CHAPTER VIII

"Am I dead?" the first thing Lulu said and felt deja vu.

"I don't think so," said a familiar voice that could only belong to Sophie.

"You decided to have fun with me, and then sacrifice me to their masters, the demons! "

It was pitch-dark all around, so Lulu couldn't see anything around her. She only tried to move, but something held her arms and legs tightly, pulled them together. When her senses began to return, the first thing she felt was cold. It permeated her body from the tips of her feet to the top of her head.

"Have fun with you?" Sophie wondered. "If I could…"

A bright flash of light blinded Lulu, forcing her to close her eyes. She had a wild urge to cover her face with her hands, but they were tied. Therefore, she had to endure and wait for the intensity of the light to weaken. Soon Lulu was able to open her eyes completely and look around. She was in the dungeons of the academy, in the place where unnecessary things were burned. Once before she had to come down here to burn books forbidden by the Inquisition. The scary machine, which looked like a giant fireplace with a metal mouth, was working even now.

Lulu was sitting on the cold floor with her back against the stone wall. Sophie tied her hands and feet tightly with a rope and for some reason took off her robe, leaving only her underwear. The lucky black bra was torn in the middle, slightly exposing her breasts. The place where the spear had entered was still sore, aching, reminding of itself as a cursed mark left by black magic.

"My favorite underwear," Lulu sighed, realizing the fact that she didn't have the money to buy a similar set of underwear.

Sophie sat next to me, tired as a squeezed lemon. Her clothes suffered no less, lightning bolts that destroyed the magical barrier singed the fabric.

"Why didn't you kill me?" — Lulu decided to continue the conversation, there was nothing to do anyway: her hands and feet were tightly tied — there was nowhere to run.

"The Ghost Spear does no harm," Sophie looked down at the defeated Lulu as if she were her trophy.

"But I felt it entering me, tearing me apart!"

"Oh, Lulu. The next time you want to fight someone, try to read more books about magic and practice. This spell is designed for the ignorance of the enemy and the maximum that it does is tear clothes," Sophie explained.

"I always knew you were a pervert."

"It says who charges for playing the violin with kisses."

"And you were only glad of such payment. And why did you tie me up then, if you didn't want to hurt me?!"

Sophie looked at her enigmatically:

"I was interested to know what you found out about me and who set you on me."

Lulu lowered her eyebrows to give herself at least a bit of a menacing look:

"Ha, I don't talk to the minions of evil!"

And she pointedly turned her head to the side.

"What makes you think that I serve evil!" Sophie got angry and, kneeling down, put her hand on Lulu's chin and turned her face back to herself.

There was a bright blush on Lulu's cheeks that Sophie couldn't help but notice.

"And how do you know I have a sister?"

"If you told me the truth, that you have a sister named Elizabeth, then maybe…"

"That's enough!" Sophie's fingers tightened on Lulu's chin, causing her suffering. "Don't say that damn name in front of me! I don't have a sister anymore.…"

Sophie loosened her grip:

"Who told you about this?! Spit it out quickly, I'm not going to sit here until the morning!"

"The magic ball showed me," Lulu squeezed out, mentally sighing. "And yet it was true… My mentor is Sister Elizabeth of the Blood Witch."

"The ball of predictions? What nonsense!"

"You may not believe me, but I saw your house burned to the ground, and your parents were executed. However, this is not an excuse to summon hordes of demons into the world and condemn all the creatures living in it to a painful death!"

"What's wrong with you?! I'm not going to summon demons into our world! Did Krivda set you on me?! Although..." Sophie was annoyed. "The old hag would have personally come for my head… Listen to me, I don't want to kill anyone."

"Don't you be trash-mouthing me, Sophie?" Lulu giggled. "I read about how you, the minions of demons, brainwashed…"

She didn't have time to finish, as Sophie pressed her lips to hers and began greedily sucking all the juices out of her assistant, savoring every moment. Bright feelings played between the girls. Their hearts were fluttering with streams of tenderness and growing passion, but Sophie knew how to control herself. Rejecting Lulu, she defiantly licked her lips:

"Because of you, I couldn't sleep at night! I was thinking about you! I heard the violin playing and dreamed that you…"

But these words, these touches, and feelings still did not give the desired effect. Lulu silently turned her head to the side and made an imperturbable appearance, trying to suppress all the feelings bubbling inside her.

Sophie realized that it was pointless to continue this conversation. Having untied Lulu, she took off her robe and handed it to her former assistant:

"It's small, but it's better than nothing."

"What?!" Lulu's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"You're free. You can run to your loving Krivda and tell her about me. You'll probably get some kind of honorable reward for catching me. They'll be proud of you..." Sophie lowered her head. "Just please let me meet the end of this year in freedom…"

On this note, she ended the conversation and surrendered to the power of the darkness that reigned here. She disappeared without a trace, leaving Lulu all alone with a fiery monster, a trash eater.

All that remained for Lulu was to get to her feet, put on her mantle and go look for a way out. She didn't know what to do. My mind said that I should have told Mrs. Krivda everything, but my heart was beating and pricking, trying to protect my mentor.

"What should I do? What should I do? I don't understand anything! Is this a ruse so she can escape? Or... This kiss was completely different... I've never received so many feelings before..."

***

When Sophie returned to her room, the hands of the clock pointed to six in the morning.

"Why did you let her go?!" Bonbon was indignant.

"I don't know," Sophie sighed.

"Your actions will entail irreversible consequences."

"Bonbon, that's enough, I feel bad enough. I understand everything, but…"

The toy bear sitting on the bedside table woke up and turned its head in the direction of the lady:

"You know that if they want to harm us, then I will be forced to defend myself."

Sophie sat on the edge of the bed and carefully looked at her demon familiar:

"But we are doomed to lose anyway."

"We'll see who's doomed here," Bonbon said angrily. "I'll erase them in…"

Suddenly Sophie grabbed her familiar and, without letting him finish his thought, threw him inside the closet. Slamming the door, she took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.

"I'm better than my sister, so everything will be different. And I haven't been able to find anything in these damned catacombs."

"And what are you up to, my lady? Have you decided to take poison?" The demon's words popped into Sophie's head.

"It's a good idea," she agreed with him. "How I didn't think of it right away."

"Mistress, why do hasty and rash actions? If there are no answers to your questions here, then why not look for them somewhere else."

"I'm tired of the eternal, unbearable thirst. She's driving me crazy, and there's not much wine can do. The curse will sooner or later take over and turn me into another Witch of Blood, which will be hunted. But I really hoped to find at least something here…"

"Perhaps this someone is hiding somewhere else. Mistress, it's too early to give up!

"That's enough, Bonbon. Thank you for everything, but I think it's better this way. Soon there will be one less infected soul in the world…"

"As you wish, my lady," the familiar paused.

Sophie put on her spare robe and went into the hall. By this time, all the students and teachers had already gathered and listened to the head of the academy in full. Mrs. Krivda from the podium loudly read a speech dedicated to the graduates of the Witch Academy. She congratulated them on the completion of the last fifth year of study. She gave a parting word about the upcoming adult life and, waving her hand, finally expelled them from the academy. After that, it was the turn of the other students to leave. Unlike graduates, they will get a whole month of rest, fun, and holidays.

As a result, there were only ten girls left in the hall who had nowhere to go. Lulu was among them. She stood with a sad expression on her face because she was tormented by the dilemma of what to do with the mentor.

"Lulu, have you decided to postpone denouncing me after all?" Sophie came up to her.

Lulu paused to weigh the pros and cons again:

"I guess I'm just a fool, but I believed you. That's why I haven't told anything to the head of the academy yet."

"This is ..." Sophie was a little surprised, "very unexpected on your part. I thought…"

"Did you think that I would run and tell on you?" Lulu frowned. "Perhaps if you had told me everything, none of this would have happened. And so…"

"Thanks for giving me the time," Sophie didn't bother her anymore. "It's all over tonight…"

"What exactly will end? Wait, what are you thinking of doing?!" Lulu stopped Sophie by grabbing the edge of her robe.

"Don't worry. It's none of your business, it's just mine.…"

She abruptly pulled back her robe and, having freed herself, started off. Sophie found a real friend for the only time in her life and lost everything in one night. She just didn't have the determination to show tears, and therefore shame and pride forced her feet to run wherever her eyes looked, just to get away from Lulu.

Back in her private quarters, Sophie decided to get drunk. To do this, she had a bottle of orc tincture in store, from which even a whole giant could get drunk. And a petite girl will definitely die from intoxication. After dripping forty drops, she poured a scalding drink into her throat and ate a chocolate bar. Her tongue felt a range of unforgettable tastes that appeared and then quickly disappeared. Hands independently, without the will of the hostess, dripped more tinctures, and now the second portion began to be absorbed into the blood. The alcohol hit her head hard, causing Sophie to lose control of herself completely…

When she sobered up a little, she found herself in the arms of an assistant.

"Lulu, what are you doing in my room?" Sophie's tongue was slurring, and everything was stormy, like when rolling on a ship.

"How good that you woke up!"

"Did I really wake up? So is this a dream or not a dream?" Sophie had one more foot in the spirit world. "Listen, how soft you are…"

"Mistress Sophie, please come to your senses. You'll strangle me like that!"

"I can't… I don't have the strength," she laughed hysterically. "So what have I done?"

"Nothing bad so far. You came to me half-naked and began to ask me for forgiveness," Lulu said. "I could barely calm you down."

"Oh, right! I'm sorry, Lulu!" Sophie couldn't help herself and started sobbing.

Through her tears, she tried to mumble something:

"I love you... Lulu… Very…"

But Lulu couldn't make out anything and just nodded:

"Yes, yes. Calm down. Everything will be fine."

She gently stroked Sophie's head and tried to calm her down. Only the familiar remained unperturbed in this situation. He magically appeared on the bedside table in Lulu's room and said in an imperious tone:

"Lulu, do me a favor. Wring that rag's neck so she doesn't suffer anymore!"

"What are you talking about, Bonbon. She's your mistress!" Lulu was surprised.

"I don't want anything to do with that drunk," he snorted. "She couldn't deal with some shoddy girl, and now she's afraid for her puny little soul."

"Thank you for your "kind" words. I love you very much too," Lulu guessed which girl he meant.

She had to accept her fate and wait for Sophie to regain her sanity. After half an hour, or maybe more, Sophie finally calmed down and, settling comfortably on her assistant, fell asleep. Her clogged nose was snuffling funny, and dope of surrogate swill was escaping from her mouth.

"Bonbon, what did she drink? This smell is killing me!" Lulu couldn't restrain herself and ask.

"Orc tincture. Frankly, a killer thing. I tried it once too. Wow, I don't even want to remember what I did to one unhappy soul afterward," he confessed.

"Listen, do you happen to have a brother?" Lulu suddenly asked him.

"No, why?"

"Your voice is very similar to one of the Time Lord."

Bonbon chose not to answer. And that made Lulu even more suspicious.:

"Tell him I'm grateful for the visions he's given me."

" Are you grateful?" The familiar chuckled. "These visions should have led to a slightly different timeline..."

"I don't know about your other outcome, but everything suits me right now. Sophie is so sweet and helpless. I wonder who has been taking care of her all this time? Who will support you in a difficult moment?" Lulu said softly.

"Like who? She only had Bonbon, and I had Sophie. But it seems that now she also needs... " the toy bear interrupted his speech, as he realized that Lulu had decided to go to the world of dreams. "I wish I could turn back time and redo everything."