Haunted Secret

Purnima Night

Ria clutched her coat tightly and trudged off into the cold night. She only had vague memories of some of the basic magic spells she had been taught during her training in the Black Circle, and the spells she had recently written down in Vittorio's book. She was living under the illusion that she would somehow make it through this night. Even though it seemed like Kimrin had sent her on this mission to deliberately push her to her death, there was still a purpose to this trip—a strange purpose. Tonight was a special day in the lycanthropes' calendar, a feast called Lupercalia, where they ate and drank the blood of the humans and animals they had killed the previous day.

From what Ria had learned from Marco 'the Jackal' (the third member of the Trinity), the Lupercalia feast was a disgusting celebration, filled with blood and flesh and stooped to the lowest levels of morality. According to the information gathered by the Black Circle, this particular Lupercalia festival was important, as the lycanthropes would use it to install their new ruler. Her job was to spy on this sinister ritual festival, identify the distinctive characteristics of the new Lycan king, and most importantly, steal the ancient heirloom that was to be passed down from the old king to the new one. And how terrifying was that old Lycan king, so hated by the witches? His name was Evander—a well-known 'Lupi Sanguinaria', a being of extraordinary strength. This man-wolf's strength was so great that his growl was rumored to cause earthquakes.

Rhea listened with fear and trembling as Marco told of the history of the Lycans—of which he himself was once a part, and which eliminated anyone who tried to challenge the rule of their supreme predator. Ria never understood why the Lycans were considered the rulers of the city, but she figured it had something to do with the item she was about to steal tonight. The reason Marco was fleeing the wolves was a mystery, but Kimrin was so confident of his treachery that he inducted him into the Black Circle.

As Ria got closer to her destination, it was so cold that she had to wrap herself even deeper into her black fur coat. She looked up and saw the light of the full moon, thinking about the misconceptions people had about werewolves: that they only transform into animals on the night of the full moon and that they could be incapacitated (if not destroyed) by silver arrows. Of course, all of these things were lies. None of these things were true for the Lycanthropes Ria was about to encounter up close in just a few moments. Perhaps these misconceptions had been true in the past, but if they were true, then the demons had now advanced enough to be able to shed their layer of humanity at will. No one could now identify a lycanthrope on sight; only when they changed form before their eyes. And these, note, were normal Wolves. The Lupi Sanguinaria species or Blood Wolves had completely different characteristics. Rhea began to shiver again, but not from the cold this time.

Rhea finally reached the city. Though she could have reached her destination by walking through a network of deep dark alleys, she thought that if she was to die tonight, she should experience some happiness first. The night streets of Noxteria with their bright neon lights and ideal nightlife seemed magical. She now passed by the Dulcetium, which hosted live performances by the instrumentalists of Triskai. Her mother took her there regularly to see these performances, as she greatly admired the great Triskian musicians. Thinking of these memories made her feel a deep sadness, and as this despair became a weight, her shoulders sagged and her breaths began to pant under uncontrollable grief. Riya tried to breathe deeply, but failed, her attempts were like small and painful coughs. She paused, looking up at the dark sky. If this were in any other context, she would have given up at this very moment. Now she had no such option, for her mother's protection was like the flickering light at the end of that difficult tunnel.Further on, the strange architecture of the Philosophers' Library rose so high that it seemed as if it touched the black sky.

The city never slept. Eyes of light were wide open everywhere, even though the name of this place was in the ancient Noktarion language: City of Darkness. Taxi drivers passed her, honking and inviting passengers. In the suburbs she passed some drinking teenagers who were standing next to a building from which loud and obscene music was playing.Clearly, a party was in full swing. Dirty coffee shops lined the streets, mostly filled with couples. The bars were open as well, as expected—the residents of Nocteria, and probably Triscaea at large, needed somewhere to drown their sadness. Rhea eyed the bars longingly; she too needed to drown her troubles with a few strong shots. But, of course, that wasn't necessary because the place she was headed to would probably end her problems permanently. Eventually, she entered a dark corridor and began the final leg of her journey. Walking through the maze of bricks and concrete, she left the city completely and found herself on the edge of Golgatha.

They found themselves near the hill that was the den of the wolves.After walking for another twenty-five minutes, Riya heard faint sounds that sounded like the mesmerizing echoes of animals. Or perhaps her mental state was deceiving her? Still, she slowed down, shivering. A new wave of anxiety enveloped her with cold and fear."Am I really going to do this?" she asked herself, as if reality had suddenly dawned on her. Riya stopped and knelt on the grass, half from exhaustion and half from terror. Did she really understand what it meant to enter the den of blood-drinking wolves? Worse, it was their special day of celebration, so she guessed they would be especially luxurious. Before leaving the edifice, she had not fully grasped the gravity of the situation. Now she did, and her body was making it perfectly clear. It was also a matter of deciding whether the unimaginable suffering of Kimrin Doss' black magic was more serious or the cruelty inflicted by the Wolves. Since she had no support here, she thought the latter was more serious. She could turn around and walk, but that would mean abandoning her mother. Ria had no hope of saving her mother without the help of The Fraternity.

Ria got up and headed towards Golgatha Hill. Half a mile down the Hill and into the dense forest, she saw smoke rising, where she thought the celebration was in full swing. Ria strained her eyes to make out what was going on, but the trees were blocking her vision.Due to the overall eerie nature of the place and its isolation from society, no one dared to set foot here. Therefore, the Wolves had a high probability that someone from Golgatha Hill would come and meet them in their den. Perhaps their belief that no one would interfere was the reason they did not put any effort into trying to hide their depravity. But there was another possibility: they just didn't care. And according to Riya's studies, they were capable of doing so.

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