"Arrgghh!"

Hair-raising screams echo through the burning site. 
Even the heavily armored soldiers of the Inquisition flinch
in spite of themselves as the screams rise and fall.
The people surrounding the burning site show their dread in their eyes.

"Is this really necessary?"
The apprentice priestess asks the inquisitor.
She looks pale, and there's hesitation in her voice. 
The inquisitor turns her steely eyes toward the priestess.

"Are you questioning the Order's decision?" 
The apprentice priest quickly averts her eyes and mumbles, 

"No, that's not what I meant—" 

"Straighten up. Our followers are watching.
We're here to set a good example for them." 

The priestess forces herself to straighten up,
but she can't hide the troubled look on her face. 
Silence falls between the two. Screams continue.

It was the inquisitor's question that broke the silence,
which probably lasted for a moment, but felt like eternity to the apprentice. 
"Do you remember the Pledge of the Inquisitor? With what does God rule us?" 
"He rules... the wrong with fear." 
Her voice trails off, and the inquisitor scowls unhappily.

"That's right. We inquisitors are His axes and His torches.
It is our duty to enlighten the world with His wrath."

The apprentice suddenly looks up with defiance in her eyes.  
"But Inquisitor, the Bible says we should love our followers,
that fear is only for the wrong. Do you know what our followers call us?
The Hellkites. They think we're cold-blooded. Merciless."

A strange smile starts to form on the inquisitor's face.
The priestess reexperiences the same feeling of dread
that washed over her when she saw the Imposters for the first time. 
"You're preaching to me about the teachings of the Bible. I've taught you well. 
But you're only reiterating what the Bible says. You're not practicing it yourself."

The creepy smile then spreads over the inquisitor's face.
The little bit of courage the apprentice has felt is dying
as quickly as the sparks rising from the stakes. 
"Our followers call us the Hellkites. Good. That means they fear us, just like we fear Him.  
We should encourage them. To fear us, that is."

The apprentice looks up at the inquisitor, her eyes full of confusion. 
"Heresy is the product of foolishness, not of chaos, and it's everywhere. 
People are more afraid of the Imposters than they are of the Bible.
We're making them fear Him more than they fear the Imposters, to eradicate heresy."

The inquisitor grabs the priestess on the shoulder as she continues. Her hand is as hot as fire. 
"Let's show our followers how much we love them by striking fear into them."

She opens her arms and spins around to face the followers,
her face glowing red from the fire at the stake. 
Her shadow stretches eerily over the congregation of followers, waving as if it's dancing.

- At the Burning Site of the Inquisition