The Golden Gift

Chapter Twenty, The Day of Unity (Part 2)

"But how are you so sure we are not the strange ones?" I asked and looked at the confident boy. He simply shrugged and let go of me as we neared the arena of pledged and devoted people. "Everyone's strange, we're just not trying to change the way our strange works for other people." He hummed and began to descend near the edge of the forest. I followed his flying as we landed just before the open area. I guess he's right, I'm just not nearly as sure as he seems to be. As I stared out to the huge gathering of people, I got chills. How could we find the little Blight and the others in this huge group? Were they even in this thick mass of people? I got distracted from my mission seeing Raine up at the top, with Darius and Adrian and those other leaders. "They're up there." I whispered, staring at them with a tearing in my heart. "Hey man, don't lose it on me now. We have to find my sister and her friends." Edric said and tugged on my wrist lightly. "Sorry, sorry." I quickly apologized and followed him as he pulled me towards a bush.

"So, based on everything we're seeing right now, and the fact that Amity left days ago, I'm assuming they're either arrested or hiding somewhere waiting to pounce. I could try to use a tracker spell because Mittens is related to me, but I'll need your help." He suggested, staring at me for my opinion. "Sounds good, I don't know how I can help without magic though." I responded and watched as he pulled up the sleeve on his dark green sweatshirt. "You just have to get me to bleed." He explained, waiting for me to do that somehow. I guess I could bite him, I have fangs. I carefully lowered my head and opened my mouth, trying to figure out how to do this. I lowered one canine into his arm, feeling him a little when my tooth punctured his skin. I slowly tore across his arm to make a big incision before stopping. "Yeah, that's definitely good enough- ow I wish Emira would hurry up-." He hissed and began drawing a spell above the broken, bleeding skin. Once he completed the spell, his bubbling cut lit up and his blood disappeared.

"How does that work?" I asked, not seeing any difference. "Well, now I've enchanted my eyesight to see the blood of my relatives for a little while. That way I can track Mittens down very easily." He explained and rubbed his arm. I'd imagine it still stung, with how my tooth cut into it. "And that's how I know Emira is right behind me." He sighed and winced when she slapped a paper on the back of his head. I didn't even see her show up, I guess I was too distracted. Edric turned around to face her, which showed me the paper. It said "here stands the village idiot". Well that's mean. I took off the paper and tossed it aside so Edric couldn't discover it. "I don't have time for antics- I used a tracker spell, let's go find Amity." Edric huffed and Emira grinned. "Whatever you say." She hummed sarcastically, still holding Amity's cat. Edric didn't bother to respond before looking around. "Well I see Raine's blood up there where they are, and I see my blood, and Emira's blood... Hmm..." He thought out loud, the cogs turning audibly in his mind as we stayed behind that bush.

"I think.. Uhh, I see something." He said and squinted, staring in the direction of the castle. "I think Amity is in the lower levels of the castle." He said and looked at me. "Let's go then." I hummed and looked at Rascal who was sleeping on my shoulder. "Can I ride with you? Rascal is tired." I requested and heard Emira snicker. "Or you could ride with me." He remarked and placed her hands on her hips. I stared for a moment and scratched my pale neck. "Sure, um, I can do that." I mumbled and twitched when Edric grabbed my arm. "He's going to ride with me, don't be a snake." He snapped and pulled me onto Ruru. I nervously fidgeted and hugged him from behind for security. He glared at his sister before setting off behind the low forestry, heading towards the castle. I rubbed his arm and rested my head on his shoulder. He smiled a little and held my hand. "I hope we get to hang out more after this." He said warmly and tensed up when he heard his sister mocking him behind us. At this point I was also annoyed at her antics and snapped my head around towards her.

"Shut up." I snapped coldly and caught her off guard. She crossed her arms and pouted, looking away. Clearly I'm not making a good image for myself in her mind, but I don't care. "Land over there by that overhang." I instructed the fox palisman, slowly gliding over and soaring under the overhang by the base of the castle. I pushed aside some dirt and dust on the wall, revealing a discreet entrance to the lab. I lightly knocked, happy to hear a clicking sound before the door was pulled open. It moved slowly because of how heavy it was, it creaked and groaned for death. "Evening little bro. I saw you coming, but hurry up before we get caught." Daryl said and ushered in all of us. He then closed the door and locked it. "What are you doing Hunter?" He asked and crossed his arms. He was clearly pissed that I had left without telling him and then came back. I innocently smiled and kept my hands behind my back. "Umm, Raine brought me to a safer place so that hopefully the spell for The Day of Unity doesn't happen." I explained and squeaked in surprise when he hugged me tightly. "I was worried about you." He said squeezed me in his arms. I hugged him as well and sighed. I felt bad knowing he had worried about me the whole time.

"I care about you Hunter, I would've protected you too.." He whimpered and refused to let go of me. I rubbed his back and looked up at him. He looked so upset that he might cry, his beautiful blue eyes trembled with worry. "I'm sorry.." i mumbled and wiped away his forming tears. "Can you help protect me now that I'm here?" I asked hopefully, watching as he started to smile sweetly. "Of course." He hummed and kissed my forehead. I hugged him a little longer before letting go, looking over at the twins who seemed concerned about Daryl and his emotional antics. "Well let's go." I said with a new excitement, knowing Daryl was here to help me.