The Devil's Warrior Queen
Chapter 192: Shadow Bane Dagger

Chapter 192: Shadow Bane Dagger

"It’s....her, isn’t it?" Rama inquired as she stared at the ghostly apparition, supposedly his past lover, the thought of him and her being together made her blood boil.

"She’s dead, it’s only an illusion." He noted blatantly.

"Then who’s creating the illusions?" She asked.

"The dark witch queen." He remarked.

No one needed to tell her why the dark witch queen was using illusions of his past lover against them. It was obviously to trigger him and make him lose focus, but he didn’t seem to be in the least fazed by it, rather irked.

An eerie hush was spurred from the direction of the illusionary phantom as she moved toward a different direction in the labyrinth, her ghostly figure lost to sights.

Grasping his blade tightly, he proceeded to follow it, but Rama suddenly grabbed him impulsively with alarm etched on her face as she shook her head negatively.

"We shouldn’t follow it, lets wait here for the others." She implied, but he seemed rather unyielding as he looked down at her, doe eyes pleading for him to stay and it almost melted his resolve.

"We have to put an end to the dark witch queen and contain the evil within her or else you’ll both never know peace. She’ll never stop hunting you down until she finally spills your blood." Aurora chipped in with a somber countenance.

"She’s right." Draco said sternly, leaving no room for debates.

The silver witch queen was right, but there was an inauspicious feeling weighing heavily on her chest as they stood on the precipice of anticipation of whatever scheme the dark witch queen had designed out for them.

As they followed the ghostly phantom, every step she took felt as though they were getting closer to a trap, while melancholy drummed in the air like a haunting tempo.

As they followed the illusionary phantom which led them to the dark witch queen, it suddenly disappeared into clouds of mist the moment it took a turn leading into a vast space hidden deep within the bowels of the dark witches abode.

"It’s her private shrine." Aurora announced as they walked into it, ignoring her own words. Rama was exceptionally worried about invading the queen witch’s private sanctuary, she had heard it was forbidden for anyone to enter, including the witches.

Gulping nervously, her eyes scrutinized the area warily with no sign of the dark witch queen detectable to their sight, but rather than being relieved, her absence seemed to aggravate her even more.

The private sanctum of the Dark Witch Queen unveiled a tapestry of macabre elegance. As one crossed the threshold, the air itself seemed to thicken with an arcane malevolence. Obsidian-hued curtains, heavy as the night, shrouded tall, arched windows, rendering the chamber perpetually twilight.

The chamber was a fusion of opulence and sinister aesthetics. Glistening, blackened candles flickered in a rhythmic dance, casting eerie shadows that danced upon the walls adorned with murals depicting ancient spells and twisted incantations. The floor, a mosaic of onyx and amethyst, gleamed under the spectral glow of enchanted scone.

A cauldron, simmering with an otherworldly mist, occupied the center of the room, emanating a haunting fragrance of arcane concoctions.

The queen’s throne, an ominous masterpiece carved from the bones of long-forgotten creatures, loomed atop a dais. The velvet upholstery, as dark as her intentions, seemed to drink in the light, offering a stark contrast to the ethereal glow emanating from the malicious crystals embedded in the throne’s arms.

ghastly mirror, framed in wrought iron adorned with thorns, reflected the queen’s image in a grotesque distortion. Strange symbols were etched into the mirror’s surface, hinting at its use for scrying into the depths of the supernatural.

Yet, amidst the darkness, there was an unsettling allure, a strange beauty in the way the ethereal glow played upon the sinister artifacts, casting an otherworldly glow upon the queen’s private domain. It was a place where the boundary between the mortal realm and the arcane abyss blurred, and every step resonated with the whispers of ancient incantations and the lingering shadows of malevolent power.

In one corner, a sinister alchemy set lay scattered with vials of iridescent potions and twisted roots, the alchemical tools of a sorceress mastering the forbidden arts.

Rama mechanically moved toward the varying colours of potions dispersed on the shelf as she took hold of one with squinted eyes screening it.

"This potion, you had these exact vials back at the castle, what did you use them for? Did you get them from the dark witch queen? Why did you have them?" She threw questions at him.

He pinched between his brows as he looked at her thoughtfully, but she shot him a side glare in case he thought of lying to her, she was sure the thought of lying fleeted past his mind, but seeing her sharp gaze on him, he decided to spill the truth.

"I asked her once for help." He said with a pause.

"And?" She pressed.

"To end my life, but it didn’t work anyway." He said with a shrug.

His unexpected confession made her throat constrict painfully, aware of the fact that he had once or perhaps multiple times considered taking his own life because of the emptiness he felt while living, but now her presence in his life had filled that void, she was his reason to live.

Standing frozen, words were impossible to describe how she felt at that moment. But then, she felt a beclouding aura emanating from behind her.

It was never a good sign whenever she felt a chilling sentinel shrouding her, she was well aware there was someone behind her, but the reality of danger at the sinister presence occurred to her transparently when she felt icy hands crawl over her skin to grope her neck in a vicious grip.

Frightened gasps flared from her lips in an erratic manner when she felt the sharp edge of a dagger pressed against the bridge of her neck, the icy steely edge grazed her skin, making goosebumps materialize on her arms.

Her eyes settled on Draco whose face had stiffened under the blazing intensity of his crimson golden eyes that was scorching into the figure behind her, holding her captive.

"One step from you and I’ll slit your mate’s beautiful throat." The dark yet spellbinding voice behind her whirled into her ears with palpable detest as she made her threat crystal clear without a whiff of hesitation. She realized it was the dark witch queen, but her haunting voice in a symphony of poison and honey left a strange impression on her.

She saw Draco’s fists clench tightly, making his knuckles turn white as he spoke with a distorted guttural voice "Lay a finger on her and I’ll send you straight to hell."

A resounding cackle erupting from her lips rang in her ears with an ominous air, it made her spine shiver.

"Threats are only meant for those in control and right now, you’re no longer in control Draco, I am." Her voice darkened as she pressed the sharp edge of the blade closer to her flesh, giving her a slight cut with a streak of blood trailing from it.

Draco’s jaws tightened, his face twisting with a macabre force as he took in a sinister form, but even as his demons raged within him to rip the head of the witch off her body, she was right, he had no control of the situation, she did.

"Do as I say and I give you my word that your mate lives, but fail to conform to my wishes and she dies. I promise you Iris’s death cannot compare to hers, you’ll spend the rest of your life cursing your very existence." The woman hissed behind her, every word dripping with hostility, but oddly, the significant word she caught was the name of his past lover, Iris.

"What do you want?" His words came out demandingly and unyielding to her wishes.

"Stab yourself in the heart with the shadow bane dagger." She said, going straight to the point without beating around the bush as she tilted her head toward the obsidian engraved dagger seated on the stone table in the middle of the room.

"Do you think that’s going to kill me? Or rather do something significant to me?" He queried with a mock filled scoff as he snatched the dagger from the table, swinging it back and forth.

"Do you think I only took your blood to make potions for your end? Obviously you can’t die but yes, that dagger was created from your blood, forged from dark forces beyond your comprehension." She explained with a whiff of pride hanging on her every word.

The shadow bane dagger was infused with the essence of ancient and forbidden dark magic. The dagger’s blade was obsidian black, etched with intricate runes that pulse with an eerie, ominous light. It’s hilt was adorned with obsidian stones, each containing a powerful trapped soul which amplifies it’s sinister powers.

The dagger’s power was forged from the convergence of different elements, the dark soul essence of contained evils, the distilled energy of a rare lunar eclipse, and the blood of the devil’s son. When wielded against the devil’s immortal son, the dagger would emit a chilling aura that would weaken him.

"Now, stab yourself in the heart or her blood will spill!" The dark witch snarled.