Arcana's Path Ch. 08

He put the device away, rolling over to look down the length of the skyscraper at the diligent worker far below. The man was obstinate in his refusal to enjoy the lucky hand the world had dealt him.

It was utterly infuriating.

Thankfully, the assholes were about to change all that. It'd be difficult to come to work on a skyscraper that was about to be blown up by a bunch of rogue sorcerers.

Technically, Hero could stop them before they attacked. However, he could also stop them after they had done some damage, and still protect Finn. Which might lead to a more interesting time.

Though, if Finn ever learned he had done that on purpose, the chances of seeing him naked would plummet. At least, willingly naked. Shower perving was still going to happen.

Eugh.

The djinn rolled tiredly from the frame, dropping like a stone through the air to land atop the car one of the mages was waiting in, crushing the roof with a spray of glass and screech of metal.

He tossed out a hand and plucked apart the thrown fireball from one of the others, causing the mana to rebound and burn the sorcerer.

This was the problem with having nearly bottomless mana reserves. He was playing the real world on hard mode right now, unable to recharge his magic at all, and still these fools were still nothing to him. Boring level one grunts before an endgame deity.

He smiled at how apt the description really was.

All the intelligent players were hanging back, strategising. Which only really left him with the insanely tedious task of doing a little bit of rookie crushing. They were tools being used in a war of attrition against him.

It was the best strategy whilst his master was weak and unable to recharge his mana. Wear him down with all these little fools that were a danger to Finn, but not to him. Level the playing field by wasting his mana away. Roll, and parry, until the boss falls to their knees.

It was a pointless strategy if Finn turned out to be as compatible heir for Rasputin as it seemed like he would. If he inherited the magic before Hero became weak, then nothing but nothing would defeat the two of them. Finn could become the most terrifying sorcerer that the world had ever seen.

It was kind of weird, Rasputin choosing someone he had barely even met as his heir, and managing to get that detail right. The ol' bastard was dead and gone, and yet somehow he was still fucking around with Hero.

There was a witch who might be able to tell them more, but she was in Japan, where she found it easier to turn attention into mana. The only other choice would be to talk to Rasputin's fiance, and that was... Not a wise idea.

Saying his name to Arcana was a death wish. Especially as she'd finally managed to hook up with someone.

Not to mention that the last time that Hero had seen Arcana had been the day her mother had cursed her for rejecting her divinity. The day the pretty little thing had rejected their entire world and done her best to run from it all.

He wondered idly how far she had got. She was the reason that Hero had embraced his title. Not just because it was fun to be the god of messing shit up, but because the alternative was death. Like all the women of the Doom Squad.

Hero wasn't going to let that happen to Finn.

The djinn idly practised his squats over the face of a downed mage, filming it and tossing the livestream of the sorcerers being crushed up where anyone with a little bit of magic could see. A little bit of a temptation to try and bring out someone more worth his time.

Finn might be determined to be boring, but that didn't change the way that Hero felt about the man.

He wasn't just doing all of this for the contract. He'd been more than happy to step into this fighting ring, if it gave him a chance to fool around with the guy. Or he was once he met him. It was just annoying that Finn was determined to act like he was straight.

Hero shrugged, and then snapped his fingers, blowing out the entire first floor of the skyscraper, and starting off a collapse.

The djinn smiled to himself. He'd win him over, eventually.

That ass was his.

---

"No." Violet said, responding to Rin's thoughts before she could air them, as usual. The witch shook her head, "By all that's sacred, Rin. You are not buying... That stuff... From the snack bar."

She crossed her arms, "What's the point of going to the movies if I can't indulge a little?"

"I'll make some caramel popcorn and you a fresh cola, once we get into the theatre." Violet shook her head, before sniffing loudly as her nose started to bleed, again.

Rin felt her heart break in half.

Violet was... Well, as far as Rin could tell, Violet was actually straddling the grave. She was so far gone that she might be dropping dead at a moment's notice.

The witch glared at her, "I get my first date, actual date, right after we... Had our first fun together... And you're going to sit there thinking about how sick I am, instead of how lucky we are to have this perfect moment?"

The purple eyes looked at Rin were sparkling with mirth and happiness, despite the tone. Rin slipped her fingers through the irritating woman's, and briefly kissed her cheek, "Sorry. But unlike you, I can't shut up my thoughts. Kinda used to them being private."

"I could shut them up for you."

Rin giggled instantly, grinning, "Oooh... Tingles. Um... I can't stay quiet, when you do that. We'd have to go home, and I don't wanna throw up again. Porting sucks balls. And I doubt they've got a massive mirror, here."

They reached the front of the ticket line, and Violet looked up briefly, "The comedy, right, hon? Two for Witches of Eastwick."

"Witches. Why do I know you had a hand in this?" Rin raised an eyebrow.

Violet grinned and kissed her forehead, "Because I'm a witch."

"I also kinda remember hearing about this one... Isn't a harem thing?" Rin glared at her.

The purple-eyed woman grinned, "Three witches, and a devil. It's a fun kind of thing."

"Triple goddess." Rin rolled her eyes, "Just like you."

"Um... That's twenty eight, ninety five?" The bewildered staff member behind the counter said, "Cash or card?"

"Wand." Violet said, flicking a small black stick that appeared without fanfare, and causing the contactless card reader to immediately beep. Rin stifled a laugh behind her hand at the enormous eye roll that the staff member made, whilst unwittingly seeing real and actual magic.

Violet was right, people could justify anything. They didn't see what was right in front of them.

Rin took the tickets, and walked beside the witch. The purple-eyed woman didn't seem as restrained or calm as usual. Like she was struggling not to bounce off the walls in excitement. Rin lifted the intertwined hand between them and kissed it briefly, "First date. How far off did you see it coming?"

"Uh... Never?" She replied nervously, "Rin... Okay. I did picture you and me in my head, once or twice. I may have even tried a little masturbation once, but it felt too violating. But I never thought this would be anything but an unrequited little crush."

"Still very, very, weirded out that you're also somehow my mother."

"And grandmother."

Rin rolled her eyes, "Yeaaah. So... You're... Not?"

Violet briefly squeezed her hand, and they started up the stairs towards a couple of the larger theatres. "Of course I'm feeling a little strange about it all. But it's also not unheard of in my family, Rin. You're a direct descendent for Eos, the inspiration for Aphrodite. If you think healthy sexual relationships run in the family... I'm afraid that they just don't. I never expected this. Never in my most hopeful dreams."

"Gods." Rin rolled her jaw, "Hard to judge your morality when you're family patriarchs practically invented sex."

"Matriarchs. Our family doesn't really have much respect for boys. The women have always been better at playing soldier, and even better at living once the wars were over." Violet grinned, and then winced, "Speaking of matriarchs... I may have mentioned a couple times that my sister is coming to take over the cafe? Because of... What's happening to me?"

"Don't remember, but sure." Rin shrugged, "She going to kill us for dating?"

"Quite possibly."

Rin jerked to a stop, and stared, "Say again, all after what?"

"Amy Waterhouse is a witch, like me." Violet said carefully, "However, she embraced being a demigoddess as well. She's quite happy to be a footstool for the divinity in our family, and she's a bitch to boot. If she doesn't like you, and she does like anything, she might... Attack you. And she is already in town. She came to see me before I woke up, at the... Witch hospital."

Rin stared at the witch in consternation, "What the fuck, Vi? Did your sister send the freaking... Sleep demon shit? Did she do this to us?"

"No. She's not that subtle."

Rin's face deadpanned, "Nightmare realm was... Subtle?"

"Amy and I grew up in the terror of Mutually Assured Destruction. The horrors of nuclear weapons being a hanging shadow, every night, on the evening news." Violet said quietly, "Her coping method was to write and invent curses. Spells that would allow her to kill off all the Reds at once. She didn't get much better, after she got older."

She rubbed her face, "Greeeaaat. Wait. Is she my sister? Or half-sister? Or aunt?"

"Aunt?" Violet shrugged, "Amy's my sister, but not... Me. Me before I became my own mother. But don't call her that, it'd make her feel old and... She has a thing about that. Personal hangups."

"Great. My aunt is probably going to try and kill me, my mother is... My... Girl... Friend... And I've got god in the family." Rin shook her head, "Magic world sucks, Vi. I thought it'd be more fun."

The witch pulled her in suddenly, pressing their chests together and planting a warm kiss against her lips. Violet grinned at her surprise, and rubbed their noses together. "Did you know, I love you?"

"Not half, stalker." Rin whispered in amusement. "So..."

Violet shrugged and kissed her again, "You're panicking. Thinking about other things. Forgetting that today is about you and me, and making this impossible dream come true. We can worry about waging a war, later."

"Please, no."

She kissed her again, and then led her towards the movie theatre, into the dark. The stairs were barely lit by older strip lighting. Violet led her towards the middle section, and along the rows of seats to the centre of the room.

Rin felt strange as she sat down, noting that they were alone.

"Of course." Violet sat beside her, leaning a head onto her shoulder, "Like I want to share you, right now."

She didn't think that was the real reason. She'd remembered it, whilst they were talking. This wasn't just a date between a witch and her very normal girlfriend. This was a trap for whoever had been trying to fuck with them.

Violet wasn't going to let anyone get caught in the crossfire. Especially not after... After what had happened to her.

"Depressing thought. But accurate." Vi whispered, and held up a drink to her with a rattle of ice, "Here you go."

The movie trailers started to roll, as Rin sipped at her drink. She nearly burst out laughing as she realised that even Violet's homemade soft drink was better tasting than the stuff she could buy off a shelf. The witch never managed to do anything by halves.

"When did you make that?" She asked as she put it into the cup holder.

Violet snuggled into her shoulder a bit more, "Mmm... I can be in more than one place at once. Not a big deal."

"You're totally going to nosebleed all over my dress, aren't you?" Rin winced.

A loud sniff came from beside her, followed by a mumble, "... No."

"Just gives you an excuse to take it off." Rin tried to sugarcoat it, given how hurt the witch sounded, and then leaned her head onto Violet's.

Violet relaxed, "Thanks, sweet. I know I'm a bit of a mess at the moment. But... I'm going to go ahead and blame you. For upsetting my hormones by actually giving us a chance, and ruining any plans I had for the future."

"Ruining?"

"Blown to kingdom come." Violet giggled, "And I adore it. A few days with you is worth a lifetime of anything else. Fuck the world, I've got my adorable Rin."

Rin smiled and watched the beginning of the movie, resting against her witch. Life might have become entirely screwed up the moment that she inserted herself into her life, but living with Violet was worth a few nightmarish moments. Wasn't like she'd much liked living, beforehand.

"Ah. There we are." Violet suddenly said and stood up, pushing Rin aside. The witch's purple eyes looked cold and distant, as she slammed a hand down into the shadows by Rin's legs.

She screamed in surprise as Violet dragged a squirming... Thing... Up and out of the ground. It was taller than Rin, and had a couple dozen red eyes. It was squealing in as much terror as she was.

Rin scrambled backwards as far as her seat would let her, as Violet produced her wand and poked the mass of... Something. Ever-changing, never sitting still, but looking creepy as fuck and dripping black liquid everywhere.

The witch spoke coldly, "Now then... You're going to tell me who sent you."

"The king! The king!" It squealed, "I wouldn't lie to the Violent! No lie, no lie! Spare me!"

"The king? Be a little bit more specific." Violet sneered, sounding absolutely nothing like the sweet woman that Rin knew. Sounding more like a general, fighting a war.

The creature thrashed for a moment, and then went deathly still. A horrible and hoarse whisper emerged from it, "The Demon King."

"Fuck." Violet swore, and then the thing exploded.

Rin gagged and vomited as she suddenly found herself covered head-to-toe in a stinking black oil. She felt her head swim, and then she went half-limp. Laughing giddily and struggling not to have her eyes roll back in her head.

She groaned, and felt herself completely flood. Her underwear stretched and basically gave out as she lay there, stomach twitching and legs shaking, at the biggest orgasm she'd ever experienced in her life.

The witch crouched in front of her, face dripping. Violet looked at her with concern, "Are you okay, Rin?"

"Noooo..." She laughed, "Ooh... Ooh, this is messed up. Fuck. How am I horny? Why? Oh, who gives a fuck? Fuck me! Right here. I want you, Vi. Please. I need you..."

Vi laughed, "More control than most have when a demon pops. There's a reason demon summonings are associated with orgies. It's the blood. Well, something like blood. Ichor. It's an aphro-"

Rin clamped a hand over the witch's mouth. "Fuck. Me!"

Violet shook her head, and stood up, "No. Sorry, hon. That would be taking advantage. But we do need to get you cleaned up. I guess our date is going to have to wait."

---

"Ya doin' nothing interestin', babe?" Kitty asked boredly from the bed, as she fed another biscuit to the gold and dreen dragon lying on its back by her feet, pawing playfully at the air.

Arcana was sitting at the kitchen table in just a t-shirt, and had been since she'd stumbled out of bed after a bit of a pity fuck. Her girl had been down ever since she'd heard that her fiance had up and died. Seemed like there was more to that, but it also seemed like poking a bear up the ass.

Kitty hadn't found a dress, in the end.

To be honest, she wasn't even certain that she wanted to wear a wedding dress, having tried a few on. They might look cute and shit, but they were heavy as fuck, uncomfortable, and pretty much all of them required that she wear either a strapless bra or none at all. She wasn't into that.

She'd wanted to, before. She hadn't figured that she was the marrying kind, but the story with Arcana... Her girlfriend was dying. She wasn't really marrying her. She was accepting becoming a widow.

Kitty stared in surprise as an eagle swan-dived through the window, shattering it before the creature hit the ground. Arcana yelled and stood up, and then seemed to freeze, one leg posed in the air.

The biker sneered, glaring, "Huh? Magic, is it? Who da fuck are you?"

"Dyeus." The eagle spoke, as it slowly turned into a grizzled old man wearing a feathery cloak. He stood with his back to her, looking at her girlfriend, judging her.

Kitty slid out of the bed, feeling sure she'd heard Arcana say the name before, but it didn't mean anything to her. The naked biker strode over to the man, grabbing him by the shoulder and hauling him around, "Da fuck do ya think ya doin' ta my girl?"

He stared at her in anger, and then burst out laughing, "I'd heard you had a temper. That you hurt my wife, Astraea."

"Ah, fuck. Ya Arcana's dad?"

"No." He chuckled and looked down at her, giving her all the vibes of her own father when he was planning on killing someone, but somehow... Worse. "Arcana is partially mortal. Her father was human. I am her grandfather."

"Grand..." Kitty stared at him in revulsion, "Ya married ya fuckin' daughter!?"

"And fucked her stupid." He laughed at her expression, "But, little mortal, your judgements... They don't work for me. For there is not a living thing that I can't fuck stupid, that is not related to me."

"Huh?"

He pushed her aside, walking over to the wall. A panel of wood creaked, and then sprang out of the wall, curling down to take the cloak of feathers for him.

He turned back to her, "I didn't come for my granddaughter. I came to see you, mortal."

"I ain't fuckin' ya." Kitty snapped.

He chuckled, "You hurt my wife."

"Ya ain't givin' me that kinda feelin'! Ya not here for revenge. I know what that kind of wrath looks like, motherfucker. Ya here because ya wantin' me, but I ain't givin' shit!"

Dyeus nodded slowly, "Hmm. Yes. I do... Desire you. But I wouldn't take you, without permission. Which, of course, is the point. All mortals have a price. Even you. And I can pay... Any price."

"Get fucked."

He shrugged, "I intend to. That's my offer, actually. You will become one of my brides. You can keep my granddaughter, of course. Play around with her. But when I call, you come to me."

"I'ma goin' ahead and pretend ya actually listening to me." Kitty rolled her eyes.

The man walked back over to Arcana, and seemed to be considering pushing her over. Kitty tensed up, clenching her fists and moving her feet to a fighting position. She didn't feel like she stood a chance against him, but that didn't matter to her.

"If you become my bride... The Bride... Then I'll save her for you." Dyeus said and brushed Arcana's check gently, almost affectionately.

"What the fuck?"

He turned back to her, "Oh, how rude of me. I should have properly introduced myself. Mortals can be so... Forgetful. A few thousand years and they don't even recognise my name. I am Dyeus. First, of all gods. The God of Gods. King of Skies, Lord of Thunder, Master of all Creation. All that exists, does so because of me. The earth is my child, with one of my daughters. The stars, are also my children. Gravity is my will. Humanity is... A hobby of mine. Eos calls it a pointless distraction."

Kitty nodded slowly, "Cool."

"It means that the pathetic curse that is eating your sweetheart's soul is something I could dismiss with less than half a thought. I could make her immortal. Make the both of you that way. Or leave as you are." He shrugged, "Name it, and I can do it. Because anything that happens, only happens if I allow it."

"Didn' ya have ta kill ya daddy to get the title, or some shit? Zeus?"

He nodded, "I did kill my father. I and my two closest brothers waged a war of our own against our forebears. Mostly because I wanted my sister as my bride. I... Have a temper, Katerina. Storms are not expressions of how peaceful a person I can be."

She rolled her eyes, "Stop tryin' ta impress me. Ain't workin'."

"You also don't believe I can end Arcana's suffering." He shrugged, "I'll let her tell you, then. Ask her about me, and whether I am serious. Both that I will fuck you, before this week is out, and whether she will live or die by my will."