Elizabeth Moyer sat in a circle of hooded wax figures and dancing, amber flames. A subtle burn simmered around her wrists as the iron cuffs bit into her flesh. Her head was bowed to the ground, so she could only see the reflection of the flames on the stone floor and the shiny, black boots of her captors. A bead of wetness dropped from her brow and ran down the length of her face, however she could not tell if it were sweat or blood. The underground dungeon she had been kept in for the past two days, was as hot as the sweltering pits of hell- and the ripped ball gown she wore was not appropriately designed for such treacherous conditions.

Two, miserable days she had been trapped but if felt like two months had gone by. Two days of starvation and torture, she tried to call forth her magic but she was drained. Her captors were not stupid, they dedicated their whole lives to her eventual death and knew every weakness and strength she possessed. She would have respected that amount of dedication if not for the small fact that they were seconds away from killing her.

It was such a weak way to die- bound helpless and drained- she wanted to cry at the sheer pathetic nature of the situation. But, she didn't. No, instead, Elizabeth Moyer kept her lips in a tight line, ignoring every insult, and threat tossed her way. One day the men that stood before her would die too but they would remain dead, trapped six feet under the ground, stuck with everything else from the past. Whereas she, would rise like a phoenix from the ashes and she would never forget. 

"I will spare you one last minute Alla and Aki," A man in a deep purple robe, squatted so he was eye level with Elizabeth. "I will make this as easy and painless as possible if you give me the location of the Book of Moons."

Elizabeth could not see what the man looked like, his hood covered the most intimate details like his eyes or his nose but his mouth was wide and covered entirely under a massive grey beard. She analyzed that detail and committed it to memory. Truly, there would be no sparing her. It was all just senseless talk, and if it weren't for the fact that her sister's mouth was gagged, she would have telling Elizabeth the same thing.

"You say we are too powerful to walk this earth and yet you deem yourself worthy to possess our magic. Perhaps you are not as righteous as you believe, Mr. Delphi." The words fell from Elizabeth's tongue without an ounce of fear or hesitation but her voice was hoarse from the lack of water and scratchy from the repeated punches to her esophagus.

"Defiant to the bitter end," Mr. Delphi stood gracefully to his feet. With one arm tucked behind his back and the other used to stroke his beard, he said, "I am not looking to use your magic Aki, I am no fool. I am simply looking to keep that in my own safe keeping, so you can never use it again."

The urge to rip his head off suddenly overwhelmed Elizabeth but as soon as the anger flared within her, it deflated and she was reminded once again of her weakened state. Let the mortal scum believe what he wants, thought Elizabeth. He can believe she is a menace to the world but to believe that, is to ignore the fact that this dismal planet belongs to her. She helped create it and if she wanted to, she could destroy it.

"Father," a small head of strawberry blonde curls peeked around a pillar. It was a child no older than six or seven and he was speaking directly to the very man who held her life in his hands.

"Nikolai!" The hooded man jerked his head over to the pillar, where the young boy stood- a stuffed brown, bear was being wrangled between his chubby hands.

From the corner of her eye, she could see her sister- Analise- pick up her head, intrigued by the sudden intruder. Wriggling her nose she tried to remove the tie from her eyes but the knot was secured tightly and refused to budge. The child would have been the best opportunity to escape- using Mr. Delphi's very own flesh and blood against him. Elizabeth felt a sliver of pride within her at the sheer ruthlessness of her sister's plan. But it would never come to be. Just as the tie began to move one of the many hooded figures noted her actions and kicked her in the gut. Annalise fell onto her side, a barely audible whimper escaped her lips. Elizabeth could practically feel the self-pity pouring off of her in waves.

"Aneville! Gunther! Take my son back to his room immediately. Gerard, bring me, the dagger!"

The dagger. Elizabeth wanted to laugh at how simple her death was going to be. A couple of stab wounds and then an official blow to the heart. Really, she had suffered through worst in the past.

"I can see your lips twitching, Aki. But this is no laughing matter."

As two of the hooded figures disappeared with the curious-eyed little boy- Gerard returned with a flash of silver in his hands. Mr. Delphi presented the diamond encrusted dagger as if it were a gift to Elizabeth. She couldn't help recoil from the jagged tip, knowing the nefarious deeds that would soon ensue.

"I think you can already tell that this is no ordinary dagger," Mr. Delphi sheathed the dagger into a hidden place within his cloak.

The only abnormal characteristic Elizabeth could detect was that it was sparkly. And that wasn't something to brag about.

"It is laced in a special poison that will ensure excruciating pain. One similar to having your skin ripped off and then your muscles burned to a crisp. The poison saves me a great deal of time and mess- so I will not actually have to skin you alive and shove you into an oven."

Yes... that was most convenient, thought Elizabeth as she swallowed the lump in her throat. Mr. Delphi's grey whiskers tilted upwards as large, wolf-like grin stretched across his withered face. "Now- Aki. I will give you one last chance, where is the book?"

Cold and dark. Those were the two words Twyla would use to describe the eyes of the man she stood before. Though she had no recollection of her former executioner's eyes, she had no doubt they had the same odious look as his son's. Kaitlyn was leading her grandfather down the marble staircase, as he made snide comments about the tight, cocktail dress she had donned for the evening. He didn't seem to notice the twin's lapse in consciousness- he didn't actually notice the girls until Kaitlyn gestured to them.

"Grandfather- I hope you don't mind the company but two of my friends from college stopped by and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to talk."

Nikolai raised a thick gray brow as Twyla snorted at Kaitlyn's comment. Twyla had a feeling in a night filled with fake stories and stretched truths, that would be the biggest lie. Business partners seemed like a more appropriate term to her.

"These are the kinds of people they are letting into Oxford nowadays," Nikolai scowled bitterly as he pulled a wooden pipe from a pocket in his tweed coat.

Perhaps Twyla should have been offended but she was too busy staring at the deep lines and moles that marred the man's face. Gone, was the innocent little boy hiding in his father's cellar. Life had taken that little boy and replaced him with a greying, hobbit who looked like he was constantly sucking on a tart. Or maybe, Life had absolutely nothing to do with the man's hunched posture and twitching eye- maybe it was Twyla's fault. Her existence reduced him to nothing more than a ghost of a man, haunting this earth until she was dead. A cold, tremor went down her spine. It was a feeling similar to getting splashed with water. Later, when she would have time to reflect, she would realize that, that feeling was pity.

"Actually- Grandfather, Sarah is engineering student and Jessica is studying pre-law," the lie tumbled off of Kaitlyn's scarlet painted lips as easily as if she were commenting on the weather.

Nikolai looked none the wiser as he gave the twins a swift glance before rolling his shoulders and releasing a second puff of smoke from his pipe. So- he wasn't a mind reader and clearly not a psychic. But- Twyla wasn't about to let her guard down, the old geezer's family reigned over New York for four hundred years, it surely didn't happen by accident. She also knew, if Nana was any indication, then the older the witch or warlock, the stronger they were. It would be like having a young Anakin Skywalker try to defeat Yoda. The results would not be in Twyla's favor.

"Why don't you girls, go wait in my room. It's on the fourth floor, third door down. Just text me if you get lost though," a secret meaning glittered behind her eyes as she looped her arm through her Grandfather's. The two of them began chatting about trivial things like the stock market and it's latest plunge in trends- Twyla and Luna took that as their cue to leave.

They bounded up the stairs, their steps carefully measured, so they didn't seem too excited to walk around the house. When they reached the top of the stairs, they glanced down, only to see that Nikolai was otherwise engaged in his conversation with Kaitlyn. Small smiles curved their lips as they turned and disappeared into the Delphi mansion- let the hunt begin.

**I love flashbacks they are like little puzzle pieces! Especially for those who met Elizabeth Moyer in The Dark Warlock, then I think it's actually really interesting to try to figure out her time line. So, her mother was the Dark Witch, making Roberto her brother. But she had a different father than Roberto which would explain why Annalise and Elizabeth didn't grow up together- you know how custody works with separated parents. But they did end up meeting eventually- like parent trap. But their father hates Elizabeth and wants the girls dead. And somehow, through all of that Elizabeth had a daughter named Imogen who becomes the next Dark Witch. If you put the pieces together it tells a little story, within a story.

Thank you all for reading and I'm sorry I missed my update last week, but the first week of senior year was hectic. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter regardless. We have a few more chapters to go before the end and before we meet our secret bad guy/girl.

XOXO,
Ro.**