The Creators Ch. 08

"Brandon, get out of here!" the succubus yelled.

"Tera, what the fuck are you—"

"Get out!"

Brandon stood stubbornly fast, his body radiating with blue light, the walls around him teaming with floral life of a thousand different colors. Lucilla was glowing like a jack-o-lantern with my power, staring dumbfoundedly at her hand as if she'd never seen it before.

"The bitch cut my fucking hand off!" she cried. "And it just... it just..."

"Brandon, get the fuck out!" Tera screamed again, hiding every part of her body behind my daughter. Diamond, for her part, seemed to be greatly enjoying being held hostage. She was pitching a tent that I could've hung a coat on, and grinding her thighs together with a needful moan.

"Tera, is it?" I said, stepping cautiously forward. "'Death Kiss' in the Pit, 'mother' to Justina, and 'sister' to Flora?"

"I'll brain her, Julia," Tera said, her voice as dead as her moniker. "One more step, and I'll do something even Brandon can't fix."

"Why?" I asked, stopping where I was, leaving melted footprints in the rock beneath me.

"Flora told me what you are; what you really are," Tera hissed.

"Flora's a crazy old bitch!" Lucilla screamed, and I held a hand up to silence her.

"Tera," Brandon said slowly, "put the knife down. Julia isn't going to hurt Willowbud."

"Willowbud?" Tera spat. "Brandon, Julia is here to kill you!"

"What?!" I yelled.

"She's sure been taking her time about it," Brandon said dryly.

"Julia likes to play with her food before she eats it, don't you, Julia?" Tera sneered, licking the side of my daughter's face with a long, forked tongue. "I know I do. Speaking of which, where's Gloria?"

"Gone," Brandon said simply. "She's been gone for two weeks."

"Then what the hell have you been..." Tera looked at the coffin, its cover broken-off in the chaos, Angela's unfinished body displayed in gruesome detail, "...oh."

"Tera," I said with as much calmness as I could muster. "I'm going to count to three, and if you don't let my daughter go by then, I will turn Brandon into an ash pile."

"Wait, what the f—"

"One," I cut off Brandon with an extension of arm, my palm splayed threateningly toward him. Tera watched me from behind my daughter, angling the knife against her spine.

"Two," I said coldly, a ball of plasmatic heat radiating from my hand, so hot that Brandon's skin glistened from ten feet away. Tera narrowed her violet eyes.

"Thr—" a blast of blue power shot from Brandon's mouth, and hit me in the chest. My body was no longer just mine. I felt something, someone, desperately trying to gain control. I gritted my teeth and focused the energy into my hand, the molten sphere vibrating with imminent release, Brandon in the crosshairs of my splayed fingers.

Please don't! a female voice screamed. Angela. She tried to touch the motors of my mind, but they'd belonged to me for far longer, and I shut her out. She raced into my memories and started ripping through them, and I closed the book before she got too deep.

Let me see! she screamed. I can't help you unless you let me see!

Get out! I growled, trying to expel her from me. It was no use. Every time I kicked her from one part of my cognizance, she just hopped to another.

Tera will kill Diamond, I promise you she will! Angela yelled. And if you kill Brandon, and I become a Sentient, I will fucking haunt you, I swear it on your holy mother! Now let me see who you are!

I tentatively unlocked my memories, and felt Angela sift through them. My journey to Drastin, my morning with Arbitrus, my night with Diamond and Lucilla, my murder of Passion, my days of bliss with her, my night with Lucilla in the tower, my years spent in the convent, my years in the orphanage, my—

That's far enough! I screamed, feeling that memory coming back to me, those blackened, shrieking faces. Angela stopped there, carefully putting the memory back into place. I felt her memories too, of days spent in the mind of Justina, of years floating beside Brandon, of nights watching him from the corner of the room, of wooden wheels bearing down on me, of horrid, crushing pain, of oxen hooves trampling as my skull split against the—

That's also, far enough, Angela said quietly as I gawked in horror. I need to take control of your mouth and eyes now, OK?

I numbly let her, my mind still echoing with the firsthand experience of death.

"Tera," a voice that was not my own said from my lips, "she's not here to kill Brandon. Flora was mistaken."

"Then why is she here?" Tera hissed, not moving.

To kill Willowbud, for one, Angela said to me. I can tell you're undecided, so let me add my two cents; if you have the shot, you fucking take it.

"To get Brandon to reconstruct the womb of Arbortus," Angela answered with my mouth, "and to find a new Passion."

And If you think I'm living in a fucking tree for eternity, you're dead wrong, Angela hissed in my mind. Find a different undead sucker to fill the role.

"Satisfied?" Angela asked Tera.

"Is she going to kill me the moment I let her daughter go?"

"She's fifty-fifty on that," Angela replied honestly. Tera sighed, gave me a resigned look, and pulled the knife from my daughter's neck. Diamond's green eyes returned to her, flashing purple sclera for a moment as they focused on Angela within me, and then lolling back to whites as she stumbled forward. Lucilla scrambled forward and caught Diamond before she fell, and I let the fire die, still staring at Tera, watching with some contempt as relief spread across her face.

"Well," Brandon said, stepping between us, a noticeable dark spot on his crotch, "that wasn't any fun. Let's never do that again, OK?"

The earth shook violently beneath us, the windows rattled, the walls cracked. Angela abruptly took control of my hand, aimed it, and sent a fire ball blasting into her body. She ejected herself from my mind as the house exploded around us, the bricks turning into a fine, soft dust. The mid-morning sun shined brightly in my eyes, and I squinted through the rubble-soaked haze as Willowbud Autumnsong strutted toward me.

WILLOWBUD

Brandon had pissed himself, that much was obvious. Tera was standing naked in the corner, an antlered nymph-elf sporting a substantial erection was lying on the ground, a high-elf tattooed with glowing patterns was holding her, and the Heat Bringer was burning with white flame, her sparkling, curvaceous beauty somehow complimented by the piece of man dangling between her legs. All-in-all, this was a weird morning, even for me. I noticed the burnt carcass lying on the ground, and smugly realized Gloria hadn't been wearing her sunscreen today. My bad. Astrid stepped beside me, her sword drawn, her face pulled into its stoic warrior grimace. Justina stood on my other side, not much use in a fight, but she did add symmetry.

"Well... hi!" I said cheerfully, testing the earth beneath Sister Julia, trying to determine just how fast I could kill the bitch before she fried me. Judging by the melted rock beneath her feet, I doubted I could do much damage. I glanced at the patterned woman, the Heat Bringer's power radiating from her flesh. A stone through her head might even the odds, though.

"Hi!" the antlered-nymph-elf responded with unironic cheer. I liked her.

"I take it you're Willowbud?" the patterned woman said with an imperious inflection. That bitch could eat a dick.

"That I am," I said stepping forward, feeling-out the rock, "and you must be Princess Lucilla."

"That's far enough!" the Heat Bringer yelled.

"And this is the infamous Sister Julia Gendian," I grinned, looking her over. "God, it's nice not to be disappointed. I hope you can say the same; I'm sure Brandon's been telling you lovely things about me."

"I already knew all I needed to," Sister Julia said coldly.

"You sure?"

I took another step forward, and Sister Julia exploded with flame, the heat threatening me from fifty paces away. Brandon, Tera and the antlered girl all scrambled away, but Lucilla just walked nonchalantly beside her bound love, and smiled as she wrapped her arms around Julia's waist. Her dress disintegrated from her body, revealing the whole of her patterned beauty as the pair of them rose above the ground, shining brighter than the sun. The stone beneath Sister Julia's feet turned molten, sinking into a deepening depression as jets of fire pounded them from her feet, making a mockery of my feeble earth. Lightning crackled in sporadic tendrils about her form, flashing from her arms and legs in an overdone, but effective display of power. For the first time in my life, I was outmatched; woefully, wholly outmatched. I could practically feel Corruption's terror in my veins; KILL HER! the Sentient seemed to scream, but Corruption's influence on my soul contradicted her personal sentiments. If anything, her terror only goaded me. Here was a challenge, here was something to ease the monotony. Can I break this holy sister? Can I ruin her? Can I make her mine? I felt Corruption calm herself within me, getting with the program, searching Sister Julia to find what darkness I could bring out of her, what morsel of sin laid beneath the pious mask. Corruption would find it, as she always did (except with Brandon, for some fucking reason), and I would coax it from Sister Julia until it became who she was, and she became mine. If I couldn't, well... a boulder to the skull kills everything, even a god.

I looked around, and noticed the gawking faces of Drastin's citizens, all pointed at Sister Julia. That bothered me, so I took the cobblestone street, and pulled it from the earth like yanking a rug from the floor. I turned the two-hundred-yard stretch of road into hundred-foot-high spire, and commemorated Gloria's life by dropping the monument on her corpse. Shocked gasps of 'Earth Former' and 'Night Eyes' met my ears, and my ego was sated. Brandon, realizing we were having a public dick-measuring contest, colored the spire in an intricate layer of flowers, gilded it with a flock of golden doves, and turned the entire boulevard into an apple orchard, adding his girth to the lineup. It was an interesting way to introduce ourselves to the world, but I guessed it had to happen eventually. Gods can't hide in the shadows for long, not when one of them is light itself.

"Are we done here?" I yelled to Sister Julia. "Or do you need me to get a measuring tape?"

"I should kill you," Sister Julia said simply, her voice cutting through the roar of her flame.

"Probably," I grinned, taking another step forward.

"You're not afraid that I will?"

"I'm only afraid of myself, Sister," I yelled, and took another step toward the heat. Sister Julia's stern face softened at that. She cautiously eased herself and Lucilla to the ground, the flame dimming from her flesh. I stepped forward, and extended my hand. Julia looked at it for a painfully long time, and then reached out, and grasped it. Applause and cheers rose from around us as the mortals of the city bared witness to the historical union. They didn't see the challenge that crossed our eyes, or the threat that lurked on our smiling lips.

JUSTINA

Now that the cat was out of the bag, Willowbud had no qualms about displaying her powers in ostentatious spectacle. The two-story Screeching Siren was atop a newly-made, five-hundred-foot stone tower, secluding the trio of gods from the tens of thousands packed around the tower's foot. Dignitaries and nobles pitched camp in the brothel district's streets, their massive tents nothing but specs of garish color. The king of Drastinar himself had rushed to pay homage, and Willowbud had taken great delight in slamming the door on him. Willowbud (or rather, Night Eyes) didn't give a shit about nobility; it was the rabble she enjoyed, and they had come out in droves.

"...I never did get to meet Passion," Willowbud said airily, lounging on her couch with her head in Brandon's lap. "My mother and her never saw eye-to-eye. Did you meet Flora while in Arbortus?"

"No," Lucilla answered, both her and Julia crammed into dresses from my wardrobe.

"I was asking Sister Julia," Willowbud said tersely. Lucilla's cheeks went red, her eyes narrowing. Those two obviously weren't going to get along.

"I never had the pleasure," Julia answered Willowbud, though she gave Mom a sidelong glance.

"'Pleasure' isn't something Flora provides," Willowbud chuckled. "I wouldn't be surprised if she had thorns in her cunt."

Mom chortled at that. She sat beside Astrid, who was staring intently at Julia, looking poised to defend her Mistress at the slightest provocation. I sat across from them, between Brandon and Diamond, the latter of whom had scooched her chair from her mom to sit closer to me.

"Hey," she whispered, a big smile crossing her red lips, "I'm Diamond!"

"I know," I said, unable to keep from smiling back. There was something infectious about her unbridled friendliness that made everyone she talked to like her. Even Astrid had relented a smile when Diamond made her acquaintance.

"I'm sorry I tried to kill your mom," Diamond whispered as Julia and Willowbud conversationally gaged other, "but she stabbed my mom in the back, so, you know... but, we're all friends now, right?"

"Right," I said, looking her over. "Is it true that you're only a week old?"

"Well, technically I was in utero for eighteen years, but it's been one week and nine hours now since my birth," Diamond smiled.

"How did you know how to use a sword?"

"My other mom taught me while I was in her womb," Diamond said, as if that explained it.

"My mom perfected her craft for hundreds of years, trained with the greatest swordsmen of her time, and killed some of the deadliest warriors Drastinar has to offer, and you almost bested her without ever touching a blade?"

"I guess."

"Fascinating," I whispered. "This throws everything the scientific community knows about 'nature vs nurture' out the window; if we could determine what mechanism allowed your mother to pass useful skills to you while in utero, we could... I'm sorry, this must all sound like gibberish to you."

"It all happens during the development of the infantile prefrontal cortex," Diamond whispered back. "Genetic information passed during this period often contains hereditary knowledge. It is the utilization of the tRNA by the host nucleus that allows for what is called 'instinctual learning.' My incubation optimized this period, allowing me to gain vast amounts of utilizable information."

"Oh," I managed, staring with mouth agape at Diamond.

"It's nice to talk to someone with an interest in cellular biology," Diamond smiled. "What other fields have you studied? I've been trying to expand my knowledge of material sciences, namely, the structural properties of bio-based polymers. I have this theory that plant fibers are actually the stabilizing property of a matrix composite, and if—"

"Do you want to fuck?" I practically gasped. I never believed in love at first sight, but, well... shit. Diamond didn't even flinch at the proposition. She just bit her lip excitedly, grinning with a twinkle in her emerald eyes.

"Right here?" Diamond giggled. "Right now?"

"Right now," I said, taking her hand, staying my enslaving powers, "but not right here; I've got a room."

TERA

Julia and Willowbud were so busy sparring words that neither of them noticed Justina and Diamond sneak off, their hands sliding up each other's skirts. Lucilla, since regulated to a second-stringer by Willowbud's disdain, had gotten into a staring match with her new counterpart, Astrid, while Brandon had gotten into a staring match with the wall, nodding periodically to maintain the façade of listening. I sighed, wishing I could join my daughter and her new antlered-friend, but alas, I had to sit at the grownup's table. I wished Gloria was here; she would've known how to referee this exchange. The adversarial undertone was rapidly losing its subtlety, and I worried that we might be verging on outright hostility.

"Of course they should worship us!" Willowbud laughed. "They should build shrines and sacrifice virgins to us! Why not?"

"Not only is that blasphemous," Julia growled, "but it's wholly unethical! We should be beacons of hope, examples of virtue and mercy, not tyrants!"

"Honey, I'm not saying we should rule the world," Willowbud smiled, "that sounds like a lot of administrative bullshit that I don't want to deal with. Let the little kings and emperors shepherd the cattle; I just want to have my fun."

"Fun," Julia said flatly. "You don't think your powers give you responsibility beyond your own amusement?"

"No, I actually don't," Willowbud's smile grew even wider.

"What do you think, Brandon?" Julia asked.

"Huh?" Brandon started, "Oh, uh... you both make great points," Willowbud elbowed him in the ribs. "Fuck, ow!"

"You're my boyfriend; you're supposed to agree with me by default!"

"Whatever Julia said is right," Brandon groaned, rubbing his side. "I will not be intimidated by terrorists."

"Please pay attention, Brandon," Julia said, barely masking her impatience. "We're talking about the future of the world here."

"I don't get why we have to have some kind of agreed-upon agenda," Brandon said. "How about you just do your thing, I do my thing, and Willowbud does her thing? If our things happen to come together, then we'll both do each other's things, OK?"

"And what happens when your thing and my thing oppose each other?" Julia asked. "What happens when, just for example, that thing inside your girlfriend decides destroying Drastin might be her 'thing?'"

"Drastin wouldn't be much fun as rubble," Willowbud mused lazily. "Terondia, on the other hand..."

"You fucking bitch!" Lucilla screamed.

"I'm sorry, did anyone else hear that?" Willowbud grinned. "I swear I just heard the rare mating call of the Imperial Dick Swallow."

"Julia, kill this cunt right—"

"Enough!" I yelled, causing all eyes to shift to me. I stood there, gaging each expectant gaze, instantly regretting my outburst. What would Gloria say? What wisdom should an ancient impart upon immature gods with limitless power?

"Astrid and I need to promote our fight," was what I managed to come up with. "We're fighting in the Pit championship in two nights, and you three have stolen all our thunder! It was the most anticipated bout in a century, and now it's going to be regulated to page six of the Drastin Times because you greedy fuckers had to go public!"

"You have to... promote your fight," Julia said slowly.

"That's right," I said firmly, lifting my chin proudly. "Astrid and I get on stage, perform various dance routines, and have a mock duel with practice weapons. Then we show our gratitude to our wonderful fans by fucking as many of them as we can before our legs give out. Afterward, we sign autographs and sponsor charity events for the local orphanage. It's a crucial part of community outreach, and you three are fucking it up!"

"I was really looking forward to it," Astrid mumbled beside me. There was a tense silence where I wondered if I'd just united Willowbud and Julia in the joint venture of killing me.

"I'd actually like to see that," Lucilla said quietly, putting her hand on Julia's thigh. "What about you?"

"Do you just... jump into the crowd and see what happens?" Julia asked me, "Or is there a number system, or a line, or... Good Mother, the logistics of it!"

"I usually act as the M.C," Willowbud said. "I pick patrons from the crowd, and bring them on stage."