Where the hell am I?

Isabella point of view

"ISABELLA! YOU HAVE TO RUN away now!" I heard my mom scream as she burst open the wooden doors to my room. In an instant, I could discern the urgency in her voice. I have been awake in silence for some time now, hearing the ruckus and commotion that exuded from outside the four corners of my room walls. Screams and wails were erupting from the place I grew up to call my home.

"Mom, what's going on?" I stood up in my little white silky pajamas, with my eyebrows knit in profound confusion. It was late at night and it was mind bogglingly odd to be awakened by the sounds of screams and cries.

"We are under attack!" she told me in haste, her eyes were closed and her soft blond hair was plaited in a sequence that went all the way to her waist. Although all I could hear was hushed mumblings, but it seemed like she was whispering some kind of spell to herself, I could notice the candles flames were burning higher. This made me all the more worried. What in the hell was really going on?

"Take this" she boomed, shoving into my hands our family grimoire, I read the ancient writings on it 'The book of dark shadows'. Another uproar erupted from outside making me tremble in fear, as I clung tightly to the book I held in my arms, in desperate search for any form of comfort it could provide me with.

"Wha- what's happening? Who dare to attack us, mom?" I demanded, wanting to be fully debriefed about what was going on but all I got from my mom was a knowing look, I then realized I had the answers to my questions. We were attacked by our own blood. We were attacked by my aunt Delilah, the renegade witch.

I heard my mom and some elders discussing it yesterday, that her arrival would only bring havoc and problems but I wasn't aware it would be this terrible. But another question sparked at the back of my mind, how was a single witch able to cause so much turmoil to an entire coven of powerful witches? It was simply unheard of.

"We don't have much time dear. Your aunt Delilah will soon come after me and then she will come for you. You need to run away now" she smiled faintly, crouching down on her knees so she could look into my eyes.

"No! I'm not going to leave you and everyone behind. Let me stay back and fight. I have been practicing my spells just like you taught me. I'm good now, believe me" I muttered, as I could feel my mom trembling. A single teardrop fell from her eyes as she placed her cold and blood stained hands on my cheek. It was her own blood. I had realized just then that she was wounded in her arm.

"Yes, that's my little firecracker with the heart of a warrior and a bravery that surpasses that of a lion's. But no you can't stay. You have to run and you have to continue running forever because your aunt Delilah won't be the only one coming for you, they will all come after you" her glassy eyes gave a searching look.

I didn't understand a single word that she had said. Why would they be coming after me? And who is 'they'? Goddess I am so confused right now. My mom then closed her eyes shut as she started reciting a chant I had heard a dozen times before. These were the chants you would only hear at special ceremonies. This was the spell used in a witch's transfer of magic ceremony. For generations to generations ancestral magic of a lineage is transferred to the next head of that lineage to carry on the mantle, but this wasn't supposed to happen to me, not right now. I saw a glowing blue light reflecting from underneath my mum's skin. It traveled from her neck to the hands she placed on my cheek and then I felt a little tingle. Her eyes were now open again.

"I wish I would be there to watch you grow up, I wish I could be there to protect you and watch you fall in love, have your own kids and become the truly exceptional woman that you are bound to become, but everything is happening so fast now. I guess it's just our destiny. You need to always remember that your dad and I will always love you no matter what and even if I'm gone I'm always going to be with you. Always I promise." Her eyes were glassy, her face a bit reddened as she sobbed. I wanted to cry too but the tears just won't fall. I didn't care whatever destiny said or had already made plans for. I couldn't lose her, I won't lose her. Screw destiny and all its plans. We all are in charge of our fates.

"There's not much time. Take this" she took off her crystal black onyx pendant shaped like a crystal with four sharp pointy edges, locking it around my neck tightly. My mom never took it off for as long as I could remember, she always told me how delicate it was and how in the wrong hands it could bring total chaos to the world. So why was she giving this thing to me? I wasn't ready for any of this, at least not now.

"Isabella, listen to me! You must never take it off, ever. You must protect it just like I have done. Your aunt will be looking for this so you must protect it at all cost. If your aunt finds this all hell will break loose. Do you understand?!" She asked firmly although my mind was in a haze and I couldn't understand anything that was going on. All I did was shake my little head to confirm.

"Yes mom! I promise I will protect it just like you did" my voice cracked as I spoke. Suddenly the screaming started to die down as the sounds of shoes knocking on the hard floor grew nearer. I could hear a lady's voice humming an indiscriminately familiar lullaby, it sounded like Mockingbird and immediately I knew who it was.

"You have to go now! Don't look back sweetie." Mommy said pushing me away "Remember you are to trust no one, except for the man with the butterfly tattoo. He is the one destined for you by the moon goddess Herself, Isabella. When your paths finally cross he will protect you with his life and help you to fulfill your destiny" I couldn't understand a single word she was saying. A guy with a butterfly tattoo would protect me? Whoever he was then why wasn't he here to protect me. What destiny is she talking about? My mom always spoke in strange cryptic riddles that were hard to understand. After all she was gifted with the power of foresight. She placed me underneath the fireplace and all I did was stare at her with wide lips.

"Promise me you will always keep running and stay safe" I hesitated to answer looking at the door. "Promise me!" She yelled, commanding my full attention.

"I promise" I blabbered. Was this going to be my final goodbye to my mom? I bitterly hoped that all this was just a bad dream, an extremely terrifying nightmare that I would soon wake up from but sadly I never did. This was very much real and it would only get worse. The doors were suddenly blown away from its hinges making me and my mom jump in fear as my mom looked back. Her eyes widened and there was only one thing written all over them. Fear.

"I had a feeling that I would find both mother and daughter here. You both just missed the party down stairs. It was a blast" aunt Delilah said with the most sinister smile I had ever seen in my life. She was wearing her usual long black gown with her black hair messy with a streak of white hair left to trail off aimlessly, the white streak in her hair was a new look, I definitely hadn't seen it yesterday when she returned back home. And her face was almost completely covered in bright red blood that wasn't hers.

"Oh sister, what have you done?" Mom chided apologetically, as she quickly sprung to her feet covering my view, I wondered if she intentionally didn't want me to watch what was about to unfold. I heard aunt Delilah laugh out loud like a maddened maniac.

"Oh sister, don't act so utterly shocked. I know you must have known this would happen the moment the renegade witch returned. Surely you must have had one of those little witchy visions of yours. I'm willing to even bet that you knew that this day was bound to happen the moment our sweet mummy dearest chose you instead of me. Oh then you all laughed that I was broken, that I was a monster, I hoped I lived up to mommy's expectations though" my mom didn't say a single word. I could see aunt Delilah roam the room as though she was looking for something.

"I'm also willing to bet that you know how all this is going to end. You know you're going to lose in a fight against your big sister" mom walked forward a bit, giving me a much better view.

"Delilah you should know that although the battle may be lost now, but the raging war that is yet to come isn't over yet." my mom countered causing aunt Delilah to chuckle a bit, then she locked her fiery gaze with mine causing me to shriek.

"Oh Isabelle" aunt Delilah called out for me in a sweet and almost innocent voice that made my stomach turn inside out.

"Won't you get over here and say hello to your favorite big auntie" her red lips smiled at me with her crimson stained hands wide open waiting for me.

"Leave Isabella out of this. The one you want is me" mom growled furious, while aunt Delilah chucked out a laugh.

"It's all about the child. I'm sure you know by now that I need her and pretty soon every monster from every corner of this crazy world would want her too. When the whole world realizes that this little girl's blood holds all the keys to the universe, everyone would want her, so I think she is better off with her aunt. I will keep her safe." She grinned wickedly.

"I will never let you have her, over my dead body" mom sounded very furious now and this never happened but aunt Delilah just chuckled.

"You really say that as though you could stop me. Just to be warned, your husband and our little sister Magareth tried to stop me from getting here and all they got was their tiny heart beating out of their chest" she had an evil smirk on while she continued laughing. Dad was dead and poor aunt Maggie was too, I just heard they both died trying to protect me. No! How could she kill them? I felt all sorts of pain but I wouldn't be able to shed a tear. I just hoped Diego was fine or did she kill him too like she did to his mom, aunt Maggie.

"You sick monster! I never wanted to believe it but mom and dad were right, you are a monster" mom screamed sending out a surge of magical energy blast aiming at aunt Delilah but it was completely dismissed by a mere wave of her hand. Mom shot another blast, then another and another then several more but each of them were shut down by a flick of aunt Delilah's hand.

"How is this possible?" My mom stole the words right out of my very own mouth. Her words matched the pace of my exact thoughts as if she was reading them from a script in my head. Although I was still a child, I have never heard or seen someone with this much power before and judging by the shocked look on my mom's face neither had she. This made me worry about what was going to happen next.

"Haven't you heard the rumors sister, I'm no longer an ordinary witch anymore... NOW it's my turn" in a bat of an eye my mom was tossed around all over the room like a rag doll that weighed as much as nothing. She was finally dropped hard to the floor.

"Mom!" I screamed as she laid there on the floor covered in blood. Her own blood. She looked at me dead in the eyes, shaking her head to stop me from reaching out to her.

"It's such a shame that I have to do this in front of your daughter, Karina," Delilah said, approaching my mom, taking out a bloody knife from behind her.

"No.... No..... No..... STOP!" I screamed, begging for it all to stop but it didn't. The terrible film just kept playing on and on and on.

"Don't worry too much sister. I'll bring up Isabella like the child I could never have" aunt Delilah smirk was knocked right off her face, immediately my mom had her thrown hard against the wall. My mom crawled up to me. I could see how bad she struggled with every move she made.

"Estero kereva mastos!" Mom yelled the spell over and over again with everything she had. The room started to shake as the ground began to quake. Wind blew strong making it seem like there was a little hurricane inside the room. Dust and ash that laid with me in the fireplace began to spin making the room seem hazy. My mom gave me one last smile as I could read the words 'I love you' from her badly chapped lips, I smiled back whispering an 'I love you' back to her but my smile was cut too short when I saw aunt Delilah placing a knife before mom's throat, slicing it open. Blood flowed down her neck as she gobbled to breathe. The wind grew only stronger and then I heard aunt Delilah scream "NO!". I stared as my mom laid there with eyes wide open as she stared at me with a smile on her face. It was then a single teardrop rolled down my cheek.

My visions became clouded and I could feel myself drifting away. That is when my eyes jolted open and I could hear the sound of my heavy breathing.

"Where the hell am I?"

***AUTHOR NOTE***

Told ya it's gonna make sense later. That's the history between Isabella and Her aunt Delilah.

See you next chapter my Cherries 🍒

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