get his point across.

Malek’s captain was used to these outbursts. He simply sighed and leaned back in his chair, allowing the younger man his little tantrum. “Are you done?” He asked simply. “You think I give a shit who your ex wife is having your brats call Daddy now?”
Behind Malek there was a quiet chuckle. The witch had arrived before he had. She stood by the window, the grey sky with the threat of rain casting enough shadow that he had missed her as he stormed in. “You think I have any desire to work with such a…” She paused, moonlight coloured eyes sweeping over him slowly. The witch allowed the moment to drag out, knowing how unnerving her gaze could be. “Brute.” She formed that final word carefully, cherry red lips seeming to savour the way it tasted on her tongue.

Malek turned to glare at the women who had spoken. His shadow colored eyes burning a hole into her face. "No. I'm not working with that. Look at it, Bill. It weighs ninety pounds soaking wet. It's laughable. I'd rather jump in a dragon's mouth. Fuck you." He had already turned away from the slender woman, shoving his fingers through his dark brown hair. "Is this because I pissed off that orc patrol guy last month? Fucker deserved it!"

The captain was finally beginning to lose his cool. “Ninety pounds or not, she’s your partner. The Coven practically begged us to take her. Sounds like the two of you are well matched.” He snorted, finally getting to his feet. “Now get out before I set both of you on faerie clean up patrol!” He barked, a hand on the door, ready to slam it shut.

"I'm not feeding it." Malek snapped, stomping past the witch and back to his desk. 
The king had gone missing over two weeks ago and there had been nothing said or done about it. It didn't make sense to him that they were putting two simple souls onto such a high profile case. If it could be said that a witch had a soul. 
He sat down and pulled out a cigarette, cursing when his lighter refused to light. The day couldn't get any worse.

Once again, she hadn’t seemed to make a sound,  it the witch was right there, perched on the edge of his desk. Without a word the tip of his cigarette ignited. “Those things will kill you.” She commented coolly. “Though I guess my money would be on you getting that delightful head severed from your shoulders long before cancer became a problem.” She smirked slightly, inspecting manicured nails that were painted a shimmering shade of green.

Malek gave the woman a dark look. He pushed the cigarette into his tattooed forearm and scowled. "It's a good thing I know a necromancer or two that owes me a favor." He grunted. "Get out of my office. You don't have clearance." He stepped back and gestured to the closed door.
He was sure he'd placed protections against that. His eyes moved to the suit of armor in the corner. It has been a long time since he'd been a paladin. Perhaps he should return to the old ways. It would stop her.

The witch followed Malek’s gaze, ruby lips quirking slightly as she saw the armour hung so proudly. The slender woman slipped from her perch on the edge of the desk and approached the polished armour, slender fingers sliding slowly up the chest plate, pausing slightly to trace the motif engraved upon it. 
“You still believe your kind above reproach.” She snorted the words, her previous teasing countenance replaced by what almost seemed like rage. Her mood had shifted only when she touched it.

The armor whispered to her. "Oathbreaker." It gave her images of the man on the other side of the room, holding the bodies of two children in his arms. He was covered in blood and furious. 
"Stop touching things." Malek hissed, grabbing her wrist and pushing her away. "You are not here for that." He motioned to a seat in the opposite corner, placing himself in front of the still humming steel and gold. "I don't need you. I can find the king myself. I'll make up whatever bullshit story they want if it makes you feel better."

The witch snorted and rolled her eyes, quickly trying to mask the feeling of unease that vision had left her with. “Your kind can’t find their own ass with both hands!” She shot back, squaring up to the much larger man. “You think I WANT to be stuck with you? The sooner I find your idiot king, the sooner I can forget you ever existed!”

"He's not my king." Malek muttered. "He's just some high elf that I used to work for. It's the only reason they put me on this assignment." He turned his back on her completely, his arms crossed over his chest. "We don't need to work together. I can do this alone."

“If you could do this alone, they wouldn’t have dragged me all the way out here.” The witch responded, though she was now sat at Malek’s desk, slender fingers toying with an antique looming dagger he had had displayed there. “Put on your big boy inquisitor pants and let’s get this over with.”

"What are you going to do? Make it rain? Make a potion?" Malek rolled his eyes. "The man was kidnapped. That's not something parlor tricks can fix." He turned back to her. "You're the last thing I need right now. But if you insist on getting yourself involved then don't cry to me when you are burned at the stake."

The witch smiled, glancing over the edge of the dagger she was holding horizontal. “You think they give these out for parlour tricks?” She asked, finally leaning back, and tapping the object around her slender throat with the tip of the dagger. At first glance it simply looked like a piece of jewellery, but a closer look would reveal a thin metal collar that the witch was unable to remove. Should she attempt to flee, or perform any magick not relevant to the assignment, her punishment would be instant and painful. It had also been known for inquisitors to use the collar to kill the witch if they didn’t have the time to build a pyre and burn her.

Malek stared at the device, remembering how many times he had placed just such a device on a creature like her. It was never so intricate however. 
Finally he gave in, nodding his head. "The king went missing three days ago. During his coronation a necromancer appeared in the doorway and simply stood there. No one thought anything of it except his mother who claims it was a sign. His betrothed is distraught but if you ask me there is something strange going on there. His father has taken several of his most trusted guards and gone into the deepest part of the shadow lands certain this is where he has gone." He rubbed his forehead. "We have long road ahead of us."

“Oh joy, just me, you, and the wilderness.” The witch replied with a bemused grin. She rose gracefully to her feet and gently placed the dagger back on its display where it belonged. “Did the Queen recognise the necro?” She asked, the way she said the last word making it clear she held no love for them. Perhaps it was because they basically went unchecked, unlike witches.

"That's something we're going to ask her when we get there. The longer Calad is missing the more likely it is that he is dead. We need to get better leads before we go head first into that damn forest." 
There were whispers from the suit about the forest and it's part in the death of children. Sorrow swept over the room as Malek grab his keys and cigarettes. "Try and behave." He grunted as he passed her.

The witch eyed the cigarettes and shook her head. “I’m not the one with a habit of burning innocent souls alive.” She huffed as she headed for the door, the sudden shift in mood in the room leaving her with an icy feeling in the pit of her stomach. “And for the record, I always behave according to the way I’m treated.”

Malek stopped in the doorway, his gray eyes flashing. "Do not talk to me about the burning of souls. You know nothing about it." He spoke through his teeth, his hands balled at his side. "Now let's go."  

Maylese leaned over the bramble bush, staring down at the large golden elf that lay at the bottom of it. Her curiosity got the better of her and she reached out to touch his bare skin. 
One of his kind never appeared here. Mostly because wood elves were seen as cursed by the forest. 
"Hello?" She breathed, her fingers brushing his warm cheek. "You can't sleep here. It's going to rain soon."

The witch stopped directly in front of the large man and flares up at him with eyes that almost seemed silver for a brief moment. “No, I know nothing of having half of my soul forcibly ripped from my life.” She snarled, though didn’t elaborate before storming on ahead. 

Long finger snapped out and grabbed the slender wrist of the hand touching him. Slowly moss coloured eyes opened and settled on the young woman’s face. “I care not about the rain.” He grumbled, feeling like each word bounced around his skull with the force of a bear before leaving his mouth.

Queen Moonshadow sat on a throne that no longer belonged to her. When she saw Malek coming she crossed one long leg over the other, making sure to arrange her skirts just so. "Paladin Malek, to what do I owe the pleasure?" She purred. One long finger slid through her silken golden hair, tucking it artfully behind her ear. 
Her bright blue eyes never left his body. Her desire for him radiated from her in waves of black.

"Oh good. Because we need it." The tiny woman smiled, her freckled nose crinkling as she did so. "But you, sir, are quite naked. And will catch your death in the downpour. Especially in the bramble bush." Gently she picked a crown of it from his hair with her free hand. "Would you like a hot meal and somewhere warm to stay until the rains pass and you can head home?"

Behind Malek the small witch could be seen rolling her silver eyes. That was all assuming anyone even noticed her, as Malek’s well built frame seemed to dwarf her entirely. She hugged quietly and folded her arms across her chest, muttering how like a Paladin to practice double standards and take a woman such as Moonshadow to his bed.

The green eyed man blinked several times as he tried to adjust his gaze to the world around him. Apparently being found naked by a female wasn’t all that high on his list of worries right then. “Home…” He murmured the word, his brow creasing slightly as though he was struggling to connect it to a place. “It would seem… someone already tried to hand me to death, and he did not want me.” He finally breathed, at last releasing his grip on the young woman’s slender wrist.

Malek looked over his shoulder at the witch and sneered. "Give me some credit. Even a worthless being like myself has standards." He hissed. 
The high elf cleared her throat. "When you are in my presence you speak to only me. And you back there. I can see you. Come forward and identify yourself." She said, her voice bordering on jealous.

His strange manner of speech didn't seem to effect the other elf. "You'll be safe in my home, sir. I can promise you that much. If death were to find you it would be entirely your fault." She laughed, this time slipping her fingers through his and attempting to pull him to his feet.

The witch didn’t hesitate, knowing it would be a show of weakness. She stepped out from behind Malek, silver eyes looking the other woman over slowly. “You can call me Isolde, I suppose.” She replied coolly, resisting the temptation to yawn and antagonise the elf queen.

The tall elf allowed the young woman to pull him up to his feet, though he simply stood still once that was done. He turned his face up to the sky and closed his eyes as he breathed the breeze in. For some reason, it felt as though he never got the chance to enjoy something so trivial. “Why would you open your home to a stranger? What if I invite Death to take you instead?”

"I'm surprised my dear Malek is able to tolerate one of your kind. I remember a time when touching evil things burned his very flesh." She said with a purposeful purr. Her golden eyes met Isolde's and she shook her head. "The police force must think my son's disappearance is more worrisome than i thought." Her face betrayed the fact that she didn't feel the same.

Maylese took off her over jacket and tried her best to wrap it around the large stranger's waist. "You enjoy the breeze too much to invite Death." She said as she worked, fixing the jacket to his hips with a vine. "Besides, what kind of person would I be to leave a person stuck in a bramble bush in a rain storm?" Finished she threaded her fingers through his. 
An odd feeling like lightning shot through her. She found herself pausing, staring up at the stranger. Swallowing hard she shook off the strange feeling. "My name is Maylese. But please...call me May." She said, a little too loudly

“Oh, he touches me just delightfully, I assure you.” Isolde purred in reply, even daring to trace a slender finger up one of Malek’s powerful arms. The witch was resisting the urge to burst out laughing, knowing he was likely clenching he jaw tight at her touch.

The elf looked down at Maylese, his long fingers gently touching her soft cheek. He didn’t know why the desire to touch her suddenly overcame him. It was almost as though he were not accustomed to such kindness and wasn’t sure what to do with it. “You are very beautiful…” He murmured, feeling the jolt as firmly as she did.

Malek didn't dare look at the witch. His skin wasn't on fire. In fact it felt as if it were being frozen. Icy tendrils danced along his skin and into his blood. For a moment he couldn't remember what he was doing. 
"My son couldn't handle a role as king. He barely made it through coronation before he ran like the scared fool he is." The queen snorted, waving them off. "His poor bethroed is...well she is devastated."

May laughed and pulled him forward. "Better hurry, big guy. The rain is right behind you!" She shouted. She forced them into a run but it was far too late. The rain beat them to the tiny farm house hidden in the woods.

“As you are, I can see.” Isolde remarked, allowing her fingers to drop away from Malek’s skin as she took a step away from him, and closer to the queen. “So if dear your dearest king ran like a child, as you claim, why are we here?” She asked, the sound of her flowing skirt seeming almost deafening in the silence of the hall as it brushed against the ground, though oddly her feet seemed to make no sound upon the marble. “If this were a simple case of cold feet, Malek’s department would have no interest, correct?” She glanced over her bare shoulder as her new partner to confirm this fact. 

The elf slammed into the small woman as she came to an abrupt halt by the tiny home. The motion brought the pair of them tumbling to the ground, though the golden haired man’s arms curled around May, protecting her from the impact.

The queen was finally raised. She got to her feet, her lip curled. "He is here as a favor. He is here because my son is the king!" She roared. "You are wasting my time! Get out of my sight, you horrid thing!" She waved the hand that hand been tucked beneath her dress at them.
Instantly Malek grabbed Isolde's arm and yanked her out of the room. "Did you see that?" He hissed in her ear as they moved. "There was blood on her forearm."

May was giggling uncontrollably as they landed. "You hit your head on the door didn't you?" She asked, her bright eyes sweeping over his face. "Yeah... should have warned you there's a step down."

Isolde felt his breath on her ear, as much of a distraction as the large fingers around her bare arm. No doubt he would seen recall what she was and recoil in disgust. “She didn’t seen overly bothered he was gone, more like she needed to know if anyone had found his body.” She observed. 

“Is that how you lure men to your home, allow them to knock themselves unconscious so you can nurse them back to health?” He was smiling as he said it, obviously teasing as opposed to believing that was what May did. “Rather genius.”