The Darkside

Witch-hunt

"No, don't leave!" I yelled as Melissa walked away with Orlando.

We lay on the floor watching helplessly as Melissa drove away with that monster. Once they were out of sight, we were able to get back on our feet.

"Come on, let's go stop them!" I said, walking towards the door.

"Wait, Octavia, we need to find out what his weaknesses is first," Aunt Cassie said.

"I agree," Anastasia said.

"Fine," I replied.

We went through the grimoire, page by page, until we found the chapter on Vondrohns. The sketch of it in the grimoire didn't resemble a human in the slightest; it had a large head with bulging amber eyes, as well as dark, furry skin. The grimoire said that in its original form, a Vondrohn would be ten feet tall.

The thought of Melissa being alone with such a hideous monster frightened me to the core—and the fact that we couldn't stop him from taking her away was so infuriating that I just wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. I wanted to shatter everything around me; I had to give it my all just to hold myself together and keep the rage within me at bay.

We found a complex spell to defeat Orlando that had to be recited while using the 'dark blade' we found on Nedezrinza.

"Reading all the ingredients we need for the spell gave me a headache," Arya said.

"Where are you going, Octavia?" Aunt Cassie asked as I turned to leave.

"To the potions shop, of course," I replied.

"Take Anastasia with you," she replied.

I agreed to it, albeit reluctantly.

On our way to Hazel's shop, Anastasia and I didn't utter a word; we were engulfed in our thoughts until we almost passed it. Hazel's smiling face went pale when Anastasia stepped into her shop after me. I knew she was bewildered by the fact that Anastasia looked so much like my mother.

"Hazel, this is my sister, Anastasia. She grew up with relatives," I said.

"Oh, now I get it," she said.

I gave her the list of ingredients, which she looked at curiously.

"This looks like a powerful combination. What kind of demon are you hunting?" she asked.

"It's not just a demon; it's a Vondrohn—and it has Melissa," I replied.

"Oh, my god. I'll grab these quickly," she replied.

When we arrived home with the ingredients, Aunt Cassie and Arya had set everything up to brew the potion. For the potion to be complete, we all had to add a little of our blood, and after we had finished, we called Brian.

"I was just about to come here myself, actually," he said as he appeared.

We then discussed how we'd have to act to save Melissa, and Brian agreed that we'd need all hands on deck in this situation. For our plan to work, the dark blade had to be imbrued with the potion. When we dipped the sword in the liquid, the blade turned amber-red. We then teleported to Orlando's apartment.

Not wanting to waste time knocking on his door, I flung it open with my powers and prepared myself to take him on, but he wasn't there. The apartment seemed empty. We spread out as we entered it, moving cautiously as we expected him to catch us off-guard. But we were mistaken; there was no one there.

"Where are they?" I yelled, throwing one of Orlando's framed photos across the hall.

"We'll find them soon, Octavia," Brian said.

"Soon isn't good enough," I replied before chanting a locating spell, but even that didn't work.

"Damn it!" I screamed.

Aunt Cassie wrapped her arm around my shoulder to help me calm down.

"Let's try again, shall we?" she asked.

She and I, together with Arya and Anastasia, chanted the locating spell once more, but yet again, we failed.

"Why isn't this working?" I asked.

"Perhaps he's holding her in a place that negates such spells," Brian said.

"What? Do you know where that might be?" I asked.

"My best guess: his father's kingdom in the Demonic Domain," Brian replied.

"How do we get there?" I asked.

"I'll see what I can do. But I can assure you this: this trip won't be anything like your visit to Nedezrinza," Brian said.

"That's a risk I'm going to have to take, " I replied.

Brian acknowledged my resolve. He teleported us back home and left to find out more information on the Demonic Domain.