Daeva: Black Diamond Chrysalis - Danielle Bolger (essential reading txt) 📗

it turned dull and murky. So too did the grass by the bank lose its emerald lustre, just as the nearby trees appeared skinnier, branches distorted and their leaves scarce and grey. And amongst all this decaying foliage dozens of shades loitered languidly.

"There's gotta be at least fifty of them!" I whispered to Pearl by my side.

"Sure, but shades are weak and since there's five of us now that just leaves ten each - easy!"

"Pearl, I... I can't take on ten! I barely managed to survive against four the other day, and that was in the cemetery with all the extra aura!"

"Yes, but they're all disorientated, barely even capable of recognising their own consciousnesses. That'll make them dopey and slow, you'll see! But if you're still not convinced don't worry, I got your back!" She winked.

I gulped. "Yeah, I guess. No problem..."

Lara turned and after appraising the group gave a small single nod. That was when the girls erupted from their hiding positions and launched into the centre of the grey scene.

Vanessa brandished her whip, flying it around the front of her and instantly sliced a shade into two horizontal pieces before it broke up into crystals.

Rebecca summoned her swords, threw one straight into the chest of a shade, used her other to lop off a black head then spun round back to the first where she grabbed her blade and pulled violently up. At first I thought they were droplets of blood spilling profusely from that lesion until I realised that these creatures didn't bleed, but shatter and evaporate, just as black stones fell down before dissipating into the air.

Lara whipped her fingers back and forth and at the exact moment I caught their gleam, strings diced through two shades at once. A third that was targeted managed to avoid the attack as it morphed itself in order to dodge between the sectioned layers. Then it tried to back away, retreat perhaps, but Lara's strings, first loosening into curves, were pierced strongly back out where two narrow lines intersected with where the shade's eyes should have been. Then Lara streaked her outstretched index and middle finger downwards and the shade's body was sectioned into three almost complete pieces, where only the small portion above the eyes remained connected. Then with a lateral sweep of her other hand this monster was likewise diced before shattering into a crystalline shower.

Then I saw Pearl amongst the girls, never realising that she had left my side, where after erecting two great golden wings, the feathers shot forth and speared into multiple foes, each no fewer than five times.

Summoning my swords I ran from behind the trees and screaming slashed laterally across the belly of a shade where it turned to stone and broke apart immediately.

Finding more shades I destroyed them too and within seconds felt the weights on my arm, waist and leg lessen as quick glances confirmed the disappearance of my crystals.

I couldn't believe how easy it was, the shades were slow and few barely even reacted before I cut them. Most hadn't reacted at all. It was as if they no longer possessed any cognitive thought. Nought but black shells fragmented with ease.

It only took five minutes for the final ebony hail to fall and disintegrate into nothing. I was smiling, about to call out to Pearl to tell her that she was right but then a slow solitary clap interjected before anyone had the chance to speak.

"Well done, girls. You're all getting very strong!" All of us recognising the male voice turned towards the star above the river. Next to it Raziel sat, cross-legged, in the air. "But that's not really so fair, is it? With there being so many of you picking off my Noes before the transdimensional shock wears off. Very sneaky form, the poor things barely even got the chance to feed..."

I kept looking underneath his legs, looking for a platform for him to be sitting on, or cables up above but found nothing. However when I gazed at the other girls they were not searching around with disbelief as I was, they stared straight at him with wide eyes and tense hands readying their erosreavers.

Up in the air the young platinum haired man pulled himself to his feet and began to pace away from the star before circling back towards it. "And with six of you in total now it really is no wonder that you're all surviving so long. Working together you're able to kill the Noes without incurring any damage and thereby managing to repress those flowers struggling to blossom inside of you. It is apparent that it is all just getting a little too easy. I didn't want to push you too hard for possible failures but considering your numbers I think it's time to take the chance of a little collateral damage, what do you say, girls?"

"You know what, Raziel? You're right! We are strong but together, we're impenetrable!" Lara shouted. "If you think it's too easy then go ahead, throw more shades at us, throw a hundred! But they'll all just end up the same way these ones did - no more than ashes in our world!"

"Ohh... So confident!" Dorothy's snarl could be heard behind us and as we whipped around we saw the girl leaning against a tree, playing with a lock of platinum hair as she smirked. "Well that sounds like a challenge, Lara's just dying to put that confidence to the test! Is that the plan, Raziel, is it!? Are you gonna finally let me fight them!?"

Raziel lowered his head remorsefully. "I'm afraid not, Dorothy. If you fight the daevas you would only kill them and then they would never undergo their chrysalis..."

"But just one!" Dorothy interrupted. "Please! Let me kill one! There'll still be five left then!"

"Quit acting so sulky, Dorothy!" Jacqueline appeared behind us as she also leant against a tree. "You know we're forbidden from killing them until one more turns nox."

"But, hey!" Ariel appeared at another tree somewhat to the side and as she spoke I had the chilling realisation that we were surrounded. "Once the last daeva joins our team then we'll have no more use of the chrysalis and you'll be free to kill all the remaining luxes!" Ariel stated this cheerily.

"Quit you looking so happy, Ariel!" Vanessa screamed. "Before you know it I'm going to murder you! And it won't be pretty, I'll make it agony!"

"Then come try it." She challenged.

Vanessa waited no time as she raced towards the girl instantly, flaying her whip around and down directly on top of her, but with a lightning fast arrow the whip was redirected from its target and bolted firmly into the ground. Ariel finished by raising a cocky eyebrow.

"Damn you!" Vanessa roared as she tugged her whip so hard it broke at the pinned point. She drew it aside and was about to relaunch it when a line of fire erupted from the ground between them. With a whirl of heat Jacqueline was found at the helm of the discharge. There she pulled back a large scythe where along its curved and sharp metal were adorned flames with an unnatural red potency.

The red from Jacqueline's erosreaver shined within the silver of her eyes. "You know the game, we don't battle until the world's reform, unless of course, you die first. But for the time being that will not be," Jacqueline gave a pointed stare towards Dorothy, "by a nox's hand."

"There will be no end of the world because we'll stop you!" Lara declared full facing to Raziel.

The young man smirked. "Sure, but before you can stop us you'll have to stop the Noe that's coming, and I tell you, this one has quite the appetite!"

"I told you," Lara repeated with a steady voice, "that no matter how many shades you throw at us we'll defeat them all!"

"Oh, but this one is no shade. Girls!" Raziel tilted his head aside, seeming to signal something to the daeva-noxes.

I turned around and as I glanced at Ariel I gasped, for there, using the point of one of her arrow-heads, she sliced into her left hand. Whirling around I saw Jacqueline run the palm of her hand over her fiery blade and Dorothy press a fluorescent blue fingernail into her hand. All three turned their palms upwards where crimson droplets poured free into the air but instead of descending into the dirt they travelled up, high and across and all converged into Raziel's palm. Grasping the collection of blood Raziel slammed this into the black star where red streaked down the chaotic shape.

Then, as the colour sunk into darkness, the earth began to shake.

All the star's harsh points began to shift, slowing at first before coarsely flying in and out, as if reaching to exceed its borders but confined by a fabric too small. But it kept moving, the spikes becoming more agitated as they hurried out with greater fervency where new spires joined the amalgamation and the diameter began to increase. When it started the star was about the size of a regular house window, but when it was done it swelled and cut through so large that it ended up being as tall as a house, its bottom finally contacting the surface of the water.

As the luxes all gasped and backed away behind me my own apprehension finally kicked in. The star-like shape was no object, no explosion of spires, but a tear. At first it was only a window, providing passage for one no larger than a person to traverse, but with its new increased size a much greater being could pass through its massive girth.

"Bethanie," Pearl whispered beside me, her voice trembling. "Bring your sword back, I have a feeling that there's going to be no room for a lowered guard."

I hadn't even realised that I dropped my sword but by drawing my hands back together I focused my claymore back into existence. When I felt its weight I noticed that this time it was heavier.

Fire and ice built a swift perimeter about us, blocking us from the forest. The only place where it was left open was towards that massive star where a skinny black leg began to amble its way through.

"It's just a shadow." I murmured as arm made its way from the void as well.

"This will be a piece of cake!" Vanessa declared as she began to run forwards. "I'll strike it down as soon as it emerges!"

"No, Vanessa, stop! We don't know what it is yet!" Lara warned but it was too late, Vanessa was already there, flying her whip and then coiling it around the emerged arm. There she yanked ruthlessly and tore the captive limb apart that turned swiftly to crystals. Smirking Vanessa brought her whip back for another attack but before she could land it an arm, a foot in diameter, struck out from the tear and struck Vanessa crudely in the stomach.

She was air borne for five seconds before she crashed into the ice barrier behind us and was silenced instantly.

"Vanessa!" I yelled turning to run back to check on her.

"Stop, Bethanie!" Lara shouted. "We need you to hold your ground here!"

"But she's unconscious, she might not be breathing!"

Pearl, embellished by her golden wings, touched my arm gently. "She's alive. You see those crystals on her legs, well they weren't there a moment ago. So don't worry, you have to be alive to chrysalise."

"Everyone, watch carefully." Lara commanded. "No one makes a move until we see the full scope of what this thing is."

And with a laborious shuffle the thing kept bringing itself out limb by limb so that soon there were dozens of them poking through. But though some were down to the river's surface, others were up at the full height of the opening and everything between - it was like a hundred shades were trying to force themselves out at once. Only, that this thing was apparently no shade.

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