Eldritch Girls Chapter 21

Problems at Home

With joy infused into her strides, Helen reached her home in no time. Eager to see her family again, Helen hurried to the front door. However, the second her fingers touched the doorknob, a familiar sound coming from within her home caused her to freeze up. “Not again...” she thought as she tried to block out the two voices arguing with each other.

“You're not in college anymore Aiko!” Helen's father growled. “It's high time you grew up and spent more time with our kids! Your kids!”

“But I need more me time Ron!” Aiko yelled back. “Time to relax!”

“You always need more 'me time' Aiko!” Ron growled. “Harry asks where you are every morning. I always tell him you're working late, but you and I both know you're out dancing at the club until sunrise, then you wander home completely exhausted at sunrise so I can carry you into bed.”

“What's wrong with having a little fun every now and then?!?” Aiko snapped.

“Nothing” Ron assured after letting out a disgruntled sigh. “But for you 'Every now and then' means every other night.”

Not wanting to walk right into her parent's argument, Helen sat on her porch and buried her face into her knees. “This is the third time this week...” she thought, still trying to block the shouting out.

“Sounds like they don't get along too well” Adola snickered. “How long have they been fighting like that?”

“It's been on and off for most of my life” Helen answered. “Sometimes they'll go for months without fighting, but then something will spark up. Then the yelling starts... I just wish they'd stop.”

Adola sat next to Helen. “Why don't you go in there and stop them?” she asked.

“I've tried that before...” Helen sighed. “Many times... It never ends well.”

“When are you going to realize you're a mother and you have responsibilities?!?” Ron barked, startling Helen. “You can't just spend all your free time getting blind drunk!”

“I didn't ask for-” Aiko stopped herself before she could finish. Despite that, both Helen and her father knew what she was about to say. What followed was a few moments of deafening silence, following by a door being slammed.

“Sorry you had to hear that Adola...” Helen muttered as a tear dropped from her cheek.

“Would I be correct in assuming they weren't always like that?” Adola asked.

Helen nodded. “Things were a lot better between them when I was a little kid” she explained. “All the memories I have of mom and dad from back then... They're all wonderful.”

Adola studied her human form for a moment. “That does explain why this form looks young enough to be your older sister” she chuckled.

“Well you did go into my mind” Helen said. “Shouldn't you know everything about me already?”

Adola shrugged. “I try not to pry too much” she said while stretching out her arms. “Besides, I'm sure you'd tell me anything about yourself if I asked nicely. We are partners after all.”

A smile returned to Helen's face. “Yes we are” she mumbled.

“Together we'll be able to stop the Divine easily” Adola said after returning Helen's smile with one of her own. “Nobody can stand against us so long as we work as a team.”

Helen nodded and stood. “You said it!” she cheered.

“Helen? Is that you out there?” Ron's voice echoed from within Helen's house.

“Yeah dad” Helen called out. “I just got home.”

“Well get in here before your dinner gets cold or I give it to your brothers” Ron growled. “I hope you know you're in big trouble Missy. We've been worried sick about you.”

“Sorry dad...” Helen muttered as she ran inside, leaving Adola to sit by herself with a smirk on her face.

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Later that night, Helen laid in her bed, staring up at her roof with sad eyes. Her parents had just finished another brief argument, this one much quieter than the previous one given how late it was. Unfortunately, the walls were not thick enough to keep it away from Helen's ears.

“You're a strong girl Helen” Adola said while sitting at the end of Helen's bed. “I would have told them both to be silent already if they could hear me.”

“I'd like to say I'm used to it by now but...” Helen muttered as she closed her eyes, trying desperately to fall asleep.

Adola leaned over and gently put her hand on Helen's forehead. “Just go to sleep Lavender Princess” she said warmly. “I promise that by morning you'll feel much better.”

As Adola began to hum a familiar tune, a warm sensation slowly overtook Helen's body. It was like the humming caused dozen of pleasant memories to rush to the front of her mind. “That tune...” she mumbled before letting out a mild yawn as her eye lids grew heavy. “My mom used to... hum... that... It was always... my... favorite...”

The instant Helen fell asleep, a smiling Adola vanished.

That night, Helen had a wonderful dream. She was running through several beautiful grassy fields, at a speed not possible for any creature on earth. The wind was playing with her hair and the grass was tickling her shins as she ran like a bolt of lightning. Her mother's humming filled her ears, keeping a pleasant smile on her face, even when she tripped over into a bed of lavender daisies that seemed to shoot up into the air the second she touched them.

After pulling herself to her feet, Helen spotted a fawn grazing atop a nearby hill. She tried waving at it to get the animal's attention, but the fawn simply continued to enjoy it's meal as more and more deer soon joined it. Not wanting to disturb the herd, Helen dropped to her stomach, using the grass to conceal herself. After taking a deep breath through her nose, Helen let out a pleased sigh and enjoyed the tranquil scene for a long time.

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Early next morning, Helen awoke from the best sleep she'd had in the longest time. With a renewed skip in her stride, Helen strolled into the kitchen to enjoy her breakfast. There, she found her father enjoying the morning paper once again, except this time, her mother was enjoying it too. A smile appeared on Helen's face, seeing her parents being happy together was a great way to start her day.

However, after rubbing the rest of the sleep from her eyes, Helen realized it wasn't her mother reading the paper over her father's shoulder, it was Adola. “Morning Helen” Adola said with a smile. “Did you sleep well?”

“I did” Helen replied.

“You did what dear?” Ron asked after lowering his paper.

“N-nothing dad” Helen chuckled nervously, causing Adola to giggle cheekily.

Ron let out a sigh. “So... You heard us last night” he said with a sad expression on his face. When Helen gave him a quick nod, Ron rubbed his brow. “Dammit...”

“It's okay dad” Helen said, doing her best to put on a smile. “Where is mom anyway?”

“She's still asleep” Ron grumbled. “Helen, no matter what happens, just know that your mother and I both love you very, very much.”

Helen was a little confused. “I know dad” she said before grabbing her favorite cereal. “You two are the best parents I've ever had.”

Ron couldn't help but chuckle. “We're the only parents you've ever had dear” he said, causing Helen to also chuckle.

Adola tried to lift the paper up so she could continue reading it, only for her hand to pass through it like it wasn't even there. “This is going to take awhile to get used to this” she grumbled before glancing over to the laughing Helen and smiling. “Still, it's not all bad.”

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Meanwhile, Liz was enjoying her own breakfast. She had gotten up early after spending her entire dream training with Koth-Ladon, who stood on the other side of the kitchen. “So Koth” she muttered quietly so as not to wake her older sister. “Tell me everything you know about this Adola.”

Koth-Ladon nodded. “Adola is... Difficult to deal with” he explained. “She was known as the Mother of the Hunt and she traversed the universe looking for more and more powerful prey for her and her children to hunt. Nothing pleases her more than chasing something until it collapses, allowing her to sink her teeth into her target.”

“She sounds nothing like you” Liz said before sinking her teeth into her jam-covered toast. “I bet you didn't get along too well.”

“Well, she did try to kill me once” Koth-Ladon said. “One of her children managed to find my throne and tried to slay me. I swatted the beast away like it was nothing and didn't give it a second thought.” Koth-Ladon let out a sigh. “Well unfortunately, all that did was excite Adola. She showed up a few hours later eager for a fight.”

“Did you win?” a curious Liz asked.

“Of course” Koth-Ladon assured, a bit of smugness in his voice. “But it wasn't easy. Our battle went on for one of your earth years, neither of us allowing the other to rest as we tore through the cosmos. Entire solar systems were destroyed by our fierce combat.” Koth-Ladon crossed his arms and narrowed his brow. “Unfortunately, right as I was about to land the killing blow, the devious huntress was able to slip away with her tail between her legs. She swore she'd return someday to finish our battle. But the next time I saw her, she didn't so much as look at me harshly.”

“Maybe she learned her lesson and gave up?” Liz pondered, earning her a disappointed scowl from Koth-Ladon.

“Adola doesn't give up on a hunt” Koth-Ladon assured. “No, I'm sure she's just waiting to make her move and strike me down. You'd best keep your eyes on your friend, at least until we can get her away from Adola.”

“Do you think Helen is in danger?” Liz asked, having completely forgotten about finishing her breakfast.

“I can't say for sure” Koth-Ladon said. “I doubt even Adola would be stupid enough to harm her. After all, they share the same body now. Still...”

“Still?” Liz questioned.

“I don't trust Adola, she's planning something” Koth-Ladon said before glancing out the nearby window. “We may have to take matters into our own hands if my suspicious prove correct...”

Liz's gaze dropped to her half-eaten piece of toast. “Helen...” she thought before clenching her fist. “This is why I didn't want anyone else involved with this...”

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Elsewhere, Carmen slammed her fist into the wall of the Divine's warehouse. “I should have done more to help her” she sobbed. “Joan is gone and it's all my fault.”

“No arguments here” Vex snickered, seemingly more interested in watching the old television in front of him than listening to Carmen's crying. “Siblings should look out for each other. Especially when one of them is nothing more than an overconfident fool.”

“Shut you mouth Vex!” Carmen snapped. “At least we've made some progress in capturing Kip. What have you done this past week besides sitting around watching pathetic human entertainment?!?”

“Well let's see...” Vex muttered, not even bothering to look at Carmen. “I secured us a hideout so Godfrey can better recover.”

“And?” Carmen growled.

“And all my research into our enemies is on a need-to-know basis” Vex explained cheekily. “Right now, you don't need to know what that research has uncovered.”

Carmen clenched her weapon tight. She wanted to slam her mace down on Vex's smug head. But the second she took a step toward Vex, two huge black wings burst from the back of the man's cloak, immediately causing Carmen to give up on her aggression and go check on Godfrey.

Once Carmen left the room, the show Vex was watching went to commercials, causing Vex to get up from his seat. “Well, speaking of plans...” he thought as a black ink-like substance started to drip from his mask's eye holes. “I suppose I should get started...” After giving his neck a crack, Vex retracted his wings. “What's the point of studying something just from afar.”

TO BE CONTINUED....