Shadows (Book Two of the Royals Trilogy)

Chapter Six

SKYLAR

After our silent meal, in a nearby park all I wanted were answers and Melissa could help us. The paralyzing mechanism had worn off her body and she could now move and speak, although she would be weak for a couple of hours. "Melissa, how did the witch contact you? Does she communicate with you through dreams or telepathically or did she give you a burner phone?"

Blair chuckled at the end, "no, that would be too easy, the witch must use magic."

Melissa didn't say anything, instead, she pointed to my sketchbook. Confused I handed it to her along with a pencil and she wrote on a blank page. I cannot say anything, she is listening. I don't know if she can see what I see as well.

Blair and I shared a look and nodded discretely. Blair and I took Melissa by the arms and began dragging her to the truck. She didn't protest, and I was glad there was no one in the park that afternoon or else someone could become suspicious by looking at us.

I quickly got into the trunk and took out what looked like a folded mat. I placed it on the ground and from my watch I turned it on. The mat instantly changed shape into a perfect, medium-sized tent. Blair pushed Melissa inside and I closed the entrance after us. The tent was soundproofed as well as camouflaged to prevent anyone from sneaking in.

=I took out a chair for Melissa to sit and she did without a question. "Now the hard part," murmured Blair as she took out a laptop and began typing. I looked at Melissa, she looked nervous and I could tell she was wary around Blair and me. I didn’t blame her, to any normal persona, Blair and I stood out by the way we acted, cautious and skeptical.

"Sky," Blair called behind me and I turned, and I saw she was about to begin. I walked closer to Melissa and placed a pair of earphones on her head, she looked at me confused and I tried to reassure her with my eyes that she would be fine, and that she needed to trust me. She nodded as if she understood and let out a sigh. Carefully, I tied Melissa's hands behind her, and she didn't say anything. I turned back to Blair and nodded.

Suddenly, Melissa's body began to twist violently, and she cried out. I looked at Blair and she nodded her head to reassure me it was normal. When I graduated to become a Huntress, I studied with the rest of my generation and I was good, but I wasn't very familiarized with the Hunter's methods of interrogation since I never saw one live. I had heard that hunters developed a way to hunt witches and wizards through frequency waves as well as interrogate the host in case that a magical being was present inside its head which I guessed was what was going to happen now.

After a few seconds, Melissa stopped moving and her head slumped forward as she became unconscious, after a minute or two, Melissa began to regain consciousness and she looked up at Blair and me. "She's gone," was the first thing she said. She gave us a faint smile and sighed, defeatedly. "Thank you," she said after, looking tired and more relaxed now.

Blair nodded, "no problem, but it won't last forever. From this we have seen that the witch has become some sort of parasite inside your mind and the only way to permanently eliminate her, we must cut her ties with you, we must find her and strip her of her magic."

"Can you do that?" asked Melissa, clearly shocked.

Blair crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "I wouldn't tell you if we did, you are still connected to that creature."

I didn't say anything, I just stared at the girl in front of me in the eyes. "That's Melissa, the real Melissa," I said looking at Blair, but she still seemed skeptical.

"Remember that we do not know what we're dealing with Sky, I don't trust her," she said coldly.

I shrugged, "it's just a feeling."

"It's your emotions," murmured Blair under her breath although I suspected she knew I could hear her. Either way, I ignored her and turned to Melissa.

"Melissa, we need you to tell us everything you know about Dalia, from the beginning," I said directly, there was no point on beating around the bush much longer, it would only waste our time. I could feel Blair’s confused and shocked eyes as she watched me, Melissa hadn’t said the witch’s name.

Melissa sighed and nodded before responding, "I was heading home from school one day and when I got there, there was a woman I had never met. My parents were seated in the living room and from their expressions I knew something was wrong. Before I could run for help, the door behind me slammed shut and the woman turned to me, she had dark red hair, high cheekbones and she was very pale."

"What color were her eyes?" I asked, in the supernatural world when dealing with witches and wizards, eye color could indicate how powerful and twisted a creature was. The darker the eyes, the more they dealt with dark magic and the lighter the color, had the opposite effect.

Melissa looked confused but then she answered, "black, her eyes were completely black." I looked at Blair and she fidgeted before she told Melissa to continue.

"As I was saying, she turned to me and without doing anything, she pulled my body from where I was standing, and she seated me next to my parents. She told us her name was Dalia, Queen of Shadows, and that she had been sent there by your parents' killers. I looked at my parents and saw that they were scared, I begged her not to do anything to them and she looked at me and a gun appeared in her hand. She turned to my parents and in a second, they disappeared. She told me I would be able to see them again, alive and well if I did something for her. She told me to write down an address before handing me the gun and telling me to stop you even if that meant shooting you, Ana. I'm sorry, but I need to help my parents."

I nodded, "and we will help you get them but there must be something else, some other things you could tell us."

Melissa stayed quiet for a minute and then she spoke, "before disappearing like my parents, she walked over to me and placed her hands on my head, she said we would always be able to communicate, and I saw a house, well a manor, it was big, in a dark forest. It's close to here, I could feel her presence getting stronger as we came to this park."

I began to pace; my thoughts were circling in my mind. Blair on the other hand looked even more unsure than before, "can you follow the bond as a way to trace Dalia?"

Melissa nodded too quickly, and Blair raised an eyebrow, "I think I can."

Blair nodded and turned to me, she shook her head and led us out of the tent to talk privately. "You can feel it too, right?" she asked, and I nodded.

"It's a trap, the witch wants us to go to her," I said, and Blair agreed.

"But why? Why does she want us to stop? And how did she come to learn about our mission? And, if she was cursed to the border region, how come she is living in a manor close by?" asked Blair out loud “And how come you knew the witch’s name before Melissa even said a word?” She wasn't expecting a response for the first few questions, but she looked ready to interrogate me for my outburst. I was about to respond when we felt as the wind around us began to move faster and stronger, we ran back into the tent and saw Melissa screaming and her ears began to bleed from under the headphones she was wearing.

Blair quickly moved to turn off the device and I ran to Melissa to take of the headphones. When I reached her, she was unconscious, and her body was a pale, shivering heap. "She's alive, Dalia, wouldn't kill her since she counts on us to go to her," I said, and Blair agreed. The two of us grabbed Melissa and pulled her up on a bed.

"Now what?" said Blair after a few hours had passed since Melissa had passed out. It was now dark outside and the only sound that could be heard was our impatient breaths as we waited for our next move.

"I think we should discuss what's going to happen," I suggested in a low whisper to Blair in case Dalia was listening through Melissa's unconscious body. Blair nodded towards the door and I followed behind her. We stood outside the tent, a few meters away just to be safe but we still kept a watchful eye on the entrance.

"She expects Melissa to turn me in, so I think it'd be best if I go alone with her, I'll make sure she and her parents get out and then I'll find some way to escape," I said, and Blair rolled her eyes at me.

"You are such a martyr. No, you're not going in alone, she knows you are not working alone so I might as well show up too, together we're smarter and we have a lot of weapons that even she can't find," she said and I could sense by the tone she was using, it was not up to debate.

I sighed, "fine, but we don't really know who we're facing so I think it'd be best for us to tell your Elda where we are going just in case." My partner nodded and the both of us walked back inside the tent. Inside, Melissa was just like we left her. I went to sit down on a chair and as soon as I placed my tired head on my hands, Melissa sat up quickly, gasping for air.

She coughed and something dark poured out of her mouth. Blair was by her side with a bucket as she curiously looked at the liquid. "It isn't blood, it's magic, dark magic. Melissa, your body is slowly rejecting the monster inside of you and it will be painful and slow death unless we find her first. We need you to lead us to Dalia." Melissa nodded and wiped her mouth.

"We could leave now," she said weakly and Blair looked at me for approval. I got up from the chair and nodded.

Let's get this tent all packed up and then we'll go." In five minutes, all was packed, Melissa was sitting in the backseat with her hands cuffed, Blair was next to me while I was the one driving.

Once we were on the road, Melissa led us towards a highway with trees and tall grass. After a few minutes of driving in silence, Melissa spoke up, "turn left." She sounded weak and in pain, I felt sorry for her, she shouldn't have gotten involved in my mess. I followed her instructions and turned, the dirt road went on for a few more miles before I began to make out a dark silhouette of a big house. I stopped the vehicle and clicked on a few buttons. The SUV analyzed the building and our surroundings and on the glass a warning sign appeared. "We're here," I whispered under my breath.

Blair turned to look at Melissa who was now shaking. "Let's go Mel, I don't plan on staying long," said Blair as she pulled Melissa out of the SUV. Once the door was closed behind them I turned on a camera that was built-in to the screen and clicked record.

"This is Huntress Skylar Chase speaking, the location of my partner and I are the coordinates shown on this recording, we are about to face the witch Dalia who also goes by, Queen of Shadows. My partner and I decided it would be best to inform the council of our status before we head in. If we do not respond in 32 hours I request backup armed and ready to extract us. Skylar, out." I clicked on the send button and I sighed. "Here we go," I said to myself.

I climbed out of the vehicle and saw that Blair was all geared up in a black suit along with matching black boots and a vest that had bags all around the torso where secret compartments held specialized weapons and gadgets. Quickly I changed my clothing to match hers and I pulled my hair up with bobby pins and a hairband. "I'm ready."

Blair nodded and pushed Melissa in front of us as we walked towards the manor. We reached the door and Blair pulled out a dagger as she knocked on the door. I pulled out my gun and loaded it as the door clicked. It slowly opened and squeaked as it moved. Inside it was dark, Blair walked in after Melissa and I followed closely as I aimed my gun, ready to fire. There was furniture, covered by blankets and plastic, all covered in dust, to anyone else it would have looked like an abandoned building but there was clearly something else there. Something dark.

I heard Melissa gasp and instantly the door slammed behind us, leaving us in darkness. Quickly I tapped on a device on my temple and glasses appeared on my eyes, allowing me to see in the darkness. I saw a figure lying on the ground, it was Melissa. She was unconscious.

Something rustled behind me and I turned with my gun ready. The rustling and steps continued making me turn from one direction to another. Blair and I had been right, it was a trap. Where was Blair?

I walked forward, towards some nearby steps. I quietly climbed up the stairs. "Blair," I whispered into the darkness, if she was close by she could hear me, if she wasn't I hoped she had her glasses on that had a microphone and an earphone attached. I tensed when I didn't receive a response but then I heard something through the earphone before Blair spoke.

"Sky, where the hell are you?" asked Blair seriously.

I sighed in relief and looked around hoping to catch some trace of her. "Oh, thank God, I'm up the steps."

"Roger," was all she said and then I felt hand on my shoulder a few moments later. I turned, spooked, and Blair raised her arms in surrender. "Relax, it's me." I nodded, and I pointed up to the second floor. My partner nodded, and we walked back to back up the stairs.

Everything was quiet. Too quiet. "Blair hold on, something's wrong," I said and pulled out a gas bomb and threw it to the main floor. When it went off, pink gas started to surround us and fill the whole house. A quick, alerting beeping sounded from my watch. I quickly looked at it expecting to see that the gas had picked up the trail of the witch in a nearby room but what I saw shocked me even more.

"Hello Anastasia Drew," said a cold and hostile voice behind me and I tensed.