Hello Whale Pitters. Welcome to chapter 2 of What Price Vengeance. Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 1: crowofdawn, mallratrebel, shocklance, lily312, zestychicken2, allpowerfulnerd, xv-dragon, lost prince, ice silver crystal, krystal of nol, thepink1, sokai, daydreamer9, and nemrut. I appreciate all the PM's I've received as well. Thank you all so much for your support; it is for you that I write this.
I must thank my editor again as well. Visigoth, my humble thanks for all your efforts and for putting up with me.
Now without further commentary, may I present:
Chapter 2
Heatherfield was a quiet city with a reputation for being safe and clean. The people were generally nice folks who went through their days with cheerful smiles and friendly words. After nine PM, there wasn't much to do in the tranquil town...except babysit your younger brother while your parents attended the annual Policeman's Ball.
This night, Irma Lair was stuck doing just that...and she was none too happy about it. Chris Lair was a constant thorn in Irma's side; the annoying little mutant of Heatherfield, as she called him. Constantly testing his big sister's patience was his game of choice, and he played that game very well.
Anna Lair put on her coat and turned to her only daughter. "Now remember, Irma, have Chris in bed by 9:00, and get your homework done. No parties and no friends tonight. Got it?"
Irma sighed. "Yes, Mom, I got it. In bed by nine, homework done, no friends. Should be the most fun I've ever had in my young life."
Anna's expression was stern. "Your grades have been slipping of late, young lady, and your father and I don't want to see you fail. Perhaps your friends have been taking up too much of your time. More attention to your schoolwork would be good for you."
Irma wanted to explode. Her mom was actually blaming her friends for her grades? If she only knew what the real problem was...she would definitely freak out. Which was one reason she could never know the truth.
If her mother knew that her young daughter had been subjected to heinous torture at the hands of an evil sorceress while in the service of the universe...she would likely pass out from the horror of it all. That would be nothing compared to her father's explosive reaction. As a Heatherfield police officer, Tom Lair believed in justice and hard work. The oppression of anyone was distasteful and unacceptable. If he were to find out what had happened, he would go ballistic.
And forbid his daughter to associate with W.I.T.C.H...ever again.
"You're being unfair to them, mom," Irma finally answered. "I live for those girls and they support me in all I do. I couldn't ask for better friends."
Anna gently took her daughter's chin in her hand. "I know you feel close to them; but have you considered they may not be the best influence on you?"
"And have you considered they may be the only reason I haven't completely flunked yet?"
"Irma," Tom sighed, "we're just concerned about you. Lately you've been different. You seem more withdrawn and it's worrying your mother and I. We have to consider the possibility that your friends may be causing this."
"Well consider all you want, but you're wrong," Irma answered quietly.
Anna rubbed her daughter's cheek. "Irma, we love you and want the best for you. Can't you understand that?"
"And can't you understand that these girls are the best thing that's ever happened to me? I mean look at them and then think what you're accusing them of. Taranee is a straight-A student, Hay Lin is gentle and kind, Will is shy, and Cornelia...OK, maybe Cornelia isn't the best example, but do you see where I'm gong with this? How can friends like this be a bad influence on me? Honestly, I'm more likely to be a bad influence on them than the other way around."
Tom Lair looked pensive. "You do make a good point, but we're still worried about you. Listen, we're going to be late, but I want to talk about this more later. Understand?"
"Yes, Dad, I understand," Irma sighed.
Tom nodded and hugged his daughter. "We'll see you tonight."
Anna hugged Irma. "Don't stay up too late," she smiled.
Irma nodded, but couldn't bring herself to hug her parents back. She just let them squeeze her a bit.
As the door closed and locked behind her parents, Irma sighed again. They could never understand; and why should they? The truth was she was having difficulty dealing with what had happened. The nightmares never seemed to end; she was afraid to sleep, afraid to be alone, and yet afraid to be around people at the same time.
Irma closed her eyes and remembered what she didn't want to remember. It was only the Guardians that had prevented her from succumbing to death at the hands of the Knights of Vengeance mere weeks ago. Had they not rescued her when they did...Irma shuddered at the thought.
She truly did live for those girls; they were the only thing that had kept her going. Even so, Irma had been prepared to give up her life after seeing she was capable of murdering Raythor. But Nerissa had not granted her that release...instead she had prolonged Irma's suffering until the Guardian was nothing but a broken shell of a girl.
Her friends had been unwilling to allow Irma to languish, however, and had saved her life...in more ways than one.
Irma didn't want to think about those horrific events, but her mind refused to obey her silent wishes. She could still hear her own screams echoing in her head. She could still feel the lightning coursing through her body. She could still hear Frost taunting her and forcing her to beg for her life. The young Guardian began to shake uncontrollably.
As tears threatened to break their borders, Irma took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. Now was not the time to have a nervous breakdown...not with Chris in the house. He would have a field day with it. As she struggled to control her tormented mind, her thoughts centered on Hay Lin. She had been Irma's rock and main confidante. As her sister in every way that counted, Hay Lin had been affected the most by Irma's descent into darkness.
The thought of her sister calmed Irma somewhat and allowed her mind to focus on something other than torture and blood. She longed for the days when her biggest concerns were passing math, or dodging Mrs. Knickerbocker in the halls. She swallowed hard and desperately wished for a sense of normalcy.
But inside she secretly knew normalcy was nothing more than a fantasy.
The young girl turned to her history homework. She couldn't believe Collins wanted to them to outline chapters four and five of the textbook. How boring could you get?
Somewhere in the background, Irma could hear the sounds of Chris' video game coming from his room. How many aliens was he going to have shoot to save the world this time? The irony was not lost on the young Guardian. She and her friends had saved the world countless times...and nobody knew. It had to be that way in order to preserve the girls' anonymity. Otherwise they would be seen as more freakish than any teenager already was.
Lost in her musings, she almost didn't hear the lock turn. She jumped at the sound and dropped her history textbook. Anna Lair walked purposefully through the door and closed it behind her.
"We forgot the tickets," she explained to her bemused daughter. Some of the previous horror must have remained in Irma's eyes, because her mother stopped short on her way to the kitchen.
"What's wrong?" Anna asked, crossing the room quickly.
Irma tried to smile. "Nothing; I was just surprised to see you, that's all."
Anna sat down on the couch. "Don't lie to me, I'm not blind."
"Mom, I'm fine, really. Look, I'm doing my homework." She pointed the upside-down textbook on the floor. "All this stuff about the Restoration after the Civil War just has me a little cross-eyed."
Anna picked up the fallen textbook and laid it aside. "Irma, I'm worried about you. You haven't been yourself lately and I want to know what's going on."
Irma swallowed. She couldn't tell her mother the truth. So she lied.
"I'm just having a lot of stress at school, mom. Finals are coming up in a few weeks, you know?"
Anna sighed. "Alright, but I'm going to to get to the bottom of this." She kissed her daughter on the cheek.
Irma felt an electric shock course through her body at that kiss. So strong was it that she actually fell off the couch. In shock and horror, she looked at her mother. She had felt that sensation before...and she knew this wasn't her mother.
"No, you can't be Nerissa; she's dead. She's dead!"
"Anna" stood up and towered over the terrified girl. Irma crab-walked away from her nemesis until her back hit the wall.
"Did you really think I had gone?" Nerissa purred. "Did you really think you could defeat me, Guardian? I am eternal, and I have come for vengeance."
Irma's face screwed into a mask of horror. She shook her head back and forth and whispered, "No, no, no."
"Your brother is here; I don't suggest you scream. If he finds me here I will kill him right in front of you. If you try to summon the other Guardians, I will kill him slowly just before I kill your friends."
Irma knew Nerissa would do it, so she struggled not to scream.
"I shall cast a deliciously sinister spell on you, Guardian. Your mind will be mine to toy with as I see fit. Your thoughts will be mine, your emotions will be mine, your ever mental aspect will be mine. I intend to rape your mind repeatedly, Guardian. You will be broken by the time I'm finished."
Tears began to flow down Irma's cheeks as the evil hag knelt in front of her.
"But I shall never be finished with you, little one. I love the smell of your desperation, the taste of your terror." Nerissa inhaled deeply and closed her eyes briefly. "Oh, it's so intoxicating."
"Please don't hurt me," Irma whispered, terrified. "I'll give you what you want, just please leave me alone."
Nerissa laughed mirthlessly. "Oh little Guardian...it is you I want. It is vengeance I crave now. You and your friends foiled me last time only because that little brat Elyon saved you; and because you refused to do my bidding for so long. You simply wouldn't break, and I found that most annoying. But you will break this time, Guardian. You will destroy your friends, and then I shall force you to live with the horrors of your deeds forever."
"No."
"Yes, Guardian, yes." Nerissa reached her hand towards Irma's face. Irma cried quietly, her fear holding her helpless against her foe. As the hand of her pseudo-mother came closer, the young teenager struggled not scream. She knew Nerissa would kill Chris, and much as she didn't like the little mutant, she certainly didn't want to see him dead.
Nerissa laid her hand against Irma's cheek and another electric bolt surged through the helpless girl. Irma collapsed in a heap, shaking violently.
"Velim caput tuurn devellere deinde in confinium gulae cacare," Nerissa intoned.
Irma could no longer help it. She opened her mouth to scream, but her voice caught in her throat.
"Rotaturne capitulum huius virus expuens viride," the evil hag continued.
The pain in Irma's head quickly became unbearable, but she was powerless to scream or move. She could barely breathe, as her chest began to constrict.
"Viculus nescioquis barone suo privatus est." the sorceress finished.
A final jolt of electricity shot through Irma's body as the spell was completed. The young Guardian broke into a cold sweat as her chest suddenly relaxed. She took great gulps of air and cried quietly.
Nerissa laughed at the helplessness of her prey and drug the girl to her feet. Throwing her onto the couch, the hag sneered at her victim.
"Let it begin then."
The sorceress crossed the room in two long strides and grabbed Irma's forehead. With a growl, Nerissa began to sort through her enemy's thoughts as if she was looking through a catalog. She focused on the Guardians and most especially Hay Lin. She centered on the most personal times between the two sisters, when Irma had felt the most vulnerable.
The teenager lay helpless against her attacker; something Nerissa was doing held her paralyzed. The young Guardian hated having another presence in her mind. She could feel the witch's filthy tendrils digging through her brain, and Irma felt dirty.
For an hour Nerissa held her enemy in a viselike grip and sorted through her damaged and pain-wracked mind. At last, the hag smiled evilly and stood up.
"That will do for starters, Guardian. I thank you for being so accommodating; you've been a most gracious hostess."
Irma laid on the couch, crying and shaking. "I'm going to tell my friends about this, and we're going to kick you around again...just like last time."
Nerissa laughed. "Oh, but you won't, dear heart, you won't. You see, in a few seconds I'll be gone and you won't remember a thing about this little encounter. You won't be able to tell the Guardians anything...ever."
Irma shook her head. "Please don't do this to me."
The evil sorceress sneered at her foe. "I've only just begun, Guardian. You thought it was bad last time? Just wait. You haven't seen anything yet."
Nerissa turned then and strode towards the door. Placing her hand around the knob, she turned to face her prey. "You will sleep now, Guardian. You won't wake again until morning."
With that, the evil witch turned the knob and disappeared through the open doorway.
Irma's eyes closed as she fell into dark oblivion.
Poor Irma. Thanks everyone for reading. Please leave a review, should you feel so inclined.