Servant to the Prince of Darkness

Chapter 38: opening the soul

"Don't be stupid ya ninny. You have to practice so you don't actually break the young girls soul. Plus, I have to gather some ingredients. So, it should be by next week," Onsal stated. I sighed a little bit. I had to admit, I was nervous.

But something about what Onsal said had Jericho looking irritated.

"No. I'll give you till tomorrow. That is it." Onsal tried to argue, but he was quickly silenced by the prince. Onsal said something under his breath, but I didn't quite catch it.

Before I could ask what he said, Jericho motioned us out. I didn't even get to say goodbye to Onsal. I was starting to get severely irritated with Jericho.

"You're such a jerk you know," I said angrily.

"And you're walking a fine line with my patience," he barked back.

"If you keep treating people the way you do, you'll never have any friends." He quickly turned and pushed me up against the wall. His motions were too quick to escape from, and he held my wrists to effectively keep me from moving. I could hear the loud thumping of my heart and prayed that he couldn't hear it. He had anger written all over his face and I couldn't help but feel afraid as he loomed over me.

After a moment his angry face fell and a small, sinister, smile crept onto his lips. He put his mouth to my ear. It was startling at first, but I didn't move, afraid what he'd do if I did.

His hot breath tickled my ear as he said, "perhaps that's how I prefer it." He let me go and our walk back was silent after that.
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Being with the prince is a great excuse for not doing your chores. That was the only good thing about being with Jericho, I got out of work.

But, even with the excuse, I had to go right back to work. I didn't even get any details about the whole soul-ripping thing tomorrow. I was starting to doubt weather I should go through with it or not.

I got Amos ready for bed. No words passed between us. He was silent and had a hard look. He didn't even apologize. I mean, wasn't this technically slavery? Forcing someone to take care of you for no money in exchange? That's when I knew that I'd rather let my soul be torn apart than be a servant any longer.

I was still unsure, but I wasn't going to let that stop me.
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I wasn't expecting to be woken up by Onsal. Especially not with him putting some strange smelling liquid on my cheeks. Needless to say, I woke up with a start.

"What the hell? What is this?" It smelled like cat piss and mint. It made me scrunch my nose.

"Sorry las. This liquid is from the babada plant. It opens the soul. It has to be applied as one is sleeping in order for them to wake up with it. Had to las," Onsal explained.

"I don't think I really wanted to know. Why does it smell like that?" I cringed at my own smell.

"Told ya, it helps open the soul," he said mystically. He seemed so proud of himself. I just felt like scrubbing my face with soap. "Here, drink this. Should help." He handed me beat up cup that looked like it hadn't been washed in a while. I looked at the contents inside and saw a strangely black liquid inside. I took a little sip and instantly felt bile rising in my through. It tasted like lavender and seaweed with a hit of something spicy.

"Are you trying to kill me?" I gagged.

"This liquid helps cause the soul to flow easier. It may taste bad, but it will make you feel good. I find it easiest to drink if you just chug it." He smiled. He seemed like a good guy, but I couldn't help but hate him for putting my through this. Just a little bit longer and I can go home, I though to myself.

It was so early I could see some faint light pouring in from outside. I could also tell it was early because of how tired I was. I wondered if this helped "open my soul" too.

We walked back down to the room I had met Onsal in. He had moved stuff around. The middle was cleared and strange markings covered the floor. It reminded me of runes, but with more of an elegant look to them. Jericho was down there too. He was reading a book intensely. He reminded me of someone who hadn't studied and was cramming right before the test. Trying to get any little bit of information that would help them pass. But this isn't pass or fail, this was life, my soul. I took a nervous gulp.

Onsal motioned to the center of the large pentagram. (I didn't know what else to call it, so we'll just go with that.) As I stood there I couldn't help but have that nervous feeling in my gut. Plus I was cold. I tried to hide my shaking when Jericho finally put his book down and walked over to me.

"You smell awful," he scrunched him nose at me.

"Blame Onsal for that," I glared at Onsal, who stood behind Jericho. He just gave me a shrug and went back to working on something.

"Shall we begin?" Jericho asked, turning to Onsal. I wanted to shout no, but knew that I had to do this.

"Yes my lord."

"Good. Now," he turned to me, "don't fight me. That will only wake it harder," he said with an unusual kindness. Perhaps he was afraid too.

He held out his hands. I took a deep breath and grabbed them instantly feeling like I had electricity running through me. It didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable.

Without warning our bodies began to look like they were glowing. I noticed it on our hands at first. Then it began spreading, like glowing veins. It was a golden hue, it looked beautiful, but it scared me at the same time. I looked at Jericho and I could tell he saw the panic in my eyes. I looked at Onsal, but he looked like he didn't even see it. I was about to ask if any of them could see this, but the golden veins began to turned black. It illuminated the room in a darker tone, and that's when the pain hit.