Chapter Five: Dark Sorcery and the Tainted Family

Louis’s pupils constricted.

It was a man’s hand—gaunt, hair-covered, and caked in filth—clawing at the ground.

In an instant, his first impression of this place was flooded with scenes from every crime and horror movie he had ever seen. Only when the chains on the wrist clattered against the floor did Louis finally feel his heart settle. Bound—being bound was a good thing!

Reason regained its footing. He approached cautiously to find a middle-aged man lying prone on the ground, his skin pale and his face so haggard he seemed to have forgotten how to speak. Iron chains were shackled to his wrists and ankles. Sensing Louis’s presence, the man lifted his head, his eyes brightening as he struggled to speak: "Run... don't... stay... here..."

His speech was stuttered, a clear sign of linguistic atrophy from long-term silence, which, coupled with the chains and his deathly pallor, made it obvious he was a prisoner. After a brief hesitation, Louis decided to gamble on communicating with him; it was a rare opportunity that had to be seized. Naturally, he kept his distance.

As it turned out, Louis’s gamble paid off. Through their halting exchange, he learned that the man was Emilia’s son. Yes, her son. That a middle-aged woman could have a middle-aged man for a son was, of course, problematic. His mother, Emilia, was a descendant of a Portuguese witch tribe. During the 19th-century colonial expansion in America, she had followed a man to these lands, only to be abandoned once her beauty faded with age.

To preserve her youth, she turned to a wicked form of sorcery that involved consuming the life force of young girls. The ritual had a restriction: only the life force of other witch descendants could sustain it. Being alone in this country, with her tribe and kin back in Portugal, she had no access to other witches—until she gave birth to twins.

Thus, the sin began. Relying on this sorcery, she had lived from the 19th century to the present day, maintaining her youthful beauty and amassing a fortune that afforded her a lavish lifestyle. The situation remained stable until over a decade ago. That