Erin was on the verge of curling up in a little ball and crying. Why? After a daring
escape from the garter snake in the bathroom and avoiding the cobra on her bed, she'd
managed to get out of the room and into the hallway. One problem: There were more snakes in
the hallway.
There were all kinds of snakes, probably all poisonous. Erin tried to breathe, but she
was having a hard time. Her knees were shaking and the ground looked like a living,
writhing, pit of snakes.
Probably because she was in a snake pit or something like it. The elegant temple she'd
found herself in earlier was now a deathtrap. She couldn't move with all the snakes
slithering around her, lest they bit. She bit down, hard, on her lower lip. Somebody would
come, right?
Her prayer wasn't exactly answered, but the snakes started parting, leading to a room
down the hallway. All the snakes had uncovered a perfect path to lead her farther down this
mysterious place. For a while, she didn't move... until the spitting cobra behind her missed
her legs by just a few inches.
She sprinted down the hall, having to stop when the river of snakes blocked her path
and having to continue when they unblocked another way. She continued down winding stairs,
endless hallways and beautiful rooms, all the while in a state of panic. Because of this,
she didn't stop to think that the snakes could be leading her somewhere...
Until she arrived at the 'somewhere'. Erin stopped in front of the strangely decorated
double doors, knowing she couldn't go back... She guessed it was supposed to be symbol on
the door, with serpents slithering around a crest of some kind. Of course the symbol was of
snakes. It couldn't be anything else... it had to be snakes.
Erin tentatively reached out to grasp the handle. With her wonderful luck, it was in
the shape of a snake. She let out a small whimper; wanting to cry... but she pushed the door
open and peeked inside. If there were more snakes in there, then she would definitely turn
around and deal with the other ones.
Luckily, it was devoid of any reptiles, so she cautiously slipped inside and closed
the door behind her. The room she was in was considerably less bright and had an ominous
feeling. Erin, having watched enough movies to know better, felt the room was something akin
to a sacrificial chamber. The cold stone and rising arches were cast in shadow and an altar
was in the middle of the room. Not to mention there was a throne up in front of the room...
now that was creepy.
"Finally... you're here," Erin froze at the sound of a voice. She looked over to see
that someone was indeed seated at the throne. The voice was distinctly feminine and it...
well, sounded like a hiss. Stupid snakes had finally gotten to her. "I've waited for so
long... come to me."
Erin felt a jolt as the voice commanded her. Her muscles reacted and she found herself
walking, albeit slowly, to the platform in the middle of the room. In her dazed state, Erin
barely noticed that the symbol from the door was on the ground and she was standing in the
middle of it.
The woman stood up and proceeded to walk over to the stunned Erin. She had thick, long
hair, a green so rich it almost appeared black and piercing yellow eyes. Her face was mostly
obscured by her wayward bangs and she seemed to be surrounded by a hazy aura. Erin was no
longer sure if she was in a nightmare or a dream.
"...so long..." The woman murmured, in that same, hissing voice, her words oddly
soothing. Erin couldn't get her body to move and instead, she drunk in the soft tone of the
voice. The mysterious speaker finally reached her and merely cupped Erin's cheeks with her
soft hands. "You're mine now."
It was then that Erin realized the black slits in the woman's eyes instead of pupils
and the fangs that gleamed when she smile. Erin screamed.
*****
"Well, she's still alive or she just got killed. I can't tell," Krystal just glared at
Isaka. "That's not funny. She could be in serious trouble."
The demon watched as the exorcist swung her holy blade, letting a wave of energy
destroy and push the snakes out of their path. Their journey was proving difficult. Isaka
was trying to follow the sound of Erin's screams, but the acoustics of the place was
throwing everything off.
Not to mention that there were snakes EVERYWHERE. "These aren't demon snakes, so I'm
not sure why they're impeding our path..." Isaka shrugged at Krystal's musings and noticed
that the reptiles had gotten smart enough to stay out of their way.
"I have an idea, Krystal..." Isaka murmured, looping an arm around her girlfriend and
affectionately nuzzling into her neck. "How about we let this little guy lead us to Erin,"
Isaka said, pointing to the tiny snake lounging on Krystal's arm.
The exorcist grinned and gave Isaka a quick kiss on the lips. "Good idea!" She set
down the snake and with a jingle, it slithered down the hallway. The two lovers had to run
to keep up with the tiny snake. How it managed to navigate by sheer instinct was beyond
them.
Finally, the jingling snake stopped. Their faithful snake buddy had led to a door that
Erin passed through moments before. Isaka and Krystal exchanged looks.
"A cult?"
"I believe you are correct, Krystal."
Without a moments notice, the two women barged into the door, prepared to fight. In
the middle of the room, upon the slightly raised platform that served as an altar, an
ethereal woman was holding the dazed Erin. She whipped her head in the direction of the
noise, the entranced student barely conscious in her arms.
"Let her go right now!" Krystal shouted pointing her blade right at her. The strange
woman only hissed in frustration. "How dare you interrupt me!" She raised her hand in the
air, obvious about to summon something.
The only thing that happened was the snake started to slither towards its master,
jingling enthusiastically. Isaka and Krystal looked rather... unimpressed while the woman
set down Erin and to stare at the snake. "Not so fast, buddy," Isaka said, putting her foot
down on its tail. Once again, if snakes could cry... it let out a pathetic hiss and the
woman looked mighty pissed.
"What did you do to him...? I believe... you are both foolish," The mystery figure
crouched down and put her hand to the ground. "This is something I cannot forgive." With
that, energy pulsed from her palm and into the floor. All of a sudden, a giant stone snake
shot up and directly at them.
"What the hell!" Isaka shouted and jumped, pulling Krystal out of the way with her.
The snake smacked right into the floor, melting into it. The woman who had summoned it,
smirked before going back over to Erin.
The snake suddenly shot up from the floor, from right where Krystal and Isaka were
standing. The couple was saved by Krystal placing a few good strikes on it. "That thing
isn't a demon, but I can still hurt it... you go get Erin!" Isaka was reluctant to leave her
girlfriend, but she rushed over to where the woman was cradling Erin to her chest.
Krystal concentrated her holy power into the blade, sharpening it. She could do
this... she could cut through anything, stone or not! With that, she parried its fangs and
struck back furiously. Slowly, debris began to fall to the ground as the snakes head got
sliced repeatedly. It recoiled, but the young exorcist didn't stop. The last thing she
needed was for this thing to regenerate. The last time she had dealt with a rock demon, she
let it dissolve into the ground and regenerate the rock it lost...
Isaka ran as quickly as she could to Erin. Her unknown assailant was leaning into her
neck, baring fangs. Strange... Isaka was positive the woman was no vampire, nor was she a
demon. She had a whole different kind of aura. Regardless, the demon built up the energy in
her hand and delivered a jaw breaking punch to the unaware woman's face.
It pushed her back a foot or two, giving the demon enough time to scoop up Erin and
run back to her girlfriend. The woman tried to scramble to her feet, but was only able to
get to her knees. Krystal was still pulverizing the snake, going on the offensive, when
Isaka yanked her around the waist, still holding Erin.
"I believe it is time we made our exit," Isaka whispered into her lover's ear. In the
blink of an eye, shadows engulfed the three females, leading them off to safety.
The woman let out a long hiss of frustration. She had been so close! So close...! She
watched as her golem slowly sank back into the earth. She was so... tired... If only she had
been at full strength! Then those two wouldn't have been a problem.
She was broken out of her musings by a soft jingle. Her ever faithful slithered up to
her, affectionately rubbing her with his head. She let the snake slither up her arm and gave
it a soft kiss on the head. Its tongue flickered out and it hissed in a language only she
could understand.
"Shh... it's alright," she murmured. "Mommy's dying, but it's not too late... she's
the one." The snake gazed into her eyes and she let it slither back down to the ground.
"Find her. I've yet to wake her up or mark her, but... if you find her; there may still be a
chance."
The snake wasted no time slithering out of the room through one of the crack. She
shakily got to her feet, holding her job. It wasn't over yet. That girl was her only chance.
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