Man Destroyer

Part 7

Chapter 13: Creature Killer

Lilith struggled with the emptiness in her arms as she sank deeper into the sea, the fear of losing Deianeira far superseding the fear of drowning, her body twisted and turned as she fought to see through the bubbles billowing from her nose and mouth. She couldn't understand how she was sinking until she kicked hard and drove herself upwards into a solid mass which kept her from climbing any further. Reaching up, she clawed at the mass and in return, it moved away from her only to return with a powerful thrust of water that sent her cartwheeling through the ocean. Losing all sense of direction, her lungs filling with water, Lilith used the last of her energy to try a locator spell for Deianeira but with the weight of the ocean pressing in on her, she wasn't able to focus and she felt herself losing consciousness instead.

Zelda was waist deep in the water, scanning the waves for signs of her beloved and their baby. Closing her eyes, she reached out to Lilith, desperately hoping their connection remained strong and she would be given some idea of where they were. Holding her palms flat to the sea, she felt the wicked licks against her flesh as she pressed her magic into the water, trying to mold it to her wishes but the sea would not be tamed. It gave her nothing and she opened her eyes to meet Evanora's with a plea. Without any words, the shapeshifter dove into the waves and Zelda watched as her legs fused together and turned into a tail, driving her deeper into the frothing surf.

Evanora's nostrils closed up and gills appeared on either side of her neck, along with her tail, her fingers became webbed, and her eyes narrowed sharply into slits that allowed her to see clearly beneath the surface of the water. Kicking her tail and scooping water away from her with her webbed hands, the shapeshifter glided quickly through the ocean's depths. Blinking as bubbles popped in front of her face, she dove deeper and saw a dark mass moving below her. The creature appeared to be at least thirty meters in length and had deep ridges along its back, seeming to be at once a whale and a turtle. It was moving quickly and she struggled to keep up, her body unaccustomed to moving like a fish. As she watched, the creature spiralled and flicked its tail, revealing a glimpse of a body floating motionless beneath it.

Lilith!

Keeping one eye on the sea creature, Evanora weaved between its tail and massive body towards Lilith. Feeling the pressure of the sea, the shapeshifting witch's head began to throb as the pressure built in her ears, grimacing she powered on. Pumping her tail and sweeping her arms out like fins, worried that she was too late as she saw how limp Lilith was. The moment she collided with the Queen of Hell, she also came face to face with the creature whose eye swung over to meet hers. Using the last surge of strength she had, Evanora pushed off of its body and kicked as hard as she could with Lilith in her arms. The beast, too massive to move sharply, opened its mouth and sucked in, creating a whirlpool that licked at her fin.

Zelda help me!

Evanora's plea reached Zelda's mind and she dropped to her knees, thrusting her hands into the sand beneath her, anchoring herself in the Earth even as she sought to command Water. Saying a prayer to Amphitrite, the wife of Poseidon and Goddess of the Sea, she took a deep breath, dunked her face under the water, and blew her breath out. The waves churned and rolled for her, the force of their movement drove deep into the ocean and helped to propel Evanora and Lilith to the surface. All three witches' heads popped up from the surface at once and Zelda rushed to help the shapeshifter pull Lilith to shore as she began to change back, her body aching.

"Lilith! LILITH!" Frantic, Zelda began CPR on her lover.

Crawling over the sand, struggling with her legs as they slowly transformed back from her mermaid tail, Evanora shoved Zelda out of the way, clamped her hand over Lilith's mouth and closed her lips around the demoness' nostrils. As she sucked, the gills on her neck flapped violently and her belly began to distend. After what felt like an eternity, she threw herself off of the Mother of Demons, retching aggressively, and vomited up copious amounts of sea water as Lilith began to cough.