“Back off Seth!” A female voice from behind warned. Divina had no idea when the owner of the voice had arrived. These guys were just something she couldn’t really understand. The guy who she now knew as Seth had to walk back, then receiving the shock of her life.

“Mother!” she screamed.

But why was she seized like she had been apprehended by some captors. What was going on? She remembered that a few weeks ago, her mother had admitted that she was a witch and had taught her some little spell in her spell-confinement room which Divina didn’t know existed in the house, but why was her mother the back bone of her daughters abduction?

“How I wish I could just kill the Amy in me,” the lady spoke with the same accents as Divina’s Mum.

Divina noticed that her Mom would never appear in attire having a long cloak behind her like she was Super girl. Nor would she put on such a heavy makeup for an occasion as weird as this.

Infact she would never wear that much make up at all. Lastly, Amy would never were an attire having a hand fan, the woman standing right there was her mother having a horrible sense of fashion and looking all ghastly.

She had just been too quick to make a conclusion, things were not the way they seemed to be.

“You are not her,” Divina spoke softly to herself.

“That’s very true my dear,” The lady answered with a light laugh exposing her caustic smile. She spoke with so much conceit that Divina thought she was an all-powerful queen of Hades. She held an importance about her. Back straight and graceful moves. It was uncanny to see the likeness of her mother on such a maniac

“Oh, you’re so much prettier than I expected. Aiden must have a good gene too.”

She knows Dad too

“Hell yes, I know the thing who placed his useless seed in you. Like he could reproduce,” She answered Divina’s thoughts.

She could read minds. She was a witch and must be an evil witch at that.

She must have embraced Blackclaw, I know you are listening. Blackclaw takes pleasure in using souls. . .

“Stop It! You know nothing about all things Mystic,” The mordant face was gone and it was replaced with a vile look. Then she shook her head in pity.

“I know Amy, I want to be free from this world. My children would be free from all of this. I wish for me and my family to have a normal life, blah blah blah. Overprotective and weak-”

“What do you want from me?” Divina interrupted.

“Finally, someone is making sense here. . .”

“Yes, I have magic. Take it. It’s a curse to me. Let me go,”

“No, little girl. It’s not so easy.”

“Then let me go!” Divina spoke fiercely.

“Am afraid, that is not possible. You see. . .” She began pacing majestically.

“There is no hiding the agenda that I need your powers. I can actually drain the life out of you and get what I want, but yours is just as unique as your Mom’s. Your ability grows every fortnight after the first full moon you got that tattoo. Each time this happens, you will feel a surge. The ability to confine it, the knack to control it would come in handy. But thanks to me, you wouldn’t have that-”

“So you want to drain me of my power when I have them the most,”

“Good! You’re very smart”

“Seth here will take good care of you. Care for you and keep you safe,”

“Keep me safe? Is this safety?” Divina couldn’t help the snort. If this was safety she dreaded to think what she called danger.

“Humans, just too naïve. You may not understand us. But you are receiving the best protection you can ever have even from your mother,”

Divina’s was startled.

“Why would my Mother want to kill me?”

“No, we aren’t talking about death here. Young woman,”

“Then why would I need to be protected from my Mother?”

“Because, you are not safe with her. You have never been and you would never be,”

“Am not safe with you neither,”

“Cut the safe-story. I wouldn’t want them to get you, for Blackclaw’s sake.”

“Who? What? I am a fugitive and who is Blackclaw?”

She evaded the question “So tell me, have they been treating you? Well I hope?”

“You abducted me. What good treatment can I get than to be free?”

“Am keeping you safe! Don’t you understand that?”

“From who or what, I see no-one here except you for goodness sake,”

“Those after you are beings for Blackclaws sake not forces.”

“Vamps, werewolf’s, Lycans, what do they want?”

“What I want and much more, there are many things you don’t know Divina. Nor would you understand,”

The lady began reading Divina’s mind and then stopped.

“You don’t need to blame your Mother. Pumpkin. . .”

“No-one has the right to call me that except my Mom, not even you!” Divina warned.

The lady couldn’t control her laughter, it lasted for two minutes and it was just too embarrassing. High pitched with annoying ring. Nothing like Amy’s musical laughter. The more she spoke with the mad woman the more she saw the difference between Amy and the evil witch. How could she have first though that she was her mother?

“Let her drink, and take her there as soon as possible,” she directed her command to Seth and dematerialized into thin air within the twinkle of an eye.

Mom is no match for Evil Mom-She thought.

Seth pulled her up.

“We have a long way to go,”

“Why are we walking?”

“Because, I can never trust a witch. Not even a baby witch like you,”

The souls of their feet laagered above the thorny carpets of the woods. They had been on foot for more than two hours.

“I really need water now,” Divina said, as her captor bounty hunters dragged her along. She couldn’t move another step without a drink. Her legs hurts, her feet, she was sure that they would be covered in blisters.

“There’s a river just up ahead. You will get enough water to drink there,” Seth said while the other vamp pulled her along. Holding tightly to her forearm. She had the urge to bend slightly and sink her teeth into his hand. She thought better of the idea as she knew she didn’t stand a chance to get away.

In due time, they got to the river and Seth led her to the bank for a drink. The water had barely gone down her throat, when Seth jerked her up again and they continued their journey.

Suddenly, they heard a sound from behind them. Seth had smelt the presence of someone else. The two bounty hunter-captors were instantly on alert.

Their voracious teeth escaping from their humming growl. Seth tapped his partner, who withdrew his special blade and moved towards the sound.

He disappeared into the bush while the rest waited with bated breath in anxiety.

Divina stood, watching. She could smell three men in the bushes and she knew from the movement that the other vamp was sent to his death. She waited for Seth’s next move and plotted her escape.

Seth looked round frantically. His partner had been gone for more than two minutes, and all had become dead silent.

Suddenly a sound came from beside them, and three werewolves came out. Seth took a defensive but non protective stance. The Wolves flanked them.

“Divina. Fancy meeting you here,” one of the Wolves said, smiling at her.

“Don’t be a smart ass Darren” Divina responded. Even though Divina was in shock. Darren her ex. He was there. A werewolf too. She knew he wasn’t there to help. She could sense it.

Darren smiled and turned to Seth.

“We are here for the girl,” He said, hand tightening around his saber trying to speak calmly.

“I know you outnumber me but am not going down without a fight. Annabelle can’t have what she wants this time,”

Who said we were working for Annabelle? Bring the girl alive. Kill Seth,” Darren ordered.

The wolf closest to Seth, dived at him, tackling him to the ground, the rope slacked and dropped. Divina raised her wrist to her mouth and chewed through the fiber, freeing herself. She turned and caught the sight of Seth locked in combat. She could hear the heavy footsteps behind her but then only the loud thump of her feet prevailed. Then again, someone was behind her.

Divina ran.

Don’t look back! Her own mind bellowed at her. She had seen enough horror movies to know looking back was the worst thing to do.

She could hear the heavy breath of Darren behind her. His breathing assailed her senses for the most part, told her how close he was. She realized that she was actually running faster than a werewolf, something she could never do. This wasn’t a spell, but whatever was happening she needed to keep it going.

“You really shouldn’t have followed me,” she called back after him and suddenly stopped.

Darren hadn’t anticipated this move, and as he struggled to slow down, she caught him by the throat and lifted him up, slamming him on the forest floor.

She stood over him as he struggled to get up. Divina actually wanted that to happen.

“Oh, I’m going to enjoy this,” he said as he retrieved his fallen blade and lunged at her. Divina evaded his attack easily, and caught him by the shoulders and dragged him back to the floor again. Where he belonged.

“Why do you want me? Money or power. You really need to work harder,” she taunted and got the desired result.

“Am doing this for the money,” Darren rushed at her again his blade high in the air, coupled with a feral scream and a jump into the air, lashing towards her with dizzying speed. Divina wasn’t swift enough, and the blade nicked her in the left shoulder.

Divina dropped and rolled out of harm’s way, and then got back up. The shoulder pulsated a little, but she ignored it. She definitely had to. But an impish smile was playing across Daren’s lips.

“Wolfs bane,” he mouthed and smiled again. It was the wolf curse. But Divina was not a wolf, a witch was also ruinous to it. In fact all beings, except the Lycans creped to death at it. She hid her alarm well, and retrieved her saber.

Darren rushed at her again, then feigned a left hook, which she raised her hand to parry, before coming up with the intended right hook. But she had foreseen the feint, and caught his hand. With just one swift motion, she severed the limb. Before burying the saber in his chest.

His eyes nipped open in shock as he gazed at the blade sticking out of his chest. He slowly dropped to his knees and dragged the blade out, allowing it to fall beside him. Then his last look before the jaws of death gulped him was a rile smile and some few enraged words.

Micro seconds later Divina’s vision began to blur and he became doubled as she looked at him.

“What’s funny?” She asked as the throbbing became more and more intense.

He erupted in cold-blood bath laughter.

“We’re in the forest, and you have wolfs bane slowly running through your system. Meet me in hell, bitch,” he said and collapsed in a heap before her.

Divina kept the saber and moved forward, but her legs felt heavy. Each step proved very hard as the throbbing in her shoulder accentuated. An additional throbbing in her head began also. She struggled to walk a little distance before her feeble legs caught in a creeper, lost her balance and collapsed on the floor. As she blacked out, she could have sworn that she saw Darren.

But this was just her mind playing tricks on her and the adverse effects of wolfs bane. She didn’t know why it had affected her, but it had.