Chapter 888: Ziva’s Twisted Fate
"What the hell...?" Violet muttered, turning slowly as she took in her surroundings.
One moment she had been standing beside Micah in the dream realm and the next, something had yanked her away so violently she barely had time to process it.
The air here felt wrong, like something rotten sat beneath it. Directly ahead stood an old woman with clouded, unseeing eyes muttering strange chants beneath her breath. The witch’s hands remained stretched outward while droplets of blood floated around her unnaturally.
She was not alone. Five other witches stood nearby. Wait a minute— Violet’s attention snapped toward another familiar figure.
Ziva.
That one name rang through Violet’s mind with immediate hatred. The two of them had never properly met face to face before, but Violet had seen enough pictures and videos to recognize the bitch instantly. Even her soul would recognize Ziva at this point. The girl reeked of wickedness.
Ziva was nearby watching everything unfold with the kind of excitement that instantly put Violet on edge.
Just like that, Violet realized her mission had been intercepted and she was dragged here on purpose. And with Ziva involved? There was absolutely no way whatever this was ended well for her.
A vicious growl suddenly pulled Violet’s attention elsewhere. Her eyes landed on the chained girl nearby. Or more specifically, what used to be a girl.
Bree.
Micah had told her enough stories already for Violet to recognize her immediately. The poor thing looked more animal than human now.
Matted dark hair hung wildly around her face while restraints dug harshly into her wrists. Her teeth looked too long, and she looked ready to tear someone apart. For a second, Violet felt pity for the girl.
Something was made clear to Violet. None of the witches seemed aware she was standing there. If anyone noticed her, it was the blind witch whose chanting deepened suddenly. Her words were faster, almost possessing a hungrier intensity.
Violet frowned, trying to understand what was at play here. Then pain tugged sharply through her chest and her gaze lowered to see a bloody thread stretching outward from the center of her chest.
Violet stared with horror at the thread that looked more like a vein made of blood and magic twisted together, the other end connecting directly to Bree.
Her stomach dropped. That definitely did not look good.
"I can feel her. She’s here." Mother Edith announced, barely containing the excitement rising within her at the success of the spell.
"Chant with me, sisters," Edith demanded, raising her hand higher into the air. "Lend me your strength."
Immediately, the other witches joined in.
"Spiritus ligamus. Voluntas frangimus. Sanguine vocamus. Obedi nobis." We bind the spirit. We break the will. Through blood, we call you. Obey us.
The hunting grounds echoed with the overlapping chants, their voices weaving together into something dark enough to make Violet’s skin crawl.
The bloody thread between her and Bree pulsed harder. Just like that, Violet felt something pulling at her spirit, trying to subdue her.
Call it instinct but Violet knew she couldn’t allow whatever plan they had to work. She had to get out of here. So she immediately began to resist, forcing herself away from the connection and trying to leave, but it was Bree who screamed as if she were the one being torn apart instead.
The sound made Violet freeze.
That was when it dawned on her. They had bound her to Bree and the more she fought against the spell, the more pain the girl would suffer in her place.
Violet didn’t know much about this sister of hers, but one thing was painfully clear : Bree didn’t deserve any of this. It was Angus’s fault she turned out this way. Unfortunately, instead of rehabilitating her, they had chained her up and turned her into an animal instead.
That was when Violet made up her mind. Fine then. If they didn’t want her to leave, then they’d better be ready to entertain her. Her gaze settled on the blind witch. She had to be the one maintaining the spell.
Violet called upon her powers and it rose eagerly inside her, rushing to obey her command, a dangerous smile tugging at her lips. Guess the witches didn’t know Fae magic would always surpass witch magic.
Mother Edith must have sensed the shift in power because her chanting suddenly faltered. "Chant louder—!" she cried out, but that was as far as she got before fire suddenly exploded across her body.
A shriek tore from her throat instead of words.
Unfortunately for the other mothers, they were all connected to Edith through the ritual. The moment she caught fire, the remaining five witches ignited alongside her. Flames spread hungrily over their bodies while their collective screams ripped through the hunting grounds like something straight out of a nightmare.
Ziva staggered back at once, shock flashing across her face. What the hell was going on here?
"Edith!" she screamed, instantly throwing out spell after spell to extinguish the flames, but nothing worked. The fire refused to die no matter what she did.
And that was when true fear finally began creeping into her.
Violet felt absolutely no pity watching the witches burn alive. If anything, she made sure the flames spread slowly because as long as Mother Edith remained alive, the spell anchoring her here would continue holding her in place.
Instead, Violet’s attention remained fixed on Ziva, satisfaction blooming inside her at the fear slowly swallowing the girl whole. Violet had promised her sister a slow death.
And she intended to deliver.
Ziva suddenly shouted, "Violet!"
Her head snapped wildly from side to side as she searched the hunting grounds like a madwoman trying to pinpoint where the attack was coming from.
"I know this is your doing!" she screamed. "Come out and face me like a woman instead of hiding like a coward!"
Violet’s lips twitched with amusement.
Was Ziva seriously calling her a coward right now?
Still, Violet immediately recognized the move for what it truly was. Ziva was trying to bait her into revealing herself. Unfortunately for her sister, that was impossible.
Violet clicked her tongue softly beneath her breath.
"I would face you if I could, sister, sadly, this is me in spirit form." Her gaze darkened with wicked delight. "But don’t worry. I’ll still give you a sign."
The smile stretching across Violet’s face was downright fiendish.
Meanwhile, Ziva looked more and more like a cornered rabbit with every passing second. She had no idea where Violet’s next attack would come from or how to defend herself against it.
Around her, the witches’ screams continued tearing through the night while flames devoured their bodies relentlessly. Some collapsed onto the dirt and rolled violently across the ground trying to extinguish themselves, but it accomplished nothing.
What they didn’t realize was that Violet had woven her darkness directly into the flames themselves. Hence it was no ordinary fire and nothing here would put it out.
"The anchor." The realization slipped from Ziva’s mouth abruptly. Her gaze landed on Bree as understanding crossed her face.
Bree was the reason Violet had managed to gain a foothold inside the hunting ground. She was the tether binding Violet to this place. Destroy Bree, and Violet would be severed from it instantly.
Violet saw the exact moment Ziva made the decision. The killing intent entered her eyes first before magic began gathering rapidly inside her palm. She was going to kill Bree.
Except Violet had her own plans. A thin strand of darkness shot forward like a whip and sliced cleanly through the restraints holding Bree captive.
The chains crashed heavily onto the ground with a clang, the sound alone making Ziva freeze.
"Uh-oh."
That was all she managed to say before Bree slowly lifted her head and locked onto her.
There was nothing but animalistic hunger radiating from Bree’s expression, almost as though she had waited her entire life for this exact moment.
Right at that moment, Ziva watched her life flash before her eyes. She could only stare as Bree lunged at her.
The wendigo launched herself through the air with horrifying speed, her body twisting unnaturally as she launched herself toward Ziva like a creature dragged straight out of hell.
It was at the very last second that Ziva finally released the spell, and while it struck Bree directly, it did not stop her.
The wendigo slammed into Ziva hard enough to send both of them crashing to the ground. Her hunger for Ziva’s flesh far outweighed the pain tearing through her own body.
She sank her teeth into Ziva’s throat and she screamed in horror.
"Get off me!" Ziva shrieked, throwing spell after spell into Bree’s body, but the girl refused to let go.
Even animals carried emotions and Bree had years of abuse fueling her hatred.
"Help me!" Ziva’s voice finally lost its usual arrogance and superiority, desperation clawing through every word now. "Get her off me!"
She couldn’t die like this. It was humiliating.
However, Bree was not even feeding. This was mutilation and pure vengeance. She ripped flesh from different parts of Ziva’s body with brutal force, determined to make her suffer before death finally came. Blood soaked the ground rapidly.
Violet watched the entire thing with immense satisfaction.
There was no way Ziva survived this. There was already too much blood pouring from her body. At this point, it was a miracle Bree could still find untouched flesh to sink her teeth into.
Neither would Bree survive either.
Several of Ziva’s spells had struck vital areas during the attack. Perhaps Bree understood that too because she used every remaining ounce of strength she possessed to continue severing her sister.
Honestly, that was for the best. At least this way, Bree would finally be free of this wretched place and find peace.
In the end, fate truly had a twisted sense of humor. Ziva had once betrayed and caused her sister Rose to be torn apart in almost the exact same manner. Now she was dying exactly like her.
Unfortunately, Violet never got to witness the end of it because the next second, she was dragged her back to reality.
