Misery stares in rapt fascination, and dawning horror, at the man known as Dagger. Beside him, a bundle, like the one the previous day... A dying aura surrounded the bundle, and she could only assume it was covered in blood. Was this man an assassin? Did Pen send someone to kill her so they could be together, even unto death..?
She steps toward him, cautiously. "Dagger..?"
He looks up, almost startled... a croaked whisper parts his lips. "Misery, noo..." His distress and pain is more than apparent.
Curiousity outweighing terror, she makes herself take another step forward. "Dagger."
The man ignores her and turns to scream into the empty air, "DARK ONE I HAVE DONE AS YOU WISHED, NOW COME AS YOU HAVE PROMISED!!"
A slit of dark energy appears in the air. Quinn winces and stands ready on the balls of her feet, staff in hand, wondering whats going on and what this has to do with her. The slit widens, seeming to turn sideways in thin air, creating a doorway of dark, evil energy. Through the darkness steps a creature... with an aura so black it makes the doorway shine like the noonday sun.
What Quinn cannot see is the shadows engulfing this creature until only his burning yellow eyes and firey mouth can be seen. The smell of sulfur in the air is strong, pricking at Miserys nose...
(Sulfer, hell, brimstone, pain, suffering...)
...and reminding her of something, just on the edge of her memory, but she's unsure of what.
The dark lord of the underworld speaks. "Well, my protoge? What have you brought me."
Dagger kneels and lifts his bundle up to the dark one wordlessly.
With an gentle smile, the dark ones claws reach out from the shadows to grasp the bloody package, pulling back the cloth. "Ah! The cross of San Dominga..."
"...And the head of the high priest who wore it. I have done your bidding, dark one. Now keep your promise."
The smell of sulfer grows stronger and the dark ones smile curves upward even more... The dark one fades from sight.
In shock and rage, Dagger howls, "No! You promised!! You promised me!!"
His angry protests turn to screams of pain and his body is racked with seizures it seems. Hesitating only a moment, Quinn walks to his side and drops to one knee beside him, studying his aura intently.
The faded black with a light green ring is tainted with a molten red, the red devouring black and green alike. Quinn wrings her hands, wondering if she should summon and try to do something. Suddenly, in a blinding flash of white light visible to both 'real' eyes and her sightless ones, it ends.
Misery cries out as the painful light, like a million knives in her mind subsides, and she rubs her eyes carefully. She turns to see what damage was done to Dagger, and is shocked to see the pure, light green aura of Pen, her dead love...
(He's not dead! He's alive! Right there in front of you Misery, he's alive!)
...lying in his place.
Her hands unconciously reach for him as he groans, and she barely forces out the whisper... "Pen..."