TSlice5Life
Registered User
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2011
- Messages
- 25
- Points
- 0
EDIT 11/29/12
- So it would seem this chapter got published in it's extreme rough state. I wasn't aware this happened; so allow me to fix it all real quick. I'm also putting this story on Tumblr; so I'll provide a link over there as well.
A side note: The original post was NOT how Chapter V progressed / played out.
- - Chapter V: March of The Righteous - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Carrie…”
“….Carrie; are you alright?”
She snapped out of her trance. The memories still lingered in her mind as she faced him. Reon could see that whatever she had thought about had left her trembling. Her eyes no longer held contempt or anger; they had gone back to their original shade of dark red.
“…I’m sorry… I just got…. lost in old memories… I’ll be fine.” she spoke, setting the painting down. He could hear the tenseness in the words she spoke. Carrie couldn’t bare to gaze upon it any longer. She hadn’t thought about that night for many years now… She knew she was done running. She had a mission to fufill; and that was the end of it.
“If what you say is the truth; then you may just be the only one who can put an end to this nightmare.” crossing his arms, he continued; “There’s nothing I could say that would make me feel less guilty for what I’ve done to you…. but there’s a few things I could stand to teach you.” Reon strode over to what seemed to be a meditation area. She walked after him and they both sat down, crossing their legs.
“Now… please, watch carefully.” he muttered, closing his eyes. Carrie watched him inhale silently, and exhale. He slowly opened his eyes and looked to her; or so it seemed. He raised his right arm off his knee and snapped his fingers; as he did so, a dagger from behind Carrie darted over her shoulder towards him. She instinctively moved to the side as she watched it hover above his open palm. He simply gave her a smirk and gazed upon it; causing it to twirl every which way. It slowed its dance and settled neatly into his palm. He threw it up into the air and snapped again, this time causing it to freeze in mid-air. “Go on, try to move it.” he instructed, as they both stood. Carrie eyed him suspiciously as she flicked the dagger with her finger. Nothing. She grabbed it’s handle and began to try and pull it down. Still nothing. She couldn’t even budge it!
“Impressive magic, Reon. I didn’t know your little trick could be used like this. What’s the secret?” she asked, still trying to budge the dagger. “No tricks Carrie—” he turned around and walked away from her. “—It’s no different than any other spell. It simply requires the user to remain focused, even in the most dire of circumstances; as long as you keep your focus, the spell will continue to work.. Observe.”
As she gave one last final pull on the dagger with both arms, she turned her head and looked at him, puzzled. He spun around and snapped both hands this time, extending his palms towards her body. She suddenly felt very stiff as the tried to move; unfortunately to no avail.
“…….”
“What’s the matter Carrie? Can’t speak? I doubt you can move either; just another two uses to be had out of this spell.” Reon couldn’t help but grin once more. She simply narrowed her eyes at him and fumed in silence. “Alright; alright, easy now… No need to get upset…” he continued. He walked up and began tickling her where her armor wouldn’t reach; coincidentally on her lower stomach. He watched as her eyes widened; and a slight smile was cracking at the corner of her lips. She couldn’t wrap her arms around herself, nor, could she laugh. “Much better. I think we can move on now.” he chuckled, waving his hand as the spell released it’s grip on her. Carrie began to squeal and giggle, wrapping her arms around her midriff and taking a few steps back. “I..hehehee… I thought you were up to something. I will admit though… these spells could be very useful; given the right circumstances.”
“Yes, they’ve proven very useful to me over the years; why don’t you give them a try? Start with the manipulative one for now. There’s something I have to retrieve in the catacombs. I’ll only be gone a few minutes.” he replied. She watched him walk off deeper into the cave. She sighed; looking at the dagger on the ground now; beginning to concentrate on it. She snapped her left hand it slowly rose into the air; as if it had the weight of a feather. She sat down in the chair and watched it follow her. Slowly turning her wrist, she noticed that it acted in the same way as her hand. Carrie thought for a second and decided to flick her index finger forward; surprised to see the dagger flicked forward in a stabbing motion as well. “Not bad…. not bad at all.”
The dagger began to lower; as she caught it with relative ease. She tossed it up into the air and put the second new spell to use. She noticed this one took a bit more of her power to use; as she felt her energy seem to sap from her hands. She could only maintain it for roughly fifteen seconds before she had to cease. Carrie took a deep breath and leaned against the table. “Guess I can’t use that spell too much….” she thought.
- -
While Carrie caught her breath; Alexandria and Henry were beginning to enter the cave. Henry unholstered his Dragoon and hugged the wall, with Alexandria on his heels. Henry was at ease, feeling the solid weight of the .44 in his hands; Alexandria on the other hand was tense, as she twirled her daggers in her palms as they continued walking.
“You must feel pretty safe with that thing… why not just use your sword?” she whispered, as they approached the inner sanctum. “You’re right on that one. But sometimes you need something a little more powerful than conventional weaponry…” he replied, hushing the girl for the time being. He could see someone half out of sight… probably the girl. Alexandria took the lead as he half-turned to check their flank. She quietly approached her and stopped, just a few feet away.
She motioned for Henry to stop as she reached into her hip pocket and drew a coin; flicking it at Carrie’s leg. It connected with the bottom of her boot; causing her to look down. “What the….?” she muttered, picking up the coin. She looked around and saw the two hanging back a good ten feet or so away. Carrie looked around for Reon and noticed he still hadn’t returned; hesitant, she looked back towards the two strangers.
A young woman with red hair; dressed almost in garb a rogue would wear. Even stranger was the man behind her; a knight it seemed. Though… the weapon he wielded was not one that Carrie was familiar with. She did see a shortsword sheathed on his waist however. The redhead motioned for her to come over; and Carrie did. “…. Who are you two? What are you doing here?”
“I can see why the demon would want to torture her so… at least. Strange though… her eyes seem to be… red? Some kind of affliction?”
Alexandria eyed her up and down, slightly surprised at the girl’s attitude. “You’re the girl… Carrie? Yes? Weren’t you the one being tortured just a little while ago?” she replied; knowing very well the answer. Now it was Carrie’s turn to be surprised; as she couldn’t help but blush. “I… How did…?”
Alexandria waved her hands to calm Carrie down. “It’s ok; I heard most of what was going on….. er… wait… I mean… Um…” she stopped; feeling slightly embarrassed as the girl began blushing even more.
“I think what my friend here was trying to say was…. that she heard your distress coming from the entrance; as did I. We came to help you before it was too late.” injected Henry; watching the two look at each other. “Well… yes… I thought I was in danger… but as you can plainly see; I’m alive and well…” she paused, sighing “….For now at least.”
“So…. it was you two I was sensing all this time…” came the low voice. Henry stepped in front of Carrie, aiming his revolver at the darkness ahead. “Alright beast; your games are at their end. We’re here to save this poor girl from your foul intentions.” Alexandria positioned herself into a fighting stace and moved to join him. “Henry’s right; we won’t allow you to lay not another finger on Carrie!”
“Ha…hahahaha!!! …. Is that so?” came the reply. Slowly, the torches inside the cave began to fade, one by one. “Have you two any idea as to what you’re dealing with? I’m no ordinary werewolf; mortals. If you two are looking for a fight—” only one torch remained lit now, as Reon sauntered out of the darkness; sneering at the two of them. “…I’ll more than happily give you one.” he finished, launching himself at Henry.
“Move!”
He quickly rolled out of the way as Reon’s claws slashed at the air; narrowly missing their target. Alexandria fell to the ground and tried to sweep his legs out from under him, but the wolf was too fast. He nimbly backflipped away and landed, managing to project a small fireball from his palm at her. She too, dodged out of the way and countered by throwing one of her daggers at him. It flew straight at his chest—
“Yes! Direct—”
—but was caught in his manipulation spell before it could impact him. He scoffed at her tactic as he toyed with it in the air; waiting for one of them to try again. Henry holstered his gun; Alexandria was right, this was no time to be using a ranged weapon. If the wolf could catch the projectiles caught at him, he could also very well catch the bullets fired from his gun. He drew his short-sword and rushed Reon from the right, attempting to use a horizontal slash; but once again, he was unsuccessful. However, while Reon was dodging Henry’s slash, Alexandria managed to sneak in a kick to his ribs; sending the wolf crashing into the nearby wall. He cried out in pain as he slowly got back up. “Ha; had enough yet, demon?” Alexandria exclaimed. Henry removed his helmet and tossed it aside; his vision was already obscured enough with the dim lights; no need to handicap himself any further.
“What are you two doing!?” Carrie yelled, running between the combatants. She held out her arms and tried to shield Reon. “You two; cease your foolishness at once! He’s no enemy!”
“No enemy!?” Henry exclaimed; “Have you forgotten what this beast has done to you? And what he’s capable of?” Carrie grimaced at him, turning around to Reon . Reon began to stumble around, clutching at his head as he howled in pain. “No!!!! What are you doing!?! I can…. AHHHH!!!!” Carrie rushed to his side, but was shoved away to the ground. “Reon… what’s going on?” He fell to his knees; his screams of agony begun to sound deeper…. more feral. His fur was beginning to darken, and his claws were lengthening.
He could hear a voice inside of his head. A woman’s….
“Hahaha! That’s it.. lobo. Did you honestly expect us to leave you to do as you please? You may be able to pull the wool over Giles eyes, but not mine. Now, let’s see how you deal with these three now that your control is slipping.”
Actrise!
“Ugh…. Ca…Carrie! Listen…. to me.” She could see him trying to fight whatever it was afflicting him; but his powers were barely a match. “Ne…Necklace… on…. on the belt… take it..!” His voice was beginning to crack as he turned to face her; he barely sounded like he once did, but she did as he asked. She pulled the necklace from his belt and put it into her pocket. “Reon.. what’s happening to you? What’s going on!?” she asked, extending her arm to his shoulder. Sparks from his aura began to intensify around his body as she retracted her hand in pain. “No… time… to explain… Listen.. you.. hold onto the…. necklace.. Was… Camilla’s—”
His fur began to stand on end and his eyes began to take on a greenish hue. His muscles began to bulge and grow, but still, he struggled.
“—If you… FIND CAMILLA… please… tell… her… I’m SORRY!!” his ragged screams began to fill the room again as Alexandria began pulling at her shoulder. “Carrie, we have to go! NOW!”
Carrie pulled away, “I won’t leave him here like this! He’s the only one I have left!!”
“….C…Cair…go… with…. these two… stop… Dracula…please…”
Henry quickly picked up his helmet as Alexandria ran towards the entrance. He grabbed Carrie’s hand as he tugged her after Alexandria. She turned around in time to see him shoot her one final grin before he began to howl in pain. Carrie could feel the tears beginning to flow again; “REON!!!!” her cries were lost to the inhuman growls coming from the cave now. The three emerged, right on the curtails of the sounds. They turned to see if Reon had persued them in his feral form.
Nothing; except for the eerie silence.
“This is NOT good…” Henry thought. He quickly sheathed the sword and withdrew the gun; possibly a better choice out here than the open. The two women flanked either side of him, they all began stepping away from the entrance.
All too soon, they heard the familiar tick of nails on stone; echoing out of the cave. The ticking was accompanied by gutteral growls… like a feral dog.
“No… Reon.. not you too..”
Carrie saw the figure step into view; barely visible beneath the scattered moonlight save for his glowing eyes. The trio froze; waiting for the figure to make a move. It was Reon; but he resembled nothing as he had minutes before. His whole body seemed to have grown in size. His pants and boots were tattered and shredded, revealing pieces of fur underneath. Alexandria pointed towards his chest; the moonlight illuminating some sort of bizarre runic symbol on his chest. Before any of them could speak, he disappeared; leaving a few leaves flying about in his wake. Alexandria unsheathed her daggers once more, as they all began scanning the forest surrounding them.
“…. Can you see him?” Carrie whispered.
“No… I lost him… we need to move. We’re sitting targets out here like this. Get to a clearing; where there’s no place for him to hide.” Henry replied softly; hearing the timidity in her voice.
Alexandria scowled, darting her eyes back and forth. “Move? Are you mad?” she hissed; “If we make a run for it, he’ll strike us down.”
Henry growled, “Look, what choice do we have here? We can barely see our own hands in front of our faces, let alone a werewolf.” He quickly scanned the area. There was no clearing in sight, but there was a section of bare trees off in the distance to the south; it would have to do. “Look there. If we can make it there, we’ll have a better chance.” he told them, as they looked.
“Alright, just give us the signal then.” Carrie muttered, finally spotting him. He was sitting in one of the trees to her immediate right. She shuddered as his eyes narrowed at her..
Henry pulled a small vial of holy water from his side pouch and tossed it into the air. “GO!” he cried, as they all began running south; hearing the vial explode onto the ground as blue flames illuminated the darkness. Carrie turned back to see Reon cringe at the sudden bright light. She could feel her legs running faster as she projected a small orb to light their path. There was no telling what he could do to them if he caught up.
Alexandria didn’t particularly want to face the wolf; but there wasn’t much choice. He would probably follow them to the ends of the Earth if he wanted to. As she ran, she turned to see something following along in the trees; it was Reon. “Damn you, bea— AH!” she yelled, tumbling to the ground as a limb caught the bottom of her boot.
Henry turned around, running back to help her up; as Carrie watched for Reon to attack. “I.. I’m fine. Tree limb caught my leg.” she muttered, holding her head. “Only a little longer, let’s go!” he barked, as the three continued to run. The forest soon began opening into a mess of gnarled trees scattered about; as they all rested to catch their breath. The small orb Carrie lit began to flicker and fade, as it dissolved into nothingness; leaving them engulfed in moonlight. Their attentions turned back towards the creeping forest, as they waited to see if Reon was still following them.
Seconds passed by without a sound.
Then they heard it. A deep thud as he jumped down from one of the overgrown trees. His body seemed to be wrapped in a strange aura; small sparks of electricty crackled and flashed around him. He raised an arm towards one of the nearby trees and fired off an energy orb. They all could barely see it as it smacked into the side of it, splintering and cracking it in two. He looked back at them and flashed a sadistic grin. Alexandria looked on as the the remains of the tree tumbled to the ground.
“Oh my god… All this time… he was playing with us the entire time—”
He fired off another orb, sending it directly at them. The three dodged it as it crashed into another tree behind them. Carrie had seen enough; the man she once knew as Reon was gone. The creature standing before them was no longer the person whom she’d met; who’d consoled her. That person was now merely a shell for this new evil to control.
She took a deep breath as Alexandria darted along behind the trees; positioning herself to strike at his flank. Henry began walking towards him; checking his gun as he aimed it straight for him. She cringed as the contraption fired and split the silence with it’s loud bang. She could hear Reon howling in pain, clutching at his shoulder as Alexandria dropped down and tried to slice him. He began dodging her attacks as she followed him, intending to piece his chest. All of a sudden, he ducked down and swept her legs out from under her, catching her off guard.
“Hu—AH!” she yelled, realising she was on her backside. He stood over her and raised his injured arm, aiming it straight for her chest. She cringed and put her arms up, as if to deflect the shot—
“Multis-Iaculat!”
Alexandria watched as half a dozen glowing orbs peppered his body, sending him flying to the ground in a crumpled heap. Carrie ran over to her, offering her an arm as the two looked at his body. Reon slowly began to rise again, they could see what kind of damage Carrie’s attack had done. Half of his body was covered in abrasions, blood was running down his once silver fur. He snarled at them and coughed up blood. He slowly reached back and extended his palms forward; Carrie knew what had happened before the spell even took effect. Neither of them could move at all.
“Bad! This is BAD!” she thought, as Reon limped towards them; two large orbs flanked either side as they began to grow and crackle. Another loud bang; as one of the orbs dissipated.
“Henry!”
Reon snapped his head towards Henry, scowling at the young man. Henry spun the cylinder and pulled the hammer back, readying another round. He crossed his shooting arm over the other as he took aim once more, firing. Reon surprisingly skirted the round as it smacked into the ground. He charged the young man and fired the other orb; Henry barely managing to dodge it in time. He could feel the energy and intensity as it flew past his ribcage. Reon slashed at him while the orb flew off; his claws grazed Henry’s shoulder, but his armor held strong. “Pot shot; this is way too close—” The girls could hear the struggle ensuing; and heard the chink of the hammer being pulled back as Reon growled and snarled after him. Henry ducked underneath one of his swipes and tackled into him; sending him reeling backwards. He thrusted the barrel of the dragoon into the symbol on his chest and ducked his head away, pulling the trigger. The .44 caliber ball fired into his body, piercing bone and muscle alike as it ejected through to the other side. The power of the shot sent Reon flying through the air, landing a few feet away from Henry.
Carrie and Alexandria could feel the ability to move returning to their bodies; as they quickly turned around to see what had happened. Henry shot them a solemn look as sweat trickled down his face. The girls ran over to him and looked down to Reon’s body. His mouth was affixed open and they could see his glimmering fangs, but there was no movement at all. “Do you think… he’s…?” Alexandria spoke, as the other two looked on. The seconds ticked past as Carrie could feel the bitterness flaring within her. “Not like this… He didn’t deserve this…. None of us did…” The moon was falling in the sky; within an hour or two it would be daybreak. Alexandria put an arm around Carrie’s waist as she lead her away from the fallen wolf. Henry muttered a prayer for Reon as he released another vial of holy water onto his body.
The sight of familiar blue flames arose and licked the ground. He turned and began walking after the two towards the direction of the castle wall; it was nearly a quarter mile away. As the three walked away, the flames flickered and died; leaving naught but ash in their place. A cold wind began to blow, stirring them all from their thoughts. Somewhere out in the distance, a lone wolf howled; it’s sad sound cascading through the forest. Soon, there were more howls adding to the mix; creating an empty melody that followed them as they continued on.
- -
The trio searched a while for a breach in the wall; eventually coming across a small one. They had been walking these corridors for a while now. The achitecture and layout inside the walls reminded Henry of an old mission he once visited during his travels.
He glanced back at the two women; he could see their expressionless faces as they trudged on.The footsteps continued, echoing down the stone corridor as Carrie let out a yawn; rubbing her eyes as she did so.
“…Keep that up and you’ll get me started too.” chuckled Alexandria from in front of her.
“….Can’t… help it..” Carrie replied, another yawn escaping from within. She paused for a minute and smiled; adding “Y’know… you’d be doing the same thing if you had been tickled for hours on end.” as she reached forward and began to dig her fingers into Alexandria’s sides.
The woman jumped and began giggling, “Heheheyy now! Beeheheee grateful we even cahahahame for you!!” She managed to pull away from Carrie’s ticklish assault as Henry turned around to see what the fuss was. He laughed, shaking his head and contiuing on. “At least they still have their good spirits.” Carrie walked next to Alexandria, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Hey… I am grateful to you both. I don’t think I would be standing here next to you if you two didn’t come when you did.”
Alexandria wrapped her arm around Carrie’s ribs, “You’re welcome; but I think that you would have eventually gotten away…. Maybe…” she muttered, smiling as her fingers wriggled into Carrie’s sides. Carrie began laughing, struggling to get away as Alexandria’s fingers darted underneath her arm; but it was no use, she was too tired to get away. She began to pinch her hip as the two began giggling and laughing; locked in a ticklish battle as they continued walking.
“You know; I would say that the pleasure was all ours, but I think that’s an understatement right now.” Henry spoke, listening to the girls giggles continue. “Before you two tickle each other to tears, you may want to take a look at this.” he pointed towards another opening in the wall.
The girls wiped the tears from their eyes and looked out from the hole. There was a a small path going west that appeared to lead up towards what appeared to be a manor poking out from behind a large hedgemaze of sorts. The treeline grew thicker as it enveloped around the house; hopefully they wouldn’t be impeded as they walked on. Alexandria looked towards the eastern path, noting it skirted the edge of the forest as it continued back in the direction they were taking.
“So… we might be able to find some refuge in that old manor on the hill.” Henry spoke, putting his hand to his chin. “The manor up there belongs to the Bernhard family, from what information I could gather on the area. It’s an old family, who has connections to the church; so maybe we’ll be in luck. I know you two wouldn’t mind a hot meal and a warm bath, eh?” he added, removing his helmet and setting it on the ground.
Carrie let out an exasperated sigh and walked over to atree, sitting down and leaning against it. “Ugh… that sounds absolutely wonderful right now, Henry.” she replied. Henry walked over and sat down upon a stump; they had made pretty good time, but they all needed rest. They still had a way’s to go before they reached the castle. Henry pulled a pocketwatch from one of the pouches on his gun-belt; it read eight o’clock. They had been walking for almost two hours now since their encounter with Reon…
Alexandria walked over and sat next to Carrie, beginning to remove her boots. She slowly removed them and set them aside, crossing her legs and beginning to rub her tired feet. “A hot bath sounds good; my legs are killing me…” she sighed, stretching her legs out onto the grass. Carrie closed her eyes and tucked her legs to her arms; a gentle breeze blew past as the sun shined through the overcast sky.
Henry began removing some things from another pocket on his gun-belt as he set his dragoon on the stump. Alexandria yawned, looking over to watch him as he pulled out a cloth and started wiping down the barrel and cylinder of the gun. He pulled out what appeared to be a small, bottleneck jar and flipped it upside down, plugging the hole with a finger before he poured its contents into a chamber on the cylinder. She watched as he put a small patch of cloth into the chamber before adding one of the small lead balls to the mix; packing it snug into the chamber with the loading arm.
“…. That seems like a lot of work to go through to reload that thing.” she yawned, giving him a slight smirk. “It seems that way, doesn’t it?” he laughed back, moving onto the next one. “It can be a pain sometimes, but—” he stopped, leaning down on the mechanism to pack the chamber, “—this thing hasn’t let me down yet.” He moved onto the next one, as Alexandria felt Carrie’s head began to lean onto her shoulder. She turned her head and saw the girl was fast asleep, still curled up.
Smiling, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against Carrie’s. She could feel her aches dissapearing, as the feeling of sleep spread over her like a warm blanket. Soon, she too was fast asleep; the girls chests raising and relaxing with each breath taken. Henry was adding percussion caps to the revolver when he noticed the two were asleep. He finished and raised the gun; taking aim at a nearby tree. Everything seemed to be in order; as he holstered the revolver and began packing away his materials. He lay out with arms behind his head next to the two, watching the branches of the trees flicker in the wind.
Leaves gently fell as the sun broke through the clouds; illuminating the darkness in the forest. He shut his eyes, feeling the effects of the battle catching up with him. “Guess the adrenaline is starting to wear off…” he thought, eliciting a long yawn. His thoughts were filled with the events from earlier. He couldn’t help but feel some remorse at how their meeting with Reon occurred; but it was too late for that. He was gone; but Henry felt as if Reon was still around, watching over them all somehow.
As if on cue, Henry could hear a long howl off in the distance; he smiled a bit before he finally nodded off. As the three lay out on the grass; the sun broke through the clouds… covering the land in sunshine as birds flew overhead. Maybe their luck would begin to change for the better….
- So it would seem this chapter got published in it's extreme rough state. I wasn't aware this happened; so allow me to fix it all real quick. I'm also putting this story on Tumblr; so I'll provide a link over there as well.
A side note: The original post was NOT how Chapter V progressed / played out.
- - Chapter V: March of The Righteous - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
“Carrie…”
“….Carrie; are you alright?”
She snapped out of her trance. The memories still lingered in her mind as she faced him. Reon could see that whatever she had thought about had left her trembling. Her eyes no longer held contempt or anger; they had gone back to their original shade of dark red.
“…I’m sorry… I just got…. lost in old memories… I’ll be fine.” she spoke, setting the painting down. He could hear the tenseness in the words she spoke. Carrie couldn’t bare to gaze upon it any longer. She hadn’t thought about that night for many years now… She knew she was done running. She had a mission to fufill; and that was the end of it.
“If what you say is the truth; then you may just be the only one who can put an end to this nightmare.” crossing his arms, he continued; “There’s nothing I could say that would make me feel less guilty for what I’ve done to you…. but there’s a few things I could stand to teach you.” Reon strode over to what seemed to be a meditation area. She walked after him and they both sat down, crossing their legs.
“Now… please, watch carefully.” he muttered, closing his eyes. Carrie watched him inhale silently, and exhale. He slowly opened his eyes and looked to her; or so it seemed. He raised his right arm off his knee and snapped his fingers; as he did so, a dagger from behind Carrie darted over her shoulder towards him. She instinctively moved to the side as she watched it hover above his open palm. He simply gave her a smirk and gazed upon it; causing it to twirl every which way. It slowed its dance and settled neatly into his palm. He threw it up into the air and snapped again, this time causing it to freeze in mid-air. “Go on, try to move it.” he instructed, as they both stood. Carrie eyed him suspiciously as she flicked the dagger with her finger. Nothing. She grabbed it’s handle and began to try and pull it down. Still nothing. She couldn’t even budge it!
“Impressive magic, Reon. I didn’t know your little trick could be used like this. What’s the secret?” she asked, still trying to budge the dagger. “No tricks Carrie—” he turned around and walked away from her. “—It’s no different than any other spell. It simply requires the user to remain focused, even in the most dire of circumstances; as long as you keep your focus, the spell will continue to work.. Observe.”
As she gave one last final pull on the dagger with both arms, she turned her head and looked at him, puzzled. He spun around and snapped both hands this time, extending his palms towards her body. She suddenly felt very stiff as the tried to move; unfortunately to no avail.
“…….”
“What’s the matter Carrie? Can’t speak? I doubt you can move either; just another two uses to be had out of this spell.” Reon couldn’t help but grin once more. She simply narrowed her eyes at him and fumed in silence. “Alright; alright, easy now… No need to get upset…” he continued. He walked up and began tickling her where her armor wouldn’t reach; coincidentally on her lower stomach. He watched as her eyes widened; and a slight smile was cracking at the corner of her lips. She couldn’t wrap her arms around herself, nor, could she laugh. “Much better. I think we can move on now.” he chuckled, waving his hand as the spell released it’s grip on her. Carrie began to squeal and giggle, wrapping her arms around her midriff and taking a few steps back. “I..hehehee… I thought you were up to something. I will admit though… these spells could be very useful; given the right circumstances.”
“Yes, they’ve proven very useful to me over the years; why don’t you give them a try? Start with the manipulative one for now. There’s something I have to retrieve in the catacombs. I’ll only be gone a few minutes.” he replied. She watched him walk off deeper into the cave. She sighed; looking at the dagger on the ground now; beginning to concentrate on it. She snapped her left hand it slowly rose into the air; as if it had the weight of a feather. She sat down in the chair and watched it follow her. Slowly turning her wrist, she noticed that it acted in the same way as her hand. Carrie thought for a second and decided to flick her index finger forward; surprised to see the dagger flicked forward in a stabbing motion as well. “Not bad…. not bad at all.”
The dagger began to lower; as she caught it with relative ease. She tossed it up into the air and put the second new spell to use. She noticed this one took a bit more of her power to use; as she felt her energy seem to sap from her hands. She could only maintain it for roughly fifteen seconds before she had to cease. Carrie took a deep breath and leaned against the table. “Guess I can’t use that spell too much….” she thought.
- -
While Carrie caught her breath; Alexandria and Henry were beginning to enter the cave. Henry unholstered his Dragoon and hugged the wall, with Alexandria on his heels. Henry was at ease, feeling the solid weight of the .44 in his hands; Alexandria on the other hand was tense, as she twirled her daggers in her palms as they continued walking.
“You must feel pretty safe with that thing… why not just use your sword?” she whispered, as they approached the inner sanctum. “You’re right on that one. But sometimes you need something a little more powerful than conventional weaponry…” he replied, hushing the girl for the time being. He could see someone half out of sight… probably the girl. Alexandria took the lead as he half-turned to check their flank. She quietly approached her and stopped, just a few feet away.
She motioned for Henry to stop as she reached into her hip pocket and drew a coin; flicking it at Carrie’s leg. It connected with the bottom of her boot; causing her to look down. “What the….?” she muttered, picking up the coin. She looked around and saw the two hanging back a good ten feet or so away. Carrie looked around for Reon and noticed he still hadn’t returned; hesitant, she looked back towards the two strangers.
A young woman with red hair; dressed almost in garb a rogue would wear. Even stranger was the man behind her; a knight it seemed. Though… the weapon he wielded was not one that Carrie was familiar with. She did see a shortsword sheathed on his waist however. The redhead motioned for her to come over; and Carrie did. “…. Who are you two? What are you doing here?”
“I can see why the demon would want to torture her so… at least. Strange though… her eyes seem to be… red? Some kind of affliction?”
Alexandria eyed her up and down, slightly surprised at the girl’s attitude. “You’re the girl… Carrie? Yes? Weren’t you the one being tortured just a little while ago?” she replied; knowing very well the answer. Now it was Carrie’s turn to be surprised; as she couldn’t help but blush. “I… How did…?”
Alexandria waved her hands to calm Carrie down. “It’s ok; I heard most of what was going on….. er… wait… I mean… Um…” she stopped; feeling slightly embarrassed as the girl began blushing even more.
“I think what my friend here was trying to say was…. that she heard your distress coming from the entrance; as did I. We came to help you before it was too late.” injected Henry; watching the two look at each other. “Well… yes… I thought I was in danger… but as you can plainly see; I’m alive and well…” she paused, sighing “….For now at least.”
“So…. it was you two I was sensing all this time…” came the low voice. Henry stepped in front of Carrie, aiming his revolver at the darkness ahead. “Alright beast; your games are at their end. We’re here to save this poor girl from your foul intentions.” Alexandria positioned herself into a fighting stace and moved to join him. “Henry’s right; we won’t allow you to lay not another finger on Carrie!”
“Ha…hahahaha!!! …. Is that so?” came the reply. Slowly, the torches inside the cave began to fade, one by one. “Have you two any idea as to what you’re dealing with? I’m no ordinary werewolf; mortals. If you two are looking for a fight—” only one torch remained lit now, as Reon sauntered out of the darkness; sneering at the two of them. “…I’ll more than happily give you one.” he finished, launching himself at Henry.
“Move!”
He quickly rolled out of the way as Reon’s claws slashed at the air; narrowly missing their target. Alexandria fell to the ground and tried to sweep his legs out from under him, but the wolf was too fast. He nimbly backflipped away and landed, managing to project a small fireball from his palm at her. She too, dodged out of the way and countered by throwing one of her daggers at him. It flew straight at his chest—
“Yes! Direct—”
—but was caught in his manipulation spell before it could impact him. He scoffed at her tactic as he toyed with it in the air; waiting for one of them to try again. Henry holstered his gun; Alexandria was right, this was no time to be using a ranged weapon. If the wolf could catch the projectiles caught at him, he could also very well catch the bullets fired from his gun. He drew his short-sword and rushed Reon from the right, attempting to use a horizontal slash; but once again, he was unsuccessful. However, while Reon was dodging Henry’s slash, Alexandria managed to sneak in a kick to his ribs; sending the wolf crashing into the nearby wall. He cried out in pain as he slowly got back up. “Ha; had enough yet, demon?” Alexandria exclaimed. Henry removed his helmet and tossed it aside; his vision was already obscured enough with the dim lights; no need to handicap himself any further.
“What are you two doing!?” Carrie yelled, running between the combatants. She held out her arms and tried to shield Reon. “You two; cease your foolishness at once! He’s no enemy!”
“No enemy!?” Henry exclaimed; “Have you forgotten what this beast has done to you? And what he’s capable of?” Carrie grimaced at him, turning around to Reon . Reon began to stumble around, clutching at his head as he howled in pain. “No!!!! What are you doing!?! I can…. AHHHH!!!!” Carrie rushed to his side, but was shoved away to the ground. “Reon… what’s going on?” He fell to his knees; his screams of agony begun to sound deeper…. more feral. His fur was beginning to darken, and his claws were lengthening.
He could hear a voice inside of his head. A woman’s….
“Hahaha! That’s it.. lobo. Did you honestly expect us to leave you to do as you please? You may be able to pull the wool over Giles eyes, but not mine. Now, let’s see how you deal with these three now that your control is slipping.”
Actrise!
“Ugh…. Ca…Carrie! Listen…. to me.” She could see him trying to fight whatever it was afflicting him; but his powers were barely a match. “Ne…Necklace… on…. on the belt… take it..!” His voice was beginning to crack as he turned to face her; he barely sounded like he once did, but she did as he asked. She pulled the necklace from his belt and put it into her pocket. “Reon.. what’s happening to you? What’s going on!?” she asked, extending her arm to his shoulder. Sparks from his aura began to intensify around his body as she retracted her hand in pain. “No… time… to explain… Listen.. you.. hold onto the…. necklace.. Was… Camilla’s—”
His fur began to stand on end and his eyes began to take on a greenish hue. His muscles began to bulge and grow, but still, he struggled.
“—If you… FIND CAMILLA… please… tell… her… I’m SORRY!!” his ragged screams began to fill the room again as Alexandria began pulling at her shoulder. “Carrie, we have to go! NOW!”
Carrie pulled away, “I won’t leave him here like this! He’s the only one I have left!!”
“….C…Cair…go… with…. these two… stop… Dracula…please…”
Henry quickly picked up his helmet as Alexandria ran towards the entrance. He grabbed Carrie’s hand as he tugged her after Alexandria. She turned around in time to see him shoot her one final grin before he began to howl in pain. Carrie could feel the tears beginning to flow again; “REON!!!!” her cries were lost to the inhuman growls coming from the cave now. The three emerged, right on the curtails of the sounds. They turned to see if Reon had persued them in his feral form.
Nothing; except for the eerie silence.
“This is NOT good…” Henry thought. He quickly sheathed the sword and withdrew the gun; possibly a better choice out here than the open. The two women flanked either side of him, they all began stepping away from the entrance.
All too soon, they heard the familiar tick of nails on stone; echoing out of the cave. The ticking was accompanied by gutteral growls… like a feral dog.
“No… Reon.. not you too..”
Carrie saw the figure step into view; barely visible beneath the scattered moonlight save for his glowing eyes. The trio froze; waiting for the figure to make a move. It was Reon; but he resembled nothing as he had minutes before. His whole body seemed to have grown in size. His pants and boots were tattered and shredded, revealing pieces of fur underneath. Alexandria pointed towards his chest; the moonlight illuminating some sort of bizarre runic symbol on his chest. Before any of them could speak, he disappeared; leaving a few leaves flying about in his wake. Alexandria unsheathed her daggers once more, as they all began scanning the forest surrounding them.
“…. Can you see him?” Carrie whispered.
“No… I lost him… we need to move. We’re sitting targets out here like this. Get to a clearing; where there’s no place for him to hide.” Henry replied softly; hearing the timidity in her voice.
Alexandria scowled, darting her eyes back and forth. “Move? Are you mad?” she hissed; “If we make a run for it, he’ll strike us down.”
Henry growled, “Look, what choice do we have here? We can barely see our own hands in front of our faces, let alone a werewolf.” He quickly scanned the area. There was no clearing in sight, but there was a section of bare trees off in the distance to the south; it would have to do. “Look there. If we can make it there, we’ll have a better chance.” he told them, as they looked.
“Alright, just give us the signal then.” Carrie muttered, finally spotting him. He was sitting in one of the trees to her immediate right. She shuddered as his eyes narrowed at her..
Henry pulled a small vial of holy water from his side pouch and tossed it into the air. “GO!” he cried, as they all began running south; hearing the vial explode onto the ground as blue flames illuminated the darkness. Carrie turned back to see Reon cringe at the sudden bright light. She could feel her legs running faster as she projected a small orb to light their path. There was no telling what he could do to them if he caught up.
Alexandria didn’t particularly want to face the wolf; but there wasn’t much choice. He would probably follow them to the ends of the Earth if he wanted to. As she ran, she turned to see something following along in the trees; it was Reon. “Damn you, bea— AH!” she yelled, tumbling to the ground as a limb caught the bottom of her boot.
Henry turned around, running back to help her up; as Carrie watched for Reon to attack. “I.. I’m fine. Tree limb caught my leg.” she muttered, holding her head. “Only a little longer, let’s go!” he barked, as the three continued to run. The forest soon began opening into a mess of gnarled trees scattered about; as they all rested to catch their breath. The small orb Carrie lit began to flicker and fade, as it dissolved into nothingness; leaving them engulfed in moonlight. Their attentions turned back towards the creeping forest, as they waited to see if Reon was still following them.
Seconds passed by without a sound.
Then they heard it. A deep thud as he jumped down from one of the overgrown trees. His body seemed to be wrapped in a strange aura; small sparks of electricty crackled and flashed around him. He raised an arm towards one of the nearby trees and fired off an energy orb. They all could barely see it as it smacked into the side of it, splintering and cracking it in two. He looked back at them and flashed a sadistic grin. Alexandria looked on as the the remains of the tree tumbled to the ground.
“Oh my god… All this time… he was playing with us the entire time—”
He fired off another orb, sending it directly at them. The three dodged it as it crashed into another tree behind them. Carrie had seen enough; the man she once knew as Reon was gone. The creature standing before them was no longer the person whom she’d met; who’d consoled her. That person was now merely a shell for this new evil to control.
She took a deep breath as Alexandria darted along behind the trees; positioning herself to strike at his flank. Henry began walking towards him; checking his gun as he aimed it straight for him. She cringed as the contraption fired and split the silence with it’s loud bang. She could hear Reon howling in pain, clutching at his shoulder as Alexandria dropped down and tried to slice him. He began dodging her attacks as she followed him, intending to piece his chest. All of a sudden, he ducked down and swept her legs out from under her, catching her off guard.
“Hu—AH!” she yelled, realising she was on her backside. He stood over her and raised his injured arm, aiming it straight for her chest. She cringed and put her arms up, as if to deflect the shot—
“Multis-Iaculat!”
Alexandria watched as half a dozen glowing orbs peppered his body, sending him flying to the ground in a crumpled heap. Carrie ran over to her, offering her an arm as the two looked at his body. Reon slowly began to rise again, they could see what kind of damage Carrie’s attack had done. Half of his body was covered in abrasions, blood was running down his once silver fur. He snarled at them and coughed up blood. He slowly reached back and extended his palms forward; Carrie knew what had happened before the spell even took effect. Neither of them could move at all.
“Bad! This is BAD!” she thought, as Reon limped towards them; two large orbs flanked either side as they began to grow and crackle. Another loud bang; as one of the orbs dissipated.
“Henry!”
Reon snapped his head towards Henry, scowling at the young man. Henry spun the cylinder and pulled the hammer back, readying another round. He crossed his shooting arm over the other as he took aim once more, firing. Reon surprisingly skirted the round as it smacked into the ground. He charged the young man and fired the other orb; Henry barely managing to dodge it in time. He could feel the energy and intensity as it flew past his ribcage. Reon slashed at him while the orb flew off; his claws grazed Henry’s shoulder, but his armor held strong. “Pot shot; this is way too close—” The girls could hear the struggle ensuing; and heard the chink of the hammer being pulled back as Reon growled and snarled after him. Henry ducked underneath one of his swipes and tackled into him; sending him reeling backwards. He thrusted the barrel of the dragoon into the symbol on his chest and ducked his head away, pulling the trigger. The .44 caliber ball fired into his body, piercing bone and muscle alike as it ejected through to the other side. The power of the shot sent Reon flying through the air, landing a few feet away from Henry.
Carrie and Alexandria could feel the ability to move returning to their bodies; as they quickly turned around to see what had happened. Henry shot them a solemn look as sweat trickled down his face. The girls ran over to him and looked down to Reon’s body. His mouth was affixed open and they could see his glimmering fangs, but there was no movement at all. “Do you think… he’s…?” Alexandria spoke, as the other two looked on. The seconds ticked past as Carrie could feel the bitterness flaring within her. “Not like this… He didn’t deserve this…. None of us did…” The moon was falling in the sky; within an hour or two it would be daybreak. Alexandria put an arm around Carrie’s waist as she lead her away from the fallen wolf. Henry muttered a prayer for Reon as he released another vial of holy water onto his body.
The sight of familiar blue flames arose and licked the ground. He turned and began walking after the two towards the direction of the castle wall; it was nearly a quarter mile away. As the three walked away, the flames flickered and died; leaving naught but ash in their place. A cold wind began to blow, stirring them all from their thoughts. Somewhere out in the distance, a lone wolf howled; it’s sad sound cascading through the forest. Soon, there were more howls adding to the mix; creating an empty melody that followed them as they continued on.
- -
The trio searched a while for a breach in the wall; eventually coming across a small one. They had been walking these corridors for a while now. The achitecture and layout inside the walls reminded Henry of an old mission he once visited during his travels.
He glanced back at the two women; he could see their expressionless faces as they trudged on.The footsteps continued, echoing down the stone corridor as Carrie let out a yawn; rubbing her eyes as she did so.
“…Keep that up and you’ll get me started too.” chuckled Alexandria from in front of her.
“….Can’t… help it..” Carrie replied, another yawn escaping from within. She paused for a minute and smiled; adding “Y’know… you’d be doing the same thing if you had been tickled for hours on end.” as she reached forward and began to dig her fingers into Alexandria’s sides.
The woman jumped and began giggling, “Heheheyy now! Beeheheee grateful we even cahahahame for you!!” She managed to pull away from Carrie’s ticklish assault as Henry turned around to see what the fuss was. He laughed, shaking his head and contiuing on. “At least they still have their good spirits.” Carrie walked next to Alexandria, wrapping an arm around her waist. “Hey… I am grateful to you both. I don’t think I would be standing here next to you if you two didn’t come when you did.”
Alexandria wrapped her arm around Carrie’s ribs, “You’re welcome; but I think that you would have eventually gotten away…. Maybe…” she muttered, smiling as her fingers wriggled into Carrie’s sides. Carrie began laughing, struggling to get away as Alexandria’s fingers darted underneath her arm; but it was no use, she was too tired to get away. She began to pinch her hip as the two began giggling and laughing; locked in a ticklish battle as they continued walking.
“You know; I would say that the pleasure was all ours, but I think that’s an understatement right now.” Henry spoke, listening to the girls giggles continue. “Before you two tickle each other to tears, you may want to take a look at this.” he pointed towards another opening in the wall.
The girls wiped the tears from their eyes and looked out from the hole. There was a a small path going west that appeared to lead up towards what appeared to be a manor poking out from behind a large hedgemaze of sorts. The treeline grew thicker as it enveloped around the house; hopefully they wouldn’t be impeded as they walked on. Alexandria looked towards the eastern path, noting it skirted the edge of the forest as it continued back in the direction they were taking.
“So… we might be able to find some refuge in that old manor on the hill.” Henry spoke, putting his hand to his chin. “The manor up there belongs to the Bernhard family, from what information I could gather on the area. It’s an old family, who has connections to the church; so maybe we’ll be in luck. I know you two wouldn’t mind a hot meal and a warm bath, eh?” he added, removing his helmet and setting it on the ground.
Carrie let out an exasperated sigh and walked over to atree, sitting down and leaning against it. “Ugh… that sounds absolutely wonderful right now, Henry.” she replied. Henry walked over and sat down upon a stump; they had made pretty good time, but they all needed rest. They still had a way’s to go before they reached the castle. Henry pulled a pocketwatch from one of the pouches on his gun-belt; it read eight o’clock. They had been walking for almost two hours now since their encounter with Reon…
Alexandria walked over and sat next to Carrie, beginning to remove her boots. She slowly removed them and set them aside, crossing her legs and beginning to rub her tired feet. “A hot bath sounds good; my legs are killing me…” she sighed, stretching her legs out onto the grass. Carrie closed her eyes and tucked her legs to her arms; a gentle breeze blew past as the sun shined through the overcast sky.
Henry began removing some things from another pocket on his gun-belt as he set his dragoon on the stump. Alexandria yawned, looking over to watch him as he pulled out a cloth and started wiping down the barrel and cylinder of the gun. He pulled out what appeared to be a small, bottleneck jar and flipped it upside down, plugging the hole with a finger before he poured its contents into a chamber on the cylinder. She watched as he put a small patch of cloth into the chamber before adding one of the small lead balls to the mix; packing it snug into the chamber with the loading arm.
“…. That seems like a lot of work to go through to reload that thing.” she yawned, giving him a slight smirk. “It seems that way, doesn’t it?” he laughed back, moving onto the next one. “It can be a pain sometimes, but—” he stopped, leaning down on the mechanism to pack the chamber, “—this thing hasn’t let me down yet.” He moved onto the next one, as Alexandria felt Carrie’s head began to lean onto her shoulder. She turned her head and saw the girl was fast asleep, still curled up.
Smiling, she closed her eyes and leaned her head against Carrie’s. She could feel her aches dissapearing, as the feeling of sleep spread over her like a warm blanket. Soon, she too was fast asleep; the girls chests raising and relaxing with each breath taken. Henry was adding percussion caps to the revolver when he noticed the two were asleep. He finished and raised the gun; taking aim at a nearby tree. Everything seemed to be in order; as he holstered the revolver and began packing away his materials. He lay out with arms behind his head next to the two, watching the branches of the trees flicker in the wind.
Leaves gently fell as the sun broke through the clouds; illuminating the darkness in the forest. He shut his eyes, feeling the effects of the battle catching up with him. “Guess the adrenaline is starting to wear off…” he thought, eliciting a long yawn. His thoughts were filled with the events from earlier. He couldn’t help but feel some remorse at how their meeting with Reon occurred; but it was too late for that. He was gone; but Henry felt as if Reon was still around, watching over them all somehow.
As if on cue, Henry could hear a long howl off in the distance; he smiled a bit before he finally nodded off. As the three lay out on the grass; the sun broke through the clouds… covering the land in sunshine as birds flew overhead. Maybe their luck would begin to change for the better….
Last edited:
