Act IX

by Alexander Gordon

  After a pause she then glanced to the others with a sharp eye.

  “Or worse, what if the gemini come back?”

  “Okay, seriously, now you’re just trying to give us more nightmares,” Falla whined.

  “Don’t even joke about that,” Specca sternly warned. “Those two are as bad as they come in this world. And even if they did return we don’t have The Archlight’s Blade, we couldn’t kill them even if you did have your new sword.”

  “Maybe not,” Triska admitted with a careful glance to her blade. “But I could sure as hell keep them away from you all at least. I know just as well as all of you that this thing is a powerful and dangerous weapon, but that’s exactly why I want to keep it. I’m going to protect all of you with this, I swear it.”

  The group exchanged troubled looks with one another before resting their sights on Triska, the teen eyeing her sword over while trying to remain as focused as she could with the amount of power she was holding in her hands.

  “Triska, are you sure?” Daniel asked with genuine concern. “I know you’re the best here at handling a sword, if anything I should be taking more lessons from you so I know how to handle my own better. There isn’t a doubt in my mind you could stand against anything with a normal sword, let alone a legendary one such as that. Are you sure you want this weapon to be yours?”

  “I’m sure, Daniel,” Triska assured him. “I know you’ll always be here to protect us, you’re our knight after all. And I’ll gladly help you train with using your sword, it would be a pleasure to do so. But I’m not going to turn down this chance to be a more capable protector for both you and our family. If I can control using this dangerous thing, then everyone will be much safer from anything that comes our way.”

  “You really think you can control that thing?” Specca worried.

  “Yeah, I can do it. I trained my whole life to be a fighter. Wielding this weapon won’t be any trouble for me,” Triska boasted before casually swinging the weapon down behind her. In doing so a fiery wave of energy arced out from the blade and crashed through the ground, tearing apart the dirt with a low howl of black light and rolling flames. The searing energy sliced across the area and just passed Falla and Squeak, with the butterfly screaming while clinging to the ant girl in sheer fright and Squeak holding her close while jumping away with a loud squeak. Everyone quickly backed up from Triska while watching with wide eyes, all while Triska stared at the sight with a stunned smile. After the attack dissolved and left a smoking crevice in its wake the group turned to Triska in silence as she nervously rubbed the back of her neck again.

  “Um… sorry about that,” she weakly said to them.

  Daniel sighed and held a hand over his eyes then glanced to the side and down at something with a look of empathy. He then walked over and knelt down next to Doku who was now lying on the ground out cold after having fainted a moment ago.

  “Triska, please try to use a bit more care when you’re holding that thing,” he requested as he picked up the sleeping harpy.

  “More like extreme care when holding it,” Specca corrected. “Triska, if you wish to really keep that sword then I must insist that you only draw it when absolutely necessary.”

  “Preferably when none of us are around either,” Alyssa quickly added while staring at the newly formed gash through the ground with great concern. “I may be immune to fire but I’d rather not find out if that would have hurt me regardless.”

  “I have my refraction bracelets on and I don’t wish to test my luck against its power either,” Kroanette nervously mentioned.

  “Okay, okay,” Triska insisted as she carefully sheathed her sword at her hip. “I promise I’ll practice using it when nobody else is around me, and I’ll only draw it out otherwise if I absolutely have to.”

  Daniel nodded while eyeing the sword then his mate with a worried smile before looking over to where their carriage was parked further away and Lucky was bucking around in a panic.

  “Alyssa, could you go calm Lucky down? Seems he’s still a little spooked after this. I’m going to go take Doku inside and let her rest.”

  “Of course,” Alyssa agreed as Daniel headed towards their ride. She glanced to Triska’s sword with a raised eyebrow then shrugged as she started walking off towards her horse. “Well, I guess I really can’t call your sword dumb and worthless anymore. That’s sort of sad in its own way.”

  “So sorry to take that away from you,” Triska jested with a smirk.

  “Are you alright, sister?” Luna asked, with the girls noticing Falla still staring at the smoldering crevice with wide eyes while breathing quickly in a state of shock.

  “She appears scared out of her mind,” Kroanette sympathized.

  Luna hurried over and gently held her sister’s hand while brushing the girl’s hair.

  “It’s okay, Falla. Triska put the bad sword away, you’re safe now.”

  “Oh no,” Clover gasped. “Now Kitten is going to try using that sword.”

  “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Falla shrieked before she promptly collapsed in Squeak’s arms. The girls watched as she lost consciousness then turned to Triska in surprise as she was looking at Clover with confusion.

  “What are you talking about?” Triska asked shaking her head. “I’m not letting her use this thing. That’s a horrible idea.”

  “I know,” Clover snickered. “I just wanted to see how she would react to hearing that.”

  “Clover!” Specca scolded. “You scared all of us to death!”

  “If Doku were still here she would have had a heart attack,” Kroanette reprimanded.

  “Sister? Are you alright?” Luna worried while trying to shake Falla. The unconscious butterfly remained out cold while in Squeak’s arms, the girls watching her with concern before giving Clover dull stares as the elf was chuckling in amusement.

  “That was mean,” Pip spoke with a tiny grimace.

  “It was just a harmless joke,” Clover said rolling her eyes before walking away.

  “Oh good,” Triska flatly replied. “She’s finally loosening up with us and playing jokes. How great is that?”

  “We’ll deal with her later,” Specca sighed. She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes tiredly before waving the girls towards the carriage. “Let’s get Falla inside to rest as well. And then I’m going to take a nice, relaxing bath to calm myself after all this.”

  “I swear you spend more time in the bath than you do in the library,” Kroanette mused as the girls started heading back together, with Squeak carrying Falla in her arms and Pip flying over into the sleeping butterfly’s bosom with a tiny giggle.

  “I think she spends more time in the library than the bath,” Luna reasoned with a shrug.

  As they made their way back to their home Triska remained and gazed around at the sight of the ravaged land she had created with two simple swipes of her new sword. Looking to the sheathed blade she tried to force a firm expression to hide her own growing concern about wielding such a powerful weapon. After a while she slowly glanced to the side to see Kitten watching her with a raised eyebrow, seeming to be waiting for the teen to do something as there wasn’t much else to see around her now.

  “So… um…” Triska slowly spoke up. “There’s something I want to ask you.”

  “You want me to help you control it, don’t you?” Kitten accused with a sly grin.

  “You know how magic works better than I, and you use a magical sword in battle. You know how to control such a thing. Think you could help me get a better handle with this?”

  “I’m sorry, I just want to be perfectly clear about what’s being asked of me,” Kitten replied while leaning closer to Triska with a sharp eye. “You’re asking me for help, yes?”

  “…yes.”

  “I see. Well, I can certainly assist you with this task. Like you said I am more knowledge when it comes to magic after all. Of course, in return-”

  “You’re not having sex with Daniel,” Triska flatly interrupt
ed. Kitten scowled at her with arms crossed and a sharply waving tail as the teen sighed heavily and looked away. “But… I could let you out more if you promise to actually help me with this. And I’m sure Daniel would be impressed by your kind gesture to assist me.”

  “I’ll help you with the sword if you agree I can blow him next time I come out.”

  “No.”

  “Jerk him off.”

  “No.”

  “Dry-hump him.”

  “No.”

  “Sit on his lap.”

  “No.”

  “Blow him.”

  “Still no.”

  “Then what do I get out of this?” Kitten demanded.

  “You get to show Daniel you’re a kindhearted girl who can help others,” Triska snapped at her. “If you’re not going to help me then I’ll just practice on my own, I was just hoping you would have actually wanted to become a better person for Daniel and kindly assist me with this.”

  Kitten growled in discontent then sighed and looked up with a dull stare at the sky.

  “Fine,” she very reluctantly agreed. “I’ll do what I can to help you control that thing. If that’s what would truly make my master happy then so be it.”

  “Thank you, Kitten,” Triska complimented as she turned her eyes back down to her sword.

  “Though for the record me going down on him would surely make him happier.”

  Triska slowly shook her head to that and ignored her inner demon, more focused on learning to control The Hellfire’s Edge properly than trying to reason with her stubborn counterpart. Looking around at the scarred terrain that remained from the sword’s magical power she realized she was indeed playing with fire with this weapon, however the thought of being able to protect her mate and co-mates from any danger that came their way was more than enough to give her the resolve to achieve this new goal.

  “If anything tries to take my family away from me, I’ll slaughter them.”

  *****

  Daniel raced out of the carriage along with Squeak and Doku, the three of them making haste after Alyssa who led them towards where everyone had gathered together in the road behind their ride. As they got closer they didn’t hear any commotion, rather everyone appeared to be staring quietly at something in surprise.

  “What happened?” Daniel asked as he ran ahead of the girls and looked around. Alyssa and Doku then screamed along with Squeak squeaking loudly at seeing something that he too witnessed with terror.

  “Specca!” he cried out, himself and the girls seeing the nixie on the ground with a blonde haired girl whose body appeared to be made of sand that was enveloping Specca entirely except for her head and one arm which was being held onto by Kroanette. The nixie seemed to be in a state of shock, her eyes unfocused and her breathing ragged, and her voice having dropped below that of a whisper.

  “Specca!” Doku wailed in fright.

  “That’s a sand wraith!” Alyssa shouted as she pointed to Cindy.

  Daniel stared in horror at seeing his mate almost being devoured completely by a monster that he knew of very well. Everyone knew of sand wraiths, how they were one of the most dangerous monster classes in all of Eden. They would eat anyone, man or monster, without remorse, and were almost impossible to defend against. Although they weren’t Darker Ones there was no denying their threat level. In fact the only reason they weren’t considered Darker Ones was because they were not all that rare and if fire was involved the wraiths would almost always lose.

  “Specca!” Daniel yelled in shock. He saw the stunned look in Specca’s eyes, the expression of terror frozen on her face, and a few tears running down her cheeks from her despair. It was then he and the girls that came out with him noticed a few other things.

  For one the sand wraith wasn’t moving an inch, wasn’t saying a word, and was instead staring at something with absolute fright and a pale face. Another thing that stood out was Kroanette wasn’t struggling with pulling Specca free, as she too was remaining still with something besides Specca being attacked by a sand wraith causing great alarm with her.

  Slowly Daniel and the girls turned to see what all the others were looking at. Standing nearby Triska was glaring with incredible fury at the sand wraith, her teeth were bared, and in her hand was The Hellfire’s Edge. The blade pulsated with a dark energy while its heated edge gave off a deep crimson glow. Rolling waves of flame ran along the sword while the aura it was emitting was causing everyone to feel a cold chill running down their spines.

  Triska walked towards the sand wraith and held her sword out towards the monster’s face, with Cindy quietly whining with terror as the cambion herself gave off a fearsome aura in her own right.

  “Let her go now,” Triska sternly ordered through her teeth. Cindy shakily looked up to her with tears starting to form in her eyes as the teen lifted the blade up and roared out with a cry that made everyone jump back.

  “LET HER GO SO I CAN SLAUGHTER YOU!”

  Chapter 2

  Innocence in Monsters

  In the world of Eden there are many dangerous monsters roaming the lands, all seeking to breed and maybe even spill blood in doing so. Although not all monsters in the world are vicious or want to kill, there are many that wouldn’t bat an eyelash with ending the lives of those around them. Some may be sadistic, others cruel, and a few may not even realize that they were being evil with their actions. Perhaps killing was part of their inner nature, part of what kind of monster they really were. Or maybe it wasn’t the desire to kill that they had but rather just to survive the only way they knew how.

  Some monsters truly wanted to be evil, others just didn’t know how else to live.

  *****

  Specca slowly opened her eyes as she started to regain consciousness. A weak groan escaped her lips before she gasped sharply, suddenly feeling a stinging sensation all over her body that caused her to flinch and shake slightly in someone’s arms.

  “Specca, are you alright?” Daniel worriedly asked as he held the nixie. She quickly looked up to him upon hearing his voice, seeing her mate holding her while kneeling down at her side. “Say something. Are you okay?”

  “Daniel?” Specca wondered as her mind began coming into focus. She blinked then gasped before quickly holding onto his chest. “Oh, Daniel! I was so scared! I thought I was going to be eaten alive! That accursed- wait, what happened? Where did that sand wraith go?”

  “It’s okay,” Kroanette assured from beside her. “You’re safe now. The sand wraith let you go.”

  “She let me go?” Specca questioned with disbelief. “What do you mean she let me go? Sand wraiths don’t let anyone go! How in Eden did I survive?”

  “Look,” Kroanette said pointing ahead of them. Specca looked over and then just blinked, she along with everyone else watching the same thing with blank expressions on their faces.

  “No!” Cindy cried out with tears dropping from her cheeks. The frightened wraith was lying on the ground thrashing her arms and legs about in a fit, her eyes staring in horror at Triska who stood over her with her magical blade held down at her side and a dull expression on her face.

  “Would you stop now?” Triska flatly asked.

  “No! I don’t wanna get burned up! No! Waaaaaaaaaaaah!”

  “Shut up,” Triska groaned holding a hand over her face.

  “You’re so mean! Go away! I don’t like you! Waaaaaaaaaaah!”

  “Would you knock it off?”

  “I don’t wanna get burned up! I wanna see my mom again! No! This is so unfair!”

  “For the love of- shut up already!”

  “Waaaaaaaaaaah!”

  Daniel and the other girls just watched the wraith cowering in unrelenting fear before Triska while the cambion appeared to be losing her patience with the girl at this point.

  “Um… what is happening here?” Specca asked.

  “Well,” Alyssa said rubbing the back of her neck. “Triska threatened that wraith with her sword, then the monster let you go,
and for the past five minutes she’s been crying on the ground like a baby.”

  “The poor thing,” Doku empathized. “She’s scared out of her mind.”

  “Don’t pity her!” Specca yelled out. “She tried to eat me just now!”

  “Why aren’t you killing it?” Clover asked shaking her head. “That’s a fucking sand wraith, they’re pure evil.”

  “Uh huh,” Triska replied with a raised eyebrow, watching with a dull stare as Cindy continued to cry and call her a meanie.

  “Are sand wraiths normally this… juvenile?” Kroanette questioned.

  Daniel helped Specca back onto her feet, the nixie still clinging to his chest while watching the wraith with alarm, while the group saw the deadly sand wraith continuing with her fit and now throwing dirt around in her distress.

  “What is she doing?” Luna asked curiously. Star meowed with a shrug while showing a puzzled look at the wraith.

  Daniel started walking towards Cindy before Specca and Squeak quickly pulled him back, both shaking their heads with fearful eyes at him.

  “Don’t go near her!” Specca pleaded. “Daniel, you must not approach that monster, she’s-”

  “It’s okay, Specca,” Daniel assured her.

  “No it isn’t! That’s a sand wraith! She’ll eat you alive without a second thought!”

  “Daniel, she’s right,” Alyssa warned jumping in front of him. “You know as well as all of us that sand wraiths are not monsters we can talk to about your beliefs.”

  Daniel moved past the girls and slowly approached Cindy and Triska while the other girls quickly moved closer to him.

  “Don’t even think about it, Dan,” Clover ordered as she grabbed his hand. He glanced to her and opened his mouth to speak, then looked over the towel-clad elf in question before shaking his head and pulling his hand away.

  “Clover, it’s okay.”

  “Are you insane? That’s a sand wraith! Do you not understand what those things are?”

  “I know very well what they’re known to be like,” Daniel answered as he turned his sights down to the crying wraith. “They’re monsters made entirely of magically cursed sand. No manner of magic or weapon can harm them except for fire, and they consume both man and monster whole for food. They’re known to be the most dangerous and ruthless of all monsters in the world, just underneath the threat level of Darker Ones themselves.”