Aaron's head turned. His clenched fists and jaw wouldn't win him a fight against her, he knew, but he couldn't forgive what she did.
"Where are we going?" he asked through gritted teeth.
The witch turned on her heels and headed for the door. "You'll see soon enough," she said.
She raised her hands in the air. Her sleeves fell, revealing tattoos, etched onto her skin.
No space was left for ordinary skin to show. There were lines upon lines of tiny inscriptions, which formed, as a whole, lines of text that resembled snakes, curled around her arm. Aaron's eyes were glued on them, fascinated by the inscriptions that glowed a faint light.
The witch drew a circle in the air with both hands, then pushed forward. The doorway that led to the dark corridor vanished, replaced by what Aaron could only describe as a portal. He'd seen them in sci-fi movies and often fantasized about going through one to join Emma in a parallel universe.
The witch cast him a quick glance then pointed at the portal. "After you."
Light swam within the portal like a vortex, drawn to its center. Aaron couldn't see what was beyond.
"Quit dawdling and get moving," the witch said. "We only have one night."
Aaron took a loud gulp then advanced. He reached the portal then an invisible energy pulled him in. He opened his mouth to scream, but the portal sucked the sound out of him. His chest contracted to the point where breathing became impossible. He felt like his body was being crushed by a gigantic press.
Then the pressure released.
He took a deep breath then collapsed on the floor. Water splashed on his face, and his jeans quickly got wet. Aaron coughed and wheezed. He got up, inspecting the place he landed at.
He gasped. 'What the?'
He was standing on a lake. Water surrounded him on all fronts. He looked down at the surface, but he could only see darkness. 'That's deep! How are we standing here?'
He looked up and his jaw dropped. Before him stood a statue the size of the Empire State Building. Looking up at it was enough to give him vertigo.
It was of a beautiful woman, dressed in a loose garment that barely covered anything. Her hair flew as if the wind blew on it. Her hands were raised to the heavens, as if she was praying to some otherworldly force.
Large creatures flew around the statue's head. The blood moon reflected on their black leathery wings.
"It's quite something, don't you think?" a familiar voice asked.
Aaron snapped his head toward the source of the sound. His eyes widened. His lips parted into a wide smile. "Sofia! Thank God you're alright!"
He hurried toward her and pulled her in a long embrace. "Did she hurt you?" he asked.
She broke their hug and gave him a grave look. "Remember the price you mentioned earlier?"
His smile vanished. "I am not giving you up."
"Who said anything about you, sweet boy?" the witch's voice rang around them, sending ripples on the lake's surface.
Aaron turned to face her. He frowned. The witch had changed her clothes, even brought a pet along.
She was wearing a long black cloak. The hood covered half of her face, leaving only her red lips and chin visible. Her silver hair escaped the hood as well, resting in flowy waves over her breasts. A crow rested on her shoulder. Its red eyes trained on Aaron. It cocked its head as it looked at his bracelet, then let out a loud caw.
The witch produced a small seed from underneath her cloak and handed it to the bird, who happily nibbled at it. "Soon Al, be patient," she said in a low whisper.
She walked toward the two and spread her arms in a welcoming gesture. "You have finally made it to the last step. What you do now, will decide your fates."
Sofia frowned. "What's this, some fucked up game show?"
The witch scoffed. "You came into my domain on the most important of nights. Your blood price has been a delight to my pets. Yet, you still have one more soul to give, to complete the holy trinity, to make your dream come true."
Aaron glared at her. "We never agreed to this."
Al cawed loudly, and the witch raised a hand to calm the creature down. "The spell was initiated the moment you spoke those words. Everything that happened since then, was part of the natural order. Two souls had to be sacrificed for you to stand on this hallowed ground. It is up to you now to choose the last soul."
"What's it to you? Why do all this?" Aaron asked.
She chuckled. "Think of me as a service provider. You bring me the ingredients, and I perform a spell to make your dreams come true."
Aaron clenched his fists. His friends' lives were but "ingredients" to her.
"What do you get in return for the service then?" Sofia asked.
"Very good question! In fact, I was about to mention that," the witch said.
Aaron's stomach churned. 'Here comes the punch line!' he thought as he glared at the witch.
None of this would have happened if he didn't force everyone to follow this story. They told him to forget about it, that he became obsessed. Part of him knew, of course, but he wouldn't admit it, as he never wanted to admit Emma's death.
'Look where this got me,' he thought, rage boiling inside him in an inferno of shame and blame.
"Once your soul travels from this realm, it's bound to this place after your organic vessels expire," the witch said, waking Aaron from his guilt trip.
"Do you mean, we become your slaves after we die?" Aaron asked.
The witch scoffed. "I wouldn't use such strong language. Think of it more like an eternal partner of mine."
"You can't do this!" Sofia said through gritted teeth.
The witch shrugged. "I don't make the rules."
She turned toward the statue, raising her arms to the moon as she walked. The water surface rippled, then exploded as boulders rose, surrounding the statue. Each rock had a unique inscription engraved into it. Aaron frowned at them. They reminded him of the first rock they came across, just before the disaster.
Sofia tapped his shoulder. "What do we do?"
He frowned, his eyes still glued on the rocks. "Gimme a sec, I think I got something."
"Fucking bitch:" Sofia swore. "I am not giving her shit!"
After the rocks settled, and the water no longer rippled, the witch turned to face them.
"You were privileged to catch a glimpse of your new lives." She looked at Sofia, then at Aaron, smiling from ear to ear.
She approached Sofia and put a hand on her cheek. "Your abusive father got away with murder because your world's justice is warped. Your father's anger only got worse after that, and he took it out on you. He took your life from you, and the person you loved more than you loved yourself."
She raised Sofia's head from the chin and looked her straight in the eyes. "I can give you a life with your mama, and away from your abusive father."
Sofia stared at her, clenching and unclenching her jaw.
Aaron gave her a side glance. He knew how strict and religious her father was, but she never told them about his abuse. Was the witch telling the truth? Or was that another one of her manipulative ways?
The witch turned to Aaron. She looked at him with a pained expression. "To lose someone so innocent, so full of life, that's enough to destroy a family, don't you think?"
Aaron's heart tightened. He clenched his fists and looked away, at the rocks and their strange inscriptions. He recognized a few, but there were more new runes than the ones he knew.
There had to be a clue for them to leave this place, together. He saw one, near the statue's foot: a rock with two misshapen S letters and strange lines over them. They reminded him of the runes in the first boulder they encountered. 'Could it be?'
"It's time to decide. I'll open the doors from here. The rest will depend entirely on you," the witch said.
She turned then pointed a hand at one of the rocks. Aaron squinted at her sleeves and saw runes glow underneath them. Then light shot out of her hand, crimson, like the moon that night.
The light hit the rock and a loud crack was heard near the statue's hand. Aaron looked up, and his heart jumped.
Sofia gasped.
Near the statue's hand, a portal opened. All shades of red swam within it in a vortex.
The witch pointed at another rock then violet light shot out of her hand. Another portal opened near the statue's feet.
The witch continued shooting beams at the rocks, dancing in a fluid motion on top of the lake's surface. Tiny specks of light sparkled around her as she danced, her crow circling above her, cawing playfully. Her sleeves fell over her arms as she raised them, revealing bracelet upon bracelet, all engraved in shining runes.
'She didn't have that earlier,' he thought.
He tugged at Sofia's arm. "Do you trust me?" he asked.
She nodded. "You got a plan?"
He snorted. "More like a suicide mission."
Sofia nudged closer to him. "Anything but becoming this bitch's slave. What do you have in mind?" she whispered.
"I think I know where we should go, but we need a distraction," Aaron said.
Sofia raised an eyebrow. "What kind of distraction?"
The witch shot one more beam at the last rock. Her motion began to slow, her dance coming to an end.
"Can you still do your famous karate sweep?" Aaron asked.
Sofia's eyes widened. "To her?" she almost yelled out.
Aaron nodded. "I'll give us a window, you sweep her off her feet."
"Then what?"
The witch's dance came to an end. She straightened her cloak then turned toward them.
"We pray," he whispered to Sofia.
The witch spread her arms. "One of these portals will lead you to your new life. Their magic is so ancient, not even I know where they lead."
Aaron snorted. For some reason, he couldn't believe a word she said anymore. Her eyes landed on Aaron's bracelet, then on Sofia's pendant.
The witch pointed at Aaron's wrist. "Al will use the memories in your baubles to guide the way. Strong memories have magic in them. It binds them to their owner. Unfortunately, Al can't get a clear scent from them."
Sofia frowned at her. "Let me guess, you have the magic solution."
The witch beamed at her. "That's your third price, to complete the trinity. You chose which soul to give up. Then I will weave it into your baubles. Al will then guide you to the right door."
Her smile suddenly vanished. She walked toward Aaron and Sofia and placed a dagger between them. "Now, it's time to make your choice. You have one minute."