They set off quickly before making camp in an abandoned house. It was old and clearly not in good condition, but it would provide shelter from the storm. They had to work fast. Who knew how long it would take for Hades to find them?
Adreanna had already used more of her magic to safe-guard the house, planting several protection charms and spells on their shelter. But that wouldn't help her much once they reached the temple. No doubt Hades had already dispatched his followers.
They would be waiting. She had to be prepared.
The Temple of the Twin Flames was an astral dwelling once frequented by Hekate's devotees. A place of laughter and devotion. It was a safe space for witches all across the globe to share their knowledge and teach their fellow sorcerers.
Of course, soon, corruption rooted itself within the temple, leading them to misuse their powers. The last straw had been when they had held a contest. The winning team had used a spell to summon a violent storm, drowning several innocent villagers in their carelessness.
Enraged, Hekate cursed the witches involved, binding them to that temple and forcing them to guard its treasures. It was one of those, the Skeleton Key, that Adreanna sought. It could open a portal to anywhere in the world.
The spell was lost, and there was no hope of replicating it. Perhaps she would find out later. If they escaped.
The house trembled as lightning whipped through the sky. It was time to begin.
The circle of candles was made. One glance from her lit them up. They formed a boundary, guarding her body while her astral form traversed the higher worlds.
"Remember. Magic doesn't always work normally in the temple. It becomes twisted there, corrupted by the dark power that holds it together. Tread carefully." Styx warned. She nodded. She closed her eyes, envisioning her astral shell moving. It was indeed moving, releasing itself from its flesh.
Effugere
The effect was instantaneous. All around her, the world darkened. The astral realm was clear before her eyes.
It was worse than she'd ever thought possible.
The blue lights had long since faded away, replaced by a dull grey. Everything was black, grey, or white here. A sorry sight indeed.
The astral realm reflected the world below it. The world of mortals.
Have the gods really diminished this place so much?
She wondered sadly. The spirits no longer bounced about, fluttering with glee. The few she found walked mournfully, hiding their faces.
There was no point in staying. But it hurt her to see it this way. The gods had ruined everything, destroyed everything she loved. It pained her to leave, but she had a job to do.
Astral Travel was always fast. All you had to do was focus on a specific place. Of course, there were limits. A silver thread connected you with your body, and if too far away, it would snap, leaving you lost in the astral.
New dangers were present here. Different, but just as deadly. The thread could snap. Her astral body itself could be devoured by the monstrosities present here.
Dangerous times, dangerous measures.
She focused, and it was there. The temple was there in front of her. Once she got in, it would be impossible to teleport back until she was out. It was a foreboding sight, resembling an Aztec pyramid more than anything else. Four staircases, one on each side. Where were Hades' followers?
Had she gotten lucky enough to get here before them?
Unlikely.
Tread carefully.
Danger lied before her, alongside salvation.
Which would she find?
The doors shut behind her as she entered. Typical. Rude, but typical.
The surroundings were dark, a foreboding maze of corridors awaited her, all gradually leading to the inner chambers. The area where Hekate's relics were kept, guarded by the witches who resided here.
"Who are you?" A voice emerged from the shadows. It was a young girl. Her skin was grey, her eyes two tiny pinpricks of light in a sea of darkness. Her cheeks were chubby, and she held an aged teddy bear in her hand.
"Hello there. Who are you?" She asked, trying to be friendly. The spirits here were master shape-shifters.
"My name is Wakiza." She replied.
"Why are you here?"
"Hekate cursed us. I was nearby." The child, Wakiza, told her. Adreanna nodded, feeling sorry for her.
"Where are the others?" She asked.
"They're far away, trying to find something. A witch. Are you that witch?" She asked curiously. Adreanna considered her options. She could lie, but would the girl be aware of that? Probably not. But perhaps it would be better to tell the truth?
The girl stared at her.
"You're her, aren't you? Don't lie to me." Her voice took on a menacing tone.
"Yes, I am." Adreanna said. It would do her no good to lie to this girl. Any moment now, she could whisk off to get the others.
"Take me with you." She commanded.
"What?"
"Take me with you. Take me away from here. I don't like it here. It's scary. Sometimes, I see things in the darkness. They say mean things to me. You're trying to find the skeleton key right? I can help you."
Adreanna nodded. She didn't trust this girl. Not yet.
"Tell me about yourself first. Are you a witch like me?"
The girl shook her head.
"I'm a vampire. The only one here."
"A vampire?"
Vampires were spiritual entities that fed on the life force of their victims, draining away their vitality. They didn't shorten their victim's life, of course, but they sucked their health, sustaining themselves on the strength of their prey.
Intelligent and manipulative, they had evolved from ordinary, mindless parasites. The first vampire was a parasite accidentally fused together with another spirit, giving it intelligence. Other vampires were all born of that single ancestor, breeding with each other and gaining new abilities.
"How did you get here?" She asked.
The girl shrugged.
"I was close by. I wanted to see what the sorcerers were like before getting caught in the curse's crossfire. Hekate didn't care. She was mad I was there in the first place, said vampires had no place meddling with the affairs of witches."
Adreanna nodded. It seemed the more she learned about her beloved goddess, the less rosy her view of that deity became.
How well do I truly know Hekate? She wondered. Not well at all, based on recent events.
"You said you could take me to the skeleton key?" She asked.
The girl, Wakiza, nodded, before suddenly sniffing loudly. Her brows furrowed, her eyes looked panicked.
"Hide." She hissed, vanishing into the shadows. Another one of the vampire's abilities was to turn invisible at will. She cursed, twisting the surrounding light. If she moved even an inch...
Could they see through cloaks? If they did, it was over.
That was when she remembered something else.
Magic didn't work here. Not normally, at least. Would the spell work? It was too late to try something else.
They were already here.
"Where is she?" The spirits of the temple were hideous, and they knew she had arrived. Were they with Hades or against him?
Neither, it seemed. They had no care for the divine and their petty wars.
"The others, you have locked them up?" One asked. She barely stopped herself from gagging as their faces came into the light. They were nightmares, all of them. Abominations of the darkness.
The others nodded.
"We'll find her. She can't have gone far."
"Wait." One of them said, staring straight into her soul. "What's that? Something's casting a shadow there."
They drifted near her. Any closer, they would touch her. She held her breath, not daring to make a sound. The sound of glass shattering filled the air. They hissed, vanishing.
Wakiza returned from the shadows.
"Well? Come on, let's go." She said, holding Adreanna's hand.
"Wait, how could you see me?" She asked. Wakiza shrugged.
"We don't see as you do. We see your energy, which lets us find the best prey. No one can hide it, not completely. The best you can do is make it blend into the environment. Though that's more camouflage than anything else."
"And the glass? That was you?"
Wakiza nodded. "We vampires aren't bound the same way you witches are. Of course, I still can't leave, but the curse only affects me till that. My abilities are untouched."
So they continued. The young vampire certainly liked to chat, and Adreanna was curious to find out as much as she could about her kind. She learned that vampires' parents often left them alone and that the children fought in the nest until one was the victor, having sucked dry the others and gained their strength.
Vampires were solitary creatures, but this one seemed to be rather social. Perhaps because she hadn't had anyone to talk to in ages.
"We're here." Wakiza announced.
"I thought it'd be bigger." Adreanna admitted.
"You get what you get. There's the key." Wakiza pointed.
"This is too easy, isn't it?" Adreanna asked.
The vampire nodded.
"It's guarded by something. Not sure what, but it's dangerous. The others never told me what it was. What are you waiting for? Go." The girl shoved her forward. Adreanna glared.
She walked forward, scanning the floor. There seemed to be no sign of any hidden mechanisms, but one could never be too careful. She floated above the floor, slowly, carefully, approaching the pedestal upon which the key was placed.
It was in the northeast corner of the room. Around her, other items caught her eye. A dagger that seemed to bleed, an amulet that shone as bright as the sun. Had she been here in mortal form, it would've burned her eyes to ash.
It was the object next to the key that tempted her the most. A book. It was whispering something to her. What was it saying? It called to her. She could barely resist.
"Hurry!" The girl hissed. Turning her focus back to the key, Adreanna considered it. The pedestal didn't appear to be cursed in any way. Those always showed up in one way or another in the astral. Signs of dark energy, a sudden cold.
There was nothing here. Other than, of course, the freezing cold of the temple itself. She picked up the key, wincing as she waited.
Nothing. They were safe.
"That's it?" Wakiza asked, confused. "I expected more. Oh well."
"That's it?" Adreanna asked.
"Seems like it." She replied. Adreanna wasn't complaining. It was time to go. The key could lead them both back, but only once they were outside the temple. They left.
Her head pounded as it collided with an unseen barrier. Her heart sank.
Trapped.
Adreanna whirled on Wakiza, her features etched into a state of anger.
"Did you know about this?!" She demanded. The vampire shook her head, fear in her eyes.
"I swear, I didn't know," The younger one admitted.
"What do we do?" Adreanna asked. That was when she heard the murmuring of voices nearby.
"The other witches! They're coming!" She hissed.
"What do we do?" Adreanna commanded. There was no way they could hide now. The witches would notice the key missing. All that was left would be to comb the room. They'd find them.
Wakiza stammered, fear and nervousness mixing on her face. Adreanna sighed. She looked at the barrier. It's center was a pentagram, standard elemental configuration. From each point of the star, one branch of magic emerged, spreading out into a web. Each branch was colored differently.
The upper east was white for air, the upper west was blue for water. The center point was purple to represent the soul. Fire was lower west and red, whereas earth was lower east and green. The pentagram was the center point that held it together.
Could she break the barrier? She had to try. The center was the weak point, holding it all together.
The whispering got closer.
"What do we do?!" Wakiza hissed.
Adreanna sighed, summoning her magic.
Nothing.
"What happened to my magic?" She sputtered.
"It must be another part of the protective spell. Witch magic doesn't work here." Wakiza replied, her eyes showing panick.
"What do we do now?" Adreanna asked. The whispering was right on top of them. Wakiza sighed.
"There's only one way. Take my soul."
"What?" Adreanna glared. This was no time for jokes.
"If you integrate my soul into yours, you'll be able to escape. You'll be able to have some of my powers, including my invisibility. I can't make you invisible like me, but you can do it yourself."
"What about your other powers?" Adreanna asked.
"I can't be sure. It's very random. Hopefully, you'll get my siphoning abilities. I can only drain a living soul, but you're a witch. You'll be able to drain magic itself, allowing you to siphon the barrier. Again, it's very unpredictable. But there's nothing we can do."
"But you'll die."
"I'm already dead!" She retorted. "I died the moment I was bound here. There's no other option. Besides, compared to what they have in store, death would be better."
"I'm not leaving you here." Adreanna said. Though in truth, there was another reason she didn't want to do it.
She wanted the girl to escape, absolutely. The past few days had awakened her human instincts again. She felt warmer, kinder. But she didn't trust this girl. Why was she offering herself up so freely?
Is what these spirits have in store really so bad that she'd prefer this?
"Do it."
There was no time to argue.
Adreanna swore as Wakiza placed her hand on the witch's forehead. It was like someone was plunging a needle into her skull. The pain was spreading to her eyes, chest, slowly overtaking her entire body in the most painful process she'd ever known.
It only lasted a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity.
When it finished, Wakiza was gone.
She must have screamed in her agony, because now the murmuring was getting louder. She cursed. Wakiza never explained how to use her newfound powers.
It was too late. The spirits arrived. Adreanna wished they couldn't see her.
They couldn't.
Was that how it worked? Did she simply have to wish for herself to be invisible?
How convenient.
She edged closer to the barrier, placing her hands on it. She could feel its energy. Foreboding, trapping. It took control, with no room for maneuver. She focused, breaking down its bonds and taking the energy into herself.
"You!" The spirits hissed. Her eyes widened. Could she only use one of her abilities at a time? It didn't matter. The barrier was down.
She ran, turning invisible as she did so. The key turned invisible too, thankfully. She sprinted past twisting corridors and ancient doors, crashing through aged gates until finally, she found it.
The exit. She could be out in seconds. She screamed with joy as she left the temple, twisting the key. A flash of light, and it was done.
Beads of sweat trickled down her face when she awoke.
"What happened?" Styx exclaimed. She felt the weight of the iron key in her hands. It was beautiful, intricately carved and cold on her skin.
"We did it!" Styx screamed into the air. It was finally done. They could be at Yggdrasill in mere seconds. There was no time to waste.
"Let's go." She said.
As she twisted the key again, she couldn't help but smile. Smile, at everything they'd been through. Smile, knowing that all of this, had been for something. Smile, knowing it was all about to come to an end.
That smile turned into a terrible frown as she stared at the surrounding scene. The tree of worlds stood in front of her.
A dead tree.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
