In what seemed after all the trouble, Dallas was back home at last. Or, what seemed to be her home. It definitely a ritual room, the same that was seen months and months ago when she had performed a ritual for Marshall. This time, she was alone, as she normally was when dabbled in her magic.
In the middle of the vast room was a circle of candles, outlined with white power. In the middle of the circle, was an open book. There were illustrations of beautiful figures on the pages, the loa of voodoo. Instead of taking her usual seat at the head of the circle, Dallas Cruz could be seen pacing around and around the magical circle, a puzzled look on her face.
"Where were you?" Her hazel eyes stared right at the book. She wanted answers, answers that she knew where risky to get.
"I prayed to you all. I needed your help. Where were you?"
She stopped her pacing briefly, looking straight at the circle, the book in particular. It still lay still in the middle of the burning candles. The room was dead quiet, too quiet. Dallas was not getting what she wanted, her patience was beginning to wear thin. She needed to know if she needed to mend things between her and her gods.
"Have I offended? Please, just...please just tell me. Are you still with me? Let me right the wrongs I have done." She didn't understand why in her most vulnerable, her gods ignored her. Not a minute went by when she called to her loa, begging them to save her from the torture she was put through, to do away with the two twisted forms of evil that kidnapped and tormented her. Her prayers went unanswered and she was left to her fate.
Receiving no response, Dallas' balled up her fists, feeling the anger and confusion flow through her. "ANSWER ME!"
Big mistake to yell.
The flames on the candles suddenly shot up towards the ceiling, lightening up every inch of the dim room. The intense heat of the flames could be felt on her face, like a hot breath. Dallas quickly backed herself up against the wall, her arms up to shield her face form the burning heat and intense light. The book in the center of the circle began to flip it's pages, slowly at first before gradually beginning to pick up speed. The rustling of the pages sounded like bee's in her ears.
A voice spoke out to her, breaking the rustling as the pages stopped at a specific page. The figure on the image was a warrior, a speak in his hand with a scowl on his dark face.
"YOU DARE COMMAND US, FOOLISH GIRL?!" The voice was very angry, obvious feeling extremely disrespected to be spoken in such a manner, from a mortal no less. The flames continued to burn hotter and hotter, threatening to burn down the entire building with it's fury. "YOU WANTED OUR ATTENTION, NOW YOU HAVE IT!"
Dallas immediately regret raising her voice. She was never really one to lose her temper, much less at the deities she was so devoted to. "P-Please...I beg forgiveness..."
The flames began to shrink, burning lower and lower until they went back to their normal state. The heat in the room began to desist, a cooling breeze gently coaxed Dallas into lowering her arms. The pages in the book began to flutter rapidly once again. This time, stopping on an imagine of a lovely woman with white hair.
A sweet voice was heard after the loud, vengeful one, cooing into Dallas' ear. "Hush now, you're frightened the poor thing. She meant no harm, I am sure." There was a nurturing feeling that wrapped around Dallas like a blanket, giving her a sense of comfort that she hadn't felt for such a long while. Dallas looked at the the circle and the book in the middle of the room, an apologetic look on her face. She had wished this one had answered her call first than the other disembodied voice.
"Little girl, we are not upset with you, child. You have done nothing to earn our ire."
Dallas knew this was no longer about her yelling. This deity was now speaking of the situation that had haunted Dallas for the past weeks. "But...then why were my prayers ignored? I needed help!"
The pages once again picked up wind and began to flip and flutter, stopping on a page with a man dressed in a suit with a cigar in his mouth. His face was painted like a skull. The smell of cigar smoke began to fill the room as his chuckle was heard from all corners of the room, "And help came, did it not? Your brother...the...eh...blood sucking one. He came for you, no? Here you are, safe and sound."
The woman bit her lip as she slowly pried herself from the wall she was still leaning up against. This deity had a point, now that he brought it up. She prayed for help and help came in the form of her brother. She remained quiet, unsure of what to say. The voice continued to speak, the smell of cigar smoke filling her nostrils.
"You should not be so dependent on us, Child. We help, but you know our help comes at a price. We might ask for a favor you cannot repay. You do not wish to be in our debt, that we can promise."
"I always repay my debts."
The voice snickered as a cloud of cigar smoke flowed out towards her as if someone had blown it from the center of the circle causing the woman to cough and clear her throat. She waved her hand to clear the smoke from her face. "We shall see." The smell was gone and the pages began to rustle, meaning someone else was about to join in on the conversation. Dallas watched as the pages came to a stop, the figure on the newest page was that of an elderly man, holding a cane.
A tapping was heard on the hardwood floor, the sound of a cane hitting the hard surface, almost as if someone was making his way into the room. A croaking was heard, followed by a kindly voice making itself known to Dallas. "Such a curious little girl you are," the deity chuckled a grandfatherly chuckle, "So loyal and devoted to our kind. Not many of you, there are."
Immediately, Dallas smiled softly, glad to hear this voice in particular. "Old friend, I am humbled with your presence, as I was with the others." The way she spoke to them, it was obvious Dallas had the upmost respect for the deities.
"Your dedication is admirable, young one. As my companions before have mentioned, we do try to help, but our favors come with a price." The tapping noise picked up once again, the sound of the cane hitting the floor. Faint footsteps could also be heard. "But...since you are a favorite of ours...this one, I will give for nothing in return."
Dallas' eyebrow arched in curiosity. While she was always grateful for the gifts her loa bestowed on her, she wondered would this deity could possibly give her now. "You are too kind, old friend."
However, his next words caused some alarm to wash over her. Her smile faltered a little.
"A warning, girl. There are dark powers that you must stray away from. Magic that must never be meddled in."
Tilting her head, Dallas responded, "I don't dabble with black magic, you all know this."
"Child, that is not exactly the truth, is it? Did you not contact a dark loa with your brother?" Dallas didn't say a word, remembering back to when she had, indeed, summoned a dark spirit in order to assist her brother. The old voice continued, "But you did not strike the deal. He did." He chuckled again, rather impressed with the cleverness of the girl. "A sneaky one you are. Heed my warning, girl. When things are looking gloom, and the temptations of the dark seem comforting, do NOT fall into it's trickery."
The old, wise voice spoke as if it knew something, but wasn't going to tell her. A premonition, of the sorts. The loa were not to tell mortals of the future, instead preferring to let them figure it out for themselves. The loa, however, favored Dallas and tried their best to prevent her from doing something she would regret.
"But I don't understand. What exactly should-"
Her question was cut off when the book began to flutter once again. This time, they didn't stop. She gasped when one by one, the pages began to rip from the spine of the book. The sheets of paper flew into the air, causing Dallas to stumble back and stare at the mess that was beginning to form on her floor. Page after page littered the floor, not seeming to stop. "W-What-?!"
Now, instead of a single voice speaking to her, they all spoke in one large mass of voices, "Heed our warning, Dallas Cruz. Do not fall for temptation. Don't meddle in what you don't understand. What good is power if it comes at a cost? Heed our warning. Watch the skies, watch for the dark feathers, the black wind howls. Keep away, for there is nothing worse than the cold end."
The book was now the stripped, lone cover as all the pages were scattered across the wood floor. Unbeknownst to Dallas, behind her was a large shadowed mass that moved from one side of the wall to the other. As she reached for the empty shell of a book, the shadows snuffed out the candles as darkness filled the now silent room.
