Chronicles of Eden - Act IV (13 page)

“Oh, Falla. You’re still alive after all.”

“That’s Emily?” Specca asked. “That’s the girl Luna was with?”

Falla quickly ran over to Emily and shook her by the shoulders with desperation, the witch having a dull expression on her face while she gripped her wand in one hand.

“Where’s my sister?” Falla cried out. “What happened to her, where is she?”

“Falla, get away from her!” Alyssa shouted out.

Everyone looked to her as she was staring at Emily with surprise, with the dark witch slowly turning her empty gaze towards Alyssa.

“Well, well, well,” Emily said coldly. “Alyssa. What a surprise seeing you here.”

“You know her, Alyssa?” Daniel asked.

“That’s Emily, the Blight Witch!” Alyssa cried out as she pointed to Emily.

Falla looked to her then to Emily with confusion as the witch slowly lowered her hands, revealing the wand she was holding.

“Witch?” Falla nervously asked as she backed up. “She’s a witch? She’s not human?”

“Blight Witch?” Daniel asked.

Emily chuckled as the ground under her started to turn black and decay, with Falla quickly scrambling back to the others as they watched the witch smiling coldly at them.

“Alyssa, the Wildfire Witch,” Emily taunted. “How wonderful that I get to kill you myself. I’m sure the other alphas would appreciate such a gesture to the witch community.”

“What is she talking about? Who is she?” Triska asked.

“That’s Emily, the Blight Witch,” Alyssa whimpered. “An alpha of the eastern region.”

“She’s an alpha witch?” Specca said with surprise.

“What does Blight Witch mean?” Triska asked cautiously.

“She’s a master of using necro and demonic spells,” Alyssa nervously said. “She’s a death dealer with her magic.”

Emily laughed then stopped as her eyestalks took notice of Jovian and Jacqueline, the witch then facing and pointing to them accusingly.

“You two!”

The group looked to the sisters as they giggled at the witch.

“Oh look, it’s the one that got away,” Jovian mused.

Emily growled and clenched her fist as her rings and wand gave off a soft glow.

“You two were the ones that tried to eat me! You ruined my trip to Ashwood, how dare you get in my way like that!”

“Wait, what’s going on here?” Daniel asked looking around at the dark monsters.

“To Ashwood?” Specca asked softly.

Jovian and Jacqueline laughed and shrugged while watching Emily with amused smiles.

“Sorry about that,” Jovian said coldly. “We were just trying to make you scream like a little girl.”

“We’re so glad we found you again though,” Jacqueline mocked. “We’ve just been dying to sink our teeth into your flesh this whole time.”

Emily growled and pointed her wand toward the sisters as Daniel and his group slowly moved off to the side to the edge of the street, watching as the dark monsters stared each other down.

“You two had the audacity to try to kill
me
,” Emily cursed. “Treated me like I was some common animal to be hunted and eaten. That was the worst mistake of your wretched little lives!”

The witch then swung her wand down, casting out a dark shadow that raced across the ground towards the sisters. The group watched as the shadow stretched across the street before rising up into a giant hand of black sludge, the summoned limb gearing back before slamming down on Jacqueline. Jovian stumbled to the side as a loud hissing and burning sound was heard while smoke billowed up from the sludge on the ground, with Emily smiling wickedly at the sight as the group stared with wide eyes.

“What the hell was that?” Triska asked shakily.

“I told you she’s a master of necro spells,” Alyssa reminded her. “Her magic can summon the most toxic and acidic monstrosities from the underworld.”

The sludge on the ground dug down into the dirt and disappeared, leaving behind a bleached skeleton on the ground while Daniel’s dagger had melted into the dirt beside it.

“Oh my god,” Daniel breathed out with wide eyes.

“She killed her… in one swoop,” Specca said softly with wonder.

“She’s one of the worst witches we could have run into out here,” Alyssa whimpered nervously.

“I think we know what scared away your horse then,” Falla pointed out worriedly.

Jovian looked down to the skeleton that was once her sister then to Emily with a dull smile.

“Really now,” she taunted. “That was just pitiful. Is that all you can do?”

Emily growled at the girl before her eyestalks took notice of something, causing her to jump with a gasp as the group watched with surprise as well. Jacqueline’s skeleton slowly started to regenerate its flesh and organs as it sat up on its own, with all eyes watching as the girl reformed again from head to toe minus the clothing which had been melted away by the lethal sludge.

“What the hell?” Emily shouted with disbelief.

“Dammit, not even that could kill her?” Triska grunted with frustration as Jacqueline slowly stood up, the blonde monster now being completely naked as she giggled at Emily.

“Oh my, that tickled,” Jacqueline mocked before the sisters started laughing together.

Emily stared at them with shock then growled with anger as her focuser crystals glowed softly.

“You… just what the hell are you two anyway?”

“That would be telling,” Jovian and Jacqueline replied while holding a finger to their lips with cold smiles on their faces.

Specca looked at Emily nervously then slowly shook her head.

“Wait a minute,” she questioned. “I thought she was blind, how is she seeing them?”

Alyssa glanced around then pointed up to a roof on the other side of the street, with everyone looking to seeing a black tentacle made of sludge with a large yellow eye staring at them.

“That’s how, she uses her summoned creatures to see for her.”

Daniel and Triska looked around to seeing dozens of the tentacle eyestalks up on the roofs of buildings all around the street, all of the eyes watching the group while never blinking.

“Dear lord, those things are everywhere,” Specca said nervously.

“Nothing ever escapes her eye,” Alyssa mentioned. “She can see everything around her with her magic.”

“But where’s Luna? Where’s my sister?” Falla cried out.

Emily giggled as a tentacle eyestalk slowly rose up from the ground next to Falla, with the butterfly girl screaming and backing up against a house while staring at the strange limb with fright. The tentacle swayed over towards the girl and leaned closer to her face, staring into her eye as Daniel and his friends watched the strange limb with growing concern.

“Don’t worry,” Emily reassured while still facing the sisters in the street. “I’m taking very good care of her, and I will forever and ever.”

“What?” Falla yelled out. “What does that mean, where is she? What have you done with her?”

Emily laughed as the eyestalk leaned back and tilted to the side slightly.

“That doesn’t concern you anymore,” Emily replied with a cold tone. “She’s my butterfly now, now and forever.”

Triska looked around quickly then to the eyestalk while gripping her sword tightly.

“She’s here, Luna’s here somewhere.”

“We have to find her, she’s in danger,” Specca whispered.

“In case you haven’t noticed
we’re
in danger,” Alyssa hushed out frantically as the group looked between Emily and the two sisters. Jovian and Jacqueline looked around at everyone while holding a few fingers to their lips.

“Sister, where should we start with our feast?” Jacqueline asked curiously.

“I’m not sure, I was thinking about eating Triska first to be honest, she looks really tasty,” Jovian mentioned, with Triska glancing to her nervously as the dark girl then turned to Emily with a cruel smile.

“But then again, I have been waiting forever to make that little brat scream in agony. Oh such a difficult decision indeed.”

Daniel gulped then slowly held his hands up defensively as he faced Emily.

“Listen,” he called out to her. “We’re not here to cause any trouble. Isn’t there any way we can discuss this peacefully? This is all just a huge misunderstanding, please, we don’t have to fight each other.”

Emily slowly turned to face him with a dull glare while remaining silent, with Alyssa whimpering and shaking her head as she stared at the witch with fright.

“Daniel,” Alyssa spoke up. “She’s a mass murderer, she is
not
one of the witches we can talk to about your ideals.”

“You’re one to talk about being a murderer,” Emily hissed. “You slayed many witches with your accursed fire, all I’ve killed are petty human beings. You’re the only witch here that needs to be slaughtered for your atrocities.”

Triska looked around at the village then to Emily with anger.

“Did you kill all these people? Was this your doing?”

“Of course not,” Emily coldly replied. “I only killed the men here. I raped them until they gave me all their seeds, I squeezed every last drop out of them before they breathed their last breaths.” Daniel’s group stared at her with shock as the witch turned her blank gaze towards Jovian and Jacqueline.

“As for the rest of the trash in this village, I didn’t bother to sully my hands with them. I let my pet take care of the rest.”

She then a hand out and waved it around in several loops, creating a trail of red light that etched into the air. The witch chuckled as she then struck her hand through the circular casting ring, the emblems and symbols lighting up along the edges as the air distorted around it.

“It’s getting rather crowded here,” she chuckled. “And I have to get back to Luna soon and play with her, so let’s wrap this up, shall we?”

“You monster, where’s my sister?” Falla yelled out with anger.

Emily laughed and pointed her hand down towards the ground further in front of her, the casting circle glowing brightly as it spun around her arm slowly. The spell then launched out and struck into the street with a bright flash, creating a swirling circle of crimson flames that flared up like a torrent with a monstrous howl.

“What is she doing?” Daniel asked nervously.

“Whatever it is, I don’t like it,” Specca whimpered as she hid behind him. Squeak and Triska watched the spinning fires with worried eyes while Alyssa was staring at Emily with fear still, knowing that an alpha witch was a grave threat to stand against even for her.

The flames flared around in a large pillar before flashing with a loud boom, the fires then dropping down and washing out along the ground with a sizzling crackle. Daniel’s group stared at the sight with surprise while Jovian and Jacqueline merely raised an eyebrow in question with dull expressions on their faces. Standing before Emily was her deathmare, the large monster holding its oversized scythe as it slowly looked around at everyone with a cold glare.

“What is that?” Triska asked softly.

“A deathmare… that’s a deathmare!” Specca screamed out.

“A Darker One!” Alyssa cried out as she backed up behind her friends.

Falla and Squeak stared at the deathmare with wide eyes while Daniel’s jaw dropped slightly, all of them seeing the large monster standing tall before Emily while the witch giggled to herself.

“Say hello to my little pet, isn’t she grand?” Emily mused with an adorable smile up at the monster.

“Your pet?” Falla cried out. “A Darker One is your
pet
?”

“What the hell is that thing anyway?” Triska shouted as she kept her sword held at the ready.

“That’s a deathmare, a Darker One of Eden,” Alyssa explained while staring up at the monster with fright. “It’s a monster straight from the underworld. They’re summoned by magical casters and serve them as slaves.”

Specca hid behind Daniel and peeked out from over his shoulder at the monster while holding onto him for dear life.

“It steals souls away like a nightmare does,” she shakily clarified. “But it doesn’t take them in their victims’ dreams, it does so with its scythe in the real world. The blade doesn’t harm a mortal body, but it cleaves away their soul in one swing!”

“If that blade so much as touches you you’ll die instantly,” Alyssa warned. “You’ll just… drop dead.” She then looked to Triska with wonder as the girl glanced to her with the same realization. The teen blinked then slowly looked around at the village.

“Drop dead… with no visible wounds… just like…”

“That’s how everyone died here, that thing killed them all,” Daniel realized with horror.

Emily laughed and nodded as she stepped back from her pet, with the deathmare grunting as its rear leg scraped away some dirt on the ground.

“Makes getting rid of garbage like women and children so easy,” she giggled. “No mess, no fuss, no problem.”

“She murdered the entire village with that monster,” Triska said with disbelief.

“She really is a death dealer,” Specca said softly with fear.

Emily laughed then looked to Alyssa with a cold smile on her face, with Alyssa trembling at being the alpha’s focus with her dull eyes.

“This husk of a village shall be your grave, Alyssa the Wildfire Witch. You and all your friends’. Except for him,” she said pointing to Daniel, the boy glancing around at everyone then back to the witch with a nervous expression as the girl giggled and smiled amusedly at him. “I could use a male to fuck after such a stressful time out in the wilderness. A good release sounds just right to me. That and I’m sure Luna would be happy to get pregnant as well with your seed. Don’t worry, I’ll try not to get carried away and rape you to death, no promises though.”

“You bitch!” Falla yelled out. “What have you done with my sister? Where is she?”

“Over our dead bodies you’ll be taking Daniel away!” Triska shouted as she and Squeak stepped in front of Daniel and held their weapons out towards the witch.

“I think that’s her plan, Triska,” Specca mentioned nervously as she and Daniel backed up against the wall of the building next to Falla.

Emily chuckled then turned her gaze towards Jovian and Jacqueline as she snapped her fingers, with the deathmare then bringing her large scythe forward.

“But first,” she said coldly. “Before I take my time and melt the flesh from Alyssa’s bones, I’m going to send you two straight to hell for all the trouble you caused me. I don’t know what you two are, and frankly I don’t care. Now, get rid of them!”