Chapter Four
1849 Words
-Harley POV-
Without hesitating, I take my brother's hand and lead him through the gate, giving mom one last look.
"But mommy!" Eliam cries.
"We need to go. She told us to go." I say.
He doesn't fight me but he cries as we make our way out.
"But... but... can't Archion eat them?"
"I... I don't know...Archion?"
("I can't. Not in you're body right now... transferring from host to host makes me weak for a time, and also there is whatever the enemy used in those darts. Though it remains in your mother's body, it has still weakened me.")
"Uhm... no, he says, Eliam. He can't."
Eliam continues to cry as I lead him out. The tunnel is long and it leads to the outside border of the pack. When we make it to the end of the tunnel, the two warriors wait for us and we can hear the chaos outside from here.
"It's clear. We'll make a run for it and continue running Northeast. When we are clear, we'll shift and you can ride us. We'll get you to Alpha Archers pack in no time."
I nod but I am so nervous. "Okay."
I look at Eliam who looks just as scared. "We need to run, Eliam." I say.
As he continues to cry, he nods. "Okay."
"Ready?" The men ask.
We both nod.
"Okay, go!" He says and we all start running.
We barge out of the tunnel running as fast as we can. The fighting is behind us so we can't really see anyone out here.
I hold Eliam's hand tight and pull him. He is much slower than I am so it almost feels like I am dragging him.
"Stop." A woman says with a soft voice.
We all come to a sliding halt when in front of us is a strange woman.
She has pale skin and blue eyes with freckles on her cheeks and nose. She has long wavy natural orange hair that looks very soft. She also has a long black loose dress on and to my bewilderment, no shoes. The girl doesn't look much older than me. She also wears a strange old looking necklace. It has a circular medallion with a half-moon facing the left and something that looks like a flower in that empty space, but I am not sure that is a flower. I have never seen anything like that before.
She smiles and even though she gives a caring and nurturing feel, she seems wrong.
"Please... don't run. Embrace our master." She says. Her voice is soft and sultry.
Her... master?
"You're... master?" I ask.
"Move!" One of the warriors shouts to her. Both warriors are in a defensive stance.
"All we want is for everyone to comply so that the casualties can be kept to a minimum." She looks at Eliam. "We won't hurt you." She says.
My eyebrows furrow in anger. "You won't hurt us? But you have hurt so many already!"
"This is just a means to subdue. Those that comply will get not get hurt." Her calmness unsettles me. It almost seems like one of those people who are not in touch with reality in some way.
"What do you want?"
"For you to come willingly." She responds.
"I mean, what do you all want with my pack? Why are you doing this?"
She smiles but doesn't say anything.
"Just do as she says." Titus comes from behind a tree with a few of the enemy werewolves behind him.
"Do... what she says? Are you... with them?!" I ask, but it shouldn't surprise me. If anyone was going to betray us, it would be him.
Titus smiles. "I can make things so much easier for you. Just be a good girl."
"f**k you!" I spit at him but he is too far for my spit to reach. "You are the reason we go overpowered so easily!" I scream. "You coward! You are disgusting! How can you betray your own pack!"
The warriors that are with us growl at him.
His face contorts with anger but before he can say anything, the woman speaks. "Leave us." She says to him.
"But she's the girl-" He tries to complain but she repeats, interrupting him. "Leave."
There is no anger in the way she says anything but Titus surprisingly nods and after giving a small bow to her, he leaves with the others.
Obviously, she is the one in charge around here.
"Now-"
She is interrupted when we suddenly hear a resonating low growl in the distance but it sounded more like an echo.
"What... is that?" I mumble. It sounded different than a werewolf.
The woman smiles. "My love..." She whispers looking behind her from where the sound came from and then looks back at us. "I am growing impatient." She extends a hand to me and my brother. "Come, let us not waste any more time."
I shake my head. "No!"
She presses her lips together and retracts her hand, looking disappointed but still with no anger on her face.
"Shame, the last thing I want to do is hurt children... but remember, this is your doing." She says.
She lifts her hand up with a chant. "Aesc Perth Tenebris Mors Caligo"
My eyes widen.
She's a witch!
I don't recognize that spell at all or even some of the words.
Out of nowhere, a dark gray cloud surrounds us. I look up towards the sky and see this dark gray mist also come down. It feels like it turned to night and it descends over us.
And then an even darker shadow casts over us. As if a moving cloud had passed above us. The winds move violently as if we were in the middle of a storm or a sudden gust of wind picked up. I almost feel like there is something above us but I can't see more than a few inches from me so I really don't know what is going on.
"What a waste...these needless deaths are your own doing." The woman's voice echoes through the dark mist.
I hold Eliam close to me now. I feel like my only priority is to protect him. Then, we start hearing gagging noises as if someone was choking.
"Harley, what is going on?" Eliam asks hugging me tightly.
"Shhh, just hold on to me." I tell him.
We stand hugging for a few minutes when finally the shadow above us passes and the dark mist starts to clear. To our horror, we see both of our warriors dead on the ground. They look pale. Their skin is this gray color, but their lips are almost black, and their eyes have a haze of white over them.
Eliam starts screaming. I quickly cover him so that he doesn't see but I am just as horrified as he is.
What happened to them?
With anger, I look at the woman. She looks surprised.
"How... did you two survive that?"
She just used a Magical affliction spell. I have never seen one being used but I have heard of them. A spell that acts like a disease. However, this one was different. These spells tend to take more time to work on someone but she killed the warriors within seconds.
And still, this kind of spell doesn't work with my kind. We have immunity to magical diseases.
Her eyes widen, realizing who we are and she immediately lifts her hand up but before she can finish her first word, I lift my hand up, willing the wind to pick up around us and hit her with my wind magic. She flies back and hits a tree, falling unconscious on the ground.
("You need to keep going, Harley.") Archion says.
I know he is right.
I quickly look back at Eliam and pull him away to tell him that we have to run but then suddenly the same darts that my mother was struck with hit Eliam. However, it bounces off of him because they hit him on his back where his dragon's scales are at.
A group of men dressed in black, run in our direction and the way they come at us and the way they dress tells me that they are not werewolves.
"Run!" I immediately pull Eliam but he suddenly feels heavy. A quick look at him and I see a dart on his leg.
"No!"
"Har...ley..." He closes his eyes and falls.
"No!" I shout and try to pick him up.
("You need to run, Harley!") Archion says.
"I can't leave him!"
("You must! If you fall here, there will be no one to save any of them!")
A dart flies by me and with pain in my heart, I run, leaving my baby brother behind.
Forgive me! Oh God forgive me!
My actions horrify me. I can't believe I just left him. I want to turn back and get him but I can hear the men behind me and they pursue me relentlessly. I am panicked. I don't know what to do but I keep running with no intention of stopping.
("Harley, you need to calm your mind and use what you're parents taught you.")
"But if I stop, they'll catch up!"
("You have no need for a spell. You are Draconina, you have enough time.")
"But my powers, I can't control them!"
I am surprised that my powers are not going crazy already with how panicked I am and I am sure that it is because of the ring.
("Remember who you are, girl!) He shouts. ("I am not much of use at the moment but you are MY descendant! Make the very earth bend to your will!")
His sudden pride fills me with pride and strength, reminding me that he is right. I am my mother's daughter and now I don't have to hold back.
I stop and turn around, grounding my feet on the ground, I prepare to use earth magic and I have no hesitation or even fear at this moment. Feeling my magic connect with the earth under me, I bid the trees to do my bidding. All the trees on the right bend to the left and all the trees on the left bend to the right, falling in a triangular pattern on top of the men that pursue me.
The forest echoes with the sound and the backlash wind that the fallen trees produce crash onto me but do not move my grounded body. I get chills at the display of my power. I have only seen mother do this kind of thing. All I have ever done has been practice magic and only when I lose control have I displayed such power but never willingly like this.
I am sure a few of the enemies are dead but some are just hurt and try to get out from under the trees. I can also hear some screaming in pain.
I turn and take off running but this time, no one is able to follow me.
("Good girl.") Archion says.
- Writer
