32. Intayus (RD) by Intayus

Intayus arrived at the cavern; it reeked of goblin spit and urine. Normally he was good at filtering out such odors; being born in the Abyss meant the sticky sweet reek of bodies was not so bad. But when he was seeking out one special smell above all others, he had to pick through them all. The tunnels were long, and finding just the correct spot took several frantic minuets. And as each ticked by, fear, genuine fear stretched each out to feel like an eternity. But then, brought to him on the wings of a faint breeze, he smelled her. Like a bloodhound he followed the scent to its place of origin, a small narrow tunnel. He smelled her blood, her fear, and for a moment an emotion unfamiliar to him. The Runic had been here too, his blood was splattered all over the rocks, what else was new? He was always bleeding and leaving bits and pieces of himself scattered around the world. Crawling, the demon sniffed at the scuff marks of where her body had touched, he climbed up the stony wall that leads to the fissure out of the chamber. He stuck his goat-like head through the narrow opening and inhaled what remained of the woman that obsessed him. Fear so strong it had leached into the rocks was in the chamber, it filled his nostrils and made his clawed hands curl into the handholds. Shifting his head, he caught the glint of a tiny crystal, the type that fell from her eyes when she cried. Snatching one up, he threw it across the chamber and screamed. “WHERE ARE YOU?” She had not left the small fissure by foot. She had to have been taken. Kneeling down again, his eyes burned from the scent of the Runic and the other emotions he picked up from her. Was that love he smelled? Recognition settled in his stomach like a cart full of bile. How could she still love that rat? How could she do this to him? She was HIS and HIS alone! Did they not have a child together? Did he not do everything he could for her and that brat???!! NO! The Runic could not have her! Rage like only a demon could feel seized control, and with a howl that echoed out of the small chamber and across all of Olath Xal, Intayus attacked the walls, slashing and tearing at the stones as if he could eradicate the essence of the Runic and the man would die as well. He would find them both, he sweared. Vynne would once more be his, and the Runic would die!