Monica's scream was disturbing.
Numbing.
Jules quickly knocked Joseph away from her niece with a swift wave of an arm, but the damage had already been done; blood was effortlessly seeping through the wound in her neck.
"O-Oh my God!" Leah shrieked, barely audible over Monica's wailing, as she rushed to her side. "It's okay, Monica. I'll heal you."
Natalie growled and charged at Leah but was subdued by Braxton.
"Who could have done this to them?" he said, seemingly struggling to restrain her.
"Maybe . . . I could dispel . . . the hex," Monica said between her sharp breaths.
"No!" Vivienne growled. "That monster doesn't deserve your help. None of them do!"
She turned to face Joseph as he was getting to his feet.
She looked absolutely fiendish.
Inhuman.
She slowly approached him.
"You. Despicable. Piece. Of. Sh--"
"What are you doing?" Benjamin said, stepping before her.
"Get the hell out of my way!" Vivienne snarled, summoning bright golden flames in her palms.
"Did you not hear Fawn? He's hexed! He isn't himself!"
"He isn't himself! He isn't himself! How many times must I hear that bullshit!"
"Vivienne calm down," Jules said.
"Aunt Jules!" Vivienne exclaimed in astonishment as she turned to face her. "This time one of those things attacked Monica! How can you continue to defend them?"
"Because we've taken too many steps in the right direction tonight to go backwards, Vivienne!" Jules yelled.
But her tone was weak. Jules seemed conflicted. And rightfully so--this time her family was hurt.
"Steps in the right dire--" Vivienne scoffed. "Monica has been infected, Aunt Jules. . . . The curse of the undead flows through her. If she dies--"
"Damn it, child, I'm aware!" Jules yelled. "You don't need to remind me what would happen to Monica if she were to die!"
That was the first time Fawn saw Jules lose her cool.
It was scary.
"Look, maybe Monica can sit this one out," Mama said. "The rest of us need to regain composure. Lest we forget why we're here."
Vivienne extinguished her flames and approached Benjamin.
"I'm this close," she vaguely threatened, holding up her hand and slightly parting her index finger and thumb. "This. Close."
"I'm sorry," Benjamin whispered.
"Yeah, well 'sorry' isn't going to fix my cousin."
Vivienne walked away, leaving Benjamin looking so pitiful that even Fawn felt bad for him.
"What happened?" Joseph said, finally on his feet, seemingly freed from his hex. His hand was pressed against his head as if he had a major headache.
"Joseph, you okay?" Benjamin asked.
He nodded.
"Yeah . . . I don't know what just happened."
Benjamin nodded toward Monica whose wound was already healing, thanks to Leah's healing magic. Though, Monica's neck and shirt was soaked in her blood.
"That happened," Benjamin said quietly.
Joseph looked absolutely mortified as he stared at Monica.
"Oh, hells. Please don't tell me I did that."
Benjamin nodded but didn't say anything.
Joseph slowly approached Monica.
"Look, I'm so sorry. I-I don't know what came over me. If there's anything I could do to help--"
"You could get the hell away from her!" Vivienne growled. She was now kneeling down next to Monica. "You've already done enough."
Joseph looked at Jules.
"Look, Madam, I'm really sorry--"
Jules raised her hand, dismissing his attempt at an apology. She couldn't even look at him.
Natalie finally seemed to be coming to as well.
"Wh-What's going on?" she groaned, her eyes sweeping across the room. "Who are all these people?" But before anyone could answer, her green eyes became a milky white as she glared at Monica. "I-I've got to get out of here," she said, turning and making her way for the front door.
"Natalie, wait," Joseph said, going after her. But she was already opening the front door to Benjamin's hideout.
Then, there was an explosion.
* * *
Lainey stopped dead when she heard what sounded like a bomb going off. It came from the direction of Benjamin's hideout.
"Oh, God," she whispered.
Lights from the surrounding houses came on. A few residents even stepped outside of their homes.
"The hell was that?" one man asked, looking at Lainey.
"I-I don't know," she said as she continued walking.
"You sure you should be out there alone?" he called after her. "It's pretty late. It'll be midnight before long."
Midnight.
She found herself sprinting towards Benjamin's hideout instead of speed walking.
Please, be okay.
* * *
It was dark.
Arid.
It took Fawn a few moments to realize she was no longer on her feet. She rolled over onto her knees, not able to see a thing through the thick blackness. She heard distorted screaming from miles and miles away. She heard voices shouting foreign languages.
Or incantations.
When she finally got to her feet she tried shouting out for Mama, but her voice also sounded distorted and distant.
What is this dark space?
She tried moving, but she felt sluggish. Weighed down. As if the surrounding darkness was oppressing her. She soon realized that even breathing was hard.
The darkness was suffocating her. She felt dizzy and once again fell to the ground. Or at least she think she fell to the ground. It was too dark to tell.
She lay, heaving.
Staring into the darkness as it consumed her.
It was cold.
So cold.
Fawn never really thought about how she'd die, but she surely would've never guessed death by darkness.
She closed her eyes.
If she was going to die to darkness, she'd rather it be familiar.
The darkness that soothes as Mama caresses your hair.
The darkness that comforts when escaping from reality.
The darkness that takes you to far away places when listening to music.
The darkness that cradles you right before you drift off to sleep.
Fawn liked that darkness.
She almost wanted to smile as she fell deeper and deeper into its embrace.
All was silent.
Peaceful.
Until the darkness started strangling her. Fawn gasped as she opened her eyes.
She stared darkness right in the face.
No, not darkness.
"Well 'ello, li'le witch," said a skinny woman with a death hawk hairstyle.
She had piercings in various places on her face and her right eye was a listless cloudy white.
She tightened her grip around Fawn's neck.
"Now be a good li'le girl and don't resist."
She continued to tighten her grip on Fawn's neck. When she could no longer draw breath, her natural instinct to survive pushed her.
"Let go of me!" she tried to say as she writhed and kicked. But her words came out as more of a distorted gargle.
The woman cackled, enjoying Fawn's desperation to live.
Fawn continued to kick and push to no avail. Her vision grew blurry. The woman cackling in her face was fading.
Fading fast.
Fawn hated that this woman's smug face would be the last thing she ever sees. She once again closed her eyes.
Sorry, Lainey.
Sorry, Papa.
Sorry, Mama.
Sorry, everyone.
There was a sudden blinding flash of light. So bright, it hurt Fawn's eyes even while closed. The strain on her throat immediately ceased. Much-needed air flooded her lungs. Fawn dared to open her eyes.
Mama was standing above her like an angel. A goddess of light, shrouded in what reminded Fawn of an aureole.
"Are you okay, Fawn?"
Gasping, Fawn climbed to her feet. The thick blackness was clearing. Parts of Benjamin's hideout that was shrouded in darkness was now illuminated in Mama's light.
"Y-Yes," Fawn wheezed. She looked around. "Where's that . . . crazy lady?"
Mama's eyes were grim and unforgiving.
"She's gone. You won't have to worry about her ever again." She pulled Fawn close to her. "Stay close to me."
Fawn nodded, feeling safe under Mama's light.
But she once again felt useless.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Ulysses' followers ambushed us," Mama said, keeping a tight hold on Fawn. "This dark smog surrounding us is dark magic that drains the life force. Stay in it long enough and it results in certain death."
"What do we do?"
"Enough light magic can obliterate this void space. But I found myself incapable of doing anything until I knew you were safe."
Mama raised a hand and pointed her finger straight up.
"Lumen Candesco!" she bellowed.
There was a tiny glimmer of light at the tip of her finger. Then, like a mini supernova, and explosion of intense light. Fawn narrowed her eyes. Mama's light was so bright, it was all she could see. Everything was shrouded in light. It was the exact opposite of the the darkness.
Where the dark was cold, the light was warm.
Where the dark weakened, the light strengthened.
Where the dark brought despair, the light brought hope.
When the light finally faded, all that was happening in the darkness was revealed.
A breath-taking battle was happening right before Fawn.
Witch against witch. Undead against undead. Witch against undead.
The fight was happening so fast, Fawn couldn't tell how many of Morrison's followers had invaded.
Vivienne was single-handedly taking on a duo of two witches, blocking magic attacks and countering with her own magnificent fire magic.
Nox stunned a dead walker using magic with one hand, then summoned the colorful orb of lights in another, driving it through the undead man's chest, causing him to burst in a cloud of dust.
Holy hell.
Leah was still by Monica's side, huddled in a corner, Monica's neck wound now fully healed. Asche was on her knees, trying to get to her feet. The dark smog must have affected her similarly to Fawn.
Is it because we're weak? Fawn thought.
A sluggish dead walker tried taking advantage of the weakened Asche but soon met his demise as Nox daggered him from behind.
Freya was backing into a wall as two witches approached her, summoning what looked like purple flames before the flames dimmed and eventually extinguished.
"What the hell is happening to our magic?" one of the witches growled.
Freya, quickly taking advantage of the witches' confusion, chanted what sounded like two or three incantations, causing her body to emanate a yellowish aura. She charged at them with such speed, she became a blur, and attacked them with a flurry of punches, alternating between the two until they were both down.
Three dead walkers charged at Jules, but soon payed for their mistakes as she summoned a shadowy dome that entrapped all of them. Fawn wasn't sure what the dome did, but if their shrilling wails were any indication, they were either in intense pain or going through some severe mental trauma.
Jules watched them wail for several more seconds before she ended their torture, the dome dissipating with a wave of her hand. She walked over to their collapsed and twitching bodies and proceeded to dagger each one of them with her silver dagger, littering the floor with their ashes.
Morrison's followers seemed weaker than Fawn expected. But Fawn wondered if Mama's light was the cause. She remembered feeling a sudden burst of strength and vitality under Mama's light; did it have the opposite effect on those opposing her?
Benjamin's friend Braxton were tackling witches left and right, sometimes with a large snap, indicating those witches would never stand again.
Joseph was in a corner with a passed-out Natalie in his arms, who was healing from the impact of the explosion.
Benjamin was being attacked by a group of witches who were all firing various spells at him, but he effortlessly deflected each spell before he counter-attacked, which resulted in all of them dead on the floor with their hearts placed in their hands.
What was that about?
Then, in clouds of black smoke, witches surrounded her and Mama. Maybe seven or eight of them, Fawn couldn't tell. Everything was moving so fast.
Mama stepped forward and shot a blast of light at them, knocking away at least four or five of the witches, but in the process, one had grabbed Fawn and then everything went dark.
* * *
"She's kinda cute, isn't she? I mean for an undead girl."
"You're unbelievable, dude. Take a look--she's healing a lot faster than dead walkers we've caught in the past."
"What do you think it means?"
"Probably trouble. Our daggers didn't kill her and now she's healing even with silver inside of her. We should probably just leave her here."
Isabella stirred.
"Hey, she's waking up."
She opened her eyes. She was surrounded by trees. Probably in the woods somewhere near the side of the road. Two humans in masks were standing above her, one of them aiming a crossbow at her head. She tried to move but found herself immobilized by pain. That was when she noticed she had been shot with several crossbow bolts.
"What the hell?" she said, crippled by the burning pain of each bolt. "What is this?"
"Silver-tipped bolts," said the human aiming the crossbow at her. A male.
The other human knelt down before her.
"You freaks have been killing people in my town long enough," said a deep female voice. "We're taking it back."
Isabella sighed.
"Dead hunters. Courageous but ultimately stupid humans who thinks they stand a chance against the undead. Though, I admit you two seem a lot more competent than the dead hunters I've run into in Paris."
The male human laughed.
"It's not exactly rocket science to incapacitate the undead, sweetie."
The female turned toward her partner.
"Sweetie? Really?"
He shrugged.
"What? It sort of just came out."
"God, you're an idiot," she said, shaking her head and returned her attention to Isabella.
"My partner and I have been patrolling the outskirts of town due to the growth of undead activity in our home. Back on the road where we found you . . . you were headed toward Sancova. Why? Why have so many of you come to our town?"
Isabella smiled.
"Well I'm in no position to speak for others, but I've come to be with my sweetheart," she said, slowly getting to her feet. "Unfortunately, it seems the universe has other plans."
The dead hunters slowly backed away.
"H-How are you even able to move?" said the male, aiming his crossbow at her.
"I'm not like other dead walkers," Isabella said, removing each bolt one-by-one. "As you can see, I heal a lot faster. You won't kill me with your feeble daggers, and luckily for the both of you, I actually retain a sliver of my humanity. So, I suggest you two run along now and never try me again because next time I can assure you I won't be so altruistic."
"Come on, Kun," said the female. "Let's get out of here."
Isabella watched them disappear into the shadow of the woods before she collapsed to the ground; the silver had done serious internal damage.
How long have I been here?
"Darn it," she sighed. She looked to the starry sky. "Please, Father. Don't do anything stupid. Benjamin . . . I can only hope to see you soon."
* * *
Fawn opened her eyes after hitting a surface really hard. She found herself near a lake surrounded by trees. The back of a house was facing Fawn not too far from the lake. It had the same exterior as Benjamin's hideout. She must have been somewhere out back.
"Don't do anything stupid and I'll make your death quick and painless," a voice growled.
Fawn turned to see a tall witch with tribal tattoos on the left side of his face.
"Y-You're a witch," Fawn said, climbing to her feet. "Wh-Why are you working for Morrison?"
"Addo Attollo!" The witch bellowed, and Fawn was lifted off her feet as he approached her. "Your insolence towards the Undead Lord rewards you with one strike against your soul."
"You don't have to do this," Fawn pleaded. "If we all work together, we can defeat Morrison. You won't have to fear him anymore."
The witch's eyes widened at those words.
"Two strikes," he quietly said.
"I know you're afraid," Fawn continued. "That is why you submit to Morrison. You don't respect him . . . you fear him."
The witch snarled as he summoned a giant ball of purple flames.
"That's three strikes against your soul!"
He shot the fireball at her, hitting her in the chest. The impact was so strong, it knock her back into the base of a tree. Fawn screamed as the flames burned her clothes and flesh.
"The flames will continue to burn until you're nothing but bone and eventually ash," he said, approaching her. "There's no redemption left for your soul."
"Please! Put it out!" Fawn begged as she frantically rolled around on the grown, patting herself down to no avail.
"Addo Attollo!" the witch roared, lifting Fawn off the ground again. "Addo Immobilis!" he added, paralyzing her to allow the flames to consume her.
Fawn wailed as the purple flames seared what felt like every inch of her body.
"Please, stop!"
Please stop!
Please stop?
There was no way Fawn was going to allow those words to be her last. She was the elemental witch of earth.
The whole damn planet is my weapon!
"I. Said. STOP!" she roared.
And so it was done.
The flames had extinguished.
She fell to the ground, shaking from her intense burns. She looked up at the witch, whose eyes were wide with shock.
Or fear.
"Y-Your eyes . . . they're glowing. You're an elemental witch."
Fawn climbed to her feet.
"You messed up . . . ," she said quietly. "Not only did you decide to attack an elemental witch, you give me a home field advantage."
Several tree roots shot out of the ground and wrapped around the witch.
Fawn approached him.
"You're scared," she whispered. She laughed. "You should be. You see, slamming me into that tree was one strike against your soul. Freaking burning me was two strikes. And those ugly-ass tattoos on your face, well that's three strikes."
She placed a shaking, scarred hand on the witch's forehead.
"I hope you're comfortable," Fawn said in a shaky voice. "Because this is where you'll be for the rest of your life."
Slowly, the witch's flesh turned to bark. The last time Fawn performed Shell, it just happened. This time, it was her will.
Fawn stood back and admired her work. With the tree roots wrapped around the witch's "shelled" body, Fawn's deed looked like a disturbing work of art by nature.
She limped past it and slowly made her way back to Benjamin's hideout.
---
To be continued in Chapter 97...