As per a request I have decided to put all of the teasers I wrote for this story together and post them here.
Part 1 was written for the end of my story Mercy
Part 2 was written for the end of my story Always
Part 3 was written for the end of my story Buried
Part 4 was written for the end of my story I Will Never Forget
If you don't want to be spoiled for those stories then I suggest you ready those ones first as it will then make more sense. These teasers mention some of the characters from those stories that will be returning for this one.
Hope you enjoy.
House of Cards
Part 1
A tall-cloaked figure slipped through a large metal door as silently as he could. Before announcing his presence to the hunched figure tucked in the corner, he looked around the room. He had been in here many times but still it left him in awe. The entire room was carved out of obsidian. The shiny stone reflected the contents of the room, which wasn't much.
He saw himself there distorted on the wall. He was pretty ugly to begin with but even he had to admit the reflection he saw looking back at him was monstrous. His hood was down so his cleanly shaven head could be seen. His face was covered in burns and scars.
His face had once been handsome but over time it had been marred by war and sacrifice. Not even he remembered the face he was born with and the time before a sword was thrust into his hands.
He shook his head, tearing his eyes away from the hideous face on the wall. He turned his attention back to the hunched figure on the other side of the room. The person didn't flinch when the metal door closed tightly behind the man.
"Milady?" He cleared his throat.
Slowly she turned around. She was covered in furs and bones of dead animals hung around her neck and from her ears. He furs weighed her frail old body down, causing her to move at a snail's pace. The bones clinked together as she moved, like the beads of a necklace.
The scarred man had grown used to her unsettling appearance, even her long yellow nails that jutted out like claws from the ends of her fingers didn't send a shiver up his spine anymore.
The old woman said nothing, waiting for him to relay his message. Her lips were pursed in a way that suggested she hadn't smiled in a very long time, and her beady eyes stared out at him. He noted that she had traded the wolf's head for a dragon's head that she now wore as a headdress.
"Well?" She finally croaked out.
"We have located the children." He spoke quickly.
"So you found them." She rasped, straightening a little. "But did you catch them?"
He smiled then. "No one escapes me, especially not in death. I put them where you commanded. They won't be able to get away now."
The room was silent for a moment as she processed the information. Then, very slowly, her pursed lips widened and parted into a toothy grin. Her mouth was filled with hundreds of pointy teeth, making the smile even more menacing.
She flicked her right hand towards the scarred man, rattling the bones that were wrapped around her wrist. Understanding the signal, he bowed and silently left the room, leaving his Lady alone.
As soon as the large metal door closed behind him she turned back to the obsidian wall. But it wasn't her image reflected there. Instead she saw the face of a young boy, clutching a sword wrapped in a brown cloth tightly to his chest. She reached out her bony hand, stroking the image. Then she wavered her hand over the surface and the scene changed and she was now looking at a young girl, older then the boy, with curly golden hair that fell to her shoulders.
The old woman cackled to herself. She had been looking for these two for a very long time, now they were finally in her grasp and she had no intention of letting them go. She planned to make them run through the scenes of that fateful day a hundred years ago, their last day. They would run and keep running until she told them to stop, but she would never tell them to stop. Nowhere inside her was there a single speck of mercy to be found.
"Welcome to my house of cards." Her voice was crackly. One of her long bony fingers traced the girl's young face, her nail scratching across the surface of the wall.
"Are you ready to play the game?"
Eternal Sleep
Part 2
The old woman stood huddled in one of the corners of the obsidian room, her furs wrapped tightly around her. Carefully, she removed the dragonhead headdress and placed it gently on the floor to reveal her wiry gray hair. She turned around and looked at her reflection in the shiny stonewalls like a mirror. She had become paler in these last few days.
The crone heard the metal door swing open and closed behind her but did not turn to see the tall-scarred man standing just inside the door. He was silent, waiting for her permission to speak. She took her time. Reaching up with a bony finger, she ran it along her face. There was a small cracking sound. She hissed as a long crack appeared in her aged skin.
"I need more souls." Her voice was crackly. "If I am to keep on living I need more souls." She turned around to face the scarred man, no mercy written anywhere on her face.
"Milady, I have personally caught the two you requested. Those two young women if I am correct." His face gave away no emotion.
"Yes those are the ones." Her eyes narrowed. "There is something troubling you. Speak up."
"If I might say Milady. These two young women were very close with two of the Fates if I am not mistaken."
"That is correct." She looked him up and down, trying to guess where he was going with this.
"Atropos, the third sister, you have her here somewhere. Would it not be dangerous having them so close? She is unstable to begin with."
"There is no need to worry. They will not cause any problems." The old woman traced the crack in her face. "I need those souls."
"I understand."
"There are only a few more souls I need you to collect and then the fun can begin. I want this done as quickly as possible." She ordered. He turned to leave but before he was out the door she added. "Remember, you must not be seen. Not yet."
"Yes, Milady." He bowed and exited the room, leaving her alone once more.
She looked back to the wall, her face moved stiffly into a smirk. "There is no need to worry. I have a very special room made for them. They will not be able to interfere."
Another crack appeared running along her face. She screeched and scratched at the wall where her image was reflected, making four long scratch marks. She took a deep breath and straightened her back as much as she could, regaining her composer.
"It won't be long now." The crone waved her hand over the obsidian. The stone rippled and the face of a young girl in a bird's mask appeared. "You're next my dear." She licked her lips and waved her hand for the image to change.
Now she could see two coffins with glass lids where the two young women slept, one with long wavy black hair and the other with short brown hair, a long scar running under one of her eyes.
"They will not be able to interfere. I will save you both for later." She sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes rolling back into her head.
She grinned a toothy grin. "Soon I will have my feast and I shall live forever."
I Will Break Them All
Part 3
Her laughter boomed around the small room carved out of obsidian. The furs shook on her back and the bones she wore clacked together as she shook with evil laughter. She could feel all of the pieces falling into place. Soon, very soon, everything would be ready. She stretched her old frail arms out on either side of her in one stiff jerk. Her furs spread out around her as she spun around the empty room, cackling.
She stopped abruptly as a knock came at the only door in the room. Habit forced her to look at her reflection in the dark stonewalls. Her face was as white as snow and she looked as frail as paper. Several cracks could be seen running along her old face. Her grey hair was messy and the best thing about it was that she didn't care. She would not look this way for much longer.
"Come in." She called in her gravely voice.
The metal door swung open to reveal the scarred man, her most loyal servant. He was tall, just skimming the top of the doorframe with his cleanly shaven head. Dark cloaks wrapped the rest of his body and there was a long jagged sword at his side. A black bladed ax was strapped to his back. He had felled many an enemy with that ax but he never smiled, or showed any emotion at all really.
"Is it done?" She asked, ringing her hands.
"Yes, Milady." He bowed his head as he addressed her.
"Did she scream?" The old woman wanted to know all the details.
"She was a fighter, calling out for friends that could no longer hear her lost soul." He described.
"I hope she didn't give you too much trouble." She put her hand up to his face and traced a new scratch that would soon become a permanent scar.
"I watched her moments before she went to the place between places where I caught her. She was strong and brave. She had a kind heart."
"Why should I care about such details?" The crone sneered. "How was her death? I do wish I could have seen the life leave her eyes but unfortunately the walls would not tell me. My sister was always better at conversing with them." She looked at the dark stone and scoffed.
"It was quick Milady, and she went willingly." He would not say it but he had been moved by the bravery she had shown right before the end, the girl in the bird's mask.
"Surprising since I'm sure out of all of them she is one of the few to know of our existence. She may not have expected that she would become our pray though."
"Do you think your sister knew?" He asked.
"What, that the girl was on my list?" She turned up her long pointed nose. "She did try to save her. Yes, I do believe she did, though she did give up trying to save the girl. Typical. She was always such a solitary creature. I have heard that she's become the Mother Keeper though. Now that is out of character. What was she planning?"
"Milady, what if your sister let the girl go willingly? What if this is a part of her plan?" He was hesitant.
"The girl is mine. She has always been mine to claim." She snapped. "My sister is not permitted to directly interfere in my affairs."
"But she has not directly interfered. The girl has strength and she will not be broken easily." He warned. "Be careful or she may be the one to ruin you."
"How dare you doubt my powers." She screeched. "I will not be overthrown by some mere child. I will break her before she has the chance."
"Do not underestimate her." He cautioned. "She may not be alone. I know you've seen glimpses of the future."
"A future that is not set in stone." The crone spat. "If she shows any sign of trouble I will throw her into my prisons."
"But isn't he down there?"
"You speak of that filthy rebellious young man, Will, I think it was. He will not be able to withstand my power forever." Her voice rose in volume. "I'll break them both. One by one they will be under my control. Running around the pasts that I've built for them. There is no escape."
"Of course not Milady." He bowed his head. "I was only observing."
Suddenly she was standing with her face only inches from his, looking up at him. "Then close your eyes and never doubt me again or I'll throw you in with the rest of them. Don't forget how I saved you."
"Of course not Milady." He would not meet her eye.
"Good." Her voice was smooth and she stepped away. "Now finish the job and bring me the last of the souls on my list."
"Yes, Milady." The scarred man bowed and left the room, closing the metal door behind him.
Her many feet hidden under her furs padded across the floor until she stood in the center.
"I will break them all."
The Trap
Part 4
The old crone scuttled across the obsidian floor with her many spider's feet, running her claw across the obsidian walls. She was impatient, waiting for the scarred man to return with the final souls she had requested. You could even say she was excited if that was an emotion she was capable of. Though it was more of a psychotic smile that now crawled across her pale cracking skin.
"I have slept for too long." She mumbled to herself. "They thought they could trap me in slumber forever. They should have known that I would awake, thirsting for vengeance. I will take it. Oh, yes I will." The many furs she wore shook as she cackled. Her eyes were wide and bloodshot.
"They'll never see it coming." She went on. "Its perfect. I'll have their hearts before the week is out. They will feel my wrath and regret the day they ever dared tangle with me. Their souls will be mine! They were wrong to become so attached to such mortals. I will take what they care for and destroy it. Oh, what chaos!"
Her demonic laughter was cut off when a loud knock came at the metal door in the obsidian. "Enter." She ordered, hunching over a little more, hiding her face under the dragon's head that she wore.
The scarred man slipped into the room. His face was emotionless as usual. There was no excitement there. He merely stood as tall and still as stone, not remembering what it felt like to feel for something. All he knew now was that he must do what she told him.
"Well?" She waved her wrinkled hands, ushering him to get on with it.
"It is done," was all he said.
Her eyes seemed to darken. Vengeance was within her grasp. She could almost taste the end of her enemy's story. With her pointed teeth she would bite off the endings and drag them around in circles until she had devoured their entire tale. None could stop her now.
"The trap is set." She rubbed her hands together. "Everything is in place. They won't be able to resist trying to save the souls I have trapped. No matter what they do they will be wrapping themselves further into my web. Right when they think they have escaped my maze they'll meet a dead end and it will be over." She licked her cracked lips. "So many alternate worlds are hidden behind my doors. Behind one could be an entire world or a single room. They'll never know which one is theirs. Isn't that so?" She turned to the scarred man.
"Of course Milady." He nodded. He had learned not to mention the flaws to her plan. She would not see them.
"Draw their attention then." She ordered him in her crackly voice. "Lead them here."
"How would you like me to do it?" He asked.
"Capture one more soul." She decided. "One more soul should do it."
"Mortals usually cannot see beyond the vale." The scarred man pointed out.
"Sway them in this direction." She told him. "They should be able to hear the voices. Pull them across the border. They'll see the souls between my crooked trees. Everything past the border around my territory is dead. So much death that it is impossible to miss. They will see it. I'm sure."
"It will be done my lady." He bowed. "But what souls should I take?"
"You already have the last girl and boy I asked for. Those two sorcerers." She turned in a circle, thinking.
"Yes, and I locked them behind their door as you requested." He nodded. "Still not sure why you did not also want that other boy. The gypsy boy who once entered your territory with his friend."
"A piece of one of my trees is imbedded in him. His soul will be cursed and will affect events elsewhere." She explained. "He is not important here."
"Yes, of course." He agreed without complaint.
"One last soul." Her many feet padded across the stone floor. She stopped just in front of the far wall and she waved her hand across the dark surface. It rippled. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she searched. "A child." She muttered to herself. "Many souls linger around my border. Which one? Which one?"
Suddenly she froze. Her bony hand lashed out and sunk deep into the inky surface of the obsidian. "There!" She shrieked. "A brother and a sister. Take the younger. Take the boy." The young boy's face flashed across the wall's surface as the crone's fingers left the surface. "The perfect bate. Bring them here."
She did not turn as the scarred man bowed and left her there alone to play out her plan and set the wheels in motion. Destiny would fall into her trap. Oh how fun this would be. All she had to do now was wait. She was good at waiting.
Indeed she would wait.
Thanks for reading and please REVIEW!
The next chapter will be the proper first chapter of this story.
Special thanks to LightningBolt21 for the reviews. I hope this will answer some of your questions. I tried to private message you but yours is disabled. I love your comments and really appreciate the feedback. Maybe I will take yours and Iggyandwold1's advice and rewrite I Will Never Forget so that I may one day actually publish it.
Hope you keep following because the game is about to begin.
See you next time.