10-25-2014, 12:23 PM
"I am not interested in your daughter."
Nikolai responded sharply, disturbed by the very accusation. Valdir fell quiet as a result, but the defensiveness in his gaze did not fade. He was staunchly protective of his child, and Nik could sense the man's madness was bred rather than inherent. What sort of man was Valdir prior to the arrival of strange powers? Nikolai might have asked the same question of himself, but the paths of what if were a fool's road to take.
Valdir scoffed, ordering Nikolai and Michael to depart. Nik couldn't stand to let the error go uncorrected. "Little do you realize your domain is an insignificant piece of my kingdom."
He spoke as one demon to another. Valdir's sneered.
"Then you're the king of hell, Nikolai Brandon!"
Valdir struggled against his bonds, but Michael quickly curled a fresh wave of pain through the man's body. "Leave me to my piece of it!"
Nikolai tore his attention from the squirming demon in his midst and circled toward the pair of seated women. Valdir was annoyingly defiant. His sanity was questionable. His penchant for violence was deplorable. He was a pathetic waste of power. Such potential. Wasted.
He stood behind the daughter, seated like a porcelain doll. Nik curled his hand over her shoulder like a fond grandfather. Valdir's soul practically screamed. The test affirmed Nikolai's assessment. He could not be controlled. His temperament was brittle as dead bones. Sadly, he was too volatile to leave unguarded.
Nikolai sighed. He had his answer.
He drew upon Flame and Firmament and with them crafted a molten core of power. When it churned like the center of the Earth, he pulled Essence through Valdir then siphoned it through the core. He felt the man disintegrate like sand poured through the palm of his hand. Such a waste.
Valdir's soul drained out of his body, and Nikolai came out from behind the body of Valdir's preserved child, blandly watching his craft at work. Valdir's went stiff, his silent scream hovered on the edge of his face like an afterimage. Then he fell limp, extinguished.
Nikolai let the design fall aside as Valdir crumpled to the floor. Bored, or perhaps disturbed that he'd wasted the night, flickering lights on the television screen drew his gaze. Fireworks were exploding behind St. Basil's. The year had clicked forward in Moscow.
He glanced at Michael. "Happy New Year."
Nikolai responded sharply, disturbed by the very accusation. Valdir fell quiet as a result, but the defensiveness in his gaze did not fade. He was staunchly protective of his child, and Nik could sense the man's madness was bred rather than inherent. What sort of man was Valdir prior to the arrival of strange powers? Nikolai might have asked the same question of himself, but the paths of what if were a fool's road to take.
Valdir scoffed, ordering Nikolai and Michael to depart. Nik couldn't stand to let the error go uncorrected. "Little do you realize your domain is an insignificant piece of my kingdom."
He spoke as one demon to another. Valdir's sneered.
"Then you're the king of hell, Nikolai Brandon!"
Valdir struggled against his bonds, but Michael quickly curled a fresh wave of pain through the man's body. "Leave me to my piece of it!"
Nikolai tore his attention from the squirming demon in his midst and circled toward the pair of seated women. Valdir was annoyingly defiant. His sanity was questionable. His penchant for violence was deplorable. He was a pathetic waste of power. Such potential. Wasted.
He stood behind the daughter, seated like a porcelain doll. Nik curled his hand over her shoulder like a fond grandfather. Valdir's soul practically screamed. The test affirmed Nikolai's assessment. He could not be controlled. His temperament was brittle as dead bones. Sadly, he was too volatile to leave unguarded.
Nikolai sighed. He had his answer.
He drew upon Flame and Firmament and with them crafted a molten core of power. When it churned like the center of the Earth, he pulled Essence through Valdir then siphoned it through the core. He felt the man disintegrate like sand poured through the palm of his hand. Such a waste.
Valdir's soul drained out of his body, and Nikolai came out from behind the body of Valdir's preserved child, blandly watching his craft at work. Valdir's went stiff, his silent scream hovered on the edge of his face like an afterimage. Then he fell limp, extinguished.
Nikolai let the design fall aside as Valdir crumpled to the floor. Bored, or perhaps disturbed that he'd wasted the night, flickering lights on the television screen drew his gaze. Fireworks were exploding behind St. Basil's. The year had clicked forward in Moscow.
He glanced at Michael. "Happy New Year."