A thick fog, created by Inmar's devilish mind, seized the village of humans while here and there, at the entrance of the huts, the dogs started to bark, feeling the unpleasant stink of the foxes that were approaching the village. But, being chained, they couldn't approach them, no matter how hard didn't they try to break those chains and attack the enemy.

  In the sky, no star was seen and this made the spell be felt even stronger as if an invisible hand was pressing the world's chest, not allowing it to freely breathe, and this was also making the heart slowly beat. But this was only an illusion, for if the people's hearts had stopped beating, they would have been sent to the other world, and the story would have ended and the spell would have been broken.

  That's why the angst lasted only while the foxes crossed the village. And, when they were a few meters away from someone's house, that person could normally breathe again, recover his power, and turn back to the world of the alive ones.

***

  „It hurts,” whispered Morena, touching her chest while squatting on the clay floor, practically pushed to the ground by a force she had never felt before.

  But it was another illusion, created by the flames that increased in the pyre from the center of the room. And, very soon, the place of the illusion had been taken by the truth, that had been hidden for so long in the woman's mind.

  „I felt it before... this angst, and... I also think I've seen the same image of the flames, once," the young woman whispered again while staring at the flames that were spitting sparkles of fire in the air, and that glance, focused on the dancing flames, made the wheels of Morena's brain move back, and, very soon, the memories took over her again...

***

„Sleep, my baby, your sweet sleep,

Mommy’s singing nursery rhymes

Caressing your balmy skin,

Kissing your forehead and your cheek.

You’re my life now and forever,

My sweet baby, so much wanted.

Sleep, my baby, I am with you,

Watching your face and singing too,

About..."

  But suddenly, Morena stopped singing, and sweetly yawned, feeling a sweet catnap taking over her. Even so, her lips were still moving while whispering unheard words, as if she was whispering the words of the same spell that was closing her eyes, more and more, feeling the numbness of the world, tightly holding her into its strong arms.

  Then, when Morena's eyes were practically closed, the home fire has been also extinguished by the same spell, a current of air entered through the open door and approached Morena and the baby that was sleeping in her arms. Then, two hands made from air took Morena's child from her arms, and a whisper has been heard in the baby girl's ear:

O.S:

  „You've been born to be my eyes and my ears on earth, and, whispering my spell over you, I fulfill my promise to be born from humans and be hidden by their eyes till the war for supremacy won't be started. And, only then, they'll call us „Master," will bow their heads in front of us, and nobody and nothing will be able to defeat our army."

  Whispering those words, Mannar showed up, in his physical shape, and he put his hand into his pocket, from which he took out a strand of black hair, the same strand he took from Samandra, which he later put next to the girl's blond hair.

  Suddenly, the strand vanished, and… instead of the blond girl with green eyes, a red hairy girl appeared. Her eyes were of reddish black like the foxes have, and, instead of her innocent smile, a cunning one had been seen by the world.

MANNAR:

  „We must split up for the moment, my girl. But soon, you'll be my salvation and as long as our brains are connected to each other, the entire world will shudder in fear only whispering our name."

  Then, a gust of reddish wind came out from Mannar's mouth and entered the girl's nostrils, and she fell asleep right away. Then, Mannar left the girl in her crib and vanished, as faster as he appeared in that room.

  After Mannar vanished, the flames had been ignited again and a painful sigh came out from Morena's chest while she was squeezing the cloth of the dress, over her heart, staring at the flames and murmuring:

  „Someone has been here," but looking around, she saw nobody, and this scared her even more, for her sixth sense had never betrayed her before and, even if Morena hadn't magic power flowing through her veins, she has always felt when something evil was next to her. Now instead, everything was different: she fell asleep and left her girl to her fate.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Suddenly, feeling that she completely lacked power, Morena fell to the ground, not being able to move. Only when she recovered her strength, a little bit, did she crawl toward the door where she had the jar with fresh water from which she has thirstily drank.

  Soon after, she calmed down and, feeling that the power was returning to her, she stood up and approached the crib. But seeing that nothing changed, she considered that strange feeling in her chest like being a nightmare only and started to sing her lullaby again.

***

  But that nightmare was only the beginning, for, years later, Morena saw what evil can really do when it decides to reach some important goals for him.

  It happened one evening when all the villagers gathered in a dried place next to their village where a big stain of blood was seen on the ground. It was already dark. But even so, the villagers gathered in that place, old and young, staring at that freakish stain left there by someone unknown. And, at the same time, they were extremely furious, for the winter was coming, but they were lacking food while all the chickens they'd grown up during the summer were lying on that ground at that moment - only their heads, feathers, and some bones actually.

  „This is the work of the devil,” the older of the villagers shouted. „This is a crime,” he shouted again. „What should we feed on during the winter? How do we survive without food? We've been left to our fate and the one who brought us to the edge of this abyss must be punished for his crime."

   „We agree, but… how to find the one who did this?” One of the villagers asked. „We can only see what was left after his banquet. Nothing more. So, we don't know who left us without food during the winter."

  „He's right,” another villager supported him. „We can only admit that we've been brought to our knees in front of havoc, but we don't know how to..."

  „She…,” a woman shouted. „She's the chickens'murderer," and everybody looked toward the place shown by the woman and they saw Mayar, curling her lip at them while her face, hands, and clothes were stained with blood.

  The four years old girl looked at them as if she was the devil itself at that moment and, screaming with all her heart, Morena fell to the ground, crying, for who they were seeing wasn't her child, and that red hair and red eyes girl wasn't the child she gave birth to.

  „This isn't my child,” shouted Morena, imploringly. „Somebody cursed my child. Someone took my baby and replaced her with this monster. Please, help me! Please, someone to save my child," but her words weren't heard by the furious villagers, for they all see, in that red-haired girl, their perdition.

  But, to their surprise, when they got armed, everybody how they could: with shovels, forks, or axes, saw how Mayar suddenly transformed into a red fox, showing her fangs to them.

   „You're all fighting against who you shouldn't do that, you, stupid villagers,” the girl told them.

  But those were Mannar's words, who was at the edge of the forest, watching that show, with a devilish smile on his lips.

  „Who'll ever dare to touch me, with your greasy hands and your useless weapons, will fall prey to my fangs, and then, I'll taste your blood and I swear that I'll show no mercy for none of you."

  Saying this, the fox turned her back on the villagers, leaving them shaking like an aspen leaf because of what they heard while she headed toward the forest. Then, when she got next to Mannar, she stopped and watched him for a few moments. After that, they both entered the woods.

  But the devil couldn't just stay still and leave, just as he couldn't allow those people normally breathe. That's why, before entering the woods, Mannar threw a ball of fire over that village, and, very soon, their thatched huts were burning like a huge pyre.

  And, the despair took over the villagers along with that big arson: the women were crying and cursing the girl while men were hitting and kicking Morena, accusing her of giving birth to such a monster.

  Morena instead wasn't able to protect herself, for she saw her soul and her heart entering that wood, and this was what has completely destroyed her inside.

***

  PRESENT TIME

  Still feeling the pain in her chest, after she once again drank water from the jar, Morena opened the door of her hut and watched outside. Thus, she could see the red foxes crossing their village.

  That's why she exited her hut in a hurry and rushed after the foxes. But none of them looked at her or tried to hurt her. Only one red fox stopped and looked for a short while at Morena.

  „Inmar,” murmured Morena, looking at the fox that seemed bigger in size than the other ones, and, while staring at her, with her red-like fire eyes, a small tornado surrounded them and the two women stood soon face to face in a twilling world.

  „You still know who I am, Morena,” Inmar said, grinning unsatisfied while staring into the woman's eyes.

  „How could I have forgotten you, Inmar?! How could I have forgotten your cunning and devilish glance you have, red fox, for you've been my blessing and my perdition in this world?!" Morena said and the hatred she kept for so long in her heart could be felt in her voice while saying those words.

  „Perdition? Blessing? I think you're wrong, Morena. Nobody forced you to do what you've done. So, you can't blame me for your bad luck."

   „If hadn't been you… and that he-fox, I would have been with my girl now and not lamenting her loss," said Morena, shivering and shaking while talking and looking around. But she could see only the flames of that twilling world surrounding them and nothing more, to be that arson later changed by a desert surrounded only by burning sand. „Where is she? Did you meet her? Did you see my girl?"

  „I won't answer this question, Morena. This is something beyond your comprehension. It's better to forget what you've lost and live your life. That child is gone and that child isn't yours anymore. Now is Mannar and Eris's child, and she's also your enemy," and Inmar suddenly vanished, just as that twilling world vanished, too.

   Morena instead kept staring at that cortege of red foxes that were heading toward the forest seen in the distance to later climb on the cold and snowy mount seen behind that forest.