Immortal Desire
Chapter 40

Terror consumed everyone’s system when Latina stood high and proud in the middle of an inferno. The robe she wore was burnt into ciders, leaving her bare naked but it seemed not to harm her. Her scarlet eyes were glowing as if there were balls of fire inside them. The strands of her lengthy black hair were coated in the flame too. A shining red stone on her chest began to break into pieces with the tremendous heat, turning it to dust, sparkling with fire. She was dazzling; with her goddess-like features, anyone would think she was one which fell from grace and was being penalized with the eternal flame. Even the witches and the men in the witch village who rushed in to check the commotion quivered in fear.

If they didn’t know about the death of the legendary flame fairy a hundred years ago, looking at Latina’s appearance would make them believe that she was the fairy who had been long gone instead of the b***d queen. The idea made them tremble more in panic, after all, it was the flame fairy who almost abolished all the witches centuries ago.

“Stay Away!”

The village chief’s voice resounded, jerking her daughter Sheila away from the vampire lady. She was in the middle of presenting the young vampire knight her gift when unexpectedly she had an impulse to rush back to the village after she felt an ominous force coming from a red Lhaphrite stone, a rare gemstone that could seal one’s power. It turned out to be Latina losing her mind because of Sheila’s spell, though deep inside, the old witch knew the actual reason why the fire spirits were attracted to Latina’s presence.

“Vous di seuh vampyr axsi du, Delia hiu sevz,” Delia, the village chief murmured. She raised her hands, calling forth the wind to cease the flames on Latina’s body.

A strong wind whirled around the vampire but was easily vaporized. “Seemed like it ticked her off,” Delia said, squinting her eyes.

“You dared to attack me,” Latina’s mouth opened but the voice that came out wasn’t hers, glaring at the old witch with her dead-shot eyes, she spread her arms while laughing hysterically. “Begone witches! I’ll wipe you out from this world,” a monstrous voice declared. It was neither a woman nor a man who was speaking. The flame grew stronger. Arching her body, Latina fell on her knees before her entirety was consumed by the brisk hell, leaving nothing, not even a speck of dust behind and the vampire lady was nowhere to be seen. Everything went back to how it used to be like nothing had happened.

“Latina! Latina!” Azrene cried, struggling in Fred’s embrace. She would have joined her dear friend if the boy didn’t pull her back and encircled her in his arms.

“Suoes divoi hifde tahr,” Delia whispered, drawing a symbol using her b***d on her fingertip she bit. “Suoes di vuer laqte,” she continued. Blinding light flashed and the symbol took a form of a phoenix. It flew around the mansion and halted in the spot where Latina strutted earlier. A portal emerged in the air. “If she’s lucky, she will be back,” Delia shrugged while looking at everyone’s face. She held her head, observing the mythical bird floating just above the portal.

“Mother,” Sheila’s voice was timid. She knew that casting a high-level spell without the older witch’s approval was dangerous, but she did it on her own accord. If Delia came a bit later, who knew what tragedy would befall in their village.

*Pak*

Sheila’s head swung to the right when Delia’s palm landed on her face. The pain was nothing compared to the trouble she caused. Sheila tried not to cry in front of others. Being the eldest daughter and the soon-to-be chieftain, she needed to endure it, especially when her mother was in the right.

“I thought I was clear enough when giving instructions,” Delia muttered, staring at her palm she used to slap her daughter. “One mistake was enough. I’m expecting you to make a wiser decision in the future. Anyway, we both learned something from this. ”

Sheila bowed her head as a response. She was afraid to speak a single word knowing that her voice would surely break. A warm, gentle, and light tap on the back made her raise her head. Her eyes were immediately filled with tears when she saw Fran’s worried yet soothing look. The boy smiled and hugged her shaking body.

“Latina,” Azrene mumbled. She walked towards Delia, joining her in watching the blazing phoenix. “What happened to her?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” the village head answered. “Perhaps no one knows. If she’s lucky then she’ll survive,” she added.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Everyone looked at each other’s faces. With that familiar scream and, there was no doubt, it was Latina.

“Nobody here has any idea about what happened to her while she was out of sight. But as I’ve said before,” Delia paused and smiled at Azrene, “She will be back if she’s lucky.”

The phoenix flapped its wings faster, fanning the flames coming out from the portal until it was all extinguished. Soon after, the unconscious vampire fell out. The phoenix caught her and she landed on its back. Red flame sprouted from the ground and formed into a table. Latina remained unconscious when the phoenix gently placed her down on the flame altar.

“Latina!” Azrene exclaimed as she ran towards her friend. She stopped on her track when the phoenix glared at her and everyone else.

“Hahaha. That was very helpful,” Delia said. She started to chant some unfathomable words until the Phoenix disappeared.

“She’s unconscious,” Azrene pointed out when Delia examined the lady’s body.

“Hmm… this is the first time I saw someone alive after having the trial. There’s something wrong going on here,” the old witch said. “Bring her inside the mansion,” she ordered the people nearby.

“We have her body but there’s a chance that it’s empty, she’s missing her soul. She might have sipped Marco’s b***d thinking it was ordinary human b***d which is not…”

“Wait!” Azrene butted in. “What will happen if we can’t get her soul back?”

“A body without a soul is nothing but a mere empty shell,” Sheila answered. “No one has ever survived the trial before, she’s the first. She’s physically here but…” she clasped her hands. “But someone else might occupy her body,” she continued.

“W-why is this happening?” the green-eyed girl whispered. Suddenly, she felt numb and cold.

“Because she drank Marco’s b***d,” Delia responded. “He’s alive. The body buried several years ago was just one of his vessels. He will continue to live unless the curse has been lifted.”

Sheila wanted to ask more questions, but she decided to keep quiet. Delia’s words confused her. It was like a different tale from what she believed. She needed to be patient, and she would get the answers sooner.

“Stop dawdling and get moving!” Delia ordered.

They rushed Latina’s body inside and placed her on a comfortable bed. Delia ordered everyone to stay outside the room before she locked herself together with the unconscious lady.

“Now,” Delia started. She waved her hands and the candles inside the room were lit. The old witch couldn’t help but glare at the person who was already sitting on the bed. “What brings you here, flame fairy?”