Vora Snide welcomed the crisp autumn weather. She and Maive walked the sidewalk in the business district of West O'Landra. Vora was showing off her cute blue coat with a smug grin. The pale toothpick was well beyond frozen.
“I told you it would be chilly later,” Vora said. “You should have taken one of my coats.”
"I didn't want to dirty it," Maive replied through her chattering teeth. "Plus, I don't like borrowing people's things."
"Why? I don't do laundry. And I don't mind if you use my stuff. It will show off my style twofold, now that I think about it."
"I'll happily reconsider next time."
Vora and her father no longer got along or spoke. That was right with her; there were fewer distractions from her training and more incentive to escape the confines of her home and hang out with her friends.
"You could get one from Albeit. Who's driving slowly three blocks behind. He knows that’s creepy, right?”
"Is it? I'm used to it. He's been watching over me since I was walking in diapers."
Vora giggled. "He must be awful with the ladies. Could you imagine?"
Maive put a finger on her white cheek. "He does have a daughter and grandchildren."
"What?! He told me he doesn't have relatives."
"He just says that because he and his daughter had a falling out many years ago." Maive halted and covered her mouth. "That was a secret. And I told you. Please, please, please, do-"
Vora launched a flaming phoenix candy into her friend's mouth. She mastered this art without choking someone.
"I wouldn't tell anyone Albeit's secrets.”
"It's scorching my insides," Maive whined and teared up.
"That one is mild. It will warm you up,” Vora laughed.
After a chuck of the day exploring the city, Maive bluntly asked, "I was just wondering because I'm worried, but have you tried to talk to that blonde boy since you broke up? I mean, broke up as friends, of course,” she corrected, waving her hands around with fret.
"No. I've moved past it. I won't need a boy like him in my life. What? What's that look for?" Vora recoiled when Maive leaned in and squinted.
“I have a theory your nose wrinkles when you lie....”
"It does not. I mean, I'm not lying." Vora's cheeks were like flamingos. "You may act all prim and proper, but I know you're a snake."
"I hope you think of me as an adorable one. We should get some hot tea." Maive pointed at an inviting little store. "I believe you would enjoy the blue lemon tea."
"Do you think? That's a bit odd."
After purchasing their teas, the two left the cafe and came across a brick wall filled with missing children's posters. They scanned mutely for anyone familiar. Vora recognized a boy from her church who had been missing for four years.
"It's frightening to see." Maive frowned. She blew on her drink and sipped. "This may have happened to us if we were younger. How could someone cruelly snatch a child from their families?"
Vora broke her gaze away. "Put it out of your mind." She checked a clock on a building. "Let's head to the concert hall."
"Agreed. I'm vastly excited to see this band. They invented these guitars that are electric." Maive slammed down the remainder of her boiling tea and was pumped. "Let's gooooo!"
Vora quickly finished hers with a wince and followed her surprisingly quick friend.
***
Klev left the football field, along with his teammates, and gathered around the husky but limber coach. The adult spouted off stereotypical morale boosters; Kelv has his thoughts on something, or rather, someone else.
Having the purple-haired, smug teen girl absent from his life was ill-feeling. He missed her clumsiness, her laughter, and her pretty brown eyes. She's had a fascination with him that he couldn't comprehend.
But Vora Snihde's Eoa could destroy so many lives. Klev didn't want to aid potential evil, nor did he want to lose those around him. His father was all he had left. He had to stay away from her. But....
Klev had a sudden taste of muffins on his tongue.
***
Vora received more work hours since Bernard nearly lost his arm in an HC accident a few months ago. It would be a year minimum before the always-tired-looking man was out of the cast and sling. Vora was thankful he took painkillers like candy; she was sick of feeling it, too. She was even working afternoons when customers were frequent. She wasn't happy about the injury, but this gave her more time to train as Monarch.
"Thank you, come again." Vora bowed properly to the departing customer. Once he was out the door, she walked to the entrance and flipped the sign to closed.
“Snihde,” Bernard called from his office. “Did you finish your studies?”
"Naturally. I never need to. I've been an A-plus student since I began school. Honor roll and all that.” Vora touched her chest proudly.
“Good.” Bernard came out and overlooked Vora's homework next to the register. “The law won’t allow me to take advantage of your naivety if your grades slip. Speaking of which, you have maxed your hours this month after tonight.”
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“Shame. I have a lot of free time.” Vora saw a gardening magazine with a picture of a smiling young boy, reminding her of the missing children’s posters. "What happened to your old employee? You've never told me."
Bernard scratched a bug bite through his shaggy brown hair. "Bold of you to ask.” He continued to work while telling the story. “I first met her when she was nine or ten. A girl with pink hair, apprehensive and desperate. Her mother had died, and her father was constantly sick. She dropped out of school to get a job because Chimes refused to heal her dad. So I gave her one because I'm such a softy."
“Naturally,” Vora added sarcastically.
“You may remember this girl. Millie Dart.”
"She went to our school when I was eight, yes. We didn't get along very well. Then, one day, she left our school. I hadn't known about her parents."
"She spoke ill of you a few times. She spoke ill of a lot of people. It was the only way she could vent her frustrations. When life is cruel, you're cruel to others' lives. I'm not trying to make you feel guilty."
"I understand more than you think."
“She worked for me for a few years. Her father got better thanks to her hard work. Over those years, she became like a distant niece to me. I called a few friends and found her a new life out of O'Landra. I thought what I did was right…. Her new home was under Zaqiel's rule. They are all about helping people with illnesses and keeping things clean. But if you brought in an illness from the outside, the clergy got nasty. Millie got sick with the same disease her father did, and they were incinerated in their home. No saving. No pity. That's why I never have employees. I killed my last one."
"But I swayed you, correct? Because I'm smart and beautiful." Vora twirled. "Even in a work uniform."
“I’d never say that!” Bernard roared with laughter.
"Alright, shut it." Vora hunched over and sighed.
"You're stubborn, but you're a fighter. And you have a good heart."
"You just complimented me!" Vora pointed in shock.
“Noooope,” he denied quickly. “Let’s wrap this up and close. I stole a date with a knockout waitress tonight. She wants to see a big-screen MP."
"A woman fancies you? I imagine she's mental."
"She is dense, yes. It’s going to be awful.”
"Then why would you bother?"
"It'll all come to you when you’re older, Snihde." He patted her on the back.
***
Vora rested on a bench, the back of her head resting the back with her face toward the moonlit sky. No one was around, so she had her Monarch mask off. This park was infested with Soot at night, so no one dared to be around. Well, it used to be, but Vora cleaned up every single one, and she was drained of energy and Eoa.
Puggly was off slurping up the bodies from Vora's battle. His multiple black tongues shot about like a frog’s and slurped up the bits of Soot as if they were flies. Vora found it strange that Puggly was the only Soot she had seen who did this. To be fair, the ones she came across didn't survive long after.
Vora closed her eyes and sensed those within a few miles. Emotions surrounded aches and pains, but not all negative. Pain associated itself with happiness as well, Vora discovered. Contractions from an expecting mother; A father bashing his thumb trying to build a tree house for his boys; The worn muscles of a ballerina excitedly preparing for a show. Not all negative. But then, her mind ran into many dark and horrifying pains. They came from those younger than her, and it was concentrated. The missing children!
Vora's lids parted quickly, and she told Puggly, "I've found something that will be dangerous. You stay here; don't follow me." Vora pointed to the earth.
The purple-haired girl popped on her mask and ran off into the light, only lit by streetlamps she passed. Puggle scratched himself stupidly and continued his gorging.
***
Vora came across a mine sealed off by a brass gate. She could feel Eoa somewhere in that man-made cave system. The gate didn't appear locked, so Vora raised the large latch that sealed it. The teen was blasted away by light and knocked on her butt on contact. The gate beamed golden sigils that vanished shortly after.
Divinity is keeping people out. This means a person hasn't been kidnapping children; a Chime has. This is why police fail to investigate all these kidnappings.
Vora stomped up to the gate and cast the last of her controllable Eoa from her fingertips as a purple aura. Hoping this would work, she slapped her palm against the sigils. After a horrible screaming noise, cracks consumed the gate, and the sigils purpled and dissolved. The blighted gate then erupted away from Vora with a bang.
Vora goggled and stood there moronically with her arm still extended. She waited for a response, but after a minute, she sighed in relief and entered the mine. The mine was straightforward to follow, and there weren't any further roadblocks. That was until she came across another door riddled with sigils. Vora also used the Eoa of the children beyond to blast this door away.
It was a bastardized laboratory of human science and Burning Bell divinity. Bells hung from the ceiling over medical machines. Beakers of unknown liquids sat next to cups of liquid brass on tables. Science books and clergy scrolls were levitating.
Cages on either side of the entryway were occupied with crying, filthy, and defeated children. They were given rags to wear and dirt to sleep on. All their skins were patchy with ivory Chime flesh, and some children had a golden eye. Vora wanted to shriek, but she held back. She wanted them all to remain calm and be in awe at their hero's elegant air.
In the center of the room was a marble pillar underneath a large bell. At the base was a sigil made of light, and restrained to the white-stone was a frightened boy. Rifling through a pile of medical tools was the wrinkled hand of Kindler Gretgle. He winced, smiled, and then pulled out a stethoscope.
"Now, 'ow did you get in 'ere?" Gretgle asked with visual contact with Vora. "There's only three Chimes that can get through that. "An' certainly no Dowser could," he cackled.
Gretgle cracked his fingers, sigils surrounded Vora from every surface area, and chains shot out like tentacles. Vora sprayed Eoa pellets from her body, causing the chains to fracture, dim, and collapse. Vora countered by swarming the walls with caterpillars and sicked them on Gretgle, who burned them away with light.
“What are you doing to these kids?” Vora yelled with an echo.
"You're the Monarch witch. That explains a lot. I've studied your magic. Pure torture an' destruction.”
“What are you doing?!”
"Being a kind host." Gretgle pointed a finger, and a line of searing fire flew at Vora. "You're a problem to the Burning Bell. You must be smitten." As Vora barely evaded the fire, he pondered and debated, "I could catch you alive an' vivisect you. It may help my work."
Fueled only by the children's Eoa, Vora threw pupae like bullets, and one hit Gretgle in the thigh. He screamed, shot more fire, and used his other hand to command the bells on the ceiling to spew out flames. Vora created a shield out of wings and blocked the fire. It pushed her hard against a wall.
"I've quickly stopped caring about all this. Now, I want to torture you for disrupting my nice, quiet night."
“Not very noble of you.” He launched a flurry of chains from the fingers of his free hand and caught Vora by the legs. "I suppose you're a witch, an' when are they noble?"
Vora sloppily sliced her way through her bindings and sent butterflies to clear the ceiling of brass bells. Gretgle was struck through the hand by one, ceasing his golden fire.
Vora created a long, thin sword and assaulted Gretgle up close, but she missed every swing until, eventually, Gretgle divine-stepped away. He finally caught Vora with one of his chain attacks from his fingers and wrapped her inescapably.
“Now, who're you? Your voice, it's familiar." Gretgle pulled off Vora’s mask. “Vora Snihde… I always thought you were special. I should 'ave snatched you up when you were younger. You may 'ave changed my entire experiment."
I need more, and I'll take it all. Purple string-like energy jumped from the children's bodies and entered Vora's back. After that happened, they all felt great in both body and mind. Vora had entirely stolen their pain rather than duplicating or siphoning it.
With only her face accessible, Vora had few options for attack. With reluctance and disgust, she snorted deeply, as if to suck in snot, and spat a pupa between Gretgle's eyes as fast as a lightning bolt. It swam through his skull and hatched into a butterfly when it hit the wall.
Gretgle's chains dissolved into brass dust, and he went cross-eyed. When Vora reobtained her mask but didn't bother to put it on, Gretgle's body was slowly consumed by crystalized agony.