“Luna, can I tell you a secret? You have to promise not to tell anyone else though,” Emily said with a mischievous smile. Luna looked at her with growing concern and slowly nodded.
“Ok, I promise,” she said carefully. Emily held her hand with the ring on it out then waved it around in several circling patterns, with a trail of red light etching into the air from her movements before the witch then struck her hand through the circular casting ring, with strange emblems and symbols lighting up around the edges as the glowing crimson ring seemed to send a ripple of distorted air away from it.
“Luna, you know what a Darker One is, right?” Emily asked cautiously.
“Darker Ones? Those are the most evil monsters in the world,” Luna said nervously.
“That’s right, there are lots of different kinds of Darker Ones out there, but they’re extremely rare to come across. Most of them are chaotic, destroying everything around them as they please, like wild animals,” Emily agreed with a nod. She then giggled and turned her blank gaze back to Luna with a creepy smile on her face, causing Luna to feel a real sense of terror from the girl.
“Well, I tamed one,” she said with a twitch of her eyebrow.
“What? You… tamed one?” Luna asked, not liking where this was going. Emily nodded then pointed her hand down to the road while the casting circle around her arm spun around slowly. The light then flared up brightly before shooting down from her hand into the road like a bolt of lightning, causing a powerful flash along with fire that swirled around in a circle on the road. The flames filled the circle then rose up into a torrent of fire that spun around with a monstrous howl. Luna stared at the sight with absolute fright while Emily faced the torrent with an eager smile on her face. The eyestalks turned to Luna and saw her shaking before Emily backed up and held her hand gently, with Luna looking to the girl as she pointed to the flames.
“Here, look,” she said eagerly, with the flames flashing with a powerful boom before dropping down and washing out along the ground with a sizzling crackle, with Luna then staring with shock at seeing something standing in the road while small patches of fire burned around it.
“What… is that?” she asked fearfully.
Standing on the charred ground was a centaur, however this one looked drastically different compared to most centaurs, and not only that it seemed to be twice as big. The color of the horse’s body was a dark purple with black hair on the lower legs and rear, the tail being long and black while trailing smoke behind it. Around its lower back it had a black cover on it that was tied around its belly, the blanket having two tails that hung down either side of the beast’s body near its hind legs with silver emblems woven into the fabric along the edges. Around the human waist that connected to the horse’s body it had a belt with three small skulls attached to the front, each of them having small traces of red light coming from their eyes. The monster’s human half was that of a woman, with a dark leather shawl that covered its breasts and was draped down over its shoulders. Its skin was a dark blue while the eyes were solid white, her long raven hair being held back in a loose ponytail with the hairband being a crimson ribbon. However the most noticeable thing about this dark looking monster was the gigantic scythe it held in its hands, with the blade itself being the size of Luna’s body. The long steel handle was dark colored while the enlarged blade gave off a haunting purplish glow as the mere sight of it sent chills down Luna’s spine.
Emily giggled at seeing the new monster as it just stood out in the road, the beast slowly turning its head to survey its new surroundings while its rear leg scraped against the dirt road.
“That’s a deathmare, a Darker One,” Emily boasted.
“A Darker One?” Luna squeaked out. She then screamed and bolted back into the girl’s room, with Emily’s eyestalks turning to seeing the butterfly girl scrambling towards the opposite wall away from the balcony.
“Luna? It’s ok, it’s not going to hurt you,” Emily pleaded as she quickly ran in after the girl. Luna stumbled and dropped down onto the floor then turned around to seeing Emily walking up to her, with two of the witch’s eyestalks wavering around behind her as they kept their single eyes locked onto the frightened butterfly.
“No, no, no,” Luna whimpered as she tried to scoot further away on her rear.
“Luna? It’s alright, you’re safe with me,” Emily assured gently.
“Safe? There’s a Darker One right outside!” Luna cried out. Emily nodded then knelt down beside Luna as the butterfly girl tried to scramble back, with Emily grabbing her arms and holding her as she smiled lovingly at the girl.
“I told you, I tamed it, it’s my Darker One now,” she gently explained. Luna stared at her with shock as the witch gestured over towards the balcony, with Luna then looking to seeing the tall deathmare outside still standing where it first appeared.
“You see? It’s not going to attack you, it obeys my every command,” Emily said playfully.
“What? It… obeys you?” Luna asked with disbelief.
“Yes, deathmares are Darker Ones, but they’re not of this world, they’re from the underworld. In order for them to come to be out here, someone has to summon them from their home. They don’t exist to rape men, they can’t get pregnant, so instead they draw their power from stealing souls, and lots of them,” Emily explained with a caring smile. Luna stared at her with shock as this too wasn’t making her feel better about any of what was happening.
“Souls? Like what a nightmare steals?” she asked.
“Oh, you’ve heard of those, have you? Yes, nightmares steal souls to reproduce, but deathmares don’t do that. Instead, they steal souls to keep themselves from fading away in our world; they need them just to exist here. Basically, whoever feeds them lots of souls they treat as their master, doing whatever they’re told without question, so they can remain here in our world,” Emily explained. Luna looked at her with wonder as the witch stood up and giggled with a mischievous smile.
“So, I summoned it here, after I had all the men rounded up and set aside. I told the deathmare it could have every woman and child in the village, but the men were strictly off limits, and it obeyed. It killed everyone in one night, and after that it remained in this world, treating me as its new owner. It’s basically like having the coolest guard dog ever,” Emily said with a giggle.
“You… you sacrificed an entire human village to that thing?” Luna asked with horror.
“Yep yep, it’s pretty neat how that thing kills too. It doesn’t maim, it doesn’t maul, and it doesn’t even spill any blood. Its scythe is a special spectral blade. It can phase right through anything as if it were a ghost. But if the blade cuts through a person, it cleaves through their soul, taking it away and leaving the body to drop dead!” Emily cheered with a hop. Luna turned pale with fear as the witch giggled while one of her eyestalks looked outside at the deathmare, which was still waiting for an order from her mistress.
“It killed all those women and children without making a mess of the town, you couldn’t even tell that the humans were exterminated here at all, could you? There’s no sign of any fighting or blood or anything, nobody would ever have a clue, so travelers still come here thinking it’s safe,” Emily said with a laugh at the end.
“Emily… how could you?” Luna breathed out with tears forming in her eyes. Emily showed a curious expression as her eyestalks looked at Luna closely.
“Hey, why are you crying? What’s wrong?” she asked.
“You murdered an entire village, you killed innocent humans, that’s what’s wrong,” Luna whimpered while shaking her head. Emily smiled sadly as she knelt down and brushed her hand through the girl’s hair, with Luna trembling from the touch.
“No, the deathmare killed the women and children, I never laid a hand on them, remember? As for the men dying, well, I’ll admit that was my bad, I always get carried away when I’m raping them, I forget they need to rest and eat sometimes. But still, there’s always more where they cam
e from, no worries if we kill a few to get pregnant, right?” she reasoned with a small shrug. Luna scrambled back onto her feet and away from the witch as she backed up against the door, with Emily showing a curious expression as the eyestalks just stared at the butterfly girl.
“You use that monster to kill humans? That’s not right, that’s evil!” Luna cried out. Emily showed a curious smile and stood up while slowly shaking her head.
“No, I use it to kill what isn’t needed for me, which is just women and children, there’s nothing wrong with that,” she reasoned. Luna looked to the deathmare outside then to Emily with a whimper.
“That human city you were traveling to, you were going to summon that thing inside of it, weren’t you?” she asked fearfully.
“After I hexed all the men into being my slaves, yes, it makes cleaning up the trash in these human areas so much quicker and hassle-free. Not to mention I have one hell of a guard dog for my new home when I give birth to as many daughters as I can, it works out perfectly actually,” Emily replied casually with a shrug. Luna stared at her with shock as the witch giggled with a creepy smile on her face.
“I would keep it out with me all the time if I could, it certainly would have been nice to have it around to kill those two stupid man-eaters that ruined my trip, but the longer it’s out in our world like this the faster it uses up its power reserves, so I only summon it when I need protection or when I’m ready to clean up a human town, if you know what I mean,” she said with a wink. Luna whimpered with fright as the witch breathed out in content while one of her eyestalks turned to look at the deathmare.
“Anyway, I just wanted to show you that you’re safe here and that nothing will ever come to hurt you again, after all you have a Darker One protecting you now. Isn’t that just great?” Emily cheered with a hop. Luna remained silent with a horrified expression as she kept herself pressed back against the door, with Emily then snapping her fingers with her ring-hand, causing the deathmare outside to slowly phase down through the ground as bright crimson flames flared around it. As the monster slowly receded into the fiery abyss below Emily showed a concerned expression while her eyestalks turned to face Luna again.
“Luna? What’s wrong?” she asked.
“You’re a witch,” Luna said softly. Emily nodded with a giggle as she held her hand out, with a wand flying out from her toy chest and into her hand. The stick was made of twisted black wood while it had a large red diamond gemstone on one end and smaller purple and blue gemstones dotting the other end. She held it with one hand delicately while she smiled curiously at Luna, the butterfly girl staring at her with horror as she realized what Emily really was.
“You’re a monster,” Luna whimpered, meaning that both in the literal sense and also figuratively as she saw that Emily wasn’t as innocent and kind as she had appeared to be. Again Emily nodded happily to that, taking no offense to her words at all.
“Yes, I’m a monster just like you. Isn’t that just great, we’re the same, we’re both the same. And the best part is now we can be together forever!” Emily cheered. Luna blinked then looked at her with absolute fright.
“W-What?” she stuttered out. Emily showed a worried smile and slowly shook her head.
“I told you, I love you, Luna, and I want you to stay with me forever,” she reminded. Luna tried to lean further back against the door with a fearful whimper as the witch had an emotionless smile on her face, with the monstrous eyestalks behind her just staring at Luna with unblinking eyes.
“You said you loved me, you said I was your best friend, I know you want to stay with me too,” Emily said knowingly. Luna slowly shook her head as her hand trembled while quickly searching for the doorknob behind her.
“And I meant what I said; I’m never letting you go, Luna. Never ever,” Emily said, having a firm tone at the end.
“NO!” Luna screamed as she quickly opened the door and ran out into the hallway of the home, stumbling against the wall before racing down the stairs into a living room on the ground level. She frantically looked around in a panic as she started breathing heavily.
“This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening!” she cried out as she grabbed her hair. The walls and ceiling started to groan and shake, with Luna looking around in terror at seeing the house seeming to bend and shift about with a loud rumble. Luna screamed then ran towards the front door, knocking over a chair and table as she raced to get out of the building. Before she could reach the door however she was suddenly stopped as something grabbed hold of her hand, the girl looking back with a loud scream as she saw a twisted dark tentacle wrapping around her wrist. The monstrous limb appeared to be made of both wood and a slimy black sludge, almost like a melted tree branch, while another whipped out from the ceiling and ensnared Luna’s other hand. The girl screamed as she was yanked back into the air, with the furniture around her twisting and appearing to shift down into the ground.
“NO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!” Luna shrieked as she was held up in the air above the floor which caved in with a loud groan, with the floorboards twisting and breaking apart as a dark sludge poured up through the cracks. The ceiling ripped apart in the middle and tore open, with Luna looking around with wide eyes of fright as the floorboards above her seemed to curl and bend away while Emily’s furniture above dropped down into the floor with loud crashes. From the walls and ground several more eye tentacles made of dark sludge appeared, all of them watching Luna from all sides as she thrashed about while crying. The broken debris and furniture on the ground slowly swirled around before bending and melting into place, forming a rough floor with bent wooden boards and sludge.
“Please don’t cry,” Emily said softly, with Luna quickly looking up to seeing the witch standing on a few remaining wooden boards above her. Emily had a saddened smile on her face as she leapt down to the ground, the sludge she landed on seeming to become solid while a large bulge of broken wood and mud started to rise up behind Luna.
“Why did you scream and try to run away? I told you everything is ok, you’re safe with me,” Emily said innocently.
“Emily, stop, you’re scaring me!” Luna cried out. Emily slowly shook her head as Luna looked around with fright, seeing all the strange eyes on the swaying tentacles just staring at her before she noticed the large lump of wood and sludge behind her.
“Luna, you need to calm down, it’s ok, it’s all ok,” Emily assured as the bulge grew into what appeared to be a large tree trunk, with branches made of bending tentacles and wooden debris acting like bark with the sludge leaking out between the cracks. From two sides of the tree large branches extended out, with these having four large red eyes on the ends, all of them turning around quickly before snapping to Luna, with the butterfly girl then screaming in terror before she looked to Emily.
“Let me go, Emily, please! I don’t like this!” Luna cried out. Emily just watched as the tentacles on the tree grabbed hold of Luna’s ankles, thighs, and shoulders while a large one wrapped around her waist, all of the limbs holding the butterfly girl in place as she cried and tried to break free. Her arms were held up above her head, tied together at the wrists by two intertwining limbs, while the tree behind her grew and expanded slightly, reaching up into what was once Emily’s room before finally stopping. Luna whimpered in fear, her wings fluttering in vain to fly her away, as she was held in place above the ground and near the tree while Emily just stared at her with her blank gaze. The tentacle eyes around the room however eyed Luna over curiously, all of them keeping the butterfly girl in their focus.
“I’m never going to let you go, Luna, never. I love you so much,” Emily said with a creepy smile. Luna screamed as she tried to move, her legs being held in place while her hands couldn’t budge at all.
“Stop it, stop it, please! Let me go!” she cried out.
“Luna, stop crying, we’re going to be together forever, there’s no reason to be sad,” Emily said with a shrug.
“No, I don’
t want this! Let me go, please!” Luna screamed as she shook her head. Emily sighed then walked up towards Luna as she was lowered down towards the ground by the limbs. Her legs were then brought up and parted before being tucked up in a squatting position at her sides while the eye stalks watched the girl being lowered closer down to Emily. The witch held a hand to Luna’s face, with the butterfly girl trembling with fright from the touch.
“I love you, so much,” Emily said softly. Luna whimpered while tears started to drop from her cheeks, with Emily then showing concern on her face.
“Luna, say it back, you love me too, don’t you?” Emily asked.
“Emily, let me go, please,” Luna begged.
“Say it back, say you love me too, say it like you did before,” Emily asked again.
“Please let me go, I don’t like this, I’m so scared,” Luna whimpered. Emily showed a stubborn frown and grabbed Luna’s hair, the butterfly girl cringing as the witch looked past her a frustrated whine.
“Why aren’t you saying it now? Why are you scared, I just said I would take care of you forever, we’re going to be together now and always, just like we wanted,” she pouted.
“No, this isn’t what I wanted, this isn’t what I wanted at all,” Luna pleaded. Emily sighed then shook her head with a saddened smile.
“Oh, I get it, you don’t remember that you love me right now, you’re confused because you know what I am. But you do love me, I know you do, we just have to bring out that love again,” she said before gently brushing the girl’s hair. Luna trembled as she saw the dull smile on Emily’s face, the witch’s eyes looking past her while the eyestalks kept watching them from all around the room.
Chronicles of Eden - Act 2 Page 49
