The Devil's Prize

The Offering

*Author's Note* Sorry this has been so long, got pretty slammed with school work over the last little while. I think this part got a bit rushed but I had to try and cram it all in this chapter. Here you go- Steph

My head was ringing like a gong, loud thumping echoed inside my skull, so loud I flinched each time the repercussion came around. Every muscle in my body was aching as if I'd done a five hour intense workout at a gym.

I struggled, attempting to open my eyes, just that small movement sapped me of all my energy and my eyes remained closed; my mind, however, was wide awake. I could feel that I was lying on my back on a hard surface, it wasn't the dirt road Jay and I had been driving on, it was far too smooth and hard. The first thing I noticed when feeling returned to my body was the cold, my arms were freezing up to my shoulders and my feet were numb, I couldn't even move my nose, or if I could, I couldn't feel it.

I don't know how long I lie there but, eventually, my strength returned and I managed to open my eyes a crack and saw a ceiling far above me, an old broken ceiling with amateur paintings of demons and humans bowing to a shadow, the pictures stretched over the entire ceiling in black and red paint. If I had to guess, just from the ceiling, I'd say I was in some sort of devil worshipping cult house.

Yay.

My eyes stung and my body seemed to groan in protest as a tried to roll onto my side, a slight ruffling sound made me look at myself and I nearly groaned at the sight of the dress I now wore, shorter than the last, it barely covered my thighs. It was strapless with a high sweetheart neckline, made from a soft red material with a black and silver lace design that cut off for the lace to drop to the hem in a waterfall affect, a black ribbon encircled my waist and was tied at the front in a perfect bow.

What is with these stupid dresses?!

My feet were bare, hence the numbness, since the inside of this place felt like a freezer, the only reason my shoulders were remotely warm was from my hair that was let down to cover them. The rest of me felt frozen to the point of feeling warm.

Looking around it looked like the inside of an old shack, the wood was old and rotted away, the old stained-glass windows had been smashed and the air smelled of mould and dust. I was lying on a clean marble top table, the only clean thing in the whole place, the cold stone pressed into my skin and made me shiver.

It took me a moment to notice the robed figure kneeled before the table, their arms were held outwards towards me, holding some sort of thick chain draped over their arms with a medallion sitting in their hand. They chanted some indistinctive words, but from the sound of their voice, it was a woman.

"Finally, you awaken, then it is time for the Offering." She said lifting her head, the hood of her robe fell off her face as she stood, she didn't look any older then thirty-three, her short blonde hair had been cut, not very professionally, around her ears, her pale skin reminded me of the colour of a moonstone I once saw on TV, and her dull drown eyes looked enflamed with eagerness or excitement. She had high cheek bones, a pointed chin and a large birthmark that covered the entire left side of her forehead.

"The Offering? What Offering? Who are you and why am I here?" I attempted to sound demanding, instead I sounded shy. I saw my clothes piled on the ground behind her, only feeling slightly embarrassed that a stranger had more than likely seen me naked.

She smirked and walked over to me, slipping the chain to the medallion over my head and resting the medallion on my stomach before I could make a move to stop her.

"You will soon see." She said happily and stepped back from the table, bowing as though she were addressing the queen. I looked at the medallion, a star embedded inside of a circle, each point touching the circumference of the circle, the weight of it told me that it was all pure gold.