Call Of The Dark

Emma couldn't avert her gaze from the woman inside the mirror. She felt like she was getting pulled towards her. She had a strong urge to get inside the mirror and see her. "How do you know me?" she asked, entranced.

Shira's lips curved up. "That is not the right question Emma. The right question is what do you plan to choose from here on."

"I—" she rasped, wondering what Shira was asking her.

"Do you want to choose darkness or do you want eternal light?"

Emma's stomach twisted in a thousand knots. "I don't understand…" she murmured.

"Emma!" A sharp voice came from the background.

The surface of the mirror started rippling. The image of the woman started to become hazy. She said, "You will understand it, but make a conscious choice. I know you will."

"Emma!" The sharp voice was nearer.

The mirror's surface rippled more. The woman disappeared and then suddenly it was all plain hard surface. Emma found staring at her reflection. She had paled and she was shivering. The apple was still in her hand.

"Emma!" Olya shook her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"I— I—" she stammered. "Th—there was a woman—" she pointed at the mirror.

Olya turned her eyes to the mirror and her brows bunched. "Woman? What woman? There is no one there. I told you this is all an illusion."

"But how did I get this?" she asked, lifting her hand and showing the apple.

Olya jerked her head back. She peered behind the mirror into the darkness. "Oh, there are few lying over here!" She pointed at a basket full of apples. "You must have picked up one from here."

Emma gaped. "No, she gave it to me!"

Olya held her upper arm and chortled. "Emma, this is all a very refined illusion. I told you earlier that a witch comes here every Samhain and creates the horror house."

"Can I meet the witch?"

"Umm… I don't think so." Olya tugged her out of the mirror room. "Not many have seen her. She has been coming here for a long time."

Emma didn't say a word as she still couldn't shake off the feeling of fear and panic. "Let's get out," she said finally, feeling very uncomfortable. On her way out, she grabbed Yul's hand who scowled at her when being dragged out. Once they were out of the horror house, Emma took a deep breath in. It was surely an illusion. She shook her head to shove that memory away. "What next?" she asked.

"The kissing tent!" Olya replied with a grin. "That is the most exciting place, one I have been avoiding for a long time."

"Well now is your chance to go to it," Emma said as she looked forward to the kiss. She knew that it was all just for fun, but then she wanted to have all the fun in the world.

Olya giggled. "We have to spend some time in the line as all the boys and girls must have made a beeline to it." They increased their pace. "Usually those who end up kissing each other, marry each other."

"But that is so strange," Emma remarked. "Is it that the mates kiss each other? Or is it that some magic happens and they fall in love?"

"I don't know. But I am sure there is magic out there," Olya said. "I have been avoiding it though."

Yul was extremely excited. "So how do they end up kissing? Like how would they know? What if two lovers are sent there by force and end up kissing someone else?"

"Why don't you try your luck Yul?" Olya smirked. "Who knows you will find your wife there?"

A gush of adrenaline pumped in his blood. His lips parted as he let out a rough exhale and looked at Emma. "I would love to try my luck!"

They reached the kissing tent in the next fifteen minutes and true to what Olya had said, there was a long line of potential kissers.

"You are a royal," Yul grunted, feeling impatient. "You should go there first." He wanted to go there first. His excitement was barely contained.

"Lord Cain has made it amply clear that even the royals are going to stand in the line," Olya explained as a few boys bowed to her. They also gave flirtatious glances at Emma and dipped their chin in curtsey. Yul bared his fangs at them as he tried to shield Emma from their vision.

They reached the main entry of the tent in almost an hour. By that time, Olya chatted away like a bird. She talked to Emma and came to know about her past. The two girls bonded over the one hour and Emma felt that she really found a good friend in Olya. Too bad that she was living so far away. She wondered if she would invite her to Wilyra, but her thoughts doused when she remembered her impending doom.

"The girls will go to the left behind that curtain." The woman who was handling the show said loudly, making them quiet instantly. "And the boys will go to the right behind that one." She was a burly woman with a tall frame. Her dark hair was tied in a loose bun at the base of her head. She wore a lot of makeup and her clothes were garish.

The tent was pretty huge. It could accommodate at least fifty people at a time easily.

Yul watched Emma going behind the curtain and focused on her steps. He remembered where and how far she went and stopped. He followed other men and made his way exactly opposite Emma behind the curtain, but soon realized that other men were coming in his direction. They kind of bunched up there. He gritted his teeth and pushed his way to the front. A woman came and she started tying blindfolds over their eyes.

"No cheating!" she warned them. "If you cheat, then you won't get the girl."

And Yul's muscles strained with tension.

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