Strange Encounters

Comforting herself in the chair where she was. Grace drank some more of her tea, this was a habit she had since she was little, drinking tea when things were bad. Whenever she was faced with a situation that she couldn't handle, she found herself drinking a cup of steaming tea, made in the same way her grandmother taught her since she could understand how to make quality tea.

Grace turned her face to the side when her phone started ringing again. Her propensity to answer was very close to zero, since she had arrived at Viktor's house after they left the hunting community, she had fled on foot to her mansion without even bothering to give any justification and since then the boy has been making constant calls to her. Grace didn't know what made her make this decision to simply leave, perhaps a moment of desperation or fear even, but one thing was certain, she didn't want to face the truth.

The last remaining Valefar found its refuge in her, now renovated, living room. The boys on the show did an exceptional and agile job when it came to glassworks in your home. Fortunately, the wood that made up the glass frames was easily replaced and made with quality wood, as were the tempered glass sheets. Grace wasn't worried about the amount, Pierre had said that they made a good discount and the man paid them to speed up the process, vehemently refusing when she wanted to make the bank transfer to him for the cost of the repairs.

Now the room still smelled of fresh varnish and wood. Despite being comfortably in his refuge, realizing that his books closest to the glass cabinet had a terrible musty smell due to all the rainwater they had received made his heart ache. They were important to her because of all the stories they contained, Grace still tried to analyze to see if they had any possibility of being restored, but their damage was beyond her ability.

Having the cemetery as a key point in this story made Grace almost let out all her bile. She felt strange, realizing that this was where her whole life turned upside down, that had been the key point where the whole mess had gotten worse. The apparitions had not been easy to witness, but nothing compared to the situation that developed from then on. It was for this reason that she decided to return home, looking for comfort, trying to find something that still made some sense.

Finishing her tea, Grace rested her cup on the side table next to the armchair where she is sitting. Her thoughts still came and went with this morning's event, they had left the community, gone to Viktor's house and Grace had waited for the right opportunity to leave, however, that was not her main concern, in fact, it would not even be a concern in itself, but as a curiosity.

She knew very little about Elisa, practically nothing. But this subject was lingering in his mind, the curiosity about who she was was something interesting to think about. Since they met, in a strange and sad way for Grace, the woman showed herself to be someone very centered, calm in her own way, serious and blunt about being sincere, which she had experienced firsthand.

Grace remembered well the words said by Elisa when they were returning to Viktor's house.

“The community was my home since I was a child, I was practically born and spent a good part of my life in that hole. But things happened and I left there, I knew that it was no longer my place. I think you noticed, I left loose ends behind.”

And those few words rented a triplex in Grace's mind and she wouldn't let this matter die that easily. Grace's cell phone rang again, the distinctive ringtone filling the room with the melody. It didn't take long for her to answer her cell phone, finding it strange that her cell phone had made a ringing sound, since it had been on silent since she had bought it.

Without even seeing who was calling, Grace answered and placed the phone next to her ear. She imagined it was Viktor, who had been trying to talk to her since the moment she left, sending several messages and calling a few times.

“Viktor, I think me not answering the phone is a good indication that I don't want to talk to anyone. Don’t you think so?” Grace spoke a little impatiently.

“I didn’t know that was how you welcomed strangers.”

Grace's eyebrows furrow. She didn't recognize the voice on the other end of the line. Taking the phone away from her ear, Grace looks at the screen and sees the words “unknown” on the call. The voice was clearly male, but she still didn't know who was on the other end.

“Don’t you dare hang up, darling. It’s very rude.”

The voice booms from the speakers, demonstrating a calm and decorum that few people she knew could sound like. She would be lying if she said she wasn't scared of who it could be. Since she changed phones, she hadn't received calls from anyone other than Viktor and Elisa.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

“I thought you knew me better than anyone, doll. What do you mean you don’t recognize my voice?”

The woman got up from the armchair where she was sitting. For some reason, his heart was starting to race faster and faster. It wasn't every day that a strange number called and told you that you had a good handle on it. Grace thought of all the possibilities that could give her a hint as to who the person on the other end of the line might be.

There were only two people she knew well enough for that now.

Viktor, but he didn't speak that way and it didn't even sound like his voice.

Grace licked her lips, trying to get some of her frustration out. The person didn't seem like they were going to end the call anytime soon, they weren't in a hurry and they didn't seem anxious, they seemed to be playing with your anxiety and doubt. She decided to try another tactic.

“Look, I think you got the wrong number and called the wrong person.”

Grace came out of her living room. The last time something strange happened and she was in her living room, it hadn't ended very well, that combined with the fact that it left her quite vulnerable, she no longer felt comfortable being in that situation. The call was still going on. But the person still hadn't said anything, and Grace wasn't going to hang up the phone.

Leaving the living room, Grace went to the stairs, stopping on the first step so she could look into the main hall of her house. This was a very empty room in his house, containing some furniture that came from a few generations ago, a set of forest green sofas with gold details, a large brown Persian rug that matched the dark oak color of the pilasters that supported the second and other floors. It was eerily empty, but it still brought her some comfort in times when she needed it, the lamp on the side table emitted a sickly yellowish light. Seeing that nothing else was out of place, Grace continued up the stairs.

“I feel bad that you think I would do something like that, sweetie. I would never make a mistake like that, not with you. In fact, my heart hurt to see that you didn’t notice me here, sweetheart.”

Grace instantly stopped in the hallway. She turned both ways and saw nothing suspicious, nothing that could tell her what she hadn't seen. And from the way the thing had said it had been now, and the only place it had been recently was the living room. Grace didn't consider herself the bravest person in the world, she had run from the library when she noticed the slightest signs that something was strange. She left her home when she had been attacked, not wanting to stay to find out if it would happen again.

And she didn't want to go down there. Grace swore under her breath as she realized the stupidity she had done by going up to the second floor. There are no escape routes here so she can leave the house safely and without making her intentions clear. There were windows that opened wide enough for her to jump out, but it was either stay here or suffer an agonizing fall from more than four meters into the air. Damn old houses with high walls.

“Aren’t you going to come down here, princess? You know it’s bad to keep a guest waiting, don’t you?”

“Can you stop with these stupid nicknames?” Grace asked angrily and almost hissing. She didn't want to go down, but she also didn't want to make her position known, even though deep down she knew it would be pointless. In a moment of bravery, Grace hung up the call, looked around, trying to see if she could find anything she could use to defend herself. The only thing she found in the hallway at her disposal was a very old vase from her family, it hurt her to have to use the vase, but who would complain at that moment? Picking up the vase, she went downstairs as quickly as she could, turning to where the sofas were and pointing the vase in that direction, keeping it at chest height.

The first thing she captured when she stopped near the stairs was the person sitting on the sofas in her house. The black man with dreadlocked hair was sitting on the sofa that faced the stairs, he was wearing a three-piece suit, no tie and black oxford shoes. His dreadlocks fell down the side of his face and ended in the middle of his waist, an almost aristocratic pose, legs crossed, one elbow on his knee and one hand supporting his head by his chin while the other fiddled with some things on his phone.

As soon as Grace's presence was noticed by the other occupant of the room, he raised his eyes from the device in his hands and analyzed her. He smiled and put the phone aside, leaning against the couch and crossing his hands on his legs.

“I thought I would have your presence tonight, Grace Elizabeth Valefar. In fact, please sit down.” He indicated the other sofa for her to sit on. When Grace made no move to comply with his request, he spoke once more. “Oh, please, I won’t bite. Not if you don’t ask.” His smile grew.

Grace gritted her teeth. She couldn't believe the audacity of the man in front of her.

“Who are you and how did you get into my house?” Grace yelled at him. “If you don’t tell me now, I’m going to call the police.”

The boy was not shaken by the woman's fury, starting to analyze his own nails as if he didn't care about what she had just said.

“For someone who is cursed to end me, you don't seem to know me that much. I would say this is a big problem, after all, how can you want to kill someone you don't even know?” He stood up, buttoning his suit and putting his hands in his pockets, he walked a few steps forward, but made no indication that he was going to approach Grace, who raised the vase in her hand higher. “But we need to change that, don’t you think? Well, let me introduce myself. My name is Lázaro, I’m sure you know me.” The boy spoke calmly, the complete opposite of what Grace was feeling.

The vase that was in his hand broke. He was right when he said she didn't know him, she expected anything and everything but that. Grace hoped he was a ghost or something resembling a specter and not a real person.

“Why do you look so human?” Grace asked before she could think too much about what she was doing. When she was nervous, she had a great tendency to ask first, think later.

“Oh this here?” Lázaro asked, looking at himself. “It’s my new shell. Did you like it, princess?” He looked at her again, with that same wicked smile.

“I told you not to call me that, hell.” Grace said, completely ignoring his question, but I understand what he meant by bark. He was possessing people to consume their life energy and gain more power, she had read about this type of possession in Ezden's diary.

“Ah, I understand, I understand. The only one who can call you that is that boy, D’Angeles, right?” Lázaro seemed a little disappointed, but soon his serious face returned, seeming to be quite bored with being there.

“What do you want with me?” Grace asked, losing a good portion of her fear. She began to feel like a puppet in the hands of the other man, he clearly wasn't there to harm her, because if that hadn't been the case, he would have already died in his hands, Grace was clearly weaker than Lazarus and she had no chance of defending herself against him.

“Can’t I just want to get to know you? Want to know who the person is who is so committed to trying to end me? But tell me… what do you know about me, your parents, your grandparents even about yourself? You don't even have enough power to beat me. But it’s interesting to see how you’re putting so much effort into something you weren’t even aware of.” Lázaro approaches her. Grace takes a few steps back, climbing onto the first step to avoid direct contact with the man, but she wasn't as quick as his long strides, meaning she was practically face to face with her main enemy.

“Do you like being made a puppet? Can’t you see that you are being used by those two just so they can get what they want at your expense?” Lázaro comes closer to Grace, being almost a foot away between two faces, she was not a tall person, but even on the step, Lázaro still towered over her.

“I’m doing this for my grandfather and all those people out there.”

“Oh how cute, she cares about others.” The boy laughs, bending his body backwards, reveling in something that Grace couldn't see where it was funny. “Oh little girl, I think you’re so in love with that boy that you can’t see, right? Doing everything for him, you felt touched by that story about his sister, but do you know the truth? You don’t even want to know where the portal is, do you?”

“Truth about what?” Grace asked curiously. She believed she knew everything about why Viktor left. “You don't even know what you're talking about, is this your method of manipulation? Know that you need to improve. And you have no idea if I know about the portal or not, you better take care of yourself, otherwise things will get ugly for you.”

“You are so funny… your grandfather told me a lot about your potential. I visited him, you know? He was very kind in trying to tell me where the portkey was, but unfortunately he chose to keep his mouth shut, and now it looks like he'll keep his mouth shut forever, doesn't it?” Lázaro ran the back of his fingers over Grace's cheek, bringing his face closer to the woman's ear. “Know that I'm not afraid of you, not even a little bit, I'm very excited to see you enter the same hole that your grandfather entered, the land is sacred dear, we have to honor the lands where our ancestors are buried.”

The boy kissed Grace's cheek before walking away. Smiling at the woman, waiting for her to realize what he had said to her. And when that happened, it was one of the most gratifying things he could have seen in the dozens of years he was alive. Grace became angry, an anger she had never felt before, in a few seconds, she started shouting at him, hitting his chest, telling him to leave her house, which he did with the greatest desire.

When he had ordered his subordinate to terrorize the girl, he had not expected everything to go so well in such a short time, Lázaro had asked him to just give her a scare, but breaking the windows of her house and giving her an entry pass into the old Valefar mansion was a stroke of pure luck. The days were being numbered and every moment was important, his to-do list was getting smaller and smaller, a satisfaction he hadn't had in years was taking over his body again.

The rise of darkness was counting down to the days of glory. One tip, one intrigue and everything would be walking on the trails once again.