*Soleil*
The party goes as planned. There are no witches intruding to brainwash the guests and put a stop to all the fun. In fact, it is as plain as any birthday could be, right down to the birthday cake that is served after the dinner. Still, I can not help but be on guard. Since Lefu had called me, I have been nervous and feared that he would jump out in front of me every moment. I am not sure whether he or one of the Royals can have followed me up here, but as the evening progresses and nothing seems to happen, I begin to relax more.
When Belinda's friends show up and my grandmother has left to go home, I decide to go for a walk in the garden to get some fresh air.
*Gudrun*It is rather late when I pull up in front of the small cabin in Scotland. We had to wait for Belinda because the train from Liverpool was delayed."Can you feel anything ?" Soleil asks as we get out of the car."No, nothing, but I feel like we're still driving”. Belinda looks around in the dark courtyard. “It's a pretty long drive up here”."You will get used to it"."And yo
*Soleil*As if my life is not an ordeal enough in itself ? Now little Miss Perfect had come to show off herself. How long has she been here ? Three minutes ? And Martha is already drooling over her. I might just as well receive Tjalfe’soffer and let go of the calling. Now they have Belinda, who is obviously much better. I can only find out how to destroy everything and attract vampires.The jealousy sends furious force to my legs, and I sprint all I can in powered speed along the gravel path. I had to leave, be alone with Nature and something that is not destroyed.
*Lefu*I lean over the edge of the roof of the building and look down at the busy cows trudging past.I inhale the cold air and enjoy their aroma. Now that the cold is on its way, I need more food to keep my body from deteriorating."Look at them”. I smile at her, nodding down at the horde. "They have no idea they are being measured and weighed right now. How does it feel ?""Powerful”. She bares her pointed teeth and sniff
*Luca*The sound of a car engine hit my sense of hearing. I squint at Martin. The massive dork stands there with a crooked expression, which clearly shows that he knows the sound of the engine. I grind my teeth as Soleil's essence rips into my heart. She is in the car.I do not know why, but I can feel she is nearby and I can see that Martin is feeling the same way about the red-haired witch.A small Fiat filled to the brim with witches soon after rolls into the courtyard."Are you absolutely sure o
*Gudrun*"Elder, please let go of Jonas”. I stand completely still.I know that if I show the slightest hint of insecurity, the man behind me will go berserk. It is almost impossible to meet the woman’s, whom I consider my second mother, gaze, but I have to.Siri only hesitates for a moment, then she lets go of the mental bond to Martin's brother. From his sigh, I interpret that he is okay and I turn to Martin. My hand rests steadily against the marked muscles on his chest. He is furious, that is at least what the others see, but I know better. He is scared. Afraid that something will
*Soleil*I hold on to the armrest so as not to run away. I know that everyone's eyes are resting on me now, and I have to gather all my willpower not to show weakness through my body language. Now we have come to the part of the meeting which I had not been looking forward to at all. I would probably be able to live with being jealous of always having to fight for the things which Belinda seems to come sleeping to, but that my cousin will now also have Luca, crushes me."Belinda has dreamed of Luca”. I mumble. My throat feels like sandpaper. “My kin has told me that we can change partners if one does not want the connection”.
*Soleil*When he has run a little, he howls again, and this time the answer comes closer to us. He slows down and whimpers up to me.I know what Andreas is trying to tell me. Luca is on his way towards us, and if he is not to discover me and run off again, I have to remain completely still.Andreas slowly leans forward with his pointed, furry ears constantly to the south, breathing the air. We reach a rocky ledge where the river runs just a few feet below us. The mountain rises steeply over the ledge and reveals a smallca
*Gudrun*I see the young light brown hamram disappear into the trees with Soleil on his back. Things are not taking the course I had imagined. Behind me, the witches and wolves keep their distance and talk only among themselves. It does not sound like they are closer to a common solution than when we arrived. That Luca will not cooperateposes a challenge. Had I misinterpreted the signs anyway ? Her kin had been evasive when I had asked him, and the runes still will not do justice. By Loke's cunning, what have I gotten them all into ?I watch in silence as first Belinda disappears out the front door under the pretext of
*Soleil* "Oh! I never thought we would get away from Scotland”. I kick off my shoes and throw the backpack on the floor. "It was getting cramped up there”. "We're getting ok at it actually”. Luca closes the door to the small apartment and slams the lock. "We handed out some serious ass kicking” I huff. "Yes, we could win every time if you did not try to decide it all”. "You can just accept that I'm always right”. He grins. "I do when you realize that it's not about being right, but about what works !" I star defiantly up at him, but surrender as he pulls me into him. "I'm just happy you came back”. He bends down and kisses me. "So am I". The butterflies flutter joyfully inside me, and I pull him down in a deeper kiss. I twist my fingers into his tousled mocha brown hair and indulge in the feel of his lips and exploratory tongue. “Well, what do you say ? English or history ?” He withdraws and deftly avoids my aggrieved gaze. "Seriously ? You want us to read our hom
*Narrator* “Magnificent !” The lord of the wind's eyes shone with obvious joy. “I could not have done thatbetter myself”. "You were entrusted to bestow on this man your strength, and now this !" The lady of the earth thrust her arm out against a settlement, engulfed in flames. "We were just letting out a little smoke". The lord of the fire grumbled. "We just happened to realise that If humans do not gather as a people, then they will never overcome the brood and not at all the queen”. “It might very well be right. But this is not the solution”. She sighed heavily. “They were meant to live happily, not to be subjected to more tyranny”. A small lake began to trickle up from the ground beneath them and manifested itself in a figure like the other three. "It's over”. The lady of the water said. “There is no hope anymore. Tonight they will gather, and your kinship will be wiped out”. "Oh, I can not get air". The lord of the wind sobbed with laughter. "Very funny !" Snarled the fir
*Tjalfe* The villagers have never seen Hrazgouls so close before. Only a few, fleeting glimpses have been had. They always come after the Bakorshas have finished emptying their prey of blood, to eat the remains. In the morning, when the residents venture out into the daylight, there are only pieces of clothing, shattered bones and stinking piles of entrails left in rust-red stains on the ground. When one of them has tried to escape over the mountains, the remaining ones do not even get to see the Bakorshaer’s servants before the death cry of the fugitive resounds across the valley. Now they come in between the houses. One being more abominable than the next. Giant beasts with luminous, yellow eyes, whose long gaps flashes with large serrated rows of teeth. Their upright bodies were covered with dense coarse fur, while the broad shoulders and long, bulging arms end up in a paw-like hand so large that it could effortlessly crush the skull of a man. In between them comes smaller cre
*Tjalfe* Although darkness reigns behind the houses, it is easy to find the victim. The child’s screams drive Saren forward, and the fire blazes furiously in his hand. He finds the child just as life leaves the body. Like a breastfeeding infant it lays the arms of a Bakorsha, whose teeth sit deeply buried in the child’s thighs. With an insane scream, Saren sends a long beam of fire towards the monster. The heat is so high that it instantly sets both the Bakorsha and the child corpse on fire. When the last rays leave Sarens hand, both fall on the ground, charred and annihilated. The embers reveal the next victim and her assailants. It is the child's mother who lays helplessly on the firewood block while one of the dark ones brutally mates her and rips her flesh to blood with its dirty nails. Three others are biting into her arms and neck, where they greedily empties her of blood. Saren raises his hands to obliterate the creeps and free the woman from her afflictions, but nothing h
*Tjalfe* Malicious laughter and agitated voices intrudes in the dark, first from the west, but gradually the sounds spread until they surround the whole village. Bringing promises of carnage and death. The people flee back out of their houses, and all search for the relative safety of the fire. Quickly they get their torches lit and turn front towards the enemy, who is still hiding in the shelter of the darkness. Only now do they become aware thatthat their medicine man stands among them without a torch. The fear of Bakorsha had for a moment made them forget the new danger that had manifested itself in their midst, but then the burning house begin to give in to the ravaging of the flames, and it seems to dawn on them what they had witnessed as they scouted out the windows. Those closest to the medicine man hurried awayfrom him. This is a mistake and part of me wants to warn them, but it is too late anyway, and a shadow flies past and grabs one of the men. His howl is drowned
*Tjalfe* I am watching from my spot inside the storm, watching as things unfold below me. The people look up at the storm, which suddenly hangs over their heads. Panic and confusion arises in the village. Everyone let go of what they have in their hands and run into the middle of the square to seek shelter around the bonfire. Humans are no longer one, they have been divided by fear, and everyone care only to keep himself and his offspring alive. Everyone pushes and hustles to get closest to the fireplace andfarthest from the edge of the circle, for now that the sun's rays are hidden behind the heavy slate-gray clouds the Bakorshas will arrive prematurely. In the middle of the village a large bonfire is burning, and torches have been laid nearby, so they can be quickly ignited. The people has learned that the Bakorshas are not enthusiastic about fire, and that it sometimes happen that the sharp-toothed monsters will abandon the attack and instead throw themselves at another vict
*Tjalfe* The valley is a beautiful, small oasis between the high mountains, which in its time had attracted the inhabitants. They had lived in peace and perfect harmony. The mountains had shielded them from the worst winds, so the crops were diverse and the people of the city had never experienced distress. The only entrance to the village is an opening to the west where the surrounding mountains remain broken by a narrow passage. The view over the pass makes it possible to detect travelers coming from distant parts of the continent in good time, and show them hospitality. No one knew of anything but tolerance and no one dreamed that travelers could come up with anything but peace. It ended when the dark ones came. From then on, the valley became a prison for the people. During the day they were trapped, and at night they were harvested like grapes on stalks. There was no way out off there, all passable roads were blocked by Hrazgouls, the servants. Many had tried to flee, but eac
*Lefu* A tear rolls down my cheek. "Goodbye, Katje". I whisper softly. "I swear your death will be avenged”. "Now you see what they are capable of”. Strano puts his hands in the pockets of his night-black Armani jacket. "It is only the beginning”. I hiss angrily at him. "How can you choose them over your own ?" "You still do not understand, do you ?" Strano rolls his eyes. “They would not be here if it were not for you. Remember that”. “You knew it all from the start, right ? That there were several dogs and that I knew about them. That's why you did not kill me right away when you came up here and picked me up. That’s the truth right ?" I can’t help but seek assurance that I am right. He gives a small sigh. “I saw an opportunity and I took it. When the girls sacrificed Elisabeth, I could not prove that they were involved. I bet you would throw in the dogs as bait if you got the chance, and that Lyndsey would bite”. "What about her ?" I nodded down toward the figure with the
*Luca* My gaze is fixed as I step forward towards Harry. The dark blonde ulfhedin might be the pack leader, but this is my prey, and I do not shy away from the warning snarl of the alpha. Harry must have come to the same conclusion, for he goes silent and withdraws. I stop in front of the charred statue. My nails slide down the rough surface. Although the texture feels like charred wood, the shell is massive. I withdraw my arm and fire. The charred crust cracks, and I have to strike through once more to penetrate into the goal. When the shell breaks, a rain of coagulated blood sprays over me. I stick my paw into the evil bitch, find what I am looking for, and pull hard. The heart is still pumping weakly as I hold it up in front of the statue. I growl triumphantly and squeezeit in my powerful fist. The heart stops beating, and the red flesh-filled tissue gives way and explodes in a cloud of dust. It is over. "What do we do now ?" Soleil's cousin stands in front of the grotesqu