The Amulet of Tenebrae

A shiver went down Kendra's spine. "He can't come back here to the mansion can he?" She asked suddenly feeling uneasy.

"Not through the door you...stupidly...opened." he said, "I've blocked him to get inside here. But there are MANY doors from the demon to this one. It has ALWAYS had other doors, "If I am with you and we come across the door, we'll close them." he said.

Kendra glared at the him and made a slight girly growl. "Shut up...he tricked me by pretending to be my uncle. Anyone would have done what I did." She said. "But that means he can show up anywhere there is a gate. Is there any way of knowing where those other gates are?"

"Not ANYONE. Most WISE people seeing a unknown shadow when they believe their alone, they would RUN out the door." he said without looking at her, taring at the other books.

"They are known to move OR be opened by humans followers of the occult." he said, "Which causes unstable portals to open due to carelessness and stupidity."

"Well, clearly I am NOT just anyone. I come from a long line of witches and warlocks. I am not easily frightened by things that go bump in the night. I wasn't afraid of you." She said arguing back.

She flipped forward a few more pages and saw one of these so called gates. It was usually created by a series of markings or scorch marks. The gate would remain accessible as long as the marks remained. In order to destroy the gate completely, it must first be sealed and then the markings destroyed permanently. "So the gate can be destroyed completely once it is sealed." She continued reading.

"You should be more cautious." he said, "Especially since you are dabbling in thing you BARELY understand....that goes for ALL humans." he said.

He looked at the pages she was looking at, "They can be sealed and ONLY be opened from the outside by the same person or with someone with equal magic abilities." he explained, "I blocked the one downstairs so only I currently can open it. SO not happening basically."

"The only people that can destroy them is The White-Gold Knights." he said.

"Yeah, you're probably right. He easily manipulated me once before and could probably do it again." She sighed.

She turned her attention from the book to Rassler standing beside her. "Just how powerful are you?" She asked suddenly curious about his abilities and the strength of his magic.

"The White-Gold Knights? Who are they exactly?" They weren't mentioned at all in the current section she was reading.

"I'll be able to tell if he's close." he said, "I know his energy too well."

"The White-Gold Knights are humans trained to destroy and fight Demons. In other words, they are a pesky order of people will get in the way of things if they find out Vorkalth is able to come back to this word, they will come a knocking." he sighed, his tone groaning at the meer thought of them.

He grinned at her question, "You want an example of strength?"

"From the way you describe them, it looks like they would do us more harm than good." She closed the book of Vorkalth and moved down the line.

She raised her eyebrow at his sudden grin, "Umm...sure?" She said wondering if this was a good idea or not.

"They are just as dangerous as us magic wise." he said, "I've had issues with one or two of them in the past....so they know me buy name."

He sniggered, "Follow me outside." he said, closing the book he hand and placing it on the desk. He then proceeded out of the study.

Kendra was quite eager to see what sort of powers Rassler had. She got a small glimpse while he was fighting the demon king. She followed him out of the study and down the stairs toward the back exit that led to the gardens and the orchard. "Hmm, this is going to be quite a show if we have to go outside." She said.

The storm clouds were starting to roll in and the sky was getting darker by the minute. "Better make it quick before the storm hits."

"I did it in the house once and Ruth wouldn't let me hear the end of it." he said with a dry expression at the memory. "Storms don't worry me. Besides it will work for me..Storms bring a WHOLE lot of darkness... and that..." when it got a lot darker, red flames formed in his hands, "It allows me to work it!" he made a spin and he was engulfed in the red flames, his eyes glowing BRIGHTER than the flames surrounding him, the markings glowing the purple hue and the amulet responded in tow.

Then he clapped his hands out in front and the flames vanished into ash that made a circle around him, it hadn't burnt anywhere else. Rass walked up to her, eyes and marks still aglow, "That's MEERLY a portion of my abilities." he said as he stopped, "And that i'm not to underestimated." he said seriously as the glow dimmed.

Kendra stood a few feet away from him but could still easily see what was going on. The weather seemed to almost respond to his presence. The darkness grew and she watched with amazement in her eyes when his body became surrounded by flames. The force alone created a harsh burst of energy which blew her hat off and her hair back. His eyes were intense and his markings lit up.

The pendant around her neck began to vibrate and glow matching the glowing hue of his markings. The heat from the flames was intense making her cheeks turn red. With one clap of his hands, he extinguished the flames with nothing left but a perfect circular burn mark on the ground around him. She was mesmerized by his display of power. When he approached her, she reached out to touch one of the glowing marks on his arm. His skin was very warm.

"I never did underestimate your abilities. I saw full well when you fought off Vorkalth that you are more than capable. I'm glad you're on my side and not the other way around." She said as she wrapped her hand around the pendant.

He flinched at first when she touched his marks but he looked away, ".........Yeah..." he said, He heard thunder then a flash of lightning, "Best get inside." he said he felt a drop of heavy rain, "INSIDE now." he repeated as the rain began to come down.

Luckily they got undercover before it got full on pouring down, he sighed, "I hate rain." he grumbled.

Kendra noticed him flinch and took her hand back. She looked up when she felt a rain drop touch her cheek. She looked up and saw the cloud light up with lightning and was followed by a thunder boom. "I think it's raining too..." No sooner than she said that, a heavier drop hit the top of her head. She scooped up her hat and ran for cover underneath the sheltered steps that led inside. They both scrambled inside before it got too heavy. They were pretty wet, but not completely soaked.

"Really? I love the rain. It feels so good on my skin and I love the smell." She said as she wrung some water out of her hair. She shook her head and started to take her flannel mini vest off and untied the knot in her knotted tank top to take it off.

He stood there next to her, watching the rain come down, but he watched her trying to undrench herself, and when she got STRIPPING down, he felt a shiver run up his spine and his eyes thinned, his old demon desires had laid dormant for a long time. His teeth sharpened and tried to hold his breathing, but when he felt it getting too strong he quickly vanished away.

Just in time too, Ruth came out and saw her topless, "OH DEAR!" she had just done some laundry and she had a towel in the lot she and with her, "Miss Kendra PLEASE keep modesty!"

She started to struggle a bit with her tank top. It got snagged on one of her earrings and she was stuck. She tugged it trying to get it off. "Hey Rassler, a little help?!" She didn't realize that he had suddenly disappeared while her head was stuck. When she finally got it off and was in just her jeans and sports bra, Ruth came around making a fuss.

Kendra didn't see what the big deal was. "It's just a sports bra. It's not like it's anything provocative. I wear this around my house a lot." Still, she took the towel and used it to dry off. "Where did Rass go off to?" She asked Ruth while she dried her hair.

"RASSLER was HERE!? OOoooo that demon!" she frowned, "Be best you don't dear. Rassler may not have done so, but he's still a demon and Demons had HIGH sexual appetites. Seeing you almost naked would be tempting fate too much." she said.

"Come along, you best go have a bath and warm up. I'm making lunch soon, I've a garden salad with french dressing, and veggie burgers with rye buns." she said.

Kendra bit her lip as she listened to Ruth's advice. She hadn't considered that when she started taking her wet clothes off in front of him so suddenly. "Ok...I'll be more modest while I'm here." She wrapped the towel around her shoulders to better conceal her torso. She took her muddy shoes off and left them by the door.

"Ok that sounds good. Rassler would probably complain if I got sick." She said and left the kitchen to go upstairs to her uncles room to use the bathroom that was in his room. It was A LOT bigger than she thought. She let the tub fill with water while she got some fresh clothes. "Rassler must have retreated to his room again." She sighed as she stripped fully naked.

There were scent oils and ointments to choose from in the bathroom as well, all natural and seemed handmade, made from flowers and fruits from the gardens around the manor more than likely. Steam filled the room, warming the place up while the storm raged on outside. As for Rassler, Her guess was correct, he was in his darkened room scratching at the one of the walls to vent his frustrations, refusing to do certain things which he would more likely want MORE out of doing so.

"I can't let this get to me.....eve if it kills me." he growled and sweat dripped off his chin from him resisting and stressing.

Kendra looked at the assortment of oils and scrubs near the tub and found a few that she liked. She sprinkled a few herbs and essential oils into the water and slipped in to the hot water up to her sun kissed shoulders. "Ahhh...perfect." She stretched her arms and legs having plenty of room in the huge tub. It was WAY bigger than the one she had at home. The storm was beginning to rage yet again. The old house creaked whenever the wind blew and the loud thunder boomed. Kendra had taken the amulet off but kept it close by just in case.

A little while later as she was finishing washing her hair, a LOUD clap of thunder followed by a flash of lighting shook the house and caused the power to go out. Kendra sat in the tub in total darkness. "Oh great..." She sighed and rinsed the rest of her hair and reached for her towel.

Carter got right on it to deal with the house electric break box outside, Ruth got a torch and headed to the bathroom, "Miss Kendra are you alright?" she asked, knocking on the door to hear from her. Rass, still in his room, sensed the lights went off and he only sensed that Kendra removed the amulet, he growled, "She BETTER have it close." he grumbled to himself.

Outside though, unaware to those inside the manor, a creature was approaching from the darkness and through the rage of the storm and coming RIGHT for the manor in a trudging slow pace but was not far away.

Kendra stood up and got her towel around her before stepping out of the tub. She reached for the amulet and put it back on quickly. She froze when she heard a knock at the door, but was relieved when it was just Ruth. She was such a mother hen.

"I'm fine. I just need to get my clothes on. I'll be out in a minute." She fumbled around in the dark bumping into things as she went to get her clothes.

Rass came out of his room and got the shiver again, the amulet was on her body again. He felt more relaxed knowing that, "..................This feeling." he growled and he raced down the hall, "RUTH! GET YOURSELVES IN THE CELLAR!!!" he shouted.

Ruth froze hearing that, "MISS Hurry out of there!" she urged her. "CARTER!! CARTER!!!" she shouted, he came running from the kitchen, "What's wrong?" he asked, "Ras said to go to the Cellar!' she said. Carter knew right away what that meant, "Get Miss kendra down here!" he said, going back in and finding the hidden door to the wine cellar again.

Rass raced to the front door and vanished before even touching it, he appeared outside and growled, seeing a GIANT beast of a demon only yards away now. He growled at the beast and he Bumped his clenched fists together, red flames formed around them. The beast gave a deep snigger, and grinned showing a drooling mouth of sharp test, then let out a monstrous roar.

While she was scrambling around in the dark getting dressed, she heard Rassler shouting to get to the cellar. "What's going on?" She asked once she finished putting her clothes on. Suddenly, the hair on her arms stood on end. Something didn't seem right and she could feel it. She opened the bathroom door to find Ruth was gone. She and Carter probably went on ahead to the cellar. She looked out the window and saw a grotesque looking giant beast walking toward the manor.

"What the fuck is that thing?!?!" She yelled out and pressed her face against the window. Rass walked out from the manor and looked like he was about to face that thing. Seeing the display of his magic earlier and knowing he was strong made her feel more at ease. His body was surrounded by flames. The beast then roared so loudly that she felt the vibrations beneath her feet as it shook the ground.

"Be careful Rassler..." She said watching the fight from the window.