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One hundred thousand mile-long strands undulated as Joanna Featherstone tasted the darkness that now corrupted her ebony waves. Anger rising within her, she directed it at the source of her frustration. Typhon looked at Julie's collapsed form and realized that the mounds of hair that were no longer attached to her had changed from a rich brown to pitch black; he barely had a second to register before the quivering mass of hair moved, enveloping him. Ensnared, the strands that bound him turned him to face their new owner.

"Interesting," his thoughts echoed in Joanna's mind, regular now, not searing and painful. "You took the curse upon yourself! Woman, if you weren't doomed before, this has surely made things much worse. You realize this, do you not?" His features weren't distinct enough to actually smile, but Joanna still managed to picture one on him. Her anger deepened.

"Possibly," Ms. Featherstone stated coldly. "All the light magic in my hair is gone. All that's left is this filthy abomination of power that you pulled out of Julie's life force. A perversion!" She sensed Typhon attempting to dissolve into a less corporeal form. She sent a surge of power through her locks; they tightened further on the demon and kept him fast. His smile vanished from her mind as he winced. "Although, all this power you've given me has enabled me to finally keep you in place."

Typhon managed to keep a modicum of smugness in his tone. "But at what cost, woman? You can do no more magic that is required of your position as gatekeeper. Any magic you use from these tresses will be tainted. You can't keep the breach sealed for much longer now. On top of that, you've taken upon yourself the curse I gave to the girl. Everyone who sees your hair will want to cut it. You wouldn't last two cuts with all the life it would drain from you with this length." He gestured to the giant piles of black silk surrounding them. How was she ever going to deal with it all? "You've won a battle just to lose the war!" He bellowed.

He was right. The foul darkness that had snuffed out the light magic in her hair had all but rendered her useless in her position. Any spell she tried to do would be poisoned with the darkness she now wielded. If she used it to strengthen the seal already on the breach, who knew what the consequences could be? The seal would surely be weaker against beings of darkness, precisely what it was engineered to prevent. Her hatred of Typhon, of his mistress, of this whole situation, welled inside her until she could barely contain it.

Typhon chuckled; he didn't need mind-reading abilities to discern her feelings. "You see? Already the darkness begins to consume you. If you fully embrace it, perhaps there is a place for you with me at Lilith's side. You need not suffer with the rest of the unfortunate weaklings of this world as we impose our will on them!"

That name; Lilith. Typhon had mentioned her previously . She was the one who had initiated war on this world eons ago. It was thought that with humans' mastery of magic and sealing of the breaches, she was no longer a threat. And that was centuries ago. But Typhon had confirmed again that she had only been biding her time. Until now. Just how powerful was she after all this time? Joanna shuddered to imagine. NO, she couldn't think about that right now. She squared her shoulders and brought Typhon closer to her.

"A common misconception among bullies and fools is that it is they who allow the peaceful and law-abiding to exist," Joanna stated, "when it is in fact the other way around. When those who want peace rise up against miscreants such as you, well, you'll understand what real power is."

"You know nothing, human female. I can smell the fear, anger and hate overwhelming you more and more. Don't preach to me of peace and love."

"There is some of that, yes. Unfortunately, you're too stupid to understand the difference between a desire to conquer, and a desire to protect those whom we love." Joanna's tone turned to one of pity. "I've been watching over my vessels for so long, and only in the last few days have I been able to share with them our purpose. I love them as if they were my own children." She looked at Julie's unconscious form lying on the ground, surrounded by her own chocolaty waves. A tear came to Joanna's eye. "I've known Julie only hours, but we've been through so much. I would gladly sacrifice myself to take this curse from her. That is love, you moronic wretch."

"Spare me your false sentiment, woman. I--wait...what is..?"

"You feel it, don't you?" Joanna tightened her grip on Typhon as he struggled to free himself. "I had no expectation of this, and that's why it worked. The curse is destroyed."

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Typhon groaned. "You don't possess the magic to--"

"Exactly," Ms. Featherstone interrupted. "Magic had nothing to do with it. A curse this dark can't function in the face of self-sacrifice. It only understands the need to take. That I would freely give my life for Julie's, out of love, is too foreign for such an abomination to comprehend. And while you and Lilith and whatever other ilk exist among you view it as weakness, I've just shown you that love is a real power. Unfortunately, it's too late for you to glean anything useful from this knowledge. As I promised before, it's time to end you."

"This can't be!" Typhon screamed, immobile against the tightening restraints of hair that began to glow and burn him. "Wait...if you...destroy...me. Where is the love...in that!? You...contradict...yourself."

"Poor fool," Joanna answered, again in pity. "A mother who strikes a poisonous viper from the path of her child does it not out of hatred, but out of love for her child." She waved her arms, and purple flames engulfed the demon. "If I thought there was a chance you would turn from your nature and leave us alone, we might have been able to have a conversation. But we both know that isn't an option, don't we?"

Typhon raged against his bindings, his scream of hatred answering her question. Joanna continued. "And since all this dark magic in my hair can't be used for anything other than destruction, I'm using as much as I can on the last spell you will ever feel."

Ms. Featherstone's teeth clenched. The giant mounds of ebony hair reached forward, pouring around and into the demon. The purple fire grew white hot, and within moments, Typhon's muffled screams ceased. Joanna gestured, and the silken sheets fell to the ground around the breach, allowing a small amount of ethereal ash to drift down into its depths...

Description
Support the creation of DangerCurls on Patreon!
www.patreon.com/dangercurl

One hundred thousand mile-long strands undulated as Joanna Featherstone tasted the darkness that now corrupted her ebony waves. Anger rising within her, she directed it at the source of her frustration. Typhon looked at Julie's collapsed form and realized that the mounds of hair that were no longer attached to her had changed from a rich brown to pitch black; he barely had a second to register before the quivering mass of hair moved, enveloping him. Ensnared, the strands that bound him turned him to face their new owner.

"Interesting," his thoughts echoed in Joanna's mind, regular now, not searing and painful. "You took the curse upon yourself! Woman, if you weren't doomed before, this has surely made things much worse. You realize this, do you not?" His features weren't distinct enough to actually smile, but Joanna still managed to picture one on him. Her anger deepened.

"Possibly," Ms. Featherstone stated coldly. "All the light magic in my hair is gone. All that's left is this filthy abomination of power that you pulled out of Julie's life force. A perversion!" She sensed Typhon attempting to dissolve into a less corporeal form. She sent a surge of power through her locks; they tightened further on the demon and kept him fast. His smile vanished from her mind as he winced. "Although, all this power you've given me has enabled me to finally keep you in place."

Typhon managed to keep a modicum of smugness in his tone. "But at what cost, woman? You can do no more magic that is required of your position as gatekeeper. Any magic you use from these tresses will be tainted. You can't keep the breach sealed for much longer now. On top of that, you've taken upon yourself the curse I gave to the girl. Everyone who sees your hair will want to cut it. You wouldn't last two cuts with all the life it would drain from you with this length." He gestured to the giant piles of black silk surrounding them. How was she ever going to deal with it all? "You've won a battle just to lose the war!" He bellowed.

He was right. The foul darkness that had snuffed out the light magic in her hair had all but rendered her useless in her position. Any spell she tried to do would be poisoned with the darkness she now wielded. If she used it to strengthen the seal already on the breach, who knew what the consequences could be? The seal would surely be weaker against beings of darkness, precisely what it was engineered to prevent. Her hatred of Typhon, of his mistress, of this whole situation, welled inside her until she could barely contain it.

Typhon chuckled; he didn't need mind-reading abilities to discern her feelings. "You see? Already the darkness begins to consume you. If you fully embrace it, perhaps there is a place for you with me at Lilith's side. You need not suffer with the rest of the unfortunate weaklings of this world as we impose our will on them!"

That name; Lilith. Typhon had mentioned her previously . She was the one who had initiated war on this world eons ago. It was thought that with humans' mastery of magic and sealing of the breaches, she was no longer a threat. And that was centuries ago. But Typhon had confirmed again that she had only been biding her time. Until now. Just how powerful was she after all this time? Joanna shuddered to imagine. NO, she couldn't think about that right now. She squared her shoulders and brought Typhon closer to her.

"A common misconception among bullies and fools is that it is they who allow the peaceful and law-abiding to exist," Joanna stated, "when it is in fact the other way around. When those who want peace rise up against miscreants such as you, well, you'll understand what real power is."

"You know nothing, human female. I can smell the fear, anger and hate overwhelming you more and more. Don't preach to me of peace and love."

"There is some of that, yes. Unfortunately, you're too stupid to understand the difference between a desire to conquer, and a desire to protect those whom we love." Joanna's tone turned to one of pity. "I've been watching over my vessels for so long, and only in the last few days have I been able to share with them our purpose. I love them as if they were my own children." She looked at Julie's unconscious form lying on the ground, surrounded by her own chocolaty waves. A tear came to Joanna's eye. "I've known Julie only hours, but we've been through so much. I would gladly sacrifice myself to take this curse from her. That is love, you moronic wretch."

"Spare me your false sentiment, woman. I--wait...what is..?"

"You feel it, don't you?" Joanna tightened her grip on Typhon as he struggled to free himself. "I had no expectation of this, and that's why it worked. The curse is destroyed."

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Typhon groaned. "You don't possess the magic to--"

"Exactly," Ms. Featherstone interrupted. "Magic had nothing to do with it. A curse this dark can't function in the face of self-sacrifice. It only understands the need to take. That I would freely give my life for Julie's, out of love, is too foreign for such an abomination to comprehend. And while you and Lilith and whatever other ilk exist among you view it as weakness, I've just shown you that love is a real power. Unfortunately, it's too late for you to glean anything useful from this knowledge. As I promised before, it's time to end you."

"This can't be!" Typhon screamed, immobile against the tightening restraints of hair that began to glow and burn him. "Wait...if you...destroy...me. Where is the love...in that!? You...contradict...yourself."

"Poor fool," Joanna answered, again in pity. "A mother who strikes a poisonous viper from the path of her child does it not out of hatred, but out of love for her child." She waved her arms, and purple flames engulfed the demon. "If I thought there was a chance you would turn from your nature and leave us alone, we might have been able to have a conversation. But we both know that isn't an option, don't we?"

Typhon raged against his bindings, his scream of hatred answering her question. Joanna continued. "And since all this dark magic in my hair can't be used for anything other than destruction, I'm using as much as I can on the last spell you will ever feel."

Ms. Featherstone's teeth clenched. The giant mounds of ebony hair reached forward, pouring around and into the demon. The purple fire grew white hot, and within moments, Typhon's muffled screams ceased. Joanna gestured, and the silken sheets fell to the ground around the breach, allowing a small amount of ethereal ash to drift down into its depths...