Chronicles of Eden - Act VIII (33 page)

“I swear,” she slyly added with a slick grin. “Never laid a hand, or leg, on any of them.”

“An arachne,” Sasha dryly said. “Somehow I’m not surprised to see these lowlifes mixed up in this.”

“Now now,” the spider calmly replied. “No need for such cold words. I’m innocent after all.”

“You’re not innocent!” Hollia shouted at her. “How dare you show your face here after what you did!”

“But it’s the
truth
. I never touched any of your sisters. I never got the
chance
.”

All around the darkened street laughter and hissing sounds echoed about in the rundown dwellings. Daemon and the girls watched as shadowy figures started to make their way out while the spider shrugged modestly with a low chuckle.

“We arrived after this place was brought to its knees. Such is the price for being too far behind the front lines of our grand army. Sadly, we missed all the
fun
.”

Hollia grit her teeth as she saw the dark monsters coming out into the moonlight, some carrying torches while others were seen scraping their sharpened weapons against the walls as they stepped out into view. Goblins carrying rusty daggers and swords, trolls carrying axes and clubs, gremlins holding their alchemic pouches, arachne which skittered along the walls and rooftops of the buildings, and from a broken wall another monster slowly crawled out in the shadows and onto its feet.

“I see a man,” the little one droned. At first glance it appeared to be a young girl however as she stepped out into the light she appeared far from human. Her mouth was opened wide with small mandibles sticking out from the sides, her yellow eyes staring at Daemon while her black hair was messy and draped over her face. A tattered white and golden dress was worn over her small body while from her back small insect wings were buzzing quickly now and again. Her steps towards the newcomers were shaky with legs being thin and bug-like in appearance, the monster’s hands twitching constantly as she appeared jittery and restless.

“What is that?” Hollia quietly asked.

“A mite,” Sasha answered as she lifted her sword up. “Nasty little things.”

Rulo brought her hammer forth in both hands while Forrus unhooked her bolas from her hip, the three girls tensing up while Daemon merely glanced around at the monsters with his hand still lightly drumming its fingers on his sword’s handle. Hollia watched the dark creatures that attacked her home surrounding them with her rage from that fateful day returning in full force, her fierce glare going over all the wicked monsters that had invaded her home before resting on a fallen centaur and troll nearby next to the road.

“How fortunate for you to come here,” the arachne snickered as it skittered closer to the edge of the roof. “We’ve been a little bored, and hungry. I heard centaurs taste delicious, but sadly I wasn’t able to find any that were still alive when I arrived. How very lucky that another wandered into our new home.”

“
Your
new home?” Hollia bitterly repeated.

“Yes, ours. To the victors go the spoils, as they say.”

“Drop your weapons and we’ll make it quick,” a troll sneered while running a finger along the steel of her axe.

“I don’t know,” a gremlin hissed while tossing a chemical pouch up in her hand. “I kind of like it better when they slowly die in agony.”

“Make ‘em
screem
,” a goblin squealed while another hopped on her feet anxiously. “We want to make ‘em
screem
.”

“Give us the man,” the mite dully ordered with drool coming from her mouth. “And your flesh. They will be ours. One way or another.”

Daemon remained still with his sword at his side while the other girls tensed up with their weapons drawn. Sasha glanced around at the horde of monsters staring them down then over to Hollia as the centaur slowly walked over towards her fallen kin.

“You may wish to flee while you can,” Sasha warned. “I don’t believe this is a good place for a wayward princess.”

“I’m no princess anymore,” Hollia said as she knelt down and grabbed a spear from the deceased centaur. Standing up she sharply spun the lance around in one hand before thrusting the end towards the arachne above her with a cold glare at the monster.

“I’m just a centaur seeking revenge. And I
will
have it.”

The gremlins nearby threw their alchemic pouches towards them, with Daemon and the girls quickly scattering before the bags hit and exploded into bright flashes and swirling clouds of noxious vapors. Sasha dashed forward and swung with her blade, streaking through a troll’s axe with a bright flash and then her head before racing past and cleaving a goblin in two with a powerful swing. The reptile girl angled her sword behind her to block a club from hitting by another troll before she whipped her large blade back with one hand and slashed the monster’s arm off.

“This is hardly sporting,” Sasha hissed as she sliced upward with her sword with a large arc, carving through the ground then the troll which was thrown back in two halves with blood painting the road beneath it.

Rulo leapt forward and swung down with her hammer, smashing a goblin into the ground with blood splattering to the sides and a loud crunch while the monster’s torch bounced away. A gremlin swung at her with a dagger from the side, the orc grabbing her wrist then crushing it before swinging the monster around in the air.

“That all you got?” Rulo oinked before slamming the gremlin down onto the ground and breaking all her bones. She grabbed her hammer then swung around wildly, smashing it into a troll and goblin before crashing them through a wall of a dwelling. The hammer and bloodied remains of the two monsters plowed through the stone wall, the heavy swing throwing the dead creatures aside along with debris while Rulo braced herself with both feet from the great momentum. She then spun the hammer around above her head as an arachne and troll closed in on her before slamming the heavy weapon down onto the ground, knocking both incoming monsters away into a stumble from the forceful hit. Rulo darted around her hammer while holding the handle tightly, turning the weapon around before she swung out with it and struck the troll so hard that the monster splattered to the side in bloody pieces.

Forrus howled as she pounced down on a gremlin, pinning the monster against the dirt by the throat before she threw her bolas to the side in a sharp spin. The whirling trap ensnared a troll’s feet that charged towards them, the monster dropping to the ground as the lycan slashed apart the gremlin’s throat with her claws. She then leapt over and clawed at the troll, tearing apart her face and neck before dashing away as a brown pouch was thrown at her. The bag exploded into a noxious gas that began melting away the screaming troll while Forrus quickly raced along the ground and tackled an arachne to the ground.

“The world will be glad to be rid of you!” Forrus yelled as the spider tried to wrestle her off while stumbling about.

“Stupid mutt!” the spider hissed before it grabbed the lycan and threw her to the ground. Forrus rolled to the side to avoid the spider legs that tried stabbing down at her repeatedly before she swiped up an axe and threw it at the monster in a tight spin. The blade struck into the arachne’s face with a loud crunch, dropping the monster while Forrus quickly got onto her feet and dashed towards another troll with a vicious growl.

Hollia galloped through the road while axes where thrown at and just missed her from all sides, the centaur spearing a troll then a goblin as she charged through with a loud warcry. She swung the skewered monsters off her spear then bucked her hind legs back, connecting both hooves with the chest of a troll that was then crushed inward with a sickening crunch. The centaur yelled something in her enraged state but as usual it was impossible to tell what she was saying as her anger slurred her words.

“Take her alive,” an arachne hissed as she and another skittered towards the rampaging centaur. “They taste best when they’re fresh.”

The two spiders scampered around Hollia in circles as the centaur tried swinging her pike at them. Ducking and dodging her attacks one of the arachne then spun around and fired out a thick stream of webbing from her abdomen, the sticky rope hitting against Hollia’s back and coating her shoulder. The centaur yelled and swung around with her spear as the two spiders circled and shot their webbing onto her repeatedly, covering her backside and flanks while her arms became pinned against her chest along with her spear.

“We got you!” the spiders taunted as they held their webbing and began reeling in the bucking centaur.

“You should have aimed for my legs, idiots!” Hollia raged before she took off running, the webbing snapping taught and yanking the arachne after her with screams. The two spiders were dragged and tossed about through the dirt as Hollia raced along the road, the centaur trampling over a goblin then a gremlin before she quickly dashed to the side around the corner of a building. Looking back she saw the two spiders striking against the corner with hard impacts, the monsters dropping into a tumble on the road together while a few of their legs were broken and twisted.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow,
” one whimpered while the other struggled to get up from under her sister. They both turned to see the centaur yelling something as she ran towards them, moments before they were viciously trampled under hoof with loud crunches and screams.

“Accursed demons!” Hollia raged as she finally stepped off from the bloodied pile of dead arachne. She struggled to pull free from the entangled webbing on her body while seeing the other girls fighting against the dark monsters that continued to jump out from the shadows. Racing back over into the road she saw all of them fending off the incoming monsters valiantly, all of them seeming to be expert combatants as they moved about and fought with great skill.

Her eyes then rested on Daemon as the swordsman dodged back from a swing of an axe by a troll, his hand still holding his sword at his hip yet not drawing it out. The monster swung at him again and again before he reached out, grabbed the handle, yanked it out of her hand, and then hacked the blade through her face with a slick crunch. He then flung the axe down, striking into the foot of a goblin that charged at him, causing her to scream and drop down while her sword flew out of her grip. Daemon caught the blade, swung back and sliced off the head of a troll, turned and thrust it down into the wailing goblin at his feet, threw the sword up into an arachne that was skittering above on a building and striking her in the chest, and then reached out and caught an alchemic bag that was thrown at him.

“Good lord,” Hollia breathed out as Daemon tossed the bag over his shoulder and struck an arachne in the face before she could get closer, the monster screaming and coughing as black smoke erupted and started turning her lips and cheeks green. As the monster choked and dropped down onto its legs Daemon ducked to avoid a club swung at his head, the swordsman then punching the troll to his side in the stomach before catching the club she dropped and swinging it around to bash in her stunned face. He swung the blunt weapon behind and parried an axe that tried to hack into his back, knocking the incoming troll off-balance before he kicked her leg inward with a loud crack.

“What in Eden is he?” Hollia nervously wondered as the troll dropped onto one good knee before Daemon with a loud scream. He swung down and smashed the club into her head, crushing in the skull, then kicked her axe up into the air before catching it and quickly throwing it to the side. It whistled through the air before striking into a troll that was about to swing her own axe down at Sasha from behind, the monster being knocked to the side from the forceful hit while Sasha glanced back to Daemon with a smirk.

“One-handed,” Hollia softly said in awe. “He’s… fighting them all off… with
one
hand.”

Daemon slowly glanced around at seeing the dark monsters keeping their distance from him, all of them also noticing how the swordsman wasn’t using his blade at all in killing them without effort. A loud buzzing sound caught his attention, his gaze turning to seeing the mite racing towards him low to the ground with her arms outstretched. She rapidly closed the gap between them, flying straight towards him before grabbing onto his arm and chomping down on his gloved hand. With a vicious snap she bit down with the hand inside her mouth, wings buzzing behind her while her insect legs grabbed hold of him tightly.

Hollia gasped in surprise as she saw the tiny monster trying to bite off his hand. She then noticed Sasha, Rulo, and Forrus all having stopped in their fights with their attention on Daemon, the same as all the dark monsters who were also eyeing the fighter who caught their interest. Hollia watched all the surrounding fighters having halted with their battle then turned her eyes onto the swordsman as something became increasingly clear to everyone in the silence.

The mite snarled and growled before freezing in place, the monster’s eyes slowly looking to Daemon and seeing him just watching her with a cold stare. The other dark creatures stared in puzzlement as he showed no pain or discomfort, there wasn’t even any blood coming down from the mite’s mouth that had his hand in it. Instead he seemed to be holding the mite up with one arm while glaring at it with his cold blue eyes.

“Are… are you alright?” Hollia slowly asked.

“Why isn’t he
screeming
?” a goblin questioned.

“Why isn’t he in pain?” a troll wondered.

Daemon eyed the confused mite for a moment before striking the monster down into the ground with a powerful thrust of his arm. A quick squelch was heard as he jammed the monster into the dirt like a spike. Slowly he lifted his arm back up, with those around him taking a step back as they saw in the light from the torches his hand which no longer had a black glove over it.

“His hand,” a gremlin gasped while pointing to it.

“What the hell is this?” an arachne breathed out.

Hollia’s eyes widened as she saw the black scaly hand the swordsman had, the same thing all the nearby monsters were staring at in disbelief. Slowly the centaur turned her gaze up to his face, seeing him watching her with cold blue eyes that sent shivers down her spine. It was then that she recalled what the other girls had told her, something that didn’t make sense then yet now she understood what they meant.