Chapter 22: The Dark and Cold Hearted

 

 

There was a distant rumble and a whistling wail.

At first, I thought I was laid out on top of Adam, but instead of warmth being beneath me, I was cold. On top of that, it was flat and solid as ice.

With a frustrated sigh, I lifted my head up to look, but immediately curled up into a ball as the frigid chill overpowered any bodily function I had. If I had not been transformed to emit a stronger heat, perhaps I would have frozen to death instantly.

I thought, ‘Maybe?’ It felt cold enough. And I wondered, ‘Why am I freezing now and not before?’ I had tolerated this temperature the last couple of times without an issue.

This time around, I was in pain. A lot of pain.

From my curled posture, I saw snow on the ground. White, pure, and plentiful.

“What the fuck is wrong with me?” I had expected to be in this frozen world, but the horrific imagery of the white fluff had actually struck a near psychotic terror in me. Lifting my head to scan around me, I saw nearly all snow falling to the frozen ground.

What didn’t land on the ice had melted upon my exposure. And I saw my skin reddened upon the chilly contact.

“Are you kidding me?” I hoped this wasn’t what I thought it meant. “I’m like her now?”

The fiery daughter now in me was initially harmed by the cold environment. I remember she was steaming from how each flake and carpeted layers of snow afflicted her.

“Okay, don’t wuss out on me.” After I ‘encouraged’ myself to get up again, I hugged myself tightly and scrunched up as small as possible to be less of a target for this freezing wind to hit me. The harsh sting of its chill was enough to make me chatter out a cry.

I had to wonder, ‘Where is the mother demon at?’ I was under the impression she would be here whenever I appeared. Or at least have that field of flame for me to stay in.

“Where are you?” As much as I didn’t appreciate her company, right now I could use her unnatural warmth. On second thought, ‘I do need to speak with her, don’t I?’

If I really was right about Adam, then she would be the only one who I could speak with to halt and possibly reverse whatever had happened. I still wondered, ‘How did this happen?’

In a way, I was distracting myself from the freezing temperature by going over how our daughter had changed me and comparing that to this situation with Adam. I never burnt him, but I had my hands all over him.

That was similar and I wondered, ‘Is that all I had to do? Was it our touch?’ If that were the case, would my contact with Helen… I doubted it. How I handled her son was far different than our hug or the supportive shoulder I leaned on.

A screen of flurries blew by my line of sight. I caught the fine layers of snow on the ground being lifted up and whipped across the white landscape.

It looked as if the wind was picking up.

“Fuh-- fuck!” Down to my toes, I felt pins and needles digging and twisting further up into my feet. I gripped my arms tighter and tried to keep my fingers from experiencing the same frozen fate.

There was a moment I thought about hissing, but I worriedly wondered, ‘Will I hurt Adam in the process?’ I hadn’t set fire to that sleeping bag, and I believed I had been in bed with him once whenever I hissed at the demon momma.

Through chattering teeth, I hissed --

-- and completely forgotten about how much I cramped up. I was warmer, but I wounded up down on my knees in my effort to heat things up.

Since I was already down, I hissed longer and a few more times until I was comfortably secured I wouldn’t turn into a meat-flavored popsicle. But it costed me my mobility.

Slow and steady, I stiffly got back up on my feet and gradually encouraged myself to take a step forward. I wasn’t going anywhere in particular, like I knew where anything was located, but moving around was better than remaining idle.

Plus I knew motion got the blood flowing. It was probable that I could keep warm if I kept wandering around. And there was a chance I might wake up or discover how to get off this frozen plane of Hell.

One foot, then the next. Step by step, I was taking doing something other than sitting on my bare ass. I just wished for some goal to be in sight.

All that I continued to see was either a complete haze of white or a light shade of ice blue. There had been nothing else out here than what I’d find in an empty icebox. If anything, I could compare this world to a nearly endless frozen Sahara desert.

“Ai-- I hah-- hope there’s ah-- an end.” I wasn’t speaking to anyone in particular, but I had shaken off the habit of talking to myself.

Every so often, I had to get steamy with a hiss here or there.

Each fall of my foot had greeted me with a numbing cold. I was certain the snow on me had melted, turned to steam, but also would instantly freeze the dew on me if I let up on blowing out another agitated breath to stir my inner flame.

Being out here in a land with no other marker than the white plain was making me wonder, ‘Is there a point in keeping my eyes open?’ Several times, I had to let go of my arm to wipe the crystallization of ice out of my lashes.

Once, I had felt the sting of my lids as I blinked them shut and struggled to open them again. That there should’ve been my only motivation in keeping my eyes peeled.

Much farther out, I started to wonder if I was seeing things. There was a different shade of blue out there. Because of that difference, I started for that direction in hurried steps.

At this point, I really didn’t care if I was imagining things. The sight gave me some hope that there was something out there.

The closer I came to that darker shade of ice-blue, the more definition of the altered landscape came into view. Unlike the flat snow here, out there appeared to have been hilly. Not great hills or anything above my knees, but it was a rolling plain rather than the never ending flats I was on.

As I arrived along the darker region, I saw why it had a difference. This was actual ice.

A frozen sea, and I was along its coast. This was an arctic beach.

Looking out across the darker region of this giant span of ice, I saw nothing. But when I turned my attention up and down along the beach, I had found my destination.

In the distance, I spotted a dark speck. “Are those houses?”

Strangely enough, I felt warm in my current location, but I wasn’t sure for how long, and if this mysterious weather would change on me for the better or worse.

The wind hadn’t been so powerful along here, but I wasn’t going to question why. I would never understand how these worlds worked.

So I curled and uncurled my toes, stood up straighter to stretch out, and got my butt moving.

Right now, I really regretted not having any means to wear clothes. On my very sore bare feet, I traveled across the freezing landscape towards what I hoped would be a community.

The further I walked, the closer I came to what appeared to be in fact a village. A large house -- maybe a massive log and mortar cabin -- sat on top of a hill in the ring of similarly built homes.

There were decorations attached to the outsides of each house. Either that, or they were unrecognizable tools. I began to lean my observational guess on the latter.

In a closer inspection, I identified a group of poles in a wooden barrel as hunting or fishing spears. There were criss-crossed fibers hung up on the nearby wall of a house that suggested these were nets of some kind. I didn’t know what was used as the threads, but I didn’t believe it was made of any kind of crop.

It was possible these tools were mostly made from inedible materials pulled from their kills. I could believe that, but I wondered, ‘Where did they gather the wood and stone to build these homes?’

I hadn’t noticed any trees anywhere.

“Unless…?” I quickly shut up in the event I wasn’t welcomed here.

What it was I wondered, ‘Do they travel to the fiery Hell for those molten trees?’ That would be quite an ordeal just to gather wood. And the stone could possibly be found here, but I’d yet to discover a quarry site.

Up close, I could not tell if anyone was home, but I sensed they were occupied, or had been recently. There were the savory scents of cooking, the sound of shifting movement, a slight play of light and shadow spotted within the doorways before I could focus my attention on what moved, and more signs of habitation.

I jumped as someone ran around one of the homes towards me. Or rather, my general direction. Whoever it was, they were looking over their shoulder as they ran.

“Oof! Ouch.” I fell back as they knocked into me.

A renewed shiver ran up my spine as my tush got wet and chilled, frozen numbly on impacting against the ground. This solid location was quite different from falling down in comparison to a layer of softer snow.

I laid my hand down and noticed for the first time this wasn’t ice. It had an alluvial texture and appearance, but was still as light as the blue-tinted ice. I began to gather where they collected their stone.

Right beneath their homes was likely to be a mine of some sort. I bet the entrance down would be found in one of these house-like buildings. Likely a larger one out of the rest to accommodate space for the extracted chunks of stone required to set up the foundations of these homes.

Quickly snapping out of my thoughts on this village, I looked up to see whether the person who had run into me was human or some other humanoid from this frozen world. I caught that they had a white-to-bluish tone of skin, but there were pinkened amount of rashes found smattered over their cool flesh.

The glaring color were blotches of highlighted pink and gave me the impression of those being the last traces of warmth trying to hold on. As if once those areas disappeared, there would be nothing but ice flowing through those veins.

In a panic, she looked at me with wide green eyes, then darting around me while on all fours. She must have fallen on her hands and knees.

Definitely female with curves on an alluring body like that. I had no idea why these Hellions chose to go around naked all the time, but I wasn’t really surprised anymore.

It took me a moment, but I realized two things: she was human, and the reason I knew that was because I knew her. Long black hair, the color close to that of raven feathers wasn’t what made me recognize her. It was those piercing green eyes that tipped me off.

She was entirely without clothes and had a fit and pleasing physique. For once, I was glad to be a girl now or I would have sported a stiffy at what I saw. But I might have lost that erection immediately since I knew this woman to be one mean-ass bitch.

“Mrs. Pureview?” As her name passed my lips, her attention fell fully onto me.

The terrified and wild look in her gaze was more frightening with her unkempt hair falling over her face. She looked crazy.

“Who are you? Are you -- you -- you are one of them!” The tone of her voice was one I had never heard before.

She was terrified beyond sanity. Maybe more than that as I picked out the cracked notes in her words, like she was about to break down and cry or scream.

...Maybe both.

In hopes of calming her down, told her the truth; that I was a student. “I went to your school. I have proof, I know Mr. Hillside lets us in through the gate every mor--”

“No! NO!” Mrs. Pureview shouted and nearly tripped over her hands to reach me. I scooted back to keep away from her while she was like this.

As she looked over me and shook her head, I witnessed her emeralds well up with fresh tears. I had never in my life seen her in any emotional state other than being pissed. Seeing a tough-as-nails bitch like her bursting out into tears in fear was not at all satisfying for me. In truth, I felt heartbroken because I felt this was my fault.

“You’re a student?! My student?” Her eyes opened wider. Then something strange happened: she transitioned back to a familiar stoic face. “Get up. Get up now.” She was scrambling up onto her feet and instantly reaching out to grab me.

At first, I was too shocked to react and she literally lifted me up into her arms. I think she was running on adrenaline.

What took me entirely off guard was how much strength she had. I was carried, adjusted, and cradled against her as she ran like our lives depended on getting out of there. She kept looking over her shoulder, which made me look around her arm to see what was behind her.

I saw nothing. Houses, some of those early signs of inhabitants, but nothing more. I was about to ask her what was wrong --

-- then I was thrown from her arms. I rolled on and over this loose gravel on the ground until I collided into one of the walls of a house. Wincing, I righted myself in a sitting position and searched for the reason I had been tossed with such force.

Mrs. Pureview was on her side, on the ground, but only for a second before she rolled and instantly knelt, crouched, and stood up in one fluid motion. The way she stood, her posture, it made me think of someone who was about to grapple another to the ground.

Only I didn’t see anyone else.

Through the snow, I only saw the shimmer of movement before the collision sent Mrs. Pureview reeling back. She spat and the purity of ice-blue on the ground turned red where her spittle landed. I tried to focus on what had attacked her...

Then I instantly saw it, or rather, her, as she moved in to attack Mrs. Pureview again.

The frost giant.

This world of whites, greys, and blues was why I hadn’t seen her. It was all due to how well the environment had kept her camouflaged. Maybe there was something more to it than blending with the environment. When the giant didn’t move, she was like my daughter, invisible to the naked eye.

But she didn’t turn invisible. Just blended in like she was a part of the village.

My attention returned to watch Mrs. Pureview as she had backpedaled up against the very house I was leaning back against. She took one glance down at me, her green eyes widened further, and I saw her straightened up.

After my teacher exhaled, then she bolted towards the giant.

“You want me! Fucking come and get me, you piece of --” The giant swung something large, rounded, on her arm that had smashed right into my teacher.

She flew back a yard from where she stood and smashed into another house soundlessly. My eyes glanced up at the frost giant and I noted that she had her ice blue eyes focused where her target crashed.

I had no idea why this was happening. My attention returned to find Mrs. Pureview rolling back onto her knees.

Before this went any further, I tried to call out and end this. Towards the giant, I started to shout: “Stop it! Mrs. Pure--”

“COME ON!” I quieted the instant my teacher screamed over my voice. I saw her glance at me and gestured with a low wave of her hand for me to scram.

She wanted me to run. I couldn’t leave her like this.

The two of them were locked in a standoff for a single minute. They stared at each other until Mrs. Pureview took a sidestep away from where I and the giant were.

Both of them distanced themselves from me, going back into the village, until Mrs. Pureview half-halted and charged into the frost giant. It looked like she was going to tackle the bigger and definitely stronger opponent, but the giant appeared to not take the chance.

The supernatural and taller adversary had used that shield on her arm to smash down and stun my teacher. At least, that was how it looked to have affected Mrs. Pureview.

Lying on the ground, she didn’t roll back into a position like she had done before. I slowly got up on my feet when I didn’t see Mrs. Pureview moving at all. “Mrs. Pureview?”

The frost giant looked back in my direction --

-- then Mrs. Pureview lashed out and grabbed a hold of the giant’s legs. She tugged sharply behind the knees and I saw the giant unsteadily bend down in surprise.

“RUN!” I felt a shock run up through me.

This was Mrs. Pureview, the teacher who had been such a fucking bitch to me all year, and here she was sacrificing herself to save me. Or at least delay the giant long enough for me to get a head start.

Not knowing what good it would do, I still obeyed and took one step back. I was about to turn away.

Instead, I held very still as I felt heat behind me.

Over my neck and shoulder, I felt something wet and hot dribble down to streak towards my chest. It was a humid kind of steamy liquid.

Quickly, I went to wipe it away, having not thought of what it might be, but stopped when my hand was obstructed by something slithering on me. I shook in fear as the appendage went to stroke over my breast and up to linger in a tease upon my nipple.

A huff of hot air blew against the back of my neck and I knew it was someone or something breathing. A light caress of that someone’s lips came down on my bare shoulder.

Then came the sensation of something slipping up my calf. I took one look down, saw a distended split tongue twirling around my breast and the other half enjoying how it was stiffening my nipples to a point.

But it was down by my leg that concerned me. I saw the long tail that traveled up.

I snapped out of my shocked paralysis and jumped at the booming voice coming from the frost giant. “STOP!”

Looking back at the giant, I noticed Mrs. Pureview was fully down again and unmoving. The frost giant ran over to where I stood with an apparent demonic creature molesting me, and she reached a frosty pale arm out over my head.

Then I heard a screech before I saw the giant yank whoever or whatever it was off of me.

That crazy, black lightning-throwing, split tongue-slobbering, horned woman had been the one tasting me. Giske! The thought of those wickedly sharp teeth being so close to my throat made me shudder and let out a cry.

She had promised the next time would be harsh. I didn’t ever consider what that meant until now.

And I still had no wish to imagine what would’ve happened if the giant hadn’t been here. I watched the frost giant throw the crazy bitch at one of the houses.

Instead of the dark horned lady being smacked into a wall, she zapped on the ground on all fours. A single angry hiss later and she ran off like an animal into the collection of houses around us.

There was a rhythmic noise behind me. Not up close this time. I turned enough to see a dark figure clapping their hands together.

This person, I didn’t recognize. They were entirely dark, black as the night.

There were no distinguishing features to identify the person. I could tell that the dark figure was facing me.

Then it gave me a brilliantly bright full smile before speaking. “Forgive her ignorance. She knows better than to sneak up on the inexperienced.”This was Grandma Satan, but it looked like she was in a different form.

No eyes. In her horned formed, she had a mask to cover the upper half of her face. I began to believe she was blind, but she walked over to me as if there was nothing amiss with her vision.

I glanced back at the frost giant and saw she had knelt down by Mrs. Pureview. Those large pale hands scooped up the comatose form of my teacher and cradled her close.

“Well fought.” I turned my attention back to the newly formed dark figure. “For someone who was an incomplete jotunn, a fine warrior.”

I didn’t see any sign that my teacher was cold -- raised goosebumps or erect nipples or shivering -- but surely she had to be freezing with nothing on. I wondered, ‘Does that mean Mrs. Pureview was changing too?’

Also, I had forgotten that about Grandma here. She collected fighters. Warriors. If I recalled correctly, my teacher had been in the military.

“Wait.” I turned my attention back to the frost giant carrying my teacher. “Please don’t -- I don’t want you to take her.” I didn’t understand anything; where we were, what Mrs. Pureview was doing here, why they had brutalized her, and what they had planned for her.

“Not for you to decide.” The dark figure of Grandma beckoned for the frost giant to come over to her. “She’s been lost long enough.” She smiled down at me and said, “We have you to thank for revealing her chains.”

“Chains?” I hadn’t understood, but I was about to.

“This woman continued to escape. Very determined, diligent, and enduring.” Grandma turned and faced my teacher. “This was why your mentor had been so busy. She had to go out and find her collapsed somewhere in the snow. We brought her back, but she’d escaped.” As if to clear, she stated: “More than once. But I’ve enjoyed her struggle and am pleased with her conclusion. A good daughter who will risk her life for her children.”

Shaking my head, I had to hear how Mrs. Pureview was this thing’s daughter and what this had to do with children. “What do you mean by a good daughter, and what children?”

The smile on that blind face only became wider as she spoke. “The same as your daughter. Once born again, she will grow and mature as all of my children have. Unique and beautiful, but dangerous to those not of our family.” Then she gestured at me. “As for you, she felt responsible for your safety. A teacher who cares for her students is as a mother who rears up her children.”

I glanced back at Mrs. Pureview, then up at the giant. It was madness, but I sort of understood the gist of that insanity now.

To the giant, I asked: “Couldn’t you have gone easy on her?”

The frost giant quirked a white brow up, then looked at the dark woman.

“Sorry to disappoint. Kris knows many languages, but English was never one of them.” Grandma waved in a general direction, then the other and said, “She traveled East, not West.” Now I knew what the frost giant’s name was. That made me wonder if the black lightning creature was called Giske, like I had thought. “Allow me to answer in her stead. No. Kris does not hold back. It would have been disrespectful towards Sophia.”The blind face tilted, turned towards Mrs. Pureview, and then back to me. “She truly was giving her all to protect you.”

“Sophia?” I was confused for only a second, then I figured that must be Mrs. Pureview’s name. The smile on that dark demon widened impossibly further.

“Yes. She’s very protective of those under her care. I’m glad you invited her here.” I shook my head in instant response to that last statement.

“Invited her?” I recollected our last meeting hadn’t ended on a very good note, and I mentioned that. “The last time we met, she had a seizure.” I shook my head again and told them: “I never invited anyone anywhere.”

“You did. You had a desire for her to experience Hell. She did.” Then she deeply laughed out loud. When she calmed down, she faced me. “You gave two invitations. One to Sophia, the other to Mike.”

Becoming upset at what I had done, I shouted: “What!? I never wanted Mike to end up here! Please, send him back!”

“He’s not here yet. Strong will.” After she said that, she reached out a hand to the still and cradled woman I had accidentally brought here. Before she could touch Mrs. Pureview, Kris pulled away from the dark demon. “Kris, she’s mine.” The frost giant simply gave a guttural growl in response. “My roof, my -- Fuck! This isn’t my roof. Just give her --”

“Grandma Satan, I thought you said Kris didn’t understand English?” That shut Grandma up and brought her blind face to look in my direction.

Now the dark momma growled at me, but shrugged.

“She knows better… and stop calling me that!” She shook her head and waved both Kris and Mrs. Pureview away. “Fine. Have her.”

With that decision having been made, I glanced back at Kris and watched her walk to one of the homes.

The door opened and a person came out with open arms. The individual had long, yellow blonde, and braided hair that went over a bearded face that was equally braided with silver and copper bands. His attire made me think of a medieval peasant, but the ax on his hip brought to mind a Norseman.

Kris took a step back, the Norseman folded a blanket around Mrs. Pureview before collecting her into his arms and carrying the injured woman into the house.

And that was the last I saw of my teacher.

I shook my head and spoke with a shaky voice. “Why am I here?” Then I remembered being promised a mentor. “No. Not after what I had seen of her methods.” I shook my head again and exclaimed: “Why did I have to see that?!”

“To show you not all people are as they appear.” Looking back at the dark figure of Grandma, I saw the smile had vanished. “You, for instance... I apologize for not acknowledging you as a fighter. You did fight on multiple occasions.” Her head tilted again as a smirk flashed brightly at me.“Just not the way I’m familiar with how conflicts would go.”

Being reminded of my own struggles, like with being forced to become intimate with Adam, had brought me to a good point of why I wanted to speak with this demon. “Can you stop what’s happening to Adam?”

“I won’t. You are the one making that happen.” She didn’t state that she couldn’t, but wouldn’t.

“Please!” If I had to bargain again for something, then I would. “I don’t want him hurt. Please, I’ll do whatever you want, just stop it.”

“...Are you concerned that your lover will be like you?” I was confused by that line of questioning. “Your lover’s appearance will mirror an image to attract you.”

“What do you mean?” I had an idea, but I wanted to be certain of it.

She smirked and knelt down to a knee before me to speak softly. “Your lover, this boy, Adam, wishes to be with you. Your mate is undergoing a change to continue ensuring you will not leave his side.”

That worried me much more because I didn’t know how far his changes would go. And I started to state my fear. “But if he becomes as monstrous as me --”

“Your lover is special, but still human.” She leaned an arm down on and across her raised knee to close her face in on mine. “You are different, and should not have existed.”

“What are…?” I didn’t want to know. I only cared about saving Adam and finding my dad. “Please, do whatever you have to do. I don’t know how to stop Adam from changing.”

“I won’t.” Her smirk turned up into a smile. “The desire, that also belongs to this boy. I will not take that hope from him.” As if reconsidering, she tilted her head and corrected herself. “Or her?”

“Adam is a guy.” I was growing frustrated with this dark creature never making things clear for me. If anything, she was only making matters worse. “Stop this, or I will start taking pills to prevent my pregnancy.”

“You won’t.” The smile only grew. “Or shall I say, can’t. You are adapting, changing, growing, maturing, and becoming who you were meant to be.”

“Make fucking sense!” I backed up against the house again and shuddered. The barrier provided cover from the wind, but it was still damn cold out here.

“In appearances, you shall mimic Laurel’s at a limit. Much like Sophia has begun to mirror Kris.” That was another name, but I had no clue who to associate that one with.

But I was a little worried about having any of Kris’s traits. “You mean, I’m going to get taller?”

“No, but you will become stronger.” I gestured to where the outstanding ice-blue lady stood. “Ah, do not worry. You won’t be a Jotunn.” I shook my head at that name. “A Jotnar? Frost giant, but not all are giants… this is to simplify the term.” The darker variant of Grandma looked blindly up at Kris. “Kris’s height, that was my fault. Like this Mike who has refused so far refused your invitation, Kris’s will was stronger than expected, took months… and even in that long period, I still didn’t have enough time to fully change her.”

“And what about this Laurel?” When I said that, her blind gaze turned back to me.

“If you’re afraid of your tongue splitting in half, don’t stick it out. That doesn’t serve to protect you or your daughter.” As I heard that, I began to have my tongue roam around inside my mouth to feel for any divide..

Then I blinked in confusion.

Then twice more as I realized who Laurel was. “I thought her name was Giske?”

The dark face of Grandma cringed and a hissed tsk left her lips. “Don’t let her hear you say that name. That family was cursed by her for killing her children.” She went on to add: “The House of Giske will be reminded of that tragedy with their deformed descendants.”

There was something else I took note of now, too. I wasn’t being treated so terribly, like last time. One glance up at Kris gave me an idea as to why I was being respected a little better this time.

Somehow, I didn’t think Grandma Satan and Kris got along well because of their differences. Even their extreme elements were opposed to each other: darkly fanned flames to brightly lit ice.

Glancing from the terrifying demon to the formidable giant and back, I asked: “What are you two?”

The dark one lifted her knee and squatted. Then she grinned up at Kris before she faced me again.

“Kris used to be human. She’s a Jotunn now.” Her hand waved out across the community as she spoke. “This village is Kris’s attempt to recreate her home. It’s missing the watery sea, but I suppose she will expect me to correct that once she has enough townspeople.” She dropped her hand to burn a bit of the frost off of the blue gravel on the ground. “See?” And then used her other hand to press a palm against her bosom. “As for me? I go by many names, titles, and labels. But I was once human too.” Her head tilted and she laughed. “That was over two millennia ago. I was a noble. Nothing noble about me anymore.” That bright smile lit up again on her face. “I am responsible for misery, death, and pleasure. That is, when I was human.”

With a shrug, she stood up and stepped around me to one of the houses. She had turned around to face me as she leaned back onto the wall.

“Now I try to fix wrongs.” I began to notice there being something more casual about her behavior and speech, but kept quiet about it. “There are so many wrongs in your world.”

“Do you have a name you want to go by?” She shrugged. Since I didn’t have a respectful name for her, and she had stated that she went by many names, I defaulted back to the one I’d been using. “Grandma Satan then.”

“Hm?” She lifted her head questioningly as if to hear me better.

“That’s the name I’m giving you.” Grandma clucked and shook her head in an irritable response.

“My, how original and difficult you are.” She shrugged. “It’s better than many other names I’ve been called, but I don’t appreciate being called Grandma.” That large and brightly-lit smile appeared to grow obscenely disproportionate on her face. Much like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. “Speaking of name calling, I can’t wait until I hear you being called ‘Mom.’” A nervous jolt of tingly electricity shot up to flush my face red as I glared at her. “Oh, don’t give me that look. From what I’ve seen, you will make a far better mother than a father.” She tapped her head, right alongside of her sightless eye sockets. “Trust me, I’ve an eye for spotting women in men’s skin.”

A scream ripped through the village. I looked at the house that Mrs. Pureview had been brought into and waited to see if she would burst out to escape.

After a minute or so of silence, I worried. “Is she okay?”

In a calming voice, Grandma said, “Don’t worry. Sophia was hurt. She pointed out what I had seen and assured me. “The man you saw, he knows what he is doing. He simply straightened the bone that needed righted. Sophia will sleep better now.”

As soon as I heard that, I tried to recall when I’d seen Mrs. Pureview in Kris’s arms if there was anything that looked broken. After she was clobbered by that giant shield, I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a few things broken, but I couldn’t be sure because of how well Kris had her held and covered.

It was if the giant was protecting Mrs. Pureview from anyone who got near her. Like Grandma here.

“Is she going to stay here?” I practically knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it to be sure.

“Yes. Don’t worry. The man tending her now will care for her. Maybe they will like one another? Who knows.” She shrugged again. I was getting an entirely different persona from Grandma in comparison to when we first met.

How different she appeared from before, this behavior, and her speech made me wonder if she was the same person.

I had a more pressing thought in mind than whether this dark momma was the same demon I met. “What about Mrs. Pureview’s family?”

“Hm…?” There was a curious tilt of her head.

I repeated: “My teacher’s family. She has a son, Roger.”

“...You don’t know, do you?” I shook my head in response and kind of dreaded the answer I might receive. “Sophia died. All my daughters must die before they are reborn.” She tsked and corrected herself. “Kris’s daughter now, I suppose.”

“Wait! I -- I didn’t kill her, did I?” I clenched my eyes shut as I shook my head in confusion. “This doesn’t make sense. She’s alive. Right there, in that house. When we ran, she even held me. I felt her.”

“Reborn. I told you before, the invited are the only ones who can come here. That was why you were quite the mystery to me, but an attraction to your daughter. An uninvited. Someone who should have died, but didn’t.” Her arms crossed over her chest and she huffed. “You can go back to your world as many times you want.” Then she softly repeated what I’d heard once or twice before: “You shouldn’t exist.”

I couldn’t make any sense of what she was telling me. I had to clarify one thing. “Am I responsible for her death?”

“Yes. Completely. You killed her. An accident, I’m sure, but you did technically kill her. Now, let’s not forget that Mike is -- Shit!” I was aware that Grandma was approaching me, but I couldn’t respond.

In an episode of unawareness, I only knew I had kneeled, broken down, and had a crying and shouting fit.

My hands sunk down into the snow to cool off, but I was burning. I didn’t care. The pain inside of me was far worse than the scorching heat that flared across my flesh.

No flames, but it was hot enough for my skin to turn red. Bright red, like the cooking stove that had a glowing hot element on high.

Grandma came close to me, but didn’t go down to my side.

In a thunderous sprint, it was Kris who jumped and covered my bare back protectively. She had cooled me far faster than the frozen ground could.

With the frost giant over me, Grandma knelt down to face me. I felt like I was in a tiny cave with the giant on top of me and I had a visitor peeking inside.

“Forgive me. I had no intent to upset you.” She sighed and reached in to touch me. Except I never felt the touch. My skin felt like I had a suit on from how badly I had burned myself. “Don’t worry. I can fix this.” For only a second, it felt like my skin had become raw and tender, burned again, then cooled until Kris was uncomfortably freezing me. “There. Fixed and your child is well. She can’t be harmed by flame, but you being hurt can hurt her by interference.”

“I-- I thought you said I couldn’t stop the pregnancy.” That made Grandma laugh in response.

“No, you can’t. Hurt, yes, but not kill. We don’t live, we exist.” I was confused. She was obviously more interested in screwing with my head than making me understand. “For example, look at me. I’m fresh from the oven.” She placed a hand over her bosom. “I’m -- how should I say, a duplicate. Not really the one you first met. We are linked; she senses everything I experience, but I’m not exactly the Master copy here. I’m an extension while she’s busy.”

“Busy? Wait, as in, you’re an avatar?” Kris was getting up and off of me as I asked that.

“Not exactly. There are many who call themselves that, but that’s because they have this God complex.” Grandma shrugged and stated: “To me, she’s mine, but not to any other. Certainly no God to you. She prefers to be a parent, and those under roof, such as her children, rather than treating anyone like a slave.” I partially understood what she was explaining: they were sentient copies of the true demon, but what this Alt would mention next conflicted with my reasoning. She shrugged once more and said, “Besides, in this realm, Kris is the one in control. As you can see, she would rather be a ruler of her people rather than a God. And it looks like she wishes to relive her past life.” Her head tilted up at Kris.“Peacefully, I believe?”

That brought me back to thinking of what I had done to Mrs. Pureview. “She’s dead because of me. Now she’s forced to stay here --”

“Now-now, Kris will care for her people. Especially her daughter.” Again, I was confused about how someone was their daughter or just one of the people or whatever they were called. “Please stop worrying yourself.” Grandma reached a hand back out to lay on my shoulder. “Nice change of topics: let’s talk about your father? Hm?”

After I’d heard how the Invited were brought here, I feared for my dad. “Is he alive?”

“Not here.” She gave me this unsure facial expression. Like a cross between a grimace and a cringe.

“...What?”

“He’s not anywhere. He was, but somehow returned to your world. Those who saw him, avoided him. Ah, for good reason.” I caught her face away from me, but without her having any eyes, I couldn’t tell if she was looking at something or not. “No one interacted with him. If you see him, I’d like to know how he managed to come here in the first place.” In shock, I stared at her with no response to the vital information she had delivered to me. “No one invited him here.”

That broke me out of my stunned silence. “No. There was someone. I heard another voice in his room before he was abducted.”

“Not one of us. I will ask the others if they had anything to do with this abduction.” As Grandma told me this, she tilted her head and brought her face closer to mine. “Heh, in exchange, how about giving me another name?”

“Grandma suits you.” Especially now that I knew how old she was. I tried to imagine someone living for roughly two thousand years. “I have a kid in me, and I’m not going to consent to her visiting you.”

She stopped smiling and leaned back. “...Are you aware of what I am capable of doing?”

“I know what you won’t do for me.” I already tried to bargain with her for Adam’s sake.

She smirked and said, “Ah, your lover.” I really hated how she got into my head. “You want him to be a real man? Are you sure?”

I blinked and asked her what she was talking about. “Yes? I had asked you to...” She only hummed a little and shrugged. “What?”

“You love him?” I shook my head in confusion when she asked that. “Oh, you don’t?”

“I do, but what -- what are you… Why are you bringing Adam up now?” As I said that, I felt my body grow hot. Not burning, but definitely heated in a way that made me shudder and gasp uncontrollably.

“Question: would you like to wake up now and be angry with Adam? Or would you rather keep me company a bit longer and settle this exchange?”She giggled after asking me that. “I would so love to watch your reaction when you find out what he is getting it out of his system.”

I shook my head as I felt myself sink down to my hands and knees, panting, out of breath, and -- regardless of the chilling wind and surrounding snow -- unable to keep cool. “What’s happening?”

“Oh, ah, hm… You know when you agreed to rest with him in the nude?” She lightly tittered in amusement. “I put it in his head that was an offer. Not that you hadn’t wanted to do something to him. Hm? Am I correct?” I had intended to touch him, but only to see if I was right about how sensitive he was. “Conflicting. You see it as acceptable to touch him, but not the other way around?” Again, she laughed, reached up to ruffle my hair, and told me: “You gave him a taste, I presented a meal for him to devour, and you were both delicious and satisfactory. But now, he’s addicted to you. Only you.” With another shrug, she smiled and suggested: “If I were you, I’d find a better name to refer to me by, otherwise you will wake with your mate filling you up with his love again.”

“Wah-- what the fuck?!” I partially understood: she was manipulating Adam again. But it didn’t make any sense. I was here, in this frozen world, not back in bed, with him.

“Don’t be upset. Love him back.” She shook her head. “You’re stubborn, you know that? Call me something else. I would be fine with being called Satan, Darkness, Hel, or something other than Grandma.”

My shoulders tensed, then I seized up for a moment before I felt the tranquil bliss of a rushing warmth filled within me. There was no way for me to catch my breath. “I -- I don’t -- what’s happening?”

“Ah, I told you, and you already figured it out.” There was a moment’s pause before she continued. “Isn’t it obvious? He’s loving you.” I shook my head in confusion. “Hm… Perhaps you do not understand where you are? Do you believe, when you are here, that your body vanishes from your world?” She laughed, but tried to muffle and hide her laughter behind a limp wrist. “I’m sorry. I can only imagine the bewildered worry on your poor lover’s face if you had disappeared within his arms.”

By now, I understood half of it. My body was still in bed with Adam and he was apparently messing with me.

“Don’t be angry with him.” I watched as she knelt down and crossed her arms over that one knee. “Please?” Grandma stood back up and turned to face Kris. “All my daughters have had loved ones possess a dominant trait.” She smirked at the giant before she blindly faced me again. “You told him to keep to himself. To let you rest. What about him? You sensed him wanting you.” She laid her hand down upon her bosom and confessed: “All I did was give him a little push. Is it really something to be upset about?”

There was an ever pulsing rhythm in me that exploded powerfully over and over again. The moment of ecstasy was so intense that I shuddered and rocked slowly to lay down on the frozen ground. As I drifted onto the snow, I felt a tightness deep within me coiling into a dense ball.

My body jumped and spasmed like electricity surged through me. It was because of this hot raging pulse in me. It had tightened the coil up until I felt it had erupted into a blazing riot throughout my body.

In an effort to be quiet, I turned to face the ground and pressed my lips into the light dusting of the gravel to muffle my groans and moans. That was all I could do; bury my face into the blues and greys of this ground to keep what little modesty I had left and be silent.

I shook with the excruciating pain and pleasure of Adam taking advantage of me. I thought, ‘When I wake, I’m going to --’

“Will you be angry with him? I admit, I did have a hand in this… yes.” If only to distract myself from this intense experience, I listened to her. “By a simple twist of temptation, he had broken your trust, but that is to be expected." A shrill whistle sounded from between her teeth. "Whew, you too. You weren't planning to remain idle in bed either."

It was apparent that this dark demon wanted me to learn a lesson. If I were to want to learn anything from these demons, the first would be to block out this Peeping Tom from spying on us and my thoughts.

"Peeping...? I need peepers for that. Anyways, he’s not a pure and innocent boy anymore.” I suddenly wondered, ‘Is he even aware this time?’ In a softer tone, Grandma informed me of what I’d done. “His childhood has been shattered. As a child, running and hiding away had been his tact. Now he had grown when you transformed into a ravishing beauty. If he is to keep you, he must mature, grow up, and be a man.” Right by my ear, I heard her whisper, “That was what you wanted.”

In a puff of chilled breath and clouds of dust, I loudly huffed in a simple statement: “No!”

“You caused his transformation, if for you it meant better or worse, we wouldn’t know until having tried.” A deep and long sigh later, she spoke more about Adam. “He’s deeply in love with you. More so than before now. You confessed your love for him and he admires the willful determination and sensual beauty you possess. Quite a combination to tolerate without a passionately intimate response.” I only listened to her. If I tried to speak, I would only cry out in excitement from Adam taking me. “If you reconsider, I will stop this, and he will continue to progress into a form you two desire. Right now, just say it, and your lover will wake you, confess and beg you for your forgiveness, and perhaps he will punish himself in his own fashion.”

I bit down on my lower lip. If I had to risk this scenario every time I slept with him, I would rather find out what the other rooms were like. And perhaps, I thought, ‘Maybe marriage isn’t a good idea after all?’

“Ah, please don’t allow terrible rifts to form between you two.” From the tone of Grandma’s voice, I detected a bit more than concern. I hoped she regretted her actions. “Your daughter would appreciate the tolerance. You two will fight, and there will be mistakes. This is normal.”

Lifting my face out of the snow, I looked up at her and sadly managed a sultry plead. “Please?”

“Fine.” There was a jolt of pleasure, then a subtle hint at the passionate heat in me no longer rose in temperature. As if I, or we, were mellowing out. “When you wake, remember, don’t lose your temper. I did this, and if you want to fight; bring it. He will burn if you do direct this at him. Literally.” She waved at me and said, “Until next time, think over a new name for me. To free your Adam from me, that's my offer.”

The hand she waved with descended with her palm covering my eyes. I was in that darkness for a little longer, then I sensed I had begun to drift…