Young Writers Society

Soul let out a quiet, frustrated groan the moment the woman finished speaking. He wasn't honestly surprised by what was said, but knew that the laughter was bound to set Zogin off. He could see it now - she was tapping her foot against the ground, and her frown had managed to deepen even more than before. She hated being laughed at.

"That's impossible," Zogin declared.

"Then where are we, Zogin?" he asked, and, though he tensed at the look on her face when she spun around to face him again, he stood his ground.

Zogin thought for a moment, then realized she couldn't come up with a good explanation and stormed off to the other end of the table to cool down. Soul uncrossed his arms, his shoulders relaxing now that the debate was over.

"So we need to find the candles?" he asked, though he wasn't sure to who. He started to scan the room for them, but couldn't find them anywhere. "Does anyone here have any idea where they might be?"

"She mentioned challenges," Tourmaline pointed out. "I have a feeling this is going to be one very long Hanukkah. I'd imagine that figuring out how to exit this room is the first puzzle among many."

"I don't have time for this," Zogin muttered from her corner, still thoroughly angry about this situation. She had to rescue Soul. It didn't matter that he was here now; if she was right on her guess, things would return to how they were before once they got out of here. Soul would be trapped in that cell again, and she would have to play rescuer. If anything, she should have been grilling him for details, but she knew he was going to be far too intent on playing this Mistress Shadow's game to focus on his future freedom instead.

"Oh, yes, and the rest of us do," Tourmaline rolled her eyes. "I've got a whole realm to manage and a dragon to answer to before things fall into utter chaos due to the lack of supervision. The vampire's got friends to save, and I'm willing to bet the rest of you are in similar predicaments. Am I wrong?"

Soul glanced around at the other people present, then slowly raised his hand. "I was actually in a prison cell-" he started to say, but fell silent when he saw the look that Zogin was giving him.

"Oh, well, I'm glad to know it was convenient for at least one of us," Diamond said.

"I have an idea," Zogin said, crossing her arms as she looked around the room. "How about instead of playing along with this Mistress Shadow's game, we find her and see how she likes having a gun in her face?"

"You still have to get out of the room to do that," Tourmaline pointed out.

Soul started to nod in agreement, only to freeze when Zogin shot a glare in his direction. The woman did have a point - they would have to find her first, and something told him she wouldn't appear until they finished the game. "Before we start searching, maybe we should introduce ourselves?" Soul hesitantly said, glancing at the others in the room. "It might be useful to know who everyone is and what their abilities are."

"Sounds wise enough," Tourmaline mused. "I've gone by many names but you can call me Tourmaline. Pyrokinesis." There was a tad bit more than that but the dragoness decided not to elaborate. Sometimes people took badly to that sort of information and if she was honest, she really wanted to see their faces the first time she sprouted wings.

"Diamond. I'm a vampiric geomancer - so, elemental control and manipulation of metals and rocks and stuff and regeneration and things," Di said shortly.

"Zogin Arwitch," Zogin simply said, gesturing at herself. She eyed the others in the room. "I'm skilled with mechanics, a great shot, and also can manipulate the earth."

Soul warmly smiled underneath his helmet, even though none of the people present could see it. While Zogin was clearly trying to assert her power, he tried to make himself look as unthreatening as possible - he tried to take up less room, and kept his hands to his side. "I'm Soul Error Arwitch. Zogin and I are partners. I can control electricity and heal other people...I just need to have some sort of contact for it to work."