Maeve looked at Sinbad and said, "Saido?"
"I don't know Maeve. It says the show is tonight. Do you want to go?" Sinbad looked as curious as ever.
"Sure, let's see what it's all about." Maeve agreed.
~*~
Later that night, Maeve and Sinbad told Rongar, Firouz, and Doubar where they were going, and left to go see Saido. The show was being held in an auditorium of some sort, and they went in and sat down close to the side, half-way to the middle.
Maeve looked around. "What's going on?" She asked a young couple of maybe 20 and 21 sitting behind them.
"Oh, don't you know what's going to happen?" The man looked at the lady and smiled.
"My dear, Saido is everyone's nightmare." The lady explained.
"Then why is everyone here?" Maeve began to get a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"To try to kill him. We make a sport out of it. What happens is, we all come here every Hollow's Eve. At the stroke of midnight, Saido comes out. Everyone tries to kill him, but if no one succeeds, then they blow a whistle to tell us to get out of here." The lady pointed out a few exits for Maeve and Sinbad.
Maeve turned back around to face Sinbad. "This is just great. I hope nothing happens to us."
Sinbad turned back around, remembering something. "Excuse me, Miss, but I was wondering. Have there ever been any fatalities?"
"Oh, yes. But people don't mind dying if it means killing Saido." The lady smiled emptily.
"This will get ugly." Sinbad muttered to Maeve.
~*~
Right before midnight, Sinbad and Maeve discussed a plan. Maeve was going to try to use her magic, and Sinbad would try his best at slaying Saido. As they were making these plans, a burst of hot air shot through the room. Several people cried out, "It's Saido!"
"Remember, don't leave till he's dead, or they blow the whistle." Sinbad said.
Maeve took a deep breath.
Everyone was looking around, trying to find Saido. Suddenly, a young boy of about eight, cried out, "He's in the fireplace!"
All hell broke loose. People started to challenge him. Saido was an evil-looking thing. He had jet black hair, was at least 6'6" tall, and dark skin. His eyes glowed red. He had on a pair of black pants, but no shirt. His chest was blackened with smoke.
Sinbad gulped.
Saido reached up to the mantle above the fireplace where he had come out of and grabbed a small statue of a horse. He put it on the ground, and looked at it, and it instantly became real. Maeve thought to herself, *What have we gotten into now?*
Saido mounted the horse and starting chasing people. If they were carrying anything, like a weapon, he made it explode in their hands. People started screaming, "Blow the whistle! Let us out!"
No whistle was blown.
Maeve crouched behind a chair, and tossed a fireball Saido's way. No luck. Fire seemed to make him stronger. Maeve started thinking what else she could do, but while she was thinking that, she suddenly forgot everything she knew. Saido was headed her way and he had made her forget. A panicky look crossed her eyes, but she regained composure. Sinbad saw Saido coming closer to Maeve he ran over.
Maeve screamed, "Drop your sword!"
Sinbad looked at it and dropped it just before it burst into flames. Sinbad grabbed Maeve's hand and they ran. Most people had already escaped by now, and Sinbad was looking for a way out. He noticed a door open torwards the back. Maeve saw the same thing. As they ran out the door, they found two horses, and jumped on them. They dug their heels into the horses' sides and off they went. But Saido wouldn't let them give up that easy. He followed them on his horse.
Maeve and Sinbad galloped down the road until they reached a grassy field. Maeve's powers had returned and she looked around. "I've got an idea Sinbad. You stay back while I use my magic." Maeve put up a force field around herself, so that Saido couldn't take her powers away again. She then saw Saido riding towards them. Maeve concentrated hard, and used her magic to make the horse stop. She then watched as Saido dismounted, cursing the horse. He strode to where she stood. She concentrated again and tied Saido's hands and feet together. She used one more spell to make him idle, and then walked over to him.
"So what's the big idea?" Maeve put one of her feet on his chest, ensuring he didn't get up.
In a low, raspy voice, Saido said, "You witch! You've ruined me."
Sinbad stood beside Maeve. "Why do you terrorize people so?"
"They provoke me." Saido's eyes were still gleaming red.
"Mmhmm. Well, what happened to you?" Maeve asked.
"You mean, why am I so ugly? Well, here's the story: I was never really a good person, and no one liked me. So one day I was on my horse and I was riding across this field. My horse didn't see this one fence - he was very stupid - and he tripped. I was flung from him and I landed on my face. I died a few minutes later. I was, as you suspect, d*mned to h*ll. I came back to get revenge on those who mocked me."
"Well, I'm afraid we can't have that." Sinbad drew a sword and with one blow, took off Saido's head. Maeve concentrated on another spell. She made his body burn until it was nothing but ash.
"Let's hope this works." Maeve climbed back on her horse.
"The place is creepy. Let's get back to the Nomad and get out of here." Sinbad shivered.
As they rode back, Sinbad said to Maeve, "Why did we back away from Saido in the auditorium?"
"I don't know, Sinbad, but something inside me told me he was pure evil, and to get out."
"Yeah, me too."
The rest of the ride back to the Nomad was silent. When they reached the ship, Sinbad told Doubar to leave as fast as possible. "Why, brother? What happened?"
"I'll explain later." Sinbad and Maeve sighed at the same time.
"Ok, little brother." Doubar accepted that.
THE END
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