Chronicles of Eden - Act VI (6 page)

“Goodnight,” Luna quietly said as she closed her eyes, being barely heard over Daniel’s snoring by Falla.

“Sleep well,” Falla gently replied before slowly breathing out and closing her eyes. She felt herself becoming extremely relaxed, with the loud noise from Daniel being gradually tuned out as she loved that she was accepted by the group and allowed to be so close to them.

Silence didn’t exactly befall the inside of the caravan, as Daniel did what he was known very well to do while he slept with the girls he had fallen in love with. And they did what they were known to do as well with his loud snoring, as each of the girls slept peacefully as if he wasn’t making a sound at all. Even Falla drifted off into her dreams with a calm smile on her face, for the first time feeling so happy inside that not even Daniel’s abrasive quirk registered with her.

Outside the ride Clover walked away from where the human’s snoring was heard echoing inside the darkened cabin and towards Kroanette and Lucky while grumbling to herself. The centaur slowly opened one of her eyes a peek to watch as the elf sat down on a small grassy slope near her. Clover kept her bow close to her chest while she set her quiver behind her head like a pillow before she rested against it and stared up at the sky with a dull expression on her face.

“Weren’t you going to sleep inside?” Kroanette curiously asked.

“Have you
heard
what Dan does at night?” Clover dryly replied with a fleeting glance to her. “You can almost hear it from here.”

“Oh, you noticed, huh?” Kroanette giggled before looking towards the caravan. “Yes, he is a bit of a loud sleeper.”

“A
bit
?”

“Still, I’d love to be able to sleep next to him again,” Kroanette said before resting her head back down on her arm. “If only I could go inside the caravan like all of you.”

“You really want to sleep next to that guy?” Clover asked with confusion. “Why? I get that you want to keep a Darker One in your chest at night, you’re just screwed up that way, but sleeping next to
that guy
? There’s no reason to want that.”

“Pip is no Darker One,” Kroanette defended, looking down to seeing the fairy sleeping with a blissful smile on her face while sandwiched in her breasts. “And to be honest I don’t mind her sleeping there, at least I feel wanted by her. But I would much rather sleep next to Daniel, I do wish to be as close to him as possible. I suppose it’s because I love him so that his sleeping habits don’t bother me at all.”

“Yep,” Clover muttered while closing her eyes. “You’re all fucked in the head.”

Kroanette rolled her eyes then closed them as well before the two girls slowly fell asleep under the stars. After a while Pip began to stir before she looked up at seeing Kroanette sleeping quietly with a calm expression on her face. The fairy wiggled her way out of the centaur’s bosom and took flight up over her, a small blue glow coming from her wings as she watched Kroanette lying peacefully on the grass below. She looked to Clover for a moment and watched the elf sleeping silently then flew over towards the caravan, passing through the curtain and into the darkened room. The trial of blue light that came from the fairy soared across the cabin before landing down gently on Daniel’s chest. Pip watched Daniel with an eye of wonder while Triska and Alyssa peeked at her with one eye each from seeing the blue light appearing near them.

“If I love him his sleeping habits won’t bother me,” she quietly repeated to herself. “I want to love him. I want him to love me.”

Alyssa and Triska glanced to each other with one eye then back to Pip as the small monster walked along Daniel’s chest before she stopped and slowly laid herself down on him, rising and falling gently with each breath he took while she held onto him with a wide hug. The fairy closed her eyes and nuzzled against Daniel with a happy smile on her face before she noticed Triska’s eye open and watching her.

“Can I sleep with you too?” Pip softly asked. “Please? I really want to.”

Triska smiled a little and nodded before the fairy yawned and fell asleep. Pip giggled quietly in her dreams as the slight purring from Daniel’s chest made her happy while Alyssa and Triska exchanged small smiles before they too closed their eyes and returned to their peaceful slumber.

Pip held onto Daniel through the night, sleeping quietly while he slept loudly as usual. As she did a loving sigh came from her mouth before a blush formed on her cheeks and her smile turned into a more lecherous one.

“That’s right. Jiggle for me, my boobies,” she purred as her perverted dreams made use of the vibration from Daniel’s chest with his snoring.

*****

Under the starry night sky a bright flash lit up near an old graveyard deep in The Outerlands, illuminating the rows of tombstones and rickety wooden fences that remained on the burial ground. A nearby little cottage lay still and quiet as the sudden bloom slowly faded from its walls while a few jackrabbits took off from the overgrown shrubs next to it into the field of tall grass that stretched out into the distance. As the light finally disappeared two witch sisters calmly walked from it towards the small lodging with perfectly symmetrical steps, hip sways, and eye glances that surveyed the surrounding area to find nothing stirring or making a sound close to them.

“I smell nothing brewing in the air,” Astreal commented as she and her sister walked the path between the graves together. “Usually Ms. Castello is more lively during the twilight hour.”

“Perhaps she is not home tonight,” Apoch speculated. “Though that would be uncommon for her.”

“She’s always cooking something up at home during the night,” Astreal reasoned while her eyes went from one gravestone to another. “Maybe she finally managed to make something that doesn’t reek as foul as the corpses she exhumes for her research.”

The twins made their way towards the cottage before suddenly stopping and smelling something that caught their attention.

“That’s not a potion,” Apoch said shaking her head.

“That smells like…” Astreal started before the two slowly looked to each other with concern.

“Oh no,” Apoch breathed out before the two quickly turned to seeing the cottage door opening slowly with a long creak. The inside of the home was dark with a few lingering glows of crimson light flickering about in the unseen while wisps of smoke came out from the entryway and floated up into the air.

“Sister,” Apoch worriedly said as Astreal showed growing caution while tensing up with her staff.

From the cottage a scraping sound was heard, slowly making its way out of the building by a sword being dragged along the ground. Apoch and Astreal saw the dark steel blade giving off a soft red glow while holding the sword another witch slowly drew her good eye onto the sisters with a smirk on her face.

“Apoch. Astreal,” Ember greeted with a mocking curtsey. “So good of you to drop by. I was hoping to find you soon, how fortunate you came at this very moment.”

“Who are you?” Astreal demanded. “Where is Ms. Castello?”

“She’s inside,” Ember answered with a wave to the cottage. A sly grin formed on her face as she then started walking towards the sisters while dragging her sword behind her. As she did the blade trailed sparks and etched cracks of flames into the ground while the glyphs on the sword glowed with a crimson hue.

“That smell,” Apoch said holding a hand over her mouth as she feared what it was.

“Haha, yes, I know,” Ember replied with a careless shrug. “Witches tend to smell rather
foul
after they’ve
burned
to death.”

Apoch and Astreal gasped as Ember stopped and glanced back towards the cottage with her good eye.

“I didn’t intend to kill her like that,” she admitted before turning to the sisters with a cold stare. “I merely wanted her to help me. But she refused, saying she
only
took orders from her alpha, Charlotte the Invincible. I’m afraid I lost my patience with her and…”

“You killed her?” Astreal demanded before the sisters glared at her with anger. “How dare you. Who do you think you are?”

“Ms. Castello was a valued member of our community,” Apoch stated softly yet harshly. “You will pay for what you have done here.”

Ember looked to her hand and casually jingled her charred metal charms on her wrist before turning her eye towards the girls with a raised eyebrow.

“I don’t believe I will. You see I don’t bow to your alpha, or any alpha in Eden. I don’t take threats from them, or their little helpers. And I certainly don’t appreciate when my dear sisters speak rudely or raise their voices against me.”

Apoch and Astreal glared at the witch as Ember lifted her blade up and struck it down into the dirt next to her, the ground around it scorching and giving off small bursts of flames. The sisters watched it carefully then looked at Ember with wonder as the new witch was holding the sword while fire was licking off and around her hand at the handle.

“Sister, look,” Apoch breathed out with disbelief.

“It can’t be,” Astreal said shaking her head with shock. “The fire is touching her, yet…”

“She’s not burning,” Apoch gasped.

Ember smirked and held her hand back towards the cottage. The twins watched as a mighty torrent of fire swirled around the dark blade then the witch, flames wildly circling her while she and her clothing did not burn nor char in the least. The fires spiraled around her hand before launching out like a blazing spear, streaking into the cottage and exploding the building into a massive inferno instantly. Apoch and Astreal watched with open mouths and wide eyes as the flames and smoke rose up into the air with a vicious roar while the cottage was incinerated into rubble and ash. The surrounding land and graveyard lit up with an orange glow from the firestorm while Ember chuckled with a cold smile at the sisters.

“Impossible,” Astreal said with fright at seeing the fires swirling before them. “No witch can control fire like that, that’s not possible!”

“Only Ms. Alyssa is immune to the flames,” Apoch stated shaking her head. “But she cannot create fire out of thin air.”

“Oh, so you
do
know of Alyssa,” Ember curiously said, with the twins turning their eyes to her with stunned faces as the witch began walking towards them again. “That’s great. You see I’m looking for her, and I’m
going
to find her, one way or another. So, do either of you fine ladies know where she went? I would love it if you would be so kind as to tell me right now.”

“We have no words to speak to you!” Astreal shouted before waving her staff down, the obsidian crescent glowing red while four crimson lines streaked into the air behind her. Apoch focused her magic and aimed her staff towards Ember while her crescent stone glowed white, preparing to form her shield while Astreal’s red steel swords manifested behind them.

“Wrong answer,” Ember scolded before the fires around her erupted up violently, swirling and burning brightly before dying out and revealing her to be gone.

“What? Where did-” Astreal started before Ember grabbed her from behind, holding a hand across the witch’s chest and pulling her close. Apoch turned to the side and gasped as she saw Astreal staring straight ahead with shock while Ember was smirking at the raven haired witch and holding her sister close with her hand. The sword in her other glowed with a red light while flames were still licking off of her hand without harming her at all.

“Down girl,” Ember spoke in dark tone before clutching Astreal’s chest. Astreal gasped as she felt a painful heat spike coming from Ember’s hand, her shirt starting to smoke and char while her hand dropped her staff and trembled.

“Sister!” Apoch cried out as Astreal let out a strained scream through gritted teeth before slumping back against Ember, her summoned blades wavering before falling to the ground and vanishing with echoing clanks.

“Drop your staff and focuser, right now,” Ember ordered.

Apoch shakily unfastened her bracelet with her focuser gemstone on it and dropped it to the ground along with her staff before holding her hands up defensively.

“Now, let’s try this again,” Ember said while Astreal rocked her head back with wide eyes and an open mouth, her breathing becoming short while smoke was coming from Ember’s hand against her shirt. “Where is Alyssa? Tell me now.”

“Please, don’t hurt her,” Apoch pleaded while seeing Astreal trembling in pain.

“Then tell me what I want to know,” Ember demanded before a few small flames seared off her hand near Astreal. Apoch held her hands over her mouth to stifle her sharp inhale as Astreal’s legs began to wobble from her quickly growing fatigue. “She’s only feeling the heat from my hand so far, painful as it is it’s not nearly as fatal as what
could
happen to her. You know what will happen should my fire touch her skin?”

“Please, no,” Apoch whimpered with fright.

“She’ll burst into flames, literally,” Ember chuckled while watching Astreal struggling to breathe with an open mouth. “Do you feel the heat, Astreal? The heat so close to your skin must be unbearable. You’re fortunate your clothing hasn’t withered away,
yet
. Of course should my fires touch your skin… well, you know what will happen.”

“Let her go!” Apoch cried out.

Ember slowly drew her hand off of Astreal’s chest, revealing the burn mark she left on the witch’s shirt which was still smoking, then held it right in front of Astreal’s face. The twins stared at the hand with horror as fire licked off Ember’s fingers while being a mere inch away from Astreal.

“Oh… god…” Astreal shakily breathed out.

“No… don’t!” Apoch screamed out.

“It’s just simply amazing how flammable witches are,” Ember mused playfully. “Take your friend in that fiery crater over there for instance. I only grazed her with a flame from this very hand, it actually happened by accident as I didn’t plan on killing her that hastily. One little touch of the fire, and she lit up like the sun, only screaming for a few seconds before she fell.”

Astreal started to choke as her face showed signs of burning from the heat so close to her, her unblinking eyes staring at the fire that was rolling around Ember’s hand with terror while she felt her strength rapidly leaving.