“Now Diana, tell me, did you see something new or strange?” I asked hopefully.
As soon as I was free from my father’s questions, I quickly took Diana with me. For some reason, my inner conscience was telling me that it was not witches who attacked us. My last encounter with Hecate was nothing suspicious or something weird I could put my finger on.
My instinct was telling me it was something more dangerous and something darker. Diana was the only one who could help me with this. Reed could also help, but I doubted he would stay as soon as he remembered something or connected the dots.
He liked to work alone, and with the past months’ experience, I was pretty sure he would rather die than involve me in something which compromises my safety.
“No, nothing, I saw your vision in pieces. It started a week ago since you met Hecate.” She concluded my inner fears. I knew it, that encounter of mine with Hecate… it was all perfect. Too perfect to exist.
I bit my lip. There had to be something. We met, she gave me the talisman, and she vanished. She didn’t ask me for anything; she didn’t say anything. Then what could it be?
“Can you tell me what you exactly saw again?” I didn’t notice my palms were sweating.
She paused for a moment and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they were the replica of the purple shade I saw of Hecate or her sister witch.
She started reciting something in a foreign language before a globe of light appeared in front of her. She closed her eyes and incoherently said something before that globe of light slowly reached my chest and soon entered inside me.
It all happened at once. The memories of unknown places and images came in front of my eyes in flashes, and soon I understood Diana was showing me her visions. They were indeed in pieces.
There was a forest, the cave covered in the trees. The darkness. Then there was a woman lying on the ground, cold and lifeless. Suddenly, her face turned in my direction, and my face turned white looking at my reflection.
My face was covered in blood and beside me stood a hooded figure carrying a shining sword in his right hand. I couldn’t make out his face because it was covered. The only thing I could make out was the fierce silver eyes glowing directly in my direction.
“What the fuck,” I said aloud, and soon I was taken back to my bed. My head was feeling like it could explode any second. Diana scared me every fucking time.
“Why do you do this every time to me?” I asked in between my labored breaths. She smiled apologetically and rubbed her neck. “At least a warning could have helped me,” I muttered; my heart was beating like a train inside my rib cage.
“I am sorry.” I narrowed my eyes and rather tried to calm my racing nerves. There was literally nothing I could make out from the visions except for the glowing silver eyes of that hooded figure. They were like the shooting stars. Glowing, ready to destroy anything and everything with their intensity.
“This is not helping either.” I slammed my fists on the bed in frustration. I don’t think that witches will attack us. I had already seen their powers and what they were really capable of in the annual meeting.
“Diana, can you see what the witches are doing at this moment?” I asked, hoping this would help. She shook her head instantly.
“I have tried it countless times, but they have somehow cloaked themselves. I don’t know where they are. I don’t know what they are planning,” she said, and there was a look of helplessness on her face.
I placed my hands on her shoulder, trying to console her. “It’s okay, you have already done more than I have asked of you, and I am truly grateful for that.” She nodded and smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
A knock on the door interrupted us, and I sighed. “My brother will not leave you alone with me,” I said. She blushed a little before looking toward the door hopefully.
I stormed towards the door and opened it with such force it nearly came out of the hinge.
“What? Can’t you leave both of us alone for a minute? I am not going to eat her, for god’s sake,” I shouted. As soon as I finished, he pulled me with my hand and started dragging me away from my room.
I didn’t notice he was breathing heavily as if he had run miles before meeting me. When he was sure nobody was eavesdropping on our conversation, he continued. “Emmy, there is a human girl in our territory. She is injured,” he continued further, and my blood boiled.
Humans were bad news, especially dead ones. I didn’t want dead humans in my territory. I nodded in understanding.
“How many know?” He shook his head and lifted three fingers in answer. “One of the warriors founded it on the border. He mind linked me.”
I nodded and gestured for him to lead the way. We transformed into our wolves as soon as we were outside the house.
We turned to our human forms as soon as we reached the borders. A warrior was already waiting for us; he bowed as soon as he saw me, and August nodded at him.
“Alpha, today it was my duty of patrolling on this side. I noticed something was off, so I searched the area,” he said, walking deeper into the woods. I listened to him silently before he stopped in front of a small house; it was a warehouse that later had changed into a pack hospital.
I entered the hospital and soon found a girl lying on the bed, unconscious. Her hair and dress were soaked in blood. And her face was pale. She looked so much like me.
The doctor bowed slightly before going back to examining the girl.
“How is she now, Rush?” I asked.
“She is fine, alpha. For now, she is stable,” he said and bowed again before leaving us alone with her.
“We found something in her hand,” August whispered finally when he was sure we were alone. He took out a letter, and I shook my head, knowing who had sent it already.
“I think you should read this; if I had opened it, it would have caught fire.” He delivered it to me, and I opened the letter.
For all the poems written on the subject of unrequited love, there are so few on the pain of being the subject of that affliction.
I am not the one you are thinking of. Meet me.
You know the when and where to find me.
H.
The letter caught fire, and I threw it in August’s direction. He looked amused, and I rolled my eyes. After meeting Diana, he was starting to have a liking for magic.
“Don’t say anything about it to anyone. Stay here and keep an eye on her,” I ordered him, to which he silently obeyed to my surprise.
“Don’t you think Diana could help in this matter?” he asked, looking back towards the woman on the bed. I shook my head in denial.
“Diana means Reed, and eventually, it would spread. Just keep it in between us. Diana could be our last hope,” I said and walked out to get rid of the smell of the hospital.
“You shouldn’t be going out to meet them alone. It could be a trap.” August suggested. I knew he was right; this could be a trap, but I knew Hecate couldn’t kill me for some reason. I have seen my death and my murderer. And her eyes were everything but silver.
I checked the time on the watch. It was already six past twelve. I have less than an hour to meet her.
This time I was more than prepared for them.