《Shorts and prompts》


 Prompt: Shapeshifter

    First Investment Bank                                                                           Amsterdam, 2122


    ¡°Show me your hands.¡±


    I said it softly. Hands that raced across the keyboard froze. Realization struck, her brilliant blue eyes glanced up at me. Fear entered her eyes when they locked mine. Ecstasy rushed through my veins, made me feel alive, made me feel I could scare the whole world. Her frozen hands trembled softly, her eyes darted between the gun in my hand, the desk and my eyes. A faint glimmer of hope in those beautiful blue eyes. Hope should be crushed. Hope made people do stupid things.


    ¡°Move!¡± I barked at her. ¡°If you so much as turn your head toward that desk, I''ll give you stumps to try to push bloody buttons. Or make them bloody if you prefer.¡±


    She whimpered and would have jumped if she could, the seat restricted her movements anyway. Cautiously she shoved the chair across the rough carpet, two paces from the desk. I suppressed a laugh. She believed. Good thing she did. Her hands, long elegant fingers decorated with sparse, silver jewelry. Too bad she believed. I liked it better when they didn''t, the shock would be heavier, more... tangible and more desperate. Fear, desperation and uncertainty, this triad of emotions could send me over the clouds, over the rainbow for that matter.


    I smiled in myself. Despite the command, her eyes were drawn to the desk like a magnet. Still, her eyes darted between the gun in my hand and the desk, occasionally flashing towards the desk.


    The gun was for show. Another threat, another impulse of fear, one to pull at my own leisure. Fear. The word itself already a feast for my ears. The effect on others a feast for my soul. A well of unending, untainted pleasure. I knew fear myself, everyone does.


    The rim of my hood concealed my features as I glanced around. Today, black, gaping holes between the eyelids represented my eyes. A vertical, short slit functioned as my nose. My skin was grey, rough and patched as if burned, different hues of grey gave my head a sinister, creepy impression. My teeth looked roughly filed to points. I smiled at the clerk, revealing the reddish teeth I had carefully concealed so far. She gasped, eyes widened, I doubted for a second whether she''d faint. Another torrent of raging blood and satisfaction rushed through my body and my smile twisted to a feral snarl. Eyes diluted, my other senses seemed clouded and obscured. I loved this feeling, this trance, this ecstasy.


    It was mostly elderly people who filled the bank this time of the day. Expensive, inadequate security personnel replaced by security systems, meant to hold and detain or destroy, rather than capture and detain. Countless hours had I spent, simulating, trying to find the balance between scary, intimidating and systems parameters. All to prevent being shredded by accurate lasers before I took more than 2 steps inside the bank.


    I was twelve when I learned I was different. Never been popular, never bullied either. I taught them all to fear and avoid me. The ability to change shapes, any shape, put my life upside-down. The talent allowed me to alter my own image, the impression and more-importantly, the emotions my appearance evoked.


    ¡°Now,¡± I whispered. ¡°You will take me to the box room.¡±


    She stared at me. I''m not sure whether she saw me, or something else. She shook herself violently before getting up. I suppressed another smile. I couldn''t be sure it was because of me.


    ¡°I hope you understand that any kind of.. interruption while we walk there, will add to your bill.¡±


    She shivered and stared at me. I did my research, the security system would pick up on unusual behavior. The walk had to be casual, no interruptions , no detours and no threatening behavior.


    Privacy, the idea that one can do whatever one needs to do, without anyone else knowing or seeing. The boxroom, carefully placed outside of the spying eyes of the surveillance camera''s.


    Her first steps were careful, deliberate movements. A few steps, and her steps grew stronger and more secure of herself. Good, it would be fun to peel that slimy coat of confidence of her fear. A flimsy membrane of false self-preservation. Next time she trembled, it would be so much more satisfying. I followed, a few steps behind. Her walk had gotten close to swaggering, her hips swinging from side to side. Seduction, temptation and desire. Three emotions I quenched, realized how useless, worthless and discouraging they are. Shapeshifters around me strove for perfection, physical beauty, all in order to love and be loved. Perfection and attraction, never done, never enough. Never happy with themselves, they dared tell me love and affection mattered most in life. Sometimes I wonder what maggots think love tastes like. I shook off the mesmerizing, lulling train of thought. This was not the time.


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    Her behavior well controlled and normal, only her breath betrayed her state of mind. Ragged and irregular as we walked towards the boxroom. Hands trembled, unlocking the door of the box room. My long-nailed, claw-like hand on her shoulder, I led her inside, instructed her to lock to door, leaving the keys. Other visitors could wait. The hood off my head, unleashed the full monstrosity of my appearance. The clerk admired my features for the first time, a sense of pure dread, pure terror rising in her eyes. Pupils dilated, they flashed across my features, flashed as if locking my eyes would mean certain death. I barked a laugh, the pleasure of her dread filling my head with a sense of invincibility. Happiness, joy, whatever, it filled my head with self-importance, made me feel as if I decided between life and death. Made me feel as if a mere command would make her do what I want. Intimidation was such a simple, effective tool. My pocket contained a list of the lock boxes that I needed, the only purpose of this visit. I reached for it, caught a glimpse of a poorly-controlled flinch.


    ¡°Get me these!¡±


    I dug my nails deep in her wrist. The iron-like smell of blood was just invigorating. The way she opened her lips showing her teeth, indicated hysteria lurking in the back of her mind. She fingered the dingy, flimsy scrap of paper, covered in my scribbly writing. The paper listed lock boxes of the richest, most influential clients of the bank. Pay, all of them would. I would make sure of that. She gaped, her eyes focused on the list of names and lock boxes. The gun waved in front of her face and she swallowed laboriously.


    I licked the blood of her nails and my eyes lit up.


    ¡°Hurry!¡±


    Weeks, maybe months, I dreamt about this moment. The grand finale of my schemes, of my work, hopefully my poverty. When I started this career, they promised me money. Lots of money. I never had any, the promise sounded sweet, the deal even sweeter. They knew I liked fear, Knew I thrived on it and they promised me an endless river of human emotions.  never drying well, a never ending dream. It had turned out to be a never-ending nightmare. One that pulled you in, no matter how awake and wary you were. Although I liked, no loved, feeding off others¡¯ fear, uncertainty and insecurity, I had never intended to permanently harm anyone. I loved to see the chaos, inner strife, anything that made people as confused as I felt. Once I lavished myself in their desperation and helplessness, I longed for more. I never intended to become the man I became, yet here I was. A cold-blooded killer.


    Never intended to be a killer, a cold blooded destroyer. Yet, here I was.


    Mere minutes later, twenty of the lock boxes I required laid in front of me. KeysI scoffed at the idea. Didn''t need keys anyway. Only provided a false sense of security. A sense of safety.


    I was young, could barely control the growth of beard when I learned how to open locks. Not out of bad intentions. I just never liked to be kept out of secrets. Knowing people''s secrets, I could pressure people, manipulate and embarrass others on command.


    The gun, put down next to the lock boxes. Her eyes flashed, the gun no longer in my hand, she thought me less dangerous. A mad giggle rose from my throat, I concealed it by coughing violently. Locking her eyes, I smiled. Disdained, I noticed she no longer really responded to my smiles. I used it too much, knew it lost effect. I made an effort not to look at the gun. Left it out of my vision, hoped she would take the bait. Relaxed in the deep, soft chairs of the boxroom.


    I focused on the lock boxes, opening them in rapid fashion. None of them resistant to the changing nature of my finger. Most of the boxes contained jewelry and valuable documents. Some contained storage devices. I pocketed the storage devices, those would probably prove more valuable than anything else.


    One lock box held my mind more than others, the owner, the man of the promises. Had forced me down a path I was not eager to take. Made me soil my soul and a puppet to his wishes.


    The lid of the box did not go off easy. As if someone had stuck edges with gum, gave way, but did not come off. I had to pry my finger between the edges, use it as leverage. A clean, white envelope fell out as the lid came off, the addressee faced the ground. Nothing else, only the envelope and a screaming emptiness. I stared at the box, a sense of doom crept up on me, made me shiver from the base of my skull. The ground fell from under my feet, nothing to hold on to. All I could do was fall, careful preparation, all for nothing. How long I stared, I am not sure. The clerk had stopped her heavy breathing and was staring at me intently by the time I came to my senses. Well, senses. An endless rage, an unlimited need to destroy, to burn.


    My trembling hands plucked the envelope from the ground. The addressee was me, my name written in a neat, curled handwriting. The envelope ripped easy, my hands tearing the paper with burning anger. My eyes flashed across the paper, seeing, but not reading. My trembling hand shook the paper with such force, I could not make out a single word. I wanted to howl with anger, with frustration.


    ¡°Not reading it, does not make it false.¡± A cold, almost quivering voice from my right bit at me, anger barely hidden.


    ¡°I thought you would see through me in seconds. They told me you were complacent, arrogant and scary. I only see complacency and arrogance.¡±


    Amusement now replaced the anger in her voice, the tone almost as if mocking.


    I turned my head, the clerk from the front desk gone. Instead, a tall dark-haired girl stood there. Black jeans, black leather jacket, reddish hair in a ponytail. A derogative look on her face.


    ¡°I like what you did to yourself. Veeery scary.¡± She laughed.


    I looked around for another option. She must be a shapeshifter too. How had they known? How had she known when to be here. I never shared any plans, never shared.. well anything. I searched for a reason, something that had given me away. I found none. I had to admit, they were better than I was. I didn''t move, didn''t lift a finger. This girl, I thought it wryly, was of no threat to me. This girl..


    Cocking of a gun brought me to reality, the barrel cold against the burning skin on my temple.


    ¡°You should have known better than to steal from the triad.¡±

 Prompt: Dragon

    Hunger. My stomach rumbled. It was annoying, but the growing emptiness of my stomach could no longer be ignored. I opened my eyes and stretched myself in my warm nest. My heart jumped. The rustling feeling of membranes peeling off one another as my wings unfolded was always a delight. Dust and small stones surged around me through the air as I fluttered my wings. A tingling sensation traveled through my body as my heart pumped blood quicker through my veins. I sniffed and puffed to ignite the slumbering fire in my chest into a smoldering inferno. I could feel the temperature of my body rise and it didn¡¯t take long before the small tendrils of smoke I respired through my nostrils turned into thick, dark clouds. The walls around me resonated in a deep orange light as fire emitted through my nostrils. Tongues of fire disintegrating several brave spiders and their cobwebs.


    ¡°Pitiable little predators.¡± I scoffed.


    Hunger rumbled through my body, urging me to leave the comfort of my home. As I walked down the short corridor that I burned through stones millennia ago, I reached for the true nature of fire. It¡¯s wild, raging flow welcomed me home, recognised me through time and mixed with the inferno in my chest. I channeled and undid the seal that kept the portal to my home hidden. The portal sprang to life in a torrent of red, orange and yellow energy, swirled into a ball before it stabilized and allowed me to step through.


    The air tasted like ashes and something unfamiliar. It clung to my nose, filled my lungs and I retched on my first breath of air. Plumes of fire lit up the top of the mountain as I coughed again and again to remove the stench in my insides. I settled for holding my breath for the time being, while I desperately tried to control the urge to retch.


    ¡°Two legs, for sure¡± I thought.


    The same putrid smell hung around their pathetic settlements the last few hunts. The air was even thicker with that disgusting smell around their bigger settlements. As if sheer numbers would protect them from any of us, the apex predator. We were the beginning and the end. I chuckled and forgot to hold my breath. Tongues of fire burst through my nose and lit up the area as I started coughing again. I could hold my breath for long, but it was better if I could get used to the smell and the dirt. Instead, I inhaled and exhaled as shallowly as I could.


    Those nasty two-legs really thought they could hide in their wooden and stone shells.


    ¡°What a joke¡±


    I caught myself from chuckling again from their stupidity and took another shallow breath to condition myself. Once I took off, I might need to take big gulps of air and I did not want to be overwhelmed by cough when I could least afford it. Every time those pathetic two-legs came with surprises. Though I was one of the apex predators and in the prime of my power, I should be on guard. I never thought the two-legs would be able to shoot arrows bigger than themselves, but the slightly discolored scar on my left wing attested to their inventiveness. I took another few deep draughts of air to condition myself. A bolt of pain ran through my body, as the hunger reminded me why I got up in the first place. It was time. The entire mountain seemed to lit up as I regurgitated the inferno in my chest, a long jet of fire erupting from my maw.And I could hear the tumult of panic below me. Wolves, birds and other animals released panicked warnings to those around them. Danger beyond danger. I could almost feel how those below me held their breath, hoping I would pass them by without noticing them. They didn¡¯t need to worry, I had already decided what I was going to feast upon. I roared and flocks of both day and night birds fled in terror, melting into the darkness. Satisfied, I rustled my wings, bent my knees and dropped myself off the cliff.


    It was exhilarating. I loved how the wind rushed over my face and along my body with my wings folded. I loved how small movements of my tail steered me past the edges and cliffs of the mountain. Flying was the ultimate joy. I unfolded my wings and air tightened the membranes of my wings as I angled away from the mountain and leveled myself. Now the exhilaration of the drop faded, I noticed something was pressing against me. It felt like a droning noise, a constant buzzing that seemed to pulse at a set interval. I failed to notice before. But now that I did I was sure it must have been there since I left my lair. It was annoying, but not too bad. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder exactly what it was. I decided to ignore it for the time being and focus on the hunt.


    The lush valley I said good night to so many times was filled with tiny stars. White, green, red. Stars were blinking, others were moving while others were stationary and blended into each other to create big pools of light. It felt wrong, it looked wrong and that must mean it was wrong. Not only did the two-legs pollute the air we breathed, they polluted this wonderful valley with their lights and fire. Polluted the entire valley, with their presence. We had taken precautions to outlive these disgusting creatures, but it seemed their own self destructive ways were not as destructive as we had thought. We had decided on reducing our presence and let those pests destroy each other. They fought among each other like no other creature we¡¯d ever met and with such vigor, there was no way they¡¯d ever find a way to unite. But looking at the stars underneath me. The settlement was bigger than anything I¡¯d ever seen or imagined.We clearly made some mistakes.. We would have to reconsider our options, decide how to deal with this pest. I roared with frustration, the sound reverberating around the valley and the mountains behind me. But before anything else, I needed to eat. My belly rumbled again as I found myself the closest updraft wind and sped my way over the settlement towards my favorite prey. The droning and pulsating buzz did not leave my side for the hour it took me to reach my destination.


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    I¡¯m not sure what I expected to see. I¡¯m not sure how I could be so na?ve. But when I flew over the crest of the last mountain before my intended hunting ground, I could do nothing less than gape. I was staring at yet another myriad of stars strewn across the valley. The humans had not only not destroyed themselves, they had claimed every hunting ground for themselves. Polluted it, destroyed it. Before I could decide my next steps,


    I felt something speeding towards me. I spun around towards the South and saw three dark figures flying straight at me and coming closer at an unnatural pace. They looked like birds, but were faster. What puzzled me was that they did not seem to move, yet they came at me with such unbelievable speed. They kept their wings straight to the side and they did not seem to budge. Their tails seemed solid, yet they managed to turn and split up into three different directions as they closed in and passed me on three sides. My ears rang and my head hurt as they sped past me with a loud crescendo, which faded quickly as they moved further away. I glided upwards on an upward draft and watched them make a long unwieldy turn to face me. Their loudness had put me off and dazed me for a second, but I knew what to expect now.


    The birds had now finished their turn and were speeding at me yet again, though slower than before. It was hard to see their exact movements in that static form. Three smaller figures detached from their unmoving wings, then rushed towards me with a trail of fire behind them. I knew instinctively that I should not let those hit me. With a few powerful strokes of my wings, I increased my speed towards the incoming projectiles. I folded my wings and whirled my tail to start spinning downwards. I closed my second eyelid and took a deep breath. A solid jet of flames hit one of the projectiles, while I kept spinning to avoid the other. Heat of my infernal breath washed over me harmlessly, but didn¡¯t affect the projectile either. I dove at the last moment and heard and felt its hissing breath pass by me closely. A little bit too close for comfort. I whipped my tail down and managed to hit the projectile and slam it downwards towards the star strewn valley.


    I roared a challenge at the three birds and unfolded my wings to stabilize my flight. Another draft carried me upwards and I started circling to find the birds. They had split up again, one flew at me at a menacing pace, spitting smaller projectiles at me that ricocheted off my scales. I smiled.


    ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn¡± I roared yet again.


    But before I could close in on the bird, it seemed to realize its efforts were useless and it dove to the side without using its wings. I swatted my tail to chase and peel its skin off from behind but at that moment the misdirected projectile crashed into the ground in a ball of fire. A strong blast of hot air stretched the membrane of my wings, it carried me upwards. The hot air suddenly dissipated beneath my wings and I whipped my tail to twist around into a forced dive. My shoulders hurt as I spread my wings to full extend, to slow down my descent. In the meanwhile, the bird that I wanted to tear apart, was engaged in a similar drop. I smiled, the birds had already shown to be sluggish compared to myself. So I retracted my wings against my body and used my tail to alter my course. The air howled around me as I sped up towards the bird that now spiraled down.


    As I plummeted towards the spiraling bird, it opened its beak at the front and spat out a black shape. The black, dark shape shot upwards towards the sky and I snapped at it as it flew past me. A pale, red-faced two-legs stared at me as he flashed by me. I came closer and closer to the ground, but didn''t manage to close in fast enough. The motionless, spiraling bird crashed into the ground, the air shook again, but less heavy. its corpse was engulfed in flames. Again these two-legs! I looked up to see the Two-legged-vermin hanging from a white plume that hung higher into the air. Even from far off, I could see the white of its eyes and its chest heaved heavily as it stared at me. It seemed to tear its frightened gaze from me and made a wide, weird movement with its limbs at something to my left, then to my right. I let him float across the sky and checked for the birds that peeled off the one that was now burning on the ground.


    Both of the birds circled around me, subtly increasing the distance. Then realization struck me, and it struck hard. The two-legs motioning at the two birds and them taking more distance. The two-legs and the birds were conspiring against me! Battle-rage took over and obscured my vision. Before I knew what happened, I roared a challenge and set course for the slowly descending two-legs. They would die for their insolence, die for challenging the terror of the sky, they would remember me and next time, they would shake and quiver in their useless husks of stone and wood. I snapped up the pitiable two-legs and iron tasting blood filled my mouth. The rumbling in my stomach flared up.


    Distracted by hunger, something knocked the breath out of my lungs in a deafening explosion. I felt something rip and could feel patches of skin exposed to fresh air as scales were torn from my flank. The pain, the smell, taste of blood and hunger fed my rage and I roared another challenge at them. My flank hurt as I heaved myself upwards with full strokes of my wings. Then I pretended to flee by toppling forward in a strong downward curve, beating my wings at a quick, irregular pace.


    It worked and the birds quickly followed me on my tail. I felt something approaching rapidly from behind and spiraled downwards. A blazing projectile hissed by and I smiled as I spotted the birds close behind me. Too close. I took a deep breath, closed my second eyelid and spun around, a blazing stream of flames from my maw. As expected, both birds turned on their sides to move away from the inferno in front of them. I was more agile than the birds, and I spiraled along with one of the birds, relentlessly releasing jets of flames on the bird. I lashed out with my tail and hit something hard and got knocked off-course. The bird however spun around and lost height fast. One of his wings spiraling downwards separately.I stabilized myself, then plunged after the falling bird and snapped up the two-legs that jumped out of the birds beak


    The metallic taste of blood was satisfying and my belly flared up again. I spun to face the last bird and was disappointed to see it fly away at high speed. Despite it being sluggish, I would not be able to keep up with it, Let alone catch up. I didn''t expect the two-legs to wait for its inevitable death. Nor did I care for the chase. Instead, I searched for the biggest star on the ground.


    I landed on the edge of a big, round open husk made of metal and with an open roof. Inside, row after row after row of two-legs were sitting around the edges of a green field. All of them were focused on a big patch of dirt in the middle of the husk. I roared, then prepared for a the biggest breath of inferno I had ever released. It was time to feast.

 Prompt: Nun on a ship

    Her hand trembled as she clutched the rosary beads between her fingers. She tried to focus on the prayer that she murmured on her breath, but couldn¡¯t help herself trailing off every few seconds. She was evil, according to all standards of society. But she could not bring herself to feel evil. She had loved her god above anything else. Sacrificed her life, all of her love, her entire being to the goodness of god. To show others the love and mercy she felt so deeply in heart. It was sadly ironic that exactly the people that she had shared her efforts and the love of god with, were the ones who had required her to die. It left a bad taste in her mouth and heart, that seeped through into her faith. Her prayer faltered. For the thousandth time she wondered whether this god was worth praying to as both this god and his followers had betrayed her so badly.


    Yet here she was. Trying to pray with her rosary beads, wearing the habit of nuns that she had worn for so long. She tried to time the words with the cadence of the swaying movements of the vessel. Her thoughts drifted between the prayer and the new power she now held. She couldn¡¯t fathom how people considered her evil and why they wanted her to die. She would never use any of her powers for the bad. Her entire life attested to her commitment to good, to love. But unfortunately the girl she¡¯d saved was already at the bottom of the lake. She shivered, draped a blanket over her legs and closed her eyes. The earlier they¡¯d arrive in the new world, the better. She returned to her prayer, but the serenity she tried to regain so desperately shattered.


    Someone shouted and it was followed by a series of thunders that rumbled through the ship. Woken from her transcendent state, she had to hold on to the uncomfortable berth she sat on. She almost dropped the rosary beads. She heard heavy feet running above her and the deck creaked under heavy objects that were dragged over it. She must have missed something during the trance she felt during her prayer, but above her a tumult broke loose that she had not heard before. Though she knew better, she hoped there wouldn¡¯t be too much trouble ahead of her. She wanted to go out, to check what was going on. But not only would she be useless in any situation, the captain had made it very clear she was to stay below deck at any given time. She thought about her new power. Her newfound power that had destroyed her life. Put everything upside down. She might be able to help with that, but she didn¡¯t know how.


    It was very peculiar though. She had chosen this specific vessel for her voyage to the new world, specifically cause it was owned by the Verenigd Oost-Indische Compagnie, or the VOC - a Dutch trading company that pretty much ruled the seas. Who would dare to attack a convoy of three heavily armed ships. There was no way pirates would dare. She wouldn¡¯t know for sure until she checked, but she didn¡¯t dare.


    She focused on her prayer again. The noise above her did not stop. Another shout and yet another rush of thunder ran through the ship. She tightened her grip on the edges of her berth. This time, the vessel swung more violently and she was almost tipped out of her bed. She crammed herself with her knees and back in a tight position so she was stuck and let her thoughts flow as she let the rosary beads run through her fingers. She let her thoughts flow with the back and forth rocking of the vessel. Let her thoughts flow with the thunders, screams and loud bangs that were the battle above her.


    After a while the thunder stopped and was replaced by swords clashing and less loud explosions that sounded mute in her bunk. This kept going for a while, before the sound seemed to die down and no more swords were clashing. Heavy steps on the stairs shook her from her trance-like state, someone was coming. She heard someone shout before the wooden board above her head exploded in a flurry of wood splinters. She heard a sickening thump in front of her door and a crimson liquid started running into the her small room underneath the door.


    ¡°Open the door¡± Someone shouted with a heavy Spanish accent, pounding the door.


    Spanish. She felt as if the floor plummeted away underneath her and shivers ran down her spine. Devil Spawn. That''s how the High Inquisitor Alguado called her before he ordered the guards to take her away for questioning. It was the kind of questioning that would leave you confessing, or die denying the charge. It was death either way. But how did they find her?


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    ¡°Open the door, witch! We know you are here!¡± The same voice shouted. ¡°You won''t escape us again!¡±


    She squared her shoulders and laid her hand on the hatch that secured the door. Resisting in the cabin would be foolish. She didn''t control her gift that well yet. She opened the door and stepped back to allow the Spanish to enter.


    ¡°That''s a good girl.¡± The man said with a demonic smile. ¡°You didn¡¯t actually think you could escape god''s justice, did you?¡±


    He stepped back from the small room and gestured for one of his cronies to bind her. He ripped the hood from her habit, then spat on the floor in front of him with a face of disgust. It was clear what he thought of her still wearing the clothes she had worn for over twelve years. He jeered at her, then hoisted her over his shoulders. She suppressed a scream when he stepped over the dead sailor that was sent to protect her from the attackers.


    He dumped her on the quarterdeck like a sack of potatoes, spat at her again and then stalked off. Several lifeless bodies lay sprawling on the main and quarterdeck, but most Dutchmen were sitting on the deck in groups, hands and feet bound as were hers. They surrendered as soon as they realized defeat.


    ¡°There she is.¡± The smooth, complacent tone was familiar to her ear. It was the high inquisitor Alguada himself. ¡°You thought to escape? You thought to spoil the new world with your... Disease?¡±


    She struggled to keep her mouth shut, yet she managed to clamp her jaws together. This man did not deserve a reply. Did not deserve to know how much he and her so-called friends hurt her. Her new power - no, her gift - was new to her. But it did save several people from certain death in the past by giving in to her urge to use it. Right now the power seemed to burn in her veins as if to burst from her chest. Like she did before, she surrendered to it. Lavished herself in the pure raw energy that it provided. High Inquisitor Alguada was gloating at her. He was unaware she embraced that raw river of life and death inside of her. The power that led the High Inquisitor to hate her in the first place. Who renounced her, who tried to burn her at the stake and had taken the pure love of god away from her. She hated him the way she never hated anyone in her life. The power raging through her amplified that hatred and all she thought of was how to destroy that pathetic excuse of a man.


    ¡°I can only imagine God led us here to find you this fast,.¡± Alguado said. Stretching the word god the way self-righteous men use when they abuse it to hurt others. ¡°You fled for the judgment of god and will now, finally, face his mercy.¡±


    She found herself smiling at the idea of destroying this man. Smiling at the different ways she could destroy him while her hands were bound and she was discarded on the deck like a harmless kitten. She smiled as she struggled to get up with her shackles on the swaying deck.


    ¡°I believe so too¡± she said with a wide grin and she released the power.


    High Inquisitor Alguado¡¯s expression changed from contempt to fear as a torrent of water erupted from the stern of the boat. She manipulated the flow of water as she manipulated the power and the column of water split into four and crashed onto the deck. The Spires of water crashed into the Spanish forces on both the Dutch and the Spanish vessels. The Spanish screamed as they were crushed under the sheer weight and power of the water that slammed them onto the deck. Those who were still alive and able to move tried desperately to hold onto the deck before they flushed into the wide ocean. She manipulated the flows of power and the water reunited into a raging column of water that arced over the deck.


    ¡°And now you killed them all¡± She whispered at the High Inquisitor. ¡°Praise the lord¡±


    The high inquisitor did not respond to her challenge, nor did he respond to her blasphemy. He gaped at the column of water, then at the broken men that weren¡¯t flushed off the deck. His eyes almost popped out of his skill, then turned to her. She savored herself in the disbelief in his eyes. She lavished herself in the way his expression changed from disbelief to pure, unadulterated dread. She never thought she could have enjoyed someone else''s fear the way she did now.


    ¡°Now for you..High Inquisitor.¡± She cackled as she stepped towards him.