บท 24: Not a good sign
Inside the old cabin, Elisia stopped in her tracks when she heard the engine as it broke into the barrier, protecting the perimeter of this place from outsiders. Under normal circumstances, no one would find this place unless they had permission to enter.
She believed it would be Prince Adam who had arrived. No one else she knew would come to this place unless the ancestors gave them an order. As far as she knew, no one else knew about her plans.
She also just arrived, just a few minutes earlier than them. But it was enough for her to prepare for the ritual she had to perform on the Prince.
"I hope you know what you are doing." She whispered gently in the air, unsure if she was telling that to herself or the ancestors who asked her to do this task.
She again moved around the room, lighting more candles to brighten up the space, placing them in significant spots to minimize the shadows creeping into each corner of the room.
But a creaking sound at the backdoor alerted her of another presence. She knew it could not be the wind or any other entity. And it could not be the Prince because she just heard the car parked outside, on the front lawn, with the engine still running.
"Who is there?" She asked, trembling, but her voice was barely audible. She doubted if the unknown guest heard her at all. Grabbing a candle holder to use as a weapon against the intruder, she moved towards the other room. But who could have penetrated the barrier? Only a witch of their clan knew and had access to this place.
Slowly, she sneaked at the back of the house, careful in her every step not to make unnecessary noise. The inside of the house was eerily quiet, but her heart was filling her ears with its incessant drumming.
Once she entered the other room, which served as a kitchen, she found it empty except for the large table that used to be the dining table used by their ancestors to gather around.
She was positive she had heard something earlier, but what could it be. Then she noticed the old pantry was slightly ajar, making her suspicious.
With trembling hands, she positioned the piece of iron in her hand, ready to strike whoever was inside, hiding. "Protect me." She prayed before grabbing the handle and abruptly opening the door.
"Stop!" A familiar voice whispered, raising her hands in the air to shield herself from her assault.
Her hands stopped midway, quickly dropping them down when her eyes recognized the person in the room, seeing the panic in the intruder's eyes.
"What are you doing here, Ivrea?" Her heart had skipped a beat when she realized she had almost whacked her friend with a candlestick. "How did you know that I am here?"
"What are you doing here?" Elisia continued with her line of questions, confused at the presence of her friend.
"I should ask you the same question," Ivrea said in her low tone, but she did not miss the accusation on them. "I sneaked into your trunk, wanting to see what you are doing."
Ivrea straightened in her position, patting her clothes off the dust that clung to her body as they moved out into the open kitchen. "I saw you with the Prince at the diner."
She watched her friend twist and turn as she removed all the dirt on her clothes. Nobody had used this place for many years, so she expected that dust, dirt, and cobwebs would have covered the entire house.
"You should not be here." Elisia suddenly felt alarmed that her friend had shown up.
She had strict instructions from the ancient witches that she should not inform anyone else about this. Her friend's presence complicated her situation.
"You miss a spot." She stopped her friend from squirming around, holding her by the shoulders. Then, her fingers picked up a long cobweb that adhered to her hair.
Suddenly. "Ssshhh!" Placing her finger on her lips.
She heard movement by the front door. She knew that the Prince was on the patio outside. Panic struck her. She wondered what she would do.
She grabbed Ivrea and shoved her to the side of the wall, hoping that the Prince would not come inside and find her. She had no idea what he would do to them if he thought she had violated their agreement.
"I know that you are meeting with that Prince of Darkness. Why are you betraying our friend?" Ivrea charged her. Her friend's eyes blamed her for backstabbing their friend, Avana.
"I don't have time to explain this right now to you. But please trust me. There is a reason for this." Elisia whispered to her friend, hoping it would be enough to calm her down.
"The Prince is here, and he would be expecting to see me out there. But not you. Please, stay here." She grabbed her friend and pushed her back inside the pantry.
She could still see that she was about to protest, but she pleaded with her. "Please!" She placed both of her hands together to appeal to her.
"Don't show yourself. Hide." Elisia kept repeating, afraid that the Prince might take her presence as hostile and react violently.
"But." Ivrea was about to complain some more, but she silenced her with her hands, covering her mouth with her palm.
She heard the footsteps as the Prince entered the house. He was not alone, she could tell. She figured it would be his sidekick she met with him.
"Stay here and keep quiet. Please." Elisia slowly removed her hands and placed her finger on her lips to remind her friend to stay quiet before stepping away from her.
She squared her shoulders, moved out of the small room, closed the door silently, and stepped towards the door that would lead her back to the other room.
She had to meet the Prince immediately before he became suspicious of her absence. With a deep breath to calm her rampaging heart, she moved towards the door and opened it, revealing herself to her guests.
She found the Prince standing at the threshold, with his friend not far behind him. As she had suspected, they looked very menacing, making the back of her hair crawl with fear.
But she would not show them how much their presence disturbed her. "I hope that you easily found your way to this place." She greeted them.
She knew the only way these creatures located this house was with the ancestors' guidance.
She walked further inside the room, allowing the door behind her to close again. Then, she gestured for them to enter and occupy any seat available in the room.
"You can say that it is quite tricky, but we managed just fine." Prince Adam answered her, seeming more intrigued with her than fuming mad.
She was slightly relieved, letting the air in her lungs escape softly out her lips, believing that things could have gone so badly, but they did not. She moved along the room, proceeding to the other end.
"I see that you also brought along a friend." Her body turned to face the man, suddenly her voice caught in her throat, realizing that her secret was out. He knew all about Ivrea.
When she looked into his eyes, they were blazing red, and it was not a good sign.
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