Strena Animéga Part Seven

 The Innkeeper’s Neck

They had been traveling for a week or two and Yukino came up close to Strena.

“Tell me, what is wrong, child?”

She looked to the side, trying to hide her rage filled eyes.

“Nothing.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Not with that look on your face. Come on, just tell me. You need to say it.”

She let out a huff.

“It’s not about me. It’s about what Dark Lord Gajellidor has done. It’s about what my dad has done. Yet I am scared that I’ll become line them. After all, I was taught by Dark Lady Grasharlo and during that time I did bad things. Worse, I liked doing it. I know that the dress she gave me was enchanted to bring it out, but it still did it and it was still me.”

He placed a hand on her back.

“Tell me, do you want me to help you? After all, I know that you can’t do it on your own.”

She looked on and nodded.

“Yes. I don’t want to become evil.” She admitted.

He nodded and smiled.

They all came to a wooden hotel that was made up of four floors and windows were lit with red lanterns. It seemed to be getting darker and darker. It was all too clear that it would be night within the hour and it would be cold. So they looked up at the evening scarlet moon as it was covered by snow clouds.

“Now, tell me, should we stay out here tonight or should we go in?” Neko asked.

“After all the last hotels that we have stayed in! No.”

“But it looks like it’s going to be heavy snow tonight. Maybe a storm?” He purred as he nodded to Strena.

Chashathrophogh looked at her with concern. Then nodded. So they went in and spotted a sign book. The first was Chashathrophogh, then Bash, Yukino, Niko, Leonardo.

Name Strena Azlok 

Age 13 & 3/4

Birthday 31 Septmoon

Night Of Stay 31 Trebesmoon

(31st of June and 31 March)

Suddenly shock rippled throughout her body.

“What is it girl?” Zaryb asked.

“It’s my birthday in four months.” She barely spoke.

He looked down and narrowed his eyes.

“You’ll be fourteen.”

“I know.”

Suddenly she felt herself tear up.

“It will be ten years next year.”

He nodded as his eyes dropped.

“Yeah…Wow! I barely noticed.”

“Did you think that I would’ve killed you by now?”

“Guess so.”

“Who’s birthday’s coming up?” Purred Cerpheres.

They jumped back in shock as they looked at him.

“Heard you talking. Seemed important. Couldn’t resist!”

He then let out a chuckle as he looked at them lazily. Suddenly all of Strena’s hairs stood on end.

“Stop looking at me like that Master Cerpheres!” She said sternly.

“Make m-”

She punched him in the face. He let out a chuckle and he grabbed the pen.

Name Cerpheres Lockheartsmith

Age Spoilers, cheeky X

Birthday …

Night Of Stay Same as above 🖤

“‘Spoilers cheeky’?”

He let out a chuckle and gave her a cheeky wink.

“Cerpheres!”

“Coming beauty!”

“Stop calling me that!”

He put on a false sad look as he shrugged. He turned and walked on as they all saw the innkeeper. She had a gaunt pale face, black hair and eyes and a thick long scarf around her neck. Almost like a black boa constrictor coiling several times.

“Hello. My name is Chi Sakeshi. I am the Innkeeper.” She said in a strange voice.

“We have signed in. Here are your jem coins for the night.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you alright Miss?”

“Yes. End of Winter cold neck. Sweet girl.”

She smiled bashfully as she could glance beneath the scarf to see a piece of flesh that looked identical to the woman’s face. Then the top of her head seemed off place as where her neck should have been. 

I think that we should prepare for a fight, or she has a deformation. If so poor lady.

“Two rooms. Up next to the men.”

She nodded.

“Fair, but room too small. So five. Half price.”

Chashathrophogh looked at the rest.

“Four.”

“Done. Good number!” She commented, giving the keys to them.

“Right, girls, there you go. Cerpheres, with me. Zaryb, with Yukino and Neko go with Leonardo. Where are the rooms?”

“At the top level. Furthest from the stairs.”

He nodded as they walked to the top and to the rooms. The first thing that they did when they entered the room was check for traps. The next was for any gaps. Upon seeing that there was none, they kept their weapons in their bed as they climbed into it. That was when the thunder went off.

Strena looked out of the window.

“Miss Bash?”

“Just Bash.”

“Bash? Are you alright?”

“Yeah.”

“I mean are you alright about marrying my uncle?”

Her face became guarded. 

“That is only if we have to.”

“But if it comes to that?”

“Should be. Why, do you want to marry?”

“Yeah! If someone would have me. Did you ever think about getting married?”

Her eyebrows raised as her eyes narrowed.

“No. Mum did, but not me. Honestly, she never got me. She never tried to get me. She was trying to turn me into her. Guess she never liked that I was like my uncle and father…if fact, I even look more like a combination of my father and uncle. Nothing of my mother in me at all.”

She nodded.

“Not even falling in love?”

“No.”

“Did you?”

“No.”

“Not ever?”

“Nah! Not me.”

Silence.

Strena then pretended to sleep. Just like how Uncle Zaryb or Wolfox taught her. She thought about his time with her. She thought about all the lessons she had with him. She remembered when Dark Lady Grasharlo tortured her and him.

“Torture the girl!” She recalled. She remembered how he gave her a beating afterwards. She remembered how he hugged her after taking down the hydra. She remembered how much care he had for her.

How? How could I have not clocked on to that there was something strange sooner? How could I have missed that there were two of them in that body?

I guess…

Then she heard the door crack open. She took a peek at the door only to see that it was undisturbed. She quickly closed her eyes but she could not feel the room had become colder. She heard the wind in the room. Then she felt a hot wind on her cheek.

She flicked out her blade and she saw a white snake pull back. Yet, as she spun out of the bed she saw that it was not a snake but a neck! She saw that it was attached to the head of the Innkeeper! She saw the long neck and her black eyes were now red and fangs pretruded from her upper lip.

“Someone is not asleep like she should.” She spoke as her neck weaved from left to right like an eel.

“Bash! Wake up!” She shouted.

She looked to Bash and shook her head.

“She’s asleep, like she should be.”

She frowned.

She drugged her.

“What did you do to her?”

“I put something in her drink. Although, I did the same to you. So why aren’t you asleep?”

She shrugged as she drew her blades. That was when she heard a knock on the door. The Innkeeper looked at the door and hissed.

“Someone else is awake when they should not be!”

“Girl, are you awake?” Zaryb shouted.

“Yeah!”

“Who else is awake?”

“Yukino.”

They both walked in.

“Yukino, get my host’s fiancé out and down to the bottom.”

“No. Stay here, Wolfox!”

“What are you thinking girl?”

She ran to the Innkeeper and kicked her in the face.

“Ha! Hit your face!”

She sang.

“Ahh!” She roared. She dived back to the door.

“What are you-”

She pushed Yukino aside after the Innkeeper came out. She grabbed Zaryb the moment she put Darkector in her mouth as they ran. Then she heard a whack to her left. She looked down to see her face. She went to strike her neck. She went to flick the sword away then she felt a claw in her back.

She let Zaryb’s hand go as she pulled Darkector out of her jaws and swung back. Her body drew back. She drove Orion up but she moved her neck out of the way and hissed.

“Phorap’s blades! Should have known!”

She picked up a vase and threw it at the two. They split as they dived out of the way. Then they reached the stairs. Strena jumped over all the stairs and bent her legs as she landed. She felt a shooting pain race up her but she did not have the time to focus upon it. She looked up to see that she was still following her.

Good.

She ran to the next set and landed. She was hit in the back again. She rolled as she hit the wooden floor. She rolled up and looked around for her swords. Then she saw them ahead of her. She scrambled on as she saw that they were in the middle of the corridor. She went to run to them until she was pulled away. Then she felt her neck wrap around her. She was soon up in the air, with her neck wrapped around her body before she could think. She kicked fiercely as she tried to hit her body. She saw the head getting closer and closer to her. When she was close to her, she opened her mouth. As quick as she could, she hit her nose with her forehead. She saw the head swing back and she hit her head again and again and again. Soon she fell.

Quickly she crawled like a cat to her blades. She twisted up and saw the head. She went to slice the head off but the head dived at the door and grabbed it in her jaws and pulled it off it’s hinges and threw it at her. She dived out of the way.

Then she took a glimpse of the sleeping man inside. He had blue-yellow skin and he was no longer breathing! Her eyes widened as she looked at the woman. Suddenly she knew what this creature was.

She ran to the stairs again. She looked back making sure that she was following her.

Looks like I will be making some money! She thought as she jumped over the stairs and after jumping to the next floor her head appeared in front of her and her fangs scraped her chin and she felt her tongue as she hit the first floor. Then she heard her drop behind her. Suddenly her mouth closed.

“Oh! What splendid blood you have! I have never tasted anything so spicy!” Her neck arched up as she licked her lips.

“I need more!”

Suddenly she dived at her face again. She flicked her blade up as she dived out of the way. She swung her blade to the left as her head dived back to five to the other side. She swung the other side of her neck. She dived back and into the center. She drove her blades to the centre. She dived her head down and up, getting closer to her chin. She stretched her tongue to the wounds on her chin.

She dived back and landed. She ran on and ran on. She dived further and further back. She got further and further away from the stairs. She saw the head above her. Then she felt her hands around her wrists and she was pulled up. The next moment she felt her fangs in her neck. She heard the gulp and she kicked and kicked the neck as hard as she could. She cried in pain as the fangs were yanked out of her when she was whipped off her neck. 

She fell again and she felt light headed and dizzy. She grabbed her blades and drove them up. But she dived out of the way as she staggered to the stairs. She fell down as them she went to jump down them. She felt pain all over her body. She staggered to the next set and fell down them too.

She looked up and saw the head. She drove the blades up and cut the head clean off. She collapsed and her eyes closed.

Cerpheres walked up to her. He had a drunken look on his reddened face. He healed her and picked her up. He kissed her forehead.

“That was great! You are great. Your dear uncle raised you well! So rest, you have earned it, you delightful book!” He laughed.