Morrigan Aensland laughed, overjoyed with herself as she landed on
the roof of a chapel. She dumped out the contents of the backpack she had
stolen, and eagerly sorted through them. She eyed the tape recorder
curiously, but then set it aside. She examined the strange looking dagger,
but dropped it in favor of the item that demanded her full attention; the
Necronomicon itself!
She flipped through its pages with a keen interest. It was a hideous little treasure, bound in human flesh and inked in human blood. Some of the demonic images within resembled some of the sights she had encountered within the Demon World, some other ones seemed even more horrific. She frowned as she realized she could not read much of it herself; it was a language long forgotten by all but the most scholarly. She would need to find someone within her demonic court that could translate it for her. The pages were very crisp, feeling almost brand new, impressive considering the item was centuries old. The ancient writing on the pages seemed to radiate a feeling of dark power. She could easily see why Demitri Maximoff was so interested in this.
She then skimmed through some of the papers in the folder. They were scientific notes mostly, with the occasional photograph thrown in. They seemed to be written by someone who was very familiar with the book. One paragraph in particular caught her attention:
"I have finished translating the first of the passages from the Necronomicon. They appear to be some sort of pagan chant, with great references to 'dark ones.' I shall be recording these translations for posterity."
Morrigan looked at the tape recorder with new interest. She smiled as she reached her hand out.
"Now, lets see what this power of old is all about" she said to herself. She punched the play button.
"Hm, that's odd" Hsien-Ko commented.
"What, sister?" Mei-Ling asked.
"The sky" Hsien-ko said, pointing toward the horizon. "It sure didn't look that nasty a few minutes ago." Mei-Ling turned her eyes skyward, following the direction her sister was pointing in.
"You're right," she said, narrowing her eyes. "It looks like a storm is brewing..."
"Sis, look out!" Hsien-Ko screamed. Mei-Ling looked up just in time to see the shadow that was wandering into their headlights. She slammed her foot hard onto the brake peddle, bringing them to a screeching halt. "Hey creep, watch where you're walking!" Hsien-Ko shouted, standing up from her seat next to her sister, waving an arm in the air.
The shadow froze where it was. Mei-Ling and Hsien-Ko both fell silent, observing this person for several moments. Hsien-Ko's eyes wandered up and down the silhouetted form. His clothes were filthy, like he'd been rolling around in the mud for hours. Her eyes fell on his hand, which seemed to be clutching something. "Okay" she shouted, slowly tensing the muscles of her legs, ready to fight if need be, "Whatever you've got, drop it right now!"
The decapitated corpse of a rat was tossed into the headlights. Both women gasped. He, no, IT stepped into the light. It was no person, at least it wasn't now, that was obvious. It's eyes were milky white, its skin a sickly gray. It grinned at them with rotted teeth, and instantly launched itself at them.
Hsien-Ko batted it way with one of her massive, clawed arms. It was launched several feet into the air, landed hard on its head, its neck cracking. But then, much to their shock, it simply stood back up. Its head lolled to the side, the broken bones bursting through the rotted flesh.
"Swallow your souls," it croaked in an otherworldly voice, "I'll swallow your souls!"
Ash coughed, spitting dirt and pebbles from his mouth. He rolled over onto his back and groaned as he opened his eyes. He gazed up at the night sky, and was struck by the thick clouds that blocked the stars from view. He sat up, wondering where he was. He looked around. There, nearby, was the burnt wreck of his car. Not far from that was the an uprooted tree, dirt still clinging to its roots.
Events flooded back to him, and he leapt this feet. He looked around, ready for anything. But there was nothing.
"God...where am I this time?" he thought aloud. As the answer was coming by some divine intervention, there was a loud rumble of thunder in the distance. Ash's eyes looked upward, and he saw the sudden movement of the clouds, the flashes of lightning, and began to realize what was happening. "Oh God...not again..."
"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, children of all ages, you are all invited to attend the greatest show on earth!" the high-pitched voice mewed out to the world. The tall, female figure standing on the end of the train threw flyers out into the sky, watching them tumble through the air. On each flyer was a printed picture of her, posing dramatically in the center of a spotlight, and the words "Pretty Cat Review!" flashed out at the public. She purred with joy as she grabbed another handful of flyers and prepared to toss them into the sky.
But she hesitated. Her large, pointed, fuzzy ears flatted down in a gesture of discomfort when she saw the hostile looking clouds in the sky. There were flashes of lightning, and a soft rumbling was growing in the distance. But then another sound caught her attention: screams.
"It looks like a storm..." the little girl commented. She clutched her headless doll closer to her tiny chest. Her towering companion looked upward, and found that he agreed with her. The sky suddenly looked fierce.
"It is no storm..." he commented. There was something on the wind that he could detect, his senses ranging far differently from that of a regular human. The massive sword that hung on his back gave off small vibrations that let him know something was not right. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his environment, feeling out with his senses to detect what was wrong.
"Donovan..." the girl said, tugging lightly at the hem of his robes. He opened his eyes and looked down, falling upon the same sight that transfixed her; a hand was reaching up out of the ground.
A pair of long antennae twitched. The creature that these appendages belonged ceased in her snacking and looked up. The antennae continued to flick as they continued to pick up the strangest vibrations. She licked her lips, smacking away the blood and flesh.
She dropped the corpse she was feasting on and looked around her nest. There did not seem to be anything amiss here. No, these signals were coming from somewhere else. And there was a scent on the air that struck her especially; she smelled power. Power unlimited, that could be hers for the taking.
She spread her large, insect wings, and took to the air.
The screams below meant little to Demitri, it was a sound he was most accustomed to, even enjoyed at times. But these were not the type of screams he derived his pleasure from; not the screams of suffering and agony, but of absolute terror. It interested him.
He gazed from the balcony of his castle down on the world that sprawled below it. He felt the power that was stirring, as only those of the dark like he could. It was a very potent; someone was toying with great powers that they did not understand or could not control. And he preferred for no one to have such power other than himself.
"M'lord" one of his servants groveled from behind, "The mission was a failure! Morrigan Aensland made off with the Necronomicon! She may be using it as we speak!"
Dimitri smirked, his large fangs protruding over his lips. He chuckled softly to himself. The plot had just thickened. This might prove very entertaining.
She flipped through its pages with a keen interest. It was a hideous little treasure, bound in human flesh and inked in human blood. Some of the demonic images within resembled some of the sights she had encountered within the Demon World, some other ones seemed even more horrific. She frowned as she realized she could not read much of it herself; it was a language long forgotten by all but the most scholarly. She would need to find someone within her demonic court that could translate it for her. The pages were very crisp, feeling almost brand new, impressive considering the item was centuries old. The ancient writing on the pages seemed to radiate a feeling of dark power. She could easily see why Demitri Maximoff was so interested in this.
She then skimmed through some of the papers in the folder. They were scientific notes mostly, with the occasional photograph thrown in. They seemed to be written by someone who was very familiar with the book. One paragraph in particular caught her attention:
"I have finished translating the first of the passages from the Necronomicon. They appear to be some sort of pagan chant, with great references to 'dark ones.' I shall be recording these translations for posterity."
Morrigan looked at the tape recorder with new interest. She smiled as she reached her hand out.
"Now, lets see what this power of old is all about" she said to herself. She punched the play button.
"Hm, that's odd" Hsien-Ko commented.
"What, sister?" Mei-Ling asked.
"The sky" Hsien-ko said, pointing toward the horizon. "It sure didn't look that nasty a few minutes ago." Mei-Ling turned her eyes skyward, following the direction her sister was pointing in.
"You're right," she said, narrowing her eyes. "It looks like a storm is brewing..."
"Sis, look out!" Hsien-Ko screamed. Mei-Ling looked up just in time to see the shadow that was wandering into their headlights. She slammed her foot hard onto the brake peddle, bringing them to a screeching halt. "Hey creep, watch where you're walking!" Hsien-Ko shouted, standing up from her seat next to her sister, waving an arm in the air.
The shadow froze where it was. Mei-Ling and Hsien-Ko both fell silent, observing this person for several moments. Hsien-Ko's eyes wandered up and down the silhouetted form. His clothes were filthy, like he'd been rolling around in the mud for hours. Her eyes fell on his hand, which seemed to be clutching something. "Okay" she shouted, slowly tensing the muscles of her legs, ready to fight if need be, "Whatever you've got, drop it right now!"
The decapitated corpse of a rat was tossed into the headlights. Both women gasped. He, no, IT stepped into the light. It was no person, at least it wasn't now, that was obvious. It's eyes were milky white, its skin a sickly gray. It grinned at them with rotted teeth, and instantly launched itself at them.
Hsien-Ko batted it way with one of her massive, clawed arms. It was launched several feet into the air, landed hard on its head, its neck cracking. But then, much to their shock, it simply stood back up. Its head lolled to the side, the broken bones bursting through the rotted flesh.
"Swallow your souls," it croaked in an otherworldly voice, "I'll swallow your souls!"
Ash coughed, spitting dirt and pebbles from his mouth. He rolled over onto his back and groaned as he opened his eyes. He gazed up at the night sky, and was struck by the thick clouds that blocked the stars from view. He sat up, wondering where he was. He looked around. There, nearby, was the burnt wreck of his car. Not far from that was the an uprooted tree, dirt still clinging to its roots.
Events flooded back to him, and he leapt this feet. He looked around, ready for anything. But there was nothing.
"God...where am I this time?" he thought aloud. As the answer was coming by some divine intervention, there was a loud rumble of thunder in the distance. Ash's eyes looked upward, and he saw the sudden movement of the clouds, the flashes of lightning, and began to realize what was happening. "Oh God...not again..."
"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, children of all ages, you are all invited to attend the greatest show on earth!" the high-pitched voice mewed out to the world. The tall, female figure standing on the end of the train threw flyers out into the sky, watching them tumble through the air. On each flyer was a printed picture of her, posing dramatically in the center of a spotlight, and the words "Pretty Cat Review!" flashed out at the public. She purred with joy as she grabbed another handful of flyers and prepared to toss them into the sky.
But she hesitated. Her large, pointed, fuzzy ears flatted down in a gesture of discomfort when she saw the hostile looking clouds in the sky. There were flashes of lightning, and a soft rumbling was growing in the distance. But then another sound caught her attention: screams.
"It looks like a storm..." the little girl commented. She clutched her headless doll closer to her tiny chest. Her towering companion looked upward, and found that he agreed with her. The sky suddenly looked fierce.
"It is no storm..." he commented. There was something on the wind that he could detect, his senses ranging far differently from that of a regular human. The massive sword that hung on his back gave off small vibrations that let him know something was not right. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his environment, feeling out with his senses to detect what was wrong.
"Donovan..." the girl said, tugging lightly at the hem of his robes. He opened his eyes and looked down, falling upon the same sight that transfixed her; a hand was reaching up out of the ground.
A pair of long antennae twitched. The creature that these appendages belonged ceased in her snacking and looked up. The antennae continued to flick as they continued to pick up the strangest vibrations. She licked her lips, smacking away the blood and flesh.
She dropped the corpse she was feasting on and looked around her nest. There did not seem to be anything amiss here. No, these signals were coming from somewhere else. And there was a scent on the air that struck her especially; she smelled power. Power unlimited, that could be hers for the taking.
She spread her large, insect wings, and took to the air.
The screams below meant little to Demitri, it was a sound he was most accustomed to, even enjoyed at times. But these were not the type of screams he derived his pleasure from; not the screams of suffering and agony, but of absolute terror. It interested him.
He gazed from the balcony of his castle down on the world that sprawled below it. He felt the power that was stirring, as only those of the dark like he could. It was a very potent; someone was toying with great powers that they did not understand or could not control. And he preferred for no one to have such power other than himself.
"M'lord" one of his servants groveled from behind, "The mission was a failure! Morrigan Aensland made off with the Necronomicon! She may be using it as we speak!"
Dimitri smirked, his large fangs protruding over his lips. He chuckled softly to himself. The plot had just thickened. This might prove very entertaining.