-but he wasn't going to lose his brother again. He'd willingly give his soul as well.
And he had. He'd become a Count in Lucifer's legion. He was quiet, didn't get involved with most other demons. And while he had a rank, he didn't do much in the way of fighting. Instead, Lucifer used his skills in another way. Strategy. Defense. But in this current climate of truce with Heaven, he felt rendered rather useless. He spent most of his time reading or visiting his older brother, who ironically now owned and worked farmland. He closed the book he'd been reading with a quiet sigh. It seemed things for Malphas had really come full circle. But for him? Well, he wasn't so sure.]
#TDATD #Diabolical
-of God, had enemies. And Malphas had discovered that fact. He moved near his brother, the two speaking for the first time in months. The next time Huldra went to the surface, Malphas was quick with his spell work, conjuring and summoning none other than Lilith, sworn enemy of Eve. The two made a deal, Malphas's soul for Huldra's death and his little brother's freedom. When Huldra returned, Lilith painted the stone walls with her blood. There was nearly nothing left. He watched his brother take Lilith's hand, and as they prepared to leave, he reached out and took her other hand. Malphas started to protest,-
-water, and this beautiful woman was no longer the soft, sensual being he had come to know. It was like the world beneath the pond exposed her true self, her beauty gone, a bristled cow tail hanging behind her. And then he heard a familiar voice.
“Halphas?”
He spun around, seeing his older brother standing there. He hadn't left on his own. He'd been taken in by this Huldra, and now they were both trapped. But Malphas was prepared. His older brother had taken those weeks where she was luring him in to study books and spells. Huldra, being a child of Eve who had been hidden from the eyes-
-see if he could catch another glimpse of the stunning blonde woman. He continued to seek her out for several weeks until he finally plucked up the courage to approach her. Things were a bit of a blur after that, but he did remember taking her hand. The world had turned upside down. One minute he was at the edge of the brilliantly brightly colored pool, surrounded by green and flowers, and the next, he was in a cold, dreary, damp and dark place. He looked up, seeing the surface above him, the songs of birds muted as though he was under the water. Cold, wet stone under his feet, he realized he /was/ under the-
-/her/. He stayed out of sight, but watched closely. She was radiant, naked from the waist up, her bottom half obscured from view beneath the surface of the water. Her long blonde hair was slicked back. She started to hum, to sing, and he felt as though he was mesmerized. As embarrassing as it was, his older brother was momentarily forgotten. After watching her for some time, he realized the sun was hanging low in the sky. He'd hurried home, and found himself in trouble with his mother and father. However, that didn't stop him from returning to the pond to-
-older brother. He'd skipped out on gathering eggs and milking the cow to follow a trail that he'd seen Malphas take nearly every day for several weeks prior to his disappearance. Moving through the forest near their family home in Sweden, he'd been walking for about an hour. He was about to turn around and head back when he saw it. A pond in a small clearing just outside of the treeline. A prism of colors reflected off the water, beams of light making the pond look like a magical place out of a fairytale. And then he saw-
"'Cause she's a cruel mistress. And a bargain must be made. But oh, my love, don't forget me when I let the water take me." -Florence Welch
[When Malphas disappeared from the family farm, most thought he'd left on his own, by choice. They thought he'd left to get away from the chores, the backbreaking work, the early mornings and late nights. But there were also those who thought, like him, the very idea was ridiculous. Malphas may have wanted his own life, as most did, /but/ he never would've left him, his younger brother, to bear the brunt of those grueling chores from sun up to sun down. He never believed his brother would have skipped out on his family. And it was for that reason that he'd gone out looking for his -
