When Heaven meets Hell

Chapter Fifty One

Dance with the Devil(Female version.) Original song by Breaking Benjamin.

She opened her eyes in a black, featureless space, void of light and form. Yet she could see her body well enough, looking down at her boots as she stood over the blackness that existed all around her.

Where am I? Joan wondered, taking a tentative step forward. Her foot seemed to rest against firm ground, even if there was no horizon to differentiate between earth and sky. She started walking, hands reaching out before her instinctively.

I could have sworn I was on top of  a building. I was with Avander and Heidi. She thought. We were about to mount an attack to recover my soul...

And then she remembered Alastair. The man had been alive. The man had been there in chains. The Devil had practically handed him to her like food on a platter and she had...

Oh no. Joan came to a sudden halt, clutching a hand to her chest. This is another lapse.

In all her previous lapses, she had always been aware of what she had been doing, watching herself do unspeakable acts, many times under her own will. But this was different. She wondered briefly if she was inside her mind.
I need to break free. She told herself. I must not kill that bastard, not yet anyway. I need to get my soul fraction first.

And then, like a memory flashing in one's mind, Joan saw images blossom out of the dark. Much to her horror she saw herself in those images, as well as Avander and Heidi. She clasped her hands to her mouth as she watched herself do something terrible to Avander, something that caused his face to contort with agony. She had her fingers pressed to his chest, a wicked gleam to her black eyes as she enjoyed the suffering she was causing him.

You fool!  She wanted to scream. Why won't you fight back?

Then another image presented itself to her and Joan watched as she attacked Heidi, a giant hand crushing the girl in its grip. All the while Joan was aware that Heidi was trying to tell her something, her lips moving mutely with words she did not know of. And then, the images vanished, leaving her stranded in the darkness.

A soft chuckle made her spin around, turning to see a figure take form from the black space. The figure was feminine, looking as though it was molded from black clay. Then, like a sheet being pulled back, the black of her skin fell away and Joan found herself staring back at her.
Only this Joan was different. The way she stood, the confident, seductive way she held herself, the flash of malice in her onyx like eyes and the thin, savage curl of her lips into a terrifying smile. She was the more beautiful, more hellish version of Joan.

"Look who decided to drop by." She said silkily, her voice smooth and mocking. Joan clenched her fists. She knew that voice all too well, hearing it every time her mark took over her, every time she felt the need for revenge rise within her.

"You." Joan snarled, venom dripping from her words as she stared at her doppelganger with hatred. "Release me, I command it."
"Now why would I do that?" The other Joan asked, feigning innocence. "The fun has just begun."

She waved her hand and new images appeared around them. Joan watched wide eyed as she came at Heidi with everything she had, the maniacal sneer never slipping from her face. Heidi avoided her attack well enough, but when Joan struck with a surprise blow to the chest, Heidi flew back and crashed into a wall. Avander sprang forward at once to intervene, spreading his arm out protectively.