The Phantom Man 2 - The Book of the Dead

XXVI - The Funeral Hotel

At Mr. Franz's hotel, two guests arrived at night. Anette was behind the counter when the doorbell rang. She saw two well-dressed women. They seemed to need a place to spend the night in.

Anette pressed the button to unlock the door. One of the women, the one that looked the oldest, pushed the door.

"Good evening, ladies. May I help you? Are you looking for an accommodation?"

"Actually, we've come here seeking information," said Silene. Her voice was full of authority.

"If there's anything I can assist you with..." Anette volunteered.

"Hi, honey, is everything ok?" Franz came from the kitchen and looked at the two visitors with curious eyes.

"We would like to know about one of your guests, a young man that goes by the name Philip. He is fair skinned and is of Germanic origin."

"What exactly do you want to know?" Franz asked with a strong tone in his voice.

"Where was he headed to?" Asked Silene straight off.

"Who are you? Did Philip get into any trouble? Even though it's quite late, you don't look like police officers," Anette pondered and, at the same time, suggested that they were almost calling it a night.

"We are his relatives. We are here to tell him about the death of someone very dear to him," the other woman answered, whose name was Samantha.

"How funny... He never told us about any relatives." Anette was surprised.

"If you both don't mind, we prefer not to give any information about Philip. We treat with discretion all information about our guests," Franz said, suspicious.

"They don't have to answer anything. I can simply absorb the information we need straight from their minds," Silene told her friend, arrogantly. Then she opened her right hand and moved the air in front of them.

Immediately, the couple's eyes became dull. They were frozen.

"Now, tell me, where's Philip?" Silene asked again. Now she was sure that she would hear the truth.

"He said he was heading to France. He wanted to visit the country." Franz responded promptly like a mesmerized servant.

"Interesting! They must be running away to preserve the girl's life. They would never leave us behind without a fight."

"That's all we need to know. Now you can kill them, Samantha," said Silene.

The hag eyes became red hot. Then, they emitted a blue ray that penetrated the victims' eyes. The rays spread through of organs. Anette and Franz's flesh withered until they were turned into dust. Only their skeletons remained, and they both collapsed on the ground in a pile of bones.

"Good job! I really like your methods, you know... They improve day after day."

Diego and Elina were coming down the stairs smiling and talking. Suddenly, they met the murderers and the and the pile of bones before them.

"What happened here?" Elina screamed in horror.

"Shut up!" Silene ordered with immense cruelty.

"Who do you think you are?" Diego took a step forward to defend young woman he loved.

A soft wind blew in the couple's faces' smooth skin, coming from a blow of the witch, carrying a powder that was on her palm. It was a lethal poison. Elina held her neck with both hands as she desperately tried to breathe. Diego tried in vain to breath some air in as well. Their bodies fell lifeless on the floor. Now they were nothing but a pair of lost souls. The hags, used to being merciless, rejoiced at the look of the dead bodies. The hostel became a deadly place on that fateful night.