Path of Night

Come, come, the truth is out - Part I

It's time for Lupercalia. I never participated because I don't see a point in it. Since I will have an entire week for myself, while everyone is busy with this festival, I think I will go see what Miss Wardwell is hiding. I came to the living room and saw Sabrina and the aunties. They were explaining to her what Lupercalia is. I was on my way out but decided to yell a comment knowing aunt Zelda will be pissed.

"It's basically a sex holiday"

"Persephone!!!"

"Kidding. Sort of. Anyway, I am going out don't wait for me. It's not like you'll be home."

I said the last thing more to myself than to them, but I think they heard me. They were about to say something, but I got out of the house before they could.

Alright, now let's see what that teacher is hiding. Sabrina once told me where she lived so it shouldn't be that hard to find it. I considered maybe asking V, but he hasn't spoken to me ever since I woke up from that coma. He is annoying, but I got used to us talking. I don't have to lie to him, well, it's not like he wouldn't know. I really wish that he would give me some sign that he is alive, or whatever. I was in front of Wardwell's house, but she wasn't there. If she is not here, there is one more place where I can look, Baxter High. I was right. I saw her crow, which means, this will be a little harder than I originally planned. I decided to cast a simple invisibility spell. Familiars are smart, but even they cannot see past the invisibility, they can sense it, but not see it. I snuck close to her office.

She is talking to her familiar, Stolas, about Valentine's day. Wait! Stolas?! That name is awfully familiar. I need to research it later.

"... losing my wager with the Dark Lord..."

What! Wager? What does she mean? The Dark Lord never strikes a wager, it's always about his will. You do it, you live, you don't, you are tormented and tortured, because death is an easy way.

"... maintain this humiliating pretense that I am some unattractive, unhappy spinster schoolmarm..."

Maintain? So she is not the real Miss Wardwell! I knew something was off! I tried not to get too emotional because the spell would wear off if I lose my focus too much. And I've been doing it for some time now, which means my magic is going to start fading soon.

"... forbids us we harm a white hear on Sabrina's head..."

Why would the Dark Lord care about Sabrina that much, he doesn't care for anyone besides himself? Who am I to question him. His agenda will come clear, it always does. I felt my magic starting to fade and I knew I had to get out before someone see me. I don't have everything I want to know, but I heard enough for now. I went out of the school and found a dark corner where I let my spell fall. It was a couple of minutes before I overheard a man asking where Wardwell is. This is going to be good... I just hope I can pull the spell of for another couple of minutes. Because I don't know how long I can last now, I went inside the school without the spell and searched for the bathroom closest to Wardwell's office. I cast a spell and went to see who that man is.

Oh man, she is so confused, this is hilarious. It's taking all of my will power to not burst. She is great actress thou, I have to admit it. She is handling the situation pretty well.

"Mrs. Meeks? I need you to tell me everything you know about that man that was just here."

Real smooth, Wardwell, real smooth.

"You mean Adam? Your fiancé?"

Now I am cracking!! This turned out better than I thought. Okay, my magic is fading, I need to get out of here.

I went back to the Mansion. I learned a lot today, well not a lot, but it's a start. Someone possessed Miss Wardwell, which explains why she didn't know about the fiancé. Witch possessions aren't rare, so that isn't suspicious. She is very close to the Dark Lord, as close as you can be that is. That still doesn't tell me who she is. But that familiar's name, Stolas. I know I read about it somewhere. Everyone is still in that Lupercalia madness, so the library should be empty now.

*****

As I suspected, the library was empty. That's great, now I can do my research in peace. I started with a few books about our Dark Lord. If that impostor is close to him then there is a name somewhere.

I reread about 20 books but there was no mention of a name. My only solid lead is familiar Stolas. They are goblins, right, so there must be a book about it...

I have been searching for two hours and I have only found one book. ONE BOOK!! It probably won't lead me anywhere, but it's worth a shot. I found one paragraph about Stolas:

Stolas - once a great prince of Hell, he is often depicted as a crow. A little is known about him. He is ancient and it is believed that he never left his master's side.

That is not much, scratch that, it's nothing. Who is his master, that name would be helpful? This is not it. I have seen the name somewhere else. Then an idea came to me. Paradox! All familiars know each other, no matter their age. I summoned him. At first, I didn't see him, he is a bat, so it's hard to see him in the dark. I asked him about Stolas, but he didn't know who his master is. He only told me that everyone knows that he is very powerful and ancient. They believe that he came to be when Lilith was cast out of the Garden.

Wait!

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LILITH!!!!