NIGHTS OF HALLOW

In another part of the village stood two persons, one was a man with a hood over his head and the other person stood with the back against one of the trees in the forest. The person’s head was bent and the hair fell over the bent face making it hard for someone to see who it was.

”Is everything ready?” The hood man questioned the person beside him.

”Yes, everything is ready. The guards have been taken care of.” The other person answered with the head still bowed.

”How about the church members? I hope they won’t cause unnecessary problems or hinder us from what we were ordered to do?” The hood man further questioned the other person for more clarification.

”The church members are not a problem. I can handle them. Just go ahead with what you came for while I distract the church members.” The other person answered.

”Good. I’m asking you all these just to be sure and clear. You know the master wants a clean job and nothing less. Your fellow church members can be a bone in the throat.” The hood spoke. His eyes watching their surrounding.

The hood man paused for a while and turned to look at the other person who still had the back against the tree with the head bowed. He went on to warn,

”Make sure you do your part well, or else we are both dead. Am I clear?”

The other person slowly raise the bowed head but the hair still fell over and covered the face. The person responded to the hood man,

”I know what to do. Do not order me like you are now the master. You should play your part well considering how you have been messing up every order of the master lately. I’m off,” With that the other person turned around and walked further into the village, leaving the hood man in the forest.

A little further away from where the two persons were conversing, stood another man with a hood. This was Sthena, the king, of who stood behind a large tree listening to everything that the two persons discussed.

He watched as the first person left and was followed by the one wearing a hood over his head who went in another direction, probably going to carry out his own part of the task given to them by their so-called master.

Sthena clicked his tongue in distaste and muttered to himself, ”There’s going to be so much hassle in one day, tsk.”

Back at the place where the ritual was being performed,

Almost immediately Donovan and Theodore finished setting up the fake ritual for Mr. Welsh and Martha, was when the two church members arrived.

”Headchurch Donovan, everything is in order and has been set and placed in the right places in the village,” Martha reported to Donovan. Her eyes stared at the setup ritual made up of a grown cat, holy water, a knife, and other things inside the carton.

”Did you two make sure everything is set? Any little mistake will disrupt this ritual and you two know the consequences, don’t you?” Donovan asked the two church members.

”Yes, it was all arranged in the right places.” Mr. Welsh and Martha answered at the same time.

”Good,” Donovan nodded his head and turned on his back to continue what he had been doing before the arrival of Mr. Welsh and Martha.

Theodore on the other hand stood quietly on one side watching both Mr. Welsh and Martha with his interrogating gaze as he recalled what Chief Advisor Daemon told him earlier today.

”I’m glad you caught why the king asked you to come here. To cut it short, the person responsible for it is among the church members. But we’ll leave that for you and Donovan to take care of.”

It was one of the church members? Theodore questioned himself. Who could it be? Mr. Welsh or Martha? Could it be one of them? But they are among the founders of the church and all their records were clean.

Well, records being clean doesn’t mean the person is innocent. Even he who did other things behind the church always kept his record clean. But he had to admit that both Mr. Welsh and Martha appeared to be innocent and at the same time suspicious.

Or was he wrong with his analysis? Or could it be that the church member Daemon spoke of was among the five church members they had brought with them? Theodore wondered within himself as he continued to watch every move of Mr. Welsh and Martha.

He will subtly ask them about the missing guards and see what their reaction and response will be. From there, he will start his investigation.

”Headchurch Donovan,” Martha called almost impatiently. She said, ”Shouldn’t we start the ritual for the exorcism now? We have wasted time and it is almost noon already.”

Donovan turned to look at the impatient lady with a subtle glare directed toward her. ”Why are you always impatient? We are starting it now.”

Martha rolled her eyes and said, ”I only want us to do this thing quickly and leave this village. I’m tired of staying here. And not to add, a villager disobeyed the order and came out to look for food.”

Donovan, Theodore, and Mr. Welsh turned to look at Martha in surprise.

”You said a villager? Who was it?” Mr. Welsh questioned.

Martha shrugged her shoulders and answered, ”How do I know who it was? It was some green-eyed woman.”

Theodore and Donovan exchanged a quick glance with each other and Theodore asked, ”What did you do to her?”

Martha turned to look at Theodore with a small frown on her face, ”You ask the question as if I did something to her. Well, I only asked her to go back to her house and that the church will see to her problems.”

”Hmm, you did well.” Donovan praised while a small worry formed at the back of his mind. ”Let’s start the ritual.” He announced and the church members were quick to stay alert and focused.

Donovan began by taking the cat on the floor and slit the neck to have blood gush out and fall into a big cup placed on the floor.

After the entire blood of the cat dropped into the cup, Donovan brought out another jar containing holy water. He poured it into the cup containing the cat’s blood.

Donovan took the cup and poured the mixture into three different cups and announced, ”The three of you should take one cup and pour the content into the hays placed in the four corners of the village. After you do that, ignite the hay and let it burn.”

”The burning hays will make the smell of the holy water and the blood of the cat circulate the village, and if any vampire inhaled it, they will come out and you all know what to do. You catch the vampire.” Donovan gave out the instructions to the church members.

He was just copying what the witch had done. Instead of using the blood of a human or a witch like Serena did, he used the blood of a cat. Also, instead of doing the marking on the ground like how Serena did and chanting the incantations to invoke the white smoke, he used the hay that would be ignited.

In explanation to what all these were for to Mr. Welsh and Martha, he had told them the same thing the witch had explained to him and Theodore. Right now, Mr. Welsh and Martha seemed to believe him. But there was a slight doubt that was on Mr. Welsh’s face which he voiced out. He asked Donovan,

”Headchurch Donovan. I don’t want to sound inquisitive, but shouldn’t the ritual be performed by a witch?”

Donovan and Theodore’s eyes narrowed immediately at the man. Donovan questioned back,

”What witch, churchman Welsh?”

”Uhm...” Mr. Welsh scratched his head as if skeptical of what he was going to answer, ”I don’t really know. But...uhm... I once read something about the witches being the ones to perform rituals.”

”There is nothing as such, Churchman Welsh. Wherever you read that from is a false book. Besides, the witches have gone extinct and are no more in the kingdom.” Donovan dismissed the thoughts of Mr. Welsh.

”Oh, is that so?” Mr. Welsh lightly chuckled. He said, ”That be a misconception from the book I read then. Though it has been long I read it.”

”Continue with what I asked you all to do. Churchman Theodore, you start from the last street, Churchman Welsh, you start from the first street. Churchwoman Martha, you go to the seventh street where the second setup is being placed while I go to the tenth street where the third setup is.”

”With this, we will cover the four setups and begin the next agenda which is to search every house. Am I clear and understood?” Donovan asked looking the church members in the eyes.

”Yes, Headchurch Donovan.” Theodore, Welsh, and Martha chorused before they marched off to carry out the order of Donovan.

Theodore had a small smile on his face because he was appointed to take the last street. It was the same street where he was going to meet Chief Advisor Daemon. If he was correct, this was the same street where the house the king had asked to be watched out for was located.

With his fellow church members gone to the various streets they were asked to go, he and Daemon now had the chance to do whatever they wanted without the eyes of others in it.

Somehow, he was grateful for the person who was behind the missing guards. At least, now, he only had to be on the lookout for his fellow church members. And speaking of which, Headchurch Donovan will notice the missing guards once he walked around the village. This was enough distraction.

Why did this whole thing suddenly get thrilling to me? Maybe, I haven’t had this much fun in a long while. Theodore thought himself with a wide grin on his face as his bloodred lazy eyes shone with an evil adventurous in them.