A GOOD DEAL

She ran faster, not stopping to breathe or feel the pain from the soles of her feet brushing against the sharp edges of the thorns in the woods. Pain was relative. One’s body had to actually be willing to feel pain before one felt it. Tonight, Opal's body was immune to all the pain she was feeling as she tore through the woods, looking for a way of escape.

The trees danced before her and the mockingbirds taunted her as she went, all of them succumbing in solidarity to each other, threatening to drive her crazy with everything happening to her.

A loud rumbling thunder echoed over her, shaking the woods. Something was happening tonight. She did not know yet what it was but she knew she was at the forefront of it.

The woods seemed to get farther as she ran. When she thought she was approaching land, she’d only ended up crossing the borders of the woods to another denser part of the aisle of the wild.

Opal was beginning to slow down now, her human energy failing her. Her hair was now a tussled heap falling carelessly over her face, blocking part of her view.

She came to a slow stop before a massive tree stump and struggled to catch her breath. A choking sensation went through her chest. She lowered her shoulders and took as many deep breaths as she could, and slowly, her heart began to adjust to the atmosphere.

She looked farther, her eyes wandering around the woods. There was nothing but deep silence surrounding her. Then a light! Opal froze, startled. What was such a brilliant light doing out here in the woods?

She continued to strain to see clearly was lay beyond her eyes. The light seemed to be coming from an ancient lantern, placed in a cage before a hut. She recognized the design of the hut at once. It was a witch's hut.

Witches had long been exiled from the town of Hanesville. She looked around and wondered just how farther she was away from town to stumble into a witch in the woods. Surely, she couldn’t be too far away.

As she stood there wondering about her next course of action, a bright idea came into her mind and she acted upon it at once. The witch must have a spell that would help her harness the power from the gemstone. Asking Tom Banes to perform the ritual was no longer an option, especially now that she’d realized she had just been betrayed.

Her body was fueled at once and she journeyed to the hut, taking quick strides, eager to be done and over with it before Tave caught her scent in the woods and came looking for her.

She arrived at the witch's hut just as the moon crept back into the shadows. An ominous air filled the surrounding. Opal drew a long deep breath and plunged further into the environment. She stopped before the hut, knocked, and entered.

Inside, she found an old shriveled woman with bleached white hair sitting on the floor, mumbling to herself. Opal opened her mouth to speak but she halted her midway.

“Opal Kendrick!” The woman’s ghostly voice said, “What you ask of me, I cannot grant. The gemstone you possess is powerless for the kind of energy that dwells in you.”

Opal stopped short, puzzled.

“But I haven’t told you what I want you to do for me, have I?”

The woman gave a dry laugh.

“From the moment you crossed the horizon into my territory, I knew who you are,” She lifted her eyes to gaze upon Opal, “You’re an angry, bitter woman who has just been betrayed by the ones she trusted and seeks revenge, is that not so?”

Opal nodded, dazed.

The woman smiled.

“See? I read your heart before you got here.”

Opal rubbed a hand over her forehead, racking her brain.

“There has to be a way to hunt them down. I cannot allow them to get away with this,” She said, her voice laced with desperation.

“And you think the gemstone can help prolong your lifespan?” The old woman chuckled and shook her head, “It would have been simpler with an ordinary werewolf, but you’re a Luna. One gemstone cannot absorb all the energy in you.”

“So, what now?” Opal asked, throwing her hands in the air. “I can’t just let them get away with this! And I can’t hunt them down when they already know who I am,” She heaved a sad sigh, “They’ll all see me coming and prepare to counter my attack. I’ll never be able to carry out my revenge.”

The old woman did not seem to listen to her lamentations. She was waving her hand over the three candles before her, mumbling some incoherent words to them.

When she looked up, her eyes glowed like flames of fire.

“I might have a way out, but it will cost you something precious,” She arched her thick brows at her, “The question is, are you ready to pay the price?”

Opal felt her spirit tremble as she stared into the old woman’s eyes, and yet for some strange reason, she trusted her.

“Yes,” She muttered.

The old woman’s cracked lips curved into a twisted smile.

“I have a spell for you. The reincarnate spell. I can send you to the future where you will not be recognized by those who have wronged you. You can carry out your revenge totally incognito and go to your grave smiling for a job well done,” She gave Opal a patronizing smile, “But you’d have to part with the gemstone before I can cast this spell on you.”

Opal was listening, absorbing every word.

“And what happens to my body? My memories, everything.”

“I will bury your body once your soul is gone from it. And as for your memories, you will have them all back when you come of age in the future where you’ll land in.”

Opal tilted her head to the side, considering her words and weighing her options. Nobody would miss her. It seemed like a good deal. The lone gemstone was useless to her anyway.

She lifted her eyes to the witch and muttered two words that changed her life and that of many generations to come.

“Do it.”

The witch had a sinister smile on her face.

“Alas!” She exclaimed. “The gemstone is mine!”

A burst of low evil laughter followed.