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    The shade of a Sorcerer. Havila. 

     "I have no idea who she thinks she is."

    He started, his eyes hurriedly ransacking the inn of the sorcerer. He didn't know whether or not to trust the man. Though he had never seen him before. But he was hoping and believing that the man would be the end of their problem. That he would put a stop to the terror of the crazy lady, Lailah. 

    After the death of Aohen two days ago, they had commenced another search for Lailah again. They had been inspired by the emperor that twas the doings of Lailah. The emperor had said,

     "She's too dumb not to leave a track behind."

    And during the search had they found that sorcerer who said to had come from Kula in search of Lailah. Twasnt so hard to believe. The king of Kula was killed by Lailah, so the sorcerer had come to avenge. He should do anything to stop Lailah. He looked so. 

    But the only thing which was quite disturbing about the sorcerer was how he had a shade in that scanty forest without their effort.  

   Well, he had seen the man call out a hut out of the earth. The hut had sprouted out of nowhere. Twas a wonder why he chose that scanty forest of all places to call the hut out. Maybe because Lailah used to live or lives there. 

    Though he had been accompanied by some of the warriors, for security reasons but the sorcerer had asked that they stay outside. That twas a sacred space. 

    "She's a Nymph. You know that."

   The old man replied. He was seated with legs crossed on a mat floating in the air. The fellow didn't have anything to doubt. The sorcerer seemed to have all it takes to carry out the duty. Plus there was no time for making choices, they barely had one. 

     "But that shouldn't make us superior than we are. We also have our own dark magic."

   The fellow defended. He heard a movement from behind him but he dared not look back. He had been warned by the sorcerer. 

     "What black magic is compared to the acts of a Nymph?"

    The sorcerer shot. He seemed to had been hung in the air. The mat he was floating on was at the level of the fellow's face. He was also sitting the way the sorcerer was seated. The only difference was that, he wasn't floating. 

    He picked from where the sorcerer had dropped, building on the question,

    "Speaking of power, I was taken into the depth of the waters with Aohen and his twin brother, Aojen. Aojen was killed by the emperor because he didn't know his place. He was intoxicated by the power given by Poseidon who recruited us to kill a stranger who was working with Lailah. Poseidon gave us power. But I wonder why it didn't work on the bitch."

   The sorcerer chuckled at the call of bitch. The fellow didn't know what was so funny. Sorcerers he knew wouldn't even laugh at the most intense jokes. He ignored. The sorcerer seemed unusual.

     "She's wiser than the lot of you. She creeps on you and bind you by your desires. That dark desire no one could ever see, are so conspicuous to her. She preys on them and make you all perish under the weight of her alakazam."

    As the Sorcerer spoke, the fellow felt a movement in his body, which crawled to his head. His head swelled at once and he saw a feminine face before him, smiling and grinning. 

   He shook his head to snap back to reality. He was met by the sorcerer's persistence,

     "I'm sure you can see her. She's around here. She's bent on ending you all. For marring her fun. For killing her lover. For stepping into a duel which your mortal draw could never fit in. For thinking you can fight the battles of the supernals. How foolish!"

     The eyes of the sorcerer which had turned red by the race of rage changed to its usual. Like when a fiery ember is bruised by the tongues of haughty water. 

     The fellow wondered what the sorcerer was doing. He was beginning to have his doubts. Was the sorcerer speaking for or against Lailah. Twas super hard to tell at that moment. 

    At a point, he was forced to think that Lailah had gotten hold of the sorcerer and had spoken through him. 

   He heard a movement from behind him again. He was tempted to look back but he tamed the urge instead. 

   He tried to be sane as best as he could, before he would be impatient and kick against all the rules. 

    Though he knew that the emperor had felt the sorcerer fishy in the first place, but Jim and Tzu had testified to had met the man several weeks ago. That twas even through his magic that they got to Havila. 

    He hated regretting, he wielded questions instead,

     "So what do we do to her?"

    The sorcerer had fire sprouting out of the edges of the mat on the four corners. The fellow shuddered and shifted a bit. He shouldn't be afraid, he had magic to counter whatever. 

     "Nothing."

   The sorcerer shot back and the wave of air from his mouth quenched the recently kindled fire. The fellow knew that something was not right,

     "Nothing? Haven't you come to us saying you're obsessed with killing or haunting her?"

     He challenged as he stood up. He couldn't help it anymore. 

     "Sit."

    The voice of the sorcerer had changed into a feminine voice. Not only was the fellow confused, he was crushed by shock. 

      "Who are you?"

     His voice was already breaking though he was feigning the tough guy. He heard the movement from behind him again and cussed,

      "And what the fuck is even that?"

    He turned to see. His jaw dropped. He didn't know what to think. 

   There was a huge red snake sitting on its coiled cum slippery body. With head poking and tongue flickering. 

    He turned immediately back at the sorcerer with,

      "What the --"

      He couldn't even complete the words. The sorcerer had changed into a daintily dressed lady, super hot, with calling cleavages. Nice shape and fiery eyeballs. Lailah. 

     "You!!"

     Was the last thing he could say. He felt a blow from the top and the next thing he felt was gloom. His bones being crushed, and his draw swallowed by the snake. 

     He didn't get to say his last word. 

   "Finito."

   Lailah spread her hands and immediately, the inn bursted into hungry flames of fire. She disappeared, the hut devoured by the jolly jaws of the flames. 

    Outside the hut, those of the warriors waiting, who weren't hurt by the tongues of the flames scrambled away. 

      They didn't even know what happened. What would they tell the emperor?