Let Justice Be Served (Cont.)

[animus]

This place...
It shall be my sanctuary... For now.
At least until Dawn...

Zarein entered the front door of the palace and was in a large, dark foyer. The door itself was padlocked and chained shut. However, being a ghost he got through with ease. It was obvious that no one had been inside of this palace in years. Ordinarily, Zarein would have feared that it was haunted. And it was haunted, be cause he was there. Upon exploring, be eventually found the throne room. The beautiful design and tapestries were making the castle seem even more gloomy, because they too, were abandoned.

Silence...

Nothing stirred, only silence echoed. Zarein could not rest... even if he wanted. So, he decided to stay there until dawn. Or maybe, he could stay there forever...But Zarein knew this was not possible.

Zarein continued to explore as he waited for the dawn...

He eventually found an old organ in the ruinned cathedral. It was dazzling in it's display. Zarein remembered in his old life, he was a musician. He could play the organ. And so he did, its melancholic sounds broke the silence and echoed through the halls.

I really could stay here forever...
This place is like a home to me...

All of his anger, all of his fear, all of his sorrow, melted away as his fingers pressed down upon the keys of the organ. Outside of the castle, if one listened closely, they would hear the music and feel the passion of which it was being played.

[glintfur]

Running was her only option now. Ulisses flew beside her and said directions to her as fast as he could tweet. She was in her reindeer form, trying to run as fast as possible away from those people who had guns. She'd been too close to their dead animals and what luck to find herself in the middle of town with dead bodies strewn everywhere. The first people to respond found her and began to threaten her. As she had run away they followed and knowing she could not out run the whole city she changed quickly. Now her hooves made sounds on the occasional stone path that had once been there. "Ul where are we going?," she asked the starling. "Anywhere that's away from humans," he chirruped in response.

A sudden noise came to her, one full of eaory echoing and pipes:an organ. She slowed to a walk as a huge palace loomed ahead exactly where the noise was coming from. "Is it safe in there?," she asked outwardly. "If you think about it the person inside there wasn't there to see you so yes it probably is," he explained to both of them. She tentatively began to trot towards it on the soft grass and noticed that the front door was locked. Maybe there was a way around? A broken door perhaps? Lizzy circled the castle and eventually came to a crumble in the rock wall. She quickly changed back to being a human and Ulisses landed on her shoulder. "Well?," he asked and she began to climb through.

It was a vast palace with huge rooms as she roamed around, trying to find the person playing. "Hello?!," she called and her voice echoed throughout the castle.

[animus]

Zarein suddenly stopped playing. He could have sworn he had hear someone.

What was that? A voice?

Sure enough, he heard the voice again. It was faint but drawing nearer. For some unknown reason, Zarein began to panic.

A human! I'm sure of it! Why here? Why now? No one should disturb my rest! They seek to destroy me! Whoever it is shall suffer!

Zarein heard his words but could scarcely believe they were his own. He cooled off began to think to himself. Was he really thinking these thoughts? What was happening to him? No, what HAD happened to him? Perhaps, he was being too violent and too harsh. Instead of seeking them out and killing them, he would wait by the organ and see if anyone would show. If they looked hostile or like they were looking for trouble, he would kill them. But, if they were someone at the wrong place or seeking shelter, he would let them live. Either way, it was his judgment. And so he waited in the darkness... waiting to deliver and carry out his twisted judgment...

A few moments passed and Zarein became impatient. Where were they?

This is taking too long! Where are they? Perhaps I need to grab their attention...

[glintfur]

"Did you hear that Lizzy? The organ stopped playing. I don't like this spooky place," Ulisses whispered with a scared tweet. He was shaking pretty badly for such a proud bird. Soon a yawning chasm opened up in front of them to reveal a huge room. It was magnificent even though it was so old. Lizzy looked up in awe and began to walk into it, but then her eyes traveled down the walls and then to the center where the organ was. What she saw made Ulisses starling scream.

A being was at the organ and startled her enough that she fully changed into her form again, a reindeer. Unfortunately the reaction she gave was one of a deer and not a reindeer. She took a couple steps backward in haste.

[animus]

Zarein's guest had arrived. To his surprise, it was a deer! But, where did the voice come from? Better yet, was there someone still in there? He looked upon the fear induced creature. He felt pity for it.

Zarein did not take notice of the hollow raspy voice that was now his own as he tired to comfort it. His voice seemed to echo as he spoke filling the halls with a strange sound."A deer? Not what I expected... I expected a human... How did you get in here? Are you lost?

Zarein believed there was more than what met his eye. Yet, he could not put his finger on what it was that was off. It puzzled him. He moved forward to examine this creature. He saw it had a bird companion that also seemed to fear him. Zarein's pity grew even more. They were both lost.

"Don't be afraid, I'm not like those monstrous humans... I will not harm you. Do thet hate you? I know how it feels to be hated. They hate me... But I hate them back...

He reached out his ghostly hand to touch the curious animal....

[glintfur]

She pushed past her instincts not run and just stood there in her reindeer form watching Zarein with big eyes. Ulisses couldn't keep still as it began to talk. "Something's wrong!," he kept muttering in her ears over and over to himself. While he was fussing she tried to understand Zarein over the starling. Apparently he thought they were lost. Great he didn't see my human form....I guess it would be a bad move in my case if I did change now, she thought.

When he began to walk towards them his form freaked her out more, but not as much as Ul was being. "He thinks your a deer and not a druid...maybe we should stay this way? Play it up? Just don't let him get close," Ul whispered as he leaned down from her antlers. (it's winter so female reindeer have antlers) What the ghost person said was almost right, but she stayed where she was as he bent to touch her. "Lizzy move it!," Ulisses yelled. She took a step back. Why was the starling being so scared...it seemed the person just wanted to help and wasn't all that bad.

[animus]

Suddenly, the a booming sound echoed, as if someone were slamming down on a table. The sound echoed a second time. The third time, the sound of wood splintering and cracking echoed as well. Childish laughter could be heard amongst the merciless beating. All of this, brought unrelenting anger towards Zarein.

What was that? That better not be what I think it is. Are the humans breaking in? Those humans wouldn't dare enter my lair without some punishment! They just love to torment me... I hate those humans so much....

Zarein screeched an unearthly roar that seemed to pierce the mind, and enter the very heart of all who heard it. Anyone who heard it was stricken with fear and refused to move, in hopes that the origin of the hollow screech would not harm them. Zarein flew off to find the interlopers and end their lives. As he soared down the hall to the origin of the clamor, he began to charge a powerful electric strike. When he found the humans he quickly dispatched of them, not heeding the fact that they were only children.

When Zarein finally noticed that they were only children, he was surprised. Not to the fact that they were children, but to the fact that he didn't care. Thier innocence meant nothing to him. As the bodies smoked from the electricity that killed them, Zarein felt the pleasure of killing again. The feeling of it alleviated his pain and filled him with purpose. Purpose to slaughter, but this time, the innocent as well. Because this time Zarein felt something he had not felt before... Hunger... the hunger for death. Zarein felt that he had to kill more and more. Suddenly his purpose for "justice" faded, blinded by insatiable wrath. His wrath seized him and controlled him, as if he were a puppet being pulled by strings. In all of his fury, Zarein began to electrify the bodies of the children to satisfy his will to destroy. To satisfy his blood-lust. The bodies were reduced to nothing but ashes, a monument to Zarein's hatred...

[glintfur]

Before the ghost person could touch her he stopped and a sound echoed over and over, a banging of sorts. Then the sound of splintering wood met her ears and Ulisses whistled, agitated. Then Zarein roared something of the likes she'd, nor the starling had ever heard. She quivered in fear and was stunned that such a being could emit such noise as this had made. Lizzy understood at once that he was angry about the banging, but that was just a bit much. She snorted and tossed her head to shake the condition she was in.

Then Zarein floated off towards the sound and she figured he would stop it, whatever it was and who was making it. When he was out of sight Ul squeaked,"He's off to find those humans who are making the noise." "Humans?" "Yes, of course. What else could be making that noise, but stupid humans," Ul twittered. Her hooves made a clattering noise as she finally shook the roar off. "I'm going to go see whats going on. With that thing in here you can't be too sure on how it reacts to things like this," he said and then flitted off. Lizzy stood there, not knowing what to do, but she felt uneasy and just couldn't shake it as she could before. What was wrong?

Ulisses rushed off towards where the noise was coming from and when he found a perch in which he could see the ghost and the people, he settled and watched. Zarein began to have electricity near him and he questioned why to himself as he watched. Two children were there and Zarein was looking at them angerly. Then what happened next made him gasp, he'd killed them. Pure hunger crossed his face and he had to cringe as the ghost kept shooting at the dead children who's breath had ended very fast. The starling knew this was the time to turn back to Lizzy without notice and he did so as fast as he'd flown ever.

She looked up to see a cringing starling chattering frantically to her and flying around her antlers. "What is it? What's wrong with you and calm down I can't hear anything you are saying over your flapping," she questioned Ulisses. "The ghost thing.....it found the noise and killed children! Then it kept doing it till they turned to ashes!," he trilled. Her eyes studied him and she began to slowly walk backwards towards the place she had come from. "Are you sure Ul?," she asked. "Of course! He's in some sort of hunger craziness. We need to leave now!," he replied. "What if I turn into my real self...would he not hurt us?," she asked. "No, I think you should stay at what you are...he doesn't really like humans," he said. She agreed with him. It was best to leave, but what if Zarein came back and saw a running reindeer after what he'd done? A thought came to her. "Ulisses, I'm going to stay here in reindeer form until he leaves," she said calmly. "Are you crazy druid?!," he gasped. "No, don't you understand. Running after not hearing anything from here would give away our cover," she explained. "Oh! I get it," he stated. "Hush now, act like a bird," Lizzy whispered. "I am a bird! But alright," he sighed and then lighted down on the organ. She looked at the ground and found peices of grass in which she could eat. She preferred human food, but she could live off of the grass if needed and now she needed it for cover. Lizzy put her neck down and began to lightly graze while her starling friend kept watch for the ghost person.