“Julie will be with me until she is 18 years old. She will be a great witch because I will teach her my skills. You see? She’s bound to me.”
Katarina said it smoothly. Of course Edith had thought that Katarina wanted Julie too. Edith was more inclined to Katarina’s consideration because she was still in her family. She wouldn’t hurt her own family.
She also couldn’t just break it off because Julie still had a father. Seth would not agree to the consideration because Katarina had attacked his pack members and even made him die in the past. Everything became a dilemma for Edith.
At a crucial time like this, Edith must be able to decide quickly. More than a dozen pack members’ lives are in her hands. Only Katarina could open the portal to find their whereabouts.
“All right, but on the condition that you break the bond between the two of you,” said Edith.
“Tough choice.”
“Don’t waste our time, witch!” snapped Jen sarcastically.
“Just do it, and I’ll break the bond as soon as you let us go. Julie will let you know when the bonds are broken.”
Julie nodded, as Katarina’s words were true. They both began to swing their hands together to open the portal. Edith saw the dark and empty hallway that appeared from inside the portal. It was different from the portal she had usually travelled through with Eva.
Katarina grinned. She and Julie entered first, followed by Edith and Kai. Jen and Jed were assigned to look after Kellan.
As soon as Edith set foot on the ground, she felt a piercing cold. Edith lifted her head and saw that the sky was churning with ash. She had never felt such horror as she did right now.
“I didn’t expect to arrive at this place. Welcome to Limbo. I hope you enjoy the journey.”
Katarina gave Julie directions on how to move forward. They passed through the pine trees for some time. Edith smelled fresh blood to her right. She briefly glanced at Kai, and he nodded slowly.
“I smell blood. Is that them?”
“Yes, it’s them. But I must warn you. Creatures that go into limbo don’t come out easily. Something is keeping them here. Those werewolves were dying the moment they entered the portal. The creature using the portal must be conscious in order to cross the portal.”
“Is Seth okay?”
“I don’t know. If he’s conscious, it means he followed the Rouge, who attacked your members. And another thing: the creatures in limbo are not as friendly as you might think.”
Edith immediately fell silent. She felt a sudden tension spread throughout her body. She was completely lost because of all the happenings she had gone through. Only her trust in Katarina had led her to this place.
Edith saw many wolves lying with wounds on their bodies. Some of them were unconscious, and some were still moaning in pain. Edith immediately approached them. Without hesitation, Edith immediately channelled her healing energy to the wolves one by one.
While Edith was taking care of the wolves, Kai heard a rustling sound from his left. He sharpened his sense of hearing, then moved quickly towards the sound. Kai jumped in surprise when he arrived; he was immediately greeted with a plume of thick black smoke that immediately attacked him.
Kai tried to fight back by punching and kicking it, but to no avail. The plume of smoke only escaped his hands and feet. In contrast to what Kai did, the black smoke plume solidified to form the body of a familiar figure.
“Seth?”
Instead of getting an answer, Kai was hit with a punch in the face. The figure was silent but continued to attack Kai continuously. Kai ran to escape from the creature in the form of Seth until he reached the place where Edith was still healing the wolves.
“Ghoul…” Katarina’s words trailed off.
“I’ve been busy. This thing keeps attacking me. What were you talking about?” shouted Kai, who was still running in circles.
“That’s the creature I’m talking about. It’s some kind of disembodied entity and will be the one you fear the most.”
“Shit! I’m not afraid of you, Seth. How can I fight him?” asked Kai with his breath taken away.
“You have to be brave,” said Katarina in a disdainful tone of voice.
“Edith, hurry up. I’m already half out of breath.”
“I’m trying. I’m working alone; you’re not helping me by complaining like that, Kai.”
Edith still continued to work from one wolf to another. She heard Kai being knocked against a tree trunk or slammed to the ground by the creature. By the time she had to heal the last wolf, Kai was already out of breath.
Kai groaned in pain and curled up on the ground. Above him, the creature was ready to stomp on Kai’s neck. Until Seth’s foot almost touched Kai’s neck, Edith swung her hand to pull Kai away from the creature.
“Aunt Katarina, take them back to the pack house and help me find Julie’s father.”
“With pleasure, my dear. Just make sure no one gets injured because I’m going to open the portal now or we’ll be stuck here forever!”
*
Seth spews blood as Gautier kicks him, even in human form. He had to fight alone against the seven rogues, one witch and one defecting pack member. Just as Gautier was about to bend down to break his neck, a portal opened behind him.
Edith moved with lightning speed to grab Gautier’s body. Anger overcame her until Edith had the power to perform magic on the wolf. When a wolf wanted to pounce on him from behind, Kai quickly moved to block it. The man was able to recover while in the portal, thanks to Edith’s healing.
“Did you attack the Lycan?” asked Kai after bending the wolf into a human form. He wanted to avenge the werewolf that had injured Alexandra.
“It wasn’t me; it was him,” the werewolf said, pointing at the black wolf.
“Edith, watch your back!” shouted Kai when he saw the frog-faced witch swinging her hand at Edith.
Instantly, Julie raised her hand into empty air to parry and reversed the spell. Without looking back, Julie advanced towards the witch and attacked her with a spell that made all sharp objects head towards her.
Edith saw knives, forks, and an and an ice pick flying from the other direction towards the witch. The frog-faced witch managed to make a shield from the wooden table after swinging her arms. Edith immediately channelled her healing energy towards Seth, making the most of the opportunity.
“Are you feeling better?” Edith asked after seeing Seth sitting up.
“Yes. You must attack that witch. She cast a spell on Liam to make him obey her. Kai and I will take care of the Rogues. I tried to kill her but couldn’t.”
“That’s because her soul is split, just like mine. You must destroy the thing that holds her soul,” interrupted Katarina, who was still following Julie’s movements to attack Matilda.
“Is it with her?” asked Edith.
“There is one in her head and one in the painting. The other two, you’ll have to look for yourself.”
“By the Moon Goddess, at a time like this, we have to play tricks,” Seth growled after listening to Katarina’s words.
“You have to kill Liam and destroy his gem. I can see that, said Julie suddenly, with a voice that was still distorted.”
“Well, I mean it,” Katarina chuckled.
Seth instantly shifted into his wolf form. He searched for Liam’s whereabouts, as his daughter said. Together with Kai, Seth immediately ran to another part of the mansion.
Now, Julie looked towards Edith. She tried to communicate with Edith using her mind power. Making sure Katarina didn’t suspect her, Julie closed her eyes for a moment.
[Mum?]
“Julie… How are you talking to me?” Edith looked at Julie.