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Scholomance 9 Chapter 3
🕑 Added 2021-04-01 16:07:02 +0000 UTCWe trekked down the red-sanded beach, and no one said a word until the perky Circe turned to look back at Marina and then smiled.
“How are you feeling, Marina?” she asked the former siren in a gentle tone. “Any better?”
“Yes, thank you,” Marina replied as she rubbed at her former wounds. “It only hurt for a moment, but I’m feeling much better now.”
“Thank Cole and Satan for the power of the pact,” Akira snorted, and I heard Vanessa quietly sigh under her breath, but the black-haired witch paid no attention. “Otherwise, you would have been fucked, Marina.”
“I am eternally grateful for the might and power of our master,” the former siren said, and she cast me a sweet smile.
“Happy to help.” I smirked. “But honestly, I’m just glad you’re okay, Marina.”
“Is there any change, Cole?” Vanessa huffed in impatience as we walked across the endless red beach.
“No, not yet,” I replied as I studied the compass needle, which continued to steadily point north.
“Do we have any idea what kind of creatures or people lurk in this realm … what was it?” Penelope asked, and she turned to look at the ever-knowledgeable Morgana. “Clouds and oceans?”
“Hmm, well,” Morgana said as she tucked a strand of deep brown hair behind her ear, “I can’t say for certain, but like all holy realms, I do believe there are elder creatures of all forms and sizes, and most of them are of sea-like origin.”
“Such as?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Many of these elder creatures walk on land, but they can possess a range of aquatic characteristics, such as scaled-skin, both gills and lungs, and water-based elder powers,” the bookish brunette explained. “Some of them can even thrive on both land and sea. Oh, by the way, what was the creature you encountered underwater, master?”
“It was a giant squid-like being,” I explained as we walked onward. “Its tentacles were covered in teeth, and the ends were as sharp as blades.”
“Oh, Satan,” Morgana breathed as she chewed on her bottom lip. “It must have been some form of Kraken.”
“Most likely,” Vanessa responded before I had a chance to open my mouth. “It doesn’t matter now. All we have to worry about now is keeping a sharp eye out for anything else. Let your familiars focus and don’t speak unless you have to. Your voices are giving me a headache.”
“Yes, Professor,” we answered in unison.
We wandered down the crimson beach, and I clutched tightly onto the compass and stared closely at the cracked glass and steady needle until, suddenly, the entire tool violently vibrated in my hand, and the needle started to move in a purposeful way.
“Wait,” I commanded, and everyone came to a sudden halt. “It’s saying we have to turn slightly east.”
I turned to look in the direction the compass was now guiding us, but all I could see was a tower of black rocks, and each stone was at least the size of a large pine tree. We had no idea what lurked on the other side, and I wasn’t picking up any sensations either.
Cole, Alexander said as he hovered above me. Do you want me to check it out for you?
“I think that would be wise,” I replied aloud before I turned to look at the others. “Alex is going to see what lies over the rocks.”
“Trixie, go with him,” Nyx ordered as her red falcon beat its massive wings and flew after Alexander. “Good boy!”
We watched as the pair of winged familiars gracefully flew over the tower of stones, and it only took a couple of seconds before I heard my familiar’s voice in my head again.
Cole, I think I see a kingdom… he said. It’s guarded by a pale sea-stone wall and sits upon a sandy red hill, just beyond a rainbow-colored forest.
“Trixie says he sees a kingdom, just a few leagues ahead beyond a colorful woodland,” the blue-skinned witch said as she turned to me.
“Alexander said the same thing,” I replied, but then a feeling of dread settled in my stomach. I couldn’t put my finger on it exactly, but I knew better than to question my intuition. “I don’t think the forest will be easy to cross--”
“It won’t be,” Vanessa interrupted as Isobel nudged at her hands. “If it’s a colorful forest, it must be the Critique Arcus Silvis, and beyond that, it’s the realm of Mari Hominum.”
“The what?” Marina asked with a raised purple eyebrow.
“The woodland of colors,” Morgana answered in a sure voice, “and the kingdom of sea-people. It’s deemed one of the most perilous lands for Wiccas to cross.”
“Isn’t every holy realm like that?” Akira chuckled without a trace of fear in her voice. “What makes this one any different?”
“Yes, that may be true, Miss Akira, but as we grow closer to the elder heavens,” Vanessa began in a sharp tone, “the more danger we will find ourselves in.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not afraid,” Penelope said as she turned to look at me with her chin raised, and for a moment, I was lost in her deep, mahogany-brown eyes. “Not with our master leading the way.”
“Oh, for hell’s sake,” Vanessa snapped before she whipped around to look at each woman. “You do realize if Cole perishes, so will the rest of you.”
“But, Professor,” Vesta purred in a gentle voice. “He’s not failed us yet… we have all of Satan’s faith in him. As should you.”
For a moment, I thought Vanessa would reprimand the elvish witch for her bold remark, but instead the professor clenched her jaw, turned back around, and said nothing.
We stood in silence for several tense moments until Trixie and Alexander returned to us, and then we all sighed as we stared up at the tower of ebony stones.
“Well, let’s climb over these fucking rocks, shall we?” I said, even though I knew we were all dreading the climb. “I’d rather not shadow port unless we have to.”
“Agreed,” Vanessa replied in a firm voice. “Shadow teleporting is one of the easiest ways for Samara to catch us.”
The other women nodded in agreement, and their familiars either held onto their mistress, climbed, or flew over the black mount, and by the time we reached the very top of the peak, we saw exactly what Alexander and Trixie described. Before us lay a vast, various colored woodland, and just beyond that was a realm made of pale sea-stone. The sight was astonishing, even if it was composed of holy land. The trees were every color imaginable, and giant birds flew across our heads as we stared past the woodland and at the sand-stone kingdom just on the horizon.
“I’ve never seen such a brightly colored forest before,” Faye breathed in awe. “There must be dozens of creatures lurking within the trees.”
“Which is exactly why we must tread carefully,” Vanessa ordered. “Now, let’s stick close together and make sure the familiars lead the way, in case they sense or smell something we cannot.”
“Yes, Professor,” we replied simultaneously.
“Satan, I’ve never been in such warm weather before,” Revna remarked after we carefully climbed down the rocks and planted our feet on the raven-black soil. “I’ve also never heard birds chirping like this.”
“What, this is warm to you?” Akira snorted as a fierce wind blew across our faces. “You should feel what it’s like to cross a desert… now that’s fucking hot.”
“A what?” Revna asked in a curious voice.
“A desert,” Morgana repeated. “It’s a vast land composed of sand… like the grains of the red beach we just crossed.”
“And you’re saying there are realms that consist entirely of sand?” the wild Wicca asked with wide, bright blue eyes.
“Precisely,” Vesta cooed in her soft and soothing voice. “Sometimes the sand can be made of unusual colors as well. Varying from the deepest blue like Nyx’s skin, or even as purple as Marina’s hair.”
“It sounds wondrous,” Revna replied as she brushed back her long, dark blonde hair. “I’d like to see those things someday.”
“Perhaps you will,” Vanessa commented as we reached the border of the vibrant forest. “Once this debacle with Samara is over, you will be able to travel to whatever realm you desire… once you achieve that power, of course.”
“I can’t wait,” the wild woman responded with a wide smile. “I’d love to sit in a classroom and learn everything there is to know about black sorcery… just like Morgana.”
“Oh, I don’t know everything.” The brunette blushed, but we all knew she was modest.
“But you do!” Revna laughed. “You all have your gifts and talents--”
“As do you,” Akira said as she stared long and hard at the wild woman. “I’ve never seen anyone wield a bow like you.”
“Well, you were just as extraordinary when I gave you the chance--” Revna began before she was rudely interrupted.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Vanessa sighed as we stood on the outskirts of the rainbow-hued forest. “Now, enough of that. As I said, let’s walk silently. We have no idea what awaits us in this sacred forest.”
“Should we call upon the alces to carry us to the end of the woodland?” Revna suggested with a small smile. “I think they would help us cross the land faster, and as we’ve witnessed, Cole has the power to summon them to his side.”
“Hmmm,” Vanessa pondered for a moment. “Actually, that’s not a bad idea, Miss Revna.”
“Allow me,” I said before I closed my eyes and willed the darkness to take over my mind and body. As evil overcame me, I pictured our loyal animals who were now bonded with us forever, and I prayed for them to appear before I uttered the incantation. “Ego in vtero producite!”
Suddenly, a cloudy mist of vibrant smoke materialized out of thin air, and once it disappeared, our pack of elk-like alces stood tall and proud before us. The others gasped in awe and wonder before they climbed on top of their animal, and their familiars followed suit.
“Well done, Cole,” Vanessa muttered in a stoic tone.
“Thank you, Professor,” I replied as I studied her perfect profile and then turned to gaze upon the woods. “Alright, let’s go.”
We carefully and quietly entered the mysterious woodland, and we couldn’t help but stare with open mouths and wide eyes at all the strange and marvelous creatures around us. I spotted birds with multiple eyes, deer with various colored spots, rabbits with ears as long as peacock feathers, delicate moths with black wings and white spots, and other mysterious and intriguing beings. The trees were as tall as palace towers, and pale sunlight shone through the brightly hued leaves and lit up the forest like it was a trunk of multicolored jewels.
As I marched onward with my women, I let the pale sunlight warm my skin and seep into my cold bones. I kept a close eye on the compass as it continued to point northeast, and the deeper we ventured into the heart of the rainbow forest, the louder the woodland critters chirped and squawked.
“Do you reckon we’re getting closer?” Revna asked after a couple of hours.
“The needle is still pointing in the same direction,” I said as we wove through the trees. “Alexander, why don’t you fly up to see how much farther we have to go?”
Yes, Cole, my loyal familiar replied in my head before he soared upward and past the towering trees. It looks like you still have a few more hours ahead of you, but don’t lose hope. You’ll make it soon… at least before sunset.
“Alexander says we still have a couple of hours ahead of us,” I said, and the others simply nodded in agreement as we trudged further into the holy woods.
We continued onward in silence, but then the woodland creatures soon began to quiet down, and everything became still and silent. It was an unnerving kind of quiet, and it sent an unpleasant shiver up my spine.
“What do you think the final artifact will be?” Akira wondered aloud after the silence became deafening. “I wonder if it will be as cool as the dagger.”
“Who knows?” Vanessa sighed as we carried onward. “Samara may be a bitch, but she’s a clever one at that. It could literally be anything.”
“And anywhere,” Nyx pointed out.
“Well, I, for one, can’t wait to see her fucking face when we--” Akira began, but then Faye came to a sudden halt and raised her freckled hand into the air.
“Wait,” the redhead commanded, and we all stopped dead in our tracks.
“What is it, Faye?” I asked, and the redhead turned to look at me with wide, green eyes.
“My elk… she senses something watching us… creatures of the woodland,” she whispered. “They can smell us… and she can smell them. They reek of holy power.”
We instantly pulled our wands out and waved them around as we tried to figure out what was hiding in the wash of rainbow hues. Strange, eerie chuckling filled the void as we looked around, and when I turned to stare at Faye, her bright eyes narrowed as she gazed into the trees. I could see her knuckles whitening as she tightened her grip on her wand, and her breasts heaved up and down as her alert eyes danced around the forest.
“What do you think it could be?” Akira hissed as her Komodo dragon perched himself on her shoulder, and a low growl resonated in his chest.
“I-I think it might be a herd of equos,” the redhead replied, and her eyes were wide with panic. “I’m not sure, but that’s what I’m sensing.”
“What the hell are equos?” Marina asked in a low voice.
“They’re cousins of centaurs,” Morgana responded as she looked around with her wand aimed at the ready, “but these creatures have bare, horse-like bones for legs and a scaled and flesh covered torso.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” Akira muttered, and then the laughing grew more menacing. “Inbred horse fuckers, I bet we can take them!”
“Is that so?” a harsh voice called out through the woodland. “She seems so confident, doesn’t she?”
“Perhaps we should teach her differently,” another snapped. “I’d love to wrap my hands around that small neck of hers.”
“Akira, you always have to say something, don’t you?” Vanessa hissed as she stared hard at the black-eyed witch.
“They would have attacked us anyway,” I said as I turned to study the pissed off professor. Then I averted my eyes and looked carefully around the trees to see if I could spot where our spies were lurking. “You might as well show yourselves! Let’s get this shit over with, shall we?”
“How boldly he speaks,” a deep, cruel voice chuckled, “but I believe he is right… let us show ourselves and be done with this little charade.”
Our elk mounts growled in retaliation as a deep rustling of the trees grew louder, and as I strained to listen, I heard galloping coming from all directions.
“Wands aimed high and at the ready!” I commanded, and the others obeyed my order.
We soon came face to face with the creatures Morgana perfectly described, and it was hard not to stare at their strange but robustly built forms. They appeared to be men from their torso and up, but their skin was scaled, and the bottom of their bodies were made from bare horses’ bones. They carried long wooden spears with bladed arrowheads and large shields with intricate patterns placed in the center. Their skin was covered with tattoos of assorted designs, and half their faces were protected by different animal skulls. They wore stacks of thick bracelets on their wrists and wooden crosses around their long necks. Their skin was pale, like the early morning sun, and their eyes were black as night and barely visible behind their masks. When they smiled, they bared small but sharp teeth, like that of a fish, and they even smelled like dead, rotting sea creatures.
It didn’t take long for me to realize who the group leader was since he was the largest and broadest and stood right in the middle of his herd. There had to be at least two dozen of the bastards all around us, and each one was smiling beneath their bony veneer.
“You’re trespassing across holy territory,” the leader growled as he aimed his spear at me, and when his eyes landed on my wand, he began to chuckle until his shoulders shook. “Do my eyes deceive me, or am I gazing upon a group of witches? And a male witch at that?”
“That’s right, you bony motherfucker,” I growled, and before he could command his soldiers to attack, I aimed my wand at his head. “Dissulto!”
The leader quickly raised his shield, and when my spell hit his wood, it instantly shattered into splinters. The incantation made him stumble back, but I could feel his rage radiating from his body as he regained his footing and pointed in my direction.
“Attack them!” he cried out in raw fury. “Show them no ounce of mercy!”
“Volant!” Akira screamed without hesitation, and she sent three charging creatures flying backward.
“Stupefaciunt!” Morgana yelled, and it caused a group of our attackers to soar back into a group of trees until their bones broke into pieces.
“Glacio!” Beatrix shouted before she froze a cluster of the scaled and horse-like men in place.
We cast spell after spell at the herd of equos, and our familiars attacked without mercy as they tore into our enemies’ chests and ripped off their masks. When I saw what these bastards looked like beneath their facades, I realized their faces resembled both man and fish. Their eyes were as black and beady as a shark, and they didn’t have noses, at least not like ours. Instead, they possessed two slit-like holes in the center of their faces, and their skin was covered with pale yellow scales.
Their leader, who Alex attacked without mercy, tried to swing his spear at my familiar, and he nearly slashed one of Alex’s large, bat-like wings in half.
Anger welled inside my heart, and I focused solely on the largest soldier of the army.
“Secure!” I cried out as I aimed my wand at one of his bony kneecaps, and it instantly shattered into bits of white fragments.
The leader cried out in fury as his leg bent and broke, and although he had trouble standing upright, he used the last of his energy to throw his spear right in my direction. I saw the weapon coming right at me and moved my head out of the way at the last possible second, but then I heard someone behind me scream in panic.
“Professor!” Akira yelled at the top of her lungs.
I swerved my head and looked behind me, and the spear was inches away from piercing Vanessa’s heart until I quickly muttered the all-powerful premonition incantation in my head.
Motus.
The spear stopped right in between Vanessa’s breasts, and her eyes were as wide as dinner plates. Her lips trembled, and her face was two shades paler when she realized how close she had been to instant death.
I willed the spear to turn the opposite direction with all my might and fury, and then I forced it to go flying in the leader’s path. The weapon flew faster than a flash of lightning and pierced him right in the middle of his broad chest.
His eyes widened with agony, and black blood spurted from his thin lips. His men stopped attacking, and they all stared at me in horror. Then the leader collapsed to the ground, and all was still and silent.
“Retreat!” a random soldier shouted. “The general is dead. Pull back now!”
“I don’t fucking think so,” I growled before a familiar and raging sensation overcame my entire body.
There was no way in hell I was going to let these holy bastards go, so with all my fury, darkness, and might, I commanded the earth to split open and swallow each one of these creatures whole. My body trembled, and my blood seared with venomous fury as I willed the forest to shake, and I smiled as each soldier looked at each other in sheer panic.
“Run!” one of them screamed, but as they turned around and began to gallop through the trees, I uttered the most powerful premonition incantation in my head.
Modus antiquorum.
The earth began to crack open as the small army tried to pathetically gallop away, and then I aimed my wand into the ground.
“Illuminati,” I muttered.
A blazing fire began to sprout from the cracks of the ground, and as the equos fell into the hell I created, I relished in every scream and cry that erupted from the earth. The smell of burning, raw fish wafted through the air as the creatures burned and died a most agonizing death. I could feel my own hands growing hot, and my blood raged through me like fire as I watched them all fall into the clefts and burn. I inhaled the smell of their dying bodies, and a satisfied smile crept across my face as the last scaled horse-man fell into the earth and perished in a fiery pit of doom.
Someone placed a hand on my shoulder as all became still once more, and when I turned around, Vanessa was staring at me in a way she never looked at me before.
“Cole… thank you,” she whispered with trembling lips. “Y-You saved my life.”
“Of course.” I nodded. “We need you, Vanessa. I’d never let anything happen to you.”
“Still… thank you,” she repeated after a pregnant silence, and it took her a long moment before she pulled her hand away from my shoulder and then cleared her throat. “Well, Cole, why don’t you use those extraordinary powers of yours to get us out of these fucking woods once and for all?”
