Arcana's Path Ch. 08

"Hurt her..." Kitty snarled.

He rolled his eyes, and held out a hand, some kind of ornate knife appearing in it. "Go ahead. Try and kill me, mortal. It can't be done. If Kroenus could not kill me, what the fuck could you ever do?"

"Like I said. Ya not impressin' me."

He shrugged, and walked back, picking up his cloak. As he did, the wall repaired itself, and then he turned back into some oversized eagle and darted out through the window. The shards of glass flying up in his wake and resettling together.

Arcana fell backwards onto her butt.

Kitty looked down at her, "So... Babe, um... We need to have a talk, right?"

"Ffffffffffffuuuck!" Arcana screamed at the top of her lungs.

The biker crouched on the balls of her feet, smiling at her and brushed a strand of hair back, "Ya grand-daddy... He's a piece of work."

"Don't piss him off." Arcana sucked in her breath, staring at her. "That was him, wasn't it? Oh gods above... Please tell me you weren't... You... Kitty. Please tell me you didn't hit him or anything. Please. Please. Please."

"He wants ta fuck me."

"Kitty!" Arcana yelled desperately.

The biker sighed and ran a hand through the middle of her hair. Fingers on one side brushing her shaven scalp, the others running through the black strands. She shook her head, "I told him how things were, but he seemed ta... Like it? He offered me a deal."

"He wants you." Arcana winced, "Of course. That's what the fucking Bride shit is. Dyeus wants a new plaything. Should have seen that one coming, a mile off."

"He'll break ya curse. As a wedding present ta me. Also won't get in the way of the two of us."

Arcana flinched, "What about... You? Kitty... You'd be tied to the most sociopathic being in all of the universe. Most powerful, too. He isn't... He's hurt people. A fucking fuckload of people. He does not give a shit about anybody, anywhere. He won't love you. He'll just want to fuck you. Probably make you pregnant, too. And you'll end up giving birth to something... Screwed up. Like a six-legged horse or something."

"Sounds shit. Better than you dyin' on me."

The woman stared at her, "No way. Kitty... You can't be considering this."

"He also kinda implied he was gonna kill ya early if I didn't play along." Kitty shrugged. "I ain't seein' a choice here. It's a fuckin' nice lookin' carrot he's danglin'. You, living. So what if I have ta fool around with him a bit? I'd suck a random cock every mornin' ta have ya, forever."

Her girlfriend cringed and shook her head, "It's wrong!"

"Arcana." Kitty rolled her jaw, "This is the part where I tell ya how it is. I ain't foolin'. I'm doing this. Ya can feel guilty and stick ya tongue where it belongs. But I am fucked if I will ever fuckin' let ya fuckin' die on me!"

Her knuckled cracked as her fists squeezed into being, her chest heaved as she breathed through the rage threatening to strangle the life out of her. She was taking this option, and Arcana would just have to deal with it.

"I don't deserve you." Arcana said quietly, a tear slipping down one cheek.

---

Echo strode through the portal. His polished shoes landing on the cracked concrete within the hangar. He heard people starting in surprise, and snapped his fingers for those following him through. The members of the Emergency Response immediately spread out and began to evacuate the building.

He crouched by the edge of the pit caused by Marduk's weight, when he had nested here, before being escorted back to China. The sheer hatred was still in the air, hovering like the stink of corruption. Echo could feel the anger left behind by the god of dragons attempting to seduce him.

The basilisk smiled weakly. He understood the wrath of the creature.

His own, however, was greater.

"Keep your distance." He ordered, and strode down into the pit. He didn't need any of the equipment that they'd brought with them to find the energy signature. His magic tended to be on the smaller side of things, as he couldn't control it. That worry was removed. He didn't need magic to find the source of the energy.

He could hear it.

The dancing double-clap of a heartbeat.

Echo leaned back, and the sound of snapping bones and muscle briefly echoed in the space as he abandoned his glamour and slipped free. He expanded to fill the entire space, intertwined as his snake-like form curled through itself, and he gazed down at the ground.

The stench of fear became almost overpowering, as the others witnessed him. He ignored the lesser creatures, and shot downwards. The concrete was blown free in a shower of rubble as he bored into the ground. His jaws instantly locking around the warm egg that had been placed there, before he swallowed.

Echo shot upwards for a moment, before rewrapping himself in fragile reality, appearing again as a human man. He fell to the ground, outside of the nest. The egg safely nestled inside him.

He rubbed his chin slowly as an assistant approached and began to reclothe him. He wondered what Kina would think if he were to tell her that he was currently not only carrying a child, but one that belonged to someone else. He imagined her wrath would be quick. Echo noted with amusement that the idea of her claws coming out before she slapped him was... Exciting.

His cousin had certainly managed to catch his attention.

"Sir, for the report, what can I say happened here?"

He glanced over, "Hmm? Oh. Marduk attempted to preserve an heir. Likely a result of feeling threatened by the Witch's Council fucking with his head. I destroyed it. Send the Council my congratulations at pissing off one of nature's most dangerous predators. Warn them that I, myself, will soon be paying them a visit. I don't believe they have yet been informed that I am awake."

With that, he opened another portal, back to his home office, and left them behind to deal with the necessary bureaucracy and other protocols.

He looked disdainfully at the Inbetween that had been serving him since he was just a boy. The man was on his knees, head bowed. Claw marks ravaged his naked body. Brands of Kina's wrath at his disrespectful behaviour.

"Has my father responded to my letter, yet?" Echo walked by him and sat down at the desk, tugging to loosen his tie.

"No, m'lord. I confirmed that he has not only received it, but read the contents."

Echo sneered, "Disapproval, then. He would come in person if he only wished to caution me. Well, whatever. I do not require his permission to undertake this... Yet, you really fucked things up for me. Can't exactly use you to send any messages to Kina, can I? Because you insulted her."

"My apologies, m'lord."

He rubbed his face tiredly, "I will have her. That is my final decision on the matter. Kina Aki, is to be my bride. However, I will allow her to lead us. I will... Date... Her. On her terms. So, if anyone in my power, or beneath my authority, so much as looks at her the wrong way... I will devour them."

"Y-yes, m'lord."

He waved a hand, "Make the preparations. I'll punish you later."

As soon as the butler had left, Echo started writing another letter. Things that he needed to tell Kina. There were a great many secrets that few could afford to know. He was destined to kill the gods, destroy the world. That kind of prophesied outcome never came without a few portents of doom, most of which would probably affect the gorgeous woman.

She might have a wildness to her that he adored, but loving him was a risk that should be carefully considered. He may have made his choice, but she still needed to make her own.

Something else was guiding these events. Interfering in the course of the world, and even manipulating the gods. The two of them weren't immune to it, they were an integral part of whatever plan that was.

A plan that required Rasputin to be dead. Replaced by someone who was not just more pliant and likely to be seduced by the power of magecraft, but whose skills would outstrip the infamous sorcerer. Guided by the djinn who lacked a moral compass, and sought only a life of pleasure.

A design that required that the Bride of Dyeus be located - achieved by using Arcana Astria. The Daughter of Magic had acted like a beacon, drawing forth the mortal from the crowd. Just as the Kraken had once done, to find Helen of Troy.

An intent that demanded the death of Violet Waterhouse, the removal of a witch who cared for every single person who crossed her path. Replacing her with her sister, a woman whose ferocity was legendary. Lady Amy Waterhouse's misguided wrath would lead the witching community astray, her desire for vengeance on those who hurt her sister would probably be the catalyst for a civil war. But was war the goal, or merely the tool for some further aim?

A path that would require such vast amounts of magic that the Heir of Dyeus would be forced to relinquish her mortality and take up the throne. Echo hadn't known her, when he met her, but Chelsea McGibbon was a wildcard still waiting to be played. He only had an inkling how she would be drawn back into the world. The werewolf that had joined them, when he and Kina had first slept together.

The man's name had been... Cole. Damon Cole.

---

Chelsea peaked into the darkness of the basement tiredly, swaying giddily as she felt her magic building up and out of control, again. The moss on the walls sprouted glowing blue flowers, and the ground became carpeted with hungry brown and hairy mould.

The wolf in the corner issued a small threatening growl, and then cut off quickly as it saw her.

She grinned and sat down on the bottom step, causing the granite to creak and groan as the veins running through it began to trickle out water. Chelsea waved at him, "Hey, Cole."

The wolf padded closer, yellow eyes fixed on her face.

Chelsea sighed, "The other night was... Amazing. Sorry I couldn't break your curse, altogether. Transforming you back to human for a single night took more out of me than I'd like to admit. I don't have the control for it, yet."

The wolf's head bobbed silently.

She dropped her chin into her hands, "I've been looking into it some more. Easier, now that Vi is too distracted to look over my shoulder all the time. She still blames herself for what happened."

The wolf pawed at the ground.

Chelsea nodded, "I know... I don't think anyone has worked out that you're still alive, by the way. Your mum's thoughts are... Dark. She's all made up of rage. I hate hearing her, but she's easy to pick out of the crowd. You, not so much. Understanding your primal thoughts aren't easy. But I think you're becoming used to thinking like a wolf, and that makes me... Uncomfortable."

The wolf whined.

She leaned forward and patted her boyfriend's head, "Aw, don't worry about it. I do like how animalistic you can be, when I get you back. Speaking of... Wanna try it? A little bit of sex magic?"

He turned his head slowly, back and forth. However, she could hear his emotions. He was desperate to be human, again. To be free of this. He was just worried that she didn't have enough control not to fuck the entire world over, and he was too selfless to encourage her, even if he was becoming a wolf for real.

The werewolf curse was one of the worst.

It was only ever really handed down by a god, to a mundane who had overplayed their hand. It was a punishment. The curse started slowly. Once a full moon, you'd become a wolf. With a wolf's brain. You weren't able to think like a person.

It twisted you. You couldn't turn back, unless you thought like a person, or got someone else to help you out with a shit-ton of magic. Only ones with the skill to pull it off tended to be demigods. People like Vi or Rasputin. Ardet-lili if she could give a shit.

Cole had been cursed by his own hubris, and not a god. So there was no one to appeal to. He'd used Kina as an anchor, and then had Chelsea's own magic flare. Kina had channelled an equal amount, but a little bit more controlled, and Cole had tried to use all that magic to bind Chelsea, make it easier for her to control her own magic.

That was the moment Cole had gone from an up-and-coming protege of Violet, to being a nothing that everyone thought was dead. Vi had nearly burned herself out, saving his life, as well as Kina and Chelsea. All four of them had nearly died.

Well... Violet was dying, as a result.

Kina was dying because she didn't like her mother.

Chelsea wasn't dying... But she may as well be. Being the daughter of the god of gods meant that she had inherited his disproportionate amount of power, but she didn't have his skill or knowledge, so she might sneeze and blow up half a galaxy. Which was, disturbingly, not an exaggeration.

She didn't care much about that, though. The only thing she wanted control for, was to try and undo what had been done to Cole. Vi hadn't given up, but she had forbidden Chelsea from trying. Because it was complicated as fuck.

The curse had wound itself so deeply into Cole that it was difficult to separate the man from the taint. She had done it, just a short while ago. Long enough that she could go drinking with Cole and Kina, just like old times.

They'd been friends as long as she could remember. Kina, Arcana, Violet, Cole and herself. The abandoned children of the gods. Rasputin and Ardet-lili had tried to join, but they were outsiders. Partly because Arcana had hated Rasputin, because she was betrothed to him, and partly because Arcana was jealous that Ardet-lili and Rasputin had been shacking up from the moment the vampire queen had come of age.

Chelsea was the youngest, and she felt it. Usually out of sorts from the others. She had just wanted to drink and party all night long, whilst the others were playing around with new spells, or magic cards.

She and Cole had been a drunken mistake, at first.

She'd found him cute, so when she'd walked him home one night, she'd kind of pulled him aside into a bush, yanked down his pants and blown him. Not expecting that it would mean anything.

Cole had immediately become obsessed with her.

Chelsea smiled at the memories, the way he'd romanced her. The wolf in front of her couldn't stick a rose in her hair, or give her a box of fresh baked cookies. He could barely lick her face with a tongue she didn't want anywhere near her.

"If this works... You're washing your mouth out, first." She stated.

He whined and backed away from her a little.

Chelsea's nose screwed up excitedly, "Focus and control. A little burning candle..."

The entire Glade began to hum, singing in sympathy with her. She pressed her will into it, ever so softly. She found the clay of the world, poking at it cautiously as it practically melted before her.

She smiled at the wolf, "I love you."

---

Tom strode quietly into the stereotypical dark room, and looked at the single individual, leaning up against a series of closed blinds, and felt the urge to roll his eyes.

Instead he grunted quietly, to announce his presence, and then spoke, "From what I've been able to piece together, Arcana is on her way to the Glade. She's with de Sheouvre."

The man nodded slowly, without turning around.

The cop crossed his arms, "Is it important? Arcana is doing her best to side-step all of her responsibilities. She may have handled Marduk, but she didn't help with the cleanup. She got the hell out of there."

"Miss Astria is not that critical to the future of things, no. She's hardly important at all. Getting her out of the way would make everything easier." The man replied quietly, "However, Miss de Sheouvre is another matter, entirely. She is absolutely essential to the coming events. Success is not possible without her involvement. We did our best to isolate her, but the managuise that escaped from her guaranteed the involvement of Miss Astria, unfortunately."

Tom nodded, not quite grasping the threads.

The man sighed and shrugged, "What of the other matter? Have you managed to locate the heir of Rasputin?"

"His djinn messed up a construction yard. I'm afraid that I lost the trail in the middle of the chaos." Tom shook his head, "The Cursed Child, fuck's sake. He put nearly a hundred people in the hospital, just to flex a little."

The man made an annoyed sound, "I am aware of the collapse. What do you know, about Finnigan Lancaster? Why was he selected by the world's most powerful sorcerer, to receive forbidden knowledge originally imparted by the motherfucking Titans?"

"He's a nobody."

The man turned from the window, "Repeat that. And know that your life depends upon your answer."

Tom ignored the threat, "Lancaster is a nobody. He's had a couple drunk and disorderlies. He's registered with the builder's guild, and warlock's guild. He doesn't have enough of his own magic to even levitate a glass. The warlock's guild considered not admitting him at all, because he has so little magic. However, as his sorcerer was Rasputin, they made an exception."

"He's a nobody, warlock. And was granted access to magic to unmake the universe." The man said in scornful disbelief.

Tom shrugged, "Rasputin never even checked to see if Lancaster registered with the guild. So far as I can tell, their pact was formed as part of a drunken one night stand. Rasputin showed no indication he was even aware that Lancaster continued to exist, until his heir was chosen."

"Ah. That's something." The man smiled slowly, "He may have done so, on purpose, to protect another one of his shards. Lancaster may have a festering piece of the sorcerer's soul embedded somewhere in him... It wouldn't show up under normal examination... May I borrow your soul for a moment?"

Tom blinked in surprise, and then he was grabbing at his throat. Surprised from behind as someone slit it open in a single smooth movement. He fell weakly to his knees, as the vertigo hit.

The weakness might hit fast, but bleeding out is a slow way to die.