Nemesis had me worrying about a goddamn demon wolf. First the orb, then that stupid witch and now he is talking about the only demon wolf that we know of. And he is a beta, of the strongest and biggest pack. Not to mention the beta of the Alpha King. Ruler of the wolves. God this looked like a piece of cake in the beginning but I was not liking the tiny bit of information every time we got closer.
We left right after our little talk about the lynx and the beta. Nemesis was back to his grumpy old self where he acted like a cold commander. It was hilarious to see. We were flying above a forest that spread wide underneath us for more kilometers than I could count. I signed tired to look at a green blanket.
''How are you tired when all we did was travel and sleep?'' Dax pulled me out of my thoughts.
''You did get sleep, me, on the other hand not so much.''
''That is on you,'' Dax said pulling his hands up in defense. I chuckled. ''Very funny. Next time tell that to my head okay? Maybe then I actually get some sleep.''
''Will do.'' Dax gave me a smirk and flew a little bit ahead.
''We're going to land here. We need to find the stone on the ground because it is hidden with magic.'' I look at Nemesis who flew at the front of our triangle.
''How do you know that we already arrived?'' Nemesis slowed down and flew between me and Dax. I looked at him curiously.
''If you focused on the forest underneath us you can feel magic. This is magic from witches. The South Whisker pack uses magic to hide. Anyone who enters the forest will be lost forever. That is why almost no one knows what King Axel looks like.''
I tried to do as Nemesis said. Feeling the large waves of magic. It was a mix of dark magic and new energy. As if someone was trying to hide the dark memories that were held in the ground. The forest holds a lot of secrets that is for sure and it felt like someone was hiding them.
Nemesis took the lead and flew down making a nosedive into the forest. ''Time to go!'' screamed Dax at me who followed Nemesis in between the trees. I followed Nemesis and Dax who flew in front of me in between the trees. Dodging every tree and plant in our way Nemesis came to a sudden halt en let himself drop to the ground. His big wings caught him before he hit it. I let myself drop out of the sky too, landing on two feet next to the men. New waves of magic were coming right at us.
''Don't be disturbed by the magic. It will try to trick you. Trust your instincts and be alert to the sounds around you.''
I nodded looking around me. ''So how do we find this stone? Do we just see it somewhere?'' I said while scanning around.
"There's nothing here at all. Everything is overgrown.'' Dax answered and also started to look around.
''We will find the stone with this.'' Nemesis pulled out a metal ball from his bag that hang on the belt. The ball was marked with the characters of knights. The orb! I thought. ''The Orb of Semita, better known as...''
''The secret of paths.'' I interrupted Nemesis. ''Semita, translates to path in the oldest language ever known. Mostly only spoken by the high knights. The Orb was made by Maeve, the daughter of Icarus. As a gift to those who do not possess magic so that they could still compete with those who have.'' I held my head up high. Annoying Nemesis with my lecture and interrupting him.
Nemesis signed irritated. ''Thank you for the lecture. Now, can I do the rest in silence by any change?'' I nodded giving him an innocent smile.
"Ostend viam tuam ut ostendis mihi viam" Murmerd Nemesis. Dax looked at me with a questionable look. I knew Dax was never good with languages. Only the high knights spoke in the old language, we only learned what was necessary to cast spells.
I repeated the words in my head again, searching for the correct translation. Show the way as you show me the way.
There were still so many things knights could do. In the years that followed, I would discover 80% of my powers. In Pavrax I only learned the basics of combat and survival. Nemesis was a grown knight and knew a lot of spells. I learned from Mia that there were a lot of objects that possessed certain powers. Powers that could be stored there for centuries. Most of these relics are owned by the council and can only be used by the council to make sure no one would misuse them.
''This way.'' Nemesis pointed somewhere between the trees. We followed Nemesis until we came into an open space. The terrain looked good and clear, but at the same time risky.
''If you don't pay attention you could be prey in a few seconds standing here in the open,'' I said.
Dax agreed with me. ''Yeah, your right. Maybe the wolves will trap us here.''
I snickered. ''Yeah, but they probably only catch you.'' Dax let out a tedious sound.
''No they won't.'' He looked at me offended. I chuckled. ''Guys, quiet!''
Nemesis pointed at something along the tree lines. Dax and I immediately responded. We walked up next to Nemesis who was standing tensed looking at something along the tree lines. I adjusted my eyes to the distance. Sharpening my eyesight. That is when I saw it. A few wolves. Some in harnesses, some still in human form. I looked straight at their eyes glowing dark yellow, clearly angry and ready to fight.
''They smelled us before we saw them,'' Dax whispered. That was when I realized we had the wind on our backs. I cursed at myself. Of course, they smelled us. We weren't that sharp already.
''They will not attack. There patrolling the border.'' I wasn't sure about what Nemesis said but that is when I realized Nemesis looked at something else. I turned my head a little bit to the right. And there it was. The wolf's head. A large stone, along the edges of the Whisker packs' territories. The North Whisker pack ends in the open terrain of the South Whisker pack. The wolf's head was in the shape of a wolf howling. And at the entrance of the mouth was standing a person. Nemesis motioned with his hand to follow him into the open. Dax looked at me unsure.
''He knows what's best.'' We walked to the head. I didn't lose track of the wolves standing to our left just to make sure they kept their distance.
Nemesis walked towards the huge head but stopped when the man stepped out of the shadows. The man was quite young but very muscular and tall. He had brown hair with a few lighter parts that looked almost gold in the sunlight. He looked familiar but I could not remember how or when I had seen this man before. I switched my gaze to the dark brown eyes, and when our eyes crossed I recognized them. The man that caught me the day I fell unconscious out of the sky. Was he the beta? Was that why he did not want anyone to know that we had met? All sorts of questions went through my head.
I wanted to say something but the eyes of the Beta had a warning look. One I did not want to test. Somehow the Beta had authority over me. Something Nemesis never had. I could not figure out if it was about respect or just the fact that his dominant wolf was very present.
My gaze switched to Nemesis who was standing in front of us. Flanked by Dax and I. It was only then that I noticed the stiffness in the shoulders of Nemesis. Something was wrong.
While the Beta did not seem so much older than Dax and I. Nemesis was not pleased with what he was seeing. My beliefs were confirmed when Nemesis spoke. ''Where is Darcio?''
A feeling of worry came over me. Dax was right. Darcio, the friend of Nemesis was not the beta. So that meant...
''Darcio is no longer the beta of the South Whisker pack. His demon wolf caused way too many problems. He is held captive in Menos secured prison. I am truly sorry that this news has not been shared with you Nemesis. My brother cared deeply for you and he did not want you to see him like that.''
I was shocked at how the Beta shared the news. There was no hint of emotion that I could find in his eyes or his words. I felt sorry for Nemesis because he hoped to see one of his best friends again. Nemesis was flabbergasted and could not get a word out.
''I know it isn't what you're expecting but things need to be handled by someone who can and will. My brother could neither. It was the safest option for everyone.'' Continued the beta.
''I know, I understand. So, the little brother is the new beta.''
The beta nodded. "Commander Nemesis, My name is Cadoc, Beta of the South Whisker pack and right-hand of King Axel."
The men shook hands as Nemesis spoke again. ''I thought you would be with the Alpha of the Darkest Moon pack by now.''
Cadoc's eyes changed at those words. I had a feeling that I missed something.
''What am I missing.'' Whispered Dax next to me. ''No clue.'' I replied.
''My pack needed me. There is a right time for everything.'' Replied Cadoc.
The tension around the four of us grew within seconds. I wasn't sure if it was Nemesis' idea to provoke the beta or if he was generously curious. Hell, we didn't even know what Nemesis meant with his words but seeing how Cadoc reacted, it seemed like a sensitive topic.
Nemesis bowed his head at Cadocs response.
''Right, Shall we discuss the terms?'' continued Nemesis. Cadoc nodded.
''We can discuss the terms inside. So that the subjects can't overhear our conversation.'' Cadoc glanced at Dax and me.
"Stay here and guard the area," Nemesis said looking over his shoulder concern shone in his eyes.
"Do as you please, the patrols are also out. They will be on the lookout but will not be a disturbance to us," Cadoc replied.
Nemesis looked at me and Dax for a moment. I nodded. ''We will be oke,'' I said. I turned around and jumped off of the wolf's head.
Leaving Nemesis behind with the Beta. Dax followed closely behind.
''He looked very scary. I could practically feel his wolf in my head.'' Dax said when he landed next to me.
''Yeah, I noticed that too. Is it because he is beta to a king?'' I looked over my shoulder seeing Nemesis follow Cadoc inside the wolf's head.
''No idea, but I have a feeling a lot is going on, more than we know.''
''Good thing I am not the only one who was thinking that. Ever since we got the news about Jayden I have the feeling that Nemesis is keeping a lot to himself.'' I said nodding.
''Indeed, I hoped that we could be more open with each other, that Nemesis would stop treating us like the young knights. We finished our training long ago. This was exactly the right time to learn more.''
I was skeptical of Dax his reply. Dax wanted to be commander one day. That is was he told me the day we started our training. So his words meant something else. Dax wanted to learn from Nemesis whereas, I wanted to know how I could avoid Nemesis.
Nemesis and Cadoc were in Wolf's Head discussing terms. I crossed my fingers that they agreed. I saw one of the wolves pass by every now and then. They walked in a circle around the wolf's head, each circle 10 meters between them. I had scanned the area every now and then. Calculating which way out was the best.
"I hope they agree, that would save a lot of hassle with Queen Polaris," I hummed, agreeing with Dax. He was playing with a few small stones. This caused his markings to glow. It was a disadvantage that the markings would light up when we used our powers. We could never go anywhere or attack unseen. especially not in the dark. We would be a glowing ball.
Dax was rambling about how he could never keep his wings clean. I almost lost my attention on the wolfs when I noticed that one of the wolves growled something at another wolf. The two wolfs started at each other. I kept my eyes on the two wolfs trying to understand what was happening. Wolves could mind-link with everyone in the pack. They could talk to each other without us hearing them. Other wolves came together. Their eyes pointed on high alert. I glanced at Dax signing with my finger to stay quiet.
''Dax, are you seeing this? Watch!'' Dax was sharp in a second and looked at the wolves. Suddenly the wolves raced apart across the open land into the high grass.
''Where are they going?''
''I don't know. Seems like there is an intruder at the border where we came from.''
''How do you know?'' I looked at Day with an are-you-serious- look.
''Well, if you paid attention to how the wolves behaved right before they took off you would have seen that they smelled something, talked about it, and then decided to find out what it is.''
From the wolf's head, we couldn't see anything until a howl was heard across the entire border. The sound echoed through the forest. Nemesis and Cadoc came out of the wolf's head instantly.
''What is happening?'' Nemesis asked.
''We don't know. The patrol saw something and they ran off.'' Cadoc didn't seem pleased at all.
''Did you bring anyone else?'' I heard the snarl in his voice. Nemesis shook his head. ''No, I can assure you we didn't''
''You better be. Otherwise, King Axel will have your head on the table tonight.'' Cadoc shifted into a large brownish-golden wolf with his yellow eyes glowing. He ran after his patrol leaving us alone at the wolf's head.
''So did they agree?'' Nemesis nodded and both me and Dax let out a relief sign.
''They do. We have an agreement that there will be a new border that will show a clear nobody's land until you come across another border.''
''That's good. But I have one question. How did we not know that Darcio was actually in prison? A demon wolf is extremely dangerous. So bringing a wolf that dangerous into the city...'' I asked Nemesis, Nemesis was also in the council, So how come they didn't tell him about his best friend that is in jail? Nemesis turned his gaze to me. ''Honestly, I don't know''
✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧