Rot & Romance (Rewriting)

Chapter 95

Several luxury minivans slowly pulled to a stop behind them as they were making their way back to Sancova.

Natalie stopped dead.

She sensed witches.

She looked down at Joseph who she was still supporting.

"You feel that?" she whispered.

He looked up at her. 

Looked worried.

"Natalie, you should get the hell out of here," he said.

"Are you crazy?" she said quietly. "No!"

"Those witches could be here to kill us," he said.

"I don't care! I'm not leaving you."

"Blimey, Natalie! I'm in no position to fight."

"Then I will."

They shared a stare down before a voice interrupted them.

"I am looking for Benjamin Crawford! Do you know him?"

Natalie and Joseph turned to see a tall, dark silhouette standing by the driver side of the first van.

"Who the hell are you?" Joseph asked.

The man stepped forward, revealing himself in the moonlight. He was a tan-skinned man with tribal tattoos covering the left side of his face. He wore a dark hooded cloak, so long it swept the ground. If he was going for diabolically creepy, he definitely looked the part.

"Servant of the Undead Lord, so I suggest you do as I say." His voice was loud, menacing and relentless. "Answer me! Do the two of you know Benjamin Crawford?"

"No!" Natalie and Joseph said simultaneously.

The man snapped his fingers and Natalie was instantly compelled to tell the truth.

"Yes." she and Joseph said together.

A witch that can perform magic without reciting incantations?

"You lied. That's one strike against what's left of your souls."

Natalie and Joseph were both silent.

Both terrified.

The witch summoned two balls of purple flames in the palms of his hands.

"Oh, hells, Natalie." Joseph whispered. "He's a witch who practices dark magic."

"How do you know?"

"Look at the flames in his palms. I've seen it before. The witches call it 'cursed flames', a type of dark magic without the limitations of regular flames. And to even be able to perform dark magic, one must be willing to--"

"To kill. Yeah, I've heard," Natalie said.

"The two of you are heavily outnumbered," he said, walking toward them. "You see those vans behind me? They're all filled with witches and the undead alike--all followers of the Undead Lord. And the very last van . . . well the Undead Lord sits in that one himself. Now, if you'd rather your ashes not become one with the wind tonight, I suggest you answer me truthfully from now on."

Natalie and Joseph didn't move.

"Is Benjamin Crawford currently in the town of Sancova, Oregon?"

After several seconds, Natalie nodded.

Joseph remained silent.

The witch grimaced at Joseph.

"That's two strikes against your soul," he growled.