Elena’s report, continued…

Now that she had our collective attention, Iris approached us both. Expressionlessly, and very gracefully, she made her way past the blood and disintegrated bodies. Her jewellery and her feet were getting filthy, but she didn’t seem to care at all in the slightest.

“The younger Lady de la Lune, is it not?” she said to Anna, the aloofness of her tone making it more of a statement of fact, rather than a question. “If you wish to meet your elder sister, I ask that you listen to me before you make another move.”

From the bloodied gasps Anna was making in response to that, I’m pretty sure she wanted to do something to Iris. Stick a couple of those eldritch chains of hers into those white panties, probably. Eventually, though, Anna found it within herself to speak. And I swear, the amount of blood that gushed forth from her jaws was enough to give pause to Iris’s demeanour.

Or not, my Lady, now that I reflect on it. Iris, she didn’t even flinch at the bloodiness. Didn’t even bat an eye. Or maybe, she can’t. If I’m being honest here, after all these years of doing stuff for her on and off, I’m inclined very much to think that’s the case.

“I sense your desire to fight, Lady de la Lune,” Iris stated, as she stopped dead in her tracks at the foot of the staircase. “It is strong, truly befitting of the Hellbourne. But you must cease this foolishness, at once.”

“Foolishness…?” Anna uttered in reply, spilling out her words between bloodied coughs. “I’ll kill you after I’m done with the elf, you silver-haired bitch…”

“You overestimate your abilities, Lady de la Lune.”

“I’ll make sure to kill you all… even if it’s the last thing I do…”

While this exchange happened, I stole a glance at Iris. Despite it all, she was still so cool and calm. She didn’t seem to find any amusement in Anna’s bravado. And that, my Lady, I’ll say, is not at all like me, whenever I get the bad guys on their last leg. This situation’s different, of course.

“It is most unwise for you to die here, in this accursed place,” Iris simply stated, in that aloof yet collected tone of hers. “But, enough talk from me. I shall give you a reason to live.”

She then raised her hand, and snapped her fingers. Honestly, if Anna wasn’t so tired out, she probably would’ve done something violent. And thankfully, she didn’t, because the mansion’s doors opened, and I could see Claire and Cecelia coming in to join the three of us in this bloody hell.

“Dagon…” Anna uttered, her eyes widening as she fell to her knees. “It can’t be… he said…”

“Anna!”

“He told me, that you…”

“I’m so glad, that you’re alright…”

“Sis, I…”

I’m sure that Anna had much more to say, when Claire and Cecelia embraced her. But now that she was in the arms of her family, she cried like a little girl, weeping for everything that had led up to this very moment. For that thing that the mortals desire, my Lady. I’m not sure how to put it in words, really. Love and reunion, was it? With lots of that nice mortal warmth, I’m sure.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

While the three of them had their reunion, I looked at Iris. When she gave me nothing more than a curt nod, I asked her why she had come here, and why she couldn’t just do this at the start. And in reply to that, she simply said:

“I sensed a disturbance from the will of Elicia, just as you left. She has plans for this particular Hellbourne, it seems. Plans unknown to me, but plans that I cannot have you ruin.”

She then smiled at me. Or maybe she didn’t, before adding:

“That, and I needed you to burn her passions out. Back at my Studio, you told me that this entire task was your responsibility, did you not? And from what little I know of the younger Lady de la Lune, she is very… passionate.”

“You know, Iris, I…” I stated in reply, as curtly as I could despite my wounds. “I totally… had it. Wasn’t gonna kill her, y’know?”

“Perhaps, you would not. Apologies, Lady de L’Enfer. I cannot risk the will of Elicia to a murderer in the pitch of battle.”

“You… damn it.”

I won’t lie, my Lady. That back then and there, I was pretty annoyed with Iris. And I would’ve given her a piece of my mind, but it was also at that moment that I heard screams coming from Claire and Cecelia, and we put our conversation on hold, rushing up to them as quickly as we could. ‘Rushing’, of course, being a figure of speech – Iris was nice enough to lend me a hand as I limped up the steps.

And I feared the worst, I’ll say, when I saw Anna’s motionless body. Claire was in hysterics, and Cecelia watched on in silence, with eyes like that of a woman already dead. It’s also then, that I end up thinking about the Bloodstone that was now all of her. That it’s not the first time I’ve come across something like this in my research and travels across Melodia, and that I know that it is, like all artifacts worldly or eldritch, powered by magic. Life magic, to be exact, drawn from the very essence of existence itself, and twisted into the eldritch element of the Hellbourne.

“This… Bloodstone,” I remarked quietly to Iris, with all that in mind. “You know how it works, right?”

“One life, for another…” Iris stated out loud, probably thinking the same thing as I, while she looked upon the faded light of Anna’s Bloodstone. “Its essence is expendable, but never truly gone.”

“Well then… I’ll give it a boost. Iris, y’know what to do, right?”

“Of course, Lady de L’Enfer. Do what you will, for their sake.”

“No! Let me… please let me do it!” Cecelia suddenly exclaimed out of the blue, her voice heavy with pain. “My life, I’ll give… it’s all because of me… that this… I should…”

Iris looked at me, and nodded quietly. With a nod of my own, I walked up to Cecelia, who stepped away immediately as she let out a mousey shriek. I suppose, my Lady, that our first encounter back at her café really left an impression on her.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, Cecelia…” I said to her, doing my best to smile despite my wounds as I placed my hands upon her trembling shoulders. “You’re very brave to offer your life, y’know?”

It was with this, that Cecelia burst into tears. In my arms, she wept noisily, and I held her for a while. And after that, I knelt before Anna’s black heart.

“Nobody has to die here…” I stated as Iris came to my aid, while Claire and Cecelia watched us both with tears in their eyes. “Not permanently, at least…”