SERAPHINA
I lay there, frozen in shock, my heart pounding in my ears.
I tried to make myself seem smaller, less noticeable. The room was thick with the sensation of magic and malevolence. A figure emerged from the shadows that seemed to gather from all corners around us.
It was a dark, heavy shadow that drew closer and closer. The thing, whatever it was, was devoid of any joy or merriment. Everything here felt like that.
The silence was heavy. The smell was choking. All of it was far too familiar, yet in a place well beyond earth, as if it had been here all along, just hidden behind the surface of a mirror.
âGreat god Dionysus, hear us, take your mortal form; I command thee!â Damienâs voice rang out.
He stood tall despite the mute gray that seemed to surround us. His voice seemed to travel nowhere as he held up his hand with the ring on it, exerting some unknown and unseen force from it.
The room seemed to shudder in response. The foliage around the surrounding courtyard seemed toâ¦scream. A scream that grew louder as a force of wind suddenly filled the strange room.
The leaves squeaked and chimed. Everyone covered their ears as the wind whipped around us. I could hear it sniffing the air as it drew closer to me.
I was unsure of what it was. All I knew was that I could feel whatever this creature was in the wrapped darkness that seemed to slowly dissipate, revealing more of what was around us in strange tones of mute grays.
I could make out its snout and what I thought were white teeth gleaming in the darkness as it retreated. It was more monster than god or man. As the creature moved closer to us, it seemed to change shape in the shadows.
A chill crept over my body as I watched it morph, seeing it bend and twist into a humanoid figure. I shrank back from its face, now illuminated by a light Lilith was creating on the other side of the portal.
Her eyes winced and strained as if to try and see through the glass at what and where we were. The creatureâs movements were controlled, but it was as if he was barely containing a violent force.
His eyes were wild with excitement, and there was a twisting smile on his lips, yet fathomless depths. He was formed like a man with a touch of madness in every expression. I felt his gaze leave me, and as he stood taller, I felt a wave of relief.
I realized I had been holding my breath. My body relaxed as he stepped over me, eyeing Damien and those who had been brave enough to come through the mirror with him. I knew the danger was far from over.
I could ~feel~ the magic in the room clinging to him as he moved. I felt magic so acutely it was painful here as he seemed to absorb it around him, like a walking black hole. He was intense and silent as his eyes met each personâs before settling on Damien himself.
A sound so loud it made my head ring began to fill the room as the creature turned to me, grinning. The noise grew louder, and Damien began to scream.
Straining to sit up, I almost missed where the loud popping noise had come from. However, I hadnât missed that Damienâs finger had exploded, all three that had been on or around the ring.
Blood flowed from the wound as Damien clutched his wrist in agony. His face contorted as the realization of what just happened hit him, as well as the pain that began to course through his body. I heard him scream in agony for the first time in my life, and it was gut-wrenching.
The creature began to laugh. It was a laugh that seemed to ignite a spark in my mind with its horrors, illuminating as I looked around me once more in desperation.
My eyes settled back as I began to recognize who and what this creature was. His face was etched with a permanent, twisted smirk, like he was privy to a joke no one else understood.
His mouth was like a gash in his flesh, a hint of insanity in his bottomless dark eyes, which he liked to outline in black, mimicking black holes. His sharp, elongated features were reminiscent of Faeries or Elves.
This was not Dionysus, unless it was one of the many aliases he had used. He had a name. A name that was on the tip of my tongue, but it eluded me as Damienâs screaming grew louder.
He was trying to yell out commands to those around him. He prepared spells against the creature. Damien clutched his hand, visibly trembling as he took a step forward.
He was paler and less of a man than he had ever been, desperate to face what he had summoned. ~I told you so~ echoed in my head. The words were on the tip of my tongue as I stared at what I could only describe as stupidity in Damienâs determined gaze.
âGreat god Dionysus, Iâhowâwhy did you destroy the orb? It was said to be indestructible. I thought you had sent me a sign, to bring about the end of times, so the world could revel in your image. The final feast, the end of times brought about byââ Damienâs words were scattered, filled with a false bravado as he trembled.
The creatureâs skin was as pale as a corpse, almost glowing in the flickering light. His jet-black hair blended with the shadows that seemed to cling to him, commanding every inch of the ground.
His shoulders were still shaking with laughter as he stared at Damien.
âIn ~my~ image? I should surely hope not.â
A shiver ran down my spine. His voice was worse than whatever my mind had remembered, a voice that had taunted me over and over again. Though I couldnât remember where.
âHope not!? That was the orb of Demeter! It had to be, or I wouldnât have been able to summon a god! Iâm here to help you bring about the end of times! I, I didââ
I hadnât even blinked. My eyes were dry as the creature appeared nose to nose with Damien. His eyes bored into Damienâs as he spoke so quietly, I almost couldnât hear.
âYou think the old hagâs seed is worth disrupting my day?â
The room filled with horrific laughter, matching the screams from beyond the mirror and at the edges of the doorways of where we currently were. As if others were around laughing with him, or the very plants themselves at the screams.
Then, his laughter stopped abruptly. A darkness seemed to blanket the entire realm we had entered. Screams echoed from several locations, and I vaguely realized that more people that had been pulled through the mirror were now missing around us.
I heard more screams on the other side of the mirror as we continued to face him here. It was as if he were manipulating and removing people just as effectively through the mirror.
The creature towered over Damien, looking down at him like an insect. He was taller than any human, even in his more mortal form. I pulled at my bindings, attempting to get loose and flee.
I wondered if everyone was dead. The power in the room was palpable, dark, chaotic, and hungry. Everything about this creature was hostile.
Damien had nothing to say. His face was paler than I had ever seen it, his lips trembling as I managed to get my hands loose. My head flipped back and forth between my task and the exchange.
It was strange to see Damien, who had always been so confident and in control, reduced to nothing by his own greed. But Damien had more fight in him than I had anticipated. To my horror, he puffed up his cheeks and pointed directly at me.
âSheâs your offering, Dionysus. Just take her and weâll leave in peace! We meant no harm.â
âDionysusâ¦â The creature made a noise in the back of his throat, more at the name than the command, as if amused. âHavenât gone by that one in a while. Got bored with it. Try another one. Something moreâ¦flattering?â
âYou want me to name you?â Damien asked incredulously, as if wondering now what he had summoned. âIf a contract is what youâre after, give me what I want. Give us what we want, and summon your true master. Weâll give you what you want.â
I gasped, realizing Damien had just insulted him by calling the creature a demon. The creatureâs laughter was almost infectious, as much as it was maddening.
Chills ran up my spine as I crouched low. I felt crushed under the pressure in the room. Another chilling scream on the other side of the mirror drew my attention.
âWhat you want. Like Iâm some kind of dirty djinn? Hââ
Suddenly, the creature was flung across the room into a wall. His words were cut off by a surge of power that seemed to knock the wind out of him.
A force so brief, my eyes followed his sharp gaze to the culprit. Lilithâs voice rang out, powerful and commanding, as she sang at the top of her lungs, stepping into view of the mirror.
Desperation tinged the air as others joined hands around her, collective magic swelling near the edges of what I now saw was the portal. The edges started to tear down little by little. She raised her hands, directing her power toward the creature, pushing him back as those around her continued their work.
Screams and shouts began to fill the room as the few casters on this side began to raise their arms. They shouted to those on the other side to stop.
Adrenaline was my only companion as my body started to shake, but it made my grip strong enough to pull off the bindings on my feet despite the cuts to my hands. The creature lay still in a pool of shadows that collected around him.
More screams echoed as someone shouted that the blood seeping under one of the closed doors wasnât from one of my staff they had sacrificed. The sound of a strange roar seemed to emanate through the warping glass.
My eyes stared at the mirror in terror at the only escape route. The sensation of an ice-cold knife against my throat snapped me back to the present.
Damienâs raspy voice whispered in my ear as he pulled me aside. âYou were an ingredient in summoning him. Maybe killing you will get rid of him.â
âYouâre an idiot. Weâre on the wrong side of the door!â I yelped, realizing he was trying to use me as a human shield.
âShut up. Iâm not fucking dying, so stay the fuck in front of me,â he hissed.
âYou were the one dumb enough to bring him here in the first place!â I shrieked as the wind around us began to howl unnaturally.
The coven was abandoning each other in their time of need. Each person only cared for themselves. The last two people around Damien and I either ran into the surrounding darkness screaming.
The barrier solidified as three casters from this side pounded on it, and the image of Lilith began to fade and flicker. Blood pooled out of her lips as if she were dying from her efforts and exertion.
âYou donât understand. I had the power to shape worlds. Iââ
âClearly didnât think this through!â I cried out, feeling the knife dig slightly into my neck. Warmth began to spill down as I felt the sting of the blade.
My cry was drowned out by a horrible scream from Lilith. Her song turned into a howl as her flesh began to fall off. It started with sagging skin around her cheeks and eyes, then slowly began to peel away.
The barrier became thinner once more as her remains became clearer and clearer. It was as if she was melting from some sort of flesh-eating disease in fast-forward. The screaming didnât stop, and the creature began to laugh as he slowly sat up.
âFuck. Fuck. Fuck!â Damien cursed, pulling me tight against his body and keeping me in front of him.
The creatureâs gaze slowly turned from what remained of Lilith to Damien and me. His lips turned into a frown as he registered that Damien had me, and a ritual dagger to my throat.
âYou donât want to do that,â the creature warned him lightly, his voice teasing.
âThe hell I donât,â Damien retorted, confidence returning to his voice. My heart dropped. âSheâs part of the conduit that summoned you. I get rid of your tether. Poof. Portalâs gone, asshole.â
~Oh, no.~
âPleaseââ
I couldnât get out another word. The knife sliced deep into my jugular, cutting off any further speech.