“I enjoyed my meal too,” Pip mentioned as she raised her hand, the tiny fairy fluttering around in the air near the girls with a happy smile. “I had lots of yummy juices of life from Squeak. They were really tasty.”
“Juices of life?” Cindy asked looking to Squeak. “What’s that? I want to try tasting that. Can I have some, Squeak? Please?”
Squeak jumped then quickly shook her hands and head while hastily squeaking something against that idea. Cindy watched her curiously before Snapper jumped onto her chest and snapped at her chin. The sand wraith giggled and coddled the child in her arms, the youngling snapping her teeth at her face with a wide smile and scratching claws. Snapper squirmed around in the girl’s arms and cawed a few times then stopped and seemed to stare at something above them. As Cindy looked at her with a confused expression Doku sighed and ruffled her wings before turning to face the girls.
“Well I’m glad Cindy and Pip at least enjoyed that meal. They were the only ones who actually did. Now please, I don’t know what’s come over you girls but you need to stop all this. No more fighting. No more teasing. No more treating each other so poorly. Like Daniel said we’re a family, we need to be better than this. It’s breaking my heart seeing you girls arguing and shouting at one another so much in one morning. Can you all please put a stop to this horrendous behavior? This is not what Daniel needs today. It’s not what any of us needs.”
The girls all nodded with remorseful frowns while Cindy tilted her head as she watched Snapper.
“You’re right, Doku,” Specca agreed. “Honestly, it’s a good thing Kroanette and Triska couldn’t see us this morning. We’ve been acting like wild monsters. I’m sorry Daniel had to endure our terrible behavior like he did. He’s really too good to us, putting up with us as he has.”
“I just wanted to make him a good meal,” Clover mourned. “I need to do better with how I treat him. I was a horrible bitch to him before, I need to make it up to him somehow. If I can learn how to cook a simple damned meal that would be a good start, but so far… I really suck ass at it.”
“You’ll get better,” Luna assured her. “I know you will. To tell the truth, I don’t even know how to cook. I wouldn’t know what to do at all. You’re doing better than I could.”
“It’s true,” Falla agreed with a nod. “I’ve had to feed her all my life. That or she’ll just stick her face in the ground and eat beetles right out of the dirt.”
“But they’re tasty and I want them,” Luna sheepishly pouted.
“You’re getting better,” Specca promised as she gave Clover’s hand a light squeeze. “Perhaps next time you should ease up on the heating spice just a bit. That’s probably what went wrong this time.”
“Given how I nearly set the kitchen on fire I’d have to agree with that,” Clover sighed. She smiled a little at Specca then the other girls before glancing back to Alyssa. The witch gently patted her horse as it ate some grass then smirked at the elf with a shrug.
“Don’t worry about what you did. Triska used to feed us horrible meals when we first met, but now… well, at least you’re getting better.”
The girls all laughed at that while Cindy scratched her head in puzzlement from seeing Snapper just staring at something above them with unblinking eyes.
“Well it’s certainly a good thing Triska wasn’t around to hear you say that,” Specca jested. “Otherwise I’d wager she’d have her sword drawn towards you and yelling louder than any of us has so far today.”
“Yeah,” Luna giggled. “If Triska was here she wouldn’t be too happy to hear you saying that.”
“I’m not scared of her,” Alyssa quipped with a tip of her hat. “Never have been, never will be.”
“When she gets back you try saying that to her face,” Specca dared. “I’d be interested to see if your words remain as confident then as they do now.”
“Fine, I will,” Alyssa challenged. “As soon as Triska gets back I’ll tell her just that, you’ll see.”
“Um, girls?” Cindy nervously said. Everyone then saw Cindy looking up with a fearful expression while Snapper was staring at something above them in silence. The wraith slowly pointed up with a small whine and shook her head.
“Triska is here.”
All the girls blinked then slowly looked up, their faces changing from wonder to shock with hushed gasps. High above them on the tallest branch of the tree that Cindy and Snapper sat under was Triska, the girl having her foot snagged on a branch while hanging upside down, hair tangled with twigs and leaves, dried blood on her chin and cheek, and arms hanging below her as she appeared unconscious at best. The girls stared in stunned silence at seeing Triska dangling from the tree with her hair hanging down and appearing to have sustained serious injury, the girl slowly turning one way then back again as the wind hit against her while she didn’t move or make a sound.
“TRISKA!” Alyssa screamed, with Daniel quickly looking back with a jump to seeing all the girls crying out in horror at something overhead. He turned his eyes up and around at the trees over the campsite before catching sight of Triska caught in the branches, his mouth lowering while his eyes widened at seeing his missing mate dangling right above them.
“Triska!” he shouted as he dashed over to the girls, their terrified cries carrying out across the land as they had found one of their missing family that morning. Or rather two of their missing family, with their battered and bloodied condition bringing only alarm and panic with those below them.
Chapter 15
Subtle Changes
In the world of Eden unforeseen events could and always would happen to everyone from time to time. Sometimes it was minor, a surprise encounter or unexpected rainy day. Other times it could be more drastic, such as a sudden monster attack or a startling and perhaps frightening change to someone’s very way of life. These unavoidable hurdles could prove challenging to some and possibly menacing to others, they could even turn deadly if not adapted to quick enough. It was always important to keep calm and accept the unpredicted changes for what they were, to ultimately overcome them and continue forward with one’s chosen path in life.
Or if need be, form a new path from it.
*****
Slowly her eyes opened, a glaring white light being seen before her vision gradually focused again. Her hand flinched, a strained breath was made, and a weak utterance managed to crawl out of her throat.
“Fucking hell,” Triska said as she finally came to. Turning her head she saw herself in their bedroom, covers pulled up to her chest where bandages were wrapped around along with her left shoulder. The lamps were lit and burning silently in their holders while silence filled the chamber as she was the only one present in it. Slowly she sat up, cringed as her entire body protested that notion with a painful sensation all over, and then tried to steady her breathing while holding a hand to her head.
“Kitten?” she asked looking to her sides. “Kitten? Are you awake? What happened?”
Getting no reply from her demonic counterpart she pulled the covers aside and carefully scooted over to the edge of the bed. She saw bandages wrapped around her lower chest and also on her right leg down to her foot then lowered her head while holding it as she felt her stomach lurching and world slightly spinning.
“Dammit, I feel like crap. That damned succubus, she really did a number on us. Oh god… my head.”
“Triska?” Specca gasped. Triska turned to see the nixie standing in the archway, hands dropping a book she had to the ground with a thump before she sprinted over and quickly looked over the cambion anxiously.
“You’re awake. You’re awake! Thank goodness!” she cried out before hugging the girl tightly.
“AHHHH!” Triska screamed, with Specca jumping back with a squeak as she let go of her co-mate. “Specca! I’m not ready for hugs just yet!”
“I’m so sorry! I was just- and you’re- oh this is wonderful. Daniel! Daniel, she’s finally awake! She woke up!”
Specca dashed out of the room cal
ling his name as Triska took a few slow breaths before dropping back onto the bed with a weak groan.
“If anyone else hugs me I’m going to break,” she whined holding her side. “I swear when I see that demon again I’m going to kill her for this.”
From the archway Daniel came rushing in along with the girls, all of them showing surprise to seeing their mate having woken up except for Snapper who was once again mauling Cindy’s chest as she deemed that to be more of a priority. They ran towards Triska before she held a hand out towards them while shaking her head fearfully.
“No hugs!” she called out. “Seriously, I’m not ready for that yet! I’m ready to pass out as it is, so please wait until later, okay?”
“Triska!” Daniel said sitting beside her. “You’re awake, you’re finally awake. We were worried to death about you. How are you feeling?”
“I feel… like shit,” Triska coughed shaking her head. “I’m alive, I guess. I feel so groggy. What happened, when did I get here in bed? I remember Kitten flying us back. We were almost here and then… everything went black.”
“We found you in a tree near the carriage this morning,” Falla explained. “You looked like you were beaten senseless by something. Your clothes were torn up, you had blood all over you, you… you looked horrible.”
“We felt horrible,” Triska agreed with a nod. “Wait, you found me this morning? What time is it?”
“It’s just after noon,” Alyssa said.
Triska wearily looked around then coughed into her hand heavily, the group watching with rising tension as she hacked loudly a few times before calming down. Triska cringed and held her head before taking a few slow deep breaths, feeling her strength almost gone still and her body incredibly sore.
“Wait, what’s going on? Why am I still injured like this? My body should have healed by now, shouldn’t it?”
“Um, about that,” Doku nervously spoke up before she stepped closer to the puzzled cambion. “You see, it’s my fault you’re… in worse condition than before. I’m sorry, I really am. I wasn’t expecting this to happen, I had no idea it could… I’m so sorry for what I did to you.”
“What you did to me? What happened to me?”
“We brought you in after we found you,” Daniel explained. “We didn’t know what happened to you last night but you looked like you were nearly killed by whatever it was. We got you out of your bloodied clothing, cleaned you up, and then…”
“And then what?”
“Doku tried to heal you with her magic,” Alyssa carefully said. “You had broken bones and cuts and blood everywhere and… she tried to fix you up. And… it had the opposite effect on you, Triska.”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean it had the opposite effect on me?”
“You don’t remember, do you?” Clover cautiously asked. Triska shook her head as the elf rubbed the back of her neck with growing discomfort. “Well… how should we put this…”
“It hurt you, Triska,” Falla said, with Triska staring at her in confusion. “A lot. And by a lot, I mean a lot.”
“Your skin burned away,” Luna fearfully recalled, getting a shocked look out of Triska. “Your blood… boiled from the light her magic made. It was like she was cooking you with her healing spell.”
“You woke up screaming,” Cindy said, with Triska now staring at them in stunned silence with an open mouth. “You were really loud, louder than usual. You kicked and rolled around on the bed while screaming really loudly. You looked like you were in real pain.”
“I did?” Triska faintly asked. “I don’t remember any of it.”
“I stopped as soon as I could,” Doku insisted. “I never meant to harm you, Triska. I swear. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, I was petrified with fear that I couldn’t halt my magic right away. What I was seeing, what we were all seeing, it was horrific. My healing magic… it was destroying you. Right in front of us.”
Triska looked over her body in disbelief, seeing that although her skin appeared fine and had bandages covering it in some places she clearly felt like she was critically injured beneath it all. Her muscles ached, her limbs felt heavy and sore, and her mind was having trouble keeping focused. She shook her head then turned to Daniel as he gently held a hand to her cheek.
“We were so scared we may have hurt you even more than you already were,” he confessed. “We couldn’t use any magic to heal you at all, we couldn’t do anything but watch as you screamed until you lost consciousness again.”
“Why would it have that effect on me?” Triska worried. “I don’t understand, why… ughh… why do I feel like crap like this?”
“We believe,” Specca started, hesitating at first before forcing herself to continue. “That you’ve… changed, somewhat, Triska. We’re not sure how, or why, but you have. Doku’s healing magic is holy in essence from the ether, something that is purifying to us and… harmful to demons.”
“But I’m not a demon,” Triska insisted shaking her head. “I’m only half demon, I’m a cambion. And Doku’s used her healing magic on me before and it didn’t cause any pain then.”
“Triska,” Daniel said, with her quickly turning to him in growing distress. “Doku’s healing magic nearly burned the flesh from your bones. It would have been deadly for you if she had kept going.”
“But I’m not… I’m not…” Triska breathed out before looking herself over.
“That’s why you’re in worse condition now than you were before,” Alyssa said, with Triska slowly turning to her in fear. “Your body healed after her magic touched it, the burns went away after a while. Your restorative abilities are still there, they may even be better than before since you healed so much already. You recovered on your own without her magic to help you despite how badly injured you were this morning. But Doku’s magic did do something else besides burn you, something we can’t ignore. It hurt your soul.”
“My soul?”
“We were afraid,” Doku spoke up. “We didn’t know what happened to you or what had just happened with my efforts to heal you. So I tried using my spiritwalk with Daniel and you, we were going to speak to you while your body rested and hopefully get some answers. But when I pulled yours and Kitten’s spirits out…”
“You were both unconscious,” Daniel remorsefully said. Triska stared at him stunned silence as he slowly shook his head. “Even out of your body, your spirits were in the same condition. Both of you, you wouldn’t wake up or respond to our calls no matter what we did. It was as if you were both beaten unconscious.”
“My magic hurt your very spirit,” Doku worried. “Had I kept going with my efforts to heal you I would have killed you, Triska. You and Kitten. Not by damaging your body, but rather extinguishing your souls. Just like it would for a monster of the underworld… like a succubus.”
Triska shakily held a hand over her chest and tried to keep her breathing steady, failing to do so as she was easily becoming overwhelmed with the troubling news.
“Holy magic hurts me now?” she said shaking her head. “What the hell… I’m not a demon. I’m not… right? Only Kitten is, but she’s not a full-fledged demon either. It shouldn’t… but… we’re… it can’t…”
“Do you hear Kitten right now?” Specca asked. “Is she able to talk to you? Is she okay?”
“She hasn’t said a word since I woke up,” Triska feared. “I tried calling to her before you came in. She didn’t answer me. Kitten? Kitten, please say something. Kitten?”
“Is Kitten okay?” Cindy nervously asked.
“Kitten? Kitten!” Triska shouted. She looked around the room, seeing no sign of her demonic counterpart, and then turned to Doku as the harpy cringed and lowered her head. “I don’t hear her. Not a single word. What happened to her?”
“Hopefully she’s just out still from the pain,” Doku softly answered. “If you woke up then she should too. My magic… must have knocked her out. Hopefully that’s all that happened.”
“Hopefully?
What do you mean hopefully? What else could have happened to her?”
“Triska,” Specca carefully said. “Your body appears to have transformed further away from being a human. You may be a cambion but it seems the weaknesses that demons have are starting to take effect with you. Holy magic harmed you, severely. Not just your body but the souls it houses within, both yours and Kitten’s. And that’s a very serious problem.”
“How serious?”
“We were essentially performing an exorcism with Doku’s healing magic,” Alyssa explained, with Triska turning to her in horror. “We didn’t just hurt you really bad with it, we hurt her too. Right down to her very being.”
“But exorcisms don’t work on her, on us,” Triska tried to argue with. “Remember? You tried to exorcise her when she first came to be inside me. It didn’t make her flinch at all.”
“Yeah,” Clover agreed with a raised eyebrow. “And Doku’s magic didn’t used to scorch your body and boil your blood. Obviously something’s different about you now, Triska. That should be pretty clear.”
“She may not be able to be exorcised,” Specca reasoned. “She’s not possessing you. But Doku’s holy magic harmed her just as it did with you all the same.”
“Hopefully it wasn’t enough to… cleanse her soul,” Doku morbidly said shaking her head.
Triska held her head while trying to wrap her mind around the news, the girl shouting Kitten’s name over and over in her thoughts while hearing no response from her counterpart.
“Why is this happening?” she shakily asked. “Why is this happening now? What… what’s going to happen to me? What’s going to happen to her?”
“It’s going to be okay,” Daniel assured, gently taking hold of her in his arms. She quickly clung to him while trying not to either cry, scream, or vomit which she felt like she was about to with all. “We’ll get this figured out, we’ll help you and Kitten through anything that may happen, we won’t let you face this alone. Her spirit is still inside you, Doku and I saw her ourselves, she’s not dead. She just needs to rest and wake up like you did. And right now I’m just so thankful you woke up, Triska. When you were screaming earlier, when you were burning right before us, when you blacked out from the pain, I was so worried about you.”
Chronicles of Eden_Act XI Page 51