Chapter 43: Chapter 43

I woke up in a room that I didn’t recognize. It’s a room with no windows, only a singular door right before the bed that I was sleeping in. I got out of bed immediately and started to look around. I was trying to convince myself not to panic as I headed back to the bed to recall what happened.

I looked down at my pajamas and I suddenly remembered how I saw a strange man in my room before everything went dark. I suddenly hugged myself when I shivered out of fear.

I was kidnapped. There’s no doubt about that, but the only question I have right now is why? What do these people want with me?

I pushed the questions back while I started to head to the door and grabbed the doorknob. I should just ponder my questions later. Right now, I should gather whatever information that I can find inside and outside of this room. There’s really nothing much here aside from a closet, a chair, and a single wooden bed. There was one thing that I did find in the closet, and it was a bathrobe. I wasn’t comfortable wearing my pajamas in unknown places, so I decided to wear the rhobe around me before trying the door.

No, surprise. It was locked.

Good thing that I know magic to unlock this room. I pictured the gears unlocking as I touched the knob. I heard it give a subtle click before trying to twist it again.

It’s unlocked.

I can’t help but smile to myself. There’s no doubt that Doctor Kusher would be proud if he heard how easily I handled this.

I got out of the room and into what seemed like a cabin styled living room. There are only one or two light bulbs lighting the space. I can tell this place was abandoned based on the worn-out furniture, but I can't say for sure just yet. My room's furniture doesn't appear to be particularly old. In fact, I felt like it was prepared neatly.

In any case, no one seems to be home. I should take this opportunity to leave. I was initially going to follow that plan until I got to the kitchen, only to see a door adjacent to where I was standing.

I don’t know what I was thinking. I know that I should have gone back to my room, but instead, I dove under the kitchen table to hide from them.

“As I thought. He noticed her disappearance sooner than we expected.” The door slammed shut, making me flinch. I quickly covered my mouth when I gasped in surprise.

“Maybe he is keeping tabs on her or something. In any case, I don’t think I want to be part of this plan after all. Who knows what he’ll do to us when he finds out. That guy is a freaking hybrid weirdo.” The man who speaks of this sounds genuinely scared. For some reason, I have a feeling that they were talking about Al. I mean, who else could they mean by hybrid?

“We just have to make sure to cover our tracks properly so we can set up a trap for him.” My eyes widened when I recognized the voice that had just spoken. It was the man who came into my room and took me! I closed my eyes and started to calm my breathing before they could hear me hyperventilating. “And before that, shouldn’t we do something about our little eavesdropper?”

The face of my captor last night suddenly appeared peaking under the table. I slammed into the table's top as a result of how nervous I was. I was just starting to get my bearings when someone grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me out from under the table. Soon, I found myself dangling over the ground while the scared man lifted me up. I struggled to breathe while the man just stared at me with a crazy grin.

“Hello. How did you get out of your room?” His question merely reminded me that I have magic.

I pictured an image in my head before blowing out fire right towards his face. The man immediately drops me while his other two henchmen tried to grab for me. I pushed them back with a blast of my magic that sent them flying far across the room.

My heart pounded rapidly in my chest as I started to hastily get on my feet before I finally reached the door. I didn’t evenmanage to grab the door knob when it suddenly burst open. I was ready to scream and fight whoever the intruder would be when I met with a familiar face.

“Julie, you’re here.” I suddenly relaxed. Tyrelle must have heard of my disappearance and was probably conducting a search party for me. I feel bad that I must have caused trouble for him again.

Julie looked surprised to see me before a surge of panic replaced the expression in his eyes. “Gabriella, what are you doing here?”

Her question got me confused. “Aren’t you here to rescue me?”

Julie did not ask my question and began to pull me to the side. “Let’s get you out of here. Quick!” She whispers and urgently grabs my wrist.

“Well, now, Julie. It seems like you caught our escaping guest!” Julie’s face started to pale with fear while I just stood there with a confused expression. I recognize the owner of that voice, and I am pretty sure that he is not someone that we should be afraid of.

I had not noticed it before, but I could see that we were in some sort of cabin in the middle of the woods. I got that when I looked behind Julie to see the woods behind her, as well as Doctor Kusher smiling as he headed towards us with a calm smile on his face.

I would have been happy to see him as well, when my brain starts to interpret his words.

“Guest?” I repeated his words and stared at Doctor Kusher. The light from inside the cabin starts to reflect his glasses and I see that his eyes were no longer the kind ones that I remember back when he was training me with my magic.

Doctor Kusher nods. “I hope the wolves weren’t too rough with you.”

My body starts to shake. I don’t want to believe it, but here I am witnessing him admitting that he is acquainted with these wolves, who I know for certain are not part of the Gridon pack.

Doctor Kusher is a traitor. I am not sure about Julie, but all I know is that I need to get away from them and this place. As far as I know, my life is still in danger.

The witch doctor was the one who trained me for weeks, so he was familiar with how and when I cast my magic. The small movements of my fingers alerted him, making him twitch his brow and frown.

“Grab her.” He orders. Hands suddenly grab my wrist tightly, making me scream in pain. “Hey, easy with her.” He scolds the man behind me. “If you’re rough with her, how else can we bait them?”

“If you can do something about this witch’s magic, I won’t have to be so rough. Do you have anything to stop her from casting spells, or do I have to break her bones?”

I gaped at them in horror and I could feel my blood turning cold in fear. I am not so good with pain that the idea of them breaking my bones was almost enough to make me past out.

The traitorous doctor shakes his head. “You wolves are so barbaric. We do not harm Opera’s bloodline. Don’t worry, I have the perfect thing to put her to sleep.” He starts to fetch something from his pocket. It was a small jar of something that contained what I recognized as sleeping powder. He stops just in front of and pours the powder over his palm. “Relax, lady Gabriella. If everything goes well, we witches will rule the lands once more and be rid of these despicable beasts. Rest well, our queen.” I could not ask him what he meant when he blew the powder at my face. Holding my breath is of no use because this sleeping powder was made by witches. Just a touch of it can immediately make you fall asleep.

And that’s exactly how I lost consciousness for the second time.