A Scented Kind of Smoke

"Yes, it's me."
"You don't say."
"Now?"
"I'll stay for about an hour before I have to get going."
"Alright, but be quick."

He hung up. I looked curiously at him. He ignored me. He always did. As if his business had nothing to do with me, though they always did. This one was no different and I knew it. The look on his face was too obvious for a trained eye not to understand. He had new information. And he wasn't going to share.

Aaron came to our flat 10 minutes later. I was sitting by the window and saw him coming walking with a man I'd never seen before. Aaron was wearing his usual black trench coat over his black shirt and trousers, and had his long black hair flowing behind him. The man next to him had a similar trench coat, also dressed in all black. His hair was in a pony tail. My mentor went to open the door. I heard the usual greetings, quiet talking and some whispering. Always careful not to let me hear.

I was still sitting by the window, facing the street, when they entered the living room. My mentor cleared his throat to catch my attention. I already knew they were there, but I also knew not to acknowledge their presence until I got this little signal from him. I turned around to look at them. I looked straight at the unfamiliar man. My eyes couldn't seem to let go of him. He was quite handsome, but then I always did love the goth style. He seemed to be somewhere around 20-25 in age, the same as my mentor and Aaron. And all the others my mentor had brought here. I never knew where he found them all, whenever I was out of the flat I never saw anyone dressed in all black. Of course, I didn't leave the flat much anymore...

"This is Jonathan" I heard my mentor saying. The man nodded. "Eric will be coming soon." I wondered why Eric would be coming. I couldn't even remember what Eric looked like, they all looked pretty much the same anyway. I had learned their powers and knowledge, but wouldn't recognize them if I met them if my life depended on it. Suddenly I understood. Eric was the master of hypnosis and could read anyone just by looking at them, while Aaron, the most frequent visitor and the only one I recognized, ruled the field of energy manipulation. The day I had feared for so long was now to come. I would finally be of use to them.

I think Jonathan must have seen the fear in my eyes, no matter how well I disguised it, because he smiled. His mere presence filled me with terror. I was unable to speak, but couldn't think of anything to say anyway. The doorbell rang. My mentor made a movement with his hand towards the room he'd never let me enter, then went to answer the door. Aaron grabbed my arm but I refused to follow. Jonathan took hold of my other arm, and I had to give in to the joint strength. I was being pulled towards the door as I heard voices in the hall. "Eric. Tristan." The door closed and I heard the steps behind me as I saw the forbidden room for the first time.

There were no windows, which made the room even darker than the black interior did on its own. Only four candles lit the altar and its surroundings. Great black curtains covered the walls, as the black carpet on the floor. I tried to escape the two that were holding me, but they were too strong. They didn't even seem to notice my struggle. They threw me down on my knees in front of the altar. I raised my head to look at the altar, then turned around to look at the men. Aaron and my mentor had gone to one of the corners, busy readying equipment. I was afraid to know. Eric and Tristan seemed to be having a discussion, but I couldn't hear the whispered words. Jonathan was standing right behind me, watching me. I looked up at him. His face was expressionless yet his eyes wary.

My mentor and Aaron went to the altar. Candles were positioned and lit, crystals placed between the candles, herbs mixed and incence lit. "Is she innocent?" someone asked. "Yes." My mentor turned towards me. Someone tried to take off my shirt. I panicked, tore myself away and ran to the door, only to find it locked. Someone pulled me back and I saw a slight smile on my mentor's face before my shirt was pulled over my head. I clasped my arms around myself. I was pushed back down to the floor and further undressed. I was terrified. I knew too much about rituals with skyclad virgins.

I think it was Jonathan who rolled me over on my back and held my arms firmly. Someone else was holding my legs but I didn't see who it was. Aaron came to stand next to me. In his hand was a small jar. He tilted it and poured some kind of heated oil on my chest. The warmth of it and the spicy scent felt very relaxing, as relaxing as anything could be in my state of terror. One of the two who arrived last came forward and started massaging the oil into my skin. Aaron put the jar back on the altar, then helped the man. I soon went into a trance-like state of mind, first wondering what kind of oil it was, later almost losing consciousness. I felt them letting go of my arms and legs, but I still couldn't move.

I don't know when my mentor left, but when I came out of the trance I could only see the other four. Aaron was watching over me while the others seemed to be in deep meditation. I tried to sit up, but an immense feeling of fatigue rushed through my body and forced me back down. Aaron's face looked like it was cut from stone. I let my eyes rest on him while trying to clear out the confusion in my head. All the rituals I'd heard of that included a virgin, ended with a sacrifice of said virgin. Yet I was still alive. I didn't want to push my luck so I didn't ask.

I must have fallen asleep again because I woke up in my bed. Still naked, and with an aching body, I pulled the covers tightly around me and went in search for clothes. Once clothed I had a little fight with myself whether I should stay in the safety of my own room or give in to the burning thirst. I decided to go straight across the hall to the bathroom for water instead of risking being seen on the way to the kitchen. I quietly opened the door, then quickly crossed the hall. The bathroom was empty, luckily. I glanced at the mirror and froze. My neck was covered with bruises. On closer inspection I discovered several healing cuts. The dizzyness came without warning and I passed out.

Aaron must have heard me falling because I woke up in his arms. My mentor was putting a bandage on a large cut on my arm, that I must have got when I fell. I groaned at the added pain. My head was pounding. The two men helped me up and out into the living room. Another man, who I knew I'd seen before but couldn't remember the name of, brought me a glass of water. "You must be thirsty" he said. I emptied the glass right away and sat back in the couch. Aaron had his arm around me still. This wasn't anything unusual of course, all the people my mentor brought home acted very supportive around me. I had long ago realized I was important to them in some way.

The doorbell rang and my mentor went to answer it. I let my head fall back to the wall and closed my eyes. I was exhausted but had no idea why. I heard someone enter the room, but didn't open my eyes. A frightening yet familiar presence came closer. I opened my eyes and looked straight at Jonathan. He was looking at my neck. He produced an ointment from his pocket and sat down next to me. Remembering the oil clearly I was slightly worried, but he gently anointed my wounds and the pain almost vanished.

"Thanks" I said, wondering if he had anything to do with the wounds appearing in the first place. He stood up and, after giving me an intense look, walked over to my mentor and the guy I couldn't remember the name of. Whispered words were exchanged and they all went outside. Aaron was still sitting next to me so I didn't dare look out the window after them. He was unusually quiet, he was usually the only one who said more than two words to me, even my mentor hardly talked to me anymore when he wasn't teaching me something, but now he was just staring at the wall in front of him, as if lost in his thoughts.

My mentor came back inside. "We have to go" he said, walking quickly towards the forbidden room. Aaron helped me up. "Where? Why?" I asked. "Take her out to the van" my mentor said to Aaron, busy gathering things. Aaron put his arm around my shoulder again and lead me outside. It was dark outside, but I don't know how late it was. A big van was parked in front of the building. The back door was half open. A few men were standing next to it as if they were guarding something. One of them opened the door more when we came, and we climbed into the car.

There was a dim light inside, just enough for me to see where I put me feet down. I was pushed forward as far as possible. I sat down on a bench, I felt like a criminal who'd just been caught. I looked up and saw another girl who looked exactly like me. It was like looking into a mirror. I gasped. "Who are you?" She slowly looked up at me. She seemed to be as exhausted as I was. Then I saw it. She had the same wounds on her neck as I had.