Chapter 37 :D

Chapter thirty-seven—Hunted

 The night dawned once again, sickened by the sun and stress, I could barely sleep. However, I surprisingly fell asleep.

My mother’s face kept swimming in my dreams, sparkling grey and precious. I saw my sister, with her sweet blue eyes and bouncy brown hair.

When I wasn’t dreaming of them, it was just black, as though I was watching a screen. Then, their faces would appear once again, as though watching a television movie. I saw scenes of us, and I felt a tear go down my face in my dreams.

Suddenly, everything changed.

Then, the world became anew:

I sense there’s something in the wind; it feels like tragedy.

I was on a rooftop, and no stars glittered. The place was empty, and I’ve never seen this place before.

Then, I saw movement. I realized there was a girl, hidden in the shadows. She walked cautiously and slowly, and I heard the click of her heels. She had a cloak on, and underneath it she wore a slim-fit dress, with a corset and high heels. She wore all black. The cloak covered her head and face, only showing rainbow eyes.

Then, the girl began to speak to herself. She had a smooth, dangerous voice. “I still can’t find what keeps me here… I know your still there, through the hollowness in my soul.”

I frowned at the words she chose to use. She whipped around, as though trying to find something. I saw a sudden shine of gold, and I realized she had just obtained a bow and arrow, made of something like light.

“I know you’re watching me. Wanting me. I can feel it…”

I saw something rush past the girl, and she darted around. I saw no fear in her eyes. “I won’t let you slow me down, beast. I can smell you alive; I can feel your heart pounding in my head…”

The girl began to spin wildly, watching as the large mass of shadow darted around her, and I heard growling as frightening as a hundred dragons.

“Fearing… Loving… It’s all the same to me.” The girl smiled, her teeth were as white as the moon. She began to run, her legs moving so fast that it was a blur.

The scene changed, and I was on a different roof. It was silent, and I saw a discarded newspaper move across the metal flooring. Everything was dark; it must be midnight.

Suddenly, I saw movement. There was a dog, like Professor Wethersfield, but it was a totally different person. It wore a thick cloak and black clothes. I saw a mask on its face. It was climbing out of a window, with a sack in its hand.

A robber. Why was I seeing a thief in my dream?

The ground began to rumble, and the dog began to look around in surprise. Holding on to its sack for dear life, it seemed more desperate to keep his gold safer than him.

There was a roar, like a dinosaur, and a huge wolf jumped from over a mount of chimney’s, and in front of the dog. The dog dropped its stolen items in fear, and the wolf’s blue-ish black fur rippled in the midnight moon. Taking another leap, the wolf jumped onto the dog, and began to rip the dog’s head off. Howling in pain, it abruptly stopped when the dog’s head was thrown by the wolf’s teeth six feet away. Blood sprayed and pooled the floor as though a bucket of it was thrown across the roof.

I heard a vicious scream, and saw a golden arrow of light pierce the wolf’s back, straight into its heart. The wolf fell, crushing the dead dog, and started to burn. There was no fire, but the wolf’s remains crumbled into ash.

The girl in black picked up the arrow, covered in black blood. “There is a place in the back where you shoot through the spine and into the heart.” She grunted, as if telling off the wolf, spitting on the ash. Soon, the ash blew away, only revealing the dead dog’s remains.

A strand of pure black hair fell out of the girl’s hood, and she tucked it back in with a colorless hand. I saw her put her hand on the dog, and she began to whisper to it, as though praying.

Then, the dream ended.

I awoke with shock, sweat dripping off my face. I noticed Nikki watching me with concern.

“Mary, what is it?”

I gulped in a huge breath of air, and I felt like I was out of breath. “You were right; it is Red Riding Hood.”

“Did you have a dream about the S.A. being hunted? Did you catch what she looked like, or what her name was?” Nikki stiffened.

I nodded. “Yes, and no,”

“Yes and no?”

I took a sharp intake of breath. “I think the S.A. just killed the wolf.”

Chapter 36 :D

Chapter thirty-six—Bloody Riding Hood

Give me a reason that you’re fully dead, I thought, as I stared at the top of my canopy bed, unable to sleep. Abby had gone back to her rooms, and Nikki was writing at my desk by candlelight. We did not speak; we did not know how to protect ourselves now.

Give me a reason, I thought, as envisioned the dream Nikki had experienced. Was this the future, as our dreams have been?

Give me a reason that you’re fully dead, as I thought of my mother. Could she possibly be alive? Was the woman in Nikki’s dream actually a demon?

I held the knife to my chest calmly, besides my amulet, its cold metal burning into my skin. I remembered the softly spoken words my mother gave me, and I knew even in death our love lives on.

They didn’t hear you singing to me. I closed my eyes, and tried to think. I remembered that they buried her in Unicorn Way, and that the Headmaster had built a monument for her. A large unicorn in the Unicorn Way Park. My heart ached; I wanted to go home so bad. How could I be so homesick, when I truly have no home?

And I couldn’t miss or love my deceased family anymore than I do, but I wish that I could love them enough to let go of them.

If I saw her again, I knew my weakness would give in. I would want to go with her, stay forever with her, and listen to her sweet lullabies. Nobody knew me like she did, nobody knows the memories I had of her but me.

I remembered laying my head on her lap when the night came, too tired to go to bed. She would stroke my face, and when she thought I’d fallen asleep, she’d pick me up and put me in my bed. Then, she’d kiss me on the forehead and close the door quietly. Even then, I could feel the warm press of her lips on my forehead, and I mourned for her warmth and love again. I wanted my mama back.

I sighed, and rolled over in my bed, the knife still branding itself onto my chest. Slowly, I closed my eyes, but I did not fall asleep. I only saw blackness, and listened to the rhythm of Nikki’s quill on the parchment.

My sister was everything I needed to see; she was the smile and sunlight in my view.

My mother was love reincarnated, and was the beauty in everything that was life.

The constant voice within my heart was them. I fell into peace, knowing one way or another, they would always be there.

Then I fell asleep in the sea of hope.

The next day was complicated. Abby certainly had been correct about not seeing each other; I couldn’t find her even if I tried. However, I had Nikki to help me with the evidence.

I saw Rachel running around, trying to suck up to Courtney. It looked as though she was trying to mooch something out of her; probably money. I’ve learned that that was Rachel’s normal schedule.

Before we were ordered to go to the Observatory, I had made a quick trip to the mail. With wonderful glee, there was a vile from Alhazred in a spellbound envelope, ready for tracking. I snuck it into my purse, and hurried off to the Observatory.

I told Nikki quickly and quietly when I arrived. She looked as though she was about to scream and jump in happiness, but she only put on a pair of silver gloves, and could barely contain her smile.

Together, we studied the clothes the victim’s were wearing the night of the crime scene. Dried blood covered most of the clothing, and some of it was in shreds.  

When Nikki found a black hair, I stared at her with doubt. “The woman’s hair was black.”

“The woman’s hair was silver-ish black, Mary.” She stuck the hair in my face, making my eyes go slightly cross-eyed. “It would have been silver in the root of the hair. This is pure black.”

I shrugged. “There’s barely anything worthwhile on these clothes.”

“Well, we aren’t finished yet.” She put the hair under a scanning device, searching its DNA. The machine beeped, and it lit up negative.

I stared in disbelief. “How could it not be the victim’s hair?”

“Because,” Nikki replied, putting the hair into a plastic bag. “It is the S.A.’s hair.”

I didn’t hear her. “What about this?”

I picked up a tuft of thick hair from a shredded part of the clothing, hidden under the baby’s blanket. Its hair shined ebony in the lamplight, as though it was almost a midnight blue.

I saw Nikki pale. “I think we are talking about… No, I cant believe it would be possible.”

“What is it?” I asked simply, still staring at the fur.

“I think we are talking about Red Riding Hood.”

“What? You mean the Fairytale curse? How?” I felt the blood drain out of my face.

“The tuft of hair you are holding right now, Mary,” Nikki spoke through gritted teeth. “Is Wolf hair. Malistaire’s curse made our next S.A. Little Red Riding Hood.”

“How could you be so sure about this?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“Because,” Nikki took the hair, examining its fur in the light. “There is only one Fairytale related to the Angel of Battle and the Hunt; and that is where the Wolf hunts the Girl in the Forest.”

“And the Wolf has been hunting the Mysterious Woman on the rooftops.” I gasped. “It all makes sense!”

Nikki lifted up the baby boy’s shredded clothing. “It has claws as big as a grown elephant’s foot.” She touched the mother’s clothing where the stomach would have been. “And its teeth are as sharp as needles, sharp enough to rip out somebody’s stomach in one bite.”

I winced. “What do we do now?”

Nikki put the clothes down gently, with pity. “We shall use the tracking potion Alhazred gave us on the night of the Enforcement Ball; that’s when everybody will be preoccupied.”

I nodded. “And then we shall meet our blood sister.”

Nikki nodded. “We shall.” 

Chapter 35

Chapter thirty-five—Eyes of Silver

I froze, realizing who was talking. With strong doubt, I couldn’t believe it could actually be her.

What would she be doing here from Wizard City?

The hand moved away from my mouth, and I whirled around the see the face I expected. Taking in her half shaded face, her green eyes, and her raven black hair- I saw that she has grown in the years I’ve seen her last.

“Remember me?” She smirked, putting her pale hand on her hip.

“Abigail.” I breathed out. “What in the worlds are you doing here? In my room?”

“It was the only time I could talk to you. Plus, we need to be alone in what I need to tell you.” Abby spoke and I noted a bit of worry in her voice.

“Sit down.” I ordered, and I took a broom and swiped the glass into a corner with one big blow. Looking up, I saw myself in the mirror. I looked cordial, and not myself. I sighed, and realized how different I must look to Abby. I turned around, and sat next to her on my canopy bed.

          “I’m sorry to frighten you, Mary.” Abby avoided my eyes. “But this thing is… Different.”

          “Why are you here, Abby?” I asked again.

          “It’s difficult to explain.”

          “Just tell me.”

          Abby twirled a lock of black hair with her fingers, standing out in the pale moonlight. “I know why you left, and why you’ve been traveling.”

          I laughed at that, but only to drown out my disbelief. “What are you…? Talking about?”

          Abby grimaced. She sat up, and I watched her as she took the ruby-hilted knife that I unconsciously put on the window sill. Before I knew what she was doing, it was too late- she sketched a gash into her arm before I could shout.

          Blood poured out of her arm, but I didn’t rush to help her. I was hypnotized by what color the blood was.

          It certainly was red- but gold was deeply mixed in the color. Unlike my blood, which was full gold, hers still had the maroon color. “How do you have that gold in your blood..?”

          “I’m half of what you are. That’s why.” She replied.

          “But that doesn’t make sense.” I stared in astonishment at the idea of it. “Your either full Seraphina-Alleyen, or your not one at all.”

          “Do you honestly don’t believe this?” She stuck out her arm, and I winced. She grabbed a thin towel from a rack near the bathroom, and tied it around her arm.

          I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts so I could think intelligently. I sat up, and walked to the door. Abby looked confused when I turned the handle. “Stay here, I’m getting somebody.”

          “Mary, I’m not crazy- you know that..?”

          “I’m not getting some mentalist, Abby. There is somebody who will be able to help you.” I sighed.

          “Oh, by the Fates, you are thinking that I’m crazy! I trusted yo-“Abby cried out.

          “Shut up and sit down, Abby, I’m not getting some kind of enforcement on you. Just wait here.” I left the room, and starting making my way to Nikki’s room silently.

Knocking gently on the door, Nikki opened it suddenly. I gaped at her.

“Light sleeper. I heard voices. Are you alright?”

I stared at her. “Why is everybody in a paranoid mood tonight?”

Nikki rubbed her temple. “Sorry, I just had a dream…”

I raised my eyebrow. “Well, I can’t ask you about it at the moment, even though I wish I could, because something has happened to me, too.”

Nikki’s mouth went into an “o” form. “What is it?”

“Just… Follow.” I replied numbly. I took her wrist, and led her to my door. Bringing Nikki into the room, Abby looked up in surprise. Nikki cocked an eyebrow.

“Who is this?” Abby spoke, eyes burrowed in interest.

“Abby, this is Melissa Nicole, but you can call her Nikki. Nikki, this is Abigail Silvereyes.” I introduced them, and they shook hands awkwardly.

“Who is she…? Is the one of the..?” Abby started, and I interrupted her.

“Nikki is the Seraphina-Alleyen of Knowledge and Remembrance.” I started, and Abby suddenly stared at her with intensity.

Nikki’s eyes widened. “Abby is a Seraphina-Alleyen, isn’t she?”

“Uh… Err…” I stumbled. “She is half  S.A.”

Nikki moved her head over near her shoulder, and with a large frown, she spoke: “That’s impossible.”

“I know, but it’s true. I’ve even gotten powers.” Abby murmured. We stared at her.

“Does the S.A. even withhold powers?” I studied Nikki’s face, and she had no expression.

“Of course we do. When I had turned eighteen, all a sudden I saw things.” Abby frowned in displeasure. “Spirits. Ghosts. Spirit animals, even.”

“Spirit animals?” Nikki looked as though she wanted to laugh. “No such thing.”

Abby folded her arms. “I always see a person’s animal at first sight, or at grave danger. Since I’ve met Mary before, I can’t see her animal. However, you Nikki, have a beautiful animal.”

Nikki raised an eyebrow. “And it is..? Not that I’m curious…”

“A pure white owl.” Abby smiled, and she lifted out her arm. I saw six pink marks grow on her arm, as though a bird was perched upon it and its claws her digging into her.

Nikki blinked. “So you can see.”

Abby nodded. “Sometimes it feels like a curse; like when I saw my own parent’s aura’s were black and red, with horrid vultures as their animals. They are pure evil.”

I’ve never seen Abby speak about her parents that way, or even so as abruptly. “So, you can see aura’s too?”

Abby smiled again, but it did not disguise the sorrow in her green eyes.
”You guys have the most beautiful aura. It’s so golden and colorful.” She glanced at her skin. “I have a tint of gold, but not as colorful. Probably because I’m only half Angel.”

I sighed. “You ran away from home, didn’t you? Because of your parents?”

Abby nodded. “I’ve been working as a potion master’s apprentice in the castle. I may be Death, but potion making is so fun.”

“How did you figure out about the S.A.?” Nikki asked curiously.

“Well, I figured out my powers. Then, I saw my aura, which was strange.” Abby looked lost in thought. “And then I connected it with Mary. I remember when Malistaire gave Mary that box, and that he had said that he wanted something from her. What else would Malistaire want but power? So, I figured… Mary’s mother must have put something in that box for Mary, because Mary had special powers that Malistaire wanted.”

“And since Malistaire didn’t have the powers that you figured Mary had, you decided that Sylvia had them instead-” Nikki added thoughtfully.

“My mother was not an S.A. She was only of Angel blood, perhaps a descendant from an Angel, but she wasn’t chosen by the Fates. She thought she was, but she failed, because she wasn’t one of the S.A. She was only an Angel by blood, not by destiny.” I interrupted. “My youngest sister, Sabrina, inherited her father’s blood more than my mother’s. She may have the tiniest bit of Angel blood in her, but not enough to call her an Angel. If she ever could have grown into one, then I don’t know, because she is long dead. I’m quite reminded of that every single Christmas day.” I announced quietly.

Abby and Nikki looked at each other with concern. “I’m sorry to bring that up, Mary, but it had to be said. If we’re going to figure out where Malistaire is and kill him, then we need to bring up our pasts.”

I nodded, understanding. “While we are on the conversation of the past, you could tell us that dream you had, Nikki.”

Nikki nodded, and winced as if she had a headache. Slowly, she began to tell her story:

“I was on the rooftop of a huge clock tower, where the Krokonomicon is hidden. Stars twinkled in beauty, and the sky was black as ebony. There was something wrong with the place, though, because it had this feeling of big regret and guilt. Suddenly, I had heard a chorus of moans, almost in a song, but they were in horrid emotions of moans. Pain, sadness, anger, and betrayal.”

I nodded, and she continued.

“In this place, I suddenly saw you, Mary. It was Mary and Abby.” She looked at Abby sadly. “This was before I met you, Abby; and when I saw you, you were lying on the ground, bleeding and dying.”

Abby shifted her position uncomfortably at the sound of herself wounded. Nikki continued. “Then, there was this woman with marble white skin, and it was glowing and looked so unreal. She had rosy lips, and cheeks were pink as a sunset. Her eyes were moonstone, like Mary and I. In fact, she looked a lot like Mary; she even had the golden hair.”

I frowned. “That sounds like my mother, but… Exaggerated.”

Nikki nodded.

“She began to talk to you, Mary. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, but you began to cry. She circled around you, and she looked as though she was floating. She stroked your face with a finger, and wiped away your tears. All of a sudden, the woman started to glow red, and I saw her eyes grow all white… She had no pupils.”

I stiffened. “So, we were being attacked?”

Nikki squeezed her eyes shut. “I… Don’t remember the ending. I don’t remember if I was there, or if I was just watching…”

Nikki put her face in her hands, trying to remember.

‘Well, we know one thing.” I decided. “That woman wasn’t my mother, because she was dead. Evidently, she was a demon, and I bet she is working for Malistaire.”

“Something doesn’t seem right here.” Abby’s voice shook.

“Well, when the time comes.” I held my knife tightly, wondering if I’d ever let go of it. “We will be ready for it.”