"The memories come back every time you scream."~ Warwick, The Uncaged Wrath of Zaun
My bad for disappearing for the last few days. I had to move out of my place and then move my stuff to a friend's place. And then I had to travel to another country.
So yeah....
(FLY make me believe once again)
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"I got them all with me." Rell announced as she walked into the room where they were all holed up.
It was a closed off room in the west wing of the house. The only room with no windows. Made in such a way that it seemed from the outside that there was no room in this spot. It was the only room that had a secret exit. An underground pathway that led out of the house and into the streets.
Every noble house had a pathway like this. An exit to get younger family members outside and into the public. As long as they were in public, the chances of being attacked dropped heavily as most of these assassins and soldiers wouldn't take the risk of doing so in public.
"Why didn't you follow us?" Eileen stepped forward asking. "I am taking care of you. Our job is to escape alive not fight them!"
"And Rell." She turned to the girl, "Why did you go out when I specifically told you not to?"
"My magic stops them all." She replied as she pushed her two brothers inside.
Eileen sighed as she slowly shook her head, "Their Petricitestops you all. It is not a game. Against anyone else you all would probably be unstoppable but against them? A single touch would stop you. A single moment and they would take you down. Just one." Her voice turned pleading. "Just listen to me. Please."
The three nodded.
"Why isn't Faye with you?" Eileen frowned as she looked at the group once again.
Rell nodded, "She is at the kitchens. I decided to drop these two off and then go bring her."
"YOU WHAT!" Eileen exclaimed. "No. You stay here. I will go get her. And no slipping away. Use your magic to keep this place safe."
"You could have gone before?" Rell asked confusedly.
Eileen shook her head, "I couldn't leave these lot behind now could I? It wasn't safe."
Rell looked confused at the reply, "But it is safe."
Eileen seemed unimpressed, "How?"
"Annie." Rell pointed. "She is the strongest out of all of us. Nothing can harm us if Annie has Tibbers with us."
"What is the bear going to do?" Vale couldn't hold herself back from asking.
"Who said that its a bear?" Daani asked.
The eyes of all the adults turned to Anni and her bear. Annie proudly displayed her bear to them all. The two blood covered beasts behind her made the normally cute scene look very disturbing.
Maer stepped forward, intrigued by the chances for finding another weapon that could cause mass destruction. He had maintained a certain distance he deemed safe from the beasts but this was enticing him more than he could have expected.
"Tibbers won't like it if you do that." Annie said as he approached closer.
Maer stilled, "What?"
Then one of the beasts growled.
That stopped him completely as he took a few steps back shakily.
Annie ignored the question and turned to Eileen. "Faye is coming now."
"She is?" Eileen was shocked out of her confusion. She moved toward the door immediately, "I'll go get her."
"Don't worry." Annie stopped her. "Briar went to get her."
Willa turned around to where the girl in question was supposed to be standing. "Where did she go?"
The only thing left behind where a set of bandages.
Rell stepped forward. "She took them off?"
"Oh no..." Sydell whispered as he picked up the bandages with runes on them. "Did you see her leave?"
Annie nodded.
"Why didn't you stop her?" Rell asked, "Father told us to never let Briar take them off."
Annie shrugged. "Tibbers said that it would be fine."
"Why did you say that?" Rell asked the bear.
Annie looked down and repeated Tibber's answer, "She is strong enough to fight against the madness now."
"How can you be sure?" She asked once again. Rell had taken Gregori's words to heart. His in depth explanations of all of their magics had led her to believe that Briar's was too dangerous to control. "The experiments done to her made her a living weapon. It is too dangerous not only to everyone but herself if she is allowed to let lose." Rell told the bear.
"He isn't there anymore." Annie looked up. "He went to check on them."
"We cannot stay here anymore." Rell moved toward the door. "We have to get them."
Eileen's hand held Rell back. "I'll go. You stay."
Rell shook her head, "No."
"Listen to me." Eileen spun Rell around. "Stay put. I will go get your sisters. Believe me."
"No its not that. All of us should go." She replied. "If Briar loses control then we all need to be there to stop her."
Eileen looked at the determined expressions on the three children and then at Annie's carefree one and sighed. "Fine. Lets all go. But you stand behind me and you follow my orders."
"We will stay here." Maer said as he looked to his wife.
Vale nodded as fear had caught up to them.
Eileen turned to Willa in askance.
"I'm not leaving the children." She announced. "I will come with you."
Eileen nodded and led the children out of the room and into the corridor. "We will go straight to the kitchens." She stopped at the end of the corridor and looked to the side carefully.
There were two men coming in their direction., "Close your eyes." She told the children.
Rell kept her open as she watched Eileen grab one man and slide her sword into him. With a push that man was shoved into his ally pushing them back.
Eileen used the opportunity to step closer and stab her sword through the both of them.
Blood spilled out as she pulled out the sword and watched the two men die.
She then moved the bodies to the side and stepped forward, leading the group toward the kitchens.
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Everyone clutched their heads in pain as an unholy screech assaulted their ears.
"What.... is... that?" Eileen grunted through her teeth.
She took a few steps back in order to distance herself and the group from the sound.
The scream did not stop but it got softer as time passed.
KRR
KRIRK
CRACK
She raised her head as the walls to their side started to break apart.
BOOOM
As the walls exploded, Eileen turned toward the nearest children and grabbed them using her back to protect them from incoming shrapnel and debris.
She flinched expecting the pain of the pieces of the wall hitting her back and then let go of Daani and Annie. A quick look at the two showed that they were fine. She then turned to the other two and check in on them.
The debris. It hadn't hit them.
And then she felt it.
The heat.
She looked at Annie who had her hand raised. She turned to the source of the heat. A shimmering barrier of flame was behind her. Behind them all.
Her eyes finally landed on the debris. It had all been melted down or burnt to ashes.
"Did you do that?" She asked Annie.
"Who else controls fire?" Sydell replied as he peeked from the side to the gaping hole in the wall.
Annie nodded.
As the barrier faded away, Rell walked past the group and to the broken apart walls and pointed out, "There is a hand poking out of this." She then turned toward the darkness within hole in the wall. "Ah." She blurted as her eyes landed on blood red eyes staring back at her.
She took a step back as her hand rose up, in an attempt to summon all the metals in the area.
"Oh! Rell!" Briar bounced forward.
Rell's eyes widened with surprise. Briar's facial features had changed. She looked less human. Her ears had grown longer. Her hair had turned blood red a complete shift from her white hair with pink tips. Her hands had grown into claws and her elbows had stretched out into a blade.
"Are you fine Briar?" Rell asked with one hand in front of her just to be safe.
Faye walked up behind her and placed a hand on Briar's shoulder. "She is completely fine."
"Oh. You can control it?" Rell asked.
Briar nodded. "Yes!"
Her enthusiasm with her current features made her look demonic.
She turned to the rest and waved, "Hey guys!"
"See Annie.... I told you I can bring her back." Briar said smiling widely.
Annie walked up and chuckled a ball of flame in the direction of the darkness beyond the broken wall.
As the flame fell, the surroundings lit up faintly.
Eileen watched in horror as she her eyes caught the sight of dismembered limbs and headless torsos littered across the rooms.
"Did you drink the blood?" Rell asked as she too saw the massacre.
Briar shook her head, "No. Daddy told me not to."
"Good." Rell commented, not shifting her eyes from the massacre. "Don't."
"Come lets head back to the room and leave." Eileen ordered as she turned around.
Annie shook her head, "Too late."
"Hm?"
"They are already here." Annie said as sounds of breaking doors and windows echoed throughout the place.