NOVPUBMaureen flew her mother over the stairs and then she did the same for Jennie. Everyone else climbed up and they received quite the surprise when the stairs started to move like a winding escalator. As it turned out, there was no need to fly at all.
They found themselves in a hidden part of the academy, the sky library where all the hidden books were kept. Not just books but artifacts too.
"Origins of the supernatural war." Phoebe called out.
A book came flying through the air. It had wings and it sent Phoebe flying backwards when she grabbed it. Instantly, the Mayfair's panicked. Maureen leaped into the air, grabbing Phoebe and taking them back to the ground.
"No more books for you." David said, trying to separate the book from Phoebe. And yet, he lost the war as the book refused to leave Phoebe. "Some help over here."
"Back off, she asked for me." A deep bellow came from the book. "Do you know how long I have been waiting for someone to read me again?"
A force from the book sent David flying backwards. It was his grandfather Rufus that caught him the air and pulled him back down to the ground. Meanwhile, other books in the library were clamoring to be read. Pick me they called out.
"This gives a whole new meaning to that whole someone is a 'pick me,' thing." Luna scoffed.
Phoebe separated herself from the group, she found a place to sit on a cloud above the towering shelves and opened the book.
Away from the academy meanwhile, in the cold shivering night, one detective, one coroner and one guardian who had been added to the team at the last minute.
Detective Shark was determined to bring in the heartfire witch. As far as he was concerned, she was human enough to be arrested and tried for her crimes if he could find a way of proving that she committed the crime.
His plan for now was to use the truth telling talismans to solicit a confession from her. With a confession, even without evidence, she would be imprisoned. Whether it was an actual prison or an insane asylum was a matter for another day.
Claire the coroner was there to meet the witch and ask one simple question. How did the hearts end up like that? She also thought that maybe the witch had some kind of concoction she was feeding the men to cause their hearts to burn. If yes, she needed to look around the witch's home.
Arrow Castille was the hunter on the case, having been sent to take over from Rekha by Maureen. He had met up with the humans at the place Rekha had tracked the witch to an abandoned warehouse in the red-light district.
"I am not your babysitter. This is your last chance to back out." He warned the ordinary persistent humans that were being foolish in his opinion. He was one of the people that thought humans hunting was a stupid thing.
While he planned to accept the new order of the day, he still disliked it.
Shark tapped his gun. "Witches are human, if she knows what is good for her, she will surrender willingly."
Arrow scoffed. "I have never known a dark witch to surrender willingly. But it's your funeral so let's move."
"I thought they were good witches, Rekha said their love was pure." Claire said, clutching at the protective talisman around her neck. She was spooked but determined to keep going.
"Pure love does not result in dead bodies Claire." Shark replied.
Arrow turned his head back, glowering at them. "Shut up, both of you. Rule number one of a supernatural hunt, keep your mouth shut when making entry."
Shark and Claire nodded. It made sense that they were supposed to be quiet and stealthy, something in the air around the warehouse was already unnatural. It was thick--the air, not with smoke from fire but sage, a lot of it.
Arrow removed his sunglasses, revealing his blood red eyes. Chanting a spell silently he blasted the door open without touching it.
Shark had raised his foot to kick the rusted door in, and he pulled it back. Who needed legs when they had magic? They entered the warehouse slowly, weapons raised and ready to strike.
Shark had his gun, Arrow had a crimson blade, a knife that was deep red with barbs on the edges. Runes had been curved into it and the blade was buzzing eager for the taste of blood. It made Claire uneasy; she wondered how many creatures had fallen at the hands of the blade and the one who wielded it.
The warehouse was empty and dark, save for the light of the moon pouring in through the widows and glow from the center where sage was being burned at an altar.
The heartfire witch whose name was Belva Hexley stood in the dim light, her red eyes flickering like embers.
"Red eyes! I am personally offended. People like you are why kids take one look at my eyes are run." Arrow laughed.
"You should have stayed away hunter." Belva murmured.
Shark was impatient, he charged forward. "You are under arrest, anything you say or do..."
Belva smirked, she raised her hand and the fire burning the sage grew, roaring to life. It shot out from the source heading Shark's way. Shark fired his weapon but the bullets were swallowed by the flames. The detective could tell that he was about to be a cooked duck!
Arrow waved a hand, a blast of cold air shoved Shark out of the way.
"Where is your heart witch?" Arrow asked. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘱𝘶𝘣.𝘤𝘰𝑚
"And why would I tell you that?" She asked with arrogance. "You hunters always think that you know better than the rest of you. You set the rules and the rest of us should follow. Why, I ask? I am heartfire witch, it is in my nature to burn the hearts of men that break mine. Am I wrong to do what I was born to do?"
"Do you know why most heartfire witches die young?" Arrow asked.
Belva face stiffened.
"It is because we track most of your kind and eliminate them as soon as they get their first boyfriend. If it was up to me, we would terminate you in your mother's wombs." He told her, with a smile on his face.
"And you call us monsters." Belva laughed shrilly.
"An average heartfire witch kills eighty men in her life span. Most of you begin at the age of twelve and keep going until they die. When will you ever learn that love is not for your kind? It is in your nature for your hearts to be broken. No man will ever love you truly. It is useless to try." He felt the air around, trying to pin down where she was hiding her heart.
The heart of a heartfire witch was not kept in their bodies, it was outside as it was the source of their power.
Shark fired again, from behind a pillar where he was hiding. The bullets did not touch Belva, the air around her warped and the flames flicked the bullets back. One pierced into Shark's left arm.
