Chapter 25
At midnight of the designated day, Eva was at the abandoned house, waiting outside with Bella standing next to her, both girls were silent, in awe of the important task they would be facing shortly.
“I’m really happy you’re here,” Eva smiled gratefully.
She made sure to act really suspiciously the last two days, talking to Bella about “something important they needed to take care of” and how nobody could find out. If the Hellhounds were on her tail, they would surely figure out that something important was coming up. As she and Bella sneaked out of their dorm room earlier, all she could do was hope that they were following them. Just like before with her dad, she couldn’t see them or hear them. They were too stealthy for her.
“The guys should be here soon,” Eva continued and, as she spoke, they both heard a noise coming from between the carefully planted rows of trees.
They were still officially on school grounds and the trees here differed greatly from the trees up in the woods. These trees were planted deliberately and if any tree which was already there was ruining the rows, it was simply cut down. There were still a few trunks visible in the ground.
The girls jumped at the sound, but they were relieved to see that the guys had just got there. Frey, Dorian and Sebastian all walked out in front of them. Just by looking at their faces, she couldn’t read them. Were they as afraid as she was? Or were they just very good at hiding it?
“Sorry we’re a little late,” Frey smiled.
“You’re just in time,” Eva assured them. “Now that we’re all here, I have something important to share.”
She was speaking as she had been instructed by Sorwyce and her father. Both Bella and she made sure to wear lots of perfume, so it was easy to track them just by their smell.
“My father, Roman Miles, has contacted me, and we’re going to see him. He needs our help.”
They were all listening to her speech, even though it was already agreed what she would be saying. She needed to make it known. She knew that the Hellhounds might even hear her speak, and mention her dad’s name, so if they weren’t there, they would rush over.
They all listened for a second, but there was no sound. Only the wind howled, rustling their hair. Eva wondered if this would work. If only she could be sure that the Hellhounds were really following them.
At that moment, a putrid smell was brought on by the wind.
“Fuck! What is that awful smell?” Sebastian was the first to acknowledge it, and press his fingers tightly against his nose.
That was the confirmation she needed. Now, she was sure that the Hellhounds were somewhere around. They wouldn’t harm her, seeing she was offering a far better reward: her father.
“Quickly, we must go!” she urged them. “My dad said to meet him a little after midnight, so we must hurry!”
She started first, and everyone else followed her. Everyone knew what they needed to do, as Eva had prepared them well. Her father and Sorwyce had shared their plan with her and, on the back of the map she had received, Sorwyce had drawn a picture. They all had to stand in the shape of a pentagram, each of them with an element in his hand. Frey had a bottle of water in his pocket. Bella was to pick up some dirt on the way. Dorian just needed to blow heavily into the air, and Sebastian had a lighter in his pocket, which he needed to use when the time came. Eva herself would be the representative of the spirit, and they needed her to spill the holy water on the beasts. Then, Sorwyce and her father would jump at them and, hopefully, subdue them long enough for the Masamune Katana to do its job.
It all sounded so simple, in theory. But, they still hadn’t seen the Hellhounds. Eva could only hope that the sight of those beasts wouldn’t render them helpless, because if that happened, all hope would be lost.
They were running to the church, and every once in a while, Eva would take out the little map she had in her pocket, to make sure that they were going the right way. She wished that her father could have taken her there at least once, then she would know the way for sure but he said there was no time. They had to act immediately. Xol’gorog was growing stronger, and he knew that Roman was alive, which meant that Sorwyce was alive, too.
After running for another half an hour or so, Frey stopped by Eva’s side and pointed somewhere.
“Look, over there!”
Everyone looked where he was pointing. There, hidden in the dark bushes and overgrowth, with moss and ivy growing up and down the dilapidated walls, the church lay. It was so well hidden, that one would have to know it was there to find it. The roof was almost all torn down, and a big hole gaped at them. Eva tried peering inside, but all she could see was darkness. They searched for the door and instead found an opening, a broken wall, which allowed them to enter.
They walked in, slowly, quietly, none of them speaking. There was fear in the air, as palpable as themselves. Eva knew they all had to be on their feet. She stepped into a puddle, making her foot wet. She quickly rushed forward, until she was finally standing in the middle of what used to be a church. It used to be one of those small, village churches, which couldn’t accommodate more than twenty people, but that was more than enough. A few chairs lay around, thrown carelessly on the ground, the wood rotten and moist to the touch. No one wanted to touch it.
The silence which reigned inside was oppressive. Eva felt like it grabbed her by the throat and wasn’t allowing her to breathe properly but, in fact, it was her own fear which did that. Silence was neither with her, nor against her.
“Eva?”
She heard a familiar voice. A flame lit up, Sebastian flicked his lighter, and they could finally see each other better. The small group stood close by, then a little to their left, two new figures emerged.
“Dad!” Eva shouted back.
A loud gust of wind pushed them all away and the flicker of light disappeared. Everything was dark.
“Dad!?” Eva shrieked, hearing growls and tumbling.