Prophecy: Tome of Embers

8. The Cost of Salvation

Tracking the Anchoress was easier than any of them thought it would be. It began with the essentials-knowing that she would resurface to feed again. Of course it helped to also know what type of prey she would choose, and in no time they had cornered her in a venue that was hosting a birthday party. A party for a child, and all his young friends. Today was no different for them, and their only regret was that they couldn't have gotten there any sooner.

Toby was at the front of the charge, and he tried not to let the horror that befell him keep him rooted in place. As soon as they made their presence known the Anchoress turned to behold them, holding a fresh heart in her hand. On the floor in front of her was the infant that it belonged to, and his body was only one of many that littered the space all around her. Seeing her adversaries made her giddy with delight, and she let out one of her shrieks as she shoved the muscle into her mouth.

"Save the kids!" Cliff ordered as he emerged from the back, removing his gun from the holster and firing. Their worst fears were coming true one by one, and it was evident that the Anchoress' cultists had found her. They stood around her, obscured by their cloaks, worshipping the master that had only gotten bigger since the heroes had seen her last. Now she stood taller than any of them, with hands so large they could wrap around them twice. Yes, she was an awesome power, and her cult stepped in to protect her. Yet they were only human-most of them-and bullets did as much damage as any supernatural power. This Cliff was good at, and he dropped several with consecutive headshots.

"Don't let her get away," Lorelei barked as she dove into the chaos, focusing on the first cultist to step in her path. He swung his dagger at her, but she caught his wrist and flung him over her shoulder. That was her pattern then-block, block, dodge, crouch, sweep. To their horror they found that the cultists began descending on the survivors of the massacre, slitting the throats of the adults and children alike so that there would be none left.

"Eat this, bitch." Toby pulled both his gloves off and let his rage channel to his hands, waves of fire licking high off of the flesh with their serpentine tongues. With a direct shot he let them loose, projecting them from his palms so that they would find their new home against his opponent. When they landed the Anchoress grunted, staggering back as she laughed at the futile attempt. The skin where the fireballs had connected was unmarked, and other than pushing her slightly off balance she was altogether unaffected. Still that did not deter Toby, and he shot two more at her, finding that they had the same outcome.

When she had grown tired of him buzzing around her like the insect he was, she revealed her dead eyes, placing him under her spell. It didn't matter that he was the chosen one, that he was supposed to lead the world out of darkness. Even he was not immune to her powers as he stood frozen in place, unable to even take his eyes off of her. Once the Anchoress had trapped him right where she wanted she cackled, starting towards him.

"Toby!" Lorelei called desperately, noticing him and the state that he was in. Toby could hear her calling to him, and he wanted to look at her, to go to her and join her so that he was not alone. Yet he was utterly powerless then, and he could almost feel the spot in his chest where her hand would penetrate, where she would dig her talons to steal his very life. She was close to him, so close.

"I got him!" Cliff swooped in, tackling him to the ground and out of harm's way. Now the Anchoress was angry, and she turned her sights to the cop instead while he tried desperately to snap Toby out of it. Cliff had hoped that breaking him from the direct embrace would end the spell, but it didn't appear to. Even though he knew he couldn't look at her, he knew that she had set her sights on him, and that she was still coming. Blindly he pointed his gun and fired off a few rounds, knowing they'd do nothing to her. Yet he hoped it might offset her like Toby's fireballs.