Shandra leans her body more to the side imperceptibly, ready to hear Julian's account, who interlaces the fingers of his own hands and begins to stare at a fixed point in the shed."Sam isn't just the exiled prince of the hell realm. I mean, that seems like enough on its own, doesn't it?"The girl says nothing. The redhead sighed."Sam is one of the craziest guys I've ever met. He doesn't seem to care much for Order and the Law. He just does what he thinks is right, no matter who's in the way or if anyone besides him will suffer the consequences.""Is that why he was kicked out of Hell?""Sam was kicked out because he was an arrogant, overbearing jerk who believed he had more power than anyone else there. He seems to have forgotten what Darin did in his reign.""Darin?""Your Majesty, King of Hell.""Oh."Shandra is silent as Julian pulls himself together and continues with the story:"I was honestly surprised when I heard that he was exiled. I even thought that because he was an heir
The black beam coming out of the creature's twisted, blue hand goes straight through Shandra's torso, and she is hit hard.She screams in pain as she is thrown and falls to the hay floor of the shed.Sam screams as if his own had been hit, and Julian quickly takes the original demonic form and begins to attack the stranger.When he gets close to the creature, the small slits that make up its nose dilate and contract. Julian is detecting its scent."Damn, I told you it was to suspend the mission! What's your problem, huh?!"Lying on the floor, panting and feeling a terrible burning in her stomach, Shandra's eyes widen. Was the demon really dialoguing with the invader?!"The creature growls, or speaks in a weird dialect she cannot understand. Julian shouts again:"Which part don't you understand, you imbecile? I found it before you did, so you didn't have to keep looking! How can you be so dumb?!"Sam growls mercilessly at both the monster and Julian."You left that thing around to try
Shandra's eyes, for a mere fraction of a second, are completely normal. Then they turn red like the weird aura emanating from her and Sam, and the wound marks on her abdomen slowly begin to fade.Julian doesn't know whether to pay attention to the rapid healing process, to the bright and awe-inspiring magic surrounding the two of them, or to the exiled prince's serious and utterly tranquil expression upon seeing the magnitude of it.The red-haired man takes a step back. Shandra does not seem conscious, despite her open eyes.A few minutes later, the girl's smooth skin is back, with no signs of burns or any other damage. Sam's fire-colored eyes close, and the locket stops glowing. The strange magic fades away."Is she going to be okay?", Julian asks. "Will it take her a while to wake up?""Shandra is a strong girl. I doubt she'll be unconscious for long."The boys take her to the far corner of the building floor, which stinks of mold and garbage, but was the only safe place within mile
When Shandra finally woke up, the first thing she did was to lift the fabric of her blouse and assess her own abdomen. She seemed shocked to see no sign of injury. Only then did the girl look to the side, where Sam and Julian were talking quietly.The young woman honed her ears to try to pick up the conversation, but realized that the two were not speaking English. It didn't sound like any language she had heard before... The syllables seemed hard to follow, and the vowels were pronounced strangely...Could this be the demon language? The language of hell?Shandra stood up, still a little dizzy, and walked to where Sam and Julian were. They noticed her presence and stopped talking immediately, looking at her with concern."How are you feeling?" asked Sam, in her language."I'm fine," replied Shandra, still trying to get used to the strange language she had heard moments before. "But what was that all about? What was that bizarre thing wearing a cloak and hood?"A hunter," Julian repli
Shandra is not sure if she is alive, dead, delirious, or dreaming.All the girl can understand is that she is being held tightly by a man with the scent of roses and jasmine, who besides having sparkling, warm, pink skin, is literally flying and standing in mid-air.She stares at him, startled.The winged creature's voice is sweet and smooth as wine:"I got you."Shandra has no time to react. Quickly, rage-filled growls take over the clearing as Sam and Julian take the natural demon form, and fly at them."Let her go now," Sam threatens, his pointed teeth gleaming like sharp knives."Have you guys showered today? What a horrible smell of sulfur," the stranger complains, making a disgusted expression."We're not kidding, fairy," Julian says, his yellow eyes brighter and more frightening than in his human form."Is this how you people thank me? Frankly, I now understand why all magical creatures hate demons.""We thank you for your rescue, but we are suspicious of your convenient presen
The demons exchange a quick glance, looking resigned, and proceed toward the portal. Shandra feels a mixture of excitement and fear, while Julian and Sam maintain a more serious and alert posture.When they finally enter Dew, Oberon's city, the portal behind him closes with a loud pop. Shandra jumps up in fright and looks at the winged man, who reassures her:"Soon, soon you will be back."The sun above is sunny and without any clouds, which is a giant contrast compared to the gray, cold weather on the other side of the portal. The buildings are huge, all made of a white granite-like material, and roads and trees are spotted in all directions.The fairies, male and female, are of the most diverse colors and sizes. The smaller ones fly faster and release small sparks the color of their wings when they fly, and they are the ones who approach the visitors first."Who are they?" asks a little blue fairy with emerald-colored wings."Two demons and human, Edrina," Oberon replies, smiling sy
The palace garden was much, much larger than any Shandra had ever seen. Royal guards stood in strategic places, serious and focused on their duty. All the most beautiful flowers in the world seemed to be part of the landscape, and the girl did not know which one to look at.A giant glass greenhouse stood behind the imposing building itself. Julian mentally communicated with her once again:"The fairies treat with reverence every tree, shrub or flower that exists. Every leaf, seed and petal is absolutely sacred to them.""And why?""They believe in the Mother Goddess, whose greatest physical manifestation is nature itself. By cultivating these plants, they are worshipping her directly.""So... No taking one of those flowers and putting it behind your ear, right?""Only if one of them offers you that privilege. It would probably be some kind of blessing. But, just to be safe, don't even look at those flowers strangely."Shandra was so excited to see a whole world of fairies, she forgets
"So that's her?" the fairy asks, her eyes vivid and frighteningly overjoyed."Yes, and those are the demons keeping her company.""I see."The woman takes two steps toward the table where the trio is sitting, sniffing the air."But it gets better and better," she comments."I'm sorry," Julian interrupts, not sounding at all sorry. "But who are you?"Oberon gasps and moves toward the unknown fairy, raising his hand as he introduces her:"This is Alaianis, the captain of the royal guard."Shandra can't stop looking at the stranger, who has a beautiful and voluptuous body, but not necessarily strong. It was hard to think of her as someone who could fight, but the girl knew that despising an opponent for their appearance was one of the biggest mistakes she could make.The fairy also wore no armor, but a shiny black dress that looked like a starry night. There was no weapon in sight, but fairies needed weapons to be able to fight.Alaianis' voice is drawn out and sweet, but Shandra knows t
The final walk along the last trail that would lead them to the Tenebris Mountains was much more tense and silent than Shandra had imagined it would be.Nervous, the girl was paying attention to the vegetation around her; the way the trees and plants looked now that she knew they were all interconnected with Gaia.And speaking of Gaia, the entity's words still rang in her ear constantly. She takes a deep breath as she gropes around in her pocket for the strange artifact she had been given as a gift.Would she need to use it that day?Sam's voice sounded in her mind:"Disturbed?"Shanda looks discreetly at him before answering mentally as well:"Evidently so. Don't you?"His fire-colored eyes, always so confident, were somewhat misty that morning. A few seconds later, he finally replies:"I'm more than disturbed. I'm terrified."The heartfelt answer takes the girl by surprise. He continues:"At some point, Shandra, everything... Everything will come to light. The fact that we are inter
Shandra was still absorbing the shock of Gaia's strange contact, as well as her sudden disappearance, when a low voice whispers behind her."Shandra."She turns around quickly. Julian is standing with a totally apathetic expression on his face."Did you see it?", she whispers.The redhead nods his head in confirmation."Was it an important errand?"Shandra bites her lip, thoughtful about what to say about Gaia's words. She decides to be subtle and direct:"Yes."Julian waits for the explanation, but the girl just holds the jewel tighter and starts walking back to the camp."Wait a minute."She stops. The demon approaches again and asks:"What's going on? Are you okay?""I am.""You don't know how to lie very well, you know that?"Shandra snorts."I just don't want to talk about it."Julian looks at the girl's closed hand and stares at her as if he is about to question her about it."Please, please, don't ask me questions," she pleads.Genuine anguish takes over his expression."Let me
Shandra knew she was awake.Therefore, what was in front of her could not be a dream. Considering all the stress she had been under in the past weeks, however, she thought she was suffering from a delirium.Everyone else was asleep, except, of course, the demons. Although they felt no sleep, both Sam and Julian liked to lie down, close their eyes and apparently rest. Caleb and Ezan are also immersed in a deep sleep.The girl keeps looking at what at first she thought was just a trick of light and shadow: the thin, unusual silhouette that strolled by as if it were a mere traveler.However, the energy of that silhouette, the way it moved... This was certainly no ordinary person. Then Shandra stood up to take a closer look.The person, creature or whatever it was didn't seem to be intimidated by being noticed. Its skin was transparent, almost ghostly, and a subtle blue light radiated from it.Strangely enough, Shandra did not fear it. No, there was nothing aggressive or strange coming fr
Shandra feels her heart resounding inside her chest. A small shiver runs down her arms as she slowly takes a step towards the final trail; the one they would make before finally arriving in enemy territory.Everything could end well: Eluna would be rescued, and everyone could return to their respective homes.Or...She imagines the bodies of Sam, Julian, Ezan and Caleb lying on the ground like a sack of potatoes; their throats slit. Was cutting throats an easy method of execution for supernatural creatures?Shandra knew that killing a demon was too difficult a thing to do, so she doubted it very much. Werewolves, on the other hand, seemed weaker in that respect."Let's walk some more and get camp up," says Julian, who until then had been completely silent and immersed in his own thoughts.Shandra nods, trying to push away the dark misfortunes troubling her, but it is incredibly difficult. She knows she cannot let fear take over. Together, the group continues to advance along the narro
Shandra knew that she would never, ever be able to fully recover from this.As the small group headed towards the mountain range, the young woman barely opened her mouth to say anything and ate only what was necessary. The magic was dormant, still ready to spring into action, but she deliberately ignored the feeling.Looking up at the pale dawn sky, Shandra huffed audibly. It was very soon before they finally put the plan into action. There was still no word from Marcus and his group.Not that she didn't trust the abilities and strength of the pack. They could take good care of themselves.But would she, Julian, Sam, Caleb and Ezan be able to single-handedly accomplish a mission of that magnitude and not get screwed in the process?"It's going to be okay," Sam's voice breaks into her dark thoughts.Annoyed, the girl looks at him, and mentally communicates as well:"Are you reading my thoughts?""I don't need to. Your expression already says it all."Irritated, Shandra just keeps walki
As soon as Caleb's huge sharp teeth dig into Elara's unprotected torso, the vampire screams terribly in agony. The bite causes her a stabbing pain.Elara lets out another scream when, after having her skin torn apart by the wolf, her body is thrown backwards by the impact of this attack... Julian also approaches quickly, taking the opportunity to strike a powerful blow against Elara, hitting her full on.Sam once again looks at Shandra, obviously proud to see what had happened there. Ezan, Caleb and the yellow-eyed demon continue to attack relentlessly; Shandra stays focused on her task of neutralizing the vampire's artifacts. With the items weakened, Elara is no longer invincible, but still poses a danger.Sweating, the young woman realizes that she needs to keep her own energy connected to Elara's items. There was no way, or at least no easy way, to permanently deactivate them.Although she was obviously weaker, Elara was not vulnerable. Even though she is suspicious as to why her t
Shandra feels a mixture of relief and gratitude when, finally, Julian takes flight and attacks Elara, holding her by the neck and throwing her to the ground sharply."You really think you can take me, you pathetic demon?" she sneers, probably ready to use one of her many artifacts.And that is exactly what she does. One moment, Julian is strangling her without a shadow of mercy. The next, he is breathing hard, gasping like a smoker after climbing two flights of stairs.Sam, focused on destroying the vampire, casts more fire elemental magic energy, but at the last second the girl flinches, causing the flames to only burn the tip of her hair."You bastard!" she shouts, leaving Julian temporarily behind.Shandra quickly raises a shield to protect him, but the wall fails.Ezan's voice sounds behind the girl:"Beacon of Light!"She widens her eyes and addresses the older werewolf. The girl is surprised to see him in human form. Caleb, unlike him, remains as a wolf."Beacon of Light, we are
Shandra panics as she sees the werewolves advancing towards Elara, ready to attack. She knows that a fight between the werewolves and the vampire can be extremely dangerous and doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. With a mixture of despair and determination, she stands in the way, trying to prevent impending violence."No!" cries Shandra, her voice full of anguish. " Stop! It’s not worth it! Elara is not our enemy!"Useless. Completely useless, you know.The beautiful girl, seeing the two angry wolves coming towards her, drops her cloak, revealing pale skin like the moon and slender, thin and seemingly fragile arms and legs. Immediately Elara puts herself in a fighting posture, smiling as she feels the adrenaline taking over her body.Shandra can barely understand what happened when, out of nowhere, the vampire just disappears.But her energy was still there. Had she become invisible?The impact of a sharp blow to Ezan’s jaw, which makes him fly for a few meters, frightens the girl and gi
Shandra, Sam, Julian and the other members of the group stand on alert, watching for the approaching silhouette. Tension hangs in the air as everyone prepares for any eventuality.As the figure approaches, it becomes clear that it is a tall, elegant woman with long black hair and a piercing gaze. She seems to exude an aura of power and authority."Elara," Sam murmurs, with a mixture of surprise and apprehension in her voice.Shandra frowns from one to the other, wondering what could be happening, but doesn't have time to verbalize a single word.The werewolves transform into their lupine form and start growling loudly and menacingly. Elara doesn't seem to be upset or afraid of that sight."Interesting company you have arranged," are the first words she addresses to the coppery-eyed demon."Is that really serious?", Julian grumbles."Who are you?" asks Shandra.The questioning makes the woman laugh."Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, Sam?"The prince from hell looks hes