Chapter 246 - Candles

The girl, Nini, shook her head. "I saw him once. But his face was partially hidden by the hood that he was wearing on his face. I never got a chance to see his face closely nor hear his voice. He is a complete mystery to me," she replied.

Zero sighed. Since no one saw the enemy, he is a deadly opponent to reckon. No one knows if this enemy will appear beside him disguised as a horse, bird, dog, or beggar. Then he recalled that the girl mentioned a nanny. When the incident happened twenty years ago, the nanny was also missing along with the baby. "Nini, can you tell me the name of the nanny who takes care of you when you're still a young child?" he asked.​​

"Her name is Gracen, my beloved nanny..." Nini said softly. "I miss her so much! She's like a mother to me. She died of illness and was buried somewhere in this place," she spoke with deep sadness and longing in her eyes.

"Are you sure that her name is Gracen?" Zero asked again. His eyes gleamed excitedly because Gracen was also the name of the missing nanny.

"Yes! Gracen is the name of my beloved nanny!" Nini spoke with a hint of affection in her voice.

"You're indeed the baby that went missing 20 years ago along with your Nanny Gracen! I'm so glad that I finally found you after trying to find you everywhere!" he said.

Nini's eyes widened. "Me? Went missing for twenty years?" she asked.

"Yes! I was instructed by your parents and family to find you everywhere without any success. Now I know why it's so hard to find you. You and your nanny were taken captive by this unknown master, and he imprisoned you in this far away place for many years!" Zero elaborated.

Nini's eyes brightened. "Y-you mean to say that... that my parents are alive? And they are looking for my whereabouts for a long time?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yes! You got it right!" Zero answered her question.

"Wow! I'm excited to meet my parents! I've been longing for the day to come that I will be reunited with them!" Nini said passionately.

"Rest assured that I will bring you home safely to meet your parents," Zero told the girl.

"Thank you in advance!" Nini gushes.

While Nini and Zero were chatting noisily to each other,

Menedelia was silently hoping, wishing, and praying that Rebecca had figured out how to use the candle and follow the instructions that she had written on the piece of paper.

She released a deep sigh and closed her eyes. For the first time since she arrived at this place, she suddenly feels sleepy. She lay her body down on the cold ground in a fetal position and closed her eyes to sleep.

~~~0~~~

The following day.

The first thing that Rebecca has done when she wakes up in the morning is to go inside the toilet.

She emerged from the toilet a few minutes later and went to the kitchen to make herself hot cocoa and mixed it with milk.

After she finished drinking her hot drink, she went inside Granny's room.

She sat on the table and put the two black candles in the center of the table. The first candle has a green thread tied around it, and the second candle has an orange thread.

Granny had written two crucial reminders about the candles.

~Reminders~

1.) If I'm gone missing all of a sudden without saying goodbye that means I was forcibly abducted and was taken to a faraway place. Use the candle with the green thread. Chant the spell and make an offering of the candle using your blood. Put the blood in the spoon and heat it above the light of the candle. When the white light finally appeared, don't panic, just close your eyes and continue chanting the spell until the light is gone. Keep the candle lighted, it will die on its own.

2.) If I'm badly hurt, on the verge of dying, you have to revive me using the candle with the orange thread. Made the same blood offering, the blue light will penetrate my body and start repairing it from the inside and out. Execute the same instruction as above.

Rebecca finished reading the guide. She stood up and went outside to pick some leaves of the Aspilia Africana plant from the garden that can stop bleeding, prevent infection and speed up wound healing. She also took a handkerchief from her room, went back to the kitchen, grabbed a small plastic bowl and the knife. She quickly cut the skin of her palm and the blood oozed out from the open cut on her skin. She let the droplets of blood fall into the bowl while munching on the leaves.

When she thinks that the blood was already enough for the offering, she immediately removed the leaves from her mouth and put the leaves on the open wound on her palm. Done, she wrapped the handkerchief tightly around the wound to put the herbal medicine in place.

She's ready!

She grabbed the bowl and the spoon and went back to Granny's room. She put the bowl on the table and took out the knitted hand gloves made of thick cotton from the drawer of the cabinet. She wore it to protect her hand. When the spoon gets heated, it will burn her fingers.

She went to the table.

She took a deep breath first before starting the ritual.

She lighted the candle with the matchstick and waited for a moment. Then she picked up the spoon and scooped one tablespoon of blood from the bowl and placed it above the candle, then she began chanting the spell in her mind.

A few minutes later, the smell of her brunt blood is nauseating. Her nose doesn't like the horrible smell of her blood being heated on the fire, she fought the urge to vomit while continue chanting the spell.

A moment later, the white light finally made its presence known, they come in three that look like white threads!

She continues chanting, the white lights are getting brighter, she can't stare at it anymore, she closed her eyes... when she opened her eyes she saw the white lights shoot through the roof leaving three holes behind them.

They're gone!

She grabbed the bowl with her hand, leave the candle burning, and left the room. She went to the kitchen and immediately washed the bowl. Damn! She can still smell the horrible stench of her burnt blood. It was so awful!

She remembered that she hadn't eaten anything yet, oh my!

She grabbed the plastic container jar where she stored the bread and biscuits and sat on the chair facing the table. She munched on the biscuits... wondering where the lights have gone to just to find Granny? Will the lights be able to find her? She hoped so!

After eating the bread and biscuits, she drinks one glass of water and went back to Granny's room. She lies down on the bed to rest.

A few minutes later, she was already dozing off and drifted into dreamland.

...

Back at the mysterious place.

It's already one hour before the deadline.

Zero watched the fortune teller still sleeping on the ground in a fetal position. "Why is Grandma still not awake yet?" he asked himself.

She had awakened before eating dinner then go back to sleep and then up to this moment, she's not awake yet.

He released a deep sigh and walked towards her.

He wakes her up gently. "Grandma, we only have one hour left. You haven't found a way to get us out of here! Do you have a plan?" he asked.

Menedelia's eyes opened slowly. "W-what is it?" she asked.

"Grandma looked at the clock! We only have one hour left!" he repeated.

Menedelia sighed deeply. "If I'm still sleeping when the final time comes, go ahead! Just kill me. Bring the girl with you and escaped this place," she finally said.

Zero breathed deeply and shook his head. "This is sad," he said.

"Yeah, indeed sad. I'm going to die today in this foreign place. Don't worry I won't blame you. So, don't feel guilty about me," she said morosely, already resigning to her fate.

"Are you sure?"

"Just do it!" Menedelia said bravely.

"Are there no more chances left for you?" he asked.

"I'm waiting for a rescue, but I think it might come too late. Well, at least they can bring my dead body back to my house," she said.

"Who are they?" he asked curiously.

"My rescue in the form of white lights. They will come sooner or later, I'm not sure when, only time can tell," she said.

Zero sighed. "Okay," he said and went back to his area.

Twenty minutes later before the deadline.

The four men returned.

The leader addressed the three prisoners. "What are you waiting for? The portal that will lead back to your world will open up in fifteen minutes and then closed again after the timer is up. Start fighting to the death!" he ordered them.

Menedelia stood up and grabbed the knife.

Zero was already holding his knife and getting ready to attack.

One of the men opened the cage and let Nini out.

Suddenly a portal opening appeared nearby, it looks like a big ring with flashing golden lights covering its outer layer.

The leader of the men looked at the prisoners. "Start fighting each other! Or you're all dead!" he shouted.

Zero wastes no time and rushed towards Menedelia to attack her...