Chapter 10
Glaston Township, State: Percival, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat Year: 2040, Planet: Grimoire
Frustration tore through Marcus Whitcomb as he witnessed the terrifying reality of what the children endured after he'd cleaned up the wickedness embedded in all of them. "No wonder Davina chose that drastic method to ensure their safety." He gritted his teeth with rising anger.
Joan tapped his arm. "Look at what they're doing." She pointed it out with amusement. "It seems we aren't the only ones looking for ways to vent our anger."
Marcus indeed looked and snorted with laughter. "Wow, those golems are...clever." They resembled the earliest and weakest types of monsters that young inexperienced hunters would take on when first going for an exam to gain a rank and certification. "Now I know they must've gone hunting before, even if it was unofficial."
Hermina cleared her throat. "Actually, they're all at rank five out of ten already. They began hunting early." She murmured. "It was a way for them to gain combat experience and earn money to put food on the table." She shrugged when Joan and Marcus gaped at her. "Many people tried to ensure that the inn would go out of business and drive them to starvation."
That was nasty.
Marcus grunted as he sat for a moment and rested. He looked at the space where they stopped and eyed it in consideration. "I think we've found the perfect location for creating a teleportation spell." None of them could walk any further if his intuition was correct. Not only that but he could sense that something was watching over them with inimical anticipation. "I do believe we're about to come under attack from something."
Now might be a good time for those kids to deploy those decoys. Even as he thought it, Marcus watched as the golems poofed from sight and later shouts were heard too close for comfort, but farther away as well. In his estimation, they'd made roughly forty of the clever creations. Joan glanced at him. "I think they were able to gauge several minions sent out to capture us. Once they figured that out, they created an almost equal number of golems calculated to lure most of them to wind up fighting against each other."
It hadn't escaped Marcus' attention that some of those golems suspiciously resembled a few of the aforementioned minions that were in the matriarch's employ. "Yes, I think I'm understanding just what they've endured this entire time." He suspected that some likely bullied the children to the point that they weren't beyond creative revenge in this case.
Joan smiled, as did Hermina. They simply chose to sit for the moment.
"Hmm, we should still rest while we can." Marcus glanced at the newborns. All of them were sleeping right now, but soon they would experience hunger pains and other problems as well. He wanted no part of that in a dangerous forest.
Even as he listened to the noise surrounding them, they remained undetected. That meant the decoys were a very decent success.
*
While ensconced in her abode, the matriarch was consumed with fury that she hadn't managed to keep her hooks in even one of those brats. "Dammit, go find those people now!" She shouted with rage when her minions expressed ire because no one could find any tracks of any kind. It was infuriating and embarrassing.
The matriarch sighed. She summoned the vessel candidate with much reluctance. However, there was no other choice if she wanted to maintain a modicum of order within Glaston. She ignored all the brouhaha outside. She would deal with it in good time. For now, she needed a new body. After checking the child carefully, the matriarch nodded with satisfaction. While she wasn't brimming with obvious power, the innate potential was far more gratifying than what Davina ever possessed. "Huh, maybe I made the better choice after all." She found the soul of the child and transferred it to a small bottle where it would remain sealed. "Now then, shall I begin anew with this fresh body?"
She'd chosen to use the body of a teenager whose aging she'd frozen over twenty years ago. Now it was time for her to test out whether or not it would work as a good vessel. Then she took over it and felt the wondrous amount of energy washing over her. "Ah, yes, this is perfect." She was satisfied. It would do until she found something else that was more perfect in its creation.
"I shall use the name Euphonia. It suits me better than that boring one of Emily." Euphonia had missed the sensation of having a youthful body in which to work while conducting experiments. As for the old shell, she glanced back at it. It was now a pile of dust.
Pah, it wouldn't do for someone to find it. Euphonia shook her head. Right, she had a few little things to complete before going after her escaped brats. "Banish."
All of it, including the clothing, was put aside into another vase and sealed then concealed in a hidden room. Within that room were other vases containing past vessels that she'd consumed in her desire to remain alive after several millennia had passed.
Euphonia smirked. "Now to deal with those impertinent creatures that think they can escape me."
She began checking for possible areas that would be able to contain enormous amounts of children and found two locations that were likely points of attraction for the Whitcombe couple. "After all, they never had children themselves. So why would they invest in a house that could hold well over twenty children at a single time?"
That would also give Euphonia a strategy with which to regain her hold on those brats. Surely one of them would have the qualities she sought in a body that would be a perfect vessel to consume?
*
Marcus closed his eyes as he contemplated the next step to take, and his shoulders slumped wearily. It wasn't just their physical energy, but their emotional and mental states were suffering. The loss of a dear friend and mother was difficult to bear under most circumstances.
However, this was truly horrendous when he considered just why Davina died in the first place. Marcus gritted his teeth and sighed. "Let me get everything set up." He placed large crystals on specific points and motioned for everyone to step inside the space that was created. He cast a spell that included him as well and they instantly teleported to another location. Even the crystals came with him. Marcus made sure that no tracks were left behind with which to follow them.
The last thing any of them needed was some tell-tale that would tag their progress. Marcus scanned everyone after they arrived. he wanted to make sure that they were all clean of tags. Satisfied that nothing was left to chance, Marcus looked around. "I do believe we're in Fountain Grove, where a nearby port is located."
Not that they would travel by ocean anywhere, but it was a nice mid-sized village that was a step up from Glaston and would give the kids time to adjust before going to a large city. They would definitely need to go somewhere other than Percival. That was strongly evident to Marcus.
Now all he had to do was convince the others that this was the right thing to do. That was the current challenge. However, Marcus didn't think it would take much convincing as he studied the bemusement on the children's faces.
"Is this temporary?" Harper inquired after looking around.
"Yes, because I don't doubt, we're going to have a confrontation with that hag, soon." Marcus could sense unfriendly intent in the atmosphere. Someone already sought them out with ill-wishing upon their presence.
"Now we should go to a boardinghouse that can handle everyone." Joan decreed to Marcus' relief.
No one objected, but there weren't any sighs of relief. As yet, they hadn't managed to escape the claws of that matriarch. She remained a menace hovering over their heads.
However, Marcus wasn't deterred. Eventually, everything would work out and the children would be freed of that woman's influence over their lives. He would see to it without dying in the process.
Joan grunted. "Shiloh is on her way." She paused. "She wants us to wait on the eastern end of the boundary point. Evidently, that woman has already begun sending out wanted posters of all of us."
Marcus shook his head and clicked his tongue. "She didn't waste time, did she?" Not only that but he no longer knew what the matriarch looked like either. No doubt some poor kid was overtaken, and her soul sealed away somewhere hidden.
"That reminds me, at some point, someone is going to have to break into that domicile and destroy everything to free the trapped souls," Harper muttered to their shock. "We all visited that cursed place at least once. I could feel the agony and terror of wailing trapped souls, not just humans, crying for release."
Just what atrocities had been committed by that woman? Marcus wasn't sure he really wanted to know anymore.
Before any of them could comment further, there were startled shouts from people right outside of the forest. Marcus looked and saw the glints of something headed straight for them. "Damn, what in the world?"
There was a wild-eyed woman with vicious claws extended. The body had signs of recent possession and it wasn't reacting well either.
"Oh, that's disgusting." Harper grimaced. "Blech, what an awful stench." He held his nose.
Even Marcus was horrified. "so that must be the Matriarch's new body." He killed the wench without a second thought. It was her or them. He chose to eliminate her first.
The battle between the adults and the minions continued for several more minutes. Marcus made a point of binding the body that held the matriarch's soul within still. He didn't want it escaping and possessed some other unfortunate individual.
right then, Shiloh showed up with reinforcements. She didn't seem surprised that they'd taken out the matriarch. "Well, the bounty was canceled the moment she was killed." She stated calmly. "She will be taken into special custody to prevent further incursions on the population at large.
Had she heard what Harper said or already knew about the situation in Glaston? Marcus blinked in confusion.
Well either way, at least that menace was taken care of for the time being.
The end of Volume 2