Aveon led Waverly through a funny looking threshold of snow covered leaves that sprouted bright blue flowers as soon they crossed over it.
"What are those?" She asked pointing at the flowers.
"Silent alarms." Aveon replied. "They sprout blue flowers when a stranger crosses the threshold." He watched Waverly's face for a reaction but she gave none.
The sky suddenly became darker as if a huge covering had blocked out all the sky light. Waverly glanced up and saw nothing but a drab, hazy curtain above. She was about to ask what the haze was when Aveon suddenly stopped walking.
"Welcome to the Darkle." He said, folding his arms behind him.
Waverly peered around awaiting to see anything different but everything remained dark and undetectable.
Aveon turned to her. "Apologies. Your eyes will need to take a while to adjust."
"Adjust to what exactly? There is nothing here." Waverly said and took a step forward then bumped nose first into something. It smelled strongly of citrus.
"Watch where you're going." An irritated voice said.
Waverly blinked about a hundred times before she began to discern.
The environment unfolded before her eyes like a parchment that was slowly being rolled open. The first thing she saw were houses. Lanterns hung from wooden signs in front every house and a charcoal stained panel blocked the flames halfway so that the lights were awfully dim and slightly vignette. Elves moved about in twos, threes and sixes; carrying with them short logs for firewood, tables, chairs, bronze boxes, old flags and banners, pieces of armor and several huge parts of what Waverly assumed were the ruins of a ship. Snow covered pine trees littered the place and a good number of leafy thresholds and stonebrash thoroughfares led to different areas. A water fountain laid some feet away and behind it grew a tall shrub with several flowers that shone blue.
No one seemed to have noticed the blaring flower alarm but Waverly doubted it. She looked around, expecting the Elves to spring on her with bows and arrows or swords ready but nobody paid her any attention.
Her eyes took in the surroundings within a second and darted back to what she had bumped into, or who rather. An Elven boy was glaring at her with a half empty glass in his hand, his white robes stained around the chest area by the faint yellow of the cup's contents.
Waverly covered her mouth in realization. "I am so sorry."
"Yeah, right" The boy said, rolling his eyes. He sounded frustrated. "Try to say you're sorry to Elizar when she discovers her orange juice was spilled. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to get any oranges nowadays?"
"I. . . I'm. . . I truly apologize." Waverly stuttered but the boy was far from listening.
"It's been two whole bloody weeks and she won't let me sleep because of her constant craving for oranges. I had to watch the citrus grove six hours everyday under the damn blizzard just to make sure nobody gets to them before i do when they ripen."
"Crest." Aveon called calmly.
"And now Elizar's gonna kill me with those whiny screams. I got only six oranges and could not even fill more than half of the glass." Crest gazed fearfully at the cup as if suddenly realizing that it was indeed near empty and his face contorted into a pained one.
"What in the name of Gayl am i gonna do now?" He complained placing his fist against his face.
"You can start by calming down, Crest." Aveon said.
Crest turned to him. "Oh, i didn't see you there Aveon. Good day."
"Good day, Crest. I am sorry about your spilled drink but our guest had not yet adjusted to the Inks before she bumped into you." He explained.
Crest turned to Waverly and then seemed to recognize her. "You! You're the Human girl everyone won't shut up about."
Waverly felt a stab in her chest at Crest's words but said nothing.
Aveon sighed. "I will go break the bad news to Elizar myself so you can escape your so-called death today. Please bring Waverly to the Centrum for me."
He relieved Crest of his glass and turned to Waverly. "I hope you like it here."
Waverly watched him go, feeling slightly panicked at being left alone with a boy who had not show any friendliness toward her within the last three minutes. His eyes narrowed to slits before he slowly turned.
"Come with me." He said quietly and led the way.
As Waverly followed him, several searching eyes turned to stare at her. In an instant, people began to recognize her - some did so quicker than others even though she had never met any of them before. They called her by different Elvish names - many of which she had no idea was attributed to her. Children ran after her, staring in amazement, talking in loud whispers and eager to catch glimpses of Calaire on her wrist. Crest ignored the building attention and marched on, using his stained robes as a reason to keep his head down.
At last, they came to a secluded path. Waverly easily spotted a tall round structure up ahead. It was very similar to the coliseum but she knew this was the Centrum Aveon spoke of. More shrubberies grew on either sides of the path which apparently was the only one in the Darkle that led to the building.
"So, you are quite famous." Crest began.
Waverly easily detected bitterness in his voice despite the flawless way he tried to hide it. It was an old skill how she was able to tell when people did not like her on their first meeting.
"It seems." She replied. They came out into the open where the Centrum loomed ahead guarded at the entrance by sentries.
"Seems? Do you dislike the attention?" He inquired without looking at her.
Waverly pushed her hair back. "It is not always fun."
Crest said no more and led Waverly into the Centrum building. The sentries were Wood Elves who greeted them warmly and with friendly smiles but it was an easy guess that Waverly was the reason for the latter.
"Through here." Crest said pointing to a steel door upon which the lifelike, horrifying face of the Iz was engraved. "Some of the King's Generals are having a meeting."
"Aveon is not here yet and besides, will i not be interrupting?"
The hall was dimly lit in the same manner as the houses in the Darkle but Waverly saw the glare on Crest's face as clear as day.
"What do you care about interrupting when you're you?" He asked and briskly walked away.
Waverly stood quietly by the door, unable to hear anything or see more than the cold grey walls of the Centrum and the short but wide hallways that led into different rooms on both sides. Soon, the sound of approaching footsteps made her turn. She caught sight of Aveon walking in light steps toward her. He looked surprised to see her standing outside.
"You did not go in already?" He asked.
"No. They do not know of my arrival and you were yet to join me." She replied.
Aveon sighed. "Well, would you like me to announce you first?"
"It would be better than barging in." She replied.
Aveon nodded and pushed the steel doors with both hands. They parted, strangely, into two halves from the middle rather than slide ajar inwardly. Aveon crossed over the lower half before it could sink fully into the floor. Waverly could see into the room. It was smaller than she had expected and was designed to look like a strategy room. A wide rectangular table sat in the middle with numerous chairs around it but only five of those chairs were filled.
It struck Waverly like a blizzard to the face that half the King's Generals were dead when only a few seasons ago there had been a countless number of them.
"I beg your pardon, My Supremes. I have brought a guest." Aveon announced.
The Elves looked up at him as if only just noticing his presence.
"Who is tis guest that ye speaks of, Aveon?" An Elf asked. He looked grumpy and spoke the same way too.
"The Cild Orakkél. It is Waverly." Aveon replied.
Three of the five Elves sat up eagerly.
"Do bring her forth. I wonder why she has come." An Elf said. He had an array of fine dark hair and bright eyes that made Waverly think he was possibly much younger than he looked.
Waverly stepped into the room when Aveon beckoned on her. There were three windows inside and no lanterns allowing for much natural light but also much cold. The atmosphere outside was bland and white.
"Good day, My Lords." Waverly greeted.
"Cild Orakkél, it is a pleasure to see you here." Another Elf began. Waverly vaguely recognized him. She had only seen his face once on the battlefield.
"I am General Odo and here are my kin; Eric, Norwood, Caph and Zain." The Elf gestured to each of his brethren as he introduced them. "I reckon you have seen the Darkle. It is our most trusted fortress in troubled times."
"Come, sit with us and tell us why you have come." General Eric said. He was the Elf with bright eyes.
Waverly walked closer to the chair but did not sit. "There is a Slumber Serpent and it has destroyed The Oasis."
A moment of silence passed through the room as well as uneasy glances and subtle expressions of shock.
"How has such an ancient creature been summoned?" General Zain asked. Being the only Elf in the room dressed in dark robes instead of white, Zain somewhat made it a point to often lean back into his chair so that it looked like he was not there.
"The creature is of both land and sea and the Oasis is easily surrounded and dominated by the ocean so it is not a hard guess." Replied General Eric.
"Is any a thing there possible that we can do about tis?" General Norwood asked.
"Not much, unfortunately. We cannot fight against the Slumber Serpent. You know this and so does everyone, Norwood." Eric replied.
"Did you not attempt to fight it yourself, Cild Orakkél?" Asked Zain.
The Elf sitting at the extreme left of the five grunted. "Do you hear yourself, Zain? You ask a simple youngling such a question which even you cannot possibly provide an answer to."
Zain looked displeased but he wore a friendly smile. "It was a mere question, Caph."
"A stupid question then." Caph said. He turned to look at Waverly with an unreadable expression. "How does my brethren still heed this Human child after those revelations only hours ago?"
"Those revelations are false and it will be childish of you to believe otherwise. She has helped us in many ways all of which you are now well aware of, Caph." Eric defended.
"We all heard when it was revealed that she had previous dealings with the Emperor of Chaos himself together with Bridonis. You are aware of this also, are you not, Eric? Why should we trust her now after such disclosures?"
Eric snarled. "If i didn't know any better, i'd say you were starting to take the word of your enemy over that of your brethren."
"Ye knows not any better then, Eric." Norwood added. "Ye a fool ye are and the likes of ye who cannot see past the deceits of tis child ye so decorates with titles and praises."
"Whatever has come over you all of a sudden, Norwood?" General Odo spoke for the first time since.
"I have nayed to be gulled is what has me overcome. The pitiful lot of ye yet falls folly victims to descried tricks by a Human who has lived no longer than sixteen years of experience on the soils of tis earth. Ye has been drawn in to be slaughtered as mere cattle." Norwood said.
"I beg your pardon, My Lord." Aveon said coming forward. "But if we have been tricked as you say, then why does she not smite us all where we stand?"
Every gaze turned to Waverly who listened, dumbstruck, to the conversation. It did not help that she had one finger entwined in her wristband in an attempt to snap it.
"I care not for why she refrains but i tell ye tis now - give her to the enemy before it be later. She seems to me a spymaster and nothing more. I tell ye, the day comes soon when ye all will see that a sham is what all of tis be, tis pretentious loyalty and humility."
"I am not pretending and i have never, good Sir." Waverly said. "I am not a spy for Oculmus."
"You see how she spits out his name as if she shares a meal with him every eve?" Lord Caph added. His eyes held a glint in them that suggested he was on the lookout for even the slightest incriminating statement that would come out of Waverly's mouth.
"I say his name because it is his. I have faced him before and he nearly killed me but that is not the point." Waverly said. She stepped off the dais she did not realize the table was set on. "I came to warn you all about the Slumber Serpent. I couldn't do anything to save the nixies from it and if Aveon had not come to me when he did, those Carknesses would have killed me in an ambush."
"So, you also can be just as hopeless in such situations as well as the next Elf." Lord Caph stated.
"Yes." Waverly replied.
"Self-aggrandizing still she does." Norwood grunted. "Ye has many ways to make ye form seem saintlike."
"She speaks the whole truth, General Norwood." Aveon defended.
"I believe no word from her lips. She has slowly taken control of our realm without any of us realizing." Lord Caph said then stood up. "I wish the King would banish her before she brings us all even more disaster."
"What disaster can she bring that has not already been brought?" Lord Zain asked. He looked angry. "Warning of this war came to us in a vision long before her arrival and you think chucking her out or over to the enemy will make things better? The lass has done nothing but risk her neck for us and you stand there suggesting stupidity."
Caph threw a dirty look at Zain. "You are the stupid one, you fool."
Zain rose up aggressively such that his chair fell backwards. He crossed over to Caph. "You show me respect, Caph and i will let your nostrils remain unbroken."
"To the edge of Nys with you, Zain." Caph spat.
"That. . . will be enough then, my dear brothers." Someone added. "It be great foolishness to fight amongst ourselves now."
Waverly turned along with everyone else and found Priam in a very bad state; he stood with a slight lean, clutching a hand to his bleeding side. Numerous deep cuts bled across his arms, legs and chest. His lower lip had sustained a cut and his forehead was stained with blood.
"What happened to you, Priam?" Odo asked rushing over to support the General. Eric and Zain did likewise and helped Priam sit.
"It be even worse than we feared." Priam explained. "Our cities are overtaken. Everyone runs for their lives or make try to."
Waverly wanted to go close to him but she found herself rooted to the spot. She wanted to speak but her voice was gone.
"Everything burns. The sea now is against us as well as the sky and earth. . ." Priam breathed in with effort. He looked up and his eyes showed defeat. "We have lost tis time, my brothers."
"Where is Phyllis?" Waverly asked at last. Her mouth tasted like wet charcoal as she spoke.
Priam turned to her. "I have not set eyes on her or any of the lot of ye friends, sadly. With my life i managed to escape a swelling group of Carknesses in the woods. There be thousands of them now and over the mountains they have absolute control. Our Inks magic will hold only for short a time."
Priam grabbed Aveon by the arm and the latter knelt before the General. "I want ye take the younglings and bring them to safety."
"But where is safe?" Aveon asked.
"Find safe any a haven for them. They be our future. They again will build from whatever is left of us. We cannot allow tis race of ours be obliterated."
Aveon looked conflicted as he slowly rose to his feet.
"Cild Orakkél." Priam called. Waverly walked closer to him, each step feeling heavier. "I never lay judgement onto a being by his deeds of the past but i become wary when consequences of those deeds come to the present. Whatever it be that boy was to ye before he was host of the Emperor, it bears meaning no more."
Waverly swallowed nervously. Of course Priam could put two and two together - anyone with a brain and ears would. It was not so hard to guess that Judson had been friends with her especially after the events of the previous night.
"He hosts the Emperor of Chaos now and there be nothing ye or any can do to save him. The best ye can do is protect the ones ye care for from him because he seems not to hesitate in taking these from ye."
Waverly's eye twitched at Priam's words. She stood in silence, encumbered by both the cold and the feeling of helplessness that nestled in her chest.
"Ye must depart at once, Aveon. The younglings have gathered in the main square. Take with ye many men as possible for protection. I fear i have no certainty how much protection they can provide." Priam continued.
Waverly suddenly heard the distant sound of constant explosions and it sent a wild wave of panic through her. Nothing would be spared.
Nothing!
There was nowhere to hide. Nowhere safe.
She suddenly perked up, riled by a thought.
"I know a safe place, Aveon." She said and hurriedly rushed to his side but halted and turned to the Elves. "I might not be all that you think of me but i have been loyal to this realm even more than i have been to mine. I will do my best to help everyone."
She reached out to touch Priam and a plate of moonlight covered him. Waverly did not see the after effects of the plate as Aveon immediately raced outside with her. The feeling left her woozy but she shook it off easily. They ran to the main square where about fifteen children had gathered, watched over by three teenage Elves. The once peaceful Darkle was now thrown into a state of disorder as people ran helterskelter trying to put up their best defenses.
"You have to bring the magic down just long enough for my wolf to find me." Waverly urged Aveon. He looked unsure but an encouraging nod from her and excited comments from the children made him comply.
A burst of golden light appeared on Aveon's face and a portion of the hazy curtain broke apart. The light of day shone into the Darkle, Illuminating everything perfectly but it was shocking to the eyes to witness day after such long hours in the darkness. Waverly whistled twice and waited with bated breath, tapping uneasily against her trousers.
"How long will it take?" Aveon asked uneasily. His vein streaked neck was proof that the magic placed an unnatural strain on him. "Any kind of creature could leap through that opening."
"Any minute now." Waverly muttered, staring up into the clouds.
Soon, Chestnut came swooping in but unfortunately, he was being followed. Waverly watched in horror as fourteen Carknesses leaped in with him. The Elves readied themselves for battle.
"Get the children and yourselves onto his back immediately." Waverly ordered the teenage Elves and threw Calaire which sailed through the air and severed two Carknesses at once.
Aveon kept the curtain open, his face bathing in pure golden light. Waverly stood guard near him, occasionally lassoing or severing a nearby Carkness. The damage was large but the creatures barely took any lives.
"We're ready." An Elfin yelled from atop Chestnut.
"Wait." Aveon strained. "Get. . . Elizar."
"Where?" Waverly asked.
"Holly house. Down that way." He pointed.
Waverly darted in the direction Aveon had pointed to and found the house easily because it was surrounded by flowering holly olives. She rushed in and looked around. The house was scantly but neat and oddly warm. She hurried into the next room and found an Elfin lying inside a crib.
She halted in surprise when she realized the Elfin was no older than a year and was fast asleep. She had initially thought Crest had referred to a grown-up when he spoke of Elizar but had no idea she was an infant.
Waverly gingerly reached down to pick the child up and Elizar's eyes flew open. She had the cutest face that contorted into an upset one when she did not recognize Waverly after a few moments.
"Shh, it's okay." Waverly comforted as Elizar began to cry. She picked her up nonetheless and darted out of the house and toward Chestnut.
"I've got her." Waverly told Aveon.
"Good. I will inform Crest. Now get out of here." He replied.
Waverly gave Elizar to one of the teens and climbed Chestnut who still had enough room on his back for five more people.
"Gently now so no one falls off." She urged him.
Chestnut levitated gently and steadily until he was out of the hazy curtain. As the Inks began to close, Waverly saw a Carkness drive a wooden pole through Aveon's back. She gasped and looked down.
"No!"
The children tried to look down too but she stopped them. "No, no sit back. He will be alright."
Chestnut soared through the clouds, keeping away from all the smoke and flying debris as best he could. Waverly kept her eyes peeled and cut down any flying creature that dared come close. A two headed eagle succeeded in grabbing a child but Waverly quickly beheaded it before it could escape, catching the child with Calaire before he could fall too far.
Soon, the Woodlands came to view and Chestnut flew them to a particular spot Waverly had held onto in her mind since she first thought of it. She drew power from the gems of her bracelets and ordered The Repelling Earth to open.
The thick vines rippled and became transparent but Waverly reasoned she was the only one that could see it.
"What is this place?" A young Elf asked. He helped the younger Elves slide down Chestnut's tail.
"You'll be safe here." Waverly said as she led them to a careful descent into the ground. Miraculously, none of the disaster had yet reached the deeper parts of the Woodlands.
"Whoa. Diamonds." A child gasped.
The children ran about, fascinated by their new environment. Some of them stared at the river in wonder asking to know where it flowed off to, others began to rummage through the Wanderer's old possessions.
"I know what this place is now. Ma has told me many stories about it. She is the Repelling Earth." A child said.
He looked no older than six and had on a very excited expression as he held on to a girl's arm and drew her with him to point at the items on the ground. The Elfin on the other hand was more interested in the diamonds above.
Waverly experienced a sudden flashback to when she was the same age, seeing the very first stone Judson had dug up.
"There is no food here." A teenage Elfin reported.
Waverly turned to her. They were exactly the same height despite Waverly being the obvious elder.
"I will bring you as much food as i can. Watch over the children." She turned to the other two teens. "All of you together. Make no noises and you will be alright."
"But what about the baby?" Another Elfin asked. She was the one holding Elizar who had miraculously gone back to sleep. "I heard she fusses a lot. Literally. I live behind Crest."
"Her brother will be sent here so he can take care of her. I'm sure she will not cry so much with a familiar face around."
Waverly hesitated for a few minutes then walked toward the short flight of earthen steps that led back out of the ground.
"Wait, wait." A child said. Waverly halted and turned to him. He looked nervously at his friends and a few of them poked him to speak up.
"What is it?" She asked calmly.
"Is it true that. . . they won't stop. . . until they kill us all?" He asked.
Waverly felt like she was drowning and took a few breaths before speaking. "Who told you that?"
"We overheard the grownups talking about it." A girl offered.
"Well, it is true. But that doesn't mean we've lost all hope. We will survive."
"Will you survive?" Another girl asked innocently.
Waverly paused, uncertain. "I don't know. But in the time that i am here, i'll make sure others do."
"Weeee love you." A boy mused and a short fit of giggles erupted from around him.
Waverly found herself smiling. "I'm happy to hear that. I will be back very soon, just. . . please don't drink water from the river and err, take care."
She rushed through the underground roof and climbed atop Chestnut and he took to the skies again. They flew to Nael where Waverly hoped she could find supplies for the children but everything was destroyed and charred to an unrecognizable extent. She changed course and headed for the palace which was heavily guarded and still intact save for a few burning holes in the courtyard and the broken fountain. The guards lowered their bows when they recognized her.
"Halt!" One of them yelled as Waverly approached the palace entrance. There were about fifteen Elves and they advanced dangerously with spears pointed but Waverly ignored their weapons.
"Please, i need help. There's a bunch of. . ."
"We have been ordered by His Majesty to rebuke and refuse any requests from you or any of your kind and to seize from rendering any form of help to you." One guard said. His voice was hard as stone but his eyes held a lot of reluctance.
Waverly gaped from one guard to the other in disbelief. "What? I'm not here for myself, i'm here for the children."
"What children?" Another guard asked, narrowing his eyes.
"They left the Darkle about an hour ago and they need food and water."
"Where are they now?" An Elfin asked lowering her spear.
"I brought them to a part of the Woodlands. It's safe there but it won't be if they starve to death." Waverly took a step nearer to the Elfin who was the only one that had shown compassion.
"There is a baby."
The Elfin lowered her spear immediately. She looked at her comrades for a while then sighed. "I can join you to gather a few supplies for. . ."
"Penelope, you do realize you are about to betray your King's direct orders?" An Elf asked. He looked to be the leader of the guards.
"I am. And with good reason or aren't the lives of those children just as important as ours?" Penelope thigged, although her face was hard. The leader went silent for a few moments then gestured for his men to be at ease.
"Go then. For the children." He said.
Penelope turned to follow Waverly.
"Heshna Vasquissen." The leader called. Waverly halted and glanced back. "May the gods of Enton be with you."
Waverly nodded appreciatively and ran off with Penelope trailing close behind. Soon, they crossed into a secluded part of Nael where the dark army had apparently used as a former base. They made it a point to have several territories marked whenever the Elves evacuated. Finding food was easy as they were stored in heaps, although a lot of them had come to rot from spending so much time in the open.
Waverly hurriedly filled ten bags with as much supplies as she could and an extra one with oranges. Penelope also filled ten bags and when the pair was satisfied with their collection, they snuck out of the base to meet Chestnut.
As Waverly sat astride the wolf, a sudden familiar voice spoke up and made her skin crawl. She stilled, feeling fear trace icy lines down her spine.
"Of course, My Emperor." Malverëken said. "How many of them?"
A ruined tower bordered Chestnut from the new intruders but Waverly felt she was standing right next to them. She heard the slow pitter patter of numerous feet and then they halted all at once.
"Release them all." Oculmus replied in a sinister tone.
Waverly turned to glance at Penelope whose face reflected the same shock and cluelessness as her. She tapped Chestnut, urging him to retreat slowly and with caution. The top of his head unexpectedly bumped against a loose block dangling from a metal rod which was the only thing tethering it to the ruins of the tower. The block fell with a loud crash and Waverly felt her blood run cold.
Without thinking, she slid down the wolf and ordered him to leave. The stunned look on Penelope's face remained as Chestnut disappeared into the clouds.
"How convenient." Judson said from behind. Waverly turned sharply and found him staring at her in surprise. He was flanked by Malverëken, a group of Outcasts and a pack of Werewolves. Waverly released Calaire and the men behind Judson did likewise.
"Now, now!" He cooed, lifting a finger. The men immediately lowered their weapons but Waverly did not. Judson broke into a friendly smile.
"Hello, best friend."
Waverly's face contorted into a sad but angry one. "You are no friend of mine, Oculmus."
Judson faked a sad pout. "How hurtful a thing to say. I did not plan on meeting you here today. You look great."
Waverly shifted her weight, vaguely aware that she had not washed for many hours. Her clothes were itchy around the sleeves, her trousers which belonged to Phyllis were two sizes too big and she wore vine sandals instead of boots. Judson could have easily trapped her in her own shoes. She prayed he would not think that far.
"What?" He queried innocently. "You cannot take a compliment from an old pal? Tell me, did you come to watch the world end?"
"I came to grab a few things but now that you are all here, maybe i will take a few more." She replied through gritted teeth, anger rising in her chest.
"Always a challenge, this one." Judson said to Malverëken who snarled in reply. He looked at Waverly again then his eyes clocked to either sides of her and back to her face. "You cannot protect all of them from me forever."
Waverly mentally counted the werewolves. They were eight in total, baring pure white fangs at her. Each one was only the size of normal wolves but she had since learned to never judge a creature's strength by its size.
"I'll try my best." Waverly replied.
"How can you when you are not there to try?" Judson asked.
Waverly was taken aback. "What?"
The wolves all charged at the same time and the first one violently knocked her down. Waverly fell with a loud thud and the back of her head connected with a piece of rock. The impact made her light-headed so that she could barely make out her surroundings. The werewolves attacked again; aggressively jumping over her, hitting her in the process and biting off bits of her clothes but Waverly was too caught in a daze and could not do more than swipe her hands and kick.
Just then, she heard the faint sound of arrows whooshing and werewolves whimpering. She turned over and found herself being dragged up by the collar, her feet dangling a few ways off the ground. When she glanced up, she found Brijjet doing battle.
He glowed brightly as he fought, occasionally opening his mouth wide to blow out what Waverly's stunned brain translated as blue smoke but another part of her brain knew what he was truly doing.
He was soul-trapping. And he did so without touching his opponents which was the reason why the werewolves had scattered at the sight of him but none could escape because in a few moments, the entire flank lay dead at his feet. The Outcasts had luckily bolted.
He drew his bow, aimed at Judson. Waverly felt constant waves of stinking hot breath travel down her neck and into her clothes. She instantly knew she was dangling from Malverëken's powerful jaw and the realization was not pleasant. She could feel the lioness's cold teeth scrape her skin. They felt like blades and Waverly did not dare to move.
"Put her down gently or you will get a third eye or lose the ones you have now." Brijjet growled. He was still surrounded by a flaming aura of blue and it grew stronger with every passing second. The energy rippled outwards and it made Waverly's senses grow even duller.
"Bridonis." Judson chuckled. He stood a long distance away from Brijjet but Waverly knew the latter would not miss were he to take a shot. In spite of herself, she silently prayed he would not.
"I see you now take after your mother."
"I said, Put. Her. Down!" Brijjet ordered a second time. His arrows multiplied and he inverted his bow so that he had aim for two targets at once.
"If i remember correctly, you once told me that i could not tell you what to do." Judson briefly opened his hands for emphasis. "How the tables have turned because now it is you who cannot tell me what to do."
Brijjet growled and let his arrows fly but Judson flicked them away before any could come close. Brijjet loaded another round and Judson grunted.
Waverly blinked. Her vision was still terribly blurred but she could make out a looming shadow behind Brijjet. She tried to speak out but was too weak to.
"If you fire those next arrows, i will make sure they hit her right in the chest."
Brijjet hesitated but still raised his bow. "You think because you have Judson you can manipulate her as you like?"
"Even if i did not, i can still manipulate her. I once had Selene in my grasp." Judson smiled but it did not reach his eyes. "In case you failed to notice Bridonis, naiveness runs in the family."
Just then, Waverly heard Brijjet give a pained grunt. She watched as his hazy figure staggered and drew out a dagger then began to fight his new opponent. The scuffle went on for quite a while. Brijjet took furious swipes at the creature and judging by its harsh screams, Waverly guessed it was severely injured. The scene blurred out even more as seconds passed.
"Let her down, Malverëken. She will need to witness this." Judson said casually.
Waverly felt her body briefly sail through the air and collide with the stone ground. Sounds began to fade out until she could not hear anything and then everything went still and dark.