Morana

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My unease of the night continued when I woke up in the morning. Alejo was much more positive and seemed certain all would go well. That we would be able to end the day in peace in front of the TV. But I felt certain that wasn't the case.

The return of the voices made my uneasiness worse. As always, they in themselves didn't feel threatening at all. On the contrary, it felt as if they had been in my dream simply to remind me that they were looking after me. But the fact that they, for some reason, felt the need to come and say that made me feel worse. Did they know what was to come? And did they know it was something bad?

That they were Death Shadows, as the book at the Library had called them, only made the worry worse. Did that mean they would know in advance when someone was about to die? Was it Alejo? Had my assumptions at the Library been right? Was Alejo about to die?

"Everything will be alright," Alejo told me and kissed my forehead. "I'll keep myself safe until you get there. Alright? And then we'll leave together as soon as we can."

I nodded and tried to believe his words. My worries were, after all, based on nothing but speculations. There was no reason for why things wouldn't go well. I knew now what to expect when I went there and knew how to best act to not upset them.

Everything will be fine, I told myself repeatedly and as an answer, the Librarian's appearance came to my mind.

"They wouldn't do anything bad today," Alejo went on as he noticed I wasn't calming down. "It is a sacred holiday, after all. They won't want any trouble today."

I nodded again and took a deep breath. "You're right. I just... I don't know. It feels like things will go wrong."

"It won't. These celebrations are very standard. They always do the same things. There won't really be room for anything bad to happen."

I nodded a third time and gave him a hug. "Promise?"

"I promise," he chuckled and kissed the top of my head. "I have to get going."

I let go of him, but quickly grabbed hold again and gave him a fierce kiss. I really couldn't shake the feeling of that it was the last time I would see him alive and well.

He returned the kiss and then kissed my forehead, before turning on the spot and teleporting himself away.

The next hour felt like torture. I tried doing things. Spent a good long while getting ready. Put on a nice black skirt and a red top. Put my hair up in a messy bun with the helps of hairpins. Then read, watch TV, cleaned some. But my anxiety just increased to the point where it almost felt paralyzing. My body was cold and numb and I couldn't stop seeing the image of Alejo dead with a gaping wound on the side of his head.

Not even spending some time holding and talking to Leramidon made anything better. The anxiety just kept on increasing.

When it was close to being all-consuming, I finally heard a popping sound. I was rearranging the species in the kitchen just to keep my hands occupied and Marianela teleported to stand right next to me.

"You ready?" she asked. Her eyes ran up and down my body before they narrowed on my face, and she held her hand out to me.

I nodded and took her hand.

Some of the anxiety immediately disappeared when we stepped over the threshold into the coven's house. Just being in the same house as Alejo calmed my nerves. It also helped that the house in itself looked as orderly as always, not like anything sinister could have happened.

Marianela immediately walked in the direction of the dining room and kitchen, which felt very odd to me. As I listened, I realized it was eerily quiet. Not like how I would have imagined things being at a celebration.

"Where is everyone?" I asked as I followed her.

"The basement. We always have parts of the celebrations in there. It's our altar room," she explained as we moved through the dining room and into the kitchen.

In the kitchen there was plenty of food standing waiting. Plates after plates of different Christmas themed hors d'oeuvre. Definitely for later, when whatever happened in the basement was over. I looked over it all and with a slight ache wondered how much of the food Alejo had prepared and if he had done so alone.

Marianela opened a door in the kitchen I had not noticed during the brief occasion I had been in there. Coming out of it were hushed voices and flickering light.

She nodded to me to go down first, and I did.

There were several rows of chairs in neat lines and it looked like every witch in the coven was seated there. They faced away from the stairs and to a longer table at the front. On the table were several candles which were the only things illuminating the room. Behind the table stood the Priestess with her head bent, mumbling something. I could make out enough of it to know she spoke in the same language as spells were cast in and, by her demeanor, I assumed she was saying a prayer.

I looked back at Marianela, unsure as to what I was supposed to do, feeling slightly strange about entering in the middle of a prayer. She put a finger over her mouth to tell me to be quiet. Then she pointed to a free chair on my right. It was furthest back and, compared to the other chairs, it was the only one in that row.

I took it as Marianela walked around the back on the left and took a seat further in the front. It felt slightly odd, but I didn't think much of it. Not being an actual member of the coven, it made sense that I would be placed slightly off and to the side.

But my anxiety increased, and wasn't helped in any way by the Priestess' low muttering. I hadn't been able to look over the witches that much, but Alejo had definitely not been seated among them. I was sure that if he had been, I would have noticed him straight away. If for no other reason than that he was the only male.

I tried to look around for him more as the Priestess continued the pray, but all that my eyes fell on were women.

After an eternity, all witches in the room spoke the same thing in a choir, marking the end of the pray. The Priestess looked up with a wide smile on her face.