"Failure."

Jarga winced at the word, head bowed. The imps restraining her kicked her legs from behind, forcing her hands and knees onto the burning, black stone with a thud, which caused her to cry out.

"Never have I been more disappointed in someone." The low, merciless voice continued. "I gave you power. I gave you soldiers. I have given you all that you desired in exchange for one, simple task. I have lived up to my end of our bargain, halfling." The last word was laced with disgust, as if the being who uttered it despised its meaning.

"And so did I!" Jarga spat, gathering the courage to rise to her feet and look the devil eye to eye. "I had her! She was in my grasp!" Her face was twisted with furious defense. "I was about to end her!"

"You had her in your possession for six days!" The tone of hushed harshness was now replaced with booming retribution; the devil rose to his feet, flames bursting around Jarga, licking at her heels and singeing the tattered rags covering her. "You could have killed her at any point, but instead, you paraded her around, forced her to watch her kingdom burn, all for your own entertainment! You toyed with her."

When he commanded the flames to halt, Jarga was left trembling before him on her knees, head down and eyes clenched shut.

"You're right," he continued, tone quieter, but in no way forgiving. "You had her in your grasp. You could say you had her by the throat even. But you forgot to tighten your grip, to snap her neck. And because of your pride, you are dead, not her." The devil sank back in his seat, eyes trained on her. "So, what am I to do with you?" It was clearly a rhetorical question -both of them knew what was to happen.

"S-send me back then," was Jarga's response, an obvious attempt at begging for some form of mercy. "I can kill her this time, I promise! I don't even need to keep my power after I do!"

The devil let out a hoarse, amused chuckle which sent shivers down Jarga's spine. Finally, when he could gather himself, he spoke down to her. "Pacts don't work with the dead, child. Only the living can make deals with me, which means you have no weight to argue the terms we both agreed to." His expression turned again to anger in a flash. "I never should have agreed to help someone as arrogant as you."

"So why did you?" Jarga demanded. "What makes Tamyr so important that you were willing to give me so much in exchange for her life?"

"That does not and will not concern you." The infernal being growled, clearly tensing at her question. "My reasons are to remain with me." He snapped his fingers and her throat began to clench as if she was being strangled. Jarga reached up to her neck instinctively, but it was in vain as there was no physical hand to push away. "You are useless to me."

And with another snap of his fingers, her soul was destroyed.

Once the deed was finished, the devil slumped back in his throne, pondering the events which had played out, and the implications that lurked behind them. For a flicker in time, his fury turned into something different.

Something more akin to dread.