Page 8

Chapter eight

T he next day we prepared for the hunt. There were enough creatures pouring through the rift that we were bound to come across a few if we stepped foot into the woods. Gen insisted she was fine and could accompany us. I was more on edge than normal, paranoid beyond belief, never taking my eyes off her.

We flew through the sky on our ragamors along with Zerrial, Evinee, Doria, and Leenia. After traveling for an hour, we finally landed, continuing the hunt on foot. The woods were still cold, but the snow was gone, and spring was just around the corner.

As we entered a small clearing, I noticed the birds ceased singing. The insects were quiet and there wasn’t an animal in sight. I signaled for the group to be on the lookout as we proceeded through the thicket. My eyes focused as I calmed my breathing. Everything inside of me was on alert.

A vast ditch was positioned at the edge of the clearing. It was deep, about ten feet across. The smell that emanated from the area was unlike anything I had ever experienced. We walked cautiously over to the top of the hole and peered down. Inside laid dead bodies of multiple races: dark alfar, light alfar, humans, fairies, nymphs, incubi, dryads, even a ragamor.

“What in Azeer’s name?” asked Leenia.

The bodies were covered in mucus. Some looked like they were still breathing, but different parts of their bodies had been eaten or were missing. One of them moaned as they reached their hand up to us. I took another look, assessing the situation.

“Shit, we need to get out of here now,” I ordered.

“What did you figure out?” asked Evinee.

I pulled my eyes away from the pit. “This is their food source. Like a kitchen. We’re in their territory, which means whatever these things are, they’re close.”

“So, let’s kill them and be done with it,” suggested Gen.

“If they took down a ragamor on their own, we are going to need more than five alfar soldiers,” I pointed out.

Zerrial sniffed the air around us and said, “It’s too late to go back.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“They’re here,” he said. “At least a dozen of them. Cold-blooded creatures.”

We all took out our weapons and prepared for battle.

“Everyone stays close. They’re pack creatures, so they’ll try to pick us off one by one,” I added.

Rustling from the bushes up ahead drew our attention to the front. A scaled creature the size of two males came out of the foliage. It was lean and muscular, and stood on its hind legs with long, slender arms dangling in front. It had a long snout with a mouth full of sharp teeth and two gaping holes for nostrils. Long pointed ears at the top of its head twitched from side to side. Its eyes were reptilian with small slits.

It slashed its tail towards us, revealing needle-like spears on the end. We huddled into a circle, watching each other’s backs. One by one, eleven more creatures surrounded us. One raised its head to the sky and made a loud beckoning sound that rattled deep inside of its throat. We waited for them to attack.

“Fight as long as you can, then call your ragamors and get out. Am I clear?” I ordered to the group. They nodded, not taking their eyes off the creatures. Each of the monsters raised their heads and began to make loud chirping noises. Suddenly, they swarmed, snapping and scratching at us. One of them swung their tail, sending sharp needles through the air, nailing Zerrial and I in the legs.

We continued to fight as they descended upon us. My heart pounded through my chest. The needles were affecting me somehow. I didn’t focus on them. I slashed and swung at the large beasts.

Evinee returned their needle attack with her own bone spears. One of the beasts came hurtling towards Gen as she lit the creature on fire. Her Dark Flame tunneled towards the beast, devouring it in place. Two others attacked her from behind, nipping at her legs. I flung myself forward, taking the head of one of the creatures as the other swung its tail and buried more needles into my body. I gasped in pain, but had given her enough time to get away.

The needles must have had a paralytic effect. Everything around me began to spin as I slowly lost feeling in my limbs. I fell to my knees while I watched Gen call for Tarsyrth, her ragamor. She mounted him before sending her flames barreling around us. Leenia flung one of the pests into a tree so hard that the base of the large oak cracked.

Another one came charging at me. It grabbed me by the leg and began to drag me towards the ditch. I was unable to move or scream for help. The needles were working fast. I could feel the pain in my leg from its teeth bearing down inside of my flesh, but I was helpless. I saw a ragamor shoot into the sky and prayed it was Gen.

Evinee and Zerrial came out of nowhere, cutting the head of the creature clean off. Zerrial was fighting the effects, but his sloppy footwork told me they were beginning to take hold. They called their ragamors and loaded me onto one beast. Evinee held onto my limp body as we flew back to the castle. I saw Leenia’s ragamor up ahead. Everyone was safe. We had made it out.

When we got back to the castle, the twins were waiting for us. They helped unload me from Evinee’s ragamor and each took one side to assist me to my room. Evinee was attentive, checking to make sure I was okay. Gen was up ahead, talking to another council member when we approached. Evinee charged towards her and slammed her fist right into her jaw. Gen snapped forward, eyes darkening.

“What in Azeer’s name is wrong with you?” yelled Evinee. “He saved you and you just left him there to die when you flew off to safety!” She stood unfazed by Gen’s black eyes.

“He was fine,” Gen responded. “He had all of you.”

“And what if we hadn’t gotten to him in time?” roared Evinee. “He could have been torn to shreds. Do you even give a damn, you selfish bitch?”

“Remember who you’re speaking to,” Gen said, squaring her shoulders back.

“Oh, I know exactly who I am speaking to,” yelled Evinee, getting into Gen’s face. “A selfish, narcissistic child who doesn’t care how her actions affect anyone else. He is your husband, and you just left him back there to die!”

I looked at Leenia, signaling her to intervene. Leenia put her hand on Evinee’s shoulder, pulling her away from Gen as they stared each other down. Gen glanced at me only for a moment while the twins held onto my immobile body. They dragged me to my room and called for Vena.

The paralytic would wear off, but it would take time. There was nothing she could do for me. I closed my eyes, unable to do anything but rest.

Before dinner, my family came by to check on my recovery. I was able to move now, but everything still hurt, including the pound of flesh the creature had taken from my leg. Vena had healed me, but the residual pain was still there. Evinee was the last one to leave my room.

“Thank you for coming back for me,” I said.

“Of course,” she smirked. “Would you expect anything less?”

“Thank you for sticking up for me today also, but Evinee … you can’t get involved. This is between me and her.”

“How much longer are you going to put yourself through this, Eren? She doesn’t deserve you. She proves that every day. She was going to leave you there to die.”

“She isn’t herself. She’s been through a lot.”

“We all have. We all have had to face our demons a time or two. We didn’t destroy those around us in the process,” she said angrily.

“Evinee, please.”

She looked at me and exhaled in annoyance. “Fine, I won’t commit treason, but for the record, I don’t like her.”

I laughed. “Yes, I see that.” I opened my arms to her. She crawled onto the bed and laid against my chest. “I couldn’t have asked for a better protector.”

“That’s not all I can be,” she said, looking up at me with a wink.

“We’ve been over this.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’ll change your mind eventually. You always do.”

We laughed before falling asleep.

I woke up to the feeling that someone was staring at me. When I opened my eyes, Gen was standing over me with a stern look. I looked down to my left to see Evinee still curled up against my side, sound asleep. I gently shook her. She mumbled and stretched across me as she opened her eyes. She looked up at me with a smile and then followed my eyes straight to Gen. Her face fell before she pushed off me.

“Call for me if you need anything,” Evinee said, scrambling off the bed.

I nodded with a smile, pulling myself up to a seated position. I looked at Gen, waiting for her to explain why she was in my room.

“I thought you didn’t … cuddle?” she said coldly.

“That wasn’t what it looked like,” I explained. “We just fell asleep. She was keeping me company.”

“As I’ve said, I don’t care who you choose to bed.”

“Why are you here, Gen?”

“I came to see how your recovery was going. Obviously, you’re back to your normal self.”

“I’m fine, thank you for checking,” I said, looking away from her.

She turned around, heading for the door.

“Would you have cared?” I asked, regretting the words as they came out of my mouth.

She stopped.

“Would you have cared if I had died?” I whispered.

She stood there, not saying a word. I closed my eyes, holding back the pain that was rattling through my chest.

“Get some rest, Eren,” she replied without feeling.

I slid back down into the bed and drifted into my own mind as I forced myself to sleep.

“Eren! Eren, wake up,” said a female voice as she shook my arm. “Eren, please, wake up!” she yelled.

I opened my eyes to see Lily standing over me in my room. Her face was wracked with panic and fear.

“What is it? What is wrong?” I asked, sitting up.

“It’s Gen. Something has happened. Just get dressed and come to her room. Hurry!” she yelled before running out of the room.

I quickly threw on a shirt, pair of pants and boots before heading into the hall. Thankfully, the castle was asleep. I stumbled down the corridor, still dizzy from the creature’s poison.

When I got to her room, the guards let me pass. Gen was laying on her bed with her eyes closed. Tryverse Feynar sat nervously at the base of her bed. Lily leaned over Gen, shaking her as she yelled for her to wake up.

“What is going on?” I demanded, moving onto the bed next to Gen.

Lily was crying as she looked up at me. “Gen, she’s been … dammit! Ever since she came back to life, she’s been having Tryverse mess with her mind,” Lily admitted.

I turned to him. “What have you been doing to her?” I demanded.

His face was full of worry and fear. He exhaled. “Only what she asks me to do. I block out what happened to her. Specific memories or feelings. I’ve replaced them with happy ones that she enjoys reliving. I’ve even made up a few at her request,” he answered.

“What is wrong with her now?” I asked.

“I’ve meddled too much. I told her I could only take away so much before her mind fell in on itself, but she wouldn’t listen. She insisted that I continue to rework her memories. Her mind has shut down. It can’t tell reality from fiction anymore. She’s gone into a coma,” he said.

Faster than thought, I picked him up by the neck and slammed him into the wall. “If you knew your gift was dangerous, why didn’t you stop? Why did you continue?” I yelled.

“She is my princess. I did as she requested of me,” he said, fighting to breathe.

I let him fall to the floor while I gathered myself. “How do we fix her?” I asked.

“You can’t,” he whispered. “I can’t access her mind anymore. Her memory is shattering. Soon, she will be a shell of herself.”

“If you can’t do anything to help her, then get out,” I growled.

“No, I need to be here with her,” he said, his voice broken.

“I said get out!” I roared, letting rage pour through my mask.

He backed away, afraid, and left the room.

I moved back to the bed as Lily continued to shake Gen and cry.

“She’s been through too much to die like this,” sobbed Lily. “This isn’t right. She has to live. She has to find some type of happiness after everything. She can’t die. Not like this.”

I took her shoulders in my hands and turned her to me calmly. Everything in my body was freaking out and screaming in a panic, but I had to remain collected. “Tell me everything,” I said softly.

“At first it was small. She started forgetting little things, like her meetings or where she left books or paperwork. Then she began acting like a different person. Like the person she was before the demons. She was bubbly and happy. I thought maybe she was just healing, but in mid-sentence, she would freak out. She would forget where she was and why I was in her room. She freaked out on Otar the other day while he was feeding on her. Went into a full-blown panic attack. She’s been talking to herself a lot and then the other night I came in and found her huddled in the corner. She was pulling at her hair and shaking. She thought Lysanthier was coming for her.”

I sat back, thinking of what to do. I needed someone powerful enough to fix her, but who. “Otar! Otar!” I yelled.

Otar appeared, shaking in a panic. “I … I can’t be here,” he said, acting like he was having a breakdown. “She doesn’t like me coming here anymore.”

“Otar, I need to know what Narella is. What type of creature is she?” I asked him.

He stopped shaking and made eye contact with me. “She’s a god,” he muttered, as if hearing her name had restored his memories.

My eyes widened at the admission. A god. I had been dealing with a god.

“How do I contact her?” I asked quickly.

“What? Why would you want to contact that bitch?” Otar asked in surprise.

“Because she may be the only way to save Gen. Now tell me!”

Otar told me how to summon her and I headed to the forest to find the ingredients I needed. I gathered a goat and hung it from a tree. I carved the sigil Otar drew for me into its belly as the thing bled out onto the ground. I lit a triangle of fire around us and then carved the sigil into my hand. I touched my sigil to the sacrifice and began to recite the summoning ritual Otar had given me.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Prince Erendrial Lyklor. What do I owe the pleasure?” said Narella from behind me.

I turned as the fire illuminated her white skin and blue hair. “I need your help,” I admitted.

She laughed. “You summoned me to ask for a favor. By the way, how did you figure out what I am?”

“I don’t have time to explain. I will give you whatever you desire, just please help Genevieve.”

“It was the little hell spawn, Otar, wasn’t it? I always knew he’d come in handy,” she said, ignoring my question.

“Please,” I begged.

She walked over slowly, running her hand down the side of my face while she examined me. “What is wrong with the little princess this time?”

“Her mind is shattering. An illusionist has melted everything together. She’s in a coma. I thought since you are a god, you would have the power to fix her.”

“For being a servant of Azeer, you have great faith in me little alfar. And what do I get in return for helping the princess yet again?”

“Anything you want. I will give you anything you want,” I said, not caring about the consequences.

She laughed, taking a step back. “Desperate, are we?”

“Yes.”

She paused, thinking over my deal. “Fine. I will help you, but in return, the princess will never be able to use her powers against me. If she breaks our deal, you, Erendrial Valor Lyklor, will become mine,” she said.

I thought over her terms for a moment, curious why she would want me. I was of no importance. Gen was the only thing that could kill her, but Narella didn’t seem to pose a threat. Though, she was a god, and their track records weren’t reliable.

“Time’s ticking, little alfar,” she said, looking at her nails.

If I didn’t agree, Gen would die. There was no option but this one, and she knew it.

“Deal,” I said, without another thought. Before I could process what was happening, she cut a slit in her hand with her nail and slammed her fist into my chest. I gasped for breath as her fingers wrapped themselves around my heart. I could feel my organ beating against her palm while her cold fingers flexed gently around my heart. She pulled her hand from my chest and I fell to the floor. She waved her hands causing a bright blue light to beam from within me.

“Congratulations, you’ve made your first bargain with a god. Our deal is sealed. Go back to her and wait for me. I need to check in before I come to you,” Narella said before disappearing.

I reached for my chest to stop the bleeding, but my wound was healed as if it had never happened. I waited a few moments, taking in deep breaths, making sure I was still alive. I had just made a deal on Gen’s behalf with a god. One more thing for her to hate me for. At least she’d be alive to detest me.