Jazzy - In the Shadows

Wolf backed up instinctively, his eyes wide and his mouth a terrible cottonball dry. The Swamp Witch's glare did not waver, nor did she take her evil grin off her lips. Wolf slightly shook his head from the left to the right, but he couldn't pull his eyes away from hers, or find the strength to run up the stairs.

He wanted to torch this evil place and destroy everything within, but as gruesome as his thoughts were, he couldn't even make himself move. His legs felt glued to the floor and his vocal cords felt detached somehow. His eyes didn't even seem to blink as he stared at her for what seemed days.

"Give your soul to me, Wolf," she said sweetly and softly. She raised her hand, ever so slightly, and motioned for him to come closer. Without realizing what was happening, his feet began to move. Was she doing that? He saw his feet move from under him, but didn't feel it.

"I can give you all my power, and we can rule the Kingdoms," she tried to persuade him. Wolf's head shook as his instincts crept in and tried to pull him away. It was like Wolf and the Swamp Witch were connected by a chain; a chain that was becoming thicker and stronger with each passing moment.

"No! You're evil, just like Christine was!" he shouted as he tried to make his feet move away from her.

The Swamp Witch did not reply, but only laughed a deep throaty chuckle that was empty and hollow. "She was only my tool. My stepping stone that led me to you. Without her, Wolf, you would still be rotting away in that prison," she stated bluntly.

Of course, that was not the first time that he had thought about that, but he never wanted to admit to it. He hated to think that from the depths of evil was he freed. He couldn't respond, as he was struck with a powerful bolt of truth. He owed his escape to the apprentice of this very witch.

When Wolf did not answer, she continued, "Do you believe that she picked you on a whim? Hmm?" Again when there was no answer, she continued to weave her rope through him and pull him closer. "Quite the opposite I think," she mused. "I had her pick you to be hers, made her give you the power you craved, knowing that even once she was gone, I would see you again."

"Why me?" Wolf asked, barely a whisper. He was surprised to hear his own voice so frail and weak, almost as if her presence was drawing the life out of him.

"You know the answer to that yourself. You demand respect and power, you desire it. You want people to fear you, as you have them." What she failed to mention was that she knew she could use his drive for power for her own purposes. She also knew that given the right motivation, he would be as easy to control as Christine had been, maybe even easier.

There was a deathly pause for a moment; neither of them stirred anymore from their positions. Wolf was barely a foot away from her and her eyes still held his. As hard as he tried to turn away, she clung to him like a leech. "Take my power and gain what you have yearned for. Get the respect you deserve and take the lives of those who took it from you."

Wolf's head was clouded and confused. Deep inside him he wanted to do it. Rather than a small part of his mind wanting it, there was a large part. He wanted to make those farmers pay for the deaths of his parents by making them burn slowly on a stake, just as they had. He wanted to make the people of the villages that had chased him away cower beneath him. He wanted power.

"You can make the entire human race suffer and die away. You can rule the Kingdoms," she said. Her hand reached out and clasped his.

The dried, bony fingers entwined around Wolf's. The dusty hand held tightly as Wolf tried to make himself pull away, but saw that he didn't even flinch. A strong light hazed over his hand and he felt a small, but strong, force of energy flow in him. He instantly recoiled and held it with the other. Strangely, he found that it felt good.

Sensing his desire for more and seeing how he enjoyed it, she spoke again. "That is only the beginning of my power. Imagine if you had it all."

Wolf couldn't fight the urge. For the first time in awhile, he smiled at the thought of all the possibilities. Drawn between good and evil, it was actually a difficult choice for him to make. He had been on the side of evil once before and he knew the rewards were endless.

But, those same rewards were empty and had no meaning in them. They were never hard earned or really worth receiving. The best reward he had ever gotten was when he'd been on the side of good and had won Virginia's heart.

Wolf took another step back. The Swamp Witch, obviously bewildered by this, watched with fascination. He couldn't do this, not to Virginia, not to anyone. If he took that power, he would be crossing an evil line from which there was no return. A line he had barely saved himself from before.

Virginia had lost her mother due to that same dark line and he'd be damned if he was going to put her through it again. He broke the Swamp Witch's embrace, letting her hand sink back into the tomb. Her eyes finally wavered and darted around the room as if it were caving in. The chain that had grown into a thick deathtrap within minutes broke and crumbled to dust. Wolf swallowed and backed up closer to the gate.

"Where are you going, my Wolf?" she asked. Her voice was still calm, but shook a bit, knowing that he wasn't going to take it. "I know you want this power. You need it, and I can give it to you. Think of the endless possibilities!"

"It's not worth it. Not when someone needs you," he said, looking down on her hatefully. This woman had already hurt his beloved Virginia once; he wasn't about to let her do it again. Virginia needed him, and when her mother had gnawed a hole in her heart before, he knew he'd be there to protect her and fill the hole once again.

"Forget what you know. Come to me." There was desperation in her voice. This was her last chance to gain her power back and take the throne of the Kingdoms. Her last chance to rule over those pitiful kings and queens with a storm of hate and vengeance. To make them pay for her suffering would be the greatest thing in the world. She wasn't about to let her last chance walk out because of some pitiful puppy love.

"I can't accept it." He shook his head. "I'm leaving right now," he said defiantly, more to himself than to her. He made his legs move with every ounce of strength he had, refusing to even think of what she promised him. He turned around and made his way for the gate. As his hand reached out to it, the old iron gate slammed back in front of him and against the latch, so loud and fast he winced away.

He stared at the lock as the chain coiled into the bars and clung to them tightly. He ran over to the bars and yanked on them to open, but heat emanated from the latch as the metal fused together. He looked up and saw the wooden doors that led to the cellar slam back, closing him inside. Two doors now blocked his exit, cripes!

As if things couldn't be worse, he heard the barricade piece slide across the wood, slow and tauntingly, before finally resting securely over the handles. Wolf turned around slowly back towards the Swamp Witch. Her eyes met his again and she smiled.

"You're not going anywhere."