The Secret Society - pt.1

“Are you sure about this? Can I trust the word of a person who would rather see me dead than help me as far as I know?” Elisa uttered on the phone while driving towards the entrance of Non Cicury City. Each car he overtook fueled his anger like hot coals. She had left Cicury to do a job and help a friend and now she would need to talk to the worst kind of people on the face of the earth. If she could, she wouldn't even be on this call, but she had a job to do and help a person who was helpless at the moment. Any help would be important, even the worst of all, like this.

“If you think our work is a joke, just like yours, it’s best to disconnect this call. We swore an oath in the shadows to honor our work.” The male voice on the other end of the line had mockery in his voice. Elisa had no patience for those types of people.

“Look here, if I were in need, know that I would rather die than be on this call! But no, I’m not the one who needs it, bloody hell!” Elisa screamed in her car. Attracting the attention of a man who was in the car next door. Hating herself for forgetting the car windows open, the blonde stepped on the accelerator as soon as the traffic light changed to green.

The man laughed, enjoying Elisa's emotional outburst. He laughed softly a few more times before answering the woman. “It will be a pleasure to work with you, Witch. You will soon receive the address. See you later."

“See you later, see you later is my…” Elisa calmed down. She threw her cell phone into the passenger seat, turning her full attention to the road. Her legs were crying out for a rest and she completely agreed with them. Hitting her head on the back of the seat, Elisa let herself relax for a few minutes, until her cell phone rang again.

"Unknown"

The screen glowed with the indication of a new call, the blonde could hear the sound of the phone vibrating on the bench, but without the usual sound of the call. Despite herself, she decided to answer the call.

“I told you to don't call me.” Elisa spoke to nothing, with her cell phone still on the bench, she didn't bother to pick it up and put it on the stand. She didn't even want to be on that call.

“You know I don’t follow orders, kitten.” replied the voice on the other side, firm, masculine and very deep but with a provocative tone that made it a little more pleasant to listen to. “Did you get what you wanted?”

“Not exactly. I would prefer there to be another option, but we will have to ask the hunters for support. Unfortunately or not, they know every step Lazarus takes and where he was last seen.”

Silence reigned in the car, not even the breathing of the man on the other side could be heard. Elisa wanted to ask if he was still on the line, but she wasn't that interested in discussing the boy any further.

“They are dangerous, Elisa. You know what they do to ours, don’t you?”

Elisa gripped the steering wheel, her jaw was locked. She sighed before giving an answer.

“I know exactly what they do. But unfortunately they are our only option at the moment.”

On the other end of the line, the voice hesitated before answering the woman.

“Okay, but I ask you to be careful, Elisa. I know we’re not in good waters anymore, but I’d rather not light a candle for you.”

Elisa smiled before saying goodbye to the boy, disconnecting the call.

She still had to talk to Viktor and rest before leaving the house again. In the morning she would have another appointment

———————————

It had been a few hours since Grace had started. The ritual was somewhat time-consuming, despite appearing quick, it required patience and a demand for extreme vital energy. Viktor was itching inside with anxiety, he was almost biting his own nails, listening to songs over and over again until he calmed down a little more. He had already put away some bandages and supplements so he could help the woman when she got back and had left them on the coffee table.

A few minutes ago, Viktor decided he would prepare a meal for both of us. They had already had dinner earlier, but he was almost certain that she would be hungry since the ritual demanded a lot from the summoner. Going to the kitchen, the boy began to remove the utensils he would need to prepare a quick meal. Cooking was no unknown magic for him, having had to learn to fend for himself since his sister died, cooking and taking care of himself became one of his biggest challenges at such a young age, but now, it was almost like a second part of him, always with him, always there, always present.

Viktor was thinking about what he was going to make for both of them to eat. He finally decided to make pasta in white sauce, something quick and easy to make. Viktor put the pasta to cook and while he was stirring the milk sauce, the boy's cell phone started ringing, he answered the cell phone without even seeing who was calling.

"Are you busy?"

Elisa's voice sounded from the other side.

“Not really, I'm preparing something to eat. Grace is still in the ritual. Any problems?” Viktor asks.

“I found a group of hunters. I believe they can help us. I’m going there tomorrow morning and I want you and Grace to come with me.”

Viktor stops stirring the pot for a moment so he can think through what she had said. Since he was a child he always knew that he shouldn't mix with hunters, they were evil and very brutal, whenever they were hunting, there was no wizard who could stop them. They were raised to be the best at everything they did.

“Are you sure about this? Hunters are not very trustworthy.”

Viktor questions.

“Argh. You're not the first to tell me this today, but the hunters are our best option. They know and know Lázaro's steps, they want more than anything to catch him, the damage is already taking extraordinary proportions at the moment. I'm sure they will help us, especially if we take Grace, she is a weapon now.”

“Elisa, you can’t say that. Grace is not a weapon.” Viktor turned off the pasta pot and drained the water while he answered the woman on the other end of the line.

“Now she is, D’Angeles. Even if you deny it. She is the most important person at this moment, she is the key to ending all this and I'm sure you wouldn't even be there if you didn't agree with me.” Elisa stopped for a moment. Viktor turned off the sauce and mixed it with the pasta, adding some seasonings and finishing the recipe.

“Look, I don’t want to be the buzzkill here and I don’t want to be the villain. But I only got into this fight because of her, she will be the only person who can stop it.”

Viktor leaned against the counter, running his hand through his hair, not really knowing what to say to Elisa.

“You have your reasons, then?” Viktor asked.

“Of course I do. Everyone has reasons, Viktor.” The boy heard the woman sigh. “I don't need to explain myself to you, but I also don't want to pretend that I'm here for the good of everything and everyone, I'm very clear with my objectives. But it’s okay, it’s late and I need to rest, remember that tomorrow we will meet them.” Elisa finished before disconnecting the call.

“Viktor?” Grace's voice spreads across the room. The boy lifts his head and sees that she is standing at the entrance to the kitchen. His hair was stuck to his forehead due to the sweat that had accumulated. His arms still had fresh blood on them, the little that still came out since they cut was enough to make a mess. Viktor was startled by her presence there, he hoped she hadn't heard the conversation he had with Elisa.

"Everything is fine?" Viktor asked, approaching the woman.

“Yes it is. I'm just a little more tired than before, but it was rewarding, I feel better, renewed energy.” Grace showed him an awkward smile, avoiding looking directly at him.

"Excellent. Let’s go to the living room, I’ll clean your wounds.” Viktor pulled her by the arm towards the living room. There, Grace sat in the same place she had sat before.

Viktor pulled out the small suitcase he had left there earlier and pulled out some cotton wool and wound medicine. He cleaned the wounds with a cotton ball soaked in saline solution, leaving the wounds clean to receive the medicine.

“Do you agree with what Elisa said?” Grace asked softly, almost inaudible to Viktor's ears, however, due to his proximity to her. He could clearly hear what she asked.

“I can’t say I disagree, because that would be a lie. But unlike Elisa, I don't have a credible reason like her for being here, she's not someone empathetic who gives her life for others, I'm sure she would just be there to sit and watch. And yes, I believe that you are an important person in this story and that without you everything would end as it is going.” Viktor explains as he applies the medicine with a clean cotton pad.

“So you’re also doing this just because you know I’m going to end this all?” Grace asks, her voice filling with emotions.

“Do you want me to be honest?”

Viktor puts the cotton in a bag, having finished applying the medicine to Grace's arms, starting to put away the things he had used.

"Yes of course."

"Yes. Honestly, from the beginning I've always been here for this, I did it and I'm doing it for your grandfather, but lately I'm changing that, you're gaining a space here.”

“I see…” She sighs. “Thank you for helping me, Viktor.”

Grace stood up, passing through the short space between her and Viktor who was crouched on the floor. She left the room and went towards the room where she was, entering and closing the door. His eyes were already full of unshed tears.

She was already very tired from everything that happened today. The ritual, although it took a long time and she spent some time unconscious, a weight could still be felt on her shoulders. Grace didn't know where all this mixed feelings for Viktor were coming from, she always knew that he was a sentimental person since he was young, losing his parents, his grandparents, there was no other relative or role model for her to follow.

Grace sat on the bed, removing part of the clothes he had to wear to perform the ritual, leaving him with just a white t-shirt and black linen pants. She wasn't worried about taking a shower or getting ready now, lying down on the double bed, Grace looks at the window that was open, a cold early morning breeze entering the room and making the curtains sway.

Pulling out her cell phone, Grace opened the photo gallery, luckily she hadn't lost all her photos due to the Automatic Backup that was logged into her account. On her new cell phone, the most important thing were the photos she had with her grandparents when she was still a teenager, there weren't many photos of her parents, just a few photographs developed on paper that was in her house.

Since she returned from her house, all of her things, which were significantly few, were here at Viktor's house. Her most precious possession was her cell phone since she had bought a new one. These were the only moments she had thought about all of this, and especially her new thoughts about Viktor, her feelings.

It was a raw, difficult, and painful thing to think about. She felt like a puppy being trained, all her expectations were falling like rainwater in a storm, strong and merciless. Grace didn't want to feel bad about this, she should have known from the beginning, they had made it very clear since this had started that she had a goal there and that was it.

She got things wrong and now it was up to her to swallow dry her feelings that only grew for the boy on the other side of the door.

————————————

First thing in the morning, Grace woke up early so she could take a cold shower and remove the medicine from the cuts. Fortunately, they were small cuts that would be easy to heal in the future. Before coming to the bathroom, she received a few messages from Elisa warning her about the appointment that both three of them had later that day, she was no longer feeling as miserable as before, but she was still feeling very guilty about what she had done the night before.

Internally, she was beating herself up about how she acted like a child in Viktor's presence, as if she were a child who had had her pacifier ripped out of her mouth. She was a 24-year-old woman and she needed to behave like one, control her thoughts and her attitude, just as she also had to apologize to her friend. Leaving the room, now having showered and dressed for the day, Grace went to the living room, surprised by Elisa's presence.

“Oh. Good morning, Elisa.” Grace still hadn't thought much about what she had heard coming out of the blonde's mouth yesterday. She did not condemn the woman for thinking the way she did and having her own reasons for helping her.

“Good morning, Grace.” Elisa complimented her. “Do you want coffee?”

“No, thank you! I’m not hungry.” Grace denied it. She really wasn't hungry and didn't intend to eat until a few more hours later. “Are we going already?”

“I intend so. I am, we are now, waiting for Viktor to come so we can go.”

Elisa was leaning against the counter, drinking a cup of what looked like coffee. Apparently she wasn't aware that Grace had overheard her conversation with Viktor last night, so she was acting normally around her and not walking on eggshells as was expected after such a situation.

Both women stood in comfortable silence just waiting for Viktor. Grace was playing on her cell phone sitting at the kitchen table, talking to a guy she had hired to fix the windows in her house under Pierre's supervision. It didn't take long for Viktor to come out ready for the three of them to head towards their final destination.

It was a mutual decision between them that it would be better for them to go in Elisa's car, since she was known to them and there was little chance that they could be attacked because they were mistaken for complete strangers. That being said, it didn't take long for the three of them to be in the blonde's car heading towards the address that was sent to her.

On the way, the wear and tear and all the destruction that was being caused due to Lázaro's actions were quite noticeable. The local community attributed the disasters to the climatic conditions that were occurring on planet Earth, being completely blind to the true perpetrator of all the misfortune. Streets were closed, cracks were open for kilometers in length, the city's vegetation was beginning to die little by little, causing local traders and farmers to have to give up their activities due to the unproductive nature of the land.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the designated location. It was completely remote, in the middle of a forest very similar to the one around Valefar's house. Vegetation contamination had not yet reached that area, which still boasted tall, green grass, as well as trees with full, healthy crowns.

“Come. There is a guide waiting for us.” Elisa warned, getting out of the car and closing the door, waiting for the remaining two to do the same before activating the car locks. As soon as they were out of the car, the three came across a rough-looking boy who was waiting for them further down the road.

Getting closer, Grace could see that the man waiting for them had a scar on his face that ran across his face from his eyebrow to just below his lower lip. His hair is a dark red, almost like ember fire, it glowed a sickly orange when the few rays of sunlight that passed through the treetops hit it.

As soon as they were in front of the boy. Elisa approached until she was about five steps away and said some words that neither Grace nor Viktor could understand due to the noise of the leaves that the trees were making due to the wind. It didn't take long for the man to turn around and start walking into the forest. Elisa turned to them and made a 'come' sign with her hands. Taking the hint well, Grace and Viktor followed her into the forest, waiting and wondering what might greet them at the end of this short journey.