"How can you eat at a time like this?" Elara complained about Baruk's carelessness. She was on high alert, looking everywhere, while Ness huddled close to her friend, her big eyes wide at the variety of food on the table.
The orc boy was at the table, devouring a plate of chopped meat and vegetables. He didn't care about the forks; he ate with his hands while a long sausage hung around his neck like a necklace.
"You shoul' eat thoo," Baruk answered with his mouth full.
"Don't talk with your mouth full, you pig!" Elara snapped, nervous.
She looked at Ness, who was quietly taking a piece of chocolate cake, trying not to be noticed.
"Go ahead and eat, Ness. I'm not hungry," Elara said in a calmer voice, startling the girl, who realized she had been caught.
The young elf with the shimmering purple hair smiled happily and took a bite of the cake, feeling satisfied.
Elara looked around. Now that she was calm, she saw that the room was like the piano room, but with several heavy tables and only a few paintings on the walls. It might have been a grand place for big dinners once. Today, it was completely messy.
"Is that the woman?" Ness finished her cake and stood by her friend. She pointed to a painting of a middle-aged woman with dark hair in a bun. She wore thin glasses and had a dark mole on her left cheek, just like the people in the other painting.
"Maybe!" Elara replied with disgust. "And I think the bedrooms are that way," she said, pointing to a small passage in the corner.
"I'm scared," Ness said, teary-eyed. "I want to go home!"
"I know… I feel a strong energy in this house, but we have to help the others. They are sleeping, but that doesn't mean they are safe."
"We need help," Ness cried. She sat down and hugged her knees, looking for comfort.
Elara knelt beside her. "We will find a way," she tried to comfort her. "Are you done eating, glutton?" Elara asked Baruk, who was still eating like crazy.
Baruk loved the food. He felt like he hadn't eaten in a long time, and the meal made him feel safe. As he slowed down, he noticed some dishes tasted very strange. Some meat had sweet and salty sauce at the same time, and some corn cookies were covered in large chunks of salt. The cook was either very brave or had no idea what good food was.
"I hope you didn't eat everything…" a short man's voice echoed through the room. The voice came from behind a small door, startling Elara and Ness. Baruk, however, gave a wide grin. He had a chicken leg in each hand and was about to speak, but the girls quickly pulled him away from the table.
"Hey!" the boy complained.
"Shh! Let's hide," Elara whispered.
"I'm going to punch him right now," Baruk said, trying to pull away from the girls.
"Let's make a plan first," Elara said, trying to be the voice of reason.
"Oh, for goodness' sake…" Baruk made a face but agreed.
"There!" Ness whispered, pointing to a large cabinet for plates. It was a good place to hide.
The three hid behind the furniture just as the small door creaked open.
A short man with a huge mustache walked in singing, carrying two steaming plates.
"Ghinorf, you jerk! Did you eat all the food I made for the Madame?!" The man wore the same apron stained with purple, and his fingers were greasy.
Now they could see him better: his hair was greasy, and he was shorter than Baruk but very strong. The strangest thing was a big red bump on his forehead. Ness wondered if it was a living thing stuck to his face.
"They call him Tidi," Elara whispered. She was trying hard to remember. "I think he has worked for the Darkmores for a long time."
Ness looked at her with admiration. Elara was the only one who could remember anything about this place.
"Hey, where are you?!" Tidi shouted, looking around. He put the plates on the table and walked quickly to the door leading to the hall.
"Ghinorf?" His voice turned from funny to nervous. "WHERE ARE YOU?!"
He started searching the room, walking between the tables. The three huddled together, trying to keep Baruk from jumping out.
The man stopped right in front of their cabinet. They could see his feet just inches away. As the man started to bend down, Baruk raised his wooden club.
"What is all this noise about, Tidi?" a sharp, cold voice echoed. No one had noticed another person entering the room.
"Where is Ghinorf?" the woman asked with a haughty tone. Madame Evelyn Darkmore was back.
"Madame Evelyn… sorry…" Tidi rushed to her. "I hope your trip was good." He helped her take off her heavy coat.
The three finally had a moment to breathe. Tidi stopped searching, and they could look at the woman.
Evelyn was tall and thin. Her dark hair was in a bun, but unlike the painting, she had some silver strands. She had rounded ears, yellowish skin, and dark eyes behind half-moon glasses.
"The mole!" Ness whispered to Elara, pointing to the dark spot on the woman's left cheek.
Baruk was silent, but his whole body was shaking. He looked at the woman with true hatred. He wanted to knock that mean woman's head off.
"I asked: where is Ghinorf?" the woman repeated rudely.
"He is… uh… watching the children, Madame," Tidi lied.
The woman looked at the empty plates on the table.
"I see you had a nice party while I was away…" she said with scorn. Tidi looked down, embarrassed.
"Sorry, Madame… I swear it was Ghinorf's fault. He's always hungry." Tidi looked at what Evelyn brought with her. A large capsule was floating a few inches off the ground.
"Is this the new child, Madame?" Tidi asked.
"Yes. And it was very hard to get. That's why I went myself," she paused and looked at her helper with disgust. "I couldn't leave such an important task to incompetent people like you two."
Tidi stayed quiet. The three children couldn't see well, but something was behind the woman: a floating capsule shaped like a teardrop, over two meters tall.
Then something scary happened. Darkmore Manor shook. Plates fell to the floor, and lamps crashed down. An earthquake? No. Something powerful was there. With her sharp eyes, Elara saw dark energy spreading through the room like black flames devouring the house.
Everything went silent. Then, a terrifying voice spoke, as if the whole house was screaming:
"Turr ra mihh sunaaaaaa!"
The sound was horrible, like fingernails scratching a chalkboard. No one knew if they were words or just screams—except for Madame Evelyn. She started to cry. She was crying with joy.
"Yes, yes…" she said, looking up, filled with excitement.
Tidi recovered from the shock and asked, terrified:
"Madame… what was that? What happened?!"
"Finally, my dear Tidi… finally we found the last child. The last unlucky one who will help us end this once and for all." The woman grabbed Tidi's shoulders and shook him hard.
Baruk, Ness, and Elara looked at each other, terrified. For the first time, they felt the power of the house. They felt heavy and sick. The monster of the manor had shown itself.
Elara and Ness breathed hard, as if they were exhausted. Baruk felt it too, but not as much. The girls were more sensitive to magic.
The woman started to dance. She moved her hands around the capsule in a rhythm, like she was performing a "Tulli" dance.
"Ah, wonderful!" she said, enchanted.
"Madame…" Tidi was confused. He had never seen her so happy.
"I must get ready," Madame Evelyn said, calming down. "We have a few hours until sunset."
She looked at Tidi again, her voice becoming mean again:
"I will start the preparations. Find Ghinorf. And when the moon rises, take the other children downstairs."
"And what about this one?" Tidi pointed to the child in the capsule.
"I'll take her with me. I must prepare her myself." Evelyn hugged the capsule. "This will be the final sacrifice. It will lead the Darkmore family back to the top."
Baruk was furious. Elara and Ness saw he was about to explode.
"Wait, Baruk…" Ness whispered.
"Why? They have another kid! We have to help!" the orc exclaimed.
The girls agreed. They had to save the child in the capsule.
"On three, I'll jump out and hit the man's head. You two get that crazy old lady."
The girls were surprised by his courage. Elara knew it was the right thing to do, but she didn't trust the plan. Ness was terrified, but she knew she had to help.
"One… two…"
Suddenly, heavy footsteps came from the hallway.
"What was that terrible noise?!" Ghinorf appeared, stumbling. His face was covered in blood. "Oh, my lady!" he shouted, seeing Evelyn. His voice sounded funny because of his broken nose.
The three hid again. Now there were three adults. It would be hard. Even Baruk thought they might lose their advantage.
"Where were you, you fat fool?!" Tidi yelled, but quietly, because the Madame was there.
"I was… uh…" Ghinorf didn't know what to say. With the Madame there, he stayed quiet.
"As I said, I want the children ready when the moon rises, downstairs," Madame Evelyn said rudely. "Don't be late."
"Yes, Madame," they both answered.
The woman left the room through the same small door Tidi had used.
"You dummy, why didn't you look for me?" Ghinorf said once she was gone.
"I did look for you, you jerk! Where were you?!" Tidi snapped.
"Where are those miserable brats?" Ghinorf's words made Tidi confused, but the three children felt a rush of fear. Now that Ghinorf was awake, they would be found.
"What do you mean?!" Tidi asked.
"Are you blind?! Three little pests woke up and made me drink the potion. I was knocked out!"
"What?!" Tidi looked at Ghinorf.
"Do I have to write it down?! There are three kids awake because you didn't make the potion right, you animal!"
"What do we do?" Ness asked, worried.
"I don't know…" Elara replied.
"We wait for the right moment and attack together," Baruk said seriously. "I'll knock one out, and you two hold the short one."
They were ready to fight for their freedom. They had to face two men now—and later, Madame Evelyn and whatever lived in that house.
"What's happening? What was that noise?" a new voice said. it was high and shaky—the voice of a child. "Where am I?"
The voice came from the hallway. The three saw a pair of short legs and white slippers that were too big. A boy with a very large head of blonde hair walked slowly into the room.
The two men turned around.
"What are you doing awake, kid?!" Tidi asked, surprised.
"Where are your rotten friends?!" Ghinorf ran toward the child. "Come here, you brat, and tell me where they are!"
"Friends? What friends? Where am I?!" the boy replied, starting to cry.
Ghinorf grabbed the boy by his collar and lifted him into the air.
"I didn't do anything… let me go!" tears ran down the boy's face.
"Stop crying, you filthy kid!" Ghinorf yelled. He pulled back his fist to hit him.
"Ghinorf, wait!" Tidi tried to stop his angry friend.
"You're going to te—" but he couldn't finish. A dining table was suddenly flipped over.
"Let him go, fatty!" Baruk shouted, exploding with rage. His eyes turned completely white again. He jumped over the table with his wooden club, ready for battle.
…
Many thoughts went through Arthurn's head. He had woken up in a room with other children. He knew he had been here for a while, but didn't know how he got there. Everything felt strange but familiar.
In fear, Arthurn started to cry. A fat man with a red beard was holding him in the air. Arthurn tried to grab the man's arm to get free.
Then, a creature jumped toward them. It had grey skin, a red mohawk, large tusks, and white eyes. It was holding a wooden stick and screaming.
Arthurn only remembered his own name. When he saw the grey creature with tusks jumping at him, he felt like he was in a nightmare.
"Ahhh, ugly monster!" Arthurn screamed in panic. He grabbed Ghinorf's arm even tighter for protection. "He's going to eat me!"