Chapter 20: Strangulation’s Smile

  Time: 22:51, Day: Kiviber, Week: 3, Month: K?rgoyde, Year: 36651

  Lilith's left hand shot out. Her worn fingerless brown leather gloves creaked as her grip tightened around the Incubus’s throat. Short black nails digging into his deep red skin, forcing his blue blood to trickle slightly.

  A gargled choke.

  His smug smile quickly transitioned to an eye bulging expression of fear. His hands grabbed her wrist in a futile attempt to push her arm away. His claws digging into her searing flesh that seemed to grow hotter with each passing moment.

  “WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE—” The Incubus's thoughts spiraled, trying to understand how he was so easily captured.

  He could feel his throat collapsing as her grip tightened far beyond just cutting off his airway.

  His eyes bulged further.

  A pinkish foam coming from his mouth as saliva and blood mixed and he frantically tried to take in a breath. His futile attempt at clawing her off of him only angered her further, making her skin burn more and more. Her hand was burning his flesh, and the pain was too much to bear. He knew he had to escape her clutches. With ease he was lifted off his feet, kicking as he attempted to find purchase, only to fail again. As the edges of his vision blurred and darkened, he more heard than felt the crushing of his windpipe.

  Lilith and Grim stepped further out onto the porch, to assess the threat.

  There was no wind.

  No insects.

  No owls.

  No crashing in the underbrush.

  No far off roar of a beast.

  Nothing.

  “I smell something, but I don't see—”Grim scanned the treeline intensely, but on this moonless night, there wasn't much that he could see from so far away.

  Grim’s ears twitched, his tail still.

  The forest erupted.

  Liquid shadows with gold veins spilled from the tree line.

  The soft echoing clink of armor.

  The snapping of twigs.

  The reverberations through the ground as they approached.

  The obsidian and gold armor seemed to even swallow the starlight on this moonless night. Upon the left breast of each soldier's armor was the insignia of Salem Kingdom, a Golden Rose with ruby red thorns.

  Lilith threw the half dead Incubus across the yard. His, almost, lifeless body clattering before coming to a stop a few inches away from the boundary the surrounding army created.

  A single soldier rushed to check the Incubus. The soldier shook his head, and scooped up the Captain's expired body and ran back into the forest.

  Silence took hold.

  “How in the Queen's name are we supposed to fight three of the princesses and the God of Beasts? This was a stupid plan. If I were them I wouldn't just come peacefully either. It's not like they were doing anything all that bad anyway.” A bored, and uncomfortable soldier thought as he looked from side to side, trying to see if anyone else was thinking the same way he was. There were none, and the ones that did turn and flew were only going to be caught and killed anyway, so what good would running do?

  Lieutenant's unsure of how to proceed, and soldiers too afraid to fight and more afraid of running.

  Grim and Lilith looked around, assessing and silently strategizing.

  The scent of the army’s fear was intense, but the scent of their confusion was even thicker in the night air.

  Though they stood their ground, unknowing how to proceed.

  Well, most of them.

  Grim could feel the Beastmen soldiers warring with the idea of challenging the God of Beasts. Some even rattled as they shook in their armor. Others completely dropped their weapons and ran.

  “Please, please, God of Beasts, hear my prayer! This foolish fight is not one of my choosing, please have mercy on me! I just want to go home to my family!” A Beastman soldier thought to herself, her armor clattering as she trembled with fear.

  Grim let loose a deep ominous howl.

  Even at 50 yards away, the first two rows of soldiers fell back, unconscious.

  The rest of the soldiers either clutched their chests or ran off from pure terror. Regardless of how they reacted, they all felt an insurmountable terror engulf them.

  Their lungs, tight.

  Eardrums rattling.

  Staggering in disorientation.

  Even the trees bowed in reverence to the Beast God’s voice.

  The cloudless, moonless sky even rumbled in answering the God’s call.

  Moments later, a series of howls echoed through Elix Forest from all directions and the ground trembled.

  Though it was the sound of shrieking and screaming that truly shattered the resolve of the small army.

  Soldiers began shouting and screaming as they lost their footing, or were grabbed, or worse, were pulled into the ground.

  Panic led to disarray, as bone appendages tore through the earth and grabbed at the soldiers. Soldiers screamed and ran to escape a threat coming up from the ground.

  A soldier, most likely a Lieutenant, shouted for retreat, yet the howl of wolves came from just within the tree line, along with a series of snarls and growls that made the soldiers audibly shake in their armor.

  Realizing they were surrounded on all sides, the army did the only thing they could do.

  Fight.

  “FULL ASSAULT!” A Lieutenant shouts just moments before he's cut down by a massive bone knight. His two halves falling at separate speeds, and parting.

  Those that didn't have to worry about the skeletons, had the massive 6’ tall Dire Wolves to deal with, and that's only if they weren't unlucky enough to be near one of the 13’ tall Berserker Wolves.

  Those who were flanking the rest of the cottage even came to try to help, yet it was an absolute blood bath and the Salem Kingdom soldiers had nowhere left to run.

  Elstraya stepped out onto the porch just as a fresh wave of skeletal hands from her army of corpses came clawing out from the soil around the Obsidian Cottage like a tidal wave of bone and shadow. Veystracis floating, open, beside her.

  Bones snapping and creaking as the undead warriors took to the battlefield.

  The sound of metal striking bone began to echo through the forest.

  Death screams.

  The crisp sound of metal tearing.

  Bone shattering.

  The beautiful symphony of the nighttime forest had become a field of horrors, as the dead rose to slaughter the living, and wolves feasted on flesh.

  Both Lilith and Grim jumped into the fray. Galerian setting ablaze each soldier Lilith cuts through. Grim’s claws tearing through armor as if it were no more than paper. Skeletons and wolves tear through soldiers, dragging them away deep into the forest or deep into the ground. It was a complete wipe out, until magic and arrows began raining down.

  The soldiers cheered, at least the ones that could. Their morale finally rises slightly, as their squad of archers and Mages unleash their attacks.

  Grim smiled, easily dodging the projectiles while smiling and tearing through soldier after soldier. He was almost entirely drenched in the blood of his enemies and his wide wild battle hungry smile continued to grow.

  More soldiers began spilling from the forest, joining the fray.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  With a flick of her wrist, Elstraya summoned Thuurak, the ancient Shadow Wraith appearing from a black cloud of smoke that was almost as dark and dense as the inside of his hood. “Hunt the Mages, Thuurak, bring me their hearts.” Elstraya spoke with a deep dark ancient voice, her rage displayed through the bright violet flare in her eyes. Her hands waving furiously as she returns to focusing on keeping her undead army supplied with buffs and mana. With a silent nod the ancient Shadow Wraith descended into the shadows. Moments later, screams echoed from the forest.

  A sword wielding soldier was holding his own against three Dire Wolves, “Just relax, and breathe. You can do this.” He told himself as he continued to dance around the attacks of the wolves, though with each nimble dodge he grew more confident. Eventually he struck back, and severed the front left paw of one of the Dire Wolves. At the sound of a whimper the three wolves backed down for a moment, snarling and growling at the soldier, “See, I can do this. And make it back home.” He thought to himself, taking a deep breath of relaxation. Just as the breath left his lungs, bone tore through armor. The soldier looked down, smiling and crying, at the massive bone hand protruding from his chest.

  “What should I do?” Ayanna asked herself, fidgeting with her dress as she looked out through the open doorway. All of this was because of her, and she didn't know if she deserved that kind of attention. All she wanted was her freedom, but this, sending an army to capture a runaway is outlandish. Still, what could she do? Everyone was already fighting and wouldn’t stop just because she asked them, but something needed to be done.

  “Nephal, stop feeding your fear and show them the storm they tried to imprison.” Fate’s voice echoes through Ayanna's mind, silencing the girl's doubts.

  “You're right, Fate, I'm not just some lit—” An intense feeling of essence surging, cutting Ayanna off. She instinctively crouched and closed her wings around her, raising a shield of light around her as well. She didn't know what the essence surge was, but she knew an attack was imminent.

  Grim’s ears twitched towards the cottage, his focus being pulled that way, but before he could do or say anything. A burst of lightning tore through the Obsidian Cottage, sending Ayanna flying with the debris.

  The sound of battle dimmed as the cottage, Ayanna's refuge, exploded into a plethora of wood, and obsidian shards. The shockwave pushed out from the house knocking Lilith off balance. Elstraya, having been on the porch, was thrown out into the middle of the front lines. Quickly scrambling to her feet and rushing back to the cottage to assess the damage.

  Grim quickly turned around and darted back towards the remains of the cottage, having heard the shatter of a shield just as the lightning struck.

  A smoke cloud poured from the center of the crater where the house once stood. Pink flames scattered about, slowly burning the wreckage.

  Grim's ears twitched again, as the sound of creaking and a low rumble came from beneath the debris. He let out a relaxed sigh, until he could feel her Aura.

  And not just him, everyone could feel her Aura. It was a mixture of rage, sadness, independence, and freedom.

  It commanded attention, and silenced any action against it. Those who opposed her, who did try to move, were twisted and crushed down into basketball sized hunks of flesh, bone, and metal.

  Debris exploded in every direction as a pink fireball shot up from the wreckage. Its blaze dissipated as Ayanna unfurled her wings and uncurled her battered body.

  Ayanna stood in the air, cuts and bruises all over her body, yet the only thing that filled her was rage. Wings outstretched, dirtied and a few feathers missing, though the gold tips glowing brightly as her rage grew. Pink eyes glowing eerily vibrant making her seem even more like a Devil than a Nephalem. Her dense pale pink Aura swirling around her with thick streaks of black. Her expression was twisted into a look of grave disgust. In this moment she hated that she stood idly by, trying to come up with a way for no one to get hurt. She hated them for destroying her home. And most of all she hated her mother for having sent them after her.

  Ayanna’s left hand cut a slow arc. Wherever she pointed, armor budded with holy radiance, sealing cuts, knitting flesh—and binding. Those with Soul Affinities for Chaos Magic were burnt to a crisp from the inside out, though all others were healed almost immediately. Nephalem’s Grace didn’t heal; it rewrote. Light crawled into metallic joint and strap and buckle and waited like a held breath.

  Grim, Lilith, and Elstraya all had to back away from the light, for fear of being harmed or destroyed. Thuurak returned to Elstraya's side sensing the immense Light Magic that threatened her.

  The soldiers began to rejoice, laughing and hugging one another in the thought that they had been saved. Some of them even looked up at Ayanna with praise. Some believed that this was a sign of changing times. None of them expected what was to come.

  Grim, Lilith, and Elstraya all turned to look at Ayanna. Hovering in the air, above her destroyed home. Her wings flapping powerfully, and her expression deep, dark—sadistic.

  Grim couldn't help but smile, seeing this new powerful sadistic predator before him. One of such beauty and malice, that she could strip you of your own power and kill you with it. He wondered if this feeling welling inside him was love for her.

  It was as if the entire world took a single breath in at once, and all you could hear was Ayanna's voice.

  “Strangle.” The single word carried enough weight to make Grim stop in his tracks.

  Her Aura was commanding everything it touched, even those she could only influence lightly.

  The tone of her voice was terrifyingly regal, and her word seemed to command all things. As if she were a Goddess among mortals, her single word struck a soul deep terror in all those who opposed her. Those who had thought she was providing hope and help, soon lost their smiles and sanity. Their glowing armor vibrated, humming with magical energy.

  The white light that emanated from the Salem Kingdom's soldier's armor had changed to an ichor-like black, and the armor itself began to shrink, twist, and crumple as the soldiers frantically tried to take it off. Their joyous sounds changed to screams and panicking that could only come from a marrow deep terror.

  Tears of joy, turned to tears of terror.

  Choked screams that led to decapitation.

  Frantic scratching at gloves and gauntlets as they twist and tighten enough to sever fingers.

  Pauldrons collapsing in on themselves and tearing out whole shoulder joints of its wearer.

  Greaves squeezing and twisting, severing legs with ease.

  Helmets crushing skulls with sickly popping squelches.

  Leather tightening and twisting, cutting and twisting through muscle and bone alike.

  In a matter of seconds the ground was littered with pieces of metal squeezed tight around pieces of bone and flesh. The enemy frontline had been routed, and in the most unforgiving way possible.

  Grim was stuck in shock as he looked up at Ayanna, understanding the lethal blow that had been dealt to her pride by taking away her cottage, and still feeling as if this was too much for revenge. He found himself matching her smile, not out of malice, but because a part of him, a dark and primal part, understood this brand of righteous fury. He knew he was looking at the woman of his dreams, and his dream had just become a nightmare. A nightmare, he wasn't sure he wanted to wake up from.

  Lilith was appalled, but still proud of her sadistic younger sister. She too felt like Ayanna had taken it too far, though Lilith was far more shocked that her sister even held this level of fury, and trembled in fear at the thought of the immense power Ayanna held.

  Elstraya held a sickening smile of arousal, as she looked back and forth between Ayanna and the carnage. The raw unrestrained power that Ayanna commanded, struck a chord deep within Elstraya's unbeating heart. Elstraya grabbed Lilith's hand, squeezing in a silent plea for her wife to take her right here on the battlefield.

  Even Thuurak stopped and faced the Nephalem, a warmth emanating from him as he nodded to Ayanna, as if recognizing her sadistic fury. He knew violence intimately and he applauded the primal power of surgically precise fury. He wished he had had the chance to ally with her in his lifetime. They would've made an unstoppable duo.

  Not even the God of Beasts could shake the primal fear rising up his spine as he laid eyes on the vicious smile that crossed Ayanna's lips. Her fury giving way to the joys of unrestrained malicious sadism. She could feel each piece of armor crush and tear the Salem Kingdom soldiers apart. She could taste each individual’s fear, and wanted nothing more than to drown in it.

  “Now you know how it feels to have something you treasure crumbled to nothing.” Ayanna's voice held a regal tone, as if she had just finished punishing her subjects. Her wings closed around her, letting her to the ground. Her expression was softer now.

  The sound of battle had ceased, and all that was left was the silence of the dead. Helmets with crushed severed heads, still oozing liquified brains from neck holes. Chest plates crumpled down to the size of shoes, still containing crushed lumps of flesh and bone.

  Wolves howling as they claim their victory and run off into the forest.

  Elstraya's undead warriors return to their slumber beneath the ground.

  The thick scent of blood, and viscera on the lightly blowing wind, along with the scent of burning wood and ozone. Grim couldn't believe it was all over so quickly. He was kind of surprised there wasn't one more enemy. One more to make a stand only to meet the same fate as…

  Grim's ears twitched, as he heard a series of whistles.

  “Yea, sorry, that place just really meant a lot to me and I don't really know what I'm going to do without it.” Ayanna spoke softly, trying to get them to stop staring at her with such horror and appeal on their faces.

  “They deserved it!” Ayanna snapped, her tail lashing the ground.

  “What the he—” Before Lilith could finish, flaming arrows rained down, starting just past the tree line and slowly moving towards the ruins of the Obsidian Cottage.

  With a wave of his hand, Grim pulled the darkness around them. It screeched like a wounded beast as it collapsed inward then swelled to form a dome that sealed them in shadow. Flaming arrows streaked through the sky and rippled into it, as if striking the surface of a pool. Some fizzled out, their fire snuffed with a hiss, while others tore through, stripped of their fury, dropping harmlessly to the ground with the brittle weight of branches snapping on a dying tree. The forest quaked with the echo, yet within the dome, only the sound of strained shadows remained.

  “We need to leave now, even with Ayanna's power, we can only last for so long!” Grim shouted, struggling to hold the shelter of shadows together, but feeling something much heavier than arrows beginning to rain down onto it. His body growing tired under the exhaustion of keeping such a powerful barrier active. He visibly winced as he felt the sting of the arrows as well as powerful blows smash against the dome. It sounded like rain and rocks hitting a glass window as they huddled together.

  “Where are we going to go? They destroyed my house!” Ayanna shouted quickly moving towards Grim, wrapping her arms and wings around him.

  Lilith and Elstraya joined them, huddling close. Thuurak was banished back into Veystracis.

  The dome began to crack and creak, as it took on barrage after barrage. Arrows of light mixed into the barrage began to pierce through the shadow dome, unhindered.

  “Hollow’s End, we can figure out a plan from there.” Elstraya said. Veystracis pulsed faintly as it hovered over Elstraya's right shoulder. The grimoire whispered as its pages flipped to a picture of the rundown town of Hollow's End. The parchment shuddered, its edges wailing as if it were a living thing, as black runes burned into the air above the sketched image. Each rune dripping sparks of spectral light before burning out and making way for the next.

  Space itself groaned, a sickening resonance that felt wrong in the bones, before it tore open with a sound caught between metal rending and Velcro ripping. The tear bled light, unleashing a howl that set the forest quaking. A breath of alien wind spilled through, carrying with it the rot of mold, the syrupy sweetness of decay, and the heavy acrid sting of alcohol left too long uncorked.

  Darkness pressed for a heartbeat, then parted. A farmhouse flickered into view from the other side of the portal, sagging under years of neglect. The boards were warped and splintered, its roof slouched like a weary spine, and its presence suggested not shelter but secrets—once proud, now a relic barely clinging to purpose, daring the living to step inside.

  “Fine! But someone owes me a new house!” Ayanna shouted. Her wings outstretched, and her fists balled.

  “Go now! Whine later!” Lilith shouted, kicking Ayanna into the portal.

  Elstraya and Lilith leaped through next, followed by Grim.

  Upon releasing the dome of darkness, an arrow of light pierced through his right side, just below his rib cage and above his hip.

  “Fuck!” He shouted, the sound ragged, torn from him as the Light Magic rippled like fire through his veins, searing nerve and marrow alike. His body convulsed, muscles locking from the sanctified sting. He staggered, the dome of darkness collapsing around him in shreds of smoke, and fell through the portal.

  The landing was merciless. He landed on his back, with a bone-jarring thud. Lungs heaving for air as his hands clutch the open wound. Blood squelched out, slipping between his fingers with a hot sticky squish and pooling on the ground beneath him. Each breath scraped like broken glass against his ribs, vision blurring with pain. Above, the night stretched starless and endless, the moonless sky offering no comfort, no witness—only silence, cold and uncaring, as he lay bleeding out.

  — The Curator’s Notes —

  The next chapter waits in the dark, smiling with all the wrong teeth.