NIGHTS OF HALLOW

”Till the broken age and time. When the Hallows of the Nights invades the earth.” Serena said as soon as she turned to look at Perdita, her eyes still white before they slowly changed to green.

All these surprised Perdita. The white eyes and the words Serena uttered. She couldn’t be the girl in her dream, could she? She internally asked herself while pretending not to know what Serena was talking about.

”Should I ask you to stop or to keep pretending you don’t what I am saying?” Serena tilted her head to the side with a smile on her face.

Perdita furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her hands over her chest, maintaining the position of one who was in charge. She said, ”With all due respect, Lady Serena, why would I pretend when I do not know what or how what you said is connected to my question of what you are doing to Marco? Not to add, you now accuse me of knowing the words you uttered. Where did that come from? Or is this one of your tricks to fool me?”

Serena pursed her lips, visibly offended by what Perdita said. More than what Perdita said, the thing that pained her the most was the look in Perdita’s eyes when she said those words. It was so accusing and demeaning to look at.

Serena smiled again, covering up the hurt in her eyes. ”Why do you think I would deceive you or even harm you and Marco.”

The frown on Perdita’s face deepened. She didn’t like the way Serena called her brother’s name. It was as if she knew him more than before. She shook away the feeling and replied with her head held high, ”I do not know, Lady Serena. Perhaps you might do me the favor and tell me how or why you want to hurt us? Or rightly put, why do you want to keep custody of us?”

”It is because it is time for you two to return to where you rightfully belong,” Serena responded her gaze never for once leaving Perdita’s face.

Perdita kept mute for a while, staring back at Serena before she suddenly laughed. ”Did you just say to where we rightfully belong? Where could that be? Your coven? Oh, please,” She waved her hand dramatically in the air and walked towards Marco’s bed. She continued, ”You are just looking for ways to put us in one of your plans.”

”Besides, you cannot take someone against their wish or that would be considered as trying to use us as a sacrifice,” Perdita added with a glare, the smile disappearing from her face.

”If I wanted to take you two against your wish, I would have done so the first time I suspected what you are,” Serena responded coming to stand in front of Perdita.

”What we are?” Perdita repeated now interested to know what Serena found out.

Serena smiled. She knew she have gotten Perdita where she wanted. And without wasting the opportunity, she said, ”Yes. While curing Marco, I found out what he was and I know that it is what you are too.”

”What is it? What did you find out?” Perdita didn’t wait for her to finish speaking as she blurted her question. The urge to know what both of them are made her not notice the trap Serena was setting for her.

Serena exhaled, deliberately pausing as if she was in deep thought. She turned away from Perdita and walked to stand beside Marco’s bed. She touched his forehead and noticed his body temperature was beginning to get warm unlike before when he was cold as ice.

After checking up on Marco, she turned to look at Perdita again before answering her burning question, ”To know what I found about you both comes with a price, My dear.”

”I am not your dear!” Perdita bluntly refused to acknowledge the woman’s sudden use of affection. ”And what price could that be?” She continued to question trying hard to overlook the expression on Serena’s face.

Was she hurt by her mean words? Why? Perdita asked herself. She shouldn’t feel pity for her, after all, the witch was doing everything for their gain and not hers. The question now was, what price would she demand from her before she told her what she knew about her and Marco?

”Go back with us to the place you belong,” Serena pronounced her price.

”Wait,” Perdita had a thoughtful look on her face. ”You mean, you want me to go with you people before I know what you discovered?”

”Yes,” Serena answered.

”How will I know you are not lying about discovering what we are? How do I know you are trying to use it to trick me and Marco into following you?” Perdita quizzed with a suspicious look.

”I would never hurt you too. Trust me.”

”I can never trust you. Witches are not to be trusted.” Perdita countered back.

Serena nodded her head understandingly with her eyes downcasted to the floor. When she raised her head she said, ”Well, in that case, I have no other choice but to take you two whether willingly or not.”

”You dare not!” Perdita snapped and took a defensive stand beside Marco on the other side of the bed. ”You cannot take us against our will. I will never allow it. Not under my watch.” As she spoke, she looked between Serena and the door.

”Don’t worry, the door well is secured and no one can come in.” Serena’s assurance sounded more like a threat to Perdita because she was beginning to wonder when Sthena will come in.

”Why do you want us?” Perdita tried another approach to see if Serena will spill whatever they had in mind. But like always, Serena’s reply was, ”To take you back to where you rightfully belong.”

”What if we don’t go back to God knows where, huh?” Perdita probed.

”We will all perish,” Came the simple answer from Serena ”Both you and I, even Marco. No one will live.”

”Are you trying to scare me?” Perdita asked in a mockery voice as she rolled her eyes. But deep down, she was so scared out of her wits and her heart was beating so fast. The only thing she prayed in her heart was for Sthena to break the door and come in to rescue them. But even she knew that that was under the probability of Sthena successfully breaking the door or not.

Being surrounded by witches who wanted to capture her and Marco, she didn’t know what to make of it.

To her horror, She heard Serena snap her fingers at Fredrick and Leonard who had been quiet all along, and said to them, ”It is time to leave.”

Time to leave? To where? Perdita internally asked herself afraid of what was coming next. When she saw Fredrick and Leonard approach her, she knew that there was no time to waste. These people was serious and adamant in wanting to capture them.

Perdita left Marco’s side and quickly ran to the door and pounded on it as hard as she could so she could alert Sthena.

”Stop doing, Child. You are hurting yourself. No one will hear you. It’s either you come willingly or we will take you by force.” Serena said from where she stood.

”Don’t ever call me child! I am not and will never be a child to a heartless woman as you are! I will never allow you to take us! Never!” Perdita screamed back. Not a moment later, she heard Leonard and Fredrick murmur something under their breath and something like a black smoke appeared next to them near the bed.

What was that? She asked herself fearfully.

”That’s a Portal. It will take us wherever we want it to take us.” Serena as if reading her thoughts explained.

In haste to open the door, Perdita didn’t know what happened next but she suddenly found herself outside the room.

Surprised, Sthena who had been trying the bond with no luck rushed to her. ”Perdita! What happened?”

”My brother. Marco! They want to take him. They want to take us!” Perdita panicked and held onto Sthena afraid he would run too. ”We have to hurry, but how to get in again?” She asked no one in particular.

Sthena’s jaw clenched as the anger hadn’t disappeared from his face. ”If you were able to go in and come out, it means you are the key,” Sthena spoke and took Perdita’s hand and went back to the door.

He instructed, ”Try going inside in,”

Perdita nodded, her body clearly shaking from the dread of what was happening. She first put her leg before her body followed. Just before she could fully enter, Sthena held her hand and it gave him the chance to go inside with her.

Landing inside the room, Perdita was met with the shock of her life. Her brother was no longer on the bed but was being carried by Leonard on his shoulder and they were in the middle of the black smoke.

”Noo!!!” Perdita screamed at the top of her lungs just in time for the smoke to vanish carrying her brother in it and the witches in it.