His Runaway Witch

Episode Three: Demetria

I wrapped my jacket as I stared at the dark tall building in front of me. This was the old house I used to stay at when I was younger. It felt like ages since I had been here. I wasn’t sure what to expect from my parents. My brother had been hounding me that I needed to visit my mum before it was too late.

I don’t know what he meant by that, but the feeling I got was enough to send me packing my bags and travelling for the holidays. I was right to feel scared because there was something weird about this house. It was pitch dark, something my mother would never allow. She always loved to light candles all through the house and mutter nonsense under her breath.

I scanned the windows and noticed that there wasn’t salt on them- another weird thing. I dropped my duffel bag and tried the door. It opened almost immediately and I scrunched my nose. A gust of wind blew and I shivered. There was something wrong and I could sense it.

“Dorian.” I called my brother but there wasn’t any response. “Dorian, Diane, Drew, Dominic! If this is a silly joke, I’ll be angry.” I screamed into the dark house. I stepped into the house, leaving my bags on the entryway. I couldn’t make out anything and I tried to use the image in my head to locate the light switch. I tried it and it didn’t work.

“Demetria.” I heard a whisper so low I could barely make out my name.

“Mum.” I called but no response. I walked further into the house, hoping I’d hear the voice again and make out what she was saying to me. “If this is one of your ritual things, please I want out of it.” I begged. My mother always planned these holiday rituals with blood, words in Latin or some weird language and some crystals. These were the things I ran away from. I didn’t want to be a part of it.

I sensed someone running behind me, nearly knocking me off the ground. I grabbed onto the nearest chair, steadying myself from the impact. “ab omni malo libera me. Verba mea custodiunt me.” The words flew out of my mouth before I could register them. It was a Latin sentence my mother always made us say at night. I don’t know why I remembered it.

“Demetria.” The voice sounded a bit louder and I could make out that it wasn’t my mother. Whenever she whispered, her voice got a bit nasally. I walked further into the house, my feet guiding me towards the living room. The moonlight shone, through a half-opened window. The light fell directly on the centre of the room. There was a big drawing on the floor with five symbols. As I got closer, I began to hear footsteps. There were multiple and it sounded like it was on the walls.

“Wren!” I screamed in shock, followed by the sound of boots running into the house and towards me. “Wren. It’s me, Ezra.” He called as he grabbed me and pulled me towards the half-opened window. “What are you doing in here? What’s going on? Is this your house?” He asked me as he pulled me in for a hug. I felt my body shake against his solid frame as he rubbed my back.

“This is my house. I don’t know where everyone went to. And there’s this symbol on the floor. I think something’s wrong.” I explained to him. I pulled away from him and looked up at him. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have invited you. I thought it was going to be a normal family holiday.”

“It is fine.” He waved me off. “I can get us a room and tomorrow, we’ll sort out this mess.” He said as he motioned towards the door. As he turned to leave, I heard voices all around us. Ezra took my hand and they increased. I tried to listen to them but it got louder and all their words were jumbled up. As Ezra pulled me, the sounds became deafening and I tried to pull away from him but he held my hand tighter. “What’s going on?”

“I can’t hear you if you're all talking. I said to the voices.” It was an attempt to make it stop and it did. I didn’t hear a single sound and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

“What the f**k is going on?” He asked me and I shrugged. I didn’t even know what to say. How would I tell him that I was starting to hear voices? This was the first guy I had any interest in and I was already ruining everything with my family issues. I haven’t even known him for so long. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have invited him for this Christmas break. “Wren. I'll need you to talk to me. I can’t deal with all of this.”

‘Go to the circle.’ I heard a whisper and I took Ezra’s hand.

“You have to trust me.” I pleaded with him as I pulled him to the middle of the circle. “I have the ability to hear things. My mother told me when I was little. I tried to outrun it but it seems like I can’t. They keep saying we should stand here for our protection.” I tried to explain to the best of my ability but I wasn’t sure he would understand me.

I felt the same gust of wind from earlier and I pulled Ezra close to me. Something or someone was in here and I couldn’t see them.

“Wren, you're scaring me, to be honest with you. What’s all this?” He questioned his voice shaking a bit. “It is impossible to hear voices.”

“Ezra, I don’t need you to nag or complain. I just need you to trust me. Something is in this house with us and if it doesn’t leave, it’ll kill us.”