Origin of Werewolves Ch. 03

3. Cora

Cora tumbled through the portal, her sight catching light at the end. She raised her arms and braced for the impact awaiting her on the other side. Amidst the swirling darkness of dead space behind her, Laurence's yells echoed urgently and surrounded her but at the same time were distant.

The vast expanse of the portal stretching out into nothingness, and bled into pure darkness. Avni's frozen form caught Cora's eyes, a fridged silent passenger in her own body. Cora called upon her essence, searching for an exit, and prepared herself for the return to the realm of the living.

As she passed into the portals light, Cora grabbed hold of the young icy mage, and braced herself for the transition. She fell forward, returning from the haunting feeling the portal held. Her essence settled as she gracefully landed feet first, as if she had jumped off a chair to the ground. Taking a few steps, she steadied herself, catching Avni as she too fell out of the portal, standing her upright like a frozen statue.

A smile creped across Cora's face as she looked into the eyes of the frozen girl. With a smirk she poked her tongue out. "You have a lot to learn there."

The portal began to emit a low hiss, its size started to shrink rapidly. As Cora peered into it, waiting for signs of Laurence. To her surprise, she was met with the sight of Laurence hurtling towards her like a charging ogre. He resembled a rugged lumberjack, with a thick beard framing his face and a sturdy physique befitting a seasoned soldier, rather than the wizard he was. With a resounding thud, he collided with Cora, his weight driving her into Avni, who fell over like a felled tree. The impact reverberated through the chamber, echoing like a beat of a drum as Avni's body bounced several times on the hard granite floor.

She struggled to free herself, straining against the weight of Laurence. It wasn't helped by the chill of the frozen mage beneath her. Cora wriggled and twisted, manoeuvring herself off Avni, placing her hand on her icy frame. As she applied pressure, tugging at the mage's hair, she witnessed a small crack open up and then break free. Cora slumped forward and the horrible thought of shattering Avni into pieces flashed though her mind. She couldn't bear the through of causing harm to the girl, especially not accidentally. Cora released her grip, still firmly pinned in place beneath Laurence. "Get off me!"

Laurence sat up off Cora, then turned and pulled her to her feet. "That could have gone a little better," he said, as he rubbed his head.

Cora traced the countless cuts and scrapes across Laurence's face, along with the tears and rips in his jacket, shirt and pants. "Did Yaidel rough you up?"

He laughed, "all part of the plan." He brushed himself off, then with a snap of his fingers, illuminated a flame with his essence. It flickered above his palm and cast a warm glow upon them.

"Your plan involved getting tossed around and needing a rescue?" Cora remained sceptical, as she turned to stand Avni up, inspecting her for more damage.

"Rescue? Come now, I got out of there all by myself, thankyou very much. Yadiel tossed me through the portal. It was always my plan of escape." He crossed his arms, explaining in a matter of fact.

Cora rolled her eyes, then continued to focus on the dirt across Avni's blue icy face. Little by little she continued to check her body for cracks and breaks, thankful that the only part that lay broken on the floor was the portion of hair.

"Did we damage her?" Laurence asked, walking past Cora, and holding his hand up, illuminating the passageway.

Cora followed, shaking her head. "No, she's fine. Just a little hair broke off, but no other damage. She'll be fine." She stepped forward, stopping next to Laurence and looked down the hall into the dark passage. His flame cast shadows upon the damp moss and vine-covered walls. Moonlight seeped in through several openings in the roof, created by tangled vines that separated the remnants of the roof and the crevices of the walls.

Cora looked back at Avni, then reached out, and ran her fingers along one of the vines, her essence melding with the plant. Leaves began to sprout from the tendrils, followed by thick stems. The vines grew rapidly, snaking their way down the wall and across the floor. They approached Avni, then twisted their way up her body, and across her mouth.

"Did you hear that?" Laurence asked, and he took a step further down the passage.

Cora extended another vine from the wall, a flower bud formed at it end. She snapped the vine and pulled its essence into her body. The vine stiffened and withered, leaving only the oily flower bud. She walked back to Laurence and ignited the flower using the flame he had conjured. As the flame began to burn, she looked up at him. "Heard what?"

"Something said my name." His brow furrowed.

"I didn't hear anything. It could have been the vines, or the girl." They both turned to look at Avni. "Thaw her?"

Without hesitation, Laurence extended his hand, then channelled his essence from the flame. It began to glow significantly brighter, until he pushed the flame into Avni. Like a cloud of pollen, it enveloped her, casting the woman's body in its own soft glow. Moments passed, then Avni twitched, as if awakening from a deep sleep.

Cora stood with her torch burning brightly and watched Laurence approach the woman, "are you going to behave?" She could see the fear in the girl's eyes, as she struggled to nod her head. Cora snapped her fingers and the vines fell loose, freeing Avni form their grasp.

Avni fell forward and collapsed onto the floor, her breaths slow and deep. Cora crouched beside her, "How are you feeling?"

"C..cc....ccc... Cold" she muttered.

"That's normal," Laurence chuckled. He seemed unconcerned, likely because Avni posed no immediate threat. It was clear, she lacked the strength to resist even basic manipulations of essence.

Cora supported Avni, her arm draped over Cora's shoulder as they rose, and grabbed the torch from Laurence. "So, any idea where we are and what way leads out of this place?"

Cora watched Laurence peer down the corridor, his gaze fixed on the direction where he thought he heard the voice. "I'm unsure, did you look at the title of the book the portal spell was in?" He said turning back to Cora.

She shook her head, "No, you told me what book, so I just took it."

He shrugged, "I have a feeling it might be this way."

"On what basis?" Cora inquired, watching Laurence turn and make his way several steps back down the passage.

"Just a hunch."

Avni pushed off Cora, and steadied herself against the wall. She appeared as if she would topple over, and stood ready to catch her if it happened. "I'm fine," she muttered through chattering teeth.

Cora joined Laurence, standing at his side looking off into the darkness, "Your hunches don't always pan out, remember the brothel in Stanburh? Or is that memory too distant for you?"

"My hunch isn't exactly finding the way out of here, but more answering to whatever called my name."

She knew he couldn't resist such things, especially when he felt certain about something. She stood by as he conjured another flame and preceded to advance down the passage. Cora turned to Avni, "Come, you don't want to be left in the dark in a place like this."

Avni rolled her eyes, and pushed off the wall, a little steadier on her feet now.

High-pitched feminine voices echoed through the passageways, reminiscing of those she had read of nimbats pixies and other creatures of the northern realm. Something about the nimbat from the bar the other night was different from this sound though. It had her wondering what was different from the one in the bar to the ones she believed she was hearing.

Cora jogged two quick steps to catch Laurence's side, Avni following closely behind, "you didn't answer my question."

"Sorry, what was it?"

"Where do you think we are?" She asked as her hands ran along the damp granite wall.

Laurence paused at a series of etchings in the stone. He brushed his hands over what appeared to be text. He stepped back and conjured more essence into the flame above his hand, growing it, to clearly illuminate the wall.

"Can you read it?" Avni asked, a chatter in her teeth as she stopped between Laurence and Cora.

"Not all of it. I think this answers your question though, Cora." She watched Laurence step aside allowing her access to the text.

Her eyes traced the ancient writing, eyeing a glint of gold upon some of the letters. "It says something about the forbidden library of the gods, and the hand of Midas." She brushed her hand across the wall, shifting a patch of dust, "The last part talks about the hungry vines that feed off essence, in exchange for pleasure."

"Well, if we are in the library of the gods, then we are in the right place to find the book, don't you think?" He smirked, stepping back in front of both Cora and Avni. "The hand of Midas though, that sounds intriguing. Want to test it out?"

"What, on me?" Cora asked, shaking her head sceptically.

"Haha, you're worth more to me alive than as a solid hunk of gold," he joked in a playful tone. "Although I think two of you might be worth enough to do that with. I could retire and not have to worry about anything again."

Cora swatted at the flame burning above his hand "Stop being silly." She watched Laurence recalled the extra essence and moved the flame away from the wall. "You know Midas was a symbol of greed. I don't think it's the best idea to be messing with that."

"Is he always like that?" Avni asked, still shivering.

Cora glanced at Avni with a wry smile. "Don't worry too much about his Jokes. That was a joke by the way." She glanced at him "I wouldn't put it past him to do something like that, however. After all, he's turned me into stone before," she chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood. "I wouldn't worry though; he always comes back for me."

Avni looked a little concerned, but Cora laughed it off. She moved back to Laurence's side, as he was now focused on the darkness of the hallways once more. "Seeing ghosts?"

"Did you hear it?" he asked.

"I think you've lost it," quipped Avni. "Hear what?"

"Theres something calling my name again."

Cora followed in his stride as he continued down the passage. Suddenly, a scream pierced the air, followed by the sound of grinding stones and something breaking or snapping shut.

They all froze, Cora latching onto Laurence's arm, "we're not going that way, are you?"

Before Laurence could respond, Avni panicked and then bolted like a frightened horse down the passage. She knocked Cora as she ran. Cora dropped the torch, It fell to the ground and extinguished, leaving only the scattered moonlight to illuminate their way.

"Stop!" Laurence shouted.

Cora sprinted after her, her heart pounding in her chest, She tapped in to her essence, hoping to slow Avni down, the vines sprouting from the darkness were too wild and unpredictable. They couldn't halt Avni's frantic pace. The chase only halted when they rounded a corner and stumbled into a moonlit room. The ceiling had collapsed in places, leaving strands of moonlight to filter in. In the beams of light were several large flowers. The orange petals glowed softly in the moonlight, with long stems extending from their centres and filled with sticky sap.

Cora could sense calm wash back over Avni, as she stood looking at the flowers.

"Wow, they're beautiful, I've only read about these," she exclaimed in awe.

Cora felt a sense of unease, as she glanced at the flowers, "What are they?"

"Hibiscus pitchers," Avni explained. "They capture prey and feed off their essence. I think this is what the message on the wall was warning us about." As she spoke, one of the plant's stems leaned towards them, dripping sap at their feet.

Cora looked over her shoulder, back up the passage, hoping to spot Laurence in toe. But he was nowhere to be see, she sighed and turned her attention back to Avni. She had wandered a few steps into the garden, admiring the giant hibiscus flowers.

As Cora scanned the area, something caught her eye; a nimbat attempted to hide across the room, behind one of the plants. This one was different from the one she and Laurence encountered the previous night. It was small and yellow, resembling more of a cat with bat wings, then the demonised appearance of the one from the bar. Its delicate features gave it a feminine appearance as it flitted from flower to flower, gathering sap, but attempting to remain hidden at the same time. It noticed Cora looking at it, and with a shrill chirp, it darted away, disappearing down the passage. Cora exchanged a glance with Avni, who then called to the nimbat, "Hey, wait!" The moment the words left her mouth the flowers sprung to life, Vines emerging from the walls and the stems of the flowers pointing menacingly toward her.

As Avni backed against a wall Cora found herself to be the focus of the flowers. A new vine wrapped its way around the doorway they entered from, leaving the only path to escape being the one the nimbat had taken. Fresh hungry tendrils sprouted from the vine and brushed against the skin of the elf and the mage. Cora could feel the panic as Avni's essence raising and as the tendrils wrapped themselves around Avni's arm she pushed Cora into them, desperate to escape.

The tendrils grabbed Cora, gripping her tightly, entangling her further as she stumbled and tripped. Desperation filled her as she looked up at Avni, pleading for help

Avni, however, remained unmoved. "How do you like it?" she retorted, before turning and leaping over the vines, following the passage taken by the nimbat.

Cora continued to struggle against the relentless grip of the vines, her voice echoing with desperation as she called out for Laurence. With each passing moment, the grip of the vines tightened their hold, almost crushing her, and making it impossible to break free. She knew she needed help, and fast.

She gripped one of the vines with her hand, and pushed her essence into the plant, hoping to loosen its grip. But instead of calming, it grew more agitated. Its movements becoming even more forceful. She felt helpless, unable to communicate with the plant.

The stem of the nearest flower leaned over her, and a droplet of sap formed at its end. As the sweet liquid landed on her skin, it enveloped her with a thickness similar to water yet sweet like honey. Almost instantly, her resistance began to diminish.

One by one, the vines loosened their grip on her body. Yet, instead of fleeing, Cora remained still, overcome by a new sensation. One that rendered her unwilling to move or resist. The flower shifted its petals close to the ground, its stem retracting and sap pooled within its depths, creating an alluring pool of temptation.

Cora found herself ensnared in the plant's embrace, its vines wrapping around her in a tantalising dance, guiding her towards the waiting petals of the flower. With a gentle tug, she felt a surge of desire. It coursed through her being, and ignited a fire within that she couldn't resist. As the final vines released their grip, she stepped up onto the petals, dipping her feet into the pool of sap, and within a moment she was taking step after step into the thickening liquid. It enveloped her in a warm and sensual embrace.

Pleasure washed over Cora as she surrendered herself to the intoxicating sensations the sap that leached upon her body. She hummed with arousal, as her fingers wandered, touching herself playfully as every sensation in the flowers pool was drastically amplified, sending a warm hungry ache through her. It was unlike any sensation she had ever experienced, a mix of desire and ecstasy that left her breathless and wanting more.

Cora stretched out laying on her back as she revelled in the delicious tension that coiled within her. Her skin tingled with anticipation as if every nerve in her body was alive with desire. She craved the touch from the plant's tender tendrils, giving in to the overwhelming urge to explore herself, as she slipped from her clothes. She began to sink into the abyss of pleasure, as her inhibition melted away like wax in the heat of passion.

She gazed up at the petals above, her heart racing with anticipation as dim moonlight filtered in around the closing petals. A thrill of excitement coursed through her with the sudden realisation that something was changing, shifting in the air around her. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to care, lost as she was in passion and desire.

The final petal completely closed, enveloping her in its embrace. It plunged Cora into complete darkness, and as she lay there, she could feel her essence merging with the sweet nectar of the plant. She felt as if she was getting smaller, shrinking, but with a sense of liberation, a freedom unlike any she had ever known. In that moment, as her fingers continued to explore herself, she completely surrendered in ecstasy, her back arching, lost in a haze of pleasure that knew no bounds.