The Queen of the Unliving

"What is a novice of Kirshara doing standing at my doorstep?" The Seer demanded. "Your order has no love of my kind."

The Seer was said to be blind, and those milky white eyes certainly seemed to confirm that, but those eyes were locked on me and it felt like they were staring into my soul. She was dressed in a simple gray robe, and holding a sturdy looking cane that probably knocked a head or two. The Seer’s wrinkled face indicated she wanted to do so now

I drew a calming breath, I may have shown up on her doorstep unannounced, but I would not be deterred. "Well, the Reverend Mother may or may not have any love for you, but she still seeks out your wisdom. I would do the same."

The Seer continued to stare into me, finally she said "Come inside then." And without hesitation or hint of a stumble the Seer turned around and walked back into her small house.

For a second, I was elated. I had been right. I hastened to follow The Seer into the house and discovered she was already seated on a cushioned chair and looked like she had been waiting for me for hours. My eyes locked onto a couch on the other side of a rectangular table in front of The Seer's chair. I quickly sat down without waiting for an invitation, facing her across the table.

“Thank you.” I said, “My name is -”

“I know who you are.” The Seer was abrupt. “And I know what you want. I feel I should warn you, things might not end well if you continue your current course.”

I hesitated, caught off-guard, “Thank you for your warning, but I will succeed.”

“Unlikely,” The Seer snapped back. “You are motivated by jealousy, and negative motivations yield negative results. You shouldn’t need a seer to tell you that. Let go of your resentment of Jewels, it will destroy you.”

Uncomfortable with staring into those milky white orbs, I let my eyes drift around the room. One wall had bookshelves from floor to ceiling, filled with a variety of volumes, but her eyes drifted over the titles she could see without reading them. “I am not resentful! I am a better exorcist now than she could ever be, and yet they’ve accommodated her even after getting into trouble with the law! Why should she get special treatment? I need to show them I am better!”

The Seer smiled, aware of my discomfort, “Seeking a spirit more powerful than you are ready for while breaking your Order’s rules to do so might not impress them as much as you hope, even if you succeed.” She paused. I had the feeling she was assessing me, and finally sighed. “I already know there’s no deterring you, and if you are smart enough to discover my association with your Reverend Mother, you’re smart enough to find it on your own.”

“I will succeed.” I said stubbornly, “please, tell me where I can find such a spirit, and when I return with proof of my skill, they will see they don’t need Jewels or anyone else!”

The old woman continued to gaze in my direction. She was NOT looking at me dammit. Her wrinkled face softened slightly. “You realize this rivalry is one-sided now, don’t you? It likely always was. if you fail as an exorcist, you can still be a priestess, but if Jewels fails, they will sentence her to true slavery. Her ‘special treatment’ involves daily humiliation and intimidation, and the knowledge she can never be truly free again, is that not enough?”

“My parents were poor. They couldn’t afford any sort of donation to the temple to entice them to take me as a novice. They almost had to beg for me to be allowed to join. It was only after they discovered my….gifts...that the temple was willing to accept me. Otherwise, my father would have had to join the work crews expanding the temple for free! And then Jewels comes along, a straggler, from another world with no money and no family, and they just take her right in and give her everything. Hell, they didn’t discover her gifts until later. Even when she wasn’t special they handed her everything! Well, I deserve it too! And I will show them all it was a mistake to overlook me!” By the end, I was almost shaking and I had to work to steady my breathing. I would lie up at night feeling this when I thought about the injustice of it.  

The Seer shook her head and sighed again, “Very well, I shall perform a Seeking for you, but first let me tell you the real reason I charge for my services, knowledge comes at a cost, and fools who misuse that knowledge must add coin to the cost.”

A few hours later, I was staring at an abandoned warehouse near the docks. A couple of years ago there was a fire that briefly raged out of control, destroying many of the buildings in this area. Most had been rebuilt, but the owner of the warehouse couldn’t afford repairs, and now stood in blackened deterioration. 

Why would a spirit be here? I wondered to myself. The Seer had said this spirit was bound to a specific area as most were, and the Seeking showed this spirit was, well, it was seeking something. What an insubstantial spirit would seek or desire was a question neither of them could guess the answer to. 

I observed the building for a solid half an hour. It appeared deserted. There were no lights, no sound, no movement. This area of the docks wasn’t patrolled very often, so I didn’t want to stay there too long, but it was definitely best to make sure the way was safe. 

I crossed the street from my observation spot and approached the main entry to the warehouse. There was no reason for stealth but I didn’t want to draw attention to myself either. 

I reached into a pouch attached to my belt, removing a talisman I had, um, borrowed from the temple. It was a simple triangle of silver with a ruby in the center. The ruby would shine when in the presence of otherworldly creatures, including the dead. There were symbols engraved in the silver, their meaning lost to time, that would shine with the ruby. Nobody knew why, but the talisman worked, and she would need it tonight.

The doors were ajar, and I winced at the sound one made as I opened it further so I could enter. The lobby was relatively clean, as the fire only consumed part of the storage area itself, and I was relieved I did not find some homeless person using it as a shelter. I quickly scouted the building to make sure it was empty.

I found the entrance to the storage area easily. There were still crates and other containers scattered throughout the large space. Most were untouched, but some were damaged, and others knocked open. I saw nothing out of the ordinary as I wandered among the containers, but I had to admit I probably didn’t know what ordinary was in a warehouse.    

I was looking at something on the floor when I noticed the pouch seemed to glow red. I opened it quickly and saw the talisman glowing. Cursing to myself, I pulled out the talisman and began turning slowly, trying to determine which direction I needed to go. I stifled my irritation with myself. I had not expected the spirit so early. It was very unusual. I needed to focus on the task at hand, not cry over mistakes almost made.

The ruby glowed a little brighter as I faced the damaged section of the warehouse. Now was the time for stealth. I placed the talisman back into the pouch and crept towards that section. The spirit would make no noise and neither could I, so I would have to keep my eyes open for it. 

There! Movement! Something white and amorphous further down the row of crates I crept through. It floated around, going from crate to crate, and I could see the form of a woman in the haze, fading in and out. Something was different about this spirit. I couldn’t say what. I had been exposed to many types of spirits during my training, and read about many more. None of them were like this. It didn’t have that alien feeling; it felt like it belonged in this world. That wasn’t possible, of course, but something made me feel concerned.

Without taking my eyes off the spirit, I lifted the symbol of Kirshara I wore over my head and let it drop to the ground. I reached into my bodice and pulled out my personal symbol, letting it rest on my shirt. All followers of Kirshara wore her holy symbol in public. However, her acolytes always had a personal symbol they wore. An object associated with when they opened themselves to her love and her glory. It wasn’t hidden; it was personal and not casually shared. For me, the symbol was a locket my cousin gave me, to symbolize our lifelong friendship. An image of Kirshara was on the outside of the locket, and our likenesses resided within. It symbolized my faith, and everything I believed in,

My personal symbol could increase my power, but these items were not meant to be used in such a way, and there was a risk of the object being destroyed. I paused. Was this really worth the risk? Would I really risk losing my most prized possession to upstage Jewels? She didn’t deserve all she was being given, all that I felt I had earned, but I suddenly felt like I was putting everything at risk, and she wasn’t worth it. I would find another way.

Reluctantly, I turned away and walked back in the direction I came from when I heard laughter. I whirled around, and there it was again! Another laugh! That spirit still had not noticed me. It was looking at a small crate on the ground, and somehow I heard her laugh! And was that a dance? 

Are. You. Kidding ME?!?! Even this blasted spirit gets what she wants, but I don’t? First Jewels, then this spirit bitch? Something snapped in my brain. I was angry, so very angry. I would not let this happen! Without thinking, I took up my symbol and growled out an attack cantrip, meant to quickly stun the spirit long enough for me to immobilize it.  

A small glowing white ball of energy appeared and streaked towards the spirit, striking it in the back and sending it sprawling over the crate. Instead of staying down like I expected, it immediately got up and leaped towards me. I barely raised my hands to form a protective shield in time. Shock and fear quickly replaced anger. The “mist” was gone and this woman was pure rage, striking my shield repeatedly. Greyish white energy splayed over the shield with each strike, and I could not hold it for long.

There was no choice. In desperation, I chanted the exorcism ritual. It was a gamble my shield could hold long enough, but the attacks kept her in place as well as immobilizing her would have. I think she was screaming as she attacked; her face distorted in that all-consuming rage. She realized what I was doing and her attacks increased in strength and ferocity.

Sweat poured down my face as I chanted the ritual. With every strike, the shield came close to me, and it was weakening fast. I was almost done, forcing the words out and somehow keeping myself steady. Terrified, I only wanted to live through this! The shield seemed right in front of my eyes now. As she lifted her hand to strike the final blow, I completed the ritual and flung my hand out as if I was striking first.

“Back where you came from, bitch!” I yelled. A look of surprise replaced the rage. Some unseen hand lifted her. Then she seemed to shrink as she was pulled away into the ether, screaming her anger and reaching for me futilely.

I stood there shaking. It was over. Holy Kirshara I beat her!!! I laughed out loud in giddy victory. The fear eased, forgotten as elation filled me. Take that bitch!! Take that Jewels! Take that all of you!!! I am the best and you will all know it!!!

“Impressive.” a voice said from behind me.

I whirled around and almost fell over in shock as I turned. A woman was standing there, this time a living woman. She was alive, wasn’t she? I took a step back, raising my symbol.

“Who are you?” I demanded. I meant it it as a demand, but I couldn’t hide the fear in my voice, and she smirked. I blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of the woman before me. The woman was tall and proportioned to match. She looked human, but I didn’t think she was, not entirely. She had grey skin, except around the eyes, her skin became black around her eyes. It wasn’t makeup. Her skin changed color surrounding her eyes, black skin with short streaks going up and down from her eyes. Eyes the color of smoldering embers, and they seemed to glow as they gazed at me. 

The stranger stepped closer, her face was framed with straight, black hair. On her neck was a golden choker, and an outfit that was basically red leather straps covering her breasts and waist. She should exude sexuality, but there was a hunger about her. This woman took, and would take everything if she could. I could see it in her smoldering eyes. She was…….wrong. She did not….belong.

Those eyes seemed to strip me naked and see into my very soul. Somehow, I felt more exposed than I ever felt in my life, and I resisted the urge to cover myself with my arms. I was still clothed for Kirshara’s sake! Instead, I somehow summoned the courage to raise my symbol a little higher. “Back I say!”

Her eyes widened slightly. “I remember you!” she whispered.

“What are you?” I paused as I looked closer. There was something about her face. Wait. Her body was completely different, but even under the odd colors of her skin, I saw it. “Wait, Jewels?”

She nodded slowly. “Yes, I was called that. Before.”

I couldn’t think. My heart was racing, and I was trying to get back under control. Whatever Jewels had become, it was terrifying. I could feel her power. It was beyond me. “What are you called now?” I asked to buy some time.

The grey woman smiled. It was the smile of a predator who was about to make a kill. I felt something warm on my legs and I whimpered. “It doesn’t matter. All you will ever call me is ‘Mistress’ “

Her hand suddenly reached out and grabbed my neck. I yelped and started crying. There was no pressure, just her fingers against my skin. It was enough. Her head cocked slightly to the side as she examined my face, then I felt her fingers slide off my neck, and a fingertip traced its way from my throat to my chin. A sharp fingernail dug into my skin, and the pressure increased as she crooked her finger. I took a step forward as if she pulled me. She pulled me. I blinked back tears as the fingernail eased the pressure, but stayed on my chin.

“You banished my servant, after all. So I shall claim your soul in exchange.” She licked her lips as she eyed me up and down. I winced, knowing it wasn’t my body she was lusting for. 

I choked back a sob, “but I sent her back where she -”

“Came from, yes,” Jewels finished for me, “Which was to me. And that is how I found you. Out of curiosity, why did you come here tonight?”

I was pinned by her gaze. I could not lie to her. I did not dare. Shame filled me as I answered. “To exorcise that spirit. To show everyone I was the best. That I was better than you! The old you.”

She threw back her head and laughed. It sounded like a human laugh, but somehow under that I could hear screams of horror. “Me? I had no idea! How delightful!”

I felt that sharp fingernail dig into my chin as she laughed. 

“You were jealous? Fool! They sentenced me to slavery for a simple mistake. Kirshara and her beloved followers let it happen!” Suddenly, her laughter stopped, and she stared into my eyes. “Worry not. You no longer need to be jealous. For you shall be a slave as I once was!”

I broke.

I ran.

I screamed as I ran blindly. I somehow made it out of the warehouse without tripping and kept going. The sounds of my steps changed, and I realized I was on the dock. I stopped and gazed out at the murky water. Fog surrounded me. It was everywhere. Was it here a moment ago?

I couldn’t see anything. The fog was as thick as soup. I heard thunder rumble in the distance. Then a flash of lightning. A thunderstorm and fog? I was looking up as another flash of light lit the sky. As the light faded, I saw something in the sky. Another flash and I could see it was a face. Only glimpses and shadows. Immense and everywhere. Another flash and the face was looking at me. Oh Kirshara it was looking at ME!

There was the sound of footfalls behind me. I sobbed again, despair filling me. There was nowhere to run. There was no escape. Oh Kirshara, why did I let this happen? 

“Turn around.” Mistress commanded.

I obeyed. Mistress was standing there. She was completely relaxed, knowing she was in control. Her prey was cornered. This was my end. Her arms were crossed beneath her chest. She raised one arm with her fist up. Mistress raised one finger and crooked it. Then she waved her finger, summoning me to my fate.

I had no choice. 

I took a step forward.