Chapter 42 Chapter 42
Chapter 42 Chapter 42
She couldn't be mistaken. Morgana had suddenly appeared on the scene.
"Are you late?" Aliyah asked mockingly.
"What’s with the hand? A sword?" The sorceress let out a chuckle. "Do you think you can defeat me with that sword?"
"No, but at least I will try. That’s what matters, isn't it? We shouldn't give up, especially when we haven't even tried."
"Well, let’s see." Morgana sat on a couch near the tree. "Your power is too low for me to waste my time on you." Morgana flicked her hand, and five vampires appeared from nowhere. "Do whatever you want with her right after she tells you where the Cretagos Map is."
Aliyah laughed. "Even if you kill me, you’ll never find out where Cretagos is, Morgana."
"You know I have ways to see what I need to know, don't you? So if I were you, I’d just say where the map is before I use my methods, because I'm telling you, it’s going to be painful."
Instead of answering, Aliyah rushed at Morgana, who remained seated.
Before Aliyah could reach her, a vampire met her with a punch, but Aliyah bent her body so the fist only grazed her. She grabbed the arm that was meant to hit her and, with full force, beheaded the vampire.
Arrows came flying at Aliyah’s back in quick succession, but like before, none hit her. She jumped into the air, braced one foot against a large rock, and met the approaching vampire with a flying kick; the force was so great that the vampire’s head flew off and immediately burst into flames. Aliyah readied her weapon to take on two more vampires, but black vine-like roots erupted from the ground, entangling her hands, feet, and body, dragging her down into the grass.
"I’m getting tired of watching, so I’ll help them." Morgana walked toward the now-defenseless Wicca. The black vines were wrapping all over Aliyah’s body.
"Stop it!" Even though she knew it was impossible, Aurora rushed at Morgana, but she passed through her body like air. "Enough!" she screamed as the black roots began to enter every opening of Aliyah’s face.
The Wiccan’s scream tore through the silence of paradise as blood poured from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
Aurora fell to her knees, weakened by the sight of the woman’s suffering.
"Did you find anything?" Morgana asked the vampires.
"Nothing, my Queen..."
"Where is the aswang?"
"He’s not here either, and I don't think that Wiccan would trust a worthless aswang with the map."
Morgana screamed in rage at her failure! "Useless!" She kicked the dying creature at her feet hard in the face. "She’s all yours! Don't leave a single spark of life in her!" she ordered the vampires angrily before vanishing.
Aurora thought Aliyah’s suffering was over, but it wasn't; she was stripped and raped repeatedly by the vampires, and when they were done desecrating her body, they sucked the remaining blood from her.
"You animals! Stop it!" she screamed, weeping. "Enough!"
"Aliyah!!!" Arnold's voice now filled the silence of paradise as he found the lifeless body of the woman he loved... He cried and cried while cradling her in his arms.
"Aurora! Aurora!"
"Hybrid! What’s happening to her?"
"I don't know! Aurora!" The violent shaking woke her up.
"I— I s-saw what t-they did to h-her..." she said, still crying. Her heart grew even heavier when she saw the sad eyes of Arnold.
"I’m so sorry..." she said to the young man who was left behind, sad and alone, fighting the cruelty of their world.