It was time. She fought against it for to long. She had been selfish for too long. This was her one chance to help. Her one shot at salvation for her family and everyone else. Knotting her hair at the base of her neck, she painted on makeup like a war mask. She slid thin arms into a burgundy jacket and zipped up her suit of armor. The town was eerily silent as she trudged through the empty streets. Her family would worry when they found her missing but surely they would thank her when they found out what she was doing. Tomorrow, people would be passing the news along as gossip in the streets. It would reach her sister's ear by mid morning and she would inevitably rush home to deposit the gems of information on their mother's ears. And all the worry would subside.
She tried to convince herself of that scenario as the gleaming mansion came into view. He was waiting in the window, watching her walk in the moonlight. All the town thought him mysteriously handsome. She thought him grotesque. His square jaw and eternally squinting eyes screamed danger to her.
But here she was, walking up the steps to his home to offer him a compromise. This had to save them. That had been his ultimatum hadn't it? He would protect the town with his army of humanoid soldiers if she trained him. She knew, of course, there was more to his request then the simple desire to learn. They way he leered at her made her skin crawl. But she bolstered her courage and with a deep breath, gave the door one solid thump. He had no idea how soon his lessons would start.
When the door swung inward to a dimly lit parlor with no one in sight, she was momentarily confused. Taking a tentative step forward, she reached with her mind for his being; the power coveted by so many.
She couldn't sense him. She couldn't sense anyone. The moment she was inside, the door swung shut behind her. So the myths were true. His mansion was haunted, or magic, or rigged to look that way at least.
He was behind her, uncomfortably close before she could sense him. That bothered her. Before she showed surprise, she turned the tables, grabbing onto his consciousness and twisting hard. His knees buckled and his tall countenance hit the stone floor.
"What? Not ready for your first lesson?" she sneered. He moaned on the floor and writhed in imaginary pain.
"Fight! Fight back!" She yelled, inching closer to him with every agonizing second. He groaned loudly and tried to sit up but she sent a fire down his spine. No stench of burned cloth floated up. No smoke of burned skin. But the man screamed with the pain of a thousand fires. The familiar twisting in her chest began as she looked down at the tortured soul.
She removed the pain with a breath and leaving him sweating and panting, she walked away.
"Welcome home little tormentor." He choked.
The comment caught her off guard and made her grimace. She spit towards his face and stormed up the massive stairwell.
Once on the second floor, she realized she was lost. Swearing under her breath she scanned the doorways for a sign of her new prison.
"Last door on the left." a smooth, condescending voice breathed from a few feet away. He wasn't too close as he had been many times before, and she could hear a touch of fear in his voice. Ignoring him, she made her way slowly down the hall, coming to a stop at her new door. It was closed, like all the secret horrors hidden away inside were too distasteful for prying eyes. Her hand shook as she clasped the doorknob and turned.
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