11. Would You Mind If I Killed You?
Chapter eleven
Would You Mind If I Killed You?
Nicodemus
Isadora began to morph. Her long legs grew until they bore the same hooves her mother once had, her upper half consumed by a gorgeous, white dress that hugged every curve of her new body.
Her brown hair grew until it was down the length of her back, and from the hair, two enormous antlers broke from her head.
From them, jewels and chains hung down and reflected the crimson her eyes glowed.
The shape of her eyes grew sharp, pointed, as well as her ears.
She resembled the beautiful, yet deadly forest demons from ancient mythology, and to be face-to-face with one come to life was, to say the least, breathtaking.
Her weapon was a thin, long, silver blade that bore the same jewels from her antlers. She whipped the blade once before poising herself, huffing, as her body adjusted to the transition. “This will not end well for you, Odessa, so back down NOW!”
“And who will make me? Surely not the likes of you, maggot.”
“Please don’t do this in my Inn!” Evris sobbed as she tugged on Isadora’s leg.
Isadora conjured a portal to her new Layer, bringing her sword up to point to the first platform. “Why don’t we take this to our rightful battlefield, then?”
“With pleasure.”
“Girls, please…!” Peregrine tried to convince them to stop, but both thunderously entered the Layer, leaving him to groan in defeat.
“I suppose we should make sure they don’t kill one another in there,” I offered.
“Amara, Asher, Bodhi: stay on guard. Don’t let the demons inside the Layer be affected by the fight,” Dad instructed before ghosting inside after the girls.
“Akira, same to you. Block any exits and entries to the Layer so no one gets hurt.” Akira huffed once to ensure he understood before bounding through the portal, morphing into a Hydra so he could use multiple heads to block the dense entrance to the Layer.
Dad and I stood to the side on one of the many platforms with the rest of the rulers, who gnawed at their fingers as they watched the fight.
Those on Odessa’s side were hungry for her victory, while those on Isadora’s panted with worry for her safety.
Odessa conjured a bow and arrow from her back quiver and aimed for her sister’s head. “Last one standing gets the Layer.”
“I’ve already won the Layer, Odessa. Now I just need to rid you of it.” Isadora drew her blade and waited for Odessa to start. Odessa cackled maniacally before tilting her head once, drawing her bow again, and shooting.
That arrow ignited a bloody battle.
Isadora ducked beneath it before slashing her blade, which sent vibrations of white power across the Layer.
They ricocheted against Odessa’s bow and made her tremble, but she bounced back to open her mouth and let sizeable balls of black fire shoot across the landscape.
Isadora weaved in and out of the way of each fireball, which seemed to track her until it made contact with something, which she ensured would be her blade.
She stomped the ground once, and that stomp made waves of souls from the pits shoot into the sky and screech.
Isadora made a motion with her sword, and that symbol she etched into the air made the souls cry out and ambush Odessa.
Odessa wildly thrashed underneath the hordes of souls, that grabbed at her long hair and cloak to drag her backwards into their pits of despair.
She was blinded by the souls’ hands, so she couldn’t make any markings to turn them back against her sister, and this frustrated her.
Instead, she fired more of those deadly crimson arrows through the flocks.
The arrows blended in with the ominous clouds and damp walls, so a few struck Isadora in the chest, making her demonic shriek fill the air.
I winced heavily at her pain, but prayed she’d survive the fight by her tact.
Fueled by anger, Isadora ripped the arrows free, ignoring the black blood that spilled from her wounds, and charged across the platforms to reach through the hordes of souls and grab her sister’s throat outright.
Odessa, not expecting this kind of blunt attack, choked off when Isadora yanked her forward and crushed her skull against the rock platforms beneath them.
Odessa’s eyes crossed from the pain that consumed her, and before she had a chance to stand, Isadora’s hoof hit her skull, nearly knocking her unconscious.
“She’s much more confident than I thought,” Phillip commented.
“Have faith in her. She was raised by the same mother Odessa was. They can hold their own weight,” Peregrine stated firmly.
Odessa, with what little strength she had left, clawed for Isadora’s leg and grabbed hold of her ankle so she could pull the leg out from underneath her.
Isadora stumbled and came tumbling down to Odessa’s level, where, when she could manage to get up, Odessa took hold of Isadora’s antlers and began trying to force her sister into the pits below them.
Isadora, knowing what would happen to her if she entered, wailed on Odessa’s grip with her ferocious claws, tearing flesh from Odessa’s hands, but she didn’t seem bothered by this.
“You will not win, Isadora!” Odessa boomed as she dragged her sister deeper into the pit.
“I will not lose to you! I am done being your shadow! This is my Layer, and I am the ruler of it whether you like it or not!” Isadora exclaimed.
Odessa laughed. “Says the one losing!”
“I’m not out yet!” Isadora summoned a ball of red flames and smashed it against Odessa's face, making her scream out and lose her grip on Isadora. Odessa bounced backwards across the platform they were on, holding her burning cheek and trying to heal herself as Isadora spun and moved for her sword.
Odessa threw a hand up and summoned the black lightning the Layer was known for, directing it at her sister’s blade.
When it collided with the silver weapon, and inevitably Isadora, she spasmed wildly from the electrocution.
The lightning struck her so badly that her veins illuminated white in her skin, the ones in her eyes crisscrossing against the red background.
Odessa was proud of herself for hurting Isadora this way and found her footing to attempt to charge at her once again, this time eyeing the largest pit in the Layer behind them.
She crossed the landscape and grabbed Isadora's throat, pulling her upright before slamming her into the pit and holding her in place.
The souls inside were ravenous for something to attack, and Isadora's head was their perfect target.
To have a demon ruler to themselves was their biggest dream come true, so they had no problem taking hold of her hair and shoulders to drag her into the depths of the pit.
I lurched forward when I saw this happening, but Dad held an arm out to stop me.
“We must not interfere. This is not our fight.”
“She’s going to die in there!” I bawled.
Dad simply shook his head. “Let them fight. We cannot let our personal feelings get in the way of this. Isadora will need to prove her strength if she wishes to live.” I knew he was right, so I sank back into my spot, my shoulders slacking in defeat.
He patted my back gently, trying to console me, but was aware that it wasn’t helping much.
The souls finished pulling Isadora in, leaving her hand left to claw for freedom.
She lost her grip on the vines she was grasping before disappearing completely, her empty wails echoing one last time from the pits.
Odessa sat still for a moment, teetering on the edge to ensure her sister was gone, before turning her massive head to us. “It seems I have won.”
“So it does. Congratulations,” Dad blandly retorted.
Odessa stood and brushed debris off herself, her true face and emotions blocked by the long hair and cloak consuming her body. She was, though, forlorn in her actions, and kept looking back at the pit as if she were expecting Isadora to break free from it. “It is done,” was all she said.
“Man, this blows!” Beatrix fumed.
“Indeed, it does,” I added morosely. I changed back to my Elemental form, as did Dad, before we addressed Odessa. “You shall start your new role promp-…”
The Layer began to rumble.
Rocks across the ceiling crumbled and broke off from the vibrations.
Lightning thunderously crashed against the black sky, and the platforms quaked from the energy brimming beneath them.
Odessa slowly turned to the pit she had forced her sister into, her scarlet eyes wide with disbelief.
Her mouth opened as if she would say something, but a blinding white light cut through the darkness and up through the pit, slicing the blackness in half.
Odessa shielded her eyes and stumbled backwards from the brightness, astonished by the display.
“Looks like it’s not over yet,” Elias gulped.
Isadora exploded from the pit.
She rode a wave of that blinding light, which was coming from the palms of her hands, that she used to propel herself from the pit and land on the platform.
Her form had changed drastically with this surge of energy.
Her once white dress was now torn, revealing intimate areas of her body.
Her hair bounced on the waves of energy emitting from her like a dark veil, and her once separate eyes morphed into one single eye in the center of her forehead.
That eye flashed pure white, like the light she summoned, before she threw her head back and let a beam of it burst from her mouth.