"You have the keys to your car, right?" I asked Martha. She nodded, producing the keys from her purse. "Good." I said. "I hope you have alot of gas, because we may be driving around for a..." I trailed off as I heard footsteps coming closer. I turned and saw a man with a sword running toward me. Luckily, I was able to just dodge as he swung his weapon. "Who are you?! What's the meaning of this?" I asked him.
He pointed the sword at me and glared for a moment. "Place your hands on the ground, and keep them there." he said. "Now."
I grinned at the man's audacity. After all, with my stone I could easily force him to leave. I began reaching for my pocket.
"I suggest you stop that." he said. "I'll kill you long before you can make use of the stone." he said.
Had I not been caught so completely off guard, I would have attempted to hide my surprise so I could feign ignorance. Unfortunately, I was not so lucky. "How do you know of the stone?" I asked him, my hand no longer moving.
"How I know is no concern of yours." he said. "I want you to tell me what you've done to this woman." he added, pointing to Martha.
"I've done absolutely nothing to her." I lied. "What makes you think I-"
"Enough lies." the man said. "I know you used the stone on her. Tell me what you did, or I'll kill you."
I grimaced. "I made her my slave." I said. "She is completely devoted to me."
The man never took his eyes off me. "Release her." he said.
"I'm sorry, what?" I asked.
"You heard me. Release her from your control. The other one, too, if she's still under your control."
I glared at him, and then looked over at Martha. I sighed. "Martha, I release you from my control. Return to your normal state of mind." I said.
I could see her, out of the corner of my eye, shaking her head. She looked at me, then at the cretin with the sword to my throat. She almost screamed at the scene before her, but she stopped herself when he brought his finger up to his lips.
"Ma'am, my name is Nicholas." the man said, his eyes still on me. "I'm going to ask you to do something for me, if you don't mind."
I didn't hear her say anything, but I could vaguely see her nodding her head. She was obviously scared of this man.
"Alright, good." Nicholas said. "Where is the stone?" he asked me.
"I won't tell you." I said, though I could tell he was expecting that response.
"Then I'll kill you." he said. "Which is more important to you, power or your life?"
I sat in silence for a moment. "It's in my right hand jacket pocket." I said. "Happy?"
"Not yet." Nicholas said. "Ma'am, please reach into that pocket and pull out the stone within."
Martha slowly walked over to me and reached into my pocket. After a few seconds, she pulled her hand out and stepped away from me.
"Now, bring me the stone." Nicholas said. She once again began to move slowly, this time toward him. She reached him and gave the stone to him. He looked at it for a moment before nodding. He walked toward me, the sword now lowered.
"What, are you going to kill me anyway?" I asked.
"No. But I am going to make sure that you don't remember the stone." he said. "Any final words before I make my wish?"
I paused for a moment when he said that. But, I quickly shook it off. "Yes, I do have a few." I said. "Martha, if you would?"
I could see the look of confusion on Nicholas' face, but it was quickly replaced with blankness as Martha struck him in the back of the head with a rock that was lying on the ground.
I grinned as I took the stone that fell out of his hand and stood up. "Stones can be so useful, wouldn't you agree, Nick?" I asked him, laughing. That's when I noticed that the flashing coming from my stone had increased. I looked down at the man's unconsious form, and could see a similar flash coming from his pocket.
"Well, well, well." I said. "What a pleasant surprise."
