There was another pause as Mr. Burrows indicated for someone to speak. It was a woman’s voice. “And what about that fire and lightning we saw when the kids were attacked? That must have been her!”
The head of the Guard paused for a moment. “We don’t know all the facts. The survivor, Kaylee Sykes, doesn’t know what attacked her. But Ms. Sykes was there too today!” he raised his voice in response to the woman trying to continue. “Does it make sense for Ms. Dracul to kill her classmates and then protect Kaylee, along with all of us? Or does it make more sense that she was trying to protect them from the beginning? If anything, she may feel guilty for not being able to save all her classmates. A responsibility a little girl shouldn’t have in the first place!”
“She should have warned us!” the woman retorted. “My brother’s dead because of her!”
“No!” Mr. Burrows barked out. “Your brother is dead because a monster attacked us! And the only reason the rest of us aren’t dead is because of a little girl! Why would she warn us about anything, when all of you are going to react like this?!” he demanded. “You know what would have happened if she had told us? All of you would have shown up at the Dracul’s residence with guns, demanding that he give over his devil daughter! You would have repaid her kindness with trying to kill her! Of course she didn’t say anything! Even now, many of you probably want to go on a witch hunt like we’re ancient barbarians, or at least exile a girl who risked her life trying to defend us!”
I was sure Mr. Burrow’s face was red again from the strain. He was certainly breathing heavy as he called on someone else. I didn’t like him calling me a little girl, finding it really annoying, but I figured he was saying that to make me seem less hostile.
More innocent.
“So what are you suggesting?” a man asked. “That we continue to let them live with us?”
“And what would you suggest?” the head of the Guard demanded. “There’s still a dragon out there! What happens if another monster like this attacks our town? Who’s going to defend us? You?! Because I sure as hell can’t. The best weapon I have is a gun, and that was little more than a bee sting to the creature that attacked us!” He paused, seeming to change subjects slightly. “If you haven’t already, I’d encourage all of you to go see the monster’s corpse for yourself.”
A woman spoke up, almost cutting him off, indicating she hadn’t waited to be called on. “You want her to continue living here with us?!” she almost shrieked. “What?! And she’ll go to school with our children too?! She’s a devil!”
Mrs. Boone spoke up again. “Mrs. Lyman,” she said firmly into the megaphone. “I can understand your concern, but Ms. Dracul has been sitting side-by-side with your daughter, Monica, all her life. And if I recall correctly, she has never once been violent with any of the students. Not to mention, if this hadn’t of happened, then she would have continued attending class with your children, uneventfully so, even despite this secret.”
She paused, but quickly continued before anyone could interrupt. “I forgot to mention before, but you know what Alyssa Dracul did after being hit and knocked down? She cried! Like a normal girl who had been wrongfully punished for something that wasn’t her fault.”
“What did she do anyway?” a man demanded.
“She didn’t do anything,” Mrs. Boone snapped. “A few of the kids carved the word ‘Devil’ into her chair. And why do you think that is?!” she demanded. “Because all of you have been gossiping about the Draculs for years!”
“But the rumors were true!” another woman yelled.
“So then, it’s alright for your children to bully and harass a little girl because she’s different?! Is that what you’re saying Mrs. Dunlop?!”
Unexpectedly, I felt my dad’s warm hand rest on my shoulder. I looked up at him in surprise, realizing my entire body was tense. “Are you alright?” he asked seriously.
I held his gaze for a moment before shrugging. I honestly didn’t know how I felt. Stressed? Annoyed? Anxious? I just wished they’d make a decision already. Knowing that we were leaving was better than being uncertain of what would happen.
“You can leave if you want,” he offered. “You don’t have to stay here and listen.”
I looked up at him through my eyelashes. “But I thought you wanted me to come.”
He shook his head. “I probably would have come either way, but you didn’t have to. If you want to leave and go back home to Jasmyn, you can. It’s after dark, so I’m sure you can make it back without being seen.”
I nodded in agreement, already having experience with moving through the shadows in town without anyone spotting me. However, as I considered it, I decided I wanted to know how this ended. I especially wanted to know if this was going to divulge into some of them attacking our house. I knew Mr. Burrows had left a couple of guards to defend it, but still…
I didn’t know if I could trust them.
I gasped when I thought of that.
“What’s wrong?” my dad wondered.
I shook my head. “I’m just worried about Jasmyn. Do you think she’s okay?”
“She has her snake-eye, remember? If something happened, they can’t hurt her. Also, she has your ring.”
I hesitated as I considered that, before nodding again silently.
Someone had asked Mrs. Boone who the teacher was that hit me, taking the conversation off topic briefly, but she deflected by suggesting it would be dealt with internally and that she wasn’t going to defame any of the teachers in public. Granted, it wasn’t like they couldn’t figure it out on their own easily enough.
Mr. Burrows took over again after a moment, steering the conversation back on track. It was obvious he was ready to put aside the current subject to get back to what was really important – like what to do with all the displaced families.
However, before he could even complete a full sentence, someone screamed.
The sound was not at all what I would have expected. For one, it was a man who cried out. And, it was outside. Everyone in the town hall abruptly grew quiet from the unexpected alarm.
I shifted to my demon form automatically to hear better.
Another guard outside fired a gun, just before he shrieked a bloodcurdling cry that disturbed me to the core, a chill running up my spine. I heard bones breaking and flesh being torn as the sickening earsplitting wail continued for a few seconds, before abruptly cutting off. I almost regretted shifting forms, wishing I hadn’t experienced the sounds I just heard.
I vaguely noticed Mr. Burrows demand what was going on, but I ignored him. I was too focused on what I was hearing outside.
Footsteps, like people, approached the entrance to the town hall. At least thirty. Except their movements weren’t normal. They walked sluggishly, like they were drunk, with small bursts of speed when they had attacked the second guard.
Only one set of footsteps was normal – the one walking in front of the rest. And this person’s footsteps were heavy. Really heavy.
Like my dad’s.
I gasped at the same time that I heard the door to the hall burst open, the wood splintering in two. I was simultaneously caught between a chasm of emotions, tugged between horror and rage. The latter of the two quickly overrode the prior. Something about being in my demon form made me more bold.
More aggressive.
I noticed my dad’s hand reaching out to grab my arm, but I evaded his grasp as I bolted down the short hallway and appeared on the stage. There were more people than I had envisioned, easily two hundred crammed into the auditorium. Mr. Burrows and Mrs. Boone were both standing on the raised platform as I had assumed. However, no one noticed me, everyone’s eyes focused in disbelief at the man who had just shattered a door with his fist.
A man with dark blue hair.
He had stopped at the entrance, scanning the crowd, seeming to search for someone. Then, a moment after I made an appearance, his eyes settled on me, a wide grin warping his facial features.
; I spoke before he could. “How are you still alive?!” I demanded, my tone dripping with disdain, with a hint of disbelief and fear.
Suddenly, I had everyone’s attention, prompting a few women to scream when they saw me. I ignored them all.
The man laughed at my comment, his voice sounding more familiar than I would have preferred. “I’ll admit you almost got me,” he chuckled again loudly. “Given different circumstances, I would have been done for. But the regeneration capacity of demons is amazing.” His grin widened to an inhuman size, a sight I was sure would give everyone nightmares, adult or not.
His eyes then darkened. “Unfortunately, that’s all I got from just an arm. I was hoping to build up my army more before I came across you again, but oh well. It’s time to get the rest.” He raised his hand then, and instantly humanoid monsters began flooding out of the darkness into the room on either side.
They were grotesque, their bodies warped into forms that made me cringe, reminding me of the shapeshifter’s body when he had been in the process of trying to eat me before.
One had a bulbous eye and a distorted skull that made it look like his head was going to pop at any moment. Another had an arm that was twice as long as normal, with a massive clawed hand reaching down past its knees. They all had massive mouths, the skin along their cheeks torn from opening their unnaturally large jaws.
I held up my hand automatically, prompting the shapeshifter to dodge to the right in preparation for my strike.
I hesitated though, because I couldn’t control the strength of my attack. If I hit him with my black lightning, I’d likely kill everyone in the room along with him, severely injuring any unlucky survivors. Not to mention, he could apparently rapidly heal now. I wasn’t sure how to kill someone like that. I wasn’t sure how to kill someone like me. I had already survived one attack that would have killed a normal person, and another that would have maimed most for life.
My dad had been certain this fiend was dead before, and yet the arm this man had stolen from me allowed him to survive.
Panicking as the horrid chimeras leapt on people – shredding them apart like cooked rabbits, with their teeth and claws eviscerating and decapitating, their victim’s screams ear-piercing – the world around me abruptly slowed down.
I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t know how to win. So I did the only thing I could think of, buying myself a few precious seconds.
An earth trembling roar had just begun resonating through the air, prompting another spike of fear to stab through my heart. I desperately hoped it was my dad, but the memory of fighting the draconic chimera – the memory of almost losing, almost dying – made terror claw its way into my skull, gripping behind my eyes as it simultaneously moved down to ensnare my gut.
Instantly, all movement stopped entirely, my heart racing, jumping into my throat.
It was completely silent now, not even the roar outside penetrating the air.
Yet it still lingered in my mind, making me lose my nerve.
The memory of holding the chimera’s mouth open while it tried to eat me. The memory of the shapeshifter’s body splitting down the middle, transforming into teeth and death as it also tried to turn me into a meal. Both were suddenly all I could think about.
My entire body began to tremble.
I was scared.
Really, really scared.
My eyes began stinging as my heart pounded in my ears.
I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want to be eaten. I didn’t want to see these people die, or see this frozen massacre unfolding before me. I didn’t want to fight this man again.
I just wanted him to go away. Forever.
I didn’t want to fight. I knew I had to fight, but I didn’t want to.
‘I don’t want to fight.’
‘I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT.’
Unexpectedly, I saw movement through the blurry lens covering my slitted red eyes, penetrating the otherwise frozen world. I gasped, another wave of terror running up my spine, urgently wiping away my tears with clawed hands as something else slipped from the darkness outside.
And then that fear shattered, my knees buckling as I fell down.
Because it was someone I recognized.
It was a young woman, with dark gray skin, vibrant red eyes, and a set of pitch-black horns that protruded from her black hair just above her pointy ears. The horns angled away from her head by a few inches before rising straight up half a foot. She was wearing a black leather corset and matching leather pants, her feet bare. An intricate black tattoo was in the middle of her chest above her bust. And a large pair of bat-like wings were folded behind her back.
Wings like my own.
“M-Mom,” I choked out in disbelief, desperately hoping I wasn't hallucinating.
She didn’t respond right away. Instead, vibrant blue flames exploded everywhere, rapidly consuming the humanoid monsters frozen in place. The blue and black hell-fire touched many of the townspeople too, but caused no harm, unlike normal fire.
Her gaze then finally fell on me, taking in my defeated posture slumped down on my rear with my knees bent and legs folded to my sides.
“Hi sweetie,” she replied cheerfully, a sharp contrast to how I felt. She glanced around the room again. “Is this time manipulation magic?” she said breathlessly, almost speaking to herself. “Are you doing this?” she asked me directly.
I nodded hesitantly, reaching up to wipe away the snot running from my nose.
“Wow,” she replied emphatically, like she was truly impressed. She then gave me a warm smile. “That’s my girl. I don’t think there’s anyone alive who can use this type of magic. It’s ancient, like the weaker version called Haste, but infinitely more rare. And way more powerful too.” She laughed then. “And you even almost caught me with it,” she added with a wink. “Almost.”
“M-Mom,” I repeated, my voice breaking. “W-What are you doing here? How did you know to come? Y-Your pigeon–”
She cut me off. “Another time dear. I’m sure you can’t maintain this forever. Did I get all the bad people? Did I miss anyone?”
My eyes widened as I focused on the shapeshifter who was completely untouched by her flames. I pointed at him immediately. “That one,” I announced, my voice breaking again. “The guy with blue hair. He’s a shapeshifter like dad.”
“A shapeshifter?!” she exclaimed in disbelief, turning slightly as she focused on him. “What’s one doing here?”
“He’s trying to eat me,” I explained, my voice trembling.
Unexpectedly, her head snapped in my direction, her red eyes vibrant and wild with rage. “He…” She paused. “He what?” she snapped through her teeth. She abruptly returned her gaze to the man. “Can you release him?” she asked forcefully.
“I, umm, I think so, but…”
“Release him!” she snapped again, her body visibly shaking.
I had never seen her angry before. Never. I did as she asked immediately, trying to focus – to do what I had done with my dad earlier.
The man came to life a moment later, his eyes widening in shock. “W-What–”
Abruptly he was gagging as my mother’s claws dug into his throat, having closed the gap between them in the blink of an eye. Her voice was still feminine, but twice as deep as I was expecting.
“How dare you try harming my daughter!” she shrieked.
He couldn’t respond though, his expression barely having time to shift to fear, before midnight flames burst out of his mouth and eyes. He grabbed her wrist and began struggling fiercely for a brief few seconds, until his muscles went limp, his flesh rapidly disintegrating away to reveal a black-charred skull. His body then fell to a heap on the ground once the tissues around my mother’s fingers in his throat were gone.
But she didn’t stop there.
She held out her hand, the black flames intensifying as they continued to lick away at her victim, eating up his skin and devouring his muscles until only a black skeleton was left.<
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Then, that too began to disintegrate into a coal-black dust, leaving a long pile of ashes on the undamaged floor.
After a moment, my mother finally turned back towards me with a warm smile on her face. “There,” she replied simply. “I don’t think he’ll be bothering you anymore. Anyone else? Or was that everyone?”
I just stared at her, my chin trembling.
“Mom,” I sobbed unexpectedly, reaching up to try to stop the tears falling from my eyes.
In a flash, she waded through the frozen crowd, and was there with me on the stage, kneeling down to wrap her arms around my shaking form.
“Mom,” I whined again, my voice breaking as she pulled my head against her shoulder. I didn’t want to look weak in front of her, but I couldn’t stop crying.
“Shh, it’s okay sweetie,” she whispered, pulling me tighter against her. “The bad man is gone. You’re safe. Mommy’s here now.”
I sobbed uncontrollably, my chest hitching over and over, the sounds of my crying the only noise in the entire world. I didn’t like it that my parents still considered me a child, even if I was in their perception when considering how long my lifespan might be, but in that moment, I didn’t care.
I just needed my mom.
I winced when the roar and screaming abruptly returned, feeling like someone smacked me in the ears. My mom felt me flinch and began rubbing my shoulders reassuringly, bringing her lips up to my pointy ear so I could hear her over the noise. “It’s just your father, sweetie. I’ll let him know I’ve taken care of everything.”
I looked up at her in shock, wondering how she could do that. I then wiped my eyes again and peered over her shoulder when I heard the roar abruptly cut short, seeing a bright blue flame dancing in the darkness outside in an unnaturally repetitive pattern.
The crowd grew fairly quiet for a brief moment, realizing the monsters had vanished, replaced with black dust. But then, a flash of red appeared in the doorway just before a large blue slitted-eye peeked into the room. The unexpected dragon’s eye elicited another wave of shrieks from everyone, prompting many to stumble and fall in an attempt to back away.
Magicbound to a Snake Girl Page 20