Sorry for the sucking.
I got food poisoning yesterday and I'm still not feeling 100%.
For example, I had my husband edit the wrong fucking chapter, posted it, and then realized I'd already fucking posted trust.
So for those of you who thought we updated earlier tonight, I do apologize.
SOML.
-Twisted
Something smells vile.
We're in a sewer.
Well, yes, but… I just- Can't you smell it?
Shit and piss? Yeah, we're literally stepping in it.
That's not- Nevermind.
He shakes his head at her sigh, honestly though he was just glad she'd come back.
Sure it had taken a lot of screaming, pleading, and panic but-
She was back, and just as confused as he was over what he'd done at Cruella's.
Never again.
Maybe.
He was torn.
On one hand… But on the other?
He'd never realized what an integral piece of him she was.
How the fuck she was the one who knew her way around the Isle was beyond him- but… She was.
And it scared him.
Terrified him.
The last thing he wanted was for her to be present right now.
To be out when-
He grimaces.
Right now so wasn't the time for this.
It really isn't, but it's better than working yourself up like you've been doing.
Oh, and what would you call what you're doing?
Preparing for the worst, and distracting you from the vomit close to crawling up your throat.
He frowns.
You know what-
He fumes, glaring at her sheer audacity-
Until he realizes how accurate she was.
Ugh, fair.
You're welcome.
But if I say run-
I take my leave, I understand T. Just don't shove me away again, it scared me.
He nods.
It scared him too.
Where did you learn to do that anyways?
Great question.
He hadn't even known he could do that.
He'd just been so desperate to keep her from-
He shakes his head.
Nope.
Was it that bad…?
He frowns.
Worse.
He swallows the lump in the back of his throat as he shakes away the image before it can fully form.
Your despair is nearly overwhelming… Are you sure-
My despair is mine. Stay the fuck outta it.
He glares at his feet.
STOP!
He nearly trips over himself as he stumbles to a halt, narrowly avoiding Yensid who'd stopped dead in the middle of the dark pipe.
He frowns as he leans against the wall next to him, arms crossed over his chest as he looks down the pipe one way then the other warily.
What made Yensid stop so abruptly?
And stare at nothing?
They had to keep moving!
"This is it," Yensid whispers as he continues to glare at the fractured wall.
He steps back and looks over the wall Yensid's eyes were piercing, only to find nothing but the normal rounded wall of the pipe.
Huh.
Magic.
Still weird.
We'll adjust. We always do.
"I'd rather save my strength for the impending battle," Yensid comments as he runs his hand over the wall, "do you think you can believe there is an opening here?"
"Uh… I can try?" He frowns as he studies Yensid carefully.
"Remember, this is nothing more than a magical trick. An illusion meant to turn your mind away," Yensid explains as he resettles his bag with one hand, the other still stroking the wall in front of him. "Stare at it, feel it, look for imperfections that don't make sense. Build your belief from the things you can see and touch."
He turns to study the wall with a frown, his eyes scouring it for any imperfections.
His eyes widen as Yensid's hand vanishes through the wall.
Well, that was definitely going under the fucking 'didn't make sense' category.
"Stay in my shadow." Yensid reminds him before he steps through the wall.
He bites his lip.
He could do that. It was just walking-
He grimaces as his head smacks into the wall.
T- The cracks don't match up. And the water patterns on the wall don't coincide with-
He frowns as he looks for the discrepancies.
His eyes settle on the splattered rust stains before he nods and attempts to walk through again.
His head smacks against the hard surface.
Mother fucking Christ.
He punches the wall, only to bite back a curse when the force ricochets up his arm.
Oh my God are you even trying? There are kids-
Shut it! He growls lowly.
I've got this.
Do you though?
Just-
She huffs haughtily.
-move.
He blinks when he finds himself in a carved-out cave.
You bitch.
You were taking- Oh for- Go!
Right!
He looks around before he silently races down the only path, eyes peeled for Yensid.
He slows when he sees his back.
At least he hadn't gotten far.
He slips easily into the shadows dancing after the old man.
Strange.
Why would the shadows be-
His brows furrow when Faustina gags.
Sup?
Can't you smell it?
His eyes narrow as he sniffs.
His nose scrunches as he catches a whiff of something foul.
The fuck is that?
Nothing good.
No shit.
He continues to stalk after Yensid, growing more impatient with the pace being set each time Faustina muffles a gag.
Just when the stone tunnel starts to widen, Yensid stops.
"Morgana." The old man calls out calmly, as if he were casually visiting a friend. "Why am I not surprised?"
What the shit?
Was this what he meant by distraction? Chatting up the bitch?
His back stiffens when he shifts just enough to see.
What-
He'd seen the old woman around a few times, always huddled close with Gothel, talking about stolen youth and beauty.
But this person-
This was not the haggard old woman.
This woman-
His breath was caught in his lungs.
Beautiful.
Yeah.
Beautiful, but in a strange, wild way.
No, not wild-
Disturbing.
Her pure black hair was swept to the top of her head, but parts of it spilled down in ringlets as they escaped the pins holding it in place.
Her face-
If Evil Queen wasn't already dead, she would have killed for the perfection.
The pristine, flawless skin was nearly the color of Deez.
Her blood red lips formed a perfect 'o' as she breathed in a strange smoke.
For someone who never really valued close inspection of facial features, he couldn't pull his gaze away.
She was beautiful. Hauntingly, achingly beautiful.
And yet something about her beauty made his teeth hurt.
Made his head swim.
Something-
Something was off.
Her face was too perfect.
Her eyes T!
His own narrow before he finds himself taking a fearful step back.
Where her eyes should be, there was nothing but red-rimmed darkness.
The fuck is that!?
Demon.
He shivers at her terrified whisper.
What is she-
His heart skips violently as his eyes follow the strange trailing vapor swirling around the witch-
Followed her slender pale arms-
To find her hands wrapped around the throat of one of the younger urchins he'd seen playing around Cora's territories.
What is she doing?
The kid wasn't fighting.
Wasn't screaming.
Maybe that was why it took him so long to notice.
But the white smoke-
He couldn't figure out where it was coming from.
The candles in the room weren't close enough to make that much smoke.
The candles-
Each candle on the floor-
How many fucking candles were in this cave!?
He knew the answer.
Could see it even if he couldn't make it make sense.
His heart slams against his ribs as he slowly looks around the circle of candles.
One for every kid.
One.
Two.
T.
Five.
Six
Don't-
Ten.
Eleven.
T!
Twelve.
Thirteen, including the one limp in the witch's hands.
Why were they not fighting?
Why were some of them laying down?
What the shit was happening?
He'd have to pass Yensid and the witch to get to them-
Check on them.
Save them-
T!
Jesus fuckin' Christ! What!?
Pay attention to Yensid!
Shit.
He rips his gaze off the children-
"I really wish you hadn't come here. Not now. Souls are such delicate things. The gentler you can be with a mortal the better," Morgana sighs before she breathes deeply one last time and drops the child to the ground to lay with the others.
The dull thud echoes in his chest.
T-
Faustina's panic floods him.
"Stop this disgusting ritual, at once!" Yensid demands, his usually soft voice hard with anger and revulsion as he digs a hand into his bag.
Morgana's eyes narrow before the red slash of her lips break into a horrifying grin, "have it your way then."
He wanted to run forward.
Knew from the way Yensid was shifting that he was about to do the same.
But the voice-
The beautiful lilting tone became stone grinding against stone.
Louder and far more terrifying than when the Isle tried to tear itself apart.
It froze him-
Nailed his feet to the floor in a way that nothing else ever had.
Even his brush with his father back in the cathedral hadn't been this-
This-
Unnerving.
Never had he felt so small.
Powerless.
Never had he trembled so violently that he could barely maintain his grip on his daggers.
What was this?
Since when had he become such a coward?
The air rushes from his lungs as everything around him slows to a crawl.
Yensid was still positioning himself to rush the witch, his hand grasping something in his bag that shimmered with silver light that leaked in beams from under the flap.
His heart was painfully between beats as he arched his body forward.
The three kids still standing-
Zoom!
No!
Zoom's tiny hand was reaching for him.
Her eyes begging.
Pleading.
Help!
A flash of darkness-
The glint of light bouncing off a blade-
It was the only thing that could have drawn his attention away from Zoom.
Away from the two others huddled close to her.
"I was being gentle…"
The grinding voice floats in the air.
"They didn't feel a thing."
Morgana walks, unhindered, to the cowering kids.
"I harvested their youth-"
His eyes widen.
One hand was shrouded in liquid shadows.
The other held a serpentine blade.
"They fell asleep…"
How was this happening!
How was the witch able to move so fast when he and Yensid were stuck?
"But you just had to play the hero once more, didn't you, Sorcerer?"
His feet move.
Yensid darts forward with a glowing blade in hand.
"So now, look what you made me do."
Morgana turns to the small children and raises her shadowed hand.
Ten feet.
They couldn't be farther than ten feet-
Yensid was closer, but still-
Shadows wrap around the silently screaming children as they're hoisted into the air.
T!
Her shrill cry echoes in his mind
No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no.
The word rings in his head like a litany.
A desperate prayer.
A plea to any god listening.
Yensid pulls his arm back as the handle of his blade shifts.
He pulls his arms up, fighting the weight he knew wasn't there to bring his blades up.
"They were perfect! Unspoiled. Look what you made me do!"
The evil edge of the strange blade twinkles in the candlelight, reflecting in the eyes of the children before-
Before-
Morgana swiftly pulls her hand through the air in front of them.
Nothing.
Two feet away.
Yensid was on her, his dagger blazing as he slams it against her blade.
Morgana's laugh turns into a cackle. Her black eyes shift wildly as she reaches into her pocket. "You've always been a fool."
And then-
Yensid grunts as a blade slices through his robe, but he holds his ground as their blades hiss and spark against each other.
Red.
Warmth.
Hair tangled around his hands as he sank both blades into the witch's back.
Please.
Please.
Please.
"You're too late."
Something slams against his chest hard enough he bends backwards and nearly loses his leg hold around the writhing witch.
Laughter fills the room.
Did we-
His heart drops as Zoom and the other two girls fall to the ground.
Limp.
No.
No, he had to be seeing things wrong. Upside down.
They couldn't be-
Lifeless.
A thin red necklace clings to their throats.
So small.
So easily overlooked.
Just a thin slice.
No.
His heart drops when he hears Faustina scream.
A low growl rumbles through his throat reverberating down to his core.
"You devil fuckin' whore!" With a surge of pure fury, he forces himself upright to grab his dagger hilts and rips down before pulling them out.
"It's too late!"
Yensid sinks his blade into the woman's chest.
And yet-
Somehow-
Morgana raises her shadow-filled hand above her head.
No!
"Shit." Yensid's eyes widen as he pulls his blade free, his entire being focused on the shadow gathering in Morgana's hand.
He grabs a fistful of her hair and yanks it back without thought and snarls, "see you in hell you fuckin' cunt!"
"T!"
His dagger pierces deep into her throat.
Her laughter chokes, but continues to echo around the cave.
He feels hands on his shoulders before he's ripped back so forcefully, he and Yensid tumble and roll away.
"I'm sorry." Yensid groans as he hugs him close before the world turns black.
So, like, yeah…
That just happened.
I'd say good job to those of you who guessed it but- I mean…
Yeah.
That was a lot to take in.
Normally I'd make jokes…
But that just doesn't seem, i don't know appropriate or whatever. I mean, that's a lot of death.
Heavy ass, small child, death.
As if this book wasn't sombering enough.
And if you're curious, yes. Yes we totally did rip Hocus Pocus's spell- but in true Dark and Twisted fashion we couldn't just let their death be that… complacent.
Which, ya know, legit a little sorry.
Seriously.
Even I have lines.
But um, yeah.
So what did y'all think?
Totally get if we get flames for this one. But it's not like we could just leave such a pivotal scene out.
I mean we all knew it was coming.
And, like yeah, we were all rooting for the fam to stop it but-
It's only one sorcerer and five and a half kids vs. a plethora of witches who were put on an Isle of evil to keep this type of shit from happening…
What did you think was going to happen?
And we're only a fifth in. (- Although I do usually love my word play, we are legit only a fifth or so way through this book and it's not going to lighten up anytime soon…So like, buckle up and remember it's a thousand dollar piece of tech you're wanting to throw)
Thoughts?
Feelings?
Feedback?
Surely you have to have something to say to us after this shit show we just put you through.
Unless it wasn't impactful enough for you? (Which seriously? How? I mean we'll do a lot of things for pets, like a lot of horrible, degrading things- But explicit, full-blown child murder on screen? Please. Even we're not that much of twats.)
Which seriously?
Go fuck yourself GoT.
Shireen deserved better than that.
Much love, appreciation, and *gasps* apologies
(fuck I didn't even know I knew that word in relation to this story)
-Twisted
PS- I'm goin' strictly off the show- those books weren't my flavor.