XIII. The Staff of Destruction
Deep in the forest to the south of the Tristain Academy of Magic, outside a ramshackle old cabin and standing upon a large field of mud, two monsters faced off. One was a gigantic, one hundred foot tall creation of mud, dirt and twigs. It loomed over its enemy, who by comparison was much less impressive. Its opponent was a tall woman with dark hair, dressed in an ill-fitting and tattered black suit. In her right hand was an impractically long flintlock musket whose sights were aimed directly at the mud giant. Despite their massive difference in size, the woman showed absolutely no fear. Instead, her face was twisted into a hungry grin, her white teeth shining, canines looking inhumanly long and sharp. Her eyes were dark blue pools filled with blood lust, and they longed to see destruction and death.
The cabin's front door crashed opened and out rushed a short young girl with pink hair. She wore the typical uniform of the Tristain Magical Academy, which consisted of a second year student's black cloak, crisp white linen blouse, and dark gray skirt. After hearing the massive rumble caused by the golem erupting from the muddy soil, the teenager had rushed outside in alarm. She quickly stopped in her tracks after a few steps when she saw the gigantic monstrosity, her pink eyes widening in horror.
Her two classmates and fellow adventurers exited the cabin right behind her. They too had similar reactions upon seeing the giant mud creature, though in the shorter, blue haired girl's case her shock was barely noticeable. In contrast, the tall redhead gaped at the golem, while her fingers clutched at the ornate box containing the Staff of Destruction. It was the item that they had been sent to retrieve, a magical relic of great destructive power.
"You didn't tell me these golems were so big!" Kirche complained as she looked up at the massive, hundred foot tall construct in disbelief.
"Shut it, Zerbst!" Louise growled as she drew her wand and began to prepare a spell.
Tabitha remained silent, though she too readied her staff in preparation for an attack.
"Stand back, children," Rip called out, her face still twisted into a demented grin. "Zis one is mine!" The vampire aimed her weapon directly at its center mass, right between two large clumps of muddy rock resembling eyes. "Tinker, tailor. Soldier, sailor. Vizard or vastrel. My bullet punishes all vithout distinction!" With a pull of the trigger, flint struck pan and a massive explosion of sound and smoke preceded the blue flash of her bullet rocketing out of the musket's barrel. The impossible warhead shot forwards, its speed and power casting trails of eerie blue light in its wake. It zipped about, tearing through the air, building up speed and momentum for a devastating impact.
When it hit, the sound was deafening. It was like a fist hitting a pound of flesh, only magnified a hundred fold. The golem's chest exploded in a shower of mud and dirt, a large lumpy crater forming upon its chest. The force of the impact caused the gigantic construct to slide back thirty feet through the muddy clearing, and the students had to rush away lest they be barreled over the by its hulking bulk as it powered by. Despite the force of the blow, Rip's bullet failed to penetrate its thick, muddy form. Though it had the power to pierce a tank's armor, the musket ball became caught inside the golem's body. The construct's magically packed-together mud had managed to absorb the tremendous forces propelling the bullet, and like a giant kevlar vest it dispersed much of the kinetic energy of the lead ball, thus rendering it useless.
Rip Van Winkle gaped at the monster in front of her, and her left eye twitched as she watched the large gouge her attack had caused in its body seal back up with mud. She then snorted, shaking her head in disbelief as she grinned in embarrassment. "Vell, I'm out of ideas," the vampire remarked with a shrug.
"Stupid familiar!" Louise shouted out in fury.
Kirche laughed. "Well, Zero. Looks like your familiar IS a good match for its master. Both of you are completely useless."
The pink haired girl ignored the Germanian's remark, turning her full attention to the golem. She aimed the tip of her wand at its gigantic form then began chanting the incantation for a fireball spell. Once complete, she lashed out with her magic and shouted, "Fireball!"
A small puff of smoke spattered against the golem's back. The giant construct ignored the pitiful attack as it moved to advance on Rip, its left arm rising in preparation to strike. The vampire leapt backwards, not bothering to wait for the hulking monster to come closer. She remembered how Foquet had trapped her yesterday with those stone arms and didn't wish to repeat that rather painful incident. Her second sight flared wildly around her, searching the nearby wooded area for any sign of the thief, but just like yesterday she could not get a bead on him. She was able to sense Louise, the redhead and the blue haired brat, Ms. Longueville hiding behind the trees, and a myriad of animals in the woods, but nothing else. She had expected to at least get a visual on the mage, but he was nowhere to be seen. Where could he be hiding?
Her train of thought suddenly stopped when after leaping several times, her foot slipped in a particularly slick patch of mud and she plopped backwards into an undignified heap. There was a loud splash, and soon she found her thin body half buried in the thick mud. The vampire spat out a mouthful of the crud, silently cursing her current awful luck. Thankfully she had managed to keep a tight grip on her musket, and thus the familiar runes on her left hand were still active.
"Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!" Louise shouted, casting desperately at the golem to no effect. Over and over puffs of smoke from small explosions erupted upon the construct's clumpy skin, but they seemed to do no damage whatsoever. She absolutely refused to give up, though. She defeated Foquet's golem yesterday. She knew she could do so again today. "Fireball! Fireball! Fire-"
"Fireball!" Kirche shouted. This time a true ball composed of whirling flames appeared and shot directly at the construct's back. It hit, exploding into a bright flare of red; the golem became staggered from the force of the large detonation, as well as the flames that had suddenly engulfed the top half of its body. Kirche then turned to Louise and gave her a wink. "Was that what you were trying to do, Zero?"
Louise glared at the redhead before turning away, her teeth gritted in hate. Damn her! It's not fair! Showoff! Why the hell did she have to come anyway?
The golem turned away from Rip, as it now saw Kirche as the primary threat. The flames that had once engulfed it quickly extinguished, leaving patches of dry, baked dirt on the golem's back. The giant began to plod towards the three teenagers, smoke from the redhead's fireball still wafting from its form. Rip used this time to pull herself back up to her feet, noting with distaste that her long hair and clothes were absolutely covered in muck. The vampire moved swiftly to reload, only to stop upon seeing that the breech and barrel of her gun had become fouled with mud. "Scheisse!" she cursed, then dug through her pockets to find something to clean the mess with.
"Fire!" shouted Kirche as she cast another flame spell at the approaching golem. A long, continuous stream of flame seared through the air from her wand, bathing the monster in heat, but the golem's plodding steps did not stagger. It continued stomping towards them, its arms beginning to rise up.
"Damn this thing!" The redhead complained, cutting off her spell as it proved ineffective.
"Wind." Tabitha aimed her staff at the golem, then let loose a powerful gust of air. The swift stream of spinning wind slammed into the golem, pushing it back a step, but once the spell dissipated it resumed its forward movement.
"Thunder!" Louise shouted. Despite trying a different spell, the effect remained the same as a small puff of smoke smacked at the approaching golem's side. The pink haired girl screamed in frustration. Why was nothing working? She did it yesterday, why not now?
"Louise!" Kirche shouted. "Here!" The redhead tossed her the case containing the Staff of Destruction, and Louise almost dropped it in surprise. "Take this and get back to the Academy! We'll take care of Foquet."
Tabitha let loose a shrill whistle, which was quickly answered by a loud roar from the air. Within seconds, Sylphid swept through the sky overhead and landed down next to the students, its neck lowered to allow them to hop on. "Go," the blue haired girl told Louise.
"But... but..." the pink haired girl looked from the golem to the dragon, unsure of what to do.
"Hurry up, Louise!" Kirche said after tossing another fireball at the construct. "If you stay, then you'll just wind up getting hurt."
"N-No! I won't go!" Louise cried out. "I am a noblewoman, daughter of the Duke and Duchess Valliere! I will not flee from a fight like some coward! I refuse!"
Kirche turned around to face the shorter girl, then lashed out with a slap. Her palm smacked Louise hard in the cheek, causing the surprised girl to topple backwards onto the mud.
"What?" Louise rubbed her reddened cheek, then brought her tearful eyes up to look at Kirche in shock. Although their arguments had often been heated, Kirche had never struck out at her physically.
"Damn it, Zero! This isn't a game! You could die!" The redhead shouted down at her. The tall girl's tone was angry, but behind that ire it was obvious to Louise that there was a note of concern for her as well. The pink haired girl looked up at her rival in confusion, not knowing what to make of her behavior. "This is not the time for you to be deluding yourself, damn it! You can yell at me or slap me back later; right now you have to get out of here! Do it!"
Tabitha began blasting the golem with a wave of ice, an attack that seemed to be partly effective as it managed to slow the monster down. Unfortunately such a delay was only temporary; within a few seconds, the ice that had formed on the golem's skin shattered, and it began moving forward once more.
"Now go!" Kirche told Louise, her voice stern and brokering no argument. She quickly switched her attention back to the golem and began chanting. "Fireball!" She shouted, lashing out and sending a flaming orb directly into the construct's midsection. It exploded in a gust of flame, but once the fire died down the golem continued to move. "This thing isn't going down!"
No matter how many times they hit it, the thing just kept on coming. All over its muddy hide was evidence as to the power of their spells: frozen bits of mud were mixed in with several chunks of soil dried and hardened by fire. Yet despite the damage the golem continued to move, its gigantic form almost on top of them.
Suddenly, there was the loud eruption of a familiar explosion. The three students heard the unearthly sound of something fast and small whizzing through the air, the din similar to a thousand sword slashes echoing all around them. Just as the golem raised its right arm, intent on smashing it down onto them, a blue aura flashed by and the golem's arm exploded at its elbow joint. This area of its arm had been hit by both Kirche and Tabitha's spells, and thus the mud composing it had become hardened by both extremes of hot and cold. It was the perfect spot for a super-charged lead musket ball to penetrate, the hardened surface now brittle as glass.
"Time to die, you valking pile of shit," Rip said softly as she smiled. Thankfully, she had managed to clean out the gunk in her musket barrel just in time to reload and save the three schoolgirls from being squished. She manipulated the bullet to pepper the golem's right elbow joint, the little round metal ball zig-zagging through the air in a tight and narrow formation. After the multitude of direct hits, the joint shattered. The creature's giant forearm then fell, collapsing back into mud as soon as it hit the ground.
But the bullet's path did not end there. It quickly changed trajectories after the arm fell; this time the musket ball zipped around and smashed into the hardened chunks of earth in the golem's side. That part of the golem exploded, chunks of hardened soil and frozen earth flying about. Louise, Kirche, Tabitha, and even Sylphid had to rush out of the way, lest they become buried under the large piles of dirt that was raining from above. Over and over Rip's bullet attacked the hardened portions of the mud golem, piercing each point that had been hit by Kirche and Tabitha's spells and knocking more bits and pieces off of the hulking monster. Eventually, the devastating attack proved too much as the golem fell to its knees, half of its body now missing and scattered about the field.
"Ha! Die you filthy creature!" Rip shouted in glee as her bullet finally disintegrated. She quickly pulled out another paper cartridge from her pocket and began to reload. This was it! She could smell victory within her grasp!
Then, to Rip's utter dismay, mud from the ground began to flow up onto the golem and fill in the missing portions of the construct that her bullet had sheared off. Within seconds, the mud monstrosity was fully formed once more. It stood back up to its full one hundred foot height, its muddy body looking completely undamaged. "Oh you have got to be kidding me," the vampire gasped out in shock.
"No, damn it!" Kirche shouted in frustration. She had thought that Louise's familiar had actually managed to defeat the golem, but even after all their efforts it just healed itself and was at a hundred percent again! It was so not fair!
Louise looked back and forth between her classmates and familiar, not liking the looks on their faces one bit. Kirche and Rip had been confident while they fought, but now they seemed so utterly lost. Even the usually stoic Tabitha looked somewhat afraid.
It was then that she remembered the item in her hand. She looked down at the ornate box Kirche had thrown her, and recalled just what Old Osmond had told them about it. The Staff of Destruction. A powerful magical item. If anything could defeat this monstrous golem, then surely it would have been the Staff!
Louise quickly undid the latches and opened the box. Inside was the strangest looking contraption she had ever seen: it was a short, cylindrical tube of green metal with several intricate looking panels on its surface, along what appeared to be a green canvas strap on one side. Upon the surface of the so-called staff were strange, unknown runes of some sort that had been stamped in white paint. The most prominent and largest of the runes were stamped near the end of the cylinder, though the young noble had no idea what it said.
US ARMY
W/ROCK HEAT LAW 66MM M72A2
OCTOL 2
LOT 9-RA-72
Louise ignored the riddle of the runes, choosing instead to focus on the task at hand. With a little difficulty, she managed to extract the cumbersome magical artifact out of its box, tossing the container aside as she held up the Staff rather awkwardly.
How the heck are you supposed to cast with this bulky thing? Louise asked herself as she grasped the unwieldy "staff" aloft with both hands.
"Louise! What are you doing?!" Kirche shouted. The redhead glanced back at her as she threw a stream of fire at the approaching golem, her tanned face covered with sweat. "I told you to run!"
"We can use the Staff of Destruction!" The young girl aimed the green tube towards the mud construction and began to incant. She focused on the words to the fireball spell, then tried to push the magic through the Staff as she would for any focus. But try as she might, she could not make a connection with it. "Fireball!" she shouted while swinging the Staff around like her wand. "Fireball, dammit!" She felt the muddy ground shake as the golem stepped closer. "Fireball! Why won't you work?!"
"Zhat can't be!" Rip muttered to herself in shock when she saw what her little master was holding in her hands. It was similar to the bazookas her enemies in the war had used with devastating effect, and she wondered how in the hell a rocket launcher had managed to find its way onto this primitive world.
After watching the pink haired girl flail around with the weapon to no effect, Rip dashed swiftly through the mud towards her. Using the familiar runes, she appeared in front of her summoner in a flash, causing the girl to let out a startled shriek.
"R-Rip?" Louise gasped, worry and panic in her eyes. The golem, though being bombarded with spells from both Kriche and Tabitha, was almost upon them.
"Hold zis," the vampire told the pink haired girl as she passed over her musket while grabbing the Staff of Destruction. Louise almost dropped the firearm, surprised at how heavy the large gun was; Rip had carried it around like it was nothing, and not for the first time the girl was shocked as to how disturbingly strong her familiar was.
The dark haired woman, sneered as she held the Staff in her hands, a disgusted look on her face. How utterly humiliating it was for her to be forced into using a Yankee weapon. Her Nazi pride stung a bit, but she reasoned that in this case it would be okay; the Major would find nothing wrong with it, after all, and he would say that using the enemy's weapons was a valid survival tactic. "Bah, let's get zis over vith."
For a moment she was worried that she'd have no idea how to use the damn thing. The only rocket launcher she had been trained to use was the Panzerfaust, and this weapon looked remarkably more advanced and complex. Thankfully, her familiar runes helped her out once more as it gave her the necessary knowledge to be an expert in using the device. With the swift and steady hand of an experienced U.S. soldier, Rip prepared the weapon for firing. First, she pulled the pin, which released the front cover. Then she grasped both ends and pulled, extending the inner barrel out and locking the assembly. She then placed the launcher onto her shoulder and aligned the front and rear sights towards the golem.
"Redhead, annoying quiet girl! If you two don't vant to die, I suggest you move!" She turned to look behind her and saw the dragon watching her with curiosity. "You, too, lizard!"
Tabitha and Kirche saw her holding the mysterious Staff of Destruction and wisely chose to leap away. Sylphid, on the other hand, just tilted her head in confusion. Rip didn't bother warning the dragon again as she pulled the trigger arming handle to the ARM position, then depressed the trigger bar. A gust of super heated air erupted from the rear of the tube, and Sylphid roared out in pain as her scales became singed. From the front of the Staff shot out a single rocket, a trail of white smoke left in its wake. The rocket flew straight and true towards the golem, not stopping until it impacted it dead center. The warhead then detonated, exploding in a massive burst of fire and concussive force. Flaming bits of mud and dirt fell all around them, and in just seconds the gigantic construct was reduced to bubbling muck.
The three young students gazed in awe at the sheer destructive power of the Staff. They now knew that its name was most definitely fitting. They had just seen power equal to the most devastating Square-class attack spells used by a commoner. The three stood silently, staring at Rip. None of them could form the words to adequately voice the sheer amazement that they all felt. The Staff of Destruction truly was something to fear and admire.
Which was why all of them became boggle-eyed when Rip just carelessly tossed aside the sacred magical artifact onto the mud like it was nothing but trash.
"Familiar!" Louise shouted, totally bewildered by the dark haired woman's actions. "Don't treat a priceless artifact like that!" The girl rushed over to the Staff and picked it up carefully. She began to clean off the muck from the metal tube, aghast that her familiar would treat such a powerful weapon so irresponsibly. This was quite hard to do, since she was still carrying Rip's heavy musket in her arms.
"Bah, it served its purpose," Rip remarked irritably.
0
Matilda had watched the fight with equal parts shock, horror, and bewilderment. Shock, because she once again saw how frighteningly and impossibly powerful the Valliere girl's familiar was. Horror, because the group had worked surprisingly well together and had almost managed to take down her mud golem. And bewilderment not only after witnessing the sheer power of the Staff of Destruction, but by the fact that it was the monster who was able to use it. She suddenly very much doubted Osmond's claim that the Staff was a "holy" relic; how holy could the thing possibly be a divine artifact if a monster like van Winkle was able to use it?
It didn't matter. Despite all the setbacks, her plan had worked. The familiar had shown her exactly how to activate the Staff, and with that knowledge she could use the artifact's power to regain her noble title. Then she could use her family's old influence to make sure that Tiffania and her kids were safe, maybe get them passage out of Albion while civil strife still consumed the island nation.
There were only two things to do now: retrieve the Staff of Destruction, then silence all the witnesses. Unfortunately for the three young girls, they had seen her face. After she steals the Staff, they would know the identity of the infamous Foquet. As much as Matilda didn't wish to harm children, she could not let her secret get out. And so she would kill, for what she prayed would be the last time. She could then hide the bodies, then quietly disappear. Everyone would assume that the vile Foquet had murdered everyone in the expedition, including the helpful Ms. Longueville. Osmond would probably receive most of the blame and oncoming political backlash, but Matilda hardly cared what happened to that perverted old fool. Frankly, he deserved everything coming to him; he did, after all, send three inexperienced young girls on a dangerous mission.
The only complication could be that monstrous familiar. Matilda still knew so very little about its abilities. Regardless, she was sure that the Staff of Destruction would be more than capable of killing the annoying creature.
The green haired woman took a deep, calming breath to steady her nerves. Then she moved to exit the treeline. She put on the mask of Ms. Longueville and made her way across the mud towards the group composed of three students and two familiars. She'd probably also need to take care of Tabitha's dragon, but with the Staff such a task should be child's play.
"Ms. Longueville!" Louise called out when she spotter her. The young girl smiled brightly. "I'm so glad you're safe! We were worried that Foquet may have gotten you!"
Matilda felt her heart cringe, but forced a friendly smile to form upon her lips. "Don't worry, I was safely hiding in the woods. Thank you for your concern, though. And excellent work on defeating that golem."
"Yes, but it's too bad that we didn't get Foquet," Kirche sighed. "Where'd that slippery eel go to, anyway?"
"I'm sure he'll turn up," Matilda told her as she moved towards Louise. "What is important is that you managed to secure the Staff. Lord Osmond will be most pleased." She smiled at the pink haired girl and held out her hands. "May I have the Staff, please?"
The young girl nodded as she handed the green cylinder over. "Of course."
Matilda sighed as a rush of adrenaline seized her body. At last. Her delicate fingers gripped the hard metal of the Staff tightly. Finally, at long last, her victory was assured.
The green haired woman turned around, hugging the surprisingly light metal tube to her chest. Finally, it was over. Matilda closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for what needed to be done. One last time. Just one last time. I am so sorry.
"Ms. Longueville?" Louise asked, the worried tone in her voice making Matilda's heart break.
The thief moved stiffly, walking several paces forwards before turning around. She put on Foquet's mask once more, perhaps, she hoped, for the last time. Her kindly features vanished, replaced by the stern and imposing glare that she had practiced in the mirror countless times.
"I would like to thank you four, very much," she told them. Her voice had also changed, the tones turning deeper and more sinister. "Without you, I would never have figured out how to use the Staff." She then raised the Staff of Destruction to her shoulders and mimicked the pose that Rip had used to activate the weapon.
"What?" Louise gaped. She took a sharp step back, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I get it," the monster spoke up, her dark blue eyes glinting with palpable menace. "You're Foquet."
"That's correct," Matilda told her. "I had no idea how to activate the Staff, you see. I had originally assumed that Osmond would send his best and brightest instructors to retrieve it and capture me, but of course that senile old fool sent young girls to do a mage's job. Thankfully, your familiar was here to help me out," the green haired woman sent a smile towards the creature, who met her look with narrowed eyes. "Just as expected from the legendary Gandalfr."
"The what?" Louise asked.
Matilda quickly aimed the Staff towards Tabitha and Kirche, who were attempting to level their foci at her. "I don't think so. Wands and weapons. On the ground. NOW."
Kirche dropped her wand onto the mud, and Tabitha did the same with her staff. Louise continued holding onto her wand as well as her familiar's firearm, her head still shaking in disbelief. "M-Ms. Longueville... why?"
"Do it!" Matilda shouted threateningly, causing the young girl to scream and drop the wand and gun onto the ground. Although her mask was smiling serenely, inside she felt sick. She really didn't want to do this. But she knew she had no choice. "You two," she told Kirche and Tabitha, "move closer to them." The two students followed her instructions, moving themselves until they stood with Louise and her familiar. Tabitha's dragon growled, obviously sensing that her master was in danger, but Matilda payed it no mind. She knew that with the Staff in her possession, the beast posed her no threat.
"You don't have to do this," Kirche said, her voice unusually serious. She had obviously deduced that Foquet meant to kill them all. Clever girl. "You have the Staff of Destruction. You can just leave now, and nobody has to die. We promise not to come after you."
Oh, if only it were that simple. "Sorry, kids," Matilda, as Foquet, said. "But you know my face. You know what Foquet truly looks like. And I can't have that." Her hand went over to the trigger bar, the same one she had seen the monster press to fire off the staff. This was it, just finish them off and be on your way. One last set of murders. Then you can be free.
"Tell me," the voice caused Matilda to flinch. It had come from the familiar, the monster in human form. She turned her attention to the tall, dark haired creature and saw its eyes narrowed, the fury evident from within the blue pools. "Tell me, how does it feel to betray ze trust of zose you vork for. How does it feel to string along all zese young, impressionable minds? How does it feel to betray zose who look up to you, who called you a friend and stood beside you?" The creature was snarling now, disgust evident in its voice. "How does it feel?"
"Shut up!" Matilda broke through the Foquet mask for a moment, her calm facade cracking as her emotions got the better of her. "Shut the hell up, you monster! You don't know what I've been through! You don't know what I had to go through to-" She quickly cut off her tirade, knowing it was pointless. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. No, no, she couldn't get caught up in this. She didn't have the luxury of defending her actions. Matilda knew that deep down, she had no defense; what she was doing was wrong, plain and simple. But she didn't have a choice. And she couldn't insult the people she was about to murder by asking them to understand her plight. She wasn't that selfish.
"Enough." The Foquet mask was back on, her eyes hardened, her lips slackened to a grim frown. She knew what she had to do. She aimed the Staff towards the four, readying herself to murder one last time. The three schoolgirls shrieked, flinching, dreading what was about to come.
I'm sorry, she wanted to tell them as she pressed the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Again, Matilda pressed the bar. Nothing. She tried it several more times, each press becoming more desperate. Nothing! "No..." she gasped, Foquet's mask cracking as panic began to set in.
The monster's laugh brought her attention back to the group in front of her. Although the three students looked utterly terrified, the devilish familiar was only amused. It flashed Matilda the absolutely most terrifying grin she had ever seen. Its mouth seemed to twist up in a horrifying manner, and the teeth... good God, its teeth. They were razor sharp and completely inhuman, within that feral grin the rows of fangs looked absolutely demented. "You foolish woman," the monster laughed, her voice sounding utterly thrilled. "Zat veapon is like my musket." Her smile widened, teeth dangerously sharp, eyes glowing with hunger and desire. "It. Only. Has. Vone. Shot."
Absolute terror took hold of Matilda. Her plans were ruined. The Staff was useless! All her work, all her sacrifice, all had been for nothing! She quickly tossed away the Staff of Destruction and drew her wand. She lashed out, a quick spell ready on her lips, but unfortunately for her the monster proved far quicker. With a speed that was completely inhuman, the beast rushed forwards and caught her wand hand by the wrist, twisting hard until a loud snap was heard. Matilda opened her mouth to scream as a pulse of pain rushed up from the injured limb, but again the monster was faster. Its other hand whipped forwards, fingers splayed, and struck her in the chest. The strength behind the blow was impossible, as the limb easily pierced through skin, bone and organs. Blood gushed forth from the wound, coating the monster's arm in gore. Matilda wanted to scream, the pain was immense, but all that erupted form her mouth were loud gurglings along with a thick mixture of spittle and blood.
The thief, with much difficulty, lifted her head up to look her killer in the face. The monster was still grinning her shark-toothed smile, her eyes glowing with an eerie indigo light. Within the blue orbs she could see complete and absolute delight, and Matilda almost wept upon realizing how much joy and pleasure this creature was taking in her suffering. In one final show of defiance, she snarled at the monster before spitting right in its face. A red smear splattered against the vile creature's nose and lips. The beast's smirk softened for a bit before returning with a vengeance, and to Matilda's disgust its long, pointed tongue emerged to lick at the blood that had splattered on its lips.
The dying thief's eyes moved past the monster and saw the three students behind it. All three were staring in shock at the terrible scene before them. All wore expressions of alarm and anxiety, even the ever-stoic Tabitha looked pale. But it was Louise Valliere that caught her attention the most. The pink haired girl looked so utterly panicked and dismayed, with tears leaking from her wide eyes. What surprised Matilda though was the fact that the girl looked at her with such concern and regret; to know that even though she had, mere moments ago, just tried to murder this girl and yet, she still showed such compassion towards such a horrible person like her...
I'm sorry, Matilda wanted to tell her. I'm so sorry.
She felt the monster let go of her limp, broken arm. It fell lifelessly to her side. The monster reached up and snatched the glasses off her face, smiling evilly as it placed them onto her own. Matilda felt her life slowly draining away, she felt cold as her blood pooled around the mud at her feet. The monster leaned in, its smile still demented and sadistic, and it asked her one final, cruel question.
"How does it feel?"
It then squeezed something deep inside of her, causing the dying thief to convulse in agony. Tighter and tighter the grip squeezed, the pain rising and rising, until suddenly, mercifully, she felt something pop and the pain stopped. She felt her body become lighter and lighter, number and number, and soon she saw nothing but white.
And Matilda de Saxe-Gotha died.
0
Rip Van Winkle sighed, feeling remarkably better. She really, really needed that.
With a careless flick of her wrist, the thief's corpse slid off her arm and dropped to the mud. It thudded dully into the blood-soaked soil, its green hair coming undone from its coif to splay wildly around its still head. The eyes were still wide open, the dull brown orbs glassy and lifeless.
Rip reached up to her nose to adjust the new glasses she had just acquired, her bloody gloves carelessly smearing red upon the frame. Although the lenses were larger and more squarish than her old pair, it was still nice to have the comforting weight back on her face. The lenses also made her vision a bit blurrier than before, and she felt herself become more relaxed as she looked through the dream-like haze the spectacles lent to the world.
"Y-you killed her!" Louise's voice brought Rip out of her pondering, and the vampire turned her head back to regard her summoner. The pink haired girl was beside herself, steady tracks of tears staining her cheeks. Her face was pale, her lip quivering with fright; it was obvious the youth hand never seen such extreme violence before. Too bad, Rip thought in amusement. With a vampire as her familiar, the girl better get used to it.
"You just... you just killed her! In cold blood!" Louise was shouting now, slowly becoming hysterical.
"Of course," Rip stated dully. "Ze bitch vas a traitor. All traitors deserve to die."
"B-b-b-but... you just... you murdered her!" Louise cried out. She was openly sobbing now, unable to handle what she had just seen. Never in her life had she seen such a horrific sight. Her adventure books had never said death was like this! In the stories, death was always clean and painless. What she just witnessed was terrible! It was obscene!
"Stop it, Louise!" Kirche shouted. "Stop acting like a child." Although her voice was stern, the redhead was still trembling. It was obvious that she was shocked and disgusted by what she had just been witness to, but the tall girl was handling the grisly scene much better than Louise was. "Foquet was going to kill us. You, me, Tabitha, our familiars. She got what she had coming to her."
"B-but..." Louise shook her head, attempting to calm herself down. Kirche was right, they both were. Weren't they? Ms. Longueville... no, Foquet, had tried to kill them. Would have killed them, if the Staff of Destruction were still primed. But still... they could have captured her alive, couldn't they? Rip could have easily disarmed the thief, then they could have taken her in! She didn't have to kill her! She didn't, did she?
Her thoughts were interrupted when Tabitha walked by, then bent down to pick up her staff. "We should go," the blue haired girl told her before moving away. She made her way past Rip, giving the familiar a steady glare before reaching down to pick up the Staff of Destruction.
"Tabitha's right," Kirche also came over and picked up both her wand and Louise's. The redhead then handed the focus over to the pink haired girl, who was still openly weeping and trembling. "It's okay, Louise. It'll be okay."
The shorter girl took the wand in her trembling fingers, then hugged it tightly to her body. Her head bent down and she began to cry; she wanted desperately to stop, but she couldn't help herself. She couldn't stop seeing the look of pure terror on Ms. Longueville's face as Rip tore into her, couldn't stop seeing the blood spurt out of the horrific wound her familiar had created.
It was then that she felt someone wrap their arms around her, and at first she thought it was Kirche. But upon looking up, she realized that it was Rip who was embracing her. The girl flinched and whimpered in fear, noticing that the woman's clothes were covered in blood, but when she struggled against the arms they only tightened more.
"I'm sorry," her familiar said simply. She sounded sincere. Didn't she?
Louise couldn't help it. She felt so completely lost and scared, so she cried. She didn't care that Kirche was probably watching her, she didn't care that her mother would be disgusted with her if she ever found out.
She cried for Ms. Longeville. She cried because of all the blood she had just seen. She cried because she weak and utterly useless and childish.
But most of all, she cried because she was completely and utterly terrified of her familiar and what she was capable of.