Chapter 195 - Last Dance At The Bonfire

Some of the young women, who noticed Cillian standing in front of the two new girls, couldn't help but murmur amongst themselves. 

"What is Cillian doing there?" questioned one of the women. 

"For a man like him to go and approach a new woman. How unusual," said another woman. "I heard the two young women are acquaintances of the La Fay family." 

"But it is still strange for him to walk towards a woman. He's never done this before, has he?" commented another woman, who was curious like the others, wondering what was going on. 

Cillian Blackburn was one of the eligible bachelor witches of Willow Creek, where many women had their eyes on. He was not only a good looking man but an intriguing one. 

Melanie, who was sitting next to Julie, could feel the glares and stares of the people around them, and she awkwardly coughed. 

Cillian spoke to Julie, "Ms. Winters, would you like to have a dance with me?" 

If Julie had something in her mouth, she would have spat it out because of the sudden surprise. She was sure that the man disliked her, which was why she didn't understand why he was asking her to dance with him now. 

"Are you sure?" asked Julie, her words sounding different than most of the woman's replies.

Cillian gave her a stare before he nodded, "Yes. I wouldn't be here, if I didn't want to."

"Go on, Julie. I will be here," whispered Melanie. Not because she wanted to push Julie to dance, but because the stares on them were increasing, making it hard for her to sit still. 

Julie excused herself before getting up from her seat, and she followed Cillian towards the place where the others were dancing. On their way, she saw her grandfather offer her a curious look while Ottis gave her a smile. Realizing this was a different kind of dance, she quickly said to Cillian,

"I don't know how to dance." 

"That's fine. I am not a good dancer either. Let us watch and follow," came the curt response from Cillian, and Julie could feel goosebumps forming on her arms. 

The last thing Julie wanted was making a fool of herself in front of several people. But she then remembered that once she would return to the present, these people's opinions wouldn't matter later. 

They came to stand not too far from the bonfire, and Julie looked at the women, following their hand and foot movements. 

"You could have picked someone else to dance with you," muttered Julie to Cillian when they stepped closer to each other. 

"The person I wanted to talk to right now is you, not others. It would be pointless to talk to other women, when I have to discuss with you," Cillian's words were low and only for her to hear, and Julie gave him a curious look. "Twirl," he said, and Julie did that along with the other women before coming face to face with him. 

"What did you want to talk about?" asked Julie. 

"Did you figure out your abilities?" he returned her answer with a question of his own. 

"I am working on it. I think I should be ready for it within a few days," replied Julie, and she said, "The La Fay's have been very kind and patient in teaching me."

"And what about this portal thing with Opaline?" questioned Cillian, his eyes moving to look behind Julie. "Were you able to check it?" 

"I am working on it. I think it needs soul energy and I am not able to get it out right, which is why it's taking time," replied Julie, and she again noticed how his eyes kept shifting to look behind her. "What are you looking at?" she asked him. 

"People," replied Cillian, and when Julie switched places with him, she noticed two men, who stood next to each other, slightly farther away from the rest of the crowd, who had gathered around. "Something feels very off in the air." 

Hearing his words, Julie couldn't help but turn alert, "Why do you say that? Haven't you seen them before?" her eyes went back to meet his black eyes. 

"A lot of people have been invited from the other villages and towns. It is hard to tell if all the guests in here are invited or if the uninvited have entered too," remarked Cillian, and when it was time, he picked up Julie's hand while they danced. "Celebrations like these, even though they are held as proof to let people know we mean no harm, it doesn't erase the possibility of harm that comes to befall on us along with it."

Julie understood what he meant, and she nodded her head. 

"They haven't moved from where they have been standing and it should be just fine," Julie assured him, but the witch who was dancing with her didn't seem like he was convinced. "You know... if you wanted to talk, we could have sat down or we could have moved towards the trees to talk about it." 

Cillian's wandering eyes returned to look into her brown eyes. He said, "Do you really think people would leave it be, if they found us like that?"

"It is just talking, what's there for people to talk about?" questioned Julie with a quizzical look on her face. 

"You are already under the eyes of a few witches. The next thing you know, you will be noted in the human's books for talking to a man like me and rumors would quickly spread around the place. It is something I do not like," stated Cillian, and Julie's eyebrows subtly rose. "What?" 

Julie shook her head, "Nothing. I am just a little surprised that from holding a dagger against my throat, you are now dancing with me." She could tell that Cillian was a good man, and he was only looking out for the safety of the witches. 

"It is nothing personal, Ms. Winters," said Cillian, his eyes steady on hers. "I was born to protect the people. It is my destiny to look after the witches and people whom I care about."

Julie hummed in response, continuing to dance with him. After three minutes had passed since they had started to dance, she was slowly getting the flow, and she was enjoying herself with it. 

"When are you planning to leave Willow Creek? I mean don't you have a family to go back?" he asked her. 

At his question, Julie gave it a little thought before she replied, "Maybe when I am ready." She wondered if she would be. "What about you, Mr. Blackburn?" 

"What about me?" he asked her. 

"Do you have any plans to travel out of Willow Creek?" she asked him, and he shook his head. 

"Never. This is my home."

Feeling the gaze of the jealous women, Julie whispered, "I think I should get back to my friend before I get heavily cursed by the humans or the witches for dancing with you." 

"Don't pay attention to the envious. Where is Opaline?" he questioned her, his gaze searching through the people around them. 

Julie looked around with him, "She said she was going to meet someone. I think it is Azazel Donovan." 

"The cunning vampire," Cillian frowned, not exactly pleased with Opaline's behaviour. "Don't go for a man like that." 

"Have you interacted with him before?" Julie was curious to know what Cillian's opinion was about Donovan apart from the playboy skills that the Elder vampire possessed. 

"We have crossed paths with each other, but we have never spoken to each other. If that is what you meant to ask," explained Cillian, his lips came to set themselves in a thin line. "I heard a few rumors about him. About the curse that runs in the Donovan family."

The infamous curse... thought Julie in her mind. 

"Do you think it is true?" asked Julie, letting him know that she had heard about it. 

Cillian gave her a suspicious look as if wondering where she had heard it from, "Some curses are true and it runs in the bloodline."

"Is there no way to fix the curse? Like a counter curse," suggested Julie. When Cillian took longer than the intended seconds to reply to her question, hope came to bloom in her chest. 

"I am not sure about it, but sometime ago, Magnus said something about the past. Something about needing a dark stone with a Corvin's blood to perform the ritual," explained Cillian, and his words gave imaginary crows flying above Julie's head. 

How was one supposed to get blood from a Corvin when its body was made of twigs and bones? asked Julie to herself. But then, she remembered that her mother had turned her father from bones to flesh. Maybe she could do that too, she thought in her mind. 

The music came to an end, and Julie was about to leave and get back to Melanie when she heard a chittering sound as if something was sparking with fire. She stopped walking and turned around to look in the direction where the sound was coming from. It wasn't just her, but also a few others, who picked up on the sound which was above the murmuring and chatter of the people who had gathered in the place since evening. 

"What is that sound?" asked Julie, her eyebrows deeply furrowing, and Cillian pursed his lips before his eyes widened. 

"Get everyone into the hiding place and shelter them!" shouted Cillian. 

In the very next moment, Julie noticed sparks being aimed at the houses, and some of them caught fire. She saw a few people who walked in there with a wide smile on their face as they waved their hands, and it disrupted the earlier peace and laughter. The people who were playing music had stopped, and the place was replaced by the people of the Willow Creek screaming and shouting to get into a safer place. 

"Witches are here! Run!!" screamed one of the humans before he started running in the other direction. 

Cillian caught hold of Julie's hand and said, "Find the others and get into hiding too." 

"I need to look for mother!" said Julie, stubborn, and Cillian gave her a quizzical look. 

"Your mother is here?" he questioned, but this was no time to be asking questions as the witches who weren't on the good side were setting things on fire and were attacking people. "Go with Ottis, he'll take you to a hiding place."

"Julie!" Melanie screamed her name before coming to her. 

The panic that had suddenly struck in this place and its people, Julie could feel it seep into her bones and mind. For a moment, everything around her felt slow, and the voices softly blurred before someone pulled her. 

"Go right now!" ordered Cillian, soon joined by her grandfather Magnus. 

Julie helped the children and older women, taking them to a safer place with Ottis and his siblings. At that time, she couldn't help but wonder where her mother was if she needed her help. And when realization struck her, she caught Melanie's hand and said, "Mel... Mel!" 

"What is it?" asked Melanie, her eyes wide and in panic. 

"I need to find my mother and make sure she's not here," came Julie's ragged breath. "I feel like this is the time."

Melanie didn't like the sound of it, "I am coming with you."

Julie nodded her head, and she then looked at her uncle, who was helping the people to hide, but the other witches who had invaded tried to attack him, making Ottis use of his powers. 

"There are witches living with us!" gasps came from the people who were around while they looked at him. "Gather the torches quickly! We need to retaliate right now! Kill them!" shouted one of the humans. 

Julie could hear the screams coming from the other side, and in the place where she stood, the humans came to believe that every witch was bad. She took a step forward, raising her hand so that the humans wouldn't come to hurt Ottis and his siblings, but Melanie caught hold of her hand. 

"Don't!" Melanie shook her head. "You cannot do that, Julie."

Julie's hands clenched, her nails digging into her palms. She knew things were going to get worse, and she knew the terrible fate that awaited her family. But now that she was here, she couldn't look away from the situation. 

"This is cruel," whispered Julie under her breath. "They are still young... They cannot die like this."

"You helping them will change the course of the events in the future. We need to leave this place, before we turn into dead people and never go back to the time we belong to," Melanie pulled Julie with her, where the latter walked away from there reluctantly. 

While walking away, Julie turned and noticed how Ottis was trying to keep the bad witches at bay, who had attacked them out of nowhere. And though he was trying to protect the humans, the same humans got hold of him and his siblings. 

"Wait! I can explain!" shouted Ottis, "Don't touch my sisters!!" he pleaded. 

"Burn all the witches! They do not belong here but in hell!" shouted one of the humans. 

Julie knew she should look away because what was in front of her would offer nothing but pain. But she couldn't. Ottis and a few other witches from Willow Creek were dragged to the side, and in return, none of them tried to harm the humans. She could feel her eyes starting to burn and well up with tears. A dagger was placed in front of her uncle's neck before his throat was slit open and blood dripped down. 

She brought her hand to her mouth, covering it at the horror presented in front of her. This wasn't right, the humans... they were being provoked by someone. 

"Look who do we have here," came a voice not too far from where Julie and Melanie stood, making both the girls turn and look at a man who had been standing in the shadows. "A witch and a human, what are you doing here, instead of being burned in the fire?" his voice was eerily calm, and it left chills down their spine. 

Julie pulled Melanie behind her, taking a couple of steps backwards to keep a good distance away from the person. The person finally stepped out of the shadows. It was a man who had blonde hair that was combed backwards, his jaw square and his nose crooked like the faint crooked smile on his lips. 

"Are you the one who led the witches to attack Willow Creek?" demanded Julie. 

"I am," there was a wicked smile on his lips, and his red eyes were enough for Julie to turn even warier than before. "I have been wanting to own this land for so long, but the humans are idiots and the witches have been guarding this place for so long. It was time for a little trouble," said the vampire, and when his smile broadened, they noticed his fangs. 

Julie felt something tingle in her palms, and when she unclenched her hands, there was a spill of little light on the ground. 

"What is that?" hummed the vampire with a slight surprise, staring at her hands before looking up at her, "I don't think I have ever seen something like this before." 

"Run!" Julie cried out to Melanie. Her friend reluctantly started to take a few steps away before she started to head in the direction behind Julie. 

"Do you think I even care about that human?" chuckled the vampire to himself, and his eyes turned bright. "What I am interested in is a witch, compared to a useless human."

"Just because you don't care, doesn't mean I don't," said Julie, raising her hand and trying to see how to get rid of this vampire. 

"A true pity," murmured the vampire, and he threw a potion of liquid on her. "How strange that you don't react to it," he noticed Julie did not react to it.

Julie used both her hands to push the vampire away from where he stood, hoping the gust of wind would make it difficult for him to stand still. But this person didn't seem like an ordinary vampire, and he brought his own hand forward, and with one movement, Julie was thrown to the other side of the forest. She winced in pain before using her ability on the vampire when he came to stand right in front of her. 

She gripped on his hand, and on further pressure, the man groaned in pain before pulling his hand away from her hold and glaring at her. His hand looked frozen, which refused to move. At the very same time, Cillian appeared in sight, and he tackled the vampire. 

"Magnus told you to run!" said Cillian, who had blood covered on his clothes and face. 

"All you fucking witches," cursed the vampire, and he kicked Cillian away from him. When the vampire stepped forward, the ground shook, and the surface beneath Julie started to crack. "I will kill you all!" 

Wooden stakes appeared in Cillian's hands, and he started to throw it at the vampire, who was quick to dodge all of it and catch hold of Cillian's neck. Not wanting to leave Cillian by himself at the vampire's mercy, Julie channelled her energy, where the bright light in her hand started to turn dark as if she was carrying a crystal ball with smoke inside it. 

The vampire used the wooden stake that Cillian had earlier used, ready to pierce it through the witch's heart. But before he could do that, Julie threw the ball that she had created on the vampire's hand, which seemed like it froze like earlier, while also pushing him away from there. 

"Are you alright?" asked Julie, helping Cillian stand up. 

"I am fine, I am supposed to take you away from this place. Quick, follow me," Cillian huffed for air. Before the vampire would attack them, Julie raised her hand at the night creature and light emitted from her hand, sending him flying across the forest and hitting his back against the tree.

Julie and Cillian quickly ran away from there, meeting up with Melanie. From Willow Creek, they could hear the screams of people and it tugged Julie's heart. 

Cillian took a deep breath, as if the vampire had impacted him. But Julie noticed blood drip down on the ground. 

"You are hurt…" whispered Julie, but Cillian didn't pay heed to it. 

"I will guard this path. You should leave while you still have the chance," said Cillian, placing his hand on the bark of a tree. 

"Come with us," said Julie, but Cillian shook his head. 

"No. I cannot leave yet. So go, it is Magnus' order," said the witch, and Melanie pursed her lips before speaking to Julie, 

"Will you be able to open the time portal?" Julie was slightly dazed, the memory of her uncle being killed and the humans then going after the little girls. "Julie?" 

She snapped from the image that was running in her head and she nodded her head, "I will try doing it." 

Raising both her arms in front of her, she tried to concentrate. The image of blood and scream didn't leave her mind and she felt anger starting to seep into her mind, which was mixed with pain and the inability to help. 

Melanie stood there watching Julie, where suddenly her friend was wrapped in a red color of energy, as if she was possessed by a demon. It took a minute before it started to change into white light and in front of Julie formed a circular white smoke that started to open wide. 

"It worked," whispered Melanie, while Cillian, who had clutched his stomach, looked at the portal with obvious confusion on his face. 

Before they could utter another word, they heard the raging shouts of the humans, who were looking for more witches. 

"You first, Mel," urged Julie and Melanie offered a bow to Cillian, before she stepped into the wide portal, disappearing into it. 

Julie turned to look at Cillian, who had sat on the ground and she quickly went to him, "Let me help you," she offered but he shook his head. 

"I am fine here, Ms. Winters. You should escape," said Cillian, and Julie brought her hands towards his wound, trying to heal him. Five seconds later, the man caught hold of her wrist, as if to stop her and he stared at her. "Save yourself, and then save others. I will try to look for your mother."

Julie didn't know if Cillian knew, but hearing the voices getting louder, she felt him let go of her hand. She felt a heaviness in her chest, and before she knew it, Cillian stopped moving. He had died… She brought her hand up to his face before closing his eyes. Taking a deep breath, she stood straight before heading towards the portal. Giving the place one last look, she stepped inside the circular smoke which disappeared with her. 

A few hours later, Opaline arrived near the place where Julie had disappeared, after she had taken a look at what happened in Willow Creek. The rim of her eyes had turned red, because of the people she had lost tonight, while she wasn't there. She found Cillian, with his eyes closed. 

"Cillian!" she called him, trying to wake him up. 

When she touched his shoulders, she realized the man was long gone, and on her touch, the body disappeared, leaving only his clothes behind. 

But after a few seconds, something rustled in the clothes, and out came a raven.. Opaline picked up the bird in her arms, standing up, she looked in the direction of Willow Creek before leaving from there.