The Devil's Assistant (Watty Awards Finalist 2011)

Devil's assistant [27]

Chapter 26

That was some ice breaker, I thought as I stood there open mouthed staring at them like they had gone insane.

"What do you mean you die?" I questioned but I got no verbal response to the question only a pretty clear demonstration as one by one they all began to clutch their heads and moan in pain. "What the-?" I didn't get to say much else before I understood exactly the pain they were in.

My hands gripped both sides of my head, all tangible thought was scattered at the fire that was burning through my brain. It sent me reeling to the floor but my body didn't even register the pain of bone harshly coming in contact with stone.

The fire only started as a slow burn but it only got stronger and hotter. The intensity of it sent knives of white hot pain through the back of my eyes so that black spots danced in my vision.

My hands blindly reached out and gripped tightly onto Lucius' trouser legs. I squeezed on to him for dear life as tears of pain streamed from my eyes, my mind refusing to focus on anything but the pain and how I could possibly make it stop.

                Digging my nails into Lucius' leg, I whimpered as I curled in on myself until I was lying in the foetal position at his feet. I don't know how long it went on for, but the lurch as I was suddenly lifted from the floor barely registered within my mind.  Instead I clutched onto the body, holding as tight as I could as I waited for the pain to end.

                My body jarred as the person took shaky steps forwards, obvious even to me, whose mind was completely muddled, that the person was struggling with just as much pain as I was.

                Peeling open my eyes, I squinted and managed to make out the familiar form of Lucius. His face was scrunched up but still he treaded forward despite the obvious pain he was in. We came to a halt and with bleary eyes I noted that everyone had gathered around Lucius and I. Each and every one of us was wearing identical masks of pain, several gripping their heads like I had been before, others were tentatively wiping their noses as they winced, their hands pulling away with blood.

                Donalbain's voice sounded across the group, the pain obvious in the way that it cracked but I held on to it like a lifeline in this unending wave of pain.

                "We go in three, two, one." His voice shouted the last word, the sound echoing off the walls and in the next instant, the room was consumed with a bright light. It swept over us all causing the room we were standing in to disappear from view.

                It was like a soothing balm that caused the pain to ebb away the longer it bathed us. When finally it receded, the pain was nothing but a bitter memory that none of us wished to relive. Several men dropped to their knees as they gasped for breath, hungrily trying to take in air while their hand rubbed their temples against the phantom pain.

                Clinging onto Lucius as he stumbled slightly, I buried my head into his shoulder. The only thing I could feel was relief that I no longer had to endure that kind of pain. It was because of this that I had no interest in where we were. In all honesty I could stay here comfortably nestled within Lucius' arms for the rest of my life.

                "Savannah, are you okay?" The soft gentle tone of Gabriel's voice had me sighing and reluctantly pulling my eyes open as I felt the arms around me stiffen.  Lucius dropped me onto my feet so that I was forced to clutch onto his shoulders to steady myself before I pulled away from him.

                I heard him mutter a meek apology but I disregarded that and instead turned to Gabriel giving him a strained smile. I hated most the sympathy that he shot in my direction as his eyes glanced briefly at the man mountain behind me and my shivering form. I hadn't even realised I was shaking until a big shudder rolled through my body and I tottered off balance a bit. That mind mess up had obviously affected me worse than everyone else because they all seemed to be composed while I was a trembling, shivering wreck that was one step away from falling to the floor and staying there forever.