Chapter 23

The rays from the moon streamed into a small stone building through a window. Nancy crouched at the corner of the small room within. There was nothing in there to make her comfortable. No bed. No chair. Just the cold bare ground. A large door made of heavy metal was a few feet away from where she lay. It had been several hours since she suddenly appeared in that place. She was tired, hungry and confused. First she was in her house enjoying a peaceful day and within a blink of an eye and a puff of smoke, she was in what appeared to be a prison. Just then the sound of the door handle was heard from the other side. Nancy quickly stood up as the door opened and someone entered. Nancy squinted her eyes as she took in the appearance of the person. The person wore a dark hooded cloak. On getting closer to Nancy, the person pulled away the cloak from it's head. Realisation dawned on her as she recognised the familiar red hair and blue eyes. She had seen that face on the internet twice. "It's you," Nancy gasped. "The parapsychologist. Loretta Torres." "Let's us not pretend here." Loretta smiled. "You already know who I really am." "Malorca." Nancy replied. "Good girl." Loretta nodded. She stretched out her index finger towards Nancy and pointed to the ground. "Sit." She said. A sudden force enveloped Nancy and pulled her towards the ground. She sat on it against her will. "Why are you doing this?" She asked. "Why did you kidnap me?" "Don't act so innocent," Loretta snapped. "You know why. You went against your own people." "My people?" Nancy was confused. "Yes, your people," Loretta replied. "The women." Nancy watched as Loretta began to pace about the room. "All because of that filthy emotion called love," Loretta said. "You tried to sabotage the sacrifice that will bring about the end of man. Don't you realize that women were meant to rule this world. Women were meant to dominate. Man is an inferior specie. Man is evil.You may not see it now, but I'm doing all these for the good of our kind. " "No, you're wrong, " Nancy said. "Not all men are evil. If it wasn't for man, you wouldn't have been alive centuries ago." "I can see the love of the Thalatian has covered your eyes," Loretta shook her head. "But nonetheless, you played a big part in all of this. Remember, it was you who recommended me to him." "It was a coincidence." Nancy said. "No, it wasn't," Loretta said. "That's the thing about fate and irony. In trying to help the love of your life, you ended up delivering him into my hands." Nancy was silent as she processed Loretta's words. Loretta squatted to her eye level and cupped her cheek. "Don't you see?" She said softly. "It was fated that you would bring the downfall of the Thalatian whether you like it or not. You don't have a choice. And as punishment for your betrayal, you will watch as your beloved will fall." "Julian will stop you." Nancy snarled, her eyes filling with rage. "I like your faith," Loretta laughed. "Let's see where it gets you." She stood up and shut her eyes, staring upwards. Few seconds later, she opened them and looked at Nancy, her grin widening. "He's here." She said. Reaching down, she grabbed Nancy by the arm and the both of them disappeared in a cloud of smoke. ------------------------------------------- The rusty metal gate creaked as Julian pushed it open. A feeling of dread washed over him as he entered the place. It was the graveyard. It had been years since he visited that place. No one could blame him. It was the same place that gave him all those bad memories and nightmares in his childhood. It was so overwhelming that he had to resort to watching horror movies to counter his fear. There was a saying that the best way to kill your fear was to face it. That was his own way. It had helped him so far. But as he walked deeper and the familiar gravestone came in full view, the fear returned. Julian shielded his eyes with his hands as he passed it. Her name was carved on it boldly: 'MARIA FERNANDEZ.' He clenched the sword tightly, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the area. The silence was disturbing. Even for a graveyard. The air suddenly felt chilly behind him. He could now see his own breath as it came out of his lips. "Malorca!" He cried out. " You want me? Well, here I am. Show yourself, witch!" He jumped as he heard a twig snap behind him. Turning around, he saw her. She stood with her arms crossed and an amused smile on her face. Her blue eyes glowed in the darkness. "Thalatian." She said. Her eyes went straight to the sword he held and a frown appeared on her face. "Where's Nancy?" Julian growled. The smile reappearing on her face, Loretta snapped her fingers. Julian stared in shock as Nancy appeared in a puff of smoke beside her. She was wrapped in black chains from her shoulders to her feet. A look of fear crossed her face. "Release her," Julian commanded, shifting his gaze to Loretta. "She has nothing to do with this." "On the contrary, Thalatian," Loretta shook her head. "She has everything to do with all of this. She played a small part in our meeting. It's only fair that I reward her." "How?" Julian asked. "By giving her the absolute pleasure of watching you die." Loretta shrugged carelessly. "You're insane," Julian snapped. "You're sick in the head." Loretta doubled over in laughter as she crouched a bit and hugged her sides. " You really think so?" She asked, wiping a tear from her eye. "You call it insanity. I call it innovation. I mean it's boring doing the same thing over and over for centuries. Kill seven men, wait another century, do it all over again. At least, there will be a change this time. This will be the first time there will be a spectator to watch my performance." Loretta crouched down and caressed Nancy's hair. She then stared at Julian, her grin widening on seeing his rage. "Whether she wants to or not." She added. "Tell me something," Julian said. "Why did you kill Sam and Randal?" "Randal's dead? " Nancy gasped. Loretta barely smiled at her and turned her attention to Julian. "It's quite simple," She said. "Like you've seen in the legend and like I said earlier, my sacrifice involved seven men. Six sinners and then a Thalatian, You. Sam committed a grave sin that night. He was unfaithful to his lover, Cheryl. Remember when he took that blonde bimbo, Trish, to his room that night you five played your ridiculous game of truth or dare? " Julian didn't reply. Nancy stared at the ground. They both knew where Loretta was heading next. "Well, he did more than just help her get a change of clothing," Loretta continued. "Why did you think they took more than ten minutes in that room? Sam sinned and had to pay for it, becoming my first sacrifice." "And in doing so, you indirectly condemned Cheryl to Jail!" Nancy cried out. "A fellow woman like you if we're to go by your logic!" "Collateral damage on my part, I must regrettably admit." Loretta shrugged. "And Randal?" Julian asked. His body trembled in rage as memories of his best friend's burnt corpse appeared in his mind. "What sin did he commit?" He asked again. "He committed a sin of lust," Loretta replied. "He wanted what did not belong to him. It goes against the tenth commandment if you're really conversant with your bible. Thou shalt not covet your neighbor's belongings. In Randal's case, he wanted someone." Loretta paused and stared at Nancy. " You." She said. "What?" Nancy's eyes widened in shock. "You're lying." Julian growled. "Am I?" Loretta pouted. "Well, that's left for you to believe. This is the most fun i've had in years. How fitting it is for my last two sacrifices of the century to be two childhood bosom friends." She closed her eyes and smiled. "It's so poetic." She moaned. Julian saw red at that moment. Rage filled him as he cried out and took off towards her direction, sword in hand. Just as he reached her, she opened her eyes and stretched out her hand. Julian was shock as he found himself immobilized. He tried to move but his body was stiff. The smile disappeared from Loretta's face as she flicked her finger. Julian screamed as his wrist snapped. The wrist of the hand holding the sword. He was forced to drop the weapon. "I'm happy you share my thoughts, Thalatian," Loretta said. "The time for talk is over. It's time I ended your pathetic life." Loretta paused and raised her other hand. A dark smoke appeared in front of them. On further observation, it looked like a whirlpool. A black whirlpool of smoke. "But first," Loretta faced Julian who she had now raised mid air telekinetic in motion. "I break you." She stretched her hand towards the whirlpool. The last thing Julian heard as he was flung in and covered by the darkness, was the sound of Nancy screaming his name. $Chapter