Chapter. 12
Sortiara grew an ice arm and punched the closest egg creature. The monsters in the square turned and came for Sortiara. She punched each one that got too close but there were too many to defeat alone.
A white circle appeared above Sortiara and lightning came down, hitting each of the egg creatures. "You okay?!" Remus threw fire spears at more of the creatures while Simila tossed a fire orb the main monster.
"There's a few too many of them to make and head way here." Said Simila. She held up her appleshade and it broke apart. All of the creatures collapse with a thud, sound asleep.
The egg beasts under their leader fell aside and dropped it. The mirror on the monster's head lit up, Remus punched the ground and large stone fist came up under it and launched the monster into the air.
When it hit the ground more egg creatures appeared under monster and carried it back to the sorcerers.
"Kill it!" Sortiara threw ice spheres at the monster, its body was freezing but it wasn't stopping the creatures carrying it.
"Go for the one's under it!" Simila held out her hand and grew a venus flytrap in front of it. When the creatures ran into it the plant exploded.
"Don't tell me what to do!" Sortiara put her hands together to create ice magic and rolled on the ground to attack the egg creatures. When the ice was under them frozen spikes jet up and impaled them.
The creatures were killed and dropped the leader again.
"I've had enough of this." Remus clapped his hands and slowly pulled them apart. "You two keep me covered."
The monster's mirror shined again, Simila and Sortiara formed a stone and ice wall. The monster fired a massive beam of light at the sorcerers. The beam was breaking through that wall so the sorceresses created another. The beam started breaking through the second wall but a third one was made.
"Remus!" The sorceresses shouted.
Remus held up his hands a large fire sword formed. "Bigger." The sword grew larger and wider, reaching two stories tall. "Bigger!" The sword grew again, now larger then some of the buildings and wide enough that it could cut the structures down. "BIGGER!" The sword almost reached the sky, dwarfing everything around.
Simila grabbed Sortiara and pulled her to get behind Remus. "Let it go!" The sister cheered.
Remus swung the sword. The massive magic weapon crashed down, the blade sliced through several buildings in the city and even reach the woods on the cities edge. The magic weapon faded away and left a large crater, near the edge of the crater the monster turned into black ooze and revealed a woman in a royal black dress.
Remus when down on one knee, breathing hard. "That, that was so satisfying."
Simila helped her brother to his feet. "You think you can do this?"
Sortiara slid down to meet the woman. "Don't do it Sortiara." Remus and Simila climbed down the crater.
Sortiara kneeled down to the woman. "Why did you accept the chalice's power?"
"I didn't, my mother used me."
The twins slid down and Remus stopped. "Let see what happens."
"My mother was a queen, she was very jealousy of my beauty mother used a strange Chalice. She offered up her dear daughter, turning my eyes into a mirror."
"That's horrible." Stated Simila.
"She claimed the princess had run away and hid me in her chambers. Day after day, she posed this question to me. 'Who is the fairest of them all?' I answered as I've been taught. 'Mother, in my eye.'." the girl lowered her gaze. "For years this routine continued. Until I came of age, or would have, were I still human. Wiser, I began to question my circumstances. Why was she not allowed outside?"
"What happened next?"
"I never realized I'd become a mirror. 'I want to see myself.' I pled, but mother gave no reply. With each day my doubts grew, until they consumed me. It was then I saw what my mother once had and heard a voice. 'If you would have your wish.' the Chalice began."
"What did you wish for?"
The girl started to sob. "I wished to see herself. Badly enough to shout. Badly enough, it seems, to offer my remaining eye in exchange. My price paid, the apples that were to be my meal became mirrors. I peered into them, and saw a monster."
Why?" Remus asked to no one. "Why does the chalice do this?"
"It feeds on own weakness." Answered Simila. Another reason why we can't trust the gods."
"I regretted my lost eye, for I could not even weep at my fate. With a broken heart I swore revenge upon my mother. Then the apples began to move. They were now appledwarves, each bearing a mirror."
"Appledwarves?"
"The egg looking beasts we were fighting." Simila answered.
"My vengeance came soon after. When the queen next peered into my eye, she was met with the cold, hard truth. Until then, in love for my mother, I had shown mother a younger, fairer version of herself. All to see her smile."
"What did you show her?"
"I felt no need to please mother now. I showed a face carved with wrinkles. The queen shrieked and turned away, but a ring of appledwarves circled her, brooking no escape. Mother's heart stopped."
"You killed her?"
Remus shook his head. "She was so vain that she died from not getting her way."
"I had vengeance. Yet the next moment, I felt tears well up at the mirror's edge. Even eyeless, I still found a way to weep. The loss of my mother was crushing. Despite her vanity, despite knowing she had never truly looked at her daughter, she still had been my mother."
Sortiara stood up. "Even transfigured, you still can hate your mother?" She walked and climbed back out of the crater.
Remus was able to stand on his own and stood over the girl. He held out his left hand and saved the girl. "Would you like a hand?" He helped her up and out of the crater.
"Hold it!" Once the four were back on ground level the avalon sorcerers were coming towards them, each with a spell ready. "Which one of you was the monster?"
"Wouldn't you like to know."
"Are any of you with avalon?"
Remus turned into magic to get closer to the sorcerers, he grew two stone arms and knocked down all four of them. "Go!" The others ran passed the fallen avalon sorcerers. Once they were far enough Remus started running too, he threw fireball at the building to blocked his pursers.
Everyone slowed down to let Remus catch and ran for the city exit. As they left Remus placed his hands on the ground and giant stone hands came up and closed the gate.
"That should buy us some time."
"So what do we do with her?" Simila pointed to the girl they saved.
"We'll take her back to that candy town. That tavern is where grim recruits new members, I'm sure they'll help."
"Are you gonna abandon me?" Asked the girl as tear formed.
"We're not abandoning you, were taking you somewhere where you can get a second chance to live."
"I, I want to go with all of you, I don't know anyone else."
"What do you think Remus?" Asked Sortiara.
"She was turned into a monster by the chalice so she should have some magic potential." Simila showed the girl how to use magic with her hands. When the girl copies Simila lightning sparked off her hands. "She's good to go."
Remus folded his arms. "Welcome to the group, what's your name?"
"Snow."
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