The Scarlet Huntress

Chapter 24: The Witch

 I woke to the crackling of a fire and intense heat, and although my mind was sluggish I still knew that I was in trouble. When I had tried to move my hands I discovered that they were bound on either side of my head, probably to the legs of the table I was lying on. There was even a rope trapped in the crease of my elbow and under my back, effectively making my arms useless. My feet were similarly tied, and if that wasn't bad enough I could hear a rhythmic scraping that I knew all too well. It was the edge of a knife against a whetstone.

I was both intrigued and terrified, on one level I was curious about what this insane witch was trying to do, and on another I was afraid of the role she had planned for me. If this had happened to me just after Luka's death, when I was drowning in a sea of depression I would have accepted my fate, but now I desperately wanted to live. I had friends to return to, animals to care for, and a new litter of Hunting dogs to train. I would also like to take on an apprentice some day. To many this might not seem like much, but these thoughts were the ones I chose to cling to.

So, swallowing my panic, I turned my head to see what I was dealing with, what I saw was fuel for nightmares. I was obviously in the house's root cellar, the walls and ceiling were dirt, just like the cellar in any other house, but that's where the similarities end. To my right there was an altar, running parallel to the table I was tied to, and on it was the desiccated corpse of my mother. If that was not bad enough, I could feel a spark within her. She was, in a way, alive, although the term 'undead' may be more fitting. Standing at the head of the altar was my grandmother in her ill fitting robe, humming what I can only describe as a lullaby while sharpening an eerily familiar knife.

"Ah, you're awake!" Cyndi cackled, "and here I was afraid that you were going to miss the show!" Gone was the sweet old woman who taught me about magic, here was what she truly was: a witch gone mad.

"What's going on? Why are you doing this?" I rasped, my voice rough from inhaling those infernal fumes.

"Isn't it obvious dearie? We're bringing your mother back?" She answered with an unhinged grin as she continued with her preparations.

"We, don't you mean you're bringing her back?"

"No Lilli, I mean we. Afterall, the spell won't work without the heart of Brooklyn's heart. I had thought that it would've been that worthless Hunter that she married, but no, it's you. Although, it should've been painfully obvious, I mean she did die to spare you."

As she spoke I continued to take in my surroundings. The stairs were to my left, while up against the wall, just past my feet was a cage. Inside was Nocte, who had just woken up, and he began to weakly throw himself against the bars. Cyndi must have noticed where I was looking because what she said next caused my brain to temporarily stop working.

"I see you've finally noticed him. I really must thank you for returning him to me. I had hoped to make him my Familiar, but you know Hunters really are impossible to break. But I suppose he'll still serve his purpose well enough."

"Wh-what do you m-mean, 'Hunters are impossible t-to break?" I stuttered out.

"Oh come on Lilli, I know Huntresses aren't known for being clever, but you are part witch, think."

It was then that everything clicked. All the looks, the silent 'voice', his shock over my acceptance of Selena's hugs, his fear of Cyndi, those eyes, turning around when I changed, and a million other little things. It wasn't an accident that Nocte kept saving me, or that he always tried to comfort me. It also wasn't an accident that I ran into him that night, he'd probably been following me for a while, in fact I'm sure he had been. I'd felt like I was being watched for days before this Hunt started. The newest edition to my little family really wasn't new at all, in fact he'd always been a part of my life. My little friend Nocte was really-