“Are you still struggling, my love?” Antoine asked, walking in. For a second, she didn’t even recognize him, his appearance was so completely grotesque and altered.
“I am not your love,” she spat out.
“Come now, don’t be like that,” Antoine said, laughing. “The blue moon is just two days away, then we will be united as one.”
“United as one?” Bellatrix snarled. “As if. Over my dead body.”
“It will be over your dead body.” Antoine laughed. “I will kill you, and in your last moments, trap your soul as mine. You will join me as one, making me the most perfect hybrid of wolf and vampire! Then I will sacrifice myself for my master, and he will be set free to rule this world!”
“You will sacrifice yourself?” Bellatrix asked. “For power?”
“I will do it for the pleasure of my master,” Antoine replied, smirking.
“You don’t have to,” Bellatrix said, desperately. “You don’t have to give up your life for some demon. You can set yourself free. You can set us both free.”
“Fool,” Antoine shouted. “Watch! Watch!”
He projected a force towards her, and Bellatrix felt a sudden sharp pain exploding in her head. The wolf in her withered and howled in excruciating pain. There were images flashing before her eyes, horrible, terrible visions. She could barely breathe, all she knew was the horror of what she was seeing.
She screamed. She screamed and screamed. The torture was unending. Her wolf was contorting with pain, regressing deeper and deeper inside her. Bellatrix couldn’t move, she couldn’t breathe. All she knew was the horror of the visions. When the images finally stopped flashing before her eyes, she sat there frozen.
“You see?” Antoine asked, laughing. “You see what this world will come to when my master comes into power? You see what will happen to those who defy him? Count yourself lucky, you will not live to see your world destroyed.”
Bellatrix didn’t reply. She couldn’t. Her mind was still absorbed by the terror of what she had seen. The tortures that awaited this world once this demon came were horrendous. Her mind refused to accept it. It was too horrible. Too evil.
“Eric,” Bellatrix thought, as tears started to stream through her eyes. “Eric. Please. Help.”
∞∞∞
Time was flying by, and Eric was starting to get restless. The pack had contacted the man that they called Marco, who was apparently the leader of the other half of the pack. They were waiting on him because he was the only one who had ever come in contact with a Teil wolf. It was the only idea anyone had about how to find Bellatrix.
“You are restless,” a voice said behind him, and Eric turned around. It was the elder.
“Time is flying by. We seem to be doing nothing. She is in trouble. Bella and,” Eric said.
“You love her,” the elder stated. It wasn’t a question; it was a statement.
“I,” Eric stammered. “Yes. I love her. And I am going to lose her. I had this horrible dream and I saw her. Bleeding, suspended in the air.”
“It is wise not to tell your dreams to others,” the elder said, cutting him off. “Dreams hold a hidden power. It can be deadly.”
Eric didn’t know what to say to a proclamation like that.
“You love her. You will do anything for her,” the elder stated.
"Yes. I will,” Eric said.
“There is a ritual I know that will allow you to find Bellatrix,” the elder said. “But it is dangerous. There is a very strong chance that you won’t make it back alive.”
Eric became silent, staring at the elder. “You know I love her, hence I will do it. But you didn’t make the same proposition to Dominque. He also loves her. Why?”
The elder did not reply, just continued staring at him. A bitter smile came on Eric’s face as he realised it. “Because I am a human. Because you know Dominque will agree and you don’t want him to live out his life in danger. I am expendable and he is precious,” he stated.
The elder gave a small nod but remained silent.
“I will do it,” Eric said eventually. “For Bella, I will do it.”
Chapter 17
