The Kingdom Walls

CHAPTER FIVE

What happened here? Ares' searching gaze traveled the expanse of the tranquil clearing critically. Ignoring the bite of the cold wind, he knelt on the ground and surveyed the surroundings for what probably was the hundredth time in the half hour that he's been there. The field wasn't big, just a tiny plot that interrupts the thick expanse of forest that thickly blankets the valley nestled against the imposing cluster of hills and mountains around it. Like a bald spot on a head full of hair. Tall grass swayed contentedly in a lazy dance with the cold but gentle breeze that was frolicking through the clearing. Their rustles, sighs and whistles created the symphony of their ballet. The stately trees of the surrounding forest, stood like sentinels around the perimeter like aristocratic gentlemen around a dance floor, waiting for their turn to dance. It was peaceful and quiet and almost enchanting. It was only marred by the stark ugliness of the burnt patch of ground he was standing on, disturbing the beauty of the glen. A bald spot within a bald spot. He peered closely at the ground again, where the bodies were found, resting his forearm on his bent knee. The recent torching done by a couple of their Sweepers that Alaric had brought with him, have washed away all traces of the blood and gore—except for a few dark stains on some rocks that might take longer to clean out. But not even that could hide the evidence of the recent horror that took place there from him.

He closed his eyes, breathed deeply. There.

Buried beneath the scent of smoke, he scented them. He took another whiff. The icy air of the approaching night was freezing enough that it should have numbed his sinuses, but it had no effect on him. He cocked his head as his senses picked up something else.

What IS that?

He opened his eyes, and he could almost feel them change to a brighter shade, almost like a low glow, as he tapped deeper into his Kinaesthesia. He was picking up another scent, but it was so faint that it could have just been a trick in his over-exerted senses. Probably something carried by the wind from miles away—too far to identify properly. He sighed. His senses have been short-circuiting ever since he woke up in the woods, and his gut tells him it all had something to do with what happened here. He just needed to figure out the connection.

I need to snap out of this funk, he thought. The faint scent smelled good though, a relief from the stink of Aberration and death.

"Find anything new?" Alaric Kincaid strolled out into the clearing. His pace was deliberate but relaxed, as if he's just out on a leisurely walk. Stopping a few feet away from him, he shoved his hands into his pants pocket and looked around in quiet alertness.

The entire time that Ares has known—and looked up to—the man, his demeanor has always been that—quiet and deliberate, maybe with small siding of gruffness. He had the bearing of a self-assured man who seemed to know all the knowledge in the world, yet still views it with alert curiosity, never missing anything.

"Your senses are still on malfunction, I take it?" He asked.

As established, the man doesn't miss anything.

Ares lets out another breath. Choosing to skip over the older man's latter question, he answered the former. "I'm starting to believe the girl that there was another person here. I seem to be sensing three humans—not two—aside from the Aberration—a Vragul, most probably a pup, considering the sloppiness of the kill. It was barely recognizable when I found it and I didn't have enough time to inspect it after... well, you know what happened." He took another breath, as another thought of the girl lanced through his mind again. "Looked like a standard predator-hunting-prey operation. The body of the Aberration collected on site was already too damaged to determine its maturity and kind at first glance, but I am certain that it was a Vrag pup without having to test what's left of it for DNA ID."