Chapter 9: ~Chapter 9 Malicai’s Cult~
Marek had a look of satisfaction and rolls his head, cracking his neck. "Very good" Life returns to her with enough strength to move. Daro immediately wakes up, sitting upright and glancing around. Jack's eyes tear up seeing she is alright and pulls her close to him tightly.
Jack was not a man who really cried but he did for Daro. "Daro! I thought I lost you baby! Where's Marek?" She hugs him back and pulls away slightly. "I-I made a trade with Marek" she says between breaths. "He, uh-" she points to her head, signaling that Marek was in her mind.
Jack's eyes got wide. "Oh no! W-what!?" He was very conflicted with this, his nemesis was inside the one he loved.
"He gave me two opinions, it was either I let him help me or I would be in a hospital bed, hooked up to machines. You can already guess which one I chose." He growled under his tone to the idea.
Jack knew and yet they were a bit safer. "We should go home"
"Yeaaaa about that..."
"If we can't pursue Marek then there is no reason to be here" says Jack.
"Marek said that we can't really escape from here unless...he...teaches me"
"OF COURSE, THERE IS A LOOPHOLE FROM THAT BASTARD!" He sighs angry. "Can we AT LEAST! get a comfortable, soft bed to sleep in?"
"Hotel, I'll keep it from changing, if anything happens." Says Marek.
"Yea" says Daro.
"Okay..." he takes her hand. He started to read her mind a bit more since, he was to worried. She smiles warmly.
He stopped listening. "Huh? Sorry, I was in deep thought."
"It happens to the best of us" says Daro.
"I could use a nice bath" says Jack.
"A bed sounds LOVELY!"
"I wonder what Jack is planning?" she thought.
Marek grumbles and rolls his eyes "Let's just go to the hotel"
"Was I talking to you?"
"I can hear your thoughts! I'm not apologizing if that's what you want!"
"There is such thing as ignoring, ever thought of that?" says Daro.
"Whatever" Marek goes to a deeper part of her mind and leaves her alone for now.
"This is gonna be a nightmare with Marek around" she thought to herself.
"Are you okay?" Asked Jack.
"Y-yeah. It's just that, uh...Marek was-"
"Hmm?"
"Marek was talking to me."
"Is.....is he gonna...be around the whole time?" He said trying not to sounds upset about it. We can get our own room if you want?"
"I would like that" she says taking his hand again.
While Jack and Daro were talking and heading to the hotel, Julian trailed behind in search of something. He looked around outside of the diner and into the ally way. "This would have to be the place."
There was a noise from the corner, he hears it and begins to be on guard, you never knew what it could be in Raspy Hill. He hears a whisper "You know too much now..."
"Where are you?! SHOW YOURSELF!"
"Yes...we knew you were coming. Now you must come with us." Robbed figures surround Julian from out of the darkness.
He gulped afraid of what might happen. "Very well then..."
Malicai steps from the shadows "Thanks to a... certain connection. I knew your plan."
"Shit....." he mutters to himself and holds his hands up in he means no harm.
Marek catches what's happening telepathically "Fuck! How the...? Dammit! One of his tattoos must have been a binding one." He blocks off Malicai plays along for now.
"...you're smart, you know the opportunity to strike."
"Take me already..." says Julian.
"Finally caught on Marek, thought you were smarter. To the basement of the curio-shop, we have a new test." Says Malicai and they leave with Julian in hand. The robbed men and Malicai take Julian down to the basement of the Curio Shop, where their secret cult room was hidden. There were symbols of their order, candles lit EVERYWHERE! "No one around to help you, now. I knew where Marek was because the hotel has not changed like the rest of this place at night. With him out of the way, the abyss is gone." Said Malicai.
Julian gives him a serious face. "Just get on with it...no need to waste time..."
"This one is strong. Strap him down and get him ready."
"Just a bit longer..." thought Julian. The others grab his limbs and torso, putting him on the table.
"Let's see what to do with you..." he grabs a big old and worn leather bound book with fragile looking pages from special made cabinet with symbols on it. Julian takes a knife in his little pocket and begins to cut through the restrains so that he could escape from Malicai's Cult and grab the book that gave him all the answers. He watched carefully and cautiously. "You came in search of us, and we found you, now you are under our control and now we finally have something against Marek the demon of darkness." He said in almost like a cult way.
Marek says telepathically "I don't care what you do...skin that worm! if you must but unbind me if you, please. A piece of me is inside him when I tore away into Daro."
"You'll never figure out how to change them back! It is coded, keywords through each section. The wrong combination and... something much worse can happen." Julian finally got free from their grasp, and he grabbed the ancient textbook but little did they know that Julian knew how to read a lot of ancient cult writing, for he had been looking for these texts for a LONG time now and now he had his hands on the book. Julian translates it.
"Then why is he looking when he should know it?" Malicai grins, Julian snarls and destroys the tattoo binning him to Malicai.
Marek says telepathically "Thank you...I think you should punish him anyway...a little message from me." He smirks evilly, he didn't like to be crossed.
Julian lets them go. "Now..." Malicai and the others back away.
"What do you know? What do you do exactly to the people you get? Wait, even BETTER show me." Says Julian with an evil grin, he wanted to test them to see what dark powers they could perform.
They all look at each other. "You heard me; I want you to test me"
"What? The book...without it..."
Cult follower: "What do you want to be? We have studied the book enough, a section for each. Together we are the book."
"Ever done a demon?" Says Julian, the cultist look at each other and then back to Julian.
"What?! Like him? No... WE REFUSE!"
"I guess you will all be executed" say Julian.
Cult follower: "Alright, alright. May we ask why?"
"I've never felt like a human. I've always felt more like a demon...." They look at each other and shrug, small meek sounding follower steps forth, a bit ironic in that they know the demon section. Kinda the opposite of them.
"I'm the one that knows the demon section. I can do it." Says someone named Neeko.
Julian nods "Do what you need."
"Um...almost forgot, what type of demon do you want to be?"
"Shadow...it would help me dearly" says Julian seriously. Neeko nods and recites the shadow demon incantation, the room lights up in purple flames instead of the normal flames and the room shakes. All is silent and the deed is done. "How long will it take for me to become a shadow demon?"
"Um...you should be already. Please don't hurt us."
"I won't hurt you..."
"He won't either, will he? He has been hunting us every time he returns. It's a game to him, he doesn't care." Said Neeko in worry.
"He is...busy..."
Neeko nods and the others seemed somewhat relieved but still cautious of Julian. "Thank you for this." As he is about to leave, in an instant it goes from day to night, it was a bit eerie, odd even, the air was heavy. Julian found this odd, but he had one task to do and that was find his friends and he leaves to find his friends.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone