A Girl and Her Demons

The Ritual (Part One)

Chapter Nine: The Ritual (Part One)

                Scarlet woke with a start at the blinding light and sat up in bed. Tempest was still asleep. She got out of bed and walked to the window. She could see the shine of the sun on the horizon. It was almost morning. She turned around and found the fresh clothes on the table next to the door. She grabbed them and went in the bathroom to change.

                She could not get over hearing Tempest’s voice in her dream. The scene was apparently in the domain of the onyx skinned man. Why would she have heard Tempest’s voice? She hung the robe back on the hook and left the bathroom. She decided to leave Tempest sleeping. She would talk to him after he woke up.

                She walked down the stairs to the lobby. It was empty except for two men, the deskman and an older man sitting in the corner looking in at the lobby. She took a seat with her back to the old man and the deskman came over to take Scarlet’s order. She ordered the Thorn berry juice once again. The man brought the drink over and Scarlet took a quick drink.

                There were so many things going through her head as the ritual moved closer and closer. She conjured up a small little ball of air and guided it up and down her arm. By the end of the day, she would no longer be able to use any of the things she had trained for over a decade on. She already felt violated by this perversion of her magic that there was a seal on the magic she should have been learning for so long already. She took another drink of the Thorn berry juice.

                Her dreams haunted her every time she slept. This last dream however was the strangest yet. Tempest had been calling out to her. Was this because of the change in feelings toward him over the past few days? What caused the blinding flash that happened at the end of the dream? She didn’t use any magic as she lost control of her body. There were many unanswered questions about her last dream. She took another drink.

                She had become closer to Tempest than she had in the two years that they had been considered in a relationship. She said she loved him. And she meant it. It was a relief to have someone that can protect and provide comfort especially in this time where her parents and sister were left behind to die. Another drink.

                Her family was dead. They were still currently alive, but they had been condemned to death. She was going to be the last of her bloodline alive. If she did not survive, her family legacy would be defeat. Defeated even with whatever immense power she was to gain. She had to live. Drink.

                She was now tasked with defending the entire continent from some overwhelming evil that has killed most of the Elementalist population. An impossible task she had considered. There was simply no way that the power sealed inside her would be enough to rival the High Council, let alone be stronger than them all.

                She broke out of her trance as she found her drink was finished. She looked around the lobby and there were many more people here than when she had first sat down. She waved the deskman over and asked for another Thorn berry juice. The deskman smiled and chuckled as he walked back to the desk. He delivered the juice and left with the same smile on his face. She drank this one much slower.

                After several sips of the juice later, Greenhorn walked in through the front door. Scarlet waved at him and he joined her at the table.

                “First one to rise, nervous about the ritual?” Greenhorn asked as he sat down.

                “Yes, but I had a dream wake me early. The sun was about to rise so I decided to just come down here and have a drink.”