Queen of the Living

Part I - Prologue

    “If I were to say that the most powerful magician of our time was a two thousand year old pig.  And that pig somehow fell into the service of a young woman, whom was unlucky enough to have been murdered due to a spat between two brothers a milleneum ago, then when I tell you; chasing a three headed dog with my master’s finger in one of his mouths is the reason I am here, you’ll know that I am being one hundred percent serious.”

    The little girl that the strange man was talking to continued to lick her ice-cream cone while continuing to stare up at him, whether listening intently or not.  They were standing in a very crowded urban park, she, having been dressed in comfortable summer leisure-wear, while he wore the most common of grey suits.

    “Honestly, it was never supposed to go this far,”  he continued.  “Or maybe it was.  If I do recall, this is not too far from where we found her on the night where it all began.”

    Poor Nawal was lying against a tree.  Her arms and legs were broken, some of her fingers were missing, and her skull had been broken in.  Blood was everywhere, yet she still clung to life though her attackers had left her for dead.

    The autumn fog had rolled in and a very peculiar snake was almost visible as it slid into her shoe, left abandoned a few feet from where she lay.  It poked its head out and tasted the air with its forked tongue before continuing on to the body, slithering through the dirt and blood.

    “She's here,” came a voice from above, in the trees.  “We're too late.”

    A shadow appeared in the fog, small and quick.  “Oh shit, fuck me!”  It said, hoarse and with a British accent.  “I think the damn bird is right.  We're too late, have a look at her.”  The shadow approached, and through the mist became a figure:  like a daemon or a sprite from a children's story.  It had a small body with an oversized head.  It's face was ageless, yet youthful beneath an ornate wooden helmet.  It's movements, however, lacked the grace of it's appearance.  It marched through the fog toward the dying girl as if to scold her for a lifetime of bad deeds.  The sprite knelt beside her body, examining it before turning his head back to the fog.  “Be quick, would you!  There's no need for dramatic entrances – she's almost dead and there's no one around to see it!  Unbelievable.”

    A man appeared through the mist where the sprite had come through.  He was tall with long black hair cascading down to his back.  He wore a long black cloak under which nothing could be seen.  “She mustn't die,” he said.

    “I'm quite sure the rest of us understand that boss, but I think we're too late,” the sprite said.  “Fuck, I hate coming to America.  I can never find my way around in this place.  It's too fucking big!”

    “If she dies, the contract is broken,” said the man.  He held out his left arm for a moment before a large raven landed on it.  “Tell me,”  he said.

    “Her life is escaping.  She won't last long,” said the raven.  “Even as I arrived, we were too late.”

    “Find the ones responsible,” said the man, and the bird left.

    “Aha!”  Screamed the sprite.

    “What is it, Vermilion?”  Said the man.

    “Shhhh...”  Vermilion, the sprite, was holding his finger to his mouth, signaling the man to keep quiet.  His attention had left the girl and was on the ground a few feet from her.  His other reached behind his back where he pulled a comically large sword out of thin air.  “A snake,” he whispered and disappeared.  The snake, aware it had caught their attention, fled.

    The man knelt beside the girl and took her hand in his.  Her pointer and middle fingers were chewed off at the knuckle, as were bits of her forearm and triceps.  Her eyes opened only the slightest bit before she spoke her dying words, “Help me.”

    “I'm sorry,”  the man replied, bending over as if to kiss her.

    “No! No! No! No!”  Vermilion yelled as he ran back to them, sword and snake in hand.  “Don't even think about it!”

    The man lifted his head and looked longingly into her open eyes.  “It is too late.  The contract is broken.”