The Heartstone Saga by Archibald Bradford (short novels in english .TXT) 📕

“Yeah, I’m still… taking in the fact that I have a sister who doesn’t seem to like me very much.”

Volka rested her hand on his thigh and squeezed.

“I regret that I could not be there to help smooth things over for you.” She lamented.

“Give her time dearheart.” Ophelia suggested kindly; “I’m sure she will open up eventually, even without a Valkyrie forcing her to!”

Milly hummed in agreement and opened her mouth to speak, but as the Flutterby stood to clear their plates they all heard and felt a faint rumble from outside, and she grabbed Milly’s shoulder to steady herself, cutting off whatever the Minotaur was about to say.

“Oh my! Is it an earthquake?”

The shaking ended quickly, and they looked around, puzzled.

Then the light coming through the large bank of windows dimmed noticeably, and Volka frowned at the change, getting up from her seat and looking out to see if there were storm clouds rolling in.

“Thunder perhaps.” She mumbled.

But she soon knew otherwise.

A black figure hung in the skies outside, twenty yards away from their apartment windows.

Shadows were dripping off of Evadne as she met the Valkyrie’s gaze and smiled to reveal venom covered fangs.

Volka’s eyes widened and she darted back to the table to take up her shield, only to immediately toss it into Nameless’s arms.

“Everyone get to the door!” She yelled as the figure outside cast both hands forwards with murderous intent.

A broad beam of pure night burst from her palms and came down the center of the building, colliding with the Valkyrie’s form as she folded her wings around herself, her glowing aura spreading out to match the darkness in place of her shield.

Meanwhile Nina flipped the dining table on its side in response to her warning, nearly severing Nameless’s toes, and used it to plow him and the other girls towards their broken door and the relative safety of the well-built stairwell just beyond it.

A second later half of the building collapsed and the Valkyrie and Gigas disappearing from view.

Chapter 35:Exposed

In a little cafe near the edge of a small grassy park in Garland, Grace the Katje was enjoying a rich cup of coffee while her adopted daughter Mishka was eating a jelly sandwich from the middle like only a child would.

The cat-girl smiled indulgently as she watched the Dormaus obliviously smearing sticky red goop on either side of her mouth. Rather than making a fuss over her by assaulting her face with a napkin though, she let her eat in peace.

Noticing her attention, Mishka paused and swallowed, then titled her head to one side.

“What?” She demanded in a defensive whine.

Grace sniffed, her smile widening.

“Nothing. Enjoying your sandwich?”

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten!” Mishka nodded enthusiastically, but then she grew suspicious of the cat’s continued smirk; “Why, what’s it made of?”

“Girls that don’t obey their Katje mothers.” Grace said absently.

She winced though when Mishka’s mouth fell open to reveal a chewed up mouthful as she gawked at her.

“Wow! Really?!”

Thinking that she perhaps made a mistake Grace was about to correct her, but then Mishka’s face became incredibly smug as she stared at her sandwich.

“Haha! You girls didn’t behave, so now I’m eating you!” She opened wide and took another enormous bite.

Grace burst out laughing, she couldn’t help it, but Mishka was too preoccupied with chewing to notice.

But then everything changed when the whole building shook as an enormous blue skinned monster girl crashed through the wall with a terrifying roar, knocking them to the floor along with their table and chairs.

Ears flat and ringing from the sudden noise, Grace lay in shock on the floor for several seconds, not even able to hear the screams as the eleven foot tall Ogre roared and lay waste to the place, one of the walls collapsing and the roof slumping down as it lost the support.

Coughing from the dust, the Katje came to her senses and pulled the table out of her way in her haste to get to Mishka, checking the shocked Dormaus for injuries with both hands.

“Mishka!”

The child blinked several times as she gingerly sat up on the floor, all the while her mother was frantically patted her all over.

“I’m okay.” The mouse complained blearily.

Not understanding what had just happened at all, she was more bemused than afraid; looking around at the changed landscape of the little cafe, her eyes drifting upwards to the ceiling, now much closer to them and creaking worriedly.

Mishka didn’t have time to dwell on the structural integrity of the place though, as a moment later she met the gaze of their server, picking himself up off the floor.

And therefore witnesses the massive blue arm as it punched through the ceiling and ripped him out of the ruined cafe, though mercifully she didn’t see what came next as the Ogre threw him with terrific force to splatter against the building across the street.

The Katje pulled her adopted daughter close.

“Mishka! We need to get out of here!” She whispered urgently; “You can’t freeze up on me baby okay?!”

“O-Okay.”

As a Dormaus her instinctual reaction to danger was to feign death so convincingly as to fool just about anyone.

But to do so when the building was collapsing and an Ogre was throwing a tantrum just outside would no doubt prove fatal.

Accompanied by screams and shouts of alarm from the street, the two of them picked their way out of the building, having to get out through a broken section of the wall.

“Be careful of the glass.” Grace extended her hand and helped to pull the mouse through a narrow opening that used to be a window; “We need to keep moving baby. Alright, stay close to me and don’t-”

She was interrupted by a squeak from Mishka as