Chapter 11 - Mark of Destruction

"I'm sorry, Miss Kelly, but in my years of existence, I've never seen anything like it," Oliver said as I continued to itch. Just when I thought the itching couldn't possibly mean anything, it did. A drawing slowly appeared on my hand like a tattoo. It felt painful but bearable. It looked as though some invisible force decided to play tricks on me.

"What's going on?" I said, in shock.

Ivy and Oliver both had their eyes fixed on my hand, watching immensely.

The work of art was soon completed, and it was the shape of a torch, but it was upside down. Kelly watched the faces of Ivy and Oliver become petrified as they looked at each other.

"Tell me, what's going on?" I said, snapping my fingers to bring them back to reality.

"That is the inverted torch," Ivy said, biting her nails.

"A lit torch represents life, immortality, and the life after death, but an inverted torch…" Oliver paused.

"...though it still bears a flame, it symbolizes life extinguished, death, and destruction," Oliver landed, and I froze.

"Th…this couldn't po..possibly mean anything, right?"

"I…I'm not gonna die, am I?" I said, my voice breaking.

"I don't know exactly, so there's no need to panic," Oliver said.

"I'll go check the library to see what I find, just try to relax okay" Ivy assured but I couldn't relax.

I tried my best to remain calm, but my body failed me. I paced around my room, checking the time, waiting impatiently for Damien to come back. It had only been four hours since I got the mysterious tattoo.

"Hey…are you okay?" I heard someone ask, and I looked to see Ivy standing at the door. I nodded.

"Can I speak to you?" She said, walking in with a book in her hand.

She placed the huge book on the table and flipped quickly to a page that immediately caught my attention. The drawing on the page looked somewhat like the one on my hand.

"Here… but it's in another language, I couldn't find any translation," Ivy said, pointing to a note beside the drawing. I looked at it and then back at her, wondering what she meant by another language.

"No…it's English."

'The end of the supernaturals is nigh. The bearer of the markings shall bring woe to all. Let the bearer be found… and… killed… else destruction is inevitable'

I read aloud, my voice breaking. I could feel the hair on my skin rise. I was scared, frightened even. This was worse than I thought. I ran out of the room, leaving Ivy standing. I needed to breathe.

I had thought I was just a hybrid, turns out I was a danger to everyone around.

The sky was dark, and the stars shone brightly as I ran towards the garden to cool off.

***

Damien rode his horse through the thick forest as quickly as he could, so he could get back to Kelly. The wind passed by him really fast, almost feeling like slaps on his face. The morning faded into the afternoon, and then night approached.

He successfully passed through the city of the deathless ones, though with great difficulty. He rode slowly through the misty forest.

The witches were good at hiding from danger if they sensed it. Crows cawed, and as the mist cleared, he could see the little old cottage far ahead, as described in the address. It looked quite old compared to the other buildings around.

He knocked gently, and the door opened immediately.

Damien's pov

"Ahhh…you made it," I heard a rusty old voice call out.

"Yes, I did."

The room was lit with bright candles and occupied mainly with witch voodoo items.

"Please sit."

I found a small stool, which looked weak and unstable. I wanted to refuse, but I didn't want to be rude to an old lady, so I sat, my hands resting on my knee for balance.

Just then, she walked out of a room holding a crystal-looking ball in her hand.

"Do you know why you're here, lad?" She asked, sitting on the ground.

"No."

"I hear you're providing shelter and protection to the hybrid…you do know what the prophecy says."

"I do…but with all due respect, I do not believe in prophecies," I said, my words followed by laughter from the elderly witch.

She waved her hand over the ball chanting some words I couldn't understand. The candles around the room began wavering.

"...watch closely," she said, and I looked into the ball.

It was Kelly, surrounded by the new girl and Oliver. They had their eyes on something on Kelly's hand.

"What's happening there?" I asked, and that's when I saw the reason behind their sour faces. She had the inverted torch mark on her wrist, a symbol of death and destruction.

"She bears the mark of destruction,"

"It's just a tattoo," I said

"...just a tattoo, eh? Just like the one you've got?" She asked, and I directed my eyes to her. Nobody knew about my tattoo.

"Is that why you took her in, because she's just like you, an element of destruction?"

My mood changed, and I got up, ready to leave.

"You do know what will happen if she is left alive. She'll wipe us all out of the face of the earth, including you," she said, making me pause.

"I didn't wipe every supernatural from the face of the earth, did I?" I uttered, leaving the room.

"She's a hybrid, and her powers are, therefore, amplified. Be warned," I heard as I left the cottage. I rode far away from the witches' coven to the forest before stopping for the night.

I sat down on the dried leaves, made a fire from two small stones, and ate from the supplies I packed for the journey.

Damien never told anyone about his tattoo, but he knew the meaning. It had appeared at a young age when he was angry at his father for calling him a disgrace. He had burnt down an entire building with just a thought. Luckily, there was no one inside it. Since then, he feared himself.

Kelly's pov

I woke up feeling exhausted and hungry. I settled down in the huge dining area and when my food was served, I dug into it immediately. I felt like I hadn't eaten in weeks. All the stress and thinking had really built up my appetite. Just then, I felt like my lungs were blocked. I coughed really hard, my chest already hurting.

I noticed a maid walking slowly towards me and just when I thought she was gonna help me out, she bent down close to me, chanting some incantations and that's when I knew there was trouble.