Bambi and the Duke

The human woman who seemed perfectly a moment ago while she was crying had turned to a black witch. Her smooth skin turned dry and cracked which appeared to look scaly. Long tongue peeked out like a snake which slithered out and back inside. 

She wasn't the main witch who was responsible for turning the humans as she had cried for her son but it could be false information. What if this woman was the actual witch because as she stood there like a statue, the witch turned not only by her skin but also be apparent to a young woman with an evil smile. The black witch 

When she tried to scream for help, she couldn't hear her own voice. She screamed again but it seemed like something was blocking her vocals due to which no sound came out of her mouth now. Why wasn't she able to speak?!

Panic started to rise in Vivian's mind at in inability and the situation she was put in. The only exit was where the black witch stood and if she had to get out she had to get the black witch out of her way which she wasn't sure how well it was going to go. She tried to rack her brain on what one was to do in these kinds of situations. Remembering what she read about black witches, 

'Chapter four: How to handle a black witch. A normal stake through the heart should reduce their movements though it wouldn't kill them.'

When the witch came to her, Vivian did what she could by picking one of the utensils that was near her to hit it on her head. 

'Remember that normal objects might hurt the black witches by hitting them unless there's an impact which might make the black witch rage.'

Okay, maybe that wasn't what she was supposed to do, thought Vivian to herself when the witch glared at her. Stake! Stake, stake, where was it? her eyes quickly scanned but there was no stake or any wooden object she could make use of in a span of two seconds she felt her head being crashed against the wall where the witch started to whisper something in her ear. 

Finding whatever her hand could at that moment, she picked up the hammer which she had been lucky to find. Holding it in a different angle she hit the witch once on her head and the second time when she put more force, the edge of the hammer launched on the black witch's jaw which displaced it to its right making it look like she was already a skeleton. 

While the black witch fretted to have her jaw dislocated, it gave enough time for Vivian to reach the door. Twisting and turning it in a hurry, she was about to sprint through the open door when she was pulled back by the black witch, "How dare you to try to disfigure me!" the black witch's voice was coarse and furious. Not waiting, putting the force in her hands, Vivian pushed the wooden hammer up and behind her, hitting the person's face and making her yelp. 

Maybe the old books had to be updated, thought Vivian to herself. Little things like this bought her time and when she stepped out of the house successfully, her voice went to the highest scream which got everyone's attention. 

Leonard was the first one to come to her where she sat on the snow ground huffing and heaving for air, "Heuren, check the house and for the woman," he ordered his fellow councilman while checking Vivian for any signs where she was hurt. 

Feeling Leo embrace her in his arms, she whispered, "I am okay. I am okay," she patted his back to feel the tight hold of his on her. 

"You gave me a fright, Vivi," he said with a sigh, pulling back he looked at her, "What happened? Is it the woman?" he asked.

"She's a witch." 

"Should have known with the melodramatic scene and how quick she was to get back to the house," helping her get up, they saw Heuren come out of the house, "She escaped?" 

"Ah, you will have to come to look a this," Heuren scratched his head awkwardly, his eyes going back and forth from Leonard to Vivian and then back to Leonard. Vivian wondered if the witch had escaped from the house but then there was no other opening or window where one could escape. Going inside by following Leonard and Heuren leading them in, she had Dutan following behind her to see what had happened. 

When came inside, her face turned one not out of shock but it made her brows. The black witch laid flat down on the ground with the edge of the hammer which Vivian had pushed into her eye socket that was stuck in there. The body had turned one similar to the two men who had passed away due to the failed transition. Did she kill the black witch with a mere hammer? A crackling sound came from the body and soon they saw the body start to smoke up and start to dissipate until it suddenly fizzled to leave a black burnt mark as an outline on the ground. 

"I think Lady Vivian killed the black witch," said Dutan behind her as he peeked at the mark.

But Vivian interrupted him, "She's not the only one. There are more than one here, some who had turned and some who are in the process of turning."

"That's not good news at all," whistled Hueren, he sat down to look at the body that had ashed out. Swiping his finger on the surface, he bought his finger to smell it, "Ye, it is a positive original black witch."

"Did you check the magistrate?" Leonard asked for confirmation. 

"He's clean," Dutan answered standing in an alert mode. 

Heuren cleaned his fingers by wiping the dust on her trouser, turning to look at Leonard he asked, "How do we know who is turned and not turned? Everyone looks human and they have been doing their chores of work with what we observed." 

It was a difficult task to know who was human and inhuman. Vivian herself had not realized the woman to be a black witch when she had placed her hand on the woman's back. Was it that she couldn't read the memories of black witches or was it just difficult as they were made up of magic and another natural source of energy who were dynamically composed of different elements. She stood there a little shocked that she had killed the black witch so easily. Of course, the black witches didn't hold strength like the vampires and instead relied on their potions and spells. 

"There is one way, but it is as unorthodox as the black witches. We have the head of the serpent killed. All we need to do is cleanse the city from the other witches who have evolved. It is only time where the turned humans will revolt with the basic nature of the black witches," said Leonard looking down at the black witch, "I need you to draw something out of the village, all of you except Vivian. Vivian can stay inside the parameter and let us know if something is wrong at that time. Converse with the magistrate or see if you can find anyone who hasn't been turned yet out of this place for evacuation."

"What is this mark about?" asked Dutan and Vivian was curious too to hear about it. 

"Does anyone remember the mark that we stepped on in the dead man's village? The recent one," all of them nodded upon Leo's question, "Does anyone know how the lines and the circles went by?" for this question, Dutan shook his head while Hueren behaved as if he was trying hard to remember what it was when he actually hadn't bothered to remember and memorise it at that time. Usually, another team came in to make the last details to close the case after the report submission but Leonard's superior had asked them not to bring up the marks which were done in the village which the other team had missed. 

Unfortunately, due to this, even Leonard didn't remember all the lines but only a few of them. 

They then heard Vivian say, "I remember it," she volunteered to have everyone's eyes on her. Though it wasn't something Vivian had thought would come handy but out of curiosity she had gone around and around the village while trying to confirm her suspicion that it wasn't just any random lines, "Let me see," she said looking around to find the little coal of wood that had been overused. Picking it up, she drew it on the floor with what she remembered and when she was done she looked up at them. 

"Wow, Lady Vivian. I am impressed that you remember it," Hueren looked in awe as it wasn't just a simple circle that had intersecting lines but there were few lines which he last time I hadn't even realized were there. Vivian grinned feeling proud that sometimes her memory and waste of time on random things was helpful now. 

"Good job, Vivi," Leo praised her which brought a glow on her face which didn't go unnoticed by the men in the room. 

"I shall go find the magistrate," she proposed to get a nod by him. 

"Senior Leonard, your wife is very admirable," Dutan complimented seeing the lady who had left the house, "Not only did she kill the black witch but she also helped up with your proposed idea. How do we start?" and Leonard began to explain what to do around and where to start with the lines. 

There were chances that the black witches if turned had already gone to the other side where there was no point of return and soon they would attack them and sabotage the other nearby villages until they found out that the mother black witch had been killed. But he had to agree with Dutan said, Vivian might have not meant to find and kill the black witch right away as no one knew about it but she had managed to protect herself which he was pleased to know of. It was obvious that she would. 

This was nothing compared to the second exam she had taken that had put her into a hard test where there were people wanting to kill the other. Here it was just one black witch and it was very rare for a black witch to be smart. Maybe the only black witch who was smart was the woman who had tried to give away the potion to corrupt the hearts. 

Vivian went in search of the magistrate who was sitting in his little house securely with the doors and windows locked. She had to knock the door a couple of times before finally able to draw him out. 

"Mr. Fleek," she greeted the man with a cheerful voice which got the man instantly suspicious.

"Did they find another black witch?" he asked, lines beginning to form on his middle-aged face and his moustache slightly moving out of state and worry of what bad news the lady had come to give him. 

"I was asked to be in your care as it was the safest," she answered. If she told it the other way round she knew the man would take offence that a woman, especially a human was going to look after him so that he wouldn't be put in harm as when she had first met them, she had noticed the disapproving looks he gave her until Leonard had introduced her, "But I need to walk around the village as the other councilmen are easy. Would you please accompany me as I have a few questions to ask," she kept her speech polite and persuasive.

The magistrate responded with, "Alright," fetching his coat, he got out of the house, a skeptical look on his face with every step he took with her. It was evident that the man was scared of the black witches and more scared that he would turn out to be one of them as the collection of dead men. 

Trying to find the conversation, she started, "Mr. Fleek," which got the man to turn to her, "You spoke about the plague which took place a few months ago. About the people of this village that went missing. Could you perhaps elaborate on what happened?" 

"I already told you what happened," he responded back wondering why he was being questioned about it again. This part of the council team must have been famous but there were rude as they came by. The senior man here, the Duke had been sharp enough to declare him to be a possible suspect of being a black witch when he hadn't even stepped out of his house a lot. 

Though he was a magistrate of this particular village, he had no interest in what one did that he would never take rounds in walking especially after the plague that still lingered in this village. He cared less of what happened to the village folks but only cared about his well being. If it weren't for the dead man to step out of the house, he wouldn't have bothered about a missing man in the village he was assigned to. 

"Could you describe how the couple looked? The ones you found in the ditch later," Vivian was patient as he enquired the information out of him. 

"The couple? Let me see. The woman was as old as you, maybe a year or two older but the man, the man was really old and he was very strange looking," Mr. Fleek scrunched his face in a sort of disgust as he remembered and then continued to say, "They were an odd couple. I don't think they were father and daughter duo because they didn't resemble like any relatives."

Since Vivian had come here again, her thoughts had gone back to the switchers. He had told last time that the switchers had been found dead and near to the village with their bodies slimy which would either mean that they had died out of some sort of disease or...they had turned to someone else and were still living here. What other reason could there be for the people to go missing?