I sprawled over the rough concrete floor amid a sea of curious glances wondering what the crazy guy would do next. Well, something crazy obviously! A quick lesson on Demon Summoning, it doesn't require black robes or candles and all it really needs is something to anchor them to our world-like blood or even just a sticker with the demon's name on it, a vessel for them to inhabit-like a body or a child's doll, and something to power them-from concentrated fear in a crystal or a battery. Obviously, there's more involved with making sure the Infernal things don't decide to kill you and wreak havoc on the world but hey; no pain, no gain.

Ignoring their looks and pulled up my sleeve. What their reactions were didn't surprise me; they saw the long scars running up my arm and assumed I was just another sad case. I knew from their faces by the way they softened that they didn't fear me anymore, they wanted to pity me and for me to tell them all my problems. That was a familiar look after all, it's been on mine often enough. Few realize the price we pay for our power; destined to live in paranoia worrying if their significant lovers really love them or if they are just waiting to let your guard down so they can harvest your power and to kick to the curb. Too many died from having not only their hearts shattered, but also having everything that they defined and based their life stolen. We don't love easily or quickly, but when we do it's like a firestorm; without caution and with wild abandon.

"Enough of that!" I thought to myself as I reprimanded myself, stopping myself from treading too close to one of my skeletons. I pretended like I didn't see their looks and picked one of my scars open. The crimson stream flowed freely and I dipped my right index finger in it. I used it to trace a pentagram onto the floor, seeing the concrete soaking it up like a thirsty, monstrous baby. I drew ideograms that belonged to civilizations that flourished and collapsed before the first humans ever stumbled out of their jungles. They were meaningless even to me, but they gave me a chill from their inherent brutality nonetheless. I pulled out the crystal meth and placing it in the center of the altar-because that was what it was, an altar meant to sacrifice to the beings we once worshipped as gods. I had everything I needed except the vessel, and I didn't have a figurine handy nor was I about to let a demon possess one of the poor son-of-bitches in here!

"God, I hate doing this but I'm going to do it anyways. Just like the idiot I am," I muttered to myself as I prepared myself to let a freaking demon take me over. Taking in a deep breath, I brought to mind the ancient words that were the only way mages knew how to bring them to our world and said something in a tongue that was not meant to be spoken by anything remotely approaching decent. It was harsh and grainy, like regurgitating sandpaper. It left my throat raw and bloody, ignoring the more worrying dangers to my immortal soul this might be causing. Sneaking a glance to my fellow cellmates, I noticed them shaking as they were clutching their bleeding ears. Was it really that bad?

For a few seconds nothing happened and a collective sigh started after they thought that was all, but then Aeshma appeared. Their sigh of relief was halted as they saw him. An avatar of wrath, rage, and fury. A ring of bones surrounded his head like a ram's horns. They sprung forth like flowers of death. His face is one of unending, twisted fury; always raging at order and humanity with consuming, black eyes staring into you. Damned souls fought to escape from under his blood-red skin, squirming like worms. They were the greedy men who gave up everything for power, they were the prideful women who longed for beauty, they were the foolish children who made an oath in anger. His physique was of an overgrown ram standing upright. His weapon-of-choice was a golden flanged-mace harkening to the Golden Age of Persia. Broken, obsidian chains hung loosely from his wrists and ankles as symbols of his beastial nature. Strange, I could've sworn there were more links in the chains the last time I summoned him.

After growing as tall as the room would allow him, he stomped his feet and bellowed a harsh bleat. It shook the room and threatened to bring it crashing upon us. They must've thought me mad when I said "Hey! Billy Goat Gruff! Enough with that!" An awful silence blossomed in the room as I gibberishly wondered if he had enough of my insults until a stuttering laugh erupted out of Aeshma. Perversely, I thought that it sounded quite cute and that was like the sound of a kid gurgling for his mother. "WHAT IMPUDENCE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS WHY YOU ARE MY FAVORITE MORTAL!" Suddenly, he no longer towered over me and shrunk to merely a few inches above my six feet and seven inches.

I figuratively stepped forward and took hold of the conversation "As you can see, I am currently confined against my will and I do not the strength of the people that have imprisoned me, so I would like to borrow your might,"

Aeshma pretended to think about this for a minute by manifesting monocles on himself and stroking his goatee before launching himself at me and pinning me against the wall. "Do yOU tHinK mE FOr a FoOl!" I tried to respond to that but it's kinda difficult to do that when a goat-thing is choking you. He kept strangling for a few more seconds before letting me fall to the floor.

He bent down and grabbed my face as he said "You have not prepared a vessel for me and what is to stop me from killing you, petty mage?"

"Because I have prepared a vessel," I paused for effect and to rub it in his face before continuing "It's me. I'm the vessel," I knew that would interest him more than any dead virgin on an altar. He froze in thought as he tried to find a word play in my words, trying to find a way that I could cheat him out of his bargain. He found none and said to me as he looked into my eyes "Are you saying that you would allow me to possess you?"

"Yes, but only for the duration of one hour and you are not allowed to invade my memories nor are you allowed to change who I am," I said in a single, rushed breath. Aeshma pretended to think this through before saying "And what would lead you to believe that I would accept such a bargain?"

"You exist to cause chaos but you can't do much by yourself, you require vessels. We all know that the stronger the vessel, the more destruction you can cause," I said, voicing what he already knew.

He grinned sadistically and said "Well, what are you waiting for then?"

An awkward pause elapsed before I coughed and said "I never been possessed before, I only seen it happen when you did the turn-into-dust thing and jumped into the doll,"

Another awkward pause before Aeshma burst out laughing again, this time he was on the floor and pounding the concrete into dust while hysterically laughing. "Do you mean to say, that you are the possessing version of a virgin!" He couldn't say anymore before descending into hysterics again, I'm certain that if he could have spoken that he would have mocked me mercilessly. I didn't know why I was so embarrassed, it's not like I was an actual virgin.....I'm not! Really, I'm not! Seriously, if you don't stop smirking then I'll kill you! I AM A GROWN ASS MAN, I AM NOT A VIRGIN! I realize that this isn't helping so I'm just going to stop but I'm not a virgin. Just saying.

I waited for Aeshma to stop laughing (you should too, before I get mad!) before saying impatiently "Can you get on with it or are you going to act like a little girl?" Still chuckling, Aeshma placed his hand on my chest and winked at me while saying "Here we go, Jack,"

What happened next was...unsettling to say the least. His palm burned inferno bright as the edges of his body blurred. The world seemed to shake as Aeshma became just a blurry figure getting absorbed by me, I could no longer distinguish between reality and fantasy. The gaunt figures of damned souls getting whipped with chains in front of me seemed just as real as the people trembling in fear in front of me as they wondered what the Hell was going on in front of them. Memories of a beautiful world resting on the clouds where light was everywhere and bright but not blinding intermixed with memories of a wonderful blonde-haired woman holding my hand as we stared down ghouls in a dirty alleyway.

I felt an evil inside of me like none before, was it Aeshma or was I finally seeing what I was hiding to everyone and myself?

I coughed up black blood as I fell to the floor; a single, shaking arm trying to prop myself up. Great, shivering breathes came out as my chest felt unusually tight. Everything felt like they were burning.

I tried to laugh, but all that came out was more blood, and said "Bloody ruin, all this for a magical hangover?" And then, as if waiting for me to say that, Aeshma showed me what power truly meant. I jumped to my feet as I felt liquid gold flow through my veins, it gave me an incredible strength. Strength, enough to reduce mountains to piles of scrap. Aeshma gifted me with the knowledge of warcraft; how to lay waste to entire armies, to entire civilizations, to entire worlds. A murderous laugh bubbled it's way out of me and scared even me. I couldn't stop laughing, I couldn't stop laughing at the fragility of human existence. Oh! These weak insects calling themselves kings! Oh! These mortal beings calling themselves wise! Oh! These cattle calling themselves wolves! How laughable!

"NO! THIS ISN'T WHO I AM," I shouted aloud to myself and perhaps the world as well. I do not exult in killing. Then a whisper "Are you so sure? Then why do you smile when you kill? I do not lust after power. "Then why did call me? A demon of war? I was speechless. Until I growled to myself "Oh, shut up! I'm the one in charge, you're just a groupie,"

I looked at the slack-jawed people around me and one of them, a junkie, said to me "What are you?" I didn't know what to say to that, I think I forgot that a long time ago. The silence wasn't doing much to convince them that I wasn't some demon come to bring the downfall of Christianity. I tried to stammer out some lie to convince them but I stopped when I seriously thought about who I was talking too. For better or worse, I was a good liar but these people were as jaded as jaded can be. They've been lied to enough to separate the bullshit from the truth.

Against all of my instincts, I told them as much of the truth that I could. "I'm from Avalon. I'm here to retrieve an artifact that could seriously do bad stuff if it were to fall into the wrong hands. I just need to get out of here," A silence, then a quiet voice "Are you sure that you're the wrong hands that it shouldn't be falling into?" Surprisingly, I laughed and said "Believe it or not, I'm actually not that bad of a guy. Besides, I'm not going to be keeping the thing," A quiet examination, and then he gave me a nod as if allowing me to leave.

I turned to face the cell bars and I thought that I could hear the boots of people rushing down to see what was going on here. Grinning wickedly, I pulled more power to myself than ever before-regardless of the inhibitors set in place-and blew out the entire thing. I called up my black wings and roared. I had enough power at hand to create a sizable earthquake. Oh, this was going to be fun!