The candles burning placed on shelves around them provided enough warmth against the cold emanated by the black stone walls in contact with the ground's wet soil. The scent wafting from them tickled her nostrils pleasantly. In the meagre light, Josh's copper skin and dark brown eyes glowed alike."How does it feel like to do magic?" Eira raised the question and saw the corner of Josh's lips twitch. But they didn't form a smile as she had expected. It seemed as if he struggled to keep a straight face in response to her words. These actions made her feel more self-aware and wanting to keep a check on her mouth.He considered her with a gaze, his dark-brown eyes twinkled and then answered, "Everyone individual feels differently about magic. Some feel powerful, others feel happy. For me, it's liberating."She nodded briefly and wrapped her fingers around the while wax, bringing it closer to her.What would it feel like to her? Eira spared a moment to think about the question and then heave
While Eira continued to learn spells and secrets from her warlock tutor, Nate sulked in the living room.He knew each corner of it—names and faces of all the portraits hung over the walls, the number of candles in each candelabra, each intricate carving on every wooden furniture. He had been in it for quite a long time.The previous two months had actually been the same day on repeat for Nate.He distracted himself by spending his time cooking all the meals and occasionally shuffling through Josh's witchcraft stuff, browsed Instagram for several hours, talking about nothing and everything to Josh and sometimes Damien, and yet, there was still enough time left for him to think about the impending battle.Werewolves. The word always ran his blood cold. Colder than it usually was. Gone were the days when he could freely roam around the town; meet new girls everyday; admire the setting sun from the hilltops and kill some bunnies.The initial days had been scary. His body refused to sleep
Damien never realised when his body slipped into a slumber. Even as a vampire, there was only so much exhaustion his body could hold on. One minute he was talking to Nate and the next, he was dreaming. He had kept himself awake the previous night just to make sure the witch wouldn't attempt to flee. She hadn't. But she had done something worse.Damien dreamt of two people chasing each other in a chrysanthemum field. A boy chasing a girl. Their faces were unclear but he knew who they were. He knew he was dreaming, but it seemed too real to be just a figment of his imagination. His ears caught the merry sound of her laughter, causing his lips to widen into a smile. He was floating lightly, surrounded by the cool breeze blowing about.He didn't know how long it lasted— hours, years or only a minute but the scene vanished when Nate woke him up. His eyes didn't open until his ears comprehended the panic in Nate's voice."Look, what he's saying!" Nate said, fright evident in his big blue eye
Over the short span of a day, Eira picked up a few spells and executed them well. Josh had even remarked that she had done the summoning spell better than him and that made her grin non-stop. She learnt soon enough, however, that witchcraft was a tiresome deal. The ache in her sore muscles got more unbearable as she boarded up the spiral staircase. Out of habit, her fingers trailed over the metal railings at the sides and came away dusty. It seemed strange to her that the area was always covered with dust even though there was no way for it to enter. The hungry rumbling noises in her stomach grew louder as Eira inched closer to the kitchen. Josh had said she would find Nate in there. He was supposed to assist her in Josh's absence; basically as a target to execute spells on and check if they were really effective. She didn't find him, but chanced upon a few cupcakes in the fridge that instantly went down her food pipe. Her mouth released a satisfied burp and she made her way out int
Eira shuffled through the contents of wooden drawers in search of the town map. She found scrolls and folded papers but when she unfurled and unfolded each, none of them depicted the geography of their town. Only a few hours ago, Josh had demonstrated a spell to find the location of any person. They had used a map which was somewhat old but accurate enough. Eira recalled correctly that the warlock had picked it from that drawer itself. She moved further in haste, knocking down a jar in the process, to the next drawer and tried to pull it open with all her force but it was jammed. “Damn it!” She cursed and stomped her foot on the floor. It was hard admitting—but she was concerned about Nate. He had been kind to her. He had made her laugh when Eira believed she had lost the ability to smile again. He seemed like a genuinely good person and the thought of him being in danger disturbed her.Eira twirled on her heel and quickly scanned the workroom. Her eyes darted from the charts stuck
Long after Damien had left, Eira found herself staring at the map. The area marked as Malcolm's Shack kept glowing a deep red all the while. Her skin shivered visibly in response to the harsh winds blowing into the house through the wide open door. Her eyes flitted to the door and back to the map.It had been a while and yet, Josh hadn't returned. Nor had Damien and Nate. She felt scared, alone in a giant mansion, surrounded by walls displaying creepy ancient portraits. The glow emanated by the chandelier above illuminated the room in a sinister manner. Eira quickly stood on her feet and walked to the door.It seemed like ages since she had glanced at the open ground and trees and the dark sky above or stepped onto the lush green grass. They called her outside and her foot lifted in the air on its own. Eira remembered Damien's warning and gulped. She feared, not for her life—it wasn't worth a penny—but for Bella's.She had tried throwing herself out of the window the previous night but
He flinched away at the contact and moaned weakly, "Please don't... don't hurt me. Wh-What do you want?" Tears brimmed in his eyes and travelled down his dirty cheeks.Eira watched him with horror in her eyes. "Nate, it's me. Eira. Who did this?" She asked in a rushed whisper. With a gulp, she turned around to check if anyone was behind it. She spotted nobody.His eyes fluttered open and he lifted his neck with difficulty. When his eyes found hers, his face looked relieved. "Please..." He said and feebly raised his chained wrists. The chains were nailed into the brick wall behind, just like it had been in the dungeons, limiting their mobility.The skin covering his fingers appeared to have melted away, revealing the black bones concealed underneath.Eira looked around helplessly, struggling to find something to break the chains while her mind wondered with terror what or who preyed over the predators themselves.Werewolves. It couldn't be anyone else, She told herself.She stood abrupt
"Is he going to be okay?" Nate asked softly.The warlock had arrived at the warehouse right after Eira had knocked out John and he had brought with him a blood bag. Nate had then consumed a portion of it and that had helped instantly regenerate the skin over his fingers and provided him with enough strength to carry Damien all the way back to the mansion in the dead of the night.Hours after the incident, the four of them were in Josh's workroom, drowning in confusion and worry. Damien's corpse-like body was placed over one of the tables and Josh was operating on him with blades. He was yet to gain consciousness."He got shot with two wooden bullets, one in the head and one in his neck," Josh began as he wiped the sweat over his forehead with the back of his gloved hand. He turned the scalpel in his fumbling fingers and turned his neck to looked at Nate. The vampire waited for him to continue with bated breath.Finally, Josh sighed and said, "He should be okay once I get the bullets ou
[JOSH]Even ten days after the massacre at the Black Hall, not a single soul involved that day could stop thinking about how all of it could've been prevented if only a few trustful, true words had been exchanged. The effect was seen on each one. Many lost their lives and many others people who they cared about. The signs of recovery however were blooming all around. People were forgiven for their bad deeds out of the kindness of the hearts of those who had been at the suffering end. Surprising to Josh, Eira had been strangely calm about having Raven in the mansion. The latter refused to return to the Black Hall and although she denied it, the warlock knew, deep inside she was mourning for Alexander. Nate—another surprise to him—had been chosen to represent the vampires in the supernatural coucil. The bloodsuckers had been oddly agreeable and united about peace—again another surprise for the warlock."Are you giving up already?" Josh asked when he saw Eira lazily throw the herbs in
[JOSHUA]They did it together. Raven began muttering the spell as her hand came in contact with the talisman. The witches at the door didn’t even see it coming and before they knew it, the power of the
[EIRA]Somewhere along her way, Hela found her and did not miss the chance to pounce over the witch, pinning her to the cold, hard floor underneath. As the claws on her fingers dug into the skin of her shoulder, Eira screamed but also, the very next moment, she snapped her fingers, twisting Hela&rsq
[JOSHUA]The only way was to escape. They could neither not stop the hoard of vampires nor the werewolves. There were too many of them. And the witches had his mind in a knot. How could he somehow get rid of them? They were only astral projecting. No spell could throw them off.
[EIRA]The moment she felt her feet touch the solid ground, Eira was pushed off balance. A stake she had stuffed in her pocket fell to the floor. She opened her eyes and gasped loudly.
[EIRA]Josh held her arm as she inched closer to Damien. The vampire suddenly dropped to his knees and covered his face. He was crying.Trish's corpse lay in front of them, her eyes wid
[RAVEN]"We need to leave today, Alex. Have you packed yet? Or you need any help?" She said swaying her arms around, pretending to ignore the lines on his forehead."How dare you?" Alexander barked at her before she could draw in a single breath.Raven stared into his eyes, her brows raised in confusion. "Is everything okay?"His jaws clenched together tighthly, making her frown. What had made him this angry in the morning?"How dare you betray me?" He shouted at her with a voice that made her flinch. "I raised you like my own daughter, took you in when the people who you shared blood with cursed and kicked you out and this is how you repay me?""I don't know what you mean?" She raised her head but even she could not miss the uncertainty in her own voice."Claudia, Nigel, Ben, Will. Is that enough or do I need to elaborate?" The vein of his temple seemed ready to burst any second. But all she really cared about at that moment was how
[RAVEN]When Raven woke up that morning, she could not help but notice the unusual quiet surrounding her. The ruins of the Black Castle, now known as the Black Hall, housed a hundred town vampires, most of which were labelled with the Mark of Aurora. As soon as the sun rose, they would bustle around
[EIRA]