Amberrivera121

Dedicated to lovely Amber who's been a wonderful friend since when I became active on wattpad.

■□■

Next morning, I woke up to the pleasant noise of dripping water. It was raining outside, just a drizzle. I checked the skull shaped wall clock hanging on a sharp tooth of wolf face, fixed on the wooden wall. If it weren't for the pleasant sunlight falling on the malicious looking wolf, or the skull, I'd have scared to bones. Pamela seriously needed to redecorate her house.

It was 9 AM and my entire body felt deeply relaxed. My muscles no longer ached. The scratches and cuts still prevailed but they didn't bother me much. Strangely, I felt at complete ease.

I noticed I was alone in the room. I quickly pulled myself from the inviting bed and picked up a note placed on the side table.

We are off to collect some shrubs, will be right back.

Seb

The note read. I sighed and while wondering what kind of shrubs they were looking for, I made my way downstairs. I grabbed a towel, and after moving round the house twice, realised where the bathroom was. I took a nice hot shower and willed not to think of anything. By the time I was out, Sebastian and Pamela were back. She'd slipped in a pink T shirt and blue jeans while Sebastian wore the same dirty clothes he'd worn yesterday, like me. He was holding a plastic bag stuffed with quite a bunch of plants I'd spotted around yesterday and mentally noted them as weeds.

"Mornin'." Pamela smiled as she grabbed the plastic bag and went to kitchen.

I nodded when Sebastian's eyes enquired about my condition. Contrary to my state, Sebastian looked quite miserable. His eyes were partly red from exhaustion. He looked like he didn't have a good sleep. His shirt was covered in mud which also traced on his right cheek. Yet, seeing me spread a kind of glow in his eyes.

"There's something on your-" I began and approached him.

"Here." I said when I finished mopping the mud off his face. He then went to the bathroom leaving me alone again.

"Err...Pamela, so how did you meet Sebastian?" I finally broke the awkward silence. She'd busied herself by grinding thick green juice out of the shrubs and was now adding a violet juice to it. She did looked at me once or twice but hadn't spoken anything.

"Well, we go way back. My family once lived near Uncle Rob's. So, we are childhood friends, I guess. Not that we went to school together like people like you do. If anything, we did go on hunting together." She said as if hunting was completely normal and that going to school was quite unusual. Ok, she's one of them. I mentally said.

"Actually nah. I thought I were a hunter but I sucked at it. Then, I started getting visions and before I even realised it, I became a psychic." She finished with the grinding and mixed the fresh green juice with a certain mixture to product a dark violet paste.

"Is that for the ritual?" I asked wondering if I'd have to drink that.

"What, the Silmethella?" She asked looking at the shrub juice.

"Yes, whatever it's called. Simethella"

"Silmethella.Don't worry, it's just for the marking. You don't have to drink it. Though it might taste better." She said and sat beside me. She smelled like the bitter shrubs. She then went to the kitchen and brought another goblet. It was greenish blue. She added few spoons of the violet juice to the green one and kept the goblet in oven. I stared at the frothing mixture through the glass.

"So Laura. Tell me about you. How did all this start? " Pamela raised her eyebrows.

"I don't know. That's why I'm here. Sebastian told you'd know something, like to trigger on a memory or anything." I sighed.

"No, I'm not talking about the whole demon thing. That's not very important." She said and I looked at her with are-you-nuts face. Being hunted by demons wasn't worth worrying about?

"I mean, yeah, it's important. But we can't know anything until the ritual tonight. So, tell me this, when did this start. How did you meet him?" Her eyes were gleaming with curiosity.

"As Sebastian might have told you, I was in a party and then I saw something weird about the bartender and I ran until I was surrounded by Delroy and his men, well demons." I said.

"No, dearie. I ain't talking about Delroy or any other demon. Tell me how you met Seb." The eagerness in her voice was clearly audible. She looked at me intently while playing with her fingers.

"Oh, I thought you were talking about when all this started. Actually, I met Sebastian at the same time. As I told you, I was partying and then I saw the black eyed bartender and then Sebastian and I quickly got in the car. Right, before that, I'd met him on the same day few hours ago." I answered wondering why she was asking this.

"Really? You got to be kidding me. I've known this guy for like 18 years and today, he seemed normal. Like how guys should be. He seemed human." She said as if she was completely sure Sebastian was an alien.

"Really Laura, how did you change this guy in less than 3 months?" She said. But my mind was concentrated on Sebastian's age. Wasn't he 17, like me?

"Wait, how old is Sebastian?" I asked.

"20, why?" She said and my jaw fell open.

"What?" She asked, surprised.

"I...I just thought he was 17." I answered.

"Nah, I think he's 20. I'm 21 by the way." She said.

"Anyway. You know what, Sebastian's a great guy. I've been his girlfriend for like 2-3 years. Obviously we didn't live together. It was like we used to go on hunting dates. You know, dating while on a hunt. Though he looked this hard on the surface, he's actually a great guy. Life is weird. It might force you to believe otherwise. Laura, I don't know why I'm saying this, but I believe your choice will matter a lot. Don't let that trust waver." She said and my jaw dropped further. How did she know what I'd been wondering about lately. Then again, she could read my mind, couldn't she.

"Hey, Pam. Do you've something I can wear." Sebastian asked. He was wearing only a towel and was ruffling his hair.

"I might. Just a sec." She said and hurried inside.

Sebastian disappeared behind her. After a few minutes he returned, now wearing a loose cotton garment and what looked like a variant of pajamas. Over the white loose wear, he wore a brown leather jacket. But it wasn't a simple jacket. It had lace instead of buttons. For boots, he wore cowboy boots, those pointy leather ones.

"What?" He said when he noticed my eyes bulging out. Pamela came right after him.

"Nothing." I said and heard someone giggle. It was Pamela.

"He simply doesn't understand fashion." She whispered in my ear. Then she went into the kitchen and called us for lunch. We didn't talk much and didn't complain about the disastrous tasting food. Then, Sebastian announced he'd sleep now, obviously tired from all the work he did past couple of days with having no break. That left just Pamela and I again.

"So, should we go out. It's pleasant out there." I said. I loved the environment when it rains but not too heavily. One can walk miles without getting much wait and every drop tingles you with such calmness and peace. Besides, I wanted to get out of such a weird house.

"Sure." She said and after checking whether the liquid was properly kept, she hurried towards the door and brought a pair of wooden looking sandals.

"I presume you lost your shoes." She said and handed them over. It smelled of sandal wood.

"Thanks." I said though it kind of hurt my legs. But I was used to pains and aches.

Pamela pulled out a similar pair from the closet, took the keys and shut the door.

"Wow, this place is amazing."I exclaimed as my eyes went over the whole surroundings. When I was brought here, I wasn't conscious then. So this was the first time I was seeing Pamela's house. It was a gigantic structure surrounded by a sea of evergreen trees while a hill stretched at the back of the house. Every part of the place which didn't fall immediately near the house was densely covered with trees and diverse plants.

"Wow! I love this place." I said again.

"Don't. You know nothing of this forest. If you roam a lot, you can forever get lost." She warned.

"But there's an awesome place nearby." She said and approached a path were grass wasn't very thick. She then walked over and waited for me. I hurried and followed her into the forest, wondering where she was taking me. Even if she just wore sandals, she didn't have even a slightest difficulty in walking. While I slipped a couple of times on the way. But later, even I got used to it.

Soon, we emerged at another opening. But this time, the view was way grander than the previous one. What stretched before my eyes was a pond of blue green waters and what adorned it was a waterfall!

"Wow" I exclaimed again and admitted I was jealous. She then dived in the water without caring about her clothes. She then invited me and I couldn't say no. The entire experience was breathtaking.

After some time of fun, when we finally calmed down, just to break the silence, I asked Pamela why she became a psychic. From all the conversation I had with her, she no way seemed close enough to being a hunter. She apparently was a normal girl, just like me.

"Hmm, I don't really know. I haven't thought about it. I mean, I obviously would have loved to have a normal life. But, you see, these visions would freak me out anytime. Even if I wanted to, I may never have fitted in the normal world. So, I guess, I just accepted what I was supposed to be." She'd said.

"But it ain't a bad job, you know. If I'd grown like you, I still would have wanted to become an archaeologist or a forest ranger. Anything that'd take me to adventures. Usually psychics are supposed to be stationed at one weird location, as you'd thought. In my case, you can find me in some very weird place like this forest or perhaps on a secret railway station like the one Roosewelt used or even in the Alps. I go anywhere where my heart wants to." She had a sparkle in her eyes when she thought about her life. She knew she couldn't live her dream entirely. But she found out a way. What if my life was also destined to be something very different from what I'm used to? Perhaps I should accept the reality. I should heed to the small voice of my frightened heart. Perhaps I'd never get a PhD. I'd never build my dream hospital. But I could still save people. Wasn't that I'd always wanted?

"Life isn't that unfair, you see. Look at it and you'll know." She said. I nodded.

"Anyway, it's getting late." She said and we hurried out of the lake. Because of such highly saturated forest, there wasn't already much light. And now, it was almost dark.

We made our way through the forest and finally reached Pam's house. It may not have been a few hours since we'd left but it was already night.

"Yeah, that's another feature of this forest. Unlike the rest of the world, it runs on its own system. It's like a separate dimension. And even though I've lived here for what seemed like months, I can't exactly tell the pattern. But somehow I do get a feeling that the day is ending. Maybe, it's because of my psychic nature." She explained.

"Wow, you can predict the pattern by mere feeling?!" I said excitedly.

"Not exactly. Some events Mor Alore has to synchronize with the outside world. Like tonight. It's a full moon." She said pointing upwards.

I looked at the bright moon which somehow seemed a bit bigger than it's actual size.

"So that's why today's day was so short." I said after understanding what she said.

"Yes, night was pretty longer." She said and knocked the door.

Sebastian showed up after fifteen knocks and five angry yells from Pamela. She sure hated waiting.

"Damn it! How can he sleep so deeply. Is he snorlax?" She yelled and decided to blast open the door. I backed away after realising she was out of control.

Fortunately Sebastian opened the door. He gave a yawn and apologised after seeing Pamela's pissed off face. He obviously didn't mean it though. He then rubbed his eyes and hurried back to the couch and laid down again.

"Seb, you can't sleep now. It's night. We've to do the ritual." Pamela said pulling out a cushion from under his head so hard that he fell.

"Oww!" He said as he toppled on the floor. He made a face and mumbled about her fiesty nature. Then he went to the bathroom.

While Pamela hurried from one spot to another in the hall, picking up weird things from all corners of the house, brisk walking here and there while reading through a thick book and a hand scribbled list, and making sure the mark she'd started drawing few minutes before with the violet liquid was perfect, I stood there, studying her movements, looking stupid.

"Err, so what's the ritual about?" I finally asked. I hated it when I wasn't knowing what was going on; especially when it was about me.

"Well, I'll use Psyche Connect Algorithm 67. That is, I'll pass a psychic wave into your subconscious and..." she paused after realizing I wasn't understanding a word.

"In simple terms, I'll try to sync your thoughts to mine so I could think what you are thinking and then I'll go deeper in the thinking loop and enter your psychic plane and ultimately your psyche where I'd look through every bit of your permanent subconscious memory spiral and see if I could find anything." She said. Everything went over my head.

"In more simple terms?" I asked.

"I'll watch your mind, naked." She finally made sense to me.

"No, that'd mean you'll know when I first.." I began. Pamela seemed like a nice person. But I couldn't let her attack my privacy.

"The first time you went to date, or the first time you kissed, and the embarrassing poems of God you wrote when you felt guilty for kissing. Yes I'll see all that and much more, everything." She said as if these things weren't important at all.

No way, how did she know all these things.

"You're scared I'd know these secrets. That's why it's all painted on your face, Laura. Now if you'd pass me Silmethella." She went back to her rummaging.

"But.." I began but she gave me a I'm-doing-it-for-you look and told me not to worry. 'I ain't interested in your life'. "Well, except the romantic part." She added. I grumbled and handed over the Silmethella, the shrub juice she'd prepared earlier.

"Lie down." She ordered once she was done and Sebastian was back.

I nervously dropped to the couch and rested my head on the cushion. I felt as if I was going to be operated. And the operation was a major one. Like a brain or heart surgery. But later I understood, it was something much serious. Pamela was planning to tear my psyche and diagnose my soul, if that's even a thing.

"What now?" I asked.

She handed me the shrub mixture and told me to drink it while in sleeping position. I wanted to obviously yell and throw the nasty liquid in the sink. But her eyes forced me to obey. She really did have a commanding personality.

"No, you said I won't have to-" I couldn't complete my complaint as she took advantage of my open mouth and poured the liquid inside. I realised how wrong was I when I'd thought the demon blood tasted the worst or that I wouldn't have to drink anything like that ever again. I screamed and saw Sebastian hurrying towards Pamela. Sebastian pulled her aside and asked me if I were okay.

"Pamela!" Sebastian shouted angrily.

"What?" She said. She naturally didn't feel she'd done something wrong.

Then, I could just see them arguing. A sort of buzz started in my ears and slowly my vision blurred. Finally, my senses died and the last thing I heard was

"What's that Siphenella?" Sebastian angrily asked.

"Silmethella." Pamela corrected.

"It's a poison. To perform the ritual, I need her almost dead." Pamela answered and my brain shut down.