Mari had never seen anything like the thing she saw in front her now. Rekema had taken her, and they appeared in an unfamiliar gray building. At least, it was gray on the inside, and the wall was rough and coarse when her hand brushed against it. Rekema knew where she was going, so she walked Mari there. The rest of the Seven followed behind. As she stumbled under Rekema's control, Mari saw several figures that looked like people, human people.

One of them had seen her appear out of thin air, thanks to the Seven's power. He had nearly collapsed, but run off soon after. Rekema didn't pay the people any mind, so Mari didn't. Step after step, Rekema brought Mari to a large set of doors. The layout of the building couldn't be more confusing to Mari. They walked through so many of those narrow spaces where doors were attached every so often. Now, after all that, there was a set of doors larger than any she had ever seen. It had strange markings, and even though they were clearly wooden, they had a shiny, polished material decorating it. Mari had no idea what was behind the doors, but the Seven were licking their lips, bouncing up and down, cracking knuckles, and rubbing hands. Mari had to guess whatever was behind the doors was something good.

Rekema pulled back her hands; Mari did as well. Power surged through Mari; a sickness turned her insides. Rekema thrust her hands forward, and Mari pushed the doors open. They flew back with great force, and if Mari had been standing on her own power, she would have fallen. Rekema continued moving her hands and arms; Mari took slow, awkward steps forward. Her torso pitched slightly forward, and her arms were limp at her sides.

She could hear her feet slap the ground. The floor was cold. She heard someone stand up, and Rekema jerked her hands. Mari's head flew up; she saw people like her standing in the large room. Windows were on the walls, and the room was illuminated in a yellow glow from several ornate fixtures hanging from the ceiling. As strange and new as it was to Mari, the people captured her attention more than anything else. Most of the people surrounded a man in clean clothes with a shiny headpiece that looked like it was made of the same material as the decoration on the doors. The men around him wore clothing that matched each other and all made of the polished, shiny material. It didn't look like fabric to Mari, but it looked strong.

The man with the headpiece cleared his throat. Mari absentmindedly noticed he looked younger than most of the other people. He asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

Mari heard Rekema speak, but with Mari's own voice. They said, "We want this."

The man stared at her. "What do you mean?"

Rekema chuckled and let go of Mari. Her shoulders collapsed, and Muraad took over, pulling her back up. He had her take a step forward. They said, "I mean, we want it all. The city, the castle, everything."

Mari wondered what a city was, and for that matter, she wanted to know what a castle was too. The man narrowed his eyes and clenched a fist. "You're threatening us."

The twins took over. Mari vaguely heard Rekema say something about everyone getting a turn. Mari's shoulder rolled back unnaturally. Whispers broke out among the polished men. Mari heard another word she didn't know. One of them called her possessed. Meeko laughed. Mari's giggle grated against her own ears. Mallory hardened Mari's voice. They said, "It's not a threat. We are going to take this place. And, it's not going to be pretty."

Meeko laughed again. They said, "Well, depends on your definition. It'll be pretty to me."

Out of the corner of her eye, Mari saw Balak nodding with a smug grin.

"You want it all? The wealth, my kingdom, my crown?" the man asked. Mari didn't have to know what any of those things were, but she understood he was the leader of these people, these people like her. Like Rekema was the leader of the Seven. Mari wasn't sure exactly what was happening, what the Seven were doing and why, but she understood enough. It was serious. The Seven wanted something that was clearly important to the man.

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Bidkar took over. With a few motions, Mari stumbled closer, several of the polished men pulled out what looked like extremely long, large knives. Bidkar spoke, and while Mari's voice came out smooth, something about it unnerved her, "It's a bit more complicated than that. You see, you could give us that, but what we're after isn't just material possessions."

"I will stop you," he said. "Whatever twisted, sick game you're playing with me, with all of us, I won't stand for it."

Bidkar laughed. The man closest to Mari shuddered. Bidkar let go. Mari nearly crashed into him, but Balak stopped her when he took over. He roared with laughter, but it was different from Bidkar's. Her laughter came out cold; his laughter was painful and loud.

Rekema spoke, but only Mari and the rest of the Seven could hear her, "Go for it, Balak."

Mari felt her arms swing about and several of the polished men were tossed aside. One of them flew into the window. Whatever prevented him from flying outside cracked under his weight. It shattered across the floor. Balak spoke through Mari. Mari panting, just barely able to speak, "You can't stop us. Nothing can. Nothing can help you, not your soldiers or your armies. I will tear this city to pieces."

One of the ornate golden fixtures above creaked. Balak and Mari swung their arms, and it came crashing down in front of Mari. What had once lit the room in a soft glow burned bright and painful as it ate through the curtains. The men hurried away from the fire. The one in the headpiece stood still. Balak and Mari said, "I can burn this entire city down, this kingdom down, and all you can do it watch."

Apep took over. Mari pulled up and her arms hung behind her. Her head tilted up. Apep forced a twisted grin on Mari's face, imitating her own. Mari spoke, yet they were not her words, "Are you scared yet?"

The man stood his ground. "Why? What do you stand to gain from causing pain and creating destruction and scaring people?"

"Everything," Apep and Mari spoke. The fire cackled in the background. Apep let go. Mari staggered. Rekema took over once more.

"What are you? A demon?" he asked. The fire glinted off his headpiece. If Mari even had the ability to answer, she wouldn't have known anyway.

Rekema pitched Mari forward; she was bent over herself with her head up.

"We're demons, but knowing that certainly doesn't change anything." Rekema had her step forward. Mari was close enough that she could touch him, "Don't you get it? There's nothing you can do, so you might as well lay down and die. It doesn't matter to us. We get to enjoy ourselves either way."

"I'm afraid I don't believe that." He stared her down. Mari had never seen another human up close. How strange.

Rekema smirked, and they said, "Then you're delusional."

Rekema walked Mari towards the door. The Seven fell in line behind Rekema. Rekema had Mari speak over her shoulder, "You'll see. We may be demons, but we don't always lie. Not when the truth is so much more satisfying."

Mari hated that most of the conversation went over her head. There were so many words she didn't know, but she picked up a few things. The man with the headpiece wasn't going to give into the Seven easily, and the Seven were more than happy to force him to. Mari just wished she understood why.