“Yes, we know, Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch and Astreal quickly agreed.
“So imagine my surprise when I awoke to a crow from the ether squawking at me from my nightstand, one that was sent by our dear sister Leroness from Gorgmire. The message was simple yet cryptic. They are coming.”
“Who is coming?” the twins asked.
Charlotte rolled her fingers along the orb, trailing violet wisps of light behind them, and then flung a glaring burst of energy over into the air behind the sisters. The light exploded into a glittering radiance that spread out in the empty space within the room, shimmering lines and shapes taking form to show a curved map of Koskaysil with sparkly emblems and glyphs where settlements stood. And glowing with a neon red hue were markings all around and scattered about within the providence along with black emblems and symbols that appeared more angular and threatening, the crimson glimmers covering most of the eastern region, much of the northern, a good amount of the southern, and plenty in the west against the mountains. The red lights drew inward towards Koskaysil and bled about in the providence, most of which blotting the eastern side while the southern and northern borders were also slowly being covered. Apoch and Astreal stared wide-eyed at the sight then turned to Charlotte as she pointed her wand at the map.
“Everyone is coming! Do you see this? Do you see what I see here? There are invading monsters coming from EVERYWHERE around my land! Why is that?”
The twins nervously stammered some form of nonsensical reply, with Charlotte sharply looking between the two before glaring at the map with evident rage.
“How did this happen? Where the hell did all those monsters come from? Why are my witches being attacked all over my land and I’m just now seeing this?”
“We don’t know!” the sisters begged shaking their heads. “Honest, we had no idea-”
“Enough!” Charlotte yelled, pointing her wand at them which silenced the girls instantly. “Don’t give me that. I will not accept your false words with this. Not at all. I understand there are some things you feel you must keep from me, some answers and questions that you cannot speak of for whatever reason. But this is not something I will accept your evasion with. Now answer my question.”
“Ms. Charlotte,” Astreal breathed out nervously. “We… we don’t know why they’re all coming here. Honestly we don’t.”
“We’ve been trying to figure out why,” Apoch insisted. “We knew our fellow sisters were being attacked out there. But… we had no idea it was this severe.”
“You two were supposed to be looking into what was causing my witches trouble out there,” Charlotte scolded. “You two have been traveling all over Koskaysil in order to find out more information. You two have been the ones I’ve been counting on the most when it comes to accurate collection of the facts. So tell me, what are the facts here? Because I believe I’m missing some of them.”
Apoch and Astreal glanced to each other then to Charlotte while remaining silent, the alpha witch slowly breathing out then cocking her head aside in question.
“Another inquiry I have for you two, where is Daniel Sorres?”
“Where is he?” Astreal asked.
“Stop repeating what I say,” Charlotte sternly ordered. “Daniel Sorres. The human that I’ve put a bit of time and effort into seeing what may come of his unique ideals. The human who has Alyssa the Wildfire Witch in his company and has also mated with her because he loves her. The human who I have no fucking idea where he is now!”
The twins hopped back with a squeak as Charlotte walked around her desk towards them and waved her wand at the floating map.
“Where is he? In fact, where are my seers? They should have been keeping an eye on him for me. I dispatched four birds and two foxes to keep an eye on him during his travels. They’re all not reporting back. They’re all dead or cut from my magic. Why is that?”
“We don’t know why-” the twins started to say before Charlotte yelled and grabbed her hair.
“What is going on out there?” she demanded stomping her foot. “This is my land! I’m the alpha witch in Koskaysil! I see everything that goes on in this realm! So why is it that suddenly I’m blind to what’s been marching into my territory but also I can’t locate one fucking human when I want to?”
“We’re sorry!” Apoch and Astreal cried dropping to their knees in tears. “We don’t know! We’ll fix this, Ms. Charlotte! We promise we will!”
“I want all this sorted out immediately!” Charlotte ordered waving her wand at the map. “I want to know where exactly Daniel is, I want to know where these uninvited guests are coming from, and I want to know who’s responsible for this mess! My witches are being harassed, hunted, and killed out there, and I want to know who’s to blame!”
“Yes, Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch and Astreal promised, hopping to their feet with salutes.
“Do we at least know where my Daemon is?” Charlotte sharply asked them. “We better not have lost track of my man in all this or I’m going to be really pissed off.”
“Oh, him,” Astreal worried. She looked to the map then lifted her staff to wave at a location with the crescent ornament. “Last we heard from our neko accomplice they were heading in this direction. We’re not sure if they’ve located another fragment or not, but they are at least moving.”
“We’re so sorry about all this, Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch pleaded. “We’re trying to get answers for it, we really are. It’s been difficult to track down any leads or culprits. As soon as we find anything we’ll let you know.”
“I’m counting on you girls,” Charlotte said while carefully eyeing the location of where her swordsman was. “You’ve never let me down before. Please do your best not to start now.”
“Yes, Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch and Astreal said lowering their heads.
The girls looked around at the floating map with unease before hearing a growing uproar outside. Charlotte growled and marched towards her balcony with her helpers quickly trotting over to her sides, the alpha witch giving a sharp flick of her wand to dispel the magical map before they walked up to the railing with voices growing in the streets below.
“What is it now?” Charlotte muttered while Apoch and Astreal held a hand above their eyes to peer ahead. They could see a large crowd of witches gathering near the entrance to the village along with what appeared to be a few approaching carriages and horse riders from the northern trail.
“We were not expecting guests this morning,” Astreal cautioned.
“Lost travelers perhaps?” Apoch wondered. “But at this hour?”
At the edge of Rystone witches were pointing and speaking in confused tones as the wheels of four wagons and the horses that pulled and trotted alongside them drew closer on the cobblestone road. As they did the little monsters slowly quieted down with surprised looks on their faces, a hush falling over the crowd as Charlotte and her helpers made their way through to the front to see for themselves.
“Ms. Charlotte,” the twins softly spoke, with the alpha stepping further ahead of her subjects before halting with a raised eyebrow and slight scowl on her face.
A horse walked up in front of the witch and stopped, blood dripping down the leg of the woman who was hunched over atop its saddle with her arms hanging down lifelessly at her sides. Charlotte eyed over the woman whose leather armor appeared torn apart while her long blonde hair was ruffled and matted with blood, the human having an empty gaze in her eyes and a deep gash on her cheek that appeared fresh. Turning her sights onto the others that approached she saw only horses still moving and breathing among the arrivals, with the women who rode the stallions and coaches being in the same grim condition as the first. One had her bow caught in her glove and loosely dangling at her side next to her steed, another was collapsed on the seat of her carriage with the reins loosely held in her hands, and one poor woman was dragged by her horse from her boot caught in its saddle, the human having most of her flesh and clothing scraped off her back while her front was torn up as if
a blade skillfully peeled her open.
“What the hell is this?” Apoch and Astreal asked as they and other witches started to gather around the deceased humans. They stopped the horses while eyeing the condition of their former owners, some poking the women a few times to make sure they were in fact dead while others gently patted the steeds to keep them calm. Charlotte walked past the front riders and made her way over to the first coach, hopping up onto the side and opening the door before showing a bit of surprise of what she found.
“Anyone still in there?” a witch asked.
“Not in one piece,” Charlotte answered shaking her head.
“There’s two dead women in this one,” another witch said as she and her friend had opened another wagon’s door.
“One dead woman and… I think the remains of half another in this carriage,” another added with a disturbed look into the third ride.
Charlotte hopped off the wagon and walked towards the last one in back, passing riders who were slumped over on their horses with some witches shoving them off and inspecting the corpses with curious eyes. Making her way around to the back of the coach Charlotte waved her wand and opened the door, which then fell off entirely as it wasn’t held on by much anymore. Jumping up into the ride she looked around inside before resting her eyes on something.
“This is quite strange,” Apoch commented as she and her sister walked over behind the coach. “They appear to be human travelers, though not much remains of them now.”
“They must have been heading this direction when they were attacked,” Astreal mused. “I wonder where they came from.”
“Stillwater,” Charlotte said while staring at something. Apoch and Astreal turned to her curiously while other witches gathered around them. “The chart in here bares the seal of the human settlement Stillwater.”
“Stillwater?” Apoch repeated. “That’s the human town to the north near the border, the mining settlement next to a large lake that’s always tranquil.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Astreal carefully said. “And on the other side of that lake is Terashk, the village of witches that watch that town for us.”
“Did the witches of Terashk do this?” a witch asked curiously. “Did we overtake the humans in Stillwater?”
“I didn’t know we were doing that,” another pouted. “I wish I had known, I would have gone to take a man or two from there for myself before it fell.”
“There were no plans to attack Stillwater by us,” Astreal announced. “That was a prime location where human men were groomed to be miners in their quarry. It was not to be disturbed so it could provide healthy and fit men to be captured later on.”
“The witches of Terashk wouldn’t have done this,” Apoch agreed shaking her head. “They were under strict orders by our alpha not to harm those humans. They were supposed to make sure no other monsters bothered them so the men there could be harvested by us when they were ready.”
“Um, looks like something bothered them,” a witch commented as she tugged on the leg of a rider, with the dead woman atop the horse then dropping down with a thump.
“My grace?” Apoch and Astreal asked looking back to Charlotte. “What do you suppose this means? My grace?”
They saw Charlotte remaining still and quiet in the wagon then scurried over to peek inside. Within the travelers’ coach was a small bed that had its sheets and pillow slashed apart, a table with ripped parchments and a dagger struck into the top, carrying bags dangling from overhead while being torn up, a lantern lying on the ground with its glass shattered, and slumped down against the furthest wall was a woman in tattered brown garb with blood covering her neck and cheek. Her eyes were opened just barely, her breathing so quiet it was almost impossible to notice, and her arms weakly holding something wrapped in a white blanket close to her chest with the last of her strength. Charlotte slowly walked towards the woman while waving her wand to the side, casting the table and loose debris in her way into the wall with a clatter. The human wearily turned her eyes up towards the witch, yet with the way they were unfocused it wasn’t likely she was properly seeing with them.
“P… please…” she faintly breathed out. “H… help…”
“What did this?” Charlotte asked.
“Help… please… help…”
“What did this?” Charlotte repeated.
“Don’t… let him… be taken… too…”
Charlotte stepped closer to the woman and tilted her head slightly, seeing the empty gaze of the human that seemed to pass right through her.
“They took… all the men… my husband… our husbands… sons… all… taken… all… but…”
Charlotte raised an eyebrow then looked to what the woman was holding, her bloodied hand moving aside the blanket to reveal a small baby wrapped within it. The child appeared not even a year old, the small fluff it had of white hair atop its head having a few specks of ash in it while its skin was void of any cuts or bruises. The baby was sound asleep in the mother’s arms, a curious eye from Charlotte remaining on it for a moment longer before looking to see the woman slowly lowering her head.
“Please… help… my baby… boy…”
With one final breath the woman remained still and silent, her hands loosening around the infant as all fell quiet in the coach. Charlotte waved her hand before the woman, getting no reaction at all, and then looked down to the baby that squirmed slightly in its sleep. After a pause she slowly reached out and took the infant from the deceased mother’s arms, cradling the blanket bound baby while looking at it with a solemn expression.
“Ms. Charlotte?” Apoch and Astreal asked. They backed up as their alpha walked out of the coach and hopped down to the ground, themselves and the witches gathered near seeing Charlotte holding the baby in her arms while gazing around at the dead travelers.
“Is that a baby?” a witch asked.
“A baby human?” another wondered.
“Ms. Charlotte?” Apoch and Astreal again said.
Charlotte looked at the fallen humans and their wagons before resting her eyes on the infant in her arms. After a while of silence she glanced to Apoch and Astreal as all the witches were watching her curiously.
“Clean up this mess before my village,” she ordered. “Check to see if Stillwater still stands or not. And find out who dares intrude upon my land and threaten my witches. I want this taken care of, I want whoever is responsible dead and their head mounted on a pike in the plaza, and I want it done right now.”
“Yes, Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch and Astreal agreed with a bow. They saw Charlotte looking at the baby with a blank expression before she started walking off into the village.
“Ms. Charlotte?” Astreal asked. “What are you going to do with that child?”
“A good question,” Charlotte replied as she continued walking away. The witches in the street looked to one another in question then to their alpha as she made her way towards her manor with the sleeping baby in her arms. Apoch and Astreal glanced around at the fallen humans and their coaches before watching their alpha taking her leave with the only survivor.
“Things are getting bad out there, aren’t they?” Apoch worried.
“Yes,” Astreal sighed. “And I think it’s a safe bet they’re about to get a whole lot worse real soon.”
Chapter 13
Breaking Down
In the world of Eden mistakes were always being made, with some being minor while others were more disastrous. Sometimes those that followed the wrong path of their choosing may need reprimanding to be taught what they did was wrong so as to discourage a repeat offense. From young children to older adults there were always consequences to be had for their misguided actions. A simple spanking, a boring lecture, losing a hand, or perhaps even their head, punishments for misbehaving varied depending on the severity of the crime and who was administrating the sentence. If one was lucky they may get off with a harmless warning.
Or maybe they would be disciplined until they br
oke completely.
*****
Within their spacious bedroom Daniel was sound asleep in the company of his mates as a new day began. Lying on his back with his mouth opened wide his constant snoring echoed throughout the chamber while the lamps on the walls slowly brightened as if knowing the twilight hours had passed. Daniel’s loud wheezing continued on as he peacefully, in the sense that his dreams were tranquil, slept among those he loved. The very same that were wide awake and watching their mate with extremely bright smiles on their faces. All the girls were gathered around Daniel, with Clover still lying on his arm along with Specca who had her glasses on again, Alyssa lying on his waist while holding onto his hips, Pip sitting on his chest that raised and lowered with his breathing, Cindy who sat next to the nixie while holding Snapper in her arms as the two were both staring at Daniel in awe, Star who hung upside-down from her hammock while keeping her eyes solely on her mate, and the others who sat before their sleeping man while watching him clear affection.
“He’s so loud when he sleeps,” Cindy marveled.
“I can’t believe I slept next to that and didn’t notice,” Clover said in awe. “I had the best night’s rest ever in his arm, and I didn’t hear him make a sound all night.”
“Welcome to the family,” Specca jested with a smirk at her. “That just goes to show you do care for him as we do. We never hear it either. It’s still surprising for us to see him sleeping like this when we wake before he does.”
“I’ve heard of some humans doing this back home in Red Peak,” Doku mentioned. “I always wondered what it was like. Amazing to think that my mate does it.”
“I remember it used to irritate me when I first met him,” Falla admitted. “But now I don’t even notice it when I’m sleeping right next to him. It doesn’t even bother me hearing it now that I’m awake.”
“Do monsters snore?” Alyssa asked curiously. “I never heard of a witch ever doing it before. When I first saw Daniel snoring I had no idea what it even was.”
“I’ve never heard of an instance either,” Specca added with a shrug. “I suppose it’s possible. It’s not common with humans so I’d imagine it’s just as rare with monsters.”
Chronicles of Eden_Act XI Page 44
