Order of the Shattered Cross: Pt. 07

I'd like to thank Lastman for the read through and edits.

--

Sister Frost walked into the darkness. It felt like attempting to crawl through an incredibly tight space. She could move forward, but she felt her arms and shoulders pushing their way along a tight hallway with what felt like walls made of loosely packed mud. Claustrophobia quickly set in, but before it was overwhelming, she tumbled out of it, throwing her hands in front of her to brace her fall. Her palms landed on a dusty hardwood floor. It was rough and she surely would have splinters if she ran her hands across it. She looked up and saw a room lit by a fireplace and candles positioned along the walls.

The room was within a ramshackle house. Pieces of the walls were missing, revealing exposed pipes and electrical wiring. There didn't seem to be power, as while there were electrical lights and outlets, none of them were on. The home was devoid of any furniture, aside from a leather armchair placed in front of the fireplace. From her perspective, she could see the outline of a man sitting on the chair, holding a crystal glass filled with a brown liquid that was extended over the armrest.

Sister Frost saw a hand reach down to her. She looked up and saw her grandmother, displaying a warm smile she knew better than to trust. The blood of three witches still stained her hands. Gwendoline wasn't one to hide spilled blood. Regardless, she took her hand and allowed her to assist her back to her feet.

"Shadowed doors are not everyone's cup of tea. They take some getting used to," Gwendoline said as Sister Frost brushed the dirt off her habit.

"Is that her at last?" the man asked from the living room.

"It is my love," Gwendoline replied. "Do you wish to meet her?"

"Let us have a look at her."

Gwendoline gestured for Sister Frost to walk toward him, but the Sister hesitated and reached for her cross. In the span of blink, the man had appeared in front her, and grabbed her wrist to stop her. Sister Frost jolted backwards, but the man pulled her, making her collide into him. He grabbed her face with the opposite hand, tilting and adjusting her head as he examined. First, he pinched her cheeks to examine the inside of her mouth before he pressed down under her eyes to check her pupils.

The man was handsome and exuded an almost otherworldly elegance. An older gentleman who appeared in his fifties with streaks of grey in his long brown hair slicked back and held with a tie to keep it from his eyes. His eyes were so dark they were nearly black. He was two heads taller than the Sister, and she could feel the firmness of his body, and his immense strength as he held her without effort.

There was also something hauntingly cold about him. His face expressed no emotion, not even in a stoic way. He had the lifelessness of a mannequin presenting the shape of a man. He was also physically cold. His hand grasped around her wrist felt like a burn.

"Are you certain?" the man asked. He looked dissatisfied and unimpressed with the girl in front of him. "She certainly is Henrietta's, there is no denying that."

"I am more than certain. I witnessed her true form firsthand. Henreitta was the last mother as we predicted," Gwendoline said.

Sister Frost reached for the cross with her other hand but felt someone grab her other wrist. She looked down, expecting it to be Gwendoline's fingers, but instead saw the man had sprouted a third arm from his ribs. The sight made her reel back, but she couldn't even muster an inch of separation.

"I will only warn you once. If you reach for that again, I will remove your hand one finger at a time," the man said. "Remove her cross."

"Yes love," Gwendoline said, and snapped it from her neck with a single firm pull.

"Who are you?" Sister Frost asked. The man ignored her as his third hand sunk back into his body. "The devil?"

"You flatter me," the man replied and finally released her. "I am but a mere duke."

Sister Frost exhaled slowly, and the man turned and walk back toward his chair.

"Flauros?" Sister Frost asked.

Immediately, Sister Frost was struck from the back and fell hard to the floor. Her head bounced and she instantly felt dazed and disoriented.

"You dare speak his name!" Gwendoline shouted from behind her.

"That is not necessary," Flauros said as he sat down. "She may speak my name."

"But love. She may be of your blood, but she is still an exorcist."

"Are you suggesting that I am so weak, a novice exorcist could remove me from this realm?" Flauros asked. Gwendoline stuttered for a moment, tripping over her words before collecting herself.

"Of course not," Gwendoline said. "I apologize for even momentarily doubting your strength."

"Bring her. We have much to discuss," Flauros ordered.

"Go," Gwendoline said to Sister Frost who turned around to look at her. The door was feet behind her, and Sister Frost feigned cooperation, taking two steps forward. Suddenly, she pivoted hard backward, knocking Gwendoline to the floor. She ripped the door open and extended one foot out. She reached for the frame of the door to stop herself from falling into a dark and endless abyss.

The entire building was a boat sinking into a black sea. A realm of shadow, darker than night in every conceivable direction.

Sister Frost spun around to catch the door but missed. She was saved at the last moment by Flauros. She felt the burning cold of his hand penetrate the fabric of her sleeve. The instinct to not fall forced her to grasp his icy hand.

"And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the abyss," Flauros said, with voice in the tone of a taunt.

Sister Frost swallowed harshly. "The demons, who called themselves Legion, asked that of Jesus."

"I cannot be fooled with a pig child," Flauros said and smiled, something Sister Frost believed he wasn't capable of. His smile was more sinister than his emotionless expression. "Any who falls remains in that darkness for no less than a thousand years. Stop this foolishness. For me, it will be minutes. For you, your mind will splinter and fracture into pieces too small to ever reconstruct. You will return broken, and pliable. What will it be child?"

Sister Frost looked over her shoulder. The darkness. Like peering into the mouth of an impossibly large monster, hungry to consume her. As a human, it scared her beyond reason. As a warrior of God, it scared her less.

Sister Frost looked into her father's cold eyes. She let his hand go, leaving him to only hold her by the sleeve of her habit.

"God will not abandon me demon," Sister Frost said firmly, and began to recite the Lord's Prayer. "Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name..."

"...I almost admire your conviction," Flauros said, and released her.

Sister Frost brought her hands together in prayer, and felt herself sink, the glow of light from door growing further away, until no light could be seen. "...from kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven."

--

Indigo needed time to process what she was seeing. The warm air. The grass beneath her feet extended out endlessly, flowing in the warm wind, creating the illusion of waves in the ocean. The air almost tasted sweet. Eden. The Garden of Eden.

"Not bad for a place you didn't believe was real," Eterna said. She was kind enough to allow Indigo the time to absorb everything she was feeling.

"This is impossible," Indigo finally said, after being unable to speak for what felt like hours. Perhaps it was hours.

"You're literally standing here, right now," Timothy said.

"Maybe I'm dead. The Void did just pull me into the water. Maybe you never pulled me out," Indigo said. She walked through the knee-high grass, lowering her fingers to touch the blades as she did.

"We need to speak with my aunt," Eterna said.

"How do we find her?" Timothy asked, gesturing to the endless sea of grass and to the lake behind them. "I don't even know where to start. Getting here was the hard part."

"I have a feeling that she'll find us," Eterna said. "We'll just wait."

The three sat along the slope which traveled downward toward the lake. Timothy placed his hands behind his head and rested his body down. Indigo was restless so waded back into the water. Something about this place made her energized in a way she couldn't understand. She had never felt so powerful in her life.

"It feels like my magic is limitless here," Indigo said as she kicked around in the shallow water. "Is that normal?"

"I was never stronger than when I was here," Eterna confirmed. "Our power comes from the energies of the Earth itself. Earth has gradually been corrupted over time. So much so, women who would have been born witches only a few hundred years ago, are now born mundane. Our powers aren't manifesting at the same rate anymore. We've gotten weaker along with the Earth."

"But here..." Indigo began and levitated her body above the water. She floated into the air and spun her body in a full revolution while giggling like a little girl. "...I can do anything. No corruption. This is our truest form. Pure."

Indigo flew into the sky. It required so little energy, it felt like she was doing it without magic at all. She dove toward the water and skirted over the surface, gently gliding her fingers across, leaving a ripple behind her.

Indigo floated to a stop and softly lowered her body down next to Timothy.

"This is amazing," Indigo said, and tilted her head with a smile at Timothy.

"Careful," Eterna said, standing up and sitting between them. "Your body isn't accustomed to this much unfettered power."

"What does that mean?" Indigo asked while giggling, adjusting her body to look at Timothy.

"It puts you into a state of euphoria," Eterna said. "It makes you a slave to your most carnal urges. Its why the most powerful witches have insatiable sex drives."

"Whoa," Indigo said, quickly standing up and getting separation. "No, I don't...him...no," she said, too quickly and far too red in the face. "I'm a virgin."

"Doesn't mean you weren't ready to jump the bones of the closest man you could find," Eterna teased.

"You're a He-Witch, right?" Indigo asked, and Timothy just shrugged. "What is this place doing to you?"

"I don't really feel any different," Timothy replied.

"I was born on Eden, so my soul is used to this level of power," Eterna explained. "I certainly feel it, but it's not overwhelming because I'm just returning to my previous strength. I also never reached puberty, so it's not a factor for me. I can control it. If I can control it, so can he."

"You're saying I can't control it?" Indigo asked.

"No, I think she's saying you were unintentionally making goo-goo eyes at someone old enough to be your grandfather," Timothy said, and Indigo turned her entire body away from him.

"I wasn't," Indigo said. "And grandfather? You don't look a day past thirty."

"Thank you, but I'm almost sixty," Timothy said, and she turned around with an expression of disbelief. "Having the soul of Edenian witch has it's perks."

Indigo's mind started to wander. She imagined kissing him. Him resting on top of her body. His hands caressing her breasts. Him removing her clothes and her removing his. His head between her legs, lips kissing her thighs, slowing gliding up. Witches lose their virginity on top, so he'd be on his back, her hands placed on his chest for balance.

Timothy watched as Indigo grinned, her body swaying like she was drunk. "Indigo?" Timothy waved his hand in front of her face, but she just wasn't there. "Eden to Indigo."

Indigo snapped out of her daydream and covered her face with her hands. The fantasy felt like she was sleepwalking. A lustful urge she had never felt so strongly, took control of her body, and placed her conscious mind in a room and locked the door.

"What the hell?" Indigo asked, her voice muffled beneath her palms. "It's like I'm hypnotized."

"Not far off," Eterna said. "Magic isn't a tool. It is a living creature, and like all creatures it desires to perpetuate itself. The only way to make itself more powerful is to create more people imbued with magic. Your magic wants you to make babies."

"I don't want a baby," Indigo declared.

"Magic doesn't care what you want. This is the first time in your life your magic is stronger than your will. Control it, or it will control you," Eterna warned. "At the very least, just not with my vessel, please."

Eterna's words scared Indigo. The idea that her autonomy was now subservient to the very thing she always believed made her special. Never once had her magic scared her. She had also never thought of her magic as a being all its own. It was a tool. It was as Eterna said; her magic had its own desires and would use her body to fulfill them. It made her question if magic was her tool, or if her body was a tool for her magic.

Indigo's mind wandered again, and her consciousness sunk deeper than previously. She crawled on all fours and Timothy tried to stand up, but she sprang on top of him.

"Stop, stop," Timothy said as he struggled with her. He rolled them over and held her wrists down above her head.

In Indigo's mind they were already well into the act. She rode him slowly, his hands on her breasts. She moaned in pleasure eagerly awaiting his seed. He climaxed, and she could feel the warmth fill her womb.

"Indigo!" Timothy yelled, and she was suddenly back, and he was on top of her.

"Get off of me!" Indigo said and shot Timothy away. He flipped through the air but managed to right himself and float back down at the edge of the water.

"That's my line," Timothy declared. "It's like trying to fight off a drunk fat chick."

Indigo pressed her palms to her temples and exhaled slowly.

"That's all we used to do," a voice from the water said. Timothy turned around and watched a woman emerge from the water. She was naked with vibrant red hair that extended to her waist. The hair was wet and stuck to her back, not concealing her small and firm breasts. "Right at the water's edge."

"Eve?" Indigo asked, and Timothy nodded.

"Yes Indigo," Eve replied. She was beginning to step into knee-high water, revealing her curly red pubic hair. "Welcome to Eden."

"Last time I was here, you said you've known me since I was born. What else on Earth can you see?" Timothy asked.

"Everything as it happens."

"So, you know what Gwendoline is planning?" Timothy asked, and she nodded.

"She plans to destroy your world."

"How?" Eterna asked.

"The Void," Eve said, and finished climbing from the water. She stood in front of Timothy, who noticed she was several inches taller than him.

"How can the Void destroy the world?" Eterna asked.

"Every realm is held open by the presence of spirits. Heaven, hell, your world, and mine alike. I alone have held this world open since all my sons, and their daughters, left it. My soul alone is enough. The Void can destroy souls, while lacking a soul of its own."

"Who in their right mind destroys a world they live in?" Timothy asked.

"You're assuming they're in their right mind," Indigo said.

"She's crazy, but she's not stupid," Eterna said. "Gwendoline is convinced of her own delusion of grandeur. She doesn't just want to destroy the world, she wants to rebuild it, her way. Danielle Parris is correct. Those who seek that destruction believe the power to rebuild is theirs."

Timothy suddenly had a horrible realization.

"She doesn't plan to rebuild," Timothy said, and faced Eterna. "She has a readymade world, right here." Timothy said, pointing to the ground under his feet.

"You said you had a plan to destroy the Void. I'm all ears," Eterna said.

"My plan was to find a way to lure it here and trap it, where it would..." Timothy said, and slowly faced Eve. "But you already knew that."

"I knew the moment the thought crossed your mind. It would consume me, and this world would collapse on top of it," Eve said.

"Your plan was to have it eat her?" Eterna asked, and Timothy sighed. "I understand desperate times, but that's too far. Even for me."

"You would sacrifice the sister of the first mother?" Indigo decried.

"It's this world, or ours," Timothy said, and Eterna stammered while looking at her aunt.

"He's right," Eve said, and Eterna shook her head.

"No. No, I refuse to believe that. Besides, let's say the Void can eat ten thousand souls a day, it'll take over a thousand years to eat all of them," Eterna said.

"What's curious to me, is that you've seen the Void three times, but didn't even notice," Eve said.

"Notice what?" Timothy asked.

"Lilith," Eterna said fearfully. "There's more than one?"

"Far more," Eve said. "She's been creating them for hundreds of years."

"How many?" Indigo asked.

"Enough," Eve replied.

"One Void was more than we could handle. We could only run and hide. Gwendoline has an army of those things," Eterna said.

"And she will soon release them upon your world. The devotion of your exorcist is the only thing delaying it," Eve said. "Until Gwendoline can harness her power, she won't dare open Pandora's Box unless she can close the lid again."

"The Black Winged Angel can destroy them after they've served their purpose. Ensuring they can't follow the Coven into this world," Timothy said, and Eve nodded. "It's kind of brilliant. In an insanely evil way."

"The sanity of her plan is irrelevant," Indigo said. "If she can do it, it doesn't matter if it's insane. Has Gwendoline been to Eden?"

"Many times," Eve said. "The Duke Flauros has amplified her powers over shadows so much that she can enter any place with a shadow in any realm at will. Her only limitation is heaven, a realm without shadow."

"What's in it for Flauros?" Eterna asked.

"He gets to be king of his own realm. He's always been a little too ambitious for his own good," Timothy said.

"Pride cometh," Eterna smirked.

"What's our plan?" Indigo asked.

"Our? You're suddenly in?" Timothy asked.

"I think I should help save the world, considering I live in it," Indigo replied.

"The plan remains unchanged. Bring them here," Eve said.

"No," Eterna said. "We'll figure out a different way."

"If you don't figure out a different way, do not hesitate. I'm ready," Eve said.

"We need a door," Indigo said, looking around for a suitable surface. After a moment, she thought it best to just create her own. Indigo closed her eyes, and the ground began to tremble. The ground split open, and a slab of stone rose from it. It was roughly the size of a door. The ground slammed shut at the bottom to hold it in place. She focused her power further, carving at the stone to refine its shape. A pentagram was etched, and it burst into light that spread from the center, turning it from stone to wood.

"Before we go, I need you to promise something," Indigo said as she turned to Timothy. "This is my coven's greatest secret. Regardless of how this ends, you will not speak of this to anyone. Especially Nora."

"You have my word," Timothy said sincerely.

Indigo opened the door and let Timothy inside first. She closed it after it herself and sealed it.

"This is some of the most impressive magic I've ever seen. And that's saying something," Eterna said, nearly gawking at the sight of the endless hallway of doors. "How did your coven do this?"

"I'll find the doorway to your exorcist," Indigo said, ignoring Eterna's question. She asked the Compendium for the door. The hallway remained still and unmoving. "That's not good."

"What?" Timothy asked.

"Where she is, there is no door," Indigo said.

"Does that mean she's dead?" Eterna asked, and the thought made Timothy's stomach sink.

"Possibly," Indigo said with a heavy breath.

"She wouldn't kill her, she needs her," Timothy said. "Get me a door to Flauros." The Compendium heard his request, and the hallway on the right side of the hall began to shoot past him like a bullet train. It came to an instantaneous halt, so much so it nearly took Timothy off balance.