Lilium

XVI

Evangeline silently nodded and walked back over to the front wall. She braced her hands on the wooden surface and crouched down. She closed one eye and peeked through the hole again. She made eye contact with a dark skinned witch from the other side and let out a scream of shock.

She quickly stood up and turned around. "Shiva!" She exclaimed once she saw the three witches near the back. The male instantly stood up and ushered her over. However, one woman held her hand up that was filled with powder. She blew it into Shiva's face and it covered him.

Evangeline gasped when she saw him fall to the floor. Her heart sped up as her vision played over in her mind again. It was inevitable, she learned. "So it's true. The seer is a bloodsucker defender." A chuckle broke the woman from her thoughts. She looked up and met the eyes of a semi-familiar man. He had hair as dark as midnight and skin paler than snow. Venn, she recalled was his name.

A small, frail hand gently grabbed his arm. "Venn, Irena is waiting," a young woman informed him. She was wearing a layered coat over her flow-y dress and she had long, soft brown hair along with doll-like eyes.

Venn looked down at her. "Isa, you should be waiting inside, where it's warm. You'll catch a cold." He brushed her hair behind her ear and she leaned into his hand, smiling softly.

The male's dark eyes trailed to the other witch beside them before directing his eyes towards Evangeline. She flinched under his sudden scary gaze upon her. The third witch speed-walked over to her and grabbed her arm. A gasp escaped her and she tried to pull away.

She learned it was futile when she was pulled out of the building and into a large circle of witches. She was roughly released and she stumbled before catching her footing. When she stood up straight she looked around at all the witches surrounding her. Her eyes caught onto Venn and Isa. They stood at the front of the circle in each other's arms.

She heard a thud and turned towards the noise. She gasped as she saw Vesper laying on his stomach to the left of Isa's feet. "Vesper!" She yelled worriedly and began to run towards him. However, she was stopped by another invisible barrier.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned back around. "Evangeline, was it?" She hummed. Evangeline's eyes widened at the realization of who it was. "I'm Irena. I heard from a little bird that you, niñita, are a seer." She walked closer.

Another thud was heard from behind the woman with blue eyes and she glanced behind her. "Shiva," she whispered weakly once she saw his body laying on the ground.

Irena frowned and started circling the girl."Why do you stay with them, niñita?" She hummed. Evangeline watched her, fearful of her next actions. "I know that you've been warned that they're monstrous, yet you refuse to leave them. They feed on you, treat you like nothing more than a food source!" She pulled out a dagger and slashed at Evangeline's dress.

Said girl gasped as the top of her dress opened up and showed the top of her cleavage. She quickly crossed her arms over herself. "They do not! I-I wanted to help them! You hurt Shiva!" She defended.

Irena hid a smile. "Help them? But why aren't they helping you now then? Returning the favour?" She motioned to the two unconscious vampires on the ground in front of Venn and Isa. The woman with brown hair had a remorseful look on her face as Venn held her in his arms.

Evangeline kept her gaze on the sleeping vampires before her as she listened to Venn whisper sweet nothings to Isa. She bit her lip and held herself tighter. They couldn't help her, not until the spell on them was lifted.

She faced Irena again, this time with a glare. "You know as well as I do you won't let that happen," she retorted. "Why did you torture Shiva like that? What did he do to you? He came to help you!" She shouted. Her eyes watered when she remembered the state he had been in when she found him.

Irena quirked a brow. "Help us? Stupid girl, he is a vampire. There is nothing he could do to help us. We don't want nor do we need help from a being so foul," she stated sternly.

Evangeline frowned. "Being a vampire does not define a person. They have feelings, like anyone else! They- they care about me," she began to trail off before refocusing. "Shiva came here because he cared about you. He cared about what could happen to you!" She proclaimed.

Irena gave her an incredulous look and put her hand on her hip. She soon sighed and pushed her hair back. Her expression softened. "Evangeline, we can protect you and help you with your visions. You will learn how to become stronger, how to envision what you want, with us." She smiled.

Evangeline's eyes scanned the crowd again. Peering behind her, she made eye contact with a certain empathetic brunette. She didn't feel the same energy from her as she did the others. It was as if she didn't give off the same aura.

Irena suddenly stepped in front of her, blocking her view and spooking her. She took a small step back as Irena's glare settled on her. "Fine then. If you will not see within reason then I will make the decision easier for you. You won't have to hold onto anything else," she said slowly. Evangeline didn't have time to take in the information before Irena turned to the witches. "Burn them," she ordered monotonously.

"Fire and stakes are more reliable." Evangeline gasped as she remembered Shiva's words. "NO!" She yelled in a panic. The wind suddenly picked up and pushed against her. Through her blowing hair, she caught sight of a line of fire trailing towards the direction of the two bodies on the ground. She wanted to scream and felt it rising in her throat, but held it back as an idea finally came to her mind.