The Demon’s Bride

Ernest frowned and he was about to speak but Elise shook her head, "I don't mind you to think I am suspicious but that doesn't make any one of you less suspicious. I don't mind if you suspect me because I will be doing the same to each one of you. I don't trust anyone and I advise you all to not trust each other standing beside you either."

She had thought of solving this doubts between the men by giving them a reason to trust each other and work through the bad time but then she thought it would be easier to make them doubt each other so much that they would decide to stay away from one another.

Not wanting to care about the men's words and chatters, she turned to Ernest, "Can you help me to take down the body?"

"Certainly," Ernest bowed.

"I will lend you a hand, lady," said the elf who was beside her. Elise find it strange when people come close to her and she showed the man a polite smile without actually getting close toward him.

"If you don't mind, another hand will help," came a voice from behind and Elise looked to see that it was one of the man who had spoken earlier, the vampire. With the effort of three men and her that the bodies finally brought down from the tree. Others had left, they feared the people around them and therefore decided to stay alone as if the best while watching others who they passed by with alert.

Once the body was laid on the ground, Ernest took off his coat and covered them with it, "I think we should find the rest of the Church members. My name is Ernest Lone."

"Warren Reithrum," the vampire named.

"Maxwell," said the elf briefly and when the other two looked at him, wondering if he has a name, the man replied, "Elf doesn't have surname unless they are nobles." and the two went oh, Elise nodded and it was her turn.

"I am Elise Scott," she took a polite greeting.

"The Church members might be alive and they might be not. Apologies, but I do not trust each one of you, without segregation whether you are a woman or humans. It's just that I prefer to be alone," said Maxwell, the elf, "Also I do support the idea of searching the church member seeing how two of them had died, we can expect that soon there will be more bodies."

Maxwell then left with those words, unsettling Elise because she knew the man's words were correct as she could see death shadows looming on everyone. She turned to see Warren, finding like others, he also had a death shadows but thicker and somewhere looked deadlier than some who she passed by earlier.

"How unnerving. He should have left with some words on a good note not to make us worry further," the vampire commented with a roll of his eyes.

Kind Ernest like his older brother showed a smile, "I think he meant to give us a warning. He doesn't seem to be a bad person seeing how he care about the bodies," unlike others who let it hang on the tree. We should go."

"Honestly saying, Miss Elise," said the vampire in between their walk, "I can tell that you are smart, do you think you know whose work this might be?"

The four people had decided to walk and find whether there are some church members around to notify them. Elise continue to stare at Warren's back, wondering when was the right time to touch him but then if she were to touch him sneakily and be found out, the man would think she would try to take his life. She had to be careful, "I am not sure. As I said earlier, everyone could be the killer. They all have the power to do so. Including humans as perhaps one of them is a dark sorcerer in disguise."

"Possibly; yet don't you think it is strange? The only people who knew where we are now are the Church members, they are the people who brought us here blindly yet someone had found out about it. From what I heard this test was made different than other tests and the location was kept as confidential."

"You mean there are a traitor amongst the Church members," said Elise which she also suspected. If it was proof that there are dark sorcerer amongst them the possibility of traitor was high. 

"No way! Church members-" Ernest's words were stopped when they looked at the crowds that gathered at one spot in front of a house, Elise narrowed her eyes to peruse what happened, finding six bodies of church members in the ground ripped apart where their limbs and throat had been sliced. The ground was filled with pool of blood and the scene caused more people to feel nauseous.

The foul smell assault her nose, she didn't want to stay there longer but had to and pulled the kerchief to cover her nose.

"How many Church members are in here?" Warren questioned. 

"Ten," answered Elise as she recalled the exact numbers, "Some other church members left."

"Well damned. Seemed we have become a mouse under a cat's paw. We have been trapped," said Ernest. "We should find the killer soon."

"I don't think the killer is alone. They have killed without making a sound which mean there must be more of them," Elise said. She bite her lips. What should she do now? She didn't know whether there are dark sorcerer. When Warren begin to walk over toward the body. Sneakily, Elise took the chance to look inside the man's last moment.

A vision hit her like waves. Words and whispers came next to her ears that felt strange and familiar the whispers stopped when the vision became stable. 

'It was a simple work,' said the man, anger laced on his voice. Elise realized that Warren was on the ground, seeing two pair of shoes.

'Yet you all have failed me terribly,' came another voice and the first man seemed to be scared to speak. The voices was distorted, and not much of a help to become her material, 'Kill them all. The Relics. Do not let them touch a single hair of the Demon's Bride. She is mine!'