Elvira walked on the streets of Wildsen with a lowered head. Her destination was the worship place of the townspeople that Wivior had asked her to meet outside. It was difficult to leave a friend behind whom she had run into after so long.
When she recalled her conversation with Charlotte, her mind flooded with guilt. Had she become a traitor for lying to her? Was it wrong to care about a wizard so much that she wanted to save him from the torment of spending the rest of his life in a torture cell? She wasn't allowed to feel the slightest mercy for him.
'A wizard is no friend to a witch. They are not worthy of our mercy. We only look after our kin. We are only loyal to each other....' Her mother had commanded her to say those lines religiously when she was only a small child. Elvira had repeated those words so much that it had become like a song to her. She would sing it with a natural rhythm while running around her village's streets.
There was probably no one who hated wizards more than Lilith Cain did. If her mother had been in Elvira's shoes, she would have slit the throats of all the other wizards in the castle in their sleep. Then Lilith would have tricked Wivior into imprisonment after taking every advantage of him.
However, Elvira was quite the opposite of her mother. Wivior had nothing to do with the portal at Itar's Altar or any war. He was merely a scapegoat for his people's politics and a miserable fate. So, it was her way of repaying him without him ever knowing it.
She accidentally bumped into a person when she thought about how much her mother would loathe her if she ever found out.
"Sorry," Elvira said to that obese man with a scruffy beard.
"Sorry! Do you have buttons in your eye holes, you worthless whore?" yelled the man at her. "Or did your useless father used to drop you on your head?"
Her fingers clenched into fists. That foul mouth didn't know at whom it was shouting those insults. Elvira wanted to teach him a lesson right there and then.
"I am a witch, you scumbag. If you wish to continue to live, get out of my sight right now!" said Elvira. She was also about to show him a glimpse of her power when suddenly, she heard Wivior's voice from behind. "Elvira!" he called.
The human man made a run for his life. "I am being attacked by a witch!" He screamed at the top of his voice. Humans feared witches immensely. It was usually a pleasure, but Elvira was sure Wivior saw and heard that fat coward.
Wivior walked up to her while looking at that loud man. "What's wrong with that man? Why is he saying that? Is there a witch here?"
"I don't know," said Elvira. "That man just came up to me and started saying some bizarre things about monsters, and then he ran off screaming like that."
"There might be a witch here causing trouble to the townspeople. I should take a look around," said Wivior.
"No!" said Elvira, grabbing her arm. "Don't go after him! I am sure he is a lunatic because he called me his sister. I think he is delusional. Everything else seems to be fine. I just came from there."
"He could be a lunatic, then. Come," Wivior took her hand. "Walk with me. I have some people to introduce you to."
Wivior took her to the town's tavern, where his friends were waiting. Elvira's heart pounded when she crossed the threshold of that place. The journey ahead of them depended largely on their companions.
"There they are," said Wivior, pointing a finger. Her eyes fell on a table with the friendliest faces. The party included two women and three men. One gentleman was playing a melodious tune on a harp, and they all were full of smiles. She sighed in relief and walked towards their table.
Wivior grabbed her arm. "What are you doing? I pointed at the table behind it."
Elvira took a gander at the people sitting at the table behind them and froze in silence. A tall, strong woman had one large man pinned on the table.
"Which one is your friend?" she asked.
"Sadly, the woman that's about to rip that man apart," Wivior replied. He rushed towards that table, and Elvira followed him. The victim seemed to be in horrible pain, and it was a gruesome scene to witness. Instead of a group of nice fellows, the woman causing the pain was better suited to her ill luck.
"Quinn, what are you doing? I told you that you can't act violently in this town," Wivior said to that woman.
"Wivior, I am not doing this for pleasure alone!" said Quinn. "This man is an accomplice to the witches. He was carrying witchcraft items, and I saw him conversing with a witch. She ran away, so I captured this goon...."
"No, I wasn't with any witch. I am innocent!" said the man under Quinn's brutal hold. She twisted his arm, and he shrieked in pain. "Shut up, goon! Trick me and lose your precious tongue!"
"Quinn, release him now!" Wivior commanded. "We have more important things to focus on right now."
"What's more important than catching these monsters that freely roam in cities?" asked Quinn. "You know I took an oath to slay every last witch that has ever used the satanic power of witchcraft! And I am not leaving without catching at least one witch."
Elvira gulped in fear. The wizardess's eyes were glowing with the savage fire of hatred and vengeance.
It is madness, Quinn!" Wivior exclaimed. "First, you'll get us kicked out of the tavern, and soon more shall come to fight us."
"I know," began Quinn. "I sent Ezra out to search for this man's accomplices. If we get surrounded, I think we'll survive. How many do you think you can fight by using only your hands and not our special talent?" Quinn briefly looked at Wivior. "I guess one or two. Ezra and I can take care of the rest."
"We won't get anything by creating a scene here, Quinn. Beating many humans and capturing one witch won't make a difference. Tell me when you have a good plan to raid a village of witches and warlocks that practice the most horrid curses," said Wivior.
"You don't know me. Let's catch one right now, and then we can work on raiding an entire village in the afternoon. Also, the witch I saw today was no ordinary one. A pretty beast with talent in magic," Quinn replied with enthusiasm.
"What did she look like?" Elvira absentmindedly asked but instantly regretted it once Quinn's angry, dark-eyed feline gaze was on her. Her porcelain yet dirty face was full of scars. The scars were so unique that she wondered what had caused them.
Elvira looked away, not knowing what to say next.
"What do you think you're doing here?" An obese old man came towards them, holding a butcher's knife. "I don't need any trouble here, so if you wish to beat this man, do it outside. Move now!"
All of them walked out of the tavern. Out in the street, that poor man in Quinn's deadly hold was still struggling to get out of it. Luckily, he was not someone Elvira knew. If Quinn was so cruel to a human man, who knows what she would do to an actual witch?
"Now you tell me, where did that witch go? Take me to her abode!" said Quinn, holding a knife to his neck.
Elvira was sure that they would be hunting witches before leaving for anywhere when suddenly, she saw that man running far away from them on the street.
"Oh no, there he goes. Problem solved! Now let's go," Wivior acted innocent.
"You used magic to free him!" Quinn yelled. "You have no right! Is this a joke to you, or are you on the witches' side now?"
"Quinn, you're a wizardess. You can use magic to bring him back," Wivior reminded her. Quinn pointed her finger towards the fleeing man, but Wivior pushed it down. "Don't, please! You know we have company and another mission to accomplish right now. I don't think it's a joke, Quinn, and I fully support your hunger to capture all the witches, but we can do that later."
"You promise?" asked Quinn, skeptically.
"Yes," he answered.
Quinn's gaze fell on Elvira again, but that time she looked friendly.
"So, this is the fair maiden that has stolen my stupid friend's heart?"
Elvira blushed upon hearing the words Wivior had used to describe her. Was he really in love with her? Her bubble burst when she looked at him and saw him placing a finger over his lips. His voice entered her mind. "I told Quinn we are lovers because if I had told her the truth, she wouldn't have agreed to help. And yes, I am using magic to send you this message, so don't be scared."
She felt somewhat disappointed to know that it was only a lie.
"Yes, I am the one. My name is Elvira Smith. You must be a wizardess and Wivior's friend?"
"I am all of that," said Quinn.
"And much more," added Wivior, looking at her friend with a hearty smile.
A man came running towards them. He had a medium height, upturned monolid eyes, radiant skin, and a well-defined jawline.
"Quinn, I am sorry to disappoint you, but the witch escaped," Ezra informed.
"Don't worry, Ezra," said Quinn, putting her arm around Wivior's shoulders and squeezing it. "Our friend here has promised to join us on this quest later."
"Is this the woman you love, Wivior?" asked Ezra upon noticing Elvira.
"Yes!" Wivior looked at Elvira intently.
"She is the world's second most beautiful woman," Ezra opined
"The first for me. But out of curiosity, who is the first for you?" said Wivior.
"I would rather not say right now," said Ezra, looking away.
"If you two loverboys had your fill swooning over beautiful women, for now. We need to move," Quinn grunted.
"Sure, we'll swoon later," said Wivior with a playful grin.
Quinn asked Elvira to get inside a small horse-drawn carriage parked on the street. Ezra sat in the driver's seat, and once the rest of them were inside, it started moving.
"I would like you to know that Quinn, my dear friend, was cursed not long ago. Her curse was difficult to treat, just like yours, but she is one tough wizardess and survived," spoke Wivior from the seat next to Elvira.
"When? And how?" Elvira took a gander at the wizardess, who was sitting in front of her. Her gaze was fixed on the window, and she seemed unaffected by the mention of her ordeal.
"Captured, tortured, and cursed," Quinn began with a deadpan expression.
"If you don't mind, can you tell me more?" Elvira inquired.
"I was taken captive in the last war by some warlocks," said Quinn. The war where Agror slew a wizard lord, Elvira supposed.
"They locked me in a cell with very little light and no view of anywhere. I was questioned and tortured by witches every single day. They wanted information and left no brutal method in their books to get it out of me. I had no clue what they were looking for, so it continued for some time. My will to live disappeared, and pain became a close friend of mine."
"One day, the witch who tortured me the most forced me to drink something. Later, I discovered she had cursed me. The curse was supposed to convert me into a mindless beast so that they could get at least some use of me. If I had turned into a beast, not even my loved ones would have been able to recognize me," Quinn added. Elvira looked at her unusual scars, and it made sense that they were imprints of some beast's skin pattern.
"As I rotted in that cell, turning into a hideous beast in front of my own eyes, I had no hope left. One fateful day, I was rescued by my kind. Unfortunately, my family and many of my friends had been executed before the day of the rescue." There was no pain in Quinn's eyes, only pure rage. She had become even more dangerous after overcoming the pain it had caused her.
"I am sorry for all you went through." Elvira tried to sympathize with her. "Do you remember the witches and warlocks who did that to you?"
"I remember not only their faces but also some names," said Quinn. "The witch who cursed me was Lilith Cain."
Elvira froze in place and tried hard not to let it show that she was affected by that name. She had no idea her mother partook in torturing wizards after the war and knew how to perform rare curses on wizards!"
"There was a witch imprisoned in the cell next to me. We could talk through a tiny hole with a bit of magic. She told me the punisher was Lilith Cain, a former friend. She was even kind to tell me the names of her loved ones."
"What, what other names?" asked Elvira. She crossed her fingers, hoping she didn't know about her name or her sister's.
Quinn looked at her questionably. "It's a huge world. I can tell you if I ever find something out," Elvira added.
"Eldritch Payne, her brother," Quinn began, confirming that the witch next to her knew them well. "Four daughters, Ursula Cain, Valaine Cain..."
"And?" she was dying inside now, and beads of sweat had formed on her forehead.
"I don't know the names of the remaining two, but I'll find out. The younger ones were well-hidden by their mother," said Quinn.
Elvira sighed. It was a cause of concern, but at least Leona and her identity were safe.
"When I got out of that prison cell, I took an oath to hunt down and kill Lilith Cain and every last of her kin. And I won't rest until I do!" Quinn exclaimed.