"OK, enough meditation. I think this much connection with him would be enough, to him not subconsciously harm you while entering the realm. Are you ready? "
Asked the old woman, now sitting in the lone chair kept in the room of the sleeping Adele. She gave a look to the both young women who were now seated on the floor, cross legged on either side of the lowrise bed of Adele.
They opened their eyes and gave a silent nod to the old woman, who slowly fetched a dagger made up of animal bone from the depths of her robe, a tool especially used for high end black magic rituals. Seeing the ritualistic dagger, Sarra quietly whispered a question.
"Aunt, which magic circle are you going to draw? Isometric or… "
"Hehe.." Maya chuckled lightly, interrupting her, but didn't tear her gaze away from the dagger as she slowly positioned it over her chest.
"Did you not read the warning clearly, dear junior sister? Ritual…why should I need to go so roundabout ways to draw spirituality?"
With such casual teasing, the old witch in front of the widened eyes of the Sarra, and not much attentive Envy, plunged the dagger deep into her chest through her robe. Sarra felt a slight shock, but what happened next nearly made her recall the identity of the terror sitting before her.
"Ugh…" The old witch groaned lightly as she closed her eyes, and within half a second, her lips as well as her eyes turned black. She slowly began to mumble some spell under her breath.
Though it seemed like her words were said in a very low voice, both girls could feel the unclear words ringing right beside them, like someone was mumbling gibberish right into their ears. It especially spooked the hell out of Envy who was not this much familiar with the witches.
The wound pierced by the bony dagger seeped, shockingly, blood which was black in color like a dense tar fluid. It drenched through the robes of the old Witch which appeared to be wasted due to improper absorption by dagger. At that moment, the mumbling of the old woman became suddenly intense and the freely flowing black liquid blood froze as a result.
In front of astonished Envy and Sarra, the black blood began to climb back slowly going against laws of gravity and soon picked up speed as it creepily gathered back into her open wound at the chest. The bony dagger trembled as the black blood collected around it, trying to gain entry back into her body.
The old woman sensing it, opened her eyes that were pitch black without a shred of white in them. Suddenly both the girls felt the temperature of the room dropping quickly. The atmosphere of the room quickly changed into something very strange and creepy.
"I am ready. Sarra, come here and take this dagger with you. Envy draw some blood from Adele which will help you locate him."
Sarra stood up and came close to the old woman with slow steps, who now looked as something inhumane, nothing like the kind woman she appeared to be just moments before. Her hesitancy was not hidden from the all seeing eyes of the Maya, but she pretended not to see it.
On the other hand, from the very moment this change had occurred in the Maya, Envy trembled slightly as she dared not match her eyes, therefore quickly springing into action to reach for the hand of the unconscious Adele.
Suddenly Envy stopped as she remembered something, and then slowly grabbed a nearby empty tea cup which she shattered to take a broken sharp piece from its wreckage, which she used to carve blood from the arm of the boy slowly and very carefully.
Process went as smoothly as one would expect from stabbing a corpse with no resistance from its side, blood trickling down freely from the freshly made wound. Upon then she started to look back for next instructions, but before she could even turn her head, she felt a voice ringing right next to her ear which made her shiver slightly,
"Good. Now keep that cup shard drenched with his blood close to yourself. And wait for me."
At this time, Sarra reached within arm's length of the Maya, who suddenly without any sign pounced upon the Sarra who was already spooked and could not react at time, but fortunately the old witch only grabbed at her arm and used it as leverage to pull Sarra closer to herself.
Sarra screamed, and tried to wrestle herself free instinctively from her hold but the old witch's grip was unshakeable. Only when she really began to resist more forcefully, did Maya rebuked her in a cold voice.
"Stay still. I am not eating you up."
Sarra then noticed the fingers of the Maya turning black and soon nails on them grew out in unnaturally sharp angles. Just as she saw those hideous but familiar nails Sarra quieted down suddenly, becoming meek as a kitten in a second. Her head ringing in question,
'No-No way… It could be true! But it is the same as in the books. '
Maya, finally finding the arm in her hold stabilizing, began to carve a mysterious script on her bare flesh with her claw-like nails. Soon blood was drawn up by the symbols which she had scratched, and soon they began to glow red in all the familiar manner of witch's way of utilizing black magic.
After drawing no less than thirty odd symbols, Maya finally stopped and released the now more than ever afraid Sarra who numbly stepped back all the while unable to tear her eyes away from those odd nails of Maya, who finally noticed the subject of her gaze.
Maya chuckled lightly, as she made her hands go back to normal as she teased once again.
"Hmm.. Quite Obedient now, I wonder why? Hehe, You might not be that unaware if you can recognize these, dear junior sister!"
Sarra gulped dryly as she looked up to those pupiless black eye of the Maya and whispered,
"Hexecess's claws!"
"Good. I personally declawed this one to graft them onto myself. Pretty aren't they….. Hehe, just joking! They look horrible but can't complain since they save me quite a hassle."
Sarra felt her mind go blank, as her words shook her very understanding of nature. She thought that she was quite realist in not believing in the harmless front put forward by the Old Witch and had kept herself aware of her dangerous nature owing to the warnings of her Coven's books.
But now….Sarra suddenly realized that she had still managed to not grasp the real strength of this witch. Hexcess… Hexcess are the original children of the black magic, creatures born into the way, who were monsters on top of the food chain of their line of magic.
In simple words, they were like dragons of the fantasy world. A creature which could curse a witch just by staring at her longer than a second, and in resistance the targeted witch could do nothing. The human witches are just rabbits in front of tigers like Hexcess, but fortunately they were not native to this world.
Some top level witches sometimes try to trace a Hexcess in other dimensions in order to gather some insight into the truth of Black magic, or some new ritual just by going through the traces left by them.
Even they do not dare to reach within hundred kilometers close to a alive Hexcess, perfectly satisfied in searching for the secret of black magic in the destruction left behind the wake of the Hexcess.
And this old witch… had declawed such Hexcess herself to get her claws. And here she…was foolishly even thinking of resisting her. Sarra really felt reality crashing around her at this moment. All semblance of spirit broke in her face as she woodenly stepped back, while Maya took time to remove the dagger now dyed black permanently by her blood.
Maya pulled out the dagger in one clean action, this time not even blinking an eyelid at the pain while the wound left behind knitted back in a matter of seconds, like her skin and blood had life of itself. She then turned the dagger around and presented it to the Sarra,
"Here take this. It will prove handy in keeping yourself safe there, at least from the harrowing will of the Dream Realm and lesser dream creatures.
Also remember that it is double edged…. In A way that if any entity at the same level as me felt the brush of its smell, it would draw it towards you and then.. I think I need not expand on the consequences for such an event.
But don't worry, such entities are usually not actively moving around. They would be holed up in their own corners, nibbling at the will of the Dream realm to increase their own power."
Sarra, who had still not came to terms with reality, meekly took the dagger from her. She even forgot to ask what script on her arm was for but Maya fortunately had no intention of duping her.
"The script I have written on your arm, it connects my will to you. I will be able to see what you see, hear what you hear, and talk with you like I am with you every moment.
With the compatibility of the same techniques between us, I can connect with you to achieve this but it is limited to that only. I won't be able to lend any strength to you or help you other than talking with you any time. I think I have explained enough as any wastage of time further decays the body and soul of Adele…. Now move."
Envy stepped forward as she removed her coat to reveal the tight fit suit that hugged her body from top to the bottom like second skin. She had a separate piece of loose pants on the bottom, which was harboring many pockets for her, to carry her various tools with her.
Next Envy pulled her hair into a swift ponytail, and pulled up a cloth mask up on her face till only her eyes were visible outside. Only after completely transforming into her old assassin's look, she nodded at the old Witch.
Sarra stood there dumbstruck at her transformation, as she hadn't expected her to be that dramatic but right at the moment, Maya stood up from the chair and walked up to Adele. She placed her hand on his forehead, and whispered slightly.
"Now my boy, open the way to the Dream realm. We are coming to fetch you. "
With a sudden shake, the room in which they were, suddenly got drenched in black smoke which appeared from out of nowhere. It spooked both of the girls as they found themselves amidst the ubiquitous black smog almost instantly with no time to even react.
It was like this black(shadow) energy was always there, only now with Maya's urge using Adele's body as medium it suddenly became visible. Maya knew this but she had no time to explain this to two girls, as she could keep it up shortly….very shortly.
"Quick jump into the gate. Now JUMP!" she barked while sweat was beginning to form on her face as her body was becoming hot quickly.
Even before the gate fully materialized in the room, as she directed to the girls, they reacted instantly and jumped inside the gate at the earliest moment they could manage.
Just as they disappeared into the darkness, suddenly the gate closed behind them, cutting all connection with the real world along with it. But not before they heard the ear-piercing scream of the old woman from behind that shook them to the very core but it also got abruptly cut off along with the gate.
"Did you hear that? Was she…. "
Sarra gulped nervously, but Envy who had just fallen into the another world all together took the new world they were in broadly as she replied,
"Don't fret, the old witch is not going to die that easily."