7 The magic seven; meeting Amalia

Tatin was glad to know that Isabella and family were safe, Lobo and Andrea told him. Day was bright and they went to the wilds to discuss Isabella's case. Matthias was there; Apollo II, Hugh, and Julius. They considered the threat serious and they're planning to move in to stop Jezebel and her apostles of darkness.

Tatin gathered his trusted constituents. They would gather all information about Jezebel's future plans.

Jezebel, meanwhile, had hatched another wicked plan. This time, she would pose as one of Isabella's friends.

Isabella would be meeting Amalia, her confidant. Jezebel had transformed herself into Amalia with the same dress and makeover that she was wearing that day. Aaron drove Isabella to the meeting place. It was a fine dining place among a line of other dining places in that cozy area of the town.

She saw Amalia against the glass wall sitting in one of the tables waiting for her. She entered a glass door and kissed her cheek-to-cheek.

Aaron could still see Isabella where he waited outside, then drove himself off to work.

There was something in Amalia that day that Isabella couldn't explain because as she was pouring out her heart to her, Amalia was serving too many foods on the table. What she needed that day was somebody who would listen, but here, her friend was. What was she doing?

"Why all these menus?"

"I thought you want to eat while we talk?"

Does she want to ram all these menus on my throat? Isabella thought.

"No." She was looking at Amalia. "I prefer only juice. Do they serve strawberry juice?"

"Hmm…we'll check."

A waiter came with a glass of strawberry juice.

Isabella was starting to sip from her glass when Amalia interrupted. "Now what?"

She looked at Amalia, who looked like a stern cat. She had always looked sweet, Isabella thought; she withdrew her look. "What is wrong with you?"

"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you?" Amalia was frowning now, even snarling. "Do you know how it feels when you lose somebody you love?" Amalia asked slowly, her voice, raspy, then, she withdrew her look from Isabella and excused herself, her eyes looking down. Isabella's eyes widened with terror; she moved back looking at Amalia, who started to leave. But she didn't want Amalia to notice that she recognized her sudden change.

"I'm sorry," was all she could say. Then, Isabella saw her off as she left.

Cellphone ringing.

Isabella took the call and was surprised to know that Amalia was caught in a traffic jam and was coming over to the place. Isabella had already hinted at what happened. She told Amalia, who was patient enough to listen to her, about the family's strange experiences.

xxxxxx

At the wolf-dom, Tatin had ordered Umberto and Bella to come.

"Would you like to tell me about Jezebel's plan to kill Isabella?"

The two were looking at each other.

"How much did she pay you?"

They looked again at each other. They had planned to disappear.

Bella was about to wave her hand as she was to make a spell, but Tatin was faster. She couldn't move her hands and feet, and her lips were pursed. He looked steadily at the two and a fire suddenly burned around them.

"Now, you may choose to stay in your place and burn to hell, unless you tell me what you know about Jezebel's plans."

Umberto was forced to tell Tatin. The six—Apollo, Lobo, Hugh, Matthias, Andrea, and Julius listened attentively.

Meanwhile, Jezebel was back in their world. She was in front of her mirror looking at herself. Aren't you happy? She asked the figure in front of her. Her wicked schemes were working—Isabella was getting affected, she knew; the family was getting affected.