The Master lay there on the floor of his lair, staring upward, unable to see the ceiling through the black smoke. His host is nearly expired from smoke inhalation, and The Master is not powerful enough to release his essence to drift about in search of another. The Void is calling him now. This is all because of Bishop Morningside's troublesome daughter and the meddling hellhound. How did she come to acquire one of the demon-servants? The Master will never know. His host will certainly perish in the crackling waves of flames that are burning their way toward him. Had he reached maximum power, The Master could have easily withstood the smoke intake as if it were fresh air, nor would any fire singe his host's flesh. Still, he will not feel any pain when the time comes.
At least The Master had managed to render the hellhound a horrific death. Yes, like The Master at full power, the disloyal hellhound was immune to fire—but not being ripped to shreds. The hellhound was a formidable foe, but in the end this Mortifer was not powerful enough, not for him, a demon who lacked full strength.
The Master grins as he reminisces on the hellhound's final moments, cherishing every moment that he had driven his hands into his chest cavity and ripped it open. His grin stretches into a smile as he recalls the thrashing hellhound on his back howling in pain as The Master pulled and tore his organs from his body. Now that the hellhound is dead, his carcass will succumb to fire, he too will burn.
His smile subsides as he reasserts his predicament. His humanoid-imp servant is an after-thought, and The Master senses he's dead. The Master is slightly disappointed because he would have slain him—horrifically—penance for sharing a part in this total failure. Dawn Morningside had foiled everything. Again, he questions how did she acquire a hellhound...and she removed Wesley Price from his lair in the process, probably hoping to save him? Wesley Price—along with The Brood—were all supposed to have been sacrificed to Moloch after The Master had seen his plans for Bishop come-to-pass. Then there was Dawn. She was supposed to have been the ultimate sacrifice to seal the pact with him that Bishop Morningside had unwisely made so many moons ago.
No, The Master is not supposed to be there on the floor of his lair. The smoke burns his host's lungs, the fire begins to engulf his flesh. He's relegated to believing that perhaps he should have known better, should not have underestimated the girl. After-all, she's a Morningside. He'll not make this grave error next time—and there will be a next time. Bishop Morningside and his daughter will fall into his hands again.
As the flames burn clothes, flesh, tendon, and bone, The Master feels his essence begin to fade away from the host and into The Void. He manages to utter a final sentence from the mouth of Beaumont "Mac" Reynolds.
"Until next time."
YOU ARE READING
"Before Dawn"
Teen FictionSixteen-year-old Dawn Morningside isn't quite ready to hunt just yet according to her overprotective father. Dawn aims to prove him wrong and make her long-dead mother proud in the process. Unbeknownst to her father, Dawn gears up with her two Sig...
