CHAPTER FORTY-ONE“And I already said I was not going to speak again, Brad ! He can go ahead and do whatever he wants to do, I am not stopping him, am I?” Elara said almost immediately, and then she changed her gaze from her brother to Marco who was staring at him with an expression that showed that he didn’t believe her.“I am sorry, Marco. I am sorry for being so unreasonable. Please, carry on, tell us what we need to know. I am already tired of standing at a place and doing nothing.” Elara forced a smile on her face while she spoke to Marco who took in a deep breath which he let out slowly before he turned to look at Alex who was the only person he believed he could trust at that moment.“Please, carry on, Marco.” Alex pleaded with a low tone, but just as the Centaur was about to get down to take a closer look at the footprints, Kayla’s voice made him suspend his actions.“I think you all need to see this! This way!” Kayla gestured to them to come toward the part of the woods where

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE“Good! I knew I could count on you!” Kayla said excitedly, and then she chuckled loudly, drawing the attention of Alex who turned instantly to look at her due to the strangeness of her tone.“Are you okay?” He asked Kayla who paused instantly while she stared at him for a while with a neutral expression on her face.“Kayla?”“Yes! Yes, I am here! I am okay! I am fine!” Kayla drifted back to reality, and then she nodded instantly to affirm her words, but Alex was still skeptical about the response she gave to him even though her smile stood as a backup for her claims.Alex observed her for a while out of concern, and when he saw something strange about her, he couldn’t stop pointing from pointing it out.“Your dagger? Where is it?” Alex asked with a low tone, looking all over Kayla for the dagger she seemed to be very fond of.“Mmmh?” Kayla mumbled almost immediately, looking all over herself as though she was completely clueless about what he was talking about whil

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE“Elara? I don’t think it matters at all. All we need to do is to move in and be sure we cannot be taken unawares.” Brad said to his sister who scoffed almost immediately, but she had no intention of disagreeing with him.“Maybe you should go in through the front if that’s what you want,” Alex suggested, but Elara said nothing.“Don’t worry about that, Rex. We are going to do as you have said.” Brad said with a smile on his face, and then he looked at his sister with a frown which appeared a few seconds later in an attempt to show her how displeased he was about her attitude.Elara sighed heavily, and then she folded her arms before turning to look at Alex who was waiting for her to respond with a smile on his face.“We will do what you said.”“Good! That settles it then.” Alex responded with a nod, and then he turned to look at Marco who had already started fidgeting even though they were yet to start moving toward the hut.“Let’s go, guys. Remember to be careful,

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN“What is this, Kayla? This isn’t funny at all. I think you should stop doing that.” Marco took several steps backward while Kayla continued to move forward toward him with her arms spread widely.“You dare invade my territory with your friends! Now, you are stuck with me!” Kayla said with a voice that sounded older than her voice while her face began to give way to the wrinkles that emerged slowly, causing Marco to gasp.“What is happening to your face? Kayla? Your face!” Marco took more steps backward while he tried to control his heavy heartbeat and his unstable breathing, but he got to the end of the wall behind him, causing him to freeze while he stared at Kayla who changed completely into an old woman while her outfit transformed as well into a black worn-out cloak with a hood that had been patched severally with pieces of clothings of different colors and textures.She had long dirty nails that could cut the neck of anything alive, and Marco needed no one to

CHAPTER FORTY-NINEAdriana sniggered at Alex who wondered if what he said was funny while he waited patiently for her to explain the reason for her amusement.“Aren't you so gullible, Human! You are easily deceived just like your kind! How gullible can you be? Little wonder you didn't know that it was I who led you to this place…”“What? That’s not true! It was…” Alex couldn’t finish his words when he looked at Kayla and saw her silver dagger lying on the ground close to her while she looked totally drained, and needed to regain her energy from whatever it was that the witch did to her.Alex gasped when he realized that Adriana had changed into the form of Kayla just to lure them into her hut. He was dumbfounded and looked at the old lady who chuckled almost immediately.“All it took was some of her blood, and I was able to possess her physical features, including her voice. I must say, she is a beautiful woman, and the fact that she adores you gives me a little concern…” Adriana gru