*******Author's pov
"I know what Seraphine is planning now."
Zareth said with certainty.
Ellis immediately turned toward him.
"You do?"
Zareth nodded.
"She has been preparing this for a long time. She's trying to make kael the most powerful demon, probably the most powerful being in existence."
Before he could explain further, Natalie suddenly stiffened.
Her breathing stopped.
Her head lowered.
For a moment, nobody noticed the subtle change taking place within her.
Then she slowly raised her head.
Her eyes were no longer their usual color.
They had turned crimson red.
Ellis's expression changed immediately.
"Natalie?"
There was no response.
Natalie stared straight ahead.
Her face was completely blank.
It was as though she couldn't hear them.
Or perhaps…
She wasn't herself anymore.
"Natalie?" Ellis called again.
Natalie's fingers twitched.
Then, without warning, she stood up.
The movement was so sudden that Ellis instinctively reached for her.
"Natalie, what's wrong?"
She grabbed Ellis's arm.
The next moment—
Boom!
A tremendous force erupted from Natalie's body.
Ellis was thrown backward and crashed against the dungeon wall.
"Ellis!"
Vaelthor immediately rushed forward.
He caught Ellis before she could fall completely, then turned his attention toward Natalie.
"Natalie, what are you doing?"
Natalie didn't answer.
She simply stared at him with those frightening crimson eyes.
Vaelthor approached slowly.
"It's me."
He held out his hand.
"Calm down."
For a brief moment, Natalie remained still.
Then she moved.
Her hand shot forward and grabbed Vaelthor by the chest.
His eyes widened.
"What—?"
Natalie lifted him effortlessly.
Vaelthor's feet left the ground.
Then she threw him.
Boom!
He slammed into the opposite wall and fell heavily onto the stone floor.
Ellis stared in disbelief.
"That strength…"
Natalie had never possessed anything remotely close to that kind of power.
Vaelthor slowly pushed himself up.
"Natalie…"
His voice was filled with confusion.
"What happened to you?"
Natalie turned toward him.
Her crimson eyes remained completely empty.
Zareth's expression darkened.
"This isn't her."
Ellis looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
"She's being controlled."
The instant Zareth finished speaking, Natalie lunged forward.
Zareth raised his hand.
A silver magic circle appeared beneath Natalie's feet.
"Bind."
Chains erupted from the ground.
They wrapped around Natalie's arms and legs.
She struggled violently.
Zareth nodded.
"This should suppress it for a while."
The chains tightened around Natalie.
She continued struggling, her crimson eyes glowing brighter.
Vaelthor immediately tried to approach her.
"Wait."
Zareth stopped him.
"Don't get close."
Vaelthor clenched his fists.
"But, she's in pain."
"I know."
Zareth's voice remained calm.
"But right now, we don't know what is controlling her."
Natalie suddenly screamed.
The sound echoed throughout the dungeon.
Vaelthor froze.
"Natalie…"
For a moment, the crimson glow in her eyes flickered.
Something almost seemed to return to her expression.
Then it vanished.
Zareth tightened the spell.
The chains glowed brighter.
Natalie's movements gradually weakened until she could no longer break free.
Ellis stared at her with concern.
"We need to get her out of here."
Vaelthor nodded immediately.
"I'll take her."
He approached carefully and lifted Natalie into his arms.
The chains remained wrapped around her, preventing her from attacking.
She remained unconscious.
Vaelthor looked down at her with worry.
"I'll take her somewhere safe and get her into better condition."
Ellis nodded.
"You should."
Vaelthor looked at Ellis.
"Be careful."
Ellis gave him a determined nod.
"You too."
Vaelthor turned and carried Natalie away.
Their footsteps slowly faded into the distance.
Ellis watched until they disappeared around the corner.
Then she turned toward Zareth.
"Now what?"
Zareth looked toward the dark corridor.
"We find Harper."
Ellis's expression hardened.
"Where do we start?"
Zareth's eyes narrowed.
"Let's go"
The two of them began walking.
The dungeon stretched endlessly before them, filled with countless corridors and ancient passages.
Every step took them deeper into darkness.
Ellis tightened her grip around her spell book.
"We're going to find her."
Zareth didn't answer.
But his pace quickened.
*************
Harper's pov
I slowly woke up in a strange room. I was tied to a pillar and beneath me was a hole in the ground where a fire was burning.
I looked around and found all sort of strange objects.
*Ravenna, Seraphina, what's going on *
Ravenna's low chuckle kind of irritated me and what she said next made me wish I could punch her.
*She probably wants to roast you. She's really hungry*
*Really? Well, if she's roasting me, she's roasting you as well*
Seraphina sighed in disappointment and told me *You're much stronger than her Harper, you just need to control your powers and weild it otherwise you'll run mad before she gets a chance to roast you*
*Alright, can we all be positive? I need to know what she's up to*.
I said in annoyance.
Soon, I could hear seraphine's footsteps.
She came before me with a smirk on her face.
"Well, you're awake".
"What are you up to?". I asked her.
"You know Harper, if I hadn't seen the color of both your eyes , I wouldn't believe that you were powerful at all. It was so easy to abduct you. How come you're in charge of such a great power if you can't even weild it?
Hah! I guess that's a win for me".
I eyed her as she held a wooden bowl and pounded something in it with a large stick.
"You know seraphine, I'm starting to wonder who's actually the witch between me and you. You're the demon and here you are with numerous concoctions and pounding stuff. You must be a fake demon".
"I wouldn't be worried about that if I were you Harper. You're also not fully a witch, are you? You're partly demon now. That's why one of your eyes turned red and the other turned black because the witch powers you possess is too immense. You're the light and darkness itself yet here you are beneath me. You're just a sacrificial lamb for my son".
"Your son? What sacrificial lamb? What are you up to?"
"Since you're so curious, how about I tell you. To sum it all up, I'm going to make my son the most powerful being in existence by sacrificing you, a very powerful being. Do you understand".
Honestly, it made sense now.