NIGHTS OF HALLOW

Without holding back, Sthena said, ”That you and your brother Marco are witches. And not just any witches, but the green-eyed siblings she is looking for.”

Followed by Sthena’s reply, Perdita jumped from the couch exclaiming in a loud voice, ”No! That is not true.”

”It can’t be we are witches. There’s no way we are witches!” Perdita exclaimed with eyes wide in uncertainty that her fear brought to her cold and shaken body.

Here she was trying and beginning to accept the fact that she and Marco were vampires that can never go back to what they were before as humans that Mr. Malphus deceived them into thinking that they could turn into again. Now, Sthena was telling her they were witches. Was this some kind of joke or prank? Was this another of her fake dreams where someone came to deceive her in the form of Sthena?

All these questions went through Perdita’s head as she paced around the room with her hands clasped together that had become cold with worry.

Sthena relaxed in his seat and regarded Perdita for a while without speaking. When he did speak, he remarked with a slightly disapproving look on his face, ”Is it so hard to accept the truth of who you are?”

Perdita paused on hearing Sthena’s question. ”It is witches we are talking about, Sthena. How can we be vampires and also be witches at the same time? The feeling and thought of it is unsettling.”

”But that is what you and your brother are now,” Sthena spoke and saw Perdita shake her head negatively.

”You don’t understand.” She said and turned her face away with a downcasted expression.

”I understand, Perdita,” Sthena interjected and stood up. ”I perfectly understand your plight. The sooner you get over your fears, the sooner we can proceed and find your brother.” He placed his hand gently on her shoulder and used the other hand and cupped her cheeks, gently caressing it.

”I know everything happening must be hard and overwhelming for you, but you must understand that we cannot change the truth.”

”This truth is hard to believe,” Perdita whispered and looked away from Sthena trying to avoid his gaze.

Sthena used his thumb to turn her face so she could look at him. ”We can always confirm this truth in other ways if you want. But you have to promise me that whatever it is that comes out of it, is not going to be changed either by you or by me. You will accept whatever it is that comes out of it.”

Perdita exhaled and slowly nodded her head, ”I promise,” She said, knowing there was no way she could turn back what has happened.

Sthena released his hold on her cheek and her shoulder. He said, ”We will go somewhere.”

”Where? Now?” Perdita asked as it was already evening and everything they were going to do would definitely take time. And not to add, the others would wonder where they went to.

”You will find out when we get there,” Sthena replied and spread his arms wide as if he wanted to embrace Perdita which made her give him a questioning look. He remarked, ”You don’t expect we use the carriage now, do you?” Sthena tilted his head in question.

Perdita shook her head and stepped close to him, understanding his intention of teleporting them.

”Closer,” Sthena spoke with a narrowed look. ”If you stay that far, I might leave you behind or you might land in another place. And you know what happens after that? You are lost.”

Now it was Perdita’s turn to narrow her eyes on him and in return Sthena grinned at her. She stepped closer to Sthena and in the next second, his strong arm wrapped around her waist before they teleported to where Sthena was taking them to.

It felt like a jolt of electricity on the part of Perdita as if there was a wall that they passed through just like what happened when she passed through the door of Marco’s room.

”That was fast,” Perdita whispered and quickly stepped out of Sthena’s embrace causing her leg to slightly wobble and Sthena’s hand was quick to return to her waist to keep her steady.

”Thank you,” Perdita muttered without looking at Sthena, feeling his gaze on her.

”We can be slow next time,” Sthena said, replying to her earlier words with his lips curving into a smile. ”We are here,” He declared and Perdita turned to look at where Sthena brought them.

”Where is this place?” Perdita asked now feeling the eerie silence of the environment creep into her bones. It was an old square house looking more like a hut in the middle of the forest surrounding them.

”It is a witch’s lair,” Sthena answered that quickly made Perdita sharply turn to look at him. ”Did you think Serena and the men were the only witches in the kingdom?” He questioned with a raise of his eyebrow.

Perdita shook her head, wanting to say something, but before she could open her mouth, an owl came flying towards them ready to prick and pluck their eyes out.

”Ahh!” Perdita let out a scream and was drawn to the side by Sthena who was quick to save her face from the angry owl.

”The witch must be awake and aware of our arrival,” Sthena told Perdita once the owl flew towards the direction it came from.

”And that was one way to welcome us,” Perdita commented with wide eyes, her heart pounding against her ribcage.

”We must not forget to thank her for the warm welcome,” Sthena remarked with a chuckle. ”Come on, let’s see what other surprises the witch has in store for us.”

As they began to walk inside, Perdita’s eyes darted around the place, searching for any threat or attack that might come their way.

The place was dark and had a smokey damp smell that wafted from around the house with the cobwebs serving as the decorations of the house adding to the bad feeling she had of the place.

As they continued down the passage of the small house with cautious steps, Perdita couldn’t help but ask Sthena in a whisper.

She quizzed, ”It seems like this witch has always been here, why didn’t you take me here to confirm if we were witches before?”

”I had a reason for not bringing you here initially,” Sthena replied.

”But you did now.”

”Yes,”

”Why?” Perdita continued to question causing Sthena to abruptly stop walking which made her almost hit her forehead against his back.

He said, ”You are quite inquisitive today. Do you prefer I bring you here when you and I know fully well that you would refuse to step in here saying you can never be a witch?” Sthena’s question brought a stop to Perdita’s question as she pursed her lips at the obvious truth before they started to walk again.

They arrived at an open space in the house that looked like an empty room after walking past the dark corridor. Though it was an open space, it was still dark with only the evening light from the cracks of the windows and rooftops entering inside.

”I see you have come again,” Came a voice that startled Perdita as she subconsciously shifted near Sthena making a smile tug on the side of his lips. Her eyes frantically darted in the direction where the voice came from but she saw no one.

Knowing how the witch played her game, Sthena responded, ”Of course, I came back again. Didn’t I tell you I would come and pay you a visit? Here I am now.”

”And you brought a woman?” Came the next question this time in another direction of the room making Perdita question if the witch was floating in the air.

”Yes,” Sthena replied. He continued to say, ”And a beautiful woman too.” He smiled at the end of his words feeling the gaze of Perdita on him.

”Who is she? Your lover?” The witch asked causing Perdita’s eyes to widen.

Lover? She questioned herself. Where did that come from? But instead of Sthena denying the claim, she heard him answer the witch.

”Yes. Are you jealous?”

Immediately after Sthena’s reply, they felt a shift in the air, and in the next second, the witch appeared behind Perdita making her jump away out of fright.

Perdita gave Sthena an accusing look with a slight glare. If he hadn’t confirmed something that wasn’t true, this witch wouldn’t have come behind her. But was the witch jealous? She asked herself and her eyes widened more than they were already.

What if the witch was jealous?! She didn’t want to die at the hands of a jealous witch.

Perdita swallowed a nervous lump in her throat and moved two steps back when the witch came towards her as if trying to sniffle her.

As she moved back, so did the witch follow her with her nose trying to take in the scent of Perdita.

”You smell...” The witch spoke and took a deep breath near Perdita before she continued, ”You smell...like—like a vampire!” The witch frowned and pulled back from Perdita with a thoughtful look on her face.

The witch went near Perdita again, this time walking around her while whispering, ”There’s a scent I’m trying to dispel. There is something you smell like.”

Perdita shifted away from the witch each time she came towards her while questioning at the back of her head what was wrong with the witch.

The witch stopped moving around Perdita and now stood in front of her with eyes wide open in shock making Perdita suspicious and curious about what she found out.

”What is wrong? What did you—”

”You are a Kartars.” The witch half whispered and half yelled interrupting Perdita from finishing her question. Now this got Sthena curious as he questioned,

”What do you mean?”

Without looking at Sthena, the witch continued staring at Perdita with her eyes still wide. She exclaimed in one breath, ”You are one of them! You are one of the siblings! You are the witch!”