Chronicles of Eden - Act IV (19 page)

“My grace, shall we retrieve your wand for you now?” Astreal inquired.

“Astreal, you and your sister have served me for many years,” the head witch said with a modest wave of the hand. “I think we can dispense with the formalities by now. Please, call me by my name.”

“Yes, Ms. Charlotte,” Astreal said kindly with a bow to her.

Charlotte rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“You can just call me Charlotte,” she replied dryly.

“Yes, Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch and Astreal said together in unison.

“Okay, again, it’s just Charlotte,” Charlotte sighed before standing up “And, again, quit with the speaking at the same time thing. It creeps me out.”

“Yes, Ms. Charlotte,” Apoch and Astreal replied together in unison again.

Charlotte held a hand over her eyes as she shut them and slowly shook her head.

“It’s just... you know what, whatever. Call me whatever,” she said before looking at the viewing portal again and snapping her fingers, causing the image to waver and change to show the standoff with the deathmare, Jovian, and Jacqueline facing a group of challengers that were ready to fight together against them.

“And don’t worry,” Charlotte mused with a smirk. “I’ll be collecting my wand very shortly. However in the meantime, this should be an interesting show to watch.”

“Ms. Charlotte, shouldn’t we intervene though?” Astreal asked in a polite and professional manner. “There are two Darker Ones very close to our village, they could stray into our territory.”

“Yes,” Apoch agreed with concern. “Perhaps we should, our sisters will be in danger if this fight travels north to our home.”

“You are wrong,” Charlotte replied as she eyed the fighters. “On both accounts, with what you say. First off, our sisters are not in any danger. These troublemakers won’t set foot in our home.”

Apoch and Astreal looked to each other curiously then to their leader as the witch stopped speaking for a while.

“Ms. Charlotte?” Apoch asked softly. “What else were we incorrect with?”

“You claim there are two Darker Ones in Eston. That is not true,” Charlotte replied solemnly.

“What?” Astreal asked. “We see a succubus and a deathmare standing there in the street. What else is there?”

Charlotte snapped her fingers, the image on the circular portal wavering for a moment before shifting to another vantage point from a squirrel that was watching the standoff from between two buildings next to Jovian and Jacqueline. The squirrel focused its eyes on them as the sisters smiled wickedly at those that were preparing to attack them, the twins being unaware that they were being watched from the magically enchanted rodent. As Apoch and Astreal eyed the two seemingly immortal girls with growing concern, one word was spoken by Charlotte, a word that sent chills down the spines of the two witch sisters as they realized the succubus and deathmare weren’t the gravest of threats in the village.

“Gemini.”

Amongst the witches that resided in Eden, a few were known to be far more powerful than the rest. These witches were considered the rulers of their kind, queens in their own right over their sisters, and were called ‘alpha witches’. Their magical reserves were much greater, their expertise with spells much higher, and their rule considered absolute amongst those that followed them. Of course this didn’t mean that a single alpha ruled over all the witches, rather only those that lived in their region and followed their law. As such it was possible for witches to resent or curse an alpha in favor of another. However they would still be a fool to take on their greater all on their own.

After all, some alphas were just as dangerous as a Darker One.

*****

Daniel and his friends stood together while watching a standoff taking place before them, a standoff involving monsters, Darker Ones, magic, and two girls who refused to die from any and all manner of harm being inflicted upon them.

“Okay,” Alyssa mentioned quietly. “I vote we sneak out of here and go looking for Luna while they’re all busy killing each other.”

“Seconded,” Falla quickly agreed with.

“Where do we go though?” Specca questioned. “Luna could be anywhere in this place, and it’s nearly pitch black except for right here near them.”

“Squeak can see in the dark, can’t she?” Daniel asked, the group looking to the ant girl who glanced to him and nodded a few times.

“Then it looks like Squeak’s going to be our eyes,” Triska reasoned as she kept a close eye on the fighters before them. “Better to take our chances in the dark than here with them.”

Squeak looked around the area quickly, being able to see a few feet out into the darkened side paths and between the buildings with relative ease. She squeaked a few times and looked back to Daniel with a nod, the boy glancing to her then to the standoff before them as he thought about their options.

“Alright,” he said while he took hold of Squeak’s hand. “We’ll take our chances and try to find Luna while they fight each other. Just wait for a moment when they’re all occupied then we’ll slip through the alleyway behind us.”

He grabbed Falla’s hand before the butterfly girl took hold of Alyssa’s, the witch then holding onto Specca’s while the nixie took hold of Triska’s hand.

“We’ll be running blind except for Squeak, what if they come after us then?” Specca asked nervously.

“Then run even faster for your life,” Alyssa answered as the group tensed up.

In front of them Daemon and Katie were watching as the deathmare howled at them while holding its giant scythe in both hands, the larger Darker One scraping its hind legs back a few times on the dirt road as it prepared to charge.

“This is going to get very dangerous,” Specca warned while holding onto her friends’ hands tightly.

Sasha, Rulo, Forrus, and Tora glared at Jovian and Jacqueline as the twins slowly lowered their hands and prepared to advance on the monster girls, both giggling in unison with cruel smiles on their faces.

“Just stay together and run quickly,” Alyssa said while glancing back to the alleyway behind them. “The sooner we find Luna the sooner we can get the hell out of this place.”

Daemon brought up his sword and held a hand to it, the strange markings on it glowing blue while Katie held a hand out to the side, erecting a small circle of glowing red light before her that had several strange symbols and markings spinning around it.

“Get ready to run,” Daniel cautioned as his group watched the fighters carefully.

Tora held her staff in front of her and down onto the dirt, the ground below her turning dark and parched while it shifted around slightly in front of her with a low rumble.

“Keep your head down and don’t stop for anything,” Triska ordered while holding her blade in one hand tightly.

Jovian and Jacqueline glanced to each other then looked at the four monster girls before them.

“Shall we, dear sister?” Jovian mused before licking her lips.

Jacqueline nodded with an eager laugh.

“Oh yes, let’s start with-” she said before suddenly getting trampled over, with everyone watching in surprise as Kroanette came bolting out of the pathway beside the gemini sisters and ran over Jacqueline, the blonde’s body getting crushed and shoved down into the dirt as the centaur stumbled and tripped about before looking back to seeing Jacqueline lying face first in the ground with a broken arm and spine.

“Oh my god!” Kroanette cried out. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there!”

She held her hands to her cheeks and slowly walked up towards the blonde’s body while Jovian merely raised an eyebrow at her.

“Kroanette?” Daniel asked with confusion.

“What is she doing here now?” Triska said with disbelief.

“Seriously, I didn’t mean to do that,” Kroanette pleaded. “I didn’t see you two there. I mean it’s so dark in this place, I couldn’t see anything at all. I’m so sorry, really.”

Jovian looked down to Jacqueline with a blank expression then to the centaur while slowly shaking her head.

“That wasn’t very nice, you ran over my sister,” she plainly scolded.

Kroanette looked at the naked girl with concern and puzzlement then down to Jacqueline as the blonde slowly started to get up, her arm and spine cracking back into place as she spat out dirt.

“Um… are you okay?” Kroanette asked unsurely.

“Kroanette, run!” Specca cried out.

The centaur looked over to see everyone watching her then slowly turned to notice the deathmare and succubus in the street as well, the two Darker Ones also watching the centaur while Jacqueline slowly started to get back up on to her feet.

“What… what is going on here?” Kroanette asked nervously.

“Get away from those two, those are the man-eaters!” Specca shouted out.

Kroanette looked over to seeing Jacqueline standing back up again while giving the centaur a dark glare, with Jovian also glaring at her as the two sisters started walking towards her.

“Wait, what? Man-eaters?” Kroanette asked shakily as the gemini bared their teeth with wicked smiles.

The deathmare watched as the centaur slowly backed up towards it then geared back with its scythe to strike at her.

“Kroanette, run!” Triska yelled.

“Behind you, look out!” Alyssa cried out.

Kroanette looked back with a gasp as the deathmare howled at her, the Darker One swinging its scythe towards the centaur with a wide arc. Before the blade could hit Jovian and Jacqueline grabbed Kroanette’s arms and swung her down onto the ground together, the spectral scythe missing her by a hair as the gemini pounced on the centaur with dark smiles.

“We’ll start with this one,” Jacqueline snarled as they held the monster girl’s arms down at her sides.

“I call dibs on her breasts,” Jovian growled as the two held Kroanette down while Jovian grabbed one of the centaur’s breasts, squeezing it tightly while Kroanette stared at them with shock.

“Wait, WHAT?” she screamed as she struggled to move in their grasp.

“No!” Daniel shouted out as the sisters laughed while Kroanette screamed in terror, her horse legs kicking about wildly as she was held down on her side by the two strong sisters. Jacqueline grabbed Kroanette’s hair and yanked her head back, baring her teeth with a wide smile before a pair of bolas spiraled towards Jovian and wrapped around her body, the girl watching as the rope and rocks wrapped around and tied her arms down at her sides while Jacqueline looked to her curiously. The blonde was then suddenly tackled to the ground by Forrus, the lycan viciously tearing apart the girl’s neck and face with her claws while growling loudly.

“You shall not claim another innocent life, you wretched demons!” Forrus yelled as she splattered Jacqueline’s blood onto the street.

Jovian looked over to her with a growl before Sasha’s blade struck through her skull with a slick crunch, the large broadsword cleaving through her head before the handle reached her back and struck against it. Kroanette screamed as the raven haired girl wavered slightly with the large blade protruding out of her head before she dropped down to the side with a thump.

“What the hell is going on here?” Kroanette cried out as she scrambled back onto her feet, the centaur looking to seeing a lycan slashing apart Jacqueline’s body, then down to Jovian lying on the ground with a large broadsword splitting her skull into two, then over to the deathmare as it howled and swung at her again with its scythe. Before the spectral blade could hit the centaur a flash of bright light streaked over in a wave and struck the deathmare in the side, causing the Darker One to howl and stumble to the side as the magical attack burned its body. The scythe jerked to the side and whipped past Kroanette as the centaur screamed and jumped away from the Darker One.

“Get out of here now, what are you waiting for?” Sasha snapped at her as she ran over and grabbed her sword’s handle, the reptile girl then swinging her weapon and Jovian around before slamming the girl into the ground. Kroanette stared at Jovian’s body with wide eyes as it collapsed onto the road before Sasha yanked her blade back with a quick motion, right before Rulo swung down with her hammer and smashed Jovian’s body into the ground with a loud crunch. Blood splattered to the sides on the ground as Kroanette stared at the sight with a nervous whine, her eyes watching as Jovian’s legs twitched on the ground while blood seeped out the sides under the large stone weapon.

“What’s… going on?” Kroanette shakily asked before seeing Daemon rushing towards the deathmare and swinging his blade at it, the large Darker One quickly blocking the strike with its scythe before a searing blast of purple and white flames streaked over and struck against its face. Kroanette looked over to seeing Katie walking towards the deathmare while holding a hand in front of her with the circling light of lines and emblems remaining in place before her, the magical casting circle throwing out searing bursts of flames that struck against the Darker One repeatedly before it used its scythe to block the attacks. Daemon swung his blade and created another wave of light to fly at the deathmare, the Darker One dodging to the side before swinging its scythe at the boy again with a loud wail. Daemon blocked the attack with his sword, sliding to the side from the forceful swing, then parried it before darting back as the deathmare swung its blade around again and down into the ground where he just was.

“What is going on here?” Kroanette asked again before seeing Forrus being swatted away with a howl by Jacqueline, the blonde slowly sitting back up as her body regenerated from being slashed apart by the lycan. Forrus rolled away then grabbed the ground with her claws to stop herself, growling and glaring at the blonde sister with fury as she got ready to charge again. Jacqueline started laughing as she sat up before thorny black roots struck up from the ground and impaled her through the chest and arms, the girl coughing out blood before laughing amusedly again. Kroanette looked over to see Tora holding a palm out towards Jacqueline with a furious glare while from the ground before her a large serpent’s head was bulging up from the street, the summoned beast having black scales with red ones across its eyes while it hissed and extended up from the ground that it seemed to be melded to.