"Have you ever been to this place before?" Rosalie raised an eyebrow at Scott's question, which prompted him to elaborate, "I mean, when you were still with the apprentice,"
"He travels a lot. When he does move, he only takes the elements that he needs for a specific purpose with him. I never stepped foot in here before tonight," she said simply.
By that point, the three of them didn't look particularly worried as they advanced through the mansion. They knew the enemy was aware of their presence but wasn't doing anything to stop them. The only thing they didn't know, was the exact reason for that.
They kept on walking through the hallways and taking turns where they had to, in order to avoid the creatures that seemed to be there for... The sole purpose of forcing them to head the way the enemy wanted them to. The silence that shadowed them in their steps was very heavy, very unwelcomed; Stiles felt the need to break it, "I think it was a terrible idea to carry on with this, we should've pulled back,"
"We've been through this before. We don't even know where the others are and we don't know what will happen if we make the decision to pull back," said Scott.
"This would have sounded reasonable if... It was remotely reasonable! Scott, we have a way to contact the others and we also don't know what will happen if we don't retreat,"
"Just trust me on this," Scott made a short pause during which his eyes swiftly traveled around and brushed over the floor, the walls and even the ceiling, "We can't bail,"
Stiles was unsure on how to react accordingly, but he knew that pushing it wasn't the way to go about it. And so, they resumed their silent walk; but when the silence was broken a second time, it was by Rosalie. She clasped her hand around Stiles' wrist, stopping him dead in his tracks. The three of them froze for a while, Stiles and Scott just stared back at Rosalie who seemed... Stiles couldn't tell. Was she horrified? Or was she angry? Or perhaps both?
"What is it?" Scott finally asked.
"It's her! I caught her scent. Euriella is in that room over there," she stated as she pointed towards a fairly large door a few feet away from them, down the rest of the hallway ahead.
"Yeah... I don't know whose scent this is, but I am definitely getting something new," said Scott.
They slowly and carefully edged closer to said door, knowing full well there was no use trying. If they sensed her presence close by, the enemy certainly knew about them as well, as they'd suspected it before. Right as they were about to peek into the room, they were yet again frozen in their spots when a new sound hit their eardrums out of nowhere. Well, perhaps the word "hit" doesn't fit to describe the gentle sound that a harp can make. Scott was first to push through and past the voices that screamed warning alarms in his head. Stiles and Rosalie were only instants behind him, they faced and stared directly ahead inside the room.
"How valorous of you to stand like that in front of me," her voice was as soft as it gets. her eyes did not stray away from her instrument, yet Stiles felt a stifling gaze burn holes into his chest. She had that aura around her he instantly recognized; that aura that all banshees he ever came to meet had; but with Euriella, something else came with it, something very menacing. He felt threatened by her presence alone. His hand automatically gravitated towards the holster on his side.
"You are Euriella, aren't you?" Scott finally found his voice again.
"If you know, why ask?" she retorted, her attention still on the harp she was playing.
"Where is he?"
Upon hearing Rosalie's voice, it was like something had snapped in Euriella. Her hands slowly abandoned the strings they were pulling. She straightened her posture and stood off her chair, "The audacity," she stated, "Out of many things, treason peeves me the most," she said, staring daggers at Rosalie.
At those words, Scott inched closer to Rosalie until he stood in front of her, fully shielding her figure from Euriella's gaze.
"You know what's not fun?" she said.
"Living entier centuries without a goal of your own?" Stiles' voice also seemed to find its way back to him.
Euriella turned towards Stiles, "Stiles, is it? No, that wasn't the right answer, but I am ready to bet that you of all people know the correct one. Being that close to a banshee allows you to see her at her very best and worst without any filters. So, let me ask again. Do you know what's not fun at all?"
"You already know the outcome of every battle...," Stiles muttered his answer as his eyes dropped to the floor.
"Knowing the outcome doesn't mean anything! Outcomes can be changed," said Scott.
"Is that so?" Euriella brought both of her hands up to her chest, feigning innocence as she asked, "Shall I give you a demonstration?"
Her words pushed everyone over the edge. As soon as she spoke, their bodies tensed up beyond what they thought was possible. They gathered every bit of strength they could muster for what was to come their way. Stiles had expected many things to come their way; supernaturals, chimeras to jump at them out of nowhere. Anything, he'd expected anything but the thing that actually happened to them.
Before they knew it, the three of them were already brought to their knees, hands clasped over their ears so tightly that Stiles was sure he'd cut blood circulation to that area of his body. As for the pain he was experiencing; he could simply not find any words to describe it. Nothing came to his suffering mind, other than a question, what did it feel like having about a hundred people scream for their lives, somehow inside his ears.
Euriella took her time as she dragged her feet between them and none of them could do a thing about it. She made her way towards Rosalie and towered over her, watching as the woman writhed in pain beneath her, "See? This is what I meant when I was talking about knowing the outcome of every battle. For example, three of you came into this room but only two of you will walk out of here alive. Care to guess which of you won't be that lucky?" she said as she looked down at Rosalie again.
The entier room was instantly filled with Rosalie's screams, having the pain inflicted upon clearly climb in intensity.
"No wait! You don't have to do this!" Scott tried with her. He seemed to regain his senses, he was able to stand back on his feet, but not without much difficulty.
"Don't be so jealous! I truly have nothing personal against you two but with her... Let's just say it's a different story,"
Stiles noted that, despite the incessant voices in his head screaming at him for help, he could still move his body. Only, seemingly with a lot more difficulty than Scott had encountered. He came to the conclusion that it was no coincidence. Euriella had clearly eased up on his and Scott's tormenting in order to focus on Rosalie's. She sure was powerful, but just like every other creature they'd fought, she too had her flaws and weaknesses. Stiles thought that, as Euriella was busy with Rosalie, he could blindside her somehow.
As quick as a flash, he pulled his gun ready to shoot a bullet that he was never able to fire...
A freakishly strong hand maintained Stiles' arm still. The man's grip grew so powerful that Stiles thought he'd hear his bones crack under the pressure.
"Sorry, but you're going to have to patiently wait for your turn," said the man as his piercing gaze compelled Stiles to stare back blankly, completely still.
Then again, and very quickly, the man who was none other than the apprentice, pulled his hand away and swung with that same hand back at Stiles, sending him flying backwards where he landed already unconscious on the cold hard floor.
"Scott, is it? We finally meet face to face," said the apprentice, as a chilling smile adorned his features.