Chronicles of Eden - Act 2

by Alexander Gordon

  “Now then, what to do with all of you,” she mused softly to herself.

  “My grace,” Daniel said softly, with all eyes turning to him as he looked to Charlotte with a calm expression. Charlotte slowly walked over to him while tilting her head with a playful smile.

  “What did you just call me?” she asked.

  “That is the proper greeting for an alpha witch, is it not?” Daniel questioned.

  “It is, but how is it that you know that?” Charlotte asked while brushing the boy’s hair casually.

  “Because I’ve been researching how to speak to monsters such as yourself, to be able to talk to them formally for when I meet them,” Daniel answered. Charlotte smiled amusedly at him and shook her head slowly.

  “Really now? And, why is it that you wish to be able to talk to and meet monsters such as myself?” she asked.

  “Because I want to speak to monsters such as you about living in peace with humans, to put an end to the fighting and bloodshed between our races once and for all,” Daniel answered. Charlotte just stared at him for a moment then tilted her head the other way.

  “Come again?” she plainly asked.

  “Just what I said, I wish to instill peace between our races so that we may live together and help each other survive in this world,” Daniel repeated. Charlotte again stared at him for a while before looking to Alyssa.

  “What did you drug this one with? He’s out of his mind,” she laughed while shaking her head.

  “That must have been a real bad potion,” Astreal added before the twins started giggling together.

  “I haven’t given him anything, he speaks the truth. He wants humans and monsters to coexist peacefully with each other, to help each other in this world against real evil like the Darker Ones,” Alyssa pleaded urgently. Charlotte looked to Daniel for a moment with a blank expression then started laughing, with Apoch and Astreal giggling as well while the alpha witch held her sides.

  “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard of, what manner of trickery is this?” Charlotte asked as she keeled over laughing.

  “It’s no trick, you need our help to survive in this world, you know that to be true,” Daniel pointed out. Charlotte looked to him with a smug grin and raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh, I know what we need men like you for, and I’m going to show you exactly what that is later on tonight,” she said with a purr.

  “Don’t you dare lay a hand on him!” Triska yelled out, and then gasped as Charlotte pointed a finger at her with a cold stare.

  “What did I just say earlier?” the witch questioned before she slowly drew a finger across her throat. Triska’s hands trembled then held the sword against the girl’s throat, with Specca quickly rushing over and grabbing hold of her arms as the teen’s body moved on its own and tried to slice her throat open.

  “No! Don’t! Please, he’s telling the truth, he’s telling the truth!” Specca cried out at Charlotte. The alpha witch smirked and waved a finger at her, the nixie then freezing in place before one of her hands shakily moved down to grab Triska’s dagger.

  “Again, what did I just tell you?” Charlotte remarked simply.

  “No, please don’t!” Alyssa cried out as Specca brought the dagger up to her heart and prepared to ram the blade into her with both hands while Triska felt her sword cutting the skin on her neck. They used all their strength to merely keep the weapons from killing themselves as Charlotte giggled amusedly.

  “Nobody tells me what to do or think, nobody,” the alpha declared as she held a hand out towards them. To her surprise Daniel quickly leapt forth and grabbed her hands, holding them down at her sides as he brought the witch closer to him. She stared at him with wonder as the boy shook his head desperately.

  “Please, I speak the truth, we only want there to be peace between our races. I’m begging you, my grace, don’t kill them,” he pleaded urgently.

  “You’re either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid for touching me like this, though I do believe I’m going to lean more towards the choice of you being stupid,” Charlotte said curiously.

  “I can’t stop myself!” Specca cried out as she shut her eyes, her hands then trying to ram the dagger into her heart before Falla ran over and grabbed onto them, holding them back with all her might as she looked to Charlotte with annoyance.

  “Would you knock it off, they’re speaking the truth, and I need their help finding my sister!” she barked out.

  Triska screamed as her head rocked back, her hands angling the sword and trying to slice through her own neck before Kroanette rushed over and grabbed the handle, the centaur trying to wrestle the sword away from the hexed girl’s hands.

  “Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh here, they haven’t done anything to wrong you,” Kroanette nervously pointed out at the alpha witch. Charlotte rolled her eyes then waved her hand down.

  “They’re annoying me, that’s enough,” she replied. Squeak let out a loud squeak before her hands reached out to her sides on their own while her body tried to drop down onto the pickaxe, the girl stopping just short of the digging tool going straight through her eye as Alyssa held a hand out towards the ant girl. Alyssa focused her magic to help Squeak fight back against her own body then looked to Charlotte with desperation.

  “I’m begging you, my grace, please don’t hurt them!” she pleaded loudly.

  Charlotte looked around at the three hexed girls curiously then to Daniel as he lowered his head humbly to her.

  “Please, what I say is true, I don’t want there to be any more fighting between us. Witches and humans have been at war for so long, raping and killing one another, it needs to stop. You know you’ve lost sisters in this endless battle, how not only humans but other monsters have posed a threat to your kind’s existence. I’m begging you, my grace, we don’t have to be at war with one another, we can live together in peace, I know it’s possible,” he desperately implored.

  “You’re serious; you’re all serious about this? Have you truly gone mad? Witches and humans can’t live together, we can’t do such a thing and you know it,” Charlotte scoffed.

  “Yes you can, and so can other monsters, it can be done if we both make the effort to try,” Daniel reasoned. Charlotte looked at him with a raised eyebrow then leaned closer to him with an innocent smile.

  “That’s crazy talk, but I know something else we can make a real effort into trying with one another,” she purred.

  “My grace!” Apoch and Astreal cried out as they looked up at something with surprise. Charlotte glanced to them then behind her as Katie swooped down and landed on the street near the group, the succubus watching Charlotte with a cold eye while blue and green flames licked off of her hand.

  “I thought I heard my little kitten crying for help over here. You may not have known this, but that one belongs to me,” Katie mentioned while glancing to Triska. The teen looked at her with frustration as she and Kroanette struggled to keep her from committing suicide under the witch’s power.

  “Great, just what I needed to deal with right now,” Triska muttered. Katie glanced to Charlotte with a raised eyebrow then over to Apoch as the witch had the artifact in her hand.

  “Oh my, and you have something else that belongs to me as well,” Katie mused with a cold smile. Charlotte smirked and glanced behind the succubus as she slowly stood up in front of Daniel.

  “Now now, looks like you already have something else to play with,” she mentioned, with Katie then swinging her hand behind her, casting a fiery bolt of magic into Jacqueline as the blonde raced towards her. The blast of magic struck against her and exploded with a loud bang, causing Jacqueline’s burnt body to tumble back into a wicked roll while trailing smoke. Katie looked back to the charred corpse with annoyance then saw Jovian racing towards them, the raven haired girl then being struck from behind by a bright wave of light. As the girl was splattered onto the road in bloody pieces Daemon was seen walking towards the gathering with the other
girls quickly following after.

  “I suppose you can’t be counted on to handle either of them, can you?” Katie said flatly while looking to Daemon with a dull stare. The boy glanced to her then to the gemini as they both slowly regenerated and stood up in the street, with everyone watching as the sisters laughed and looked around at them.

  “You’re the one that ran away and left my lord to face them both alone, you cowardly succubus,” Forrus shot back at Katie with a stern growl. She was then whacked in the back of head by Tora’s staff as the witch scowled at her.

  “Don’t talk about my mistress with such insolent words, you lowly mutt,” she scolded. The witch was then thrown forward with a scream past everyone and onto the ground, sliding to a stop in front of Charlotte as the alpha held a hand out towards her.

  “Tora, fancy meeting you here,” Charlotte said dryly. Tora screamed then scrambled back onto her feet and stepped away from the alpha.

  “Charlotte… you… what are you doing here?” she asked shakily. Charlotte narrowed her eyes at the witch, with Tora whimpering and smiling nervously at her.

  “I mean, my grace, it’s so nice to see you again,” she stuttered with a small bow.

  “Is it? I don’t think it is, seeing as how you are not welcome in my land,” Charlotte retorted before waving her hand forward, causing Tora to be launched backwards with a loud scream towards Jovian and Jacqueline. She stopped a hair short of colliding with them then was thrown up into air as the gemini tried to grab her. Tora stopped in midair and hovered in place as Charlotte scowled at the witch.

  “You and your wretched mother stole my wand, plotted to overthrow me in this region as the alpha, it is certainly not nice to see you again, not at all!” Charlotte snapped with anger. Tora whimpered then looked to Katie with fright.

  “Mistress, please help me!” she cried out.

  “Mistress? You chose to bow to a Darker One over your own kind? You had the nerve to steal from me and then side with a demon? How far can you possibly fall?” Charlotte demanded.

  “I’m only going to tell you once, let her go,” Katie commanded while narrowing her eyes at the alpha.

  “Yeah, drop her,” Jovian and Jacqueline laughed while reaching up towards Tora, the witch screaming in fright as the gemini were smiling wickedly up at her.

  Charlotte slowly looked over to Katie with narrowed eyes that gave off a small glow.

  “So, you wish to have this letchyask as your own?” she questioned coldly. Katie watched her carefully as the alpha waved her hand over sharply.

  “Then fight over her remains with those gemini dogs,” she spat out. Katie looked at her cautiously then over to Tora as the witch thrashed around in the air, right before Charlotte’s wand struck through Tora from behind with a slick crunch. The group watched in surprise as the girl jerked about slightly before looking down to seeing the wand sticking out of her chest with blood covering the wood, the witch then slowly looking over to Charlotte with a stunned expression as the alpha glanced to her with a scowl.

  “Burn in hell with your mother,” Charlotte coldly stated before holding her hand out, the wand then flying over to her as Tora dropped down to the ground with a thump.

  “Tora!” Alyssa shouted as the gemini pounced on Tora and started mauling her, the wounded witch screaming in agony as Daemon and his group watched with caution and Daniel’s group watched with surprise. Jovian ripped apart Tora’s chest with her hands and teeth while Jacqueline bit down on the witch’s mouth and chewed the tongue and gums up as Tora’s screams became muffled. Her arms and legs flailed around for a moment before dropping down and remaining limp, the group watching as the witch was eaten alive by the gemini.

  “Tora,” Katie breathed out softly, her eyes conveying that she actually regretted what had happened to the witch. She then growled with anger and turned her glare over towards Charlotte, the alpha waving her hand over her wand and casting all the blood off of it to the side in little drops.

  “You shall regret that,” Katie hissed as her eyes gave off a deep glow. Charlotte took hold of her wand then glanced to the succubus with a raised eyebrow.

  “I’m not sure which to find more preposterous; a Darker One actually having feelings for that letchyask, or you thinking I’m afraid of your petty threats,” she questioned carelessly. With a wave of her wand back at Daniel’s group everyone but Kroanette and Alyssa was thrown off to the side together, with Triska’s sword and dagger dropping down onto the ground. As they started to get up long obsidian steel blades rose up around them with a sharp ring, the dark blue metal striking up through the dirt in a swirling cone formation over everyone. The blades struck against each other at the top with loud screeches and sparks while the group watched as they were imprisoned in the circular pen made of jagged metal blades an inch apart from one another.

  “What the hell is this?” Triska exclaimed as she saw they were trapped. Squeak rushed over and tried to pry apart two steel blades before jumping back with a loud squeak, holding her hands which bled a bit through her gloves as the group saw her blood dripping from the obsidian metal.

  “Watch it, they’re razor sharp!” Specca warned as the group looked around to seeing they were completely surrounded by the sharpened blades.

  “Dammit, let me go! I need to find my sister!” Falla yelled out with frustration.

  “Don’t care,” Charlotte said simply as she waved her wand at Alyssa, the group watching as their friend was pushed back down onto the ground before two obsidian blades struck out from below her, the razor sharp metal scissoring right above her throat before holding in place. Alyssa whimpered as she was pinned down on her back in the street, the two blades remaining still while crossing over her neck.

  “I don’t believe this, how powerful is she anyway?” Triska asked with disbelief.

  “An alpha’s magical reserves and abilities far exceed that of a normal witch, this is likely nothing for her to do,” Specca answered nervously. Daniel watched Charlotte closely as he could tell that she was indeed no ordinary witch, the lone monster having detained everyone with what appeared to be no effort on her part.

  ‘So this is the power of an alpha witch, no wonder they’re considered to be the leaders of witches everywhere.’

  Kroanette looked around at everyone worriedly then to Charlotte, the witch merely glancing to her with a raised eyebrow.

  “Why are you still here? Leave already,” she ordered. Kroanette nodded slowly as she glanced around at seeing everyone at the mercy of the alpha witch.

  “Um, I would, but I promised to take him to my mother after my delivery was done. Would that be alright with you?” she asked while pointing to Daniel.

  “He’s not going anywhere but back to my village, my helpers and I are going to make good use of him tonight,” Charlotte said shaking her head. Katie growled then swung her hand towards the alpha witch.

  “Don’t you dare ignore me now!” she yelled out, creating a torrent of blue and green flames that flared brightly towards the alpha witch with a deep haze. Everyone watched as Charlotte merely swung her wand back behind her, causing the barreling torrent of flames to suddenly veer away from her along the ground and strike into a building next to the street, blasting it into a firestorm as the succubus growled with anger at seeing her attack deflected. Even Jovian and Jacqueline watched with amused smiles as they leaned up from Tora’s corpse, blood and scraps of flesh hanging from their mouths as they saw the torrent of flames scorch across the street. After the fires finished racing past smoke billowed up in a large cloud from the charred ground, with Katie scowling in anger while Daemon and his girls watched the scene carefully. Slowly the smoke cleared to reveal Charlotte still standing with her wand held back behind her, the witch being perfectly unharmed. Katie grunted with annoyance as Charlotte slowly looked over to her with a smirk on her face and shook her head.

  “Please, don’t patronize me. You think a simple fire spell would be enough to strike me down?” she mocked
. Katie narrowed her eyes at the alpha as a ring of magical light shined from below her, the circle having unique emblems and characters in red and purple lights as the succubus waved her hand towards Charlotte.

  “Very well, you shall not burn, instead you shall scream in agony while I peel the flesh from your bones,” she hissed as her wings arched back behind her. Charlotte smirked then swung her wand down, creating an even larger casting circle to glow brightly around Katie with white and yellow lights. The succubus looked around at the lights quickly as her magical circle shattered apart with a crackle then to Charlotte as the alpha aimed her wand at the Darker One.

  “You underestimate the power of an alpha, especially one that has learned many different arts of magic for many different foes. I know all about you Darker Ones, and what it takes to be rid of you, especially a demon such as yourself,” Charlotte boasted before the ring of light flashed upwards in a bright pillar into the air. Katie screamed as her body gave off a burning hiss and smoke from the light it was bathed in, the succubus then taking off into the air as the bloom from the casting circle swirled around before launching up at her in a torrent of glowing emblems and swirling lights.

  “What manner of magic is that?” Forrus asked carefully.

  “Holy magic, extremely effective against demons,” Daemon said looking to Charlotte, the witch laughing as she swung her wand around. The torrent of white and yellow lights traveled upward as Katie darted out of the light and flew in the air with a vicious snarl, her body having trails of smoke coming off in wisps as she glared down at the alpha witch.

  “What the hell is this, since when does a witch know of such magic as that?” Katie demanded loudly.

  “Since this witch knows it would come in handy in repelling a demon such as yourself away from her territory. Now get out of my land, you’re not welcome here, not at all,” Charlotte threatened as she waved her wand down, creating a monstrous casting circle that took up the entire street intersection, with everyone looking around at seeing multiple smaller circles with emblems and spinning lines within the giant magical base that glowed with a warm light.