ECONTRO

Engraved

Her eyes were as deep as the blue sea ,

and her hair darker than the night sky ,

 her lips so sweet they seemed ,

 irresistible to any man that passed by.

Oh , she looked so kind and so sweet , 

So easy to deceive , hard to achieve , 

but worth all of it indeed , oh so not worth the deed 

for she was no fairy , she had dark bleeding eyes hiding behind her disguise ,

A beast lying beneath her beautiful hide. 

The words kept echoing loudly , said a billion times by a voice Victoria didn't recognize. It was unfamiliar and extremely sweet laced with a pinch of irritation and the speaker sounded like a female who was used to living in the most posh areas of the countryside. Her eyes opened to see a portrait of a formidable looking woman, sitting on an armchair exuding power like no one else she had ever seen. She felt the soft linen sheets slide over as she raised herself from the bed she was in. It was surprising to find herself so comfortably placed after the events of last night. Then it all came flooding back with Allie and the boy she was with. Scanning around the place , on pure instinct she picked up the lamp most near to the bedside. Then breaking it's edge with the little strength she could conjure , she formed it into a pointed edge enough to stab any man and kill it. But Victoria had guessed it since last night that the male was no man , no ordinary man indeed . He had fangs and was sucking on the blood of her friend. Just the thought of it made her go wild with anger and rage. 

The door opened with a loud bang and the voice she had been hearing in her sleep faded and garbled was now amplified and real and shouting curses like no one she had ever encountered yet or remembered. The girl was pretty , a brunette , dark skinned an had short hair kept in a neat bob. The woman was shouting curses in a language Victoria had no knowledge of , also another voice rough and heavy could be heard speaking probably the same language but Victoria wondered if he was really speaking above the shrill melody of the girl. The girl who had just entered the room stopped shouting curses on seeing the weapon Victoria had made to defend herself. After a moment of shock an amused look crossed her face and then with the exact shrillness that could almost deafen you she called out " Brother come look what the mortal has prepared , as a weapon to protect herself ,es tan divertido! "

 The boy whom she had called out to came in with a swish and the same boy from last night's party appeared in front of her . The weapon she had been holding loosely was now clutched in her hands tight and ready to hit. The girl laughed and the boy followed her actions. Then with a swish he was standing in front of her so close invading her privacy without a hint of embarrassment or awkwardness. His eyes fixed on her, sharp and demanding ,provoking her to take a step, giving her an opportunity. That second she felt like driving the wooden piece right through his heart but she wasn't a fool. He was much powerful and ready than she could ever be so she lowered her weapon and moved back a few paces towards the bed as a peace offering. The boy laughed again , he liked playing , hunting , chasing. It was his sport and he had never lost a match from anyone . Victoria turned her head towards the other girl asking for help or explanations when the boy moved with a flash his fangs out ready to bite, to taste her. Victoria had never been this scared ,she lost all the sense of thought but her hands moved instantly like she had been trained to do so like it was engraved in her soul and before the boy could hit her her weapon pierced through his stomach and a loud thud and groan was heard as he went toppling off his feet losing her perfectly maintained balance and stumbling back a bit. He wasn't injured too deeply or maybe he was but he healed much faster than he got hurt. In no time he pulled the wooden stick and threw it away. Healed and ready now there was anger in his eyes and a hint of rage that threatened to unleash itself on Victoria. She had no idea what and how she had done it . The only relief was that now both the brother and sister looked at her with wide eyes and shock on their faces. Fear was no where even visible just pure shock. Victoria had another stick same one from the broken lamp in her hand ready to hit another time when the sister came forward and said a word . The word had the most wondrous effect that Victoria could imagine. The weapon in her hand went zooming across the room into the girl's hands and then thrown away by her into the nearest chair. Now the boy wasn't the only thing that sacred Victoria she was certain that she was going to be ravished by this brother and sister as a little breakfast snack. The boy then said breaking the ice cold silence " You are strong and fast enough to hit or I should rather say trained enough to know your techniques. That was indeed real good." The boy wasn't lying when he praised Victoria. She could see that even after the blow he took he really did appreciate her move. This made Victoria blush and after a long time had she felt this way. The girl on the other hand had some extreme choice words that Victoria didn't like " You b**** , how dare you touch my brother . Any more tricks and I'll turn you into a puddle of blood. Now tell me what kind of a witch are you.?"

"What ?" Victoria was clueless about what the girl was asking . What did that sentence even really mean and if it meant what she thought it did , it didn't even make sense. The boy now asked in a calm voice " See, we bought you here to our place because you are witch and we know it. I can't smell it on you but I can feel a witch from a considerable distance , the mortal aura it lingers mixed with the supernatural one. Now , I need a certain kind of witch that you are to solve this riddle because you probably know the answer to it that will help me find something very dear to me ." 

"I am sorry , I have absolutely no idea of what you two are asking. I am a normal human and I swear on it, I am , please leave me , people will be looking for me ."

This time the sister spoke again " Which people , Victoria that's your name isn't it , your parents or relatives or brothers or sisters ? Who tell me , who will be looking for you, the school , yes and if they won't find you who will care enough to take action ? Is there anyone , no one Victoria really no one ."

Those words they struck with the intensity that could shake a building from within and each hurt bad because it was the bitter truth at the end . Victoria stayed quiet but the boy spoke this time a bit angrily " Stop it Mel , enough with the bitterness. See we are here to get the spell done and then we leave you and the friend we have here as a leverage after erasing her memories of course. So just tell me will you cooperate or not?"

" I will but I am not a witch and I swear on my life I am not. I have no idea of what you are saying. I mean if I were a witch wouldn't I have escaped this place turned that sister of yours into ash for saying that and run away, but no I am stuck here with threats on my life and I am struggling to grasp why you think I am a witch ."

The boy now looked perplexed. He was baffled and the sister was too. She looked at her brother and then said " She is not lying , I had cast a truth spell before she said what was on her mind." A sudden relief ran through Victoria's system then the boy took out a piece of parchment and started reading out the words that she had heard the sister , Mel say when she was asleep. The words they sounded familiar like she knew the answer but didn't. Then after he read the verse he asked " You know of this ?" Victoria shook her head and the boy's face expressed more of irritation. Then in a flash the boy was in front of her and lifted her hand and put it on the paper. It glowed with a bright faint blue light. Then he went back to his original position in just the same second and it was surprise to see him move with that much of agility. He cursed out loud and the sister then cursed in the same language they had been conversing in before . Victoria plucked up some courage and asked " What is it ?"

" Its the reason you are here , the reason we abducted you , we need a witch whose touch can light up the sheet on which these words are engraved or anywhere these words are engraved and the map and the words tell us it's you . But you are no witch , I can't smell it , you don't know it and neither can Mel feel you. Witches can feel another witch if they touch them its like spontaneous flow of power and Mel is the kind that can siphon power so she can feel all supernatural beings but you have no power , no energy yet  the words glow when you touch them and you can stake a vampire like you have been trained to do so. If you are still concealing you identity be out with it or I'll leave you to the mercy of Mel if I come to know you were hiding something. " Victoria's heart jumped at the threat and she felt the sudden need to defend herself of the accusation put on her " I am not lying , I am not a witch at least  not that I know of." 

The brother then said " Mel , tell me what to get, we need to do the mind reading spell tomorrow , till then keep her here safe and warm, give her your dress, hers are torn from the effort she put in making the weapon. I'll come back tomorrow." He left without another word. Victoria now felt totally insane so much that she couldn't even think about her friend Allie who was being held hostage here. Then one thought struck her she asked the girl " What are your names?" 

The girl pointed to the wall behind her. Turning towards it she saw the picture of the two of them together and their names engraved in the wall beneath their portrait 'Zen Vallick and Melanie Vallick'.