Chapter 6: Cara Mia Addio
It's been almost a year since Lara had started her job of babysitting the young human. Luz adapted well to Lara´s technique of teaching. She still needed help with almost everything but that was normal for a baby of her age.
Luz´s health also improved a lot since Lara started taking care of her. The little human was more energic and it seems as she was quite simply, happier.
Regarding nutrition, one of the biggest fears of Lara got thrown out the window pretty quickly, apparently humans can eat food from the isles as long it doesn't have anything still moving on it so she just reduced the tentacles and eyes on her diet.
However, there were new problems now that Luz was capable of walking, she was just a tiny bit…
"Luz come back here!"
…Active.
Even if she had tiny baby legs Luz really liked to wander all around, Lara had to always keep an eye on her, otherwise she could end hurting herself… or someone else. Of course, Lara was more than capable of catching Luz, but she realized that the young human will grow much faster if they do the things their way.
"Your way or the flyway uh?"
Lara had learned all the guards' routes and routines, so she had timed this "games" with luz to not bother anyone. Still, even if some guard or other member of the castle crew happened to appear, Luz had already enchanted them all with her smile and playful attitude so probably there wouldn't be a problem. Today was different though, today Luz could run into more places, so Lara had to be extra attentive.
"Be careful my dear… you don't want me to catch you so early, don't you?"
Today was a special day, it was one of the rare holydays in the boiling isles, the titan exhilaration day. The day you take your time to appreciate what the titan gives to us, and of course praise Lord Belos for giving us the titan´s message.
Due to this the castle personal was reduced to just the essential (just the people enough to keep the castle functioning). The emperor also was pretty much alone in his throne room all day.
obviously, I mean he literally can hear the titan´s voice, of course he will be alone communicating with him; thought Lara.
"Goh, Goh!" Luz knew some words by this point, but she still lacked the proper pronunciation.
"It's pronounced go my dear, G-O go."
Even if this was a "safe day" for Luz to wander, she still needed to be somewhat careful, there were some individuals that weren't fully "controlled" by Luz´s charm. Lady Kikimora for example. In the few instances when Kiki had to personally take notes of the progress of Luz, she always looked at the human with some disgust in her face. She never said anything, but it was clear that Kikimora would have preferred to not "adopt" Luz.
Luz turned right in a corner, so Lara had to accelerate a little to maintain her sight on the human.
"You can't escape from me Luz, you should know that"
"Yez can"
Anyway, the other person that not totally adored Luz was Lilith. Lara had the feeling that she didn't like kids in general. However, she was so devoted to her duty that always pretended to like Luz.
Eventually you would love her for real, Lara thought to herself.
"BUU"
Luz had intentionally hidden in the corner so she could scare Lara.
"Ah! You got me human, I surrender!" Lara faked a scare and a fall to her back with a pose worthy of a princess in distress.
"Win I yezzz" said Luz while crawling towards Lara for a hug.
They both laughed for a while, but Lara still had some one last person on her mind…
And lastly there is Lord Belos… I'm sure he cares about Luz but I don't know if he cares of Luz the baby or Luz the human test subject. She would hopefully find an answer for this soon…
"Well young Lady you sweated a lot playing here… we need to take a bath…after all we have a meeting with Lord Belos in a couple of hours"
"Te mask man?"
"Yes, but you need to call him Lord Belos. L-O-R-D"
"LURD?"
I Hope he fins this charming and not something else…
Luz got very sleepy after getting a bath, that combined with the exercise she had done earlier make the perfect combo for a sleeping baby Luz.
Lara was counting on that though. She wanted Luz to be well rested before their meeting with the emperor. They had one hour and a half that should be more than enough time for Luz to regain her strengths and also…
"…For me to get my head in order."
"it's not that terrible Lara" Said Lilith who was watching with curious eyes the human baby in his cradle.
"Yes, despite my… doubts about the human, you have made a lot of progress with it, also your written reports are impeccable, I think the Emperor will be pleased" Kikimora said resting her back against the door of Lara´s Room.
The presence of both women was something the emperor had requested himself. Because of the holyday Steve was not present to escort Luz and Lara to the throne room, and also since the emperor wanted to be alone while communicating with the titan Kiki had almost nothing to do, so this was perfect for killing time (even if she would have preferred to hang out with Lara and Lilith alone no human included)
"I appreciate the words my Ladies but still (and I thing you more than anyone could say) this is the Emperor we are talking about, and I love Luz and all but I still haven't manage to teach her basic manners"
"Well, that's to be expected from such a young child. You should have seen my sister and I when we were young, always on some troubles… even if Eda was the leader of those adventures."
Lara had some basic understanding about Lilith situation, still, that didn't make it less sad or tragic…
"Lord Belos is no everyday-witch Lara, I'm sure he knows how child of this age are. Also, I'm sure that in his plans (that we can only grasp the surface) he is counting on this my dear, I'm sure of it.
Lara reflected on the words from Kiki, yes this is the emperor we are talking about of course he had Luz age and behavior in mind.
"I think you are right lady Kiki, the emperor in all of his glorious intellect surely has considered this… I was such a fool… I apologize"
"Don't mention it Lara, even if we all know the Emperor, we tend to forget just how great he truly is."
"I suppose you are right Lady Kiki…"
Lara softly patted her cheeks to be again her usual self.
"Well now that the tension is out of the way… you mind if we make some small talk… you know to reinforce our relationship… e…even if this is strictly professional I´d like to think of you as friends"
Lara was a little ashamed while saying this, she wasn't sure if she was taking too many liberties.
"Yes, I think we can do that, ill set the topic first, like of course we all know of how Lilith has a crush on that guard, right?"
Lara couldn't believe what she heard. You wouldn't think the personal assistant of the emperor would indulge herself in such a thing.
"W…What I…I don't have a crush on Steve!"
"I didn't say any name my dear."
You never been good lying Lilith… thought Lara.
"I… You… Lady Kikimora I know you have a higher rank than me but… it's not appropriate for a superior to be harassing people like that."
"I'm just checking Lilith; I need to know if you will be distracted from your duties."
"Oh… er… in that case you don't need to worry about something like that…you should know how serious I take my job"
"I'm aware of that Lilith, but if you want to keep escalating the upper ranks of the coven you will need to focus solely on that".
Even if this awkwardness was hilarious Lara felt like she needed to intervene.
"I think Lilith has her mind focused on the important tasks… Lady Kikimora she has been very helpful with Luz, and also…"
"Enough Lara… I know that, pardon me if I came out the wrong way Lilith, but even if it is funny to tease you, I really have ulterior motives. You see, the Emperor also has noticed your efforts and has considered the idea of making you the next leader of the coven."
"Really?! I mean… oh… and you are…"
"As the personal assistant of Lord Belos it is my duty to see if the candidate is fitting for the job, I have my reservation about you Clawthorne but I have to admit you indeed are the only one that fits the bill"
"I… I don't know what to say. This is so sudden."
"Then say nothing Lilith, just keep doing your job as always. I know you are perfect por the job, and I have pretty good smell for that kind of thing. I'm rooting for you, and I'm sure little Luz here also thinks the same." Said Lara while making a "you got this" gesture.
"I doubt that thing can really think, but Lara is right, if you keep doing great job like you have been this past year you will be in the position eventually. I'm just telling you the Steve thing because I want you to focus. If you fail, I fail too, I don't want to approve someone who will fail, understood?"
"Understood Lady Kiki."
"That's better."
Lara was happy for Lilith; this is what she always wanted… it's good to see a friend making her dream come true. But something more surprising was to hear Kiki talking good of someone.
"You really appreciate the Emperor, don't you?"
The eyes of the red demon got bigger for just a second.
"Yes… I owe Lord Belos my everything… we all do in some ways. He saved us from the wicked ways and let us hear the titan´s will. I think that is more than enough to follow him for life."
Lara and Lilith nodded in response.
The tree women stay silent for a while, they each had something to reflect on her minds. The only sound that could be heard in the room was Luz gentle breath and the fire on the torches that lighted the room, all of that combined made the room feel cozy.
Eventually the three just smiled solemnly and let the time just pass by. It didn't make any sense to be nervous about something you don't have control, or something you already know how it's going to end.
When was almost the time to go Lara had one last question to ask the other two.
"Before you escort me to the throne… I need to ask you something, and I need you to be sincere with me."
The two ladies were taken out of their blunt by the question.
Lilith was the first to speak.
"Sure, just ask, I promise I'll be honest… is not that Steve thing, right?"
With a little smile on her face Lara said: "No. I promise."
"Oh, I was expecting to know the truth about that" joke Kiki "but same from here, just ask."
"What do you think about Luz?"
That wasn't an easy question, well maybe yes but that was the problem, from one side Lilith wasn't very interested in the human and from the other side… Kikimora practically hated the thing.
Kikimora was the first to talk.
"To be honest… I don't like her, but I don't like kids in general so its nothing personal… that being said… the fact that she is a human makes the things weird, like I don't understand why she is so important, it's just an un-magical being. Even so… the emperor is interested in her, so I will help with everything I can regarding her education."
"Ok… and you Lilith?"
"I also don't like child's but… to be frank with you Lara I don't have so much interest in the human, aside from the orders I receive. But… I have to admit she is a little cute."
"I see…"
"Why do you ask this Lara?" Said Lilith.
"Just curious"
Lilith and Kiki both knew well in their heads that there was some other motive for the question, but they decide not to pry. Still some melancholy was felt on the words Lara spoke.
"You are not planning on quitting, are you? Said Kiki.
"Haha, No Just checking lady Kiki… thanks."
"Fine, because it would be impossible to find some replacement for you, also the human appears to have bonded with you."
Luz that was just waking up by that point wanted to add something too.
"Tank GiGi"
For a split-second Lara could tell that Kiki´s hearth had softened a bit.
Something was off. You could feel it in the air. The corridors of the castle felt more terrifying than ever before, it wasn't anything creepy, it was just like something was out of place, like the walls didn't seem exactly the same as before, something weird.
Even Luz was actin weird (at that is saying a lot considering who we are talking about). Lilith knew Luz was kind of clingy, but this was something else. She was holding tight Lara´s arm while her face was buried in her chest as if she didn't want to look at the air.
when they approached the floor where the throne was Lilith stop right on her track.
A cold ran through her spine. She felt fear out of nowhere… it felt like being in the proximities of Grometheus… she hasn't felt this anxious and scared since she cursed…
"Are you girls feeling a little scared out of nowhere or it just me?" asked Lara.
"Huh?" Kikimora turned to face Lara "I don't feel anything, maybe you are nervous because you are soon to be in the glorious presence of Lord Belos."
"I don't think so… I'm feeling some anxiety right now." Interrupted Lilith
"Well… that's my fault, I suppose I shouldn't have told you about your chance of promotion."
Even if those facts were truth both Lara and Lilith looked at each other as if there were saying that they didn't think that was the cause of the way they feel right now.
"Yeah, but Luz is also…"
"Oh please, even a baby could tell what it is to be in the presence of such a powerful being. Even if she can't express it in words, fear is a natural response."
Of course, Kikimora couldn't possibly know about the fact that Luz liked the emperor or at least his mask. Also, that she is probably too young to even understand where she is going.
They walked down the long corridor connecting the hall to the throne room, the feeling was getting stronger as they close the gap between they and the door leading to the throne. Two guards were in position guarding the entrance to Belos whereabout.
Before they reached the door Kikimora turned around once more, it was no use, they couldn't enter like this.
"Both of you ladies don't look ready for this, let me enter first to speak with the Emperor maybe I can get you a few minutes to organize your ideas. Guards! Make sure the ladies get everything they…"
The guard to the right of Kiki was blasted to the wall with a fireball. The spell wasn't strong enough to calcinate someone, so it was more like a tiny explosion had occurred in front of the guard.
"Lilith! what are you do…"
Before Kikimora could recover from the shock, a big muscular tentacle hit her right on her torso sending her flying towards Lara who quickly used her free to try and catch her.
Since Kiki weighted the same as a child Lara didn't broke her arm while catching the demon but the impact made her fall on her back almost dropping Luz in the process.
Lara quickly got up with Luz and Kiki still in her arms, she looked ahead to see what was happening.
Why did Lilith had attacked a guard and where did that tentacle come from.
Lara then turned her sight to the remaining guard only to see how the guard´s clothes were ragged and torn apart and from every orifice in the cloth a tentacle came out. Then she quickly turned to Lilith who was preparing another spell to blast the guard-creature only to be tackled by her flank by an invisible force.
Lara wasn't magically strong in terms of battle magic. She knew a lot of spells but most of them were focused on protecting things not harming them. Still, she needed to do something but… even if it felt hard to say, Lara was more worried for Luz, whatever it was that was happening it wasn't a place for a baby, less a human one.
Lilith was struggling with the invisible force that now was pushing her to the ground while the tentacle-guard-thing was reaching towards her direction.
It was Kikimora who acted first, she quickly got down from Lara´s arm and took out her claws, then jumped with an abnormal force from her legs towards Lilith.
From Lara´s perspective it would appear as if Kiki had just stopped in midair, just above Lilith, but upon closer inspection Kikimora had stabbed something invisible, this was the only thing that would explain why the air above Lilith was bleeding.
Lilith pushed the invisible now presumably dead being aside with a kick, then she shouted to Lara:
"Take Luz and run away!"
Lara understood and nodded in response. She had no time to be in shock.
Quickly she firmly grabbed Luz under her arm and started running. Unfortunately, she did not manage to take many steps when suddenly she felt a strong wind that came towards her direction, she only managed to put Luz under cover with her other arm.
Lilith and Kiki who had just gotten rid of the tentacle monster saw in horror how a bloody Lara running back to them.
"Don't worry I'm fine, the cuts are just superficial" that was a lie but what good it did to worry the other two now "it was wind magic... I think."
"you didn't saw the one who casted it?" said Lilith.
"No… it was invisible just like the thing it attacked you."
"we may be surrounded then" said Kiki.
The things weren't looking good… Lara was bleeding out and the enemy was invisible… Kikimora started to think as fast as she could what could they do to survive… the Emperor was out of the picture for now…
"Lilith! Is your palisman ready?"
"No… still needs time but…"
"I don't care if it needs time the only thing important right now is if it you have fill it with magic."
"Yes, but I don't know what could happen if I call it now!"
"if you don't do it, we are going to die!"
The creation process of a palisman was complicated to say the least, Lilith had already done most of the process all that was missing was the soul bonding process when the spirit of the animal/beast fused with the staff to create the palisman… if she were to summon her staff now…
Wind cuts started to hit the floor near the trio of witches, Luz started to scream. Lilith look to Lara´s blood it was dense, coming in large quantities from her arm, it was surreal, it was horrifying.
She took her choice.
Gathering all her inner strength she extended her arm in front of her.
After a couple of seconds that felt like minutes, from one moment to another the room was filled with a blue light, a giant raven made of fire appeared in front of Lilith blocking the wind attacks. The raven then extinguished and in front of Lilith was the raven staff.
When Lilith grabbed the staff, she knew that something went wrong with the process… the palisman had a soul but it was trapped in the staff it didn't had free will… as if it was cursed.
Destiny had played Lilith a cruel joke… this staff will now serve a double duty as her palisman and as her immortal reminder of the wrongs that she did to her sister.
Enough self-pettiness!
Lilith grabbed her staff firmly with both of her hands then she hit the floor with all of her might casting a barrier that surrounded all of them while pushing to the side some of the invisible creatures thar were starting to flank them.
"Amazing Lilith…" said Lara with a dying tone.
"Yeah… unfortunately I used all the power in the palisman to do this… and It won't last forever… so for now just let me treat your wounds."
Kikimora took Luz to let Lilith work, the small human still was crying but the noise that otherwise would absolutely get Kiki mad now was the closest thing that she had to a predictable thing… she was in some sort of shock and seeing the human gave her a weird sense of calm.
"Stay still while I heal you Lara."
Lilith noticed that the wounds were deep enough to cause a lot of bleeding, but she had stopped the hemorrhage just in time .
She will live.
"Ugh… ok…" Lara tried to catch some breath while she still could, however, now that they have a small window to breath a question emerged in her mind. "Kiki… why hasn't the emperor come out yet?... do you think these things got him?"
Kiki was taken out of her trance by the words of the wounded Lara… but she still took some time to answer.
"No… the emperor is far too powerful to even be harm by these creatures… what I think is happening is that the emperor casted an anti-noise spell to be able to meditate in peace with the titan ... he only performs this spell today ... which means that this attack was planned, it cannot be a coincidence".
"great…"
"that is not something I would call great Lara; we can't even reach the throne room."
"maybe not all of us…"
"You are not suggesting what I'm thing you are suggesting Lara"?
"you have another idea?"
"No, but…"
"Enough!"
Lara got up, she wasn't bleeding anymore but she had lost a lot of blood, so she was still a little shaky.
"Kiki… keep Luz safe in your arms… Lilith protect them with everything you have. Reach the door I will buy you enough time for you to advice the emperor".
This time Kiki was the one protesting.
"Lara you can't!... even if we follow your plan, I doubt you will be capable of even lasting two seconds against these demons."
"How do you know they are demons?" said Lilith
It was a silly question for the moment, but she needed to think something else… she didn't want to hear Lara speak about her plan.
"Is the only conclusion that I can think of… Remember when you felt that cold and fear?... I was the only one that couldn't feel a thing…"
The demons from outside the barrier were starting to crash into the barrier. For some reason they weren't using magic just brute force.
"Ok that makes your idea even worse Lara, demons have a natural resistance to spells, and you are not a fighter!" screamed Lilith.
"No… but I have this" Lara took a small sticker with a fist drawn on it.
"A power glyph?"
"I always carry one, just in case… like imagine a baby were to be smashed by a heavy furniture?"
"Still… you are not a fighter! You are going to die!"
"Maybe" Lara said with a fake smile on her face "But you will live… Luz will live… that's the only thing that matters."
"No! you also matter Lara…"
Kiki noticed this was getting to nowhere, so she decided to take a side in the discussion.
"I… I swear by the emperor… By lord Belos that I will protect Luz with my life Lara… Now and for the rest of my life."
"What! You can't be serious; you are sending her to die!" Lilith was crying in anger by this point.
"And what other choice do we have!... I'm useless I'm tiny! Im not very good with magic! I can't do a thing now… if the only thing I can do is fulfill a last request from… from a friend… I will do that"
"Lilith… please, just do it… if not for me, for Luz."
"I don't care about Luz! … I don't care about anything! Why I'm always the one to get to live a normal life while everyone I care just get the worst … and it is always my fault! I was the one who bring you to this job! I'm the one that should die not you!"
"Then be better next time!" shouted Lara "Lilith you need to be strong… you will be the leader of the emperor coven and you will amend your mistakes… but for now you have to fulfill your role."
The barrier started to crack.
"We don't have time… Kiki… let me see Luz one more time please."
Kikimora handed Luz to Lara.
"Listen Luz… I know I'm not your real mother… And I know we don't know each other for long but, I… I love you as if I were… you must be strong… no child should suffer the loss of her maternal figure twice but… this is just how it is… I know you will make a change in the isles… I don't believe in destiny, but I think you will make your own destiny in here… please obey your aunties Lilith and Kiki even if they can be really mean witches sometimes."
Luz was calmed a bit by the voice of Lara, she stopped crying and hugged Lara´s face.
Lara used that image of Luz to gather strength for was to come next. Then she gave Luz back to Kiki
"Ok! Lilith, Kiki to your positions!" Lara whipped of the tears of her face with her previously wounded arm leaving blood trails in her face.
The cracks in the barrier were now enormous.
Seeing that Lara´s resolve was firm Lilith and Kikimora got themselves into a running position. Lilith casted a fire spell and was prepared to hit any demon that would dare to stand in front of her.
Lara took the power glyph in her hand and place it right in her arm. An intoxicating feeling of power filled her, her eyes got red almost instantly, all the veins in her body were now fully visible, the muscles of her legs, arms, torso were functioning at a 200%. Her organs also adequate to this elevated state functioning at their limits to keep up with what the exterior was demanding. Her senses were also enhanced so now Lara could distinguish the imperfections in the air surrounding the demons, they were no longer invisible for her, however this amplification also meant that the pain of her wounds was also boosted, and if one of these creatures hit her all of her senses will probably fill with pain making her go crazy or lose her consciousness at least.
The barrier was almost destroyed there was no more time. Lara started a countdown to signal Lilith and Kiki when to run.
"…1…"
"…2…"
"…3…"
Lara didn't waste any time and round kicked a demon that was trying to flank Lilith. The kick was so strong that the demon almost destroyed the wall where it landed. Unfortunately, the pain in Lara´s leg was equally strong. She could feel how the bone clench, how the muscle tear, how the flesh broke.
As the sharp remains of bone pierced muscle and flesh she could only clench her teeth in pain, she was not out yet.
Up in the front, another demon tried to jump right in front of Kiki, Lilith noticed the wind pressure coming her way, so she blindly shot a huge fireball that roasted half of the demon. She didn't have time to finish her off, so she kept running towards the doors.
From the back two more demons were running towards Lilith and KiKi, Lara still couldn't use her right leg, so with just one leg she jumped towards the two creature's with her arms with his hands stretched forward trying to mimic Kikimora´s move. The demons were knocked to the ground with two huge holes in their backs. Lara´s fingers borke upon impact, but with just brute force she kept them steady. The pain was excruciating the feeling was like sharp glass cutting you from the inside of your hands, Lara almost passed out.
Not yet …
She looked forward to see how far Lilith were and Kikimora. She wouldn't give up if it was necessary but the truth was that she only wanted the pain to end right now.
They are right in front of the doors!…
…Why they aren't moving… oh my Titan.
A huge now visible demon was right in front of the gates to salvation, it was a 3 meters tall withe fur beast, with four arms and no eyes, instead he had some sort of membranes that flop up and down. It was a terrifying view and Lara was too far away to do something about it.
My legs aren't broken… if I jump using all my strength…
Suddenly the half-burned demon putted her hand still on fire into Lara´s face causing Lara to finally collapse. The pain of being burn was something way to intense to handle by Lara´s mind in this state.
We lost... thought Lilith.
Suddenly the doors to the throne room opened with a bang.
The demon was impaled by no less than twenty fleshy spikes. Everything happened so fast that the demon didn't even have time to agonize, after killing the beast Belos moved his hand and the demon was thrown to the side.
"L…Lord Belos"
The emperor walked with an abnormal calm getting ahead of the trio.
All the invisible demons in the room now were feeling fear, a fear that only lasted seconds because the next thing they felt were their bodies being impaled by something that came out of nowhere.
Belos kept walking until she was in front of Lara, he threw aside the burned now impaled demon and examined Lara´s condition.
She is still alive. But her face…
Belos took of his mask and placed it gently into Lara´s face.
No one should look at this if you don't want to… I know far too well what being looked down for how you look feels like.
Kikimora ran towards the emperor with Luz still on her hands.
"My lord I'm sorry… I couldn't…"
The emperor turned around looking at Kiki right into her eyes. The demon was surprised to see the emperor without his mask, but it didn't make any comment.
"We will deal with the responsible Later… now bring Lilith here and make her treat this woman… no loyal subject of my… Lara won't die today, and as for Luz…"
The emperor looked at the little girl out of the corner of his eye… he was expecting her to cry upon seeing his face but…
Luz extended her arms towards Belos´s face, she wasn't scared she looked deep into the emperor unnatural light blue eyes with curiosity…
The emperor quickly turned his back and proceed to walk forwards.
"I still need to clean my castle… I will speak with you latter Kiki… keep Lara and Lilith in the throne room in the meantime."
"Understood sir… but… how do you knew that we were in danger? didn't you have the anti-sound spell?"
"The Titan Told me." Belos answered sharply.
The funny thing was, this time Belos was telling the truth.