Destiny Island

Chapter 53

The shadow that revealed itself after Mildred had finished her chanting, soon proved itself to be Ci Nada. She was in all black clothes with a tired expression than no one had seen on her before. Still, determination was obvious in her eyes as well as hatred in her heart.

"Are we even now?" Mildred asked the dark shadow that even corporeal Ci Nada seemed to be.

"Yes, Mildred, you have done well. Your past transgressions shall be erased from my memory, and no one will ever know that you dared break the Law." Ci Nada told her.

The witch was uncomfortable with Ci Nada's reply for didn't she by doing the 'little favor' to Ci Nada break the law once again? Couldn't Ci Nada hold it against her in the future and come back for some more nefarious favors?

Mildred didn't mind hurting mortals. Oftentimes, she found it quite enjoyable, but she didn't want to break the Law. That one time was a mistake, she didn't intend to use her powers on a mortal, it just happened. She didn't want to lose the only home she ever had, a safe place she could go to after wreaking havoc on the mortal world, because of one small mistake.

The Law wasn't only there to protect the light side of the island, it was there to protect the dark side as well. Mildred knew that if the word got out that she broke the sanctity of the law, the consequences would be dire, not only for her but also for all the other dark-inclined beings.

"Do not fret, you didn't break the Law. Well, at least not this time. All you did was allow the weary travelers some much-needed rest and leaving to gather plants in the swamp. You can't be held responsible for what happened to them after you left." Ci Nada assured Mildred.

Hearing those words, made Mildred much calmer because no matter what else Ci Nada was, Mildred, knew she was never a liar, not after what had happened to her, what made her who she was. The one thing that Mildred knew for sure was that Ci Nada would never hurt anyone the same way she had been hurt. She might have been evil, but she thought it would be too much for anyone to suffer the same fate as she had.

"Very well but would you mind me asking one question that has been bugging me since I got your shadow message?" Mildred asked.

She feared Ci Nada since her sorrow and pain made her much stronger, darker than Mildred could ever dream of becoming, but she still needed to satisfy her morbid curiosity. It was one of the flaws, in what she considered, otherwise perfect personality, She needed to know everything or else she would go crazy.

"I guess I have enough time to satisfy your curiosity. After all, the flies trapped in our net aren't going anywhere." Ci Nada said.

"How did you know the giants wouldn't eat them? I mean they are known for their immense liking of human flesh, and there are stories of them indulging in their cravings even here, under the nose of the Law. How were you able to prevent them from making a crunchy snack out of the wretched humans? And why did you?" Mildred asked.

The moment she finished speaking, she realized that she might have asked too much of the dark one. Luckily for her Ci Nada was in a good mood so the questioning of her methods didn't seem to disturb her in the slightest.

"Well as you might have guessed, I was involved in the early appearance of the memory storm in the land of the elves. I won't reveal all my secrets, of course, but let's just say that it was no accident that the portal spat them out on the dark side of the island and not where the elves intended them to end up. Those portals are fickle things." Ci Nada said.

Mildred had to wait for some time until Ci Nada's hysterical laughter subsided for her to continue the story. In the past, Mildred had heard that people had gone mad from the mixture of pain and anger, but standing in front of Ci Nada was the first time she faced the said phenomenon.

"Anyway, I sent a giant shadow message to the giants as well, but as you know they are not the smartest bunch, they easily forget. They were about to prepare the humans for a feast when my pet, the bat, the creature who loves that shadows as much as I do came to stop them.

Stupid as the males of the species are, Koraz didn't even notice my bat trying to remind them of the shadow message they had received from me. He did his best to get the message of not eating the humans across but what finally went into my pet's favor was vanity. You see, the female was made doubtful by Royce's words, and that led to a short discussion during which my dear bat managed to be seen and remind them of the promise.

Soon enough Leidr whispered the promise they had given me into her mates ear and reminded him of what would happen if they didn't do so. I promised to make sure they never tasted or even liked human meat ever again.

So, they let them go with a poorly orchestrated excuse the humans were all too eager to accept, and that's how they ended up here. It's so good when plans go well, isn't it?" Ci Nada said.

"As for why I wanted them alive, that is an easy question to answer. To torture them of course." Ci Nada said.

"But won't the other side feel what is happening?" Mildred whispered.

"They won't feel a thing because it will all be just one big nightmare that will have one slight, unfortunate consequence. Their death." Ci Nada said.

The grin that slowly spread across her face and the joy that lit up her eyes gave Mildred goosebumps. Seeing how out of her league she was, she started slowly backing away.

"Well, then, I don't want to keep you from... ahem... your work. I'll be going now." Mildred said.

Ci Nada didn't seem to register her words nor did she or the creepy expression on her face move while Mildred slowly backed away from the house. It was as if, in her mind, Ci Nada was already torturing the humans for the unfortunate misfortune that they belonged to the said species. The species that had wronged Ci Nada so much that it turned her to the darkest path one could go, murder and torture.

After a moment spent in contemplation about the best possible ways to approach torture, Ci Nada set out to work. She knew that it had to be subtle, so as not to be detected by the other side, but vicious enough to make their small hearts stop beating.

First, she decided that she needed to give each one of them their own nightmare setup from which Ci Nada could build up and guide them to their ultimate destruction. However, the problem was that she couldn't work on all of them at once if she wanted the best possible results. Instead, she decided to cast a spell to amplify their nightmares and then to guide her spirit into their individual nightmares. To make them worse and enjoy their suffering at the same time.

"Powers of dark

on which I have left my mark,

I summon thee

to let my power free.

The ones who wronged me

deserve no peace,

let their nightmares increase.

Let them roam alone in the dreamland

with no power their dreams to mend.

My revenge is important to me

so here my words and let it be." Ci Nada chanted.

She repeated the same chant three times to ensure its efficiency and then proceeded with her next task.

She took out a small bottle of potion from the useful pockets of shadow that constantly surrounded her, and drank the liquid that was as dark as her soul had become after the day that she refused to remember. After a human did her a favor and made her who she was in that moment as she prepared to play with her pray.

Getting rid of those thoughts, she settled down comfortably on the nearby chair and did her best to focus her mind on one thing only.

"Ignacio. Ignacio. Ignacio." She thought with all her might.

Soon enough, the potion started taking effect and she was fast asleep on the chair as her spirit drifted from her body and into Ignacio's mind.

"This will be fun. The vile human will regret ever daring to address me with disrespect." Ci Nada thought before her mind dived into Ignacio's subconscious.

His mind, his dreams, they were no longer only his.