Exquisite Poison (Original Draft)

Chapter 62 - Infernal Animation

Surely, she thought, this would not leave any of those abominations is useable condition.

"We did it, Ash," Netta said, resolute.

When Ash did not answer, and she searched through herself and found no trace of him to answer her, she felt her voice raise in a quaking shudder.

"...Ash? Ash!"

Focused as she was on the interior, Netta was surprised when she caught movement to her left, amongst all of the smoky haze created by the fireworks that Ash had shot out of her arms.

Looking in that direction, she almost missed the movement to her right. As she flicked her gaze around, the saw finally the shapes of robed figures closing in on her.

Netta felt a cold grasp on her heart as she watched the oncoming shapes advancing.

His voice, low, sounded in her head like the voice of a tired man. As I thought. They're controlled by one. They won't stop until she's dealt with - they might be regenerating, each time we cut one down.

Netta gulped and took a step back. She looked blindly at the robes figures descending on her. She was damned if she could figure at which one was Caspia, underneath the cover of the identical robes that they wore.

Instinctively, Netta spread her legs wider and tried to make as though she was about to ready another attack.

The others hesitated at once, the robes around them billowing in the wind. For a moment, they looked like what all but one of them were - dead.

I have one more thing that I could do, Ash blearily said. Her Familiar - she's burnt through it like the last one nearly did. She's all that stands in our way.

Netta clenched her teeth. Well, although I hate to say it, it's now or never.

There was another pause. Then, as if in retort to their secret conversation, two came at Netta from opposite directions, almost as though they were guillotining her.

Netta cried out, but could not dodge as they came to her grabbing her.

They seemed intent on carrying her, dragging her from where she had begun to make what looked increasingly like a last stand when she heard Ash roar in her mind. Their grips on her upper arms dug, clenched like vises.

An electric pain seemed to radiate out from Netta, and she cried out.

When she came to on the ground, she looked up and realized that the others had left her.

I'm sorry, Ash said.

It's alright, Netta said back. You saved me from them -

No, Ash said, his voice becoming softer. I'm sorry for what's about to happen.

There was no time to wonder what it was he meant. From the grouping of robed figures ahead, she heard one shout out, "This game is almost over. If you love these people so much, you should feel honored to die by their hand, no?"

Netta looked at them and tried desperately to place Caspia in that grouping amongst the corpses. She did not know what Ash was referring to, but she wanted so desperately to, even with her last breath, to strike a blast of energy directly through her Sister's heart.

"You hate me, don't you?" Caspia asked. Netta tried to pinpoint which of the three figures that she had narrowed it down to could be her sisters.

Caspia spoke again, sarcasm burning through her words with cruelty. "Always too good for the rest of us. Hera chose you as her pledge, and you exhibited all of the magical prowess of a sewer rat. Why, I bet that -"