Title: Changeling
Chapter: Prologue
Author: Madyamisam
Prologue
There was a tense quiet in the large dusty room as light filtered through one single, grime covered window. It was empty, safe for a man in his mid-forties and a small cloaked figure drawing a large intricately designed circle with chalk.
The man whistled in appreciation at the detail that was put in, with seemingly nonsensical words fashioned around perfectly illustrated geometric shapes. Lines overlapped each other in a perfect symmetry with runic symbols marked in specific locations.
A sound alerted him of others approaching. Glancing at the watch on his wrist, he went to open the only door to the room allowing for the guests to file in. One by one, his men, nine in total, shuffled in with four of them carrying a large sack, a bucket of water and a large aluminium tub. The remaining five each held an assault rifle each and stationed themselves around the circle.
"So this is it eh? Shall we get this party started?" the man announced a tongue darting out and wetting his dry lips and pushing up his designer glasses further up the bridge of his nose.
His gaze landed on the illustrator who just finished the final etchings on the dusty concrete floor. With a nod the man motioned for the employees who were carrying the sack and the tub to come forward. They placed the tub at the centre of the diagram then, carefully, they tipped out the contents of the sack. Various soils and powders poured out which was then followed with the large bucket water then mixed together in a cement sludge.
There was a thrum and the man widened his watery blue eyes as the illustrator placed two hands on the outer edges of the circle. The air was charged as sparks started to appear and a blue glow from the chalk flickered to life. The contents in the tub started to twitch then morph into shape. By the time it had finished the pile of clay looked like a wonderful Venetian sculpture. There was a collective gasp and panicked whispers amongst the men as they looked upon the cloaked figure with trepidation. Their hands twitching at the weapons they possessed. Their boss however smiled.
"Impressive, but I believe this is pretty trivial to you isn't it?" Met with silence, the man continued. "I've read the 'secret 'research and I'm fully aware that you know a lot more about this alchemy of yours than you let on. It almost seems impossible to think that people still practise this let alone manage take it to this kind of level of technological sophistication. Imagine if the whole world knew?" The figure remained unfazed and unresponsive to the veiled threat so crooked business man sneered playing his final trump card. "I also know about the accident." A flinch and he knew he had been successful with his persuasion. "I've also managed to procure what was left of that 'accident'. Poor fellow has had a rather ill-fated meeting with a land mine."
"Show him to me." The figure's whisper came out in an aggravated hiss. The motioned again and the two men outside the entrance came in with body. It was a bloody gored up mess. A man, or what was left of him after a bomb had obviously detonated. Shrapnel and possibly a bullet wound. There was mangled flesh and bone, slightly charred at the ends of a stump and distinct space of where the man's leg used to be. He wouldn't have much longer to live.
"I know what he is and what naughty things your people had planned to do to him before this unfortunate incident happened." the man continued to gloat implicating the injuries on the man. The cloaked figure tensed at his slimy words rolled out of his tongue. "I detect sentiment in you though. Seems redundant considering, but if you actually want to save him then you'll have to show me what you can do. Equivalent Exchange right?" the figure hissed at the term being used by the disgusting man.
"Move the tub out of the way and bring him onto the circle then" rasped the cloaked figure.
"There we go. It's nice to have cooperation don't you think?" the man smirked just as he motioned for his employees to follow the instruction. "I do believe you will be a very nice asset for me one day though it still baffles me of your love for this pitiful creature." There was a brief pause as the cloaked figure stared at the dying man.
"I assume you were an only child, Magnusson, a spoilt brat with a hoarding habit." The cloaked figure spoke up, almost spitting the name of the atrocious man but any insult that was thrown his way simply rolled off like water on oil. There was a groan from the injured man, his breathing shallow and his chest rose and fell in quick succession implicating the signs of shock. He'll be dead in minutes.
Slowly the cloaked figure knelt down placing hands on the floor once more upon the edges of the circle. Once again there was a rumble as the energy built up and solidified but then there was something different. A larger circle seemed to emerge from the stone floor like iron filings to a magnet that encompassed practically the whole floor. The symbols were different, grander and more complex than the chalk one that had been drawn earlier. Another spark of electricity and the blue glow returned and a wall rose up sealing any and all exits of the room trapping everyone inside. Magnusson almost shrieked at suddenly being thrust into complete darkness.
"What are you doing?" he hissed.
"Like you said, Charles." said the cloaked figure as the air charged up one last time, the room glowed with light and the hood of the cloaked flew off onto small shoulders so that the men could now see tresses of blonde hair and intelligent bright golden eyes glaring at them with a deadly intensity. The normal blue glow had melted into deep blood red. The new circle hummed and fizzled with power and a vacuous black swallowed up the floor along with the hysterical screams of Magnusson and his men who were disintegrating into nothing. "Sentiment is redundant, but it's all I've got."