All Hell Breaks Loose, Part One

“I'm so sorry, Derek,” Rose whispered in her dark, cramped prison. “Please, believe me.”

She'd pleaded and begged as he called her a liar, punishing her for her part in whatever was going on out in the 'real world' beyond her enforced imprisonment. She'd never seen him so angry – not even when Raene had returned her to him after her attempt to escape.

As her mind turned to Raene with a renewed disgust and hatred, Rose felt something that seemed to fill her, prodding that hatred into a hot rage that grew exponentially. With that unspeakable rage came power – something not her own but that leapt to her command and drove her forward. Without interest in questioning it, she focused everything within her to teleport away from her prison, into the world waiting above, and a cruel grin found her lips. “Payback time.”

Hovering above Untruth's compound, she sensed his absence – particularly in his bawdy 'throne room' – hardly capable of rational thought. All she wanted was revenge, and now, she would get it. With a flick of her wrist, the roof over the throne room ignited in the magical equivalent of napalm, burning it away quickly until there was a hole large enough for her to slip through, wrapped in shadow that kept her unseen. She watched as Untruth's men poured into the room, trying in vain to stop the flames as they spread and ate away everything in their way with a wicked self-satisfied smile.

The first of her prey appeared to answer the alarm set up by the minions – Derek's first wife, Raene, who began throwing force fields around the fires to keep them from spreading and shouting orders to the men. Rose teleported to the space just behind Raene, an athame appearing in her hand so that, as Raene sensed her arrival and turned toward her, she sunk the dagger into the woman's side and drew it across her stomach, gutting her.

Rather than take the time to gloat over the woman's body, Rose moved quickly now, teleporting to the compound's medi-port unit, disabling it with more of the arcane fire. Normally, she could only accomplish such a powerful spell after gathering the energy to wield it, but today, it was as though it waited in her fingertips, ready at a moment's notice. It felt as though she wasn't just wielding that power, but she was infused with it, driven to use it by anger and viciousness she'd always controlled.

With another thought, she was standing outside a bedroom door, unseen by the occasional groups of men who ran by to respond to the alarms coming from all over the compound. She knew Lyria was inside, alerting Derek telepathically to the trouble. Good. She couldn't wait to see him and make him pay further. The door before her flew open, and before Lyria could have a chance to react, Rose's hand extended toward her, wrapping her in dark magic, holding her in place. Stepping up to the helpless woman, Rose raised her hand to lay her palm to her forehead and unleashed a powerful spell within her mind, breaking down the order within until her nightmares ran rampant. As Lyria's body slumped to the floor, Rose spit a curse down at her. “You were supposed to be MINE.”

After leaving Lyria's room, Rose began to float silently down hallways, setting random fires at her whim or disabling one of Derek's men when they were unfortunate enough to run across her, until she came to a corridor she didn't remember existing when she used to be a visitor to the buildings. Curious, she made her way down the hall, eventually coming across a room guarded by two men – a barbarian and a...knight?

Careful to remain out of sight in the shadows, she conjured a dozen shadows that solidified into men, sending them into combat against the odd guards to keep them occupied as she teleported into the room beyond. A young girl with raven curls turned toward Rose the instant she appeared in the room and snarled, throwing a fireball at the once goddess that was easily absorbed by her protections. Rose regarded the girl with an evil smile.

“Oh, I can see why he likes you,” Rose laughed, surrounding the girl with the same kind of shadows that held Lyria in place. “What to do, what to do? I hate just doing the same thing twice. Seems lazy, don't you think?”

Kyra struggled against the binding shadows as she narrowed her eyes at the woman in front of her. Another shot of fire flew from her toward her tormentor, only to be absorbed yet again. With an inhuman twist of her grin, Rose nodded.

“Wonderful idea, pet.” she cooed before enshrouding her in the magic flames, burning the girl's flesh and eating away her clothing.

Satisfied, Rose teleported out of the room to hover above the compound once again, dropping another flame here and there as she waited for Untruth to arrive. She couldn't wait to give him what he deserved.