Chapter 31 - Prelude to Death

Chapter 31 - Prelude to Death

“Don’t underestimate what I’m capable of. Come at me and you’ll see,” Amanda dared, gnashing her teeth as she said so. Beads of sweat gathered around her nape as she was immobilized by Eloise’s shadows. She tried to wriggle, at least to get a bit of inches free from the shadows, but they were unrelenting. The more she moved, the tighter the shadow’s twisted around her limbs.

Some distance away, Matteo was still writhing in pain. She wanted to run to his side and help him, but knew she couldn’t. Even blinking and breathing was hard to do.

“Wohoho, such fat words,” Eloise cackled, angling her chin up. “I know what abilities you have. Actually, it’s even enough to defeat me, but do you really think I didn’t come prepared?”

Amanda frowned even more. This woman was really pushing her rage to the fore.

“On the first day you slept here, I had placed a spell on you. I placed invisible shackles on your powers so you won’t be able to use it. Plus, I had already started siphoning your life essence in small quantities. I’m sure you felt the exhaustion when you woke up earlier. But then again, you could have woken up on day one, but I didn’t let you.” She tipped her head towards Matteo and continued, “Lover Boy back there didn’t even notice I had been controlling your waking hours. He is too trustful for his own good.”

“If that’s the case then why do you have to wake me now!” Amanda yelled. “You could have killed me while asleep!”

Eloise puckered her red-painted lips.

“I was tempted to, you know. Many, many times. But, I didn’t want to risk Matteo noticing your oversleep. Also, I had been waiting for the blood moon to arrive.” She looked up at the garage ceiling as if she could see the full moon past the roof turning a deep shade of red. “Right about now actually,” she then grinned. “It’s the best time to siphon your life essence in one go. The blood moon blesses our powers, my niece. It energizes us. Or to simply put it, it energizes me.”

Amanda wriggled again and tried to summon her crystals on her fingertips. It was unsuccessful. Truly, the Shadow Witch had restricted her of her powers.

“Now, now stay still,” Eloise tsk’ed. “This won’t be long.”

She approached Amanda, each careful step and swaying hips a picture of her pending doom. But she couldn’t celebrate yet.

A sudden explosion reverberated inside the garage. Amanda felt a concentrated energy blast in one direction only and it was towards Eloise. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Matteo’s expensive cars, at least three of them, half destroyed and noticed the wall with a gaping hole burning in flames.

Eloise was nowhere in sight and she couldn’t sense her energy too. Good. Following that, the shadows disappeared and Amanda was happy enough to be released of the confinements.

She quickly sprinted to Matteo’s side, hoping he was still holding it together.

“Cait...lin, go!” he immediately shouted once Amanda knelt beside him.

“Matt!” Amanda hesitated to touch him. He looked in pain. Blood was coming out of his mouth and ears.

“What’re you...doing? Go...now!” he urged with dead set eyes.

Amanda shook her head vehemently. “I won’t leave you!”

She knew Eloise was still alive. The invisible shackles restraining her powers were still present and an enough clue.

“I...lifted the hiding spell and the barrier of...this house,” he struggled to pick himself up from the ground. “Cord...is going to find...you. Go with...him. Leave this...place. I’ll...take care of Eloise.”

“Not with your present condition!” Amanda squeezed his shoulders. “You’re already incapacitated as it is!”

“Cait, all...those things I said are true. I truly love...you,” he held her tear-stained gaze. It pricked his heart that despite all the wrong things he had done to her, she still shed tears for him. She still cared for him. “But...I also know...defeat,” he continued. “I have accepted it already. You...are meant for...Cord. I know...he’ll make...you happy.”

Amanda’s face was filled with sadness. “Say that to me again when you’re fully recovered! Don’t you give up so easily,” she replied through clenched teeth.

Matteo just slightly smiled.

“Go...Cait. I’ll take...care of her.”

“Take care of me?” someone shouted in an echoing tone. From out of the burning hole, Eloise emerged. “You must be joking?”

Disregarding the flames as if they were nothing, she stepped inside the destroyed garage with her aura in full purple swirl. Her eyes were bright too, this time in shades of red. Her yellow sundress were in tatters and stained with soil and dirt. Her hair was a mess and her left temporal hairline was singed to the ear. She didn’t look glowing anymore.

“Eloise,” Amanda muttered, anger surfacing in her tone.

Eloise raised her right arm and spread her hand towards them. Amanda stood her guard, willing to shield the aching mage with whatever the Shadow Witch was in store for them.

“You found your doom when you loved that woman,” Eloise stated, her hair flowing all over the place as wind started picking up around her. “What a pathetic excuse for a mage!”

An agonizing shout coming from Amanda’s back hit her ears. She turned around and saw Matteo coughing up blood, heaving and drained with color. He was a complete picture of suffering. Her merciful heart bled at the sight of him.

“Arrghhhhh!”

“Stop it!” Amanda cried out. “STOP IT!” She tossed Eloise a hateful look. “You are evil! What do you know about love?!”

“I know enough, darling niece,” Eloise replied, chuckling softly. “I loved once too. Rexcord’s father of course. I poured my heart and soul to him but what did he do? He squashed it like a vermin! Like it was nothing! I doomed myself by loving that man! It was only proper that I doom his family hence my curse!”

“Good always triumphs over evil,” Amanda lifted her chin. “I’ll lift the curse one way or another and you’ll die the second time, paying your transgressions in full.”

“Huh!” Eloise laughed. “Big words for a witch who’s about to DIE!”

At that specific word, a burst of wind hit Amanda. Her balance was compromised momentarily, but she didn’t topple over. However, the gusty wind was so strong, it sent the roof of the garage flying away. Blood trickled from her cheeks, chest, and legs as small lacerations appeared. Amanda groaned, wiping some of the wasted blood out of her upper lip.

Eloise cracked a proud grin. She lifted a hand again and readied to do more damage on her niece. She loved seeing her bleeding before taking her life essence away.

Amanda, even though still at a disadvantage, remained steady on her spot, giving Eloise death glares. She was confident Cord was on his way. She just wasn’t sure he was back to his normal self. Well, she hoped he was back to his normal self.

Before Eloise could release another wave of knife-life air pressures, a distortion behind Amanda appeared, splitting the space in two. Black mist came out, followed by a body—a man, wearing his signature trench coat, turtle-neck shirt, pants and boots all in one single, damnable color: black.

Amanda felt her spine chill first before she felt an arm snake around her chest.

“Cord...” she muttered, already knowing who her captor was.

“Amanda,” Cord’s voice was echoic, almost lulling as it traveled inside her ears, “at last, I found you.”

He pressed his chest against her back, grabbed her shoulder from behind and at contact of his palm on her skin, Amanda immediately knew he was still under dark control.

Her breath hitched, her eyes showed shock and fear. What was she to do now?

“I missed you so. I thirst for you,” he whispered, putting a telepathic message into her mind. He said, ‘Be still.’

This time, Amanda did as she was told, unable to fight off his beguiling ability. She was supposed to be immune to this, but it seemed it had grown more potent since the last time they saw each other.

Cord lowered his head, relishing her honeysuckle sweet scent. His fangs elongated, almost pricking her skin, but the Shadow Witch who had kept a watchful eye the whole time, interrupted him with a massive gust of wind.

“I’m afraid I won’t let you bite her. She’s my prey,” Eloise stated, grinning at Cord.

The Vitalis Master looked up and as he did so, his eyes turned to slits. “You...” It was only one word, but it was enough to pour out his hatred for her.

“How’s the feeling now that you could see?” Eloise poised, one foot forward and a hand on her waist as if she was bored. “I returned your sight days ago you know. Think of it as my gift.”

“My father’s whore...” Cord snapped. He cocked his head to the side and flashed his fangs. “What luck. I’ve always wanted to drain your blood.”

He released Amanda and stepped forward past her.

Out of his beguiling ability, Amanda grabbed his arm in haste and shouted, “Cord, no! She is the master of your shadows!” But it was too late. He had already teleported, materializing in front of Eloise just inches away.

The Shadow Witch wasn’t worried with the sudden face of danger. Instead of sprinting away when Cord held her neck in one hand, she grabbed his wrist and muttered, “Oh, I love this! What a wonderful reunion indeed!” She struggled to breathe with Cord’s hand tightening around her jugular, but still she went on, “My creation... here to deliver my shadows!” Her eyes closed and then hummed.

“Come to me, Oh Dear Ones. Return to your rightful master!” she cried.

Black mist evaporated from Cord’s body then. White hot pain flooded inside him--the gradual loss of the shadows left a scorching wake on the wirings of his body. Releasing his hold on Eloise’s neck, he groaned, bent forward and clutched his chest. His face almost hit the garage floor.

Eloise on the other hand just stared down at him, smirking. The black mist continued to transfer to her, filling her with the dark energy, fully reuniting herself with the shadows.

Amanda, mouth agape, looked at both of the men on their knees. Clearly, her psychotic aunt was winning and if she wouldn’t find a way soon to hamper this, she too will be subjected to the same treatment.

Closing her eyes, she dug deep into her mind...into her soul and focused on the power within her. She recalled Matteo’s teachings on how to summon her own strength. She recalled her trip to the past and how the Witches of Old drew the power of the Universe through their surroundings. She recalled her own mother--once upon a time, so young and a beginner--practiced the magic around her and forged a bond with it.

She looked at Cord again, suffering and in pain, finding now the reason why she had to overcome Eloise’s spell that shackled her powers. She was going to save him. She was going to save her beloved.

Under the full moon’s bright red light, she felt her power growing. Eloise did say it would energize them. Amanda was the moon witch after all and she was going to take advantage of it.

Born out of strong will, her invisible shackles had come undone. Eloise’s spell had broken. Amanda was free now to use her powers and so, clenching her fists filled with a high dose of crystals, she charged towards her aunt who was still in the middle of a daze.

Stretching her arms, she went straight to Eloise’s neck, but before her fingers could contact her skin, Eloise flitted her eyes open and despite taken aback, she was able to summon her shadows to shield her from the crystals.

It had turned into a stand still for a few seconds--the shadows and crystals refusing to give way--but Amanda injected more of her magic until a crack in Eloise’s shield appeared.

A blast of energy, of white shimmering light and black mist, covered the whole surroundings thereafter. The Shadow Witch was thrown out of her footing, getting air time for two seconds before landing head first onto a burning red Lamborghini.

Amanda quickly went to Cord’s side just as four vampires appeared a feet away from them.

“Calvin! Doc!” she stopped mid run and stared at them with relief, “Help me! Get Cord out of here!”

Calvin and Mera stared at their Master with worry. Cord looked like he was fighting his own battle; his forehead pressed against the floor, his eyes tightly shut, teeth clenched, and his hands in a tight fist. They were unsure whether to touch him or not. He looked like he was about to combust.

“We will help you Amanda, but we can’t interrupt Cord. He is...fighting it,” Calvin stated, stepping forward.

Amanda stared at him and nodded, knowing what exactly he was talking about.

“Let’s take this bitch to Hell,” Pamela muttered next to Charlie. Amanda shook her head and glanced at the burning car wherein a silhouette of a woman was forming.

“Thank you Pamela, Charlie but this fight is between me and my aunt,” she stated.

“Too overconfident, ain’t you Sweety?” Eloise chuckled as she extricated herself out of the wreckage. She had received numerous deep scratches and third-degree burns on her skin. It looked ghastly and painful, but surprisingly she just ignored them.

“I’m going to enjoy killing you, Eloise,” Amanda stepped forward, her expression and stance ready for a second battle. “I’m going to make you pay for desecrating my mother’s image! I’m going to make you pay for ruining many souls! I’m going to make you wish you were not resurrected!”