Chapter 6
“Look at thissssss,” a deep and disturbing voice hissed. “We have several guests in our midssssssst… and one of them is a little less cooperative than the others. Tssssk, tssssk, tsssssssssssssk.”
“I can’t seem to get inside its head,” another voice croaked. “Something powerful is preventing me from taking a closer look…”
“Yeah, just keep trying,” I growled as I pulled out my wand and dagger. “You won’t even come close.”
“Is that sooooooo?” the first voice whistled, and suddenly, all the snake-like eyes disappeared at once. “Sisters, I do believe we have a young and healthy man in our presence. I haven’t seen one in these parts for a very looooong time.”
My skin crawled and turned ice-cold as their high-pitched voices penetrated my mind, like a worm burrowing into the earth, and I knew I was gravely outnumbered.
But not outmatched, and I would soon prove to these creatures the mistake they had made attacking me and my women.
As the sound of their laughter grew louder and shriller, a sickly green mist formed around me like a cocoon, and the smell was rancid. The odor was like decomposing fish left to rot under the sun, and I wanted to cover my nose and block out the overpowering scent, but I tuned out their shrill cries and tightened my grip on my wand and dagger.
“Just let us innnnnnnn,” the voices taunted as they tried to push on my mental barriers. “Why are you fighting so hard against us?”
I gritted my teeth, ignored their questions, and forced myself to see through the growing haze. It was exceedingly difficult, though, and no matter where I looked, I couldn’t see a damn thing. Whoever was taunting me must have been deep down in the bog. My eyes burned as the mist continued to dance around the murky waters, and when I strained my vision, I thought I could see one pair of slit-shaped serpentine eyes glaring at me.
“What the hell did you do to my coven?” I demanded. “Show yourself!”
“Coven?” the voices repeated in unison. “Ah, so you’re a witch?”
“That’s fucking right,” I snarled. “And my power is beyond measure.”
Suddenly, the voices stopped giggling, and everything went still. The mist thickened, and the sky darkened, but I kept my wand out in front of me and my dagger close to my opposite side. I planted my feet as well as I could in the muddy marshes, and when I heard the splash of water, I sucked in a sharp breath and waited for my enemy to appear.
Dozens of women with sagging green reptile skin and wide wet mouths were slowly emerging from the water, and they were hideous-looking creatures. They were tall beings with broad shoulders and hunched over backs, and their hair was long, dark, and stringy, stuck to patches on their bald heads. Slits in the middle of the faces acted as nostrils, but the space where their eyes should have been was just a vacant stretch of warty skin. Their breasts and stomachs drooped like layers of melted candle wax, and their feet and toenails were long and filthy. The skin between their toes was webbed, and when they raised their scaled hands, a long shiver ran down my spine.
Snake-like eyeballs were embedded in the center of their palms, and each time they slowly blinked, the smiles on their eyeless faces widened.
I’d never seen such repulsive women.
“A male witch’s soul would make such a delicious meal,” one woman giggled. “I don’t believe we’ve ever had one, have we, Cinthia?”
“Noooooo,” another sickly woman chuckled, and when she laughed, her floppy stomach jiggled like spoiled jelly. “I would certainly remember that. Oh, I bet his flesh is sweet and juicy. Let’s kill him slowly, shall we, sisters? I’d like to take my time with this one.”
The women started to approach me, and as they did, I took several steps back with my wand raised. Their smiles widened, but little did they know I was ready to wreak havoc on them, no matter how much power it took.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Then I pictured the sun burning bright above us, and I imagined its golden rays engulfing the women where they stood. I had no idea what kind of creatures these ugly bitches were, but I had a strong feeling they loathed the sun. After all, their habitat was shielded with mist, and the scale-skinned creatures only emerged when the sun disappeared behind thick gray clouds.
“What is he doing?” one of the women laughed. “He’s just standing there, and he isn’t even using his wand!”
“All the better for us,” another creature cackled. “I love when my meal doesn’t even put up a fight.”
“So do I,” a shrill voice echoed. “Fear often taints the blood. He will be so sweet.”
The creatures all snickered in response, and even with my eyes closed, I could feel the marsh women honing in on me. I could practically see the drool dripping from the corners of their wide lips, and when they were only a few feet away, I prepared to recite the most powerful and ancient of spells.
“Motus!” I cried out as I opened my eyes.
The snake-like women were gathered around me in a large circle, and their serpentine gazes were fixed on me hungrily. Then the sun started to appear as the clouds quickly parted, and the marsh women all started to wildly scream and writhe in pain as the yellow rays fell upon them. Their thick, green skin split open like over-ripened fruit, and yellow pus dripped from their wounds as the rays of sunlight burned through their scaly surface and melted their bones.
The sun’s rays mercilessly continued to beat down on the monstrous women, and they desperately tried to rush back to their watery domain, but very few managed to dive back to safety. Chaos broke loose as the air was filled with smoke and the stench of charred flesh, but when the nearest marsh woman started to disintegrate, she screamed and laughed at the same time.
I raised my eyebrow at her, and when she saw my quizzical glare, she smiled through the agony, and her yellow-stained teeth gleamed under the light.
“Your women are still stunned,” she shrieked, and then deep green blood spurted from her cracked lips. “If… you want to save them, you’re going to have to enter their minds to do it, but no living creature has ever… done it.”
I forced myself to keep smiling at her, and as the sun shone even brighter, each woman let out one last shriek before they disintegrated into a thousand chunks of raw, snake-like flesh. Their limbs quickly melted into thick puddles, and as their futile cries died down, I stepped toward my immobilized coven and familiars and carefully studied their paralyzed faces. They looked cold, completely devoid of emotion, and it pained me to see them all frozen in place with no will or feeling of their own. The snake-like woman said it would be impossible to break through their magic, but I didn’t care.
I’d beat their power, no matter the cost. I was the Dark Lord reborn, and nothing would stand in my way.
So, with all my will, I stared long and hard at each of my women, and when I gently grasped onto Revna’s wrist, my world slowly transformed.
The marshes faded from view as my head violently throbbed, and my entire body burned like a thousand needles were pricking my skin. My head spun, and my world turned dark, but then my feet found solid ground. I struggled to open my eyes, but when I finally peeled them open, I was in the middle of a mass grave.
Bodies littered the floor and were splattered among piles of rubble and rock, but the corpses were so decomposed, charred, and bloody that it was impossible to see who the victims were. When I craned my neck to look above me, the sky was the color of blood, and there wasn’t one cloud in sight. The air smelled like burnt bodies mixed with fresh blood, and if I wasn’t mistaken, the scent of freshly concocted potions and brews also lingered around me. Everything was so destroyed, I wasn’t sure where I was until I heard the shrill screams.
Without a moment of hesitation, I ran and followed the agonizing cries until I reached something that resembled a ruined classroom, and my mouth instantly fell open when I realized I was in Scholomance.
Desks were overturned, glass was everywhere, and bodies were scattered all over the floor. There were rows of rope nooses hanging from the ceiling, and several professors were dangling above my head like rag dolls. Their faces were white-washed, and their lips were deep purple. Crows were feasting on their pallid, broken flesh, and judging by the smell and their appearance, they’d been dead for a long time now. My heart pounded with vengeance and sorrow as I took a couple of steps forward, and as much as I wanted to pray to Satan that I would find a way out of here, it was difficult to find the words when I was the Dark Lord himself.
Then I heard another ear-piercing scream. It sounded like it was coming from behind me, but when I looked around, I couldn’t see a damn thing. Everyone in the classroom was dead and gone, but I still needed to find out where my coven was. Before I could wonder about it any longer, another ear-piercing scream filled the air, and I thought I saw a dim light coming from the outside of the classroom at the end of one of the corridors.
I rushed out of the bloody room, and as I ran down the hallway, my heart hammered in my chest, sweat broke across my face, and my mouth went dry. My feet throbbed and burned as I continued to push onward, and it seemed like the further I ran, the longer the corridor grew. I tried my best to keep going, but no matter how hard I sprinted, the hallway continued to stretch and grow.
“Noooooooo!” Revna’s voice cried out. “Heeeeelp! Maaaaaaaaster!”
“Get your hands off her!” another familiar voice screamed, and it took a moment for me to realize it was Vanessa. “By Satan, I will kill you for this! Let her go!”
I thought I was running for hours, and when I finally reached the banquet hall doors, I could hear voices and screams coming from within. I pushed the barred doors open with all my strength, and when I stepped inside, my jaw nearly hit the ground.
There, organized in a long row, was every woman from my unholy coven. They were kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs, and a small pyre of broken wands was in the middle of the room. All the familiars were unconscious or dead on the floor, and as terrifying as it was to see my women and creatures held captive, there was something else that made my heart stop.
It was Headmistress Theodora kneeling before two tall elders, and one of them was the Elder Lord.
I immediately recognized his blond hair, blue eyes, and unforgettable smug grin. He looked so full of himself, and to see him so fucking proud made my blood boil. All I wanted to do was pull out my blade and cut the flesh from his face, but I knew this wasn’t reality, and if I wanted to save my women, I had to focus on them and not that holy bastard.
“You are hereby sentenced to die by the end of my sanctified blade,” the Elder Lord growled, and his voice echoed like thunder. “The heavens have judged you accordingly, and now you will suffer the consequences. Do you have any last words?”
Theodora didn’t say a thing, and when enough silence had passed, the Elder Lord lifted his blade and slowly brought the weapon down.
“Nooooooo!” A loud and penetrating scream erupted from Vanessa’s lips, but before the blade could cut Theodora’s head from her neck, I raised my hand.
Everything started to occur in slow motion, and it took a long moment before I could hoist one foot in front of another.
As I lifted my feet and forced myself to move forward, the long, slender sword slowly descended and was only inches away from touching the headmistress’ soft ivory neck. At that moment, I knew I only had a few seconds to reach the women before one of their greatest fears came true. I had a horrible inkling we were trapped in some kind of alternate universe, and if I didn’t do something soon, we would be stuck here forever. The vision was consuming them, but perhaps if I could touch one woman, then everything would dissolve into nothingness, and we would return to the real world.
It was a theory, but at least it was worth a shot.
I tried to run toward the witches, and when I drew closer, I stretched out my hand. I moved as fast as I could, but my body was still propelling at a lumbering pace. When I looked down, each foot was slowly moving in front of the other, and my entire body felt heavy, like a block of marble slowly sinking underwater. It took all my strength to push through whatever void I had created, but if it was of my making, then I sure as hell could beat it.
“Stooooooooop!” I ordered, and my voice was several octaves lower than usual.
Slowly, the Elder Lord turned his head, and my women were doing the same, but before any of them could fully swing around to face me, I reached out and touched Morgana’s shoulder with the tip of my finger. Then a loud explosion erupted from nothingness, and a bright light engulfed us all.
It felt like my body was swimming through an endless white vortex, and I thought I was shadow porting for a moment, but somehow the feeling was even more violent. I suppressed a loud scream as my insides twisted and turned, and then my feet slammed into the ground, and I snapped open my eyes.
I was back in the marshes, but this time, the murky bodies of water were gone, and the corpses of the snake-like women had completely melted into the grass. Their bodies were slowly turning into beds of bright red flowers with large thorns and yellow irises, and now the sky was clear blue dotted with clouds as soft and as white as snow. Birds of every color and shape flew across the canvas and chirped in harmony, and the air smelled like spring time rather than putrid death.
“Unholy hell,” Vanessa breathed as she came back to herself, and her eyes were shining with tears. “I s-saw my mother. She was being executed by an elder--”
“He was the Elder Lord,” I clarified. “He was the one I saw when Samara was pulled into a living vision.”
“It seemed so real, though,” Faye panted as her green eyes darted back and forth. “One minute we were here, and then it was like this world was a dream and our capture was reality.”
I felt like I was dying, Alex grunted in my head.
“Something possessed you,” I said as I looked around the group. “At least that’s what I think… I’d never seen or heard of such creatures before.”
“What creatures, master?” Akira asked with a raised black eyebrow. “What exactly happened?”
“You turned as still as stone, and your eyes went vacant,” I explained. “Then these snake-like women emerged from the marshes and taunted me. They had eyes on the palms of their hands and long stringy hair. They said they would devour me like they were devouring you…”
“It sounds like nomes,” Morgana gasped with wide, blue eyes. “Did they have scaly skin and hiss like a snake?”
“Yes.” I nodded.
“Definitely nomes,” the bookish brunette confirmed. “They are soul suckers who transfix their targets by showing them their worst nightmare. Then, when their prey is still as stone, they eat everything, including the bones.”
“How vile,” Vesta said with a small scowl on her perfect face.
“I’ve heard of watery creatures who devour flesh, but never bone and soul,” Marina said as she looked around the group. “What a terrible notion.”
“Indeed, and it would have been our fate,” Vanessa said in a low voice, “but thanks to Cole, we’re safe.”
“And the marshes are gone,” Penelope said as she sniffed the air. “These flowers are special… if we can ground them up, I’m sure their properties would be unique.”
“Take a few,” Vanessa ordered. “It might come in handy.”
“Vanessa’s right,” I said as I squinted up and looked at the sky, “but let’s not be deceived. Nightfall could creep on us at any moment.”
“Agreed,” the professor said. “I’m not looking forward to any more surprises.”
“I’ll be quick,” Penelope said before she snatched up a few flowers, and when she was done, we continued marching toward the kingdom.
As we walked, the women and familiars followed close behind, and by the time the sun was burning a bright shade of orange, I knew it was time to rest for the night. If we attempted to pass through the kingdom gates on the brink of dusk, I knew it would look suspicious, and after the long day I’d endured, I was in no mood to risk it.
“Let’s camp here,” I said, and my coven nodded their heads in agreement. “We’ll head to the kingdom gates in the morning.”
We set up camp, and after we sat around in a circle, we ate a small meal of rabbit stew. Penelope experimented with the flower petals a little and then declared she could make a potion to extend our meal and stave off future hunger. I told her it sounded like a good idea, so she added the flower petals to our dinner, as well as some shreds of raw bark, and the orange-haired Wicca explained we would feel the effects of the potion once the sun set.
When our bellies were full, Vanessa stood up and dusted her hands. Then she gracefully flicked her wand, and a giant tent appeared near a cluster of rocks. We slipped inside, and I was surprised at how large the tent was compared to the outside.
“How lovely,” Vesta purred before she looked at Vanessa. “Why didn’t you make us tents like these before?”
“Because I was never a mistress to a master before,” the professor replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “Now, I am more than willing to serve Cole in every way imaginable.”
“Thank you, Vanessa.” I grinned before I took another look around.
A long and wide bed was in the middle of the space, and it was grand enough to fit all of us and more. Silk drapes hung over the bedding, and satin sheets and pillows adorned every corner of the bed.
“Master,” Vanessa breathed, and when I looked at her, there was a slight blush on her cheeks. “W-Will you lie in the middle of the bed so we may surround you? I’d like to feel your warmth as I sleep.”
“Of course,” I replied before I stripped off my clothing and crawled under the sheets.
The other women swiftly followed, and by the time I closed my eyes, I drifted into a deep and dreamless sleep.
When I woke up, I knew it was still dark, but the sun was on the brink of rising. The others were still sound asleep, and even Vanessa was lying on her side with her eyes tightly shut. Normally, she was one of the first to wake up, but I figured she’d never slept so deeply and peacefully before. She was pressed against me, and I smiled before I brushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. When I finished marveling at every witch’s beauty, I gently slipped out of bed and dressed. Some of the women groaned in their sleep, but no one sat up.
After I finished buttoning up my shirt, I stepped outside, and the sun was slowly rising over the horizon and streaking the sky in bright oranges and pinks. Everything was in bloom, and when I took a deep breath, the smell of dew-covered grass filled the air. For a moment, it felt like the world was at peace, and the thought of war and mayhem seemed distant, like a prior concern.
But then I looked over at the sleeping familiars and the full tent, and I remembered the Elder Lord’s face and his deadly promises. I thought of the three Dark Miracles and unlocking my full potential, and suddenly, a rush of determination flowed through my veins and pumped fiery blood into my heart.
Cole? Alex asked in a sleepy voice. What’s wrong? You seem… distracted.
“Nothing’s wrong.” I smiled. “It’s just that today feels like the perfect day to destroy a holy kingdom, and I’m ready for the sound of death to ring through the air. Now, let’s get going. I’m itching to use my Satanic power.”