Abe Sapien and the Witch

Chapter 30

Chapter thirty

"Smart girl, as always..." he drawled. As he clicked his fingers the robes fell from the praying figures in the room, revealing them to be nothing but illusions. "You've already figured out that I've set a witches trap in this room too, I take it?"

"I know you well enough by now to know your tricks. Did you hurt him?" she asked, taking one half step forward into a subtle fighters stance. "Of course I did."

Her eyes narrowed and she pitched herself towards him. He took the moment to leap towards her, casting a tidal wave of water to rise before him, and smash into her. Thinking fast, she stopped and shouted "Talamh!" as a thick jet of earth exploded upwards in front of her, shielding her from the waters wrath.

"You won't admit that you love me, still?" he asked, a wide grin on his face as he threw daggers of ice in her direction. "Never!" she screamed, leaping to the side as one grazed her arm.

"Ouch, darling, did that hurt you?"

"Oh, shut up already! Lathrac!" she shouted as she raised an arm, unleashing a mighty purple thunderbolt from the ceiling. It hit him, throwing him backwards onto the altar with a hard thump.

"Eidhneán!" she thundered as she ran closer. From her outstretched arms grew two thick strands of Ivy that curled around his legs and torso, squeezing him tight while he gasped for air, his dark hair hanging into rage-filled eyes as he looked up at her.

"Where did you learn those little tricks, my dear?" he asked, struggling against the ivy which bound itself ever tighter around him. "Let's just say, I've had a lot of time to think," she replied, venom in her voice as she stood over him. "What did you do to Abe?"

"That fishy boyfriend of yours? Oh well, you know how much I love a good barbeque, darling..."

*****

The building shook as the trio fought their way up a long set of carpeted stairs, and Red looked back, concerned. "Should we go back for her?"

"I don't sink ve kan help her right now, Red. Ve need to find Herr Sapien, and fast. I sink he is in trouble!"

"You and me both." Red said, turning back to the stairs as a loud booming sound rattled the walls around them, disturbing dust and small bits of plaster.

Up and up they went, though the hallways in the upper storeys were more and more empty as they ascended. "I bet it's because we put an end to so many of them." Red said, and Liz agreed "I think so, I mean not just over the years but over the last two encounters, we must have all but wiped out the coven members."

"Zat is good news, don't jinx us!" Johann spluttered as a small, pale looking woman flew at him from a darkened hallway to the side, nearly knocking him over.

It didn't take them much longer to get to the top floor. They were greeted by a large, dark bedroom filled with various torturous-looking implements and odd-looking bits of furniture.

"Abe!" Red shouted, seeing his friend strapped to a wicked looking cross-shaped contraption across the room. He came to an abrupt stop, the other two slamming into his back as he saw what awaited them.

"Oh no..."