Chapter 32

"How far are we from wherever we're going?" Maris asked, already tired of walking.

"We'll be there soon." Linda jumped on a stone and held the tree beside her with the side of her other hand above her eyes to shield them from the sun.

"I'm thirsty!" Maris slumped on the floor with her mouth open.

"Well, you're in luck because there's a waterfall over there." Linda pointed out and Maris sat up, feeling parched.

Linda jumped down and moved farther so did Maris, who was trailing behind her not seeing clearly. Must be the dehydration.

"Why's the sun so hot?" Maris gulped, cringing at how the saliva she swallowed felt like a ball of fire to the walls of her throat. "Feels like I'm gonna die."

"No, you wouldn't." Linda held Maris' hand and wrapped it around her shoulder. "Plus, we both need a bath."

Linda sniffed her pits and shrugged, it wasn't even as bad as she thought.

"Why are you so different?" Maris asked like she was high. Sure, she was. The sun was a kind of weed at the moment. "Wait, aren't we passing the water fall?"

Maris craned her neck, pointing at the fall they had just walked past and salivated at the sight of water pouring down.

"I have an even better and comfortable place for the both of us." Linda answered, still walking with half of Maris' weight on her shoulder. "What do you weigh?"

"Fifty," answered Maris shortly before closing her eyes. "I can walk on my own, you know?"

They burst out into a road and the place felt alive, the breeze felt different and that was when Maris realized they were in the human world.

"Is this the human world?" Maris asked, a line forming above her eye brows.

"Yep, I'm taking you home. You've seen enough for one day. We need to rest then embark on the journey to find my son." Linda stated, walking down the empty road with Maris.

"I'm confused. Why isn't there like a portal and how are we entering worlds without a key or anything of that sort?" Maris questioned, stopping to pull herself from Linda's hold. "I don't understand this whole thing."

"I'll explain when we've rested well." Linda replied and they kept walking.

Finally, they sighted a building from afar and Maris' heart jumped for joy. She was going to get some water and immerse herself in the bathtub with a nice shower gel.

The closer they got, the farther the house appeared, frustrating Maris even more. It looked like one of those ancient houses in Greece, built with stones. The house made her skin creep as it mirrored something haunted and abandoned.

"Where is this?" Maris rested her gaze on Linda and returned it to the house.

"My house." Linda shrugged.

"I don't remember this being where you and Jeremy live." Maris' brows creased into a frown as she halted, hands on her waist, sucking her bottom lip.

"Oh, it's one of Dickson's properties in the out sketch of Sannaville."

The moment they got to the frontage of the house, Maris fell on the porch and exhaled with her legs sore underneath her.

"Finally!" She cried, getting to her feet and trailing behind Linda who only shook her head at the dramatic display. "Aren't you exhausted?"

"Nope." Linda popped the p and twisted the door knob, pushing the door open.

Maris narrowed her eyes and rubbed her chin before scanning the dark living room. Linda walked further, disappearing into a room.

"Aren't you coming in?" Linda asked and Maris nodded, locking the door behind her.

She felt weird, something just wasn't right with the atmosphere of the house. It was probably because the house was old and abandoned, so she thought. The windows were pretty dusty too and the living room was painted in milk with brown cushions.

"Linda, can I get water... Please?" Maris sounded weak.

"Sure!" Linda yelled from the place she had entered and rushed out with a bottle of water that had beads of water forming on the body, hinting at how cold it was.

"Thank you." Maris collected the bottle with a small smile and turned the bottle cap before pushing her head backwards and gulping down a reasonable amount of water.

"Logan hasn't tried to reach you, has he?" Linda asked and Maris shook her head in disappointment before gulping down some water again. "Do you still have the devil's nudes?"

"Yeah," said Maris, tightening the cap of the bottle water.

Linda's eyes sparkled and enlarged with joy in them before she said, "Can I see?"

Maris bit down a smile, she had thought Linda was a horny woman who still wanted a taste of the devil. What did she want his nudes for?

To masturbate.

Maris' reasoning chipped in and she chuckled, a hand covering her lips which left Linda to cast a worried look at her.

"Are you okay?" Linda inquired and Maris nodded, shifting her weight to the right leg and just shaking the bottle in her hand.

"Okay, the nudes?"

"It's in my phone and it's in the Oberon kingdom." Maris answered, darting her eyes to the window. "Did you see that?"

Linda spun her head to the window, "See what?"

"It was actually fast and it was like a black Shadow passing the window." Maris explained, going close to have a better look.

"Oberon kingdom, you say?" Linda sat on the couch and reclined. "Must be where Logan is from."

"Yes." Maris replied, eyes on the window, never leaving the grassy area that surrounded the house.

"It's a shame the mother hates your kind and drove you out of the palace."

The moment these words left Linda's lips, Maris snapped her head to Linda's body frame on the couch.

"Yes, it is." Maris narrowed her eyes at her, questions spluttering around her head.

"You know, you should have given a piece of your mind instead of running and having a heart seizure." Linda stated and took a swig from her bottle of... Vodka?

"How did you know I had a heart seizure?" Maris asked, slowly backing away from the window and looking for a way closest to the door.

"Dracula told me." Linda waved her hand to dismiss the 'who told you' question.

"How much did he tell you?" Maris asked with a skeptical look. From the corners of her eyes, she sighted a kitchen knife laying plainly on the other window sill.

"A lot when he was inside me." Linda stated, reading what was labelled on the bottle.

"Wait, Dracula was never in the Oberon kingdom to begin with... So how did he know?"

"He's the devil, hello?" Linda snapped her fingers.

Maris was nervous and dazed. She shook the bottle profusely, feeling like she was slowly going to run mad. Was she being paranoid?

She rocked back and forth on her heels, steel shaking the bottle before something caught her attention. The water lathered like a certain amount of detergent was added into it. Her vision became blurry before it became clear again.

"What's in this?" Maris asked, holding her head and squinting her eyes.

"Water," whispered Linda before getting to her feet.

"Water doesn't lather like this?" Maris took her gaze higher, but was seeing double. There were two Lindas. "Who are you?"

"Dracula's assistant." Linda's fangs shot out and she hissed like the silver tongued snake she was.

"What?" Maris could barely stand on her legs as they wobbled, feeling like they was jelly. "But I saw you walk under sun."

"Because it was what I manipulated you into seeing."

With that, the bottle fell from Maris' hands and hit the floor, sending the remaining to spill on the floor like a map. In no time, her legs gave up on her and she fell like a tree to the ground, eyes widely open before Linda bent to help shut them.

"Sweet dreams..." Linda drawled, "In hell!"