Mark of power

Sarah woke up with a dull pain in her back, and a haze over her memory. Everything about the previous day seemed to be gone from her mind, and as much as she tried to grope for the memories to return, they simply were not there. She slowly sat up from the stiff board that had been her makeshift bed, only to realize how odd that was. She blinked the fuzz out of her vision and looked around to find that she was not at home, but rather in what appeared to be a mansion basement. She stood up, her body weak, and made her way to the door.

"Good morning," came a voice from the other side of the room. She looked back to see a man in a fine suit seated in a chair, reading an ancient looking book encased in aged leather. "I hope you slept well," he continued. "The ritual that you went through fortunately went well, meaning that your body should have been receptive. I believe it's about time that we tested your abilities."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sarah demanded, her voice rough and weak, which didn't help to hide the panic she was beginning to feel. She didn't recognize the man at all, nor did she have any idea of what he was talking about, and unlike the stories that she had read in her youth, she had no dull feeling in her mind of familiarity. All that she knew was that she was not where she should have been, and she did not feel as she should.

The man closed his book with a dull thud, and rose out of his chair. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you might have lost some of your memories in the process," he explained casually, walking towards her and pulling a piece of chalk from his jacket pocket. "Regardless, I do not believe that we have time to go into the details. We need to be getting to work." He stopped a dozen feet away from Sarah, and began to draw what appeared to be an alchemical circle on the wall.

Sarah was too stunned by what was happening to turn the door handle in her hand. She was confused by what the man was saying, and the dull pain in her back had begun to flame up the moment that the man had begun drawing. "You must be crazy if you think that's going to do anything," she said bitterly. "It looks like you're attempting alchemy, which is the biggest crock of..."

She was cut off as he finished drawing, and the chalk began to glow. A demon ripped its way out of the wall from the center of the circle, its unearthly scream ringing through the air and invading Sarah's brain. She screamed out in pain, falling to the ground and clutching at her ears. The demon seemed to be stuck in the circle, however, and furiously clawed at the walls and reached out directly toward her. She couldn't take her eyes off of it.

The pain in her back burned hotter as she stared at it, raising to meet the pain of the demon's screams in her ears. She screamed in return, unable to withstand the pain any longer, and her back felt as though it had burst into flames. The demon's face twisted and convulsed as she screamed, and the circle began to change colors and almost be dragged off of the wall. Sarah collapsed to the ground, shrieking in agony, and suddenly she felt as though her back was being stabbed by a dozen tiny needles one after another.

Everything stopped almost as suddenly as it had begun. She didn't know how long it had transpired. Her breath was ragged and weak, but the pain in her back subsided, and other than her breathing, the room had fallen silent.

"Well," came the man's voice, as calm as though nothing had happened. "It looks as though you are a success."

Sarah tilted her head up slowly to look at him. Both the demon and the alchemical circle it had come from had vanished from the wall. "What the fuck did you do to me?" she asked quietly.

"I gave you the mark of power that you asked for," he responded. "You have gained the ability to absorb the magic of the underworld, and you use it for yourself. You are the only who could possibly have this power, too. You should feel privileged."