27

With a flutter of her dress, the woman disappeared from the spot where she was standing. The last thing Felicia and Arthur saw was the twirl of the red dress before the arrows sailed through the air and into the bushes that lined the brick wall.

"Where did she go?" Felicia exclaimed. She and Arthur stood at the open frame of the back door since the door had already been kicked down. Both of them scanned the back garden but the woman was not to be found. The thing that disappeared alongside the woman was the sound of the pipe.

"I'll go check on the kids," Felicia said as she left Arthur's side to run to the children. After Felicia had interrupted the curious ritual with her arrows, the channeling was broken and it seemed to have taken a toll on the participants. Arthur had been taught that interrupted rituals would have adverse effects on the ritual participants and he worried for the safety of the children. However, this would also mean that the thing inside the bundle the woman was carrying also suffered injury. Furthermore, if the thing was attached to the woman, then she too would suffer the damage as well.

When the ritual was broken, it felt like the doll master's strings that controlled the children had been cut. They crumbled to the ground like they had lost consciousness and the heavy thud that the row of kids made now that the sound of the pipe had disappeared was a scary one.

Felicia went down the row and the ones at the back, the ones not yet touched by the woman were fine, they had just fainted. There were though two exceptions, the boy who was the first and the second girl.

The boy's face was pale and there was no color on his face but all in all, nothing a good night sleep would not remedy. However, things were not looking as pretty for the second girl. Probably because the connection snapped when it was her turn, the girl suffered most of the injury. There was nothing physical but her face was scrunched up in pain. The rest of the kids were unconscious or drained but the girl appeared like she was trapped in some kind of nightmare. Felicia tried to shake her awake but it was to no avail. She just could not be reached. Thankfully, the girl still had a breath in her and Felicia prayed that this was only a temporary phase.

Standing at the door, Arthur frowned when he saw the second girl because she looked quite familiar. He felt like he had seen her somewhere before and it happened recently.

Before he had the time to ponder on that, there was a voice that came from behind him, "I didn't even realize we have guests. Where are my manners?" Arthur turned around and Felicia stood up as she nocked the arrow. The woman in the red dress walked out from the shadows and entered the corridor through the ballroom. She still had that bundle in her arm and it had returned to its state of inactivity.

She had a welcoming smile on her face and she chided herself self-deprecatingly, "Forgive the state of the house, you must have such low opinions of me as the hostess of the house." Then, she turned to the walls and her eyes glazed over like she had visions of the place way back when it was at the height of its luxury.

Felicia stood up and quickly made her way to stand beside Arthur. They did not know what the woman was up to but at least they had the strength in number... if they did not consider the thing inside the bundle as a valid threat. However, they knew they could not assume anything at least until the thing's identity had been confirmed. In any case, it was wise for them to stick together. They would be able to watch each other's back.

After she recovered from her reverie, the woman turned her attention back to Arthur and Felicia. She looked at Felicia and smiled, "Young lady, thank you for checking up on my dearies but don't you worry, I assure you they will be fine. I will not let anything happen to them under my watch. They are my little keepsakes."

The woman sounded very unworried like she was very confident in her claim and that incensed Felicia. She demanded angrily, "How could you even say that when you were trying to drain the life essence from them earlier?"

The woman's voice turned one degree icier but the smile still hung on her face, "Young lady, you do not know what you're talking about."

"I know what I saw, we're not going to let the kids stay with you. We're bringing them away with us." Felicia claimed as she readied her weapon. Arthur had not seen his friend this worked up before but he understood it was because of the children. Felicia had always had a kind heart and it must have pained her to see a monster taking advantage of vulnerable children. Arthur sided with his friend and prepared to take the woman out and finish the quest.

The woman looked at them and sighed, "Must we resort to violence? We could have reasoned this out. In fact, if you just leave this place and forget what you have seen here tonight, I would have been more than glad to let you walk out the front door.

"Believe me, I only have the dearies' best interest at heart. It is a dangerous world out there and I will keep them safe here with me."

"The world is dangerous because of monsters like you!" Felicia loosened an arrow at the woman. This time the woman did not do her disappearance trick, she merely stepped to the side and the arrow shot past her. She then sighed, "Fine, if you insist on fighting, at least can we move to the ballroom first? I don't want the fighting to accidentally injure my dearies." Then the woman turned and walked away, her red dress swaying as she waltzed into the darkness.