chronicles of eden - act I (103 page)

“That’s not going to stop me from hacking it into goddamned pieces!”

In the world of Eden, tragedy could strike at any time. For those that ventured out into the world or marched off to battle, there was always the risk of never coming back. With bandits, monsters, and even nature itself posing a threat to those that traveled the lands, disaster could strike even when least suspected. No matter how skilled a warrior may be, or how cunning a traveler may seem, there was no way of knowing what lay around each corner. In this world inhabited by lustful monsters and treacherous humans, one must always prepare themselves for the unknown. Tread carefully when in the wild, keep your wits about you, trust only those closest to you, and if you have anything significant to say to somebody, tell them as soon as possible.

Or forever hold your peace.

*****

High above the caravan the nightmare held onto Daniel, the boy seeming to be in a deep sleep and unaware that he was in the arms of a soul eating class monster. Next to the parked ride a group of girls were staring up at the monster with anger, which was from both the nightmare's relentless curse most of them endured where they experienced horrible and heart crushing scenarios over and over again, and from the fact that the nightmare was trying to take Daniel's soul right before their eyes. Triska, Alyssa, Squeak, and Specca watched the nightmare float above them, its coiled tail swaying around slowly behind as it eyed them with a cold emotionless stare, while Luna and Falla were keeping a close eye on Daniel.

"Alyssa, can't you snatch Daniel away from that thing?" Triska asked quickly, glancing to the witch. Alyssa shook her head as she kept her staff aimed up at the nightmare.

"I've been trying to, it's like my magic goes right through it," she growled with frustration. Specca watched the airborne monster closely, something about it poking at her mind.

"Through it…" she repeated quietly to herself.

"Dammit, we can't let it get away with him," Triska raged as she looked up at the monster. Alyssa waved her staff towards the nightmare with a sharp thrust, again doing nothing to budge the monster while the air around it rippled away slightly.

"I can't even grab onto it or Daniel, how powerful is this thing anyway?" she questioned, shaking her head with frustration. Specca looked carefully at the nightmare, seeing how it was holding Daniel close to it while letting out a ghastly moan.

"Something's not right," Specca pointed out cautiously.

"Falla, Luna, fly up there and-" Triska started before the butterfly sisters looked to her with disbelief.

"And what, die horrifically and painfully? No thanks," Falla said shaking her head.

"We're not fighters like you. That's why we needed to wake you up first, so you could fight this thing," Luna said nervously.

"Yeah, we did our part, now do yours and get Daniel away from that thing. I can't get his seed if he's dead you know," Falla ordered, waving up to the airborne monster expectedly. Triska, Alyssa, and Squeak looked to her with discontent while Specca continued to watch the nightmare carefully.

"Excuse me? Like hell you're getting Daniel's seed!" Triska yelled out.

"I helped save you and your friends' lives just now, not to mention he promised to help me get pregnant earlier. It's rightfully mine!" Falla barked back.

"No it isn’t, he promised you no such thing!" Alyssa yelled back.

"I just saved your life, witch, show some goddamned gratitude and quit trying to get in my way of having a daughter!" Falla shouted back. Squeak shook her head and pointed to Falla accusingly while squeaking in discontent. Falla just looked at her bewildered then shook her head.

"I have no idea what you just said, but I don't like the way you said it," she snapped back.

"Hey!" Specca called out. The girls all looked to her as she was watching the nightmare carefully.

"Aside from Falla's illegitimate claim to Daniel's seed, this isn't right at all. Look," she said, pointing up towards the monster. The group looked up as the nightmare was still just watching them, floating in place while its tail coiled slowly around behind it again.

"What are you talking about, and what the hell do you mean by 'my illegitimate claim'?" Falla demanded looking back to Specca.

"Look, its holding Daniel," Specca pointed out.

"Yeah, we can see that, what's your point?" Triska asked. Alyssa blinked then slowly peered closely at the nightmare.

"Wait a minute,
how
is it holding him?" she asked carefully. The girls looked to her then back up to the nightmare as Specca adjusted her glasses, examining the airborne monster cautiously.

"What do you mean, with its arms. What are you, stupid?" Falla scoffed at the witch. Alyssa glanced to her then shook her head.

"Nightmares are
ethereal
monsters. Spirits.
Ghosts
," she explained with annoyance.

"How can it hold onto Daniel, it doesn't have a physical body," Specca said shaking her head with confusion.

"Wait, you mean nightmares can't grab onto their prey?" Triska asked.

"No, they don't have bodies, it's impossible. They can only interact with you in your dreams, in the real world they're just spectral entities," Specca said while watching the nightmare that was somehow holding Daniel in its arms.

"But… it's holding onto him right now," Luna said pointing up at the nightmare.

"Yes, but it shouldn't be able to. It's been scratching into my mind since I saw it up there, and now I understand why; a nightmare holding Daniel like that just can't be possible," Specca said carefully. Alyssa blinked then looked over to Lucky, the horse still standing peacefully while looking ahead at the foggy surroundings.

"Lucky isn't screaming or anything…" she said cautiously. The girls all looked to the horse that was somehow remaining perfectly calm while a nightmare was floating above the caravan, then back up to the monster with puzzled expressions.

"How can Lucky be so calm about a nightmare flying over our heads, can't he see it?" Triska asked bewildered. Alyssa looked over to Lucky then back up to the nightmare, the ethereal monster just hovering in place while looking down at them.

"Why isn't it flying away with Daniel? Why is it just floating up there watching us?" Falla questioned cautiously.

"Nightmares always stay close to their prey when they’re haunting them," Specca said softly, slowly looking around at the veils of fog surrounding the area. After a pause she looked up at the nightmare, her eyes widening as she watched it just stare back down at them.

"It's not holding Daniel," she reasoned with a jump.

"What are you talking about, we can all see it clear as day up there holding him," Falla argued, waving up towards the nightmare once again. Alyssa narrowed her eyes at the nightmare then held her staff out to the side, yanking Triska's blade out of her hand and casting it into the air in a wild spin.

"Alyssa! What are you doing?" Triska yelled out as they watched the sword whip around in an arc and strike at the nightmare's tail, the blade phasing right through the skeletal frame without a sound. Alyssa stared at the nightmare with surprise as the airborne sword flew down and struck into the ground next to Triska.

"It… went right through the nightmare," Triska said in disbelief.

"It's not real, it's an illusion!" Alyssa called out.

"It's just taunting us, stalling us so it can steal Daniel's soul. Nightmares are very adept with using magical trickery and illusions, their curses are proof of that alone," Specca explained while watching the nightmare above stare at them with a cold smile. It let out a quiet wail before slowly dissolving into black smoke that drifted away.

"What, but… then where's Daniel? And the real nightmare, where are they?" Triska asked looking around franticly.

"They have to be close by, the nightmare was trying to steal our souls as well, it couldn't be far off from here," Specca reasoned hopefully. Alyssa glanced around carefully then slowly lowered her staff as she looked down at the ground.

"Girls… do you remember what we were doing when we stopped here?" she asked cautiously. Triska, Squeak, and Specca looked to her then to each other.

"We… um, we stopped for something," Triska said unsurely. Squeak looked down in puzzlement as Specca thought about it, scratching her head as she tried to remember what happened before falling asleep.

"I was wondering that myself, you were all lying around asleep after stopping in the middle of nowhere. What were you doing?" Falla asked cautiously. The girls looked to her then to each other.

"I… don't remember exactly, I can't remember what was real or one of those accursed dreams I had," Specca said worriedly. Squeak shook her head and squeaked something while Triska looked around quickly.

"Dammit, I… I don't remember either. We stopped here for something, but I have no idea what," Triska grunted with frustration.

Alyssa looked down in thought, struggling to remember where Daniel went before they all lost consciousness to the nightmare's curse. She remembered they stopped for a reason, and Daniel offered to take care of that reason so the girls could relax. After a moment she slowly looked back towards Lucky.

"Lucky," she said softly. The girls all looked to her as she stared at the white horse nearby.

"Daniel… was going to take Lucky off to graze, we stopped so he could get something to eat," she said as she pointed to the horse that was still hitched to the caravan. All the girls looked to it with confusion.

"But… the horse is still there," Falla said puzzled. Alyssa watched Lucky carefully, the horse not showing any fear or reaction to anything around him. After a pause she quickly glanced around then looked back to the horse with urgency.

"Lucky, bandits!" she screamed out.

Lucky didn't budge an inch. The girls just watched him stand there casually, not making a sound or even looking over to Alyssa.

"What the… he's not doing anything," Triska said puzzled.

"Lucky?" Specca asked worriedly. Alyssa narrowed her eyes as she clutched her staff tightly in her hand.

"That's not Lucky!" Alyssa declared, the witch then throwing her staff towards Lucky. The group watched as it flew through the horse, the image of the animal washing away in swirling clouds of black smoke while the relic shot out the other side and struck into the dirt road. As the smoke cleared the girls saw the nightmare where the horse was before, glaring at them with glowing blue eyes as a dark shadow circled around beneath it. The monster floated above the ground while its coiled skeletal tail slowly unraveled, phasing through the caravan slightly before moving forward and turning to face the group.

"Lucky was never with us, it was that damned thing the entire time?" Triska asked with surprise.

"Daniel took Lucky off to graze, we were waiting for them to come back," Alyssa explained as she glared at the nightmare that mirrored her horse's image for them.

"But then where's Daniel?" Falla shouted out with frustration.

"He could be anywhere out there with the real Lucky, asleep and having his soul being taken away," Triska said looking around the fog with fearful eyes. Specca examined the nightmare then slowly shook her head.

"No, it wouldn't try to isolate Daniel; it doesn't need a male to breed, it needs souls. It doesn't matter if they're from a man or monster, male or female, it just wants souls, and lots of them," she reasoned carefully.

"It wanted all of us, not just Daniel," Alyssa said looking over to the nixie. Specca nodded and slowly looked around at the caravan.

"It switched places with Lucky while he was out there, and Daniel brought it right back to us. Which means…" she said before trailing off, eyes widening with the realization.

"Which means 'Lucky' has got to be the absolute
worst
name for that horse. Seriously, Alyssa, he's anything
but
lucky!" Triska cried out looking at Alyssa. Alyssa looked at her with disbelief then shook her head with frustration.

"She means Daniel's here, you idiot!" she shouted out expectantly.

"No he isn't, we searched the area for him before waking you up. He's not in the caravan or around it anywhere. All we found was the nightmare inside that thing, and it flew outside as soon as we saw it," Falla said shaking her head. She blinked then looked to Luna.

"Wait a second, Luna? Didn't you say it touched your wing in the caravan?" she asked quickly. The group looked to Luna as she showed a worried expression.

"Um, well yes, I felt it brush against my wing while I was inside, why?" she asked.

"You felt it, but… the nightmare couldn't have touched you, it's just a spirit monster," Alyssa said shaking her head.

"I'm not making this up! I felt something brush against my wing that wasn't there, I know I did!" Luna cried out defensively. The girls looked at her for a moment then over to the caravan.

"If it wasn't the nightmare she felt touching her wing…" Triska said carefully.

"Something that was there, but couldn't be seen…" Specca said as the girls all looked back to each other. After a moment's pause they all jumped and looked back to the caravan.

"Daniel!" they all cried out. Triska growled then quickly grabbed her sword, yanking it out of the ground with a swift pull. She ran towards the nightmare with the others following behind her. The nightmare howled loudly at them before Triska swung down with her blade, slicing through the ethereal image causing it to billow away to the sides in darkened wisps of smoke. The girls all raced past where the monster was split in half, the nightmare then slowly reforming and looking back to seeing them scrambling into the caravan.

"He's in here! He's being hidden by the nightmare!" Specca called out, looking around franticly.

"That's why it lured us outside, to keep us from getting close to Daniel. How dare that damned thing try to deceive
me
!" Falla shouted out with frustration. The other girls merely glanced to her briefly with dull expressions from that remark before looking around inside the cabin quickly again.