The smile on his face unnerved Hayley and Aurora. Slowly, Jacob raised one foot and carefully stepped past the threshold. He paused as if expecting something to happen. When nothing did, his deformed mouth widened into a laugh, revealing two rows of sharp teeth.
"Jacob, I think you should leave," Hayley said, trying to correct her mistake. She never intended to invite him in. Her face paled, and her eyes darted erratically. She took small steps back, fearing any sudden move might provoke him.
"It's too late, my dear." With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind sent Hayley flying to the foot of the stairs.
"Hayley!" Aurora rushed to her sister, helping her to her feet. Thankfully, Hayley was more scared than hurt.
Aurora glared at Jacob, clutching the kitchen knife she had taken earlier. She raised it defiantly, pointing it at him. "I don't care who you are or what you want. If you come near us again, I will kill you."
Jacob gazed at the sisters, amused. A powerful lineage of witches reduced to this? It was both embarrassing and exciting. With another wave of his hand, the knife flew, landing far away.
Hayley and Aurora, horrified, clung to each other. Their limbs shook, their eyes wide, fearing to miss any of his movements.
"What do you want?" Hayley asked, lips quivering. She hoped he would leave if they gave him what he wanted. Aurora was more pessimistic and surreptitiously checked for an escape route.
"Your life. I want you dead." He arched an eyebrow, making his motive clear.
"What? We never did anything to you!" Hayley was indignant.
"I have already told you. All witches should die. Not listening when someone talks to you is rude." He scolded.
"You made a mistake. We are not witches," Hayley denied, her voice still shaky.
"I made no mistakes. Of course, you are a witch, as were your mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother before you."
Startled, Rory glanced at her sister and frowned, thinking about something.
"This is nonsense. Please, Jacob. Leave, please." They stepped back as Jacob advanced, trying to keep him talking and hoping for a chance.
Jacob grew impatient. How could these two idiots be descendants of the most powerful witches on the continent? He had devised an elaborate plan to seduce Hayley and gain entry to the house. All his preparations were unnecessary—just asking for the bathroom had been enough. He felt both stupid and lucky.
With a wave of his hand, a piece of furniture flew against the wall next to them. They crouched to avoid the flying debris.
He was serious about wanting them dead. Fear got the better of Aurora. She ran toward the stairs, dragging Hayley, who had a death grip on her arm, to the upper floor.
Jacob chuckled derisively. If they had stayed put, they would have remained unharmed. The protective spell cast by their ancestors shielded them from fatal harm: any injury they received would reflect on their attacker. Even employing an assassin would result in both the killer and himself ending up dead.
"What an annoying spell," he grumbled, bored with the increased difficulty.
Thankfully, he knew the spell had a weakness. A medium called the eye bound the spell to the sisters. Destroying the eye would nullify the spell, allowing him to kill them and claim their powers. The eye was in the house, protected by another spell preventing any magical creature from entering without permission.
Even though the location of the eye was unknown, he knew how to find it. The more scared the sisters became, the more their instincts would lead them to the safest place—the location of the eye.
Jacob pursued them leisurely, occasionally sending objects flying in their direction to keep them scared. He wanted them to find the eye for him.
They ran through a corridor on the second floor, heading for the room furthest from the stairs.
"We need to call the cops!" Hayley shouted, closing the door behind them.
"My phone's not here. Do you have yours?" Rory patted her body, searching for her cell phone.
"I left it in the living room with my bag."
The door rattled; Jacob was there.
"What do we do?" Hayley asked, breathless.
"How should I know..."
"The attic!" Hayley suggested, her frantic eyes landing on the closet door.
The attic was dark and dusty. Shelves lined both sides of the room, filled with crystal balls, skulls, and bottled specimens. A book sat on a pedestal by a window. The sisters were shocked by what they saw.
"Was Jacob right? Are we witches?" Hayley wondered aloud, doubting her life for the first time.
"Stop talking nonsense. Look around; there might be something we can use to fight with."
They had no place left to go. With Jacob closing in, they had to fight. They found nothing in the room to use as weapons.
Steps on the stairs made their hair stand on end. Jacob had found the attic. They moved closer to the window, staring at the door in fear. Hayley glanced at the book on the pedestal, feeling drawn to it.
Jacob appeared in the doorway.
"Those old hags must be rolling in their graves seeing descendants like you." He sneered.
His eyes landed on the book, and he stopped in his tracks. He had found the eye of the spell. Destroying that book would allow him to kill the sisters and claim their powers. He felt elated.
The control he had over his appearance slipped away. Spikes grew from his hair, his nails lengthened and darkened, his skin turned reddish, his eyes yellowed, and fangs grew from his mouth.
If his smile had seemed weird before, now he looked downright otherworldly. The sisters shivered in fright, holding each other as Jacob transformed into a monster.
"So, it was here." He growled, pleasure evident in his voice.
He took a step. The book glowed. He stopped, observing. Ignoring the sisters, he focused on the book.
Jacob took another step, and the book opened by itself. His breathing accelerated. He raised his hand; a bright light gathered in his palm, ready to attack.
Hayley and Aurora, confused, watched as Jacob threw a light ball at them. They ducked in fear. When they felt no pain, they checked what happened.
One of the shelves exploded, and pieces scattered across the floor. In front of them, the book glowed even brighter, forming a protective shield.
Jacob, confident, kept throwing light balls at the shield. Hayley and Aurora exchanged frightened glances. Hayley still felt an irresistible pull toward the book. With no control over her limbs, she walked closer to it. Aurora, not wanting to be left behind, mirrored her actions.
Jacob, disdainful, never saw them as a threat. He focused on breaking the shield.
'That barrier is strong. Can I break it?' He dismissed the doubt as soon as it came.
He had planned for a long time and beaten all other demons to get this chance. He was the closest any demon had ever come to defeating the De Varenne witches. He had to persevere. Renewed determination fueled his attacks.
The sisters stood before the pedestal, watching helplessly as the book turned a page. A picture of a woman fighting a monster accompanied by a text appeared.
Instinctively, Hayley knew she should read it aloud. She hesitated, not understanding how a few sentences could save them.
Jacob roared, veins popping on his forehead. The shield dimmed slightly. The end was near.
Rory, the most courageous of the two, began reading the text aloud. She encouraged Hayley, who joined in, their voices growing stronger with hope.
"De Varenne for a day. De Varenne for always. We call on our ancestors to free us from persecution. We want power. Give us power. De Varenne to the fight!"
Flames appeared on Jacob. He laughed, dismissing their attempt.
"What are you doing?" He found it ridiculous that weak witches were attacking him.
As the flames grew, his confidence turned into panic. They were hard to extinguish. His energy was absorbed by them, fueling them even further. He wanted to flee, but he was unable to move.
The sisters chanted louder, their confidence growing.
"De Varenne for a day. De Varenne for always. We call on our ancestors to free us from persecution. We want power. Give us power. De Varenne to the fight!"
Flames engulfed Jacob; they grew taller as if they wanted to match the sister's enthusiasm. Jacob screamed in pain. The sisters chanted harder.
In a final shout of despair, Jacob turned to ashes. Even after their attacker was gone, Hayley and Aurora kept reading the spell, scared he might return.
Though only minutes had passed since Jacob entered the attic, the experience felt like a long dream, leaving lasting traces on the sisters.