Love is Thicker Than Water
Part 2
"Here we go! Water sprites!" Lydia announced in triumph as she found the relevant pages in the Argent Bestiary. Allison rushed over to see the information Lydia had found and saw that the picture in The Bestiary perfectly matched the creature that she had killed. It was humanoid in shape, its skin was dark blue and it had hair made from pondweed.
"Yeah, that's them, definitely. What does it say?" Allison asked, eager to find out if she was going to be faced with water based vengeance any time soon. Lydia scanned the text quickly looking for any relevant information.
"Well, they are very keen on True Love, that's for sure. They don't like it if two people who are supposed to be together don't become an item. They go berserk, it makes them incredibly angry." Lydia said, eyes widening as she continued reading.
"So, I'm not in any danger?" Allison asked, relief creeping into her voice.
"Not exactly, I think we might both be in some sort of danger." Lydia said, looking at one of the passages in concern.
"How so?"
"Because, when we were in the water the spirits identified the love we have for each other, but you shot one of them and we left. Therefore, in their minds our love is incomplete and that will make them so furious. If this Bestiary is correct, they are going to try and track us down and 'complete' our love." Lydia said, making sure he had interpreted the text correctly. She had.
"That doesn't sound too dangerous." Allison said, sounding confused.
"That all depends on how much we resist them." Lydia explained.
"Well let's not resist them then." Allison said as if it was the most obvious course of action in the world, which it probably was.
"Allison, you live in a house that has more magical traps than The Temple of Doom. If those Water Spirits try and get in they will probably combust, which will piss them off… a lot." Lydia said, sounding a little stressed. Allison grimaced.
"Oh no." she whispered, before running down the hall and into her dad's office to find that he was loading his guns.
"Allison, you and Lydia need to stay in your room. Something paranormal has entered the building, so I need to go and investigate." He said sternly, his tone telling Allison that "investigate" actually meant "shoot things".
"No Dad, you can't! They're just Water Spirits, they're not dangerous unless you attack them!" Allison yelled urgently.
"What do they want?" Chris asked warily.
"They want to magically join me and Lydia together in a mystical wedding type thingy."
"Aw, that's nice." Chris said softly smiling and holstering his guns.
"They might be a little bit violent, because I shot one and then ran away." Allison said sheepishly.
"So they're likely to be unreasonable?"
"Yes."
"And they are after you and Lydia?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm gonna kill them." Chris said, drawing his guns and storming out of the apartment.
Allison stood forlornly in his office realising that by failing to control his temper she may have accidentally sealed his fate. Lydia rushed in, looking around with a terrified expression on her face.
"Where's Papa Argent?" she asked in a shaky voice. Allison was so concerned about her father that she didn't bother to tell Lydia not to call him 'Papa Argent'.
"He went out to fight the Water Spirits." Allison said quietly, looking at the floor.
"No! He can't fight them alone, he'll be killed!" Lydia said in a panicky tone.
"What should we do?"
"Allison, you are an archer and a damn good one. Grab a bow, grab some arrow and let's kick some ass!" Lydia shouted, snapping her fingers to shake Allison out of her reverie. It worked and Allison sprang into action, grabbing her finest combat bow and a quiver of arrows. Not just any arrows, but arrows that she had spent a substantial amount of time modifying. She picked up one of her father's electric batons and handed it to Lydia.
"If one of those things come near you, zap 'em with that thing." Allison said in a commanding tone, which Lydia found oddly sexy.
"I thought these were for stunning werewolves." Lydia said uncertainly.
"They are, but it's a truth universally acknowledged that water and electricity don't mix." Allison said walking out of the apartment.
"Allison, I love you and all, but I don't appreciate you mangling the words of Austen." Lydia grumbled.
The hallways were silent and the lights were flickering slightly. Chris was nowhere to be seen, but his guns were lying in a pool of water in the centre of the corridor. Allison and Lydia approached the pool cautiously and when they were close enough to see their reflections a torrent of water surged upwards.
"What the…?!" They cried in unison as they stumbled backwards. The stream of water crashed into the ceiling and continued flowing. There was a moment of calm and then Water Spirits leapt out of the pillar of water and all hell broke loose. One of the spirits lurched towards Lydia who hit it with the electric baton. Electricity surged through the water spirit, which howled with pain before exploding in a burst of crackling water. The Water Spirits halted their attack and gazed at Lydia in horror. While the spirits were distracted Allison retrieved her father's fallen weapons and fired them both, every bullet found their mark. Not a single Water Spirit was left with its head intact. The two girls exhaled heavily and looked up at the pillar of water in wonder and gasped in wonder as the waters parted allowing a figure to step forward. It was Christopher Argent dripping with water and his skin was a sickly blue colour which troubled Allison deeply.
"Dad?" she asked nervously. Chris turned his head slowly to face her. He opened his mouth and waves of water passed his lips.
"I am not your father." He said in a voice that was not his own.
"Papa Argent?" Lydia asked, visibly frightened.
"I am not Papa Argent, this body is merely a vessel and I expect you to kneel when in the presence of the Water King!" Chris said, his body a mere puppet in the hands of a higher power.