The two women descended for what seemed like an eternity, the air becoming thicker and laden with poisonous fumes as they did so. Lila enveloped them in a temporary bubble and magically heightened her senses to always keep track of where they were. If things became too dangerous, they could always turn back. She wouldn’t risk Penelope’s life on a fool’s errand.

The darkness was relentless but so was she, wading through its treacherous deception with a heavy yet steady heart.

“I’m not sure how much longer I can go on,” Penelope muttered. “Do you see anything?”

“Yes. There’s a faint magic trail in the air like breadcrumbs we’re supposed to follow. We’re on the right track, I’m sure, but I need you to keep fighting,” Lila replied.

“I’m trying, but it’s so fucking hard. When will this nightmare end?”

“I don’t know, but soon, I hope. Neither of us is supposed to perish down here.”

“I need a breather, please.”

“Okay.”

Lila held on to her friend and conjured a bottle of water straight from a Himalayan spring. It was fresh and sweet and brimming with life. Penelope drank it all and asked for more, which she was more than happy to oblige.

“Thank you, but how it is you’re still to cast around here?” Penelope asked.

“Only a portion of my magic was sealed. The rest is still intact,” Lila replied.

“Can you get us some weapons, then?”

“I’ve tried, but no. I can only summon outside objects that are not considered dangerous.”

“Are your own offensive spells powerful enough?”

“They’ll need to be. The truth is, I never had to use them much over the years. This is all pretty new for me as well.”

“Hmmm... some mess we’re in then.”

“I know it’s hard but try not to think about it. If you despair, you’ll only fuel the negativity of this place.”

“You think it’s feeding off our emotions?”

“I’m sure of it. It scanned my memories and twisted them to get under my skin. I’m sure it did the same to you.”

“I’m fucking terrified, Lila.”

“Have another sip and relax. We’re almost at the bottom.”

“If you say so...”

They ventured even deeper into the darkness, The miasma grew stronger, threatening the integrity of Lila’s protection. With each additional step forward it became increasingly unlikely they’d be able to surface again safely. Lila sensed the imminent peril but kept it to herself for both their sakes. 

Light spells didn’t last long down there but they occasionally provided a glimmer of hope. Lila cast another and finally saw the exit out of that depressing tunnel.

“We made it,” she said as they crossed the last magic threshold before their destination. They felt an irritating tingle on the back of their hands and neck and entered a brand new world.

Lila had expected to find yet another gruesome hellish landscape to mess with their minds but what they found beyond the last barrier was the exact opposite; an idyllic garden modeled out of Judeo-Christian imagery with green grass, beautiful fruit-bearing trees, a cascade of sparkling water, and sunlight so bright it almost made them blind after being in pitch blackness for so long.

“What?” Penelope muttered. “Are we outside?”

“I don’t think so. I think it’s another elaborate illusion, but it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen. Wow!”

“It’s breathtaking.”

The garden stretched as far as the eye could see giving off the impression of an everlasting paradise. Penelope sat on the wet grass mentally thanking the Heavens for such a wondrous sight but they weren’t out of the woods yet.

“Stay on your guard, please. There may be something else lurking here.”

“There’s no need to be suspicious,” said a warm yet deadly voice from a place unknown. “Welcome, Lila. I hope you had fun in my little house of horrors.”

“Show yourself!” the good witch readied herself. “Let’s get this over with, bitch!”

“Over? Why would I do that when I’m only starting to have fun with you and your friends? You may relax for now. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“What do you want, then?” Lila asked, looking in every direction to see if she could catch a glimpse past the illusionary veil.

“To talk, of course. We haven’t had the chance to do that yet.”

“No, because you were too busy trying to kill me, and now you want to talk? You’ll forgive me if I find that hard to believe.”

“I could have disposed of you the moment you lost the battle to my pet but I chose not to, Lila. We got off on the wrong foot. I want a chance to make things right.”

“Prove it then. No more tricks, no more illusions. Let Penelope out of here and we’ll talk face to face, just the two of us.”

“You’re still in my territory so you don’t get to make the rules of engagement. She stays for now and we do this the civilized way.”

The lovely scenery shimmered and a table appeared before Lila’s eyes, complete with two chairs, a towel, a boiling teapot, and some chocolate and ginger biscuits. One chair was occupied by a woman in her early twenties wearing a purple and red mind-length Summer dress. The woman was blonde and had dark green eyes and inquisitive lips, but Lila knew glamor when she saw it and there were at least ten layers of them applied to her face and body.

“I said no more illusions,” she complained.

“So you did but only those who serve me get to see my real face and you’re not one of them yet,” the older witch replied.

“I will never bow down before you,” Lila approached the table hesitantly.

“Never say never because you may live to regret it. Please, take a seat, and have some tea.”

“I don’t want anything from you.”

“Drink the tea or your friend pays the price,” the evil hag hissed.

“You said you wouldn’t hurt me. Already thinking of breaking your promise?”

“Hardly. I won’t lift a finger against you for the time being but I never said anything about her.”

“Lila,” Penelope bit her lower lip. “I don’t like this. Don’t do it.”

“Zip it, mortal!” their captor said. “The adults in the room are trying to have a conversation.”

“It’s okay, Nelly,” Lila said. “Just stay put, please. Everything will be okay as long as you don’t do anything rash.”

“There you go making promises you’re not sure you can keep,” Penelope looked at the ground, her dirty fingers enjoying the touch of the blades of the grass. Who cared if they weren’t real That wondrous vision was better than anything she had seen until then.

Lila gently comforted her friend once more and took her place at the newly materialized table. Her cup of tea was already full, exuding the sweet aromas of mint and lemon. 

“Have a biscuit as well. There are plenty more where those came from.”

“I’m good for now.”

“Eat, Lila. It’s the last time you make me repeat myself,” the evil witch crossed her legs and stared right into her soul.

“Fine!”

Lila took the smaller biscuit she could find and gently rolled it in her palm before taking a bite. There were no strands of magic in them no discernible drugs or poisons. They were clean just like the tea.

“It seems you don’t trust me,” the older witch said.

“Considering everything that has happened so far, can you blame me?”

“No, I can’t. A suspicious mind is a good thing to have for superior beings like you and I.”

“Superior?”

“Of course! We can manipulate the elements and draw ether from the air. We have a deep understanding of the true forces that govern this world and can access other planes of existence mortals only dream of. We are and will always be better than them. Connecting with their kind only weakens us and our resolve. What is that pathetic meat sack to you?”

“She’s my friend and you know it. You targeted her to teach me a lesson I’m not willing to learn.”

“Friendship is an empty concept when it applies to two different realities. I have no friends, only slaves.”

“It seems to me you’ve got nothing at all, then.”

“Still the same defiant little thing... you never know when to keep your mouth shut, do you, Lila?”

“Little thing?” Lila finished nibbling her biscuit while Penelope sat quietly in the background. “What happened to superior?”

“Even among our kind, there are hierarchies. You’ve lived an interesting life so far but it pales compared to mine. You’ll always be small in my eyes.”

“How many centuries are we talking about? Six? Seven?”

“Ah, your first mistake was to think in terms of centuries, Lila. I’ve been around for far longer than that, watching Empires rise and fall... In fact, I helped create most of them.”

“You’re talking about millennia. That’s impossible! No witch can live that long.”

“That’s not true. Many have and a few still do. All it’s needed is to tap into the right sources.”

“Blood magic? No, thank you!”

“Why are you so afraid of it, Lila?”

“It is forbidden! Blood is chaos and chaos can’t be contained. Unleashing it is ensuring our own destruction.”

“Oh, Lila,” the ancient one smirked, a glimpse of her rotten teeth visible underneath the layers of glamor. “Can’t you see? That’s the same lie the Congregatio Magica has been repeating ever since you were born. Blood is not chaos but life. The true extent of our might has been shackled for countless generations because of the rules of that no-brained society that dares to treat us as equals to regular humans! All their rules are based around the idea of limiting us so we don’t harm them, and that’s wrong. I refuse to accept any outside parameter that tells me how to live my life.”

“And yet you wish to impose your beliefs on others and turn them into extensions of you. You destroy their freedom to proclaim yours.”

“I give them purpose and a new reason to live for. My guidance keeps them whole and focused, and I grow stronger every day. Do you know what the best thing about blood magic is? The more you use it the more powerful it gets because blood is life. Cells replicate and so do the spells we cast, so it pays off to enslave others, you see? I will become the greatest of us all and usher in the perfect age of magic.”

“I don’t know what’s worse: the self-aggrandizing delusion or the Messianic Complex,” Lila grinned. “From what I’ve seen so far, your rules are an absolute nightmare! The Congregatio will put you in your proper place.”

“If they could do that, I’d already be gone. The power they wield is an illusion, Lila, the greatest sham of all. They’ll never be able to take me down because I’m already destroying them from within. Do you think my Inquisitor is the only spy I have there? No, there are plenty of others, all broken and controlled who will rise to do my bidding when I give the order. One by one, every broken institution of this world will fall for the sign of evil to reign... another cookie?” the sadistic witch asked.

“You’re fucking insane!”

“I really dislike that word, so this is the last time I’ll allow you to use it. Join me willingly, Lila, and I’ll put your natural feistiness to good use when I take over the magic sphere and the world of humans as well.”

Lila stood up and threw her tea cup at her nemesis’ face. The old hag remained unperturbed as it phased through her before shattering on the illusionary grass.

“You clearly haven’t been paying attention to anything I said,” Lila gnarled. “I will never accept your brand so you can this little charm operation and shove it up your wrinkled and saggy ass! The rules exist to protect us and I’m happy to abide by them, but no one takes away my power of choice. Penelope is my friend and humans aren’t inferiors to us. Yes, we have magic, but look at everything they created without it! Their imagination alone rivals anything we can do and for that, they will always have my respect. They are beautifully flawed creatures that don’t deserve to be under the rule of a tyrannical megalomaniac. Never, you hear? NEVER!”

“Ah...” the cackling wench finished eating her third biscuit and stretched her arms and legs nonchalantly. “Once again, you choose to waste an opportunity to stay on the winning side. I wanted to be nice to you for once, but I see now this was a waste of time. Very well then. If you refuse to see the power of blood on your own, I’ll just have to show you what I mean.”

The ancient one interlocked her fingers and the Eden-like garden dissolved into a puddle of sulfuric ooze. The call of the abyss echoed all around as dark red flames erupted from the ground, enveloping Penelope in its gnarly embrace.

“What are you doing?” Lila screamed. “Leave her alone!”

“No! I could have claimed her the moment I brought her here but what would be the fun of that? You defied me once in the mausoleum, fought my pet instead of surrendering your memories, and now you do it again? My patience isn’t infinite and mercy is for the weak. I will take her now and then I’ll take you, two more servants to add to my ranks for when the entire world kneels at my feet!”

“Lila? Lila, help me!” Penelope screamed as the supernatural fire licked her clothes and skin.

“Nelly, hold on! I’m coming!” Lila started running toward her only for her intent to be cut short.

“Begone!” the evil witch said, snapping her fingers. A thunderous wave of magic exploded around her, sending Lila way into the distance, too far to do anything to stop her friend’s horrific fate.

Penelope screamed as the flames burrowed inside her right arm and spread like cancer to obliterate her free will. The witch’s brand would now speak for her and control her every thought. When the flames died out, so did her past life, nothing but a fleeting memory that the all-absorbing darkness was ready to devour.

“Kneel, slave,” the ancient one commanded, the sign of evil permanently etched on Penelope’s skin.

“Yes, Mistress,” the new thrall nodded, a blank smile on her cold lips.

“NO!” Lila’s inhuman shrieks reverberated at the bottom of the dark chasm, angry tears rolling down her bloodshot eyes. 

((to be continued))