The One after my Heart

Osraan ordered the beefy muscular man to stay back in case the witch needed help and immediately pursued after Maya.

As Kyra noticed the two of them run past her, she whimpered and begged as she felt hot tears fall out and blurring her eyes, "No! Please don't kill her! She's just a little child."

She tried to get up and run after them, but she failed to move even an inch of her body.

But, how long would it take to pursue a child? In just moments, there was a loud-pitched shriek that echoed in the depths of the forest, followed by silence. Kyra couldn't stop crying out with her body spasming in intervals as she choked in sobs.

As the air kept getting thicker and thicker, the fire from the torches lit started to grow dim and then immediately started to burn brightly. The skulls on the sides of their bed began to levitate in the air, and their empty sockets lit up with green flames. Nisa's body glowed with a faint golden glow as she lost all consciousness by now. Whether it was her due to her sister's shriek or the witch's magic, one would never know and only guess.

Upon noticing the golden glow, old lady Barlow cackled maniacally. She was right about her theory. In a few more moments, she would have channelled the three women's life energy and spiritual powers siphoned away into her, draining them out and turning them into nothing but mere corpses. By her estimation, she would at least turn 30 years younger and much stronger than ever before.

It was a spell the old witch had come across recently in the pages of an ancient grimoire. It was an ancient dark spell where one could prolong his or her life and increase his or her powers by draining out other witches' powers. She could already foresee as she regained her youth and had grand ambitions to achieve.

Slowly the old witch went into a trance with her arms raised wide open horizontally as her whole figure started glowing with a dark violet colour. Her eyes went backwards, showing nothing but white.

Bree's eyes slowly turned hazy, and her face blank. Her body glowed with a faint brown metallic sheen.

Kyra's gaze was turning hazy as well and was turning weaker by the second. She felt so helpless and powerless that her body started to shake in fear. It was too much of a roller-coaster of emotions for her to handle, let alone anyone else. She had a rough idea of what fate awaited her moments ahead and could see no hope now.

A rustle of leaves with footsteps approached her in the front from the dark woods.

Kyra with her dull vision could barely make out the shadowy figures of two men in the dark- a short, portly man and a tall man accompanying him from behind as they walked back towards the clearing. Kyra could barely make out from the shadows that the tall person was holding onto something round that was dripping in blood from his palm.

"I hope you all burn in hell", she cursed hatefully as her tears rolled out, distorting her vision. 'I give up. The sooner I die the faster this horror ends.'

She looked up at the stars as though she wanted it to be the last thing she would see before she died. A beautiful poetic tragedy, she bitterly surmised.

"That's not a nice thing to say or wish for anyone, though I won't judge you considering your circumstances", drawled a husky voice dripped in laziness.

Kyra, who didn't want to look away from the stars, ignored the comment as she felt the presence of the two people walking towards her. It must've been the tall person retorting back, she guessed. She'd never hear his or beefy partner speak back in the cell though she didn't give a damn. "Hmmph, what hypocrite words coming from a beast", she spat hatefully.

"A beast? I assure you I am not one, though I could introduce you to a few in the neighbouring domain", came the teasing flirtatious voice in reply as it neared her.

The tall figure finally had approached her side at her left shoulder and then blocked her view of the night sky above as he leaned over in curiosity.

Kyra was taken aback in surprise as she looked at the person who now had his face looking down straight into her eyes.

'Ridiculously handsome' were the only words she could come up with as she looked into his pale ice blue eyes.

Was Osraan's henchman this good-looking? No! She recalled the previous thin-like straggler's figure and shook in denial inwardly. This person was someone entirely different.

She noticed his elegant brows, his sharp jawline and flawless skin that would put any model on earth to shame. His smooth dark hair tickled her forehead as she felt his cold breath brushing past her as he leaned in with curiosity in his eyes.

'Well if not the stars, it wouldn't hurt to die now after seeing a face like this', she mocked to herself with a low chuckle.

She noticed a frown appear on his noble like forehead as he suddenly sensed something, and his eyes slowly darted towards the side of her neck. He leaned backwards with a small step giving her a slightly crooked grin, and then looked towards the centre where the dark witch was in trance.

This wasn't one of Osraan's henchman! He was nowhere even close to the former's image and personality. Kyra forced herself to look away from his face that was staring into hers as if he were trying to read her expression and inner thoughts currently.

As she looked away from his face, Kyra noticed he wore strange, beautifully tailored long clothes in black that would be called old fashioned where she came from especially. Everything he wore was black including the leather-like boots he was currently standing on.

As she looked at his clothes, her eyes accidentally laid on what the person was holding in his right hand. It was the decapitated head of Osraan's henchman who'd accompanied him into the woods. His now dead thin face had the look of fear with his eyes wide open. Kyra felt sick in the stomach and felt like throwing up any moment.

'It's not Maya.. it's not her. Thank god.', Kyra consoled herself as she felt herself tearing up in relief.

The man noticed her reaction and threw away the decapitated head he was holding onto into the circle. "I apologise that you had to see that, beautiful", he grinned mischievously though his tone didn't seem to mean it.

"P-please spare me, milord. Please spare this lowly one. I beg you," came Osraan's weak voice from the side as he shivered next to this person.

It was only now that Kyra looked at Osraan next to him from the corner of her eyes. He seemed dishevelled and was shaking in fear next to the man in black.

'So even scums like these feel fear', she thought to herself coldly.

"Pl-please my lord, we were just under orders from the union. Please forgive and spare us.", he begged and wept tearfully at the man's feet.

Right at the next instant, with a wicked look in his eye, Osraan brought out the gold curved-knife that were hidden within his sleeves and plunged it into the chest of the man in black as he lunged forward. He sneered as he sought to see the surprised look on the latter's face as the knife would sink in.

But in the next second, his scarred face went pale, and his eyes turned incredulous in surprise when he saw the person in black smiling back at him. The man in black stood with a teasing smile as he had stood one step away from the place where Osraan had just attacked. Osraan's knife seemed to have stabbed nothing but empty air as the light of the fires around glited off the blade's surface with the knife being held up in the air awkwardly.

'This-this...How's this possible?!' paled Osraan feeling the blood drain from his face, since he had clearly felt the knife piercing through.

He smiled at Osraan with a cold glint flashing across his eyes," Walk five steps backwards and kill yourself."

Osraan tried to back away and run with all his strength,but , in the next second, he found himself with his feet walking five steps backwards despite all of his resistance and then went still as though he were stuck to the ground. No matter what he tried, he couldn't move!

"N-no no! I'm sorry I didn't mean it! My lord, please forgive me! Forgive me!", begged Osraan in a stuttering voice, but the man in black paid no heed.

"Bartem, you dumb idiot do something!" he bellowed his beefy subordinate who was across him on the other end. 'What's that idiot doing instead of helping me!' he fiercely snarled within.

But as he looked at his subordinate in rage, it was only now that he noticed Bartem's situation. The beefy subordinate was on his knees and both palms on the ground. With his head lowered, gazing at his palms, he seemed unable to move even an inch from his position.

To Osraan's further horror, he felt his right arm that was clutching the knife move slowly on its own, inching towards his own heart. His left palm positioned against the back of the knife's hilt.

"No-no! What are you doing!? W-what have you done to me!? Lady Barlow help! Help me!! Stop it! I beg you!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.

But, the old witch was in a trance, utterly oblivious to her surroundings now that her spell was at its final stages. No matter how much Osraan screamed or begged, he couldn't stop himself from piercing his own heart in the next moment.

The straggler's eyes had the same helpless look just as his victims as he collapsed taking his last breath, leaving an incredulous surprised expression on his face as though he couldn't believe it.

Kyra felt a cold shiver travel down her spine as she witnessed everything first-hand. Beneath that teasing smile, it seemed like he was the definition of a devil. He seemed even more dangerous than the one's she'd encountered today so far.

"Ahh, it's finally a bit quiet now wouldn't you say?", he asked with a small cheeky grin, turning towards Kyra once more looking into her dark brown eyes with his ice-blue ones.

Kyra couldn't stop wondering to herself.

'Who the hell is he?!'