RETURN OF THE HYBRID (Book III)

Chapter 17

***Zeli's Realm****

Zeli was infuriated. There was no anchor for him to keep tabs on Ariella now. He had no idea what happened and what she was planning. But her back up plan would have worked in case she tried to escape. For a while he had kept the three witches in sedation it was time he checked on them, it was as though he had stopped their biological clock, paused their lives and when they woke up they were going from where they left, in pain. Zeli entered the room he had locked them in and woke up their spirits with a mumble spell.

"Girls welcome back to my world" he said.

"Missed us?" Lydia asked.

Debbie sat up her head between her legs. She was crying. The painful death of her daughter Arya was still taking a toll on her. Only shamla could understand after losing her own daughter too. She went to console her but both women ended up crying. They couldn’t help each other despite sharing the pain.

"See what you have done" Lydia said angrily.

Zeli was not feeling anything. Not guilt not remorse. He was the devil himself if not he was the devil's favorite demon maybe his cousin. He just stood there and watched as Lydia went to console her friends. It was her duty to stay strong for them and not shed tears. They were both losers but they were the biggest losers.

"Enough of this family reunion I came here for your help"

He then turned the room into a living room. The three took their seats around the table. Unwillingly of course. Last time they showed signs of resistance he made them go through a lot of excruciating pain. None of the girls wanted to feel like that ever again.

"And I guess you are not asking politely" Lydia said.

"Good girl, what about the others?" He said staring at Debbie and shamla.

Debbie blew her nose and sniffled.

"Get on with it, kill me if you want I have nothing to lose" she said leaving the table.

"Anyone else who chooses to disobey me?" Zeli asked with a sadistic grin on his face.

Shamla glared at him and left. Only Lydia stayed her eyes blazing with anger. She had not let them off him since the conversation started.

"So it's just you, I can't trust anyone who betrays their friends" Zeli said getting up from his seat. He went to stand behind Lydia. If she had a physical body eh would have enjoyed massaging her shoulder and plying with her hair. Too bad she was just a spirit.

"Am not betraying them dumb ass"

"Then why are you still seated?" Zeli asked leaning over to whisper in her left ear.

"Am smart enough to know you control this imaginary world of yours so before you send them in a volcano let me talk to them first" Lydia said.

Zeli smiled. He stared at a glass of whiskey and grabbed it from midair, drank in one gulp and belched. Lydia needed some too bad she couldn't. Zeli had all his facial features. Lydia considered him handsome, a handsome devil. Were it not for his evil heart she would have fell for him, only if Leon was dead.

"You are the smartest of you three, come on go do my bidding"

"Gladly” She mocked.

It was not as easy as she made it look like. Talking them out of their misery was going to take a lot more than just words of assurance on how they were going to get through it. To some extent it felt like betrayal. If anything she was supposed to lead the revolt against Zeli. Last time they faced a similar problem she was the adamant one.

"Girls am sorry" Lydia said joining them on a bench outside.

"It's not like your fault or something, I hate him" Shamla said.

"Really I have nothing to lose" Debbie insisted.

"Am not saying it's good but what option do we have, if we don't do as he says he will harm any of us and I don't know about you but I won't stand seeing you guys hurt"

The two went silent. They were actually thinking about it. Could they stand seeing Zeli torture any of them? Let's say back in the earth multiverse there was no one any of them cared about and there were. There was James and Don God knows what he was going through. Then who was keeping their bodies? They cared about them too. It was one of those few encounters that love made them weak. They didn’t like it but as Lydia said. What choice did they have? When it came to blackmail Zeli was the master.

"He will still kill us, what guarantee do we have that if we help him he will let us live?" Debbie asked.

That was a tough question. Lydia didn't see it coming. Zeli was not a man of his word, or at least he didn't seem like one who would keep his word. But she was betting on the fact that he had not killed them even though he had a million chances and reasons to.

"What should we do?" Shamla asked.

"Girls you don't have time!" Zeli said turning their environment into one huge clock and they were seated at one of its hands, the shorter one.

"I suggest we help him and find a way to escape" Debbie whispered.

"We give him a wrong spell" Shamla said.

"He can smell any treachery, but if it's about hurting him am in"

"So we help him" Debbie finalized.

Lydia and shamla nodded. It was settled they were going to help their captor and find a way to escape. Even if it was impossible. That was not the first time they were facing the impossible.

"What do you want?"

"So I send my sister to 1823 where your friend Leon is looking for a sword that can kill me..."

"Hold up, did you just say he is in 1823 looking for the sword of life and death?" Lydia asked happily.

"Don't get excited the only reason am telling you this is for you to help me"

"How's that even possible? I mean time travelling" Debbie asked.

Shamla raised her hand as if they were in a class. Zeli nodded unwillingly. He loved and enjoyed being the center of attention and they were taken it away from him. That feeling to him was priceless.

"I think if one travels fast enough, theoretically faster than the speed of light they can travel through time but doesn't that need a worm hole?"

They all looked at Zeli. Debbie and Lydia had no idea what shamla was talking about.

"You guys might have created one when you pushed me back into this prison!"

"Your own prison" Debbie said.

"So Leon is faster than light and he might have something that can kill you and you want us to stop him?" Lydia asked.

"No" Zeli said.

They all got confused. It was the only logical explanation. Zeli cared about no one but himself and one thing he cared much about himself was his immortality.

"So why did you tell us then?" Shamla asked.

"I send my sister after him and I lost the link to her, worst case scenario might be she killed the link and best case scenario she send her to sleep"

"You want us to help you restore the link? One more scenario Leon killed her and he is coming after you" Lydia said.

The girls gave her that restrictive look. Zeli ignored the viciousness of her statement.

"Yes, transfer my demon spirit to my sister, I adjusted the spell a bit and got my blood in her system"

"Are you sure you need our help? Last time I checked you know every spell that there is guys I think this is a trap" warned Shamla.

"Actually no. He doesn't know much as you think he does and can't get it from our heads because then he has to look through our eyes, real eyes"

Zeli looked uneasy. Debbie had touched a nerve. Apart from being the center of attention Zeli also worshiped being invincible. No weaknesses and many strengths.

"You can posses witches?" Shamla asked.

"Of his own blood yes" Lydia said.

"So when do we start?" Debbie asked.

"Start what? You can’t practice magic in here, you give me the spells I will do them" He said turning the room into an enchanting room with all the ingredients for a spell they could imagine, "No fishy business it won't end well"

"We know, just to be clear what are we getting for helping you?" Debbie asked.

She had become the most talkative of the group almost acting as its leader. As for Lydia, Zeli had given her a reason to fight. Something to lose. She was not waiting for Leon to come. She wanted to set them free again. Find the source of Zeli's power that he could switch off all the witches he wanted and make them his slaves.

"No torture but you are going back to sedation, or worse death if you try something fishy now show me the spells!"

*********

Ariella was now a free spirit. It was time to turn Clivestone into a “queendom” and remake it into her own image and likeness. A dark cloud formed above the palace. She walked back on her feet rising the dead on her way. A huge army of the dead was marching behind her on their way to the palace. The villagers were watching behind closed doors. Something worse and scary than the war was happening. It was something they had never seen before. An army of the dead, a bunch of walking skeletons following a witch with a long cloak, torn cloak to be exact, with long nails her eyes were blazing and she made the flowers dry up, the grass wither.

"Bring me King Rhode, Alive and unharmed" Ariella said taking a different direction.

She had to make a stop at Cassandra’s and make sure no one was going to stop her. At heart she was already thinking of living in 1823 as long as the hybrid Leon was put in check.

Her army marched towards the palace, no sound just the clanging of bones. The king’s guards saw them from far. The soldiers were confused and the situation in the palace was getting worse.

"We have to save you my king" Herman said.

"Am not going anywhere without my Aliya find her!" Rhode ordered.

"We don't have time" Hector said.

"I don't care" Rhode said marching out of his chambers.

"You majesty I strongly advise you don't get out of this chambers!" Herman said trying to block his way.

Herman was just following protocol. In case the palace was under attack the king had his hideout deep under the palace. It was safe and secure. But the king was not in his right state of mind. He wanted his wife.

"Are you a general Herman?" Rhode asked mockingly stopping.

"No...Am just..."

"Then why should I take advice from you?" He asked and picked up the pace.

His relentless advisor, special counsel followed him quickly.

"Am your advisor that's what you pay me for"

"You are fired"

"You can't be serious" Herman said surprised.

"Ooh you think so...guards throw him out!" He ordered.

As Herman was getting thrown out of the palace the king continued walking out aimlessly. When he saw the army of the dead he froze. It was something he had never seen before. And his first thought was the hundreds of people he had sentenced to death coming back for revenge.

"What is happening?"

"I don't know but we don't have time your majesty run!" Hector said bracing himself with a club.

They were too late. More of Ariella's boys and girls, it was hard to tell, were pouring in from all sides. They grabbed the king and bashed Hector to death. That's when it started sinking in Rhodes head. Lord Herman was right all along. By having him thrown out of the palace he had saved him. He saved Herman.

Meanwhile Ariella arrived at one place she wanted to ensure it was razed to the ground. Her hope was to find Cassandra there. Even Leon himself would have been an additional advantage, two birds with one stone. But instead she found the two girls. Helen and Dahlia were waiting for her at the entrance ready to cast their spells.

"You know we don't have to do this, there is only one way it ends with you dead" Ariella said.

She saw potential in them. Potential to build a new Clivestone.

"Scared of us?" Helen mocked.

"I think we should join her I don't want to die" Dahlia whispered.

Ariella smiled. She heard that.

"I knew you would turn around" Helen said smiling, “We’re in!"

"First thing you do for me, burn it down all of it"

They did not hesitate to cast a fire spell. The castle that had been once their home and sanctuary started burning as they walked away. The era of the three witches had just started even though it was going nowhere. Someone should have told them Ariella was not to be trusted, she had the tongue sweet as honey but a lethal bit of a snake. And her favorite body part was the back.

***Zeli's Realm***

"You are all sure it will work?" Zeli asked staring at them.

It was scary because he was back to having no actual face one was better off not being stared upon by him.

"Yes, no treachery” Debbie said.

"Good but first I need to test it" he said staring at them.

None of them flinched. They did not show any signs of fear or hiding something from him. That was because they had nothing to hide. The spell was correct for him with a little aspect for them. He could no longer sedate them in his multiverse. Before he started casting it he send them back to the room where they were formerly kept. In sedation, or so he thought.