Hell's Belles Chapter Three: Hellfire Court to the Rescue?
Gomurr struggled to revive his stunned pupils. Each girl in turn stared at him, seemingly mindless of the predicament they were in. All around them a burning wind whipped, stinging particles of sands pelted against their skin. Rita, Bux and Jam huddled together, and if they heard Gomurr's words to them, they gave no sign. Gomurr, for his part, had recovered sufficiently to try and analyze the situation. They didn't know where they were, only that it seemed a very inhospitable place. They didn't know how they had gotten here, never mind how to get home. They didn't even know if there was anyone else within miles of them. The flying sand kept them from seeing far, so they didn't know where the closest shelter was, and to top it all off, from the looks of the girls, these three might not even know who they were. The situation had looked better, but Gomurr had learned one thing in his 803 years.....If you give up, you are sure to fail.
Rahsas continued to study the markings on the ground....his mind reeled as flashes of long forgotten things came unbidden to his thoughts. FLASH......an ancient sorcerer, looking down at him with kind twinkling eyes......FLASH......a cruelly beautiful young girl playing children's games with him.......FLASH.......the ancient mage teaching his young charges the wonders of the beautiful land where they live.......FLASH......the ancient one teaching the two young ones how to focus the dark energy through the staff he always carried........FLASH........the staff coming down again and again on the old man's head, the triangular emblem on the end covered in blood.......FLASH......the young girl standing over a much younger Rahsas, a look of hate and venom on her face, his own hands covered in blood.......FLASH......then the dark that he had grown so accustomed to, enveloping him........and then nothingness, until his first memory of the Siloam Springs Orphanage where he had lived until the time of his discovery by Gregor, and his subsequent enrollment in the academy.
It was at this exact moment when Gregor decided to make the scene. It seems frantic calls placed to him by Puma11 had disturbed the Black King from his morning routine, and sent him flying, literally, to the grounds of the Academy. His presence snapped all the present Upstarts to immediate attention. Silver, the Black Bishop also rolled in behind the wheel of his trademark Silver Lotus. Of all the Black Hellfire Court, Silver was the most involved with the Upstarts, so he had a penthouse apartment close by. Even the normally slack-jawed Johnny Blaze seemed to begrudgingly respect these two men, who held such power, mutant as well as financial. Gregor stared from one to the other awaiting explanation, for the disturbance of his morning exercise ritual. (if you can call wrestling with a gorgeous young heiress that's half his age, exercise) When no explanations were forthcoming, Gregor demanded to know what was going on. Silver comforted the crying Janista15, but also demanded answers. Meekly and obediently Janista15, who finally found her voice , explained the situation.
Rahsas jerked back to reality, a tear slowly sliding down his cheek just at this moment. The booming voice of Gregor and the sounds of Silver calmly speaking to Janista brought him out of his morbid thinking. What was going on? What were these images? Could they be actual memories, or something else? He had to find out. He opened himself once more to the dark dimension. This time, instead of trying to control the shadowgate, he surrendered himself to it. This was something that he'd always been afraid to do, although he'd never admit it. In controlling the gates, he held the power. He chose how large and powerful they were, and where they would lead. When he surrendered to them, it was as if he were just along for the ride. As the darkness washed over his mind......he was no longer master of the portals...he was the portal......he was the darkness.....he was the shadowgate...and then he was no more.
Anyone watching the tall lanky youth, would have been extremely confused as he vanished, but Janista15 and Johnny Blaze were used to the formation of shadowgates, and Gregor and Silver had read the reports of the young mutants growing teleportational powers. This however, was a bit different than even what these jaded individuals were accustomed to. Instead of creating the gate and stepping through, as he had always done, the gate seemed to have formed within Rahsas and swallowed him whole. It seemed as if the shadows had just enveloped and swallowed Rahsas, and from the look of fear and pain on his face as he disappeared, it appeared the shadows had very sharp teeth.
It was then that Silver began to make preparation for the transportation of all the remaining students off the grounds of the academy. He didn't plan on loosing anymore of them to dimensional rifts or whatever had happened here. It can be noted that after the last car with the students and Silver left, Gregor made arrangements for the staff to leave also. For although they were just human academians, they would be troublesome to replace, and explaining their disappearances would take more time than it was worth. It can also be noted that Gregor, who although reformed to a point, also weighed the option of not bothering with the retrieval of the missing Upstarts...after all, what's the loss of three human girls and an ancient, smart-mouthed mystic compared to the safety of his mutant charges. If not for the almost simultaneous disappearance of Rahsas, whose abilities could someday be a great asset to the Inner Court's long range plans, Gregor would not have been nearly as concerned. Finally, in an orderly and commanding fashion Gregor called an immediate meeting of the Black Hellfire Court in order to discuss strategies on how to regain ownership...ummm..errr...safety of the missing Upstarts and their worrisome headmaster, Gomurr.
On to Chapter 5.
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