“Time for your family reunion,” Jacqueline said with a cold tone. She laughed and sat up while grabbing hold of Forrus’s head with both hands, applying great pressure to her skull as the lycan cried out hoarsely and tried to pry the girl’s hands off of her.
“Scream for me! Do it!” Jacqueline laughed, with Forrus crying out in pain as her legs kicked about underneath the blonde girl. Before her skull could crack a streak of white light struck by and blasted the top half of Jacqueline apart into bloody fragments, with Forrus watching in surprise as the girl was splattered off to the side of her onto the ground. She then looked over to seeing another searing wave of light striking into Jovian, the raven haired girl exploding into bloody pieces onto the street. All eyes turned to seeing Daemon walking towards Jovian’s remains as he held his sword out to the side, the blade glowing softly while he had a cold glare in his eyes.
“Master,” Sasha and Rulo said softly.
“All three of you, back off now,” he ordered firmly. Sasha and Rulo stepped back while Forrus quickly scrambled over to them and watched as Daemon approached Jovian’s remains. The raven haired girl slowly regenerated again along with Jacqueline, with Katie walking up towards the blonde girl with a scowl on her face.
“This ends now,” she stated as blue and green flames flared up around her hand.
“Mistress,” Tora said softly while watching Katie with awe, the witch then glaring at Jaqueline with anger as the gemini slowly stood back up again. Jovian looked to Daemon with a cold smile while Jacqueline fluffed her hair casually as she watched Katie with a smug grin.
“Your pets tasted delicious, I look forward to eating them up real soon,” Jovian taunted, with Daemon bringing his sword up at the ready while staring down the dark girl.
Jacqueline giggled and eyed over Katie with a hungry smile as she licked her lips.
“I think it’s my turn to take a bite out of you,” the girl mused playfully, with Katie narrowing her eyes as her tail whipped sharply behind her.
Sasha, Rulo, and Forrus stood together, watching Daemon closely as the boy prepared to fight Jovian, hoping he would be able to bring the dark girl down for good. Tora watched her mistress getting ready to attack Jacqueline, praying that the succubus would be able to avenge her fallen mother. She then glanced to the side and saw a squirrel nearby next to a building, the rodent’s eyes giving off a crimson hue briefly before it took off into the shadows again. Tora glanced around carefully then back to the standoff in front of her, feeling as though this was being watched by another as well.
*****
“Luna! Where are you?” Falla called out as Daniel’s group ran through the darkened village. Squeak was leading the line of her friends, all of them holding hands and relying on the ant girl’s nocturnal vision to guide them through the alleys and pathways. Although the fires from the nearby burning district in the village created a large bloom that could be seen behind them over the rooftops of the passing buildings, the backways were still shrouded in darkness, with the group relying on Squeak to guide them in hopes they could find the missing butterfly girl. Squeak looked around quickly as she led her friends away from the battle behind them, searching for any sign of Luna while sounds of howling and screaming were heard back in the burning street.
“What are we going to do? The fighting could move to reach us at any moment,” Specca said worriedly.
“We need to find Luna and get the hell out of here, that’s what we need to do,” Triska reasoned as she stumbled a bit while running with the others, all of them holding hands tightly so not to lose anyone.
“Even if we find her we still need a way out of this place, our caravan’s broken outside the village,” Specca reminded.
“Yeah, thanks a lot, Alyssa, great timing to break our ride,” Triska snapped with discontent.
“I didn’t mean to break it, and I certainly didn’t know we’d be running for our lives in this stupid village,” Alyssa shot back.
“All just so you could sleep with Daniel in a nice warm bed, didn’t work out how you wanted it to, did it?” Triska quipped.
“Just shut up, Triska, it’s not my fault Jovian and Jacqueline turned out to be cannibalistic monsters that can’t die!” Alyssa yelled back at her.
“Enough, fighting isn’t going to help any of us, so just drop it, alright?” Daniel interrupted while looking around at the darkened homes they passed. Alyssa grunted and looked around quickly, also not having any luck seeing anyone or anything but total darkness.
“Look, we need to find Lucky and then hopefully something in this place we can use to escape with, that’s all that matters right now,” Alyssa reasoned quickly.
“Yeah, you’re not done hearing the end of this, just so you know,” Triska mentioned dryly.
“Luna! Are you here? Luna!” Falla desperately called out again. Squeak led them down a pathway then came out into another darkened street, the ant girl looking around quickly as she wasn’t sure where to go. She saw houses and small buildings lining the street in both directions with the intersection further away leading back towards where the fight was taking place. The crimson glow of the fires lit up the intersection, showing the buildings on the corners with the warm light while smoke was seen drifting high up into the sky behind them.
“Where do we go? She could be anywhere, if she’s even still here,” Daniel wondered as he looked around while trying to peer into the darkness.
“Lucky! Here boy!” Alyssa called out.
“Luna! It’s me, Falla! Where are you?” Falla shouted out.
“They could be anywhere, how do we find them?” Specca asked worriedly.
From the intersection nearby Kroanette ran over then scampered around in middle of the street in a panic.
“WAAAH! Where the hell is the way out of this place?” she cried out.
“Kroanette? What are you doing?” Daniel called out. Kroanette stopped and looked towards the sound of his voice, seeing the group running up towards her out of the darkened street.
“Daniel? What’s going on here?” she asked as she trotted over towards them.
“What’s going on here is all manner of hell is breaking loose right in front of us, that’s what,” Triska said looking back down the street towards the battle, the group seeing the darkened silhouettes of the fighters in the street as the village was burning brightly near them. There were a few flashes of bright light and large silhouettes resembling Tora’s snake monsters moving about as well, showing that magic was being used in the battle. Triska shook her head then looked back to Kroanette with confusion.
“But what are you doing here; shouldn’t you be traveling to Rystone to get rid of that artifact?” she asked.
“Wait, I thought this was Rystone. Where is this?” Kroanette asked looking around with puzzlement.
“This is Eston, the human village south of Rystone. Wait a minute; did you just now arrive here?” Specca questioned. Kroanette looked to her and nodded, with the group just staring at her with disbelief.
“Wait, you just now got here? But how, you should have had plenty of time to get here then travel to Rystone and back again in the time it took us to backtrack looking for Luna,” Daniel questioned with puzzlement. There was a long pause as Kroanette looked around curiously before she turned back to them.
“Hold on, it took me forever to reach this place, how did you catch up so quickly?” she asked.
“What are you talking about; it was a straight shot here!” Alyssa yelled out. There was another long pause as Kroanette looked around with confusion before back to them again.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“You are the worst courier ever, the absolute worst courier ever!” Alyssa shouted out. Kroanette twitched a bit then grabbed her whip and snapped it hard at her side.
“How dare you mock me, I am the legendary-”
“Just get out of here, Kroanette, that succubus over there is looking for your artifact,” Triska interrupted quickly. Kroane
tte jumped then looked back to the battle as a figure was seen flying up into the air with demonic looking wings, easily assumed to be the Darker One in question.
“What? She is?” Kroanette asked nervously.
“Yeah, and not just her, that human back there with the magical sword is after that thing too, him and those monster girls that are traveling with him, they’re all after that artifact. They’re going to be coming for you soon to get it,” Daniel explained. Kroanette gulped and rested a hand back on her traveling bag while Falla kept looking around quickly for any sign of Luna.
“Oh crap, oh crap oh crap, I need to get out of here!” Kroanette cried out.
“What do you think we’ve been screaming at you to do this whole time? Get rid of that thing as fast as you can!” Alyssa yelled out at her. Kroanette scampered around in circles then looked to the others with desperation.
“WAAAH! Which way?” she cried out.
“It’s to the north, to the north!” Specca shouted out with exasperation.
“I don’t know which way north is!” Kroanette snapped while shaking her head.
“Worst! Courier! Ever!” Alyssa shouted out with frustration.
“I am not! I am not, I am not, I am not!” Kroanette shot back at her.
“Who cares if she is or not, we have to find my sister!” Falla shouted at them.
“Just tell me how to get to Rystone, quick!” Kroanette desperately cried out.
“Why do you want to go there now?” a girl’s voice asked from nearby. The group looked over to see Charlotte walking towards them with Apoch and Astreal following after, the twins walking in prefect sync with each other while Charlotte held a finger to her chin with an amused smile.
“I came all this way to meet you here after all,” Charlotte finished with a giggle.
“Um, who are you?” Kroanette asked carefully.
“Witches,” Specca said softly.
“Charlotte,” Alyssa squeaked out with fear. The group looked to her then to Charlotte as the witch turned her gaze towards Alyssa with a bitter smile.
“Alyssa the Wildfire Witch, I didn’t expect to find you crawling around here again,” she scorned with a stern tone.
“That’s the Wildfire Witch?” Apoch and Astreal questioned together while gripping their staves with both hands.
“Alyssa? Do you know her?” Daniel asked carefully. Alyssa slowly nodded as she got down on one knee and bowed to Charlotte, watching her constantly with frightful eyes.
“She’s the alpha witch of this region,” she said nervously. The group looked to Charlotte with surprise as the witch set her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at Alyssa.
“The infamous Wildfire Witch, once again burning down villages without a care,” Charlotte mused while glancing to the burning buildings down the street. Alyssa opened her mouth to speak before the alpha waved her hand down, causing Alyssa to be thrown forward onto the dirt face first before the witch with a whine.
“Alyssa!” Triska exclaimed as Charlotte waved her hand to the side, causing Alyssa to roll over onto her back before Apoch and Astreal quickly held their staves down towards her, the crescents on the ends going around Alyssa’s neck as the frightened witch stared up at them with a nervous whimper.
“Shall we execute her?” Apoch and Astreal asked together while glaring down at the witch.
“Wait, please don’t hurt her!” Daniel pleaded as he stepped forth. Charlotte looked to him as her eyes gave off a warm glow, the boy halting in place as the witch held a hand out towards him.
“How dare you tell me what to do, a simple human ordering me around, the gall you have,” Charlotte hissed. She waved her hand down, causing Daniel to drop to his knees while he couldn’t move his body at all.
“Daniel!” Specca cried out as the boy struggled to budge his arms while he stared at the alpha witch with wide eyes. Charlotte slowly walked towards him, the girl’s movements seeming hypnotic as she suddenly struck him as the most attractive and alluring girl he had ever seen. Thoughts about kissing and rolling around in a bed naked with her flooded his mind, the girl’s eyes seeming to pierce right into his heart as she showed a coy smile at him. He then shut his eyes and shook his head, trying to repel the images of the witch that were boring into his mind. Charlotte smiled amusedly as she approached him, watching as he struggled to keep his eyes closed.
“Oh my, are you trying to resist me? How cute,” she playfully mused.
“No, don’t charm him, please!” Alyssa cried out. She looked to seeing Squeak and Triska narrowing their eyes at Charlotte, the alpha glancing to them with an amused grin as they both gripped their weapons tightly.
“No! Don’t attack her, don’t do it! You’ll die!” Alyssa pleaded loudly. Triska and Squeak glanced to her then back to Charlotte as the alpha slowly turned to look down at the Wildfire Witch.
“Alyssa, are these friends of yours?” she asked curiously. Alyssa whimpered and looked at her with fearful eyes as the alpha walked over to her.
“Please, I’m begging you, don’t hurt them,” Alyssa desperately pleaded. Charlotte looked at her for a moment then over to Kroanette.
“Before I deal with them, I believe you have something for me,” she said plainly. Kroanette glanced to Daniel with a sympathetic look then to Charlotte as she nodded and reached back into her bag.
“You are the witch I was supposed to deliver this to in Rystone, correct? Well, here you are, as promised,” she said holding out the artifact towards the witch. Charlotte looked at it with a curious eye then took hold of it, tilting the relic around while examining it carefully as a slight smile came across her face.
“Interesting, so this is a fragment of the fabled Key to Eden,” she mused to herself.
“Key to Eden?” Specca questioned softly.
Charlotte eyed the artifact closely then glanced to Kroanette with a raised eyebrow as she tossed the relic over to Apoch, the raven haired witch catching it while still holding her staff down to Alyssa.
“I was supposed to have received this yesterday, what took you so long?” Charlotte questioned sharply. Kroanette gulped and glanced to Daniel’s group.
“Well… I’m truly sorry about that. First I ran into them, then I got turned around somehow, and now there’s this succubus who’s after that thing, and I didn’t know about that but apparently she is, and… and…” she stammered nervously.
“Are you making excuses?” Charlotte asked. Kroanette looked to her with a jump and a nervous smile while shaking her head.
“No, not at all, I… I’m sorry, really,” she pleaded. Charlotte stared at her for a moment then shrugged with a calm smile on her face.
“I was told centaurs never miss a delivery date, this is most unfortunate indeed,” she mentioned expectedly. Kroanette bowed nervously to her and shook her head.
“I do apologize for that, I really do, I tried with everything I had to get here on time, please forgive me,” she pleaded. Charlotte sighed then snapped her fingers, with Astreal then pulling out a small scroll from her shirt. The paper gently flew over in front of Charlotte as the alpha waved her hand around before it, her movements creating words on the parchment as if she were holding a pen in her hand.
“Oh well, I got what I wanted, so no matter. Here is my receipt for the delivery, take it and go, your human shall be waiting for you as promised,” she said carelessly before the scroll rolled up and floated over to Kroanette. The centaur took hold of it then smiled graciously at the witch.
“Thank you, thank you so much,” she said humbly. Charlotte waved her off then looked to Triska and Squeak with a curious smile.
“Now then, as for you two…” she said playfully.
“Let Daniel go right now,” Triska demanded through bared teeth. Charlotte scoffed then waved her hand to the side, with Triska then gasping as her arms moved on their own and angled her sword up at her neck. Squeak let out a loud squeak as her body moved on its own, her hands striking her pickaxe down into the
dirt before her legs kneeled down near it. The ant girl squeaked as her head jerked down towards the digging tool, the tip being pointed right towards her face as she struggled to push herself back against her own will.
“What are you doing?” Falla asked shaking her head.
“I’m not doing this, I can’t move my body!” Triska exclaimed as her sword was being held by her own hands up at her neck. Squeak shook her head as her body tried to lean down forcibly to impale her own skull on the digging tool.
“No! Please, don’t hurt them, I’m begging you!” Alyssa cried out.
Specca shook her head and stepped forth while holding her hands out at her sides.
“Please, you misunderstand, we’re not-” she started before she seemed to choke on something, her words no longer coming out as she dropped to her knees while grabbing her throat. Alyssa watched fearfully as Specca tried to breathe while Charlotte just looked at the nixie with a dull stare.
“I misunderstand nothing, I know what goes on in my land, nothing escapes my eye,” Charlotte stated while walking over towards Specca. Kroanette slowly backed up along with Falla as the alpha held a hand out to Specca’s cheek and smiled curiously at her.
“It is you that doesn’t understand. Here in this land my word is law, my word is truth, and my say is final. Nobody, nobody, tells me what to do or think, do you hear me?” she asked softly. Specca choked and shakily nodded before Charlotte held a hand over her throat, the nixie’s arms dropping to her sides as her eyes started to roll back into her head.
“The next one of you to speak before being spoken to will die, understand?” Charlotte questioned. Specca shakily nodded again before Charlotte waved her back, throwing the nixie down to the ground gasping for air. Charlotte breathed out slowly then looked to Triska and Squeak, the two glancing to her nervously as their bodies were under the witch’s control.
Chronicles of Eden - Act 2 Page 62
