C'thelli's Demonic Orphanage

27

After a long hour of walking in the rain, and Hanley stopping to admire every minute detail with that stupid voice, she was ready to snap. Vivian could sense it, whether it was in her clenched fist, or something in the air. The beady eyes of the wraith were peeled on her every movement. But she had kept her cool. Even when she learnt that Feimo had visited Dom, she kept up the appearance of the soft-hearted minion through sharp, laboured breaths. 

He went to confront the murderous priest, to tell him he was wrong and that he should turn himself in before she got his hands on him. That had to be it! Dom was like a mentor to him, he would never betray his disciple. She couldn't subscribe to the idea that the demon would betray her. She wouldn't. Even when they made their way along the dirt path into town without any sign of him or the girls, nor when the villagers screamed and fled in panic. 

No matter what Don Hanley had said to keep her still, the devil had become deaf to it. There was danger afoot, and none of these bystanders were who she was looking for. Dom's pet could have returned, or maybe the vampire was blood crazed? Either way, her family was still here and she was needed.

She sprung into action. Sword drawn, she rounded the bend and sped through the high street just in time to witness the church explode before her very eyes... and Feimo was helping Dom's gargoyle onto his feet. It was everything she could do to skid to a halt without slipping on the rain covered stone. All around them destruction waked. The water fountain that once stood proud and tall was little more than rubble, and the Tuesday market was in a deflated tatters as the last of the humans brushed past her. 

The only evidence of life that remained were the demon, his accomplice, and her two daughters standing in the centre of it all. 

Algie was the first to notice her, but before she could speak, her own voice squeaked out of her mouth in disbelief. "Feimo?" Slowly he turned, his face was covered in grime and his faltering smile betrayed the horror in his emerald eyes. Horror for what happened, or because she found out?

"C'thelli, this isn't entirely what it looks like!" he exclaimed with a feigned positivity.

"You're helping Dom's gargoyle and the church is on fire," the devil snapped. Her free hand reached into her pocket and felt the rough texture of Auster's gem.

"Well, she's got you there." Algie muttered. Her bruised arm wiped at her brow and pushed up the witch's hat high enough to reveal her shaved head. C'thelli gasped at the sight of her wrists burning with rope like she were a prisoner.

"Good job, you clutz, now she's going to kill him," Robin said with a face palm. 

The demon attempted to make an approach with his palms out in a sign of peace, "'Thelli, I swear to you, I will explain everything as soon as possible, but right now, Dom needs to be stopped. The gargoyle he -"

"Shut up!" C'thelli shouted, her sword raised. By now Hanley and Vivian had caught up to them and with inquisitive exclamations filling the air, she ordered them to butt out of it. "Robin, Algie, come over here. Now."

A hesitant glance was shared between the girls. A silent conversation that danced beyond her hearing, and when neither daughter heeded the devil's call, outrage sparked within. Her grip on the communication gem in her pocket became crushing, and with a twitch of her fingers, the pink rock snapped. 

Little flaky pebbles brushed against her warm skin and the tips of her fingers stung from the sharp edges. That would get Auster's attention. She couldn't let this villain bewitch her children and get away with it.

"I should have known. You types never change. You're always looking to make a mess of things, you never think about anybody but yourself!" she cried, vitriol moulding her voice into poison.