Part Wolf

Chapter 436 – 436: The Witch

Luna paused, raising the luminescent globe higher in an effort to see better. Though she knew the general direction of the wolf's hut, she had no clue how to get there. Hence, she was depending entirely on what little magic she was using to guide her there.

It was hard to see through the thick grey fog that now reached up to the sky, blanketing every inch of the Island. But thankfully, the sickening stench of dark magic was decreasing the more she traveled away from the temple. She had been walking for the past one hour, wandering aimlessly through the forest with only a glowing magic ball to show her the way. 

The goddess let out a heavy breath, covering the lower part of her face before inhaling once again. With a determined expression on her face, she started walking, following the hovering globe as it resumed on the trail once again. Within a few minutes, she found herself walking towards a clearer path. The fog was somehow getting thinner. 

'When will we reach, master?' The Dam Sehlah's whiny voice echoed in her head.

Luna huffed, lowering her hand from her face. "Why are you getting tired inside my head while I walk?" She asked, scrunching her brows in irritation. 

The stone made a noise that sounded much like an awkward laugh. 'I was just wondering when the fun would begin.' It said, its voice breaking ever so slightly in fear. 

The goddess smirked, shaking her head. The orb had come to a stop and was now hovering a few feet away from her. With the click of her fingers, the light disappeared, blending into the dark blue sky that was now clearly visible. A light breeze blew towards her, carrying with it the scent of the ocean. 

Luna crouched, leaning towards the edge of the shallow cliff to get a better view of the lone mud house that stood in the middle of nowhere. Other than a narrow road studded with stones in a similar manner of that of the alpha's house, there seemed to be no path towards the hut. The place was locked on all three of its sides by the cliff, and on the other side by the forest. 

'Look, master!' The Tohar Sehlah said, finally breaking its silence. 'The fog has completely dissipated.'

She nodded in reply. "The ritual must be over." The goddess pointed out as she observed the surroundings with a frown. 

She raised a hand and pushed the air before her slightly. Her frown deepened as a tiny force bounced her hand back. It seemed like the entire place was covered by a thin film of some sort, much like a barrier. She sat back on the grass-covered ground with a sigh. She had come all the way to what seemed like the other end of the Island only for her plans to be put off by a barrier. 

It was easy to destroy it with a single flick of her finger. But to build it back with the same amount of magical frequency would drain her of more magic than she had planned to spend on the mission. Luna scratched her head, caught in a dilemma. 

'Master, if I may suggest something?' The Tohar Sehlah asked warily. 

"What is it?" The goddess asked, caught up in her own thoughts. 

'Why don't we mirror the moonlight?' The white stone asked.

Luna's face lit up instantly at the suggestion. "That's it!" She exclaimed, standing up in a hurry. "Why didn't I think of that before?! You're a genius!"

Mirroring the moonlight would not only save her a lot of magic but would also provide her the cover that she wanted in case of any mishaps. It would be able to easily show her what was happening inside the barrier without even touching it. And since the hut was constructed in an open area, the moonlight was distributed equally across the place, making the entire compound a huge mirror. 

The goddess tilted her face towards the sky, beaming at the bright moon that shone brightly over the Island. She raised her hand towards it, waving gently over the waxing gibbous. Within moments, hundreds of thousands of silvery-white threads became visible in the sky, reaching towards the ground at various angles.

'I was going to suggest the same thing anyway.' The Dam Sehlah said, sounding jealous of the remark that she had rewarded its counterpart with only a few seconds ago.

The Tohar Sehlah huffed. 'She's not going to buy that.' It said, thwarting the other stone. 

'She would!'

'Not so.' The white stone said, arrogantly. 

'You-'

Luna rolled her eyes, irritated at the childish behavior of the stones. "Shut up. You're distracting me." She warned, before resuming her search for the perfect strand of moonlight among the group. 

The angle of the moonlight was quite important since it would determine how good her view of the house would be. She glanced back towards the mud house, her brows scrunched in thought as she analyzed its layout. 

Finding a huge open window, she beamed, sending a light spell towards the strand of moonlight that pierced through the opening in a slightly curved manner. Within seconds, a mirror appeared in front of her, reflecting the insides of the hut rather than her own overjoyed expression. 

"Ah! Such a good view!" She exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear. 

She stood back as the image of a woman in a powder blue dress came into view. She was walking back and forth in the room nervously. As she watched, the woman put her fingers to her mouth, biting on her already chewed nails vigorously. 

Luna raised her brows, leaning towards the mirror. There was something not right about this Vera. Her face was too pale and she could see the beads of sweat dripping down her forehead even on such a cool night. The flame of the lone candle flickered as the woman paced around the room like a madwoman. 

Her hair was unusually unkempt. And if she were to look a bit closer, the color of her lips was slowly turning darker by the second. There were deep dark circles under her huge brown eyes that were turning to a shade of purple with every passing moment. 

"Is she sick?" The goddess mused aloud, cocking her head to the side in confusion. 

'She certainly didn't look so when we saw her earlier today.' The Tohar Sehlah replied, sounding as confused as her by the woman's mannerisms. 

"You're right." She said with a nod. 

Luna pursed her lips in thought as she watched the girl's pace increase. Vera suddenly came to a pause, her limbs starting to shiver. With a thud, the woman fell to the floor, crying out in pain as her head hit the edge of a  wooden cupboard. She was trying desperately to wipe off the blood oozing out from the wound on her forehead, which for some reason was not closing up like it should have already.   

Without a warning, the girl's frustrated cry turned into a high pitched scream. Her chest arched upwards as her claws raked against the mud-packed floor in agony. Tears slid out of her eyes as a purple bruise started forming all the way from her chin until her collarbone. It looked like claw marks- only that it had not formed from the outside. 

The goddess gasped in shock, recognition flooding into her mind. Those were not ordinary claw marks. Those were the wounds that her wolf was inflicting upon her body from within, trying hard to break out in desperation. Memories of her last life flooded into her mind, as she pushed through the days when her wolf was fighting against the magic inside her. 

"But how?" Luna asked, placing a hand against the magical screen.

It was impossible for another to be born with both magic and a wolf in one body. Elize was born like that because she was the last Chosen One. That could only mean that whatever magic that Vera's wolf was fighting against was not genetic, but self-induced. The image of the woman's lookalike flashed in her mind, making her frown deeper with the thought. Who exactly was that witch? She wondered. 

In the next moment, the woman fell silent, her chest lowering as a tired sigh escaped her lips. Vera rose to her knees, moving towards the wooden cupboard desperately, her limbs slow and shaky as she did. Her sobs echoed the room as she went through its contents with tears streaming down her eyes. 

"Where is it?!" Vera shouted, her voice hoarse with all the screaming. "Where did she keep the blood vial?!"

Luna cocked her head to the side in confusion. "Did I hear that right?"

Vera screamed once again, her voice turning animalistic with a mixture of emotions. She fell back towards the floor, her body starting to shake violently as she did. The goddess sighed, watching the woman barely pushing through the fight. Why had she done such a suicidal act by taking in magic? Luna thought, shaking her head. 

It was hard to keep watching without feeling pity for the creature in pain. The goddess frowned, debating internally whether to intervene or not. That was when she sensed it. The reeking stench of dark magic. 

"Looks like I don't have to do anything." She said, scrunching her nose in disgust. 

The very next moment, the door opened, only to reveal a much radiant-looking version of the she-wolf. The woman was wet from head to toe, the strands of her silvery blonde hair dripping with a mixture of blood and water. She looked at the shaking woman on the floor with disgust, stepping towards her in a hurry. 

"C-Circe!" Vera exclaimed, reaching towards the radiant woman desperately. "H-help! I can't breathe!"