IN THE WOODS

A cool breeze cruised through the night blowing through trees and shaking smaller bushes causing their leaves to rustle. Everything was quiet safe for the sound of crickets which could be heard chirping away in the greenery. In her bedroom, Harriet lay awake on her bed staring at her wall clock and watching the hours tick by. On a normal day the silence plus the cool night air which blew in through her open bedroom window would help her fall asleep quickly but today wasn't a normal day. Because on a normal day, her daughter would be asleep in the room right next to hers. She wasn't there now and it was like every passing minute was every minute that something bad could probably be happening to her daughter somewhere out there. Instead of ease, the silence made her feel distressed.

After a few more minutes of tossing and turning some more, Harriet let out a moan of frustration and got out of bed. She walked down the stairs to the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea with extra cream recalling a day when Patricia told her that making her tea like that soothed her. Since Patricia always seemed depressed, then this tea must really work. She carried her teacup out to the balcony and sat on a rocking chair. She took a sip from the cup before placing it on the floor next to her and began pushing on the floor with her legs to get the chair rocking. After a while she decided to stop and completely downed the contents of the cup before rocking herself again. It worked and she was just about dozing off when something caught her attention. A purple glow far off in the distance. She blinked to make sure she wasn't seeing things. She wasn't.

It seemed like it was in the direction of Silkfall woods but that couldn't be right. She slowly stood to her feet and walked further up the porch as if it would help her see any better. Something black suddenly zipped across the sky startling her. "What in the world." She whispered. Another black figure rose from within the mass of black in the distance, she couldn't make out what it was only the outline of what seemed to be a body and two huge flapping wings. The figure hovered in the sky for a few seconds and then dove right back into the blackness that was Silkfall woods. Harriet stood still for a few seconds, stunned by what she had seen and trying to process if it was real or a delusion as a result of stress. A faint shriek from the direction the glow was coming from caused her to snap out of her thoughts and rushed inside.

Meanwhile, in the woods which she had just been staring at, two dark figures dressed in robes plunged through the forest making their way towards a cabin that was still some distance ahead of them. They too heard the shriek only to them the sound was not scary, neither was it strange. Instead the female amongst the two moaned with annoyance as she tried to swat the mosquitos that whined in her ear. "Isn't there a teleportation spell or something in that spell book of yours?" She complained. "There's got to be an easier way of coming up here."

The male whirled around with a frown on his face. "No there isn't and stop your whining it's all going to be worth it when this is all over. Nothing good in this life ever comes easy."

"Exactly. Nothing good in this life comes easy." Spat the female. "We're not doing good, we're doing evil. Shouldn't we have like a magic pathway that moves on its own or magic lift or something?"

The male bit his lips in order to fight his anger and plastered a fake smile on his face which the female could not see. "How about this. When we get in contact with the dark lord you can personally make your complaint to him. Maybe you can ask for a new house and a car while you're at it."

The female winced. There was no way she was going to do that, that would be making a death wish. "On second thought, this way is totally okay. I mean by the time the dark lord dominates the world I'll be flying first class all the time, right?"

The male rolled his eyes and kept on walking. "I can't believe that this is what I have to go through every night." The female mumbled under her breath and marched on after the male. There was a loud shriek from overhead and both of them instinctively looked up. A Nightprowler came to land in front of them, its huge wings sending up sand particles and leaves as it did. The female spat severally and plucked a number of leaves out of her hair giving the Nightprowler a well-deserved scowl. The male calmly dusted of his robe and turned his attention to the night prowler which was letting out several grunts and growls, his way of communicating. The female stared at the male curiously since he was the only person who understood what the animal was saying. Soon the Nightprowler was done and he turned to the female. "He says the dark lord wants to speak with you, it's really important."

The female frowned confused. "We're already on our way there aren't we?" She stated plainly pointing out the obvious. The male scowled disapprovingly. "Don't speak with that tone. He wants to speak to you alone, he has some instructions he wants to give you."

"Okay..." The female drawled uneasily. "What about you?"

The night prowler let out another set of grunts and growls. Under the light of the moon, his hood cast a shadow on the upper half of his face making only the lower of his face visible and in the moonlight she could see a small smile form on his lips. The more grunts and growls the creature let out, the more his smile grew. When the sounds stopped, he turned once more to the Female. "He says the dark lord says I can go back home and finish up the rest of the plan, that I am doing well and he is pleased with me." He translated with an air of pride at the praises he had just received. The female scoffed with disbelief and was about to say something when the Nightprowler let out another grunt and growl. The smile disappeared from the male's face. "Go, NOW!" He ordered. The female rolled her eyes and marched after the Nightprowler who had already started to leave mumbling under her breath. "You're so lucky you're my dad else I can think of at least ten different curses I could say to you right now. I spend just as much time doing the dark lord's bidding but I don't get any thank you messages, so unfair. I mean..."

The male shook his head tiredly and began heading back, a loud rustle in a nearby bush caused him to freeze in his tracks. He carefully reached into the pocket of his robe and drew out a wand, whispering the words. "Apokalypto silva met lig."

There was burst of light from his wand that spread through the entire forest but there was nothing to be seen except for a few, sleeping woodland animals. He let out a breath and continued on his way.

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Lola had her hand clasped over her mouth to keep herself from making any sound that may give her away. Her heart was thumping so loudly she could hear it in her head. Her mom had warned her numerously not to go out exploring at night, but she loved going out in the woods when it was dark with the moon shining up in the sky like a pearl in the midst of tiny gems. So despite her mother's direct instructions, she still climbed out her bedroom window at night to take a small walk through the woods. The eeriness of the environment always excited her and she wondered what it would feel like being an animal and having to live out there. She never wandered too far though so if she spotted danger, she didn't have to run too far to get back home. She changed that rule because for the past three days there was a weird purple glow that came from the woods. The first day was on a Friday, she had ignored it thinking someone may be out there throwing a party. It wouldn't be the first time that one of the kids from her school threw a party in the middle of the woods, far from adult supervision. This way they wouldn't create too much of nuisance and have one very annoyed neighbor calling the cops on them for disturbing their peace, plus they could drink as much alcohol as they wanted without getting caught. It was a little too quiet though to be a party, usually she would still be able to hear a little noise from her bedroom window but she shook the rising doubt from her head and decided to go to bed and not go out that night.

The second time was on Saturday and although she still assumed that it was a party she was beginning to have some doubts. Kids at her school never threw one party immediately after another in the woods this was so that it wouldn't reach any grownup's attention. It was their own secret party space, a secret the whole school kept and they tried to moderate their use of it. The third night was Sunday and this time she highly doubted that it was a party, she began to panic. What if someone was out there lost or hurt or both and that light was probably a desperate cry for help. She was tempted to go check it out when another thought struck her head. What if it wasn't someone in need for help at all but someone doing something sinister in the forest, like a cult. A part of her wanted to check it out but a more reasonable part of her told her to close her shutters and stay home and she heeded to it. Then on Monday she heard the news that Patricia still hadn't been found and her mind went straight to the weird glow, what if that was from Patricia. The entire day in school she itched her body unnecessarily filled with guilt and by the end of the day she had concluded that she would go investigate that night. The plan was to go on her own so if it turned out to be something else, something a little more sinister causing the glow, she would be able to act spontaneously without having to worry about looking out for someone else. If it did turn out to be someone in need of help, she would easily call 911 and get help.

So that night, when her mom had gone to bed, she wrote a letter which revealed the details of her plan and set out into the woods, She had dressed in a black long sleeved turtle-necked top, black closefitting trousers, black combat boots, worn a dirt green coat and tied her hair into a neat bun. Then she carried a small backpack which contained, a flashlight, Taser, a revolver which she had learned to use from her cousin and three candy bars just in case. She hadn't walked too long when she had come across the two cloaked figures, the taller one walking gracefully while the smaller one not as much as it waved it's hands frantically in attempt to chase off mosquitoes. She couldn't help getting suspicious and decided to follow them. Just in case it turned out to be something bad, she got out her phone and began to make a video staying a safe distance behind the two and walking as quietly as she could. They had walked some way when she heard a loud bone chilling shriek from above causing her to jump and instinctively look up. She was just in time to see something big and black fly over her in the direction two figures seemed to be heading. Struggling with her now shaking hands she tried to film as much as she could as well as she could. The two figures had stopped and seemed to be having a conversation, although she couldn't tell what they were saying but from the way they stood and the gestures they made she knew they were speaking to each other. The conversation wasn't long and they soon continued on their way again with her following close behind still filming. They had just walked a few more feet when there was a loud shriek overhead, another big black figure flew to the ground in front of the two.

Another conversation ensued and this one seemed a bit longer. It ended with the smaller figure following the flying whatever-it-was and the taller one turning around headed in her direction. She immediately ducked behind a bush and it seemed to create a disturbance as the leaves made a loud rustling sound. She froze at the same time the figure itself stopped in its tracks. She immediately ducked behind a tree praying that he hadn't noticed her. Everywhere went silent and suddenly, light spread through the woods lighting the whole place up almost like it was daytime. Luckily, she had chosen a good hiding spot as the light made the tree cast a shadow on her still hiding her from view. It only lasted a few seconds and soon it was dark again. She listened with her heart in her throat as the familiar crunching sound made by shoes crushing dry leaves on the earth headed down the woods farther and farther away from where she was hiding and waited till the sound grew so faint she could barely hear it before dropping her hands from her mouth. She slid slowly to the floor, her entire body trembling overwhelmed with the previous fear of getting caught and the current relief that she wasn't. She placed her hand on her chest trying to calm her racing heart and tried to decide whether to follow the taller figure or the other two. But before she could reach her decision something else caught her attention.

A small yellow glow, not too far from where she sat coming from a small pile of leaves. She crawled slowly and precautiously towards it reaching into the leaves curious to see what it was. Her hand retrieved what seemed to be a yellow stone or gem. She examined it filled with awe and raised it to the moonlight in an attempt to determine what it was. She could see the moon right through the gem yet when she squeezed on it was hard as a rock. By the time she opened her hands, the glow had stopped. "Weird." She muttered and stuffed it quickly into the pocket of her trousers. She took out the revolver from her bag and with it pointed in front of her for protection, began to make her way back home.

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Ring! Ring!

Bethany's eyes fluttered open and a loud yawn escaped her mouth as she reached for her phone which lay on her bedside table. She slid a finger across its screen and placed the device against her ear. "Hello."

"Hello Bethany, it's me Mrs. Holfman. Sorry for calling you so late." Came the familiar voice. "No prob." Bethany yawned. "Is something wrong? It's 1:00 in the morning"

"I just wanted to know if Paige was at your place." Mrs. Holfman asked. "No she isn't. Knowing Paige she's probably at some guy's place." Replied Bethany still half-asleep. "I'll try calling her."

"Thank you, thank you so much." Even through the phone Bethany could feel the lady's relief. She felt sorry for her. "So have you been able to contact Molly?" enquired Bethany. There was silence ensuing the question and Bethany had a feeling the answer she was going to get was not going to be anything positive. The sound of crying came from the other side startling her and confirming her fears.

"Um... Mrs. Holfman?"

"I've called over and over, she's not picking up Bethany." The old lady sobbed. "I called everyone I know, no one has seen her since Friday. My baby's gone missing."

Bethany's heart skipped a beat, Mrs. Holfman went on wailing on the other end. "I don't know where she could have gone. What if she was kidnapped, what if she's being hurt, and what if she's lying on the ground somewhere cold and lifeless."

"Hey calm down." Said Bethany soothingly. "Nothing bad has happened to Molly, worst case scenario she's been kidnapped and locked up somewhere. I'm not going to lie to you, she's probably not in the safest place right now but I can assure that she's alive. I mean, this is Silkfall for goodness sakes. In our town's entire history, we only have one record of a serial killer. FIFTY YEARS AGO. Yes, there's been a few kidnappings but the police have always been able to rescue the victims before anything really bad could happen. There's only been a few abnormal deaths and out of all of them, like eighty percent where suicides. The only dangerous animal in Silkfall woods is a snake. I'm sure Molly is fine, you just have to alert Sheriff Cole and let the cops do their jobs. Stay calm."

There was a few seconds of silence before Mrs. Holfman spoke again, her voice more at ease. "You're right. Molly is probably fine and maybe she isn't but... she's not dead and that's what matters. I just hope it doesn't take the cops too long to find her."

"It won't." Bethany assured her. "Now why don't you go to bed and I'll try calling Paige. I'll make sure she knows how worried you are."

Mrs. Holfman breathed out. "Thanks Beth, you're a good kid."

"Thanks." Said Bethany. She waited till Mrs. Holfman had hung up before dialing Paige's number. Paige picked up almost immediately. "Paige where the f*** are you?" She almost yelled angrily. "At a friend's place, why?" Drawled Paige sleepily. "Well, madam. Your aunt is worried sick, didn't you tell her you would spend the night at someone else's place." Bethany scolded on. "I never tell her when I spend the night somewhere else." Stated Paige simply. "Well you're going to have to start to because your cousin's gone missing and your aunt is super worried that you might have gone missing too since you weren't home." Hissed Bethany trying not to raise her voice even though Paige was starting to annoy her. "Okay I'll call and let her know that I'm okay." With that she hung up before Bethany could scold her anymore, angering Bethany even more. "She didn't care about her cousin at all." She scoffed with disbelief. "What a b***h!"

She flung her phone to the side of her bed and dropped on her pillows ready to return to sleep. However, a faint white glow which seemed to be coming from underneath her bed caught her attention. She frowned with puzzlement and crawled over to the side of her bed looking down. Her hair poured to the floor forming a small golden pool and she reached for the cause of the light. A small white what-looked-like a gem sat on the palm of her hand. The minute she picked it up, the glow stopped. Instead, the gem glittered in the moonlight and it felt cool in her hands. She shrugged and placed the gem on her bedside table before returning to sleep.

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The female reached for the doorknob and turned it. The Nightprowler let out a grunt accompanied with a nod before flying off. The female watched it fly away till it was only a small dot in the distance. He would be back, he couldn't be out in the sunlight so he wouldn't survive during the day. He probably didn't want to have to face the dark lord. "Coward."

She walked into the dark cabin whose only source of light was the moonlight that streamed in through the open windows. She headed to one of the bedrooms and walked to a looking glass, bowing to it. "My Lord."

There was a swirl of black and purple on the glass before the familiar figure of Darka finally appeared in the mirror. "Rise." His deep voice boomed. She straightened out and as her eyes met his, she tried to calm her fluttering heart. I can't believe you still do this to me. The dark lord was a heavily built man, it showed even underneath all his robes. He had long silky black hair, beautiful almond shaped eyes and the loveliest lips she had ever seen. His face was always expressionless and you only knew he was feeling something with the kind of magical aura he let off. He was inhumanly handsome and even his deep masculine voice was beautiful making him quite irresistible. What she would give to spend a night in his bed. She swallowed trying to control her desires as she spoke a bit shakily. "Grunt said you wanted to speak to me. Only me."

"Yes." Said Darka. "I wanted to inform you that of today, both girls you've delivered to me now carry the seeds of darkness. In a couple of days, they will be carrying the children of darkness and future princes of Skotagi in their wombs."

The female felt a pang of jealousy at his words but fought hard not to show it. "Once you both find all six stones and release me. I will build a great empire out of your world and rule it with my sons and daughters leading the armies." Darka went on oblivious to her pain. "You do remember the plan."

The female nodded. "Wait till the stones have found the descendents, steal the stones and kidnap them. Then bring the girls to you so you can plant the seed of darkness in them, once pregnant they cannot use the stones and as a result cannot bind you. Release you with the stones so you can create your great empire and rule."

He didn't smile but she felt it, he was pleased. "But I still don't know why you need them." The female gave Darka a pleading look. "I'm a descendent, I have a stone, and I am willing to do your bidding. Why not plant a seed in me and make me your queen."

"That would be useless." Was the immediate reply. "I know you have a stone but you serve me already, I have control over how you use your powers. I do not, however, have control over the other descendents. By doing this, I hinder them from using their powers and ruining my plans. Now is the best time to act as they do not know anything about the world of magic, by the time they find out about all of this it would be too late." Darka eyed her for a few seconds before continuing. "The real reason I called you here was because I wanted you to associate with them. Become their companions, their friend. It will make finding out when they have come into possession of the stones faster and stealing the stones easier. Carryout the plan successfully and I promise you, you will carry my heir and rule by my side as my empress."

The female brightened filled with excitement. "Really?" Darka nodded in affirmation. "I promise, I won't let you down my lord. Will there be anything else?"

Darka sighed. "Yes. You and your father should avoid coming up here again unless I call for you two. We wouldn't want anyone spotting the both of you and raise suspicions. Just try to focus on accomplishing the task I've given you two. Okay?"

The female bowed. "Yes milord."

"That'll be all

The female smiled and scurried happily away.

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Darka watched the mirror return to its normal form before walking away. The stone castle was eerily quiet and lonely, the world outside was dark and depressing with everything near the point of death or already dead. A swarm of Nightprowlers flew round the stone fortress, they served as security protecting those within the castle. Vines which grew all over the castle wall and floors moved out of the way as he stepped gently over them. He stopped when he arrived at a wooden door and pushed it open. It was bedroom with all of its furniture, a dressing table and chair, a looking glass, a trunk and a bookshelf, almost totally buried in vines. On a bed positioned near the open window lay a girl in a long white dress fast asleep. Her long black hair formed a pool around her head and vines had grown over her body to create a kind of blanket. It always night-time in Skotagi thanks to the spell the witches had placed on the land all those years ago but he had to admit that even in the near darkness, the girl looked beautiful.

Did you really need her alone to tell her that? It was darkness speaking. "If her father was there he would have known that I was manipulating her and would probably have talked some sense into her once they'd left." Replied Darka. "I use her jealousy to motivate her and her lust to maintain control over her."

And what is her name? The one that carries our child. Darka turned back to the sleeping girl reaching out to stroke her hair softly. "Molly."