Chapter Twenty-Two

Merelda left quickly a few moments ago but before she left she pulled Elsie from her cage and put her before as a guard.

"Keep watch over your brother until I come back. You know the consequences of disappointing me, child."

After the bitch"s footsteps fall silent, I look at Elsie. She"s so beautiful and looks like the younger version of our mother. Her hair is long and black as night like father"s but her eyes are lavender like our mother"s. Simply stunning, my little sister.

Right now though, she looks so fearful. She holds her hands behind her back and something glows against the wall like she"s holding a lit candle back there.

"What"s happening, Elsie?" I try to soften my voice as much as I can but the latest whipping has taken a toll on me.

"I don"t know." She folds her lips in like she"s trying to keep her words back.

I stare at her a moment, wondering if I can trust her or if she has a form of Stockholm Syndrome. Although, I don"t see Elsie having sympathy for the woman who regularly uses her without a single care for her.

"Are you sure you don"t know or are you afraid of what Merelda will do if you tell me? I won"t tell her anything and when I get out of here, my mate and I will keep you safe from the old crone."

She brings her hands forward and shows me her fingers which are all lit with Hellfire. What the fuck? How does Elsie have this ability?

"Don"t speak... of Grandmother... that way." Tears leak from Elsie"s eyes as she visibly struggles not to say the words.

I see. Elsie has been spelled to do Merelda"s bidding. I growl at the pure evil of Merelda. The vain bitch that she is even has Elsie defending her honor.

"P-please, Drug. Don"t do... an-anything."

"Okay, Elsie. Okay. I"m sorry." I hang my head and wait for her to drop her hands. When she does, the fire licks up her palms but they don"t burn her. So many unanswered questions.

"You look just like our mother." I tell her after a few moments of silence. "We all knew you were going to be her twin, the splitting image of her except you have father"s hair."

I hear her little hiccup of emotion but I keep talking, "When you were just a baby, Drac used to carry you around in a sack on his back. He said he wanted to teach you how to hunt so you could grow up strong and abled. Draven used to make funny faces to get you to giggle, you were the only one who could get him to smile."

I stop and control my own emotions just thinking of the normal life we once had.

"Wh-what about y-you?"

I look up at her face and see the struggle she is suffering but I don"t want to add more to it by acting out in anger on her behalf.

I clear my throat before I answer, softening my voice, "I made you a wooden sword and used to pretend I was a Lord and you were a squire under my tutelage." I chuckle at the memory of tying the handle to her little chubby hand with twine.

I can see the smile she wants to let loose but Merelda"s spell keeps it from coming through. Fucking bitch will pay.

I open my mouth to tell her more but the feel of the room changes like Ronny is here, unseen. Elsie feels it too and she brings her arms back up looking around in alarm.

Suddenly Draven and Drac are standing there with the sisters sans Ronny.

"Brothers! Elsie is under Merelda"s influence!" I barely get the words out when Elsie flings Hellfire at them. On instinct, my brothers shield Rory and Roxy.

"Elsie, stop! Fight it, these are your brothers!"

"I-I can"t!" Elsie shakes as the spell and her own will clash together. She throws more fire at the backs of her brothers.

"Mother used to sing to you about the stars and the sky, she would rub your forehead with her fingertips until you fell asleep." She continues to fight the power but lets two more flames go even as she cries out.

"Father used to toss you high into the air and catch you. Your giggles and scream of delight would scare the squirrels out of their dens, chittering as they went." Draven says as he turns around and takes a flame to the chest.

Hellfire doesn"t wound us but it does hurt like a bitch when they come from someone else.

"When you would wake up at night, I would go to you and sneak you out into the woods to find the moon flowers." Drac says as he too turns around.

"I want t-to stop b-but the spell..." Elsie breathes hard and her forehead is covered in perspiration. "It"s t-too strong!"

Just then, Darren comes running in, "Rigescunt Indutae!"

Elsie freezes on the spot, arms up and eyes wide.

"What did you do to her!" Drac roars and dives for Darren but Draven and Roxy stop him.

"I literally froze her. She"s unharmed and the spell will wear off in five minutes so we need to move quickly!"

Drac runs to Elsie and kisses her head as Draven cups her face, "We"ve got you little sister. You"ll be safe soon, I promise."

Roxy and Rory begin working the chains on my wrists but they"re magical. They won"t open with a key.

"You can"t break these, take Elsie and go now before Merelda comes back!" I yell at them but the two crazies just keep trying to break the chains while Darren stands watch over Elsie and the spell he cast.

"We"re not fucking leaving you, pup. Besides, Ronny is outside keeping the old crone back." Roxy says followed by a grunt when Rory elbows her.

"What the fuck!?" I snap at them, "You left your sister out there with her?"

Roxy, unapologetic as ever, just shrugs at Rory, "What? Draven said no secrets, right?"

I feel a new pulse through the room as Elsie unfreezes and launches a flame against the stone floor just as Ronny comes to a stop at the door. My breath wooshes out of me seeing she"s got blood all over her face but she looks unharmed.

Either she just used her teeth to rip out Merelda"s throat or she's just had a meal.

Another flame gets thrown and it hits Ronny on the chest. She screeches and claws at herself, forgetting she can"t be harmed by Hellfire anymore, and a vile falls out of her cleavage.

I try not to lick my lips at the voluptuous sight of her pillowtop breasts but I"m a creature from Hell, I have no morals.

Darren yells out his spell again and Ronny scoops up the little vile from the stone floor before running straight to me. She hands off the vile and throws herself at my chest.

I can"t wrap my arms around her but I do take in a deep breath, filling my lungs with her scent and soothing my aching soul. She litters kisses all over my face before coming to my lips.

The burn on my neck starts again but I ignore it as I push my tongue into Ronny"s mouth, tasting her sweetness and swallowing her moans. My body heals and something begins to happen as the warmth in my neck spreads to my arms and back. The urge to hold Ronny in my arms fills my mind and every cell in my body is willing my wrists to be free. Suddenly my arms pull from the wall as chucks of the stone wall crumble around us.

We don"t break the kiss though, how can someone cut this short? Having Ronny in my arms is like having my soul mended with stitches of heaven made thread. Healing and renewing.

All too soon, Ronny pulls back, "Merelda will be here any moment. We need to get Elsie out of here."

Rory sniffs the liquid in the vile, "This is Praesidium. Maybe it"ll fight off Merelda"s spell on little Elsie."

"It will, that is the same stuff we give you to keep spells from being used to influence your will. Quickly, give it to her."

Rory rushes behind Elsie while Drac and Draven grab hold of our sister"s arms. Darren speaks the words that release her from the freeze spell and my brothers hold her arms down. Rory squeezes my sister"s jaw with enough force to open it then she pours in the liquid, holding her head still while she swallows.

Elsie shakes and forces herself to drink the potion and when she does, the effects are immediate. The Hellfire leaves her fingers and she sags against Drac in relief.

"Thank you, Ronny," Elsie whispers before she passes out. She"s exhausted from her fight but she won"t be able to rest until we escape from this godforsaken tomb.

Suddenly there"s a loud scream from the tunnel leading into the room, "Here she comes!" Ronny shouts.

"Everyone, join hands!" We all follow Rory"s instructions just as Merelda comes into the room bleeding from her face and chest.

"See ya, biotch!" Roxy says before we siphon to Club Lust.

When we arrive, we all turn to Drac who holds Elsie, only, it"s not the little girl we left with. In her place is a young woman who looks like our mother while wearing the too small clothes of our little sister.

"What the hell?" Roxy exclaims before sniffing the woman in her man"s arms, "It"s Elsie but... Older?"

"The spell Merelda had on her must have kept her old enough to channel her magic through but young enough to keep powerless. This is Elsie"s true self."

Darren says with sadness. Elsie grew up mentally but never grew up physically. I rush over and cup her sweet face, if it weren"t for the straight black hair, I would have thought she was Mother.

"Quickly, let"s get inside, now."

Once we make it into the club, Drac lays Elsie down on a booth and she begins to wake. She sits up confused until she sees us.

"Oh, my brothers!" Her sob breaks through as she gathers us in her arms with me awkwardly hugging over her head and down her back as she continues to sit in the booth with my brothers at her sides. My baby sister is alive! She"s right here in our arms and she"s okay now.

I kiss her head before turning around and grabbing Ronny, "Elsie, I want to introduce you to my mate, Ronny Crow, or as I call her, Black Bird."

Elsie smiles so big and stands to hug Ronny, "I"ve watched Ronny since she and her sisters were born. I knew they"d be mates for my brothers. I left you a guide written in riddles so you"d be able to set my brothers free from their bindings in Hell."

"How did you leave clues?" Ronny asks before I can.

She smiles at Darren, "I wrote the books Audrey took for Darren."

Darren sucks in a breath at the name of his dead mate and I sincerely mourn for him. I can"t imagine living knowing my mate was dead. I"d follow Ronny soon after if I ever lost her.

Elsie reaches over and squeezes the Fairy"s hand, "Worry not, Darren, your mate will be back in three moons. She is only resting in a peaceful sleep."

Darren sags in relief and drops to the booth with a sob of joy but we all stare at Elsie in complete and utter confusion.

Ronny is first to speak, "Who are you, Elsie?"

"I am the true, True Witch."