It was getting tougher to focus. The moon's eerie glow barely illuminates the parchment before my already shaken hands. Cold sweat of pain and torment have long crowded every possible void between my forehaed, and exhaustion fill every bone and limb. Barely able to move, I attempt another step.The risks were immense, but the rewards were gargantous. Picking up the only arsenal i still possess, I tried another go. Right... right... i think... I think i got it! No wait. What's this? THis is somethng I've never seen before.... This can't be! Dumbfound, I stared blankly at the parchment. The inscrptions were of no partcular order or arrangement, and the verses were easy enough to decipher through the formulaes I had acqured from my mistresses back at the monestry. But this.... a riddle. It was something... Different. It had lines I had never set eyes upon. The concoction of geometry, the inhumanly symbols decorating every corner was beyond my comprehension. Calm down.... think about it for a second... If I could only, yes that might just... No... no... Its too obvious. Or maybe if I..... Hmm... No... it's not to that extent.
I moved a few paces back, careful not to lose my balance, and observed the stone hedges once more. My years of experience dealing with the unknown told me that this was just another puzzle to be solved. But my woman's instincts told me otherwise. One false move and I might cause dire consequences, and that's something I would prefer not to risk. But my instincts never lied. Not yet at least. I decided to give the cornerstone stone a push. There was a loud tremble, and the ground shook. I was petrified, as the stone began to shatter and the ceilings of the cave cracked violently. Debris of stone and sand poured into the opening I stood on, the force so intense I was pushed back a considerable distance. I held on tight to a nearby bolder for support. It continued to rumble, and then, silence. I opened my eyes, cold beads of presperation flooding me from tip to toe. There, to my amazement, was the very gift I was looking for, its wonderous rays of silver and gold blinding my sight.
Leaning forward, I gently ran my fingers across the cold surface of it. It was a lot smaller than I had expected it to be, but that would have to do. Slowly and carefully, I lifted it up from its holder. Just as it left its supports, I froze, expecting another booby trap to come crashing down on me, or burn me alive, or.... Wait. Nothing? I sighed in relief. I admred the silvery object for a little longer, before pocketing it. I turned to leave, not realising another shadow in the room.
'Just a moment there young lady,' said the figure from the shadows.
'I believe you have something that's mine.'
I stopped in my tracks, and slowly turned to face him. Then, in a split second, I reached for my revolver hidden at the bottom of my undercoat, aimed it at his chest, and fired. The shot echoed around the room. To my amazement, the figure moved forward. Impossible. I saw the bullet pierce his heart. Besides, I never missed.
'Foolish. Yet, impressive for a girl your age,' he said, slowly emerging from the darkness of the room and into the light. What I was dumbfounded me. He, or she, or it had the figure of a man, the voice of a woman, but the eyes as red as blood. I shook my head in disbelief. Was that wings sticking out of the back of his shoulders?
'Who are you?!' I demanded, my revolver aiming this time for the creature's head.
'Who I am is not important, but its what we are going to do to you that realy matters, now. Eh? And you might want to keep that fragile toy of yours for something mortal. That bullet cannot harm the flesh of a god.'
We? I looked around the cave. Nothing. We were alone. This guy must be some kind of psycho. Yet, I can't take any chances.
'A god you say?' I managed a nervous chuckle. 'Man you must have hit that head of your real hard. Now, turn around and leave, and I won;t shoot you. Now!'
'Oh really?' it laughed. Or was it a giggle. It was hard to tell. It seemed to be a mixture of both. That freaked me out.
'Look, I don't want any trouble alright. Just let me walk out of that cave and I'm outta here. Stand in my way, and I swear I'll shoot you.' I was shaking by now, and somehow it knew it.
'Foolish human! You underestimate the wrath of the Keepers. Hand over the Orb of Knowledge or suffer the wrath of eternal doom.'
'You're mad you know that?' this time I knew he was crazy, but I still had to be careful.
'I'll give you till the count of 3. Get out of my sight, or I'll shoot. I mean it.' I really did.
'1....' my fingers tigthened around the trigger.
The figure glared at me, menacingly, but stood right where it was.
'2...' I looked around. Still nothing. Good. He was lying about the 'we' part.
The figure still glared at me. Unmoving. Not even an inch.
'3!' I fired. This time the bullet hit the creature's forehead, hard. Blood covered the walls of the stone cave, and it fell to the ground.
I smirked. People would do anything to get thier hands on this. I crossed over the creature's lifeless body, lying in a pool of blood, and headed to the entrance of the cave.
'Leaving so soon?'
I froze. It... it can't be....
'I warned you... mortal....'
My palms were sweating furiously now. I grasped the revolver even tighter now, not daring to turn back.
'Return the orb. Or face my wrath.'
'Wont you just die!' I turned, and released a volley of shots at the creepy sight of a life I had just taken a while ago. The barrage of bullets tore through its skin with deadly accuracy. I even managed to limp its knees and take another one to its heart. I couldn't belive what I saw next.
'Ha... Ha ha! Ha ha ha! That's all you have mortal?' The creature stood upright, and literally readjusted the limbs I had taken out, and approached me, as though he just had a little scratch.
'Don't... don't you come any closer....' I was trembling with fear now, something wet was between my bottoms. Pacing backwards, I saw the light of the cave's entrance, and decided to make a run for it. I had enough of wierdness for one day. I turned and sprinted towards the light. I looked back for a brief moment to make sure the demon was behind me, but he wasn't. To my horror, there he was, bloody and ripped to pieces, but stood at the the entrance, barring my only way towards freedom.
'What, what do you... want?'
'The orb. Give it to me, and you'll live'
'The orb? Oh yes... yes... eh... a moment,' I reached for my pocket, and found the silver object.
'Give it to me, now!'
'Here, catch!' I bellowed, and threw it behind me as hard as I could, more out of fear than out of acting cool.
The creature stood still. Ok... Not what I expected. I thought it would have gone and catc...
'It is safe.'
Another voice? I looked back, and this time, passing out would have been a good idea. Behind me, stood not one, but at least five, or six or these creatures. Only, they were bigger, and more visious.
'Now... mortal... let me thank you for the trouble you put us into.'
He moved so fast I swear it felt like a breeze just blew past me. In an instant, he was beside me, holding on to my arm tightly, its claws burrowing deep within my skin. He was smiling. I was in pain.
'Now, mortal, Aisthya Vaisha!'
A terrible burning sensation rippled aorund his claws, and into my flesh, burning every cell, bone and draining the blood within. I cried in agony, desperately fighting his arm off mine. But he was strong. Too strong. Then, I saw it. The violet symbol of the Succubus began to form on my arm. I was agshast, and I fought more violently. But it was no use. Finally, it let go. My arm felt like a thousand knives had just sliced my flesh apart, only to be patch up and sliced up once again.
'The pain is only the beginning, mortal. Take it, as a gift,'
It handed me a vail, a bluish liquid bubbled inside it.
'Once every fortnight, your body will undergo a tranformation so intense, you would prefer to die. But you will not. The curse has granted you immortality, but at a price of your soul. But with it, you gain the power of the Succubus, the winged demon. You can succumb to the drakness, or lose the meaningless battle of fighting the curse. Take the potion, as an agreement, shall you decide to join us.'
My head was turning now, everything was ablurred. I see visions of the dead, but I could hear the demon's words clearly.
'Go... f*** yo..yourself!' I cried.
'Typical, but its only a matter of time.' it turned, and approached the group. And then, they vanished.
I tried to stand, but the pain was overwheling. I felt... like I just had an entire bar's worth of ale, and fell down to the ground once again. I've seen that sign before, and the stories that make it so fearful, so very fearful to bear. I hoped it was all a dream, but it was not. The violet sign of the Succubus was getting darker now, as though one with my flesh, my body and my soul. I knew no mere magic was going to break this curse.The monestry! I had to make it to the monestry! I tried to stand again, but my knees gave way. I was considerably weakened. But yet, I felt something else within me. There was a voice. Echoing within the walls of my head. I felt a surge of enegy. But I didn't like it. I tried to fight my body's urge, but it was no good. FOr a brief moment, I felt strong, like I could do anything, anything at all! I felt powerful. As though the world was my play pen! Foolish humans! I possess the power of the winged-demon now! I should just make my way to the nearest village, and... No! No... I had to control myself. The side of me that was still human, or what was left of it, desperately fought the evil engulfing my soul. Help... I needed help! I looked around, desperately. I forced every inch of my consious, to move, I had to get to the monestry.... At first, I thought i saw someone one a horse. My heart leaped with joy. I tried to speak, but my voice was inadible.
'He..Hel..Help... m.. me....'
I felt weak. So weak. Then, there was darkness.
I moved a few paces back, careful not to lose my balance, and observed the stone hedges once more. My years of experience dealing with the unknown told me that this was just another puzzle to be solved. But my woman's instincts told me otherwise. One false move and I might cause dire consequences, and that's something I would prefer not to risk. But my instincts never lied. Not yet at least. I decided to give the cornerstone stone a push. There was a loud tremble, and the ground shook. I was petrified, as the stone began to shatter and the ceilings of the cave cracked violently. Debris of stone and sand poured into the opening I stood on, the force so intense I was pushed back a considerable distance. I held on tight to a nearby bolder for support. It continued to rumble, and then, silence. I opened my eyes, cold beads of presperation flooding me from tip to toe. There, to my amazement, was the very gift I was looking for, its wonderous rays of silver and gold blinding my sight.
Leaning forward, I gently ran my fingers across the cold surface of it. It was a lot smaller than I had expected it to be, but that would have to do. Slowly and carefully, I lifted it up from its holder. Just as it left its supports, I froze, expecting another booby trap to come crashing down on me, or burn me alive, or.... Wait. Nothing? I sighed in relief. I admred the silvery object for a little longer, before pocketing it. I turned to leave, not realising another shadow in the room.
'Just a moment there young lady,' said the figure from the shadows.
'I believe you have something that's mine.'
I stopped in my tracks, and slowly turned to face him. Then, in a split second, I reached for my revolver hidden at the bottom of my undercoat, aimed it at his chest, and fired. The shot echoed around the room. To my amazement, the figure moved forward. Impossible. I saw the bullet pierce his heart. Besides, I never missed.
'Foolish. Yet, impressive for a girl your age,' he said, slowly emerging from the darkness of the room and into the light. What I was dumbfounded me. He, or she, or it had the figure of a man, the voice of a woman, but the eyes as red as blood. I shook my head in disbelief. Was that wings sticking out of the back of his shoulders?
'Who are you?!' I demanded, my revolver aiming this time for the creature's head.
'Who I am is not important, but its what we are going to do to you that realy matters, now. Eh? And you might want to keep that fragile toy of yours for something mortal. That bullet cannot harm the flesh of a god.'
We? I looked around the cave. Nothing. We were alone. This guy must be some kind of psycho. Yet, I can't take any chances.
'A god you say?' I managed a nervous chuckle. 'Man you must have hit that head of your real hard. Now, turn around and leave, and I won;t shoot you. Now!'
'Oh really?' it laughed. Or was it a giggle. It was hard to tell. It seemed to be a mixture of both. That freaked me out.
'Look, I don't want any trouble alright. Just let me walk out of that cave and I'm outta here. Stand in my way, and I swear I'll shoot you.' I was shaking by now, and somehow it knew it.
'Foolish human! You underestimate the wrath of the Keepers. Hand over the Orb of Knowledge or suffer the wrath of eternal doom.'
'You're mad you know that?' this time I knew he was crazy, but I still had to be careful.
'I'll give you till the count of 3. Get out of my sight, or I'll shoot. I mean it.' I really did.
'1....' my fingers tigthened around the trigger.
The figure glared at me, menacingly, but stood right where it was.
'2...' I looked around. Still nothing. Good. He was lying about the 'we' part.
The figure still glared at me. Unmoving. Not even an inch.
'3!' I fired. This time the bullet hit the creature's forehead, hard. Blood covered the walls of the stone cave, and it fell to the ground.
I smirked. People would do anything to get thier hands on this. I crossed over the creature's lifeless body, lying in a pool of blood, and headed to the entrance of the cave.
'Leaving so soon?'
I froze. It... it can't be....
'I warned you... mortal....'
My palms were sweating furiously now. I grasped the revolver even tighter now, not daring to turn back.
'Return the orb. Or face my wrath.'
'Wont you just die!' I turned, and released a volley of shots at the creepy sight of a life I had just taken a while ago. The barrage of bullets tore through its skin with deadly accuracy. I even managed to limp its knees and take another one to its heart. I couldn't belive what I saw next.
'Ha... Ha ha! Ha ha ha! That's all you have mortal?' The creature stood upright, and literally readjusted the limbs I had taken out, and approached me, as though he just had a little scratch.
'Don't... don't you come any closer....' I was trembling with fear now, something wet was between my bottoms. Pacing backwards, I saw the light of the cave's entrance, and decided to make a run for it. I had enough of wierdness for one day. I turned and sprinted towards the light. I looked back for a brief moment to make sure the demon was behind me, but he wasn't. To my horror, there he was, bloody and ripped to pieces, but stood at the the entrance, barring my only way towards freedom.
'What, what do you... want?'
'The orb. Give it to me, and you'll live'
'The orb? Oh yes... yes... eh... a moment,' I reached for my pocket, and found the silver object.
'Give it to me, now!'
'Here, catch!' I bellowed, and threw it behind me as hard as I could, more out of fear than out of acting cool.
The creature stood still. Ok... Not what I expected. I thought it would have gone and catc...
'It is safe.'
Another voice? I looked back, and this time, passing out would have been a good idea. Behind me, stood not one, but at least five, or six or these creatures. Only, they were bigger, and more visious.
'Now... mortal... let me thank you for the trouble you put us into.'
He moved so fast I swear it felt like a breeze just blew past me. In an instant, he was beside me, holding on to my arm tightly, its claws burrowing deep within my skin. He was smiling. I was in pain.
'Now, mortal, Aisthya Vaisha!'
A terrible burning sensation rippled aorund his claws, and into my flesh, burning every cell, bone and draining the blood within. I cried in agony, desperately fighting his arm off mine. But he was strong. Too strong. Then, I saw it. The violet symbol of the Succubus began to form on my arm. I was agshast, and I fought more violently. But it was no use. Finally, it let go. My arm felt like a thousand knives had just sliced my flesh apart, only to be patch up and sliced up once again.
'The pain is only the beginning, mortal. Take it, as a gift,'
It handed me a vail, a bluish liquid bubbled inside it.
'Once every fortnight, your body will undergo a tranformation so intense, you would prefer to die. But you will not. The curse has granted you immortality, but at a price of your soul. But with it, you gain the power of the Succubus, the winged demon. You can succumb to the drakness, or lose the meaningless battle of fighting the curse. Take the potion, as an agreement, shall you decide to join us.'
My head was turning now, everything was ablurred. I see visions of the dead, but I could hear the demon's words clearly.
'Go... f*** yo..yourself!' I cried.
'Typical, but its only a matter of time.' it turned, and approached the group. And then, they vanished.
I tried to stand, but the pain was overwheling. I felt... like I just had an entire bar's worth of ale, and fell down to the ground once again. I've seen that sign before, and the stories that make it so fearful, so very fearful to bear. I hoped it was all a dream, but it was not. The violet sign of the Succubus was getting darker now, as though one with my flesh, my body and my soul. I knew no mere magic was going to break this curse.The monestry! I had to make it to the monestry! I tried to stand again, but my knees gave way. I was considerably weakened. But yet, I felt something else within me. There was a voice. Echoing within the walls of my head. I felt a surge of enegy. But I didn't like it. I tried to fight my body's urge, but it was no good. FOr a brief moment, I felt strong, like I could do anything, anything at all! I felt powerful. As though the world was my play pen! Foolish humans! I possess the power of the winged-demon now! I should just make my way to the nearest village, and... No! No... I had to control myself. The side of me that was still human, or what was left of it, desperately fought the evil engulfing my soul. Help... I needed help! I looked around, desperately. I forced every inch of my consious, to move, I had to get to the monestry.... At first, I thought i saw someone one a horse. My heart leaped with joy. I tried to speak, but my voice was inadible.
'He..Hel..Help... m.. me....'
I felt weak. So weak. Then, there was darkness.
