Koratar, The Black Prince Pt. 2

Korali was elated as she walked home. The past two weeks had almost been like a dream. She had gotten new opportunities at work, which led to her promotion, and she had been dating the sweetest man. Everything seemed to be coming together. Korali was sure that Koratar was the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Tonight was going to be the night that she expressed that to him. “I’ve been playing it safe for too long,” she said out loud to herself.

Once home, she started the meal. The table has already been set the night before in anticipation of the news. All that had to be done was light the candles. Korali had the meal almost done when she heard the door open and close. He had arrived. Korali tried to focus on finishing the meal. Koratar knew his way around.

Arms wrapped around her waist, a chin on her shoulder. “It smells delicious,” whispered in her ear, followed by a kiss brushed against her cheek. Korali giggled as her face turned a rosy pink. “It’s almost done,” she said. “Why don’t you light the candles?”

“Of course my lady,” Koratar replied. Grabbing the matches from the cabinet, he walked to the table, and lit the candles. As he put the matches away, Korali carried two plates to the table. He shut the light off as he passed by the switch on his way back to the table. Now candles were the only light as they sat to eat.

The way the soft candle light illuminated Korali’s face, made it difficult for Koratar to finish his meal. It was delicious, as all her meals were, but he desired more. He desired her lips to be on his. He didn’t have to wait too long, as a few minutes later, Korali stood, walked over to him, and pulled him out of the chair. Once he was standing, she pulled him to the couch, where she sat, before pulling him down onto her, pressing her lips to his with a passion she had not shown him previously.

A desire welling up in him, that shouldn’t have been there; demons didn’t have emotions or feelings. Koratar however didn’t give this anomaly a second thought. The heat from her lips fed his desire, her legs wrapped around him pulling him close. Her hands, which had been holding his shirt keeping their lips together, gently pushed away so their lips parted ever so slightly.

“Koratar,” she whispered, her hot breath still touched his lips. “There’s something I have to say.” Koratar tried not to wince. Usually when women used that phrase, things never ended well for their mate. He tried to close the small space between their lips so she couldn’t speak, but she wouldn’t let him. The strength Korali had always surprised him, yet oddly invigorated him. “I know it’s only been two weeks,” she continued in a whisper, “but I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Korali’s eyes almost glowed as she confessed her love. Her blue eyes became bluer, and a gold ring slowly began to appear. Koratar also felt her hips come up against him as her legs wrapped tighter around him. “I’ve been longing for you to say that since the day we met,” Koratar replied. “A little lie,” he told himself, “because demons can’t feel. I’m just trying to turn her,’ his mind reminded him. “but…” the thought trailed off in his mind. “I love you too,” Koratar said in a whisper next to her ear. He could feel her shudder as his warm breath caressed her neck. “You’ve changed my life,” he finished. It was supposed to be a lie, he knew that, but as she pressed her body to his, and let him brush his lips along her neck, he also knew that it was not a lie. He longed to be hers.

Korali’s hands had untucked, then found their way under his shirt. Koratar gave in to his adrenaline, melting his lips into hers. “This is what I want,” he thought as his own hands found their way to the fastenings of Korali’s shirt.

“Wait,” Korali pushed him away gently. Koratar wanted to ask if he’d gone too far, a concern he shouldn’t have had, but Korali had a finger against his lips. “Did you hear that?” she asked. Koratar stayed silent and listened. He heard leaves rustling, Korali’s breathing, his heart beat… he was about to tell Korali, it must have been the wind, when something in the room shifted. The floor by the door made a hollow creak. Every hair on Koratar’s human neck stood on end.

He could sense the presence of other demons; at least seven with varying levels of power. Then he swallowed hard. The head demon, second in power only to the devil himself, was there. “It will be ok,” he whispered to Korali. Her response was only a squeeze of her hand on his.

The head of the council laughed a bone chilling laugh as Koratar untangled himself from Korali and stood up. “That’s right,” he hissed, “comfort her Koratar.” The lights came on; long enough for Korali to see the dark wispy outlines of the seven demons, and start to scream. No one heard it though; the head demon had made the room soundproof. No one would hear anything that was to come.

“This is a nightmare,” the head demon laughed, having heard Korali’s thoughts, “but you’re not sleeping.”

“What are you doing here?” Koratar asked. “I told you it would take longer. The normal techniques weren’t going to work.” He yearned to explain to everything to Korali. She was terrified and confused. He could hear her grab a pillow, and squeeze it tight to her chest.

“Oh Koratar,” the demon started, “this was such a big assignment. Do you really think I wouldn’t have other watching you? Keeping an eye on the situation?” Koratar just stared at the head council demon. It might have been dark, but he could see each individual demon, sensed their positions. There was no way he’d be able to escape.

The head of council demon laughed, as he sensed Koratar’s confidence fade into a nervous twinge. “You’re silence says a lot,” the demon said. “Had I not been keeping tabs on you, I would have been strung along by your lies; which I couldn’t conceive as lies, just by talking to you, as you, somewhere in you, believed them to be true.”

“Koratar, what… what’s going on? What… who… where are the voices coming from?” Before she knew what was happening, the lights were back on, and she found herself standing in front of a dark, wispy cloud, with red eyes that studied her. It formed a hand, reaching out to touch her. “Do you believe that just as God has his angels, the devil has his demons?” The voice seemed to come from nothing.

Korali closed her eyes as she tried to find her voice. “I… I guess if… one were to believe in God and angels, then one would also believe in the devil and demons.” She finished in a stronger tone, than what she had started. The wispy hand that had been moving towards her, pulled away.

There was something in the girl’s voice… something besides fear. It was uncertainty; the same uncertainty that demons always heard in a victim’s voice before they turned them away from the light. “But why then,” he thought, “could they not turn her.” Anger started to well up in the demon. Anger, despite that demons didn’t believe in emotions, nor believed they could feel any, was the only emotion a true demon could feel.

Korali felt a strong pulse throw her back into the chair. She gasped for air. “Tell me,” the demon roared, “when did you start to have doubts in your faith? When did you stop believing in God?” he soared up to the couch using his power to hold Koratar’s struggling human form against the wall, by the kitchen table.

“Kori, no…” Korali started as she watched him struggle. The feeling of something like a hand forced her to look at the wispy demon in front of her; the red eyes glaring at her intently. “I’ve always had doubts,” Korali stated. “Everyone treats me like I’m a mistake. Everyone except Koratar, my boyfriend,” she stated. “But if God is real, and what they teach is real, then I’m a demon, because God doesn’t make mistakes.”

The demon released his hold on Korali and Koratar, so he could pace, back and forth. What the girl said made no sense. It couldn’t be true, and yet there was no deceit in her eyes, nothing in her voice to suggest she was lying. “But then why?” he wondered. “Why is her light so bright?” The demon turned back to the couch, but the girl was no longer there. Instead she was over by Koratar. The traitorous demon must have been using some of his magic as the demon could not hear their conversation.

Quick as light, he moved towards the girl, but Koratar sensed the demon’s movement and put himself between the demon and the girl. Koratar shielded her. He knew the answer the demon wanted. He knew why Korali’s light was so bright despite her uncertainty on if there was a God. Her doubt was not in God himself; her doubt was whether or not she truly belonged in God’s kingdom. Her doubt was in whether or not she was actually one of God’s children. She could never be turned because she believed she had been one of them, disowned because she had too much light. He knew it in his human heart that that was the reason she couldn’t be turned. “God really does work in mysterious and miraculous ways,” Koratar thought as he stood between the head of the demon council and Korali.

“Out of my way Koratar. You are already on thin ice. If you are lucky you will be allowed to live the rest of eternity in the abyss of Hell Fire.”

Koratar stood firm, trying not to let the human body he had formed, tremble. “I will not let you near her, and you will never turn her. Nothing you can do will gain you the result you seek.”

The wispy demon hovering before him, started to change shape. Koratar tried hard to swallow, but failed, as he realized it was changing to a human shape. The chosen human form was a colonial era judge complete with white wig. “Move away Koratar, or I can make it so you don’t exist, as a human, as a demon; you will be nothing but dust.”

“You’re bluffing,” Koratar replied with as much confidence as he could muster.

“You see Koratar, after the council told you that you could serve us in human form, I went to work studying the effects of a demon in a human body.” The silence that followed was deafening. Just behind Koratar, the demon could see the young woman trembling, cowering in the corner. “So weak,” he thought, “I will turn her tonight.”

“Kori,” the young woman finally spoke. “Kori please tell me what’s going on. Please tell me you’re not really a demon as this vision is suggesting,” she paused as fresh tears streamed down her face. “Kori please… I love you.”

Koratar flexed his muscles as he clenched his fist and teeth. He loved Korali. He was a demon, but he had developed feelings. A demon with no past that enjoyed the human form, that had developed feelings.

“Come on Koratar, tell her some comforting lie, or tell her the truth, it doesn’t matter. If you don’t let me at her, I can make it so you don’t exist.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” Koratar shouted. “You can do what you want to me, but you won’t be able to touch her.”

The demon laughed. He laughed so hard he almost fell over. Without warning, he was at Koratar’s side, his hand in Koratar’s chest holding onto the heart. Koratar was paralyzed with fear. “Like I said, I studied the effects of a demon being in a human body. My favorite was being able to remove the heart.” He removed his hand from Koratar’s chest, the heart in his hand. Korali screamed but went straight to Koratar after he collapsed to the floor. He was still breathing, but had lost most function of the human body. He had also lost his ability to change back into demon form. He could feel every movement of the demon’s fingers as the demon played with the heart.

“Fragile things, hearts,” the demon said. “If I squeeze too hard…” Koratar felt every muscle seize up, and he was in excruciating pain; so much pain he couldn’t even scream. The demon released his hold of the heart, cackling as he did so.

Knowing how things would end, Koratar told Korali in a whisper to get his phone out and call her. Still confused and terrified, she did as he asked with no questions. When her voicemail picked up, Koratar left a message expressing his love for her, that he was sorry for lying, and how he hoped one day she would forgive him.

“You make me sick,” the demon stated. “Koratar, The Black Prince,” he started with an authoritative voice, “for falling in love with your assignment and lying to me, I sentence you to decimation.” As he finished the sentence, the demon punctured, and crushed the heart, until it crumbled to dust on the floor. As it crumbled, Koratar started to turn to ash. The demon then made his move for Korali.

“This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening,” Korali thought as she watched through tears as Koratar started turning to ash. She could hear the black wispy one turned human walking towards her. Emotions flooded her as she watched the last of Koratar’s face dissolve to ash before her eyes. She turned towards the thing approaching her. “Go ahead and take me,” she thought. “Send me to be with Koratar,” she said in a whisper. At mentioning Koratar’s name, she closed her eyes, howling in grief.

There was a bright white light. One so bright, Korali could see it through her eyelids. Then nothing; no light, no sound, no smells, no sense of touch… just nothing.

 

 

Read on, for part three … https://tahlmus.com/2020/04/12/koratar-the-black-prince-pt-3/