“Okay, how the fuck are you doing that?” Clover asked.
“Doing what?” Triska plainly replied as she started measuring the boards against the broken ones in the wall.
Clover stared at her in bewilderment then looked to Squeak, the ant girl glancing to her and merely shrugging as she was just as puzzled as the elf was.
Triska set the boards down and nodded as she figured out the right placements and lengths of wood she would need then noticed Squeak and Clover just staring at her in silence on the bed.
“What?”
Getting nothing but stunned looks from them Triska glanced to the side and saw Kitten in her mind, the demon looking down to the repair materials she had witnessed Triska pulling out of her ordinary duffel bag then to the girl with bewilderment.
“What?” Triska asked impatiently.
Kitten pointed down to the materials then to Triska’s bag while watching her with a mixture of curiosity and concern. Triska rolled her eyes then knelt down and rummaged through her bag again before grunting with annoyance.
“Dammit, where’s my hammer?”
“The one thing she doesn’t have in there?” Clover flatly questioned.
Triska sighed in aggravation at the same time Clover did, the elf lying back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling with a dull expression while Triska marched back over to the side of the bed next to the wardrobe where she had kept her bag with a similar look on her face.
“This day sucks,” Clover grumbled.
“It certainly is starting out that way, yes,” Triska agreed as she looked around for her hammer.
Squeak watched Triska searching around the floor and under some clothes that were lying about, eyes going from her head to her rear which was waving about while she was bent over then back to her head before resting on her rear again. Clover noticed the ant girl staring at Triska then rolled her eyes and glanced over to the girl to see her bent over on her hands and knees.
“You’re all perverts,” she muttered to herself.
Squeak shrugged and squeaked to that before glancing to the opening as something caught her eye. Clover blinked then looked over to the enlarged entryway as well, both girls staring at something while Triska tossed about some shirts and panties before sitting up with a puzzled look. She held her sword and sheath in hand, gently tapping the cover against her other palm while her eyes searched the corner of the cabin for her missing tool.
“Now, if I were a hammer, where would I hide?”
She then stopped and froze in place, the growing feeling of something very dark and cold behind her becoming prominent in her mind. Slowly she glanced over to see Clover and Squeak staring at something with caution, both of them obviously seeing the source of Triska’s discomfort.
Slowly Triska looked back over her shoulder while carefully grabbing the handle to her sword, herself and the other girls watching as someone new was sitting on the edge of the opening facing out towards The Outerlands. Her long orange hair swayed gently behind her in a fluffy ponytail with the breeze, a small clanking sound behind heard as she lightly knocked something in her hands down against the front seat of the caravan. The young looking girl kept facing away from them as the clanking sound continued, a small wisp of smoke coming up from the seat in front of her as she quietly murmured something to herself.
“Can we help you?” Triska called out while remaining on guard.
The girl glanced back to her with a golden eye, the clanking then being stopped while smoke wavered away in the wind from something that was burning the front seat.
“I hope so,” Ember solemnly replied as she stood up, dragging her sword up onto the floor and sticking it down with a sizzling thud. Triska and the girls watched with growing tension as the witch walked towards them with her sword being dragged behind, etching into the floor a charred line that crackled with small specks of fire behind her steps.
“I’m looking for someone,” Ember spoke distantly, her good eye going around the three girls before resting on the focuser crystal that was mounted on the wall over Alyssa’s magical supplies. “A witch. Perhaps you know of a witch, yes?”
Triska eyed her carefully as the girl started walking towards the focuser crystal on the wall. She noticed the newcomer’s scarred face and eye, her long orange hair, the age she appeared to be, then showed a look of wonder as she realized who it was.
“Ember?” The witch stopped and glanced to her as Triska stared at her in awe. “You’re Ember, aren’t you?”
“Oh? You know who I am?”
“You’re Alyssa’s daughter,” Triska marveled, with Clover and Squeak looking at the witch in surprise as the newcomer showed a similar reaction to Triska’s words.
“You know Alyssa?” Ember sharply asked.
“That’s her daughter?” Clover carefully repeated. “The one we were warned about?”
Ember made her way over to Triska with her sword dragging at her side, the fires it was creating spiking with sharp crackles and flares as the witch glared at the girl with anger.
“Where is she?” she demanded. “Tell me where she is right now.”
“She’s looking for you,” Triska answered, with Ember watching her carefully as the teen smiled a bit. “She’s been looking for you, she misses you.”
“Oh, how sweet,” Ember bitterly snapped. “Be a dear and tell me where she is. Right now.”
Triska slowly looked down to the glowing sword in Ember’s hands then back to the witch who was glaring at her with evident rage. Ember scowled with clenched teeth then held up her hand with flames surrounding it, the girls watching with alarm while Triska kept a firm grasp on her sword’s handle.
“Tell me where she is, or else you’re going to burn.”
“You are after her life, aren’t you?” Triska softly asked. “You want to kill her.”
“I’m going to kill her, and any who get in my way!” Ember roared at her.
“She’s your mother.”
“You know her well, don’t you?” Ember sneered. “Yes, she’s the one who gave birth to me, the one who abandoned me, the one who left me for dead! I’m going to ask you one last time, and one last time only. Where is she? Tell me now or else!”
“Ember, you don’t understand what happened when you were little,” Triska warned shaking her head. “She never abandoned you, she thought she lost you when-”
“Enough!” Ember roared as she held her fiery hand out towards her. In a flash Triska yanked out her blade from its sheath, turning to face the witch just as her glowing sword launched forward and struck through the teen’s trusty weapon with a sharp strike. All the girls watched in shock as the magical sword shattered Triska’s blade before piercing the girl’s shoulder and throwing her back against the wall.
“AHHHHH!” Triska screamed as she was pinned to the wall with the searing hot blade spiked through her shoulder. She dropped the handle to her broken weapon and grabbed the witch’s sword, struggling to pull it out as the wall behind her began to smoke and sizzle from the heated metal.
“Triska!” Clover shouted out.
“Tell me where she is! Where is Alyssa?” Ember roared at them with flames burning wildly around her feet and hands. Squeak and Clover stared at her in surprise as the ant girl held the elf close in her arms, both being engulfed in crimson light as the witch’s flames began to spread high throughout the cabin.
“Ember! Stop!” Triska cried out as she strained to pull the blade out.
“She’s not here!” Clover yelled while Squeak held her close. “She left a little while ago! We don’t know where she is now!”
“You’re lying,” Ember scorned as she walked over in front of the bed. “Tell me now, where is Alyssa? Tell me now or else you’re all going to burn!”
“Fine!” Triska called out. She struggled to catch her breath and fight off the pain while giving the witch a tired glare. “Alright, you win. I’ll show you where she is.”
Ember growled and held out her hand,
summoning her blade out from the wall and the girl’s shoulder over into her grasp. Triska stumbled forward holding her wound, only a small amount of blood coming out as it had been seared through, and strained not to scream as she took a few sharp breaths. Slowly she looked to Ember who was watching her with a fierce glare then began crawling over towards the entryway. The witch followed after, dragging her flaming sword across the floor while fire was catching onto the walls and furniture of the cabin.
“We need to get out of here,” Clover hushed to Squeak, the two remaining on guard as Triska made her way over to the opening and dropped down onto her duffel bag.
“Well?” Ember demanded loudly from behind her.
“Alright… there it is,” Triska declared.
“Where what is? Where is she?” Ember snapped looking out the big hole in the wall.
“Not her. The hammer,” Triska corrected before swinging around and swiping at the witch with her tool. Ember quickly darted back and parried with her sword, her glowing blade blocking the hammer with a loud clang before Triska threw herself backwards out of the opening. She dropped down onto the ground with a hard thump, a strained yell escaping through her clenched teeth as she grabbed her shoulder and struggled to scoot away from the ride.
Ember screamed out in anger and glared back at Clover and Squeak, the two watching her with wide eyes as a torrent of fire erupted around the witch.
“Get us out of here!” Clover cried out as Squeak held her close and tensed up. The witch swung her hand at them and threw a fiery spear towards the two girls, the magical attack racing across the room at the same time Squeak turned and dashed towards the back wall. She crashed through the wooden planks with her shoulder before tucking into a ball with Clover as the fire attack struck the wall behind them.
Triska only managed to crawl a few feet away from the caravan before it exploded it into a massive fireball, the sudden bang and furious blast of fire, smoke, and flaming debris catching her by surprise before she quickly ducked down and covered her head. On the other side of the caravan Squeak and Clover hugged the ground as much as they could as the shockwave and eruption of their ride tore through the air above them.
All around the area Daniel and the other girls halted in place as the thunderous sound echoed into the air.
“What was that?” Doku nervously whimpered.
“It couldn’t be…” Specca softly said while looking behind them with a sharp eye.
“Something went boom,” Pip worriedly said up to Kroanette from the centaur’s cleavage.
“Oh no,” Kroanette breathed out as she saw smoke billowing up over the hillside behind them.
“That sounded like it came from…” Daniel said as he and Alyssa looked back, both seeing smoke rising up into the air over some trees.
“Don’t tell me…” Alyssa nervously said as Lucky grunted beneath them.
“AHHHH!” Luna screamed out in shock as she and her sister saw the fireball and pillar of smoke where their ride once was.
“The caravan!” Falla cried out, with everyone within earshot jumping in surprise.
Triska coughed and grunted as she tried to crawl away along the grass and dirt, flaming debris and charred rocks lying all around her while smoke rolled by in waves from the fiery crater behind that was once their ride.
“Triska!” Kitten called out in her mind. “Holy shit, are you alright?”
“No, I’m not alright! That damned bitch broke my sword and blew up my home! I’m pissed off!”
She dropped onto her side and clutched her shoulder, straining each breath through her teeth while Kitten watched from beside her in distress.
“I can’t feel my arm,” Triska whined, her wounded arm and hand flinching and trembling as she tried to move it. “Dammit, I can’t feel my arm!”
“It’s still there, Triska. You didn’t lose it. Shit, but it’s not healing fast enough.”
“Fuck!” Triska cried out as she dropped onto her back, her shoulder feeling like it was on fire while the rest of her arm was numb. “This isn’t happening!”
“Triska, listen to me,” Kitten urged as she knelt down next to the girl. “You should have healed from this by now being a cambion but you haven’t. You don’t have my accelerated healing; it’s repressed just like my magic is in this state. Let me take control, I can recover us from this.”
“You’re not coming back out! You’re just as bad as Ember!”
“Triska, you’re seriously hurt! That witch is going to kill you, let me take control before it’s too late!”
“Go away! I don’t need to deal with you right now!”
“Triska!” Daniel called out from nearby.
Triska looked over to see Lucky galloping out from the woods, with Daniel and Alyssa screaming as they took full notice of the destroyed caravan and the wounded Triska.
“What the hell just happened?” Alyssa cried out.
“Triska!” Daniel yelled in urgency.
They quickly raced over towards Triska as the girl struggled to sit up, hand clutching her shoulder while her breathing was ragged. Daniel and Alyssa jumped off their horse and rushed over to her sides, looking over her with disbelief as they helped her sit upright then the flaming wreckage that was their home.
“What in Eden happened?” Alyssa exclaimed in shock.
“Triska!” Specca called out. The three looked over to see the nixie and Doku running towards them from around a knoll, the two girls then screaming as they saw the remains of the caravan and Triska sitting on the ground with a bloodied arm.
“Good heavens,” Doku gasped. “What happened here?”
“Triska? What’s going on?” Daniel asked as he gently held his mate. “What did this to you?”
“She’s here,” Triska coughed out.
“Who’s here?” Alyssa replied.
“Triska, are you alright?” Specca wailed as she rushed over and quickly hugged her co-mate.
“AH! Specca!” Triska cried out with a cringe. Specca leaned back with a gasp as the teen struggled not to scream. “I’m a little sore right now, in case you couldn’t tell!”
“Where are Clover and Squeak?” Doku asked looking around at the flames and smoke before them.
“What did this?” Alyssa demanded loudly.
Triska coughed and struggled to catch her breath while Daniel surveyed the area, seeing flaming debris and veils of smoke drifting about all over the area while the spot where their caravan was had a large fire burning high into the air. He then spotted Squeak stumbling over to the side of the clearing holding Clover, the ant girl and elf’s clothing scuffed and dirtied as they made their way through a few of the banks of haze.
“Squeak!” Daniel called out to them. The ant girl looked over to them and waved with one hand before the two dropped down onto the ground.
“Squeak! Clover!” Specca cried out.
From the air Falla and Luna landed down next to Squeak and Clover, the sisters screaming in a panic from seeing their home lying around them in pieces before they scrambled to budge the ant girl and elf on the ground. The two then waved to Kroanette as the centaur galloped down the hillside towards them, her shouts of horror being clearly heard as she saw the remains of their ride all over the field.
“What the hell is going on here?” Alyssa shouted out. “Somebody explain what happened to our home! Who did this?”
“Ember!” Triska yelled at the top of her lungs, with everyone looking to her in surprise as she was pointing towards the billowing smoke and flames before them. Slowly the group turned their focus towards a swirling pillar of fire that was burning wildly in the center of the blast radius, the flames and haze circling tightly around a piercing crimson glow that was coming from within.
“Ember?” Alyssa breathed out.
The tower of flames exploded out and scorched the surrounding land, burning outward in a hazy wave before slowly vanishing to reveal Ember standing in the center with her sword held down at her side. Her hair was fl
owing to the side in the whirlwind that was circling her, ashes and cinders being carried in the torrent that glistened around her while she slowly turned her head to glare at all the travelers with her good eye.
Alyssa stared in astonishment with an open mouth while the world around her became deathly silent, everything else vanishing in her mind as she saw her daughter standing before them alive and well.
‘My baby…’
“That’s her?” Daniel asked watching the new witch carefully.
“Is that really her?” Kroanette wondered. “What is she doing here?”
“She’s here to kill Alyssa and then all of us,” Clover grunted as Luna and Falla helped her and Squeak stand again. The elf held in her scream as she dropped to her knees, with Luna kneeling down with her while Squeak relied on Falla for support to stand.
“You’re still injured,” Luna worried.
“No fucking shit,” Clover snapped with a cringe. “Fuck, this day sucks ass.”
“Are you okay?” Falla urgently asked Squeak. The ant girl glanced to her and nodded while squeaking quietly with each pant she made.
“She did this?” Specca gasped. “Ember destroyed our home?”
“Did she hurt you as well, Triska?” Doku nervously asked.
“Yeah, she scratched me alright,” Triska grunted while gripping her shoulder. She then glanced to Alyssa who was still staring at Ember in stunned silence. “Alyssa, she’s here to kill you.”
Alyssa slowly turned to her with the same frozen expression as Triska looked out to Ember then back to her co-mate.
“I tried to tell her what happened, but she wouldn’t listen. Don’t go near her, she’s after your blood.”
Ember glared around at the group before her eye rested on Alyssa. The two witches gazed at each other for a while, each focusing intently on one another, before Alyssa slowly started walking towards her daughter.
Chronicles of Eden - Act VII Page 52