The Fort: Lions first roar

Chapter Fifteen

She took the kitchen way into the Coffin. She really needed to talk to Nebula in private, maybe with a cup of tea as company too. Nebula met her halfway through the stable.

"You won't believe what just happened..."

"Neither will you!" Nebula looked alarmingly happy. "Come!"

She pulled her inside the Coffin trough the kitchen and out in the diner hall. The first she noticed was the smell of brimstone. The she saw what Nebula was so happy about. On the bar sat a woman so pale and thin that she at no extension could be mortal, or alive for that part. Add the fact that her eyes was black and bright yellow and she didn't wore anything except two very small black pieces of fabric and had big runes burnt into her torso. She was, without doubt, a demon.

"Back I am! Back I am!" she laughed with wild eyes. .

"I see that," Medea grinned. "How you doing?"

"Phenomenal unfavorable," Antonius grunted. He sat on the floor in a pentagram with three books thick as tree trunks open in front of him. How did he get here from the court...?

"How's the banishing going?" Inelle asked. Ray hid behind her, staring like possessed at the demon. Conrad stood next to them and laughed. They only person in the room, except Antonius, who actually had a problem with the demon was Penny, who aimed at her with a huge, black, cast-iron pan.

"Hopefully very bad," the demon said amused.

"Shut up Jihou..."

"Nooo!" Antonius head flew back as his tongue writhed. "Nasty warlock does not get to say that nasty name!"

"What name?" Conrad looked confused. "I thought it was Jilda."

"Jilda!" Jilda laughed. "I'm Jilda!"

"Jilda is a nickname we made up from her real name," Medea said. "I think it means mischievous creator in Latin."

"When I first heard it I thought it meant shoe leather," Nebula snickered. Jilda tilted her head and looked at her.

"Do I look like a shoe to you?"

"Hlll-plll" Antonius mumbled.

"Oh, nasty warlock wants to speak?" Jilda asked. Antonius nodded hysterical. "Should I let him speak?"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

Jilda laughed high. "Me being nice and letting you speak again, wizzy. But..." she looked at him with narrow eyes. "...Don't you dare try to say that nasty nasty name again!"

Antonius looked like he promised not to do that. Jilda snapped her fingers and Antonius took a deep breath.

"Thank....you....," he panted.

"No need," Jilda said luckily. Penny looked at her.

"Can you just...like...snap your fingers and do that?"

"Yes! You wanna try?"

"Nonononono! It's just...kind of scary". Jilda looked at her, locked up her eyes and crossed her arms.

"If darkness won't stop being scary Jilda won't stop being scary!"

In the meantime, Antonius had started to chant something with low voice which Jilda was too upset to hear.

"Or snakey? Snakey won't stop being scary either."

The chanting turned more intensive and the pentagram started to smell of brimstone. Antonius voice got higher until he cried;

"...et abierunt Jihouljaka!"

"NASTY WARLOCK....!" She didn't get to fulfill the sentance before she disappeared in a lot of red smoke. Antonius sank to the floor and took a deep breath.

"I have to find something that will keep her away for good," he murmured. "This just gets harder and harder."

"What do you mean?" Ray asked him curiously.

"Nothing," he said quickly. "Have a good, demon-free, night everyone". He rose, grabbed his things and was on his way.

"Someone who wants to bet on when she'll be back?" Nebula asked.

"Next Friday?" Conrad said.

"If you're right I'll give you one for free," Nebula smiled. "Now, get out, all of you. I have to clean before tomorrow. Penny..."

"I'll get the mop," Penny put down the pan and looked like she missed Jilda a little. At least she wasn't a rat with fangs.