Act IX

by Alexander Gordon

  “It’s really loud,” Cindy whined. She clung to Daniel and buried her head in his shoulder as if trying to hide from it. “Make it go away, I don’t like it. It’s actually louder than Triska.”

  “Hey!” Triska barked out at her. “I’m not that loud, you bitch!”

  “Never mind, Triska is still the loudest,” Cindy pouted shaking her head. “Just make her go away.”

  “Cindy!”

  The airborne monster howled again and raced down at Star in a hazy blur. It stopped a foot above her and struck at the jinx relentlessly with all its flailing limbs while a few more appeared and joined in with trying to slice apart the agile cat. Star dodged and teleported around them constantly while blocking each strike with her claws, the cat yowling at the screaming mouth above while fervently defending herself.

  “Watch out, Star!” Kroanette called out.

  “Don’t hurt her!” Pip cried. “I like her and her boobies!”

  “What in Eden is that thing?” Triska yelled.

  “Star, get away from it!” Doku pleaded hopping up and down.

  Suddenly the monster broke from its stalemate against Star and flew up again, waving its bladed tentacles wildly about while closing its mouth to form its singular eye. The iris snapped around while twitching before focusing on the jinx that held her claw out towards it in a threatening manner.

  “Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa WHOA!” the monster’s feminine voice called out. “Hold it, hold it, hold it!”

  Everyone stopped and watched the floating eye with bewilderment while Star remained on guard, the creature pausing for a long while before its bladed limbs slowly receded back into itself.

  “Star?” she curiously asked. The jinx tilted her head with a single meow while the monster inched a little closer. “Star? Is that you?”

  Star blinked then slowly showed a look of wonder at the monster, which was then replaced with a dull expression and a deadpan meow.

  “Did that thing just speak?” Triska asked pointing to the creature.

  “And it knows Star?” Specca wondered.

  “Star!” the eyeball squealed excitedly. It quickly flew down towards the jinx while once again opening its iris, this time with the flesh peeling back and flowing behind like a nightgown that was worn by a woman. Her long dark green hair flowed gently as if gliding through water, the black and gray gothic dress she wore hanging off her shoulders and moderate bust size fluttering in the wind, legs seeming to be nonexistent as her gown ruffled below her, her smile being warm and inviting, and the rest of her face was anything but. As she floated down and embraced Star in a hug, with the jinx’s arms remaining down at her sides still, the newcomer nuzzled her head against the cat while everyone noticed something very disturbing about her.

  “What is that?” Alyssa carefully asked.

  “What happened to her?” Cindy said pointing to the girl.

  “That’s really creepy,” Luna whimpered.

  The monster’s face appeared horrifically damaged, with the right side missing all its flesh and the skull being cracked severely. Although her purple eye remained on one side, all that was in the socket in the other was a haunting violet dot where the iris would be. Skin was missing on her jaw and forehead, the sight resembling an aged cadaver that was recently exhumed from its grave.

  “Star, it’s so nice to see you again,” the monster cooed while petting the jinx’s head. “I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you, I was still hungry and wasn’t paying attention to who I was attacking. You’re not mad, are you? Oh, you’re just as cuddly as ever! I want to pet you and listen to you purr all day long!”

  Star knocked her away and started meowing at her with obvious ire, the ghostly monster watching her with a curious expression and gently flowing hair and dress as she hovered above the ground. The jinx went on a long tirade about something while pointing to the newcomer, back to Daniel and the girls, then waving her hands around while she was apparently expressing her displeasure with words that nobody could understand. Or so it was assumed until Star finished her rant and the new girl chuckled with a smirk at her.

  “Star, calm yourself. I didn’t know they were your new toys.”

  “Toys?” Triska carefully repeated.

  “Did she understand Star?” Doku wondered.

  “And why are you being so mean to me?” the new girl frowned. “Don’t tell me you’re still upset about the past. Star, we were both doing as we were ordered to then. I didn’t express any ill will towards you personally, it was never like that and you know it. We were just on opposite sides, both fighting for another’s gain. You don’t need to hold a grudge towards me because of it, I certainly never did so with you.”

  Star meowed back with discontent and waved her off, apparently saying something to counter that statement that the new girl merely giggled at.

  “You’re so cute when you act like you’re angry with me. Oh how I’ve missed you, Star. I had always wondered where you ran off to. What a wonderful encounter fate has bestowed upon us this day.”

  “What is going on here?” Daniel called out. “Star, do you know her?”

  The new girl turned to him with a smile that seemed as cold and terrifying as any could. She quickly raced around Star in a blur and appeared before Daniel and the girls, six of her bladed tendrils lashing out from underneath her gown and swinging towards his neck in a flash. They then halted at the sound of Star yelling at her, right before they would have struck through him and Cindy from all sides. Everyone stared at the monster with wide eyes as she slowly looked back to see Star meowing and shaking her head while getting into a fighting stance again.

  “Oh, I see,” the girl spoke before turning to Daniel with a creepy smile. “I’m so sorry, I got a little carried away, didn’t I? Hee hee! I forgot you were Star’s new boy toy.”

  “Her what?” Daniel bewilderedly replied.

  “So sorry about that,” the girl apologized before backing up, her bladed limbs quickly retracting under her dress that gently ruffled in the air. “It’s been so long since I had to use restraint around others, I’m a bit out of practice with it. Hope you can understand. Allow me to properly introduce myself, my name is Reiko. A pleasure to meet Star’s newest pets.”

  Star meowed and shook her head wildly, with Reiko glancing back to her with a curious expression and the others watching her in total confusion now.

  “They’re not your pets?” Reiko wondered.

  Star kept meowing and shaking her hands around.

  “He’s not your boy toy?”

  Star meowed and waved her hands about frantically.

  “I should stop talking about you having boy toys before?”

  Star hopped about shaking her head while meowing desperately at her.

  “I should stop repeating what you’re telling me?”

  The jinx shouted at her with frustrated yowls as she yanked on her hair.

  “I should shut the hell up right now?”

  Star growled with fury as she turned red, the group seeing her clearly pissed off at the newcomer who didn’t seem to notice or care that she was the one infuriating the jinx. Reiko then giggled and quickly flew back over to Star, hugging her tightly while nuzzling her cheek against the cat’s.

  “Oh, Star, don’t get your tails in a twist. Hee hee, you’re so cute when you get angry! I just wanna pet you all day!”

  “What is going on here?” Triska demanded. “Star, do you know who this girl is?”

  Star slowly nodded with a dull expression on her face. Reiko giggled then literally spun her head all the way around on her neck to smile eerily at the group.

  “We used to be mortal enemies. Can you tell?”

  “Are heads supposed to turn all the way around like that?” Luna worried.

  “Not really,” Falla answered shaking her head.

  “You sure seem buddy-buddy with her for being enemies,” Triska pointed out at the newcomer.

  “Specca, what is she?” Kroanette q
uietly asked. “Should we be afraid right now?”

  “I don’t know,” Specca answered shaking her head. “I can’t remember what kind of monster she is.”

  “Doesn’t matter, we’re scared anyway,” Falla mentioned as she and Luna were keeping close behind Triska.

  “That’s because she’s my dear friend,” Reiko cooed while nuzzling close to an irritated jinx. Her body spun around to realign with her head before she phased back through Star and appeared behind her, arms tenderly holding the cat close while she giggled in delight.

  “You’re her friend?” Doku wondered. “But… didn’t you just say she was your enemy?”

  “She was my enemy, for a time,” Reiko pondered with a curious glance upwards. “And I was hers. Oh, I remember the battles we used to have, tides always shifting forward and back as we clashed, blade and claw meeting one another time and again, star-crossed lovers destined to never-”

  Star frantically started meowing and flailing about to get the girl off her, with the group watching curiously as the jinx finally teleported out of Reiko’s grip and appeared a foot away glaring at her with clenched fists.

  “Lovers?” Clover questioned with a raised eyebrow.

  Star looked back to her and quickly shook her head, meowing something as she pointed to Reiko then to herself before stomping her feet about in her frustrations.

  “Calm down, Star,” Reiko laughed. “I was only joking about that last part. Honestly, you’re simply too cute to bear.”

  Daniel slowly stepped forward from the girls and approached Reiko, watching her carefully as she merely turned her creepy smile to him while hovering above the ground. There was a definite vibe that she wasn’t a normal monster, as evidenced by nearly everything she had done so far in front of the group. He walked up next to Star and glanced to her curiously, catching the jinx’s eyes for a moment before she quickly averted them with a worried expression on her face.

  “If I may ask, Reiko, what manner of monster are you? And how is it you know Star so well?”

  “I told you, we used to be mortal enemies,” Reiko replied with a shrug. “I came to know her very well just as she did with me. As for what I am, I believe humans refer to us as-”

  “Harvester,” Specca gasped pointing to her. All eyes turned to see Specca staring at Reiko in surprise while her finger was shaking. “I remember now. Those ghostly limbs you used, the way you changed your shape as you did, you’re a harvester. An undead monster.”

  “Harvester?” Daniel repeated.

  Reiko smirked then quickly flew around him to Specca, rising up before her with a dark grin on her face while three of her translucent limbs came down from her gown and circled around the nixie up to her head. Specca trembled in fright as the ghostly blades hovered near her face, eyes locked onto Reiko’s as the harvester chuckled at her.

  “Oh, you know of us, do you?”

  “You’re monsters from the underworld,” Specca nervously stammered out. “Both spectral and physical beings that take souls from your victims. You’re like the deathmares, you kill human and monster alike to satisfy your hunger for their spirits. You can take any form you want or hide from sight entirely, you can even pass through solid walls to chase your prey. And your cutters… they…”

  “Cleave a person’s soul from a single touch,” Reiko finished. “I suppose that’s where we get that name from. We harvest souls by the bundle, one is never enough for us after all. Oddly enough I’m not able to harm Star with them, her body repels them both to my relief and frustration. Everything else falls to them rather easily though. Unlike a deathmare’s scythe mine are far more numerous and agile. I dare say they are an improvement over that Darker One’s weapon, wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Wait, please stop,” Specca pleaded with a wide eye on the blade near her cheek.

  “Specca!” Triska exclaimed as she readied her sword. Star meowed and tensed up just as everyone did, all eyes seeing how dangerously close Reiko’s spectral blades were to Specca’s head.

  “One little nick, one tiny scratch, and your soul will be mine while your body remains lifeless in this world. Just as it was for all the swarm you see around you.” Reiko then giggled and looked around with an amused smile. “And wowie wow, there were so many of them too. Not going to lie, I totally engorged myself on all of those cute little devils. They were all so delicious.”

  “You killed the swarm?” Alyssa asked. “You’re what killed all of the swarm here?”

  “I did. I drove them into this cave to corner them, wasn’t too hard. After all they do scare rather easily when they witness the likes of which I can become. I rounded them up in here, like cattle to the slaughter, and simply waited for them to go to sleep.”

  “To sleep?” Kroanette repeated.

  “They thought it was night in this cave,” Reiko laughed. “Swarm aren’t too bright after all. Once they came in here they slowly fell asleep thinking the day had ended, and then they were ripe for the plucking without any resistance. It was a magnificent feast set just for me. I devoured their souls, one by one, and they never had a clue.”

  She laughed wildly with a twisted smile on her face, arching back and holding her sides in her hysteria, while her phantom limbs swayed around Specca with their blades poised to strike into her. After a moment more of maniacal laughter Reiko turned to the nixie with a devilish smile on her face, a low chuckle escaping her lips as another spectral appendage came out from under her and arched all the way over her before aiming at Specca’s face.

  “And I’m still hungry for more.”

  Chapter 11

  Deceitful Danger

  In the world of Eden dangerous individuals weren’t always easily recognizable. Sometimes they hid their true selves very well, either behind a real mask or a fake persona. Just because they appeared normal and friendly didn’t mean their hands weren’t stained with blood or their intentions were innocent. Conversely it was also true that at times those that seemed threatening might not be, that their outer appearance did not reflect what their soul was capable of showing. Whether they were actually dangerous or only looked that way, there was one saying that always held true.

  Never judge anyone by their appearance alone.

  *****

  “Waaaaah!” Reiko wailed within the dark carven. “Star, don’t be so mean to me! I said I was sorry!”

  “You nearly killed Specca earlier!” Triska barked out at her. Walking through the shadowy grotto with her fiery sword held high she helped light the path before them along with Squeak who was holding a torch in her hand.

  “It was an accident! I didn’t mean to! I was still hungry, you have to understand!”

  “You scared Specca to death, along with all of us,” Kroanette argued while walking behind Triska and next to the moving carriage. “You could have killed her had you accidentally sneezed just then.”

  “I wasn’t going to take her soul, I promise! I was just hungry still, it got the better of me for a split second. That’s all!”

  “If she had fainted when your spectral cutters were near her rather than after you retracted them she would have touched them,” Alyssa scolded as she rode on Lucky. “You would have taken her soul, accident or not!”

  “I’m sorry! Please believe me! Hee hee, her soul did look pretty tasty though. Not that I was going to take it, honest!”

  “Would you just leave us alone already?” Clover yelled out, holding a torch in hand next to Lucky and looking back to the harvester with discontent. “Get out of here! You’re only pissing us off more!”

  “Say you forgive me, Star!” Reiko whined, the harvester having taken the form of a large disembodied eye again that had tears dropping from it now. She floated and shook about in her fit right next to the carriage, her unblinking gaze resting on Star who was sitting on the angled roof of the carriage with her face hidden behind both hands to conceal the growing frustration with her old acquaintance. Sitting up front Daniel and the red ant girl were watching
the harvester cry and bob about while staying beside them in the air, with the girl leaning away from the monster towards Daniel who was unsure how to react at the moment given this situation was anything but what he planned on happening that day.

  The travelers made their way through the cave while the rumbles of the ant girls demolishing Eden from underneath it slowly subsided. They passed by all the swarm that had been killed by Reiko, seeing the locust monsters’ bodies sticking to the walls and floors where they died during their sleep. Pip and Cindy were once again circling the group as they appeared to be playing happily despite being surrounded by corpses and deep underground. The sand wraith continued to laugh and giggle as she chased the quick flying fairy, both of them seeming to be in their own world while everyone else was dealing with not only finding their way back outside but also a sobbing harvester who kept badgering Star to forgive her.

  “I’m really sorry!” she begged with tears falling from the floating eye. “Say you like me still, Star! Let me know I haven’t lost you forever!”

  After finally reaching the end of her patience Star yowled and meowed at her while flailing her arms around, assumingly telling off the harvester out of anger based on her tone and facial cues, before she promptly warped away and appeared on Kroanette’s back. The jinx crossed her arms and kept her gaze away from everyone while Reiko’s watery eye wavered about with a whimper.

  “She hates me!” Reiko sobbed loudly. She shook around with a long whine before she flew overhead in a loop, returning to her normal form with the peeling iris flowing back into her dress, then spiraled downward and landed gently in Daniel and the ant girl’s laps while burying her face in his. This was something the other girls quickly took notice of and came to a sudden halt from, with Cindy and Pip still running around them and nearby pillars made of rock and dead swarm as they giggled and chased each other in their game.

  “I can’t help what I am!” Reiko cried as she smothered her face in Daniel’s crotch, with him and all the girls watching staring with wide eyes at her. “Whenever I’m around souls it’s my nature to try and devour them! You can’t condemn me for that! I’ve done nothing to warrant such resentment from you, Star!”