Burned
prologue
The woman stood in the center of a large, cloaked crowd. They sat on the ground, in a large circle that spread out in many rows back. Around the last row was a wall of fire, so none of them could leave before the ritual was done.
The woman looked down at the masses, her immortal eyes running over each and every one of them. She pitied them, but also revered them surviving long enough to make it this far.
The crowd was chanting. She couldn’t make out all the words. She’d spent many times over the centuries since the last time she’d been here, thinking about what it would be like when she was finally brought back to this very place.
Finally, the chanting stopped, and a person in a long navy cloak broke through the crowd and approached her. She reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Hello ma’am.” The cloaked figure said. The woman looked at her, her face blank. So the time had come, after centuries of waiting, the time of her death was upon them.
“Do not,” The woman said in reply, “talk to me as if we are friends. I am here to serve my purpose and nothing more.”
“As you wish.” The cloaked figure said. The figure then snapping her fingers. The woman watched as more cloaked figures approached holding a large gauntlet. She watched as they lowered the gauntlet onto the ground beside her and the cloaked figure.
The woman wasn’t afraid of death. She’d lived a long enough afterlife, after all. She’s conquered many obstacles in her time, and death was the final challenge she had left to complete.
“Are you ready?” The cloaked figure asked her.
The woman took a deep breath. “As I’ll ever be.”
The cloaked figure’s hands shone a bright blue color. The light surrounded the woman’s neck, and in an instant, her neck was snapped, her head laying on the ground a few feet from her body. The light then covered itself around the woman’s body and carried it over to the gauntlet. The woman’s body was then tipped downward, so her blood could flow into the gauntlet.
As the blood from the woman’s body poured into the gauntlet, the cloaked figure spoke, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“And with the blood of the last original vampire, the spell on the rest begins to unfold!”
There was a loud cheering, and then the chanting began again.
The woman looked down at the masses, her immortal eyes running over each and every one of them. She pitied them, but also revered them surviving long enough to make it this far.
The crowd was chanting. She couldn’t make out all the words. She’d spent many times over the centuries since the last time she’d been here, thinking about what it would be like when she was finally brought back to this very place.
Finally, the chanting stopped, and a person in a long navy cloak broke through the crowd and approached her. She reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear.
“Hello ma’am.” The cloaked figure said. The woman looked at her, her face blank. So the time had come, after centuries of waiting, the time of her death was upon them.
“Do not,” The woman said in reply, “talk to me as if we are friends. I am here to serve my purpose and nothing more.”
“As you wish.” The cloaked figure said. The figure then snapping her fingers. The woman watched as more cloaked figures approached holding a large gauntlet. She watched as they lowered the gauntlet onto the ground beside her and the cloaked figure.
The woman wasn’t afraid of death. She’d lived a long enough afterlife, after all. She’s conquered many obstacles in her time, and death was the final challenge she had left to complete.
“Are you ready?” The cloaked figure asked her.
The woman took a deep breath. “As I’ll ever be.”
The cloaked figure’s hands shone a bright blue color. The light surrounded the woman’s neck, and in an instant, her neck was snapped, her head laying on the ground a few feet from her body. The light then covered itself around the woman’s body and carried it over to the gauntlet. The woman’s body was then tipped downward, so her blood could flow into the gauntlet.
As the blood from the woman’s body poured into the gauntlet, the cloaked figure spoke, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“And with the blood of the last original vampire, the spell on the rest begins to unfold!”
There was a loud cheering, and then the chanting began again.