Darksiders: The New Horseman Origins (Book 1)

A Kidnapping

          Damiana grumbled in her sleep, twisting and turning in her bed trying to find her comfortable spot.

"Stop moving, Dami, you're kicking me!" Janelle said in her half asleep stage.

"I'm sorry, hey, if you're sleeping, who's making breakfast?"

"Don't know, don't particularly care right now..." came a muffled response.

        Damiana rolled her eyes and jumped out of bed, slightly startling her companion, Shadow, the german Husky.

      Shadow drew up and glared at her master with piercing blue eyes.

"Hey girl, did I interrupt a good dream,"

"If you can call it that," Shadown rolled her eyes.

"Well, maybe tomorrow it'll be better, hopefully," Damiana smiled, scratching the dog behind the ears.

"Oh, Dami?"

"Yeah, Janelle?"

"Could you go to the market today? We're low on supplies..." Janelle muttered, looking at Damiana hopefully.

"Sure, I'll go now, since I'm awake,"

"Mm, be careful, take Shadow with you,"

                        ★★★★★★★★

Damiana and Shadow trudged down the ruined city streets, searching for the run down market place.

"I wonder if I have money left over for me to get a new sweater, this orange one is run down," she said to Shadow, who nodded in agreement.

"I sense something, master," Shadow said, sniffing the air quizzically.

Damiana sniffed the air too and nodded in agreement.

"Put your hood up," Shadow looked up at Damiana.

Damiana pulled her hood from inside her orange sweater and pulled it over her ebony hair, covering her eyes.

"Okay, let's go," Shadow nodded, breaking off into a jog.

        As Shadow and  Damiana came up to the human market, Damiana noticed movement in the shadows across the plaza.

"Wha-"

"You saw that too, good,"

         "Hello, Dami, my favorite customer," exclaimed a shop owner with a stock consisting of produce and valuable possessions.

"Hey, you, we need more vegetables and fruit," Damiana laughed, looking at the shadow that moved before.

"Sure thing, about how much are we talking here?"

"About-" Damiana looked to the side at a figure approaching the trio.

      

"What's wrong?" The shopkeeper gave Damiana a confused look.

"Its them that I smell," Shadow growled, tensing her muscles.

"What's wrong with Shadow?"

Damiana leaned against the counter, facing the shopkeeper.

"You should get down, that thing...I think its following me, I've seen it before."

         Damiana pushed herself away from the counter and turned to walk the opposite way to her home.

      Just as she expected, the figure regrouped at the stand she was just at and was slowly making its way towards her.

"Master, it's still following us, shall I-"

"No, I'll take care of it," Damiana smirked, turning behind the building she was walking alongside...

Only to come up to a dead end...

"I thought...oh no, I turned the wrong way!" Damiana cursed herself.

"Wrong indeed," the figure muttered, blocking the only exit.

       Damiana cursed herself again and slowly turned to look up at the menacing person. Shadow barred her teeth and stood infront of Damiana protectivly.

"What do you want?"

"I need you to come with me, in the manner of being quiet is most preferable." The man answered flatly.

      Damiana nodded once and took in the sight of this bizarre person. Instead of a recognizable face, he wore an expressionless bone white mask with glowing orange eyes. At his sides were a pair of menacing large bladed scythes.

"And say I refuse?"

"Then I'll just take you against your will. Either way, you're coming with me."

"Yeah, I'll pass on that." Damiana mumbled, grabbing her amulet from her pocket.

     Before the man could react, Damiana uttered a spell to the amulet and a large cloud of darkness and smoke erupted from it.        Laughing quietly to herself, Damiana made a break for the enterance of the dead end, navigating herself through the darkness with ease.

At least before a metal object was cracked against her head...

Damiana fell back on the ground with a groan on her back.

"Ow..." she muttered, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"You wouldn't have gotten hurt if you just cooperated, now you leave me with no choice," the man muttered, bringing up his scythe above Damiana's head.

      Making a strangled cry, Damiana jumped to her feet and propelled herself towards the stunned man...

Only to have him step to the side...

And allow her to crash head first into a brick wall...

Darkness....

               ★★★★★★★★

      Damiana drifted in and out of consciousness, seeing plains of a desert and a rocky terrain fly past her eyes. After the first hundred times she opened and closed her eyes, it dawned on her on what happened.

"You kidnapped me!" She hissed angrily up to the man.

When it didn't seem like he heard her or cared, Damiana looked at the horse's mane of what seemed to be made of green flames.

Thinking she could escape again, Damiana slowly reached into her pocket, but her face turned an even paler hue.

"What did you do to my amulet?!"

       The man motioned towards a large black bird flying low...

That held a gold object in it's talons...

"Give it back!"

"When you've proven yourself, then sure, you can have it back."

"Where's my dog?"

        Again the man motioned to the left. Running alongside the pale horse was Shadow, in her hellhound form. The hellhound glanced up at her master and slowly looked away.

"Where are you taking me?!"

"Somewhere that will announce your judgment." He answered flatly, making a sharp turn.

'Bastard...'

"Take me back to my sister!"