Chronicles of Eden - Act VII

by Alexander Gordon

  Kroanette ran towards Daniel before her legs gave out, the centaur falling into a slide on her stomach then rolling to a stop next to him while the other girls ran over and dropped to the ground near each other.

  “I can’t run anymore,” Luna panted while trying to get on her hands and knees. “I feel so tired. And wet.”

  “Are you girls alright?” Daniel asked looking around at them.

  “I think so,” Kroanette wearily said, then noticed Alyssa and promptly screamed. “Alyssa! Oh dear god, is she going to be okay?”

  “Alyssa!” Pip wailed as she dramatically leapt off of Clover’s chest, arms outstretched towards her wounded friend, tears in her eyes, and then promptly dropped to the ground with a tiny thump.

  “Still can’t fly… help me, boobies…”

  “She’s not dead is she?” Falla nervously asked as she and Luna quickly crawled over to Daniel’s sides. Squeak stumbled over onto her knees next to Specca and set Clover down on the ground next to her, the elf leaning on the ant girl for support while looking at Alyssa with remorse.

  “Squeak, help Doku,” Daniel implored. “Her magical reserves are low; she can’t manage Alyssa’s injury all by herself.”

  Squeak nodded then quickly began licking Alyssa’s arm and shoulder, trying to soothe the witch’s pain and speed up her recovery. Alyssa murmured something in a weak daze before passing out, her hands loosening with Daniel and Specca’s as she lost consciousness.

  “Just hang on, Alyssa,” Specca whined while gripping Alyssa’s hand tightly. “You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”

  “This is horrible,” Luna whimpered. “How could her own daughter do this to her?”

  “Daniel, you’re hurt too,” Falla gasped as she saw Daniel’s shirt and vest burned away at his side.

  “I saw what happened,” Kroanette growled, turning her glaring eyes towards Kitten who was busy swinging her blade against Ember’s. “Daniel was doing splendidly against Ember before she came out. She ruined everything when she broke his focus.”

  “No,” Daniel argued shaking his head. “Kitten saved Alyssa’s life. Yes, she cut Triska’s aura from my reach when she took over, but if she hadn’t stepped in Ember would have killed Alyssa before I could have reached her.”

  “But you were doing so well against her,” Kroanette insisted.

  “I was, but it was starting to tire my body using that much magic,” Daniel admitted. “Honestly, if Kitten hadn’t stepped in I would have dropped out there from the strain of using it. She may have saved both us. I’m afraid I still need more practice with controlling this power.”

  “Are you kidding?” Clover argued with him. “You were fucking awesome out there.”

  All the girls looked to her except Squeak and Doku, the elf glancing around at them then quickly turning away with a blush and a flustered huff.

  “I mean you were doing pretty well. You know, for a human.”

  “Thank you, Clover,” Daniel replied looking down to Alyssa with worried eyes. “I didn’t want to attack Ember like that. I didn’t want to hurt her. But… I can’t lose Alyssa. I can’t let anything take her from me.”

  The girls watched him gently brush aside Alyssa’s hair from her face before turning to see Kitten knocking away Ember’s sword then dashing towards the dark witch herself with a furious yell. The cambion swiped at Ember with a fierce slash, only for the witch to vanish into her flames and reappear behind her yet again. Using her wings Kitten blocked two of the witch’s fiery attacks before knocking away the flying sword and racing towards Ember with her glowing blade.

  “I will not be stopped from my revenge!” Ember yelled as she held out her hand towards the cambion. A powerful burst of heated air blasted against Kitten, knocking her back only slightly before she followed through and swiped at the witch with her blade.

  “Hold still!” Kitten shouted as Ember vanished into her flames, the cinders and smoke being sliced across by the cambion’s sword revealing the witch was gone again. “I’m getting tired of this game, witch!”

  Ember appeared away from her with fire sprouting around her feet, her glaring eyes going from Kitten over towards the others while her floating blade spiraled over at her side.

  “As am I. So let’s finish it, shall we?”

  With a fierce swipe of her hand she flung her searing blade straight towards Alyssa. Kitten gasped and raced towards the group as they all stared with stunned faces at seeing the witch’s sword streaking through the air towards them.

  “No!” Daniel yelled as he stumbled over in front of the girls and held out his arms, bracing for the hit as the sword flew right towards him.

  “Daniel, no!” Falla cried out as she grabbed onto his leg.

  “Don’t hurt them!” Specca pleaded as she grabbed onto his other.

  The sword raced at Daniel’s chest with cinders flying off its heated edge before coming to a sudden halt an inch away from him. All eyes watched in awe as the sword was grabbed by Kitten, the demon’s arm flexing slightly as she used a great deal of strength to halt the blade from going through her master.

  “Kitten,” Kroanette breathed out in wonder.

  Kitten slowly yanked back, feeling the magical pull on the sword from Ember as she held it firmly in hand. A dark pulse of energy rippled through her arm from the sword, her eyes watching it carefully as the world seemed to distort slightly around her for a moment before returning to normal.

  ‘What manner of sword is this anyway?’

  “Holy shit, I felt that from here,” Triska mentioned as she could feel the strange pulse of magic reaching her while inside Kitten’s mind.

  “Hey!” Ember yelled stomping her feet. “Let go of that! That’s mine!”

  Slowly Kitten relaxed her arm as she held the dark blade, tilting it slightly as she eyed the weapon and its glowing runes while a pulse of magical energy gently rippled through her from it. She blinked then glanced back to Ember with a glare as she waved the sword slightly.

  “You broke Triska’s sword,” she called out as she turned to face the witch. “It’s only fair she receives a replacement from you.”

  “Give me back my sword!” Ember roared out.

  “Come and get it,” Kitten taunted as she held her blades down at either side. Her wings arched up slightly while her tail waved behind her, glowing eyes focused intently on the witch who was snarling and stomping her foot in frustration.

  “You won’t stop me,” Ember hissed, her golden eye glancing down and catching a glimmer coming from the charred dirt. Holding out her hand she lifted up Triska’s dagger from the ground, its burnt sheath crumbling off the blade as the witch grabbed and held it inversely.

  “Ember, I’m warning you!” Kitten called out.

  “You won’t protect her,” Ember growled as she glared at Alyssa who was surrounded by the group.

  “Don’t do it!”

  “She must die.”

  “Ember, I will kill you if you try it!”

  “Ember, she’s warning you!” Daniel called out. “You can’t win this!”

  “Don’t do it!” Specca cried out. “Stop this, please!”

  “She’s your mother!” Kroanette implored desperately.

  “She loves you!” Luna pleaded.

  “Put the dagger down!” Falla ordered.

  “Don’t hurt her!” Pip begged as she fluttered over onto Alyssa’s leg and hugged her.

  “Don’t be a fucking idiot!” Clover shouted out.

  Squeak and Doku continued to tend to Alyssa’s wounds, both glancing to Ember with growing concern as they feared the witch was going to strike again.

  Ember growled and tensed up, holding the dagger firmly in hand as flames began to rise up around her. Kitten slowly shook her head as she got ready with her swords, herself and Triska watching as the witch prepared to make her move.

  “Ember, don’t do it,” Triska pleaded.

  ‘If she tries…’ Kitten solemnly thought.

>   With a furious yell Ember dashed forward a step before the flames engulfed her, smoke and fire swirling around the witch as Kitten saw the trail of orange magical light streaking towards them. The cambion turned and held her dark blade back while the group watched her with surprise. She dove forward in a thrust with her sword towards Alyssa, everyone staring in shock as Ember then appeared next to the witch with her dagger held up high. The dark sword struck through Ember’s back and out her front with a slick crunch, her eyes widening with a hoarse gasp as she was halted from her charge by her own blade. The dagger dropped out of her hand and struck into the dirt next to Alyssa’s leg, everything then falling silent as the group saw Ember struck through by Kitten’s sword.

  “I warned you,” Kitten spoke with narrowed eyes at the witch.

  “Ember,” Kroanette quietly said as the witch looked down to the sword that had her blood running along its edge.

  “Why, Ember?” Specca softly mourned. “Why couldn’t you let your anger go?”

  Ember slowly stepped forward, sliding off of Kitten’s blade, and then dropped to her knees next to Alyssa. Doku and Squeak stopped and watched her with remorse as the dark witch shakily reached out to grab Alyssa’s throat.

  “Die…” Ember weakly groaned as she tried to reach her mother’s neck before she dropped down next to her. She struggled to pull herself up on Alyssa’s chest, eyes wearily glaring at her mother as her world began to turn dark.

  “You… will… pay…” Ember breathed out. She held one hand out over Alyssa’s throat before she dropped down next to her, her golden eye going out of focus as her last breath was exhaled.

  Silence filled the field as everyone watched Ember lay beside her mother with blood dripping from her mouth. Slowly Daniel knelt down next to Ember and gently brushed her hair, closing his eyes as he felt regret for how things turned out.

  “Master… I…” Kitten softly said. “I only did…”

  “You did what you had to do,” Daniel reasoned, glancing to her with a solemn expression. “You gave her a chance to stand down, you warned her to stay away. And you protected my mate when she didn’t, you saved her life.”

  Kitten slowly dissolved her glowing blade as the other girls turned to her in silence, all of them showing remorseful expressions as the cambion slowly stepped back away from them. She glanced around at the scarred field that had small patches of fire and burnt remains of their caravan then noticed Triska standing beside her with a saddened face.

  “Thank you, Kitten.”

  The cambion lowered her head then looked back to Daniel, the boy sighing and turning his eyes down to the two witches.

  “Thank you, Kitten.”

  “Thank you,” Pip said up at the cambion. “Thank you for protecting her.”

  “You did what you had to,” Kroanette softly agreed as she lowered her head. “Thank you for saving Alyssa.”

  “This is… this is…” Doku whimpered before sniffling and lowering her head. “I don’t like any of this.”

  Doku and Squeak resumed tending to Alyssa’s wounds, the ant girl licking her cuts with soft squeaks while Doku held her wings over the witch and focused her remaining magic to heal her. The girls gathered around and watched them worriedly while Daniel gently lied Ember on her back and slowly closed her eyes. He gently brushed her cheek then lowered his head with a quiet sigh.

  ‘Ember, I’m sorry. I didn’t want it to end like this.’

  *****

  Triska and Kroanette slowly walked together across the blackened field, passing charred rubble and debris from their caravan as the wind carried clouds of ash and dust about. In Triska’s hand she held Ember’s sword, her eyes glancing to it curiously as the rune gave off a soft crimson glow before she felt her foot step on something. Looking down she saw the burnt handle to her old sword, the blade having been shattered apart and scuffed from earlier.

  “What is it?” Kroanette asked as Triska knelt down and picked up her severed sword.

  “Nothing but junk now,” Triska muttered before tossing the hilt away.

  “Your mother gave that to you, did she not?” Kroanette said with concern as she saw Triska looking down in remorse.

  “Yeah, she did.”

  “Perhaps we can get it fixed,” Kroanette hopefully suggested.

  “It’s broken beyond repair,” Triska sighed before walking again. Kroanette quickly trotted over to her side as the teen ruffled her hair with a frustrated sigh. “She’s going to kill me when she finds out I broke it. Actually, she’ll probably have a heart attack hearing that I’m not only a cambion now but also having sex with monsters along with Daniel. Still, hearing I broke the prized sword she gave me is sure to strike a nerve nonetheless.”

  “You have a new weapon now though,” Kroanette pointed out glancing to the sword in Triska’s hand. “One that is giving me the shivers just looking at it.”

  “I know what you mean,” Triska said eyeing the new blade. The dark steel, the glowing red runes, the crudely sharpened end, and the way it seemed to have a monstrous aura in itself, it all made her feel a sense of uneasiness holding it.

  “I guess it’s better than nothing, but I’m sure it’s nothing like my old sword.”

  “Hey!” Luna called out from nearby. The two looked over to see Falla digging through the dirt and Luna waving them over. “We found something!”

  Triska and Kroanette quickly ran over and watched as Falla pulled out Alyssa’s mother’s focuser necklace from the ground, the gemstone shining softly while having only a few smudges on it.

  “I think Alyssa will be happy to have this back,” Falla mused standing up and shaking the necklace gently.

  Triska walked over and took the necklace, eyeing it with a remorseful smile before they all made their way over to where the others were. Squeak was sitting on the ground with Doku leaning against her as she slept, the ant girl gently holding the exhausted harpy close while Pip was nestled in her breasts with her head sticking out above them. Next to her Clover was sitting up while holding her side, her hair tangled and dirty while she was looking down at the ground in silence. Specca was sitting down beside her, wiping her glasses and putting them back on before seeing Triska and the other girls coming closer.

  “We found this,” Triska said holding up the focuser.

  “Perhaps now is not the right time,” Specca worried before they all looked forward at something.

  Ahead of the girls Daniel was sitting on his knees behind Alyssa, the witch sitting on hers with her clothing ripped and bloodied still from her ordeal. Her wounds were mostly healed, however before they could be completely taken care of earlier Doku had passed out from the strain of using her magic too much and collapsed. Alyssa however didn’t show any pain or struggle from them when she woke up, she didn’t even say a word. As soon as she rested her eyes on Ember’s body she seemed to withdraw into her mind, shedding no tears and speaking nothing while not reacting to any of the group as they tried to console her.

  “Is she going to be okay?” Luna worriedly asked.

  “She’s taking her daughter being dead pretty well,” Clover mentioned with a shrug. “She hasn’t screamed once.”

  “She hasn’t said a word since she woke up,” Kroanette added. “I fear her heart may have taken too much all at once from this.”

  Alyssa remained silent as she stared at Ember who was lying before her, eyes unblinking as she saw her daughter who had tried to kill her and her family now dead. She had been informed what happened after she passed out, how Ember was about to kill her with Triska’s dagger and how Kitten struck down the fiery witch in order to save her, yet she showed no reaction when she had quietly sat up next to her daughter’s body and just stared at it in silence.

  “Alyssa,” Daniel gently spoke up. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want this to happen.”

  “Please say something, Alyssa,” Specca said as she scooted closer to the witch. “We’re growing more worried the longer you just sit there doing noth
ing.”

  Triska handed the focuser necklace to Kroanette and struck her sword into ground then walked over to sit beside Alyssa. She looked over Ember’s body with a remorseful eye then glanced to Alyssa who kept her gaze locked onto her daughter.

  “I’m sorry, Alyssa,” she gently sympathized. “I can’t imagine the pain you must be feeling right now. But we’re all here for you, we’ll always be here for you, I promise.”

  “Kitten,” Alyssa finally spoke with a glance to Triska. “I hate you so much, Kitten.”

  Triska closed her eyes and nodded slowly while in her mind Kitten remained silent from those words.

  “But not because you killed Ember,” Alyssa continued, with Triska then watching her curiously as the witch’s eyes began to water. “You saved my life when you did, protected Daniel and all of us from her, did what I wouldn’t have been able to do. You did what I wouldn’t have had the strength to do, to stop her from hurting anyone else. So for that I do thank you, Kitten.”

  Triska paused then glanced to where she saw Kitten watching Alyssa confusedly from beside her, the demon then saying something to Triska while keeping her eyes on the witch.

  “She’s asking why you hate her so much then,” Triska relayed to Alyssa.

  “Because you’ve caused so much trouble ever since you came to be inside Triska. And I’m positive you’re going to cause even more problems in the future for all of us.” She trembled then quickly hugged Triska while breaking down into tears. “I hate you so much, Kitten! I hate you!”

  Triska held Alyssa as the witch cried into her chest. She glanced around to seeing everyone watching them then over to Kitten as the demon groaned with annoyance in her mind.

  “Oh, c’mon,” Kitten complained before looking down to Ember with discontent. “That bitch was about to kill her, not to mention she harmed my master. She said so herself that I did what needed to be done, so how am I the bad girl here?”

  ‘She doesn’t hate you.’

  Kitten looked to Triska curiously as the teen had a glimmer of a smile on her face while she watched her demonic counterpart.