THE LIBATION

Elara breathed heavily as her eyes went left and right, back and front. Circles of dark cloud surrounded her, flames curled her waist like shackles, and above stood a man cloaked in his holy robes, his face hidden in the dark, his voice deep and sharp as steel: "Elara!." She jolted awake with taste of burnt ashes on her tongues. Elara raked her hair with her finger as her breathe became heavy. One could tell from the color of her eyes that she was scared. “Not this again.” She said as she jumped down from her bed and rushed to the bathroom. She turned on the faucet slowly as water rushed out silently. Elara stared at her dark reflection in the mirror. She could only, but see shadow of herself and other witches around her. She bent down and cupped the flowing water in her hand and splashed them all over her face. She felt a tug at the tip of her trouser, as she looked down in shock to know what that was, she couldn’t find anything there, by the time she turned back to the mirror, she flinched backward causing the water she had twice cupped with her hand, splash on her, Emily and the mirror. She made a face at Emily who rested on the basin and pouted her mouth. “Seriously!” Elara whispered as she took off her clothes and stepped into the bath tub. Sliding down slowly, she let her head rest on the tub while she allowed the soap lather mixed with water soothe her skin majestically. She closed her eyes and could still see the dark figure, but this time around it wasn’t standing on the air, it was on her body. The dark huge figure raised his hand and let his long, sharp, dark index finger play with her face. Elara moaned softly into his ears as he awakened her alive. She moved slowly up an down to the rhythm of his touch. “Elara!” She heard her name and quickly sat up on the tub as she turned to look at Emily, who stared at her with astonishment written all over her eyes. “Nothing. Nothing happened. I’m alright.” She exhaled deeply and loudly as she wet her body. “You look like one who had a nightmare.” . “I could use that.” She opened her locker and brought out a pink notebook inscribed on it “ELARA.” She gasped when she shut the locker and found Nathan standing close to her. “Hey.” He leaned forward and piled a kiss on her lips. “You don’t look good.” He said with concern in his voice. “Thank Mary, I thought I was the only one who noticed she looked like crab.” Elara frowned at her and Brielle c****d her head and smiled back. Brielle, Elara’s best friend, a tall and dark brown skin girl, with long straight hair and beautiful face. “How was your night?” Nathan asked as they started walking. “Good.” She hesitated to reply. “Elara, you sure you’re alright, cause you don’t look like one who is. You’ve been annoyingly quiet.” Brielle asked after they had buffet themselves and sat down on an empty sit. “Yes. Just a bad dream.” “A bad dream that got your mood today?” Brielle asked taking a spoon of salad as she mouth it slowly, keeping her gaze on her friend. Elara could only but look away as she was quiet the whole time. She blinked twice when Brielle snapped a finger at her. Elara opened her mouth to talk when she saw dark shadow around Brielle, and could hear whispering around her own very self. “Elara?” Brielle called her, as she looked confused by the way Elara stared at her. She turned sideways and back to see if anyone was there, but there was none. She turned back to Elara who was looking angry. “Okay….okay…. I’m not your nightmare, nor do I look like your archenemies. So stop giving me that stare.” Brielle yelled at her making people turn to her direction, but that helped as Elara was back in full. “Why the noise?” Brielle opened her mouth in surprise, “Girl, you wanted to eat me up. You were staring weirdly.” Elara walked silently into the coven. It was dark as usual, though there was light beaming everywhere, it just seemed the bulb produced dark lights. She could hear people walking and chattering as they pass by. She stopped when she heard cries from the High Inquisitor’s office. “Are you gonna speak now!” The thunderous and wicked voice of Father Morvan. “I swear by Lord Lucien, I wasn’t the one.” “You still have the unmerciful guts to lie to me.?” Elara could hear the deep laugh of Father Morvan. “I was blinded by Alexander.” The other offender confessed. Elara frowned as she heard the sliver chains landed heavily on their bodies, they cried out loud. She kept on moving as she searched for her father. She sighted Father Varian talking to the others as she walked up to him: “Have you seen my father anywhere?” She whispered. “Check in there.” Father Varian pointed the black door next to them. Elara nodded slowly, looking around to see men seated in circles, dressed in black hoods. She swallowed in and opened the door slowly and stepped in. Her face inched with annoyance when she saw Selene, her step mother with other women. She cursed Father Varian under her nostril. If only he had told her see would pass through this woman, she would have left and came back some other times later. Selene gave her an irritating glare and changed to a happy face almost immediately without anyone’s notice. “Ooh my sweetheart!” Selene called her. “I have been looking for you. Where were you since?” She smiled as she walked towards her, but Elara reeled backwards. “Where’s my father?” Her eyes screaming anger as she stared at Selene. Selene hissed silently and rolled her eyes, “What do you want from him, he’s working.?” “Where? I want to see him.” “You have to pass through me first honey, before going to meet him. So what is it that you can’t wait for him to be done with his work?” Selene stroked her face gently with her long Index fingernails. “And tell me when you became Father Varian?” Elara folded her arm to her chest and tilted her head. “Don’t get carried away by your position as his second wife and because you’re pregnant for my father. Maintain your lane as a woman who only but bears children for him and nothing else.” Elara hissed as she entered the inner door in the room, even after Selene tried to stop her. “Arggghhhh….! I hate that little b***h. Just look at the way she talked to me?” Selene turned to her fellow women. “Don’t mind her. She doesn’t know what she said.” Agatha squeezed her shoulder lightly. “Don’t tell me that.” Selene shrugged her hands off. “I want to get rid of that witch.” She said in between her teeth. “You can.” Jasmine smiled. “Since you don’t like her and you think she’s an obstacle between you and Lord Lucien, then you can do whatever your mind tells you to do.” "And my mind is screaming KILL!" Selene shouted. "Hope you two know that she is Elara Duskbane, nothing can happen to her. She's the second powerful after her father, and Dark Lord's favorite." Agatha reminded them. "And that's why I hate her the more." She collapsed on the chair behind her and sighed heavily.