I brought my hand up and lit it on fire. “Release them or I will burn this fucking house down.” I know the house means something to her. She wouldn’t have gotten angry when I had offered a new one otherwise.
Tears rose in her eyes as she saw my hand with fear and then she stopped chanting.
She then looked at me with wide eyes. “Y-your him! The off-offspring! You… you’re going to save the un-” What the fuck is she going on about? She’s crazy.
“Release them or else I’ll burn the fucking house down!” I growled, increasing the flames.
Her gaze snapped to my hand and she grew scared.
I heard all three of them gasping for breath. Thank Goddess!
“Keep talking or else I will burn this house down.” The fire on my hand increased.
“Answer me dammit!” I screamed, tired of her bullshit.
“I-I can’t.” She whispered, looking terrified. “The Ancestors. They will punish me. It was a blessing to see you in person, Saviour.” And then she mumbled a couple of words before a loud wail left her mouth.
Her body twisted and convulsed and racked and then started dissolving until black particles erupted from her body and I jumped back, not wanting anything to touch me.
And then she was gone. Poof. Just like that.
What a fucking waste of time.
I put out the fire on my hand and turned to look at three shocked faces.
“What the fuck was that?”
“Oh my god!”
“Send in men to thoroughly search the house for any sort of scripts or books. Tell them not to eat or drink anything and then burn the house down after they are done.” I ordered Max and walked out with them following me.
“Who is next?” I asked Lady Bea.
“There is one more person who might know something but I’m not sure if she will help. Her name is Raela. She is her granddaughter.” She replied. “But from what I know, she doesn’t practice magic anymore.”
“Again, I’m not asking if she is willing or not.” I muttered and got in the car. Max got behind the wheel and took us through the city as per Lady Bea’s directions.
We reached the new part of the city and Max parked the car in front of a house that had a huge garden at the back with numerous plants and herbs lining it. The house was stark white and a lot of it was made out of glass which let the sunlight come in easily, unlike the previous one where it was dark and damp inside.
I had a good feeling about this one.
We walked to the door and I rang the doorbell.
A little boy opened the door and looked up at us with his big eyes.
“Erik, how many times have I told you not to open the doo-” Raela walked down the hallway and stopped when she saw us.
Her stomach was round and protruding, hinting at pregnancy. Her hand immediately came to rest on her stomach, “is something wrong?”
“No, we just have a couple of questions that we seek answers for.” I told her, my voice gentle.
She looked confused but nodded, opening the door further. “Oh- where are my manner!” She mumbled before bowing in front of us. “Greetings, King Nikolai, Prince Maximilian, Princess Natalia and Lady Bea.”
“Rise.” I said and she stood straight with a smile. “Please come in.”
We followed her inside. “Why don’t you go and play upstairs hmm?” I ruffled the kids hair who promptly nodded at me and ran upstairs.
“Please have a seat, would you like any refreshments?” She asked kindly.
“No, thank you,” I replied for all and took a seat on the couch, “I will get straight to the point. I want to know more about witch sacrifices.”
Her open expression became guarded. “I apologise, King Nikolai but I will not be able to help you with this.”
I think she knows something.
I took out my cell phone, played the recording of the bird’s eye view and showed it to her. “The three people being killed are witches. And there are many more who have been killed in a similar manner. We believe this is the reason all the witches in Jivan are disappearing. The witches are being kidnapped and then sacrificed.”
Her face looked stricken. She looked lost and terrified but I knew she knew at least something.
“Remaining silent won’t help. What will help is knowledge. If you know something-anything, please tell us.” I told her.
“I don’t know much about black magic.” She whispered, her eyes lowering.
“But you do know something?” Max prompted.
Her expression grew weary and then she sighed, resigned to he fact that she’ll have to tell us everything. “After my grandfather died, my grandmother did everything in her power to bring him back for the dead. When nothing worked, she turned to black magic. My mother and I tried to get her to stop but she just wouldn’t listen. So my mother packed our bags, telling me what we will not stay in a house where she killed innocents and practiced black magic. It is forbidden.” She blinked back the tears in her eyes.
“My grandmother caught on and she trapped my mother and I down in the cellar. We managed to find an opening but there wasn’t enough time” A tear trickled down her face. “My mom sacrificed herself so I could escape.”
“If it helps, she is dead.” I told her.
All the breath left her body. And more tears slid down her face and she covered her face with her hands, taking in deep breaths. Nat and Lady Bea who were sitting on either sides of her started comforting her.
After she composed herself, she gave me a grateful nod and I nodded back.
“There were few things she told me that I could use to protect myself from black magic. The most important one is fire. Fire can kill black magic. If you have stones like fire opal, ruby or sunstone on you, black magic won’t be able to affect you. There are animals like lion, tiger, lizard, bee, scorpion who can sense black magic and their behaviour changes immediately. They aren’t affect by black magic and if given the opportunity, they will kill anyone embodying black magic. If you have contacts in other dimensions and can ask for help, Dragon shifters and phoenixes are the same.” She said.
It would have been great but I had very limited knowledge about any other dimension, much less have such contacts. I know there are infinite dimensions and each dimension is inhabited by one or two species at the most. And the only reason Jivan is so famous is because we have four species-humans, werewolves, vampires and witches. That won’t remain the case if Adrik succeeds.
“And as for plants-plants like thistle, cactus, juniper and sunflower can ward off black magic from your homes if they are planted around the periphery othe house.” Raela said. “This is all I know.” She spoke the truth.
“This was certainly very helpful. Thank you very much.” I offered her a smile and stood up.
“Is there something to be really worried about, King Nikolai?” She asked in a small voice, cradling her belly.
“We will do our best to ensure everyone’s safety.” I said. “And Poziarne is currently out of danger, your family is safe.” And with that, we took our leave.
“That went well.” Lady Bea said.
“Yes but we didn’t get the answers we need.” I rubbed my face.
“There is a last person we can try. He is very young so I doubt he knows something but he is our last option.” She replied.
“Okay.” I nodded.