Chapter 8: An Unexpected Visitor.

She could tell this time that he was visibly angry. "How dare you lay your accusing finger on my people? Do you think they are as dumb as your kind? Tanak could be evil, but he will never kill my father and his father as well,'' he panted heavily before storming out of the scene. Clara never said a word again. She simply watched until he went out of her view. Now that she was all alone, maybe she could finally get some sleep while awaiting what the wolves had in store for her. Just as she was about to lie down on the floor to rest, Kane appeared from nowhere again. "I was wondering how those shackles came off your hands and feet, would you mind explaining what happened while I was gone?'' Kane demanded. "What can I say, Kane? Does any of that matter to you since I have not been able to escape? I have always remained your prisoner, so why that question?'' "Who untied you, Clara? Who had the guts to break through the barrier?'' "Who do you think it could be you dumb ass? If anyone was able to burst through your evil spell, do you think I will still be held hostage here? Huh? I would have made away with whoever it was. Don't think I'm stupid." She was almost panting with exhaustion. Kane left again this time without looking back. At the same time, Clara is certain this is the last time she will see him for the evening. She lay back in her former position. She wished she had her witchery With her, it would have been easier to escape from the dark magic that is holding her hostage down there. Tired of ideas on how to free herself, she falls into a trance. However, that never lasted because her short moment of peace was interrupted by an unexpected breeze above the pit. "Clara! Clara!" A soft voice whispered. "Wake up, it's me, Lora." She awoke only to find Lora looking at her. "How did you find me, Lora?'' "I followed your trail,'' Lora told her. "I noticed how excited you were in the morning immediately after the unknown messenger left you. So I decided to satisfy my curiosity. I wanted to know what your little secret was." "Wait a minute, you picked up my trail and followed me down here just to know what I was up to? How foolish you were, Lora? Do you know your life could be in danger right now? You never can tell Who is watching us right now, and you may end up inside here just like me." "Fear not, sister, I have never been careful in my life like I am right now. I have always stayed hidden with the help of my magic power, not even their acute sense of smell has been able to fish out a poor intruding witch like me." "I know, but staying hidden is not enough reason why you should risk your life in an unknown land of the wolves." "You worry a lot, Clara. How do I help you get out of there?'' She tried to fly over the open pit but was quickly pushed aside by an unseen great force. "That's strange!'' Lora exclaimed. "What was that all about? What is happening here, nd why can't I fly in or get closer to you?" "Needles to save me, Lora. You can't get to me no matter how hard you try." "Why would you say that? I mean, why can't I get closer to you?'' Clara nearly shouted in frustration when she tried to reply to Lora. "Because I'm being pinned down here by a spell. And not just any ordinary spell, but the dreaded dark magic.'' "Oh no! This is bad. But how in the hell were the wolves able to have that? I thought it could be used only by Ferahon, your mother, and of course her potential successor, which is you?'' Queried Lora inquisitively. "There are many things you don't seem to understand. It's a long story, Lora. I failed to keep my promise." Clara's facial expression looked like she was about to shed some tears. Lora was able to see that because the moon did not hold back from shining unrestricted on Earth that night. "Oh no! I hope it's not what I'm thinking? You taught them this? How in the hell did that happen?" Now, she was shedding tears visibly. "I had no idea of what I was doing back then. I did it for love. Today, that love is about to lead me to my untimely death. What a fool I must have been." "Who got you into this mess?" Lora sounded worried. "An alpha wolf," Clara told her in a low voice. Lora, who had become surprised by what she heard, proceeded with more questions, "An alpha wolf? I don't understand. You were in a romantic relationship with an alpha wolf? For how long, please, and may I know his name?'' "Does it matter, Lora? His name is Kane." "Kane? Hmm! What a strange name. How come I have never heard about him before?'' "I have told you it doesn't matter. And you better leave here as soon as possible before the wolves find you. This is my mistake, and I must face the consequences alone. Never trust an alpha wolf; he could sell you out any time any day." Almost growing impatience, Lora sets out to help again. "Wa, it Cl, ara I will break the spell so you can regain your freedom and we can escape from here." "This is no ordinary spell. Are you sure you can take on it? Because it requires a witch with sufficient experience, and I'm pretty sure you have no idea of what you are about to deal with.'' "Have faith, Clara. You will be free.'' Lora brought out a copper rod with a star-shaped head, one of her portable witchery tools, and pointed to the spell-bound pit and began casting a spell to free Clara. "By the power vested in me, the daughters of the almighty Ferahon unite tonight to fight the forces of the darkness. That the unknown be known. Release thee, from the spell of darkness, the lady in the pit. Let the powers from the south, north, east, and west sides converge at thy tune, so mote it be.'' A beam of light came from her magirodde and polarized the surface of the pit. "It's working!" Lora exclaimed, while Clara was simply reserved until she saw a meaningful result. Just then, Lora's hand began to shake as if she were being pulled by a greater force from the space of the pit. "Oh no, Clara! What is happening?" "Call off your spell immediately, I warned you, you can't handle it!'' Clara shouted in fright after seeing how Lora was struggling to contain the powers of the dark magic she tried without success to drive off. "I'm trying to put it to an end,d bt I'm stuck!" Lora replied in desperation. "Then let go of the copper rod in your hand. Do it now!'' While they argued on how to end the struggle that is likely to put Lora in harm's way or even end her life, the beam on the space, on the wolf's prison, increased in brightness, forcing both witches to close their eyes. Lora managed to close hers with her free arm while the other was stuck. "What about reversing the spell before it kills all of us?'' Clara suggested. She knew Lora was not as experienced as her. She knew how she would have channeled her energy better than Lora and beat the dark magic spell. How bad it was for her because she under underexperienced. Lora is the one carrying out this herculean task. Nevertheless, Lora proceeded to reverse the spell. "Free, I sought this hand of mine bound to the dark powers of hell. Freedom I sought from the entanglement of darkness, now and here! So moreover it e!'' At once, the bright light died down, but not without flinging Lora across a short distance like a pebble. She fell, landing with her back on the ground. Her copper rod fell beside it, too. She picked it up again. Clara, who couldn't get a clear view, reacted immediately. "Oh my God! Are you alright, Lora?'' She thought Lora had been seriously injured or even dead. Bound by the dark magic spell, she bit her fingers and cursed. She knew there was little she could do to help. She can't go out, but only hopes that Lora remains harmless. As if her prayers had been answered, Lora limped closer to the top again. Clara watched her from the pit and discovered she was in pain. "I'm so sorry, Lora, I got you into this. I'm so ashamed of myself That, there is very little I can do at this moment to help you.'' "Hey, come common, Clara! You don't have to take responsibility for what happened a few minutes ago. Instead, blame my poor spell-casting. It wasn't strong enough to do the job. I guess I'm a bad witch. Remember, you never got me into this? I volunteered to know the whereabouts of my future mistress. Here I found her bound to a dark magic." Clara forced a little smile on her face after hearing Lora's warm words. "I still insist it was my fault. Anyway, I think it's high time you move away from here before the wolves close in on you." "Oh no! It seems you are getting me wrong. I didn't make it all this way just to take a look and return. I'm here to stay as long as you are held captive here, too. Let's rub our minds together and come up with a better plan on how you can escape from here.'' "You have already given it your best, and yet it seemed like nothing happened. What else could you possibly do to fight this? There is absolutely nothing! The more you stay here, the greater the chances of our escape diminish. But, if you will heed my voice, I have a better suggestion.'' "What?'' "Go back home and inform my mother of what happened. Tell her all you have seen and witnessed. She will be the one in the right position to devise plans on how I could be rescued." "Yes, that's brilliant, Clar, a bit, I know nothing about what led you down there. One moment, I saw you kissing, hugging, and playing around your wolf mat, and the next, you were being tied up and taken away. Certainly, I can't make any sense from that." Surprised, Clara asked, "Wait a minute! You saw all that? I thought you stayed far away enough from us? Maybe you didn't keep a long distance away from me the whole time after all." "Yes, I saw all of that butt couldn't comprehend what exactly took place." Clara asks further, "How long has this spy program of yours been going on? How many times have you spied on me to know my whereabouts,uts, Lora?'' "Many of the times, I sensed you were far away from home. I know you were up to something, so I had to keep an eye on you. I'm sorry about this, Clara,'' Lora bent her head slightly to show her remorse. She was slightly annoyed. "Who tasked you with keeping an eye on me? No lies, please!'' "No one, Clara!" "It seems like you didn't listen to me when I made it clear to you, I need no lies. Let's face the fact, I'm about to die in the hands of the werewolves any moment from now, ss, why will you tell me lies when you know very well I will take the truth with me down to my grave?" Clara asked. "Answer me, is it worth it?'' "Okay fine! I will tell you the truth if that's what you want to know. Our mistress, who is also your mother, assigned me the task of monitoring your whereabouts, especially when you are leaving our abode." "Unbelievable! 'Lara exclaimed in a bit of disappointment. "Why will she do that and why afindingding out now?'' "Could you please tell me what led to all these, now that I have opened up to you? What hasdidur romantic affairs with a werewolf alpha have to do with your detention and possible execution, Clara? I'm nervous. You don't know how much I am now." Clara sat down on the ground so she could rest her limbs while she explained. "Alpha Conri is dead!'' "What? Why haven't we heard about it thenWhat are you telling me is true?" Lora queried in disbelief. We could have been celebrating in our abode by now if that's true. Of course, you know the long history between us and them? Alpha Conri had your father killed in a way to punish your mother and to send a strong message to the leadership of the witches.'' Clara was astonished because she had tthoughtLora was aware of Alpha Conri's death since all fingers were being pointed at them by the wolves. In her personal belief, her mother Ferahon is her primary Suspect, but that may not be the case after Lora's statement. If her mother, Ferahon, the great witch, had not killed Con, the alpha supreme of the Nazan wolf clan, who did?