“We’ve been in the dwarves’ village to find some answers. They told us that only the witches have the ability to resurrect a dead body. But since the nature wouldn’t allow this loophole to maintain the balance, it was near to impossible to find a grimoire containing a complex magic,” I told Aunt Odessa but she shook her head as if disagreeing from what I said.   “There’s, indeed, a grimoire containing the spell that could resurrect any creatures.” She pulled away from me, her hands falling to her side as she started pacing back and forth.    I glanced at Lucas and Agatha and noticed that they were already shivering from the cold atmosphere, but they chose to stay in my vicinity to watch me intently as I talked to my aunt. Agatha mumbled something under her breath, mouthing what now to me.   “You’ve seen the grimoire?” I asked, raising my brows and casually glancing

I approached the voice and, as I got closer to the end of the hall, the light of the torch reflected to the iron bar where I spotted Weston, seated on the ground near the rusted bars. He was staring at me in dismay, his eyes hinted sorrow as if he was about to tear up. He tilted his head down to hide his face, shifting from his seat before he sighed.   “Weston,” I mumbled his name, walking closer before crouching down beside him. The muffled groan of the werewolves inside this place was the only thing I could hear aside from our heavy breathing. “I’ll get you out of here.” I gripped my free hand on the bar and immediately flinched as soon as I realized that it was made of silver.   Silver tarnishes because of the sulfur substance in the air.   “You can’t get me out of here.” His voice was laced with hopelessness. “And I do not know if I can still fight.”   “If I can muster enough strength, t

We arrived at the mountain of witches, venturing through the forest with my arms wrapped around the book protectively. All of their attention averted to me as soon as we halted, so I roamed my eyes around and took a deep breath.   “Aunt!” I shouted, but my voice was overpowered by the thunder. “Aunt Odessa, we have something for you!”   The vigorous wind caused the leaves that had fallen from the trees to fly around us as we scooted closer to one another. And just as I thought that Aunt Odessa wouldn’t appear immediately, I heard her voice from  behind me saying, “Portia.”   I turned my back to face her and when she noticed the book in my grasp, there was a sudden spark in her eyes. She tugged her thin lips to a half-smile and slowly approached our vicinity.    “We got the grimoire you were looking for.” I

The veins bulging from Elspeth’s face began to diminish and she fluttered her lids open, gasping for air as she came back to life once the knife was pulled out of her. But when she tried to move from her spot, she failed because her body seemed to froze because of the spell Aunt Odessa cast upon her. With fury building up in her eyes, she stared at Aunt who was chanting under her breath while sprinkling some salt on top of her. She screamed in torment as soon the particles touched her skin, and I could imagine how much it must’ve hurt her. It might’ve felt like there was a burning sensation on her flesh because of the smoke her skin emanated as soon as the salt landed on her.   She groaned loudly, too loud that not even the rainstorm could overpower her ear-splitting voice. As Aunt Odessa continuously chanted the Latin words written on the pages, the wind became more aggressive, making me almost lose my balance. The candles were still lit and the wind didn’t swe

A few years later   I peered through the oven before grabbing the potholder and pulled it open. The smoke and the aroma of the freshly cooked chicken made its way through the kitchen, as I laid it on the counter. I saw someone moved at the side of my eye and when an arm suddenly laced around my lower torso, I giggled and turned my back around to face Giofré.   “Hey,” he said in a husky voice before leaning his face to me and placed a kiss on my lips.   I curled my lips to a smile and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Hey, hun. Have you already considered my proposal?”   “You’re making it sound like we’re dealing a business matter.” Giofré chuckled before pulling away from me. He moved to my side and opened the fridge, getting a glass pitcher before continuing, “I’m still not sure about it.”   “Why not?” I shrugged. “I mean, we’re not leaving this town completely. There’s