THE WOLF AND THE WITCH

Xavier struggled to make his way across the lawn. He had lost a lot of blood already but he kept on going. He knew he had to keep going. For everybody, for Layla, for his family, for his people. He had to put an end to the mindless massacre of werewolves that had been going on since. He struggled to keep moving and surprisingly his body carried on. He stopped at the sight of the house. From the distance, he could recognize it as the house he had been living in, Ariana’s house and it took all of his will power to crawl to the door.

“Aria!” he called and blacked out immediately.

The next thing Xavier could remember was the warm water trickle down his skin. He opened his weak eyes to look around and his eyes found Aria with a bowl of water beside him.

“Xavier,” she smiled staring at him with her hazel eyes. “You’re alive. Thank goodness.”

“I am?” he asked lost. His brain was still trying to process the events of the last hour and it took him some time to remember. He sat up immediately remembering all that had happened at school – the death of Brad the bully, getting chased by a Lycan teacher, meeting Layla. He wiped his hand across his neck and stared at his hands in disbelief. He was bleeding black blood. It was all real. What Layla had said. He wiped his face with his hands multiple times to make sure he was not dreaming and all the while, he noticed that Ariana stared at him.

“What’s the problem Xay?” she asked narrowing her eyes down to look at him.

“Xay..” he thought in his head. She was now calling him Xay. He stared at her, wondering if she knew a thing about his werewolf origin. If she was the one that cleaned him up, then she would have a lot of questions for him. The amount of blood he had lost would kill any human being easily but he was still alive. He cocked his head towards her and she must have known that he was suspecting her because she cleared the air immediately.

“My mum found you outside and cleaned you up before I got back from school,” she said. “What happened at school?”

Xavier heaved a sigh of relief, realizing that he was still safe – at least until her mum came back. Her mum knew his secret but she didn’t. He scratched his head and stared at the ceiling, thinking about the best lie he could give to her.

“I got into a fight at school,” he said finally. Aria studied him for a while and he looked away uneasy. She had a very piercing gaze and the more she stared at him, the more he imagined that she could see through his lies.

“Let me guess…Brad?” she frowned.

“That’s him,” Xavier nodded. “Think he tracked me to the school or something. He beat me up the day you found me too.”

“I know,” Aria replied calmly. “I drove all three of them away.”

“Only you?” Xavier frowned. “Remind me never to get on your nerves.”

Aria couldn’t help smiling. “Hopefully I wouldn’t need to. You’ll watch me take down more guys first-hand and remind yourself.”

“Agreed,” Xavier laughed.

“So what did you do?” Aria asked suddenly. Xavier was taken aback by the sudden change in her tone and for a moment, he forgot that she was still trying to find out what had happened to him.

“Sorry?” Xavier scratched his head. “I’m a bit lost.”

“I said what did you do?” Aria repeated. “Why did Brad decide to pick on you today?”

“I don’t know,” Xavier lied. “He was probably jealous of me or something.”

“Jealous of you,” Aria muttered, tapping her fingers on the bed rest. “You shouldn’t get anywhere near Brad. He’s very dangerous.”

“Wish you could tell him that,” Xavier sighed. “He’s the one trying to get near me.”

“Still the same thing,” Aria muttered under her breath. “You avoid him.”

The door flung open immediately and Aria’s mum walked in wearing a sullen look on her face. She walked briskly, not allowing one feet land before lifting the other and less than three seconds later, she was already standing over Xavier, her huge frame blocking the sunlight that had been seeping through the window and warming his skin.

“He’s awake?” she grunted. “How come?”

Aria didn’t answer. She just stared at her mum as she assessed Xavier on the bed.

“You lost a lot of blood young man,” she said staring Xavier down.

Xavier was smart and he noticed that her tone had changed already. She was no longer the friendly woman he met yesterday. She had found out who he really was. He prayed she would just send him away. He couldn’t bring himself to think about how Aria would react if she found out that he was a werewolf. She would probably freak out and start avoiding him and he’ll be back to where he started – with no friends in the world.

“Ye..ye..yes ma’am,” he stammered. “It’s a miracle I’m still alive.”

“Not a miracle,” she frowned. “Your blood is evil.”

“Mum!” Aria protested.

“Shut up!” she barked. “I don’t think you remember what his kind did to ours.”

“I do remember,” Aria whimpered. “But if I can remember clearly, it was his kind and not him.”

“What difference does it make?” she grunted. “He has wolf blood and he will die.”

“He wouldn’t!” Aria screamed. “Not while I watch! You wouldn’t kill an innocent boy.”

Xavier watched dumbfounded as the two of them argued on. He knew one thing for sure – they both knew who he was and he felt bad for lying to Aria all the while. She was the only one that sounded truly concerned about his welfare.

“Ariana,” she said. “We’ve waited a hundred years to get our vengeance and now we can have it. We have the alpha king here with us. Don’t tell me you want to throw all we worked for the past hundred years away.”

Xavier’s heart was racing already. The past hundred years? They had to be witches or something. How the fuck were they alive for the past hundred years?

“You told me you needed his blood to bring back our people,” Aria cried. “Not to kill him.”

“No,” her mum shook her head. “Our people are dead. Gone and forgotten forever. We are the last of our kind. There will be no one after us.”

“Then why did you bring him back?” Aria cried. “What have we been preparing for all this while?”

“For vengeance,” she smiled. She turned to Xavier and he almost melted the second he beheld her eyes. They were pitch black.

  “I want to feel the satisfaction of killing you myself, Dan,” she smiled.

“Uhhm…I’m not exactly Dan,” Xavier said. “I’m his son but I’m not him. If he did anything to your people in the past, I apologize on his behalf….”

“You have no idea who you are, Xavier,” she replied.

“Please…” Xavier cried but she had already started chanting.

“Excai excai pátronis Madea!”

“Excai excai pátronis Madea,” Aria repeated, tear drips forming around the corner of her eyes.

“Excai excai pátronis Madea!”

“Excai excai pátronis Madea!” Aria repeated.

The tears dropping from her cheek was enough to break the sad news to Xavier – it was over him for a second time. At least someone was crying for him this time. He wouldn’t feel totally useless in the afterlife knowing that someone was pained by his death.

Thick white smoke started coming from the ground and Xavier coughed and sneezed a few times, trying to get rid of the pungent smell that had overtaken the room.

“You sure you got red mountain ash?” Aria’s mum asked, coughing violently. “I’ve never reacted this bad to it.

Aria didn’t answer. She simply walked up to the door, turned the key in the lock and threw it out the window.

“What’s going on?” her mum cried. “What are you doing Aria?”

“What I should have done a long time ago,” Aria replied. “We should have died with the rest of them a hundred years ago.”

“What have you done Ariana!” she cried.

“Poison Ivy,” Ariana replied coughing violently. “We’ll be dead in two minutes.”

She turned to Xavier. “You can survive it. Your blood is strong enough. You would pass out for some hours but when you wake up, take the road west. Your place is in the woods. There, you will fulfil your destiny.”

“No!” Xavier cried. He tried to move from the bed but his legs felt as heavy as lead.

“Don’t bother,” Aria said. “You wouldn’t be able to walk for hours. Stay put. You would survive this.”

“You don’t have to die for me,” Xavier cried. “Come on, get out. Save yourself before it’s too late.”

“I’m overdue,” Aria smiled. “A hundred and sixteen is long enough for me. Remember to take the road west.”

“Please don’t die,” Xavier pleaded, his eyes wet with tears already. “I wouldn’t be able to do this without you.”

“You would,” Aria smiled. There was pain in her voice. Xavier knew very well that she didn’t like the idea of dying but that was what had to be done.

“If I survive, she survives too,” Aria added. “And she would haunt you for the rest of your life. You would never be able to reach your full potential with Calisté lurking behind you.”

“You fool!” Calisté cried, her voice echoing through the house. “You think you can stop Calisté? I’m the greatest witch in the world. Who do you think you are?”

“There are only two witches left in the world mum,” Aria laughed. “And you’re not even the greater.”

Calisté’s eyes went blood red immediately and Xaxier looked away, knowing what to expect. He had no intention of witnessing the battle between mother and daughter.

“Sati es carama fiddéntes,” Calisté murmured her voice breaking.

The door flung open and before she could find her way out, Aria chanted:

“Soto!” The door banged close again.

“Sati es carama fiddéntes,” Calisté cried, this time her voice louder than the first. The door opened halfway.

“Soto!” It closed again.

Xavier watched as they went back and forth, opening and closing the door and from the decreasing tone of their voices, he knew they didn’t have much time left. Calisté’s face was as white as snow and her hands were old and wrinkled. He turned to assess Aria and discovered that her beautiful skin had turned pale as well. She looked old and sickly and she could barely mutter “Soto” in response to her mum. Xavier’s eyes became wet with tears immediately. He knew that was the only way. She had to die there for him to live. The only way she could stop her mum from killing him was by killing the both of them.

“Ariana, my daughter!” Calisté tried again. “Think about your father. He was the greatest witch in our land. But how did he die? Can you remember how your beloved father died my daughter?”

Xavier turned to stare at Aria, wondering if Calisté’s little mind games were going to work on her. Aria had a faraway look in her eyes – like someone in a trance and Xavier knew immediately that she had fallen for it.

“Sati es carama fiddéntes,” Calisté cried again. Before Aria could realize what was going on, her mother was already halfway across the room.

“Soto!” she cried weakly but it was too late.

Calisté held on to the door that was already closing and she pushed with all the strength left in her. The door gave way finally and she struggled outside.

“Soto!” she cried and Xavier heard the door close with a bang.

He turned to Aria. “What’s going on?”

“I failed you,” she replied. “This is the end for me. When you get out of here, run as far away as you can. My mum would haunt you forever.”

“Stupid girl!” Calisté cried from outside. “Now you would die with the wolf.”

She started murmuring some incantations again and Xavier watched as Aria fell to the floor.

“You witch!” he roared standing up from the bed. He felt his knees snap and the bones in his body began to crack one by one.

“We will meet again Dan Damon,” Calisté cackled and disappeared.

Xavier started to make for the door but his legs were too weak. He grunted and fell to the floor in pains and immediately, his vision became blurry.