Shadows of Fire

Chapter III- Jenny (Part I)

Chapter III

Jenny

            Jenny froze in terror, staring in incomprehension at the five before her. They made no move to seize her, which should have been warning sign enough. That distracted her long enough for a strong pair of hands to clamp down on her wrists with a grip like a vise. Jenny stomped back with her boot of cleated fury, but received a sharp, heavy blow to the back of the head in response, and she was then dragged forward into the center of the room.

She was irreverently slammed onto the stone altar, and after poorly woven -yet strong- ropes were tied around her ankles and wrists, she was flipped onto her back by two of the cloaked figures. She looked up, in a daze, at the one who had captured her. It took Jenny a few moments before she recognized the person standing before her, and her expression shifted from vague confusion, to surprise, to bitter anger, all in a matter of seconds.

            Standing before her, dressed in a similar hooded robe that was slightly too big for her, but still with a somber look of purpose on her face, was Kat. Her face was taut and pale, even more blood-drawn than before. Around her waist was a rusted and tattered chain-mesh belt, with a wicked-looking dagger sheathed. Her robes were lined with crimson, not gold, and she wasn’t wearing the spiky goth gaunts like the others, but at the same time, there was something about her that made her want to curl up in a tight little ball in fear, and give up. Then she noticed it; Kat’s eyes, once pleasant, albeit somewhat dead-looking glassy green eyes, were nearly entirely engulfed by a beady blackness, with only the whites of her eyes remaining.

            “How… on EARTH could you do this, Kat?” Jenny whispered hoarsely, her eyes searching Kat’s earnestly, for some sign of mercy, or memory, but there was none. “I’m your friend. It’s me, Jenny. Please, don’t do this.”

            Something flickered slightly in the depths of Kat’s eyes, but it quickly vanished. “If my Lord is to be awakened from the depths, there must be a sacrifice,” she said calmly, as though she were simply stating the time of day. “You are a servant of the Enemy, and a child born from the line of the Captain. Your blood is perfect for awakening our Lord.” In spite of the circumstances, Jenny smirked darkly.

            “You’ve already said all that. Look, who is this “lord” of yours anyway? If I don’t come home tonight, there will be trouble. My mum will worry. You remember my mum, right? And little Rory?” All of this didn’t seem to have any affect on Kat, as she stood there apathetically, the same calm, emotionless mask plastered across her face.

            “Ignorant child, you know not what you speak. Our Lord is supreme above all others. The Dark One is the one who has given to us power over the High Magick, and the elements, and many other things. But your godling, in a childish fit, imprisoned him deep in the earth. But tonight, after so long, his bonds will be broken, and we, the Iblis Brotherhood, shall rejoice at long last.” Jenny’s eyes narrowed, wavering between Kat’s still perfectly calm face, and her sheathed dagger.

            “So, wait… your Lord is… Satan, by chance? There’s a bloody good reason why he was cast down. He rebelled against God, and was prideful enough to try and get His legions to worship him, so God stripped him of his power, and cast him and his supporters down onto the newly-formed Earth. And you do know you’re a girl, right?” In spite of the danger she was in, Jenny couldn’t resist the temptation to mouth off at Kat, her blood rising in fury.

            Kat spat on the ground with annoyance, and smirked at Jenny, her eyes glistening with mild entertainment. “Your deluded kin call him Satan, yes. In the elder days, he was the mighty Serpent. In current day, the world has been deluded into believing him as a red man with a pitchfork. But tonight,” she grinned, a dangerous light twinkling in her eyes, “They will see just how much power he has left.”