Eztli's Spooky Chase

Chap 17

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Eztli gasped in awe as the bird transformed before her eyes, its wings melting away like shadows to reveal a human form. The figure emerged as Peta's grandma.

"Eztli,?" Peta's grandma spoke, her voice soft yet carrying the weight of eons. "Do not be afraid, child. I mean you no harm. Are you okay?

Eztli blinked in disbelief, with intrigue. "How did you... transform like that? I' am okay."

Long time no see, Zacil," she addressed a figure that materialized from the shadows, a being unnatural in appearance yet radiating a presence of undeniable power.

The witch smirked. "Time has been hard on you, friend. You're just a sack of bones."Eztli, still trying to make sense of the surreal scene unfolding before her, whispered, "Who is she?

Zacil turned to Eztli, a flicker of recognition crossing her features. "She was an old friend of mine. Malinalli."

The woman, now known as Malinalli, Zacil spoke with a hint of defiance in her tone. "What good has it done you, Malinalli? Extending your youth? Look at you."

Malinalli's gaze darkened, but he chuckled bitterly. "My appearance means nothing. Knowledge and power... that's what matters."

A tense silence hung in the air as the three figures confronted each other, their histories intertwined with secrets and ancient grudges. Eztli, caught in the midst of this enigmatic confrontation, could feel the weight of truths unspoken pressing against her soul.

Zacil's eyes glittered with a fierce determination. "Knowledge? Sure. But at what cost? You're hardly human anymore."

Malinalli's mask of indifference cracked, revealing a hint of vulnerability. "And yet, here I am. Still standing. You think I care about looks?"

Eztli, now finding her voice amidst the storm of emotions swirling around her, dared to speak up. "I don't understand any of this. Peta's grandma is a witch or something, but... I don't think she really is."

Zacil turned to Eztli, a glimmer of regret in his eyes. "You wanted the truth, right?"Eztli nodded, her heart pounding in anticipation.

Zacil sighed, "I didn't tell you everything. I thought it'd keep you safe."

Eztli shook her head, her voice filled with a newfound resolve. "Safe? But I know you can't just avoid the danger in life. Everywhere you go, there will always be some kind of danger. It follows you."

Malinalli, the enigmatic figure at the center of the unfolding drama, turned her gaze towards Eztli, a spark of recognition igniting in her eyes. "She and her friends will become one of those whom you refused to join. Eztli, me and my friends would rather fight you than join anything part of you, even if we stand no chance."

A tension charged the atmosphere as each word hung in the air like a delicate thread waiting to unravel. Malinalli's gaze softened, a hint of sorrow flickering across her face. "Well, there's a remedy for that."

With a swift motion, Eztli moved behind Zacil, her heart pounding with a mixture of fear and determination. Zacil turned, confusion etched on his features as he tried to grasp the unfolding events. "What is she talking about, your friends?"

Eztli met Zacil's gaze, a silent understanding passing between them. "She said that we did something that brought her attention.

Malinalli's gaze softened as she turned towards Zacil, her voice carrying a note of finality. "Don't worry, Zacil. I don't want your granddaughter. I let you keep her as gift from me her friends are enough for me.

"Zacil, this girl is nothing like you," . "She won't fall for what has turned you into the thing you are. Neither will you have Peta's friends."

Zacil glanced back at Eztli, her expression softening for a moment. "Stay behind me, Eztli," she urged, placing a protective hand on Zacil's shoulder. "Let me help you."

"Eztli, this is beyond your control," Zacil continued, her tone grave. "She's not like the little witches you've seen in fairy tales. She's not going to shoot beams at you with a little wand. The best you could hope for her to do is to kill you. The only reason you're still alive is because she needs you as you are, but I'm not sure why. Listen to me, please. Stay behind me."

As they ventured deeper into the trees, a sense of foreboding hung in the air, as if the very trees themselves whispered warnings of danger ahead. Suddenly, a swooshing sound pierced the silence, and with a poof, Malinalli appeared before them, her gaze steely and determined.

With a swift movement, Malinalli conjured a skeletal creature from the earth, its bones creaking and clattering as it rose to stand by her side. Zacil reacted quickly, throwing her poncho into the air to block a flurry of sharp feathers aimed their way. Eztli gasped, a few feathers managing to slip through the makeshift shield.

"Are you alright, Eztli ?" Zacil asked.

"A few feathers slipped through, but I'm okay," Eztlil replied, Zacil eyes never leaving Malinalli's defiant form.

Malinalli smirked, a hint of sadness flickering in her eyes. "What a waste, after all we could have done together. Why did you leave me when I needed you the most, Zacil?"

Zacil's expression hardened, her voice laced with bitterness. "I never abandoned you. It was you that left. You chose to run off with that bunch of wackos. I told you something wasn't right with them, Malinalli. And now that I see you, I know I was right all along. Are you really thinking about dragging innocent children into this? Just stay in that hell of yours and don't take anyone else down with you."

Malinalli's gaze darkened, her resolve unwavering. "That bitterness, that desire to hurt others... You just wanted to avenge them all. They deserve it after all they did to me. It helped me feel whole again. I won't let our people and this knowledge die. Maybe you can live with that, but I can't. I'm looking for people to inherit our legacy, but those children... There is something else that are out of our reach."

Zacil clenched her fists, determination blazing in her eyes. "Enough already. I'll put an end to this right now, Malinalli."

With a sardonic laugh, Malinalli taunted, "Just don't go breaking your back, Granny."