THE LAST GATEKEEPER

Spider's Den V

            A pale faced Elevoir knelt facing Timmy the ghoul who was veiled in fear and found no comfort in Elevoir’s face which was in fact terrifying. Timmy wondered what he’d eaten to give his chin and lips that crimson color and thought he’d rather not know. The Illusionist stood between them reading from his thick text and then nodded to his witches. The Illusionist wouldn’t be participating in this ritual but he’d be leaving it to the one who had cast illusions over Xaviar. She grimaced as he met him half way and took the heavy book from him. He whispered a few words into her ear, one of them made her twitch and at the end she nodded. She took the book to the place where The Illusionist had been standing earlier and began to read from it in foreign language, foreign even for Crow the overlooking Demon Hunter, who knew a great deal of different languages himself.

            The Illusionist sat back in a throne which looked strange where it was in the market street. Witches were gathered around the head of them, chanting the same foreign language shortly after the head had done so. This went on for a while before anything actually happened and then a great deal of wind came before the area and Crow nearly felt himself get picked up and thrown around like a towel in the wind. Everyone but the witches seemed to meet this wind. A massive cloud of darkness appeared before the head witch and she spoke the common language now.

            “Beholder of Darkness! Sire of Hell! My Liege!” She yelled over the roaring winds. “I bear witness to your order of the five hundred and fifty eighth!” She screamed and paused. “My first sacrifice, eight pounds of blood!” A group of Orcs brought out gallons of blood and they were immediately evaporated into the darkness.

            “Beautiful.” An ethereal voice cried from within the darkness. The head witch nodded and continued.

            “The Second, a man who’s betrayed his fellow man.” She said. “Of course you will not need to sacrifice him, he’ll just be present for the-“She was cut off by Elevoir being sucked into the Darkness. She was dumbfounded and glanced at The Illusionist, who nodded at her to continue.

            “Lovely.” The eerie voice came again. 

            “Yes and my Third offering is that of a dark soul saying the word!” The head witch said and she gestured to Timmy who was shivering.

            “Should I say it now?” Timmy asked in cold voice over the roaring winds. The head witch nodded and Tim froze and finally gathered the nerve to look out at the darkness before him. “Akimi.” He murmured and felt his mind go hazy and his stomach nearly vomit. Tim looked around in a confused jitter, why wasn’t he dead.

            “Disgusting, ghoul, blood sucker of a blood sucker, foul beast!” The Ethereal voice commanded and then launched a long, thin arm with a hand at the end of it that wrapped around the head witch’s neck. “I WANT YOU!” It sneered and the head witch could only look at the darkness and the black skinned arm that held her.

            “What!?!” She screamed and The Illusionist grimaced from across the courtyard. Xaviar grimaced too and she realized that she had been the sacrifice and that now she was to say the word. She wouldn’t, not ever, she agreed to herself. But then she felt herself saying it and knew it was the darkness.

            “Akimi.” She murmured reluctantly and without will and felt her skin, peel back across her face. Her eyes cringe into roasted pieces of goo and her hair incinerate. Her dress turned to ash and for a few seconds she was naked before she was just flesh and then she was just bone and then she was just… no more.

            The wind failed as soon as the darkness vanished and Timmy was still kneeling, shell shocked, staring at where Elevoir had been kneeling.