4. The Throne Room

The same sickly yellow glow of the runes on the floor of where I was first summoned light the large area in braziers that were placed next to the walls at equal intervals. A soft almost threadbare red rug leads the way down the middle of the room to the large opulent throne. The whole area felt like the middle of winter and my shallow breaths came out in soft puffy clouds warming my chilled cheeks. Oddly enough the woman's breath had no cloud showing her exhale.

"Jezebel, Isaac, present our gift to our Lord." The one following behind came up to my right side and took up my free arm. I hadn't noticed till now that it was in fact a man, and he looked almost identical to the woman who had been with me till now.

Only the slightly stronger jaw and Adam's apple told them apart. As they both forced me forward I tried to slow our progress as much as possible as I took in the rest of the room.

The man that looked like a walking corpse in an oversized black robe that had summoned me here stood to the left of the raised throne. To the right stood another man. He had a peculiar shimmer about him but he was very short even by my modern standards. I couldn't really see anything else about him. People in all black robes and caps gathered in small clusters to the side in the darkest parts of the wall.

Being forced to walk faster I couldn't help but stumble a little and look at the one sitting on the throne. A very dark figure with shredded and fading clothing covering it's body sat relaxed. From his body language he didn't seem all that interested in what was happening. No matter how hard I strained my eyes I could not make out his features even though I could see everyone and thin around him easily enough. It was almost like he was cloaked in thick shadows.

"This, my king, is what I have plucked from another world especially for your entertainment." Gesturing to me, the two-must-be twins pulled my veil off and pushed me forward. Bowing themselves and retreating back, I was suddenly left alone.

The figure on the large throne leaned forward ever so slightly, raised a decaying hand and crooked a finger at me. Nothing happened. He leaned even more forward and made a more forceful gesture with his hand for me to come forward. Again nothing happens but I felt a slight tug on my waist towards him.

Finally, sitting straight up in his chair and in a very low but commanding voice says, " COME". The magical power in the simple command made the air around him distort and shimmer for a few seconds.

Nullify magic leveled up to 3!

Nullify magic? I didn't have any time to think about what it meant before my legs began to steadily move up to the figure. The shadows surrounding him began to clear the closer I walked and it was definitely a man, a once good looking man.

he had deep wrinkles in his pale face with a pair of soulless eyes that burned with the same sickly yellow that lit the room, and his hair was lackluster and turning a dull gray. Now that I could see through the shadows, the tips of his finger bones had began to show through large holes and missing chunks on some of his fingers. I had to hold my breath as I finally came to a stop a few inches from him, as the sickly-sweet smell of decay overwhelmed me.

He looked me over and murmured something under his breath with a wave of his hand. Nothing happened and he frowned, pulling his wrinkled face downward.

"Very interesting. What is it's name?"

"Ahhh, her name…" the gaunt man stumbled as he became more and more flustered as he realized he had never asked.

"I am not an it, my name is Leah! Where am I? who are you?" Finally finding my voice and feeling enraged at being called and it, I practically yelled in the things face. Everyone in the room fell silent at my outburst. I knew this thing in front of me is important, but it was all to much. I needed answers! The sound of laughter coming from the decaying man in front of me startled me and I took a step back.

"HA! Amusing! Yes, I am pleased Nicholas, take her away and prepare her." He sat back in his throne as if it was all below him once more.

"Wait! Answer me! Don't ignore me like that!" His eyes almost cut through me and it took my breath away.

"I have no need for names anymore, and frankly, I have forgotten it. You will call me my Lord or His Majesty. I am your world now; your Lich King and I will be given respect. I will not tolerate another one of your outbursts." Waving his hand at me another wave of shimmering distortion fell over me and I couldn't speak anymore. Panic rose as I grasped at my throat and strained to say anything at all which just made the Lich chuckle in amusement.

"Yes, she does have interesting reactions… let's see how long she can keep them." The veil smile on his thin dry lips filled my belly with cold stones. What does that mean?

Two hands grabbed me from behind. I began to fight them only to be picked up from by my waist and forcible taken from the room like a little kid throwing a fit after not getting their way. Tears blurred my vision and I couldn't see anything as we made our way through the dim hallways.

It was very frustrating having my questions ignored and it was unbearable to have my very voice taken away from me now. Isaac held me hard by the waist to his body, but I didn't fight it anymore and instead just hung as heavily as I could from his grasp. It hurt but I knew I was making it as hard for him as possible and that gave me some solace. I wasn't surprised when I heard another announcement form the strange voice.

Pain threshold Learned. Pain Threshold leveled up to 1!

That was a strange trait to have learned but the pain in my waist was already becoming manageable, so I was grateful. Suddenly I was throne heavily to the ground as something big came out of no where and attacked Isaac. His body was surprisingly heavy when he too, fell on top of me. The attacker was just a black blur to me, but Isaac seemed to be able to see him.

"I was wondering when you would make your move! Jez! Now!" He yelled as the air around me began to boil I could hear something further down the hall crackling like lightning. Isaac pushed his hands and his conjured fire ball into the attacker, but they deflected it somehow. Jezebel's lightning bolt had more effect as it not only hit the attacker but blinded everyone not prepared for the bolt. Rough hands plucked me from Isaacs arms, and I was slung like a bag of flour over a large shoulder as they ran with me.

"NO!" I could hear Isaac yell and curse as the one who took me continued running away. Isaac was under heavy attack by yet another assailant and Jezebel was too far down the hallway to stop the man that grabbed me.

My vision slowly returned with large black spots, but I could tell we were still in the same building. If I was going to escape this was my only chance. Fresh relatively warm air greeted my face as we went through a large sturdy door. His pace didn't slow, and I could see we were on the side of a mountain. The hallway he was running on had a large stone wall to protect anyone or thing from falling off, and it was a steep slope but not a sheer cliff on the other side. It must help with ventilation or something.

The sun was setting somewhere, and I could faintly see glimmering lights far off in the distance. Taking one last look at the lights in the distance I didn't even think. Pushing, thrashing, and bucking, I fought with all my might to fall over the side of the wall. The man was caught by surprise by my sudden very violent fight and he couldn't keep hold of me, letting me slip free. It must have looked very funny, like a fish fighting the fishermen that caught it as they posed for the picture. Hitting the wall hard on my side caused me to lose my breath but I continued to roll off. My exhilaration of being free last as long as it took me to hit the rocky slope below.