She wandered back to where Ben and Nightmare were training, shocked Ben had come so far since she had not been gone long. Already, Ben was moving in and out of reaper form; when he stopped, she gasped. His reaper form was no different than his human form; only some small things changed slightly like his eyes and hair. But, it seemed when his winter magic went into his reaper form, his red hair became pure white, his eyes went from soft brown to blood red. Even his outfit changed, not something she had heard of before. He had a bone earring hanging from his right ear, and his outfit was posh—more like a suit. There was even a top hat on the floor of all things. “Well, it seems you really are interesting,” Nightmare said, laughing, only to stop when Ben pulled a blood-red sword from thin air and aimed it at his head. He jumped and moved. “Hey, Ben, watch it!” he growled. Ben was now laughing hard.
“I swear, woman, he takes after you,” Nightmare said, pointing at Ben and looking at Elella, who raised one eyebrow. “Oh, how so?” she asked Ben, who stopped laughing and backed away as the room became cold, but Nightmare seemed not to pay attention to it.
“Simply, he is nothing but a jokester; he’s always aiming for my head, and he doesn't hold back when I tell him to. He doesn't listen,” he huffed. Ben looked from one to the other. He backed up more, then jumped when he backed into two bodies.
“Aww, they are at it again. Who will win this time, I wonder,” came Ember’s voice, then two sets of arms wrapped around Ben’s arm and hugged him.
“Ben, let’s watch, okay?” Amber said, pleadingly, grinning at him.
“But, I have to train to save Risa,” Ben said, but let the girls pull him to the side to watch the fight.
“Oh, I don’t listen, do I?” Elella said. She moved fast, and in a move which Ben now saw was almost the same as his, she pulled a blade and swung it at Nightmare’s head.
“See? Woman stop going for the head,” Nightmare roared and jumped at her. Ben was about to dash in but stopped when Nightmare swung Elella up and threw her into the air, making her giggle.
“Don’t worry, they always fight; they are just having fun. They will be at it for a bit; maybe you should take a break,” Ember said.
“Yes, take a break and come with us; tell us about Risa,” Amber said, and again, the girls pulled him away. Ben was not sure what was happening.
Down in the village, Hellion was not having much luck. He could not find his Risa, and the people were grating on him. At this rate, he would eat one of them, and Risa would be mad at him. Just then, an old man grabbed his arm and pulled him down an alley.
“Listen, I know you are looking for Risa, but I would back off; it is not safe,” he said, looking down at Hellion.
“Trust me, old man, I am fine. Now, tell me where my Risa is, or I will eat you.” He let his eyes change but he was shocked when the man did not even blink.
“Well, it seems you will do nicely. Now listen and listen well: Risa is being held in an underground maze. It is bespelled, so noone can get out unless they have seen how to get in. So, if you went in, you would be able to get out, but Risa, not seeing the way in, will never get out, unless she is shown.” Hellion nodded, listened to him thoughtfully.
“So, what you are telling me is: you know where Risa is being kept, and you had a hand in taking her,” he said coldly.
“No, never, I worked hard to keep Risa safe from when she was a child. How was I to know what they wanted? I joined the Order of Tulmon before I knew what it was, and once you join, you cannot leave. I worked my way up to bring them down, but along the way, I forgot my dream and just fell in line,” he said, looking regretful. “So, listen up,” he said and then explained to Hellion how to find Risa. “But be warned, do not go alone, they have other things there, and even someone like you will have a hard time. Maybe get some backup,” the old man said and turned to walk away.
“Wait, just who are you?” Hellion asked, the man just smiled.
“The name’s Priest Angus.” He turned and walked away. The name rang a bell, but he was unsure why.
He sighed, maybe he should tell the others. Risa would be mad if he tried to save her alone and got hurt. From what the priest said, there was a lot of magic. Hellion was not good with magic. He turned to leave the village. Once in the woods, he shifted back to hellcat form, purring happily. He then took off, racing back up the mountain. “Don’t worry, Risa, I will get the others, and I will still be your favorite of all time,” he said to himself as he raced home purring at the thought of Risa being proud of him. He got back to the cave and went inside only to stop, he pulled up short, what was going on? Ben was now white, and was the girl braiding his hair? He did not look too pleased with this. He turned, only to find a hissing Zuko in kitten form, pawing at his tail.
“You smell like that village, why?” the small voice asked, but Hellion just batted him away.
“I know where Risa is,” Hellion said. Everything went quiet, and he looked around as everyone was now watching him. He jumped and hissed. “How the hell did you all get here so fast?” he asked, spinning around. “You said, ‘Risa,’ we came,” was all the annoying dragon answered. What was his name again? Ice something or was it Isaac?
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Risa sighed; she was getting sick of Osta and Nicho fighting. She watched the two men. “Man, I wish Zuko was here; he could get us out,” she whispered to herself.
“Who is Zuko?” Elizabeth asked.
Risa smiled. “He is your uncle—my twin brother. He is powerful and crazy, so he can do things most sane people cannot,” she explained, giggling. Smiling, she leaned back, thinking about it all. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she got up, holding Elisabeth close. “Okay, let’s move on. I am getting sick of sitting down,” she said, turned, and walked off. She heard the men rushing to catch up.
“Don’t go too far, Princess; we don’t want to split up,” Osta said. Smiling, he patted Elizabeth’s head tenderly and looked around. “Right, we need to find out what is going on. Right now, it seems there is a spell or some kind of magic that is making us unable to find a way out. This means we need to break it or find someone to follow out,” he said, nodding his head as if either option was easy.
“Oh, like we can just follow a guard like one is going to just walk around the corner,” Nicho said in a mocking tone. His hand waved ahead to the corner, just as a man walked around it. Everyone stopped and stared; the guard was in shock people had gotten free. Risa was just shocked Nicho had called it. She looked at him. “Wow, nice of you to call him,” she said, and Nicho just blinked and shrugged. He then moved fast and grabbed the still shocked guard. “Okay, mate, let’s have a chat,” he said, grinning coldly and pulled the now fighting guard.
Risa bent down and placed Elisabeth on the floor. She walked over to the male and bent down to smile into his face. “Now then, I am only going to ask you once; if you don’t answer, I will let these two men do anything they want to you. And trust me, you will not like it,” she purred evilly. “Tell me, how do I get out of here?” she asked, watching the man who just spat at her face. Risa sighed and got up, she went to wipe the spit, but Osta was already there.
“Leave him to us,” he said in a cold tone as he cleaned her face. He and Nicho pulled the now kicking and screaming man into a room. As the door shut, all sound was gone. Risa turned to Elisabeth. “Well, I wonder how long it takes before he changes his mind,” she said sweetly, making Elisabeth giggle.
“He should have done what you said,” she said, nodding her head. She took her mum’s hand and smiled. “Tell me about Daddy,” she said, shyly. Risa smiled and sat down, letting Elisabeth get on her lap again.
“His name is Ben. He is kind and sweet but also a pain in the backside. We had a bit of a falling out, but we are getting over it now,” she said. She did not want to bad mouth Ben to their child. She was starting to trust Ben again, but he still had a long way to go before she would mate with him. But, she did love him.
Elisabet
h nodded. “He is a reaper, right, and a god?” she asked, smiling.
This made Risa blink. “I am not sure, maybe,” Risa said, shrugging her shoulders.
Just then, the door opened, and Nicho pulled the man out. Osta walked out behind them, wiping blood from his hands. “He is ready to show us the way out now, Princesses,” he said and bowed to the girls, who both giggled.
“Okay, let’s go,” Risa said, putting Elisabeth down, and they followed the man out. He said no words and Risa did not ask him anything, but he seemed to be doing as he was told, now, so that was okay. Risa looked to Nicho. She wiped some blood off his cheek.
“Stop that.” He batted her hand away while she smirked.
“You are so cute, but I miss Wolf,” she said, sadly.
“I hope to see him soon.” Nicho smiled. “He misses you as well. I am sure he will show up at some point, faster once I let him know you want him,” he said, winking, making Risa laugh as she watched him.
They walked down the hallway; just as things seemed to be going their way, the man dived into a room and shut the door. “Damn it,” Nicho growled and tried to open the door, it took both he and Osta to break it, but the man was gone, out the back door.
“Damn it! We lost him,” Osta said, pouting. Risa dropped to the floor and took a sniff. She could just pick up the man’s scent. Smiling, she let herself shift. She shook out her black fur. Her panther stretched out, softly purring as Osta started petting her behind the ear. Elisabeth’s eyes had gone wide. She slowly moved to her mum's side and gently touched her. Risa purred again and nuzzled into her playfully, making the young girl giggle. Then Risa took off out the doorway, tracking.
“Let’s go, Princess,” Osta said and picked Elizbeth up as he and Nicho took off after her.
Back at the cave, the guys were all giving Hellion cold looks. He was going too slow for their liking. Hellion growled. “Back up before I bite you all,” he snapped, which at last seemed to make them all see they had him backed into a corner.
“Speak,” Isaac said with a growl.
“I will, if you back off. I want Risa back as much as you do, so move!” Hellion growled. When at last he had space, he sighed. “I went into town, hunting her, as you guys were doing nothing but playing around,” he said angrily. “Anyway, it took me a bit, but I found a male, he is part of the cult but does not want to be, so he has been trying to take them down from the inside. He says Risa is being held in a bespelled building; one cannot get out unless they know where the door is. So, they could be walking around for days and still not get free. With his help, I was able to find the building. Now, let's go; we need to move now,” he said and shifted back to his hellcat form and took off out the door.
It did not take long for him to hear the others following. “Damn he is fast,” came a voice, he thought that was the elf, Forrester, but was not sure. He felt something beside him and turned his head. Running alongside him was a hellhound. He blinked and jumped. It was not until the red eyes looked at him that he knew it was Zuko. He nodded and took off faster; they needed to save Risa; he wanted her back safe.
Zuko raced after the hellcat—at last, they were doing something. He could get Risa safe; he hated this waiting. He could not think about what she was going through; if anyone hurt her, he would burn them alive. He smiled in his hellhound form. As he raced down the hill, he could feel more than see The Dragons, both in their half forms—human bodies, but with dragon wings and scales covering them. He could now see both Ben and his dad, Nightmare, following behind when he turned his head. Both were in reaper form; Nightmare looked the same, but for the huge reaper scythe he carried. Ben was once again looking more of a mix of a reaper and a winter god—white hair, red eyes, but he looked ready to kill, which was good.
At last, they got to town, they raced around it, which confused the others as they did not understand why Hellion took them the long way, but they followed behind Hellion who had not slowed at all. He raced up a road, then down an alley, before he, at last, raced down a small lane. At the end was a huge building which looked like no one had been in it in years. “Hey, I know this place,” Ben said as they came to a stop. “It was going to be a new school, but Dad was against it; ‘too techy,’ he claimed.” Rolling his eyes, he sighed after he heard a growl. “Sorry, fake dad, fake dad,” he said, holding his hands up as Nightmare looked at him darkly.
“You need to stop forgetting who your real dad is,” Nightmare growled, but it was clear he was pouting a little. Ben walked over and hugged his dad. This shocked Nightmare, who froze, but then, he smiled and hugged his son back. “Now, let's save your mate,” Nightmare said, grinning, and he walked over to the building, frowning. “The magic around it is strong; we can get in, but that does not mean we can get out again,” he said, thoughtfully.
Apollo popped up beside them then. “We will need someone to stay outside at the door. That way, it will stay open, and I will be able to track our way back to that person,” he added. Everyone nodded but then froze. “Okay, who stays?” Zuko asked. “Not it,” Zuko, Apollo, Ben, Forrester and Hellion said at the same time. They looked to Nightmare, Isaac and Ash, who all blinked and looked at each other. Clearly, none of them knew they had to say, ‘not it.’
Laughing, Zuko said, “Okay, it is one of your three.”
Isaac yelled, “Not it!” He had caught on.
Ash and Nightmare looked at each other. “Not it,” they said at the same time.
“Hmm, how do we pick which one stays?” Apollo asked, looking between the glaring men.
“I need to go to make sure Ben does not lose control,” Nightmare said, crossing his arms. “Yea, well fine, whatever; I will stay, just bring Risa back,” Ash said, throwing his hands in the air. “I never get any fun,” he growled as he pouted. Zuko walked over to Ash and kissed his cheek, making Ash blink in shock.
“Thank you, we will bring Risa back,” he said, smiling. Ash relaxed, feeling elated that at last, Zuko had kissed him—even if it was just on his cheek.
Zuko turned and walked to the door. “Ready or not, here we come,” he growled and threw the door open, only for a man, who had been about to open it, to crash into him. He looked so scared, and Zuko saw why; there was Risa, growling as she chased after the man who jumped up and raced away. Risa leaped over Zuko and took off.
“Is she going to...” Apollo asked and Zuko nodded.
Risa jumped and hit the man with one fast movement. She ripped his throat out before returning to the others. She shifted hands on her hips “What took you so long? I had to save myself; you are all useless,” she growled at them, then giggled as Elisabeth raced to her.
“Mummy, that was so cool; you were amazing,” she said, hugging her mum hard. There was silence before eight voices raised loudly, “Mummy?” Zuko rushed over and looked Elisabeth over, frowning, clearly not liking someone hugging close to his sister. Isaac and Ash were standing there, open-mouthed.
Hellion rushed over, happily. “Yay, a child, she is soooo cute,” he said, grinning.
Forrester was frowning but nodded his head after a bit; he could see Risa in her, so he believed it. Apollo looked pissed and was pouting. He had wanted to give Risa her first child, but someone beat him to it.
“How long were you held?” Nightmare asked, a little confused, but it was Ben who was frozen. Just then, the little girl turned to him; eyes the same as his, looked at him. She blinked then waved. “Papa,” she said, shyly. She pouted as Ben fell back and fainted. Osta was falling around laughing by this point; he just found all of their reactions so funny. Nicho was just shaking his head; he was so confused.
Everyone looked at Ben. “Oh dear,” Risa said, walking over and prodding his cheek. “What happened to Ben? He looks different, and who are you?” she asked, looking at Nightmare, who smiled.
"I am Nightmare, lead reaper, also Ben’s dad,” he answered.
Risa blinked. “Okay,” she said, then went back to prodding Ben on the cheek. “Wake u
p, Ben,” she said, giggling now, but Ben was out for the count. “Oh well, let’s head back to the cave. I am tired; I want a bed,” she said and yawned. Just then, she was picked up; Elisabeth giggled as she was still in her mum's arms. “Elisabeth, this is your Uncle Zuko; Zuko, this is your niece,” Risa said carefully, not sure how Zuko would take this. Zuko stared at the girl, then sniffed her. Elisabeth giggled then kissed his nose.
“Hello, Uncle Zuko,” she said, smiling, and that smile is what made Zuko understand. It was the same smile Risa had as a child.
“Well, this is not how this was meant to go; we were meant to save you, Risa, not find you chasing a man out the door, but oh well, let's go,” he said and then was gone into the shadows, leaving the others behind.
He laid Risa on her bed and lay next to her, Risa just shook her head, but she was too tired now. She found her eyes closing, and she fell asleep.
Elisabeth did not sleep. She lay watching Zuko, who was watching her. They said nothing, just stared as Risa slept. When the others came stomping in, they both said, ‘shhh’ at the same time and giggled together. Forrester came over to check Risa, making sure she was okay. He then checked Elisabeth over. Ben was laid on the bed with Risa and left to wake on his own.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
When Risa woke, it was to the oddest sight she had ever seen, there was a three-way stare off. She looked from Zuko to Elizabeth to Ben, who were all watching each other now. She blinked and could not help smirking. Ben looked lost. Elisabeth was just waiting, and Zuko was having fun pointing things out. “Look, she has your eyes, Ben. Oooo, but they look like Risa’s too—that is so weird,” he said, frowning.
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