Chapter 45: Chapter 45

"Dear Calla and Ethan,

You have to go and find the woman named Hazel. She needs your help. You need to take her to Necromancer. There, at the house of Dead, you will find the next two letters. You already know Ethan, where to find the house of the Dead. I hope you will find them and help them. Good luck.

Dalton.

Hazel POV

“So will you tell me again where are we going?”, I look at Xander and wonder why I still hang out with him. Whenever we have hung out together, we have been in trouble. But again what’s life it not adventures

“Just follow me”, he says and takes my hand like I am a five-year-old kid

“You know I could follow you without you holding my hand”, I say in a casual tone and Xander leaves my hand.

“It’s out of habit. I have to do it with Sam, so he doesn’t get lost or doesn’t leave me for every pretty girl he sees”, I smile thinking about how close they must be.

We are at the bar and it is again packed with the locals. The last time I was here, there was a separate crowd.

“Are you going to tell me now what are we doing here?”, I ask for the hundredth time now I guess and Xander still doesn’t say a word.

He waves at a guy sitting on our regular table but he isn’t one of the regulars. Xander begins moving towards him and I follow him.

Something changes inside me when we are almost close to the table. I could smell something strange coming from the guy but I can’t put my finger on it. He smells familiar like I should have known him for ages and yet there is a part inside me who wants to jump and strangle him.

I haven’t read about demons who behave like this if I am possessed again.

I am not able to take my eyes off his charismatic look and piercing eyes. I feel a nudge on my arms and look beside me. Xander is having a confused look on his face.

“Don’t scare him”, he says and chuckles, while the guy sitting in front of us looks deadly serious.

I am still too focused on him when I see another person join us on our table. A blonde girl with pretty green eyes. I feel sorry for her since I can see Sam standing at the bar trying to get her attention.

Ah poor girl, doesn’t know what is going to happen to her.

“So, this is Ethan and this is Calla. I met them on witchywhich.com, and I guess they can help us with your problem”, Xander looks at me like everything would be crystal clear with his statement. He notices the look of confusion on my face and spells Demon on the table, while Ethan rolls his eyes at us.

“There are werewolves and vampires here too, they can listen to everything”, I hit his head immediately leaving him confused again.

“Then why did you ask him to meet us here”, I state the obvious and he just shrugs.

“This is kind of urgent for me, so if you both can finish your discussion we have a place to go”, Ethan is already getting up from the table leaving me totally perplexed.

He stops in his steps when he sees Sam approaching Calla, as though his seat was vacant.

As soon as Sam puts his hand on Calla, an animalistic growl leaves Ethan's lips, but before he could teach Sam a lesson, Calla turns back and twists Sam’s arm.

I am barely able to control my laugh since it is a first for me.

“I am sorry, I am sorry, I might have mistaken you for someone else”, Sam is almost at the verge of crying from where I can see and Calla is still twisting his arms when Xander interrupts her.

“He is a friend of mine, please leave him before he cries and embarrasses me with himself.”

Calla nods and leaves Sam’s hand not before she gives him a scary look.

“It’s still time to make new friends ”, I wink at Xander while getting up myself too and following Ethan out. Xander is up too and comes behind me.

“You”, Xander says with a pointy finger,” stay with me. I don’t want you to get in any more trouble”, it is quite an ironic statement to what we are about to do.

“Where are we going now?” I jog up to keep myself with Ethan and Calla who seem in a real hurry. I don’t know why but I feel safer by their side than Xander’s. I don’t know what is so familiar about him but I want to know soon.

“You will know soon”, he sounds like a man with limited words or maybe he is really serious about his job.

“He looks strange”, I whisper to Xander but I feel like Ethan heard it too.

In a blink of seconds, I see a sneak black Bugatti pulls up in front of us and sitting at the wheels is Ethan. He looks like he is the master of the car with his black leather jacket and black jeans. His scent is just as mysterious as the car standing in front of us.

I am the first to call a shotgun and sit beside Ethan.

I don’t know why but I feel like I am getting daggers from Calla or maybe I am thinking a lot.

I should be scared or a little frightened of what will happen in the next few minutes but I am not. I am again seated with a stranger who owns a beautiful car and if Troy happens to see me now, he would definitely offer me to demons himself.

As we make our way on the deserted road, I see the path leading through thick forest. I look back at Xander who is totally oblivious to the path and is busy on his phone.

I am frozen at my seat when we pass by a direction board

“House of Dead 5 Mies”, I look sideways at Ethan and his face doesn’t show any sign.

“Uh…Ethan..so House of Dead?”, I try to be as calm as I can.

“Yeah, Ethan told me that, the guy we are looking for is the one who commands Demons, he would be there”, Xander says casually but I am freaking out. Calla doesn’t seem scared too like she has done all this before.

“The one who commands Demons?”, my face is full of horror and I can’t believe I said yes to come with them.

“Don’t worry Hazel, Ethan knows this guy”, but I am in the place which is opposite of worry. I don’t have time to ask more questions as the car halts and we are in front of an old mansion.

Mansion again…are you kidding me?

I and Xander are the first to hop out followed by Ethan and Calla. I am trying to move as slowly as I can but Xander keeps pushing me ahead.

“I am really going to kill you”, I whisper but we all come to a stop when we hear someone chuckle.

The laugh itself is scary in the dark place where we have no idea where it came from.

I close the distance between me and the others and try to stand between them. I feel Xander’s arm around me while Ethan looks prepared for something. Calla gives me a knowing nod like she wants to say that it will be fine.

“Let’s see who we got here”, This time I almost scream when I see a pair of glowing green eyes in the dark moving towards us.

I am so angry myself, with Xander for doing this stupid thing which could get us killed or worse.

“We are here for some answers”, Xander says with a lot of confidence in his voice taking a step towards the monster who was standing in front of us.

His eyes glowing, his face looks like it was made with two faces sewed together and his fingernails are almost touching his legs.

They are dirty with a lot of mud in them.

Wow, I have got time to critique a demon standing in front of me.

“I am amazed at your stupidity gentleman”, he moves a little bit closer to me,” But I will answer because of this beautiful girl here” I feel something is wrong but I can’t still put my finger on it.

“What’s the catch?” This time it is Ethan, asking the smart question, unlike my dumb partner.

“I will answer all your questions if you give me this beautiful woman”, he lays his fingernail on my neck and I shiver.

“Not going to happen”, Xander is in front of me in an instant.

“It doesn’t have to get ugly”, Ethan says and I could feel like I see a flicker in his eyes.

Another burst of laughter but it isn’t contagious as we all stand on our spots hearing the sudden change in the surrounding.

“Oh…did I tell you...I will get her anyways” saying this he starts to chant something we are not able to understand. I could feel the land beneath me moving and try to hold on to anything strong near us.

“This is all your fault”, I yell at Xander, but I am stunned when I see Ethan. His eyes have gone red and his teeth are longer than normal ones. Calla, on the other hand, pulls out the sword that is secured at Ethan's back, holding it tightly, like she is ready to fight. They both look prepared for something.

“What is he?”, I say, pointing to Xander and seeing him as surprised as I am.

before he could answer, there is a noise, noise of something being dragged on the floor, or some part of someone. I am too scared to open my eyes when I feel a flesh touching me.

“Again, who is he?”, this time my gaze is at the guy with green eyes.

“Uh…I guess..his name was…”Xander is going to say when I hear Ethan’s voice “Necromancer”

“Yeah the one who rules demon”, I am shocked by how little does Xander knows

“No…he is the one who raises the dead”, all four of us turn around and see hundreds of dead bodies standing alive in front of us.

“Hazel..you take the left…Xander goes right…I and Calla will handle the rest of them." Ethan says with full confidence in us and I feel a surge of power inside me.

Xander takes out the bow and arrow and hands me a silver knife. I shake my head as something comes over me.

“I can take them”, I can’t believe the words coming out of my mouth but I know that I can.

Ethan charges first in the crowd. His body is emitting such a strong aura that both of us are taken aback. He is strong and knows what he is doing. He bites the neck of the dead people and tears them apart from one by one.

Calla, on the other hand, is slaying them, one after the other without stopping at all. I am encouraged too, seeing her taking the charge.

I follow behind him and jump on my target, I am not as strong as Ethan but to his ten, I am able to take five.

Xander is hitting them with arrows and then pulling their brains out so they can’t stand up anymore.

It doesn’t take us a lot of time to reach the end of the line. Once we turn back we see all of them lying on the ground, the first stage they started.

“You might have taken them down but soon more will come and they won’t stop coming” He is talking to me and Xander while there is a discussion going on between Ethan and Calla. I am not able to make out what they are talking about but Calla is the one who seems to be racking her brain.

He starts to vanish in front of our eyes and the mansion too seems to be collapsing.

“We don’t have a lot of time. We have to find it” Calla is now pulling her hair while Ethan seems to have something on his mind too.

“House of Dead…House of Dead”, it looks like Calla is trying to solve a piece of the puzzle, “This board…it’s is the only thing that hasn’t been destroyed ironically to its name…I bet something will be inside it” Calla rushes to the board fallen in front of the house and Ethan follows her.

Ethan picks up the board and with one swift movement, he breaks the board in two halves and there seems to lie two envelopes. She picked it up with a wide smile. They both nodded their heads, they hopped into the car and drove off.

Story credit goes to Niharika Katane. (Serena).