Chapter 15 "Curse An- heh for this stupid foolish gift, and curse the moon goddess for messing everything up instead of coming to the rescue of this wretched world." Lady Lucia pulled back the hood from her head and shook out her hair. She tired greatly of her role as head mage. She had been at it for more than a decade but what was worse was the need that kept eating at her. The only thing that kept it at bay was the the magic that thrummed through her veins overpowering it. It began slow, but within seconds, it grew, spreading from her feet and surging to her knees. She almost buckled, but held on to the wall as the feeling swept throughout the rest of her body. With great effort, she walked to one of the shelves that lined her inner chamber. A variety of colored bottles sat atop them. She picked out one whose liquid was jet black, and removed its cork. It released a tangy smell that carried a hint of aether. She took the first gulp and felt the liquid travel into her system. The
Chapter 16 She stood rooted to the spot and stared. Before her were rows and rows of corn fields spread out as far as her eyes could see. It was exactly as she had seen them in her dream. "Germaine! Germaine!" She blinked away the daze as Storm came into view. "Are you okay?" She nodded but set her gaze back on the rows of corn. She was done internalizing it. She was going to ask questions and get some answers. She turned back to look at Storm. "What are these? I mean, I know they're corn, but there are so many of them. Is it like a staple food for you wolves?" Storm smiled before he sheathed his sword and placed it at his side. He did not reply as he began walking towards the corn fields. She had to walk faster in order to fall into step with him. They had just finished a sword duel and he had beaten her, although she had put up a good fight. She smiled, remembering how he had mentioned her swordsmanship was getting better by the day. Ever since the council of chiefs heard that
Chapter 17 The tavern became noisier as the dancing became more lively. Germaine wondered if they could get any more ridiculous looking. The men were practically hopping around and throwing their partners into the air. She was scared the women would fall, but as if practiced, they landed into the men's arms. She had been expecting Storm to bring up the discussion about their upcoming journey but all he did was order a thick-looking brew inside a large wooden tankard. Keratin ordered one as well and they both heartily began to drink and sing along to the music. She waited impatiently for the musicians to stop, but after a few minutes, that did not happen. Instead, they changed songs, and Germaine suppressed a groan. Keratin suddenly swung her up from her seat with a wide smile. "Don't even think of throwing me up." She warned him. He just smiled, and they danced normally for a few minutes. It happened suddenly. One minute, her feet were on the ground and the next, she was looking
Chapter 18 Storm watched as tears seeped from Germaine's eyes and spilled onto her cheeks. She was beside herself with upset, yet he could do nothing to make her stop. He felt wretched just standing and watching her. Ever since he first laid eyes on her, he knew it was her destiny to find the talisman. Of course, he and the others were going to tag along, but she was really the one running the whole show. She just did not know it yet. Something inside of him made it known the moment he set eyes on her for the first time. She had also confirmed it from the dream in which the moon goddess had appeared to her. She had never appeared to anyone else before, not even him. He was only a channel, a messenger, and her mouth piece. But Germaine. . . she was the chosen one. Chosen by the moon goddess to change their world as well as the other various worlds. He still found it strange, because Germaine was an earthling, an outsider. She knew nothing about their ways, yet she had been chosen b
Chapter 19 As she stomped through the woods, Germaine cursed her fate. How was it that amongst the trillions of population on earth, it was her bakery Storm and the others had appeared in. It was preposterous at best. Why did that have to happen to her? What kind of shoddy fate do I have? She thought. It is your destiny. A voice whispered inside her mind. "Shut up already." A deer which had been drinking from a nearby brook looked at her for a few seconds before running off. "Great! Now I've chased that harmless animal away." She kicked at some stones at her feet, but instead of hitting them, she missed and stumbled. She fell flat on her backside as pain lanced her behind. She could not help it. She began to bawl like a baby she was not. Ever since the mage had cast a mind sharing spell, she had not been able to rest from foolish remarks coming from inside her head. It was either Storm was chastising her on following a path she should not have taken, or Keratin was telling her
Chapter 20 Germaine had begun to realize something. The other worlds, at least the ones she had encountered, like the werewolves and the dryads, were full of magic. As she looked at the large camp site, she realized her assertion was correct. As far as her eyes could see, tents and tents spread out and lots of people milled around. It seemed to her inexperienced eyes like a gypsy camp, one that would soon fold up and leave at any moment. There were different make shift stalls set up at different corners where people sold knick knacks for their kind to buy from. As Daya turned to talk to someone, she approached a stall, marveling at the goods on display. There were colourful materials that attracted her eyes. As she moved closer, she found out the patterns on them changed intermittently. She gasped as a triangle changed shape into a circle. "Tree spirit magic." Someone whispered from behind her. She whipped round, almost colliding with Meeka. Her impossibly green eyes were almost to
Chapter 21 "I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Germaine's eyes were twin orbs of fear as she gazed at Daya. "I said I will take you-" "I know what you said, but why?" Daya rubbed a spot on her nose and let out an exasperated breath. "That is the only way, child. You can never get in unless I take you there. You will not even know where to find them in the first place. You will only wonder around in circles in the forest until you become frustrated and go back the way you came or.something much worse happens to you. And let me just say this - when I do take you there, it has got to be as a hostage because they do not like visitors." She shrugged her shoulders. Germaine's shoulders tensed. "Are you saying that without this plan of yours, I will not get the ork." "You finally understand what I have been trying to tell you." Fear laced the insides of Germaine. The way Daya had painted a picture of the original Dryads was not a good one. If they were as harsh and unyielding as she un
Chapter 22 Germaine pulled at the heavy metal chains binding her hands and stared balefully at her surroundings. She felt with her feet, the odd-shaped ridges jutting from the ground. Hot mist seeped out and heated the dark cell she was locked inside. It was a good thing because she had begun to get cold. She tried to stretch her legs fully but found out the cell she was in did not have enough space for that. Good thing she was not claustrophobic otherwise she would not have been able to stand it. Echoes of clangs of metal rang out from the walls all around, keying her into the possibility that there were other prisoners. At first she had not believed it was possible. It was crazy to conceive that other creatures and beasts inhabited the earth, apart from humans, animals and insects. After the appearance of Storm and Keratin in her bakery as well the vampires, her eyes had gradually opened to the truth. Something strange indeed was afoot. She still did not understand why she was ch
Chapter 108The young lady lying on the cot opened her eyes but could not understand what was happening.Who am I?Where am I?People came and peered at her from above, expecting something from her. Recognition, maybe, but she didn't know any of them. They always left with disappointed looks on their faces. Amongst them was a man who sat with her for a while. He was very handsome with bright blue hooded eyes and long straight hair. She itched to run her fingers through his hair knowing fully well it would feel like a silky curtain.He always held her hand and spoke to her but she didn't understand a word of what he said. He had a sad look on his face which she longed to wipe off but she could not because she could not move her body.She had dreams of a man with a scar on his face telling her to wake up and come back to the living because there were people who waited for her and wanted her alive. He also said
Chapter 107 Germaine ran toward the table but unfortunately, she never made it there. Just as she was a hair's breadth away from it, a hand reached out and snatched up the talisman. "This never gets old, I tell you." In front of her stood a smirking Rage. He had on a long black cloak with a hood covering his head. The concentric lines on his face glowed eerily, adding to his otherworldly look. There was a terrible fascination about him that Germaine could not place. She could not tear her eyes away from his face. She tried to move, but it seemed she was stuck to the spot. She could not even turn her head. Her eyes tracked his movement as he walked past her. "So predictable, Lucia, and so disappointing." He chuckled darkly. "You did exactly what I predicted you would." Germaine heard a whimper and realized it had come from her. "Did you think that I would leave something so precious lying around if it were not a trap?" He chuckled darkly once more. "So stupid, my child." Germaine he
Chapter 106The bubble Keratin and the others traveled in smelt of Ash and smoke. It lasted a few minutes but to him, it seemed like a lifetime. A lifetime of being away from Germaine. He had been mostly chatty, deliberately keeping his mind busy so as not to ponder on his missing mate and how they would go about rescuing her.He had brainstormed with Storm and the others and concluded. Rage had taken her, thanks to the revelations from Storm after channeling the moon goodness. They knew she was being held in Tirria.The issue they had was how to get inside the headquarters of the Magedom - the glasshouse, undetected. That was where Dilla came in. Having once worked inside the glass house as a mage, he designed a detailed map. He even knew the times the Mages had their meals and also when they would gather for training. The only issue was Rage who had taken over. He was a wild card, one they had to be wary of.
Chapter 105Not again.Germaine stared balefully at the iron cage she was trapped inside. She could not believe her shitty luck. For the second actually- the third time in her life and a short space as well, she had been kidnapped. She closed her eyes and pondered on how she got herself locked inside a rusty-looking cage.It came to her in an instant.Rage had appeared out of the blue and of course, she goaded him. He didn't like that at all. From one moment to the next, everything went dark and when she woke, she was behind bars in a rusty cage in an empty room. She cursed Rage and her rotten luck. There was no way out of this except to bargain. She knew that would catch his attention.The question though, was what would she bargain with?She sighed as she opened her eyes. A dark pair of eyes stared back at her and she let out a shrill scream. The person staring at her looked fearful as if she would be caug
Chapter 104Keratin had experienced Germaine shutting her mind to him before. It hurt him when she did it and when he could not read her thoughts. However, there was a grave difference between shutting down the mind link and not getting any reading on the person's thoughts.The latter is what he experienced.It was a blank canvas. She was there, but it was silent. He had experienced this same thing before her. The day she was thrown into the sea while on the vessel by one of Rage's men. It was a horrible feeling, one he did not want to experience again. As he lifted his sword and sliced off the neck of the last creature, he knew something had happened to her and his heart sank.He looked around, assessing the damages. Apart from one of their warriors who had been taken down, they were relatively alright. Storm was fine as well as the other warriors. He sighted Dilla and Zar taking stock of the damages. Galieel
Chapter 103 Germaine gave up after struggling endlessly to bring forth her powers. Her breaths came out in fast short bursts.Hot tears of frustration pooled in her eyes but she quickly blinked them away. She released a harsh breath when she remembered what she had read in the tome back in Dilla's house. She was referred to as a savior.She - a savior?Ha! They must have mistaken her for someone else. She couldn't even help herself out of her situation, so how was she to help any of the others? For once, Keratin was silent. Up above her, the ground trembled and rumbled. She didn't need to be told that he, as well as the others, were fighting for their lives.Fueled with a sudden fierce determination, she focused on her breathing.When cornered, do not try to use your powers because they won't work.But why?Because you would have unknowingly locked them up. Powers run with your emotions, so if you are ca
Chapter 102Germaine breathed in deeply but just before she came back to her surroundings, she perceived Keratin's thoughts once more. Each one was a precise string of logic. He would maneuver to the right and attack with his claws while he would give way for other warriors to flank him. he would remain in front, leading, always keeping her safe by blocking her from harm.Even his warriors were not spared from being shielded by him. What she found confusing was when she saw how he would change to a human and attack the creatures with his sword, cutting off their heads if they got too close or crowded around them.How possible was this? Would she still be on his back or would she fall off?A skilled werewolf can change from animal to man, and back again within the twinkling of an eye. Of course, you already know we can divide into many parts of ourselves. And, no, my love, you would not fall off when I change
Chapter 101This is really happening. Germaine said to herself.As she stood staring at the creatures still high up in the sky, she could not help but feel a thrill slither down her back. She could not for the life of her, understand the excitement she felt at that moment. Inside of her, her powers flowed to her fingertips, ready to come out at the slightest urging.She could barely focus on what Storm was saying. He was giving a speech but it made no sense to her because all her senses were on the figures fast approaching in the sky. Nevertheless, she forced herself to listen to him as he reeled out instructions. The only instruction she would follow was to maim and kill the enemy."- and so the female mates will sit on the backs of their wolves."Say what?She put her hand up. "As far as I Know, the only mated female here is Amelia."Storm's lips twitched. Whether in amusement or anger, she could not tell. Wha
Chapter 100Keratin ran as fast as his warrior-legs would carry him. His thoughts which had been scrambled, became clear and centered on just one thing alone. Germaine. The mate bond sang in his veins and the call for protection was too strong for him to ignore.He tore into the tent where the females were and zeroed in on his mate sleeping soundly. He took some seconds to admire her sleeping form before striding forward. He knew what he was about to do was wrong. He knew he should blow the whistle which would alert everyone about the impending danger, but not yet.First. . . he needed to get his mate to safety.Not wasting any more time, he placed his large palm over her mouth and her eyelids fluttered open. It was entrancing to watch her blink away the fog of sleep blanketing her eyes and the myriad of expressions that moved, lightning-fast, across her features. He understood the fear he saw but it soon gave