Harvesting The Witch Queen - Chapter 31: Concoction

Chapter 31: Concoction

“Is he still alive?” April asked September.

“I think so,” the warrior responded at the place of the witch.

“He is,” September finally set the record straight. The three of them stood all around the guise, this huge and orc-like creature that had been defeated and tied with ropes to this cross. They were now much deeper into the maze. Far away from this peaceful garden where the big fight erupted earlier.

It was already dusk.

The day had come and gone without anyone noticing that so many hours had passed already.

“What are we going to do with him?” Junk asked.

“He can’t be left alive,” September mentioned.

“Good. So, you want me to end his life?” he asked her.

“So, it is never going to meet its father,” April murmured, head down, staring at her now pregnant belly, again. Looking worried.

“It’s an issue for you?” September asked her.

“No. This monster doesn’t deserve to meet it.”

“September. Is it true that he was the one responsible for you losing everything?” Junk demanded the witch.

“He ruined everything. He deserves to pay.”

“Alright, then, why did we bother to bring him on this cross and to turn him into a scarecrow?” Junk asked her.

“Because it’s part of the process.”

“Part of the process?” the beast warrior didn’t understand.

“Yes. It’s part of the ritual,” she explained to him.

“What ritual? What are you talking about?” he asked.

“We are going to turn the conspirator into a real scarecrow. This is going to send a message to the rest of his friends.”

“I believe we are wasting time here. We should hurry. The night whisperer said earlier that we were close to the witch village. If they ever learn that we are here, we won’t be able to escape,” April stepped as she was still caressing her slightly visible pregnant bump.

“He was right. We are close. Pretty close. But we still have time before they notice anything suspicious,” September replied.

“Between the witches from your old guild, the little army of knights, the spider-vampire-fucker, Monsoon, and this top-hat wearing ass-hole right here, I’m not sure what we should do to avoid getting attacked or chased. It seems that everywhere we go, that there is someone or something that wants us dead,” Junk told them.

“Get used to it. It’s only about to begin and get a lot worse.”

“Seriously? Worse than it is now?” he asked her.

“I knew it was going to be a hell of a ride to work with you gain, Sept,” April said, softly and lightly shaking her head.

“Alright, you two, let’s get to work,” September mentioned.

“What do you want us to do, exactly?” he asked her.

“This,” September took a dagger out of a leather bag she was carrying with her on her waist to the side of her right hip. The dagger was in a leather scabbard. She took it out of the scabbard and handed it to the beast warrior next to her. Looking at him in the eyes.

“Right. Straight to the heart,” he told her.

“No. No. No. No. I want you to decapitate him.”

“What? It might be a bit tough with just a small knife such as this one,” the Minotaur told her while looking at the dagger.

“Come on, big boy. I’m sure you can do it,” she winked.

“Alright then,” Junk stepped forward. Went face-to-face with the unconscious orc-looking monster that had been turning into a scarecrow. Even though he was held pretty high in the air, much higher than and being much taller than September and April were, Junk managed to remain at more or less the same height. Pretty much the same height. The Minotaur stared at him. He moved the dagger against his throat. It was silent for the most part. He waited a bit.

“This is the end for you,” Junk whispered to the night whisperer. The strange creature would never be awake ever again. Sleep. Eternal sleep.

Junk moved the blade of the dagger even closer to his throat. He was just about to slice it and began decapitating him until he suddenly woke up and paused everything.

“You were about to murder a man in cold blood in his sleep?” he asked Junk.

“He’s awake,” April was left surprised.

“...” September anticipated this.

“You are not a man,” these were the last words Junk said to him before going full speed with this and finally pressing the blade of the dagger against his throat. Killing him. Ending his miserable life. Avenging his master, the dark mistress, for dethroning her.

“Don’t worry, April, I am going to meeting this child at some point. I will meet my legacy,” the guise was able to say as his voice was getting all destroyed and messed up because of his throat and his vocal cords were being violently cut.

“What are you talking about?” April asked him.

“Don’t listen to him, April,” September reassured her.

“Goodbye. For now,” the night whisperer, whispered, one last time.

“Goodbye. Forever,” Junk replied to him. Then, the next moment, the guise was gone. He closed his eyes again. He was dead. Without the shadow of a doubt. He was dead.

He decapitated him as well. As his dark mistress demanded him to do. He took his head after removing it from his body and handed it to September.

“There you go,” he told her. She accepted the gift. Took it.

“Thank you,” September responded to him.

“What are you going to do with his head?”

“You are going to see relatively soon,” she replied to her.”

“Alright, are you, two good on your own if I go do something else for a while?” Junk asked them.

“What are you talking about, Junk? We are about to leave.”

“I just need a minute. There is something I need to get back.”

“What is it?” April asked him, not understanding why he was moving them all of a sudden.

“Don’t worry. He needs something pretty important.”

“What is it?” the young elvish woman asked him.

“You’ll see. Now, let’s get to work. You are going to be helping me, April,” September told her as the Minotaur marched away and left them alone in this removed and narrow pocket of the maze.

“What do you want me to be helping you with?”

“With something I concocted before coming here,” the witch said as she slowly and seductively pulled something out from between of her huge rack: A tiny bottle. A flash.

***

A few minutes later…

Junk crushed the door of the wooden house that was located at the centre of the maze, where he and April first woke up earlier today. He searched the house. Destroyed and rampaged everything he saw. He ventured from room to room until he found what he had come here for… His armour.

The armour that had been handed to him by the ghost from the cavern, that they used to flee the army of knights and the angry mob from the village.

There it was. He found it. It was waiting for him in the last room he had to turn upside down. This was the only thing that was occupying this room. It was waiting for him in the middle of the room. Displayed on a rack. The Minotaur smiled when he saw it again. If he needed even more proof that there was something sacred and mystical about this armour set, there it was. This night whisperer atrocity wouldn’t be wasting his time taking the armour off of him and placing it into his house in the middle of the maze. It wouldn’t make any sense. There was no doubt now. This armour was special and Junk was going to keep it for himself. No matter what.

There you are. It took you sometime, a ghostly and fading voice could be heard in his head as he first stepped into the room.

What the hell? This voice? It’s back. Is it me that is going insane? Junk thought to himself as he shook his head. The voice in his mind vanished. The beast stepped closer to the displayed armour.

***

The sky was turning darker.

It had a sombre orange tone now.

“You are not serious about this, Sep,” April asked her.

“Of course, I am,” September replied to her. The two women were in the process of operating in some strange and dark magical art. The witch was opened the lid of the small bottle she was holding in her hands.

“The last time we did something like this, it backfired on us.”

“I didn’t forget, April, but that was a long, long time ago. I was much younger back then,” she responded to her.

“So, was I. Back then, I didn’t know it was going to be as bad. Now? I’m pretty much confident this is going to make a major mess and bite us in the ass,” the elvish young woman didn’t want to do it.

“I’ve got a lot more experience now. Trust me. It’s going to be just fine. We have to do it, anyway. This is going to buy us some valuable time,” she explained to her.

“Are you sure about this?” April kept asking her.

“Yes. Now, pick his head from the ground.”

“What?” April was deeply adorable when she said this.

“Pick the dead head of this traitor and conspirator from the ground for me, please. I need your help to make this work.”

“Why don’t you pick up the decapitated head from the ground?” April wasn’t interested in holding the guise’s head.

“Because that’s what I am demanding you to do. April. We don’t have much time,” the dark mistress asked her one more time.

“Sometimes I wonder if my life wouldn’t have been much better if I had stayed at the cabin I was living with before I got back with you. Yes. Turns out I was being fucked by the ghost of an old pervert every night without me knowing about it, but the more I think about it, the more it was pretty cool. These dreams I kept having… These wet dreams were all because of him, happily molesting me every night. At least, that life was much simpler. Now, we are being chased by every day. It’s sort of not fun,” April voiced her regrets aloud as she turned her back to the dark mistress.

“You wish you were still living there? With all that mould?”

“Well, at least, it was my mould. At least, I had something.”

“Look. April. I can’t blame you for regretting coming back, working for me. After tonight. After you helped me one more time. And after this new baby, you are carrying with you is born, I’ll make sure to give you back the life you preferred before. You have done way too many great things for me to be forcing you to do more like this. Look. I understand. But please, help me and hold the head of this traitor for me,” the sensual September begged her friend.

“You promise?” April asked her as she suddenly spun back around and blushed. Becoming all excited to hear this.

“I promise,” the witch smiled at her and nodded.

“Then, let me pick this head,” April searched for it at the feet of the deceased night whisperer and picked it up from the ground. She held it for September. Held it in front of her.

“You need to hold it upside down for me,” she told her.

“Oh, okay,” April didn’t know. She turned the head upside down, so we could see the hole where the neck was supposed to go.

“Perfect. Now, don’t move,” she instructed her as she poured the content of the small bottle right inside of the hole underneath the head. It was a slow and dramatic pouring, but once all the liquid was poured into the head and the bottle emptied, there was a sense of relaxation and relief that built up into the air.

“We’ve done it,” September said.

“Hold on. What are you two doing with the head?” Junk asked them as he came back from the house.

“I can’t believe I’ve done necromancy with you again,” April murmured.