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"The Laughing Planet"
'Topaz's Story'
Recorded by Ziska Ames
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Chapter 7
Noki stood frozen in the doorway. His hand gripped the
doorknob hard as he watched Thora raise her head to meet his eyes. She
stood up to tower over Lapis' prone form. She lifted the baseball bat
and bored her blue eyes into his green ones.
"I forgot my club at the warehouse, so I had to use this." she
said it as if she were explaining an obvious thing to a child of four.
"What happened to Lapis?" Noki was shocked. Was Thora...? He
couldn't comprehend the scene before him. An unconscious Lapis was
sprawled below a savagely grinning Thora.
Thora hefted the bat and smiled again. "Don't worry. You won't
be able to think in a moment and then you won't care." She advanced
slowly holding the bat with both hands now.
Noki finally grasped the fact that the situation was not good.
He released the doorknob slowly and backed up into the hallway as
Thora continued relentlessly towards him. Suddenly, four strong hands
grabbed him, two on each arm. They pulled his arms back forcefully,
almost ripping them out of their sockets. Noki turned his head sharply
to see two thugs staring down at him with cold expressions fixed on
their large, meaty faces.
Thora stepped into the doorframe. She smiled gently at Noki
for a moment before nodding to herself and hefting the bat into a good
position.
"Goodnight." she said softly as she swung the baseball bat at
Noki's head.
"Good morning, brats!" Leah called out cheerfully as she
opened the door. "The rest of your friends are finally here to join
you." Leah stated this fact as if it were the most wonderful thing in
the world. The thugs lugged Noki between them while Thora carried
Lapis easily over her shoulder.
"Finally." she said as she dumped Lapis on the floor. "This
took a lot longer than I thought. I must say, you guys sure gave a
good chase. But it'll all be over soon." Thora wiped the back of her
hand across her forehead brushing the bangs gently back into place
afterwards. She ferociously kicked Lapis in the ribs. "Wake up." she
growled with her hands planted firmly on her hips like a scolding
mother.
Lapis moaned and moved slowly, arching her back. Her hands
were bound behind her back with twine. Her ankles were also tied
together with the rough material. She slowly opened her soft brown
eyes and looked up into Thora's petite face. "But, the hair..." she
managed to gasp in confusion.
Thora tossed her head back and cackled. She actually cackled.
A high pitched laugh that crawled across the skin of everyone present.
"That was a trick!" she cried gleefully clapping her hands happily.
"A trap. I had a nice little witch friend of mine bewitch the hair to
draw you here. And you all fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker." She
twirled and laughed as her long blonde hair spun around her. She came
to a halt almost immediately and kneeled to leer into Lapis' face.
She continued to sneer down at Lapis as she reached a hand
over her shoulder and beckoned to Leah. Leah slowly inched down the
stairs and approached Thora like she was a dog with its tail between
its legs. Her eyes were wide and fearful and she was hunched over
almost double in a position of servitude.
"Yes, master?" she whispered. She nervously twisted her hands
in front of her vulnerable stomach.
"Bind them all together. And you," she pointed suddenly to the
thugs, startling them, "go away. Leave the house and never come back.
I don't need you any more."
One of the thugs' face contorted into a mask of anger. "That
wasn't the deal." he growled. "What about our pay? You said we could
drain them..." he trailed off as Thora slowly focused her intense blue
gaze on him.
"Go away, before you push me to far." The petite blonde stared
the ugly giant of a man in the eye till his face crumpled to
disappointment. Nodding to his partner they quickly headed up the
wooden staircase to the door. Without a backward glance they were gone.
By the time they had disappeared, Leah had finished tying the finally
knot that connected Lapis to Noki.
"Why?" a small choked question escaped from Topaz's throat.
Thora whirled to face her. She stalked up to the sitting girl.
"You killed my family," she said softly. Blue eyes with a hint
of insanity in them bored into Topaz's dark brown eyes. Topaz's eyes
widened in fear and confusion till they showed white all around like a
frightened horse.
"What?" Topaz asked softly. She didn't understand. Her cousin
that she had grown up with, that she had played with. She hadn't
killed her parents. She hadn't killed Ben, Thora's brother. "I didn't
kill them. I didn't kill anybody."
"Oh, you didn't?" Thora stood up crossing her arms over her
chest. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and whirled to face Leah.
"Go away. Wait outside the door. I'll call when I want you." Leah
nodded and quickly ran up the stairs and shut the door behind her.
Thora turned to face the group again.
"I think that I hit you too hard in the warehouse. It must
have addled your memory."
"You didn't attack Topaz. You were in the apartment." Lapis
said softly. Her shoulder length brown hair was messed up from the
treatment she had recieved that night. Her bottom lip was split and a
trickle of blood had dried on her chin.
"I snuck out." Thora taunted sneering in Lapis' face. "Not
that it's any of your business. Now if you don't mind, I'll start
killing you all."
Topaz's jaw dropped. It suddenly hit her. "You're Jaecar." she
said if softly, sadly, and with certainty. Thora smiled at her almost
gently as she clapped slowly with incredible sarcasm.
"Very good. You finally figured it out. Took you long enough.
I can't believe you didn't recognize my killing of Abrams."
"Recognize?" Topaz was confused. Then a memory hit her.
Walking into her grandmother's living room when she was ten. Finding
her grandmother pinned to the wall by a giant stake in the chest and
two silver knives in her arms. "My grandmother... you copied my
grandmother's death!" she stared up at Thora with horror on her face.
"Yes! Good girl. And again, it was your fault someone died.
Why do you cause death, Topaz?" Thora asked in a mock-sad voice. "It's
not very nice."
"She didn't do any of the killings. You did!" Jonquil cried
out. He was mad, more than mad, outraged.
"Of course she didn't actually commit the killings. I was
there. I know I did those. But she caused them all. She even caused
your father's death." she suddenly whirled to face Lapis. Lapis' brown
eyes widened to an unbelievable, and impossible, width. They seemed to
fill her small, pale face.
"How did you know my dad's dead?" she asked softly. Her father
had died six years ago, during the witch-hunts that killed Topaz's
grandmother.
"I know he's dead, cause I helped kill him. Topaz and I
started those little witch-hunts. Of course, she didn't think it would
hurt her family. She just wanted to have some fun. Isn't that right,
dear?" Thora turned again to torture Topaz. She leaned down and patted
Topaz's cheek gently. Topaz wrenched her face away from the gentle
touch.
She was crying. She dropped her head and sobbed into her knees,
which she had curled under her. Lapis watched in horror. Topaz wouldn't
start witch-hunts. She hated killing.
"I don't believe you." she whispered so softly Thora almost
didn't hear her.
"What did you say?" Thora stood up right and cocked an ear in
Lapis' direction without actually turning to look at her.
"I don't believe you." Lapis stared Thora in the eyes as she
pronounced the words slowly and distinctly. "Topaz hates killing. She
*hates* it! She'd never hurt anyone!"
"Oh really. Topaz, dear, I don't believe you've been totally
honest with your friends." Thora straightened up and looked down on
Topaz with disapproval. "Don't you know honesty is the basis of a good
relationship?"
Topaz's head jerked up. Her face was white, drained of all
blood as she stared in horror at Thora. "No, oh no. Don't tell them
that. Please!" she cried. She trashed against her bonds.
"But they deserve to know!" She cried. She twirled on one leg
throwing her arms to the ceiling. "They are your friends, aren't they?
I'm sure they'll understand!" she laughed madly as she did an insane
little dance ending kneeling in front of Topaz.
She stared Topaz in the eyes as she addressed the group at
large. "Topaz isn't as innocent as you all believe. Neither is her
family. She's a bad little girl. Aren't you?" Thora shook her finger
at Topaz as she spoke. Topaz was frozen in horror.
"No, oh no." she continued to whisper, almost to herself but
still loud enough to be heard.
"Her parents were Night World Lords years ago. They lived for
the hunt, didn't they?" She stood up suddenly and jumped into the
middle of the room. She barred her fangs and laughed. "They kept
humans in pens. Hunted them through the woods using the treetops to
give chase. That's right, isn't it? But, alas, your parents got
*tired* of the killings. So they left. They just left! You can't
leave!" She cried throwing her arms up and tilting her head back as
she shrieked the last sentence angrily at the ceiling. Topaz was
sobbing softly into her knees. Everyone was staring at Thora in
disbelief. Topaz was Night World nobility?
"They left." Thora said softly, almost to herself, as she
allowed her arms to drop. She seemed to fall in on herself. She
dropped to her knees and looked up sadly at Topaz. "Her and her
parents and her brother. They left and went to Bloomington, Indiana to
live like humans. Like vermin." she spat the word out and made a face
of disgust. "How could you? How could your parents force you into that
lifestyle? But you didn't want to live like that, did you, Topaz? You
hated the restrictions on feeding. You wanted to kill. You wanted the
power that comes from taking all of a persons blood, taking their
*soul.* " She smiled down at the sobbing wreak of Topaz. She lightly
reached out and stroked her green hair softly. "So you rebelled. It's
okay. It's understandable. You're a lamia. You're different than the
others. Witches and shifters, they don't understand. Do they? They
don't feel the blood lust like we do. The need to be stronger, more
powerful, better."
Thora lifted Topaz's face gentle with her hands so she could
look her in the eye. "And I joined you. I helped you. I set you free.
I would come visit you and we would go kill, murder, maim. And you
*loved* it!" She screamed slapping Topaz hard. "Why did you change?"
she asked suddenly soft and with a touch of pain. Her eyes were full
of hurt and loss. "Why didn't you stay with me?"
"You tricked me!" Topaz screamed suddenly. She had hit the
bursting point. "You said it was all fun. But it killed my grandmother.
It killed my kin!"
"Of course it did. What did you expect in a witch-hunt? We'd
tie her up for a while, then let her go and shake hands?" Thora was
looking upon Topaz with utter disgust. She had forgotten the others:
the ones who were watching in rapt attention at the drama unfolding
before them.
"I wasn't thinking." Topaz said softly.
"And that was your problem. You didn't think. But I guess you
got me back, didn't you? Causing the deaths of my family. That was
smart, great, perfect revenge."
"I didn't cause their deaths. They died in honor."
"Honor? They were staked in their own home after being
tortured for hours!! They died because they were protecting your
worthless family!" Thora screamed in pain and outrage. Thora grabbed
Topaz by the shoulders and shook her hard. She dug her nails in till
they drew blood.
"It's not my fault!" Topaz screamed back. Her eyes were
clenched in horror and outrage. Her wrists were rubbed raw by the
wooden stocks binding them behind her back.
Thora released Topaz almost throwing her away. "No, I suppose
it's not. You were too young to know the consequences of leaving the
enclave. The promise of death was drilled into your parents, but not
you. So, I guess, it's your parents fault." Thora looked as if she
were considering this possibility. "Yes, that's it. Your parents knew
that if they left, the Night World would hunt them and kill them. But
they hid too well. So the Night World went after my family. We were
law-abiding Night Worlders. They didn't deserve to die, like your
family does. My parents were stupid for not telling. If I had been
there, I'd have told. I'd have gladly sent you to your death." Thora
spoke with the calm air of the mentally insane.
"So, now that that's cleared up, let's ask what your friends
think of you know." Thora finally acknowledged the rest of the group.
"Kelli, Jay, Shane, Rob, Kory, Chris, and James. Or should I say Lapis,
Jendra, Vanax, Jonquil, Topaz, Jade and Noki?"
Six heads simultaneously looked up at her. Thora pivoted
slowly looking at each of the seven friends slowly in the order she
had named them.
Lapis cringed on the far-left end of the semi-circle. Her hair
was mussed and her eyes rolled wildly like a horse's. She seemed to be
in shock over the fact that her best friend had caused her dad's death.
Thora smiled. She'd be easy to kill. To dazed to know the crucial
difference between life and death.
Jendra's light blonde hair swung in front of her dulled blue
eyes. Her head was bent to her chest and she wasn't looking at Thora
or anyone. Her posture was relaxed and for a moment Thora wondered if
some how she had fallen asleep. But in reality, she was lost in her
mind. Lost back in a time only a couple months ago when she herself
had killed without inhibition. Without caring about the victim or his
family. Thora bared her teeth at the prone form and pivoted slightly
to look at the next captive.
Vanax was wrenching painfully and silently at his bonds as he
tried to stand up. He wanted to attack this thing. This horrible
creature with the twisted mind. The twisted thoughts. He'd never met
anyone so obviously evil. And he wanted to kill it. To purge the world
of it. Thora laughed softly and bared her teeth at him. "I'm the hunter.
You're the prey. Not the other way around." she taunted softly under
her breath before focusing on Jonquil.
His red hair was spiky with sweat and dirty from days without
a shower. His blue eyes sparked fiercely as he stared at Topaz with
pain. He could feel her soul breaking through their bond. Feel her
hope and carefully built illusions of her past crumbling. Thora
growled at him, but couldn't seem to hold his attention. He would look
at her blankly for a moment, before letting his eyes slid back to
Topaz. She looked at Topaz too.
Topaz rocked softly crying to herself. After finding her
grandmother dead and realizing that she had also caused Lapis' dad's
death, she'd forced herself to forget. To forget the killings. The cats
she and Thora'd tossed off buildings to busy streets. The little kids
they'd lured into the woods with promises of cookies and other sweets.
After her grandmother's death, she'd rebuilt a happy childhood for
herself, keeping her happy memories, and forgetting her deathly ones.
Forgetting her uncaring ways. But her memories had been ripped open by
this monster that resembled her cousin. Thora laughed happily at what
she had succeeded in doing to her blood relative. She twirled a lock
of her golden hair happily before turning her attention to the witch
next to Topaz.
Jade was shocked. Purely shocked. Over the days her hair had
become greasy and streaked more with dirt, than the natural purple
highlights. She didn't notice that her bangs were plastered to her
forehead from sweat, or that her cheeks were covered by a small
latticework of single hairs. She sucked in breath as her mind worked
frantically to comprehend everything she had heard that night. It
wasn't possible. Thora smiled again. She was good at this. Finally,
she looked to the end of the right side of the circle.
Noki just sat there. His hands and feet were bound tightly,
but he didn't struggle, he didn't fight. Thora was surprised. She had
ordered extra strength to his bindings, supposing he would try to
break them. But he didn't. He didn't spit words of disgust at her. He
just sat and tried to kill her with his gaze.
Thora smiled broadly showing her pointed teeth. She twirled
happily. "Look at you all. I've reduced seven of the most popular kids
to seven of the most ragged, insane people in this miserable city."
she sighed happily. "I love my work. But now, enough stalling." She
straightened up and turned to face Noki first.
"It's time to die."
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My friend Andrea, whom Thora is based after, can cackel. It has
to be one of the coolest sounds in the world.
Actually, my grandmother is still alive. Both of them. So is
Lapis' dad.
Me and my friends have never been overly popular, but it's fun
to think that way. ^-^
Ja,
Ziska Ames
"The Laughing Planet"
'Topaz's Story'
Recorded by Ziska Ames
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Chapter 7
Noki stood frozen in the doorway. His hand gripped the
doorknob hard as he watched Thora raise her head to meet his eyes. She
stood up to tower over Lapis' prone form. She lifted the baseball bat
and bored her blue eyes into his green ones.
"I forgot my club at the warehouse, so I had to use this." she
said it as if she were explaining an obvious thing to a child of four.
"What happened to Lapis?" Noki was shocked. Was Thora...? He
couldn't comprehend the scene before him. An unconscious Lapis was
sprawled below a savagely grinning Thora.
Thora hefted the bat and smiled again. "Don't worry. You won't
be able to think in a moment and then you won't care." She advanced
slowly holding the bat with both hands now.
Noki finally grasped the fact that the situation was not good.
He released the doorknob slowly and backed up into the hallway as
Thora continued relentlessly towards him. Suddenly, four strong hands
grabbed him, two on each arm. They pulled his arms back forcefully,
almost ripping them out of their sockets. Noki turned his head sharply
to see two thugs staring down at him with cold expressions fixed on
their large, meaty faces.
Thora stepped into the doorframe. She smiled gently at Noki
for a moment before nodding to herself and hefting the bat into a good
position.
"Goodnight." she said softly as she swung the baseball bat at
Noki's head.
"Good morning, brats!" Leah called out cheerfully as she
opened the door. "The rest of your friends are finally here to join
you." Leah stated this fact as if it were the most wonderful thing in
the world. The thugs lugged Noki between them while Thora carried
Lapis easily over her shoulder.
"Finally." she said as she dumped Lapis on the floor. "This
took a lot longer than I thought. I must say, you guys sure gave a
good chase. But it'll all be over soon." Thora wiped the back of her
hand across her forehead brushing the bangs gently back into place
afterwards. She ferociously kicked Lapis in the ribs. "Wake up." she
growled with her hands planted firmly on her hips like a scolding
mother.
Lapis moaned and moved slowly, arching her back. Her hands
were bound behind her back with twine. Her ankles were also tied
together with the rough material. She slowly opened her soft brown
eyes and looked up into Thora's petite face. "But, the hair..." she
managed to gasp in confusion.
Thora tossed her head back and cackled. She actually cackled.
A high pitched laugh that crawled across the skin of everyone present.
"That was a trick!" she cried gleefully clapping her hands happily.
"A trap. I had a nice little witch friend of mine bewitch the hair to
draw you here. And you all fell for it. Hook, line, and sinker." She
twirled and laughed as her long blonde hair spun around her. She came
to a halt almost immediately and kneeled to leer into Lapis' face.
She continued to sneer down at Lapis as she reached a hand
over her shoulder and beckoned to Leah. Leah slowly inched down the
stairs and approached Thora like she was a dog with its tail between
its legs. Her eyes were wide and fearful and she was hunched over
almost double in a position of servitude.
"Yes, master?" she whispered. She nervously twisted her hands
in front of her vulnerable stomach.
"Bind them all together. And you," she pointed suddenly to the
thugs, startling them, "go away. Leave the house and never come back.
I don't need you any more."
One of the thugs' face contorted into a mask of anger. "That
wasn't the deal." he growled. "What about our pay? You said we could
drain them..." he trailed off as Thora slowly focused her intense blue
gaze on him.
"Go away, before you push me to far." The petite blonde stared
the ugly giant of a man in the eye till his face crumpled to
disappointment. Nodding to his partner they quickly headed up the
wooden staircase to the door. Without a backward glance they were gone.
By the time they had disappeared, Leah had finished tying the finally
knot that connected Lapis to Noki.
"Why?" a small choked question escaped from Topaz's throat.
Thora whirled to face her. She stalked up to the sitting girl.
"You killed my family," she said softly. Blue eyes with a hint
of insanity in them bored into Topaz's dark brown eyes. Topaz's eyes
widened in fear and confusion till they showed white all around like a
frightened horse.
"What?" Topaz asked softly. She didn't understand. Her cousin
that she had grown up with, that she had played with. She hadn't
killed her parents. She hadn't killed Ben, Thora's brother. "I didn't
kill them. I didn't kill anybody."
"Oh, you didn't?" Thora stood up crossing her arms over her
chest. She tossed her hair over her shoulder and whirled to face Leah.
"Go away. Wait outside the door. I'll call when I want you." Leah
nodded and quickly ran up the stairs and shut the door behind her.
Thora turned to face the group again.
"I think that I hit you too hard in the warehouse. It must
have addled your memory."
"You didn't attack Topaz. You were in the apartment." Lapis
said softly. Her shoulder length brown hair was messed up from the
treatment she had recieved that night. Her bottom lip was split and a
trickle of blood had dried on her chin.
"I snuck out." Thora taunted sneering in Lapis' face. "Not
that it's any of your business. Now if you don't mind, I'll start
killing you all."
Topaz's jaw dropped. It suddenly hit her. "You're Jaecar." she
said if softly, sadly, and with certainty. Thora smiled at her almost
gently as she clapped slowly with incredible sarcasm.
"Very good. You finally figured it out. Took you long enough.
I can't believe you didn't recognize my killing of Abrams."
"Recognize?" Topaz was confused. Then a memory hit her.
Walking into her grandmother's living room when she was ten. Finding
her grandmother pinned to the wall by a giant stake in the chest and
two silver knives in her arms. "My grandmother... you copied my
grandmother's death!" she stared up at Thora with horror on her face.
"Yes! Good girl. And again, it was your fault someone died.
Why do you cause death, Topaz?" Thora asked in a mock-sad voice. "It's
not very nice."
"She didn't do any of the killings. You did!" Jonquil cried
out. He was mad, more than mad, outraged.
"Of course she didn't actually commit the killings. I was
there. I know I did those. But she caused them all. She even caused
your father's death." she suddenly whirled to face Lapis. Lapis' brown
eyes widened to an unbelievable, and impossible, width. They seemed to
fill her small, pale face.
"How did you know my dad's dead?" she asked softly. Her father
had died six years ago, during the witch-hunts that killed Topaz's
grandmother.
"I know he's dead, cause I helped kill him. Topaz and I
started those little witch-hunts. Of course, she didn't think it would
hurt her family. She just wanted to have some fun. Isn't that right,
dear?" Thora turned again to torture Topaz. She leaned down and patted
Topaz's cheek gently. Topaz wrenched her face away from the gentle
touch.
She was crying. She dropped her head and sobbed into her knees,
which she had curled under her. Lapis watched in horror. Topaz wouldn't
start witch-hunts. She hated killing.
"I don't believe you." she whispered so softly Thora almost
didn't hear her.
"What did you say?" Thora stood up right and cocked an ear in
Lapis' direction without actually turning to look at her.
"I don't believe you." Lapis stared Thora in the eyes as she
pronounced the words slowly and distinctly. "Topaz hates killing. She
*hates* it! She'd never hurt anyone!"
"Oh really. Topaz, dear, I don't believe you've been totally
honest with your friends." Thora straightened up and looked down on
Topaz with disapproval. "Don't you know honesty is the basis of a good
relationship?"
Topaz's head jerked up. Her face was white, drained of all
blood as she stared in horror at Thora. "No, oh no. Don't tell them
that. Please!" she cried. She trashed against her bonds.
"But they deserve to know!" She cried. She twirled on one leg
throwing her arms to the ceiling. "They are your friends, aren't they?
I'm sure they'll understand!" she laughed madly as she did an insane
little dance ending kneeling in front of Topaz.
She stared Topaz in the eyes as she addressed the group at
large. "Topaz isn't as innocent as you all believe. Neither is her
family. She's a bad little girl. Aren't you?" Thora shook her finger
at Topaz as she spoke. Topaz was frozen in horror.
"No, oh no." she continued to whisper, almost to herself but
still loud enough to be heard.
"Her parents were Night World Lords years ago. They lived for
the hunt, didn't they?" She stood up suddenly and jumped into the
middle of the room. She barred her fangs and laughed. "They kept
humans in pens. Hunted them through the woods using the treetops to
give chase. That's right, isn't it? But, alas, your parents got
*tired* of the killings. So they left. They just left! You can't
leave!" She cried throwing her arms up and tilting her head back as
she shrieked the last sentence angrily at the ceiling. Topaz was
sobbing softly into her knees. Everyone was staring at Thora in
disbelief. Topaz was Night World nobility?
"They left." Thora said softly, almost to herself, as she
allowed her arms to drop. She seemed to fall in on herself. She
dropped to her knees and looked up sadly at Topaz. "Her and her
parents and her brother. They left and went to Bloomington, Indiana to
live like humans. Like vermin." she spat the word out and made a face
of disgust. "How could you? How could your parents force you into that
lifestyle? But you didn't want to live like that, did you, Topaz? You
hated the restrictions on feeding. You wanted to kill. You wanted the
power that comes from taking all of a persons blood, taking their
*soul.* " She smiled down at the sobbing wreak of Topaz. She lightly
reached out and stroked her green hair softly. "So you rebelled. It's
okay. It's understandable. You're a lamia. You're different than the
others. Witches and shifters, they don't understand. Do they? They
don't feel the blood lust like we do. The need to be stronger, more
powerful, better."
Thora lifted Topaz's face gentle with her hands so she could
look her in the eye. "And I joined you. I helped you. I set you free.
I would come visit you and we would go kill, murder, maim. And you
*loved* it!" She screamed slapping Topaz hard. "Why did you change?"
she asked suddenly soft and with a touch of pain. Her eyes were full
of hurt and loss. "Why didn't you stay with me?"
"You tricked me!" Topaz screamed suddenly. She had hit the
bursting point. "You said it was all fun. But it killed my grandmother.
It killed my kin!"
"Of course it did. What did you expect in a witch-hunt? We'd
tie her up for a while, then let her go and shake hands?" Thora was
looking upon Topaz with utter disgust. She had forgotten the others:
the ones who were watching in rapt attention at the drama unfolding
before them.
"I wasn't thinking." Topaz said softly.
"And that was your problem. You didn't think. But I guess you
got me back, didn't you? Causing the deaths of my family. That was
smart, great, perfect revenge."
"I didn't cause their deaths. They died in honor."
"Honor? They were staked in their own home after being
tortured for hours!! They died because they were protecting your
worthless family!" Thora screamed in pain and outrage. Thora grabbed
Topaz by the shoulders and shook her hard. She dug her nails in till
they drew blood.
"It's not my fault!" Topaz screamed back. Her eyes were
clenched in horror and outrage. Her wrists were rubbed raw by the
wooden stocks binding them behind her back.
Thora released Topaz almost throwing her away. "No, I suppose
it's not. You were too young to know the consequences of leaving the
enclave. The promise of death was drilled into your parents, but not
you. So, I guess, it's your parents fault." Thora looked as if she
were considering this possibility. "Yes, that's it. Your parents knew
that if they left, the Night World would hunt them and kill them. But
they hid too well. So the Night World went after my family. We were
law-abiding Night Worlders. They didn't deserve to die, like your
family does. My parents were stupid for not telling. If I had been
there, I'd have told. I'd have gladly sent you to your death." Thora
spoke with the calm air of the mentally insane.
"So, now that that's cleared up, let's ask what your friends
think of you know." Thora finally acknowledged the rest of the group.
"Kelli, Jay, Shane, Rob, Kory, Chris, and James. Or should I say Lapis,
Jendra, Vanax, Jonquil, Topaz, Jade and Noki?"
Six heads simultaneously looked up at her. Thora pivoted
slowly looking at each of the seven friends slowly in the order she
had named them.
Lapis cringed on the far-left end of the semi-circle. Her hair
was mussed and her eyes rolled wildly like a horse's. She seemed to be
in shock over the fact that her best friend had caused her dad's death.
Thora smiled. She'd be easy to kill. To dazed to know the crucial
difference between life and death.
Jendra's light blonde hair swung in front of her dulled blue
eyes. Her head was bent to her chest and she wasn't looking at Thora
or anyone. Her posture was relaxed and for a moment Thora wondered if
some how she had fallen asleep. But in reality, she was lost in her
mind. Lost back in a time only a couple months ago when she herself
had killed without inhibition. Without caring about the victim or his
family. Thora bared her teeth at the prone form and pivoted slightly
to look at the next captive.
Vanax was wrenching painfully and silently at his bonds as he
tried to stand up. He wanted to attack this thing. This horrible
creature with the twisted mind. The twisted thoughts. He'd never met
anyone so obviously evil. And he wanted to kill it. To purge the world
of it. Thora laughed softly and bared her teeth at him. "I'm the hunter.
You're the prey. Not the other way around." she taunted softly under
her breath before focusing on Jonquil.
His red hair was spiky with sweat and dirty from days without
a shower. His blue eyes sparked fiercely as he stared at Topaz with
pain. He could feel her soul breaking through their bond. Feel her
hope and carefully built illusions of her past crumbling. Thora
growled at him, but couldn't seem to hold his attention. He would look
at her blankly for a moment, before letting his eyes slid back to
Topaz. She looked at Topaz too.
Topaz rocked softly crying to herself. After finding her
grandmother dead and realizing that she had also caused Lapis' dad's
death, she'd forced herself to forget. To forget the killings. The cats
she and Thora'd tossed off buildings to busy streets. The little kids
they'd lured into the woods with promises of cookies and other sweets.
After her grandmother's death, she'd rebuilt a happy childhood for
herself, keeping her happy memories, and forgetting her deathly ones.
Forgetting her uncaring ways. But her memories had been ripped open by
this monster that resembled her cousin. Thora laughed happily at what
she had succeeded in doing to her blood relative. She twirled a lock
of her golden hair happily before turning her attention to the witch
next to Topaz.
Jade was shocked. Purely shocked. Over the days her hair had
become greasy and streaked more with dirt, than the natural purple
highlights. She didn't notice that her bangs were plastered to her
forehead from sweat, or that her cheeks were covered by a small
latticework of single hairs. She sucked in breath as her mind worked
frantically to comprehend everything she had heard that night. It
wasn't possible. Thora smiled again. She was good at this. Finally,
she looked to the end of the right side of the circle.
Noki just sat there. His hands and feet were bound tightly,
but he didn't struggle, he didn't fight. Thora was surprised. She had
ordered extra strength to his bindings, supposing he would try to
break them. But he didn't. He didn't spit words of disgust at her. He
just sat and tried to kill her with his gaze.
Thora smiled broadly showing her pointed teeth. She twirled
happily. "Look at you all. I've reduced seven of the most popular kids
to seven of the most ragged, insane people in this miserable city."
she sighed happily. "I love my work. But now, enough stalling." She
straightened up and turned to face Noki first.
"It's time to die."
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My friend Andrea, whom Thora is based after, can cackel. It has
to be one of the coolest sounds in the world.
Actually, my grandmother is still alive. Both of them. So is
Lapis' dad.
Me and my friends have never been overly popular, but it's fun
to think that way. ^-^
Ja,
Ziska Ames