"Tristana." The young woman snarled, and Tracy winked at her. "At your service."
She stepped forward, her face devoid of any emotion, and as she did that, the flames burning inside the labyrinth started to cast shadows on her pulsing veins that could be seen through her pale skin. She raised her hand, and countless blood serpents appeared out of thin air. They rose in the air and lashed at Tracy, hurtling towards her like a swarm of bloodthirsty monsters.
Tracy knew that one bite of these snakes could land her in serious trouble. Having faced them more than once.
However, she was not afraid. She raised her hand and, with a lazy flick of her wrist, she sent a pulsating bolt of lightning throughout the space. The blood serpents turned into drops of blood and dripped down onto the floor like blood rain.
"It seems like you have forgotten all your lessons on how to greet your seniors." Tracy tilted her head to one side and smiled at the woman. "How many times did I tell you that you at least need to greet me whenever you see me? Or have aeons of worship from these mundane shifters inflated your head?"
She glanced at the mutilated corpses and questioned, "How many centuries has it been since you started this foolish experiment of yours?"
"You are one interfering bitch," snapped Morga. Her voice was harsh and cold, not at all suitable for that cute face that she had donned at the moment. Hissing and spiteful, quite ancient, like the voices in the pits that told you to jump and let them feast on your soul. Despite all of that, Tracy didn’t bat an eye while staring at the woman. "How did you get past those shifters? I swear I—"
"Gave them immortality?" Tracy sneered, walking around the runes that were scattered all over the floor. "What? Did you think that by giving them immortality, you had made them resistant to my magic as well? Come on, Morga. You are not a three-year-old; how can you be so childishly optimistic?"
The woman snarled, and her sclera turned black with crimson irises that started to swirl like liquid. Her fanged fingers twitched as she tried to attempt another spell, but before she could finish drawing the array, Tracy curled her lips and muttered a spell. The ground around the woman cracked due to the sheer weight of the gravity that had been amplified a thousand times.
Rubble and stones flew all over the place as the woman ended up flattened on the floor like a pancake.
"It has been years—no, centuries, Morga. How long are you going to continue ? Was it a grudge? Love? It has been so long that even I have forgotten about it." Tracy clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Still, you are clinging onto a past that should have been buried and forgotten. Still, going on and on about the stupid grudge that you have against the shifters. Still, handing out immortality in exchange for getting their blood. You really haven’t changed."
"You will not understand," she hissed through her clenched teeth. "They stole what was mine –"
"Save the sob story. I have heard it many times already." Tracy released a sigh as she stepped close to the woman, crouching down such that she was at eye level with the venom witch; she said to her, "And you have taken your revenge. More than once. What you are doing now is not you trying to avenge what you lost. It’s your inner psychopath coming out in full bloom. It’s a pathetic excuse that you keep using to make yourself feel better when the truth is that you are an unhinged and despicable murderer who gets sadistic pleasure when people are suffering."
Making a face, she added, "So stop glorifying yourself as the victim of the shifters. It happened centuries ago, and how many shifters have you killed since then? Ever stopped to count, eh?"
Staring at those cruel eyes, Tracy could see the ancient rage and cruelty buried deep within the beautiful face.
"Here is one thing that you need to know about grudge, Morga," Tracy began, leaning close as she lowered her voice. "You are not the only one who has a grudge, you know? I do too. And so do the several shifters who lost their lives in the hands of your twisted sadism. The site that you created? All to get off? To get the sick pleasure of seeing their young getting mauled? Yeah, they know about it, and they are not happy about it. Imagine how brutally they will rip your heart out if I find your real body and drag it in front of them. And believe me." She nodded with a solemn look on her face. "If they ever find you, you will die without a proper body."
The witch flinched, and Tracy smiled at her.
"That’s right, they are not happy. But we will discuss that matter later on. Tell me, where is your real body? I do have to admit that in all these centuries you have learned how to hide your real self; how many more bodies have you created?"
"You have no authority over me, Tristana." Morga’s eyes narrowed as she growled at her. Her face turned bloodless and smirked up at Tracy. "This territory might not be mine, but this belongs to my servants. They sold their souls to me, making me the lord of this place." Googlᴇ search n͟o͟v͟e͟l͟f͟i͟r͟e͟.net
"Servants," Tracy arched a brow as she stood up, completely fine despite the gravitational force that was almost cracking Morga’s spine in half. "Slaves, you mean? Because you pay servants for their work, you, on the other hand, took away the only thing that solely belonged to them."
"They agreed!" Morga snorted, her eyes falling somewhere behind Tracy, who dodged out of the path of the large python that lashed at her from behind. However, that much was enough to break the spell and unleash the witch.