chronicles of eden - act I (60 page)

"Call off your monsters now or you'll burn," Alyssa threatened in a cold voice, her eyes glaring at Tora while they glowed purple. Tora scoffed at her while the fires swirled around her magical barrier, the ground near it turning black and charred while she was sweating heavily from the heat. She could fend off the actual flames with her magical energy, but not the intense temperature. The building below them started to rumble more as flames jettisoned up around through the roof from weak spots and openings.

"It is you that needs to recall your power, Alyssa, we both know you're going to burn everybody around this area if you don't," Tora replied with a dark smile. Alyssa held her staff tightly as it began to waver, shaking a bit as the smoke from the eyes of the skull started to increase. Tora chuckled and swung her staff, causing a burst of air to part the flames around her.

"I'd say you're about to lose control soon, you might want to stop now before it's too late," she warned with a smirk. Alyssa clenched her other hand slightly as the bright red light continued to shine in her palm. Two more streams of fire erupted from either side of her and flew into the air, then shot down towards Tora in a fiery rain. The dark witch shielded her face with her arm as she crouched down, her barrier slowly diminishing while the scorched ground below her cracked apart. She coughed as the smoke billowed around her then glared at Alyssa who was struggling to hold her staff still. It started to smoke near her hand as she showed a strained expression for a moment. She could feel the magical pull from her staff as tried to focus her mind, her magic surging through and gaining strength by the second.

"Give up now, Tora, you can't beat me!" Alyssa yelled out with frustration. Tora chuckled and slowly lowered her arm to glare at the witch.

"I don't have to; your power will be your own end. Yours, and your little
pet's
," she sneered with a bite. She slowly stood up as the air around her was hazy from the heat, holding her staff tightly with both hands as her ring gave off a dark red light.

"Tell me, how big will the firestorm be? There's an awful lot of tinder and flame below us right now, how long before it slips out of your control? Will your pet be alright seeing how he's right next to the building as we speak?" she questioned with a sly smile. She hopped up onto her staff as the ground below her gave away, collapsing down into a massive swirling firestorm that was once the inside of the library. The roof below Alyssa remained along with the majority of the glowing rings that were coming from below her, the witch standing on a small strip of wood and brick that was held out over her magically infused torrent of fire. Tora sat on her staff sideways and glanced down to the fire as she dangled her feet carelessly beneath her.

"You'll survive I'm sure; you could jump right in and bathe in the fire without a care. But, would your pet be so lucky if those flames washed over him?" she asked with a laugh. Alyssa struggled to hold her staff still as she glanced down, seeing the flames raging out of control as they swirled around faster and faster, the burning fires flowing in a torrent fiercely as her magical spell had taken control of them. The torrent began to crackle and flare around wildly, with small waves of flames shooting up in violent bursts. Alyssa growled loudly then held her hand out towards Tora, creating a large pillar of fire that erupted upwards towards the airborne girl. Tora held down her hand while holding her staff tightly, erecting several small circles of glowing symbols in a bluish light that spun around below her. The flames crashed into the rings, with one shattering instantly, then parted around the witch as Alyssa held her hand towards her still. Tora chuckled while wavering a bit in the air then looked over towards Alyssa.

"It must be strenuous on your mind to try to control that much fire, how are you feeling? Don't lose your focus or else everybody will see firsthand while they call you the
Wild
fire Witch," she taunted with a smirk. Alyssa growled and waved her hand towards the dark witch again. Two more powerful streams of fire erupted up from the swirling torrent of flames towards Tora, the witch looking down as two more of her barriers were shattered by the fires. She wavered slightly in the air then laughed playfully.

"I'm not going to lie, summoning this many of my beautiful pets here in the city was a bit of a drain on my magic. I don’t think I have much power in my reserves right now to use any real powerful spells for the moment. Still, the thought of seeing you finally falling renews my spirits. Tell me, do you think you can break through my remaining power before yours goes out of control? I don't believe you'll be able to stop it once it goes critical," she snickered, sweating from the heat while glaring at Alyssa.

Alyssa's hand trembled as she struggled to keep focused. Her staff wavered more as she strained to keep it steady, feeling her mind stretching to control the magic she was using. Tora laughed and shook her head amusingly.

"You fool, trying to use your trump card right away on me, how stupid can you be? I feel a bit of pity for that pet of yours, being stuck with such a lowly monster in life," she hissed.

"Don't call him that!" Alyssa yelled out with energy, straining her mind as she waved her hand towards Tora fiercely. A wild tornado of fire spun up into the air around Tora, the witch looking around with surprise as she wavered again in the air. A blast of flame erupted around her, the witch screaming as she fell off her staff and down towards the ground. She tumbled around while her staff fell alongside her, the girl quickly grabbing it and sweeping it under her as she neared the ground. Her barriers shattered with bright flashes of light as they parted the flames on the floor of the building by smothering them, the tornado of fire then closing in and swirling around wildly as Tora touched down on the scorched ground. She held up her staff as the fire encased and spun around her, using her magic to block the flames from reaching her while she held an arm up to shield her face. Alyssa looked down into the torrent of flame with a cold glare, struggling to hold her staff still as the skull ornament was giving off bursts of fire from its eye sockets. Tora stood on the ground level of the library while holding her staff up, surrounded by a large torrent of flame that spun around throughout the building.

"You won't get away, Tora, I've had enough of your games!" Alyssa yelled down at her. Tora looked up to her with frustration as she coughed from the smoke and heat. The walls of the building started to crack and wither away while the ground tore up slightly in some areas.

"I think I'll survive here long enough, Alyssa, long enough to see you burn this city to the ground!" Tora shouted back. Alyssa yelled out as she aimed her hand down at Tora, the red light burning brightly in her palm as the firestorm swirled violently around the dark witch. Tora glanced around as the crackling grew louder, the flames spinning faster and faster while she held her staff upright to keep her magical barrier erected.

"What's it going to be, Alyssa? If you want to kill me you're going to have to reduce this city to ashes, which is going to be very soon if you don't stop the spell!" she called up with a slight laugh. Alyssa growled with frustration as she waved her hand towards Tora again, creating a wave of fire that flared from the torrent and slammed into Tora's barrier. The dark witch struggled to remain standing as she coughed and shielded her face from the heat, and then looked up to Alyssa with frustration.

"I'll never surrender to you, Alyssa, not when I'm part of something greater than you'll ever realize. Your fire will soon die!" she said with malice.

Outside in the streets Daniel and the others were watching as bright flames were shooting out from the windows and broken entrance of the library building. Specca watched with worried eyes as the whirring and crackling sound of the firestorm grew louder while Daniel watched the sight carefully.

"What is going on in there?" Triska asked nervously.

"Is it just me, or is the fire growing… larger," Specca said shakily.

From nearby a large serpent hissed loudly before charging towards the group. Triska glanced to it then ran towards the monster with her sword drawn to her side, watching as the serpent closed in on her with an open mouth. She darted to the side then sliced through the head and neck of the monster as it went past her, the sword cleaving through the scaly hide of the beast as she ran alongside it. Daniel pushed Specca back as Squeak ran forward and leapt into the air with her pickaxe held high, the girl flying down and spiking her digging tool into the head of the beast with a powerful strike. The serpent jerked down and slammed into the street as Triska stopped and spun around. Squeak geared back and swung down, then again, and again, carving up the head of the monster with loud squeaks as she showed a frustrated expression. Triska watched her friend tear apart the monster's head then smirked, seeing her friend once again pushing through her fear with a big boost of adrenaline. Four armed guards of Ashwood stared at the ant girl who was striking down repeatedly at the serpent that now lay still in the street with black smoke coming from its many wounds and cuts.

"Never seen… a pickaxe used like that before," one of the women commented. They then turned to see two serpents on the other side of the street near them, with one coming from around the corner of the library while another was coming straight out of a wall above it from a tall building. The one above hissed loudly then shot down towards the guards, snatching one up in its mouth with a sickening crunch. Blood splattered out from the sides of the monster's mouth as it yanked back and snapped up its prey.

"No, Elena!" another guard yelled as she watched her comrade be devoured. The monster shook its head around then flung the remains of the woman it had crushed and torn apart off to the side, the bloody remains splattering against the side of the library building while the monster looked back towards the other three guards with blood dripping from its mouth. The serpent near the library raced towards the women with a loud howl, its body seeming to stretch and expand out as it closed in on them.

"Goddamned monsters!" one of the guards yelled as she ran forward and swung down with her blade, striking the nose of the monster as it snapped at her. She swung to the side before another guard ran up and struck down on the head with her sword as well, the women slicing across the monster's face causing more wounds that let off puffs of black smoke. The third guard ran over and picked up her fallen comrade's blade, then threw it towards the serpent above them with a sharp throw. The blade spun around with a whistling sound before it struck into the neck of the serpent with a slick crunch. The monster howled then raced down towards her, the guard darting to the side as it crashed into the ground next to her. It then swung its head to the side and struck the woman and smashed her into a building, her armor caving in as she coughed out blood before being crushed through the brick wall.

"No!" Specca cried out as the large serpent flailed around with a blade stuck in its throat. The remaining two female guards of Ashwood struck down their beast then looked over to the other one as it howled loudly while looking over towards them. One of the women yelled out with anger and ran toward the monster with her blade held to the side, swinging it towards the beast with a fierce roar as she raced up to it. The serpent darted up, then swung down with its head and smashed the woman into the ground. Triska and Squeak looked at the bloodied crater in the ground with surprise as the serpent raced toward the last guard, opening its jaws wide as the woman watched with a stunned expression. She blinked then darted off to the side, the monster just missing her as she rolled over and onto her feet.

"To hell with you!" she yelled as she struck her blade into the side of the beast as it raced past her, carving through the body as the woman braced herself with both feet. She grabbed the lodged blade from her comrade’s throw that traveled near her, the woman then swiping out her own sword to the side before spinning around and swinging down with both blades. They carved two gashes through the body as the snake coiled back and raced towards her. She swung her blades outward as the monster charged her, with both of them going into the roof of its mouth and piercing up through its head as it knocked her back and pushed her across the street. One of her boots skidded against the cobblestone street while the other was pushing down on the beast's lower jaw to keep it from closing on her, the woman trying to stop the monster's charge as it kept trying to bite down on her. As they neared the side of the street and raced towards a building the woman darted off to the side into a roll, the serpent then crashing into the building as the guard stumbled back to her feet. The monster thrashed around then pulled back out of the destroyed building and hissed loudly, the face of the beast smoking as it had two swords protruding up through its head.

"It's still not dead?" Daniel exclaimed, jumping with surprise as the serpent howled loudly before racing towards the Ashwood guard. She stumbled back onto her rear as it charged towards her with a loud hiss, the woman watching with wide eyes as the beast closed in. Before it could open its mouth a pickaxe whipped by in a wild spin, striking into the monster's eye. It howled in pain as it wavered to the side, crashing through the sides of a few buildings and barrels. The woman looked to her side as Triska and Squeak ran past her and towards the serpent, with Triska yelling loudly as she struck her blade into the side of the monster and continued running alongside it with her sword carving a large gash through it. Squeak jumped up onto the monster's head and grabbed her pickaxe, held on tightly, then hopped off and landed on the ground while yanking the tool to the side. The serpent made a sharp turn as it was yanked to the side while the Ashwood guard stumbled back onto her feet, the woman watching with wonder as the ant girl and teen were taking on the monster.

"Just die already!" Triska yelled as she swiped her blade out of the body of the serpent, having carved a large gash through the extended neck of the monster. Squeak yanked her pickaxe out of the monster's eye then struck down again, the powerful spike causing the head of the beast to jerk down to the ground with a thud.