Golden Dawn

|Chapter 26 ~ Unexpected Party Member|

I didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, Angelus was aware of my plan regarding Christa and the others, but on the other - also allowed it. His tact bothered me but before I was able to open my mouth again, a deep growl shook the ground around us and made the hair on the back of my neck stand on edge.

Ferîan and Angelus immediately scanned the surrounding remains of scorched forest. Through the thick smoke - I too - began to see what the real source of the horrifying sound was. My knees buckled at the faint outlines of large beast-like creatures that prowled towards us through the smoke. Flaming yellow eyes filled with such fury and hate - they made my body turn to ice, burned through the darkness from every direction possible.

"Looks like the rest of the pack has finally caught our scent." Angelus noticed and released the dead monster, the hound collapsing to the ground with a loud thump. Various howls and roars filled the smokey air at the sight of the creatures' dead brethren.

Ferîan placed a hand on his sheathed blade. "I will quickly take care of them Angelus, there seem to be only five."

I gaped at Ferîan. "N-No wait! That's too much for only one person to handle, even if you are a Lesphares!" I yelled, my voice wavering so much I was surprised they were able to make out what I said. Christa and Lex also stumbled forward, trying to stand up from the ground. Jacob - who was previously frozen in silent terror - managed to push the weak girls behind him and started to scan the fog - searching desperately.

Hoping for a means of escape, I thought dreadfully. We were trapped in the centre of a pack terrifying monsters with absolutely nowhere to go.

"How naïve you can be Artemisia." Angelus suddenly mused, his voice so calm I turned towards him in surprise. There was dark humour in his crimson eyes as he spoke.

"Ferîan is my closest comrade and one of the strongest warriors in my guard. You have far too little faith in his ability to kill."

I stared at the Lesphares. Angelus sounded truly arrogant, so much so in fact it infuriated me. The slight feral gleam in Ferîan's eyes, made me however doubt his vanity was wrongly placed.

"May I begin?" The latter then asked promptly. Angelus nodded and I only managed to gape at the two. There was a smug look in Ferîan's blue eyes as he unsheathed his sword, the blade almost seeming to glow in the smokey dimness. It was strikingly beautiful, an ice blue handle forged in the shape of a Northern star and the metal, so white I thought it could just as well resemble pure snow.

Before I could blink, Ferîan disappeared into the fog and I could only make out the faint outlines of his luminous frost sword. It slashed through the air in a series of such fast blows and parries, they all seemed to blur together. Agonized growls of pain tore through the air, followed by shrill yapping and howling. The warm, dry air seemed to drop two degrees in a matter of seconds, involuntary shivers racing down my naked arms. The others behind me were silent, eyes cautiously trained on where Ferîan last disappeared.

For a while, we said nothing as the ghastly howls continued to tore through the fog and open wasteland. No one was able to speak, my heart hammering so fast against my ribcage, I thought it would certainly shatter. The sapphire pendant Gandila gave me, felt heavy around my neck. So heavy that I instinctively reached towards it, checking if it was still just normal stone and not steel.

Suddenly Ferîan exited the smoke and I gasped in horror at the state he was in. Ferîan himself seemed unhurt, but his clothes were another matter. The same yellowish liquid I noticed before, was splattered all over his beautiful blue attire as well as his white hair. The clothing was shredded and torn, in some places even scorched. Ferîan's blue eyes however, gleamed with such ferocity, he looked like an entirely different person. He garbed his frost blade as if it was never drawn in the first place.