Witch of the Wild Woods

Chapter 27 - I'm The Man Who Loves You

Chapter 27 - I'm The Man Who Loves You

At first, the nine-foot-tall forest entity didn't respond. She'd placed Jude on the sand. His deteriorating body sat facing Mount St. Helen, the soon-to-be-active volcano. The Deer Woman began her work. She waved her massive tree branch arms to conduct a private symphony of destruction. With every subtle twitch of her fingers manipulating unseen instruments, lighting shifted across the sky, thunder CRACKED, and the ground quaked.

"There's no bargaining now," Jude mocked, "All the pieces on the board have already played their part. The Deer Woman's victory will punish the ungrateful populace that's plagued her earth. This is the end. Goodbye, Wood Siblings."

Lane tightened his grip on the silver cross as the tar-covered lion shifted its gaze towards The Twins. Neither Lane nor Luna slowed their approach. Instead, Luna called out again while unbuttoning her blue-jean shorts; "Deer Woman, we've come to bargain: to provide you with an offering in exchange for sparring the mortals of this earth."

The emaciated lion emitted a low growl that Lane could feel jostle his broken and battered rib-cage. Still, The Twins proceeded forward. The volatile lightning refracted off the turbulent lake to cast a strobing effect upon the Deer Woman. Lane watched waves of light dance across the familiar curves of Alice's body that had been remade under the entity's control. They were about ten yards away from Jude, the Lion, and the goddess now. The Twins held their ground as the entity finally half turned from her work to address Luna.

Luna looked at the entity right in her golden blue eyes. She gave her brother's hand one last squeeze and quickly released herself from Lane's grasp. With both hands now free, she hooked her thumbs under the hem of her lime green spaghetti strap shirt. She lifted the fabric up slowly, showing off every inch of her lovely, toned brown stomach.

It was hard to distinguish Jude's objection from the growl of the lion that sat beside him; "What do you think you're doing? What perversion is this?!"

Lane leveled the silver cross at the Lion, "Not a perversion: a gambit. Black queen takes white queen. Who has more influence? A frail camp director with his own self-serving interests and insecurities, or the unfathomable compassion and unbridled love of my sister? Go ahead, Jude, place your bet."

Jude's face contorted into that of a scowling gargoyle that would have sat atop an old, dilapidated cathedral. Spittle flew from the mouth of the increasingly agitated Camp Director, "This is not a game you'll win, Roswell." With a snort, he leaned into the lion and spoke, "White knight takes black knight."

The tar lion lunged forward. Lane was ready. He parried the lion's colossal paws and jaws with a downward slash of the cross. Even with the subtle movement, Lane could feel his ribs continue to crack and crunch inside his chest. Stiff upper lip covered in blood, he pushed through the pain. His wrist flicked the silver sword up and out, ready for the next attack. Even if his opponent was an emaciated lion, it still held a ninety-kilogram advantage over him, and paws that could rip a car in half. Lane shifted his posture defensively and shuffled back across the sand. Thus began his calculated retreat towards the water's edge.

While Jude kept his eyes on Lane's impending devouring, Luna continued her seduction of a goddess. Free of her shirt, she strode forward, walking out her jean shorts as they slid down her slender legs and onto the sand. The Deer Woman remained transfixed on the mortal girl as she stripped free of her black cotton boy shorts. Raising her arms up to the sky, Luna licked her lips, "Where men offer nothing but destruction and pain, I offer you creation."

Luna dropped her hands back down slowly, running her fingers through her short jet-black hair. Eventually, her fingers found the straps of her bright pink bra. She peeled off one strap, then the other. Luna was an arm's length away from the forest entity as she suggested, "We could create something beautiful together, you and I." She pulled the center clasp of her bra down letting the last cloak of her modesty fall to the wet sand.