Shadow Guardians: The Beast

Katherine opened her eyes and was met with darkness. Her head pounded, her breathing was shallow, and just before she awoke, she had the remnants of her memory of the accident come back. That left the question. Where the hell was she? And where was Solomon?

She was on the floor, that much she knew. And the room was cold. She drew her knees into herself as she lay on her side and wrapped her arms around herself. Every inch of her body ached, and she was dizzy. She could see faint light coming in through a narrow opening beneath the door. It had a flicker to it, so it had to be from a candle.

Was she in Magnus’ bedroom? No, that couldn’t be right. He wouldn’t let her lay on the floor. No way, not ever. And she was on her way to the hospital, she reminded herself. Probably had a concussion from the accident, that’s why her memory was all merry-go-round. Hell, her brain even created that creepy carnival music to go with the swirling images in her head. Round and round and over and over...

Wait...

That wasn’t music...

Her eyes peeled wide open in the dark. Oh gods, that was chanting, and now the smell of brimstone clawed into her nostrils too.

She tried to sit up, but her head and body felt like they had been filled with cement. She felt at the floor, the smooth, cold hardness. This was obsidian, just like the walls. That’s why it was so dark. And there were no windows. She crawled over the floor to try and find the edge, constantly reminding herself where the door was. She didn’t crawl far in either direction.

She was in an obsidian cell.

She thought back to the accident and came to the conclusion that Solomon was probably dead. And she was trapped here, who knows where, with a cult of demons who were probably going to sacrifice her. There was no way anyone would come find her. She stifled a sob. Just as the first tear fell, she told herself to stop the crying.

They’d just get off on it. She might as well hand over more power to them, and that’s not happening.

She thought of Magnus. Love. Love to fend off the darkness.

It’s like a homing system...

Oh...hell... He would come for her. He was tied to her by blood. And he would be walking right into a trap. She had no way of discerning how many khad were on the other end of that door, but they were perhaps as many as he took on the last time he saved her, judging by the chanting. But then, they probably weren’t stupid enough to not arm themselves better the second time around.

What the heck did they even want with her?

The door opened, and she scrambled back into the corner. Oh yeah, real smart Katherine, now you can’t go anywhere. Not that she had the strength to even attempt escape anyway.

She forced herself to be brave and look the evil bastard in the face, reminding herself that he was probably feeding off her fear.

He pulled a zombie and walked into the cell in the way of someone who was sleepwalking. He wore a pure white robe that came down all the way to the floor, with a black belt that holstered some kind of ceremonial dagger.

Behind him, she saw rows of pews and khad robed in red, watching her with entranced faces like she was a sacrificial lamb, which she probably was. The gothic chapel was dark inside, and she couldn’t fathom why. The windows were supposed to be stained glass, weren’t they?

The priest came closer and crouched down before her. He was completely bald, the face long and gaunt, and the evil wafted off him in such thick waves that she wished she wore a biohazard suit. He lifted a hand to her face.

“Don’t touch me!” She hissed. She wanted to crawl back further, but the wall was in her way.

He ignored her, and his fingertip brushed her jaw, cold and clammy. Shivers of disgust ran down her spine.

“How extraordinary you are, an empty vessel. Hollow inside, ready to be filled with my master’s power.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Get the hell away from me!” She turned her head away, but his fingers followed her.

The priest tilted his head and gave her a tight smile. “None of the others are like you. Thus I have seen, the first time we met.”

First time they met? She’d never seen this guy before in her life. But then, the demon spirits could travel from one body to the next. She shouldn’t get hung up on faces.

“What do you want with me?”

“To fill your empty heart with the master’s power. How well you would lead the armies against the heretics and how strong and powerful you would be. Your vessel is nearly endless... You are not the sacrifice. You are the savior.”

His hand shifted toward her heart. She had no idea what the hell he was talking about. But she felt some kind of evil radiating out of his palm. Dread overwhelmed her.

Do not be scared. Do not fear.

He placed his hand over her heart, and she felt that evil pour into her in a gush of black, crawling into every crevice of her being, corrupting all she was.

“I am the gatekeeper, you see. And after this, you shall take your place by my side.” He said monotonously, his eyes peeling wide open.

In the evil flowing into her body, Katherine saw images. Locks and keys and small, continuously moving stones sliding into thousands and thousands of combinations. And then it was all gone in an instant. The priest rose and looked down at her with a kind of reverence while malice permeated her body.

“The pain won’t last long. Once you die, you will be reborn as one of us.” He said. Several candles lit themselves on the floor next to the opposite wall. “We shall prepare the blood feast for your awakening. Three virgin women are chained next to your cell for the occasion. They are young and pure. Await the master to come to you.” He left and closed the cell door.

Katherine sucked in short breaths. Her body felt heavy and sluggish, pained, like she’d eaten some bad sushi. But her chest burned something fierce. The burn was so bad that she gathered her strength to look into her sweater and see what was happening. Her eyes bulged. The skin all over her torso had turned black, but the branded ankh on her chest was glowing like a star in the night sky and swallowing the blackness into itself.

She could feel the evil slowly dissipate from her veins the harder it burned, along with most of her energy. She was going to pass out.

She fell back to the floor, too heavy and exhausted to keep herself in a seated position. Consciousness faded as locks with stones readjusted themselves in her mind, opening doors that contained things she didn’t even know of, combinations in the thousands being bared to her. And just before she blacked out, she heard a voice in her mind and instantly recognized it as Fyre’s.

Though the body is evil, the soul is pure.