The White Snake and the Scarred Delta

Chapter 12

Tezy

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I ground my teeth. The white wolf was still in my head.

I turned my head just to see him right behind me. “That was necessary. Otherwise, you'd be dead by now,” I retorted.

“You could have just bound them with your magic or something.”

“Point taken, but do you think that alone could stop them? A lesser number of enemies in a battle is better for you, don’t you agree?”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not judging you. I’ve killed more than you do, I know it now,” he mumbled meaningfully.

I regarded him more intently. “What does it imply? Are you⸺”

“I doubted you, yes. For that, I won’t apologize.”

I scoffed, while Dušan’s weak gaze bounced from me to him. There was nothing I could say if he doubted me. My understanding was as wide as the skies.

I offered a hand to let Dušan up. She took it and thanked me, wiping her tears.

“At least, you stopped her from crying hard, so I’ll forgive you even if you won’t ask for it,” I told Delta Garro, still speaking with him telepathically.

“You do know she’s working for the enemy, right?”

I closed my eyes and let out a big sigh. “That’s because her sister is held hostage. We need to save her, Delta Garro.”

“Don’t call me that. It’s a mouthful, don’t you think?” He smirked when I opened my eyes, showing off his big and sharp wolf teeth.

I narrowed my eyes, watching his blood-stained wolf face. “Then, what do you want me to call you? Master? God?” I mocked him.

“Neither.”

I was quite dumbstruck when he answered. It was not the reply I expected to hear. There was something in his eyes that I could not read.

“Then, what?” I pressed on.

“Garridan.” His limited answer.

“Fine. Going back to the subject, we need to rescue Dušan’s sister. We can’t just leave her there now that Dušan is powerless. What if they kill an innocent child?”

Garridan stared at me for a full five seconds. “You’re out of your mind, Tezy. Even if you’re a goddess, remember your powers are not that great anymore. So, you can’t just simply barge into the enemy’s pack mansion and rescue her sister. It requires a lot of planning to do, not to mention, powers. You just saw what happened last night and just a little while ago. It’s as good as a suicide mission!”

“Well, then…” I glanced at Dušan before continuing, “I’ll have to do this with or without you, Garridan. I can’t let your enemy hold an innocent girl captive and use her older sister to do evil things just like earlier today!”

“You’re insane!”

“I’m being sane right now, in fact. What if they use the girl again to make Dušan do something against you, your pack, or your mother? Even if Dušan has no more powers, there are other ways she might be able to do just to keep her sister alive and unharmed while in the hands of Ultima Danijel.”

“Well, I’ll be damned!”

“Yes, you’ll be. And right now, you are. You know that your enemy will not rest until you and your pack are destroyed, for whatsoever reason it is.”

He shifted where he stood, glancing at the bloody scene. Most of the wounded were being attended to. They had taken a few prisoners, and the rest of the pack and allies followed the retreating enemies.

“Get on my back,” Garridan ordered me.

Dušan and I needed not to be told twice. I helped her climb on Garridan’s back, and I followed suit, settling behind the ex-magic summoner. His white fur was so soft but sturdy. There were some blood stains on his neck, paws, and jaw. But I knew he was not hurt, which was a relief.

“Hold tight!” he warned.

Both Dušan and I had to bend forward when Garridan began to run as fast as he could. He followed the scent of his enemies, going northeast. It was getting darker, as the blue sky turned gray.

“Ask her where they’re headed,” he coached me.

“Do you know where your sister is being held right now, Dušan?” I asked her.

We both bounced now and then, as Garridan followed a path towards a clearing. The trees were thinning on this side of the forest. Yet, it still looked isolated from the populated area. That could be the reason why he chose this road, to avoid being seen by ordinary humans. Smaranda had told me that the existence of werewolves was only a myth to them. And I thought this matter was a complicated one.

“She must still be in Makó,” Dušan answered. “Ultima Danijel separated her from me while I served him in Zlatibor.”

Garridan snorted. “The sister was in Hungary, while she was in Serbia. Ultima Danijel truly kept them apart to ensure his hostage was kept hidden from her. He could take control of this young sorceress that way indeed, because she didn’t know where exactly her sister was. Her movements were well-monitored while she was with him.”

“He’s an evil wolf. You should eliminate him, Garridan!” I egged him.

He scoffed in my head. “You don’t need to encourage me. He just slipped away again today. That cunning ultima. I’ll not let him escape when I meet him again,” he swore, maneuvering between branches on the way.

I hissed in pain when my thigh was caught by a sharp one. White blood trickled from the gash, and Garridan slowed down. He was ready to stop.

“Are you hurt badly?” he asked, with a concerned tone.

“No, no. I can deal with it,” I replied. It was not like my sister’s doing, which would require more power and time to heal. “Just go on. We’re still far behind them,” I added. My hand covered the wound, and it instantly healed without any scar. It was nothing that I could not handle, especially because I had gained some new powers earlier, and it was caused in this mortal realm.

“Can’t you summon a portal yet?” Garridan asked.

It had not occurred to me, but his idea was great indeed.

“All right, stop. Let’s try if I can do it in your realm,” I told him. “It can’t be that hard, can it?”

He slowed down, which puzzled Dušan. She looked over her shoulder to look at me. I did not have to explain. Instead, I raised my left hand with the intent of opening a portal that would lead us to Dušan’s sister, wherever she was.

It started to rain. The portal that appeared was nothing like the one I opened from Hebbiza to arrive on Earth. The portal looked triangular, with a pulsating white-and-gold aura.

“Is that safe, or will this ex-sorceress and I disintegrate when we touch it?” Garridan questioned.

I could not blame him if he doubted me. “Why don’t we try to go through it?” my only reply. All I knew was that this was different from the portals I used in Hebbiza, besides its shape.

“I don’t care much about the sorceress’ life because she wanted me dead and even wanted to harm my mother, but to risk my own life?” He turned his head to give me a pointed look.

“I don’t think you’re afraid to die, Garridan. You just fear failure.”

“So, you can tell,” he concluded. There he went again with his soft tone, which did something to my heart. However, I tried to ignore it.

“Just don’t waste any more seconds, please. I’m spending my energy on holding out for that portal,” I reminded him.

“All right, all right! Here we go,” he rejoined. He hesitated for a moment or two, stepping a couple of strides towards the throbbing portal.

I could smell the anxiety that oozed from Dušan’s pores. She must be afraid of what was waiting for us on the other side and what had become of her sister while they were separated from each other.

“Dušan, how come you and your sister ended up in Ultima Danijel’s hands?” I queried gently.

“You just asked her that now?” Garridan chimed in into my head.

“It just occurred to me. What if there was no sister at all? What if those memories were just made up by her powers, when she still had them? Just to fool us, you know? And maybe we’re falling into a trap.”

“So, are you saying we shouldn’t use that portal before us now?” Garridan wanted to know.