Ebony, Gillian and Quinn were back in the dungeon. Neither girl, nor the boy had any idea how they had got there. Quinn and Gillian had just reported the fate of Ash and Mary-Lynnette. Ebony seemed to be taking it surprisingly well, although her good attitude was probably from shock. Every now and then she would zone out into her own little world, the others often wondered what she thought about there. It wasn't long before the prince of darkness made an appearance. He was dressed in leather pants and a torn shirt which emphasised his compact muscles, a physique any female would drool over.
"So, I wouldn't celebrate just yet." He winked at Ebony. "The funs only just getting started." He held out a shiny, golden coin. "Don't think I'm that dumb, this ones no freebie. The coin of freedom…or the freequeton as the ancient shadowmen would have called it."
"We've gotten this far…we'll get it." Gillian sounded pretty sure of herself, which made the other perk up somewhat.
"I have no doubt you will, Gilly" He smirked, sarcasm evident in his tone. "Anyway, I'm afraid I'm done with the niceties. You have ten minutes to get it." An unseen clock struck quarter to twelve, almost destroying the Daybreak teams hopes. There was a click as door fifteen of the dungeon unlocked. Darius opened the door a crack and threw the coin in. He smiled. "Go get it, if you dare."
****
The room was not a room at all. It was a muddy river, perhaps somewhere in the amazon. Ebony was thanking god that she was a good swimmer. Maybe she wasn't as helpless, vulnerable and innocent as Darius made her feel. The only problem was, swimming might not even help in this situation. Through the murky waters they could see what might have been a gold coin glinting from the riverbed. It was then that the ground fell away.
The water was ice cold and even Quinn could feel it chill his soul. Gillian was whispering to herself, either a spell or a prayer. Ebony saw why as a gigantic, dark shape swum gracefully towards them. Their only hope was to get to the other side. Quinn swam ahead desperately and expertly, forgetting the girls at first. Ebony reached to drag Gillian who seemed uncomfortable; maybe she couldn't swim well. The three were being pushed under by waves as they tried to make their way to the other side. When Ebony got a mouthful of water Gillian momentarily slipped from her grasp, allowing the current to carry her nearer to the fastly approaching shape. Its jaws widened and Ebony swore. It was a crocodile of some sort. She swam back to Gill, treading water and fighting the strengthening current. Quinn was now at the other side, desperately urging them to hurry. The croc came closer still.
The force of the attack suddenly pushed Ebony under. It reminded her of her childhood, watching peter pan. Tick, tock, tick tock would always sound before the crocodile came. This had came without warning. Ebony swept her hand back and forth looking for the coin. She came up for air and remembered Gillian. Her arms were flailing wildly and as Ebony grabbed at the girl she was shot out with force. A scream came from her throat as Ebony noticed the fact that Gillians leg was still in the creatures mouth. The water turned dark red and several other shapes began to appear on the horizon. With Quinn's help Ebony managed to hoist the legless girl onto the land. The girl was silently crying in shock as she watched her leg being ripped apart at the mercy of the crocodiles. There was nothing else they could do. Gillian continued to prey. A voice sounded from behind them.
****
"Well, two minutes are up, anyone get the coin?" He laughed out loud at the sodden mess the group was in. Ebony glanced edgily looking for anyone to produce the item. "Didn't think you would." He edged closer to Ebony, he smelt of insanity. "I always win you see!" He waved his arm towards Gillian and Quinn. A dark vortex appeared and thrummed towards the witch and vampire.
Gillian paled and tried to stand. She failed and toppled to the floor. Looking into the vortex she grasped at where her leg had once been. Ebony saw the fear in her eyes. Perhaps Gillian could see her own demise. Quinn stood tall and proud as if the hole would bend to his will and turn on Darius.
"Darius, don’t. Stay where you are…" Quinn was shouting and Gillian screamed as the black hole swallowed them up. Ebony blinked in sadness, but she could cry no more tears. She had already wept for humanity itself. She finally realised there was nothing she could ever do against Darius. There was nothing anyone could do.
"Now Ebony, I've won. Do you now surrender? Or do I need to use force?" His movement showed how much he was savouring the victory. How much he enjoyed the glint of fear in her eyes and the uneasy twitch in the corner of her mouth.
"It wasn't fair…" She knew that her feeble protests would go on unheard, ignored. Darius rolled his eyes at his comments.
"Life isn't fair, don’t ponder on the matter. The rules of the game are eternal and the game never ends. Evil has no name and will live on forever, like the game." He started at her hungrily. "You are now mine. You agreed to play, and you lost." Ebony needed him, she needed the game. Darius was right, the game was eternal in her heart. It would follow her through many lives and adventures. The hunger was there in her heart. It always would be.
"Where are they?" She whispered, defeated. Their screams echoed in her mind.
"Nowhere, Everywhere…somewhere. It doesn’t really matter in the end. Nothing ever does. Somewhere in between life and death I suppose. Maybe you'll never know." He reached out for her and she collapsed exhaustedly. She still wanted him and always would.
He put his arms around her viciously and brought his hands up the back of her top, massaging the skin underneath. She didn’t struggle, she finally understood that there was no point.
"You see, Ebony…I always win." He bit deep into her breast, her low cut top allowing it. Her screams of pain quickly melted into cries of ecstasy. A cunning smile slowly graced her lips. The jungle creatures watched as the not-so-innocent maiden unclenched her free arm's fist and threw the shining, golden disc into the darkness. Sometimes Ebony won too.
THE END
