The Boss

[Armand de Leon]

"Oi, Vylrath, wake up." The Avatar nudged Vylrath's head with its foot and wrinkled its nose in distaste at having to come so near the former demon. "You smell like shit, and you look like shit, but the boss wants a word with you. Now." This would be the first time Vylrath awoke since the scene at the beach. To him it would feel like only moments had passed, and there was nothing in his new location to indicate that wasn't the case. He'd find himself in a room with neither window nor doorway, and no furniture save a single wooden table. His company included the two Avatars that had come to him on the beach, as well as another man whom had his back to Vylrath.

"Welcome to Meridian, Vylrath Xanathi," the man with his back to Vylrath spoke only when Vylrath showed some signs of life. "My apologies for your body, but it simply could not be recovered. I have generously provided you with a replacement." If Vylrath chose to look down at himself he'd find that where he was once a creature of flesh and bone, these had been replaced with polished bronze. "We have business to discuss, you and I. Business regarding your women, your children, and yourself."

Armand turned to face Vylrath for the first time, gesturing to silence any questions Vylrath had, "My Avatar has informed me that you are no longer in possession of a demonic soul, and in fact much of your former power has been lost. That is a disappointment. It would have made what I'm going to do so much easier. That, however, is not much of a dilemma. Tell me, friend, where have you sent your power?"

[Vylrath]

He thought he was dead, but that wish had also been taken away from him. Vylrath sighed deeply, hearing the grated voice speak to him. He should call for Kahlan, but he could not, and he was tired of running behind skirts. He responded, maybe tersely to the man speaking to him- if it could be called a man. He didn't know where the spirit was exactly, but a lot of people would be in ruin if they tried to stop it. Vylrath couldn't stop it...he was supposed to be dead.

"I don't know. I just wished for its release and Kahlan agreed...it could be anywhere." He cursed. He had made his first mistake: revealing any names. Kahlan wouldn't be in absolute danger, but the human girl could become a target. Even if she were in the fairy realm, she could be manipulated by a powerful enough source. Humans were ignorant creatures and easily taken advantage of- she would prove to be an easy catch.

But maybe the "boss" wasn't after the human girl. Maybe he just wanted the demonic soul, which Vylrath didn't care about currently- as long as it didn't harm the Vuri.


"What do you want with me?" Vylrath asked. He thought of Caela and how lost she must feel. He knew that she would accuse him of abandonment, but maybe if someone showed her his husk, she would think differently. Would she even bury him? With their history, she had every right to let his body rot in the sun.

[Armand de Leon]

Armand glanced at the first Avatar that had arrived at the beach and flashed a thin smile at it, "Go, find anyone who was traveling with him. Find this Kahlan. If you can, determine the location of his power. And, of course, if possible, you should harvest it from anyone whom currently harbours it." The Avatar nodded and vanished with a slight popping noise.

Armand's attention turned back to Vylrath as he answered the man's question, "Well, isn't it obvious what I want from you? Why would I have bothered to ask about your power if I was interested in anything else? Tsk, Mister Xanathi, we shouldn't be asking questions with obvious answers. It wastes time. And I know you wouldn't be so rude as to waste your host's time. For the time being, it seems you'll be my guest a while longer. Until I have that power. Then... Then we'll see."

He sat on the edge of the table and arched a brow, "You should make yourself more comfortable, Mister Xanathi. Somehow I doubt that my floor is very comfortable, after all." His teeth showed as he pulled his lips back in what might have been a smile. Vylrath, of course, would be quite incapable of feeling whether the floor was comfortable or not, and Armand knew this.

[Vylrath]

If he could scoff, he scoffed directly at Armand. “You won’t find Kahlan.” He didn’t want them investigating any relations with him- especially his new son. Vylrath wasn’t sure if his son had even been born yet, but he didn’t need him in any danger because of him. He began to ponder his actions, not that he had much to go by.

“If I tell you where this spirit of mine is, will you leave my family out of this?”

It was an honest question, one that had been plaguing his mind since his arrival in this Hell hole. He wondered what type of man Armand was and how he could be reasoned with. His family had just started to rebuild their lost kingdom and his death hadn’t helped the situation. Vylrath also knew that he only had words to gamble with and he wanted to execute them to their fullest potential...

…but had he gambled with the wrong man?

[Armand de Leon]

"Well, no." Armand tilted his head at Vylrath. "Why would I leave your family alone, when you've just revealed them to be your weakness?" He chuckled and shook his head, "Silly man, now I'm going to use them. No use hiding that. You can tell me where the soul is, and I'll send someone to find it. If you've lied, I'll execute a member of your family, and you can try telling me again."

Armand settled on the edge of the table and crossed his legs. "You're not very good at this... Oh well. You'll either cooperate, and I'll find the soul, or you'll fight and I'll kill you and your family. Even if you fight, it won't matter. It's a demonic-fucking-soul. It will end up causing chaos somewhere, and I'll find it that way. I'm only giving you the chance to tell me as a courtesy, one civilized man to another. If you want to play the idiot, I can play the barbarian just as easily."

[Vylrath]

The spirit was feeding him the image of a man: Shin. He could only see a blurred form, but the spirit was anxious about this being. Had it found a replacement already? It was a curious thing to witness and it gave him a migraine to further complicate things. Armand probably thought that he was ignoring his request, but he was pondering on his own personal motive. What did he have to gain or lose? His family wouldn't be easily found, even by Armand. He tried to convince himself of this logic, when the image suddenly went away.

"His name is Shin...that's all I can tell you. That is who the spirit is interested in. I don't know any more than that!" He exclaimed stubbornly. He had been reckless with the soul and now it might cause harm to this being- but he didn't care. That would be Shin's problem, not his own. If he could glare at Armand, he would have placed a thousand invisible daggers into his chest. He hated the man with a passion.

He never thought that he would desire Isabella at this moment.

[Armand de Leon]

Armand placed his face in the palm of his hand and shook his head slowly. "You tell me a name? A single, fucking, name? Do you know how many people probably have that name? That's not helpful at all. I believe you've failed me, Mister Xanathi." Armand slid from the table and regained his footing, with his hands folding at the small of his back.

"There is, as always, a price for such failure." He nodded to his remaining Avatar, which vanished with a small popping sound. "Let us try this again, my friend. I want a location. Not a man's name. Not an 'I don't know'. A location. If you cannot give me that, then I'll just have to work through your family until nothing remains. Do we understand each other now?"

[Vylrath]

Vylrath found that he could quickly manipulate a form in the likeness of his old self. He was no longer a floating mote, but slowly manifesting into what he once portrayed in his past life. He was not happy. He was used to being the one to cause trouble, not be on the receiving end of petty threats. He smiled, almost as if he knew something Armand did not.

"I am dead. What are my family to me? It seems like you need me more than you thought you did...you are pretty desperate for an old man!" He paced, as best he could pace in his condition. His facial features were returning, albeit sharper than usual.

"There is only one man by that name. He rests between the living and the dead- that is why I can not give you an exact location. The only living relatives I have, are my daughter and a bastard son whom I've never met." He paused, letting the information sink in. "You are a fool to think I have such sentimental attachments to bastard children." He sat down on a makeshift throne made up of his ego. If Armand wanted to kill him again, he would at least die with a smirk on his face.

[Armand de Leon]

Armand chuckled and arched one brow. "That's more like it, Mister Xanathi. This is how the game is played." He brought his hands out from behind his back, and reached one into a pocket to remove a crystal tablet that fit within the palm of his hand. "Now, now we can have some fun. Sit back and enjoy the show, Mister Xanathi." Armand pressed a finger into a rune carved into the crystal, which lit up. One wall of the room seemed to shimmer, as though it were about to melt or vanish, and then portrayed the island remnant of Xexoria. The world spun and moved, as though they were looking through another man's eyes.

[Vylrath]

"Let the spirit have control of these domains in which I once inhabited. I no longer care of the outcome in which these people dwell." He talked different and responded differently. His eyes had a curious, maybe even a playful glow, to the iris. Armand was no longer seen as an enemy, but as a partner. Although he still watched where he tread, he knew enough that Armand held power here.

[Vylrath]

Vylrath returned in a foul mood. He glared at Armand, at a loss for words. He ignored his throne momentarily and began to pace with dark thoughts. The spirit needed to take control- immediately! He couldn't understand how his world had shifted so dramatically, but seeing his family in such discord, set him off with a different kind of anger.

"Let the soul take Trydian, for all I know, he IS the heir to my legacy!" Vylrath paused, taking in his own words. He had never thought he would consider a begotten son, but Trydian had his respect after seeing Soren's disgraceful display. "Unless you have another man in mind, let this soul take Trydian. He is the true demon prince of this world. The Vuri will learn to respect such power!"

[Armand de Leon]

Armand arched a brow at the returning Vylrath. The man was crazy as well as stupid. The Duke shook his head sadly and took a seat on the edge of the table within Vylrath's cell. "Tsk tsk, Mister Xanathi. Such outbursts are impolite. They go against the guest laws, don't you know? I'll have to train you to behave." He snickered and folded his hands in his lap.

"First you say you want to protect your family, and then you don't care because this child is just a bastard, and now he's your heir? You can't seem to make up your mind, can you? I'll do that for you, then." Armand flashed his teeth at the man. "Remember, Mister Xanathi, that this will cause chaos for all who are near it. But, I will grant your desire. I will allow your bastard child to take the power, so long as he can bring chaos to the world. Should he fail, I'll remove him and take the power for myself. Are we understood?"

[Vylrath]

"I don't think you understand. Isabella was nothing without me and now you share the same fate. You need me and I need you- we can work with one another, or keep making petty threats. My son is too reckless for such a spirit. Do you really think it would accept him? I can already feel it passing on to the next...such a waste!"

The throne, that had been a makeshift element of his ego, suddenly vanished with a mere wave of his hand. He didn't reckon that Armand understood what he was capable of and he didn't seem to care in the least. His family was useless to him, he was now divorced from their presence. In all honesty, Vylrath only cared about the Vuri surviving. Maybe he could try to entice Armand- but that was harder than seducing Isabella.

"You're just like my ex. You're making this much more complex than it really is! Don't you see? Use my soul, but put it into the chest of a warrior- not some whelp!" He let his body grow into a solid form. It was no longer made of ash and darkness, but a living being. He was wearing his old armor, that he had left on Earth, but it was nothing to be impressed by.

"Let us use this soul for our own cruel intentions. I am tired of bargaining and rolling the dice on life! We need to be the ones in charge!" He stood by Armand, his eyes shining with a mischievous glare. Vylrath waited for his response.