CHAPTER TWO

ONE WHO WALKS WITH THE DEVILS

A dream of crystals. She knows this, for she had the same one for countless nights. An adolescent girl covered in tears running through a village shroud in eternal silence where everyone is turned to crystal. Everyone but her. She lets out a voiceless scream amid the glimmering field of still life.

On the outskirts of a tiny town called Greengrou stands, upon a hill, a small wooden house. Inside the house, an elderly woman is grinding a variety of plants inside a mortar with a pestle; hunched in her posture and covered in old rags. In the other room, a youthful woman restlessly sleeps. A fair-skinned, beautiful woman with long white hair. She twists and turns in her bed as, with a single scream; she wakes up. Cold sweat sips against her shivering body.

“Again with the nightmares, Melione?” the elderly woman comments loudly, shaking her head in disapproval.

Taking some time to compose herself, Melione looks at her hands. She always looks at her hands after waking up from a dream. This is how she finds her way back to reality. Dreams distort her hands; covering them in a blur. For fear of losing herself in what is real and what is not, she found her answer. This is her way.

As she opens the door of her room, an elderly woman greets her with a small toothless grin on her face.

“Good morning, Melione. Or is it better to say good afternoon?” the elderly woman says judgementally. There is no compassion, only annoyance.

“Good morn... good afternoon, Ekateh,” Melione says.

“If you practiced as much as you sleep, you would have surpassed me long ago,” Ekateh says.

“I’ve had the dream again,” Melione says as her body uncontrollably shivers.

“What else is new?” Ekateh comments shrugging in indifference as she focuses on grinding plants with a mortar and pestle.

Melione walks outside the house; the fresh air does her good. Opening the door, a ray of light shines on her white dress. The light reflects from the pure white silk as a gust of wind blows, making her long hair and white dress dance with it. Such small wonders, yet such majestic beauty. For a moment, she loses herself, but only for a moment.

A hand grabs her by the shoulder, pulling her back into reality. The moment passes leaving nothing but a memory.

“Come now, girl. It is time for you to practice,” Ekateh says as she descends from the house gripping a wooden cane to support herself, and a bottle filled with a red liquid. Blood red liquid.

They stand amid an open field on a lush field of green. Greenery as far as the eye can see extending to eternity. Nearby them is a small forest. Two songbirds rest upon a branch as they serenade to each other. The wooden abodes of the faraway village stand gently within the perfection of nature with golden fields of wheat beside. And behind the forest, a passing wind gently caresses an azure lake as its water move ever so slightly with its every touch.

Ekateh opens the bottle as she slowly draws a small circle with it using her cane for precise strokes. She takes some time adding strange symbols within the circle, here and there. The circle is complete.

“Come now. Get inside,” Ekateh says impatiently tapping her cane.

Melione wavers for a moment. But only for a moment. She gets inside the circle.

“Good. This should make it harder for you. Now is the time to see if you are ready,” Ekateh says.

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The old woman whistles; the soft sound turns loud and back. Shifting from loud to soft and soft to loud as if broken. She stops whistling. The sound still echoes. Then, it abruptly stops.

Three rabbits appear from the nearby forest. A grey one, a white one, and a brown one with its ears down.

“Choose one,” Ekateh commands.

Melione hesitates at the sight of the adorable rabbits with their fluffy fur and long ears.

The voices whisper.

“Take the brown one. The one with its ears down,” a voice says in her head. This voice is called One. It is her faithful companion.

“Yes! Take the brown one. It looks sad,” another voice in her head says. This voice is called Two. It is also her faithful companion. This is her way.

“Yes! Put it out of its misery,” One commands.

“Yes, yes, yes! You will do it a favor,” Two adds.

The voices help Melione in her time of need. They help her decide for the worst or the worst.

Melione picks up the brown bunny.

“Good. Now do it,” Ekateh commands.

Melione gently strokes the brown bunny as it looks at her with eyes full of life. She places her hand on the bunny. The bunny's body begins to convulse. Violent shakes take over leaving the animal helpless. The shakes abruptly stop… with them the bunny's life fades away. The sad bunny is sad no longer. Laughter bursts inside her head as One and Two laugh in harmony.

“Excellent!” Ekateh says as she takes out a dagger from her robes and stabs the remaining two rabbits, killing them instantly, “Dinner,” she adds as she puts the rabbits in a small pouch.

“Now for the second part,” Ekateh says as approaches Melione.

Melione takes a deep breath.

“Do you want me to ruin that dress? It wasn’t cheap, you know?” Ekateh says.

Melione undresses as she stands naked. Showing pure white beautiful fair skin. Beautiful, if not for the scars on her body. Apart from her face, her torso, her legs, and arms have an abundance of scars; most notably those on her arms as the veins on her hands are cut from top to bottom across their entirety. Painting a picture of suffering.

“Ready?” Ekateh asks. Before Melione can answer the dagger comes lunging at her- stabbing her in the heart. She falls to the ground with a faint smile on her face.

Impatiently, Ekateh taps her cane. She waits. Suddenly Melione opens her eyes, taking a deep breath.

“Finally! Finally, your training is over. After so many years and attempts I have succeeded,” Ekateh says as she laughs, revealing the toothless grin.

“I can go?” Melione asks.

“You have achieved the power to bring death to life and the power to bring life to death. Yes, you can finally take your revenge,” Ekateh says.

“Where can I find him?” Melione asks.

“Take this,” Ekateh gives Melione an amulet that has a shape of a white rose.

“Find a person who has an amulet like this. They will help you,” Ekateh says.

“How do I find this person?” Melione asks as she takes the amulet.

“Head north and follow your nose. ” Ekateh says as she taps her long crooked nose, turns around, and heads home, “Before you go. Might as well have some food,” she adds as she pulls out one of the dead bloodied rabbits from her pouch and creepily laughs out loud.