Chapter 9 The Cave of the Demon

Elena sighed as they traveled through the trees, "Who are you? Why don't I know you?" She was now in the company of Penelope, who stood in front of her.

"You're annoying with the number of questions you ask," Penelope replied softly. Elena had enough of her.

"How can it not increase if you don't answer? You're an idiot, too," Elena retorted angrily.

Elena questioned her, "What do you need from me, and why are you following me?" With her arms folded, she turned to Elena. Penelope's gaze was locked on the girl at all times. While smiling foolishly, her left eyebrow was still lifted.

Elena scratched her head. She then asked herself a question. Why is she chasing after the woman that she didn't know?

Elena said hesitantly, "I don't know." Penelope squinted and rested her right hand on the huge and old tree.

Penelope pointed to the book she was carrying and asked, "What is that?"

Elena asked her, turning the book cover to Penelope, "A spell book. You're a witch, why don't you know that?"

"I'm not stupid, Elena," Penelope said, "but what are you going to do with that book?" Penelope replied. "And, I'm not just a witch," she added and smiled at her.

Elena said, "I'm going to look for solutions because I want to strengthen my power."

Penelope waved at him and walked away, saying, "Poor you, you're a very weak witch, come on. Follow me."

Elena asked, "Where will we go?"

"In the devil's labyrinth."

***

When Mara saw her poor sister's dead body, she cried out, "Kara!" She sobbed uncontrollably as she held her twin.

"We have to leave," their other sibling, Lucas, added.

Glenda was puzzled and questioned, "Why?"

"She can track us! Once she finishes the first two massacres, the demon's grip on her will be

stronger!" Luke replied. He sounded too stressed by what was going on in his statement. The siblings believed they could avoid this kind of problem, but they were mistaken. They can't escape the future.

They assumed their lives would be easier now that their mother was gone, but they were confronted with something far worse. The new witch is a young woman who is hungry for power.

"Don't worry, there are plenty of other options; we can stop her," Jacob, his older brother, stated.

"How? Can we handle her? Maybe someone is helping her, Jacob," Douglas remarked, brushing his own hair.

"We can do that," the woman behind them remarked, "let's perform a spell." Everyone's gaze was drawn to Glenda. Glenda's self-inflicted injury surprised them. The map of their village was stained with her blood. She closed her eyes and said a prayer. To the surprise of his other siblings, the entire atmosphere suddenly blew. When Vincent confirmed that Glenda was the most strong of their siblings, he smiled distantly.

***

"And here we are... The Devil's Cave," Penelope stated with a smile. Elena took a peek

around. She couldn't help but shiver at the eerie ambiance of the environment. It is surrounded by large and old trees, which are buffeted by strong gusts of wind.

Elena's attention was drawn back to Penelope, who was already playing with the stones. Elena was really curious to learn who Penelope is. And what kind of witch she is. "Creepy, isn't it?" she stated while laughing.

Elena asked, "Who are you actually, and what are you doing here?"

"You don't have to know who I am," Penelope said as she approached Elena, "I just want to say that..." Penelope hung up as she stroked the girl's stomach.

"If that book is opened, I'll make sure it's opened by me," she added, as she was ready to pick up the book when she was startled by a knock from behind her. Penelope's skin began to gray with time. Elena investigated the small dagger slung across her chest.

"I'm sorry, my sister is jealous, and I'm late," the man standing behind Penelope explained.

Elena said, "It's okay, it's nice you came." The man slowly lowered her sister to the leafy floor.

He stood up and turned to face Elena, saying, "Yeah. Let's just talk." Elena didn't say anything else and walked straight inside the demon's lair.

Kai, the man with Elena, smiled.

***

"What are you going to do, and why do you really want to finish the ritual?" Kai asked as he watched the woman walk down the cave's stony slope.

"Just shut up, I don't trust you," Elena said angrily, turning to face him.

"I'm sending you here to tell me what to do," he added, "not to care about my life." Kai kept his mouth shut when he heard what the girl had done. He whistled as he sat on the ledge.

Elena asked, "Won't your sister wake up? We might be disturbed."

"No," the young man said, winking at the girl, "she's sound sleeping, I'll just

undagger her again after 50 years." Elena locked her gaze on it. Elena met Kai in a Facebook group of witches, and she was bombarded with questions that she couldn't answer until Malachi Andanov offered to meet with her.

Elena asked, "How old are you, and why didn't I seem to notice you before you stabbed your

sister?"

He laughed and added, "First, I'm 521 years old, and second, I'm an extraordinary, amazing and

unbeatable hybrid witch... who doesn't use evil magic. But I'm evil," Elena discovered she was an immortal witch. Sh e felt envious, and she, too, wished to be like Kai. An unstoppable. A witch who is immortal.

"So, what are the rules for performing the ritual?"

***

"Elena will have to kill nine people, including adults and children, and take their hearts, as

well as the witches in her family, which includes us," Vincent explained to his siblings.

"She has to perform out three massacres on her own, after that, she can open the book and witness the demon in the cave," Vincent explained.

"She's on Mount Salsalan right now... We need to do something," Mara advised her siblings.

Douglas rejected his younger sister, saying, "It's unsafe, we're approaching the danger, Mara."

"What? In that case, what's our plan? Let's just laugh and relax while we wait for your

frantic niece to show up and rip our hearts out?" Mara remarked, her gaze fixed on the ceiling.

"Let's track her first," Lucas suggested. "We'll watch her behaviors before we plot our next move." Glenda, his sister, was the focus of his attention. "Do another location spell, sister..."

Glenda sighed and yanked her wrist out to cut again. She cut her wrist with the knife by sliding

it to her wrist. Her blood dripped over the map of their town. Glenda prayed again, but nothing happened after a few minutes, much to the surprise of her siblings. Glenda sighed and yanked her wrist out to cut again. She cut her wrist with the knife by sliding it to her wrist. The map of their village was dripping with blood. Glenda prayed again, but nothing happened after a few

minutes, much to the surprise of her siblings.

"What's going on? Why she can't be tracked?" Mara frantically inquired.

"She's in the company of someone, and she's being guarded..."

***

Elena asked Kai, who's holding her head, "Are you sure my relatives can't track me?"

"Yes, I'm connecting you to your Mother as well..." Kai murmured as he closed his eyes and prayed. While casting the magic, Elena couldn't comprehend what Kai was saying. He speaks in a different dialect. Elena thinks it's Hebrew.

Elena screamed when she got a headache a few minutes later.

***

"ARGH!"

Glenda screamed, collapsing to her knees in pain. When she looked up, her eyes and nose were bleeding profusely until she passed out.

***

"Linking Complete..."