CHAPTER 9

As the cult members carried Angela off, her thoughts drifted back to Janine, who could possibly die at any minute from the brutal punishment she had endured. She couldn't also shake the fact that due to her carelessness, she would most likely be joining Janine - and her mother and brother too for that fact - in the hereafter. The only consolation she had was first noticed when they entered the room where the ceremony was being held. 'Brother' Sebastian, and 'Sisters' May, Helena, and Garnet were absent in attendance, so Ophelia was actually telling the truth about Teri's being made to accompany them west. That to me meant that at least she was alive and well. Then again, unless she sought to run away from them while in Neon Heights, they could quickly change. These people were just not human, and to call them or their god 'monsters' would be a gross understatement.

The cult member keenly waited as Angela was tied down to an altar and Moriah returned to the book-stand to read from the ancient tome that Xavier had been studying so diligently over the past few weeks. Once Angela was secured, the twins and Rhys returned to their positions alongside the others. The three men then picked up their musical instruments and began to play with the other band members while Ophelia, Bethany and several other female cultists started to dance and Xavier and several others chanted softly in some unknown tongue. Moriah took a deep breath and as she recited her incantation, poured some of the cauldron's contents to draw a magical crest on the floor …

"Bruma, the eve of Earth's Longest Night

Ancient spell of binding light dispel

And commence our Lord's enemies' plight

Open thy gates of Hell

We beckon the return of Trigon our divinity

Let him find favor with this young femme

Let his authority spread throughout all eternity

And let his bride produce his greatest gem

The gem shall be born of evil's fire

The gem shall be his portal

He comes to claim, he comes to sire

The end of all things mortal!"

The crest that had been drawn onto the ground began to ominously glow and amid many pulsing lights and bursts of flame, a vortex opened up from the earth and a red and black striped hand slowly began to emerge from below. The cult members went into a frenzied uproar and danced with glee, while Angela like any sane person in such a situation, desperately struggled with her restraints to escape the madness. "He has returned!" shrieked Moriah fanatically as the others continued to rejoice. Then suddenly, Rhys cried out as he fell to the floor. The others stopped and looked on in confusion as Trigon jerked his hand back as if in pain, the crackling energy surrounding the vortex clearly preventing him from moving any further out of the vortex.

"Rhys!" cried out Ophelia and she ran over to his side, but the young man was unresponsive. "My lord?" inquired Moriah. "What have you slain our brother and your most humble servant?"

"You foolish mortals!" thundered Trigon. "So caught up in all of your greed and scheming. If you paid nearly as much attention to the writings you've consulted on the Mark of Scath as you had in retrieving a noble sacrifice, you would have realized that the spell you recited is worthless! Such carelessness must be punished."

"But sire…"

"Silence, thoughtless creatures! No mortal man has the power to dispel this sort of crest of banishment. The spell specially states that only a being of otherworldly descent can do so. The only successful thing you have been able to do is bring me an honorable vessel. But as for you, Talia, and the rest your brethren? You've outlived your usefulness!"

Trigon then grinned wickedly at the looks of terror now etched upon his followers face, and Moriah, or Talia grew paler than a corpse. "Say hello to my father for me, will you?" chuckled Trigon.

Overwhelmed by fear, Angela began to black out and in the background, the piercing cries of those who betrayed her slowly faded to nothing as several of them burst into flames, began to bleed out of every orifice or just simply dropped dead. When she came to, Angela found herself in a strange place that was shrouded in mystery. A heavy mist hung over the plain and there were no distinguishing landmarks or buildings, not one thing. It was also impossible to tell where the ground ended and the sky began. Everything was all gray-scale and dark. Positive that she ought to keep moving, Angela got up and began to walk, and when she began to get frantic, she started to run. After a few terrifying minutes, Angela soon realized that she was trapped. As she stopped for a moment to try and get her bearings, Angela suddenly felt someone's warm breath along the back of her neck and screamed as she bolted away, knowing that whoever or whatever it was had no intentions of making nice with her…

Trigon watched amusingly as the teen-aged girl tried to run away from him. She soon stumbled and fell to the 'floor', and Trigon slowly made his way over towards her, smiling devilishly the whole time. "You're in luck, child," he declared. "While I no longer sought the need for my followers on Earth, your life will be spared today. All in exchange for something else, something else that only you can give me..."

Angela looked at Trigon uneasily, knowing that no good could possibly come from this.

"And what exactly is that?"

Trigon stood over Angela's fallen form and smiled, his golden eyes roving over her body and taking in every intimate detail about her. He then reached forth and tugged on her clothes, which for a being of his power, ripped clean off of her. Angela immediately went to cover herself as best as she could and her eyes grew as large as saucers as Trigon uttered two simple yet ominous words…

"An heir…"

Angela took off running, leaving Trigon to shake his head and laugh. Every so often, Angela changed directions, silently praying that she would somehow find an exit. "It's pointless to run, Angela," taunted Trigon from afar. "There's nowhere to go. We're both trapped in an alternate dimension. The portal that my followers had managed to conjure up will eventually reopen, and I am going to allow you to return to Earth. But as I already mentioned, you are also my trump card that's going to get me out of this purgatory."

Angela shrieked as Trigon suddenly reappeared in front of her and she nervously stepped back.

"You can't fight it, my little fallen angel. This is the way things were always meant to be."

Trigon then grabbed her by the wrist, bringing the frightened girl down to her knees. He then grabbed her other arm and forced her onto her back.

"You are going to be my vessel, and for the next few hours, your ass is mine!"