Daŕēus’ inner sight was searching the area. She could tell his senses were at their peak and were ready to home in on anything which moved, possessed a pulse, or any abnormal essence.
“What do you sense, Priestess?” he asked in a low, drawn out voice. Was this his way of testing her powers, to see how much she had advanced despite Dĩas’ attempts to hold her back? Or was it simply her duty, or his way to include her in things? Either way, despite her failing health, she was more than up for the challenge.
Samanthŕa held up her palms towards the pyramid. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She had to draw power from beyond her hunger and pain. If she could not do this then he might sense that something was wrong with her. It wouldn’t reflect well at all.
Her third eye reached out into the darkness and fog. It knifed through the coldness and the peculiar aura which seemed to devour and latch its claws onto every single thing. She withdrew. Her mind had touched something unfamiliar. Her eyes began to glow a dark sapphire, almost black. She inhaled sharply, trying to replace the breath which felt stolen from her. All those around awaited her reply.
“What in the name of the Gods are you doing here?” Dĩas’ voice snarled suddenly from behind them. Samanthŕa’s body jerked, and the faces of those who watched her turned towards him. “And you! What are you doing here with him? Is this what you do under your mother’s care, run about as though you haven’t any sense?” His eyes narrowed in on Samanthŕa.
She straightened her back and lifted her chin to him. These gestures were to show that his words did not affect her. To be honest, she felt somewhat embarrassed. Not two seconds before, all were looking upon her for her vision and insight. Now she was treated as a child, scolded for not staying in her room with the rest of her toys.
Out of the shadows The Elders joined him, covered in their majestic robes. Behind the Elders came three Elders of Evil’s bloodline—Aréel Lakéém, Draykǒs Vãlãh, and Re Veŕatü. Daŕēus began to growl low. His reaction was matched by all the other warriors with him. Evil retreated a few steps back.
“You have the nerve to question why our High Priestess is here when you dare to bring the likes of them?” Daŕēus’ voice remained calm but revealed the intensity of his disgust.
“You were told of the peace between us. They had nothing to do with this, which means whatever happened here is as much of a threat to them as it is to us.” Dĩas defended himself thus, though Daŕēus was not impressed, any more than he was convinced.
His expression plainly said so as well. “That remains to be seen.” Daŕēus growled again. His beast was rising. “As for the Priestess, she has every right to be here. Since you cannot insure her safety, then I must. By my side, she shall stay until I determine otherwise. She was claimed, remember?”
A thrill passed over Samanthŕa. Before, his claiming her had seemed like the end of nights, but now having him use it as a defense against her father, who was treating her like a weakling, it was exhilarating. She felt ten feet tall hearing his words. She couldn’t explain to herself why. It merely felt good. The word ‘claimed’, though, still caused the chills to cling to her spine rather than disappear. The intensity of the situation caused her hands to shake again. She tightened them around the reins.
Dĩas began to open his mouth when Chymeŕah materialized. “Dĩas, silence; put your personal problems away. The Priestess should be here. We do not know what we are dealing with. We may have need of her.” She flipped the edge of her silver cloak over one shoulder and walked past him as if he were nothing. “Daughter, what did you see? I sense you were about to share your vision before you were rudely interrupted.”
Samanthŕa looked at Daŕēus. She swallowed hard, knowing all eyes were watching her. The presence of the Evil Elders troubled her even more. The eyes of her father troubled her most.
“I cannot sense any of our bloodline. The coldness is thick and heavy but it’s not from anything immortal that I can name. There is a symbol burning in the court yard, a sign, left from the ones who did this.”
“See, it’s not immortal so you cannot blame evil,” Dĩas began to boast.
“That she can name.” Daŕēus whipped around and threatened, “If you do not silence yourself then I will slap a muzzle on you.” He then turned back to Samanthŕa. His eyes which had showed anger subsided and reflected nothing but calm and patience towards her. “Please continue.”
Samanthŕa took another deep breath. She began to bask in the glow of feeling important. He did that to her; she was just realizing it. It especially made her want to swoon because of those he did it in front of-- those like Dĩas, who’d never encouraged her importance but instead held her back. “Whatever is behind this is something we have not seen as of yet. I am afraid that I know nothing else. It doesn’t make sense to me. I cannot describe what does not make sense.”
“You’re right, it doesn’t make sense. You see she is not ready for something like this. She needs to be sent home.” Dĩas began to snarl again.
Daŕēus jumped off his horse. He marched towards Dĩas in his mountainous black gothic armor. He looked down upon him from his great height as if he were nothing more than a child. “I will decide if she is ready or not. As for you, if you cannot shut that boar’s trap of yours then I will see to it that you are sent home. Understand?” He then turned towards the Evil Elders. “As for the rest of you, your presence is not needed here. You may have a truce with him, but I have agreed to nothing.” He looked at all who came with Dĩas except Chymeŕah. “None of you are needed.”
“You have no right--” Dĩas began to say; Daŕēus drew his sword and pressed it to his throat.
“Don’t I? Where are your warriors, Dĩas? Why did you come here without them? Do you not see my warriors here? You dare to speak of my rights when it is our lives on the line? I am the Father of the Blood. You have no authority over me. You have no authority over anyone here, especially the Priestess. Now gather your playmates and go home. When we have sorted this out, I will send word. Wait for my word. If I see you again--” Before he could finish his threat Samanthŕa gasped. All eyes jerked towards her.
“There-- in the fog…do you not see it? Something moves!”
Daŕēus rushed to her side and looked. Something did move. He returned his sword to his sheath and mounted his horse. They split up and began to search the fog. Daŕēus reached over and pulled Samanthŕa onto his horse. It took him little effort and caught her by surprise.
“The fog is thick. I do not want you separated from me,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her to hold the reins. She lost her breath when he did this. Her stomach twisted from nerves. It bellied up against the queasiness she had been feeling all night from the herbs.
“Anything?” Daŕēus asked the Brothers in their minds. He opened the link so Samanthŕa could hear them, as well as the other Lycãons.
“Fog,” Danyól said. He carried his ability to make jokes everywhere he went. “Wait; here is something. Guess what? More fog.”
“There is nothing here, Daŕēus,” Maŕēus told him. “We should approach the dwelling. I prefer facing it rather than the fog. If anything was here, it is gone now and possibly was an attempt to lead us astray.”
“I did see something…” Samanthŕa whispered, causing Daŕēus to lean in to her ear. The smell of him, the musky, sandalwood scent stole what little air she managed to hold onto. She would have pulled away or even protested if the situation they were in was not so dangerous. Besides, she didn’t want them thinking she had led them on a wild goose chase.
“I believe you. I saw it as well. Whatever it was, it is gone now,” Daŕēus assured her with his whisper into her ear. He made her feel so important it raised her glow again. His hot breath made her limbs quake.
They came to the entrance of the Theŕéan home. The silence was unsettling. The large drawbridge sealing the entrance was beaten down, covered in some sort of burning black ooze and split in places. Samanthŕa pushed hersel
f back against Daŕēus’ large chest without thinking. She felt the hardness of his armor crushing her but she didn’t care. If she could have crawled into his skin, she would have done it at this point, as long as she could have peeked out with one eye. She may have been a bit spooked but she was also insanely curious, as always.
Just as they breeched the inner walls, they saw something burning. Samanthŕa inhaled quickly for it startled her. She had seen this when she reached out with her mind, though now that she stood before it, she realized how frightening it was.
A large wooden structure, shaped like a half S with a slanted line running through it diagonally, was driven into the ground. Something very large, black, and charred was hanging from it.
Daŕēus raised his hand towards the object burning. He turned the fog into wet moisture and then suffocated the fire with it. Steam rolled off of the object with such a force that Samanthŕa had to turn her face. Daŕēus’ other arm covered her, offering more protection. Once the steam cooled from the ever-ruthless cold, he removed his arm and she looked up.
Lushãyen leaped onto the structure, sniffing out the charred shape. He flicked at it with a long extended claw until something dangled from the top end. He jerked it off, rubbed it with some linen hanging out from his armor, and then leaped down. He threw it at Daŕēus, snarling. “Does the Priestess recognize this?”
Daŕēus held it up for Samanthŕa. Her heart sank. She swallowed hard, almost choking. She gently pushed it away. “Dalaŕéah Theŕéan .She was with child. Rare for our kind. I just preformed a blessing a few weeks ago. She was the first in her bloodline to conceive for such a long time.” She almost cried.
Daŕēus leaned back, ripped his armor away, leaving nothing but the black sparkling mesh underneath, tossed it to the air and watched it vanish. The others followed suit. Whatever was here, they wanted to handle dead on, hand to hand, flesh to flesh. Their tempers were soaring.
Daŕēus, Lushãyen and the others growled viciously. Some of them spit on the ground at the abomination.
Samanthŕa felt tears begin to fall. Quickly she wiped her face trying to hide her emotion. “Who would do such a thing and why?” Without thinking, feeling the cold even more now, she pulled the arm of Daŕēus, which protected her in even tighter. The thought of burning a woman and her unborn child simply ate away at her.
She thought of Staphãyn and his unborn children. She understood why he wanted to avoid such a fate for them. Evil would not rest until they were killed, and the power of the children consumed by sacrifice. Though Evil claimed they had no part in this, she didn’t believe it. Whatever did this was the worst of all Evil. She caught herself and her thoughts and silently renewed the guards she had placed over her mind. She prayed to the Goddess that Daŕēus was not able to read them.
“Where are the bodies?” Maŕēus broke Samanthŕa’s sadness. Each of them dismounted with swords drawn to search the area. Blood, tar, even char from flesh stained the ground, but there were no bodies.
Daŕēus dismounted from his horse, and then helped Samanthŕa down. His large hand gripped hers and pulled her alongside him. She hurried along without protest. “There are signs of battle,” he said in a subdued voice, pointing out marks in the dirt. “Struggles, but no bodies are being dragged away unless they carried them. We go inside. Stay alert.” He looked at Samanthŕa. “If this is difficult for you I can return you to your mother’s, or even to my Realm if you wish it.”
She didn’t want to go away. She didn’t want to necessarily be here either. For some odd reason she just wanted to be latched onto him like glue. It was safe where he was, no matter what the situation might be around them. It still bewildered her to think one of her bloodlines could be destroyed. Nothing like this had ever happened. She was out of her element, in unknown and unfamiliar territory concerning all of this. To stay with him was her best option.
“I stay but if I get eaten or roasted, I will haunt you from my grave.” She tried to make a joke. Maybe there was something to Danyól’s humor, especially when her nerves felt like they may splinter out from under her.
“You will not get eaten,” Danyól remarked in passing. “Well, maybe you will be if you are roasted. I didn’t bring any spice so I shall hope you are at least naturally seasoned.” He began to laugh.
"You will be the one cooking me up then?"
“I’ve always wanted to try Priestess and Brie.”
Samanthŕa nearly choked. Her attempt at humor was a mere attempt. It came so easily for him, though. She envied his mind.
Daŕēus ignored his brother as he pulled her along. His senses caught wind of something. The other Brothers and the Lycãons sensed it too. Their eyes turned darker and their heads tilted slightly. The predator in them had become alert.
Inside the pyramid, the hallways were empty. The torches flickered against a dampness that was not outside. The coldness seemed to become worse, which was even odder. The smooth, sandstone block walls began to ice up in places. Strange puddles formed over the floors, causing black ice. Samanthŕa avoided those and warned everyone else to do the same.
“Look,” she said in their minds and pointed. Half of a warrior’s boot was swallowed up by the ice. “Did something pull him down into it?” She didn’t dare touch the boot to sense whose energy it was.
Daŕēus moved her slowly around the puddles. At one point, he even lifted her into his arms until they were safely around. There was no doubt in her mind that he intended on taking no chances where she was concerned. If she allowed herself, she could easily get used to it. This frightened her.
They did not bother investigating each room if they could see clearly inside. Each room however, was demolished, tables thrown about and crushed, tapestries ripped and torn. Many things were destroyed and thrown into the fires which struggled, like the torches, against the dampness. Large symbols were drawn all over the walls, much like the one which burned outside.
Inside the Dining Hall their journey ceased. It looked like the scene of a massacre; except, like outside, there were no bodies to be found. Daŕēus crouched down and sniffed some of the blood. It was Theŕéan-- but where were the bodies?
“Maŕēus, take some of the men and scour the rooms on the upper levels,” Daŕēus told him.
Maŕēus left. He and his helpers vanished like smoke.
“Any ideas, Priestess?” Daŕēus asked her as he walked around, careful not to leave her too far behind as he studied the room and its signs.
“I cannot cut through the coldness. It’s like a cloak. Can you?” she answered. Her mind was on Dǒntáe, Trynaté, and Thorn. She kept praying to the Goddess that they would find them, and not in the same condition as Dalaŕéah. The weight of evil energy in that place was pushing down on her. She could feel it invade her mind and soul. She could feel it make the herbs stronger. Her hands were still shaking.
“Nay,” he replied. Then he raised a brow as he found a charm of some sort on the floor. He bent down and lifted it. It was a piece of leather with a symbol of the S and line hanging from it. Samanthŕa rushed to him and took it. She had seen this somewhere. Where? Not outside or on the walls, even though it was the same mark. She had seen it somewhere else. Then it came to her. She remained silent, but he knew she felt something.
“Tell me,” he directed, but she shook her head. Her nerves caught up with her. The herbs caught up with her. She began to tremble and stumbled backward. He caught her, demanding to know what was wrong.
Not now, she screamed at herself. Not now. Do not get sick or pass out now. Fight the herbs.
“Tell me what is wrong or I shall enter your thoughts and find out for myself,” Daŕēus warned.
“She will not tell you because she fears your reaction,” Dĩas said from the doorway. “Tell him, Samanthŕa. Tell him what you saw today when you snuck away to the village.”
Daŕēus looked at Samanthŕa but she refused to look at him. She was becoming used to his power now, or so she thought. Still, she would no
t look at him. He helped her to a chair as she held her stomach in pain. She shut her eyes and tried to fight the urge to vomit. Maŕēus and the others came back into the room. Maŕēus shook his head at Daŕēus, confirming that he’d found nothing. He turned towards Dĩas and his eyes began to glow a dark red.
Before they could inquire about the symbol or even get their bearings on the room, the doorways were flooded with large rabid jungle cats of abnormal shapes and sizes. They were bloody, snarling, crazed. They leaped from all heights, shifting into the men they once were before their sharp, dagger like claws touched the floors. One of them, Thorn, held the body of his brother Dǒntáe who was too weak to make the shift. He was wounded, with the black ooze all over him.
“What happened here? Where are our people?” Thorn spat and snarled while he laid his brother’s body down. Samanthŕa forced herself up to check him, but before she could Daŕēus pulled her back so that Maŕēus could do so first.
Samanthŕa fought against Daŕēus’ hold as Dǒntáe summonsed enough strength to strike out at Maŕēus, hissing furiously.
“We should be asking you that.” Daŕēus growled as Samanthŕa jerked away from him and ran to Dǒntáe’s side. She could hear Daŕēus snarl even more savagely when Dǒntáe allowed her to touch his head, shifting back into a man, naked and smeared with wounds and black ooze.
“We have been fighting what could not be seen.” Thorn admitted but not in a polite manner. His breath was heavy and his eyes were absolutely feral. “Our people, where are they? Tell me where they are!”
Chymeŕah appeared in thin air, sensing the commotion. She eased Samanthŕa back, whispering. “Allow us to see to him, darkest darling. At least until we know what this is.” She pointed to the ooze.
Samanthŕa allowed her to pull her away, feeling Daŕēus’ abrupt large hands jerk her behind him. He was acting like more than just someone who had a claim in name only over her. She was too panicked to argue about it.
“Daŕēus.” Kaléé appeared also in the room, but only as an illusion. Her silver hair was blowing in an ethereal breeze. Her thick crimson robes were sweeping up and merging into bluish flames. “Daŕēus, hear me!” She shouted from beyond the vision she was sending them. Her staff slammed down causing the floor to rumble with her power, demanding attention. “Those who have escaped of the Theŕéan bloodline have gathered in Chymeŕah’s Realm. Hear me!”
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