"Sorry, didn't mean to prolong introductions. I had a name. Doesn't seem like much of a point remembering it. I keep one handy anyway. You may call me Renny," the man hissed.
Alyssa pondered the name, but lost her concentration when she noticed that the metal grinding from the scarecrow suddenly died. She turned to look and saw that the man had disappeared.
Turning around back toward Renny, she asked, "Who was that man?"
"Him? Scarecrow is a loyal Subordinate of mine. Great guy once you get to know him. Sorry for his rude entrance, but I do use him for muscle from time to time. I'm sure such a powerful young woman such as yourself would have no problem taking him down, but his death would bring much wrath from me. And I'm a whole new animal. You might have survived a potential Entity threat, but we full ones are much more difficult to handle. It takes more than a bow and some fancy super moves to take care of us."
Everything Renny said made Alyssa shiver. She couldn't allow herself to trust him, but he offered a very desirable proposition. If she could get a jump on some powerful, violent Entities she could make a large dent in the purifying of the world. But something told her that Renny knew more than what he was promising. Could he have offered this deal with someone before her? Was it a trick? Why didn't he kill her here? She was completely defenseless. Things didn't add up.
"I'm sorry for my tone and, please, forgive my attitude," Renny continued. "First, let me show a token of my good word." Renny held out the hand he carried the bow stone in. "Here."
The Entity threw the stone to Alyssa. She caught it without difficulty. Holding the stone out in front of her, she looked it over.
"Kind of like holding the keys to a new car. What do you say we try it out?" the man said with a smile.
"With what?" Alyssa asked.
"You forgot to tie up one loose end, remember? Lord Burroughs had one more Subordinate you haven't taken care of."
Alyssa searched her mind. She killed every monster she met last night, how did one slip by her?
"Of course, you probably don't even realize it. If you met him, you wouldn't be standing in front of me right now. His name is Diablo. A very powerful Subordinate. One I'm quite envious of, actually. He was Burroughs' last playing card."
Alyssa remembered her final fight against Burroughs. She remembered being pinned down by his energy attack. She finally realized that it could have been Diablo she would have met if he had gotten all three arrows to attach to her.
"He resides somewhere a little hard to reach. If you would, please follow me." Renny said turning his back to her. With a brief chant, a portal appeared in front of him. He turned around to face her. "You coming?"
"His original name Simon Dessler. He was a native of Haiti who migrated to New Orleans in America when he was in his teens. This is the eighteenth century mind you. He was surrounded by objects of the occult, brought to him by his grandmother. Simon was raised on black magic and other voodoo. Finally when his grandmother passed away, he performed a zombie ritual on her corpse. It worked a little too well and she terrorized the city. The lords of the city covered it up, but Dessler was forced to leave the city. In the next five years, Dessler found himself in Tibet at a very ancient and respected monastery. There Dessler expanded his horizons. However, it was here he met Burroughs. Of course, he was dead by this point, but Dessler stumbled upon it during a deep meditation. This single event caused what is known as the great monastery massacre. Simon Dessler was corrupted into killing his own people. Blood everywhere, bodies torn apart, barely human anymore. A slaughter. As you may predict, this began Simon's descent into Subordination.
"Now, he's barely human. Just a red skeleton, powered by the flames of Hell itself. He has a fury powerful enough to destroy an entire city. Naturally, I want you to fight him." Renny smiled at Alyssa.
The two of them stood in the alcove of a deserted Tibetan temple. Outside the wind mercilessly blew snow all across the mountain range the temple was embedded in. Alyssa looked more than a little worried.
"Diablo has the power to move through clouds. Whenever he is not condensing, he spends his time here. This is where you can get a jump on him."
"How can I get this thing to work?" Alyssa asked refering to her arrow stone.
"What do you mean? Isn't there a switch or something?" Renny asked.
"No. It only worked when it felt like I was filled with fury. When I was backed into a corner with no way out. The energy burst out all throughout me and exploded. Then I was able to use the last bow." Alyssa answered.
"Okay," Renny breathed. "Then what's the problem?"
"Huh?"
"If you are going to be a Rooder, you have to learn to control your powers. Now's a good time for an exercise."
Alyssa stared into Renny's cold eyes. "He can incinerate an entire city," she stated.
"Well, maybe he's sleeping?" Renny said with a smirk. The man proceeded to walk deeper into the temple, now a tomb.
"Where did you get this bow?" Alyssa asked. Visions of a betrayed dead Rooder littered her mind.
"Use your imagination," was all the man whispered.
Alyssa had no idea why she was following this stranger into the depths of this deserted temple. He wanted her to fight a demon. But what if this was a trap? What if by fighting this thing, she was only freeing it into the rest of the world's population? She had no proof or reason that Renny was telling the truth.
How long she yearned to be back home. She wanted to be held in her mother's arms once again. She wanted to know that everything was all right and have things as they had been... Before she was sent to school... Before her father died... before she remembered...
Renny stopped in his tracks. "This is as good a place as any."
Alyssa took a look around. The corridor they had been traveling through led out into a small round room. She saw that the path continued on the otherside of where she stood.
Renny walked out toward the center of the room. "Here. Practice. Try to use your bow."
Alyssa held the rock out in front of her. Nothing.
"Use your anger. Your hate. Your fear. Gather all those emotions together. Know that you are helpless and there's nothing you can do about it!"
Alyssa began to remember back to her experiences fighting Lord Burroughs' minions. She tried to recreate that dread within herself. She felt the rock in her palm rumble, but then nothing.
Renny looked agitated. "Your mother is dead! She died because of YOU! You will NEVER see her AGAIN!" he threatened.
A tear began to form underneath Alyssa's eye. Finally, something happened. A bright white arm extension shot up from the rock. Another branch sprung from the bottom. The bow was created. The bow hummed inside and illuminated the room.
"Good," Renny said with a satisfied smile. Alyssa looked back at him with a matching look.
"WHO DARES DISTURB ME?" A bellowing voice emerged from the darkness of the path in front of Alyssa.
"This is all up to you kid. Don't worry about him so much. His powers are greatly disadvantage here in this place. It limits him. Just weaken him and then finish him." When Renny finished his speech, his form faded into the darkness of the cave. Alyssa held the bow in front of her as a flashlight, walking further and further down the stairs.