“Which means we might have witches coming after her, Sasha, and maybe the rest of us out of revenge,” Rulo snorted.
“Is this true, Tabitha?” Daemon asked.
“Yeah, it’s true,” Tabitha muttered. “So what? It’s not like I was going to have you killed or anything. I was just being paid a fortune to assist you and make sure you remained a virgin for her, that’s all.”
“You realize I wouldn’t have said yes to such an offer with her, correct?”
“Who cares?” Tabitha scoffed with a shrug. “After I got my payment I wouldn’t have given a crap what you did. All you had to do was finish your quest of finding those stupid relics and we all would have won in the end. You would have found those artifacts and I would have been rich.”
“That’s all you ever think about, gold!” Forrus yelled at her. “You are such a greedy, wretched, waste of a life, Tabitha!”
“You know something,” Tabitha growled back. “If I really have lost this contract with Charlotte, then that means I don’t need to put up with you anymore, you fucking mutt. How about you come over here and say that to my face and we see what happens?”
“How about we present Charlotte with your corpse as payment for you failing her?” Rulo argued. “I’m sure she’ll love having a new furry rug lying in front of her fireplace.”
“That sounds like a plan to me,” Forrus snarled, getting ready to attack before Mika stepped in front of the neko to shield her.
“Stand down, Forrus,” the sorceress ordered. “You can’t kill this cat right now.”
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t!” Forrus demanded as she marched up in front of the woman.
“Because she has my sire’s artifacts stashed away, remember?” Mika shot back, silencing the girls while Minos again peeked between her fingers at the group. “You mentioned she has them safely hidden in her magic treasure trove for us. If you kill her how are we supposed to get them back?”
“She has a point,” Hollia agreed. “We should retrieve my knight’s property from her vault first, and then throw her to the witches.”
“Fair enough,” Rulo snorted as she lifted up her hammer. “Mika makes a good point. Let’s break Tabitha’s legs and force her to open up that vault for us. Then we can let Forrus chew her up and spit her out before giving her back to Charlotte.”
“No, don’t hurt her!” Scay pleaded, quickly slithering over and wrapping around Tabitha. “She’s my friend! Please, we only wanted to get paid lots of gold, that’s all we wanted! We didn’t mean to cause trouble for you!”
“Well you did cause us trouble!” Rulo shouted as the girls got closer with violent intent. “Same for that stupid minotaur over there! We’ve already got enough to worry about with my master’s quest, we don’t need all these new problems to deal with as well!”
“No! Get back!” Scay screamed as she held out her dagger. “I mean it! I’ll stab you! I will! Mika, help! Please help me!”
“Could everyone please ease yourselves right now?” Mika called out.
“Who’s side are you on, Mika?” Forrus demanded. “Ours or that cat’s?”
“I’m on his side!” Mika shouted, pointing to Daemon who at this point was gently laying Sasha down against a moss covered tree. “The same as all of you! Until he issues such an order of attacking Tabitha I will do no such thing. Until he declares she’s an enemy I will not treat her as such. I get that you’re all pretty worked up and horny right now, and you’re all feeling anxious, but you need to get your shit together and start acting like real followers of that man who don’t let their emotions or temper get the best of them! Didn’t you learn from my mistake of how badly that ends up for you?”
The girls slowly stepped back as Mika carefully glanced around at them, seeing the tension somewhat lowering between them while Scay remained poised to strike with Tabitha safely wrapped up in her tail.
“I don’t care if you hate each other, or if you hate me,” Mika told them. “My only reason for being here is to assist my sire with his quest, to actually do something good with my life, to hopefully atone for my sins of fucking up horribly all because I let my emotions get the better of me! I’m here to aid him with noble intent for the greater good, just as all of you keep saying you’re here to do. If that’s true then act like it, ladies! Quit trying to kill each other and let’s complete his mission just like we set out here to do!”
“Mika…” Hollia quietly said.
“And for the record, I’m fine with being your friend, Scay,” Mika said to the naga. “You may be a little unpredictable, but you’re not an evil person at heart. I can tolerate that. But Tabitha? You’re horrible. You have those fragments in your vault, and all you see with them is price tags. You don’t understand what those things mean or what they can really do in the wrong hands. You don’t even care how many lives would be lost if you sold them to the wrong person. All you care about is gold. That’s it. That’s all you ever talk about. That’s all you ever whine about. Gold, gold, gold!”
“Hey, you don’t know-” Tabitha started to say before the sorceress sharply waved her hand at her.
“I do know! I used to run a store in The Outerlands! We sold food, clothing, and weapons to travelers, people who needed them to survive! And if they were too poor to afford what they needed, we lowered the prices to help accommodate them! We wanted to help save lives more than fill our pockets with gold! We wanted people to live and not die rather than become wealthy! We wanted to do what was right, not what would make us rich!”
Tabitha fell silent in surprise while the girls behind Mika watched her with curious looks.
“It’s only because you can safely hide those artifacts for my sire that I’m alright with you coming with us,” Mika continued. “That’s it. That’s all you’re good for. If it wasn’t for that you would be worthless to us, Tabitha. And that’s counting all the so called riches you claim to have in your vault. At least Scay wants to help us, at least she wants to do what’s right. But you? You’re nothing but a greedy cat.”
“Big words for a human who freed a Dark Queen,” Tabitha hissed back.
“FREED A DARK QUEEN?” Minos cried out. The group saw her staring at Mika in shock before she quickly noticed Daemon and again resumed hiding behind her hands.
“Yeah, I did fuck up,” Mika admitted. “And I’m paying the price for that. I’ve hit rock-bottom in life. I’ve lost everything because of my mistake. But at least I still have my integrity. At least I have the will to do what’s right in my life. What do you have, Tabitha?”
Tabitha growled and lowered her head while Scay coddled her with a worried frown. Mika shook her head slowly then began walking towards Daemon before a hand quickly grabbed and halted her. Turning to the side she saw Forrus holding her hand, the lycan having a slight smile on her face while the girls around her shared similar approval.
“For the record,” the lycan mentioned. “I much prefer traveling with you than her. More so now than before.”
“I guess you’re not the biggest pain in our ass after all,” Rulo remarked.
Saffron merely nodded while remaining completely naked with the girls.
“I told you we didn’t hate you, Mika,” Hollia mentioned with a smirk.
Smiling a little from hearing their words Mika felt as though she wasn’t as out of place in their group as she had thought before. She then noticed Daemon approaching them, with all the girls quickly turning to face the cambion as he walked up to Mika with a focused gaze that made her feel even weaker in the presence of the half-naked man.
“I’d say you’re well on your way to redeeming yourself, Mika,” Daemon said, something that further lifted her spirit from hearing. He gave a single nod at her then observed the deep looks he was getting from the girls beside them, his eyes then taking notice of Tabitha sulking in Scay’s coils while the naga was watching him with a worried grimace.
“It sounds like your mission is a failure, Tabitha,” he mention
ed, getting a grumbled meow out of the neko. “I don’t imagine your employer will be happy to hear of it.”
“Don’t remind me,” Tabitha muttered.
“What should we do now?” Scay whimpered. “We’re not going to be paid anymore. The witches will be angry with us. They’re going to come after Tabitha when they hear of this.”
“Then you’d better not speak a word of it to the witches,” Daemon reasoned with a shrug. Scay and Tabitha blinked before looking at him curiously as he turned his focus over to Minos who quickly hid behind her hands again from seeing him watching her.
“Wait, what did you say?” Tabitha asked.
“It would be in both of our interests if Charlotte was not made aware of you failing the parameters of your mission,” Daemon said.
“My knight,” Hollia wondered. “Are you suggesting we keep this a secret from the witches?”
“Why should we?” Rulo scoffed. “Why should we bother helping her at all?”
“My lord, why do you wish to help this greedy neko?” Forrus worriedly asked. “She’s nothing but a pest, and her actions are far from honorable.”
“I’m aware her manners are quite lacking and there is tension between you girls with her,” Daemon admitted. “However, Mika has made a very good point in Tabitha’s defense. Upsetting Tabitha’s employer could bring more problems upon us, and we already have more than enough to deal with at the moment. That and she’s able to safely conceal the key fragments we find and place them far out of reach from any who may wish to steal them. Isn’t that right, Tabitha?”
“Y… yes,” Tabitha stuttered. “Yeah, they’re safely locked away in my vault. Nobody can get them except for me.”
“And how can you be so sure of that?” Rulo scoffed.
“Because my vault is buried deep in a forgotten wasteland,” Tabitha snapped. “Far, far away from this land without a single soul in all of Eden knowing where it is except for me.”
“And you’re the only one who can get into it?” Hollia questioned.
“I’m the only one. I’m the only one who knows where it is. Not even my family knows, and trust me I went to great lengths to make sure of that.”
“But do we really need her?” Forrus complained. “Any one of us would be a better choice to guard the artifacts personally rather than trusting this wretched neko to keep them safe. She might very well sell them off if given the chance for more gold, we can’t trust her with them.”
“I think we can trust her,” Mika pointed out. “She’s in danger of being on the wrong end of a rope with the witches should they learn of her mission being unsuccessful. And I think she’s knows just how much danger she would be in if she were to get on my sire’s bad side and steal what is rightfully his.”
“I’m not going to betray Daemon,” Tabitha insisted. “For crying out loud, if I do then the witches will definitely come after me. Charlotte wants to get on Daemon’s good side, remember? If I piss him off then she’ll want my head mounted above her fireplace.”
“It sounds like Tabitha has no choice but to help my knight,” Hollia mused with a smirk. “In fact, she has no choice but to obey his commands without question or else risk upsetting her employer who ordered her to do exactly that.”
“Correct observation, Hollia,” Daemon commended as he walked off towards the cowering minotaur. Standing tall with a smug grin Hollia beamed from the compliment while the other girls showed less than enthusiastic faces at Tabitha and the thought of being stuck with her still. While Mika watched Daemon with a curious eye as she noticed something else about what he did, Rulo picked up and shoved Saffron’s clothes into the arms of the ant girl with a grunt and a mean scowl aimed at Tabitha.
“Fine,” Rulo growled. “If my master wishes to keep you fucking up a secret, then I’ll obey his wishes. But you’d better watch yourself, cat. If you give us one good reason to throw you to the witches then you can bet we’ll do so without a second thought.”
“If I die you don’t get those key fragments back,” Tabitha sneered. “You need me alive, pig.”
“I think we can persuade you to give them back if we try,” Forrus warned. “All we have to make sure of is that you don’t lose too much blood before opening up your vault again.”
“If Charlotte really does wish to help my knight, I’m sure she could convince Tabitha to hand them over,” Hollia chuckled. “I can only imagine the kind of torture an alpha witch would use on someone she didn’t like.”
“Easy, girls,” Mika spoke up. “Again, we’re on the same side. Tabitha stays with us and she stays alive, that’s what my sire wanted after all. And, Tabitha? You’d better start showing some gratitude for him saving your life.”
“Saving my life?” Tabitha repeated.
“He’s willingly choosing to hide what happened in order to spare your life from those witches,” Mika told her. “He’s letting you continue your employment with them and earn your stupid gold. In case you didn’t notice, you’re trapped between a rock and a hard place right now. Either you obediently serve my sire and help him on his quest, or everyone is going to be coming after your head. You’re lucky he’s willing to offer you any help at all.”
Tabitha opened her mouth to speak before Mika sharply flicked her hand at her, slapping the neko across the face with a blunt force of magic that startled the cat with a surprised meow.
“And before you try to hide behind the fact those artifacts are hidden in your secret vault, ask yourself this. Do you really think if he wanted to, my sire couldn’t make you hand them over himself? I know I made the horrible mistake of underestimating him when I first met all of you. Are you going to make the same mistake as well?”
Tabitha offered no reply as she stared at her in nervous silence, her eyes slowly going around at seeing similar looks of discontent from the girls while Scay had a troubled frown on her face.
“Make no mistake, Tabitha,” Mika warned. “Those artifacts have no price tag on them. They’re not for sale. They’re not for bartering with. They belong to him. If you lay a finger on them for personal reasons, all of us and Charlotte are going to be the least of your worries. If anyone should make you think twice about touching those things, it would by my sire.”
She walked off towards where Daemon was standing before the nervous minotaur with her cape flowing behind and not a second glance being made to anyone. Tabitha was slowly released from Scay’s tail while the other girls shook their heads at the neko with disparaging looks.
“She’s right,” Hollia agreed. “No matter how you look at it, Tabitha, you now work for my knight. He’s the one you need to serve. Because if you don’t, you’re a dead woman.”
“Like I said before,” Rulo warned. “Just give us one excuse, cat. Just one.”
“I guess I can’t say you’re completely worthless,” Forrus reluctantly admitted. “However you’re still far below even the likes of someone like Mika who has fallen so far already.”
“I do prefer her company over Tabitha’s any day,” Hollia agreed.
Saffron nodded with a squeak as she finished getting dressed, the girls then heading over towards Daemon and Mika while Scay remained beside Tabitha.
“Tabitha?” the naga softly asked. “Are you okay?”
“Let’s just hurry and finish this job as soon as we can,” Tabitha snapped. “The sooner we collect all those fragments the sooner I can collect my payout and get far away from all these people.”
The two made their way over to the group with Tabitha holding in her frustrated growls and Scay sticking close to her with a worried smile, with everyone gathering behind Daemon as he watched Minos trembling low on the ground before him with both hands covering her face.
“What are you doing?” Daemon plainly asked.
“She’s shy around men, sire,” Mika explained. “I’m sure the fact that you’re shirtless isn’t helping with that at all.”
“Minos,” Hollia spoke up. “Tell my knight everything you told us. E
verything.”
“With your lowest possible voice,” Forrus warned. “If you harm his ears with your shouting we will not show you mercy.”
Minos peeked between her fingers at seeing everyone watching her sharply, the minotaur slowly lowering her hands and raising herself up with a timid expression clearly seen on her face. Her eyes were focused on Daemon, almost in fear, as she trembled with a shakily wagging tail.
“If you would be so kind,” Daemon requested. “We have much to deal with already and little time to spare. If you have something important to tell me, now is your chance.”
“Minos will tell you,” the minotaur carefully replied in her most controlled voice. “But first, Minos must ask you something.”
“Very well. What is it?”
“Will you be gentle lover with Minos?” the minotaur bashfully asked. “Minos… is a little… nervous.”
Daemon merely looked around at the girls and saw their dull expressions from her statement, and after a moment of awkward silence slowly returned his cold gaze back onto the minotaur who was innocently twirling her hair beside her head.
“I feel as though we have much to discuss tonight.”
*****
Riding swiftly through the woodland trail Clover kept a sharp watch on her surroundings, the new horse she had running much faster than the previous one just as were the three other steeds nearby. Looking ahead she saw Calam riding her horse between Jezzele and Velm, the riders keeping close to Clover while Reiko soared through the air beside the elf.
“I am sorry for the unpleasant turn of events,” Calam called back to her. “You have my word that Star will be just fine after Doc tends to her.”
“Forgive me for being skeptical,” Clover snapped. “Do me a favor and just shut up until we reach Stonegate. And don’t do anything stupid. It may not look like it but I’ve got my eye on all of you!”
“You do realize that fluugher attacking your friend wasn’t our doing, right?” Jezzele asked. “We didn’t lure her into danger or plan on her being raped like that. It could have happened to anyone.”
Chronicles of Eden - Season II - Act I Page 36
