Pestilence

Chapter 4 - The White Rider

            I had to find Asher a decent birthday present. So, I made my way to downtown to search for a gift that would warm my little lizard's heart. I wandered in and out of a few different stores. Nothing jumped out at me.

I entered a unique looking antique shop. My hope is there would be something that would make my scaly friend smile. I roamed up and down the aisles, surveying the items on the various shelves. Sadly, I was about to give up when I came upon something that piqued my interest.

It wasn't anything super fancy. Just a dark leather bracelet sitting on an eye level shelf in the back of the store. What caught my interest was the unusual, golden runes that were carved into the leather. I smiled, knowing that this was right up Asher's alley.

I reached for it. The instant that my fingers touched the surface if the bracelet, a jolt of ice shot through my body. I stumbled backwards from the surge, crashing into the shelf behind me. Items clattered to the ground. The icy feeling, I had felt before turned into an intense burning that ran down from the top of my left peck down to my abs.

Then I heard it, my heart skipping a beat when I did. A deep voice filled with immense satisfaction rang out in my mind.

"Finally, a strong and worthy vessel."

I let out a cry of fear, and pain falling to my knees as a felt a presence not my own burrow its way into my mind.

"Sir are you ok?" The worried store employee asked keeping his distance. I looked up at him, my vison becoming a tunnel. I got to my feet shakily and stumbled towards the door, the bracelet still in my hand. Everything started to go dark as I made it outside.

A dark laughter rang through my head. "You will be the perfect tool for my revenge." And with that the world went black.

I opened my eyes, trying to focus. Surprisingly I was laying on my back looking at the ceiling, but it wasn't the outside of the shop. The small building had been replaced with an ornate gold and white ceiling. I tried to sit up, but I couldn't move other than being able to turn my head some. Looking at my arms, I could see they were held to the floor with metal hoops with the same engraving that had been on the bracelet.

"My love." I heard a woman's voice say to my right. Looking, I saw a gorgeous woman, with long black hair and unbelievable grey eyes. She was pinned to the ground, the same as me. I noticed two other figures past her as well. Another man and woman. The love and absolute devotion I felt towards this woman was overwhelming. I had felt nothing like this other than for Zara. "I am so sorry, my love." The woman said giving me a weak smile.

"This is not your fault." I heard myself say but in that deep voice that I had heard in my head before I blacked out. "We should have just followed orders, and this would never have happened." I could hear the words and knew they were said to comfort her, but I knew the hopelessness that this body was feeling.

The woman shook her head. "I would not have changed a thing" she said, "we made the right choice, at least now they have a chance." I felt my head nod in resolute agreement.

"No matter what happens, know you are the very reason for my existence" I heard myself say to the woman. Before she could respond, two very tall figures, dressed in white hooded robes with gold trim appeared from a staircase above.

"Good. Then let us finish this once and for all." Two more figures appeared. These two were different. One was wearing very ornate silver armor, and the other even nicer golden armor. They both had massive immaculate wings protruding from their back. I felt an intense anger stir within me. The four figures station themselves in a square around the four of us "For your crimes against Heaven and the Balance, I sentence you to imprisonment for all eternity." the figure in the golden armor said.