LEGEND OF THE STRIGA {LOTS}

CHAPTER 4 *ADRESTEIA*

Icarus held his breath as he closed his eyes, waiting for the dispel of the sour smell of the Sottolunare king that he just teleported back to his troop outside the forest. 

Icarus was beyond pissed and the anger ebbing out of him alone made the leaves cower away in fear and the bed of flower petals outside the entrance of his hut slowly withers away. 

The more Icarus tried not to think about the past, the greater the anger in him grew and the magic coursing through his veins bubbled for release, for a breakout. 

For so many years, he hated himself, blamed himself for the death of his brother and friends, thinking he was a monster that deserved to be locked away. 

Even after the guardian entities of the forest let him in, he still thought himself as evil, hope the rumours he heard about the forest of bones and blood were true and that the evil in the forest would eventually take his life. 

But that rumoured evil turned out to be a place that accepted him, gave him a home and taught him defending himself against people who thought he was weaker than them wasn’t so much of a sin. 

For years, he conflicted with the sizzling power in his bloodstream. He was ten years old and becoming an adult, made Icarus realised his parents could have done better. 

Locked him up perhaps, not banish him out of the only place he called home. 

“Peace, Vardr. Take a deep breath and make peace with your soul. Your anger is sucking the life out of the surrounding beauty. Peace.”

The wind bristled in Icarus ears as the soothing voice of Antheia, the goddess of flowers, chorused in the wind, and Icarus took deep breaths as instructed. 

The cries of the withering petals had reached the ears of Antheia where she laid, and she journeyed in the wind, to calm the troubled heart of a young man who had become a son to her over the years. 

Outsiders perceive the forest of bones and blood as evil but only those within it thick shrubs and tall trees can attest that the forest is a different world of its own, with an equal amount of good and evil.

Icarus opened his eyes to see the fallen petals and a sigh escape his lips as he walked close to the bed of flowers, picking up the petals one after the other. Icarus puts the petals back on the stems they fell from and he whispers life back into them. 

This wasn’t a doing of his magic, but something Antheia thought of him a while back. Just like every other creature, flowers have their written life span and so are the petals. 

Most fall unfortunate victims of other wild creatures and they cut their life short, Antheia had taught him the language of the flowers, ways to revive a petal that met an unnatural end for putting the petals back where they belong saves a flower stem from dying. 

Time spent with Antheia made Icarus gathered as many flowers as he could around the forest, giving them a home where he could preserve one of each kind until last. 

“I apologise Theia.”

Icarus said to the wind, and it bristles past his ears in sheer serene, that sends comfort to Icarus’ heart. 

“Easy there boy, apologise not, for you are human and it there is no fault in you feeling these emotions but do not let it control you; or give it a reason to decide for you. Remember, you have so much as the same good and evil in you. The evil would always try to prevail, only when you take charge of your emotions can you prevail good over evil.”

The serene voice of Antheia speaks and Icarus nods, smiling gently at the wind that breezes along as he walks back into his hut. 

Back inside the hut, Icarus takes off his robe, putting it carefully over the wooden stand he carved out for himself as a keep for his clothing. 

Moving about the space in the hut, Icarus gathers a few leaves from the storage and the tiny mortar and pestle nestling at the far end of the hut as he situates himself on floor, slowly grinding the leaves in the mortar into an even paste. 

Grinding and making different concoction of medicinal herbs became a habit Icarus picked up over the years in the forest. 

Even though he was against the idea of ever leaving the forest or go back to the three kingdoms, somehow his subconscious pushed him to practice making medicinal which he believes might be useful someday.

And over the years he became a master at creating poisons and making antidotes for each, he line a portion of his hut with different medicinal herbs of values. 

Icarus knows even if he never leaves the forest, someday Kenji would and all that he teaches the boy now would become of use to the world some day. 

Thinking about Kenji makes Icarus raise his head away from the mortar as he looks outside, to the shadow of the evening peering into the hut, and Icarus stands up, wondering why Kenji hasn’t returned. 

He covers the paste in the mortar with a clay pot and struts outside the hut, looking up to the setting sun. The young warlock so occupied in his work lost track of time. 

Icarus walks to the back of the hut, peering down through the path that leads to the meadow, and wonders what might have held the boy down.

“Did he go into the territory beyond the meadow?”

Icarus speaks to himself as he stood, hoping Kenji would appear in a few minutes, with no sign of Kenji despite waiting Icarus trails the path that leads to the meadow perhaps he would meet Kenji on his way back. 

As Icarus got closer to the meadow, he noticed the change in the atmosphere, and a strange feeling settled in the pit of his stomach, but he shook it off as unnecessary paranoia.

“Kenji couldn’t have gone far.”

Icarus mumbles to himself as he reached the meadow. And there was no sign of Kenji in sight, and that caused the warlock to panic. 

Where could he have?

Icarus walked further into the meadow, looking around for any sign of Kenji. It would be much easier to find Kenji’s foot trail if it wasn’t a meadow.

An eerie feeling settles upon Icarus as he walked closer to the boundary that separates the meadow and the deeper part of the forest, the territory inhibited by the dark creatures of the plane.

Those creatures move in the shadows, and Icarus hasn’t presented Kenji to them yet. He was waiting until the boy turned eighteen and has learned how to magic.

“Theia, I need you help where are you?”

Icarus whispers in to the wind.

“Here, is everything alright?”

Antheia’s voice bristled with the wind as she made her presence known, even if the young warlock can’t see her.

“My son, have you seen him? I sent him to pick herbs by the meadow and he isn’t here.”

The young warlock asks the flower goddess,.

“I was about in the forest, let me ask the petals.”

Antheia responds, and Icarus sighs as a gush of wind whooshes past his ear.

“They saw him going beyond.”

Antheia informs, bristling back with the wind, and Icarus eyes widen. Beyond?

He couldn’t believe Kenji had journeyed beyond the meadow even if he warned him not to.

“Thank you. I have to find him.”

Icarus says, hastening his footsteps towards the forest beyond the meadow and he halts, as his eyes fall upon the stash belonging to Kenji.

Icarus picks it up, squeezing it in his fist, and he chants a spell to the shadows before stepping into the forest beyond.

Once in listens for any sign of movement in the forest but heard none. Getting agitated, Icarus places a tracking spell on the stash with his mind and follows the direction that of the illuminating light. An effect from the spell.

He walked further into the forest, while looking and with his ears on alert for any sign of movement or life. Minutes pass and Icarus stops in the middle of his forest, wondering if a creature of the forest is trying to mislead him.

Ever since they gave him home in the forest of bones and blood, Icarus for sure broken no rule nor trespass against any entities in the forest, so he saw no reason for any of the entities to play tricks.

“Dwellers of the shadows, I know you must have seen my boy here. If you have him please release him to me and forgive his mistake if not give me a pointer of where he is.”

Icarus says to the silent dwellers and just as he expects an answer from them, he hears the snap of a twig in the distance and his head turned.

It was difficult for him to teleport himself there, because there was no certain location of where the twig snap came from, hence he hurried in his step and let his sense guide him.

Walking further, the gory stench of blood hits the young warlock nostril, and he halts, sniffing the air a few times before turning on his heel, facing the north axis of the forest.

The close he got to the spot, the harsher the stench of the blood in his nose and he feared for Kenji.

Was he injured? If he is, shouldn’t he shout for help?

What did he even come beyond to do?

Icarus wondered as he drew closer to the place where the blood stench was coming from.

Using his hands he pushes a few branches aside for safe passage through the trees, but his eyes widen in horror with the sight before him.

On the grounds of the forest, Kenji laid and a lady with hair the colour of the sun and skin as pale as death hovered above him, fangs sunk into the skin of Kenji while she drained him of blood.

A vampire? Icarus thought, seeing the creature and his blood boil, as Kenji’s hand falls limply to the side.

“ገሀነም ከልጄ ይራቅ ፡፡gehānemi kelijē yirak’i.”

[Get the hell away from my son.]

Icarus thundered in anger with his hands, shooting forth a force of wind that sends the vampire crashing into multiple trees, and the sound of branches snapping filled the forest.

Without wasting time, Icarus rushed to the side of Kenji, lifting his head from the ground and resting it on his arm.

“Kenji, Kenji? Look at me.”

Icarus calls in a shaky voice for a boy that was already a son to him, even if they are not blood related.

“Father?”

Kenji whispers, smiling as Icarus face comes to view.

“I’m here son, father is here to make you feel better, boy just keep your eyes on me.”

Icarus pleads, channelling all his powers into his fingers.

“I’m so.... sorry father, *coughs* I love you. Father.”

Kenji chokes out, with blood sputtering out of his mouth.

“Don’t apologise, and I love you to please stay with me.”

Icarus almost screams as he cradles the boy in his arm and he placed his hand on the Kenji chest, closing his eyes to feel the force of the boy’s heart so he could sense his own source into it, but find none.

“Kenji? please stay with me. Kenji!!.”

Icarus screams but he’s met with silence and a maniac laughter ensues from behind me.

“Can’t believe they would think to send a weakling like you after me. You can’t even save him.”

The vampire called Adrasteia says before disappearing into the woods and Icarus voice thunders a painful sound of agony into the silent atmosphere of the forest. 

His hair rose in the hair, and his eyes glowed like the moon as his entire form shook with anger. The only family he has, the one who has been by his side through every wilderness just taken from him.

His bones itched to follow the vampire and bring her pain she’s never felt before. But he couldn’t because night was settling in and he cannot leave the dead body of Kenji amongst the dwellers.

His soul won’t ascend.

With a heavy heart, he lifts the frail body of Kenji and makes his way out of the forest, vowing to hunt down Adresteia.

Even if it takes eternity, he would sure bring her pain from the deepest part of hell.