The Past Rises From The Grave
Morton sighed as he emerged from sleep, shifting against his mattress with a contented smile. He rolled and felt a warm body beside him, that faint smile growing as he slipped his arms around a feminine waist. "Hey," he whispered, assuming she would sleep through it.
"Hey, Lover."
Morton's blood froze and lurched backward, stumbling off the bed and backing against his bedroom wall. The figure in the dark, wrapped in his sheets, adjusted and sat up, clutching the sheets to her ample bust. Fiery red hair seemed to glow in the dark half-light and silvery eyes shone above dark, plush lips. To anyone else, she would be the epitome of beauty.
But she was not Severine.
And Morton was not anyone else.
"You," he rasped, his body shaking with fear as cold sweat drenched him.
"Oh, Morty," the woman purred, swinging onto her hands and knees to crawl across the bed like a cat, all languid grace and alluring curves punctuated by faint, unsettling clicking. "You remember me."
"H-Hard to f-f-forget," he stammered. It was far from a compliment.
"I'll bet you remember this, too," she giggled, smiling to bear needle-like teeth that elongated into a mouthful of terrible fangs. She hissed and lunged at him, talons slashing in a blur-!
Morton shouted as he woke up, surging upright so fast that he tumbled from his bed. He righted himself and rushed to his feet, tracing a spell faster than thought that summoned fire to his cupped hand. The fire lit the room to show nothing amiss, everything in its place but his sweat-soaked sheets.
A wheezing hiss sounded from Morton's bedpost and he looked to find his dear palisman Triton watching him with concern. The dark, blue-streaked newt wheezed again and leapt to soar over the fire and land on Morton's shoulder, trilling to comfort his partner.
"I'm alright," Morton assured, lightly scratching Triton's head as his heart rate slowed. "Just a bad dream."
Triton wheezed again.
"No. Not now." Morton sighed and extinguished his spell, trudging back to bed and curling into the damp sheets as Triton hopped back to his favorite spot. "Maybe tomorrow."
"Morton? Hello? Titan to Mr. Elixir?"
Morton jolted from his position, the cap on the bottle of powdered tumoric root in his hand thankfully sealed. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head hard enough to shake his funnel over his eyes. He straightened his trademark headwear and looked at the friend resting his elbows on the stand counter.
"Sorry, Steve," Morton sighed, deciding to put his ingredients back. "I'm not feeling too great."
"Yeah, I can tell," Steve said, his lopsided grin amused but his eyes troubled. He kept to himself that the bags under Morton's eyes looked like they could hold King with room to spare. "Poison tasting last night?" Morton shook his head. "Okay. Then do you think maybe you should close up shop for the day and get some rest?"
Morton forced down a fit of indignation at the request. He wasn't some weakling who shirked work at the smallest excuse, dammit! But reason whispered in his ear that Steve had a point, and he sighed away his brief irritation. Probably a result of the poor sleep. "Let me get your order together and I'll do that," he decided.
"Need a hand?" Steve asked.
"For this?" Morton replied with a tired shadow of a grin. "No way. I could get this order together in my sleep."
"You're halfway there," Steve muttered wryly, which Morton ignored. Instead, he closed up the security grate and window shutters before casting a light spell to illuminate the shop. After straightening his things, he gathered some familiar, spherical bottles into two baskets, putting down his funnel hat to reveal Triton nesting underneath, and left the shop, locking up behind him.
"Here ya go," Morton huffed, handing the baskets off to Steve.
"Thanks, man," Steve grinned. "Uh, are they the same or does one go to Eda and another go to Lulu?"
"They're the same," Morton assured, lifting Triton from his head and placing him on his shoulder.
"Cool," Steve replied, his tone a bit stilted. "Look, man, uh, do you-" He coughed into his arm, both hands full with the baskets. "Do you wanna go get some early dinner? And, y'know, talk about … whatever?"
"Whatever's bothering me?" Morton finished dryly.
"Yeah, pretty much," Steve said without an ounce of shame now that it was out in the open.
'Thanks for the offer, Steve," Morton said, "but I think I'll take your earlier advice and just go home to sleep."
"You live up there," Steve said, pointing at the second floor of the shop, reached by an exterior staircase.
"Yeah. Convenient, right?" Morton said with a shadow of a smile before turning for the stairs and waving over his shoulder. "See ya, Steve. Tell Katya and the crew I said hi."
Steve watched closely as Morton made his way up the stairs. The guy looked so tired simply walking from behind that it was making Steve want to yawn …! When Morton had closed the door, Steve traced a spell that had a crow phone descending to his outstretched elbow. He punched in a number and spoke quietly into the bird's beak.
Morton was true to his word and had collapsed, splayed-limbed, on his couch to sleep as soon as his front door was locked. Triton had trilled happily and curled up in a ball on his partner's chest to join him in sleep.
A few hours later, Morton was woken by light knocking on his door. He grunted and stretched in place, his back popping deliciously, and stumbled to his feet to answer the door. He turned the lock and opened it to find Severine at his threshold, dressed in a dark-orange button-up shirt with the top few buttons undone to hang off her shoulders and the straps of a tank top, paired with khaki pants rolled to the knees and clipped in place, and calf-high leather sandals. She had her hands behind her back in a demure, feminine pose and a soft smile on her lips.
"Hi, Morton," she said.
"Hey," Morton replied with a warm smile of his own. He rubbed the sand from his eyes and chuckled. "Steve called you, I take it?"
"He did," Severine admitted, her smile turning sheepish and no less adorable for it. "He was worried."
"And you're here to get me out of the house and out of my funk?" he asked.
"I'm here to offer whatever you need, Morton," Severine said, firmly and not unkindly. "If you want to go out, I can do that. If you want me to order take out and we stay at your place, I can do that, too." Morton opened his mouth, but Severine placed her finger over his lips. "And if you try to choose what will make me happy, I'll be very unhappy." She narrowed her eyes in a teasing glare softened by a faint smile. "Do you understand?" She removed her finger.
"Yeah, I understand," Morton said, his cheeks pink. Severine shifted her weight and fiddled with her hands, her cheeks darkening, too. Morton looked Severine up and down before nodding to himself. "How about Cafe Goulet?" he asked.
The site of their first date was always a safe option for the two of them, both naturally shy and happy with simple things.
"I like that idea," Severine said with a smile. Then she looked him up and down right back and pursed her lips. "But not in your work uniform."
Morton sniffed the hem of his shirt. "Agreed."
"So, what's eating you?" Severine asked as she stirred sweet-scream into her scoffee. "And how can I kill it?"
Morton snorted a laugh as he blew on his tea — he had changed into a slime-green collared shirt and denim pants — though the smile faded quickly and his eyes seemed to dull. Severine blinked, her eyes wide, and reached to place her hand on his, offering the simple reminder of her presence. He looked up to meet her gaze and his eyes brightened just a little.
"Do you remember what I told you on the night we met? Just before you showed me your coven sigil?"
Severine thought back, eyes tracking back and forth in thought before they widened in realization. "The emphousa thing?" she asked.
"Yeah, that's it," Morton confirmed, taking a long pull of his tea. He hissed at the scalding heat and breathed deeply through his nose. "I played that off like it was a casual thing, but it … it wasn't." He curled in on himself, eyes dulling again. "It wasn't at all."
"Morton, what-?"
"Morty?!"
Morton's back straightened to seemingly painful stiffness, his eyes wide and pupils shrunk to pinpoints. He slowly turned to his right as someone approached. Severine turned to look, and she gasped.
This woman was breathtaking. She was about Severine's height, her body plushly curvaceous with generous breasts complimented by wide hips perfectly contrasted by a narrow waist. Her skin was milky white that offset silvery grey eyes and full, rose-pink lips curled into a devilish smile. Her wavy hair was a brilliant shade of red and so sleek that it seemed to shimmer with its own inner light, and flowed around her pointed ears like a ruby waterfall. Her strapless crimson crop top and tight leather pants with stiletto heels only emphasized it all.
"No way," the woman said, her voice low, sensual, and feminine in a way that seemed to caress the ears, her teeth narrow like ivory needles. "Is it really you?"
"Eris," Morton bit out, red blooming high on his cheeks.
"It's been so long since I've seen you," the woman, Eris, said, crossing her arms under her bust.
"Not long enough," Morton said stiffly, the dull sheen of his gaze lightening with something very much like anger.
"Morton?" Severine prompted, deeply nervous. "Are you alright?"
"Oh, Morty," Eris chuckled as she seemed to just notice Severine, "who's your friend?"
"Girlfriend, actually," Morton growled, weaving his fingers with Severine's on top of the table.
Something ugly seemed to flicker in Eris's eyes, but it was gone so quickly that Severine wasn't sure she'd seen it. She gave a throaty chuckle and began grazing the fingers of one hand along the neckline of her crop top, the motion subtly drawing attention to her bust.
"Well, I'm glad I ran into you, Morty," Eris purred. "I've been thinking lately about how we left things. And if you like," her eyes seemed to glow, "we could … revisit old times." Morton was trembling now, his teeth audibly creaking as he grit them. Eris laughed and glanced at Severine, who was keeping her expression carefully neutral even through her own rising anger. "You could bring your friend along, too."
In a split second and the scraping of a chair against the hardwood floor, Morton was on his feet and glaring up at Eris with every ounce of venom he had. If looks could kill, Eris would have dropped dead as a stone.
"Revisit?" he asked, his voice deadly calm. He lifted his free hand, the one not holding Severine's in a vice grip, and yellow flames ignited to fill his cupped fingers. "Are you sure about that?"
Now Severine was certain she didn't imagine the gleam of ugly rage that simmered in Eris's eyes, the woman's lips twisting into a rictus.
"Goodbye, Eris," Morton said in the same stony cold voice. "It hasn't been a pleasure." He drew Severine from her seat and tossed some snails on the table before leading the way out of the bistro and out onto the street, taking a right and walking with purpose.
"Morton, who was that?" Severine asked, almost stumbling from her boyfriend's nearly frantic pace. Rather than answer, Morton pulled them both into an alley and leaned against the wall … before retching and throwing up his tea. He coughed and gasped, pressing his back against the bricks while cold sweat beaded his brows as he wheezed labored breaths.
"Morton," Severine breathed, taking his face in her hands. "Breathe, sweetheart," she said, calmly and firmly. "Breathe in," she inhaled to guide him and he followed her lead, "and breathe out," she exhaled and he did the same. "Again."
They went through the motions for nearly a full minute before Morton had calmed down from his anxiety attack. Tears beaded his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Severine's waist and buried his face in her chest, his entire frame shaking with suppressed sobs.
"Morton," she whispered, running her hands through his shoulder-length hair, "it's okay. I'm here, sweetheart. I'm not going anywhere." She continued to whisper to him, carding her fingers through his hair as she listened for anyone approaching.
After some time, Morton settled and drew back, looking up at Severine with reddened eyes. He gave a weak smile and stood on his tiptoes to place a soft kiss on her lips. "Thank you, Veri," he whispered.
"You're welcome," she whispered back, smiling in return.
"You probably want an explanation for that," he said with a wince. Severine opened her mouth … but Morton placed a finger against her lips, his smile just a bit stronger. "And if you say 'not if you're uncomfortable' I really will be upset."
Severine giggled against his finger and kissed it. "Okay. Yes, I'm really wondering."
And that settled that.
"You remember what I said about the emphousa thing," Morton said, both of them sitting at Severine's small dinner table with steaming cups of tea.
"Yes, I-" Severine cut herself off. "Wait, you're not saying-"
"That Eris was the emphousa?" Morton asked, his tone wry. "Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." His face was drawn into a grimace as if he had a stomach ache. He fiddled with his glass as he gathered himself to keep speaking.
"I met Eris when I was fifteen and attending St. Epiderm," he began. "My mom and I lived in a small city midway up the mountain, but I was further down the day before. That's when we first met."
Under his orange face mask, Morton stuck his tongue out in concentration as he snipped the quills from a porcuspine demon. The beast was out cold, breathing in the fumes of a distilled sleeping nettle brew Morton had whipped up just for this purpose. His magic skills weren't exactly Emperor's Coven material, but he had practiced his sleeping spell enough to knock the demon out long enough for him to push the flask under its nose and keep it asleep.
Like the Illusion and Bard tracks, Potion magic tended to be looked down on by some of the more direct or hands-on magic styles, such as Abominations or Construction. Alchemists and potioners were occasionally derided as inherently weak and having to rely on pre-prepared "bottled spells" to get by in a harsh world. Granted, few would say that if their medicine or other potions didn't come in on time and even fewer realized that it took quite a bit of raw magical energy to infuse reagents and get them potent enough to have real effects, but it was still a pain.
And Morton was fine with being low on the totem pole. He'd open his own business when he graduated and had joined the Potions Coven. Then he'd never have to deal with those jerks at St. Epiderm ever again.
What brought Morton here, nearly to the foothills of the Knee where it was warmer on the flying broom he'd borrowed from his mom, was an extra credit project. Because of its location on the Knee, it was inconvenient to retrieve potion ingredients from the wilds, and shipping ingredients from other parts of the Isles meant they were pricier up the mountain. So the Potions professor would give extra credit and even a small payment of snails to students who gathered ingredients he needed.
Porcuspine quills was one of the most high-yield reagents, and so here Morton was for extra credit that he didn't really need with nearly perfect grades and some extra spending money.
After clipping the last quill he estimated would not leave the beast demon at a disadvantage in the wilds, he covered the basket he stored them in and took his flask of distilled nettles to cork and slip into his pouch before racing away. When the porcuspine woke up it would have a nasty hangover and Morton didn't want to be around for that.
He slowed to a walk when he decided he was a good distance away — and certainly not because he was breathing heavily from a sprint with his noodle legs, thank you! — and pulled the flying broom from his shoulder to take off for home.
"Clever boy," came a sultry woman's voice.
Morton straightened and clutched the broom like a staff, turning in a slow circle and eying the trees around him.
"Whoever you are," he warned, his voice cracking, "show yourself."
From the trees stepped a beautiful girl about his age. She was … really developed for their age with curves that made Morton turn red. Red as her hair that swirled down in shiny waves to frame a pale face set with silvery grey eyes, a delicate nose, and plush, pink lips. She was dressed in a pink, low-cut shirt and short shorts that showed off her strong legs … covered in bronzy chitin, like a beetle's shell. He briefly thought that was familiar before realizing that it didn't matter because pretty girl.
"Uh, hi," Morton said nervously, his hand twitching in a small wave.
"Hi there, Cutie," the girl said, her hips swinging as she drew closer.
"I-It's Morton, Miss," he stammered, his voice cracking again and making him blush even harder.
"Even cuter," the girl chuckled throatily. She was in his personal space now and he realized that she was almost a head taller than him. She placed her hand on his chest and began to rub in small circles. "And where is little Morty from, hmm?"
Morton might have heard his mother's voice warning him about strangers, but the pounding of his heart in his ears was drowning it out. The hormones surging through his veins didn't help at all.
"Homburg," he said. "I go to St. Epiderm."
"Oh, up in the chill," the girl said, her head tilted in curiosity.
"It's not a big deal," Morton said. "L-Lots of guys go there- People! Lots of people!" He screamed on the inside at his own awkwardness.
"I'll bet not so many cutie pies," the girl said, eyelashes fluttering.
"C-Cutie?" Morton stammered. His internal screams transitioned to something like, 'Whatishappeningwhatishappeningwhatishappening-'
"I'm Eris," the girl said, her hand on his chest roaming up to cup his cheek.
"I, uh," Morton said, panic rising, "I gotta go."
"Then go, Morty," she giggled.
"Can I see you again?" Morton asked, shocking himself.
"I hope so," Eris said, a small smile on her lips as she backed away into the shadows, her arms extending to keep in touch with him as long as possible. "I'm sure you'll see me again."
And as if she had never been there, she vanished into the shade of the trees. Morton looked around and shook his head to clear his thoughts, mounting the broom and flying away.
Right. As if a gorgeous girl like that would ever want to see an awkward dork like him again …
"She showed up in the middle of the school week at St. Epiderm and combed the campus for me," Morton said, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. "I later figured that she charmed the security guards into letting her in and then just asked around."
"Why?" Severine asked.
"At the time it seemed like a dream come true," Morton said bitterly. "A seemingly beautiful demon shows up after an 'innocent'," he lifted air quotes — a gesture borrowed from Luz the Human — "first encounter, declares that she wants to date the potion nerd and flaunts it. I didn't realize the significance until later, but she was always covered up from chin to toe. It turns out that emphousae don't do well in the cold."
"You went out three times," Severine recalled. "Before the incident."
"Yeah," Morton chuckled. "I don't remember much from the hormones and probably her magic messing with my head a little. My mom was worried I was spending so much time outside when it was so unlike me. And Eris asked to be kept a secret, which in retrospect was a huge red flag."
"So what happened next?" Severine asked.
"For our fourth 'date', Eris asked me to meet her in the woods," Morton began, cheeks reddening. "And to bring a bathing suit."
"Where are we?" Morton asked, looking around the woods. The moonlight on the snow made it easy to navigate, but landmarks were still hard to see.
"Somewhere special," Eris said cryptically.
They walked a little further until they emerged from the trees to find a steaming pool in the middle of the snow-laden forest. "Whoa," Morton gasped.
"It's a hot spring," Eris said, smiling coyly. "I thought it would be nice to-" She shucked her coat, revealing a crimson, very revealing strapless bikini top, "-relax in the water." Her pants came next to bear a matching bikini bottom. "Don't you?" she asked, rushing for the hot water and leaping in.
She burst from the water, hair flipping with artistic flair before she sunk back into the water and crooked a finger. Morton had no idea how he undressed so fast, but he was down to his trunks and in the water practically in the blink of an eye.
"Ooh, that's wonderful," Eris purred. "I can't stand the cold."
"You must really have liked me to come up here then, huh?" Morton giggled.
"Mm-hmm," Eris hummed. She wrapped her arms around Marton's shoulders and kissed him. Hard.
Morton squeaked and melted into the kiss. Eris had kissed him a few times, but they were chaste compared to this. This was … sensual. Gravitating.
Powerful.
And then hot pain pierced Morton's neck. He yelped and tried to draw back, but Eris held him close. He felt something sticky rolling down his chest … and smelled metal. Blood?
"Eris, what are you doing?" he asked, his thoughts sluggish from the kiss.
"I can't take it anymore," Eris growled, her voice no longer velvety but … harsh. Grating. "This experiment was stupid. I want to feed now!"
"Feed?!" Morton asked, straining against her as panic lanced through him.
"Yes. Now!" Eris snarled. Morton shouted in pain as he felt punctures in his side. He held Eris's wrist and felt that she had pierced him with her nails. He pushed harder to try and free himself, heart pounding.
"Just let it happen, Morty," Eris purred, lapping noises coming from her as she drank his life blood. "It will all be over soon."
"Get off me!" Morton screamed.
"Oh no, Morty," she giggled madly, "I don't think I will."
Morton's mind was racing as he tried to think his way out, his body getting weaker as his blood was lost. "You don't like cold," he mumbled drunkenly.
"No," she giggled.
"Then how about," he traced a spell, pumping as much magic into it as he could … and his hand above the water burst into flames, "-HEAT!" And he slapped his burning hand against Eris's cheek.
Eris screeched in agony, the scent of charred meat filling the air, and she tore away from him in shock. Morton rolled out of the spring and ran, clapping his hands to his neck and side as he rushed with the strength of adrenaline into the woods.
"Morton!" Eris shouted. "You're mine! You can't escape me! Do you hear me?! MINE!"
Morton ran until his shivering sent him to the ground. He crawled to the lee of a tree and felt his adrenaline fading, chased by encroaching darkness. He was still losing blood, the red stains on his hands and the droplets of frozen red dotting his trail proving the fact. His mind continued to race until a crazy scheme came to mind. It would probably not work, might kill him.
But he'd be dead for sure if he did nothing.
Morton traced a fire spell again, the point of his finger licking with a tongue of flame … and he pressed it to his throat to seal the wound shut. He screamed as he did, and then moved on to each point on his torso to close those wounds, too. He gasped with agony as the chill dug into his bones and he curled up to preserve what little warmth he could.
"Titan," he slurred. "I'm sorry. Please … help me." Then he passed out from the pain and blood loss.
Severine stared open-mouthed at Morton as she processed the story. "How did you survive?" she asked.
"It turns out that my mom checked on me and found out I was gone," Morton explained. "She had people looking for us. Some beastkeepers had tracking spells going and found me in time to keep me from freezing to death." He huffed a laugh. "The healers tried to fix up my burns, but they were too severe to heal completely." He brushed the side of his neck with his thumb, removing makeup that hid bone-white blotches. "That's why I wear this stuff." He fiddled with his tea cup, having long gone cold. "They never found Eris. But I was so traumatized that my mother transferred me to Hexside and we moved to Bonesborough to get away from the Knee. I saw a therapist for a while and she helped me get past most of it."
Severine stood from her chair and knelt beside Morton, tears gathering in her eyes. "Can I hug you?" she asked, her voice hoarse.
"Of course," Morton said, his own tears welling. Severine launched herself into Morton's arms, sobs wracking her body. She thought of a teenaged Morton running through the snow, escaping a monster as he slowly bled and froze to death. It made her hug him even tighter.
"I'm so sorry you went through that," Severine whimpered.
"Hey, don't worry about me," Morton chuckled through his tears. "I mean, you still went through way more than me for scout training, right?"
Severine pulled away and looked at Morton with righteous anger, though she cupped his face in her hand with all the tenderness in the world. "That doesn't make what you went through any less horrible," she scolded gently. Then her angry expression faded into sorrow. "And I will never stop worrying for you, Morton. I-" She coughed and blinked at the words welling from her heart to her lips.
Three simple words.
"Veri?" Morton asked quietly.
"I'll always worry about you, Morton," she said, and kissed his cheek. "I care about you so much."
"I care about you, too," Morton sighed. He bit his lip that seemed to tingle with three identical, unspoken words.
But both of them knew that now — after a horrific tale of childhood past — was not the time.
"Stay here tonight," Severine said. "I don't want you to be alone."
"Okay," Morton sighed.
Morton ended up staying for the rest of the week.
The couple told their friends about the run-in with Eris and what had happened when he was a teenager. Steve and Severine pulled Emperor's Coven reports from the time and confirmed the details and that Eris had never been apprehended. She'd been presumed dead, but was clearly not. They even went so far as to have a trusted oracle review Morton and Severine's memories to create wanted posters.
After several days, things began to settle down. Business kept Morton distracted, and watchmen work did the same for Severine. Someone checked in on Morton every evening and morning, be it Steverine, Steve, one of the BATs or game night friends, or one of the Clawthornes. And not a trace of Eris was seen by anyone.
After a while, even Morton began to move past the encounter. He even silently — crazily — thanked the Titan for the encounter that gave him a reason to share the story with Severine, as the experience had brought them closer just as her telling him about scout training had.
Then his faint smile faded and he traced a fire spell, his hand wreathed in a yellow blaze. "I'm not the same stupid kid I was back then," he told himself. He looked at Triton, who was watching him with keen interest. "I've got friends. They've taught me to defend myself. And if I see her again," he grit his teeth, "especially around Severine-!"
Triton wheezed and leapt up onto Morton's head, clutching at him with his tiny legs. The touch helped ground Morton and he realized that he was panting and his fire spell had stretched up his arm. He yelped and cut the flow of magic to have it snuff out, leaving his shirt sleeve burned to cinders to halfway up his arm.
"Let's keep that to ourselves, okay?" Morton told Triton.
Triton wheezed his agreement.
Severine turned her head this way and that as she checked herself in the mirror one last time. She and Morton were going out for the first time since the encounter, and she'd been looking forward to it for days. Rather than wear a dress, she'd decided on a coral-pink button-up shirt and black slacks that hugged the lean curves of her legs and blended into black heels. A fine gold chain around her neck matched bracelets on her wrists, and she'd even tried some mascara that Katya had given her.
"What do you think, Pepper?" Severine asked, looking over her shoulder to her palisman perched on the wall. The flora-themed dragonfly flitted around Severine to look at her from all angles before chittering her reply.
'You look wonderful, girl,' Pepper said, settling on Severine's shoulder.
"Thanks," Severine said with a faint blush. At one time, she may have thought that Pepper would be lying to spare her feelings, but time had shown that Pepper was always upfront and honest, even if she was also kind about it.
Severine moved to the kitchen of her apartment to gather her purse and key when a knock at the door set her heart racing. "Who is it?" she called sweetly.
"It's me, Severine," Morton's voice called. Severine's smile grew and she moved to get the door when her scroll buzzed. She blinked and checked the message.
PutTheFunInFunnel: Took longer than I thought to close up. Be there in fifteen, okay? Love you, Veri! 333
Severine's blood ran cold, her eyes flicking to the door. She drew close and checked the peephole to find … something that looked very much like Morton tapping their foot impatiently. She looked at Pepper and nodded, her palisman nodding back and expanding into her staff. Severine took up the staff in a spear grip, Pepper's eyes glowing with magic.
As if on cue, Severine's door exploded inward, splinters flying. Severine willed a spell and a wave of sky-blue magic rushed forward — a spell to disperse any illusion it washed over. The image of Morton crumbled into dust to reveal Eris as she flew at Severine with murder in her eyes.
But Severine had not been part of the Emperor's Coven and then a watchman for nothing. She pivoted on her heel, spinning just out of Eris's line of attack with a few inches to spare, and in the same motion whirled the staff to smash into the emphousa's back and send her reeling into the wall with the force of a speeding cart, hairline cracks spreading through the walls.
Eris bounced back from the impact with a hiss of vexation and whirled on Severine. Her hair that shimmered like fire actually caught on fire that crawled down her arms and pooled in her palms. The emphousa screeched and blasted the flames at Severine, but with a swipe her her arm and a prepared spell, a shimmering plane of translucent white magic coalesced into a shielding spell — the facet of Healing magic that Severine was actually good at — that smothered the blaze as they made contact and kept the excess from spilling into her home.
As the fires guttered out, Severine rushed forward with her staff and swung in a sideways arc. Eris hissed and slashed with extended talons … and they rent through a scattering cloud of mist.
"Illusion," Eris sneered, and spun to block a strike from behind. But the space behind her was empty, and she had left herself open to the real strike that smashed into her now truly unprotected back. Eris caught herself from falling with the unsettling grace of an insect, but not soon enough to keep Severine from looping her staff overhead and across her throat, pinning her to the Kulak demoness's chest.
"Why are you doing this?" Severine asked through gritted teeth, straining against Eris's attempts to wrench herself free of the hold.
"He's mine, you bitch!" Eris yowled. "Do you hear me? Mine!"
"You tried to murder and eat him!" Severine shouted, shifting her hips to lift the taller demoness up and have gravity put more force onto the staff across Eris's throat.
"It's what I was meant to do," Eris sneered. Her hands scrabbled along the length of the staff until they drew too close to Pepper's interlock. Severine gasped and clicked her tongue for Pepper to vanish the staff. Pepper obeyed, and Eris laughed and forced her hips back to knock Severine off-balance and backward into the couch. Then in a flash, she snatched Pepper out of the air and held her overhead in one taloned hand.
"No!" Severine shouted. "Don't hurt her!"
"Give me reason not to," Eris said, the honeyed, seductive tone back in her voice. She squeezed until Pepper began to whimper with pain and the sound of crackling wood.
Severine bit her lip and fell to her knees, hands placed behind her head.
"Much better," Eris purred. She strode forward and kicked Severine in the face, knocking her out cold. Then she lowered the hand holding Pepper and addressed the palisman directly. "Go to Morty and tell him that I will trade her life for his. Tell him to meet me where this all began. And to come alone, or she will die immediately." Her cruel smile grew wider. "And tell him to wear something nice." With a flick of her wrist, she tossed Pepper out the apartment window.
"Poor thing," Eris tutted, padding around Severine's limp form. "You couldn't have known what you were getting into."
Across the myriad children of the Boiling Isles, few are as elusive or chilling as the elegant emphousa. Classically known as a fatal seductress, the emphousa stands in point of fact as one of the deadliest demons of the Isles.
Though shaped much like witches and otherwise greatly resembling them, emphousa fall under the banner of bug demons, possessing the type's ability to communicate through motion and rhythm. Another clue to their state of being is the bronze, chitinous shell — resembling the carapace of a beetle — that covers their shapely legs down to their three-toed and taloned feet. Their shimmering red hair, reminiscent of flames, is another indicator of their demon species along with a mouthful of needle-like teeth. Otherwise, they appear indistinguishable from fetchingly alluring lady witches.
Like all bug demons, emphousa are remarkably physically strong and quick, while additionally in command of their own innate magic, though in a much different manner and generally narrower in scope than a witch or biped demon. Emphousa, in a manner similar to Puppeteer demons, are able to exude magical dust that facilitates powerful illusions, though unlike their Puppeteer cousins these effects are confined to their own bodies and are used to enhance their own beauty while hiding their flaws. The dust can be breathed in as a mild aphrodisiac to further lure their chosen prey. They also have a natural, if limited, command over fire theorized to be tied to their flame-like tresses.
The reputation of the emphousa seductress luring witches and demons away by their hearts — or more accurately their loins — is derived from their prey of choice and typical stalking methods. Emphousae enjoy using their beauty and allure to draw prey from the figurative herd, feeding the vanity that so often characterizes them with ploys and games that may last between days or weeks. When the prey is secluded and the game at its end, the emphousa bears her talons and tears into their middle to seize the liver to eat. They then drain the victim of their blood, whether by the fresh orifice from their liver or from the opened throat in a macabre mockery of romance.
Though formidable and dangerous, emphousa are not without their shortcomings. Like all bug demons, they are vulnerable to the cold that will steal away their strength in the wake of sluggishness. While their chitinous legs are heavily armored, their upper bodies are as vulnerable to harm as any witch. Finally, their vanity is a psychological weakness, with any reveal of physical imperfection stirring a blinding fit of rage to be taken advantage of by the canny enemy.
Steve paused and began writing down information in a separate journal. In his spare time for the last few weeks, he'd been poring over tomes on demon types for information on emphousae. Though this Eris woman hadn't shown her face, something in Steve's gut told him that she was far from done with Morton.
Steve's thoughts were interrupted by a familiar tapping at the window. He looked to find a crow phone on the sill and moved to open the window to answer. The beast perched on his shoulder and opened its mouth to say in Morton's reedy voice: "She took Severine."
Steve's heart might have stopped for a second as he put everything together in half that time. There was no need to ask who he was talking about; who else? Eris.
And that psycho had the woman that was Morton's girlfriend and Steve's best friend …
Morton swallowed thickly, his stomach twisting even tighter with every step he took. This was insane, certifiably insane. He should be locked in the Conformatorium — which had been heavily reformed and renovated into a genuine and ethical sanatorium since the fall of Belos — for even thinking this.
But who ever said love was logical? Many claimed it drove one mad, so he was probably in good company.
Morton had sent a trio of crow phones to Steve, Katya, and Lilith as he'd flown to the rendezvous that Pepper had told him of. And even with the vague directions, he knew exactly where to find it. Near the base of the Knee, west of the bog of the right Hip and under the shadow of locally known Fireside Rock.
The clearing where Eris had first found Morton, where she had first begun stalking him and never truly stopped.
He carried his staff with him, Triton atop it and occasionally wheezing supportive words. In a way, Triton was the largest reason he could make it this far, the witch leaning on his palisman staff for support as he walked, both physically and emotionally. The sun had begun setting by now, and the half light in the forest made him even more nervous.
Razor shards of ice seemed to grow in his belly with every footfall, the cold of fear and near-panic racing down his spine in waves and feeding the ice. But twin fires licked in his gut as well, keeping the ice from ripping him apart. One was anger, which had simmered for years. The other was love, his devotion to the amazing demoness whom he had given his heart. The ice kept them from growing and filling him to send him racing through the trees with fire in his hands to burn all in his path, but they persisted and burned in spite of it all and urged him ever onward.
Whatever happened, he would make sure Severine made it out of this.
Finally, Morton pushed aside the final branch to find the clearing from all those years ago. His heart skipped a beat at what he saw: Severine was chained between two trees, her arms and legs splayed in an X-pose and her head bowed. Her clothes were in tatters and her fur was matted with dirt and clotted blood from dozens of petty cruelties beaten upon her.
The fire in his gut raged and melted at the icy spikes of fear, dulling their edges to bluntness as Morton snarled and raced to free her. He had only enough presence of mind to shrink back from a sudden curtain of literal fire that rose up between them. He gasped in shock as reason reasserted itself and he backed up and away from the thermal bloom, the heat that radiated from the fire.
He shook it off and armed his staff, focusing his mind to use magic at a moment's notice. The curtain of flames parted and Eris stepped through, her hair shining with light to match the blaze and her hips swinging like a pendulum that would captivate countless others. To Morton, it just made his lip curl with contempt.
"Morty," Eris purred, smiling smugly.
"I never did like that nickname," Morton said coldly, "even back then."
"So hostile," Eris tutted.
"You have no idea," Morton snarled, drawing on his anger to keep the fear at bay. His gaze flicked to Severine and his resolve hardened even further. "I have to ask. Why me? You could lure any witch or demon to their death and you fixate on me, a scrawny alchemist."
"You're mine, Morton," Eris said simply, her eyes burning with something very akin to madness. "I thought it would be brilliant as a girl, to disguise myself as a witchling and lure away a boy in the Knee, the one place in the Isles that bug demons never go. Who would suspect that I was an emphousa and try to stop me?" Her gaze turned ugly. "But you had to resist. You burned me!"
Dust fell away from Eris's face, sparkling in the fading light shining between the treetops. It revealed the truth beneath her illusion, her glamour. An ugly, vicious burn scar marred the entire right side of her face. It also showed her teeth bared with feral hatred and wounded pride.
"You did this to me, Morton," she hissed. "Other emphousae laughed at me, called me foolish and weak. And they were right!" She took a step forward before visibly calming herself and stepping right back. "But it was the Day of Unity that really put things into perspective," she revealed. She lifted her arm and more dust fell away … to reveal an Emperor's Coven sigil.
"I was able to charm this out of some poor coven guard one day." She giggled maliciously. "Had to keep my cover as a witch, after all. And I could not stomach a brand that might interfere with my magic. So I worked my way into that poor sap's bed and heart until he branded me … and then I took his liver and lifeblood."
Morton felt sick, but forced it down.
"But when the Day of Unity came and we all came so close to death," Eris continued, "I realized that I might have missed my chance to find you and repay you for what you did."
"So you tracked me down," Morton surmised, deciding to not point out that he had burned Eris while protecting his own life. He doubted she cared a bit about that detail. Assuming she even thought it relevant.
"And found you with this plain little wallflower," Eris giggled, gesturing back at Severine as she let the curtain of fire lower. "Imagine my surprise that the one witch who escaped me would settle for a shy, skinny little mouse like her." Eris shrugged. "But then, I suppose it's hard to compare to me, hmm?"
"Severine is more beautiful than you could ever be," Morton said, calmly and without anger. It was a fact to him. "Not just on the inside, though I love her for her kindness. She's warm and genuinely lovely and adorable." He snorted. "I'd rather spend my life with her than some overblown tramp any day."
"You little-!" Eris screeched, before stopping with unsettling ease and smiling widely to bear her needle-like teeth. "You'll pay for that, Morton." She lifted her hand and her talons glowed with amber light. A circle of flames spread beneath Severine and rose to lick at her feet. Severine woke with a wail of startled pain.
"Stop!" Morton shouted.
"Or what, little Morton?" Eris sneered.
"I'll leave," Morton said firmly.
"You won't," Eris said simply. "I will kill her."
"No, you won't," Morton replied. "Because then you won't have anything to lure me back. I've disappeared on you once, Eris, and I can do it again. You'll never find me, never get the chance to kill me."
Eris stared at him with wide eyes, stunned by his confidence. It took all Morton had to keep from trembling with panic. What if she called his bluff? Yes, he knew he could disappear. The Council of Nine could arrange it even if he himself couldn't.
But there was no way he would really leave Severine here, alone with this nightmarish demoness.
"What do you propose, O gallant knight?" Eris asked mockingly, motioning for the flames beneath Severine to lower and gutter out.
Oh, thank the Titan, she bought it.
"I'm sure this chase has long become old and boring," Morton said. "I will surrender myself to you and offer no further resistance." He clapped his staff to the ground. "You will release Severine unharmed and never bother my friends again."
"As if I would want to," Eris huffed. She narrowed her eyes. "How can I trust your word, coward?"
"The same way I can trust yours," he said. "An everlasting oath."
That seemed to give Eris pause. Everyone knew the true stakes of an everlasting oath: they could not be broken. Ever. Its terms were carved into bone and blood, eternal unless willingly dissolved by both parties.
Morton would be hers for the taking …!
"Very well, Morton," she decided. "We have a bargain."
"Don't do it!"
Both of them looked to find Severine awake, her eyes shining with fear for Morton. "Don't do it, Morton! Run! I'll be alright!"
"You're right, Veri," Morton said with a small, sad smile. "You will be alright." He traced a spell circle and grabbed Eris's hand, the magic seeping into their wrists and crawling up their arms to seal the deal.
"The oath is sealed," Morton declared.
"Our bargain is set," Eris confirmed, and then her smile grew, her eyes glowing with mad bloodlust. She released Morton's hand and flicked it up to grab him by the throat, lifting him off the ground with her own strength. Morton gagged and dropped his staff, clutching at Eris's arm in instinctive panic as his legs kicked.
The staff fell and shrunk into Triton, who wheezed with sorrow. As Morton's palisman, he was just as confined by the oath as his partner.
"Morton!" Severine wailed, straining at the chains that held her. Her fingers were tied together with thinner chains to keep her from casting a spell. She jerked from side to side, desperation granting her greater strength … but it wasn't enough to break free. "No!" she cried, tears running down her cheeks.
"I will enjoy finally feeding on you, Morton," Eris said, turning in place to allow Severine to see their profiles. "But I think your little tart watching you die will make it all the sweeter." She flexed her free hand, her talons gleaming. "So we'll take our time, hmm?" She reached out and ran one claw down his front, slicing open his shirt and leaving a thin line of blood down his sternum and belly.
"On second thought," Eris said, "this has gone on too long." She dug her nails into Morton's side, perfectly opening the old scars from the first time all those years ago. Morton's scream of pain was strangled back by Eris's grip on his throat.
"Finally," she sighed, digging deeper to reach for Morton's liver. "No more interruptions."
"Think so?"
Eris stiffened at a soft voice before the strings of a viola sang and she was torn away from Morton to fly across the clearing and into a croak tree, impacting with bone-cracking force. She grunted and shook her head to find a middle-aged witch with teal, silver-streaked hair and round glasses facing her with their viola armed and ready, their stance speaking of utmost confidence.
"Raine Whispers," Eris gasped.
"In the flesh," Raine replied evenly.
Flanking Raine was a handsome, horned witch in the cloak of a watchman, one hand armed with a staff and the other pointing a spell circle at her and a dark-skinned younger witch wearing a uniform identical to Raine's and pince-nez, a bassoon in his hands.
Quick glances to the side showed a young bat-like demon with pink skin crouched over Morton and tending to his wound while a pretty, fanged witch was slicing through Severine's chains with sharp whistles and lowering her to the ground.
"You can't-!" Eris gasped, her breathing growing haggard with rage and indignation. "Morton cannot offer resistance, now!"
"He's not," Raine said with a faint grin. "He called us before he left Bonesborough and told us to follow at a distance. Your exact demands were that he come alone, not that he shouldn't call for help."
"And since he arranged that before the oath and we're doing this on our own will," the other bard said, "it doesn't violate the terms."
"You didn't honestly think Morton had no allies, did you?" the horned witch — the shirt under his leather jacket read "STEVE" — asked her. "Not to mention, Severine is my watchman partner. Of course we're all gonna come after them."
"I can't decide if you're simply arrogant or genuinely that foolish," Raine mused.
Eris's blood began to boil and she shakily rose to her feet, bearing her talons to attack … but her body locked up and refused to obey.
"Ah, it worked," Raine said, vanishing their instrument. "You cannot bother Morton's friends, as per the oath you took."
Steve traced a circle that summoned chains from the ground to lash around Eris and bind her fast. "But we can bother you just fine," he mused and stomped forward with metal restraints used to dampen magic. "Eris No-Name, you are under arrest for stalking, kidnapping, and attempted murder. Anything you can and will be used against you in Boiling Isles court …"
Morton sat shivering under a blanket as they all waited for a watchman jail cart to arrive. As early as Steve had called it in, it still took much longer than flight by palisman staff. Raine, Steve, and two of the BATs were keeping a close eye on Eris, who had not only been bound by the hands and cuffed at the wrists, but ankle-cuffed and chained to a post to keep her from running away. A gag had been added to muffle her screamed profanities at them all. She had tried to escape more than once by summoning flames from her hair, but Steve had used ice magic to freeze her in her tracks each and every time.
Amber had used principles of Healing magic with music on Morton to clean his innards and stitch his wounds closed. It was a patch job and would require follow-up of a real physician, but it would do. Not to mention Katya had also dulled the pain with more music. Long story short, he wasn't in immediate danger, and thus was free to brood.
Eris would be sent to the Conformatorium. It was all but decided. With the evidence stacked against her, the trial she was in for was largely a formality and show of official justice.
Motion at the edge of his vision had Morton flinching. He jerked his gaze to the side to find Katya guiding Severine, also wrapped in a blanket and with bandages wrapped around her feet for her burns, to the log where Morton was sitting. Katya bumped Severine's hip with her own to make her sit and motioned between them before retreating to stand watch with the others, though not without weaving her fingers with Steve's as they leaned their heads on each other.
There was a long stretch of silence before Morton said, "I'm so sorry, Severine."
"For what?" she asked.
"For scaring you with that oath," Morton said. "For not being able to stop Eris from trying to disembowel me. For any of this happening because I was a stupid kid."
"It wasn't your fault back then," Severine said gently, taking Morton's hand in hers under the blanket. "Teenagers are idiots. I certainly was one." She brushed her thumb over the back of his hand. "As for the deal, I- I know you couldn't say anything for the trick to work." She sniffled and tears pooled in her eyes. "But I was so scared for you."
"I was scared for you, too," Morton said. "I knew she would kill you if she had half a reason. I just … I didn't want you to suffer because of my mistakes." He took a shuddering breath. "And now you'll probably have more fuel for your nightmares. Because of me."
"Because of her," Severine growled, flicking her chin at Eris. She looked at Morton and leaned in to press a light kiss to his temple. "I'm not going to say it's nothing, Morton, because it is. But maybe … we should go to couples' counseling? All watchmen have mandatory therapy thanks to Steve, and it might help us move past all of this."
"You'd … you'd do that?" Morton asked.
"I'm not breaking up with you over this, if that's what you mean," Severine said with a strained smile. "I love you too much."
Morton looked at Severine for a long moment with an unreadable expression. Severine, on her part, gasped and covered her lips in shock at saying it.
"I love you, too," he whispered.
Severine laughed, the sound bubbling up from her belly, and they leaned in for a deeper kiss. They parted and looked over to find all of the others watching with rapt interest. Katya was writing something in a notebook, probably notes for her food-love stories, Raine looked pleased, Amber was vibrating with joy, Derwin gave them a thumbs-up, and Steve had tears in his eyes.
As if by some cosmic cue, the watchmen jail cart finally arrived to send Eris away. But as two uniformed watchmen were loading her up, Steve stopped them.
"Hey, Eris," he said, arms folded and with a dark frown. "Here's one last thing. Something I learned from a little buddy of mine."
He waggled his finger and went through some soft dance moves that ended in a wink and finger guns at Eris. The emphousa's eyes widened in shock … and she screeched behind her gag and lunged at Steve, only for her limbs to lock up and force her to fall on her face. She thrashed as the watchmen tossed her into the cart and rode away.
"What was that?" Amber asked.
"Bug demons all can naturally communicate through dance," Steve said with a grin. "King told me about a little mishap when Hooty was trying to figure out what kind of demon he was."
"What did you say to her?" Katya asked.
"I dunno," Steve shrugged. "But I'm glad I said it."
Everyone laughed at that as they prepared to head back to Bonesborough.
Needless to say, neither Morton nor Severine wanted to spend the night alone.
They stayed at Morton's place, wrapped in each others' arms as they tried to calm down enough to sleep. Severine had been given a few days off to recover, both from her burns and from being kidnapped, and Morton wouldn't be opening the shop for at least a week.
"I love your understanding," Morton said, tears streaming down his cheeks as he held Severine close.
"I love your sensitivity," Severine whimpered, also weeping.
They had been at this for hours, saying the things they admired about each other. And each time saying those three little words that were a long time coming.
"I love your horns," Morton admitted, blushing now. "They're captivating."
"I love your widow's peak," Severine laughed through the tears.
A permanent fix it was not — that would take time, work, and even more tears.
But it was a balm to their souls as they began that recovery … and it was a comfort they both treasured. Something they did together that reaffirmed their feelings toward each other.
And for now, that was more than enough.
Here's yet another entry in the "Bard & Scout" series, another focusing on Severine and Morton. I will say, I did not expect this idea to turn out so long - but I had so many thoughts for scenes and interactions that they all added up fairly smoothly. So ... yeah.
*Empusae are actual figures in Greek folklore and mythology, seductive monsters with flaming hair, one leg of a donkey and nother made of brass, who can shapeshift into animals or beautiful women - said to be followers of Hecate. As per the show taking their own spin on monsters, I made them my own and enjoyed it!
*Tumoric is a pun on the spice turmeric, which is known for its health benefits, mixed with the word tumor as in cancer. Gross, huh?
*Sweet-scream is like coffee creamer on the Boiling Isles. Scoffee is my take on their coffee.
*Eris is named after a figure in Greek myth, the goddess of chaos who was a follower of Ares and was responsible for the golden apple that started the Trojan war. Some of you may recognize the adaptation of her from Dreamworks' "Sinbad" film - interpreted as a sensual goddess voiced by Michelle Pfeiffer - which served as a bit of influence on this character.
*Homburg is a pun on the German city Hamburg, where hamburgers were reportedly invented and named, with the word "hom" that originally meant the hollow of the knee and was lent to the word "hamstring" - the muscles of the back of the thigh.
*I was originally going to have Severine go through a bit of a confidence crisis in comparing her looks to Eris's, but I feel that has been overdone. Plus, this story was way better!
*Morton's Penstagram handle took me about two seconds and I really liked it!
*In this 'verse, Severine studied Illusion magic in school and dabbled in other branches while a scout. Her specialties alongside Illusion are Healing and Plant magics, and she has a spell or two in most of the others.
*Making emphousae bug demons was a long process, but the fact that we have seen so few of them was the last push.
*I can't remember if it was me or my brother who first thought up Steve insulting Eris through dance, but it was way too good not to put in there!
As always, I hope this was a fun read! Leave a review if you like! And may your own works be fun to read and to write!