Chapter 7 - 7- Spirits of the forgotten(1)

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑴𝑨𝑵𝑺𝑰𝑶𝑵 𝑰𝑺 𝑼𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹 𝑨𝑻𝑻𝑨𝑪𝑲!!!

Katherine ran towards Robert's cabin, she was terrified and bothered.

"Robert! Robert..." She blurted as she stepped into the cabin. Robert was working on something and appeared oblivious to the happenings outside.

"Robert... The mansion is under attack! The people...they- they had no faces.. no body..they were like air... and-"

"They are the spirits of the forgotten," Robert said interrupting, he put his hand on her shoulder calming her down. He walked towards the shelf and pulled out a big dusty book. He opened and turned pages and finally stopped at a specific page.

"Is this what it looked like?" He asked, pointing at a ghostly image on the book page.

"Yes. They can't be eliminated, two guards are already dead and their faces were blue.. icy blue. Samuel is attempting to hold them off but I doubt he can,"

"They are cathas, spirits of the forgotten. They were offended. Someone must have done something to wake them, cathas don't appear unless their resting place was disturbed by someone, and the person is usually from the place they appeared. " Said, Robert.

"You mean witchcraft? Has someone used witchcraft to unlock dead spirits? There's a traitor under our noses."

"This is no time to look for traitors. For them to return they need the blood of a child, I think, and they will look for one until they find it. And if the King was here he would have been of help, he has dealt with them before,"

"Why would they need a child?"

"Only a child's blood can take them back. They are other means too but a child's blood is easily attained and fast,"

"A-and what age?"

"Age ten downward,"

"Age ten downward..... SHIT!.. Lexi, I need to get Lexi!" Katherine said and ran out of the cabin. She climbed the stairs hastily and sprinted toward Lexi's room. She pushed the door and it wasn't locked, thankfully.

"Lexi.....," She walked recklessly to her bed and woke her up. Lexi was still in her night dress, she looked at the clock and it was a few minutes to eleven at night.

"What is it, Lady Katherine? Are you okay?" Lexi asked, her small hands rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Look at me, Lexi," Lexi looked at her,

"We are playing a game where people are sent to get you, if anyone gets you, you'll fail. But if no one gets you, then you win, and there's a gift as a reward," She looks at Lexi to make sure she was getting her point, "And right now we need to run."

"Can't I change first?" Her nervous voice breaks Katherine's heart. She looks at her and shakes her head.

"There's no time for that-"

𝑩𝑶𝑶𝑴!

"We need to leave, NOW.

"

Alexandra nods her head. She didn't know the kind of game going on but she had to follow what Lady Katherine said. They ran outside with Lady Katherine holding her hand and a lamp in the other hand, everywhere was calm yet screams were heard. She sighted someone- a guard laying on the floor with his eyes open. His face was frozen... like Leah's face. She didn't get the chance to see more as Lady Katherine covered her eyes.

They ran to the back of the mansion after climbing down the stairs. A white horse was tied to a pole and before they could get to it someone impeded their movement.

"She can't escape, Katherine, She's the only solution to this dilemma. You can't imagine how disastrous it would be once it enters the kingdom, and I will not let an entire kingdom suffer because of a little girl." The Man obstructing their path said.

Lexi looked at Lady Katherine and saw her face contorting with rage. Lady Katherine quickly sneaked her behind her, off from the man's view.

"I was asked by King Magnus to protect and take care of her, surely I must do my job. She isn't the cause of what's happening, she knows nothing. Why should she pay for something she didn't do? Step aside Samuel, Let me take off in peace."

"I'm sorry, Katherine, but she stays. The kingdom was entrusted temporarily, and I'll do anything to protect it," Samuel said.

"Even if it means the death of an innocent girl?"

"If that's what it takes."

Lady Katherine moved back subconsciously, she looked at Samuel in disbelief.

"This isn't you, Samuel, you're not like this,"

"Indeed. It's the current me, so step aside and leave the girl, don't make this difficult." Samuel threatened. But Lady Katherine wasn't afraid, she lowered the lamp and drew a sword focusing it on Samuel.

"Let us leave in peace, Samuel, and no one gets hurt," Lady Katherine declared as walked backward, walking around until she had her back to the horse. She walked back slowly towards the tied horse, still clasping tight to a sword.

"Do you really think you can run?" Samuel chuckles, as he moves closer to them, Lady Katherine releases the horse's rein from the pole.

"GUARDS! Don't let them escape." Samuel ordered, and more than ten guards surrounded them.

Lexi was surprised at how brave Lady Katherine was, even with ten guards surrounding her she wasn't afraid. Then her mind went back to what Lady Katherine had told her; A-game.

Lexi nods her head subconsciously in the realization that she had to win, for her and Lady Katherine's sake.

She raises her hand at Katherine, indicating to put her on the horse. Katherine did so.

"Climb quickly..." Lexi whispered in a hushed tone but Katherine didn't climb the horse, rather she tied Lexi to the horse, tightly, including her hands. She took a little bottle out of her pocket and hit it on the ground. A thick fog was created and the sound of horse running was heard.

"GET T-THEM!" Samuel shouted as coughed. He couldn't see anything as the fog was very thick.

"Not unless they go through me!" They all looked at who spoke, including Samuel, and it was Katherine. The fog faded slowly and everywhere was a little clear. They quickly looked at the running horse and saw the little girl tied to it.

"GET THE GIRL!" Samuel commanded. The guards nodded. They were about to move but a sword emerged in front of them.

"Nobody's getting her!" Katherine said, her tone very firm. Samuel just smiled and took a sword from one of the guards.

"Go. I'll handle her," With this, he shoved his sword at Katherine who also struck hers. They were both good, but Katherine was only good at attacking while Samuel was both defense and attack. He was exceptionally good that it didn't take him five minutes to bring Katherine down on her knees, with his sword on her throat.

"Finish what you started, arsehole," Katherine said and spit blood out of her mouth, her lips were bloodied.

Samuel just looked at her with a strange expression on his face, then he turned to one of the guards,

"Lock her up." He said. He looked for the others and noticed they already left to get Lexi.

"Finish what you started, you loser! Too scared now? Such a coward! Stupid wimp! A big-time weakling!....." Katherine kept rumbling as the guards took her away.

___________

Lexi hasn't been so frightened in her entire life. She was tied to a horse and she couldn't see where the horse was taking her, everywhere was dark. The horse was fast, the moon was half-filled. Her head was spinning, making her feel like she had experienced something similar to this before but she couldn't remember what it was.

"FIND THE GIRL! SHE HASN'T GONE FAR!"

Her heart missed a beat. She didn't want to get caught, she didn't want to let Lady Katherine down. But her horse was white, so easy to notice at a time like this.

"THERE SHE IS!"

She was spotted. She couldn't move her body and was thankful the horse didn't stop. She tilted her head backward and saw the guards, almost seven of them, they had a lamp each and their horses were black.

Her horse ran and ran but it suddenly got to a dead end. And the horse stopped forcefully, almost falling her over, which would have happened if she wasn't tied.

She heard the sound of the other horses, they already met up with her as their horses also stopped. She heard footsteps walking towards her, her horse moved backward as one of the guards caught its rein while another guard started unknotting the tangles around her.

"That was quite a chase," One of the guards commented and the other laughed.

They freed her from the horse and tied both her legs and hands. The Man she thought to be the leader took her towards his black horse and placed her across, before climbing it and holding its rein.

The other guards climbed their horses while one of them held the white horse's rein before mounting his horse, taking the white horse with him.

Alexandra knew she had failed. There was no reward anymore. It didn't look like a game to her, not a tiny bit. It was scary, she was so scared that she wanted to close her eyes and open them again and see herself on her bed.

As the horses ran her body jerked. She couldn't feel anything, no energy, no hunger, no nothing. Just fatigue. She was tired. Her eyes closed slowly but she tried to keep them open, she wanted to stay awake. But in the end, she fell asleep.