. . . . "1 \u201CThe Oracle pinned the blame on you, Ivan.\u201D He stared down at me, his pale yellow eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. I simply sat quietly and watched him, noting the unsure quiver in the accusation that still hung in the air. He was having a difficult time swallowing what Desmodena\u2019s demons were feeding him\u2026I could see exactly how wrong it tasted to him, how down in the deepest part of his heart, he still knew that his brother couldn\u2019t have committed such a depraved act. \u201CDesmodena will be here soon\u2026she\u2019s going to read your soul. She\u2019ll be able to tell me for sure, Ivan\u2026I\u2019m sorry it has to be this way.\u201D Such introspective focus on every word that came out of his mouth\u2026he never heard the telltale click of the locks on my wrist shackles releasing. I kept my arms in place behind my back as I cocked my head at him. \u201CIvan died years ago, Joseph. You deny what you are, what she is, and you set yourself up to condemn me to death by her word and her word alone. You\u2019re as much her slave as the rest of her demons; only I know that you\u2019ll care when you can\u2019t wash my blood off your hands like they never would. We both know what she\u2019s going to say, regardless of what the black magic she works on me tells her.\u201D He winced and looked away, but his grip tightened on the hilt of his massive war axe and he made no move to release me. Things had already progressed too far for him to just up and renege on the deal. He sighed heavily as he looked back at me, his expression growing wan. \u201CI have waking nightmares, Ivan. Not a day goes by where I don\u2019t watch you do it. Desmodena didn\u2019t ask me to do this, they did. Asked for closure so that they can move on.\u201D I smirked behind my mask and shook my head lightly, my eyes locked with his. \u201CThat sounds more like a manifestation of your own second-hand guilt over the fact that you weren\u2019t able to help them than it does a manifestation of spirits from beyond the grave with a thirst for some sort of cosmic justice. You know what Desmodena and her pets are capable of, yet you take her word like it\u2019s gospel.\u201D His eyes dropped to the floor and I watched his face for a few silent moments. 2 She entered, purple robes flowing behind her like a pool reflecting the night sky. She pursed her lips distastefully as her gaze settled on me, ostensibly shackled to a chair in the centre of the room. Joseph stood tall at the sound and immediately moved to her side to hold a conversation with her in hushed tones. \u201CDid he admit to anything, love?\u201D \u201CNo\u2026though he didn\u2019t put up any sort of fight either when I explained my intentions to him or when I carried him off in irons.\u201D She looked over at me once again, a dubious expression creasing her brow. I stared back blankly with catatonic stillness until she let out an unsettled grunt and turned her focus back onto Joseph. \u201CIf\u2026when\u2026his soul shares his secrets with us, we will sacrifice him to Garesh\u2026a pact with a demon is strongest when forged in the blood of a traitor, and there is no greater act of treachery than kinslaying.\u201D Joseph nodded weakly, his resolve still shaky on its legs. She spun away from him and approached me where I sat, holding up a pale blue ball of crystal that burst into dark green flames in her claw. \u201CIvan Wallace, you stand accused of kinslaying. You have this one chance to confess your actions and purge your soul.\u201D I cocked my head slightly and stared into her eyes over the dim flickering of the flames, but said nothing. \u201CSilence and shadow won\u2019t be your savior anymore. You will suffer eternally as you sowed suffering. Ryleh caspan ibleth oain vetnes!\u201D Her crystal pulsed in her claw, the heat from it pushing against my face and causing my skin to tighten. The flames flickered as though caught in a stiff wind, then sputtered and extinguished entirely, leaving the crystal a jet-black color with a thick, inky residue leaking between her fingers and down the arm of her robes. \u201CYou have been judged, Kinslayer.\u201D 3 The runes on the floor in front of me glowed and faded, glowed and faded as I watched with clinical detachment. She kneeled and chanted in the tongue of the Infernals as a tempest brewed within the circle. Joseph stood back in the corner of the room, an expression of grim resignation settled on his face. After a few moments, her spell was complete and she threw her head back as though in the throes of ecstasy. A sulfurous reek filled the room as the demon entered, standing no less than ten feet tall in plate mail as dark as night. \u201CGaresh, I command you by your true name to slay the Kinslayer and become my\u2026\u201D In her haste to dominate the demon before it could break the tenuous initial bond she held on it, she failed to notice that I had vanished from where I was supposed to have been held captive. One solid blow from my sap to the base of her skull and she was prone on the floor, completely unconscious. The demon paused for a moment in the runes, and then took a tentative step out. I sat in the shadows at the corner of the room, phased entirely out of view, watching the scene unfold. Joseph\u2019s eyes widened as the gravity of his situation dawned on him. He took a defensive stance with his axe, but the demon was far too powerful for him to contend with. He swung fiercely at its face, but it caught the axe by the blade with ease in its heavily plated hands, and then pulled him into its arms. \u201CIvaaaaaannnnn\u2026!\u201D He screamed my life-name as the demon squeezed him in a bear hug. The sound of his bones being crushed filled the room as his voice trailed off. Once he stopped struggling, the demon pulled his limp form back to the runes and disappeared back into the tempest, Joseph in tow. I phased back into view and took my seat once again, folded my claws in my lap and waited for Desmodena to come to. She did a short while later, looking first at the runes, then at me, her mind still dim from the blow she\u2019d sustained. \u201CIv\u2026wh\u2026\u201D Her words wouldn\u2019t come to her quickly enough for my liking, so I rose to my feet, picked her up and sat her in the chair that was supposed to have kept me captive for my makeshift trial and execution. She didn\u2019t put up any struggle at all as I shackled her wrists with the bindings that failed to hold me. \u201CSee, now you\u2019re truly in the sort of situation where a person can appreciate the seriousness of sacrificing another being for the sake of demonic favors. Garesh incapacitated Joseph and then took him back to whatever hellhole you dredged him out of in the first place. I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll be seeing either one of them ever again.\u201D She tried to lunge at me, but the chains that kept her wrists bound behind her back also kept her solidly in place. I smirked behind my mask as I watched her struggle. \u201CYou\u2026you just\u2026watched him be damned?\u201D Her voice dripped with loathing as she stopped thrashing to address me. I nodded sagely. \u201CWasn\u2019t he planning to do that exact thing to me anyhow? Funny how fortune can pull an about face on you when you least expect.\u201D I kicked her squarely in the chest, knocking both her and her chair onto their backs. She grunted in pain and craned her neck to look at me. \u201CI\u2019ll destroy you, Pusrot\u2026you\u2019ve left me with nothing to hold dear. Apart from securing your demise, I have nothing. NOTHING!\u201D I stood directly over her and leaned in closely. \u201CYou\u2019re in no position to act on that at the moment. I suggest you reflect on what your existence has become until you can figure out a way to free yourself.\u201D With that, I stood straight up and walked outside, closing the door to the small cottage behind me."@en . . . . . . "Dearly Departed"@en . "2011-12-20"^^ . . . "Dearly Departed are an alternative/progressive rock band from Long Island, New York. Formed in late 2001, they consisted of vocalist Mike Mallamo (formerly of Inside), bassist Joe Rubino (of Tension and the Jett Blackk Heart Attack), guitarist Jon Cox (also of Tension, and the Jett Blackk Heart Attack Earthling Attack and From Autumn To Ashes), guitarist Jeff Bodzer (from Helen Of Troy), and drummer Danny Lopez (of Scarab). They released their first album, \"Believing in Ghosts\", in February 2003, after which the band toured and supported acts such as From Autumn To Ashes, Avenged Sevenfold, NORA, and Superstitions Of The Sky. Between releasing Believing in Ghosts and What Awaits Us, the band had undergone many changes in lineup. The band even broke up briefly in 2005 when Bodzer moved to Florida, and Mallamo focused on his new band, Novena. Recently, Dearly Departed has returned to the original lineup and become a 6 piece added guitarist Derek Sessions."@en . . . "Dearly Departed"@en . . . . . . . . . "Dearly Departed"@en . . . "Pusrot"@en . . "Dearly Departed are an alternative/progressive rock band from Long Island, New York. Formed in late 2001, they consisted of vocalist Mike Mallamo (formerly of Inside), bassist Joe Rubino (of Tension and the Jett Blackk Heart Attack), guitarist Jon Cox (also of Tension, and the Jett Blackk Heart Attack Earthling Attack and From Autumn To Ashes), guitarist Jeff Bodzer (from Helen Of Troy), and drummer Danny Lopez (of Scarab). They released their first album, \"Believing in Ghosts\", in February 2003, after which the band toured and supported acts such as From Autumn To Ashes, Avenged Sevenfold, NORA, and Superstitions Of The Sky. Between releasing Believing in Ghosts and What Awaits Us, the band had undergone many changes in lineup. The band even broke up briefly in 2005 when Bodzer moved to F"@en . . "1 \u201CThe Oracle pinned the blame on you, Ivan.\u201D He stared down at me, his pale yellow eyes narrowed into suspicious slits. I simply sat quietly and watched him, noting the unsure quiver in the accusation that still hung in the air. He was having a difficult time swallowing what Desmodena\u2019s demons were feeding him\u2026I could see exactly how wrong it tasted to him, how down in the deepest part of his heart, he still knew that his brother couldn\u2019t have committed such a depraved act. I smirked behind my mask and shook my head lightly, my eyes locked with his. 2 \u201CDid he admit to anything, love?\u201D 3 \u201CIv\u2026wh\u2026\u201D"@en . . . . . "2012-01-04"^^ . . . . . . . "Pusrot"@en .