The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis
Chapter 54: The Devil You Know

Chapter 54: The Devil You Know

My heart started to pound as I heard the voice softly chuckle. Since I was still watching the Empress, I saw the moment her mask was firmly put in place.

"How do you know that name?" she asked, looking at the intruder in the hall. "And how did you get in here?"

"I know a lot of names," smiled Aunt Hattie as she strolled forward like she didn’t have a care in the world. Then again, knowing Aunt Hattie, she really didn’t. "And I make it a habit of getting into places that I shouldn’t."

"Someone!" called out the Empress before I could stop her. "Is there anyone there?"

Shi Yaozu seemingly materialized out of a shadow in a corner and approached us, but I held up my hand. "If you’re smart, you’ll stay put right there."

His blank eyes turned to me, and I had never seen such a cold look on his face as he disregarded my words. "Seriously, Shi Yaozu," I called out, almost a little desperate. "Don’t do anything that you’ll regret."

"My orders are to protect the Crown Prince first, the Empress second," he announced. My heart dropped a bit when I didn’t hear my name in that list, but I quickly shoved those feelings aside.

Turning my attention back to my aunt, I couldn’t help but smile. I knew what the other two saw. A little girl with blue-ish white pig-tails, scars all over her face, bright white eyes, and a princess dress that was so contrary to everything they stood for that it was almost sacrilege.

I mean, her knees were showing. Even with the knee-high socks and Mary Jane shoes, she was showing a lot more skin than anyone did here.

"Hello, Little Wolf, I heard you got married," smiled Hattie. I got up out of my chair and raced toward her, crushing her in my hug.

"Breathing is a requirement for life," she chuckled, holding me back almost as tightly. I could count on two hands and two toes the number of people the Devil hugged, and I was luckily enough to be on that list.

"I’m pretty sure that you are almost 300 years old, if not being able to breath for a minute would kill you, you’d be long dead," I argued, letting myself enjoy the familiar embrace. "Where are the others?"

"We’re playing hide and go seek," she replied with an evil smirk on her face. "It’s not my fault that they didn’t specify where I could and couldn’t hide. Now, enough about me. I heard the beginning of a wish?" she purred, turning her attention back to the Empress.

Letting me go, she walked up to where Wei Lanyue was sitting. "To call the Empress by her given name is a death sentence," announced the Empress, her back straight as she looked down at Hattie. "So tell me, how do you want to die?"

"You aren’t enough to kill me," smiled Hattie, pulling out a lollypop and sticking it in her mouth. "Better people than you have tried. But tell me, Lanyue, what was your wish? I am more than happy to grant a free one for a friend of my little Wolf."

"She’s not a friend," I said, feeling more alone at that second than I ever had before. "She’s technically my mother-in-law."

"Hummm," Hattie hummed, tapping the tip of her chin with a finger. "If that’s the case, then I need to give you a big gift."

"You can start by telling me your name," said the Empress, refusing to back down. Even Shi Yaozu was trying to creep around, looking for Hattie’s weakness in order to strike. I think the problem he was having was that all of her looked weak.

It was an image she actively cultivated.

"I go by many names," smiled Hattie, skipping up the steps to sit down where I had originally been. When Shi Yaozu tried to move past me, I gripped his arm. Hard.

"Move any closer and you won’t know how you died," I whispered at him. "Aunt Hattie isn’t a threat at the moment, don’t turn her into one."

"Truer words, Little Wolf, truer words," agreed Hattie. "You might know me as the King of Hell," she continued, giving the Empress her undivided attention. "I also go by the Devil, Lucifer, and a whole host of other names. But, since you are technically family, my real name is Hagatha Lucinda LaRue, but you can call me Hattie for short."

"You are the King of Hell?" demanded the Empress, clearly not getting past that title. "Doesn’t that make you a demon?"

"If we are being technical, I created demons," purred Hattie. "And I can make you one, too. All you have to do is say the word, and I can make you the most powerful being in this world. You will have powers beyond your wildest dreams, live longer than you ever thought possible, and free yourself from under a man who couldn’t give a shit about you. What do you say, Lanyue? Take my hand, and the world, however you want it, will be yours."

I have to hand it to my aunt. She really knows how to seduce the living daylights out of someone when she wants to. I mean, I didn’t really see it before, the coercion, the manipulation, but I guess that was because I was family.

And the Empress is clearly not.

"Xinying mentioned something about a sacrifice," reminded the Empress after a moment. "What would I have to give up in order to be granted such riches?"

"Give up?" replied Hattie, a bright smile on her face. "You don’t have to give up a single thing. In fact, you would be able to gain that much more. Treat Hazel... Xinying like your own daughter. Support her in everything, even if it means going against your son, and the world will be yours."

"That easy?" muttered the Empress, and I had a bad feeling about what was going to happen next.

"That easy," purred Hattie.

"Okay," I interjected, startling the two women. Even Shi Yaozu looked at me, his eyes narrowing in consideration. "Let’s talk the fine print, Aunt Hattie, because the Devil is in the details. What demon seed will you be giving her? What can she expect at the end of the day? How long of a life are you promising, and what type of package is she getting? Powers, demon, both, neither?"

Hattie tsked between her teeth in annoyance, but I could see the approval in her eyes.

"Explain," snapped the Empress, looking at me. "What do you mean?"