From the Ashes (A School for Good and Evil Fanfic)

Part 10

So sorry about the wait. I was super busy and didn't have time to post a new chapter this weekend. Anyways, I'm not gone and I'm back with some more ridiculous SGE nonsense. So without further ado, enjoy!

The sun had begun to rise, its vibrant oranges and pinks mixed with cooler purples as it streaked across the morning sky. Birds twittered in the trees, and the woodland creatures playing in the bushes yipped and squeaked. A light breeze swept across the forest, adding to the ambience of it all.

There was a crunch as two pairs of boots landed on the ground, their owners having jumped down from a nearby rock. The taller figure groaned, ruining the tranquility of the Woods.

"These boots are killing me," Hester complained, rubbing her foot, and then slamming it against a nearby tree. Lilith only watched as she grabbed her foot, her teeth clenched from pain. 

"And you thought breaking your toe would make it better?" Lilith raised an eyebrow. "And no wonder those boots don't fit. You wore them when you were twelve."

Hester cringed, still not used to the fact that she was older than she remembered being less than a day ago, although it had really been much longer than she thought. "I'll just go barefoot," she decided, pulling off her boots with some difficulty.

"And stab yourself on a thorn or sharp rock?" Lilith asked. "I don't think so."

"You're not my mother!" Hester growled, yanking off her other boot.

"Take mine," Lilith said, taking off her own boots with ease and passing them to Hester. Hester looked at her in surprise.

“But then you’ll get stabbed with thorns and rocks,” she protested.

Lilith laughed. “No offense, but I have a much higher pain tolerance than you do. I’ll be fine.”

Hester scowled. She’d have to stop being such a weakling if she wanted to get into the School for Evil. Well, that’s what came from living alone all her life, with no adventures and no one to teach her what she needed to know to survive in a cruel world like this one.

“How much longer until we reach the mountain?” Hester questioned as they entered a rather dense section of the forest. Here, the sun could hardly shine through the multitude of branches up above, which, given the rustling of the bushes and branches, was home to many animals, some harmless and others surely deadly.

“Probably another day or two, if we keep traveling on foot,” Lilith replied. “Wait.” she stopped suddenly, cocking her head to the side.

“What?” Hester asked, almost running into her. Lilith held a finger to her lips. Silence had fallen among the trees; the only sound that could be heard was a series of slow, steady footsteps, growing closer and closer with each moment that passed. The footsteps stopped, and it seemed as if the forest was holding its breath…

Lilith whirled around just as something large and hairy sprung out of the bushes. Drawing a knife, she stabbed at its underbelly, causing it to howl in pain. With an enormous paw, the furious creature knocked Lilith out of the way, slamming her into a nearby tree. It turned to Hester, its savage yellow eyes gleaming as it crept toward her. She panicked, her heart thumping in her chest. What could she possibly do to stop this beast? All at once, a sense of calm passed through her, like the eye of a storm before it returned in full force. Before she knew what was happening, there was a flash of red, and Hester looked up to see a ferocious, red-skulled demon attacking the monster.

Hester stared, appalled, as the demon scratched at the creature's eyes, provoking another savage roar, before backing away and looking straight at her, as if it were waiting for instructions. Suddenly, it clicked. 

"Go!" Hester cried, rising to her feet. She shooed the demon away. "Attack it!" The demon nodded, flying toward the beast from behind. It tore at the beast's hide, and it almost looked as if the tiny demon would finish off the creature, but finally finding the demon on it's back, the creature threw it off. The demon barely righted itself in the air, flying back to its master with an expectant look on its face. By now, Hester was gasping with exhaustion, as if she was the one fighting the monster. Hesitantly, she patted the demon on the head. 

"Watch out!" Lilith shouted in a strained voice. "Behind you!"

Hester whirled around just in time to see the beast, blood spilling from several deep gashes, charging toward her. By impulse, Hester rolled underneath the beast, coming up on the other side. She grabbed the first thing she could find on the ground (in this case, a sharp rock) and stabbed it into the tendon on the creature’s ankle. The creature collapsed, grunting in surprise. Realizing it was beaten, it managed to stumble to its feet and limp into the forest.

The woods grew silent once more as Hester kneeled on the ground, clutching the bloody rock in her hand. The demon crawled toward her, collapsing back onto her neck.

Slow clapping echoed through the trees, and Hester turned to see Lilith slowly standing up, a nasty looking bruise already forming on her temple.

“I take back what I said before,” she said, wincing in pain. “You’re stronger than I thought.”

Hester felt a wave of pride sweep over her. She had almost single handedly defeated the creature. Well, with the help of her demon…

“What is this thing?” Hester asked in wonder, pointing toward the small creature, once again in the shape of a tattoo. “Some kind of dark magic?”

“I suspect so,” Lilith replied. “Not that I’ve ever seen before, however.” She glanced in the direction that the beast had fled. “We should probably go.”

“What was that thing?” Hester questioned, squinting in the same direction.

“It looked like a rather large werewolf,” Lilith responded. “Slow, dumb, out of control. But werewolves only transform at night when the full moon is in the sky.” She shrugged. “But who knows? Strange things always seem to happen in this part of the Endless Woods.”