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Agatha walks up to the house that her ex-husband lives in with his new wife. She doesn't know why she keeps thinking that Belinda is Maverick's new wife because they have been married for years now; old habits die hard, she realizes. If she's honest with herself, it is because she still has a hard time accepting the affair between Maverick and Belinda. It broke up her marriage to Maverick; she is still very bitter and resents Belinda as a result. She takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, before she knocks on the front door. She rushed to the island after Ambrose called her and informed her that there are witch hunters on Mayne Island; she is there to cast the perfect spell to stop the hunters when they arrive. She is positive that Belinda will believe that the hunters won't find them, but Agatha knows based on experience that the hunters always find the witches; and they don't stop until they are dead. She can't let that happen, no matter how she feels about Belinda. She will protect her family, even members that hurt her in the past, like Maverick. "Agatha, so glad that you're here," Belinda forces a smile on her face as she greets Maverick's ex-wife. "Please come in." "Maverick," Agatha ignores Belinda and moves into the house. Seeing her ex-husband for the first time in what seems like years, feels like old times to Agatha. He still has that charm that she fell in love with all those years ago. "What's the status of the hunters?" Belinda and Vix watch as the former couple greet each other and start talking about what has to happen. Belinda tries to keep her composure but she finds herself becoming more and more jealous as the ex's interact and conspire to come up with a plan to fight the hunters. "We need to find the right spell to fight the hunters with," Maverick explains to Agatha, who listens intently. "Vix said that there are three of them, but there could always be more close behind." "They didn't speak like there was more of them," Vix interrupts their conversation. "I think they would all have stuck together. They are working alone." "But what if they're communicating with others on the lower main land?" Ambrose offers as another question to ponder. "We'd have to cross that bridge if it comes to it," Maverick replies to his daughter. "Right now, I need your mother and Belinda to focus on coming up with the best spell possible to fight the hunters. We have no time to waste here." Agatha turns around and looks at Belinda. She waits for Belinda to say something but she doesn't, Agatha asks her, "Well, aren't you going to take me to your spell room? I need to see what books you have." "Of course, right this way," Belinda replies to her as she starts to move up the stairs to the second level. Vix watches the two of them move the upstairs and runs his hand through his hair. He moves over to Maverick, who looks out of a pair of binoculars in hopes of spotting the hunters. "Are you sure this was a good idea? Inviting Agatha here, I mean? Did you see how upset Belinda is?" "Belinda won't have the option of being upset if the hunters find us and kill us all, will she Vix? Calling Agatha was absolutely the right decision and I am not going to justify it to you. Now, can you please go outside and tell me if you hear the hunters approaching? The sooner we know if they are on to us, the better we'll be." Vix sighs and turns back to look up at the spell room; he hates that Agatha is here and obviously rubbing her past with Maverick in Belinda's face. His sister deserves better than this, he thinks to himself. His sister deserves so much better than this. --- "Are these all the spell books you have?" Agatha asks Belinda as they enter the casting room. "It certainly is not the collection I have at home." Belinda rolls her eyes a little. "Sorry to disappoint you, Agatha," Belinda snarls at her. "But yes, these all the books I have. Feel free to look around, but don't take too long because we have to be ready for the hunters when they arrive." "I'm glad that you're admitting that the hunters will arrive because they always do." "I know that Agatha," Belinda replies to her. "You're forgetting that I lived through the witch trials too. You're not the only one who has suffered so stop acting so entitled." "I didn't come here to fight with you," Agatha says back to her as she moves to the book shelves and starts looking around. "We have to work together, so start looking for the perfect spell." Behind them, Ambrose enters the room and watches the two seasoned witches for a moment. She clears her throat causing Agatha and Belinda to turn around and see her. "I'm hoping that I could help you two find the best spell," she says, half holding her breath because in her mind, why would anyone want her to help find a spell when she can't cast a spell herself. "The more eyes the better," Agatha replies to her. "But we don't have much time, we have to act quickly." Ambrose nods back and moves into the room and grabs a book and starts flipping through the book. --- "Come on, we are almost to the top of this mountain," one of the hunters says out loud as the other two follow closely behind him. After seeing Belinda and Ambrose retrieve the rat trap, the hunters knew that they had found what they have been looking for: witches. They saw where Belinda and Ambrose went and followed them back to the house. They are planning on killing all of the witches they find at the top of the mountain, and nothing will make each of them happier. "I can't walk as fast as you, I am carrying a crossbow," the second hunter tells the leader of the pack. "Don't be a fucking sissy," the leader stops and turns around to face the one complaining. "We all have our crossbow, now hurry up. Times a wasting," he continues to say to them. "I want to kill a witch or two!" The other two can't help but chuckle at the thought of killing witches; this is what they live for, it's like a sport to them. They quicken the pace as they try to reach the top of the mountain that much faster. --- "I can't see anything," Maverick mumbles to himself as he puts the binoculars down. He feels the pressure building as he knows that it's only a matter of time before the hunters find the house. He's lived through many attacks throughout the years but it doesn't mean that he doesn't still get nervous when one is pending. He just hopes everything works out; he has to believe that it will. He refuses to accept that he and his loved ones won't make it through this attack. Vix opens the front door and looks at Maverick, pale from what he heard outside. "Did you hear anything?" Maverick asks him, hoping that Vix heard the hunters approaching. Vix's pale face is everything that Maverick needs to know. "They saw Ambrose and Belinda get the rat trap," Vix reports to him, recalling the conversation he just heard from the hunters on the mountain. "They are walking up the mountain now. And, they are all armed with crossbows. This is serious, Maverick." Maverick looks back at him, thankful that he now lives on the top of the mountain. "Do me a favor and go upstairs and tell the girls that we need to start the spell as quickly as possible," Maverick tells Vix, trying to keep his composure. "I'm going to go and get some crossbows from the garage, when I get back, we need to have made a decision on the spell," Maverick continues to tell him, as Vix nods. "We have to be ready to fight back." Vix moves to the stairs and walks up towards the spell room. "I hope you've found the spell," he announces as the three women as he enters the room. "I was just outside and I can hear the hunters walking up the mountain. They saw Belinda and Ambrose retrieve the rat trap," he explains to them as Agatha shoots a glare to Belinda, livid that she put Ambrose at risk. "Well isn't that lovely," Agatha spits to Belinda. "You basically gave them our location. Just great." "I didn't mean to do that…" Belinda begins to say back to her defending herself. "Of course you didn't mean too but you did," Agatha replies to her. "Enough!" Ambrose says to both of them, tired of the squabbling between the two women. "We have to work together here, not against each other." "You're absolutely right," Belinda replies to her. "I'm sorry for my part in this." "We don't have any more time to waste," Vix tells them as he swats something on his neck. "Which spell have you found that you think will fend off the hunters?" In unison, Belinda and Agatha say, "This one!" as they each point to a different spell. "Well, hurry up and figure it out because we don't have time to spare on this!" Vix orders them around before he turns around and moves towards the door. "What did you just swat on your neck?" Ambrose asks Vix, causing him to stop and turn and look back at her. "It was just an ant, there's a huge ant hill outside. One must have crawled on me while I was listening to the hunters," he explains to her. "Now, I'm going to go downstairs and help Maverick prepare." Agatha looks over at Belinda and rolls her eyes at the woman. "If I'm the one casting the spell, I'm the one picking which spell I want to use. This is not up for discussion. Besides, you heard your brother, there's a huge ant hill outside; my spell is the perfect one to cast." Belinda snaps her book shut. "Fine, I'm going to see if Maverick needs any help. Want to come with me Ambrose?" Ambrose shakes her head. "No, I think I'll stay here and help my Mom with the spell." Belinda gives her a quick smile before she leaves the room. Ambrose looks at her mother and wishes that she could get past her hatred of Belinda. She knows that the past is complicated and a lot of pain was caused but Belinda is a wonderful woman, Ambrose thinks to herself. "Was that really called for?" Ambrose asks her as puts her spell book back on the shelf. "You could be a little bit nicer to Belinda, you know." "Do not lecture me Ambrose," Agatha warns her daughter. "Now, if you're serious about helping me, then look at this spell and collect all of the ingredients. I need to prepare myself to cast this spell." --- Belinda rushes downstairs in a huff. She can't believe the nerve that Agatha has. Who the hell does she think she is? She asks herself. "This is my house, and she treats me like that? That woman has some nerve!" "Hey, hey, hey," Vix says to his sister as he comes up to her and places his hands on her shoulders. "Don't let yourself get too worked up about this, okay? We have to stay focused on the hunters. As soon as their gone, we can send Agatha packing and everything can return to normal." "I know you're right Vix," Belinda replies to him. "I'm just … I'm so tired of hiding all the time. I just wish these bastards would leave us alone once and for all." "They're just scared of the unknown. And we, Belinda, are the unknown. But I know that this spell that Agatha will cast will work and we will be okay," Vix continues to tell his sister, trying to reassure himself at the same time. "I know you're right," she says back to him as she turns and caresses his face. "I'm very glad that you're here Vix. I wouldn't want to go through this without you. Oh my God," she quickly changes the subject. "I need to get outside and get my beloved Ms. Frisky. She could be in danger being outside." "You're worried about your cat?" Vix asks her as she moves to the door. "I think we should stay inside until Maverick gives us the okay to go outside." "I'll only be a minute!" Belinda says back to him as she waves her hand back to him. She opens the door and slinks outside. "What the hell is going on in here?" Maverick asks as he comes back into the living room, holding his cross bow and binoculars. "Who just went outside?" "Belinda wanted to get her cat," Vix explains to him. "Unbelievable," Maverick replies. "There are witch hunters outside and she's worried about her cat? What am I going to do with her?" Before Vix can reply, they hear a blood curling scream. Vix looks at Maverick. "What the fuck was that?" Maverick feels the blood drain from his face. "It was Belinda…" --- Outside, Belinda freezes in the yard and she slowly looks down to her stomach, which has been shot with a crossbow. It's plunged deep into her stomach and she can feel the spear go almost through her entirely. Suddenly, she feels weak and she moves to the side of the house, where she has to hold herself up. The hunter that shot her comes up to her and they look at each other in the eyes for a moment. Belinda has never seen such hatred in someone's eyes before; she doesn't say a word to him, instead she slowly starts to move back to the door of the house. The hunter watches her and gets a grin on his face. "You're going to die," he yells to Belinda. "No way in hell you'll survive that shot, baby," he laughs. He turns around to find the other two guys. "I just nailed that red headed bitch real good!" --- Ambrose watches as her mother mentally prepares herself for casting the spell. She wants to know how a witch really prepares for such a spell; the more complex the spell is, the longer it takes to cast, which can be very exhausting. Agatha is sitting completely still with her eyes closed. Her breathing is very calm and she's twitching ever so slightly. She finally opens her eyes and looks at the caldron. Next to the caldron are all of the ingredients that Ambrose collected for Agatha. Agatha stands up and moves to the caldron. She reads the spell one more time and then looks over at her daughter. "Thank you Ambrose," she speaks slowly. "I'd like you to go wait downstairs now. I want to be alone while I cast this spell. Let the others know that everything will be okay, I just need about 10 more minutes." Ambrose nods back to her mother. "Do you need anything else?" "No," Agatha quickly replies to her. "Just close the door on your way out." Ambrose wishes that her mother was more like Belinda and would let her watch her cast the spell but now is not the time to ask for such things. The only thing that matters is that Agatha is able to cast the spell and fend off the witch hunters. Ambrose closes the door to the room and moves to the stairs. As she walks down the stairs, she can't believe what she is seeing; Vix and Maverick are hovering around Belinda's body that is laying on the sofa, the large crossbow still sticking out of her stomach. "What happened?" Ambrose asks as she rushes down the stairs and over the her step mother, as Vix pulls the weapon out of his sister's stomach. Maverick immediately applies a towel to the large, open wound as Belinda moans in pain. Belinda's face is pale as she's lost a lot of blood. There's a large wound in her stomach from a cross bow that one of the hunters shot her with. Belinda somehow managed to crawl back into the house. Maverick is holding a towel over her wound, trying to apply the pressure. "The hunters have surrounded the house," Maverick replies to his daughter in a whisper, as he's trying to focus on Belinda. "How is your mother coming along with the spell?" "She said it would be another ten minutes," Ambrose replies as she moves closer to Belinda. "Is she going to be okay?" "She has to be okay," Vix replies as he gets tears in his eyes. "She has to be okay. It's just a minor wound, right?" Maverick looks over at Vix and shuts his eyes. He knows that the wound is bad. He just hopes that his wife can survive this. Of course, as soon as Agatha is done casting the spell, they need to get some supplies from the room to save Belinda. --- "Where did she go?" one of the hunters asks the other two as he can't locate Belinda's body. The shooter recalls seeing Belinda slowly make her way inside the house and sighs heavily. "She must have had enough strength to get back inside." "Jesus Christ!" the leader of the pack yells back at him. "How do you know that they won't be able to save her?" "You saw the shot I had," he replies to him. "There's no fucking way that witch is going to live." "Well, now they're all in the house. How are we going to get them out?" The third hunter comes up to them and gets a wicked grin on his face. He points to a large wood pile on the side of the house. "Look at all that dry wood," he says to them. "Let's burn this fucking house down!" The leader of the pack starts to laugh a wicked cackle. "With all of them inside! That's brilliant, let's go!" --- Inside the house, Ambrose, Maverick, and Vix suddenly start to hear an odd banging noise from outside. "What's that noise?" Ambrose asks, growing more and more scared as the noises increase. "They are throwing dry wood at the house because they are going to set it on fire. They are going to set the house on fire…" Maverick continues to explain to his daughter, who gets a horrified look on her face. "What the hell is keeping Agatha?" Vix yells, demanding answers as he continues to hold Belinda's hand. "This needs to happen now!" Suddenly, they all the three men start to scream in horror. Ambrose rushes to the far window and opens the curtains. She peers outside and is shocked by what she sees. Millions of flesh eating ants cover the bodies of the three hunters. Within a matter of minutes the three hunters are dead and there is no trace of them as the ants ate them all completely. Ambrose covers her mouth as a tear falls down her cheek, shocked by what she has witnessed. Agatha turned the ants into flesh eaters; they ate the hunters within a matter of seconds. She moves back into the living room and looks at her father and Vix, numb by the vision. "They're dead," she says, still in shock. "Mom's spell worked, the hunters are dead." "Thank God," Maverick whispers as he turns his attention back to Belinda. "Do you hear that my love? The hunters are dead. It's time for you to heal. It's time for you to be okay." The door to the spell room opens and Agatha slowly makes her way down the stairs. She quickly realizes that Belinda has been injured. "What's happening? How did this happen?" "The hunters are dead Mom," Ambrose informs her. "Your spell worked." Agatha doesn't even seem fazed by what Ambrose just told her. "I knew it would," Agatha replies to her. "But, let's get back to Belinda. What the hell happened?" "It doesn't matter what happened," Vix snaps back to her. "Get upstairs and get us something to help her! Get something to save my sister … before it's too late!" |
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