Roman placed his hand on his left shoulder and rolled the shoulder. It was still bugging him from time to time since he landed on it when taking out the witch of the fire Mindy. It wasn't that bad though. Sometimes he wondered if it was psychological since it always seemed to bother him whenever he was talking about or thinking about the witches.
"You should see a doctor," Seth said.
"It's fine," Roman stopped rolling his shoulder. "I'm just getting old."
"And ugly," Jey grinned.
"Shut the fuck up or I might kill you instead," Roman grinned back. "Alright, enough goofing around. We got a witch to slay."
They lied down and crawled on their elbows up the hill. They looked down at the ocean and the cottage built on the beach. Another deserted place no one would ever find.
"Keep her away from the water," Roman said.
The door to the cottage opened, and a woman stepped out. They all pressed themselves further down into the tall grass to avoid being seen. They watched the woman as she walked bare footed on the sand. Her hair was long and a mix of dark green and dark blue like the deep, dark colors way out at sea. She wore a knee long, sea green dress.
"Riviera," Roman whispered.
As if she heard him whisper her name, she looked up towards the hill. Even from afar they could see her ocean blue eyes light up.
"Are you boys gonna stay up there, or are you actually gonna come down here to say hello?" She yelled.
"Fuck!" Roman growled.
"What are we gonna do?" Jey asked.
"She already knows we're here so no point in pretending that we're not," Roman said.
"At least it's not a sneak attack from behind," Seth said.
"Be careful," Roman said. "Fuck, I don't like this."
The three men stood up. Riviera broke out in a wide smile. They slowly made their way down the hill towards her.
"Oh my, how good looking you three are. You're in the wrong line of work. You should be porn stars," Riviera said.
"Shut up!" Jey hissed. "You killed my brother!"
"No no, that wasn't me. That was my sister," Riviera smirked. "I heard his scream though. Oh, how he could scream. Fucking delicious."
Jey took a step forward, but Roman placed a hand on Jey's arm to stop him.
"Don't!" Roman warned. "Don't fall in her trap."
"Trap?" Riviera laughed. "That's not my trap. This is my trap."
She raised her hands and the ocean suddenly came alive with big waves that washed ashore. The waves moved further and further up on the beach while she slowly backed towards the ocean. The three men followed at a safe distance.
"Don't get too near. She'll drown you," Roman said.
"Come on, you witch. Show us what you got," Seth taunted.
"Eeny meeny miny moe," Riviera smirked at Seth. "You are it."
"What?" Seth asked confused.
The waves seemed to charge towards Seth all of the sudden. They only reached his feet though. He looked over at Roman and Jey, and all three of them started laughing.
"You were right, Roman," Seth said. "Fire was the strongest link. They get weaker from here."
"You forget one thing," Riviera said.
"What?" Jey asked.
"What happens to water when it gets really cold?" Riviera asked.
A giant wave rolled over Seth and pulled him with it back. Seth screamed in surprise. He got up on all four as the next wave rolled over him. Roman and Jey sprinted towards Seth.
"It freezes!" Riviera yelled.
A third wave rolled up just as Seth managed to stand up, and a wall of ice surrounded him. He was trapped inside a coffin sized space full of ice cold water. His eyes were full of panic as he tried to hold his breath. Roman and Jey ran to the ice block and started hammering their hands and daggers into the ice.
"Cold as ice," Riviera grinned. "Do you still think I'm weaker than my sister?"
"Let him go!" Roman yelled.
"Or what?" Riviera asked.
"Take me instead," Roman said. "Please! Seth doesn't deserve to die. Take me instead. Play your stupid game with me."
"You can go second," Riviera said.
"Seth!" Jey yelled. "Roman, what the fuck do we do?"
Seth's eyes suddenly looked like glass, and the life in them died. He was gone. A corpse stuck in a block of ice. Riviera moved her hand and the block of ice turned to water instantly. Seth's lifeless body fell to the ground. Roman fell to his knees and pulled Seth's body up in his arms.
"Come on, Seth! Breathe!" Roman begged.
Roman felt an ice cold hand on his left shoulder. The pain in it suddenly felt unbearable.
"You are marked," Riviera said. "You're never gonna escape this life."
Roman looked up into those ocean blue eyes. They were as cruel as the ocean could be. She suddenly made a weird gasping sound, and her eyes rolled back.
"Choke on it, witch!" Jey snarled.
Jey pulled his dagger out of Riviera's back. She fell down next to Seth's corpse.
"Her mouth was running like the water," Jey said.
"Thank you," Roman said.
Roman leaned down and kissed Seth's forehead. Today they had lost another member of their team. He was angry with himself. He was the leader. He was supposed to keep them alive.
"Rest well," Roman whispered.
Roman stood up and rolled his shoulder.
"She said you were marked," Jey said.
"I don't give a shit," Roman said. "We're gonna finish this job one way or another. Two more to go."
"And only two of us left," Jey said.
"I know!" Roman yelled in frustration. "I never meant for anyone to die. These witches are fucking cruel. I might die next time, or you might. I don't know. All I do know is that I'm not stopping until all four of them are dead. They're the only ones left. We took down all the house witches. They were easy. We only got the big players left, and I'm not gonna fucking stop now. If you want out, leave. I'll finish it on my own."
Jey grabbed Roman's head and pulled him close so they were standing forehead against forehead.
"I'm with you all the way, cousin," Jey said.
"Good," Roman said. "Air is next."
"Didn't you fuck up on the order? There's air all around us," Jey said.
"Gas masks," Roman grinned. "She won't be able to do shit."