Part of the past II

The next day, Caitlin and Kathryn went back to Creeksville on their mother’s order to find the girl’s family and see what the people are up to and while Kathryn won’t stop talking, Caitlin’s mind drifted back to the two priests she saw yesterday and what she overheard. The priest, Aiden, had referred to them as demons taking the form of humans and he had said they will be responsible for the end of the world. It was not as if it has never crossed her mind about the dangers lurking because of the other Covens, especially the Lifeblood Coven that is ruled by Aamon. At least, he was the reason for the different Covens they have now after the death of Lady Renee, the human wife of Lord Dante. But then, Caitlin remembered him mentioning about a sacred book. What could it possibly be? And how is their kind connected to it?

“Caitlin!”

Caitlin stopped walking immediately and she turned her head to look at her sister who held an annoying look.

“You are not listening to me,” Kathryn said.

“Oh, you want attention?” Caitlin asked and received a frown from her.

“I just got a whiff of a witch. Are you not even paying attention at all?” Kathryn said in a low voice.

Caitlin’s brows furrowed a bit and she took in the air around them which smelt bad but soon disappeared and not a second later, they heard screams coming from the opposite direction and saw people heading towards the direction. She looked at Kathryn and as if in sync, they both also start to head towards the direction of the scream.

They soon got to a few gathering which soon started to fill up with curious people who wanted to witness what had happened and both Caitlin and her sister managed to find their way to the front. It was then she saw what had caused the scream. In the small river where a bridge to cross over to the next side was, a man had been slaughtered alongside two other people and their bloods had mixed with the clear water, polluting it, but Caitlin could already discern what it was.

“Clear the way!” a man shouted and some few men came rushing towards the spot with ropes and sacks. They were going to take the body out.

Caitlin looked at her sister and a nod from her, they separated from the crowds of people. They needed to find the witch as soon as possible and hoped she has not gotten away and while the people were being distracted by the floating dead bodies, Caitlin made use of her ability and sneaked away silently.

In the deserted part of the town, a hooded woman walked in a fast pace while clutching something tightly against her cloak and as if sensing something, she suddenly stopped and held a deep frown.

“Who are you?” she demanded as her eyes were fixed on the ground and just as she asked, she raised her eyes up to see someone standing in her way.

“What did you do to those people?” Caitlin asked away without beating around the bush and she watched the witch’s every movement with careful eyes.

“Blackburn…” the witch muttered and Caitlin caught it.

“Was it you?” Caitlin asked. “You are the one who took a young girl hostage and plan to use her blood for what exactly?”

“It’s you,” the witch said and Caitlin raised a brow.

“Do you know who I am?”

“No, but you will soon be known.”

Caitlin became confused at what the witch said and it was then her eyes lowered to see that she was holding onto something which peeked out from her coat. She saw something black which looks like a book and it gave her the description of the sacred book the priest talked about which she had pictured from the mind of the other priest.

“I see that you’ve stolen the so-called sacred book. What is it about this sacred book exactly?” Caitlin asked, looking curious.

Seeing that she had been caught, the witch made to use a spell but Caitlin caught on quickly and grabbed the book from her coat which the witch held on to tightly and they both dragged the book where Caitlin was determined not to let it go.

“You know you can’t win, right?” Caitlin said and the witch looked at her with anger in her eyes.

“You don’t know what you are dealing with,” the witch said sternly.

“Then help me know,” Caitlin said.

The witch glared hard at her and then finally stopped dragging the book with her but still had her hand holding onto it and when Caitlin thought she was about to tell her, she suddenly felt another presence of a witch and it seemed the witch sensed it too because the next second, she casted a spell that sent Caitlin flying several feet backwards and crashing into the dirt.

Caitlin felt a sharp pain on her knee where the skin had torn but was quick to heal back and she made to stand up when she suddenly stopped and looked down on her hand.

“The sacred book…” she said with slightly wide eyes when she saw that she was holding on to it. “Why did the witch—”

“I told you these things are not to be said outside because the walls have ears and now here you are telling me that the sacred book has gone missing!”

Caitlin heard little whisperings which belonged to the Father priest and she quickly hid the book in her cloth before standing up. It seems the bodies had been taken away because the townspeople now walked in the area where she was and she took the advantage to walk slowly in their midst while following the priests who walked in the front, whispering silently to each other.

“Father, I told you before about these things, these visions and signs, but you chose to ignore me. It is not because the walls have ears, Father, it is because the prophecy is coming soon. And now we have to face what is coming. Destruction, deaths, demo—”

“Enough!” The Father stopped him from speaking further.

“You think it is enough?” Aiden asked. “What if we are about to reap the sins of the first leader of our church? What if they knew about this prophecy all along because they brought it upon us? Remember those women they slew on the streets and burnt alive and staked to the cross? Even the children…”

“Aiden!” the Father cautioned him in a loud voice while stopping and the people who were walking turned to look at them before they resumed walking. “You have said enough already,” he said in a low voice and started to walk away, leaving him standing there.

Caitlin also stopped walking and tried to know what was going on in his mind but it was all void and she wondered what kind of man he was, and as if aware that she was looking at him, he turned to the back and they both locked eyes. Caitlin wanted to look away and walk in the other direction, but for unknown reasons, she found herself standing there and staring at the strange man.

Aiden looked at her with a look of recognition and it was when he started to make his way towards her that the spell broke from Caitlin’s eyes and she felt a hand on hers. Looking at whose hand it was, she saw that it was Kathryn’s and she tug at her to start moving. She couldn’t be more than glad that her sister had saved her from such an awkward situation as they head back to Old-Vine Town.

On their way, Kathryn was moody, and when Caitlin asked her what it was, she said, “They somehow knew we were coming so they got rid of all the evidence. I went to the place and it was all burnt down. They must have killed the man and Bathilda’s family before dumping them in that river.”

“Bathilda?”

“That is the girl’s name. She told me herself.”