Nemesis was alerting Dax while I stood in a defensive stand looking through the trees if I could see the big horse-like creature.
''Where is it?'' I whispered to Nemesis who was looking in another direction. Dax who was sitting on his knees was ready to fight even tho he had just woken up.
''You mean he? knight.'' A low voice spoke.
It came from my right and when I turned around a giant centaur stepped out of the shadow. Dark green eyes shined viciously. Glistering in the moonlight that came through the leaves. He had a dark brown coat with white stripes. Rings around his legs made jingling sounds when he moved forward. Towering far above made me feel small and vulnerable.
''Holy.'' Whispered Dax.
''Aren't you far from home?'' He spoke. I wanted to answer but Nemesis spoke first.
''We are on no man's land, we are not a treat. You can go on your way. We have no business with you.'' Nemesis, the diplomatic that he is, spoke with thoughtful words.
''Correct, knight, but that does not mean you are welcome here. So I suggest that you leave.'' The centaur nickered and made a horse-like sound. ''We are allowed to be here centaur. You have nothing to fear. We will leave first thing in the morning.''
''Fear? You must be stupid. You would fear us if you know how welcome you are here.'' He laughed nastily and took a step forward.
''Okay, that's enough. Zoaan, back down will you.'' Out of the shadows of the trees stepped another creature. Walking on two legs with white hair and beautiful grey horns. His hair was braided around his horns and he was average in height. Probably the same height as Nemesis. Instead of the perhaps three-meter-tall centaur.
''My apologies, Zoaan can be very defensive. We are traveling just like you and we were not sure if you guys were, how do I say this? Easygoing knights.'' I looked at Dax, he heard it too. Easygoing? Nemesis did not respond to it but it made me wonder what he meant.
''No worries, I can understand that. We are resting and we will be on our way soon.'' The man with the horns bowed his head a little.
''My name is Silas. Can we offer you anything?'' Nemesis returned the bow.
''No, thank you. My team and I will take our leave. It was nice to meet you. Stay safe.'' Dax rose from his position.
Nemesis made himself ready as Silas turned around and disappeared into the forest. Zoaan looked me in the eye. Daring me to do something. I did not like him at all whereas I held my ground. He could not get a reaction from me.
When Silas and Zoaan were out of sight I turned to Nemesis.
''Well, that was weird?'' I said.
''Yes indeed. I never had suge an encounter before.'' Nemesis responded.
''Good thing they were somewhat nice,'' Dax said. I nodded.
''Dangerous things can happen, but I am still curious, How did Zoaan get so close without us hearing or seeing him?'' I asked Nemesis.
''Silas is a witch. I could smell the dark magic.'' Nemesis said when he turned around. Both Dax and I had a worried expression.
''So, it is a good thing that everything went without a fight. Because he could have made it a very difficult fight.'' Nemesis said.
''But, we have nothing to worry about. We have a paper to deliver! So let's get moving. I don't want wolves to catch our scent." Nemesis spread his wings and flew away as Dax and I followed his lead.
We flew the entire day and Nemesis didn't want to stop at all.
''We stop when we reach the border of Nakoa.'' He said. It took longer than expected and we flew for almost two days.
''Nemesis, I think we need to rest. I'm tired and Dax is getting slower every hour.'' I flew beside Nemesis after trying to catch up for the fifth time. ''I know but we have to pass Jade of Hallow today.''
Jade of Hallow, another big city in Nakoa, but even more dangerous than Menos. A lot of gang members and rebels have their homes there. It used to be an oasis but the more it grew the more dangerous it became. The knights settled at the border between Nakoa and Nivras because settling in Jade of Hallow was too risky. It made me wonder why Nemesis wanted to pass Jade of Hallow that much.
''Nemesis, why do you want to pass the jade city that much?'' I used the nickname for Jade of Hallow, Jade City. Both were the same but the Jade City was something that the rebels used in the spoken language.
''Because I'm carrying the Orb of Semita with me and I do not want anyone to know. We are not going to the Jade basis because our mission is a secret to anyone outside of the council and the tower.'' Nemesis hissed back. I looked at him shocked.
''You are carrying a relic? Are you insane? Do you think it was not important to tell us?'' I screamed at Nemesis. Now I knew why he was so stressed. Ever since we left the mountains where we met Silas and Zoaan. It was a miracle that he kept calm. Silas must have known. He could feel the magic. Then it hit me. That is why we had the interaction in the first place. Silas was after the relic?!
''So that is why Silas and Zoaan were so close,'' Dax spoke out loud finally catching up to us. Nemesis nodded.
''I know I should have told you more, but the more you know, the more you be a target.'' Nemesis was thinking like a commander, every possible outcome. He had his war mode on that was clear.
We passed Jade of Hallow an hour after our conversation. It reeked of death and drugs. Not the most pleasant smell. After we passed the Jade basis at a safe distance we settled down close to a river. We were surrounded by big trees that had a kind of hanging leaves. As if the trees were a cover. We set up our camp under a smaller one which was covered with the climb-up leaves too. It looks great like a hiding spot. We were not far from the border of Nivras. All types of smells, mostly wolves, were drifting around our camp.
"I am going to find some wood for the campfire!" Dax yelled from outside of the tree.
"Dax, God, be quiet. You could wake up the entire forest to let them know we are here!" growled Nemesis. I rolled my eyes at Dax's carelessness. He was more than happy that we finally had time to rest. I heard Nemesis's sign. He made a spot for the campfire that was surrounded by rocks.
''Ignis'' Whispered Nemesis. The tattoos of Nemesis were lighting up because he was using his magic. He had dark blue and greenish tattoos that covered both his shoulders, neck, and a small part of his chin. His wings were the same color, folded against his spine.
My stomach began to growl which was a sign that I needed to find some food. I stepped out of our little hiding spot and made my way deeper into the forest. It was a cloudy day but still warm. I smelled the air catching a fishy sent close to the river. When I arrived at the river I already saw a lot of fish. Big and small. All sorts of colors. I looked around. How was I going to catch the fish in the first place? I was not fast enough to grab them with my hand.
I looked around. Maybe I can find a stick or something? Or I could make one myself I thought. ''arbor crescere me'' Out of my hand grew a large stick with a pointy end. This should do it. I could throw it like a spear and hopefully catch some fish. It took me a while but when I came back I had at least 6 fish hanging on a woven strand I made from branches.
''You have been busy,'' Dax replied when I entered the hiding spot.
''I was hungry,'' I said. Dax grinned and made a place so that we could roast the fish above the fire. Nemesis looked content with the fish but he kept quiet. It was the best meal I had had in days and I was sitting with a satisfied look on the ground. Wings folded around me. Night fell soon after and Dax had the first watch but I could not get any sleep.
"Shall I get the next watch?" I suggested. Nemesis shook his head.
"No, you haven't slept in three days. Now it is your turn to sleep." I scoffed.
"I feel fine. Take care of yourself."
"Nova, This is not up for discussion. You need all your strength if we need to fight tomorrow!" I shrugged my shoulders.
"Fine, whatever." Dax looked at me uneasily. My tone made clear that Nemesis playing a father-like figure did not go that well. I couldn't blame him. I gave Dax an apologetic look and turned around to lie down. I covered myself with my wings to make myself a little bit more comfortable if that was possible with a stone underground to lie on. But at least I get to sleep I thought to myself.
I drifted to sleep faster than I could imagine. I knew the reason that I did not want to go to sleep and that was escaping my nightmare. Nemesis didn't understand that. That is why we had that discussion, well for how long it lasted because I was tired as hell. I rolled around in my sleep. My mind is on the brink of falling into a deep sleep.
I felt my mind sink into darkness. I was in a dark place surrounded by memories. They slid down the glass like drops of water. Each drop filled with a memory, but the more I saw the more I realized these weren't my memories. I felt drawn to certain memories. I reached out to them but when I touched them they dissolved like fog.
I saw people but I could not really recognize anyone. They felt familiar but their faces were blurry. I turned around hearing distant sounds. People were talking. They looked at me, but it felt like I was looking through someone else's eyes. They were in a library. I recognized several parts of the library I remembered from the book of the werewolves. Legends say the Alpha King has a library under the pack's castle. This library is the only one that has clues to the secrets of the labyrinth's library. The Library of the Labyrinth holds the original history written by the first knights. The first knight ever created was named Icarus. Thousands of years ago. He, just like Liontara, was a chosen one. To behold the power of the gods and destroy the darkness that has risen far too many times. Icarus created the library for the pure ones. People that have pure intention and can achieve great knowledge. Some say that Liontara, the lion with blue markings, has been to the library to change history. Many say it is impossible and that he never reached the library in the first place. Others say that the library is the only reason he disappeared after he defeated the Dark Knight. No one knows what changed but there are many secrets from Liontara's past that are still unknown.
I felt waves of pain and sorrow. I saw a man, this time screaming in grief next to a woman. I had never felt this feeling before. I felt like someone was dying again and again. I gasped for air when I realized someone was staring at me. I looked up trying to focus and the room that we were in. I saw symbols on the walls. It was only then that I recognized the South Whisker markings. We were in the Whisker Castle. Next to the man sat a little boy who looked straight at me with burning eyes. Eyes that burned with desire. Before I could see what kind of desire I tumbled down into nothingness.
I screamed and woke up. Breathing heavily I looked into the eyes of Nemesis. Sweat dripped from my forehead.
"Are you okay?" Nemesis asked sitting next to me. "How does it look like?" I asked sarcastically.
All my senses were on sharp. It happened most of the time when I had a nightmare but Nemesis has never been there, until now. He looked worried, and at the same time bored with my reaction. I had said it before. Sensitive topic. ''I know you don't want to talk about it, but you can maybe listen to what I have to say.'' Nemesis sat down in front of the fire. It was a miracle that Dax was still asleep.
''You know that I never talk about the war. And that is for a good reason. Many of my friends died and I saw terrible things, only because an Alpha could not get to his soulmate.'' I looked at Nemesis. Was that what the war was really about?
''After the war, everyone was happy that there was an understanding between the two Alphas. Despite the many loved ones that had died. Everyone went and moved on. Expect the people that had fought in the war. I became mentally unstable and Mia had talked to the high knights about putting me off duty. But the thing was, duty was the only thing that kept me alive.''
Nemesis signed as he put his hands over his face.
''What I am trying to say is, that keeping quiet is not always the best solution. Sure it is our problem and we like to fix things on our own, or not at all but sometimes we only need a hand in the right direction.'' I kept quiet as Nemesis went silent.
''It helps when we accept the things that happened to us and it sure isn't easy but at least we can try and understand. The pain will not go away but you will learn to live with it. Just like we learn to live with the loss of Jayden.'' The mention of our dead friend felt like a chunk in the throat
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