The fourteenth century ...

There was a crash, a sound of splintering wood, and a short, truncated
scream.  All through the abbey courtyard, heads turn to look.  At the
sight of the intruder, the lay sisters began to scream themselves, and
run for cover.

It was a demon, unquestionably.  It moved in a shambling gait, awkward
but deceptively fast.  Its body was a parody of a human's: powerful and
bulky, but twisted, grotesque.  The horns on its head were long, black,
and looked razor-sharp.   Its misshapen head swung around, searching for
victims.

It found three.  Three Sisters, habited nuns who, strangely, did not
flee.  That did not matter, though.  There was a fire of hunger in its
belly; a hunger for flesh, for blood; for victims.  It bounded toward
them, and raised itself up to pounce --

"You stand on holy ground," said one of the Sisters.  "Flee now, or you
will surely pay the penalty."

The demon snarled in anger, and raised one taloned hand to strike at
her.  The three stepped back smoothly.

"As you will, then."  The Sister closed her eyes for a moment in prayer,
and then crossed herself -- no, wait; she was not crossing herself, the
demon realised, she was making some strange gesture --

"In nomine Lunae, et Mercurii, et Martis, te punibimus!" the three nuns
chorused.  They levelled their crosses at the demon --

And, for an instant, there was light.  Somehow, as it was consumed, the
demon's eyes rested for one brief moment on the words graven into the
stone above the convent's gate, and it understood its mistake:

                ORDO SORORUM SERENITATIS

And then darkness.


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"Sisters"
by Angus MacSpon

Based on characters created by Naoko Takeuchi

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