Hard skin, almost as hard as steel. His large body armed with scales that were impenetrable by any normal knife or spear. His black skin almost spotless if not for those chilling yellow eyes that stared at the new guests that came to watch them.
Just staring at the dragon before them, Silas could feel all his troubles alleviate and slowly disappear. The beast stood tall inside the large cage, and it blew steam from its nostrils. Silas gasped, covering his mouth to prevent himself from saying something stupid.
Benji dropped on his knees and held a fist to his chest, his eyes glazed over as he stared at the beast. "I-I-I can happily die now."
"Uh-huh." Silas was just as bewildered by the beast that blew off more steam before retreating back into the darkness so smoothly that all Silas saw before it disappeared were his chilling eldritch eyes.
"That was awesome. The gods have answered my prayers." The blond haired kid face palmed then stared at the cage before standing up. "Say, what else are we going to see?" He asked Wyatt who cocked his head at him curiously.
"Nothing now. Well, it's already mid-day, and I have somewhere I must return to so, I will have to return you to my mother." He shrugged then turned away from them, leading them out of the Monster Inn.
The Monster Inn Wyatt had shown them was filled with beasts, were-people and everything not natural. According to Wyatt, the inn was used to treat anyone or anything. He had admitted that there were humans in the realm, but the species wasn't a majority like it was in their realm. He had explained the way powers went around after being born. It was heredity, the way a son could inherit his mum's nose or ear. They could inherit the powers too. However, some unlucky ones inherit nothing and are just plain mundane.
A day had passed since the three boys had found themselves in the City of Uthor. The witch had allowed them to go into town but only with an escort. That was why Wyatt was with them as they strolled through the busy streets. It was nothing like their world. Stalls and caravans opened up almost in every corner to sell clothes, food, items, antique... well, anything worth selling.
They had passed through the place Wyatt had called an estate, and it was packed with houses, and none of them were like anything they had seen before. Uthor was on a mountain side so houses were built on hills, low grounds, and valleys. Some houses had been constructed on really tall hills; it was a wonder how they even got to the front door.
Edgar had asked when he had seen the houses, "How do they get to it? The hill's pretty steep."
"People who build their houses on tall hills probably have wings, or they can teleport. And the higher your house is, the safer it is from thieves." Wyatt had answered.
"What if the thieves had wings or could teleport?"
"They sell spell barriers in the market. You can find absolutely anything there."
"Then what if these thieves bought a spell counter? You did say they could find anything there."
Wyatt had frowned at his counter then scoffed, looking away from him. "Eh, then I don't know. It's just the stronger you are, the better the spell works. Except the thief is a magician, then the house owner is a goner."
Wyatt took the boys through the forest path that led to the mansion and Benji fell back to walk beside his best friend, putting and arm around him.
"Hey you. What's up? You've been really cranky since we came here."
"Leave me alone Benny. I can't believe you're this comfortable with these nut jobs."
"Not to disturb, but I'm not deaf." Wyatt rolled his eyes at him then looked away.
Edgar smirked. "I never said you were."
Wyatt gave him a pointed stare before looking away again.
"Don't be rude, Ed." Benji punched him playfully on his shoulder, and Edgar glared at him, shrugging his arm off his shoulder.
"Whatever." His gaze went back Wyatt, but he dropped it to the floor, gritting his teeth.
"Jeez, you're mad about something. Come here, tell it to your friend ay?"
Edgar looked away from his friend and gave Silas a short glance before frowning. "It's nothing, really. I'm just bored. A month is a long time. What are going to do throughout? Sit home or visit the market?"
"Ride the dragons and go monster hunting. I heard they do bounty hunting here. We could go bounty hunting." Benji practically squealed, and it only made Edgar groan.
"That dragon riding looks like a brilliant idea," Wyatt spoke up making Benji beam. "My little brother wants to be a dragon hunter so he's got lots of dragons to play with."
"No way." Benji perked up then skipped over to walk beside Wyatt, leaving his best friend at the back of the crowd.
Edgar only rolled his eyes before joining up with Silas. Silas smiled at him as if acknowledging his presence then looking forward at the tracks that just seemed to go on and on and on.
"Hey." Edgar bumped his shoulder with him, pouting when he didn't even flinch. "Hey Silas, you are drooling."
"Eh?!" Silas quickly covered his mouth, growing red until his ears seemed to smoke out.
"Relax. Relax, I'm kidding. You're easy to tease."
"I know, now stop it." He wiped his mouth then frowned at him. "What did you want?"
"To ask what has been on your-" Edgar never finished the question before he suddenly felt all the air leave his lungs like they had been knocked out.
One minute, he was on the pathway to the mansion and the second, he was in the throne room just as an unbelievable power left it. It suddenly felt too bare, and the only person standing in the chamber except Wyatt and the others was Jenna, the white witch or whatever she called herself. She was in a long white gown now, hiding her curves beneath the flowing garment.
Edgar was suddenly able to breathe again, and he pinned the witch with a glare she simply ignored making him scowl deeper. He hated it. He hated how weak she made him feel. Sure, he had people who could control him in his world, but they were human. They had the same weakness as he does. But this woman didn't. That lady and that sick power that left the room.
God, he could just feel it. The power surging off her. He doubted if a knife could even scrape her skin. She was powerful that he knew.
"I have something for you three," she said, and Edgar's eyes widened at the great pain exploded his right arm.
He held back his cry, unlike the others as something hot picked his skin like a thousand needles.
Even with the screaming, she went on, "My husband and I will be leaving Uthor. My son, Wyatt, will take care of you." Then she turned to her son, her eyes narrowing and lips falling into a thin line. "You are in charge of them and Xavier. Take them on your trip and teach them what those markings are for. Reina will be accompanying you on your journey so look after her."
"But she's older than me."
"And she's my only apprentice psychic, so I don't want to hear your whining." She rolled her eyes then turned to leave when Silas barked out her name.
Edgar really wanted to know why he had stopped her and ask her a couple more questions, but his vision abruptly went black, and Edgar felt himself slip into unconsciousness.
...
Silas shot out of bed, his eyes flying wide opened and he pushed the comforters off his body to stare at his right arm. Black thick rings circled his arm. Two on his forearm and three circled his upper arm. It was a tattoo that blended well with his light skin. If he had taken from his real mum's skin, it probably wouldn't even be noticeable.
Taking a deep, he jumped off the bed and scanned his surroundings. First off, he was sure he wasn't in the mansion because the room he was in had a wooden bunk bed, a small table and chair and a wardrobe, and it was small in comparison to the room he had stayed in at the mansion. Other than that, the room seemed to tilt slightly that he wouldn't have noticed if he wasn't standing.
Silas gasped when it hit him, and he dashed out of the room and into the corridor. Wherever he was was moving, and the smell of sea air proved his point further. They were at sea and heading to god knows where. He ran up the stairs until he saw a pair of double doors ahead and he ran towards it, throwing it open.
Looking past Benji and Edgar who were standing beside Wyatt, Silas could see what they were staring out. The sea. And it stretched out further until it disappeared into the horizon.
Benji was the first to notice him. He only wore brown khaki shorts and left his chest bare. A similar tattoo to that of his stained his white skin. Benji's blond hair ruffled in the sea air, and he smiled. "Silas, you're finally up."
"What's going on?" Silas asked then shivered from the cold air, and he looked down at himself to see himself without a shirt. He immediately covered himself with his arms just when Edgar turned to look at him.
"Silas-whoa. Do you have a fever? You're red?"
Silas wanted to die that minute. Unlike Benji who had a similar firm physic to him, Edgar was several levels above him. He was ripped with muscles but not too much to be disgusting. His abs budged and the muscles in his arms made the tattoo in his right arm look strikingly beautiful. Silas quickly ran back to his room to get a shirt from the wardrobe, not really caring if it wasn't his before he got back to the deck. By then, the heat around his body had settled down, and he easily approached them.
"Did you seriously run back to wear a shirt?" Wyatt gibed, crossing his arms over his chest with an amused smirk.
Seeing the man closer, it was safe to say he wasn't as old as he had originally thought he was. He looked to be in his early twenties with striking grey eyes and his neat bun rested nicely on his head. If Silas weren't already into Edgar, he would have given Wyatt a thought.
Silas ignored him and smiled back at Edgar, reaching up to rub the nape of his neck. "No, I was just cold."
"Sure you were." He rolled his eyes and Benji laughed.
"Well well well, if it isn't the crybaby of the family. Even Xavier has less bullshit than you." A voice quipped from behind them, and the four of them turned just as two ladies materialized in front of them.
One of them, Silas knew very well. Her long blond her was plaited into two cornrows, and she was decked in black; a khaki and a long-sleeved crop top. She wasn't wearing any shoes, and there were similar markings on her body to the one he had on his arms. They appeared on her neck, hands, and feet each.
"Ava." Silas breathed, and his sister just stared at him before her eyes widened, and she ran to him.
She pulled him into a bone-crushing hug that it actually knocked the air out of his lungs. "Oh, my God. I was so worried about you."
"Ava, if you hug him any tighter, you'd kill him." The lady that had appeared with his sister scolded and Ava immediately let go and took a step back. Her eyes seemed to darken, but it brightened almost instantly that Silas thought he had imagined it.
"Is something wrong, Ava?" he asked worriedly because his sister was never this quiet. She could try to be quiet, but this was different. Something was wrong with her. He turned to glare pointedly at the lady who stood tall with her chest puffed out.
She was shorter than Ava with beautiful dark skin, her dark brown hair was the longest he had ever seen, and it was plaited in one big braid reaching her slim waist. She was dressed in an attire so ancient, he was surprised it still existed in this realm. She dressed like a belly dancer, the white top just stopped under her breast, and golden beads led from her sleeves to the side of her shirt if it could be called that. She wore it with a loose white trouser that was tight around her lower waist and ankles.
Honestly, with the beads that adorned her body and clothing, Silas had to say it was stunning. She looked like she had just walked out of one of those ancient Egyptian movies. However, what struck him the most was her silver eyes. It wasn't like Wyatt's and the witch's that looked pretty normal, it was completely covered in silver coating. And the black kohl only enhanced it.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" The lady said, her voice thick in an accent he had to call foreign. She looked away from Silas to frown at Wyatt. "Wyatt, tell your boy toy to stop staring at me."
Wyatt only chuckled and took a step back to lean on the railing. "Oh, this has nothing to do with me. Explain what you did to his sister."
The lady puffed out her cheeks, crossing her arms over her chest. "But I didn't do anything. Except you're talking about the rigorous training we did yesterday then, that might have made her quiet."
"Training? What training?" Silas asked.
The lady frowned at him this time then walked towards him. She was only steps away from him when Ava struck her arm out stopping her. Normally he would have thought it was his sister trying to protect him, but that wasn't the case at the minute. Ava was protecting the lady from him.
"Ava?"
"Ava, let me pass." The lady barked from behind her.
"He has the runes," Ava said, pointing at the tattoos on his arm.
"Eh, so what? They are empty from what I can see. Let me pass, he's harmless."
Ava instantly dropped her arm and sidestepped so the lady had a straight path towards Silas. She came up to him and said, "My name is Reina Mahe. I might look small, but I am plenty years older than you. That sorry excuse for a son is supposed to teach you what Runes are, but since I am here, I wouldn't mind educating a few of you.
"After saving your sister who was on the brink of death, she promised to protect me. Although I do not need her protection, she insisted, and I let her. I gave her Runes and yesterday, we went hunting." She leaned forward, her silver eyes felt like they were peering into his soul until she blinked and added, "Today, it will be your turn."
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A/n
I'm dedicating this chapter to PoisonBish for her wonderful review. Do check out her works. Thanks.