by Skyler Grant
The floor was a complex series of mystical scrawling. Bodies of robed figures were slumped around the room. Several scurried out when we walked in.
“Girls,” I said.
“Liam,” Horror said.
“I like your eyes. They see the world like little television cameras,” Madness said to Yve.
“Is it you that made the world the air so sweet? I think you’re my favorite of all Liam’s daughters,” Yve said.
“Hey!” Hope said, and then added, “And, ah… Hi, sisters. I don’t like what you’ve done with the place.”
“They tried to summon a great world-destroying evil, they got what they wanted,” Horror said, unconcerned.
Madness said nothing. She and Yve had wasted no time and were making out.
“She’s my daughter,” I said.
“Like you didn’t sleep around the family tree? It’s kind of why we’re in this mess,” Yve said, before returning to Madness.
I didn’t have a good argument for that. I’d need to find one.
“So do you do this often?” I asked.
“End worlds in binges of madness and terror? It is kind of our thing,” Horror said.
“You taste like the burning of gardens,” Madness said to Yve.
I said, “So. Last time we met I didn’t know about the whole dad thing.”
“You mean that time you left me to fight Veros and that crazy bodyguard alone?” Horror said.
“I figured you’d be fine,” I said.
“I threw the wolf out the window and set fire to the building,” Horror said.
Like father, like daughter I guess.
“So we’re good,” I said.
“Nah. I’m holding a grudge. I brought some other members of the family to have a talk with you,” Horror said, snapping her fingers.
A pair of side doors opened and two women stepped through. One I didn’t recognize, a redhead largely naked but for a few thorny vines curled around her form. The other, I had memories of some barely satisfactory sex followed by throwing her out a window. There she had been known as White, but I suspected this wasn’t the original White, but a copy of her.
That would make her Frost and the redhead Rose, two of Ashera’s daughters.
Chapter 23
“Rose and Frost I assume,” I said.
“Huh, he looks just like that guy,” Rose said.
“Funny right,” Frost said.
“I think I’m missing some context,” I said.
“Oh, we slept with your echo awhile back. He was a real jerk and Frost wound up throwing him out of a window,” Rose said.
Well, that was disconcerting. And a bit of a theme here.
“I slept with an echo of Frost and threw her out a window,” I said.
“Really? How was I?” Frost asked.
“Kind of a selfish bitch.”
“Sounds like you,” Rose told Frost.
My various friends and assembled daughters were looking a little pained by this conversation. I didn’t blame them.
“So! Not to change the subject or anything, but you tried to murder me awhile back,” I said to Rose.
“Spoiler alert. About to have a second go,” Rose said.
I hoped not. Members of this family were always a lot to handle, and I really didn’t want Hope starting her relationship with her aunts by throwing punches.
“I’m no longer engaged to your mom, if that makes a difference?” I asked.
Rose and Frost exchanged a glance and Frost shrugged.
“Talk,” Rose said.
“I married an alternate aspect of her instead. So whatever weird grudge you had against a commoner marrying your mom, it no longer applies,” I said.
“Instead you just disrespected her for some kind of lesser copy,” Rose said.
“And threw an echo of me out a window,” Frost said.
Hope moved in to give each of them a hug which they accepted with good grace. She said, “Pardon me. I just get this out of the way with all new members of the family I meet.”
“I like her. Although she seems different than the others,” Rose said.
Hope let them go and went off to hug Madness and Horror, who seemed rather less comfortable with the whole process.
“Hope is kind of the original. My child with Cobalt, the others were all clones made by some insane computers,” I said.
Yve said quickly, “But not the sexy, insane computer who had nothing to do with it all. You’re good, if I date your daughter, right Liam?”
“You’re going to have to give me a little bit of time to figure that out. We may or may not be fighting these two first. Are we fighting?” I asked.
“I hope so or this whole thing has been a complete bore. Woo me, family,” Horror said.
Rose said, “We want to recruit your daughter. You want to recruit your daughter. We’re still doing this.”
“I was good enough for you,” Yve said to me, offended.
“First of all, that was more than a few months ago. Second, you’re a little high on insanity juice right now,” I said.
Agony of Thorns
The stone floor tore itself into fragments as several massive vines sprang forth and wrapped themselves around me. Each was liberally adorned with thorns. Most were stopped by my armor, but a few pierced through and yet others found every bit of exposed flesh. It wasn’t just the flesh piercing, they also seemed to be coated with some sort of toxin and I could already feel myself growing dizzy. I really hated fighting this family.
Hope was on her aunt in an instant, a series of blows aimed at her midsection barely countered. Rose was good, all of Ashera’s children were trained from birth in the arts of combat and against any ordinary foe Rose could be unstoppable.
Encase
Yve was rushing into the fray when Frost gestured. In the past, Yve lost the fight against Frost’s echo and now against the original she fared even worse. Ice sprang up, starting at her feet and quickly encasing her entire body.
I tore the vines apart by pure strength and force of will. It was agonizing, but I was no stranger to pain now. There was no punishment I could inflict on my body that would not heal in time.
I kept a torn chunk of vines knotted around my fist and delivered an uppercut to Frost’s chin. The thorns from the vines cut deep into her flesh filling her with the same poison that coursed through my veins.
Coldblooded Killer
Frost’s skin became a shade of blue as the air turned misty around her, frost literally coating her flesh. I expected it was slowing the poison, but it also meant she wasn’t attacking me—so I could attack her. I threw several punches towards her stomach. Her body was so hard that it was like punching a wall. I could feel the bones in my hand breaking and yet I followed up each punch with another.
After several blows Frost finally stumbled back, color starting to return to her skin as she dropped to a knee.
Whip of Thorns
A thorny whip wrapped itself around my neck and pulled. It was like a sawblade running along that unprotected flesh. My throat was torn apart in seconds and I collapsed to the ground in a growing pool of my own blood.
It took me out of the fight for the time being. I was tough enough and even something like this wasn’t going to kill me, but I could do little more than try to hold my throat shut while waiting for my healing to fully kick in.
Fortunately it wasn’t just me and Rose. Hope had continued to press her attack and seized on her aunt’s distraction with me to get Rose’s arm twisted painfully her.
“Enough. We yield,” Rose said.
Hope was more trusting of her relatives than I’d have been and let Rose go at once.
“You okay?” Rose asked, moving to Frost’s side.
“Man can throw a punch,” Frost said.
“You good, Dad?” Hope asked.
I couldn’t talk yet, so I gave her a thumbs-up and pointed to Yve.
Frost snapped her fingers and the ice surrounding Yve shat
tered, the paladin collapsing to the floor and sucking in great gasps of air.
Horror half-heartedly clapped. “Short, but entertaining. I guess you’ve redeemed yourself from that little leaving-me-to-die stunt, Father.”
My daughters certainly were putting me through my paces, both diplomatic and otherwise. My throat had finally knitted itself together enough and I spent a few seconds coughing up blood.
“So why are you trying to recruit my daughters?” I asked Rose.
“Why does anyone want the biggest weapons? You’re better with them than without them,” Rose said, eying my throat. “You healed up well. No aftereffects from my toxins?”
There were. I was dizzy and nauseous, more so than usual after being torn to shreds.
“I’m feeling them. You’ve got some mean thorns,” I said.
“Thank you, I try. So why don’t you tell us what you’re really planning,” Rose said.
“I don’t think it’s the losers that get to demand information,” Yve said, giving Frost a dark look.
“I won one, I lost one. Your score isn’t nearly that impressive,” Frost said.
Yve didn’t look any happier at that.
I wasn’t going to share our plans with them, of course. Hope might have some basic trust in these two, but I didn’t.
“Father dearest there and our evil stepmother want to remake the whole of reality into a monster’s paradise,” Horror said.
“Twelve twinkling little stars screaming their songs,” Madness said.
“Can they do that?” Rose asked Frost.
“Have you ever seen mom this weak and the Silver City so under siege? It’s better than our little rebellion fared,” Frost said.
“You rebelled?” I asked.
“In our younger days we gave it a spin. Everyone does eventually,” Rose said.
“Want in?” I asked.
Rose and Frost talked quietly amongst themselves.
“We’re going to pass,” Frost said.
“But we will sit this one out. We’re sure a big fight is coming and we’ll be conveniently out of touch for awhile,” Rose said.
It seemed too good to be true. “Why? You tried to kill me because I wasn’t good enough for your mother, and from what I hear you’re what might be called a royalist through and through,” I said.
“Two things,” Rose said, stepping closer and reaching to brush her fingertips along my neck, “First and most importantly you’ve impressed us. To call us dangerous is a massive understatement and you survived a bit of fun. It wasn’t all because of your daughter either.”
Rose was uncomfortably close and that touch had turned sensuous. I could smell her now, it really was the scent of roses. Sweet and overwhelming.
I didn’t know what she was playing at, but I had to decide how I was going to respond. My briefly held ideals of being true to my wife were already well and truly broken already. That wasn’t a factor, rather the truth of the situation. Getting tangled up with this family always caused complications, but I didn’t need these two as enemies. Rose was likely playing me, I knew that, but if someone is being played they’re a resource you hope to use going forward.
I leaned in and cut off her words with a kiss. Rose was a moment slow reacting, perhaps I’d misread things and she wasn’t expecting this. It didn’t seem unwelcome however as a second later she responded with some vigor.
“Dad, really?” Hope asked, put out.
“Mmm,” Rose said, after the kiss broke off, “Secondly, we want to see how this all turns out. Niece, does your little den of terror have a bedroom?”
“Upstairs off the Mayor’s office. His body is right outside,” Horror said.
“I’m coming too,” Frost said. “We get to throw Rose out a window this time. That seems fair.”
It did. Like most of my encounters with this family, my time with these sisters was memorable. White was nothing like Frost when it came down to it. Both sisters were more than a little deadly, I soon found out how prolonged contact with Frost caused flesh to grow numb then die. Rose could never shed her thorns and they cut and poisoned an uncomfortable amount. I doubted many could have survived the hours we spent together, much less enjoyed them, but I did.
We threw Rose out a window. I think she rather enjoyed the novelty of the whole experience.
When we parted it was time to seek out the daughter the others kept talking about, Hubris.
Chapter 24
Ashley and Cobalt rejoined us in the morning courtesy of Elsora opening them a portal. That was good, we were a lot stronger with them. When Hope teleported us this time we materialized in the top of a tower with expansive glass windows. The view outside was of an astonishingly beautiful city with mountains just visible in the distance.
Hubris was waiting for us, standing with her hands clasped behind her back as she looked over the view. I remembered that Hubris was considered the smartest of them, and that she was the first to emerge from the cloning procedure.
I had to admit that she cut an impressive figure. Each of my daughters so far had their own thing going, their own sense of style. Hubris reminded me a lot of Ashera. The armor she wore wasn’t very stylized, but any illusion of simplicity was a lie. Hubris was wearing the very best of gear.
Hubris turned to face us.
“Do get your hugging out of the way,” Hubris said.
Hope, Cobalt, and I all took our turns. Hubris endured it well enough. I was right about her gear, there was a definite magical crackle that you could feel in your bones when you got close. There was a lot of power surrounding her.
“You’ve a lovely home,” I said.
“The best, of course. I never settle for anything less,” Hubris said, looking us over critically.
“So you know why we’ve come,” I said.
“My sisters have informed me. A bold plan, to unseat the center of reality and place ourselves in its place. Elsora Damos is a brilliant woman, you were wise to marry her.”
Cobalt cleared her throat unhappily.
Hubris said, “You surely have some sort of redeeming qualities besides your promiscuity, Mother. Rest assured that we shall discover them in time.”
“Mom is brave and courageous, and loves us all very much,” Hope said.
“You have the virtue of being able to say that, sister. In your case at least it seems to be true. It is far from a certainty where the rest of us are concerned,” Hubris said.
“The fact that she is here shows that she cares,” I said.
“It does,” Hubris said, nodding. “But I am not here to debate the depths of your parental impulses. I am asking why I should agree to your plan at all, which is filled with uncertainty, when a better one exists.”
“What better plan do you have?” I asked.
Perhaps she had one. If she really was as brilliant as her sisters thought, it may be she had devised something Elsora didn’t think about.
“Me. I am the most powerful of the Nine and a trained sorceress to boot. You think no alternative exists to take the place of Grandmother, but I do. I can unseat her and take the center of reality for myself,” Hubris said.
“I don’t care how good you are, you’ve never fought your grandmother. I promise you, you’ve never seen anything like her,” Cobalt said.
Hubris gave her a smile that seemed almost pitying, “It’s okay, Mom. I know that you spent a long time running from her, but I am not you. I’m better than you ever were and I am better than her.”
Cobalt threw herself at Hubris with a flying tackle. Hubris flickered and suddenly she was just outside of range and lashing out with a kick that caught Cobalt in the stomach.
“Mom!” Hope said, rushing in to join the fray.
I’d seen Cobalt fight off an entire army naked. I’d seen Cobalt and Hope together stand off against a world of eternally resurrecting warriors and emerge triumphant. Hubris was fighting them to a standstill. Wherever their attacks tried to focus, she vanished and shadowy versions of
herself flickered into existence long enough to deliver a blow, before disappearing again.
“Do you need a hand?” I asked.
“Stay out of this. This is between me and my overconfident brat of a daughter,” Cobalt said, before a particularly fierce punch split her lip and sent droplets of blood flying.
Hubris avoided a kick from Cobalt and slammed her palm into Hope’s face, who was about to counter with her own blow. There was a brilliant flare of light and Hope slumped to the ground—out cold.
“You’re only months old, Hubris. You shouldn’t have this kind of fight in you,” Cobalt said.
Hubris gave a tiny smile. “You know better than that, Mom. Time is what you make of it.”
“You’ve been living somewhere with a time differential,” I said.
“Of course I have. Being the best doesn’t just happen, Dad. You make it happen. You work, you study, you train,” Hubris said.
Hubris landed another punch on Cobalt that had her staggering.
“Care to try that without your magic?” Cobalt said.
“Alright,” Hubris said, and the two closed exchanging blows that moved faster and faster. I’d seen Ashera move this fast, but didn’t know the others in her family were capable of it. I’d never seen Cobalt pushed this far or this hard.
Cobalt was landing blows. Less than I’d have expected, less I think than Hubris gave back in turn, but the fight wasn’t completely one-sided. That said, there was never any real doubt who was the better fighter. Hubris was very good—and Cobalt was in over her head.
“How long?” Cobalt asked.
Hubris gave no answer, instead focusing on her attacks, and a series of blows sent Cobalt flying away to land with a thud.
“You’re good, Mom, but I’m better,” Hubris said. It appeared to be true.
“Can only family play or you got room for one more?” Ashley asked, drawing her daggers.
