The Necromancer's Daughter

|| ten ||

Lucille slowly moved her hand in a sweeping motion. Rebecca watched as the cottage disintegrated and a huge black sphere emerged from it. It was the army of ghouls, contained within Lucille's magic. Rebecca shook in terror. She turned her head to look away, but Lucille gripped her hand tighter.

"Rebecca, now!" Lucille ordered. Her voice came out deeper, somewhat demonic, but she urged the girl to do her part quickly.

Rebecca turned to the remnants of what was the cottage earlier. She couldn't see them in the rubble, but she could hear Kaven screaming in pain. He was probably injured. "Help us!" Jili cried, too. "Please help us!"

"Get them out of there now!' Lucille ordered and reluctantly, Rebecca raised her hand to concentrate. Closing her eyes, she imagined seeing them, and wrapping them in protective, healing magic. It must've been Lucille's powers affecting her, but she could feel herself grow stronger with energies running wild inside her body. Higher and higher, she felt the magic filling her up and at its peak, Rebecca opened her eyes and clenched her fist in front of her.

"C'mere!" She hollered. She held her breath, and with a firm, quick pulling gesture, a bubble of light came out of the heap of debris and floated in their direction. Inside the sphere were Kaven and Jili,  eyes wide and disbelieving. Gently, the bubble floated closer and closer until it popped in front of Lucille and Rebecca. The rescued victims landed on the soil and Jili immediately pulled an injured Kaven to his feet.

"Lucille, they're out, let's go!" Rebecca told the mother witch.

Lucille clenched and shut her eyes tight, fighting the evil seeping from her ill wish. It took her a second but she succeeded in returning her energies back. Rebecca watched as her pupils shrank into its normal size.

"Hhngg..." She sighed. Rebecca held her arm, "Are you alright?" she asked.

The woman was just about to nod 'yes' when a wave of darkness washed over the four of them. Without Lucille's power over the ghouls, they were back to carry out their original mission: get Rebecca.

It couldn't have been two seconds when both Lucille and Kaven were hurled outward, separating them from the girls who couldn't do anything but run to each other in fear. Lucille was about to utter another spell but a ghoul quickly swiped a cold hand over her mouth, sealing it shut.  "Mmpph! Mmph!" was all that came out of her muffled screams.

Kaven, on the other hand, was pinned to the ground by three ghouls. It didn't help that one of his legs broke in an attack earlier.  

The ghouls then hovered around the two girls, gliding in circular motion, effectively trapping the both of them. At first, Rebecca could still see Kaven and Lucille outside the circle, trying hard but failing to come to their rescue. The ghouls went faster and faster until everything around them were swirled into darkness.

"You thought you could hide from me." A voice echoed in the black tornado's walls.

"What was that!?" Jili screamed in panic. She gripped Rebecca's arm.

It was The Necromancer, but Rebecca couldn't bring herself to speak.

"Your mother is a great, powerful witch." the voice continued, its coarse, gravelly tone sent chills down Rebecca's spine. "But I am even greater, more powerful than her."

Instead of fear, Rebecca felt angry at how The Necromancer could say such things to Lucille. She wasn't her mother, not technically, but the past three days Lucille had been nothing but caring and protective of Rebecca. Lucille was risking her life again right now, for her, for these innocent people caught in the crossfire. She couldn't understand it, but she felt enraged more than afraid now.