Frozen Memories: Heirs of Ethra

Entering The Den of Beasts

“The Den of Beasts,” Max said, breaking the longstanding silence between the three of us. 

“Yeah…the Den…” I could sense the concern underlying Amorah’s tone when she spoke. Glancing her way, I saw the slight wrinkle of worry lining her brow, looking past the entranceway leading to the world of the creatures that resided in the shadows of night. “We’re…finally here.” 

“Yes, we are.” Keyvah countered impatiently. “So, are we going to keep talking about it or finally go in? Either way, I’m not going to keep standing here procrastinating going in.”

“Oh look,” Max muttered. “The blonde knows a big word…round of applause.” 

Keyvah glared. “One more word red, and you’ll be picking your teeth up from the ground.” 

Max grinned. “I’d like to see that.” She stepped forward.

“I’ve been a vampire for centuries, you’ve been a guardian for minutes. I’d rethink this if I were you.”

“I may have been a guardian for minutes, but I assure you I can kick your ass with or without this power.”

“Enough!” I hissed, stepping between the two. “Grow up! The both of you!” My gaze steadied itself on Max as she was the one who started it. I cared deeply for Maxandria and she knew this, for sure, but sometimes she chose the worst moments to pick fights. This was one of those times. “Keyvah is right. We need to stop prolonging the inevitable”. I turned around, once again, facing the rear opening to the Den of Beasts. “We need to find the others.”

Max rolled her eyes, walked past Keyvah and me, and headed toward the entrance. “Then what are we waiting for?” 

We followed Max in and immediately felt a gust of cold-a cold that even I felt a little, though, of course, it did not bother me as it did my company. Upon further entry, I realized that it was just as mesmerizing as that of the Vast Covens.

The hamlet homed a forest of large trees, covered in snow that was similar in description to Bonsais-why I knew how Bonsais looked, I do not know, as I had never seen any in Washington. Then again, I learned from Vivianna, that, as a Nymph, I had a natural affinity for plant life. 

These trees were taller than the eye could see, and the trunks were so large, one could probably live in them. “Wow!” I whispered, impressed by the two large trees welcoming us on either side of the entrance. One thing that made the trees even more magnificent was the deeply purple-colored trunks of these extraordinary trees, and their leaves were extremely dark and still seemed a hue of blue-green; similar to the leaves that I’d seen on the way to this place.

As we furthered in, we saw  Kan Zuhaitza. They were tucked in groves of three near each Bonsai tree and there were hundreds of the extremely large Bonsais. It was right after laying eyes on these blood trees that I remembered that the hamlet of beasts was carnivorous just like the vampires-maybe even a little worse.

“Careful around here,” Keyvah remarked under her breath. “We’re not in friendly territory.” 

Keyvah brought this to my attention, reminding me of the reason why we were there in the first place. There was no time for admiring our surroundings when we were almost literally in the belly of the beast. 

Beyond the groves upon groves of Bonsai-like trees and the Kan Zuhaitza was a large alp, similar to that of the covens and yet somehow more…beautiful. Sure, the mountain was similar to the vampire’s, though slightly more…crystal-like. The difference, however, was the intricately set icicles adorning each opening of the caves that were sitting highest. The oversized icicles almost looked as if they’d somehow melded into the crystalline-like mountain and created this beautiful and natural design of Ethra’s nature.

I was so enamored by my surroundings, I had completely forgotten that we were not welcome to this place. “Duck!”

 My body was snatched off the path that we were on. I fell behind the tree, and once I recovered, saw the others staring at me for a moment before Keyvah and Max peeked around the large tree to see if the way was clear.

When the coast was clear, Keyvah impatiently scolded me. “We are not on a field trip, Mina! You have to be on your guard here. These beasts-they-”

“There is so much aggression in your voice when you talk about this species of person. I can sense your dislike.” 

“So?!” Keyvah snapped at me. “They murdered a great number of my people-mother included, so excuse me for my dislike.”

“And how many mothers and fathers have your people murdered of theirs? Who initiated this rival?” She became quiet. “I guess the answer to my question is clear in your silence.” 

“You don’t know anything about me,” Keyvah growled, stepping toward me. Amorah attempted to stop her, but I lifted my hand to stall Amorah’s actions. I was not afraid of Keyvah or what she thought she’d do to me. More than that,  however, I wanted her to express herself. “So if you think that I will stand here and allow you to judge my people, then-”

“I am not judging you, but you seem to have no qualms about judging a people that you do not know either.” I interrupted her. “You’ve lived with two wolves that are from this den, a mulbryd lycan, and a hybrid lycan. And you still hold such hostility?” I was curious as to her superior tone, but I would not push further on the subject either. I knew that Keyvah was not prepared to have that talk. “I apologize for being…ignorant of our surroundings and nearly getting us caught,” I said to her to shift the subject of conversation. “Shall we?” 

I looked around and continued on, furthering toward the mountain, making sure to stick to the shadows. Along the way, we witnessed quite a few creatures, big and small, roaming and shuffling stealthily around us. What I found interesting was how…unbothered they seemed to be by the three of us. Sure, some were curious, staring at us for moments at a time, but for the most part, they seemed quite uninterested. Or at least that’s how they reacted to us. 

“These creatures…they’re quite…docile…uninterested in our presence,” Max pointed out.

“It’s not them that you have to worry about,” Keyvah replied. “Only certain species in the Den of Beasts are more than just…four-legged creatures. These ones…are just…here…living in their natural habitat as…a lion would his jungle. The lycans, wolves, shifters…they are the ones who are considered intelligent beings. Those are the ones that we have to worry about.” Keyvah informed us. 

“Ah,” I muttered. “That’s interesting.”

“Very,” Max returned.

“We’re nearly there,” Keyvah announced in a near whisper. 

“Great” Amorah said. “Now, how are we going to find Killian, Thorne, Nixon, and Roman?” She asked. “This place is bigger than the Vast Covens.”

“We hunt them,” Max said. They looked at her confusedly, and while I was starting to understand what she meant by this, I still desired elaboration. 

“You going to explain that…or are we going to have to play twenty questions?” Keyvah retorted irritatedly.

Max glanced my way. I could almost sense that she was wordlessly warning me that if Keyvah persisted with her insufferable attitude, she’d bark back. She then returned her glitchy purple gaze to the other two. 

“You’re vampires…” Max started, sardonically. “You’ve lived with these men for decades or more. Surely you have the ability to sense them…heightened senses and all right?” 

Amorah looked at Keyvah as if surprised by the thought. “I…she’s right, Keyv,” She looked at Max and then me. “We know them better than anyone. Surely, we could find them if we tried. We can connect our minds, and use telepathic location.”

Keyvah’s stare stayed at Amorah for a silent moment, then slithered over to Max, her brow shifting up in an arch. “Might work.” She seemed to refuse to give Max credit where credit was due.

“Well,” Max returned Keyvah’s attitude with her own. “Get to work,” 

With a grimace and a low growl, Keyvah rolled her eyes and then faced Amorah. “Ready?” 

“Readier than I’ll ever be.” 

Keyvah nodded and held Amorah’s hand. “Combining our connection and senses will make finding them quicker.” She said. “It takes a lot of energy to sync our senses and our minds, so…watch our backs,” Keyvah said.

She looked at me and immediately nodded, hoping to reassure her. Keyvah took a deep breath and then closed her eyes, along with Amorah. Taking deep breaths, we all stood there in silence-Max and I surveyed the area to make sure that no one was around.

When Amorah and Keyvah gasped, I jumped, quickly turning around to see what was wrong. “Wh-is everything alright? What-” My words wavered when seeing Keyvah’s eyes wide open and igniting in blue. Amorah’s back was facing me, but I knew that if they were connected, it was the same for her. “Do you see anything?” I asked.

“They’re…here…” A dual tone left Keyvah’s lips-a voice sounding as if it belonged to both she and Amorah. I moved over slightly to see if my assumptions were correct, and they were. “Close…by…”

It was one of the most extraordinary things I’d ever seen.  While Amorah’s lips were moving, the voice was coming from Keyvah.

“How close?” Max asked. 

When silence followed, and Keyvah and Amorah took a struggling breath, I became concerned, suddenly wondering how much energy this ability took out of the two. “Morah? Keyvah?” I called to them, taking a step closer at this point to see if they were alright. “What’s going on? Are you okay?” They didn’t answer. “Keyvah! Amorah!” I exclaimed, my anxious gaze shifting between the two of them. “Talk to me!”

“Here….here.” Keyvah kept repeating. “Heeeere…”

“Here? What do you mean? Where is here? Where?!” 

We watched them, completely forgetting that we were supposed to be looking out for them. Now, both Max and my concern lay in whether Amorah and Keyvah were going to be alright from doing this.

“That’s enough.” I decided. “I don’t like this!” I started to break apart their hands when Max stopped me.

“You don’t know what forcing them apart while entranced will do, Frosty. We can’t risk it.”

“Wh-” I was feeling desperate at this point, for them to unlink themselves from this…telepathic location thing that they were doing. “What are we going to do?” 

Max and I both stood there, anxious, waiting…and watching-hoping that they’d break this trance so that we could continue our search for Killian and the others. It became hard to swallow because of my impatience and fear of what was to happen next. Then I felt a hand grab my shoulder from behind.

Immediately, I turned around. Suddenly, on high alert, I formed an ice blade entwined in poison ivy. Just as I turned, I lifted the blade to attack, but the large force of the hand that grabbed my wrist stopped me immediately. I looked up at the culprit, was shocked and so relieved when I saw his face.

“Roman?!”