AETHER BEASTS

"Please. I don't know anything, just let me go, and I swear I won't say anything."

I sighed and tugged on the vine leash that was wrapped around Hayden's throat. I'd found out his name shortly after he'd woken up, which had been only after a few minutes, which I should have known would happen. He was at the second level of infusion so he could take more than a normal human and recover faster. Luckily I'd managed to wrap a vine around his neck and after a quick show of power and a description of what had happened to his friend, he stopped struggling or at least trying to get away.

"Lower your voice," I hissed with a glare. "You'll attract beasts, and if we get mobbed ill leave you to their tender mercies."

He shut his mouth with a snap, but a moment later he was talking once again. I really should've gagged him.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"Most likely," I replied, and his face paled. "But whether or not it happens slowly and painfully or quickly and without pain, depends on your cooperation, and who knows maybe we'll let you go."

That was only partially true as I definitely wasn't going to be torturing him, but Zirani? She was over four hundred years old and had spent one hundred of those years as a powerful jungle queen, and she was still an aether beast. To me and the others, she was kind, loving, and caring, but to enemies, she held little care about them. If she thought inflicting some pain could make things safer for me, for us then I suspected she'd do, especially considering what the twin had horn had done and were doing.

"Please, I don't know anything, I'm just a servant," He begged.

I snorted and glanced over at his fine robes, inlaid with gold, not to mention the ornate dagger at his side and the spatial ring he'd had on, which I had taken.

"I recommended not lying when we start questioning you," I replied. "Especially not to my friend, she's far more deadly than I am."

"I don't want to die." His hands shook and he looked like he was about to cry. How had this guy gotten to the second level? Probably through his wealth.

"Most people don't want to die," I said angrily. "Do you think those people who you sacrificed in your fucking pointless war wanted to die, huh? Do you think the people you turned into abominations wanted to be turned into those… things. If you're expecting mercy or sympathy, then you're a fool. You'll get none from me and certainly not from my friends. We've all seen first hand, the pain and suffering the twin horn has brought about."

My hands were clenched into fists by the end of it, and Hayden was braced like he expected me to strike him, which I wasn't going to do. This idiot deserved death far more than any of the people the twin horn had condemned and killed, but first, we needed answers.

He remained silent the rest of the way until I got back to the treehouse.

All three ladies were waiting for me, and I immediately noticed the changes to Sandra and Misty's cores. They moved up a density stage, and though they were probably happy, it didn't show on their faces. They glared at Hayden and I had to push him forward to move as he was too busy staring at Zirani in shock. I'd forgotten about that since it had been so long since I'd seen other people. It had felt normal to have Zirani out at all times.

"So this is him." Zirani walked up to Hayden as I pushed him onto his knees. Her eyes held no warmth and little emotion. They were cold, and I felt a shiver run through me as she turned her eyes to me. "I'm going to question him, you and the others can watch, but it isn't going to be pretty if he doesn't want to talk."

As she spoke, a thorn formed on the tip of her right index finger, though it looked oddly shaped and large. I'd seen the design elsewhere before, and when it hit me, I felt a chill run down my spine. It was a thorn blade made for skinning. A flaying blade.

I looked over to Sandra and Misty who walked closer, and while Sandra seemed to understand what Zirani had just formed, Misty didn't so I sent her a quick message through our bond, and her already pale face became paler.

Just like the green, ZIrani had two sides. A rose with thorns.

Hayden's face had turned a sickly color. "P-please don't. I'll talk, I swear I'll talk."

"Good," Zirani replied, her voice ice cold. "It will save you a lot of trouble and pain."

She turned back to me with a raised eyebrow, a mental message coming in a second later. "You staying?"

"You think he won't talk?" I replied, a bit of worry leaking through our bond. Not for Hayden but for her.

Her eyes softened just a bit, and she sent back a wave of love along with a message. "I'm fine, Aiden, trust me. I've done things like this before, and while I don't enjoy it, if I need to hurt him to make our journey safer then I will. I'm not going to lose you or the others."

There was something else, another emotion entangled with the love. Fear, just a tinge, but it was there, and it took me a moment to figure out why. Our bond had wolves and was much deeper than simply speaking telepathically or sending feelings through the bond. I could sense what had brought the emotion on. She was scared that I would see her differently because of this.

"I won't," I replied mentally. "I've known you had this side, you told me yourself that nature is two sides. Your beautiful rose Zirani, but you've got a lot of thorns, thorns that won't harm me, not intentionally. I'll stay."

Relief washed through our bond and a tug of her lips told me she was holding back a smile. Sandra and Misty hadn't moved, so it was clear they were staying as well.

"Let's begin with a simple question," Zirani suggested. "Who are you and what connection do you have to the twin horn?"

"I'm Hayden Kurz, of the Kurz family," Hayden replied his eyes slowly moving from the thorn blade to Zirani's face, though he flinched when he met her cold gaze, quickly looking away. "I'm an upper disciple on the twin horn sect."

Zirani nodded and smiled, though it was feral and cold. "Good, next, why have the twin horn come here?"

He shrugged but quickly spoke up when Zirnai's hand twitched. "I don't know! They didn't tell us. Only the elders know. When they found out we'd lost the war, they said we had to use the tower, they kept spouting on about our great master and how we were to bring about his coming. P-please, I don't know, I just do what I'm told."

Great master? I glanced over to Misty and Sandra who looked baffled.

"So you know nothing, huh?" Zirani questioned, her right-hand twitching. "A shame."

Hayden's eyes snapped back to the thorn as Zirnai brought it up to her face to inspect. "Do you know what this is, Hayden? It's a blade designed for skinning animals, but, it's also surprisingly effective on people as well, dead… or alive."

Hayden looked like he was about to vomit, shit himself, and pass out all at the same time. He opened his mouth, probably to plead again, but a glare from Zirani stopped him.

"Next question, what have your elders done to the tower?"

The twin horn arcanist swallowed, and he looked to contemplating something as if he was thinking of whether to speak or not. That decision was quickly made when his eyes once again found the thorn blade which Zirani was using to sharpen her left hand's fingernails.

"A ritual," Hayden said slowly. "They used some sort of ritual."

"What sort of ritual?" Zirani questioned, leaning into Hayden who moved his head back.

"They killed a dozen of the serva—"

"Slaves you mean," Sandra spat.

"Y-yes, the slaves," Hayden continued. "And they made two of those things."

"The abominations?" I asked.

Hayden shook his head. "They're all the failures. T-the successes are like, erm, balls of pale white flesh with streaks of shining white lights running through them. They used two of them and then called upon something, I-I'm not sure what, but after they were done the tower changed."

"What did they call upon?" Zirani asked, her eyes narrowing. "One of the vestiges?"

Hayden's eyes flew wide open. "You know about them?"

Zirnai ignored his question. "What did they call upon?"

"They didn't say a name, just a few titles. It wasn't a vestige, I think one of the titles was, err, the lost king? I don't remember much."

"Whats a vestige?" I asked Zirnai.

"A topic for another time," ZIrnai replied before focusing back on Hayden. "Where are the twin horn now and what are they doing?"

"They are the last floor, the one above us," Hayden answered, his voice full of fear. "P-please don't kill me, I can give you crystals, my family is wealthy in Orton, we even have—"

Zirani lashed out so quickly that Hayden didn't even have time to react or flinch. Her thorn struck his cheek, and in less than a few seconds, she'd flayed a piece of his skin off.

Hayden screamed and I pressed a hand to my nose, as I detected the smell of urine, and something else, even more unpleasant.

"Answer the question." Zirani didn't react to his screaming in any way. "What are they doing up there?"

It took Hayden a full minute to stop screaming and calm himself, and the only reason it was that fast was due to Zirani taking a threatening step towards him.

"They're getting ready for another ritual," Hayden shouted, wincing with every word as blood trickled down his left cheek. "They sent me and paul out here to collect cores just in case they got something wrong. They." Hayden panted. "They said we were going to bring our great master back."

"Is that what the flesh is for?" Zirani questioned.

Hayden nodded. "Yes, yes!"

"How close are they?" Misty asked, her eyes avoiding the grim-looking wound on the twin horn arcanists face.

"A few days?" Hayden answered.

Zirani asked him a few more questions, trying to get as much detail as possible, from how many of them there were, where they were located on the next floor, how powerful they were, and more.

When we were finally done, Zirnai smiled down at Hayden. "Well thank you for everything, Hayden. I will give you a swift death."

Before he could even open his mouth, Zirani's hand lashed out quickly, a large thin wood spike that, she'd formed only a moment ago, pierced through Hayden's chest and into his heart. The twin horn arcanist glanced down to his chest then back up to IZnria, his eyes full of shock and fear then ZInria pulled the spike out and he toppled sideways, dead.

"Well we've got a lot to think about," I noted. "But first let's get rid of this body, it stinks."

Sandra chuckled though I could tell it was forced. It had been rather pitiful to watch, and it was only knowing that he was an upper disciple of the twin horn that held back any guilt I could have felt. Even if he didn't know what was really going on, he'd probably harmed, hurt, and done worse to people because he could, and because of his wealth, and besides he'd gotten a quick death, which was more than could be said for most of the twin horn cannon fodder in the war. No, he didn't deserve mercy, nor any feelings of guilt.

We were still at war with the twin horn, and it wouldn't end until the four of us, finished it.