Chapter 26: Bad Dreams

I’m not in my bed. The sound of people cheering and the sharp scent of fire and smoke wholly proves me that.

I suddenly drifted into…somewhere else. Somewhere else. A could sense that the raging fire was in front of me. When I slowly cracked my eyes open, I saw everyone gathering around me in circles like some sort of ritual. I only saw this on TV. But right now, it’s happening in front of me.

They were not absolutely humans. No one is a normal human being in this vision. Or dream. Perhaps a nightmare. I fucking do not know what this is and how did I reach this place. My chest tightened and my tears betrayed me as it slowly cascaded from my cheeks. I saw vampires, witches, and werewolves in their true form. All of them were looking at me. No, glaring at me as if I had just committed a crime.

My heart leaped for a second when someone touched my arms. “Help!” was all I could shout when a human-sized creature with huge ears and eyes that could eat one’s soul gazed at me. He wasn’t wearing anything. I wonder what kind of creature he is. Judging from his physical form and body features, he could be a dwarf. He is a dwarf.

When he smirked, I saw his rotten yellowish teeth. “Hello darling,” was all I heard when he opened his mouth. The dwarf was holding a spear, and I gasped when he pointed the tip at me. “You’re done.” I gaped.

Oh my God. I must get out of here. My inclusive thoughts were drawing different ideas about what was happening. Come to think of it.

Vampires. Werewolves. Witches.

And a human like me… I am their target. I need to get out of here!

The dwarf-like creature in front of me turns his back and looks at the crowd gathering around us. “We shall kill her!”

It was at that moment I confirmed my suspicions about what was happening. My hands and feet were tangled around the horizontal wooden bark of the tree. Looking up, my hands were tied in a big nail, the same goes with my feet. My body feels strangely cold, and I felt like running even though I was only standing.

Where the hell am I?

My pulse throbbed. I started looking for someone amongst the crowd. “Z-Zarion?” a name came out of my mouth all of a sudden. The crowd was roaring while drifting their gaze at me like I was their favorite meal or prize they always wanted to get.

Werewolves are here, yes. But not… him.

I inhaled, scanning the crowd once more. There’s no Zarion in the crowd.

I’m doomed.

“Come on!” Groaning, I started rubbing the rope with friction, doing it simultaneously to cut the rope.

The dwarf-like creature looked at me hungrily. “Such a beautiful human face. What a waste…” he whispered, his fingers twirling at a stray strand of hair that covered my face before gripping my thighs that I almost whimpered in pain. The dwarf groped me again in a more sensitive part of mine and I screamed. “What a pity,” he snarled. The malevolent creature was about to dig his teeth into my flesh when I gave a powerful kick to his groin.

He plummeted on the wooden platform. “Kill her!” The dwarf braced for his bleeding knees. “If the Alpha would be mated with her, it’s going to be the end of our freaking world!” the dwarf-like creature screamed at the top of his lungs while pointing a finger at me. Everyone stopped moving. Slowly, they shifted to their heels and scared expressions pierced my already aching chest.

I gasped, licking the blood on my lower lip.

“Yes! Kill her!” a pale-white six-footer man bellowed, “She’s going to end us if we don’t!”

What are they saying? What do they mean I will end them? I’m just a human…for Heaven’s sake. They can even kill me in a snap of their fingers! I stifle a cry while I resume to make pressure between my hands, hoping that the rope that I was bound to would soon rip apart.

Then a powerful breeze swept past us, giving me goosebumps.

The night is deep and full of terror, I don’t even know if I’ll still be able to see the break of dawn. The breeze created a whirlwind in the distance, leaving the rest of the creatures gathered to find shelter under the canopy of trees. Some ducked their heads and dug their nails to the ground. Some immediately were blown away even before they could breathe. It wasn’t that long until a man with two big horns on his head with a golden cape appeared on the ground. He has two underlings beside him—one who looks exactly like him, but not too bulky, and a woman who looks the very exact opposite of him. An angel, perhaps.

She was the only person smiling at me, but there was something with her smile that scared me off. “Ah, so this is the girl they were talking about?” The man in a golden cape grabbed my chin, lifting my face to meet his gaze. Looking at him, I bit my lip to refrain from gaping as he studied my face. I’m glad he did not crush me.

“We need to kill her,” the blue-eyed man looked at me with a terrified reaction. The other one, who looks like her twin, just grinned. “She’s too pretty to be killed. Why don’t you give her to me, father? I’ll do it on my own, you know…” she arched her brow, “...skin her face?”

“No,” the man with huge horns replied. I saw the woman rolling her eyes. “Fine, let’s just kill her here, then! Aren’t you all doing that?” she turned to the crowd. I saw them on their knees on the filthy earth, jerking their faces to them and like they were the royal family.

“Who are you?” I finally managed to muster up some courage. “It doesn’t matter,” the man with a stoic expression answered. “You’re going to die in our hands anyway.”

The angelic woman replied with a hair-raising chuckle. “Oh, don’t mind him. He’s just like that. Anyways, to answer your question,” she looked first to the horned man. “We’re the Chancellor’s family. I am his daughter, and this is my twin brother.”