Cold Fire

Cold
Fire                             

She was beautiful. Her hair hung in front of her
eyes and her lips were full and red. Her eyes shimmered with unshed
tears. Her pale skin shone under the light of the day. But below that
calm and placid exterior was an anger far greater than any ever seen.
And with the powers of the Gods she was planning her revenge for a
crime commited almost six hundred years
before.                     

It was the first Tuesday in June when she came. She
walked into the class and was immediately accosted by the the row of
jocks at the back of the room. They whistled and cheered and it was
easy to see why. She had dressed in as little as possible. She wore an
apple green blouse tied in a twist at the top and it showed more than
just her belly. She had a skirt on that just managed to reach her
thighs and a pair of shoes with a heel so big and thin it was amazing
that it didn't break. She smiled wearily and settled down in an empty
chair near the front of the room. She crossed her legs and most of the
boys in the class almost died.
                          

She wasn't just beautiful. She was very intelligent.
And that is always a dangerous combination. In every class that day she
always answered first and her amazingly sparkling personality
enraptured every one - even the girls. At lunch she hung out with the
popular groups but also sat and spoke to those less popular. And people
respected her for that. But just looking at her you wouldn't think that
she was a psychotic infected with the evils of
wicca.                        

She was called Jenna Chapman and she lived in Road
Street with her parents and Grandmother. Apparently her parents had
lived there for quite a while and her Grandmother several years. They
were strange. They had always been the targets of drunken violence and
domestic disturbances. They kept themselves to themselves and no one
could say a bad word against them. And that was most of the reason why
they were always victims of brutal
cruelty.                        

Three years ago - three long years ago - a group of
students from the local high school had been having a drunken orgy in
the woods at the back of the house. And some of them were absolutely
intoxicated. They staggered through the woods, making loud noise as
they crashed through trees and bushes and strode on rotting twigs. At
the back of the house there was a small pile of bricks that had been
there ever since the family had moved in. The students saw them and
decided to use them in some sort of game. Unfortunately for them the
game was called Breaking Windows and they stood in the darkness taking
turns to throw the bricks and see who could put through the glass. They
succeeded several times, and the family inside heard and hid in a
cupboard downstairs. Soon the noises went away and the family crept
out. There was glass everywhere. All over the carpets and the windows
were useless. Good shots for those drunken yobs.
                         

Two years ago - just long enough - a young man from
the next block came to their house on November 5 and decided to teach
those wierd people a lesson. He opened their letter box and stuck a
firework throuh. Then he lit the string and ran. He was only a few
blocks when the firework went off and the bang echoed through the
streets. He waited and went back a few minutes later. Thick black smoke
was pouring from the open windows and he felt contempt and hate for the
people inside. He felt no remorse. The family inside clawed their way
outside and stood out back, facing the woods, while the growing sound
of sirens came closer and closer and suddenly bright light filled the
street and blue and white and red flashed across the faces of the
houses. The fire was put out but the smoke damage cost hundreds of
pounds to fix.
                          

One year ago - almost yesterday - a group of girls
from down town came past in their short skirts and wide blouses and
fish net stockings and wondered what to do for a fun time. There were
no clients for them and they needed something fun to do. And they came
across the house. There wasn't a lot for them to do so they decided to
dare one of them to go inside and steal something. The person they
chose was a young blonde girl. Her wide eyes gleamed as she stood
outside the door. And with a closed fist she smashed the glass in the
door and stuck her hand through to unlock th catch. The door swung
open. She stole inside and began to search. The family upstairs awoke
and gathered in one room, frightened, as they listened to the footsteps
downstairs. Suddenly there was a clatter and another smash. The girl
had knocked over a lamp. She paincked and thrusther hand out. She
clasped it around the first object she found and ran out of the house.
The family came downstairs an hour later and found the small priceless
ornament gone from the table. The young girl sold it the next day for
fifty
pounds.                             

There are many injustices in our world. There are
many crimes. and people need a way of avenging those who wrong each
other. So the family sent for their daughter Jenna to come and fight
for them. And Jenna was one of the most powerful people they could have
got. Because Jenna had The
Power.                  

Late that first night Jenna sat huddled over a white
candle and watched as the flames licked upwards. She claped a small
talisman in her left hand and smiled as she recited an incantation:
this simple wish is mine to cast, a magick spell to make it last, i
close my eyes and give a shiver, this wish for me now please deliver.
She dropped the talisman and blew out the candle. And she wished for
opportunity.                  

The next day she arrived at school in another provocative
outfit. The boys stared as she walked down the corridors and sat in
class, her legs crossed. She smiled as she answered questions. But deep
in her mind there was something else. Something stronger. Another
reason for her to wreak havoc on the world and achieve
satisfaction.                           

In the fifteenth century James I decided to rid the
England of Witches. He used stupid methods with which to find out if
they really were Witches. There was a lot of crop failure and sickness
and natural disaster and James I thought some of the women in England
were responsible. So he called for a huge desecration of English women.
Most of those he killed were innocent. Some were guilty of all the
crimes said. And in a dramatic movement the Salem Witch Trials were
upon
us.              
       

When
Jenna was walking round the school a group of students let a bucket of
fliers out and they drifted slowly down the stairs. Everyone reached
out to grab one. But with a twist of her hand Jenna commanded one to
her. She went into the toilets and sat in a cubicle. She smoothed out
the leaflet and read it. And as she read it she smiled. And as she
smiled she whispered one word: tonight.
                   

Jenna went home straight after school. Her mother
sat in a chair and read. Jenna went over and kissed both her cheeks and
then her forehead. Her mother looked up and smiled. Jenna sat next to
her and read with her for a while. Then she bent and whispered her plan
into her mother's
ear.                   

Joe Stevens was a boy in the same grade as Jenna.
His parents had gone away for the weekend and had given him permission
to host a party. he sent fliers round the school. He went shopping
after school for food and set out the alcohol his parents had left for
them. He changed and then settled down to
wait.                             

The first people to arrive were the oldest people in
the school. They came with boom boxes and crates of beer. Then the
others began to file into the house. Soon the music filled the street,
heavy beats and throbbing rhythms. And at exactly eight-thirty Jenna
arrived. She was wearing a skimpy dress and through it you could see
the outlines of her underwear. She smiled through layers of lipstick
and was immediately ushered over to the lager. She picked up a bottle
but had no intnetion of drinking it. Tonight. The word throbbed in her
head. Tonight. Tonight.
                       

The house was soon full with people; a gyrating mass
of bodies moving to the beat of the music being blasted from surround
sound speakers. Jenna sat by the window and watched the sun, a sliver
of ice high in the darkening sky. And from the earth she began to draw
the energy she would need. She closed one fist and held the other hand
palm outwards. She imagined the energies flowing into the open hand and
when that was strong she opened the closed hand and sent the energy on
a trajectory across the room, creating a ball of imaginary colour on
the other side of the room. She watched the clock. The hand moved
slowly, ticking and ticking and ticking. And as the hands moved to
eleven o'clock she knew she only had another hour to
wait.                        

In all the time Jenna sat at the window no on came
over to greet her. No one noticed her. She just sat and concentrated.
And she began to ready herself. Because the night was only just
beginning.                   

Twelve o'clock. She steadied herself and stood
slowly up, smoothing out the creases in her dress. Her hair hung in
front of her face. her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. And the anger
began to boil over. Suddenly everyone became aware that she was
standing there. They turned as one to look. And for Jenna the fun was
just
starting.                          

Jenna stared forward and surveyed the group of kids
in front of her. Because that's what they were. Kids. They all stared
back. And in one silent moment, where time seemed suspended, the
allurement broke. Some kids tried to run to the doors as a way of
escape. But as they reached for the handles Jenna raised her hands and
the doors locked themselves from the outside. A few people turned back
round to stare at the mad girl standing by the window. But she just
stared back. And her eyes
burned.                  

They were scared those kids. They didn't seem like
young adults now. The looks on their faces was like those of young
children scared of a strange noise. Only this fear was real. Jenna
smiled and began to mutter under her breath. This was real. The people
closest to her heard the entire incantation. And it was the sound of
the magick being uttered that finally sent them into hysterics. They
heaved themselves at the doors. They heaved themselves at windows. But
they held fast and there was nothing they could do. They gathered by
the door, almost fifty kids. They turned towards the girl. And the show
began.                              

Jenna finished the incantation and waited to see
what would happen. One by one the lights in the house blew. And they
were plunged into the darkness. Jenna was smiling. She waved a hand and
the cnadles dotted round the room began to light. Flames licked slowly
upwards, bringin a light that cast an eerie glow on the night. The
darkness outside invaded the inside. Jenna sent another hand forwards
and invisible energies poured out. To Jenna the energies were coloured
the blackest of black. Because magick couldn't get much darker. She
sent a second hand out and the energies blew forwards, pushing the kids
further from her. She intended to torture them. And she was going to do
it with pleasure.
                             

John Withers tried to turn for the door when he felt
himself being pulled away. He turned. There was nothing in the dim
light pulling him. But something was there. He screamed and tears
rolled down his cheeks. Tears of fright. He tried to tug away but he
couldn't. He was stuck. And as he was drawn closer those full red lips
opened and her tongue licked at perfect white teeth. He screamed why
why why. And the answer that came was terrifying. Because i need
revenge for something and you are the only ones i can exact it on. Your
families have done things in the past and i intend to make you pay with
your life. John screamed and his arms flailed. Suddenly he was at her
feet. She grabbed his shirt and pulled the front open. She ran her hand
down his muscular chest and grinned. She turned her hand slowly and
agonizing pain flared through John's body. Through every limb and every
bone. And as he fell to the floor, a smouldering corpse. A grotesque
being. And everyone
screamed.                    

What the hell did you do to him. A girl from the corner. Her
dark hair was pulled in front of her face and her eyes darted nervously
about. What the hell are you. Jenna turned and centered her attention
on the girl. Skinned him. Took all his flesh from his body. Why. Do you
want some. The girl shook her head violently. Jenna walked forward and
muttered something else. It sounded dark. Bind thee. Bring thee to me.
Bring thee with pain. Bind thee with death. And suddenly the girl bent
in half, her face contorted with agony. Her mouth gasped open and she
fought for breath. Her hair hung wildly around her face and the colour
went from her skin. Why are you doing this. The girl looked
questioningly, searching for an answer. Why. Jenna grinned above her
and opened her mouth to reply. Because I can. Because i need
revenge for all the pain brought on my family. People in my family have
died. And i need revenge. People have died. Jenna watched the young
girl as she convulsed on the floor. A trickle of blood came from her
nose. But not of my doing. Why punish me. But before Jenna could answer
the girl convulsed one final time and
died.                        

Jenna felt a little compassion for the girl. It was true what
she said. But Jenna was taken by the evils of wicca. And they were
evils she could not rid herself of. She sent bolts of flame forwards
into the knot of people and several caught fire. They danced around,
trying to have the flames put out. But their bodies smoked and they lay
still. The smell of Death was on the very air. It stank. But there was
nothing anyone could do. But die.
                          

Jenna muttered another spell beneath her breath. And
the lights went off again. The candles snuffed out and she smiled in
the darkness. She was beginning to tire. The remains of the magick
tingled in her hands and she knew she needed more energy. The darkness
would give her time to replenish her reserves. She closed her eyes
until there was nothing. Only silence. And brilliant white light. And
she began to draw energy from the earth. Everything is connected.
Everything. The floor and walls and furnishings and even us as human
beings. We are all connected and can tap into the earth's resources as
and when we please. Jenna felt the energy roaring through her body. Her
hair began to move and her pupils began to dilate. She grinned. The
last spell of the night was going to be the biggest one. She closed her
eyes and grinned as she
spoke.                         

Powers of the underworld. Powers of the darkness.
Hear my call. Give me revenge for the injustices brought upon my
family. Bring thy spirits to me and aid my cause. There came a great
roll of thunder and the spell began its work. The lights flew on again,
flame by flame. And everyone began to scream as items from on the
tables rose in the air and hurtled towards them. One girl tried to run
but from the wall came a line of discs and carved themselves into her
back. Another boy had turned in time for his glasses to shatter in his
eyes. Two girls were repeatedly beat and beat with a small rubber
hammer. Another boy was smashed into the wall until his battered and
broken body slumped down the wall and settled in a pool of almost black
blood. Jenna watched it all triumphantly. But things began to go wrong.
And Jenna was in big
trouble.                        

It is said that if you use black magick then you in turn will
be troubled with the powers of darkness. jenna believed in everything
about wicca. But she didn't believe in that rule. But she was about to
realise that the things you don't believe in are the things that can
really come
true.                    

Jenna watched as the kids in the room died. The
spirits in the air killed them all. Blood was everywhere. And the faces
of those on the floor and stuck against the walls were contorted in
agonizing masks of pain. Every single person died in extreme pain.
Jenna smiled. She raised her face upwards and her eyes blazed. Thank
you god. Thank you goddess. She turned and frowned. There was something
not quite right. It was too quiet. She turned and what she saw chilled
her and showed her the future in one awful
moment.                          

Jenna tried to scream but terror struck her dumb.
She stared wide eyed at the forming figure before her. Spirits need a
lot of energy to form terrestrial bodies. And the amount of energy in
the air was probably so intense a whole army of spirits could manifest.
And in even more horror Jenna saw what the thing was holding. A hundred
knives hovered before it. And the snarl on its face would strike you
dead if you were of a nervous disposition. Jenna tried to scream again
but again she failed. The knives rushed forward. And seconds before
impact she manage to mutter two very important words. Spirits
depart.