She didn’t know if she was ready to go back in there right now. Clutching her hands on the wooden rails which were weak, she let them go when she felt it wobble. Her eyes darted left and right but not looking anywhere constant as she tried to wrap her mind over what she just saw.
“You can stay here if you don’t want to step back inside,” she heard Damien say who stood behind her. His hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. Penny could only nod her head and heard Damien go back inside the house.
For years there had been a war between different creatures. Most of the time they were for stupid reasons which could have solved easily but this war which everyone was waging against the black witches, it was the only right one to fight and win. Taking a deep breath, she looked to her right to see a frog croaking while sitting on a leaf that was floating in the swamp.
She was scared right now, scared to turn to one of those things who were responsible for what happened inside the house here. How could they be cruel to this extent? She rubbed her hand on both her arms, hugging herself as the goosebumps rose on her skin.
After taking some more time, she finally started to walk back inside while covering her nose as she stepped inside the narrow passage and entered the room. Damien had pulled away the shutters that were covering the windows which now allowed light to pass through it and into the rooms where one could see everything clearly.
It was time for Penny to mentally prepare herself from looking at these things and scenes. She wasn’t a human anymore, she said to herself in her mind. She was a white witch and if she was going to continue walking in this path which she was already doing, then she had to be prepared to look at this and face things which were morally not right in her books.
When Damien had pulled the shutter earlier, it had shown only one side of the room but with all the windows passing through light, she could now see two tables that were full of cauldrons that were sitting on top of it. There were black liquids with the bad stench coming from it and Penny didn’t want to go and check what was in there right now.
She saw flashes in front of her eyes that she couldn’t grasp right now. Flinching and looking at the cauldron as if the images from her past were coming forth but not fully. Penny didn’t dare to go close, fearing she would see something and vomit her guts out again.
“The bodies of the children have been used to create different kinds of potions. They usually abduct them because of their pure nature,” Damien said looking at the children. He walked to the line of the dead bodies who were made to sit like dolls in a showcase. Bending down as he stared at one of the boys, “Here’s the boy of the magistrate,” hearing this, Penny’s head snapped to look at Damien who had squatted down in front of a boy.
Her hand not letting go of her nose as she covered her nose to stop the stench of dead bodies assaulting her nose, she found a completely disfigured boy. To look at the small boy, it took more than courage but also sanity that she was living in a world as disgusting as this. The bottom side of his skin had pulled out in a way where she could see the bones. His jaw and teeth were clear to one’s eyes. His eyes…Penny’s lips pressed together, the flesh around his had come out, one eye-popping out and the other, there was no other eye but an empty socket.
“H-how can you tell he’s the magistrate’s boy?” Penny asked not able to distinguish because of the disfigured face.
They have the same eye color and hair texture. The other boys don’t match up to it,” Damien answered. Penny’s head was too messed up right now to figure out what was what.
“What now?” they had found the bodies and they would need a proper burial.
“We’ll have to inform Alexander about it first. So that he can send the letter to the council. In the meantime, the townsfolk of the nearby vicinity around the forest will be informed so the parents can see their child.”
Penny closed her eyes, already able to imagine the pain the parents would go through by finding their sons and daughters not only dead but in this state.
“I think the children were used when they were still alive,” she informed, “I read that the black witches have the potion that can stop the movement of a body. The effects go down due to which they need to keep injecting it.”
“I will have it reported about it. The sooner the word reaches, the faster we will have the bodies taken out from here and placed in the coffins to rest,” Damien stood up, walking back to Penny and taking another look. He placed his hand on her shoulder. Once he touched the palm of her hand, they were back in Delcrov’s mansion and away from the awful stench.
While Penny went back to the room, Damien went to speak to Alexander. Informing about what happened and what they saw. The magistrate was still unconscious and was locked in one of the rooms which Alexander’s father had built not too far away from the mansion.
When the night came, Damien returned back to the room to find Penny who was curled on the bed. She had refused to eat, not able to eat after what she had seen. Walking to her side, he saw her eyes closed and her breathing that was even to tell she was sleeping.
Not wanting to wake her up, he placed the tray of juice which he had brought up for her. Pulling the blanket over her body, he blew the light of the candles to dim the lights in the room.
