“He’s… he’s blocking the scythe…” Triska said with disbelief.
“He actually hurt the deathmare with that weapon,” Daniel said in wonder.
“What kind of sword is that anyway?” Specca asked with bewilderment. Alyssa watched Daemon with a stunned expression as the boy pushed the scythe back away from him before he struck down with his blade in a quick motion, creating another wave of bright light that struck against the deathmare. The monster howled as it was knocked back into a stumble with the front of its body getting burned from the magic, the Darker One crying out with anger as it glared at Daemon who kept his eyes over on Jacqueline. The blonde girl slowly regenerated from the feet up to her head while Jovian watched Daemon with a curious smile.
“Oh my, this one’s got some moves,” Jovian purred while wiggling her hips slightly before laughing at him. Jacqueline finished reforming then stretched out her arms casually while watching Daemon with a mocking smile.
“That hardly tickled,” she scoffed before laughing as well.
“Dammit, she survived,” Forrus growled with anger.
“I don’t believe it, how could she survive that?” Rulo questioned with bewilderment.
“It seems what Forrus said about them is true, they are indeed very difficult to kill,” Sasha concluded while watching the twins carefully.
Daemon narrowed his eyes at Jacqueline before the deathmare charged him again, the boy swinging his sword out and creating an arc of white light that etched into the air in front of him, then swung across it and formed a cross of glowing light that shot out towards the deathmare. The Darker One wailed at him before it swung its scythe around, striking the magical attack and detonating it with a bright flash as the deathmare braced from the force exuded from the spell.
“Sasha, Rulo, assist Forrus with her revenge against those two,” he ordered as he turned his focus towards the deathmare.
“What? But, master, the succubus is right here in front of us, what about your treasure?” Rulo asked as she glared at Katie.
“Rulo,” Daemon said flatly as he brought up his blade at the ready. Rulo flinched then looked down with remorse.
“I mean, Daemon. But…” she said unsurely. Forrus looked to them with worried eyes as the two monster girls glanced to her with annoyance then to Katie, the succubus merely watching them with a sharp eye while Tora kept glaring at the sisters as she bared her teeth in her anger. Daemon glanced back to them while drumming his fingers on his blade’s handle then over to Jovian and Jacqueline.
“I’ll keep this one from interfering; do whatever it takes to slay those two. Smash them, cut them up, burn them, do not let them walk away from here, we will honor our promise to Forrus just as she will honor hers to us,” he ordered before looking back at the deathmare. Sasha breathed out then glanced to Forrus with discontent.
“Very well, we shall aid you, but then you’re going to rip this succubus’s wings and tail off, got that?” she commanded sternly. Forrus growled at Katie and Tora and nodded while the succubus glanced to her with a dull smirk.
“Really now? Good luck with that,” Katie mocked before looking to Tora, the witch glaring at Jovian and Jacqueline with fury still.
“Tora, go play with his pets and spill the blood of those two, I’ll join you just as soon as I take care of this annoying death dealer,” she requested before walking towards Daemon.
“Our master can handle that thing on his own, he doesn’t need your help,” Sasha snapped at her. Katie stopped and glanced back to her with an amused smile.
“We’re the only ones here that can actually fend off that troublesome Darker One for you, who are you to complain about that?” she questioned.
“And just why do you want to help our master all of a sudden?” Rulo demanded loudly.
“Sasha, Rulo,” Daemon spoke up loudly as he blocked the deathmare’s scythe again, the boy parrying the spectral blade before racing towards the monster with another swing. The Darker One darted to the side as it knew the boy’s blade could hurt it now, and then swung around with its massive scythe once again. Sasha and Rulo flinched then simply glared at Katie as the succubus chuckled and looked over towards Triska, the human showing an uneasy frown at being her focus again.
“I don’t care at all if your boy toy survives this, however this deathmare tried to harm my little kitten earlier, and I just will not stand for that,” Katie mused modestly. Triska twitched from that then growled loudly at her.
“Who are you calling your little kitten, you bitch?” she yelled out. Katie chuckled at her with a raised eyebrow then walked towards Daemon again.
“There’s that lovely fire I adore in you, Triska,” she casually replied. Triska growled at the succubus with anger while Sasha, Rulo, and Forrus walked up alongside Tora and stared down Jovian and Jacqueline.
“Fine, let’s just get this over with,” Rulo snorted while looking between the two sisters.
“Don’t take me wishing to spill their blood as an act of generosity towards you, I have not forgotten what you tried to do to me earlier,” Forrus mentioned while glancing to Tora with a low growl.
“Shut up, you mangy mutt, after they’re dead I’ll deal with all of you myself while my mistress fucks your human to death,” Tora snapped back at her. Sasha and Rulo grunted at the witch then held their weapons at the ready, both willing to take what assistance they could get from her before they tried to kill her again. Forrus held in her snarl as she grabbed her bolas from her belt.
“I believe we’ll look forward to disagreeing with you,” she commented before spinning her bolas at her side.
Katie walked over to Daemon’s side and watched the deathmare with a calm smile as she set one hand at her hip, with Daemon glancing to her as she chuckled and winked at him.
“Need a hand?” she mused playfully. The boy just watched her in silence before she laughed and shook her head.
“That’s a rhetorical question, my dear, of course you do,” she mocked before looking at the deathmare with a confident smirk. Daemon just remained silent before turning his focus back towards the deathmare, the Darker One howling at them as it scraped its hind legs behind it in preparation to attack.
Daniel’s group watched as the fighters stood ready while the deathmare wailed at Daemon and Katie, the Darker One glaring at them with a cold look in its eyes while Jovian and Jacqueline were giggling as they were eyeing over the four monster girls staring them down.
“Ok, I vote we run, right now,” Specca whispered nervously.
“My sister’s still here somewhere, we can’t leave her in this place with these freaks,” Falla urgently shushed at her.
“Not to mention we don’t have a ride out of here, and Lucky ran off somewhere,” Daniel added while looking around worriedly. Triska glanced around carefully at where all manner of hell was about to break loose in the street.
“This is going to get bad, very bad,” she said as their group slowly backed off towards the side of the road. As they did Alyssa stopped and looked behind them, seeing two small crimson eyes in the shadow of a building before vanishing, with the witch then looking around quickly as she felt like they were being watched.
“Um, guys? We’re not alone here,” she mentioned cautiously.
“Yeah, we can see that, look in front of you,” Triska snapped while looking around at all the fighters before them.
“No, I mean, there’s someone else here, I feel like we’re being watched,” Alyssa said looking around, with the others then glancing around quickly as their shadows flickered and wavered behind them on the wall of a small house.
From behind the group in the shadows between two buildings a squirrel was watching the events unfolding in the street, its eyes giving off a soft crimson hue briefly as it acted as a seer for someone. As the animal gazed around at seeing all the fighters preparing to engage in battle the image was being viewed by three others, the glow of a circular magical window showing what the squirrel was watching il
luminating the interior of a darkened room that had tables of books set off to the side and an open window balcony on the other that gave a perfect view of the moon high above a dead and decaying forest nearby. Inside the spacious room which had bookshelves lined around the walls three witches were watching the events unfolding, with one in particular chuckling with amusement as the glowing viewing portal shifted to the eyes of another squirrel that slowly approached Emily’s remains.
“Haha, serves you right, you thieving bitch,” laughed the girl while her green eyes watched as the squirrel hissed and bit Emily’s nose briefly, a happy grin spreading across her face while she sat on an elegant chair that had colorful strings hanging off the back with small animal skulls tied to them. The witch was dressed with high heel dark leather boots, green ribbons that were intertwined around each of her legs, a black and silver gothic miniskirt that had small black tassels hanging down off the rim, a dark green shirt with no sleeves which had golden embroidery lining the shoulders, two long black fingerless gloves that went up to her elbows, and silver and gold rings on a few of her fingers. On her right wrist was a gold bracelet that had a large red crystal orb on it, the glow of the gemstone being faintly seen in the darkened room. Her wavy brunette hair was draped down over her shoulders with a lone curl sticking out in front of her forehead, with a dark headband resting on her head that had a rat’s skull adorning it and set off to the side.
“Pity, I would have loved to kill her myself for all the headaches she’s caused me, but I think I’ll still chock this up as a win nonetheless. Rest in hell, Emily the Blight Witch,” the witch scoffed with a bitter smile. Standing on either side of her two other witches were watching with curious expressions on their faces.
The one to the left was dressed in white dress shoes, black long socks, a white miniskirt that had small yellow gemstones lined from the waist to the rim around it, a black low-cut shirt that had a dark blue stripe going down from her left shoulder to her right hip, and had white ribbons laced around her left arm to her hand. She had short black hair and yellow eyes, and a black witch’s hat that had a white emblem of a shield sewn into the side. In her left hand she held a dark brown staff that had a large crescent ornament made of dark obsidian with the opening facing to the right, while on her right wrist she had a silver bracelet with a yellow crystal on it in the shape of a cube.
“She got what she deserved for stealing from you, my grace,” she said softly while glancing to the girl in the seat with a gentle smile.
“Apoch, I couldn’t agree with you more. Such a fitting end for a lowly rat like her, don’t you think so, Astreal?” the witch mused while glancing to the other girl next to her, this one seeming to bear a striking resemblance to Apoch. She appeared to have the same figure and height, while her apparel was in contrast to the raven haired witch’s. For her she wore dark dress shoes, white long socks, a black miniskirt that had small red gemstones adorning it in the same pattern as the other witch’s, a white low-cut shirt that had a dark red stripe going down from her right shoulder to her left hip, and had black ribbons laced around her right arm to her hand. Her long blonde hair flowed freely down her back while her dark colored eyes watched the viewing portal as a calm smile remained on her face, with a black witch’s hat resting on her head which had a white emblem of a sword sewn into the side. In her right hand she held a dark brown staff that also had a large crescent ornament made of dark obsidian adorning the top, this one having the opening facing to the left. And on her left wrist she had a gold bracelet with a red crystal adorning it in the shape of a cube.
“Yes, those that dare steal from you shall receive no sympathy or mercy, I only hope the suffering she endured was enough for her to realize this,” Astreal agreed with a nod.
“Oh, I think she suffered alright, but you know what, let’s just make sure,” the witch in the chair said before waving her hand at the portal, causing the image to waver and distort before showing Emily being viciously attacked by Jovian and Jacqueline again, her dying scream of agony causing the three witches watching to laugh in amusement.
“Yes, yes, I dare say she didn’t enjoy that one little bit,” Apoch giggled.
“My grace, shall we retrieve your wand for you now?” Astreal inquired.
“Astreal, you and your sister have served me for many years; I think we can dispense with the formalities by now. Please, call me by my name,” the head witch requested with a modest wave of the hand.
“Yes, Ms. Charlotte,” Astreal said kindly with a bow to her. Charlotte rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“You can just call me Charlotte,” she replied dryly.
“Yes, Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch and Astreal said together in unison.
“Ok, again, it’s just Charlotte. And, again, quit with the speaking at the same time thing, it creeps me out,” Charlotte sighed before standing up and slowly walking towards the viewing portal.
“Yes, Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch and Astreal replied together in unison again. Charlotte held a hand over her eyes as she shut them and slowly shook her head.
“It’s just... you know what, whatever, call me whatever,” she said before looking at the viewing portal again and snapping her fingers, causing the image to waver and change to show the standoff with the deathmare, Jovian, and Jacqueline facing a group of challengers that were ready to fight together against them.
“And don’t worry; I’ll be collecting my wand very shortly. However in the meantime, this should be an interesting show to watch,” Charlotte mused before chuckling to herself.
“Ms. Charlotte, shouldn’t we intervene though? There are two Darker Ones very close to our village, they could stray into our territory,” Astreal asked in a polite and professional manner.
“Yes, perhaps we should, our sisters will be in danger if this fight travels north to our home,” Apoch added with concern.
“You are wrong, on both accounts, with what you say. First off, our sisters are not in any danger, these troublemakers won’t set foot in our home,” Charlotte reassured as she eyed over the fighters in the village. Apoch and Astreal looked to each other curiously then to their leader as the witch stopped speaking for a while.
“Ms. Charlotte? What else were we incorrect with?” Apoch asked softly.
“You claim there are two Darker Ones in Eston, that is not true,” Charlotte replied solemnly.
“What? We see a succubus and a deathmare standing there in the street, what else is there?” Astreal asked with concern.
Charlotte snapped her fingers, the image on the circular portal wavering for a moment before shifting to another vantage point from a squirrel that was watching the standoff from between two buildings next to Jovian and Jacqueline. The squirrel focused its eyes on them as the sisters smiled wickedly at those that were preparing to attack them, the twins being unaware that they were being watched from the magically enchanted rodent. As Apoch and Astreal eyed the two seemingly immortal girls with growing concern, one word was spoken by Charlotte, a word that sent chills down the spines of the two witch sisters as they realized the succubus and deathmare weren’t the gravest of threats in the village.
“Gemini.”
Chapter 18
Kneel to the Alpha
Amongst the witches that resided in Eden, a few were known to be far more powerful than the rest. These witches were considered the rulers of their kind, queens in their own right over their sisters, and were called ‘alpha witches’. Their magical reserves were much greater, their expertise with spells much higher, and their rule considered absolute amongst those that followed them. Of course this didn’t mean that a single alpha ruled over all the witches, rather only those that lived in their region and followed their law. As such it was possible for witches to resent or curse an alpha in favor of another; however they would still be a fool to take on their greater all on their own.
After all, some alphas were just as dangerous as a Darker One.
*****
Daniel and his
friends stood together while watching a standoff taking place before them, a standoff involving monsters, Darker Ones, magic, and two girls who refused to die from any and all manner of harm being inflicted upon them.
“Ok, I vote we sneak out of here and go looking for Luna while they’re all busy killing each other,” Alyssa mentioned quietly.
“Seconded,” Falla quickly agreed with.
“Where do we go though, Luna could be anywhere in this place, and it’s nearly pitch black except for right here near them,” Specca questioned while looking down the street into the darkened village. Behind the deathmare and gemini the town was almost completely dark, with the faint moonlight above only providing glimpses of outlines to a few buildings.
“Squeak can see in the dark, can’t she?” Daniel asked, the group looking to the ant girl who glanced to him and nodded a few times.
“Then it looks like Squeak’s going to be our eyes, better to take our chances in the dark than here with them,” Triska reasoned as she kept a close eye on the fighters before them. Squeak looked around the area quickly, being able to see a few feet out into the darkened side paths and between the buildings with relative ease. She squeaked a few times and looked back to Daniel with a nod, the boy glancing to her then to the standoff before them as he thought about all their options.
“Alright, we’ll take our chances and try to find Luna while they fight each other, just wait for a moment when they’re all occupied then we’ll slip through the alleyway behind us,” he said while grabbing onto Squeak’s hand. He grabbed Falla’s before the butterfly girl took hold of Alyssa’s, the witch then holding onto Specca’s while the nixie took hold of Triska’s hand.
Chronicles of Eden - Act 2 Page 60
