The Witch

Chapter seven: Third Person POV

TRIGGER WARNING THIS CHAPTER MAY CONTAIN SCENES THAT INCLUDE DEATH, VIOLENCE AND OTHER CONTENTS THAT MAY BE DISTURBING FOR SOME READERS. DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

You should never corner a wild animal, let alone someone as dangerous as Aziza. The demon inside of her was waiting for the right moment, and finally it came. But Aziza didn’t open the door entirely, it was a minuscule gap that allowed the demon to demonstrate its power. Just enough for Aziza to realize what she was missing, so she would seek more in the future.

Everything around them became red, as a dust of the same color filled the air. It was the manifestation of all her magic in full force, and her father couldn’t believe it. She was going to kill him, there was no doubt about that. Chike, on the other hand, had the opportunity to leave, and he took it instantly. He left Naya and Zohar there as he had to exit the village, and he had to do it fast.

The red dust went up in the air, while Aziza’s eyes became something else. They were completely black, like she didn’t possess a soul, and that was because at that moment she didn’t have one. The demon had full control of her actions, and she was a mere spectator.

The chief looked at the dust with astonishment. He never thought that he would see that amount of power summoned in one area. And now, this was going to be the end of him, and that was because the dust stopped moving around the room, it stood still, like it was waiting for a signal. The tension in the air was palpable, as Aziza severed as an inquisitor. And then, without notice, the dust launched towards the chief. It located his mouth, nose and ears and got inside of him. He felt how the sand suffocated him slowly. But that was not going to be the worst part. No. If he thought that was all, he was mistaken, very mistaken.

The dust filled every space it could, and then it launched outside of his body, breaking everything in their trajectory. His lungs were completely destroyed, his bronchioles and bronchi were severed as the dust exited the body. Blood came out from every hole that the dust made. It was a very gruesome scene, to see the chief covered in blood from head to toe.

One down, now she needed to find the other one. But Chike was a coward, he was not ready to face his death. Aziza lifted the dust once again and controlled it, so it could go through the village. But Chike was long gone. Nevertheless, the demon wasn’t satisfied yet, and so a m******e began.

No one escaped its bloodlust, not even the kids. The dust eventually got soaked with all the blood, and it finally stopped. The only survivors were Aziza, the lioness and Zohar. Everyone else was dead. Innocent or not, they were gone in the blink of an eye.

Aziza fell down in exhaustion, the demon had used all her energy and now she was completely drained. Naya opened her eyes and saw how everything was covered in blood. She tried to move, but she couldn’t, it seemed that she had been drugged. She just looked around to see if someone else was there, but it seemed that they were alone, and so she went back to sleep.

The next morning they woke up. Zohar was already awake and was looking at them. He was terrified as he couldn’t understand what had happened. He saw what Aziza did, but he was not afraid of her, he was afraid of the darkness inside of her, and so he remained by her mother’s side. It was his way of feeling protected.

Aziza looked at the fear in Zohar’s eyes. She was astonished to see that reaction from him. He was the most loving one of the cubs, but then she remembered… she gave in. The demon took control and killed several innocent people.

“What have I done?” She murmured, but Naya and Zohar heard her. It was clear that she didn’t mean for all those lives to be lost.

“That is your true power, Aziza.” He was mocking her, knowing that she wasn’t strong enough to fight him. That even though she had told him several times that she would not let him win, he had won in the end. Even if it was for a short period of time, he had caused great suffering.

“This… I don’t want this.” She looked at her hands covered in blood. Her vision became blurry, and she could hear the screams of all the people that she had killed. How the children cried in panic when they saw the dust approach them.

“But you don’t have a choice, dear. I am you, and you are me. Every chance that I get I’m going to take it, and you are going to lose once again.” Her hands trembled, she knew that was true. Should she end her life? Probably, but she didn’t want to. Her desire to live was stronger.

Naya saw the inner struggle that she had. It was clear that the demon was tormenting Aziza, and she was not going to let him win. He had won one time, but he was not going to break her. Thanks to her help, her son and her were alive.

She approached Aziza carefully, she didn’t want to startle her. She could hear how she mumbled continuously ‘I didn’t want to’ while she covered her ears. What could she do? The demon was something that she couldn’t fight directly, it was inside of Aziza, and even if she made it come out she wouldn’t have enough strength to end it.

When she was almost near Aziza she looked straight at Naya. Her eyes were bloodshot, making the reds mix between each other.

“Don’t come near me, I’m a killer. She got further away from Naya. There was only one way that Aziza would hear her out, even if it meant transforming once again to her human self.

She shifted back, and Aziza didn’t even notice. Her mind was not functioning properly, and all she thought about was blaming herself for the m******e. Naya, even though she was naked, approached Aziza once again. She had to try, she wanted to comfort her friend.

The surprise in Aziza's face was evident. She never expected Naya to be human as well, but contrary to her son, she recognized her immediately. She had the same eyes as she did when she was a lioness, and, at least for Aziza, they were beautiful. She wanted to touch her, so she extended her hand, but when she saw the blood in it, she retreated once again. She didn't want the blood on her hands to stain her friend, but Naya didn't care, she was there for her at that moment, and would do anything if it didn't require her to put her cub's life at risk.

"I didn't know you were human." Was all she could mutter after the surprise faded.

"No one does, not even Zohar." That was the truth, and she was confiding in her only friend, one that seemed too broken with guilt, but that would soon flourish.

"How? Why?" Aziza couldn't understand how she had trusted her so much to reveal her biggest secret.

"I'm a shifter, some of the animals in the savanna are. We camouflage ourselves in our beast form, so I don't really know who is human and who isn't." Aziza could see the sadness take over the features of her friend, there was something else that she hadn't told her, but she was not going to pry further. "And why, well... I can trust you."

Aziza now felt like she had to tell her something in return. She had confided the biggest secret she could to her, and now she wanted to do the same.

"I have something inside of me. I think it is a demon, but I don't know how to get rid of it." Naya wasn't too astonished by her revelation. She already suspected it, but she was grateful that Aziza had told her a secret as well.

The thing about secrets is that they can join two people together, and that is what happened that day. From that day on they were going to help each other.

Aziza now had something on her mind, and that was to get rid of the demon inside of her, but they had to be careful. Chike was still alive, and he was seeking for revenge. In his eyes, Aziza was the culprit for all his suffering, she was the one that didn't let him have a chance with his father, she caused the village to fall, and she had caused his suffering. He couldn't admit his part of the truth, and that he was the one that pushed her to her limit.

Unfortunately for Aziza, he had friends in high places, and he was going to use them for his evil plan. He knew where she was probably going, because it was the only place that could help her with what was inside of her. They had tried to go there too to get a cure for his father, but when he arrived the person that resides there refused to help him. He thought of kidnapping the woman, the same way he did with Aziza, but she was guarded. The animals, the surrounding nature protected her, and he couldn't do a thing. That is why he had to find another solution, leading him to Aziza.

She had to prepare herself for what was coming her way. She was strong, now she just had to use her weapons correctly.

And so her journey began, with Aziza by her side, as well as her cubs. They taught her how to survive in the savanna, how to protect herself from the wild animals, and when there was no way she could be safe, they were like her guardians.

The cubs became lions and lionesses, and they were given the choice by her mother to follow us or not. They could decide what they wanted to do, and they did. Their decision was clear, they all followed Aziza, and so, they finally reached their destination, one that was supposed to bring the darkness out of her, but they found out soon enough that the darkness itself was waiting for them.