Perfect Soul

Chapter 9:

“What just happened?!” Oriath asked, looking around at his surroundings, stone cold walls replaced by inviting wallpaper, furniture and pictures along the wall, no longer in the cold and dark catacombs they had been in just a few hours ago now.

“It seems like a teleportation trap…we shouldn’t be far off, likely still in this same castle…but where, why?” Torthor responded, turning to the enormous double doors in front of the four of them.

Cycera raised an eyebrow as she approached the door. “I can sense life magic on the other side of the door, two if I’m not mistaken, undead of some kind.” She said, getting so close to the door, she was practically pressing herself into it. “I can’t tell what type though.”

“Well, I guess there’s only one way to get out of this place.” Oriath said, approaching the doors and pushing them open, leading them to a great hall with pillars that reached a tall ceiling far up, the cold marble floor only slightly hidden under a red carpet that led to across the hall in a straight line to a throne on the far side of the room.

“This is eerie…doesn’t seem like anything is here.” Oriath commented, looking around the large space for any life, or undeath, that Cycera had claimed to have sensed around the area.

“Be sure to remain vigilant, I doubt they have left this area for us to wander so quickly and so easily.” Alasarn commented, keeping an eye at everything on his surroundings, his sword already in his hand as he watched everything in the room with a sharp gaze.

“Huh, that’s a cool throne I guess.” Cycera said with a small and playful smirk, skipping over to the furniture, the black shining construct with crimson red cushioning. Once getting to it, she spun around, sitting on it and placing one leg on top of the other. “Now I’m the queen of the castle, you can call me…hmmm.”

“Can you take this start taking this seriously?” Alasarn asked, looking at her with an annoyed expression, her childish behaviour getting on his nerves.

“Wait, let me think…” She said quickly after, thinking of a good enough nickname for a situation like this, her playful nature blinding her to the seriousness of the situation, but then, it was hard to take these kinds of situations seriously when you’re naturally stronger than most other people around you.

“You know it’s rude to sit in another person’s throne?” A new voice said, walking out from behind one of the pillars. Her facial expression dead serious as she watched each of them.

Cycera immediately stood up and walked back to her team, her smile now completely missing. Oriath and Alasarn drawing their separate weapons while both Cycera and Torthor prepared defensive and offensive spells respectively. “Who are you?” Alasarn demanded in a firm yet quiet tone, his face filled with cautious defiance.

“Seriously? You storm into my home and now you’re asking who I am? Never mind it’s disrespectful...whatever, can you explain to me why you’re in my home?” Zerinia asked, raising an eyebrow at them. Patience running thinner and thinner by the second.

“Well…we’re adventurers, we’re here for wealth and glory!” Oriath responded before all the others, stepping forward like he was incharge of the group while also hoping to keep their real purpose here a secret. “Hope you don’t mind, nothing personal.”

“You scum…” She said quietly, her tone laced with a quiet seething hatred that normal mortals couldn’t begin to replicate.

“What did you just call us?” Cycera asked with an annoyed tone, acting as though this was just a disobedient subordinate that needed to be punished for their insubordination. “Cycera, calm down, we’ll kill her and move on.” Torthor pleaded, more concerned with her teammates personal feelings than what they were planning to do with their enemy.

“You heard me, you little brat…each of you are scum!” Zerinia started, her face now nothing but angry and hateful. “YOU STORM INTO MY HOME, THE PLACE MY FAMILY POURED THEIR BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS INTO MAKING, DISRESPECTING THEIR MEMORY! THEN YOU SPEAK ABOUT TAKING MY LIFE AND STEALING MY RICHES, THE LAST SACRED THINGS I HAVE OF MY COMRADES…I’LL KILL YOU!!” She screamed, her voice causing the whole room to shake like an earthquake.

All four of them could only stand there in terrified shock and cold stillness, no knowledge on how to deal with a monster like this. A monster in human skin. A evil hidden behind a beautiful face.

A wolf in sheep’s clothing.