"Come with me, Belle," asked Isabell as she stood up from the bench, "It will be easier to explain it to you," when Belle's eyes met Lucas, she saw him give her a nod to tell Isabell meant well and no harm, "You too, Lucas."
She followed the woman by taking the side door that led to a room through a corridor. The room was filled with books and potions. The smell of old parchments was heavy in the air. She then saw Isabell pull out a big parchment to place it on the empty table and she went to stand there.
"This might not be the right time to be explaining about it, but the time that we have is short and scarce," said Sister Isabell, "Though the black magic was bound together with all the first generation of white witches help, when it came to closing the gates it was done by three people. One person used potions and spells to close the gates, the other used death to stop the ones who were interfering during this ritual while the third used the past memories of the people who were surrounded to seal the gates they had opened," explained the woman.
Belle noticed there were dots on the black parchment as she listened to Isabell speak.
Sister Isabell continued to speak, "Most of us hoped that it would never come to open, the figures, diagrams anything possible to open it, all of them were burned down by the pureblooded vampires as they wanted to erase the existence of the witches."
"But that didn't work," stated Belle looking up from the parchment to meet the woman's eyes.
"It didn't," affirmed Sister Isabell, "The black witches found a way out to unbind magic. They decoded most of it in their language and terms. This is the year where the moon will s.h.i.+ne differently and will show the black witches the path where they can reopen the gates from here and take the black magic back but there's something that stands in their way. Because there were three people who had closed the gates, after many years, three stars have relocated and moved, and each of them represents a person."
Lucas, who had been standing against the wall as if he were uninterested, pushed himself forward, coming to stand next to them to say, "The three stars are called the alignment of stars. Until the alignment of stars is alive, the black magic will continue to be safe. The alignment of stars are special, they each have ability or effect that can cause a ripple of goodness."
"Or less damage," added Isabell to Lucas' words, "Which the black witches want to remove from their path."
"That is why they want to kill me," answered Belle, "How did they know it was me?"
Isabell shook her head, "They didn't. They don't know who the alignment of stars is but they find the imprints that mix with the people you are close with which gets followed."
Belle stared at the constellation chart in front of her. She was the reason her parents were dead, the black witches wanted to kill her and had killed her parents instead. She closed her eyes in an attempt to handle her wavering emotions.
"Don't blame yourself," she heard Lucas' voice who knew her too well.
"How can I not," Belle responded back to him, her eyes opened to show the unshed tears in there, "The truth will forever stay that I was the reason the ma.s.sacre took place." She didn't know what to do, who to blame, or what to say.
Isabell understood the pain the girl was going through. The girl was young unlike her who was old but only appeared to look young in her late twenties, "It isn't your fault," she comforted her by placing her hand on top of Belle's hand that was on the table, "The fate was written the day the gates were closed. It isn't because of you but because of the people who enjoy harming people without any remorse. Also, a ma.s.sacre gives the black witches more negative energy that they need. You aren't responsible for your parent's death, Belle."
But the black witches wanted her, thought Belle to herself, "You said two other families went through similar events as my family did. What about those two people?"
"They are alive," answered Isabell, "The black witches aren't smart enough and they went on to move from one person to another. You were the last person to be approached. Right now we are giving the black witches the benefit of doubt that the three alignments of stars have pa.s.sed away."
With what Isabell had heard from Lucas, there were still three more days before Belle's mother would die which was why she was confused on how they died last night. Belle was first to leave the church where she offered Isabell a bow and she started to walk towards the doors of the church.
"Did your watch break again?" asked Isabell to Lucas.
"There was a time skip last night. Wasn't just me but other reapers too," he informed her, "Thanks for your help. I will see you around," he said to walk away from the chapel.
Wounds like this would take time to heal. Though it might not have been a feasible time, the girl was looking for answers, and the last she had heard, Belle was able to see death before it knocked on the person's door.
Seeing both Belle and Lucas leave, Isabell started to correct the stands next to the walls that had statues placed on them when she heard someone come behind her.
"Good morning, Isabell," she knew who this voice belonged to. What were the chances of the timings, she thought to herself. Letting go of the delicate statue, she turned around to meet the man who was in a black suit.
"Baltimore."
