Dedicated to
MikaelaBender
***
The Beast had awoken.
Pure terror surges through her veins as she stares at the creature clutching her hand.
The Beast had awoken and along with it his magic. Her terrorized feet refused to move. It felt as if her feet were glued to the floor.
This shouldn't be happening.
I killed the host.
He should have died along with Alexander.
Her eyes trailed along the blackened hand that had curled itself around her arm to face the Beast. All around her she faintly registered the silence, punctuated by occasional gasps of horror that had sileneced the initial murmurs and shocked whispers in the hall.
The elites that were closest to them slowly backed away away from the Beast and some were already starting to slip through the doors and out of the palace. Out of the dangers of the palace and the monster within. Some had expressions of terror etched on their face while others were slowly taking a step forward to look more closely at the terrifying creature. Curiosity had overcome their initial fear.
The captain of the guard was barking orders at his guards to surround the Beast and was gesturing them to be alert. He stopped any curious minds from coming too close to the Beast and reasuured them.
The Beast was taking his own sweet time to feed on everyone's fear.
With a roar, the Beast rears back and flings a bolt of purplish lightning at the Captain. He ducks , narrowly missing it by a hairs breadth. The wall however wasn't so lucky. The lightning had created a gaping hole in the wall behind her. All around her pandemonium reigned as people scrambled for the door, abandoning their masks and discarding their plates of food.
There was Chaos. There was pandemonium. There was fear. Terrible fear.
Nova hears none of the panicked screams or the sounds of porcelain being smashed into millions of shards. She just eyes the nightmarish creature in front of her.
The Beast looked terrifying with black viens running across his whole body. The viens formed swirling patterns that looked like they had been carved on him. His eyes were bloodshot and on his head were tiny horns like the devil. Fur lined his previously charming face and at the end of his crooked arms were the claws of a wild beast.
Fangs projected from his mouth that seemed to come out or disappear at the beasts will and his glowing eyes had an otherworldly wicked gleam. He was naked from waist up and his chest though devoid of fur had been covered with the same swirling patterns. No inch of the skin beneath was visible. His previously lean body had been transformed into a much more bulkier and muscled one. A nightmarish creature had come alive.
Alexander's prized suit lay in tatters on the floor- ripped to shreds and beyond repair. All that remained were his pants that covered the beast but they too had been ripped transforming the previously full pants into shorts.
Soon the ballroom became empty. The Captain of the guard-Captain Lenos- orders his guards to attack on the count of three. However his plans are thwarted as the beast summons a strong gust of wind and directs it at them.
Captain Lenos along with his guards is swept away in the swirling tornado.
The Beast turns his full attention on Nova. Fear coats her tongue as she locks eyes with him.
The Beast laughs "You thought killing him would kill me didn't you? You were right except the fact that your dear Alex is not dead." He grabs her by the neck and lifts her off the ground as if she weighed nothing.
"I-I saw h-him die in f-front of me. D-Don't lie" Nova manages to choke out the words.
"You forget I control his body my dear. I can heal him just as quickly I can kill him," Barks the Beast. His bloodshot eyes were glaring at Nova, daring her to fight.
She wriggles , trying to get out of his strong grip. Nova swings her legs in an arc, connecting with his stomach. It took him by surprise and he loosens his hold on her neck.
That's all I needed.
"You witch!" He spat.
She clasps her hands together and jabbs her elbow at his jaw. His grip on her still didn't loosen.
She removes her photon blaster hidden in her pocket and fires at him.
He is momentarily blinded and the additional thousand volts of shock only added to his misery. Her shock proof clothing prevents her from having the same fate as him.
His grip on her finally loosens and she hastily jumps away from him.
"Ungrateful wench," he snarls.
She was panting for breath. But she knew what to do.
Take long deep breaths Alina used to say.
She had forced Nova into a box filled with water for endurance training. After she had broken out of it she told her" Be calm. Take deep breaths Nova!"
Be calm my ass!
All she wanted to do was claw at her face and shove her in that box but Nova did as told. She was her mentor. Each lesson was important.
Nova removes the twin blades hidden in the folds of her dress. They were just the hilts though.
She pushes a button and the blades sprung up glowing with an otherworldly blue light.
She chops off the lower part of her dress. It hung loosely around her hips like a lose t-shirt.
Nova finally becomes invisible.
"YOU pathetic little witch! Show yourself," roars the Beast.
She tiptoes her way towards him and slashes him with her blades. As if sensing her attack he blocks it with his own sword that was tucked at his side until then.
"I can still sense and hear you little one. Oh the game of cat and mouse begins," says the Beast rubbing his hands together.
The Beast conjures up a ball of energy and aims it right at her. Nova dodges, barely avoiding it at the nick of time and saves her arm from getting burnt.
Great he has control of Alex's powers too.
She fires her photon blaster at him but he dodges it effortlessly.
She fires more shots, and each time he manages to dodge it. She shoves the gun in her purse.
Plan B
She decides to make use of her surrounding. 'Everything is a weapon' Alina used to say.
Nova grabs a broken plate- she is careful not to touch the broken ends-and throws it at the Beast.
She doesn't wait for it to hit. Instead she lifts a huge slab of debris that had fallen from the gaping hole in the wall and throws it at the Beast with all her strength.
It finds its mark and the Beast goes crashing down to the floor. The broken plate had distracted him long enough that he hadn't seen what else was coming at him. He grunts in pain as he tries to get up but she wasn't about to let this chance escape.
Nova topples a whole table on top of him, filled with dishes , broken glass and food. Just as she thinks she had subdued the Beast, he flings the table in the air as if it weighed nothing. The table hits the chandelier above and it comes crashing down straight at her.
She yelps and rolls out of the way just in time. The Beast however wasn't done yet. He charges at her as she gets up. He could sense her, which defeated the whole purpose of being invisible. But something was better than nothing.
Nova removes her twin blades again.
She again tries to jab him from behind , he again blocks her. Nova moves behind a table to put some distance between them but he hurls a bolt of the same purplish energy and the table lay in pieces before her.
Plan. I need a plan.
She keeps her eyes on the chandeliers above.
Perhaps if I could get on top of one.
Nova jumps on top of a table, narrowly missing a fireball and leaps. In mid air she removes her slinger and shoots it at the chandelier above .The hook at the end of her slinger locks with the chandelier.
Nova was swinging dangerously in the air.
Hopefully this far above he couldn't sense me as strongly as before.
She digs out her blasters and acts upon her plan. Firing her blasters at the Beast, she swings from one chandelier to another.
The Beast couldn't seem to locate her as she changed positions so quickly. He manages to dodge some blasts but some find their mark and the Beast would bite his lip to restrain himself from expressing pain.
However her heart began to pound louder and cold sweat dripped down her face as he shut his eyes and chants what felt like a powerful spell with his magic.
I have to stop him.
Nova continues firing shot after shot but it doesn't stop his chanting. A chill runs down her spine as the air around her turns cold.
He finally openes his eyes- eyes which had turned completely black. His pupils and cornea both had turned dark.
Her blood runs cold at the sight. Was Alex watching?
She didn't know.
I failed. I failed and I was now paying the consequences.
He shot a mass of dark energy in the air. The floor begin to shake. There was a huge crack in the cieling and all the chandeliers burst into splinters around her, including the one she was hanging from. The broken pieces of glass and debris rained down on her as she went crashing to the floor. Nova tries to slow her fall by hanging on to a huge piece of debris. She lands hard on her back on top of all the debris.
She lay their as the Beast laughs. He surrounds them with a wall of fire. The temperature around her rose. The heat however didn't affect the Beast. Her hands and arms bore cuts and scratches and her lip bled from a glass cut. The adrenaline in her however didn't let her feel the pain. Nova gets up trying her best not to fall. She removes her sword Ignis and with a battle cry charges at him.
He was ready for her as he blocks her sword with his own.
This block, parry, attack game continues for a while until Nova becomes exhausted. Each new move she made ,he took the hit but counterattacked the next time. He was adapting to her technique. Nova grew exhausted soon.
Exhaustion meant only one thing. She turned visible. Her energy drains save for a little. The wall of fire was closing in around her every second. She was sweating like a pig and her grip on the sword was starting to slip. Sweat was making the cuts on her arms and legs sting. She winces as she tightens her bruised hands on the sword and slashes the Beast. He dodges that too.
Nova Vittosky collapses on the floor, tired.
I was an assassin I couldn't get exhausted so easily. My moves were unmatched so far... mostly. How could I be defeated so easily?
"Mortals were always so foolish ," spat the Beast.
Of course.
He was sucking her energy and copying all her moves. Adapting to her technique and using them back at her. She stood no chance like this.
I need to find help soon.
The Beast grabs her throat, hard. He presses it so hard that the air is knocked out of her. Her lungs were collapsing and her lips had turned blue. His black nails were digging deeper into her skin.
They stung like hell.
"L-let me g-go you m-monster" she chokes out.
She suddenly feels another presence inside her. It had a dark aura.
The Beast .
He was inside me.
She could feel him draining the life out of her. Her body temperature plummets. Soon she would be at the doors of death.
She tries calling Alex one last time.
"A-Alex if you a-are still in their p-please do something one l-last time. I-I promise I will come back to s-save y-you from this torture. J-Just please o-one l-last-t..." black spots cloud her vision.
"Don't waste your breath little one he cannot do anything. I control hi-" he gasps and lets out an inhuman shriek. He lets go of her and clutches his head in pain.
The wall of fire around her vanishes and some of her energy returns.
Alex....
"I will come b-" She coughs , holding her neck. She had trouble breathing and was panting due to the lack of oxygen.
I have to run.
Nova runs as fast as her wobbly feet could carry. She bolts towards the double doors that led outside and flings them open.
She sprints across the steps only to realise they had been painted freshly with pitch. Her heels stuck to the substance making it difficult to move.
She hears footsteps behind her. Nova removes her photon blaster and fires blindly behind her. Blue beams of light emitted. One hits the beast as she hears him say:
"You bloody mortal wait"
It was a good thing the palace was deserted. The remaining guards had also fled apparently. She didn't blame them. She was doing the same anyway.
He was definitely conjuring up something from his magic.
There was no time. She slides off the slipper stuck to the staircase and runs barefoot on one leg. Slipping on some steps, she barely manages to escape the clutches of the Beast.
Nova realizes she still has one slipper stuck to her.
Great. Just great.
She removes it quickly, shoves it in her purse and runs barefoot. She was firing shots , dodging and running at the same time.
It was damn hard.
He throws a fireball at her. She dodges to the right missing it by centimetres.
Nova ran towards the forest in a zig zag pattern to avoid being an easy target and hopefully loose him in the mass of trees. Her heart was beating so loud that she feared It would attract much more than the Beast's attention.
She had to not only dodge his magic but also the branches and twigs in her path. Nova swallows ,painfully aware of how this could be her end.
Me- Stepdaughter of the fiercest Assassin, dying in a strange land in a dark forest while running away from danger like a coward.
She shook her head.
No I wasn't running away. I will come back for Alex and for that I need to be alive.
He was conjuring something that looked how she imagined a black hole would look like if we could see it. He was muttering some words which she couldn't hear, but she knew she should run faster.
So she did .
Nova Vittosky runs like never before. Her life depended on it. Strands of her hair come loose from the elegant braid she had made. She curses at her luck as she hears the whoosh of something and the ball of dark energy lands right in front of her and creates a gaping hole in the ground.
She couldn't do anything as she already had one foot above it and now she was falling in the endless pit of darkness. Her stomach threatens to come out of her mouth. Its contents making a dangerous way up her throat. But she forces it down and screams.
Nova screams, but it isn't of any use. No one could help her anymore. She is on her own. Her heart pounds with dread as she feels the end closing in upon her. She prays, prays for anybody to help her. To relieve her of the pain that was wrenching her insanity from her body and to free her from this dreadful end that she had landed herself into.
Tears spill down her cheeks as she thinks about her papa.
Did he feel the same when he was at the doors of death.
She would never know. But she knew he wouldn't want her to give up so easily. So she strengthened her resolve and thought for a way out of this alive.
"Finally caught you. You can't escape now," The Beast says from somewhere above her.
She had only one option now.
She didn't like it though. Stepping into the space-time dimension without a time machine could have dangerous consequences. Kronos wasn't there. She had hidden it somewhere far and somewhere she thought would be safe.
She hadn't expected this drastic turn of events. But now she had to leave without it.
Hopefully no one can find it.
The last time someone had entered the Space-Time dimension without a machine or any tech to protect them from the Nanoparticles, had never come back. There had been a boy who had come out of it alive but in a vegetative state. He was as good as dead.
Before that there had been a teen who did come back from the dimension but not right in the mind or body. She had mental illnesses and a damaged body. No one could figure out what was wrong with her. On top of it she's been in comatose state since then. The only thing they found was that her body was full of Nanoparticles.
She prays to whoever or whatever entity in the stars above for safe passage. She was basically signing of her death warrant. But it was that or the Beast.
She opens a pathway with the void phaser and steps into the swirling vortex of time and space. " Goodbye Alex. Be brave," she whispers then seals the pathway shut.
Nova could still hear the frustrated shouts of the Beast.
He sure cussed like a sailor.
She was safe from him. No one could find her. She felt sleepy. She let herself drift to sleep. No one could track her unless they had something of hers.
She had made sure to leave nothing behind. As she was about to shut her eyes she jolts awake with dread. Realisation of her mistake dawns on her.
I left my golden slipper there.
The beast was clever. He knew she might escape.He laid out the pitch. She wasn't safe anymore.
I had to hurry.
Or else the beast will come knocking.
Dark spots were limiting my vision. My body was telling me to sleep but my conscious was telling me to stay awake.I felt a searing pain in my mind.
No. Was coming here a mistake?
I could do nothing .
I could feel nothing.
I could see nothing but darkness.
_____________________________________
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-Tris Knight
You won't believe how many times I had to edit and add in ideas.... :P
Dedication: She's a fabulous writer!