Part of the truth

Part of the truth
Chase walked forward, his eyes closed, his head lowered, and his body under the control of the witch, grinning from ear to ear, pleased by her own powers.
Kiara shook her head, her lips parted and her heart racing. A man as strong as Chase had turned into a puppet. One that could never bow to another was being controlled like he was nothing.
Kiara knew a thing or two about this sort of magic. It was dark magic. It was something that did not work at the snap of one’s fingers. In other words, it worked in a way that one had to cultivate it.
Like a plant growing. To reach this degree, it was certain, crystal clear that this was not the first time she had controlled Chase.
What had she made him do?
Was what happened with the healers no fault of his?
Glenda laughed. As if reading Kiara’s mind, she said, “I was happy the very day I found out about this spell, Kiara. I could finally control the man I wanted to destroy.”
She moved her fingers, and then Chase turned to face Kiara. His fists tightened and held up, ready for battle.
Kiara swallowed.
“It was so satisfying watching the very person you wanted to ruin destroy his life himself. All you had to do was whisper a few words to him and then he would heed, like a puppet.”
So was that it?
Was Chase innocent of what happened two years ago?
Did he actually have no idea of anything? He was being controlled?
Was it that he never actually killed her?
All along, there was something controlling him. He never acted on his own accord. All that he did was nothing he wanted to do. Perhaps that was why everything happened so abruptly. He attacked witches out of nowhere, and for some stupid reason, he declared war against the healers, even rallying the other alphas against them.
It all happened so fast.
One time, she was scolding him for how badly he was treating Dali, and the next moment, he was seeking her insides with his claws, taking the life out of her.
The change was too unprecedented.
Too abrupt.
Suddenly, Glenda’s voice dropped. “The same way I destroyed everything he knows, I will have him destroy you too.”
Those words pulled Kiara from her thoughts. “So it was you all along. You were the one behind the tragedy that befell the healers! You were the reason Dali betrayed her people!”
Glenda scoffed. “Oh please. All I did was shine the light on his hidden thoughts and agenda. Do you think he didn’t want to? Do you think such a work would be so easy if he never wanted such a thing?”
“The thought of eradicating the healers had crossed his mind. A part of him has always wanted to, and all I did was bring that to the forefront. All that he had done was something he wanted to do.”
Kiara shook her head slowly.
“It’s normal for any human to have intrusive thoughts that stick. And what matters is one’s discipline and resolve to stay above such.”
“Oh please.” Glenda rolled her eyes. “These are lies you tell yourself when you do not want to admit you’re a terrible person.” She stood her ground. “What matters is he wanted to do it. The thought crossed his mind, and I made him do what he wanted to.”
Kiara shook her head again. “One can never be completely good, completely without splotches, the same way one can never be absolutely vile and evil.”
Glenda was slightly pleased by her words. Her eyes suddenly glistened with something Kiara could not easily identify. “So you’re saying there’s hope for me? That I’m not hopeless?”
Kiara nodded her head. “As long as you want to change, you can. What matters is the effort you’re putting into becoming a totally different person. The thoughts you used to have surely wouldn’t go away with a snap of your fingers. That isn’t how it works.”
Suddenly, Glenda tilted her head to the side, and her smile widened, turned into something wicked. “I think you’re very gullible, Kiara. So you think I’d want to change? And follow the good path?”
“Some people are just irrevocable.”
Before she finished her words, she moved her fingers and then muttered something under her breath. Chase, who stood before her with his fists set to fight, suddenly stepped forward, his fangs bared. He snarled at Kiara and then attacked.
Kiara moved faster than Chase could, but he pursued her that moment, moving right behind her, almost matching her speed.
Kiara clenched her jaw and then stopped running. Borrowing momentum from the wall, she flipped over, used the heel of her boots to kick him in the face before flames exploded from her fingertips, straight towards Glenda who stood at the side watching.
Flames suddenly shot at her. Before she could sidestep out of the way, the fire scaled her face.
“Ahhh…!!!”
She dropped her hand, touching her face. The top layer of her skin had been burned by those hot flames. She must’ve forgotten that Kiara was also a witch and could control fire.
Her fingers hesitated to touch her face, knowing the implication of that. Her hair was torched by the flames as well. But there was nothing grave about its effects.
She yelled for a few seconds, and when she finally dropped her hand, both Kiara and Chase had disappeared.
“Fuck!”
She kicked her feet.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
Meanwhile, Kiara and Chase were already on their way, running through the woods. Chase had transformed into his original form, running.
However, the steps behind them could not be overshadowed by the wind in their ears. They ran fast, but the vampires running behind them were just as fast.
The moon hanging in the sky gave them unfathomable power, and the sheer desire to rip Chase apart fueled their movements. In no time, they caught up to them.
Seeing this, Kiara knew if they did succeed in running away, the vampires would know where they lived. And that cannot happen.
She stopped running.
Behind her, in his original form, Chase growled loudly, as if telling her they needed to escape.
However, just before the vampires could catch up to them, her lips started moving. They moved fast, and the chill from the moon was instantly replaced by heat. Flames rose from the earth, and in less than a thought, it burned higher, aiming to be on par with the trees, stretched out in the night like a wall.
Preventing the vampires from coming forward. Kiara turned to Chase behind her.
She smirked. “Let’s go.”
They continued running.
Chase glanced at the wall of fire, and at that moment, he must’ve been so stupid when he killed her. How could he have rid the world of such power?