the seven devils [completed]

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓

NOTE: For a better experience while reading, play the soundtrack in the youtube link. It will play as you read.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The darkness crawled through the thick, wet branches, rivaling the moonlight. As the wind lashed against the last few leaves that stuck to the scrawny twigs of the trees, rain fell from the sky in small, cold droplets. The night was unforgiving; the cold scratched at Varya's skin as she sauntered her way around the Forbidden Forest, dark wood wand in her hand. Her fieriness had been extinguished by the howls of the creatures that walked the grounds, and now, in her place, there was only a frightened teenage girl.

The midnight hour chimed in the static air, sending ripples of terror to echo through the abandoned woods. The crows cracked, voices hoarse and rusty, their twisted necks peeking through the openings and turning to watch the young girl.

Varya's robes ruffled in the wind, and the rain made them stick to her skin. Her hair fell around her face in dark, clustered strands, sticking against her open lips as her teeth chattered. The cold had settled in her bones; her body felt heavier with each tentative step. As her onyx eyes searched her surroundings frantically, her breath came in more urgently.

She had heard it much like a whisper at first, a calling with no words. Then, it pounded against her skull, shrieking, crying, begging for her to follow it. Almost as if pulled by an invisible string, she headed to the woods, wearing nothing but her sleepwear and robes.

Now, the girl realized her feet were bare, and she curled her toes against the glacial earth, ignoring the harsh bite of frost. They were numb, and if they had suffered any cuts, she would not be able to tell.

It was not a voice that had called out to her, no, it was a presence. Furthermore, it was heinous, almost in a taunting way. Varya should have known better; she had heard many stories of children wandering off into the night and never returning. Hell, she had almost been one herself. Even so, the call was strong, magnetic, and the more she ignored it, the more she felt as if she was suffocating. Was her mind weak? Had she let her guard down because she was not at her old academy anymore?

She stood in the middle of the forest, too far from the castle for anyone to even hear her if she screamed until her voice left her. And for a moment, she prayed that they would at least find her body.

Varya did not hear it coming; she did not feel the wind pick up at its presence, nor did she hear the bushes rustling as it walked closer to her. She did not even hear it as it dragged its shattered legs across the forest floor, slithering closer to her.

No, she only felt its breath against her neck.

She trembled as the creature dragged its finger across her cheek, which had been so rotten that it was bone that she felt against her skin.

"Why are you so far from home?" it asked, and Varya felt herself go still at the sound of its voice. It was melodious, divine even, the voice of a lovely woman, but as it leaned slightly over Varya's shoulder, she could see its flesh slowly ripping from its cheekbones.

Crazed eyes looked at her, almost obsessive, and the creature's smile was psychotic, stretched out far beyond normal. Perhaps, the fact that half of its face had been clawed off, muscles torn and ligaments on display, allowed for more facial freedom.

"I know you..." the ghost went on, circling her slowly. Varya closed her eyes, her stomach turning at the sight of the mutilated face.

She knew what it was; she had seen similar faces in books. It was a mavka, and the knowledge made Varya's skin crawl because if she did not get out of here fast enough, she doubted that whatever was left of her would be recognizable. Mavkas were destroyed souls that had died horrible, premature deaths and sought out to lure people into the woods and give them the same fate. Usually, they had beautiful faces and long, dark hair that they would let flow in the wind. They would ask you for a comb, and if you did not have one, they would rip your throat out slowly, letting you choke on your blood.