Chronicles of Eden - Season II - Act II

by Alexander Gordon

  “Mika, don’t destroy yourself for this,” Hollia warned.

  “I’m fine,” Mika argued, shaking her head then struggling to focus her vision on her target. “I just want to make sure…”

  “Make sure of what?” Forrus asked.

  “To make sure that drider… never touches my friend again!” Mika roared. Though her words caught Hollia by surprise, what followed quickly topped that for everyone. With a furious eruption of golden and crimson light, Mika launched a dazzling missile of fiery energy from her spellbase, shattering the ground and launching a fierce shockwave that blew dust away behind them. The energy bolt streaked across the sky with a piercing wail, trailing flaming embers in its wake with broken red and black casting rings rippling outward behind it. While Mika dropped back into Scay’s arms with a strained gasp, everyone else watched the sorceress’ attack searing through the air towards the drider, the monster howling loudly before raising its hand to try and block the strike. The magical bolt struck the monster’s palm and exploded into a gigantic fireball, engulfing the giant beast in flames and smoke while destroying the area around it from the forceful payload.

  A new star shined in that desolate graveyard of the former elven home, its ominous light and thunderous boom traveling far and wide as it lit up the night sky, something Daemon and his followers weren’t the only witnesses to.

  “Not bad, human,” Aeon muttered, slowly trudging across the barren fields towards the bright, fiery light that bloomed profoundly in the distance.

  “And to think, you could have been my weapon against Seraph… if only your fate was able to be separated from Daemon Warrick’s. Now I’m stuck hoping that idiot boy Daniel Sorres can take your place.”

  A few charred boulders and smoking rocks rained down around her from the sorceress’ explosive attack, the chronofly glancing to the smoldering debris that had traveled a good ways thanks to Mika’s destructive power before sighing to herself.

  “Yeah… we’re all in much better hands with him. I can feel it.”

  *****

  The air was filled with a smoky haze and the wounded cries of a drider. Walking through the clouds Daemon and his followers slowly came closer to the giant beast that was certainly in very poor condition. The drider had been completely incapacitated now, its many legs having collapsed around it while its large abdomen, what was left of it anyway, lay atop the bloodied dirt with most of its innards strewn across the ground behind it. Her human half was laying on the ground on its side, the monster having dropped onto its one remaining shoulder while the other, along with its arm and a good amount of her flank, had been blown clear off by the sorceress’ magical attack. The drider wailed in pain while lying on what remained of her other arm, the monster having blood coming from its eye and mouth while the mandibles twitched and curled inward. Its eyes slowly moved from Daemon to the girls standing around him, all of them examining the downed monster with a complete absence of mercy.

  “That’s what you get for messing with us,” Rulo snorted with a smug leer.

  “That’s what she gets for messing with my master,” Sasha corrected with a coy glance at the man.

  “And Hollia?” Daemon questioned.

  “I suppose her too.”

  “Too bad there’s no bounty on this thing’s head,” Tabitha complained. “Taking down a drider is no small feat. A shame there’s no reward for doing this.”

  “GRANDEUR AND RIGHTEOUSNESS ARE REWARD ENOUGH, LITTLE KITTY!” Minos laughed, standing tall and proud with a big grin on her face. “THIS HAS TRULY BEEN A WONDROUS NIGHT FOR MINOS! TRULY WONDROUS INDEED! HAHAHAHAHA!”

  Saffron threw a rock at the drider’s eye, causing it to flinch and howl in pain, before squeaking at her in a derisive manner with hand gestures to match. She then grabbed hold of Daemon’s arm, cushioning it between her breasts as she hopped up and down with eager squeaking at him as she felt very elated after her successful demolition work and her beloved’s praise.

  “If you don’t stop hanging all over my master,” Sasha snarled at her before pointing to the wounded drider. “Then that’s going to be you, Saffron!”

  Saffron merely flipped her off while holding Daemon closer, causing Sasha and Rulo to draw their weapons and growl viciously at the ant girl while Daemon merely shook his head as he examined the drider before them. The giant beast whined and struggled to move, its mandibles flinching in its mouth while the eyes wearily focused on the cambion.

  “Minos,” he said, drawing their attention while the minotaur jumped a bit in surprise. “Would you kindly put this drider out of its misery?”

  “Uh… uh… ye-… yes… yes! YES, OF COURSE!” Minos stuttered before smiling very awkwardly as she blushed brightly. “IT WOULD BE MY PLEASURE, DARLING!”

  “Don’t start calling him darling!” Rulo shouted, being ignored by Minos as she stepped ahead of the group while brandishing her giant axe. “He’s not your husband, you stupid, fucking pile of horsesh-”

  “YOU HAVE FOUGHT WELL, UNDERDWELLER!” Minos boldly proclaimed. She held twirled her axe before holding the blade up to strike, her muscular arms gripping the pole tightly while her eyes and tattoos glowed softly as she channeled her magic into the weapon. The axe hummed and bloomed with a surge of energy, casting light against the drider who stared at her in fright with a weak howl.

  “BUT NOT WELL ENOUGH! YOUR TIME IN THIS WORLD HAS NOW COME TO AN END!” Minos roared, right before she swung her axe around at her side and leapt forward into a powerful strike at the drider’s head. Her axe struck through the monster’s forehead with a loud crunch, driving its sharpened blade into the beast’s skull with a spurt of blood shooting out above it. The drider twitched with a hoarse whine, its eyes slowly rolling upward before closing as it lost all strength and fell limp. Using her foot to push against the monster’s face, Minos yanked her axe out with another loud crunch and burst of drider blood, the minotaur stepping back from the kill and showing a solemn look on her face.

  “May you be reborn as a stronger warrior in this world,” she spoke in a lower and somewhat sympathetic voice. “So that we may fight again someday.”

  “So you are able to speak in a lower voice without us having to remind you,” Hollia mentioned, with the group then noticing the centaur, naga, and lycan emerging from the dwindling haze. In Forrus’ arms was Mika, the sorceress out cold from her magical expenditure. In Hollia’s was her spear, the centaur and her friends eyeing over the dead drider as it came into view. And for Scay she, as usual, had a twisted smile and twitching eye shown to the world, the naga giggling wildly before quickly rushing over and wrapping herself around Tabitha in a very constrictive and painfully tight manner.

  “Hi, Tabitha!” she cheered while hugging and squeezing the neko to the point that she gasped for air with a hoarse inhale. “I’m so happy you’re okay! And I’m so proud of you; you helped kill that mean spider! You were so brave to let Minos throw you like a rock at it and then fight to stop it from hurting anyone! You’re- nrrghmmm so amazing! I just want to stab you so much right now! HAHAHAHAHA! My friend… my friend… MY FRIEND!”

  “Scay!” Tabitha choked as she turned blue. “Too tight! Too tight! Scay! Get off me!”

  While the naga and neko dropped to the ground in their forced embrace, Daemon left Saffron’s side much to her disappointment and walked over to Hollia, the centaur showing a bashful smile as she knelt down before him.

  “My knight,” she humbly said. “Thank you again for that gallant rescue.”

  “Again, it wasn’t just me that came to help you,” Daemon reminded her.

  “Yes, I saw that,” Hollia agreed, smiling around at the others before resting her eyes on Mika. “I truly do have friends with me on this night. No doubt about that.”

  “Is she okay?” Sasha asked, pointing to Mika.

  “She’s just sleeping,” Forrus said, watching the human quietly resting in her arms. “She put everything she had into that attack. It seems even our talented sorcer
ess has her limits after all.”

  “PUNY HUMAN DID ALRIGHT!” Minos snidely remarked as she stepped closer. “THOUGH SHE IS STILL A GREAT FOOL FOR FREEING A DARK QUEEN! STRENGTH WITH MAGIC DOES NOT FORGIVE HER SIN! FOR SUCH A CRIME, SHE DESERVES A PAINLESS EXECUTION AT THE VERY LEAST!”

  “We’re not killing her,” Hollia argued. “She may have made some grave errors in her life, but she deserves a chance to redeem herself.”

  Minos scoffed and moved closer to reach out and grab Mika from Forrus. The lycan quickly backed up and snarled at her while Hollia jumped in front and held her spear out towards the minotaur.

  “I said we’re not killing her!” Hollia warned. “If you try to harm a hair on her head I swear I will run you through, and unlike Cataclysm, I will not fail with that effort.”

  “She was tricked by that Dark Queen,” Forrus added. “She was an idiot, yes, but that does not mean she needs to be put to death. You value honor and valor, don’t you? Then allow this human to try and redeem herself so that she may one day leave this world a noble soul.”

  “BUT SHE-”

  “Minos,” Daemon spoke up, causing the minotaur to hop with a squeak and glance back to him. “We know what Mika has done. We know why she did it. And we know she’s better than that. She deserves a chance to atone for her sins.”

  Minos turned to him with a worried frown, falling silent from his words while Forrus and Hollia quickly went around her to regroup with the others. Behind them Tabitha had finally been freed from Scay’s tail, the naga still hugging her with maniacal laughter while the neko was gasping for air and struggling to push away her overzealous friend.

  “Before you pass sentence on her,” Daemon warned Minos. “Know that she has already suffered greatly. Both her sisters have been killed. Her little brother has been taken away from her. Her home is gone. And her pride and self-confidence have all but been stripped from her. She has made some very serious mistakes in her past, and she’s lost nearly everything because of that. Redemption isn’t just something she wants to achieve, it’s something she needs to.”

  Minos reluctantly hesitated as she eyed over Mika with a low grumble. After thinking about it she sighed heavily and looked away while resting her axe over her shoulder.

  “Very well,” she muttered. “If you say she deserves a chance… then Minos shall let her try. Minos must admit… puny human did good fighting the underdweller.”

  “Her name is Mika,” Hollia corrected her. “Mika Harollson. You have a rather rude habit of addressing us as nameless creatures of Eden, you know that?”

  Minos merely rolled her eyes and continued to ignore her, instead choosing to survey the damage done to the drider while thinking quietly to herself. Shaking her head at the brute Hollia then looked around at her companions that came to her rescue. Daemon was recalling his monstrous side and returning to his human appearance; Sasha and Rulo pushed Saffron aside then started arguing with each other while each holding one of Daemon’s arms; Saffron stomped her foot with stern squeaking before she started reaching into her satchel with a mean glare at the two girls; Tabitha was getting back onto her feet and muttering to herself while eyeing over the drider; Scay was apparently eating a flower while chuckling and speaking erratically to herself; and Forrus was gazing at Mika with a solemn expression as she remained silent in thought.

  “At any rate,” Hollia said with a small smile. “Thank you all for coming after me, it really does mean-… wait a moment. Sasha? Didn’t you say earlier that you thought I was in danger before the drider even revealed itself? How did you know it was here?”

  “We didn’t,” Sasha answered, with everyone then looking past Hollia at something. The centaur blinked then turned around to see Aeon standing close by, the chronofly watching them with a bitter scowl while her wings trembled slightly behind her.

  “She did,” Daemon explained. Hollia gasped and quickly backed up towards the group while holding her spear out towards the chronofly as she started walking forward.

  “Aeon?” Hollia exclaimed. “What the hell? What is that accursed Dark Queen doing here?”

  “It’s nice to see you again too,” Aeon flatly replied.

  “What is happening here? My knight? What is the meaning of this?”

  Aeon slowly approached them, her steps being uneven as she appeared to struggle with seeing straight. As she got closer Daemon stepped ahead of his followers, watching the chronofly sluggishly nearing before she fell forward with a whimper. To her surprise, and also Hollia’s, Daemon caught her, holding her up against his chest as she feebly held onto his arms.

  “Do you… believe me now?” Aeon weakly asked him. “Or do you still wish to leave their lives to chance?”

  “My knight?” Hollia questioned in disbelief. “What in Eden’s name is going on here? Wha… you… she… what the fuck?”

  Daemon held the chronofly up as she slumped against him in her weakened state. Glancing behind him he saw only Hollia expressing shock at what she was seeing, the rest of the girls were showing harsh leers towards the chronofly while also displaying noticeable concern about the Dark Queen’s earlier predictions that may not have been falsely foretold after all.

  “Alright, Aeon,” Daemon said turning his cold blue eyes back onto the chronofly. “I believe a long discussion is an order.”

  Chapter 4

  No Monsters Here

  In the world of Eden it was all but common for monsters to be hated, feared, and treated like ultimate evils. From the most lustful and uncontrollable creatures to the more timid yet still horny otherworldly maidens, all were considered dangerous as they would inevitably resort to any means they could to breed. When faced with no other choice than to use deception, force, and even violence to reproduce, these cursed women of Eden became the very monsters they were despised as. For many, this was their only way of life, whether they liked it or not. But for others who wished for something greater, there could be another way for them if they truly dared to be different.

  A way to survive, prosper, and shed away the title of Monster.

  *****

  “What to do, what to do,” Charlotte murmured to herself for the umpteenth time that night. Inside her spacious manor the alpha witch wasn’t seated at her desk before her crystal ball as she usually was at this hour, but instead standing beside a small counter that had a plush basket atop it. Within the basket, covered in a cozy blanket and surrounded by colorful pillows, was a baby boy, one who was simply observing his surroundings with very little knowledge of anything going on around him. Charlotte lightly tapped her wand against her hip as she examined the toddler she had in her possession now, one that, after days of deliberating on what to do with, still had not found the answer she was looking for.

  “Seriously, why has this decision fallen upon me?” Charlotte complained, almost to herself as well as the child. “I’m a monster, a proud and feared alpha witch to you humans, and yet I’m tasked with caring for one of their babies now? Is this some sort of joke? Whatever game fate is playing here, I’m not understanding its rules or general mindset.”

  The baby offered no insight or rebuttal to her conundrum, of course, and instead continued looking around at the many relics and books that adorned the walls along with the uniquely crafted gothic architecture that stretched overhead.

  “What am I to do with you?” Charlotte huffed. “Just toss you to the wolves of Ritherwood and call it a day? Or perhaps raise you to be my personal breeding stock? I suppose I could donate you to the many alchemists residing here in town, I do wonder what wonderfully twisted concoctions they could cook up with you. Would you like that instead?”

  Again, the baby appeared to not even realize she was talking to him.

  “I must say, for a baby you’re quite stupid,” Charlotte scoffed. “Do you even understand the danger you’re in? You’re surrounded by witches, monsters who will want to harvest you for your seed one day. Why, when you become old enough to start making semen for us, every wi
tch around here is going to be raping you senseless. You’re essentially a cow waiting to be milked dry, milked until you can’t even draw a breath in this world, that’s all you are. And knowing that you’re just… you’re just…”

  The baby looked at her with a small gurgle, with the witch struggling to speak again before sighing in aggravation.

  “You’re just sitting there, without a care in the world,” Charlotte muttered. “What’s your problem anyway? You’ve just been sitting in your basket for days, in the middle of a witch town, and the only times you’ve cried or put up a fuss is when you wanted to be fed. Aren’t you scared? Aren’t you terrified? Aren’t you just the least bit-”

  Finally the baby performed another action, this being making a small sneeze, something that caused another action which was to laugh at its own amusement.

  “Humans really are simpleminded creatures,” Charlotte flatly summed up. Tiredly running a hand down her face she watched the baby showing no fear or anxiety in her presence, rather he seemed perfectly content in her care.

  “What am I supposed to do with you?” Charlotte complained, shaking her head and walking over to sit at her desk. She plopped down into her chair while watching the baby basket, hearing only small murmurs from the little infant.

  “What’s more, why is this so hard for me to decide?” she wondered, shaking her head slowly. “Why am I putting so much thought into this? I should just give the child to whoever can find a use for it and be done with it. The poor boy doesn’t have much in the way of prospects in this town other than to become a sex slave. Other than being put to death, what choice does he have?”

  Closing her eyes she leisurely toyed with her wand as she considered her options, again feeling a nagging sensation tugging at her in regard to her choices.

  “Still…” she murmured. “I have to say… I feel a little sad for the baby’s fate. It is just a baby after all. Even if it’s a human boy… ah, what am I supposed to think of this? He’s doomed, plain and simple. If I don’t rape him to death when he grows up then my entire village of witches sure will. Honestly, throwing him to the wolves might be more merciful.”