Chronicles of Eden - Act VI

by Alexander Gordon

  “I got us an apple pie. Share with me, friend,” she strained out through her teeth.

  Tabitha looked back to where a few other local monsters were gathering near the bakery which had the door broken in and blood covering the floors inside then towards Daemon as he and his girls were watching her. After a pause the neko took a piece of the pie to eat before Scay shoved her face into it and started gobbling down the food while giggling between loud slurps and gulps.

  “Like I said,” Tabitha said with a shrug. “Better to have her as your friend than your enemy.”

  Chapter 8

  Monsters of Myth

  In the world of Eden there were many strange and dangerous monsters that roamed the lands. Some lived under the sea, others flew through the air, and all were considered a threat to mankind. However some were spoken about only as fables, ones that didn’t actually exist but rather were used to perhaps frighten others with or embellish a story to make it seem more exciting and treacherous. These creatures were often just the result of someone’s imagination and nothing more, their mere existence a fabrication of one’s fantasy.

  Although sometimes the stories about these monsters weren’t mere tales.

  *****

  Sitting on her bed Clover was looking at the artifact in her hand with a careful eye, slowly tilting the fragment around and trying not to believe what she had been told about it. Though try as she might she couldn’t argue the fact that the particular piece she was holding was indeed not the same as what was stolen from Green Haven.

  ‘The lines are all wrong on this one. They were right, this isn’t my priestess’s divine treasure, this is another piece of that Key to Eden thing. And if they were telling the truth about this… no way. Gemini? Legendary swords? That shit exists too?’

  She looked over to the bed where Triska was still unconscious and being watched over with worried eyes by her friends. Falla was gently fanning her as Triska’s fever while did finally lower after a few frightening hours for everyone was still high and causing her to sweat. Alyssa and Squeak were sitting beside her while Pip was seated on the edge of Alyssa’s hat, the three girls watching as Triska remained still while her hand twitched slightly.

  “Is she getting better? I can’t tell,” Falla asked them.

  “Her fever went down a little, I think so,” Alyssa tried to reason with. “The potion at least helped with that, but it’s not going away entirely. She’s still sick with whatever this is.”

  Squeak squeaked something and gently held Triska’s hand, the human’s fingers weakly curling around to hold hers almost out of reflex.

  “Any luck over there?” Falla called over to the other side of the room. “She’s getting a little better, but she’s still got a fever.”

  “We’re looking as fast as we can,” Specca replied as she, Luna, and Daniel were seated at the table together and reading through piles of books Specca had gathered from the shelves. “There isn’t much here that’s new that we didn’t already know about the succubi in Eden.”

  “I’ve gone through three books so far,” Daniel said shaking his head before he set a tomb down and rubbed his eyes. “These are all just stories and travelers’ tales too; none of it is even documented to be proven about succubi.”

  “What about you, Luna?” Specca asked glancing to the butterfly next to her who was reading a book very intently. “Did you find anything in that one?”

  “Yes,” Luna declared with a nod, earning the attention of everyone as she tilted her head slightly. “There are words in here.”

  “I’m actually surprised she even knows how to read,” Clover dryly commented as the group watched Luna with blank stares.

  “At least she’s trying to help,” Kroanette reasoned with a shrug from the entryway.

  Specca sighed and held her hands over her eyes as she too felt fatigue setting in.

  “I mean did you find anything in there about what might be happening to Triska?” she tiredly asked, although feeling as if she already knew the answer.

  “I’m not sure, but… I did find this,” Luna worriedly answered. She set the book down in front of Specca and pointed to it. “I started reading this part here but it got too scary so I stopped and went past it. Does this help at all?”

  Specca adjusted her glasses and started reading the book while Daniel stood up and walked over to look over her shoulder at it as well. After a few minutes and going through some of the pages Specca quickly shut the book and shook her head with eyes shut tight.

  “No, that did not happen to Triska,” she firmly argued. “This is just a fantasy story. Those kinds of… monsters don’t exist at all. This book isn’t going to help us, it’s only going to give us nightmares, just as the author likely intended when it was written.”

  “Wait, what was that, Specca?” Daniel asked reaching for the book. The nixie quickly grabbed his hand and looked to him with worried eyes.

  “It’s not going to help us, Daniel. This isn’t a book written with facts about monsters in Eden, this is just a fictional tale made by humans about monsters they dreamed up, not ones that actually exist in the world.”

  “What did she find?” Falla asked while showing some strain from keeping her wings constantly flapping.

  “Specca, we need to explore every possibility, remember?” Alyssa reminded the nixie. “Something’s really wrong with Triska, and anything we find in those books could be the key to helping her.”

  “Alyssa, the scenario envisioned in this book isn’t possible,” Specca insisted shaking her head. “I’ve seen stories like this before in Ashwood’s library, they’re just made to scare people; they’re not real at all.”

  “That’s funny,” Clover mentioned with a raised eyebrow at her. “Not too long ago I could have said the same thing about gemini and the Archlight’s Blade. Hell, I’m holding something that isn’t my priestess’s divine treasure even though every elf in Green Haven sure believes that’s what it is. Seems like things that are impossible are becoming possible lately.”

  “Clover, this is different,” Specca asserted as she stood up and opened the book in one hand, glancing to it then to Triska skeptically. “I do agree that something is making Triska ill, but I can honestly say I do not believe she is becoming a cambion.”

  Silence filled the caravan, with the girls and Daniel looking at Specca as if they heard her wrong, while the nixie turned her eyes to the pages in the book and shook her head slowly.

  “Cambion?” Kroanette repeated. “Wait a moment, isn’t that…”

  “Someone who is half-human and half-demon,” Specca finished as she turned a page. “As I said I’ve seen dozens of these stories in human libraries. This is just something humans made up for entertainment purposes, nothing more.”

  “What does it say in there that has anything to do with Triska?” Daniel asked looking at the book carefully.

  “Some of the symptoms match up,” Specca hesitantly replied while glancing up with a quiet huff. “But not completely. In this book it tells the tale of a knight who was captured and seduced by a succubus. The Darker One used her magic to infuse her victim with the power of the demon world, intending to turn him into her own dark knight. Before she could however a princess came and slew the Darker One, stopping her just before she could finish the pact.”

  “Like how Pip saved Triska just before she could be converted by the succubus,” Alyssa spoke up.

  “The story then goes on about how he got sick from the Darker One’s magic and how the pact being unfinished as it was corrupted him into a completely different monster,” Specca continued. “I do admit it’s troubling that Triska fell ill like she has, but if it was the same sickness as it is in this story then she would have gotten worse, not better by now. The man in the story didn’t last through the night before he turned into a horrible monster. Triska’s fever is going down, she’s getting better.”

  “Maybe that’s just because of the potion I gave her though,” Alyssa pointed out wi
th growing concern.

  “It also says here that before he transformed into a monster he displayed unusual traits,” Specca said while pointing to the page. “Increased strength, faster reaction time, heightened senses such as smell and sight, and a sudden control over the magical ether.”

  “Wait a minute, Specca,” Daniel said looking to Pip on Alyssa’s hat. “What about when Triska caught Pip right before she was about to dive down into her shirt? She reacted faster than any of us could even see then.”

  “That’s right,” Luna said pointing to the fairy. “She caught Pip without even looking, how did she do that anyway?”

  “Holy shit, are you saying she’s becoming a demon now?” Falla fearfully asked as she backed away from Triska.

  “No, she’s not,” Specca asserted, snapping the book shut and setting it back down on the table. “You see? This is just what these stories try and do, scare you. There has never been a single case of anyone ever seeing or becoming a cambion in all of Eden. They don’t exist, they’re just fictional entities.”

  “Then how did she catch Pip like she did?” Kroanette questioned. “That was certainly not normal how she did that.”

  “Like she said then she just got lucky,” Specca reasoned with a shrug. “And honestly based on the number of times Pip tries to do that to us we should be able to start anticipating it by now.”

  Looking around Specca saw everyone watching her with unease, with Clover glancing to Triska then to the nixie with a sharp eye while she set the relic down on her pillow and slowly reached for her bow. With a sigh Specca rubbed the corners of her eyes behind her glasses then calmly smiled around at the group.

  “Look, I will say she surprised me with that too, but that doesn’t mean she’s becoming a cambion. Think about it. Her fever is going down, if anything she’s weaker now after her ordeal and not stronger, and she doesn’t have wings or a tail does she? By this time in the story the unfortunate knight had turned into an evil monster much like the succubus. Triska’s still Triska. Like I said I’ve seen these stories before, they’re written by human authors with a vivid imagination, that’s it.”

  Daniel nodded slowly then walked over to the bed along with Specca and Luna, all eyes resting on Triska who remained asleep with sweat forming on her forehead.

  “That is true, she hasn’t turned into any kind of monster yet,” Daniel agreed while still showing concern for his mate.

  “I’m not going to rule out the fact that she was subjected to some very dark magic,” Specca mentioned. “And it did scare me to death seeing how sick she got afterwards. But she’s getting better, she’s going to be alright. I’m going to have faith that she’ll pull through from this. Whatever that demon did to her, she’s fighting it and she’s going to win.”

  “She doesn’t go down easy,” Alyssa agreed with a small smile. “I’ve seen that in her from the moment I met her.”

  “So she isn’t becoming a slave to demons?” Luna worriedly asked Specca.

  “No, Luna. She’s not,” Specca assured her shaking her head. “It is true that if a succubus kisses anyone, man, woman, or even monster, they can charm them with their magic. But not only was Triska still herself after being brought back to us, she remained herself before and after the demon was killed. All that succubus did was cause her to fall ill from touching her with her dark magic, but even so Triska is recovering from it.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Falla said with a small smile. “And like you said she doesn’t have wings or a tail, she’s not turning into one of those things.”

  “And her catching Pip couldn’t have been from what the demon did to her, she hasn’t shown any other symptoms from the story,” Specca added with a finger held up. “No increased strength, no improved senses, no magic wielding, she was completely normal before she got sick.”

  “Sounds like all she needed were those herbs and potion then,” Daniel reasoned with a smile slowly forming on his face. “Maybe we overreacted to the whole situation.”

  “She is getting better now,” Alyssa admitted with returning hope. “She scared us to death with this, I’m so going to let her have it when she gets on her feet again.”

  “She’s going to be okay then?” Pip asked while looking around at everyone.

  “Yes, Pip,” Specca assured her. “She’s going to be fine.”

  Falla moved forward and rested her hand on Triska’s forehead while Squeak continued to hold the teen’s hand and gently pat it with her other.

  “I think it’s going down,” Falla said with a relieved smile. “She’s not as warm as she was before.”

  “You know what I think?” Specca said crossing her arms with a worried smile. “I think we just scared ourselves silly over this. Honestly, maybe it’s just food poisoning from the breakfast I made her. This whole thing could have been my fault. Oh dear, I hope she won’t be too mad at me when she awakens.”

  “And here we’ve been making fun of her cooking all this time,” Alyssa quipped with a smirk at the nixie.

  Daniel sat on the edge of the bed with a worried smile on his face, gently resting his hand on Triska’s foot as he watched the girl seeming to be slowly recovering from her fever.

  “She scared us all,” he agreed. “But I’m glad she’s getting better. I was really worried about her.”

  Specca and Luna sat down next to him while the group watched Triska sleeping, with Alyssa gently brushing the teen’s hair and Falla fanning the girl again with her wings.

  “We all were,” Specca added. “But she’s going to be alright. She has a wonderful family watching over her.”

  “Yeah, she does,” Alyssa said glancing around at the other girls. Luna and Falla lowered their heads with bashful smiles while Pip giggled and flew up in the air before landing down and lying on Triska’s belly to hug her. Kroanette smiled in relief as she leaned to the side against the doorframe then glanced to Clover as the elf was just sitting back against the wall and looking down with a dull gaze. Clover then noticed Kroanette watching her before seeing the rest of the group also having their eyes on her.

  “Let’s just get something clear here,” she stated while looking down to avoid eye contact with the group. “I only helped out so I can go home. You’re my ride, that’s it.”

  “We’re still thankful you did, Clover,” Daniel said gratefully. “Whatever your reasons, you helped Triska out twice today, something I’m not going to forget.”

  Clover rolled her eyes and got up from her bed with a quiet grumble, taking a moment to straighten out her skirt before walking over to the entryway and peering outside at the night sky above.

  “We’re not going to Stonegate anymore, are we?” she questioned with a glance back at the others.

  “Not tonight,” Alyssa said looking down to Triska. “At least not until she gets better. I want to find Ember, I do, but I don’t want to leave her side when she’s like this. She wouldn’t let me be alone when I was down, so I won’t let her be alone either.”

  “It’s already late,” Daniel agreed with a nod. “We’ll rest here for the night again and wait to see how she’s feeling in the morning.”

  “Is that alright with you, Clover?” Kroanette asked the elf.

  “It’s for the best,” Clover dryly replied as she gazed around at the landscape before them. “Alyssa shouldn’t go to Stonegate now, I agree with that.”

  “You agree with it?” Specca curiously asked.

  “Of course. Stonegate isn’t a place for inexperienced monsters to travel to at night. They’d chew her up and spit her out if she even looked at the late night dwellers the wrong way.”

  “Thank you for both supporting my feelings and believing in my ability to defend myself,” Alyssa flatly retorted with a dull stare at the elf. Daniel raised a hand to quiet her while watching Clover with a knowing smile.

  “Clover, are you saying that even if Alyssa wanted to go to Stonegate tonight you wouldn’t take her?” he asked, with the girls turning to him cur
iously as Clover glanced back while crossing her arms.

  “Yeah, I just said that,” Clover snapped.

  “So you’re protecting her.” Clover turned her eye to Alyssa for a moment then back to Daniel as he smirked at her. “You could easily go into that place, I have no doubts you can take care of yourself in that sort of hostile environment, but you wouldn’t take the chance of Alyssa getting hurt when it’s more dangerous there at night.”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “You saved Kroanette when she was in trouble,” Daniel said standing up and with all eyes turning to the elf. “You saved Pip when she was in danger, you not only chased after Triska to bring her back after she was taken by that demon but also went out again to bring her medicine, and now you’re not taking Alyssa to Stonegate tonight because you know it would be too dangerous for her there at this hour.”

  “So?” Clover scoffed while looking away.

  “You’re very protective of those you claim to not like,” Daniel accused as he walked towards her. Clover turned to face him with a scowl as he approached her with an amused smile. “In fact I even remember you drawing your arrow on that succubus in order to defend Triska. If this is how you treat those who anger you or run your patience I’d be very interested to see how you treat those you call your friends.”

  Clover growled with gritted teeth and lowered her head, hands clenching as she kept her arms crossed and held close to her. The girls exchanged curious glances with one another then looked at the elf again as she didn’t reply to Daniel’s statement.

  “We can see that you’re still hurting from what happened to you,” Daniel gently said while resting a hand on her shoulder. Clover slowly looked up to him with a troubled frown as he smiled kindly at her. “But I can also see you’re not as mean as you try to act all the time. There is a kindhearted girl in you, and I hope for your sake that you choose not to hide her inside forever. You wouldn’t be so alone in the world if you did.”