Chronicles of Eden - Act IV (36 page)

“Did you believe that we didn’t realize what those were?” Apoch lectured while shaking a finger at Kroanette. “Ms. Charlotte saw them in Eston very clearly. We know how you’re immune to magical spells.”

“And we saw you giving him one of those bracelets before approaching Ms. Charlotte’s home,” Astreal added. “Did you really believe you could protect him from us like that?”

“Hey,” Kroanette said holding her hands up defensively. “I just wanted to help him stay in one piece while he talked to you witches, that’s all.”

“He shouldn’t have come here to begin with,” Apoch scorned. “That magical bracelet will do nothing to protect him from us.”

The sisters turned to Daniel again with harsh stares, the boy slowly getting up while holding the back of his head. He blinked a few times as his vision slowly stopped spinning then glanced around to seeing all the witches watching him with bitter smiles, some of them even laughing and pointing to him with amusement.

“I came all this way to speak to your alpha like civilized beings of Eden,” he called out with discontent. “I had hoped that someone as revered and distinguished as your grace would at least have the courtesy of speaking to me in person about this important matter, and not have to treat an unarmed visitor so callously.”

“You have no right to be in our grace’s presence, let alone speak to her,” Apoch snapped.

“How dare you come here and speak of our alpha like that,” Astreal scorned. “The nerve of you, human.”

“I have to talk to her,” Daniel pleaded. “I can’t let what happened in Eston be the end of this. I can’t give up and accept that she could never understand.”

The witch sisters scoffed then stepped forth while striking their staves down into the ground, the loud clank echoing out as all the witches around the area fell silent.

“If you desire to speak to our alpha so badly,” the sisters challenged together. “Then you may do so if you can get through us.”

Astreal spun her staff around then aimed it at Daniel as a bright red glow came from her crescent end, with Apoch spinning her staff around before holding it across as the crescent end glowed with a white hue.

“Daniel,” Kroanette worriedly called out. “Again, are you
sure
about this?”

“I have to speak to Charlotte,” Daniel declared. “And I will not be scared or chased away from doing so.”

Astreal swung her staff down at her side, causing three bright crimson lines to streak through the air behind her in parallel to her relic. Daniel and Kroanette watched as the glowing lines took shape into crimson steel longswords with a small metallic whine, the blades having razor sharp edges with an obsidian sheen to them while their handles were a gray steel. The blades floated in midair while having an ominous red glow around them.”

“What in the world?” Kroanette said with wonder.

Daniel narrowed his eyes as he stared down the witch, watching as the girl held her staff back behind her while the three floating blades tilted slightly from her movement.

‘They’re just trying to scare you, to make you run away. They know you can’t be touched by magical spells, they even admitted it. Her spell can’t harm me at all.’

“I’m not backing down from this,” he repeated. “I’m not leaving until I speak to Charlotte.”

“Stupid human,” Astreal scoffed before she aimed her staff at him with a sharp thrust, causing the three floating swords to suddenly fly towards Daniel through the air. Daniel kept watching Astreal with a firm expression, not willing to let the witch intimidate him with her tricks as the swords closed in on him.

“Daniel, get down!” Kroanette cried out, with the boy then jumping a bit before diving down onto the ground as the swords streaked by over him. While they did one of the blades sliced through his shirt with a clean cut, the crimson swords then striking into the ground behind him with sharp impacts as Daniel looked back to them with surprise. He grabbed his shirt and looked to seeing that the sword had cut through it at the edge then over to the witch sisters as Astreal was smiling coldly at him.

“But how?” Daniel asked in disbelief.

“Those swords aren’t a spell, Daniel, they’re real!” Kroanette cried out, with Daniel quickly turning around to seeing the blades then being thrown back towards him from the ground in sharp spins. The swords flew through the air before Daniel lunged over to the side, just missing them by an inch as they spun around before coming to a halt in front of Astreal in midair.

“What do you mean they’re real?” Daniel asked. “She made them with magic, didn’t she?”

“You’re only immune to raw magical spells and blunt forces of magic, not summoned objects, remember?” Kroanette reminded urgently.

Daniel jumped then watched as Astreal waved her staff around, creating three more glowing crimson blades as all six turned to aim towards the human.

“That bracelet will do nothing to save you from me. Now die!” Astreal yelled before she launched all six blades towards him. Daniel scrambled to his feet and jumped off to the side, with three of the swords striking into the ground with sharp thrusts while the other three spun around in the air past him before flying back at the boy. The witches around the area started laughing and giggling as Daniel rolled onto the ground with the flying blades whipping by over him, the boy then scrambling to his feet and lunging over to the side as the first three blades launched out from the ground and spun around to strike down into the ground where he just was with sharp impacts.

“Daniel!” Kroanette cried out as the human frantically dodged and rolled around to avoid the spinning blades. The metal poles that were still standing were sliced into pieces by Astreal’s magical swords, all the while Daniel kept stumbling around and frantically trying to avoid being cut apart himself. He then looked towards Astreal as the witch laughed while swinging her staff around again and again, throwing her magical blades all around the plaza as the witches around the area were laughing and pointing at the human.

“Alright, enough of this,” Daniel grunted before he made a dash towards Astreal, the witch watching him with a slick smile as the boy glanced back to seeing all six blades spinning around fiercely towards him. Kroanette looked to Astreal then to Daniel with growing concern as the boy raced towards the witch with the blades following closely behind him.

“Oh?” Astreal mocked. “Do you think you can cut me down with my own swords?”

“Let’s find out,” Daniel challenged as he ran towards the girl, only for Apoch to then quickly thrust her staff towards him. Before the two sisters a large shield of glowing yellow light expanded out, the silver and golden armor manifesting with a small metallic whine. Daniel gasped before he slammed into the magical barrier, the shield not budging an inch from the impact while Apoch and Astreal laughed in unison.

“What?” Daniel shouted with surprise before looking back to seeing the spinning crimson blades flying towards him. With only just enough time he quickly dropped down and hugged the ground, the magical blades then striking into the shield above him and bouncing off with loud clanks. Daniel held his hands over his head as the swords spiraled around wildly onto the ground nearby, the blades then being launched up into the air before being sent straight down towards him.

“Daniel, move!” Kroanette cried out.

Daniel gasped then quickly rolled off to the side, with the blades striking into the ground one after another behind him as they all just missed by a hair each. As each sword struck down with a sharp ring the shield before the sisters slowly vanished, with Apoch then returning to her defensive stance while Astreal kept her staff aimed at Daniel with a cold smile. Daniel rolled to a stop as the sixth sword struck down next to him, the boy staring at the magical weapon with wide eyes before scrambling to his feet and looking at the witch sisters with wonder.

“You will never get close to our alpha,” Apoch declared softly with a firm expression. “For I am her shield.”

“And I am her sword,” Astreal stated as she waved her staff around in a circle. “Now then, time to end this.”

The crimson blades in the ground yanked up into the air and spun around wildly as they circled Daniel, the boy watching as the swords twirled around before they turned to aim at him from all sides. Daniel looked from one sword to the other with caution before over to the witch sisters, with Kroanette gasping as she saw Daniel surrounded by the magical blades.

“Any last words?” Apoch and Astreal asked together.

“Yes, let me speak to Charlotte!” Daniel shouted out.

“Those are horrible last words, don’t you have anything better?” Kroanette called out with disbelief.

“You will never bother our alpha with your senseless words,” Astreal scorned.

“Goodbye, Mr. Daniel,” Apoch said coldly as Astreal raised her staff up, with her swords rattling as they all prepared to launch towards Daniel from all around him. Daniel glanced to the magical blades with frustration as he tensed up, bracing to be sliced apart in front of the village of witches, then looked over towards the manor as a door being closed loudly was heard.

“I told you two to deal with him
quietly
,” Charlotte said dryly, with everyone then looking over to seeing the alpha walking towards the sisters with a dull expression on her face. The alpha had her wand in hand while her hair gently flowed behind her, the witch walking over to Astreal who quickly bowed to her along with all of the witches in the court.

“My grace,” Astreal said elegantly.

“We’re so sorry for the disturbance,” Apoch apologized. “We’ll handle this misguided human for you right away.”

Charlotte stopped next to them then glanced to Daniel with a raised eyebrow, seeing the boy surrounded by floating crimson blades while all around the plaza small stones and broken metal poles were littered about from the scuffle.

“You do realize that I was trying to get off to the memory of my charming Daemon before your little squabble out here became rather irritating, yes?” she mentioned as she glanced to the sisters with annoyance. The two girls jumped a bit then nervously nodded at her.

“Yes, we’re sorry, we’ll handle him right away,” they quickly assured together.

Charlotte rolled her eyes then looked back to Daniel with a dull stare while she tapped her wand on her thigh.

“I know I told you not to come here,” she called out expectantly.

“You did, but I had to speak to you again,” Daniel answered.

“Does it look like I want to talk to you?”

“You don’t have to speak, you can just listen.”

“Let me try this again since you’re not getting the message,” Charlotte retorted with a bitter smirk. “Does it look like I want to
listen
to you? Honestly, are you just wishing to die? Is that all you really want?”

“I wish to speak to a grand ruler of a monster race such as yourself,” Daniel requested with a humble bow. “And will not be scared or chased away from doing so by anything. Please, my grace, I traveled all this way to see you, I stand before you unarmed with no intention to start a fight. All I want is a moment of your time.”

Charlotte drummed her fingers on her thigh for a moment before she started walking towards the boy.

“Alright, this bothersome issue is going to end tonight,” she said before she snapped her fingers, the sound being heard like a deafening clap as Astreal’s swords shattered into a sparkly dust. Astreal jumped and watched with surprise at the sight of her magical blades being dissolved as Charlotte waved her wand to the side, causing the broken bits and chunks of the court to slide and roll back into place while the pieces of the metal poles were thrown off to the side and out of the way.

“You are by far the most annoyingly persistent human I have ever seen,” Charlotte ridiculed. “I’m not sure if I respect or despise that about you, I just can’t tell. Still, you at least have the
decency
to address me properly, although that’s not enough to forgive you for disregarding my orders which were crystal clear. Now then, seeing as how you just won’t shut up and leave me alone, and I’m already standing here along with the entire village, let’s just get this over with, shall we?”

She walked over and stood before Daniel with obvious discontent for the boy. He watched her carefully as she gave a gentle wave of the hand for him to speak.

“So then, Daniel, I’m listening. Go ahead, speak to me. Speak to all my sisters. Speak loudly so those in back can hear you as well, I’d hate for you to have to repeat yourself,” she mocked before resting her hand at her hip with a cold glare at him.

“Speak, and make your words count. Because once you’re done talking, I’m going to kill you right where you stand.”

In the world of Eden, sometimes the odds just weren’t in the favor of those faced with dire and incredibly difficult situations. The will to stand and fight could be there, the desire to push forward and succeed burning ever brighter, and yet even then it was possible to be faced with failure in the end, if only because realistically the chances of success were almost non-existent. In times such as these, all one can really do is try with all their might to win, to give it their all and pray that it will be just enough. Although often the outcome is to suffer defeat when faced with overwhelming odds, to be pushed aside and ignored when one voice alone wasn’t enough, sometimes an opportunity to seize victory would present itself. If one was fortunate enough, there may just be a path to succeed against all odds, a path that would be laid out right before them in plain sight.

However, that didn’t always mean that it would be an easy path to take.

*****

Silence filled the plaza as Daniel stood before Charlotte, the alpha watching him with a cold look in her eyes while surrounding them the witches of the village kept watch on the human that their alpha was allowing to speak. Kroanette glanced around to seeing all the little monsters keeping a sharp eye on Daniel, knowing that if he did not choose his words carefully there would be no escaping this situation. Charlotte casually glanced to her wand as she flicked it gently at her side before her eyes returned to Daniel with a piercing stare.