Becoming

Chapter #12: Kari "Hard To Change Who You Are, Isn't It"

I step through the portal and into a large room with black walls, and when I say large room, I mean large room, it seems big enough to fit the entire forest back home. A black throne is placed in the center of the room, made out of what looks to be bones, skeletons jut out of the throne at unusual angles, giving an even creepier air to the room. A man sits atop the throne, grinning like the evil thing he is. His black hair is as greasy as ever and his robes still reach down to the floor.

"Crawling back to me," He says, giggling, "I don't even know how long ago I said that. Hold on a second, I remember, about five minutes, You lasted five minutes. Welcome to the real world, Snowflake, welcome to the real world." My fists clench, this was his fault, Ava said that the demon caused this, he made me hurt Ember. I piece the lights together again, maybe they took me to the wrong place.

"Take me home," I say, more forceful this time, hoping that my portal leads to the forest where I met Sofia, not wherever this place is. I step into the portal and am spit out at the other side of it.

"It's not going to work," The demons says in a sing-song voice. I try again and again to no avail. The portal forms again.

"Take me to the forest," I yell. Maybe 'home' wasn't specific enough. When I try and spet through the portal, it's like a solid sheet of glass, it's not letting me through. The demon makes a tsk tsk sound and purses his lips.

"I'm afraid, that wasn't specific enough, Snowy" He says, smiling all the way.

"Cut the nicknames," I say, "Why are you keeping me here?" The demon chuckles, smiling to himself sound with his tongue and rises from his throne.

"Has it ever occured to you, that this is your home?" The demon asks, "A home isn't the place you were born, it's the place you most identify with. If the dark is your home, then the deal is on." He rubs his hands together, grinning ear to ear.

"You know, I didn't expect that you would be the first one to turn, I thought that it would be Bones, then Flame, then you." The demon says, "Actually, I predicted that Rose would go dark, not you. All the same, I still have all my pieces on the board." I can't wrap my head around his twisted thinking, is this all a game to him? Is this just a pastime?

"Snowflake, remember what I said earlier about you owing me a favor? I think I just found out what it is." He gets an evil glint in my eyes when he says this, like I'd led him to this conclusion.

"I don't owe you anything," I say firmly, he can't trick me anymore, I'm not as clueless as I was before, I don't know all the answers, but I know that I'm part of something big, something best kept hidden.

"Yes you do. Allow me to enlighten you," The demon says, spreading his hands out to encompass almost the whole room. He snaps his fingers and a rope of black sand coils out of his finger, racing straight towards my eyes. Agony. That's the only word to describe it, and I'm not sure that even that can begin to recount this. The sand shoots into my eyes like bullets and I'm blinded, I'm not sure whether I'm blinded by pain, or the sand. I collapse on the smooth marble floor in pain, my eyes pulsing, trying to reject the sand.

"What. Is. Happening?" I stagger out, breaths hitching in my throat every time I try to speak. The pain has completely consumed me now, it's like when Sofia uses her power, it spreads slowly through the body, taking small moments to inflict as much pain as possible. The demon giggles.

"It's just a better and more fun way of helping you remember your past. Also, I have to admit, your pain is absolutely hilarious! As they say, the eyes are the doors to the soul, what better way to look into your past than through the lenses you've seen it through!" He cackles, and even though I can't see him, I can only imagine that he's wearing that signature grin of his. I grit my teeth to keep myself from screaming. A few seconds pass, I count them in my head, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty- the pain is gone.