Between chapter 21. (Patreon)

Wishing rarely made for happy endings. Charybdis could wish all he wanted, it wouldn’t change the reality of the situation one bit. For a short amount of time, he found peace, happiness even. Buried beneath stone at the bottom of the ocean, where no light could ever reach.

‘Release her…’ Agathis clutched the entrance to the cavern, her face contorted into a furious scowl. The command distracted him from the little female in his grasp, who hiccuped at the sound of her mothers voice.

It was a fool's hope to think this game could lead to anything but pain. Using the edge of a claw, Charybdis raised Scylla’s head, angling it to grant him better access to her throat. She trembled in his grasp, her breathing uneven and shallow. She smelled of fear, sweet and metallic fear. How he wished he could return to moments previous, when things were blissful and warm. Pressing his nose to her neck, he took another whiff of her scent, committing it to memory.

‘Once I am clear of the caverns, perhaps.’ He growled, forcing a tone of calm confidence into his voice. ‘Drop the rib, Matron.’ He eyed the sharpened bone clutched in Agathis’ claw. The object called to him, all the way through the rock and stone and set his very being on high alert. She came prepared and ready to deal blows. How did she get it? How did she know? His mind raced for answers he did not have.

A bone from his hoard. Sizzling with raw magic. Enchanted, he realized. It only took him one glance to know. An ancient Hecate spell. One strong enough to kill him. Just being near it was enough to turn his stomach in disgust. She must’ve gone to his nest to get it. Anger unlike anything he’d felt in over a century took hold of him. He let his guard down while frolicking and she outplayed him because of it.

Scylla was the only card he had left now… but it was also the one he was reluctant to play.

‘Drop. It.’ He growled, louder this time. Mothers instinct outweighed pride and Agathis eventually let go of the rib, lowering her head in defeat. It sank to the cavern floor.

‘There you go…’ He hissed. ‘Now you and your overgrown pup back away so we can leave.’

The golden one, Scylla referred to him as Midas, honed in on his face. His gaze was piercing and hateful. Intelligent. And alarmingly committed to saving his sister from his clutches. It didn’t take much to conclude, Agathis wouldn’t have brought him otherwise.

Leaning down, Charybdis whispered, making sure only Scylla could hear.

‘If he comes at us, I can’t guarantee his safety.’ She tensed at his words.

‘Brother stay put!’ Scylla yelped. At her command, Midas snarled in frustration and lowered his head as well.

‘Clever female.’ He grinned as he pushed his mouth close to her ear once again.

‘I meant what I said, darling... Come with me.’ Scylla sucked in a breath and turned her head ever so slightly. He allowed her to move, all while keeping a hand firmly on her neck. Wide eyes scanned his face in disbelief. If only he could convince her.

‘Come with me.’ He tried again, lifting some of the pressure away from her neck. ‘Be my queen.’ She trusted him once, maybe she could again. ‘Please.’

‘You…’ The hurt and confusion in her eyes shook him.

Charybdis’ form wavered for what couldn’t have been more than a second, but it was all that gold-faced bastard needed to shoot forward, grab the bone from the cavern floor and collide into the pair of them. Scylla got pried away from his grasp as a sharp pain twisted into his ribcage. Fuck, that bastard was fast. Another sting tore through his body until only a dull cold thrumming remained.

-

Scylla hit another wall. Everything turned blurry for a second, but the next thing she knew, her mother was on top of her, cradling her and whispering soothing words into her ear. The world slowly came into focus, blink by blink. Roars and snarls resounded from further out into the newly cleared tunnels. The sounds were familiar, despite the savagery of their tone.

She jolted upright, almost headbutting her mother in the process.

‘Diz!’

It was still him. It had to be. They were wrong. This was all a mistake.

‘Shh, it’s alright! You’re safe. We’ll take care of him.’

‘No, no, no. You’re mistaken! He’s just a blood witch.’ Scylla struggled free from her mothers grasp and headed down the dark tunnels towards a cacophony of snarls. The tang of iron wafted up into her nose and stung her eyes.

‘A blood witch?! Is that what he told you?’ Her mother gave chase, pulling at Scylla’s arms in an attempt to slow her down. Darkness engulfed Scylla, all that remained was her mothers firm grip and the sound of battle getting further and further away.

‘I’ve seen what he is capable of, sweetheart. I’ve been to his nest! Every surface of it was littered with the bones of our kind. That’s why I left. I had to be sure.’

Scylla halted. ‘What…?’ None of this made any sense.

‘I didn’t want to be right and I didn’t want to hurt you, but I had to be sure. My mother warned me he would return. His kind always does. They can’t be trusted to uphold their promise! I see now that keeping you in the dark was a mistake, I should’ve warned you but…’

‘Can’t you hear how insane you sound right now?!’ Scylla growled.

Agathis tensed.

‘You’re right, it does sound insane.’ Her mother took hold of her wrist and pulled Scylla forward towards the larger caverns. ‘So see for yourself, daughter.’

The rockface gave way to a gaping hole. The Moonsorla cavern, now cleared of decorations, turned into a bloody battlefield. A wail tore through the empty space, and Scylla managed to pinpoint its origins just in time to see Diz snap the neck of one of mothers guards like it was a twig. The body slowly sank to the cavern floor.

He was surrounded by guards from all sides, some of them brandishing spears and ropes made out of seaweed. Not their usual equipment. Among the guards was Midas, his bright gold and green scales glimmering in the dim light. Luckily, none of her other brothers were in sight.

Waiting for the guards to come at him, Diz snarled. He looked larger, more muscular than before, more intimidating. Suddenly, one of the guards lunged at him, spear in hand. His attempt was cut short when Diz dodged out of his way. Taking hold of the weapon with one hand and tearing down the males abdomen with the other. Guts and blood spilled into the water. The guard didn’t even have time to scream before Diz sank his fangs into his throat. The other guards recoiled, the ones holding weapons taking up a defensive posture.

The fight against Scython was nothing like this. Didn’t he say he disliked fighting? Then why was he this effective at it?! Plowing through the guards like they were nothing?

‘Quit it! All of you!’ Scylla barked at the fighting males. Some of the guards glanced over, but most remained poised towards Diz, too concentrated to be distracted by the yelps of a frenzic female. Diz on the other hand turned his full attention towards her, his face tightening into a disheartening grimace.

Control, she needed to regain some semblance of control. But how? Agathis showed up at Scylla’s side. Her mothers imposing frame dwarfed her, causing Diz’ eyes to drift over and turn dark.

‘Are you done playing with me, Matron? Or am I to keep crushing these little drones for your amusement?’

Her mother let out an annoyed hiss.

‘Only a twisted creature would think this situation amuses me. Have you gotten what you came here for, Charybdis? What was your plan exactly? To come in here and use my own daughter against me? Overthrow me? Was that it?’

Use her? Scylla clenched her fist, searching for the reasoning behind her mothers words. Courting her was a surefire way to gain control over the pod. Keeping that in mind, If Diz really was a hag,  then she was just a game piece to be conquered. If that was how he really saw her…

Her heart dropped and her limbs went cold. Then all of it was a lie? The trials, the ritual? Doubt must’ve shown on her face, cause Diz returned his gaze to her, fins flared and tail whipping back and forth in his little nervous tick.

And of course she had fallen for it. Then again, she always had been  trying to pick the most disagreeable male. Diz just happened to win that contest by a landslide. More than she even realized…

‘You lied to me?’ Scylla growled. The male tensed at her voice, but remained deathly silent. ‘This whole time, it was all just a lie?!’ Agathis gripped Scylla’s wrist before she could approach the hag any further. It wasn’t fear that took hold of Scylla, but rage. Some of the guards sensed the tension building and hissing in anticipation, filling the hall with a low rumbling. ‘Say something, Damnit!!’

Without warning Midas crept towards Diz from behind and lunged onto his back, ripping flesh with something small clutched between his fists.

Diz roared in surprise while trying to shake her brother loose. The other guards followed suit, crowding both males and obscuring them from view. A cacophony of growls and snarls had Scylla freeze up as she stared at the cluster of fighting males. There was now way he could…

Raw energy pushed most of the guards aside, launching them towards the edges of the cavern, where they hit the stone and went still. Diz eyes glowed with a sinister red hue, panting heavily, but being otherwise unharmed.

Turning his attention back to her brother, who was otherwise still stuck to him, he shot down towards the cavern floor. Building up an alarming speed, the two of them crashed into the ground. The force was enough to dislodge Midas. Scylla watched on in horror as Diz raked Midas across the stone until they came to a halt at the cavern wall. Her brother's frame went limp.

Diz was on top of him before Scylla could blink. Claws dug into Midas’ throat, causing her brother to turn pale and start drooling blood. Not him. Anyone but him.

‘Don’t!!’ She screamed, lunging towards the pair of them and shaking loose from her mother's grip. Scylla pierced through the water at unseen speeds and forced herself in between the two males. She flailed and scratched at Diz's chest, but found he didn’t give an inch. Dangling herself from Diz’ arm, which still squeezed Midas throat, she sobbed in defeat.

‘Don’t hurt him! I beg of you.’

‘Darling…’ His voice sounded raspy as he coughed up some blood of his own. Daring to look up, she took in his face. It was torn between anger and longing as the ominous glow in his eyes slowly faded away.

‘Please, Let him go.’ She begged again.

His lips parted like he was about to speak, but A loud noise pierced through the water and Diz folded over, gripping his hands around his head. Her brother gurgled and took a deep breath as he was released. It was the sound of a drum, Scylla realized. One of the guards was beating the ritual drums with the blunt end of his spear! Each wave of sound caused Diz to howl in pain. It was the perfect opportunity.

Midas pulled Scylla to him and away from Diz who lay writhing on the floor. Making sure the both of them were fine was her first priority. Checking her brother and assessing the damage, Scylla turned around. It wasn’t too bad. Cuts and bruises but he would live. Midas would live. She then returned her attention to Diz, trying to swim over to him, but got stopped dead in her tracks.

Mother approached, Fuming, picking up the little dagger that must’ve dropped when Midas got dragged.

‘I’m not letting you lay a hand on another one of my young…You’re done, Charybdis.’ Diz rolled over between drum beats, to look at her. His face twisted in agony. All Scylla could see was the dagger made out of bone, every fiber of her being wanted to get away from it.

Fighting the urge to turn tail and flee, Scylla lifted herself.

‘That’s enough, mother.’ She pushed away from Midas, putting herself between Agathis and Diz to block her path. ‘No more violence.’

‘You still think you can redeem him? He’s not worth your pity, daughter.’ Agathis hissed, the fins on her head flaring in anger. ‘I’ll prove it to you.’ Another beat of the drums had Diz sprawled on the floor clutching his head. Scylla turned to him, only to see her mother duck past her, shoving the dagger in between Diz’ ribs.

Time seemed to speed up then. The males eyes went wide, his breathing hitched. Then a howl unlike she’d ever heard echoed out into the cavern. Flesh gurgled and burst as Diz’ tail exploded into a black mass that extended beyond Scylla’s vision and consumed everything. Boils and steam rose up from his body and stirred the water, slowly changing the features she’d grown accustomed to. All the feeling drained from Scylla’s limbs. His new tail easily spanned the length of the cavern, its dark, snakelike length protected by plated scales and spikes. At the very tip was a nasty see through fin. One smack of that tail would be enough to crush any mer. Scylla swallowed. He wasn’t a mer anymore. This was something else.

‘There.’ Her mother purred, a look of victory clear on her face. ‘Now that we’ve had the pleasure of seeing your true form, why don’t you formally introduce yourself to my daughter?’

Diz heaved weakly, reaching for the dagger stuck in his flesh. Her mother didn’t let him get to it, pressing down harder on the weapon and causing him to flail around in pain. Scylla recoiled at the sound. The better part of his tail swung around in the cavern, knocking aside whatever was left of the guards.They grouped up in an attempt to restrain the flailing limb.

‘What’s your name?’ Mother growled. All Scylla could do was watch in disbelief.

Diz groaned. After a long, drawn out pause his lips parted.

‘Charybdis.’ He wheezed.

Her mother nodded. ‘There’s a tame little hag. Not so tough now, are you? Bet you didn’t anticipate this, I’m a much stronger matron than my mother ever was.’ A clawed finger pointed in Scylla’s direction. ‘She’ll be even stronger than me. Come here, sweetheart.’ Her mother goaded. It was as if her body had a mind of its own. Scylla drifted forward, her lips pressed together to form a thin line. She didn't want a part in this.

‘If there is one thing I won’t forgive, it is anyone taking advantage of my baby.’ She hissed. ‘Now that you’re being cooperative, why don’t you tell her? How many of my kind did you kill during the last five days you spent in our home?’

‘Please.’ Scylla sobbed, fighting back bile rising up her throat. ‘Enough.’ She didn’t want to hear it. Diz…Charybdis’ face  was etched in pain. It was too much. ‘Mother, please stop it. I can’t…’

'Leave her…be.' Diz groaned.

‘Tell. Her. Hag.’ Charybdis howled as her mother twisted the dagger some more.

‘Twelve! Fucking witch! Twelve…ARGH!!’

Scylla froze.

Twelve? Twelve mer? How? When? She was going to be sick. Midas approached behind Scylla, just in time to pull her close before she would inevitably keel over.

How could I have been this blind?

‘It’s not your fault, sis.’ Midas whispered while pulling her upright and patting her head rhythmically. ‘You didn’t know. It’s not your fault.’

Seeing her daughter's distress, Agathis paused. ‘I’m sorry sweety, but you needed to hear this. I had to make sure he didn’t hex you. Now that I know that he doesn’t have his claws in you…’ Mother turned back towards Charybdis, looking down at his suffering frame. ‘We can be rid of him once and for all.’ Leaning down, she placed a hand on his chest, the very act of touching him seemed to ruffle her scales, but she did it anyway.

‘You owe me twelve lives, Hag of Bones.’ A wicked smile curled onto her lips.

A white light filled the chamber, originating from her mothers palm. Charybdis screamed, the sound sharp enough to pierce flesh and stone alike. Unable to lift her head and look at what was happening, Scylla shuddered. She didn’t want to see. Didn’t want to hear.

It was Midas who squeezed her arm, breaking through the daze.

‘Look at him, or you’ll regret it later...’

Gritting her teeth, Scylla lifted her head, only to see the hag stare directly back at her. Cold numbness ran down her spine and collected in a hole inside her chest. He was fading, one pulse of light at a time. Mother was busy reclaiming all the life he took from them. From her people. It was ancient magic, a balancing, far beyond the scope of Scylla’s capabilities. Once she was done, there wouldn’t be anything left of him. His life redistributed among the present mer. Not a single scale would remain.

Forcing herself to keep looking, Scylla came to a horrifying conclusion. Ignoring the tail and the spikes and the dark streaks across his skin, it was still just him. The male she had confided in when she was trapped. The one that fought for her. The one that challenged her. She couldn’t see him as anybody but him. Now he had betrayed her. Lied to her. Knowing who he was and what he did infuriated her. But how much of it was fake? How much of it was a charade to get close to her? And how much, if any of it, was real?

Come with me.

Her ears flicked.

‘Wait.’

The room dimmed as her mother looked over at her.

‘I’ll do it.’ Scylla caressed her brother's cheek in passing before swimming towards her mother. The latter pursed her lips in doubt.

‘You’ll do it? Sweetheart, You can’t perform magic like this.’

‘Not yet.’ Scylla pulled her face into a snarl. ‘But I will. Soon.’

‘I don’t think that’s such a good idea,-’

‘You think you’re owed?! How about me? Where’s my revenge?’ Scylla thundered. ‘This creature betrayed me. He went after me.’ It wasn’t even that hard to channel the amount of rage required to make her mother pause. Pulling from all the shit Scylla had been through today alone, she had rage to spare. ‘He’s mine. Denying this would be an affront to me.’

Grueling endless moments passed. Each second Charybdis’ body spasmed as parts of him were destroyed from the inside out.

Finally the cave went dark as the last of her mothers light faded. Scylla turned away immediately, barely hearing Charybdis let out a relieved shallow breath.

‘Throw him down the cistern…’ Agathis growled. ‘Looks like you get to draw breath for a bit longer, snake.’

‘Scylla…’ The sound of his voice was weak and pleading, but she didn’t turn around. She couldn’t. It would eat away at her determination, and her mother wasn’t that easily convinced.

She would find out for herself how much of it had been a lie.

(I might make some changes still here and there, but this chapter needed to be done.)