Fall of the Mystic Wood: Prologue

Author's Note: 

If you've been reading the first draft I put out for this story, I apologize. I did what I always do and panic when I'm halfway through something and do a bunch of rewrites. However, I think this rewrite is for the best. The same spirit of the story will be pursued, but with a few more characters and a more compelling and interesting story. This is the prologue of the series, but could easily fit as a first chapter in terms of length and events. I figured I would do this prologue now so I can get started on Organism X - Ch. 09. 

The warrior fairies zipped through the air, remaining just above the upper canopy of the forest. Their eyes and ears were finely tuned instruments honed to pick up even the slightest anomaly. That was how they heard the screams. 

Fia Cailinion, the leader, motioned to her partner, Gela and began to descend in the direction of the sound. Her blazing red hair streamed like a gout of fire between a pair of monarch butterfly wings that flapped majestically in the wind. Her body radiated power. 

Gela May, a raven haired archer, followed her leader, making sure to keep enough distance in case their unseen foes launched an especially powerful magical attack. As she zipped through the air on a pair of Luna moth wings, she drew her Silverwood bow and nocked an arrow. She felt the familiar tingle ran up her arm as she focused her pool of magic into the tip of the arrow. 

The pair of warriors moved swiftly and silently, weaving between the trees as they zoned in on their target. The screaming woman provided a reliable beacon for the fairies to use as they approached. 

Gela focused on Fia and sent a question through the magical bond the two shared. 

“Genuine or a trap?” 

For a moment, Gela only felt Fia’s rapidly beating heart and rushing excitement on the other side. Then, after a moment’s delay, the answer came. 

“It doesn’t matter.” 

“It could be dangerous.” 

Gela could practically feel Fia’s smirk on the next answer. 

“Maybe for you.” 

After that, they stopped exchanging thoughts. The battle was nearly upon them. 

Gela could see an assembled crowd of humanoid shapes through an opening in the trees. There had to be nearly twenty figures standing there and the screams only grew louder. The warrior fairy silently landed on a branch of a large oak close to the clearing and drank in the scene. 

The figures were human. Gela could smell them even from her distant perch. A dirty smell of rotting onions and dried sweat.

The men were clad in makeshift leather armor and armed with poorly constructed longbows and short swords. They stood around a small iron cage mounted on a wagon. Inside the cage was a single woman in tattered, filthy garments. The woman’s rosy cheeks were streaked with tears. She screamed and begged for help as the men taunted her. 

Cold rage seeped into Gela’s veins as she watched. Human or not, the woman was clearly a victim and the men slavers. They would pay for this moral abomination. 

Then, as Gela caught sight of her commander, shock replaced her anger. 

The red-headed fairy zipped over the slavers, doing an elegant loop high in the air above them before landing directly in the middle of the crowd. For a moment, the men were stunned into silence. 

Gela looked on with a mix of horror and awe as her commander glared at the men. An average fairy standing among human men would have looked comically frail. Short of stature and light on raw physical strength, fairies were often outpaced in physical combat by men of comparable training. 

This was not the case with Fia, however. The powerful warrior stood eye-to-eye with a powerfully built man wearing a spiked helmet - the apparent leader of the slaver band. 
In the next moment, the tension broke and the slavers drew their weapons. 

“Halt!” Fia shouted. “You are within the borders of the mystic wood. Explain yourselves. Why have you captured this poor woman?” 

The leader stepped up to Fia and spat into her face. Watching this, Gela fought back the strong urge to let loose her magically charged arrow into the human man’s skull. It would not solve anything to kill the man yet, even if it was a punishment he clearly deserved. 

“Fuck off, fairy bitch. It’s a human girl. This isn’t your peoples’ business.” 

Fia’s eyes narrowed and she stepped closer to the leader, drawing her enchanted sword. The man momentarily faltered as he realized just how imposing this odd fairy was, but quickly recovered. 

“Slavery is illegal within the kingdom of the mystic wood. Humans living within our borders abide by our laws and live under our protection.” 

The man let loose a barking laugh and drew an axe from his belt. 

“Slavery? Why, this little cully is a fugitive. We’re men of the law, you see.” 

Fia smirked and pointed to a red patch on the man’s shoulder. 

“I suppose the nearly half a dozen other bands of humans we intercepted in the last month, all of which were wearing the exact same symbol on their persons were also men of the law.”

“Listen, flutterslut. You need to back off and mind your business.” 

Gela felt the familiar tingle as Fia’s thoughts traversed their blood-bond. 

“Close your eyes until I give you the go-ahead. Then be ready to give cover.”

“Ay, commander,” Gela sent back. 

She closed her eyes and allowed her sense of hearing to expand beyond its normal scope. The warrior fairy could hear the ongoing conversation between Fia and the lead slaver, but she could hear other things as well. Someone in the crowd passed gas. Another muttered the word flutterslut, again forcing Gela to suppress her rage. However, the most interesting sound was the hissing of air reminiscent of a tea kettle. 

Immediately, Gela focused on her blood-bond and sent the message to Fia. 

“They’ve got a magic user. He’s preparing a spell. Probably heat magic.” 

“Thanks,” Fia responded. 

The lead slaver was now hollering in Fia’s face. 

“I’ll give you one more chance, flutterslut. You come her alone acting all high and mighty, interfering with the law. I won’t stand for it. Now fuck off.” 

Fia flashed the man a sunny grin. 

“No thanks,” she said. 

In the next moment, Fia ducked to the ground as a blast of heat rocketed towards her. The magical energy flew over her head, exploding upon contact with one of the assembled men. The slaver screamed as his body burst into flames. 

Fia muttered a rapid incantation and jabbed her enchanted sword into the earth, letting loose a dazzling blast of light. The spell was so intense that Gela, perched several hundred feet away, could see the bones of her fingers through her closed eyelids. Men howled as their vision was stripped away from them and in the confusion, Fia grabbed the lead slaver and shot into the air. When she reached a height of nearly a hundred feet, she let the man loose, sending him tumbling to the forest floor. 

The men least affected by Fia’s blast of light magic began drawing their longbows and firing wildly in the air. This was where Gela came in. She let loose her magically infused arrow into a particularly dense clump of slavers firing arrows. On contact, the tip of the arrow exploded, throwing the men several feet. 

Without skipping a beat, Gela zipped to another branch, nocked an arrow, and took out another slaver. She repeated this process repeatedly, gradually thinning the crowd.
Meanwhile, Fia descended on the remaining slavers like an eagle, slashing them with her enchanted sword. The elegant blade burned like a hot iron as the warrior fairy’s magic coursed through it. 

In a short amount of time, it became obvious to the remaining slavers that the battle was lost. The surviving men stumbled off into the woods, leaving behind their camp equipment and the girl. For a moment, Fia made to give chase, but Gela called out to her through their blood-bond. 

“It’s not worth it,” She sent. “They won’t be coming back after a fight like this.” 

“They should die for what they were doing.”

“That won’t help this poor girl,” Gela thought. “Let the mystic wood decide their fate.” 

“Fine,” Fia answered. 

Gela zipped down to the clearing and inspected the damage. Several bodies lay on the forest floor without a survivor in sight. Gela felt sick. While she despised humans like this, such bloodshed felt like an abomination of its own. 

“Well, we did it,” She said to Fia. 

“They keep coming back to these woods. Why? They never used to.” Fia said, deep in thought. 

“They’re obviously coming from Ilium,” Gela responded. “I think it long overdue that we speak with someone from the kingdom about this.” 

“Maybe,” Fia said, kicking the helmet of the former leader of the slaver band. 

The sound of a woman weeping broke the two fairies out of their funk. Gela looked over and saw the human girl gazing at them, her face pressed up against the bars of her cage. Her eyes were wide with terror. 

“Please don’t kill me,” the girl said. 

Gela stepped over to the cage and flashed the young woman a reassuring smile. 
“Don’t be silly. We aren’t here to kill you, we’re here to save you!”

The girl brightened and immediately stood up. Gela noticed that the poor thing’s clothes were filthy and soaking wet, pressing tightly against a pair of large breasts. It was always strange coming across humans and seeing their bizarre proportions. Such breasts and hips were unheard of in the fairy kingdom. It was unheard of for fairy women to ever grow beyond a small handful.

“Oh, thank you!” The human girl proclaimed. “Thank you so much! The man with the helmet, I believe has a pair of keys. If you just search through his person and--” The girl trailed off as Fia marched up to the cage.

“Stand back,” Fia said.

The girl obeyed, cowering in the corner of her cage. If Gela had to guess, it was more out of fear of Fia herself than interest in following orders. 

Fia raised her sword and began to slash through the iron bars as if they were butter. Magic crackled and sparked as her sword contacted the inferior human materials. Soon, a human-sized hole was gouged in the cage. The tips of the iron glowed where Fia had struck them. 
“Come out,” the warrior commanded. “Watch the edges. 

The wide-eyed girl slipped carefully out of the cage and jumped to the ground below. Gela watched, fascinated, as the girl’s large bosom bounced as she landed on the ground. It was always amusing looking at breasts so large. So much jiggle and bounce! 

“Are you alright?” Gela asked. 

Without warning, the snatched Gela up into a tight hug. The human girl stood nearly a head taller than the fairy, and as she embraced her, she unconsciously pressed her chest into Gela’s face. The fairy warrior had to suppress a giggle as the sobbing girl held her close and thanked her repeatedly.

“Enough,” Fia said, pulling the girl off Gela. 

For a moment, it seemed as if the human was about to give Fia the same loving treatment, but a glare from the redheaded commander killed the impulse. 

“What is your name, human?” Fia asked. 

“Millie,” The girl responded. “Millie Bowen.” 

“How were you captured?” Gela asked.

Millie’s eyes filled with sadness. The girl slumped to the ground and began to sniffle. 

Watching this, Gela felt a wave of pity and despair for the young woman. She glanced at the dead bodies of the slavers and then back to the girl. She didn’t care what other fairies thought of humans. Sure, some were vile, but a poor wretch like this Millie girl didn’t deserve the misery she received. 

The girl began to tell her story in between loud fits of sobbing. 

“I lived with my sister and my dah. My ma is dead, you see. We had a farmhouse a couple of miles away from here. One night, this thing attacked our house. It was enormous. It had so many legs. Oh, by the gods, the legs were horrible. It killed my dah, destroyed our house. I got separated from my sister while we fled. Those awful men found me a day later and locked me in this cage.” 

Gela shot Fia a look. Things only seemed to get more interesting. Many legs, eh? That sounded like a party. 

“Do you know what attacked you?” Fia asked. 

“It had lots of legs, like I said. Many eyes too.” 

Fia raised an eyebrow. 

“Like a spider?” 

Millie brightened and nodded her head. 

“Now that you mention it, yeah! I never got a good look at it, but it must have been a spider. My dah used to tell me legends of large spiders and insects in the mystic wood, but I thought they were just tall tales.” 

“Oh, I can assure you,” Gela said. “Such things are very real. We know from experience.” 

“I’m sure!” Millie said. “You two are so powerful! I can’t believe how fast you took out those men. And there were so many of them!” 

“It’s all part of the job,” Gela said. 

The fairy felt the tingle of her blood-bond with Fia. 

“You’re getting attached,” the fairy commander said. 

“I’m just trying to make her feel safe,” Gela shot back. 

“Be careful. We don’t have Marrow along to sus these situations out. This might be a trap.” 

“It’s not a trap. Are you kidding me? She’s a scared girl!” Gela shot back. 

Millie cocked her head at the pair of fairies. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two, full of confusion. 

“Is everything okay?” She asked. 

Gela realized with a pang of embarrassment that she and Fia had been standing in perfect silence for several seconds as far as the human could tell. 

“Sorry about that. We were, um, sensing the natural vibes of the mother earth. You know, fairy things!” Gela said. “You said your sister was missing. Do you have any idea where she might be?” 

Millie shook her head. 

“I lost her in the woods. The only thing I can hope is that she went back to our homestead.” 

“Then that’s where we’ll head next!” Gela announced. 

Fia responded over their blood-bond connection immediately. 

“You aren’t the one making the orders.” 

“What else are we going to do?” Gela responded. “Leave her in the woods to die?” 

Fia grumbled out loud and sheathed her sword. 

“Fine,” she said. “Take us to your home, human.” 

A look of fear fell over the young woman. 

“But what about the spider? What if it comes back?” 

Fia smiled, showing a pair of canines that were far sharper than fairy teeth had any business being. 

“Trust me. We are more than equipped to deal with such things.” 

It took nearly two hours to find the Bowen homestead. The going was slow on account of their human companion the woods in these parts were dense and swampy. Twice, Gela had to fly into the air and take note of landmarks in order to help the confused girl navigate. 
There certainly was evidence for a spider infestation. Large webs dotted patches of the forest here and there and once or twice, the warrior fairies thought they saw a large shadow creep through the undergrowth far off. 

The trio reached the homestead an hour before sundown, finding it to be a hopeless wreck. The ceiling of the small, squat farmhouse was caved in and most of the furniture and floor was soaking wet. Webs blanketed the ruins. 

When Millie saw the remains of her home, she began to tear up. Gela felt for the girl. In one short flash, everything she had ever known and loved was taken from her. Thank the gods they had found her. 

Fia left Gela to comfort the human girl while she explored the ruins.

“Hey, I’m sure your sister will be fine. Why don’t you tell me about her,” Gela said. 
Millie choked down a sob and forced a smile. Given what the girl had gone through, she was damn brave. 

“Bethany is incredible. She’s so strong and smart and brave. She saved my life the night the spiders attacked.” 

Gela started suddenly. Spiders? Before, the girl had only mentioned a single spider and she hadn’t even identified it until Fia suggested it. Maybe it was just trauma clouding her memory, but Gela couldn’t put the detail out of her mind. 

“She sounds incredible!” Gela said. “Does she look like you?” 

Millie blushed. 

“She’s prettier. Blonder too.” 

“I find that hard to believe. You are a gorgeous woman,” Gela said. 

At that moment, Gela felt a message from Fia pass through her blood-bond, beckoning her over.

“Hey, wait right here, Millie.”

“Is everything okay?” 

Gela forced a fake smile. 

“Perfectly fine.” 

Gela flew over to the other side of the homestead and joined Fia, who was gazing down at something on the ground. As she got closer, Gela realized she was staring at a corpse and gasped. 

The fairy warrior was used to seeing death, especially in these dark times. Still, what lay on the ground hardly even seemed like a corpse. Its skin was withered and dry, clinging to the bones. In place of eyes were two black pits that sank into the skull. The lips were drawn back, leaving a permanent rictus grin on the face. Gela had seen similar corpses in the ancient barrows left behind from the black fleet wars, but those bodies were nearly two thousand years old at this point. 

The corpse wore a simple outfit of brown leather and cream-colored cloth. If this were mummy of the ancient ones, these garments should have rotted away millennia earlier, but instead they appeared fresh save for a couple stains and holes. 

“How much do you want to bet this is the girl’s father,” Fia said. 

Gela looked down at the corpse and felt a deep pang of sorrow. Every day, the mystic wood grew in danger, giving rise to little tragedies like this one across the kingdom. 

“We can’t let her see,” Gela said. 

“I agree,” Fia said. “She is already volatile.” 

Gela slid her small carrying pack off her back and began to fish around for a shovel. 

“Let’s bury it quickly,” she said. 

“Hang on one second,” Fia said. 

The commander kneeled and cut through the clothing on the corpse with an elegant knife. Pulling the tattered garments aside, Fia revealed the naked body underneath and began to comb over it with her fingers. 

“Come on, Fia. We know what killed the poor bastard.” 

“Do you see a bite wound?” 

Gela joined Fia on the ground and began to look closely over the body. The skin was wrinkled and discolored, but a gaping wound should have been visible. Any spider large enough to cause the damage seen around the homestead would leave a mess. On the front of this body, however, there was no trace of any wound. They turned the body over and still found no evidence of fang marks. 

The kernel of doubt in Gela’s heart began to sprout. First the girl’s story was inconsistent, now the body of her father is completely desiccated without a trace of injury. Nothing added up. 

“Keep your guard up,” Fia said. “Something about this place makes me feel uneasy.” 

“Ditto,” Gela said. 

They buried the body in a shallow grave and returned to Millie, who was kicking around in the dust in the front yard. When the young woman saw the two fairies, she brightened and jogged over to them. 

Whatever was amiss, Gela could not imagine this sweet young human was the root of it. Clearly, she had been traumatized the night her home was attacked. Still, Gela could not shake the feeling that something was wrong about the entire situation. 

“Did you guys find anything?” Millie asked. 

“Just a bunch of spiderwebs, unfortunately,” Gela answered. 

“That’s probably for the best.” 

By then, the sun was slipping low in the sky. It would not be long before night was upon them and with it, danger. Spiders loved the dark. 

They set up camp for the night approximately a quarter mile away from the homestead in a small hollow next to a natural spring. This way, they could fly under the radar of any spiders or other beasties. There was no use staying at a known hunting ground, and besides, the ruin clearly upset the poor human girl. 

Millie helped Gela collect firewood while Fia dug out the camp and cast basic protection enchantments on the hollow. As the fairy and the human picked branches and logs from the underbrush, they chatted idly. 

“How are you guys setting up camp?” Millie asked. “Your bags are so small.” 

“Small on the outside, maybe,” Gela answered. “On the inside, there is quite a lot more space.” 

“Fairy magic?” 

“Of course. And we use magic for the other odds and ends.” 

Millie picked up a large branch and snapped it across her shin. She was a sturdy girl, likely well-built from years of farm work, but Gela was still amazed by her physical strength. Gela herself stuck to smaller branches and twigs. 

“I wish I could use magic,” Millie said. “It seems fun.” 

That was one way of putting it. Gela ran through a list of ways magic could go horribly wrong as a result of simple mistakes. Even after decades of training, she still managed to be surprised by the intricacies of magic. 

“It’s fun until it isn’t,” she answered. “Convenient might be a better word.” 

“Perhaps I could live with you fairies and learn all of the little details!” Millie giggled. 

“A human in the castle tree, that would be quite the controversy.” 

In the distance, Gela watched flames erupt from Fia’s outstretched palms. The camp was nearly built and ready. It was sparse, but enough for a single night. She and Millie gathered up their respective piles and made their way back. By now the last rays of light were disappearing and darkness reigned in the mystic wood. 

“Where will you take me tomorrow?” Millie asked Gela, a note of melancholy seeping into her voice. 

“There are other human settlements in the mystic wood. More and more each year. The largest lies on the border between her and Ilium. It’s called Neska. There are plenty of opportunities to start a new life there and it’s fairly safe.” 

Millie nodded somberly and dropped her pile of sticks and branches at the edge of the firepit.

“I hope they will accept me,” She said. 

With that rack, darling, you should be more than fine. 

The three of them ate a simple dinner of bread and vegetable stew before settling into a long, quiet night. Fia spent the evening poring through various magical texts she brought along for study while Gela and Millie continued to chat. Gela could feel death in the air, but the fire and the warm food brought a touch of civilization to the wilds. 

Soon, Gela felt herself growing drowsy. From the look on Millie’s face, the girl was in the same boat. Both tucked in for the night while Fia took the first watch.

Before she slipped unconscious, Gela contacted Fia from their blood-bond, asking her if she thought they were safe. 

Fia responded by telling her to sleep very lightly, causing Gela to shiver a little. 

The warrior fairies changed guard twice before it came. During her posts, Gela found the woods to be silent, but still could not shake a sense of lingering danger. Something was out there, watching them. 

Just before Gela went to wake up Fia for the next exchange, a loud shriek rang out from the woods. The sound echoed through the camp, forcing both Fia and Millie awake. Fia drew her sword, the blade igniting with magical power and glowing balefully in the darkness. Gela nocked and arrow and immediately began channeling magical energy into the tip. 

“Have you ever heard a spider like that?” Gela asked Fia. 

Fia held up finger and listened. 

“Someone’s charging a spell.” 

Gela listened carefully and heard the whistling of wind and under it a faint chanting. She turned back towards Millie and prepared to warn the girl when the spell released from deeper in the wood. 

In the next moment, a thick cloud of mist rolled at unnatural speed towards the camp. Before the fairy warriors could react, it was upon them. The swirling cloud black out all useful vision. It swirled like a miniature tornado around them, wailing loudly. All Gela could see was the sliver of blazing silver that was Fia’s sword as well as a pair of bright red eyes that moved quickly into their camp. 

In the next moment, Gela heard an ear-piercing scream that sounded like it came from Millie followed by the sound of feet dragging across the ground. 

In the confusion, Fia chanted words of the ancient magical language of the fae, sticking her sword high in the air. The tip flashed like a newly risen sun, sending rays into the thick mist. Where they struck, the mist burned away. Within moments, the camp was clear again. Millie was nowhere to be seen. 

In the distance, Millie cried out. Something was carrying her deeper into the woods. 
“How did we let that thing get the drop on us?” Gela asked. 

“It does not matter,” Fia said. “Come on, let’s give chase.” 

Fia flapped her monarch butterfly wings and started to ascend only to be sent sprawling to the ground as a gob of thick, white silk collided with her wings. Gela turned and saw to her horror a multi-legged monstrosity advancing on their camp, its fangs gleaming in the moonlight. 

Gela sprinted over to her commander and began trying to rip the silk off her wings, but Fia stopped her. 

“Go for the girl,” she said. “I have this.” 

“But you can’t fly!” 

“I don’t need to fly, I just need to kill, now go!” 

Gela hesitated for a moment, but the sound of approaching spider legs and the fury in her commander’s eyes convinced her. She rocketed into the air, hearing Fia engage with the monster in the distance. 

Listening for Millie’s regular screams, Gela easily tracked the girl and her kidnapper through the woods. It was surprising that this unseen attacker had not silenced the girl. Perhaps Millie had gotten away? 

Gela zipped between the trees, her raven hair billowing in the wind. Something akin to battle rage burned in her heart. Over the past few hours, she forged a connection with the poor farm girl. Now that someone was endangering Millie, especially after she suffered so much, Gela was ready for blood. 

The voices were getting closer and Gela could sense that confrontation was near. She could see an opening in the trees further up ahead and a pair of figures, one carrying the other. One she recognized immediately as Millie. The kidnapper was dragging the girl towards the entrance of a cave. 

“So that’s how you want to play it?” Gela snarled. “You just picked your burial plot, swine!” 
The figure and Millie disappeared into the cave, followed by Gela a few moments later. The second the fairy was bathed in darkness, she drew a short, needle-like sword from her scabbard and channeled energy into the tip, casting a bright light. For once in her life, Gela wasn’t interested in being stealth. She wanted this scumbag to know the full wrath of the fairy kingdom was coming down on his head. 

The fairy warrior ran silently through the narrow passageway, following Millie’s sobbing cries for direction. The cave was much larger than she initially thought. There were several deviating paths and Gela had to do her best navigating the tunnels based on sound alone. 
As she moved deeper into the woods, Gela noticed that burnt out torches lined the hallways here and there. Archaic symbols were carved into the walls, their meaning long since lost to time. 

Up ahead, Gela saw a faint red light. Millie’s screams were growing louder, too. Things were finally coming to a head. 

Gela burst into a round chamber lined with dim torches. At the center of the room was a makeshift stone altar with a pair of black candles placed on it. The room smelled sweet and musky. 

Standing before the altar was Millie’s attacker. As Gela focused on the figure, she noticed it was a woman. The attacker pulled down her hood, revealing long, curly blonde hair and a pretty face. The woman’s eyes were the only thing out of place - they blazed with unholy crimson light. 

“Where is the girl?” Gela demanded. “If you don’t free her, I’ll kill you.” 

“I guess you’ll have to kill me then,” the woman said, holding up her palm and charging a spell. 

Gela readied her sword and advanced on the woman, ready to end this nightmare. She changed the magical focus on the tip of her sword to a defensive spell that would deflect the woman’s attack. 

“You have one last chance,” Gela said. 

“Is that so? Well I better use it then.” 

The woman winked and just as Gela was upon her, a blast of magical energy struck the fairy in the back. Gela screamed as dark energy flooded her body, turning her limbs to mush and sending her to her knees. Her sword clattered to the ground, leaving Gela helpless. 

“Good job, Millie,” the woman said. 

Millie? It couldn’t be. 

Sure enough, the buxom farm girl skipped over to Gela and smiled brightly. Her sweet brown eyes now blazed with the same fiery light as the blonde woman’s. 

“Thank you, sis!” Millie said cheerfully. “Do you like what I brought?” 

“A fairy warrior. Millie, this is perfect!” 

The blonde embraced Millie, kissing her on the lips and cupping her large breasts. Gela watched on in disgust as the sisters engaged in such a forbidden act. 

The blonde turned back to Gela and smiled wickedly. She pulled off her robe, revealing massive breasts that even dwarfed her sisters and toned, exquisitely feminine body. 
“So, this a fairy. I’ve never seen one up close before. She’s cute!” 

“You should see the other one,” Millie said. “She’s even better. Much more powerful!” 

“You did well, sister. This one will do for now.” 

The blonde woman kneeled and cupped Gela’s cheek, staring into her eyes. The evil Gela saw in those eyes made her feel sick. 

“I’ll kill you,” Gela muttered, but she knew it was a hollow threat. 

The magic that sent her to her knees was potent and she still couldn’t move her arms or legs. All she could hope for was her commander. That was, if the spiders didn’t kill her first. 

“What a feisty little creature,” the woman said. She turned to her sister and commanded, “give me the blood.” 

Millie obeyed, bringing over a clay cup that smelled of iron. The blonde witch held up the cup and chanted in an arcane language Gela could not understand. 

“This is the blood of our father,” the blonde said. “Collected before we drained his life force.”
“So that’s what happened to him,” Gela muttered. 

“Ah, so you saw his corpse. How is father dearest?”

“How could you kill your own father?”

The woman cackled. 

“I’ve done far worse. Just ask Millie over there.” 

The brown-haired farm girl had pulled off her clothes and was playing with her full breasts and crotch as she stared at Gela. 

“Sis opened my eyes,” she said, cupping squeezing her breasts. “She helped me grow, too.” 

“But the slavers and the spiders. It doesn’t add up,” Gela said. 

“Ah yes. I should thank you for rescuing my dear sister. She was so foolish to let those men take her.”

“She let them take her?” 

Millie giggled. 

“There’s a whole wide world out there, dear. And so many men to play with!” 

“She had a crazy idea of starting her own coven in Neska when she was captured by those brutes. I was just going to leave the idiot girl to her fate, but you just had to play the hero. I really ought to thank you.”

“But the spider that attacked your homestead. We saw the webs,” Gela said. 

“Yes, it was a pity. Those brutes interrupted our ritual,” the blonde witch said. “But we still go our blood.”

The witch held the clay cup up so that its lacquered surface gleamed in the dim light. The smell of copper was overwhelming. 

“Now, little fairy, why don’t I reward you for bringing my sister back to me.”

The witch waved her hand over the clay cup and began to chant in the same arcane tongue as earlier. The torchlight in the chamber dimmed and dark aura began to seep from the cup. It made the hair on the back of Gela’s neck stand on end and sickened her to her core. 

“I won’t drink that,” she said. “You can’t make me.”

Millie giggled and came up behind the fairy warrior, grabbing her slender arms and holding them behind her back. Gela tried to resist, but she still felt so weak from the previous attack. 

“Silly fairy,” the corrupted farm girl said. “The blood isn’t for you.”

“What’s it for? Why are you doing this?”

“So many questions,” the girl tittered. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

By now, Millie’s sister was bellowing her incantation, her voice taking on a deeper, inhuman tone as she did so. The strange words echoed through the tunnels of the cave, carrying with them intense dark power. Gela could feel the energy crackling in the air like lightning ready to strike. Whatever this spell was, it carried great and terrible power.

The witch concluded her chant with an ear-piercing shriek and held the cup up in the air. Gela watched as a red mist filled the chamber, collecting within the cup. Before long, the bloody contents began to glow as they were transmitted into a powerful brew. 

Millie cooed in the fairy’s ear, clearly pleased by the release of such dark magic. Gela could feel the animal heat radiating off the corrupted woman. Cancerous magic seemed writhe just under the surface in both girls. 

Meanwhile, Millie’s sister began to cackle as she inspected her handiwork. The blood in the cup now emitted an infernal light, giving it the likeness of molten lead.

“With this, oh lord of the tainted hollow, I shall become your conduit. Fill my body with your unhallowed power until it drips from every orifice!”

Gela didn’t like the sound of that. She tried once more to fight off Millie’s restraints, but it was useless.

The witch took the cup and began to drink the noxious liquid within. As it ran down the woman’s throat, Gela thought she could hear screams and moans of pain as if the witch were drinking down dozens of lost souls. Wicked power thrummed in the air, concentrating on the witch. 

Fia, if there ever was a time for you blow down the door and start doing your thing, it would be now. 

Save for the sound of the witch chugging her potion and Millie’s soft giggles, the cavern was silent. 

The young witch finished her potion and threw the cup against the opposite wall, smashing it to pieces. She sighed deeply and closed her eyes before reopening them, revealing two blazing orbs of unholy light. The chamber filled with the sound of arcane whispering from an unknown source as bizarre symbols matching those on the walls of the cave crawled along the witch’s skin, covering her body. 

Gela watched in shock as the witch’s already large breasts began to swell further. The nipples hardened and lengthened as droplets of black liquid began to fall from their tips. The witch groaned as her body transformed, her tongue growing to an inhuman length as her canines sharpened to elongated points. 

“Gods, it feels amazing!” The witch screamed. 

She grabbed Gela by her long raven hair and pulled the fairy in for a deep kiss. Before the warrior fairy knew it, the witch’s soft, pillowy lips were locked on her own. The witch’s long tongue slid down Gela’s throat, slithering like a snake. The witch’s spittle was sweet and spicy like cinnamon, making Gela’s head spin. 

When the witch finally pulled away, Gela swayed wildly, feeling her consciousness flicker. If it were not for Millie’s grasp on her arms, the fairy would have toppled to the ground. 

“What’s the matter, little flutterslut? Is this magic too powerful for you? You better gird yourself because that was only the beginning. Sister, keep her still.”

“You aren’t going to get away with this,” Gela said sleepily. “My commander will come. She’ll kill you both.”

“I’m sure she’ll try,” the witch said. “Now, let us heat things up a little.”

The witch seized Gela’s head pushed the fairy’s face into her massive bosom. Gela tried to turn away, but the witch’s grip was like iron. Whatever was in the potion had seemingly increased the woman’s strength a thousand-fold. 

The fat, dripping nipple of the woman pressed against Gela’s thin lips, smearing black fluid on her face. Gela could feel the noxious aura of the fluid and knew instantly that it was saturated in evil magic. Years of training taught her how to identify such things. This was very bad news. 

“Drink, little fairy. Take me into you. Don’t be shy.”

More fluid drizzled down Gela’s face. Where it contacted the fairy’s pale skin, it tingled. Soon, the fairy became lightheaded and giddy. Black milk continued to splash on her face. 
“So stubborn. I suppose it’s respectable, if annoying,” the witch said. 

With her thumb and index finger, the witch pinched the fairy’s little button nose. Even with her fading willpower, Gela tried her best to hang on. She fought the growing pain in her lungs, knowing that opening her mouth meant letting the vile essence into her body. 

Still, the pain grew with every second and before long Gela saw stars in her vision. The pain raged in her lungs and before she knew it, her instincts took over. She opened her mouth to take in a deep breath and before she knew it, the witch’s turgid nipple was squeezed between her lips. 

Black fluid sprayed into the fairy’s mouth, rolling down her throat like honey. The taste was indescribable - sweet and rich and exotic. The second the first droplets spilled into the fairy’s stomach, she lost her will to fight. 

“See? It isn’t so bad, flutterslut. Have some more,” the witch said. 

She squeezed her swollen tit, sending gulps of the tainted milk down Gela’s throat. As the liquid touched the fairy’s insides, an overwhelming sense of pleasure and warmth filled her. Within moments, Gela could feel her nether region heating up like a blast furnace. It grew moist and tingled greatly. 

It was all so pleasant. A voice in the back of Gela’s mind demanded that she run while she still could, but that voice shrank with every droplet of wicked milk entering her system. 

The witch groaned as her breast spurted more and more fluid into the fairy’s mouth. The arcane symbols marked across her body flared as she channeled ever more dark energy into the syrupy milk. 

Before Gela knew it, she was sucking on the nipple, desperate for more of the delicious liquid. Her delicate fingers, trained for decades with the bow and dagger, now grabbed the swollen tit, massaging and squeezing the flesh. Touching the human witch’s breasts sent a shiver of pleasure down Gela’s spine. They wonderful; soft yet firm. Every squeeze shot more milk into her mouth. 

“That’s it, fairy. Drink me. Suckle me like a babe.”

“Look at her go!” Millie said.

“For all the talk about the magical resilience of fairies, this one gave into me so quickly! So much of our master’s power is flowing into her. Oh gods, I love it!”

Meanwhile, Gela continued to suck at the tit, her pussy now dripping with pleasure as she did so. She felt hot and confused, but it didn’t matter if she kept tasting that sweet, sweet milk. The aura in the room darkened further as the witches continued to defile the pure fairy warrior. 

With each ounce of the cursed liquid that flowed into Gela, her body grew more saturated with dark magic. Her tiny nipples grew stiff and brushed against her leather tunic, sending electric pulses of bliss through her tiny breasts. 

She heard whispers in some far-off corner of her brain. They uttered foreign and arcane words that reeked of forbidden power. 

Every bit of light and goodness inside of the fairy begged her to stop drinking the evil liquid, but the fairy couldn’t quit the witch’s teat. She felt like a nursing child, slurping and swallowing the vital essence so that she may grow. What would she grow into? Gela couldn’t possibly imagine, nor did she care. All that mattered was the syrupy release flowing from the nipple lodged in her mouth. 

The witch ruffled the fairy’s raven hair and smiled. Her new ward was now fully under her thrall. Having a fairy in their coven would suit the master well. Never had she heard of the master’s darkness touching one of the fairy folks. Theirs was a race of purity and mysticism well beyond the races of men. Their bodies were sensitive to all forms of magic and the witch could already see that the darkness would suit this one well.

Already, the fairy had consumed much of the wicked good contained in the witch’s breast. Was it enough? Probably. Was it fun to let the fairy continue to suck with abandon? Definitely. 

However, in the next moment, there was a loud rumble down the hall, followed by a bright orange glow. Here came the other one. Millie had spoken highly of this one, so the witch felt a tingle of glee as she sensed the warrior’s presence. 

In stepped an exceptionally tall and powerfully built fairy with wild red floated in the air as it radiates sheer magical power. The fairy’s eyes burned like blue suns and her hands crackled with fiery magic. 

“Nice of you to join us,” the witch said. “Your little friend here has been enjoying herself quite a lot.”

Fia looked in horror at her patrol partner, watching the fairy suck mindlessly at the tit. Black magic filled the room like poisonous gas, concentrating around the place where the witch and Gela kneeled. 

“Let her go!” Fia demanded. 

The witch let go of Gela’s head, threw her head back, and cackled. Gela continued to suck obedient at the witch’s distended tit. 

“It’s her choice, dear. She loves my darkness.”

Fia’s rage intensified. Her entire body began to glow as she called upon a magical reserve beyond any normal fairy. Soon, the dark aura in the began to shrink as Fia’s righteous anger replaced it. 

“I’ll kill you,” Fia growled. 

“You’ll try,” the witch said, raising her hands. 

In the next moment, dark flames appeared in the witch’s palms. The spell was far more powerful than Fia anticipated and she could feel the evil in the room concentrate, preparing for a terrible onslaught. 

“I don’t want to kill you,” the witch said. “But I will if I have to. After all, I already have my own pet fairy.”

She looked down at Gela and pet her head. The dazed fairy continued sucking the woman’s tit like nothing was happening. 

“She’s already so far along. So full of my potent fluid. She will do just fine.”

“Shut up,” Fia shouted. 

The witch smiled and tossed Gela to the floor before firing off her magical attack. The evil energy soared towards Fia, just missing her as the warrior ducked. 

“By the Gods, my powers have grown so much!” The witch bellowed. “Even this flutterslut is nothing to me now!”

“Careful, sister!” Millie cried. “She’s more powerful than she seems.”

As if to prove the corrupted farm girl’s point, Fia pounced, her blazing sword coming out in a wide slash. 

The witch dodged the blow, but in doing so stumbled backwards and landed on her butt. She screeched and fired off another bolt of wicked energy at the attacking fairy. However, this time Fia was ready and held up her enchanted blade, channeling all her energy along its length. 

The energy bolt struck the edge of Fia’s sword and dispersed. For the first time that night, the young witch looked truly afraid. 

“Master help me. Let me strike this flutterslut down with your power!” The witch cried. 

She fired another blast of dark energy which Fia again deflected. The warrior fairy then advanced and with a single swift motion, severed the witch’s head from her body, leaving nothing but a charred stump. 

The farm girl, Millie, cried in sorrow and indignation and dashed towards the exit of the chamber. Fia turned and readied a spell to end the traitorous bitch’s life, but soft groan broke her concentration. 

Gela, her face plastered with black liquid, convulsed on the floor. The fairy’s eyes stared vacantly at the ceiling and every few seconds, her hips pumped into the air. 

Fia knelt beside her friend and tried to access the blood-bond they shared. She felt nothing. It was as if the link between the two had been completely severed. 

A rare moment of fear overcame the powerful fairy commander as she shook Gela, trying as best she could to wake her from her stupor. In the distance, Fia heard the shuffling of many feet and remembered her bruises and cuts from her battle with the spider. Apparently, it had family. 

The fairy lifted her best friend up over her shoulder and began to jog towards the exit of the cave, her sword drawn. Spider silk still caked her wings, making flight impossible, but Gods be damned, she could still fight. As the night deepened within this remote corner of the music wood, Fia Cailinion prepared for her hardest fight yet.