The End of Eternity

Blood

            After only a few minutes, it felt like an invisible barrier had been formed between Mei and the others. They fell behind a bit, whispering occasionaly to each other. Mei pretended, she did not hear them, in order to keep her advantage.

"What is she?" Gaviw asked, but no one answered.

"Tivan?"

Tivan carried Triss, who lay over his shoulder and felt numb. He was the one, who had brought the two to their school. Without him, they would not have got into the school and they would not have been marching through this stinky forest like cattle. How stupid he was!.

He felt twice as guilty, because it was clear to him now, what had been the incident, becuase of which they were here, about. Now, it was clear Laela was no friend of Davena and Mei, as they had thought. It must have been though for her.

"Tivan?" Gaviw kept pestering him.

"What?" Tivan barked.

"We need a plan to get out of here, you have seen, what she is capable of."

"You can make a plan, If you want." Tivan ended the conversation.

"Wha . .?" Gaviw stared at him, the only one willing to discuss his plan was Alron.

Gaviw and Alron spent their time brooding over a way to escape from Mei, but whenever they were about to attempt their escape, she ordered them closer to her.

"Do not tell me, she knows. How is that possible?" Gavie wondered.

"It is wiser to follow her anyway. At least for now, we would not be able to survive for long in the Cursed Forest." Alron abandoned their plan to escape.

It took them hours to reach the border of the Cursed Forest. By the time they did, they were completely exhausted. Claw and Davena had been already waiting for them, sitting on the ground, boiling some sort of meat in a crude pot. Claw wore a long coat in order to hide some parts of his body and to look more like a lizarman.

"Hoy, dinner wil be served in five minutes." Claw smiled. Most of them had no energy left to even respond, they just sat down around the fire and waited.

"I hope, you had a safe trip." Claw's beaming smile started to look suspicious.

"What is it Claw, what have you messed up?" Mei noticed Davena was deliberately looking away, as if she wanted to say, that it had nothing to do with her.

"Do you remember the abandoned castle I have spoken about?"

"Yes."

"It is quite far away and it appears I do not remember its precise location."

"You mean, you do not know where it is?" His awkward silence probably meant, she was right.

"Fine, that idea of your was a drag anyway." Mei laid down on the ground, apparently relieved, she would not have to babysit a bunch of elves anymore. "We can let them go tomorrow right?"

"Yeah, why not. We can move somewhere else, it is not a problem." Claw said.

"I want to keep the red girl for blood. She has a peculiar flavor." Mei whispered, to prevent elves from overhearing them, her eyes sparkling.

"She is going to make trouble for us." Davena snorted.

"I can sort out any trouble which may arise." Mei argued.

"If you say so."

* * * *

Laela ate the thick soup and immediately fell asleep. Normally, she would not have slept, but her exhaustion had done its work and she was sleeping soundly in no time. The next day, the hated blood sucking monster woke them up and assembled them to give some sort of speech.