Hellbound With You

The sound of many wings flapping around her jolted her but she didn't halt. They were probably the minion witches who turned themselves into bats, watching her, stalking her. She didn't want to meet with the corpse-like witches, she wanted the silver-haired witch.

She continued walking deeper inside but no one appeared before her. Did they want her to keep going? She looked around and thought that this wasn't the area she saw in her dream so she kept walking. She walked a few hundred meters further and she finally found the place. There was a small, circular patch of flat grass which was unique to see in a forest like this. It was definitely not natural.

"Hello? I am here now. Where are you?" she called out again.

She waited for an answer but there was none. Nobody appeared.

Abi sighed. It seemed she would have to use her ability after all.

She closed her eyes to listen to what was happening around her.

Abi's eyes widened because the first thing she locked onto was a man's voice. Abi shivered and she found herself hiding behind a tall tree. It was probably a futile move but she did it anyway.

"Don't run, witches… come at me!" a menacing voice thundered in her ears. The voice was still a fair way away from where she was but it still sent shivers down her spine.

She focused and she was shocked once again because this time, she heard both kinds of heartbeats. Witches and vampires.

Why were the vampires here? Were they here to hunt down the witches?

Abi heard a fight break out. It was as if one of the groups went on a killing spree and Abi could tell it was the vampires who were killing the witches.

"Where's your queen?" the man asked and she heard a woman shriek as well as gunshots. Were they shooting the witches?

"That's it, shoot those fucking sneaky birds down!"

Abi was starting to feel scared. She hadn't expected to walk into this and even more terrifying was the fact that she was supposed to feel at ease because vampires were there, but she didn't. For some reason, her stomach began to knot in fear.

Feeling that there was something wrong, Abi started to move. She was going to leave this place. She shouldn't have come.

She was about to start running back when suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind. Her heart almost leapt out of her chest!

Abi had been too focused on keeping an eye on the vampires that she didn't notice the heartbeat of the witch who was approaching her.

She was about to scream but a hand covered her lips. Oh god… what had she gotten herself into?

The fear that shook her subsided as soon as she saw who it was. The woman right behind her was the silver-haired witch. Now that she was so close to her, Abi couldn't help but gape at her. She could see that even her lashes and eyebrows were silver. Her eyes were like the white full moon. Was she really a witch? Wasn't she a goddess?

"Don't scream," the goddess said and when Abi nodded, the silver-haired witch removed her hand from Abi's mouth. "Follow me," she then said as she grabbed Abi's wrist and dragged her away.

"W-where are you taking me? And why are vampires here?" Abi asked. Abi wondered why she did not feel scared of this silver-haired goddess.

The woman glanced at Abi as they continued running. "They are here to catch me."

"W-why?" Abi gulped. Were they Zeke's men?

"I will tell you everything soon. We need to leave this place first."

Abi could only follow her. She tried to focus again to tell if they were getting further away from the vampires when she suddenly halted and pulled the witch to a stop too.

"There are vampires ahead of us!" Abi told her. The woman looked at her, clearly alarmed, but she didn't look surprised.

The witch then brought out a small bottle, poured the silver liquid onto her hands and rubbed them all over the small scratches on Abi's legs and arms. It didn't heal but it stopped the bleeding and the blood disappeared. Abi had not noticed that she was wounded.

"They must have smelled your blood," the silver-haired witch said and they continued running again.

"But… there are vampires…" Abi protested. She thought they would head to a different path but the woman didn't change direction.

"How many are ahead of us?" she asked.

"Two."

The woman didn't stop. The vampires were close. She halted and slowly let Abi's hand go.

Two vampires appeared before them like mad wolves. Their eyes weren't the same as the vampires in the capital. They weren't like Alex or Zeke. They seemed different even though their heartbeats were the same as the normal vampires Abi had met.

The vampires laughed like maniacs upon seeing them.

But before they could even stop their menacing laugh, the silver haired witch suddenly disappeared.

The next second, she appeared behind one of the vampires and slashed him across his neck. Abi didn't see the vampire's head roll away from his body from that one move from the silver-haired witch because her eyes fell on the one who was about to shoot her.

Abi was rooted to the ground.

But again, the witch didn't even let the other one pull the trigger. She cast a spell and everything turned black. All Abi could hear was a quick slicing sound and in the next moment, everything else fell silent. All Abi could hear was the heartbeat of the silver-haired witch. She could no longer hear the vampire's heartbeat.

The thick black fog dissipated and the silver-haired witch appeared before her. She held Abi's wrist again and they continued running.

Abi wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing, following this woman. But she felt safe. Their escape made her forget everything. For the first time, even for just a moment, she stopped thinking about Alex.