The Children Of Thornhallow

Chapter 14: Fire and Ice [Terra's POV]

Elara had just disappeared into nothingness when another tremor hit us like a ton of bricks. We then scrambled out of the room to see what was going on but there was nothing.

"The Divine Creation is both within the fracture and outside of it, if no one feels anything here then it's happening out there." Rion states in a panic.
"Meaning we need to go before whatever is happening escalates further." I state before we begin running back in the direction we came. We then follow Orion into a stall that looks like the shed and snaps.

We walk back out to see a trail of burnt grass and shards of ice sticking out of the ground which leaves a trail towards an old house near the edge of town.
"What do you think is going on?"I ask in a nervous tone.
"Only one way to find out." Cat replies as we follow her getting into Monty's truck. We follow the trail and hide the truck behind a hedge.

After getting out we ease towards the decaying house, the actual fight is hard to see but it seems like it's the inhabitants that are moving around so viscously. The fireballs and ice shards, however, are enough to make us pause at the edge of the property instead of moving in for a better look. It's probably for the best, to be honest.

"Fuck that's Aris in there." Monty curses "This is bad, like really bad. We can't keep drawing attention to ourselves. There have been enough killings and this will only make it worse." she starts to pace back and forth.

No one's POV [earlier...]
Aris had just finished playing with the young kids in the fracture when he saw his next target, the feminine man was apart of the elite coven of witches he'd been looking for since his sister went missing.

Aris had been trailing behind the man as he shopped around the Market, going to different stalls even disappearing into the larger shops for hours since this morning. From what he has learned the man's name is Azure Vassallos to match his vibrant blue hair and the icy glare.

Azure was a witch who manipulated ice so there was a constant cold front that surrounded him. Lost in thought, Aris wasn't paying attention to his surroundings soon finding himself in a deserted area in the market with his target nowhere to be found until he felt himself being shoved up against an old building.

"Who are you and why are you following me?" The blue haired male questions.
"Well first off, my name is Aristeaus. My friends call me Aris so you, asshole, can stick to Aristeaus." He answered dismissively. "Secondly I'm looking for the people who wronged my family and I believe you know exactly where they are." The yellow eyed man states with a shove back.
"Oh yea? Well fuck off. I have no idea who you are or of any body that would have wronged your family. If you truly wanted to find them, you would've found out by now instead of meandering aimlessly through a black market that doesn't have what you need." Blue responds with another push towards the wall.

"You see, this is where we'll have agree to disagree. I've been watching you long enough to know that you belong to an elite coven who is notorious for their extracurricular activities. The same coven that has taken something or someone, I should say, very important to me and I would like them back" Aris responds, on the defensive.

"There seems to be some misunderstanding because as far as I'm concerned we haven't taken anyone but I'm sure you'll find the answers you're looking for, detective."  Azure says with a scoff before getting ready to turn and walk back in the direction from which he came. "Hope your better at solving problems than you are at stalking people, kid" he shouts with a wave over his shoulder.

Aris, taking offence to the comment, explodes in anger and flames begin to form around his clenched fist. He knows he has to do something or the only lead he has will disappear.

So he reacts; conjuring up a fireball the size of a baseball and chucks it towards the departing blue haired man, who barely dodges it as it lights a nearby stall on fire with the flames spreading fast. Aris quickly extinguishes the flames but it's too late, the people have already noticed.

With a quick glance around, Aris catches the worried eyes of the stall keeps and the children before supplying a gruff, "Outside."
They make their way through the stalls with Aris in the lead, in an attempt to draw less attention to themselves but it was undeniably futile. The tension between the two was smoldering and anyone caught in the crosshairs knew exactly what was about to happen.

As soon as the cool autumn breeze hit Aris' face, he turned to face Azure almost snarling a brash "Where is she? Where the fuck is my sister; I know you know."

"And if I did? What would happen then? you gonna melt the truth out of me?" Azure replies tauntingly.

"Precisely," Aris counters before throwing a fireball at Azure's left arm, fire flicks up his arms leaving third degree burns in its wake.

Azure manages to hiss out a cheeky chuckle before slinging ice shards back at him in response. "Is that all you got, lava boy, or should I end this now?"

Only dodging Azure's shards by a hair before, Aris decides it's time to stop entertaining the weak warlock. With a huff, he makes a run for the blue boy, effectively knocking him on his back and out of his confident delusion.

Aris straddles his chest and wraps his strong hands around Azure's throat slowly warming his hands before whispering "Last chance, blue. Where is she?" The choking warlock gestures for him to let go and after gasping for breath raises his head up towards Aris'.

Wheezing, he says only, "I don't know where she is. All I know is they'll never let you find her." Causing Aris to swiftly get off the scrawny boy and slam him into the nearby wall.

"Somehow, I. Don't. Believe. That," he says emphasizing his words with every searing punch to the stomach. Hearing ribs fracture he then drops the blue haired prick who begins frantically scrambling away. Not fast enough though as Aris is able to keep track of him at a leisurely pace.

Not yet accepting his fate, Azure continues to taunt Aris. "You're being foolish. She belongs to us. She's our slave. To have," he states before rolling over lay on his back slowly icing the floor, then he smiles a devilish grin before continuing "and to hold. She's very warm, you know. I wouldn't be surprised if your fire ran through her tantalizing little-" to finish off with a grunt as Aris' boots connect with his face.

Aris goes to kick Azure in the face one more time, not noticing the ice that has formed on the ground and slips. Aris, winded from the fall and struggles with getting up as the cold seeps into his warm skin.

Face down in the fallen leaves Azure begins cackling hysterically. Uncontrollably. Maniacally even. Aris slowly pulls himself up from off the ground, gathering a handful of blue hair in the process yanking Azure up. Icy blue eyes meets with flame in Aris' eyes before Azure spoke with no humor in his voice. "Your search is futile. She's dead."

The monotonous ring in the cold man's voice resonated throughout the corners of  Aris' mind before he slammed his fist into Azure's chest. In his heart he knew that the only positive thing that could come from his actions was being able to watch the silver blood of the ice warlock pour out of the corners of his mouth and eyes but he couldn't help it.

The heart still beating in his grip caused frost to sprout across his warm-blooded hands, now tainted with silvery metallic blood. Yet all that crossed his mind was that he didn't know what part of Azure's confession was true and what wasn't. And how he hoped to prove his words wrong.

Pulling the heart completely out of the cavity allowing the young warlock to collapse, Aris burned the heart to ash before laying the ashes over the body and calling the one person who'll help keep this under wraps. Lucien Veidekonge.