“Could Noreen’s bones have eroded into the soil?” Rufus wondered.
I frowned and mulled over the possibility. “Unlikely. Noreen’s bones couldn’t be destroyed by fire, let alone soil.”
“What if we exhume her body? We have to see it with our own eyes to rest assured,” Rufus suggested, worry written all over her face.
I looked up at the sky and saw that it wasn’t that late, so I agreed.
“Okay, let’s exhume her body. I’d like to see if Noreen can come back to life after being dead for so long.”
Rufus also sent for reinforcements in case something bad happened.
When reinforcements came, the whole forbidden forest was lit up by their lamps.
I took the shovel and started to dig up Noreen’s grave. I didn’t want to risk anyone else getting close, so I did it alone. The deeper I dug, the more pungent the air became. At last, it gave off the unpleasant metallic smell of blood.
I couldn’t help but vomit. Rufus refused to let me continue digging and took the shovel from me. Two other soldiers helped him dig.
I sat aside and watched as the hole got deeper and bigger. At that time, Laura and I were so cautious that we deliberately buried Noreen’s remains very deep into the earth.
At some point, Rufus’ shovel connected with something hard, and gradually, the top of the white coffin was exposed. Then its entirety was revealed.
The rectangular coffin appeared in front of everyone. Around the coffin, there were mysterious runes that were specially used to suppress evil things.
I had also used some runes to prevent others from getting to the coffin. Once someone touched the coffin, he or she would instantly fall ill and be overwhelmed with pain.
I walked over and told everyone to step back. Then I chanted a spell in my heart to remove the seal on the coffin.
Rufus’ POV
As soon as Crystal opened the coffin, Noreen’s dried-up skeleton came into sight. The greyish-white bones stood out sharply against the coffin’s black velvet interior.
It looked as though Noreen had died holding a crystal ball, because her skeletal hand remained outstretched.
I was confused. Didn’t it take a long time for rigor mortis to set in after death? Why did Noreen’s body stiffen immediately after she died?
Was this what happened to black witches when they died? With a grim expression, Crystal walked around the white coffin.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew, and the crows lurking on the tree branches took off.
Only then did I realize what Crystal meant when she mentioned that things were looking ominous.
Anything related to Noreen was ominous.
Using my flashlight, I studied Noreen’s skeleton carefully from afar. It was no different from the skeleton of a human being. But one thing stood out to me-the hair.
Golden hair flowed from Noreen’s skull, but I noticed that the ends were charred and black from the attempted burning. I could only imagine how much effort was put into destroying Noreen’s corpse.
I took a pair of tweezers from one of my men and plucked up a strand of hair. However, when the hair was exposed to the air outside the coffin, it suddenly disintegrated to ashes.
“Is it possible that Noreen’s actually completely gone?”
Naturally, I preferred the idea that Noreen’s existence was completely eliminated from this world over the possibility that she had been reborn.
After all, even her hair-which refused to burn when she was buried five years ago -disintegrated as soon as it came into contact with a gust of wind. Didn’t that mean that Noreen was really gone?
Crystal walked up to me and looked at the skeleton worriedly. “I still don’t feel good about this. I can’t shake off the feeling that things aren’t as simple as they seem. But I can’t tell what’s really wrong.”
I put my arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the forehead in an effort to comfort her. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. Trust me. Even if Noreen has been reborn, she can’t possibly be as powerful as she was before. You killed her once, so you can kill her again.”
Crystal’s expression finally softened. She rubbed her head against my chest and whispered, “I know. I’m just afraid that you and the kids will get hurt…”
I flicked her forehead with my fingers and pretended to scold her. “You underestimate me! I’m the king of the werewolves. What can a rotten witch like her do to me?”
Amused, Crystal finally cracked a small smile.
I felt relieved to see her smile. After giving her hand a reassuring squeeze, I turned around and ordered the soldiers to re-seal the coffin.
But just as the lid of the coffin was about to be closed, Crystal suddenly stopped them. She bit her lower lip and looked at me. “Can I have a closer look first?”
I nodded and followed her to the coffin again.
Crystal reached out to touch the skeleton, but I quickly stopped her. “It’s dirty,” I protested.
“I just want to get a closer look.” Crystal shook off my hand and insisted on touching Noreen’s bones.
The trees swayed and the wind picked up again. The whole forbidden forest fell into darkness, and only the area surrounding the coffin was illuminated by our lamps. I held the flashlight high. Crystal’s slender fingers slowly stretched out towards the skeleton.
The second she touched it, the skeleton turned to ashes and scattered with the wind. I immediately pulled Crystal into my arms, afraid that she’d inhale the black ash.
But the ash simply drifted away with the wind until it disappeared completely.
I still felt a little uneasy, but I sighed in relief.
The fact that the skeleton disintegrated must’ve meant that Noreen was gone, right?
While I was deep in thought, I suddenly realized that the woman in my arms was trembling like a leaf.
I looked at her in surprise, only to meet Crystal’s fear-filled eyes. “I thought that it was just a coincidence that her hair turned to ashes just now, but now even her bones disintegrated. Could it be… Is it because Noreen’s soul is no longer in this corpse?” Crystal paused for a moment and then her eyes went wide. “Could her soul be in…”
Her voice trailed off, but I knew exactly what she was going to say.
Beryl!
My own guess scared the crap out of me. I was so anxious that my heart pounded wildly in my chest and I had a headache. My body was shaking uncontrollably.
Rufus hugged me tightly and tried to comfort me. “Shh, everything’s going to be okay.”
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