Chapter 210: Plane crush.

The grand patriarch stepped in between them as Horace had failed. Much as he was enjoying the moment of Sabrina’s shame, he didn’t want the dirty laundry of their family being aired out in public.

A woman who looked like Sabrina, but with gentler features stepped up, intending to say something. But Achilles pulled her aside. "Aunt Tirzah. don’t get involved in their fight. Anyone that does tends to become collateral." Horace was the perfect example

"Both of you stop this." The grand patriarch ordered.

But Alessa was running high on emotions. She shoved him aside and pointed a shaking, tear-stained finger right between Sabrina’s glaring eyes. "You serpent!" she cried out in a pained voice. "You did this! Don’t play innocent with me! You ruined Denea’s life and killed her child. She lost her mind and now she’s dead because of you! If you had left her alone, she would have lived a full, happy life!

She was our sister, not the enemy. Someone like you that doesn’t love your own family does not deserve to be the heir because you will sell all of us out if it benefits you. I will never forgive you for this Sabrina." Unable to stand the sight of her sister for another second, Alessa turned on her heel and stomped away, her shoulders shaking with heavy sobs.

Achilles quickly trotted after his mother, putting on a worried expression as he shouted, "Mother, wait! Don’t run off!" But deep inside his chest, his heart was singing with joy. Finally, he thought to himself, they all think my aunt is dead. The plan is worked perfectly.

Back in the lounge, Sabrina stood frozen, her jaw clenched so tight it threatened to snap. She took a deep, shuddering breath, in and out, trying to stop her hands from shaking. If that old Elder Simon wasn’t standing right there, she swore in her heart, I would have beaten Alessa black and blue until she begged for mercy!

Suppressing her murderous rage, Sabrina turned toward the Grand Elder, dropping her head into a low, humble bow. "Grand Elder, please forgive my sister’s outburst and my own carelessness. I should have supervised Denea’s caretakers much better. The fault lies with me, Alessa is not wrong about that."

Grand Elder Simon gave a quiet tsk, shook his head in deep disapproval, and didn’t utter a single verbal response to her. Sabrina could feel the cold disappointment radiating off the old man, and it made her skin crawl because she had invested a lot to be on his good side. She hated him, but she needed him. If she wanted to become the named heir of the clan leader and easily crush her father, she desperately required the Grand Elder’s official approval.

Off to the side, the Grand Patriarch let out a long, heavy exhale and slowly sank into a carved wooden chair. He stroked his chin, staring at Sabrina with cold, calculating eyes. Enjoy your arrogance while it lasts, my girl, the old man thought to himself, a grim smile tugging at the corner of his lips. I’ll strip away everything you own, and everything you hope to gain, until you’re kneeling in the dirt.

****

The plane with the escaped Soul maidens was struggling greatly. The pilot was trying to control it, but the winds were proving to be stronger, and worse was that there was nowhere to park it in this emergency situation because the floods were raging on like angry river dragons down below, turning the whole earth into a giant mud bath. Not to speak of the high-ranking sea beasts that were moving around angrily.

"We are not going to make it." the pilot yelled, sweating so heavily his pilot cap was practically floating on his forehead while he wrestled the steering wheel like a madman.

Back in the cabin, complete chaos had erupted. Yellow plastic oxygen masks suddenly popped out from the ceiling, dangling violently like panicked rubber jellyfish.

"Put them on! Suck the air, don’t eat the plastic!" Etania barked, wrapping her arms around three weeping younger girls and pulling them tight against her chest.

"Is this the apocalypse again senior Etania? Are the heavens mad at us because we run from our sacred duty?!" little Mai wailed, clutching her mask upside down over her left eye.

Etania swallowed hard, her own knees shaking so violently they were practically playing the drums, but she forced a bright, heroic smile onto her pale face. "Nonsense! Those are lies that Trinity made up to keep us in check. Keep your breathing steady, little juniors! My heart is as calm as a frozen mountain lake!" Etania said soothingly, even though inside her soul she was screaming louder than the jet engines and praying to every immortal spirit she had ever heard of in bedtime stories.

"Oh my God! We are not going to make it." Claudia said. "Tell Tessi we are in trouble."

Etania closed her eyes and tried to make a soul connection with Tessi. There were too many distractions, the soul messaging was not working! "Damn it." Etania cursed.

Suddenly, a deafening crack shook the roof of the plane as a brilliant, blinding lightning bolt sliced through the storm and spewed directly into the left wing.

The wing instantly exploded into bright orange flames and the whole machine tilted sideways like a drunken duck, spinning completely out of control.

"We are crashing!" the pilot shouted at the top of his lungs, his face turning redder than a cooked lobster as he yanked on the controls with all his might. "Hold onto whatever you can!"

The girls screamed in unison, their terrifying wails piercing the dark clouds as the giant metal bird nose-dived at breakneck speed, plunging straight into a wild, endless ocean of green trees in a dense jungle.

"Use your energy to soften the landing." Etania barked. "We can crush but we can’t die. It is not the end sister’s; we will survive this and find Tessi." Etania yelled over the deafening roar of snapping branches and tearing metal, tightly squeezing her eyes shut as the dense greenery rushed up to swallow them whole.

At the very last moment, Etania used all of her energy to teleport the plane to the highest ground she could see nearby. As long as they lived, she would make sure every last Soul maiden with her made it the place Tessi had called paradise.