Found You

With a year given to me, I don’t want to waste a single second of it. However, the one named Rem hasn’t had his fill of me yet. He quickly blocks my way, shooting me death glares that hold no effect on me at all. However, out of respect for the promise I just made, I remain patient with him.

“You can’t go out there and just fuckin’ do whatever!” He yells at me. I arch a brow but wait for him to finish. “You have to promise you won’t disturb the peace! No one can know what you fuckin’ are, got it!?”

Oh. Was that all he was worried about?

“Do not worry. None of the mortals will know me. I only plan to deal with my rival, and no other,” I tell the Hunter. He sighs and looks away from me, clearly unhappy at having just lost his mate to the unknown. The other two are silent as we speak, but I can tell from their expressions they are worried.

“Not a single one!” Rem warns me, though, what he expects to do against me; who knows? “I can’t let you out of here if you plan on warring with people! The others would kill me!”

I stare at him for a while, then it clicks. The other Hunters. “I have no intentions of waging a war with humanity. Death is not a thing that can be forced on the living. Their time comes when it is time for death to come, no sooner.”

My words seem to settle him down enough, and he nods faintly. “Okay,” he mumbles. Clearly, he is still unhappy, but his lover’s words from earlier seem to have made him willing to listen to me.

I don’t give the group time to think of more reasons to delay me from my task, as I shift into my true form; that of a massive red dragon. We made this cave with our size in mind, so escape from here is easy enough. The small obstruction where the entrance once was has done nothing to keep me in here.

I can hear all three of them behind me, scared of what might happen if people saw me, but I’m not worried. They don’t understand the true powers I hold, and they may never.

Putting thoughts of them behind me, I soar into the sky, looking for the aura of Hafgan. I do not know where he might be, or if he is on his way to my location, but I will know him when I sense him. The ice-blue aura stands out so brightly compared to the other auras and I can’t help but smirk widely.

“There you are,” I utter and quickly make my way towards him. As I get closer to the aura, I descend lower to the ground. None of the humans have taken any notice of me. As I had promised, I have not allowed them to see my true form. If they looked up, all they would see was a bird. And on the ground? A human walking along, nothing more.

As soon as I find myself almost above Hafgan’s aura, I swoop down and land in front of him. Startled at my sudden appearance, he lets out a scream and leaps back, away from me. He points, eyes wide at me as though seeing me is something for him to fear. I’m not sure what he is thinking. Maybe he is worried I’ll finish him off for good?

I push that thought out of my mind and lift my head proudly as I boom, “I challenge you to a battle!”

Finally able to put his thoughts into his mouth, he almost screeches, “what?! No! Why would I do that!? I’m dreaming! No! No way!”

Wait… he refused to accept my challenge? Hafgan never refuses to battle, usually. I give him a perplexed look, wondering why he is so different from what I have been told. Perhaps he finally realises he is not strong enough?

“Have you turned into a coward in your old age? Hafgan?” I ask, frowning as I consider him.

“Hafgan!?” The man blurts out the name in shock before he seems to gather some sort of courage and points at himself. “My name is Maxen! Maxen!”

I can’t help but laugh myself sick! Is this his new game? Pretend to be mortal to make me lower my guard? “Hafgan, stop being a coward and fight me. I, Arwen, God of Annwn, demand you battle me!”

“I am not Hafgan!” He insists, stepping back away from me as he gazes at me directly. He can obviously see the real me, so I know it must be him. No human could ever see my true form. “And you can’t be the God of Annwn!” He then blurts out, seeming to grow angry with me.

“And why not?” I ask, my temper daring to flare, but I hold it back. Is he suggesting I am not worthy? That only he is? That he will finally take over like he always wished?

The man takes a deep breath in before he points at me. “The God of Death is called Arawn! You got the name all wrong! And why would you be a big-ass damned dragon for that matter?! That makes no sense! This is some stupid daydream and I am going to wake up at any moment!”

Oh. I guess I should have realised.

I calm down instantly as I explain, “that is because I am the son of Arawn. I took over from his role as the caretaker of Annwn centuries ago. Well, I can’t have expected you to have known that, asleep as you were. I doubt the humans even know about it, either.”

The man looks at me with sceptical eyes.

“Regardless,” I continue, ignoring his gaze. “The bargain does not change. We must do battle before the year is up. That is how it has always been and how it will continue to be. If you are not willing to do battle here, that is fine. However, I will not give up. I can wait until you are ready and until then I will stay near you.”

Hafgan or Maxen, whatever he names himself, seems about to protest my words, but he gets cut off as familiar voices call out after me. I roll my eyes and turn around. I hadn’t come far to get here, but did they have to chase me down like this?!

“What are you three doing, following me around like lambs?” I ask, turning my attention away from my foe. “I made sure none could see my true form, all but Hafgan. Well, I suppose anything supernatural and the Hunters would also see me, but that is beside the point.”

“You left before we could ask about some things,” the one named Kayden says. The only one out of breath seems to be Rem, but that doesn’t surprise me.

I set my attention on the Ancient One and grunt. “Fine, what is it? I have important things to do right now.”

“Well, Rakesh here lost his memories and his powers are fading, but we don’t know where to look to find the spirits that can help restore him before it is too late,” he rambles on. Why he thinks I would care about any of this, I do not know.

“And what about Zach? Why can’t I communicate with him?” Rem perks up. He still worries about his mate, but he does not need to do so. The Star-Spirit can easily survive in Annwn as any other God may. Not that he would ever be a God, but he is as close as he is going to get.

They bombard me with other questions, most of which relate to the spirits, but I am not in the mood for all this. Still, I answer, “first, let me say this. If Rakesh has broken his bond with the spirits, that was by his own choice. I will give you the location to search, but the rest shall be up to you.”

Kayden nods slowly, and for a moment, I allow him into my mind to see the place in which I speak of. It is an old, forgotten place in this world, but it is where the spirits are strongest.

I then turn my attention back to Rem and say, “your beloved is in Annwn. That place is not this world. That is why you cannot speak with him, even through the mindlink. You need not fear. Despite him being not of the same rank of God as I am, he is as powerful as any lesser God-like being could be. He is alive and well down there and will be no worse for wear. That is why I picked him. You and your fake-Gods could never manage it.”

Rem frowns at me, still unhappy with the lack of his lover. I guess I will never understand the connection werewolves have with their mates.

I sigh in frustration and say, “there is one way to commune with him. However, it can only happen during what you humans call ‘the witching hour’ and you must do so in a very set way.” I glance at Rakesh and then suggest, “have him teach you. Or if he doesn’t remember, someone of his age or older will remember. The Spirits and us Gods have always been connected. They live in my realm as much as they do this one. It is how they became what they are.”

The look on Rem’s face as he regards me in marvel has my satisfaction swell. I try to brush it off, however, as I am still annoyed with the rude interruption.

Turning back to where Hafgan was standing, I opened my mouth to once more regard him, only to find the damned man had snuck off at some point while I was speaking with these people!

“You know,” Kayden speaks up, standing beside me. “I don’t believe that was the one you were looking for,” he tells me, as I gaze down at him curiously. “His thoughts did not know what was going on, or if you were even real. You came to him sensing it was the rival you seek, right?”

I nod once. “Yes. He has that aura.”

“Maybe this guy is just a descendant?” He suggests.

I mull over this proposal. He could very well be right, but that means Hafgan is still out there somewhere. I focus again, trying to find another similar aura, but there is nothing as far as I can tell.

“Oh!” Kayden speaks up again. “The one the werewolf pack also tried to summon. That was probably Hafgan, right?” He asks, looking from me to his two companions. When they nod and look at me, I give a low hum in thought.

“It is possible, yes. Then was he released or not?” I ask, peering down at them intently.

“I’ll ask,” Kayden relays. After a moment, he finally seems to snap out of his thoughts; of which I know is him communicating to the others, and relays, “they say the soul at the gravesite is gone but they never saw nor felt him leave.”

I let out a thoughtful sound. If Hafgan wants revenge as he always does when he returns to the mortal world, then he will head towards the most suitable body to inhabit. It won’t be just anybody, though. It has to be one of his bloodlines.

That leaves only that man. Maxen.