The Night Walkers

by Elaine McGregor-Dawson

  “Now Kit, don’t play this game with me.” He walked closer until he hovered above her like a fly that she was unable to swat at. “You know there is no chance of ever winning.”

  Kit smiled at that. “Don’t you see, I will never stop fighting; I never have, and I never will; I have been trained my entire life for this, each day I am completely prepared to die.” Her words weren’t easy to summon up, in fact she had been hiding them every day; it was completely true though. She was prepared for death.

  “Well isn’t that a nice thought.” Claudius said sarcastically.

  “No, it’s a true thought!” Kit corrected him. He rolled his eyes and clicked his fingers. The same witches came trailing in, baring different types of tools. One was a strange flower, and another was a piece of some type of wood.

  “What’s that?” Kit clenched her fingers frightfully.

  “Those…are very fun things!” Claudius smiled, “Off you go Mirabelle and Ophelia, teach her your favourite teaching lessons.” The witches grinned and came close to Kit.

  Claudius stood out of the way and watched, and Kit threw her weak hands out at the air, trying to punch or kick them. She was far too weak and so she let them carry her to a chair, where they pinned and bound her arms in leather.

  “Okay, continue please.” Said Claudius as he leaned on his chair lazily.

  Kit’s fingers dug into her palms, she could feel the blood trickling down her wrists. Her face was pale and horrified as the witch, Mirabelle, took the plant she was holding, the one that looked like a bright blue flower.

  She came and pressed it against Kit’s cheek. It burned her, making this horrific pain surge all the way through her body, just like an electric shot only ten times worse. Kit screamed, “What is that!” She gasped.

  “Nightshade, your kind’s most deadly weakness. If I had dipped you in this, which believes me I was tempted to do, you would have burned to death, just like boiling water.” He gestured for them to do it again, and so they did and that was repeated ten times, gashing her arms and fingers with it, the burning pain never stopping!

  “Please!” Kit begged, “Stop this!” Kit screamed again and again, the entire world must have been able to hear her screams.

  “Admit you’re hiding something and we will stop.” Claudius was trying to persuade her.

  “I’m not hiding anything!” She spat, “I promise, Please- “She couldn’t finish her sentence because there came another gash right along the side of her neck. Kit cursed, breaking into a million unpleasable moments.

  “I can see it in your eyes.” Claudius didn’t believe her? What could she possibly be hiding? Kit got a great idea then. If Claudius didn’t believe her then maybe she should lie!

  “Okay! I will tell you. The academy is planning on attacking. They should be here pretty soon.” As the lie slipped out of her mouth, Kit closed her eyes, biting her lip with the weakening pain.

  “Stop,” Claudius said to the witches, they stopped, and Kit blew a deep breath out.

  “Thanks,” Kit whispered and let her head lull backwards. Her hands would probably scar for life, she couldn’t even move them, she felt every drop of blood that trailed down her legs, face and arms.

  “Hmm, if you are right, then I must believe you.” He shrugged and bit his lip. “Witches, lock her back up don’t let her out, we are officially preparing for battle.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Kit was looking around the room anxiously. She had done everything she possibly could to get out. She had thrown stones at the metal, she had tried to force open the bars, yet it never budged.

  So, she sat there on the ground, her entire body completely drained of energy. She had screamed until she lost her voice, she had stared at the wall, hoping it would break under the piercing stare of her blazing, empowering eyes.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Claudius opened the creaking door, watching her with his amused black eyes. “Miss Stone, I believe you’ve made a large racket. My witches are getting fed up with it.” He leaned against the wooden door, inspecting her closely.

  “What?” She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. Claudius shrugged, still having that evil smirk on her face.

  “Oh, nothing.” He looked away and paced around the room. This guy was really starting to annoy Kit; what she really wanted to do was beat his head into the cage bars!

  “Then why am I here then?” She shook her head at him, indulging his black eyes with pure hatred.

  “Because it’s more torturous.” He said creepily, cracking his wrists.

  Kit shrunk back to the edge of the cell, “Please let me go!” She couldn’t take it anymore. All she wanted was a normal life, one she would have a blast with and one she would know she was safe living in.

  “Why would I let you go?” He leaned forwards, so close to her that she could almost touch him. Kit could almost grab his throat and choke him to death. Instead she chucked a rock at his head, picking the biggest one up. It flew and hit him on the forehead, he didn’t stagger or even cringe; he just stood there unharmed at all, no mark even on his head.

  Kit gasped, getting as far to the corner as possible. “How did that leave no mark?” She demanded. Kit wasn’t the type of person to get easily scared; however, in a situation like this, she was scared stiff.

  “I have developed some rather difficult power. The witches, you see, have casted a spell on me. It’s a very good and strong spell.” Claudius stares at her stone figure. “Well…” He trails off and ends up averting his eyes to the wall while he waits for Kit to figure out why he was invincible.

  After a few minutes of think, Kit finally came up with a logical answer. “Is it because of the eclipse that’s going to be happening tonight?” She looked up, hoping it wasn’t the answer.

  Claudius started to clap, “Clever girl, you have finally figured it out.” He shook his head. “Such a shame I may have to kill you.” It was honestly not the worst thing Claudius could do to Kit. After all, in Kit’s case, if Claudius had tortured her, it would be way worse than death.

  “Then if you’re going to kill me, do it quickly or tell me you’re…killing plan.” She shrunk back in revulsion at the word “Kill.”

  “Okay, so it all began with the moon. I found the witches through my twisted brain then told them all I was their god; of course, my werewolf-side and my completion helped them to believe me better. Anyway, your Academy comes in about now; see I needed some supernatural being to take powers from. Now I am at my fullest power because I am harvesting the moon energy, taking power from your comrades and turning them into my slave.” He looked at Kit as if to say, “Do you get the picture,” or “Your better dead than alive to see what I have in store.”

  “Why?” Was all she asked, and the question seemed have caught Claudius off guard, for he spun around and stared at her, his eyes glinting with the sharp moon in the tiny metal caged window.

  “What do you mean why?”

  Kit laughed, “It’s obvious Claudius. I mean, what person in their right mind would do that, what are you planning on succeeding?” Kit stood up from where she sat on the ground, crushed up as far to the cave wall as possible.

  “Well I like the power I guess.” He shrugged. “Nothing else really.”

  Kit took a minute to process the words before she replied. “So, you’re saying that even though you’re taking away heaps of lives just to make yours better, you still want to keep going.” The entire idea was grotesque and ridiculous, except for Claudius’s answer…which was way worse.

  “Of course!” He started to laugh, “Why else would I?” He now had out a shining blade in his hand; Kit was watching him as he desirably turned it around and around, watching with his intent eyes that at a certain angle it caught the very glint of the moon.

  Kit was lost for words; she went to open her mouth to say something, only to close it when she found nothing.

  “Good.” Claudius paced around. “I think you have served your ti
me here in jail…now time for hell.” He smirked and then clicked his fingers twice. A few seconds later, two witches came through, their mouths looking like they had been glued to smile.

  The bowed before Claudius, it made Kit sick to her stomach.

  “I have a very bad feeling about this girl. I also believe she knows something, but she isn’t telling us. So, go on! Get it out of her by torture.” He turned around to face Kit, making a passing gesture to the witches to take her away.

  The two witches opened the cell door and Kit screamed, her scream literally hurt her own ears. They both took either side of her arms and forced her off the ground. All her weapons had of course been taken.

  “Let go of me!” She thrashed against their iron grip, but it was no use.

  She kicked at them, trying to push their legs out from underneath them. It was all she needed to escape. But they still fort on, dragging her unwillingly towards the “Torture Room.”

  Kit just wouldn’t let them take her there; the witches looked to Claudius for help. He sighed and rolled his eyes, removing his stance from which he leaned against the wall.

  “Allow me.” He said and hit her on the side of the heap with the back of his shining blade. The last thing Kit saw was his grin, that large, wolfish grin. And then there was her blood, spreading all over the ground as her mind tried fighting against it, but it was no use, everything just turned black.

  * * * * * *

  By the time Kit awoke, everything was blurry. It was dark, and she could feel moisture in her right arm. As she tried to make her vision right again, she realized it was her own blood, spreading like a sea over her clothes.

  “Finally!” Came Claudius’s voice from the near corner. “You have been out for quite a while; I was beginning to think I had killed you.”

  “Oh!” Kit made a woozy act of being sad by that, “I was begging to have died.” It was the truth though. There would probably never be hope left for Kit; no one would ever be finding her again.

  “Don’t give your hopes up yet Kit Stone, I can promise you that will come soon. But for now, I think you are hiding something from me.” He tried to tempt her with his eyes, his completion beating like a heart all around her.

  Kit looked away though and leaned against the cave wall. She was sick and dizzy, her own blood had caused her a fright, and now her heart was beating a million times faster. “I’m not hiding anything.” The compulsion broke as she looked away, tearing her gaze from Claudius.

  “Now Kit, don’t play this game with me.” He walked closer until he hovered above her like a fly that she was unable to swat at. “You know there is no chance of ever winning.”

  Kit smiled at that. “Don’t you see, I will never stop fighting; I never have, and I never will; I have been trained my entire life for this, each day I am completely prepared to die.” Her words weren’t easy to summon up, in fact she had been hiding them every day; it was completely true though. She was prepared for death.

  “Well isn’t that a nice thought.” Claudius said sarcastically.

  “No, it’s a true thought!” Kit corrected him. He rolled his eyes and clicked his fingers. The same witches came trailing in, baring different types of tools. One was a strange flower, and another was a piece of some type of wood.

  “What’s that?” Kit clenched her fingers frightfully.

  “Those…are very fun things!” Claudius smiled, “Off you go Mirabelle and Ophelia, teach her your favourite teaching lessons.” The witches grinned and came close to Kit.

  Claudius stood out of the way and watched, and Kit threw her weak hands out at the air, trying to punch or kick them. She was far too weak and so she let them carry her to a chair, where they pinned and bound her arms in leather.

  “Okay, continue please.” Said Claudius as he leaned on his chair lazily.

  Kit’s fingers dug into her palms, she could feel the blood trickling down her wrists. Her face was pale and horrified as the witch, Mirabelle, took the plant she was holding, the one that looked like a bright blue flower.

  She came and pressed it against Kit’s cheek. It burned her, making this horrific pain surge all the way through her body, just like an electric shot only ten times worse. Kit screamed, “What is that!” She gasped.

  “Nightshade, your kind’s most deadly weakness. If I had dipped you in this, which believes me I was tempted to do, you would have burned to death, just like boiling water.” He gestured for them to do it again, and so they did and that was repeated ten times, gashing her arms and fingers with it, the burning pain never stopping!

  “Please!” Kit begged, “Stop this!” Kit screamed again and again, the entire world must have been able to hear her screams.

  “Admit you’re hiding something and we will stop.” Claudius was trying to persuade her.

  “I’m not hiding anything!” She spat, “I promise, Please- “She couldn’t finish her sentence because there came another gash right along the side of her neck. Kit cursed, breaking into a million unpleasable moments.

  “I can see it in your eyes.” Claudius didn’t believe her? What could she possibly be hiding? Kit got a great idea then. If Claudius didn’t believe her then maybe she should lie!

  “Okay! I will tell you. The academy is planning on attacking. They should be here pretty soon.” As the lie slipped out of her mouth, Kit closed her eyes, biting her lip with the weakening pain.

  “Stop,” Claudius said to the witches, they stopped, and Kit blew a deep breath out.

  “Thanks,” Kit whispered and let her head lull backwards. Her hands would probably scar for life, she couldn’t even move them, she felt every drop of blood that trailed down her legs, face and arms.

  “Hmm, if you are right, then I must believe you.” He shrugged and bit his lip. “Witches, lock her back up don’t let her out, we are officially preparing for battle.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Kit's back was pressed up against the wall. Her head was spinning uncontrollably, and her eyes were becoming blurry from the nightshade before. It was strange though, Kit's entire time at the Academy, she had always used nightshade on everything, but she never got it on her hands.

  She aimed her head towards the blackness of outside the cell. She focused all her senses, thinking that since she was superhuman and had very high eyesight and hearing that she should put it to the test. Kit opened her mouth to say something but closed it as she wasn't quite sure who was there.

  Everything around her was spinning, she was no longer focusing on anything, the war outside still raged on without her as she wasn't quite sure whether she would ever get out of this cell. Out of this cave. Back to Debra, back to Levi. Her heart sunk then, the thought of Levi, of his strong arms, of his blue eyes.

  I will get out of here for Levi. She let her eyes flutter shut, wanting nothing more than the sun, she wanted to hear Debra's laugh, and she wanted everything she couldn't have.

  "Oh, stop being too miserable!" A voice crackled from the darkness. Kit perked her head up suddenly, feeling the pain wrench through her every muscle. "I mean, you have nothing to worry about, after all, Master Claudius will have you out of your misery anytime soon."

  Of course, it was a witch. More tormenting on her way. Instead of letting the witch win, she just used a clear voice to speak up. "Believe me, I'm not worries about that." Kit shook her head.

  The witch cackled again. "Well you should be!"

  Kit shrunk back until she was right against the cave. "Alright then, what are these plans?" She asked challengingly.

  The witch’s feet shuffled against the floor. "Well, let’s just say they are very sacrificial." The witch walked up until her arms gripped the bars. She was looking down at Kit with pity.

  "What are you looking at?" Kit spat, regaining her feet as she stood up from the ground.

  The witch shook her fraying black hair, "I just feel that this was all meant to be." And with that, the witch receded a few steps as she opened the door and left the room.


  Kit was all alone with the growing silence of her wondrous, scared and slightly annoyed mind.

  Where was Levi? Was he already on his way? Have they left me to die? The questions made her glad but also anxious. What if they had given up?! She wouldn't be very annoyed at them if they didn't go looking for her because that means they won't be putting their life in danger.

  The silence continued until it was very suddenly broken by another one of Claudius's growls that shook the entire cave. Kit fell backwards into the wall, feeling the sudden collision with her head and the wall. Kit cursed. What was going on?

  ""Someone! Get rid of them, take them out! Kill them! Do anything!" It was Claudius again and his sentence was so loud...almost like he was being purposely loud. Kit shook her head and the idea left her brain. What had she done to Levi? Why had she told Claudius about their plans?

  Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! She cursed herself and began thrashing her hands against the bar, suddenly feeling her energy coming back. "What's going on?" She yelled, knowing she'd here no reply.

  Kit kept staring out at the darkness, wandering if this would be her reality. She looked around again for an escape plan, not being able to quite imagine anything useful. As soon as Kit thought all hope was over, she heard a very loud crunch followed by a hiss.

  "Where is she?!" ...Levi? Kit ran towards the bar, tapping her hands over it loo make as loud of a sound as she could.

  "Levi! Levi! I'm here!" She yelled over the darkness, wanting no one else but Levi.

  A moment later, she heard feet pounding against the floor. The metal door flew open and Levi bounded in, looking like a heroic Knight....Just like in her books!!!

  "Kit!" He breathed, bounding up towards her. His hands gripped the bars and she shakily slid her fingers over his. Levi pressed them to his cheeks, but as his face looked at hers, he gasped, cupping her face with his rough hands. "What did they do to you!?" He was very angry now,