The Promise Path

~ Chapter Two ~

Authors' Note: We hope you like our story! Feel free to voice your opinion, ask any questions and point out any mistakes we make.

Avery dares a glance at Lucy, immediately put on edge by the people in the room. What is going on? What is this favour? And of all people, why the fuck is Cassius there? Lucy raises her eyebrows and sighs, she knows what is going through Avery's head, it is going through hers too. Both of them don't trust Cassius at all, and therefore don't trust this little meeting. However, Avery chokes on her words and nothing but occasional mumble escapes past her lips. She hopes no one notices, but obviously (since she is the actual human embodiment of bad luck) Cassius just happens to notice. Lovely.

"What's wrong coal-face? You scared? Wow, I knew you were weak but damn." Cassius makes her blood boil. He could suck dicks for all she cared, he is the one who started the bullying, the rumours. Him. Yep. That guy that everyone finds attractive, haha... yeah, if you haven't already gathered, he's an asshole.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity of bitter silence and conjuring up escape routes (none of which seem to be viable options), Axel interrupts Avery's thoughts with an abrupt look at his son. His dark blue eyes pierce through Cassius, forcing him to look away in what looks like shame. He then continues to say,

"Today you four have been brought here on very specific terms, we have discovered a very important artefact and it might be the very ingredient we needed to win this war -"

"Oh, and what's that, eternal life?" Cassius snickers. His father's glare returns, but this time, twice as strong. His eyes narrow and wrinkles deepen.

"As I was saying, before my son rudely interrupted, we have discovered the ingredient to win this war against us Witches and Warlocks and the werewolves. A necklace." Lucy questions his theory,

"I'm sorry for sounding rude but, how on earth can a necklace stop thousands of Witches and Warlocks alike, dying in the war?" Axel only smirks at her and says,

"Patience my dear, I'm about to get to that part. This necklace contains more power than anyone could ever imagine. A necklace like that could only get its power from a previous owner, and a true Elemental Witch seems to be the only living being with that amount of power. These Witches are rare, since they control all of the elements, but not impossible. The only issue is that, since we can't find the true Elemental, the closest thing we have is the necklace. Which, may I add, could cause just as much damage."

"I'll go Father!" Cassius proudly states as he arrogantly puffs out his chest, "What about you Daniel?"

"Okay... sure whatever, I'll go." Uncertain, Daniel shrugs. "Are you two coming?" Avery and Lucy look at each other, speaking with their eyes. Lucy answers for both of them,

"It depends. Where exactly are we going?"Axel hesitates with his answer before coming out with,

"Ah, yes that's the only issue. A few of my representatives have tried, and failed, to claim the necklace. You see, the necklace is very difficult to find and retrieve. We only know its rough location. All we know is that it is located in the Andes near the volcano Ojos Del Salado. But, we have heard from our fellow Witches and Warlocks that you four are our best alternatives." Avery stares at the concrete floor, lost in curiosity but up to her knees in dread. She would love to go, have a purpose, go on an adventure with her best friend.

But, with Daniel and Cassius, ugh. The fun trip would quickly turn to the trip from hell with those two around, especially since Cassius would be going with them. Lucy seems to have a similar idea cause she says,

"If you don't mind, can we have a minute?" She sweetly smiles, grabbing Avery's arm in her tight grip and forcefully yanking her out of the room and down the hall, out of earshot of the office and the people inside. Avery looks at Lucy, staring into her friend's eyes as she asks in a defeated tone,

"What are we going to do?" Avery knows there might be dire consequences if they refuse, but she really doesn't want to go anywhere with Cassius, even if it will help them win the war. She's confident in the power of the other Witches and Warlocks, she's sure they can win without the necklace. She can't help but think that it wouldn't be such a big deal if they don't go, surely Cassius and Daniel could find the necklace just fine without her slowing them down. Lucy brings Avery out of her thoughts with a defeated sigh as she answers,

"I don't know."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Daniel, would you go find the girls for me? They're taking quite a long time to return." Axel politely asks, his annoyance and anger simmering underneath his calm façade. Daniel immediately agrees, wanting to get out of the intimidating presence of the Leader of the Witches and Warlocks, Axel.

"Of course, I'll be back soon." Daniel rushes out of the room, traveling slowly down the hall and peering into rooms to look for Lucy and Avery. He hopes Avery will agree to go on the trip, he's always admired Avery from afar. But, he is always scared to talk to her, fearful that he will become even more of an outcast than he is right now. As a shy Air Warlock who blatantly ignores Avery and Lucy instead of taunting them, he's not exactly popular.

"Avery? Lucy?" He calls out, hoping the girls, or at least Avery, will respond. When he doesn't see them or hear them, he turns back around and heads to the office. In his head, Daniel is hoping Axel won't be too mad at his failed attempt to find the girls and he is about to open the door when he hears Axel shout,

"Don't deviate from our plan, Cassius!"

"I won't Father, I promise! I'll find the Goddess, I swear!" Cassius promises with a shaking voice. Daniel holds back his gasp, wanting to contain his surprise. He doesn't want them to be alerted to his presence. After a few moments where their speaking is too quiet for Daniel to hear, he knocks on the door twice and swings it open, stepping cautiously inside.

"Well? Where are Avery and Lucy, Daniel?" Axel asks, his anger barely hidden from his voice. Daniel gulps, only just able to stop his voice from shaking as he states,

"I couldn't find them. I think they went to class, but I don't know what lessons they have now or where they are." Axel takes a deep breath before replying to Daniel in a fake, calm voice,

"Alright Daniel, thank you for the assistance. Go to class, we will discuss this more later." Daniel nods and exits the room. However, against his better judgement, he decides to listen in at the door and see if they say anything more about this Goddess Cassius apparently had to find. Is it a Goddess statue that he's looking for?

"What will we do Father, should I find replacement Witches or Warlocks for Avery and Lucy?" Cassius asks.

"Of course not!" Axel exclaims, "You just need to convince them to go on this trip, using whatever means necessary. Do you understand?" After a lengthy pause, Cassius responds in an emotionless voice,

"Yes Father." Scared by Cassius' tone, Daniel speed walks off to his next lesson, wondering fearfully where Avery is. Who knows what Cassius will do to 'convince' them to tag along. Truth be told, Daniel doesn't want to find out, and he sure as hell doesn't want Avery to have to experience it either.

He has to find Avery.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Author's Note:
Hey guys! Nia here, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! It's making me get so excited for the rest of the book and the drama waiting to happen. If you've read my other books, you know how much I love creating drama and making the characters go through crappy stuff. But don't worry about it, it all eventually ends up okay in the end. It might just take awhile. Oh well!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading and are looking forward to the next chapter, I'll start writing it ASAP!

Hellooo, Sophia here! So this was my chapter, well half my chapter since Nia is apparently great at coming up with ideas in the shower (casual). So excited for the next chapter! At least it's not all on me this time *phew* but I hope you enjoy our future chapters, thanks for reading 😜

~ Nia and Sophia