Dragon Falls (Indigo Apocalypse Book III)

Chapter Sixteen: I Listen To The Arachne Symphony Orchestra

BROOKLYN:
    Walking toward the great archaic grove, I felt like I was walking back in time. Huge trees grew from the ground, trees dripping with vines and huge fruit. I had already crossed the wooden bridge, and could hear the tendrils down below, squelshing and stretching over each other. I ran my hand over Katoptris, feeling comfort in the blade. "This grove belongs to no one." I murmured as I placed my hand over one tree. "No one owns you, nor will anyone." The trees hummed and the grove opened and I stepped in. Suddenly, voices chorused through my mind. "Delphi, Delphi, Delphi, Delphi, Brooklyn Delphi Domingo, ancient, archaic, powerful Delphi." I stepped in, foot, after foot. More and more voices joined in, not hissing, not like the snake hisses that poured from my mouth as prophecies, but a chorus, an actual musical chorus of voices that sung proudly of my return.
    "Delphi, Delphi, lovely Delphi. We have tales to speak of, tales to share with the world. Wee speak of tragedy and loss." Chorus several voices to my right. "We speak of great love and power." Chorused another to my right. "We speak of the future." "We speak of the past." "We tell of times lost to indigo." "Of times savored to indigo." As the gateway behind me sealed itself, the sounds and bedlam of battle was silenced. I was in a protective bubble, with me and the great Dodonian grove. "Now," I thought. "I want to learn of the Dark Queen, the one known by few as Arachne." Silence all through out the grove, then. "We can tell you of Arachne." I followed the chorusing voices to a place near the center of the grove. Trees swayed, and the grass hissed under my boots, but all I heard were the chorusing voices in my head. "Arachne was once a great deity. A goddess of the rare earthen dracons, named to some as the black demons." "Why?" I asked. "They were a vicious territorial race. Were second to none except the Molten Kingdom." I neared a tree and stood, listening. "The Molten Kingdom was known to all as the greatest kingdom in indigo history. Since the rise of dracons, indigo dragon hybrids, and the great divide of both Snow and Molten Kingdoms,the black demons became something of a back race. Not as exciting, not as foreboding. The once dracon goddess Arachne chafed under that truth." "Arachne was a dracon?" "Oh yes, a powerful dracon. Whereas the Molten Lord was a god, is, a god of fire, of life and light, of power, of Earthquakes, whereas the once Snow Queen is a goddess of ice and water, of snow, Arachne was the second between them. A goddess of darkness, of stars and dark depths. When she spread her wings, darkness spread with her." "I thought Khione was the goddess of snow." "She's what you could call a minor deity, whereas Kneecora is more major. That being said, Arachne was their second, three dracons, to support the three major races."
    "As the years passed by, Arachne's hatred of the Higher-Beings grew and grew into something venomous. She began to dabble in venom and poisons, to mix darkness with venom, to mix hatred and fear, to mend malice with agony. She spent decades in her underground castle, taking dracons and torturing them, experimenting on them." "She experimented on her own kind?" I asked. "Indeed." Sung the grove. "She had no compunction about working on her own people. She called it experimentations, to better the black demon race." "Harsh." I commented, unable to speak of the horror and bile I felt. "The Molten Lord and Snow Queen never once checked on Arachne's silent behavior. She routinely had lapses of silence and known to brood. Neither of them knew what she was working on. Since she was deep underground, and protected by symbols, true archaic symbols, she was even hidden from the Higher-Beings."
The trees swayed, grass hissed, and with every sound, musical notes sang the history of the Dark Queen. "Her experimentations started on her own people. Deep within her underground castle, she'd bring, and or, drag dracons to her personal alter. Arachne had but two dracons who knew of her intentions, who knew of her motives, who knew of what she wanted truly." "Dargonue?" I asked. "No, he was not yet born. The one you would know as Amanda." I stumbled back a few steps. "Hold up, Amanda, the very Amanda who intoxicated Huntor, the very Amanda who got under his guard, the very Amanda he slaughtered, and was, was, was, was resurrected." "She was her personal assistant, in every experimentation." Green mist swirled and I watched as it coalesced into images, into scenes that played out. Her back was to me, but the black huge wings, the black tail that lashed about behind her, her ancient looking armor, told me it was Arachne, before her transformation into the Ragni Queen. She tied a dracon to the alter, a huge black slab of stone over black legs. Crudely carved legs with serrated claw tips. I watched as she stood back, and turned. I gasped aloud, had to, because the face that I was staring at, I knew that face. Seen that face, seen the haunted eyes as Huntor brought her to breakfast, seen those dark haunted eyes as he tried to teach her how to eat, to be human. Deep bold green eyes, moon white skin, delicate cheekbones, delicate female chin, a heart shaped face, with inky liquid black hair hanging down to her waist. I knew that Kneecora said Sydney was a direct descendant of Arachne, but there still was doubt in me, still was doubts inside that just couldn't believe it. But now, now, now I had no choice but to believe it. Sydney was Arachne direct grand daughter over many generations. Which made the current Arachne, Sydney's sister.
She gestured and another figure came into focus. Long blonde hair, green eyes, eyes that were hard and cold. There was no mistaking Amanda. She handed Arachne two long iron tools and Arachne turned back to the dracon. Without warning, she plunged the tools into the male's chest and began to carve. The male didn't buck, didn't scream. Arachne murmured words I couldn't hear through the silent vission. But mist swirled around the dracon's body, seeping into the open wounds. Arachne turned to Amanda and snapped something. She brought a tray with six cups holding different shades of liquid, black, gray, white. Arachne lifted one and began to pour over the dracon's wounds. Now he bucked, now he screamed, his mouth opening with roars I couldn't hear. Amanda set the tray down and pressed hard over his shoulders. Another came in and held his legs down. His wings lashed about and Amanda lifted a tool with telekinesis and drove it into his wings. I winced at the pure agony on his face. She slashed deep into the wing and slashed into the other. Arachne calmly poured the liquids into the open gushing wounds. She slowly moved down his body, and I watched, horrorstruck, as she took the tools to his genitals and carved deep into them. Then pour the liquid into them.
I felt the need to vomit as she continued down his body, then, she took the black liquid, and slowly spoke in those murmurs as she began to pour into his mouth. He recoiled, trying to cough the liquid out, but it continued down into the dracon's body. Amanda poured more white liquid into the wounds on the wings, now horribly disfigured. Arachne stepped back as the dracon bucked and jerked. As the wounds began to close. Amanda stepped to her right, the other to her left. They watched as the dracon bucked, bellowing in agony, then, as his body began to melt, to fall apart. Arachne's face hardened into stone as the dracon melted into silver-white mud. She roared and slammed her elbow into the alter, snapping it in half. She spun to Amanda and the other assistant. They hurried out and another moment passed as Arachne smashed the alter to pieces, as she kicked the mud around, as she glared at the ceiling high above her head. "It took her many many many decades to accomplish what she foresaw, what she dreamed." Sang the grove. "She did not achieve creating the monsters she'd come to know until almost a century later. Through that time, the Molten Lord and Snow Queen believed Arachne simply was looking after her own kingdom, they were not aware, as wasn't the Higher Beings, that she was creating monsters to overthrow the worlds." A scene of Arachne pacing back and forth, snarling to Amanda who stood with her head bowed, completely submissive. "She sent her two trusted assistants to places far and wide to find every symbol they could in order to produce the very key nature Arachne needed to make the Ragni Di Morte.
    "She slaughtered her people?" I asked. "Indeed," said the grove. I tried to hold in the bile, I seriously needed to vomit, to just release and throw up. The way she'd spoken that symbol, most likely those symbols, the way she'd poured those liquids into the dracon, the way he begged for mercy, for her to stop, for it all to be over. The way those two, Amanda and the other one just obeyed, just went with it. There was nothing, nothing not just humane, but nothing living in those bold green eyes of Arachne. "She went through several hundred of her kind, spending years, decades under the world, decades in her underground castle, plotting, planning, birthing her revenge and venom.She experimented on young, on old, not just transforming, but creating myth and legend into fact. She created the first spiders of man's nightmare, released the lesser spiders into the human realm. "At least that explains where they came from." I muttered. Sheathing Katoptris, I sat in the grass. "So, she spent decades in her castle, using those liquids and slicing into dracons to try creating the Ragni Di Morte. Amanda, who had lived for thirteen lives, was there, and the other, that other one." I shook my head. Amanda was dead, truly dead, the likelihood of the other being alive was slim, at least, I hoped. "There's more." I muttered. "What happened, how did she create them? What did she use, and can we slay her and the others? Is there a true way to destroy them, and return the sunlight?"
    "Daughter of Domingo, child of Mnemosyne, goddess of memory, you already are aware of the way to destroy the Dark Queen once and for all." "I hate that response." If the grove had a sense of humor, I was certain it would've laughed. ""The history of the Dark Queen is a valuable weapon, as to how she raised the Ragni Di Morte." Green mist swirled again, and I watched, as she stood, Amanda and the other assistant by her side. Three dracons were strapped to three separate alters, and Arachne had a feral look in her eyes. I watched as she approached one of the dracons, watched as she sliced into the female's gut, as she ripped downward and opened her abdomen, watched as she poured three different shades of liquid into her abdomen, then began to seal it together. Then pour the same into her belly. Amanda began to cut the wings, slicing into them with those tools. The female bucked and jerked her eyes wheeling in her head. Arachne stood back for a moment, taking a pause from speaking those ancient symbols. She turned slightly, and I could see her mouth enough to read her next words, "You're going to birth my next generation. You're going to do what you swore, and die doing it. When they hear your roars, they'll know." Then, as she approached her head, she began speaking again. She jerked her mouth open, and poured that black liquid in, but it wasn't a liquid, or, at least, not exactly. It writhed and undulated like some living thing, like living venom. The black viscous venom shoved it's way down her throat. The female choked, that was luculent, and as she did, her eyes widened with terror. Arachne unsheathed her talons, and began slicing into her face, Leaving gushing craters behind. The trademark indigo blood, red with a blue tinge, began to darken, then lighten. The female jerked and convulsed, but the seizure was different.
    No, this time, she convulsed because something in her was growing, shifting. I watched as her bones began to melt, as black shells began to immure her body, slowly, extremely slowly. As she changed, the other two dracons stared, just, stared. Arachne's face changed, not happiness, just a feral kind of intent, as if her revenge was close after all. She bared her teeth, and as the Ragni's transformation completed, she turned to Amanda, "Prepare the cells." Amanda nodded and hurried away. Arachne turned, and saw the second assistant. For a moment, horror and disgust lit in those dark brown eyes before it was wiped away, but Arachne saw it. She waved to the other dracons as the newly made Ragni shrieked and bucked on the table. I took a breath and watched. It was exactly like how there were now. Big bulbous arachnid body. Eight eyes, one on each leg, a pair of football shaped eyes on the head, and sharp pincers snapping. Claws extended from each leg like the spines on the back of a dinosaur. The scene shifted, and now hundreds of Ragni were being hoarded down dark pitch black halls. Amanda waved her hands, telekinesis shoving spiders into honeycomb shaped cells. Doors were slammed, and Amanda drew symbols on the doors, they glowed indigo blue, and the symbols faded, sealing them in. Amanda and the other assistant drew the same symbols on each door, sealing the Ragni Di Morte.
    The scene changed again, and Arachne was bolting the other assistant into an alter, the assistant's eyes were wide. Arachne shushed her, running her talons over her face lovingly. Then she began to work, confident, assured of herself now. The assistant screamed, tears rolled down her face as the viscous liquids coiled in the open wounds and into her body. Arachne grinned, showing her fangs, then turned away. Finally, another scene played, and it was Arachne who was bolted to an alter. It was Amanda who was standing over her, Arachne was speaking, her lips moving, though it had to be in another language. Amanda nodded, and started slicing into Arachne's body. I saw that her eyes had changed, they were pitch black, as black as her hair. Her hair was inky, but those eyes were depthless, as if with every life she changed, she absorbed the venom, the malice, the agony, every ounce of it. Amanda sliced into Arachne's body, and poured with her telekinesis. But as she reached her head, she sliced into her eyes and pulled. Arachne's body already began convulsing and trembling. Amanda sliced into her head and drew odd symbols into her head. She lifted the crown off Arachne's head, and spoke a symbol. Then, she snapped the crown in half. Arachne roared, roared, as her body began to convulse, up, down, up, down, as if in some sick, horrifying version of climaxing. Amanda took one look at Arachne, then, stepped forward, she lifted a cup of that black viscous liquid, and Arachne opened her mouth, and Amanda poured it down her throat. She spoke a symbol, and Arachne's body began to convulse harder, the alter began to snap. Amanda turned, and with one final look over her shoulder, she walked out the room, closing the door behind her.
    Arachne ripped her legs out the chains, her arms ripped free a second later. Her wings had changed into legs, Ragni legs. A sick, slow transformation. Blood gushing as the destroyed wings convulsed and trembled, as black shells immured them, as a black exoskeleton immured them. She rolled and fell onto the floor, convulsing more and more. Her convulsing body lashed against her own alter and it crashed, breaking to pieces under her lashing convulsing body. With every convulse, she roared, again, again, again, again. She thrashed and bellowed as her head cracked, and pincers elongated from her cheekbones, as those horns melted into her head, as eyes grew all around her head, like a crown. As her own eyes grew outward from her face. She rose on all eight legs, rose as a humongous Ragni Di Morte Queen, and bellowed in lecherous venomous glee. She stalked on unsteady legs toward the door. She wavered several times, trying to master her new body. Bile ripped at the base of my throat, needing release, needing to be expelled. Arachne stumbled her way toward the door, and, with two strikes, took it down. She roared again, lecherously. Venom gushed from her mouth as she did. I watched her abdomen shift, and those spinnerets oozing with silk. Amanda was nowhere in sight. She roared again, and the doors shook in response, shook, as the Ragni Di Morte responded to their Queen's call. I watched, as she said, "Kneecora and Dargoqai, I'm coming for you, and you all will die." The scene melted as she admitted another roar. "What, what, what," I coughed, trying to think and speak through the terror that wanted to lashed like whips through me. Arachne's true downfall and rise, I had seen her fall, and turn herself literally into a spider queen. Watched her turn one of her assistants because she had fear in her eyes. Watched Amanda, in her true original body, help Arachne destroy the earthen dracons and create the first generation of Ragni Di morte. Vomit tried to claw it's way up my throat and out. I wanted, needed, to vomit, this was almost, no, it was too much to handle, way too much to handle. "What, what of a way to destroy her?" "There is a way." Sung a selection of trees to my right. "What?" I asked, placing my hand on my sword. "Long ago, when Kneecora and Dargoqai learned of Arachne's betrayal and what she's been doing, Dargoqai reviewed ancient legends, legends of dark and light." "Without the riddles." I demanded. "There is a crown." Sung the grove. "A crown of ancient dracon power, blessed by the first Sun Dragon. Find it, and there is hope in bringing back the sunlight and destroying Arachne once and for all." "Where can we find this crown?" "It has been lost to time and space." "Of course it has been." I said importuned. "No one knows where it is." Sung the grove, if it sounded put out, it did. "Only the Ilio Drakous may have the knowledge to find the crown." "Let me guess, Arachne knows where it is?" The grove seemed to take a breath, as if considering it. "Yes." "And has known ever since she realized that in killing Sydney and Huntor, that she would bring back the Sun Dragons, and therefore, put the crown back into play." Another great pause, then, "Yes." I drew my sword, sliding a hand in a pocket on my belt, and drawing one of the many indigo rings. "Well shit." I muttered. I turned to exit the grove, but a chill ran down my spine. "I'm not alone in here." There was no reply. Not from the grove, but from a female voice. "No, you're not child."
"Now do you see girl, see just why this grove is not for anyone." Dione stepped forward, her bodyguard of dryads with her, though these dryads seemed different. Six in all. Six, not including her. "Somehow," I said. "I don't think it's up to you to speak for the grove. It's an oracle, it's fortunes may be for ill or good, it neither belongs to you or me." "That's where you're wrong child, I command it, and will always. Why do you think this grove is not effected by the lack of sunlight?" "Because of the golden fleece you stole." That took some of the wind out of her sails. "Be that as it may," snapped Dione. "The Dark Queen has sworn a vow to not touch this land, so long as she will have all the treasures of every person who seeks this territory for safety." "She played you like a," I remembered Huntor's favorite instrument. "Cello." I said. She tilted her head, confusion in her eyes. "Sadness, don't know your instruments." I shifted slightly on my feet. "She played you Dione, Arachne will destroy you whether you make her swear or not." "Lies, she made the vow." "I bet she didn't, I bet someone made the vow on her bequest, most likely behest." For the first time, Dione looked apprehensive. "Yes, he—"He whom?" I asked, ice coiling down my spine like tendrils. "Dargonue." I shook my head. "Jesus Christ." I hadn't said his name like that in a long long long time, but I figured I was entitled to under the circumstances. "Dargonue is dead." I said shortly. "Sydney killed him, and Kitana destroyed his soul." Dione's face paled. "Impossible." "When they were resurrected as Sun Dragons, he was slaughtered by her, and they let Kneecora live. Your little vow is moot, and has been moot for a long while Dione. She's going to destroy this place, treasures or no treasures, likely has plans to take them and hide or destroy them."
Dione stared into space, her face pale as death, pun not intended, eyes wide with bald terror. I waited, wondering what she'd do next. The dryads didn't move, didn't even seem to breathe, or be, breathing. "Yes," I said, pushing my luck. "She played you Dione. She sent him knowing he was going to die, planning for his death. You aren't the only one I'm sure. Aren't the only one she played with." Everything was silent, too silent. Dione's eyes were dark, dark with terror, with horror and fear. But then she blinked, and it was replaced by undiluted hatred and rage. Then, she snarled, "Kill her."
    Fine, so I was hoping for a happy ending, clearly that wasn't happening. Two dryads leapt for me, their arms lashing out. I spun, slicing Katoptris through one dryad's arm. Or, would have, if he hadn't evaded languidly. The other four dryads spread out in front of Dione, guarding her. "You'll come to realize girl," said Dione, her face raving. "I have nothing else to loose, now that your Ilio Drakous loosed an uprising. Not now I've lost the control of my country. I will kill you girl, kill you and face down your Ilio Drakous." A dryad lashed out, tendrils undulating. Tendrils, greenish tendrils, like the mote. I slashed with Katoptris and sliced through one, then another, then another. But more and more and more replaced them. Dione watched avidly, her face filled with lecherous ire. A tendril lashed around my ankle and yanked me toward the male dryad. I hurriedly slashed, just managing to cut myself free. "You'll never get your tale to those dragons." Said Dione conversationally. "You'll never be able to tell them what you know, not of Arachne, not anything." She grinned lecherously as the dryad lashed his tendtrils around my legs and pulled me toward him. He licked his lips, running a green tongue around them. "These are no normal dryads." Purred Dione. "They are my special breed, my carnivorous dryads." "Well shit." I thought as I was dragged toward him. Another dryad, with hairs all up and down her pink arms and legs grinned as she approached. Her hair waved around her pink tinged face, her hair a dark purple. A kind of opaque secretion dripped from her arms. "Don't take your time." Said Dione. "Kill her." Something began to burn deep inside me. A kind of rage that was bright, incandescent, and filled with purity.
    "ENOUGH." I bellowed, butt the voice that bellowed wasn't my normal voice. Power filled it, a power I never knew I possessed. Light exploded from me, lashing into the two dryads and vaporizing them instantly. Two more, to close to the blast, were vaporized instantly. I breathed deeply as I slowly got to my feet. Thee other two dryads began to kneel. "Goddess," they said. "Goddess of sight, goddess of memory, goddess of time." Dione stared, undiluted shock evident in her dark eyes. I raised my hand, and felt my will surge through the grove, through the grove and outward. "No," said Dione. "No no no no no no no no no no, no." She spun to the remaining dryads. "You belong to me, you belong to me, you belong." They rose and melted into green mist. Her mouth dropped open, shock clear on her face. She snarled at me. "You're dead girl." She took several steps toward me, then lightning lashed from above. No, not lightning, but daylight. Huntor and Sydney appeared, hand in hand, one blue eye glowing, two green eyes glowing, but Sydney's eyes were glowing gold, not green. "No," I said before Huntor could inquire. "She's mine."
    Dione lashed out, roots surged out of the ground, spearing for my belly. I rolled aside and brought up Katoptris. A root lashed into the blade and green mist swirled, coiling around the root. Dione hissed and the root retracted. "Can't fight me hand to hand can you?" I asked. "Can't fight me like a real warrior, all you can do is try to force your will on plants, on Dodona's plants." Dione snarled and a spear shot out of the ground and into her hands. She ran toward me, her spear glowing bronze. I lashed out with my own sword and power licked the air as we clashed, separated, and clashed again. We circled each other, clashing blade against spear. I breathed deeply, and suddenly, memories whispered through my mind, memories of Huntor teaching me how to wield a sword. Memories of seeing Kitana and Sarah slashing with fans, of the three, Kitana, Wenzi, and Sarah fighting fan with fan. Huntor teaching Sarah to control her power, and use it to her advantage. Audrey training with me, sword against staff. I parried and drove in my sword for Dione's shoulder, only to faint and lash out for her thigh. Dione screamed as red-blue blood ran liberally down her leg. I lashed out with a kick and she stumbled backward. I whirled and felt the power, the liberal freedom of what I was take over. I was a goddess, a goddess of memory, of the past, present, and future. I was Delphi, I was Mnemosyne, I was a goddess of time, and, I was Brooklyn Domingo. I wasn't confused about my reeligion, wasn't doubtful of anything. I was a Christian, a Greek girl, born and chosen to be a Christian, and no one was going to take it from me.
    I lashed out into Dione's gut. At the same time, great power pulsed from Katoptris and into Dione's belly. She screamed, screamed, as the godly force exploded into her and ate her every immortal cells. Then she was vaporized into green mist. I breathed deeply, breathed as the grove sung my victory. As the Dodonian grove sung it's worship to it's rightful queen. I saw Briella and Camille, Wenzi and Sarah, saw all of my friends, all the gods Huntor had unintentionally created with his power. But there was only one I cared about. Phoenix and Callianna watched as I approached, and placed my hand on Callianna's shoulder. "Take care of this place won't you?" Callianna's eyes widened with shock. "But Brooklyn—"I cannot guard this place as I want to, but I know I can entrust you and your mate to do so." Callianna glanced at Phoenix, and unspoken words surged between them. "I will." She declared. I turned to face Huntor. Zavala stepped to his side. "We have a lot to talk about." He nodded. "I figured as much."