Two weeks of mourning went by faster than I expected.
I wasn't able to do anything because everything led to my sorrow of losing Lorenzo. Each day it became easier, but the sting was always there. Not just for him, but the twins too—even Alisha.
Consok has surprisingly been quiet over the fourteen days.
There hasn't been a sign of a vampire, other than the regular local ones. Dageian hasn't tried anything either, and Veronica had been giving me and Drew space. She has been scarce. I suspected that our gloom was making her uncomfortable.
In all honesty, it was Drew who made me get up in the mornings. Seeing that I gave up vampire hunting, I felt like I no longer had a purpose other than being a princess. I carried out my daily duties as effectively as I could, pleasing my parents and the kingdom, but in the night, I felt lost.
I wanted to start hunting Dageian, but I wasn't in any mental space to do so effectively. Driven on revenge and grief would definitely get me killed, and Drew believed so too.
But I was back. Amber Rousseaux was back.
Two weeks was far too long for me to be glooming around and sulking. It was only human, but it made me feel unproductive -- and unproductiveness made me upset.
"Are you sure you're ready?" Drew asked for the hundredth time since he came here. I threw him a stern look over my shoulder as I strapped on my boots. I appreciated his concern wholeheartedly, but sometimes it became too overbearing.
"Drew, I'm fine," I told him in all honesty, and he sighed deeply as he sat beside me.
"Okay. I just wanted to make sure, you know? You've been pretty down lately."
"Well, I'm doing a lot better now, okay? Trust me." To lessen his concern, I leant in and brushed my lips against his. Tingles immediately bathed my nerves at the innocent and straightforward gesture, and I knew he felt it too, considering that it's unnatural for mates to go so long without completing the bond.
Every time we kissed, our bodies reacted ten times more intensely than usual. I knew it affected Drew the most, considering his primal instinct to ultimately claim me as his. But after all that happened, I believed he was thoughtful, thinking that I might not be ready for it just yet.
What he didn't know was that my body called for his. Even in the middle of the night, I'd wake up in a sweating mess after having the most erotic dreams about him.
I wanted it. I wanted him. But I suppose the perfect moment will soon come.
He pecked my lips gently as we broke away, and he pulled me into his arms before burying his nose in my neck. I believed my scent calmed him because he did it regularly, especially all that happened after Dageian.
The weather suggested that we stay inside, but I wanted to go out and complete what we planned for today. The dark, grey clouds rumbled with thunder, and the light patter of rain had already begun, but I could care less.
Drew assisted me with pulling on my jacket before resting my dress neatly against the bed for when I returned for dinner. It had been a while since I wore my hunting gear, even though we weren't going hunting. But it felt good—it felt like me.
"Ready?" I asked Drew as I pulled my hair into a high ponytail. He watched me sceptically before shaking his head as he took slow, teasing steps towards me.
"Your hair, let it down," he mumbled huskily, enhancing my desire for him even more.
I shook my head. "It's raining, Drew. It's better this way."
"I prefer it down." Then, showing that it wasn't up for discussion, he closed every possible space between us and used his fingers to pull the band from my hair, making my strands fall in a tangled mess over my shoulder.
Damn vampire.
He knew the effect he had on me, and he used it to his advantage.
"There—perfection. Now I'm ready to go." He shot me his infamous smirk, and he turned around to offer me his back. With an exaggerated eye roll, I climbed onto his back and held on tight.
Even after weeks of doing this, I could never get used to moving at vampire speed. But considering we had a long way to go, I knew that Drew was the fastest way to do it.
Although I have barely done much over the past two weeks, Drew was still holding up his side of the promise by finding someone who might be able to help us and shed some light on my blood and its abilities.
Of course, at first, he suggested going alone because it might 'be dangerous', but I wouldn't have it. Eventually, after much bickering, he finally agreed to let me come. As if there was another choice.
On the other side of the island, there was an old town called Crackle Town, where the descendants of the very first witches were said to live.
They weren't the friendliest, hence why vampires don't talk about them much. But Drew took the chance to investigate more profound, and luckily, he found a young witch who was willing to help.
The chances of walking right into a trap were high, considering that witches were probably the only people who hated vampires more than I did two months ago. They were the ones who created them, and apparently, they regret doing so.
However, they can't wave a magic wand and have them all die, or else I wouldn't have had Drew.
I took the chance to talk to my dad about it too. Of course, he babbled nonsense for a while, but he gave a few tips that I picked from the folly. He also repeated a phrase I've heard before: our blood that 'bound the spell'.
I would only assume that witches cast spells, so when I told Drew, he did the rest.
It felt like we were running for seconds when it was about ten minutes. We were wet, but I wasn't as soaked as I thought I'd be.
Soon enough, we were on the other side of the island in front of a town that seemed deserted, yet the evidence of life could be felt. I have never heard of this place in all my years of living, meaning that the witches wanted to stay hidden.
Drew stopped at the crooked road sign that read 'Welcome to Crackle Town', and I could see that the place once held life and happiness. Maybe there was a time when the witches were actually helpful to residents, but something changed. Something that I might never find out.
I hopped from Drew's back as he suddenly stopped a few feet away from the entrance. I was confused, but I didn't question him too much. I would've been reluctant to enter, too, considering how it looked.
He was uneasy. I could feel it in our bond. But he was also determined. However, his uneasiness alone was enough to get me worried. Drew never gets scared unless I was in the immediate face of danger. So to think that a witch town had him shaky made me more than reluctant.
I laced my fingers in his and gently pulled on them. He dropped his gaze to mine abruptly before lifting his head back to the entrance.
"She is supposed to meet us here," he mumbled. I glanced around us for a while, seeing nothing but trees and wild bushes for miles behind us from where we came. I subconsciously drew closer to him as I spoke again.
"Who is supposed to meet us?"
"Elma. At least that's what she said she was called. But we can't pass until she lowers the barrier," he said as he lifted his hand towards the sign. I must've been tripping, but it was like his hand couldn't go through, as if there was an invisible barrier.
I lifted my hand to do the same, but oddly mine went through.
Drew's eyes widened at this, making me see that what I did was supposed to be impossible. His reaction scared me a bit, and so I quickly retreated my hand. But what frightened me even more, was a small, sinister snicker that came from the other side of the barrier.
"Princess Amber," a small voice said as I hid behind Drew's back. "Why am I not surprised that you could somehow defy the spell? You do, after all, have the blood."
I waited for her to show herself, and Drew was obviously on edge by her act also. We still didn't know if she wanted to kill us. From what I read The Truth last night, witches were described as conniving and sneaky.
I could see why.
"Elma?" Drew finally called with an edge in his voice that made it clear that he didn't appreciate her game. "Where are you?"
"I'm right here," came a voice from behind us. I yelped and flinched away while Drew stood unbothered. As I gazed around, I found a beautiful woman with waist-length, silky black hair and skin as pale as paper.
Her cheeks were plump and red as if dabbed with a natural blush, and her eyes were almost golden brown. She wore an ankle-length skirt that covered her long, slender form, and her nails were polished in black.
She was stunning. Creepy, but still stunning.
"Hello, Drew," she greeted cheerily before turning to me. She curtsied elegantly and bowed her head before meeting my gaze again. "Princess Amber. It is surely a pleasure."
"Likewise," I lied shakily, though her obvious amusement made me see that she wasn't buying it.
"I apologize for the… shadiness, but I had to host this meeting without the other's knowledge."
"I appreciate it," Drew said sternly, and Elma simply nodded.
"Vampires have been an infectious enemy in our lands since my great-great-great-grandmother created Dageian and caused a curse upon the human race. But, we were made to protect humans and the laws of nature, not destroy them. So, when Drew reached out about killing Dageian, I simply had to help."
"So if you hate vampires, why are you helping Drew?" I asked, my own trust on a thin line. "Killing Dageian is something you could do without Drew if you know how." For all I know, she had an entire army behind the barrier waiting for Drew.
She chuckled with bright eyes as she turned to me. "Sometimes we have to trust one to save the many."
"Isn't that term 'sacrifice one to safe the many?'" I narrowed my eyes even more, no longer feeling scared, just very protective of my mate.
Still, the witch seemed unfazed as she tilted her head. "Is that how it goes? Well, I assure you, princess, that your mate is safe. But, to soothe your concern, I would like you to have this until our meeting is concluded."
I observed as she peeled one of her fingernails off and handed it to me. My eyes widened as I gaped at what she just did. The odd thing was, her finger still had a black-polish covered fingernail where she just peeled it from.
I blinked a few times before collecting it. It felt like glass—in fact, it was glass; it no longer shaped like a fingernail but a heart.
"If anything should happen to your mate, all you have to do is drop it in fire, and I'm dead too," she explained as I narrowed my eyes even further.
"Give me another," I demanded, and she made no hesitation in doing so.
I knew it wasn't wise to take her word for it. For all I know, this could be poison, and throwing it in a fire would kill me too. But I assumed that testing it wouldn't be wise either because if she's not lying, I'd just end up killing the only witch that was willing to help a vampire.
"It's okay, Amber," Drew mumbled in my mind as he pulled me to his chest. Elma's studying eyes never left us, as if she could hear what Drew was saying to me. I wouldn't have been surprised if she could.
"Shall we go then?" she asked as she gestured to the barrier. I nodded and held onto Drew impossibly tighter as I watched her lift her hands towards the barrier.
"When I do this, you only have a second to get past before I have to put it back up because then the other witches will know that it came down and will come looking for why."
"Got it." As if that was an issue for Drew.
He could be over in 0.001 seconds.
"Tehja unie mosqueta," Elma chanted under her breath. I had no clue what she said but Drew wasted no time in pulling us over the border. I took a double-take as I adjusted to the new environment. On the other side of the barrier was the view we left behind, but it somehow looked like a mirror.
Shaking my head, I took the chance to look around. The town seemed like an improved version of a smurf village, with small but modern looking cottages here and there. A few children played around, and some people were casually talking.
I noticed that the difference behind the barrier was that I couldn't see the people. Maybe that's why I could hear Elma but not see her.
I officially deemed this place as creepy as we followed behind the witch. She told us to keep our heads down, so we don't draw suspicion. Because the minute news that a vampire is inside, all hell will break loose.
Drew suggested running to her home, but she said it was a bad idea, considering that the witch elders will quickly pick up any use of vampire ability. So we walked like mere humans.
Soon enough, I was more than relieved when Elma mounted a staircase that led to a porch, and I saw that we were at her house.
Inside was warm and cosy—definitely witchlike, but I guess I expected to see brooms and potions. Instead, I saw a lot of books but no potions. Maybe she hid them?
"Make yourself at home," Elma offered as she shrugged her coat from her shoulder. Drew and I sat on her soft sofa as she went around the back. "Can I get you guys anything?"
"No thanks. We're good," I answered for both of us. I've watched too many movies to know never to take drinks from a witch. Real-life was different, but I still didn't trust her.
She hummed before disappearing through the door. I could hear rustling from the other room, and I ensured that I stayed on guard every second.
"Relax, Amber," Drew chuckled as he rubbed my back soothingly. "Even though she's a witch, I can still see her aura. She isn't deceitful."
I shook my head. "I have a bad feeling about this place."
"It's a witch's house. They are designed to make outsiders feel uncomfortable. So if someone stumbles across the house, the feeling alone will scare them off, so they don't snoop around," he explained, but I still couldn't help it.
"My intuition tells me that something is going to happen, and my intuition is never wrong—" I didn't finish my statement because in a second, Drew was no longer beside me. He was flung against a wall by some impossible force.
I gasped and jumped from my seat in shock. Pictures crumbled to the ground from the force that Drew hit the wall with, and I searched frantically for my mate's attacker, but all I saw was a black shadow as it continued to throw him from wall to wall.
My eyes blurred, and my body shook violently as I felt helpless. It was probably going to kill him, and I couldn't do anything.
I saw it stop in the middle of the room, and I didn't even notice that it all happened in two seconds. I launched for it, but it was gone like air again, across the room where it held my mate by his neck and pinned him against the wall.
I cried in helplessness as I saw life draining from his face. I knew that strangling couldn't kill a vampire, but I didn't know what that shadow was, which meant it probably could kill him.
I fell to the ground as my knees went weak, but then I remembered the glass in my pocket. With shaky hands, I took both from my pocket and glanced around the room for a fire. Luckily, there was a fireplace with a small, crackling fire.
I still didn't know if this could kill her, considering that she gave them to me willingly. But if my mate was going to die, I'd have to try.
And if this kills me too, I only hope we meet in the afterlife.