„I have the feeling that it’s getting darker and darker here, with each step we take in front,” Eṉōl suddenly said while carefully looking around. They were advancing at that moment, in a slow step, through a forest he didn’t know, but which seemed so familiar to him at the same time.
Unlike him, who seemed worried, Alena seemed very calm. She focused her glance only on the path in front of them, paying no attention to what happened around them. Only when Eṉōl spoke, she glanced at him, telling him in a serious voice, even if she tried to seem calm, „It’s because of the shadows.”
Eṉōl winced. „Because of the shadows? Which shadows?”
„Those who live in this forest?! They call themselves Epimiyar, which in the language of humans means ephemeral.”
The commander suddenly shook his head. „Wait a minute! I don’t get it: what kind of shadows are we talking about? I see none here. Only the darkness around and… that’s all.”
Alena smiled. „Does it seem a little thing to you?”
„That it is dark here?!” Eṉōl asked, quickening his pace to get next to the fox.
„Yes because nowhere else you’ll find such darkness as here. Not even in the Forest of Tenebres.”
Eṉōl frowned this time. „The forest of the Shadows! The Forest of Tenebre! The same name! Yet, I’m sure we aren’t in the forest of that cobra, because I know that place very well.”
„You are actually right. We are in the magical projection of that forest. Nikkari helped us to get here.”
„Nikkari? Do you mean that the nymph lured us into the grotto, to send us here later as fresh meat to whoever lives in this forest of shadows?”
Alena smiled again. „I thought that only Zeal doesn’t trust others. I see that you aren’t an exception too, commander. I’m pretty sure that you are even more scared than she could be because… you can’t make the difference between evil and good right now.”
„I don’t think I am doing something wrong though. You told me that we got here, hell knows where, through a secret tunnel. It’s normal to suspect the one who helped us to cross through it, don’t you also think so?”
„Yes, you are right: it’s normal to suspect others. At the same time, it’s normal to trust people.”
„Nymphs do you mean because… Nikkari isn’t human for sure.”
„Well, she isn’t a nymph either… or a Virgin, once she brought Coallar into this world.”
Eṉōl suddenly stopped. „What? Nikkari is God Boor’s great-grandmother?”
„You could say that. Only a few know this secret. So, to not make a fuss of all this, I suggest you keep it for yourself only.”
„Why so? It seems logical to me to tell others about the members of their family. Don’t you think so? Who knows?! Maybe they’ll happily live ever after that.”
After such words, Alena stopped too. Then, she looked straight into Eṉōl’s eyes, even if she didn’t see them too well because of the darkness. After that, she asked, „Commander, what do you think you’ll feel if someone tells you a secret about your worst enemy?”
„I would probably feel irritated. Maybe confused too. And curious, I think.”
„The same would happen to God Boor and to the rest of his family. Do you know why?”
„Because Coallar always tried to hurt them?”
„Exactly. Actually, they lost not only a few dear people because of that mad king and his sons. Because of this, their heart still bleeds now and they want him dead. Yet, as they can’t hurt him once Coallar is dead, they try to live in peace, at least as much as they can. That’s why, if you tell them about the bond that ties Nikkari, Coallar, and them, instead of happiness, they’ll relive bad memories, the anger, disappointment, and frustration they have felt while Coallar was still alive.”
„I understand what you want to say, but… Nikkari and Coallar are two different people eventually.”
„I never said they weren’t. Yet, commander Eṉōl, they still have the same blood. Blood that also flows through God Boor’s veins and of his family. A link they would have liked to be cut a long time ago.”
Saying this, Alena sighed. She felt sad, even if she didn’t talk about her family. Even so, she felt great pressure over her chest because this also reminded her about the evil her family lived. At the same time, Alena remembered all the bad things she and the foxes of Inmar did to Boor’s family in the past, at Ahi’s command.
Eventually, when the commander asked, „How do you know all this?” Alena smiled and looked at Eṉōl, to whom she said:
„It was predestined that way. To find out this secret. A long time ago.”
„To find out something like what?”
„The truth, commander. Since I was a child, I saw the truth in people’s eyes.”
Suddenly, when she felt a strange movement to her right, Alena turned her back to Eṉōl and kept advancing on the same path they walked before. Eṉōl followed her right away, only one step behind because Alena made him curious through all she said. Yes, Eṉōl was that kind of insightful person, meticulous we can even say, but this didn’t change the fact that he was also a curious man, interested in stories. He wasn’t interested in fairytales, but in real stories, about someone’s past. Stories that became a kind of comfort for him in time, even if those stories were about sad events and painful lives. Eṉōl liked them a lot because by only listening to stories he could forget about the anxiety he felt before the war. Or maybe he felt it during the war?! He wasn’t that sure anymore: if that war started or was about to start, and all they lived at that moment was the silence before the storm, a silence that still managed to make them nervous and powerless in front of Fate.
Eṉōl wasn’t the only one who felt anxious at that moment. Alena felt the same: she felt powerless because she didn’t know how to escape the trap Fate put in front of them. At the same time, she felt sad because that forest reminded her of that time when she was alone, an orphan whom everybody chased away and didn’t want to accept for the simple fact that she was a stranger. Why did she feel like that then? Because Alena didn’t listen to what Zayleea told her and didn’t turn right next to the big rocks to head toward the borders of Paṉi Makkaḷ. She turned left at the first crossroad she met on her way after she passed the big rocks. Thus, she got into a strange forest, one that suddenly appeared in front of her.
„The same happened that day,” she suddenly murmured, making Eṉōl wince because of her whisper.
„That day?” The commander asked her, confused. „What do you mean?”
„I talk about that spy, to your right, who follows us.”
Looking to his right, at the place Alena mentioned, Eṉōl finally saw the bushes slowly moving to the sides, as though someone invisible was passing through them. Eṉōl didn’t see who was there at first only. This made him frown, wondering what kind of devilish thing was following them. Then, when he remembered what Alena said before, he winced again and said, „The Shadows!”
„More than a shadow, that creature is real.”
„Do you mean he’s alive?”
„At least he seems to be, once Maranam gave him eternal life too, thanks to Ṭirākulā.
„The Vanamars!” Eṉōl suddenly shouted. Realizing that it was a stupid idea, more, when Alena reproachfully looked at him, the commander covered his mouth with both palms. „The red wolves that attacked your home when you were little. You told me about them in the tunnels.”
„I see you have a good memory,” Alena teased him. Then, she smiled. „You are right: he’s one of the Vanamars. Nevertheless, this one is only a spy. A weak one, judging by the energy that flows through his veins, even if he’s still a spy that can tell others that we are here.”
„Then, what do you have in mind? To get rid of him?”
„It’s not that easy to do that!” Whispered Alena.
„Maybe it’s not easy. I agree with you. Yet, I think it’s worth trying this, once we are here. Eventually, we are in an unknown place, and it’s okay for us to be cautious, don’t you also think so?”
„What I think is that is not the time to take a risk, commander,” the fox told him in a severe tone this time. „Because this forest doesn’t serve us, but them. The same happens to the Shadows around us: they listen only to their command. More than that, if these Shadows receive a command, they can surround us in seconds, making us their servants forever.”
„What should we do then? Should we wait only?”
„No, we’ll act, but carefully. Just as they are doing.”
„We’ll spy on them! Let’s call things by their real name!” Said Eṉōl, smiling.
„I told you that you are perceptive when you want this, right?”
Alena’s smile made Eṉōl confused. He felt weird next to her at that time, even if he didn’t understand why he felt like that. Yet, understanding that if Alena proposed that plan, it meant she knew what she was doing, he decided to trust her. That’s why he suddenly pulled back, seeing Alena forming the famous fireball above her left palm. Eṉōl did that not to give her some space to act, but a little bit afraid because he didn’t know when that ball could miss the target, and… Eṉōl really didn’t want to be turned into a weird creature whose ears were smoking. This thought made Alena smile. Even so, she didn’t tell him that she could read minds. It was funnier this way, and she decided to keep the tension between them a little longer. She was sure that it was safer too. Actually, she was doing that trick not only with her enemies, from whose thoughts she could find out their plans but also with the „faithful” allies and friends because… they were in times of war and she knew that even your best friend could turn into a beast if he has to do that.
Seeing the sparkling eyes of the Vanamar, who was stopped behind a bush not that far from them, eyes Eṉōl also saw that time, Alena became serious. Her eyes suddenly turned red like the color of the flames, just as the eyes of the Vanamar looked at that moment, while the fireball from her palm increased and increased in volume. That ball, once it got the size of a volleyball, started to send reddish rays around, rays that made Eṉōl confused. That’s why he looked scared at the fox, not understanding what could have been in her mind at that time. What Eṉōl didn’t know, Alena knew: she was aware that as long as the reddish light of the fireball was sent around, they were protected by its power and also hidden by being seen by others. Only the Vanamar that had followed them there saw them. This was due to Alena’s power and not because he wanted this. It also happened because of that reddish light. Nevertheless, even though the big red wolf was controlled by Alena’s light, he still showed his fangs to the enemies, hinting to them that he was more than ready to taste their flesh if they kept provoking him.
„Something he won’t do eventually,” Alena said, answering Eṉōl’s question, one he asked himself in his head only: if the Vanamar would attack them or not.
„Why are you so sure of this?” The commander asked, more confused than before.
„Because he was chased away from his group. He’s an outsider of the Vanamars. Yet, he’s one we can use for our plan.”
„I don’t see how he can help us, honestly.”
„Simple: by turning him into our spy, even if they wanted him theirs. For this, we’ll use a little bit of the foxes’cunningness. And, with a little bit of luck, we are out of this forest: safe.”
Not totally convinced that the fox’s plan would work, Eṉōl nodded eventually. His acceptance made Alena smile, something that confused him more. Eṉōl felt strange at that moment, as he had never felt next to a woman before. More than that, he had never been next to a cunning woman like the fox. Yet, he knew that she was wise and that they were still safe thanks to her. At the same time, Eṉōl knew that if Alena survived that ugly wound she had after the battle with Tikil, it was meant for her to have a long life. This meant that he was meant to survive and escape from the trap of that Forest of Shadows too. Realizing this, Eṉōl decided to listen to the fox’s advice, at least for the moment. Even so, he was convinced to do something if her plan had failed. He was more than capable of making good plans because it wasn’t the first time the commander was in trouble and neither was it the first time he felt weird being next to a woman. He felt that weakness inside before, each time he met a beautiful and wise woman, but this never shadowed his mind or made him forget that he was a skillful soldier, one that survived many harsh battles when he saved not only himself but others too.
Eṉōl winced eventually, awakening from that daydream, the moment he noticed Alena’s fireball splitting into six small balls. Those balls had all the same light and the same size. This seemed strange to him, just as it seemed strange that those balls suddenly surrounded the Vanamars. Yet, even though he was curious about why the balls surrounded the Vanamar, Eṉōl kept silent, understanding that asking questions loudly could have broken the magic. He did well keeping his mouth shut because, soon after this, he saw Alena, who didn’t lose sight of the Vanamar not even for a second, forming another ball above her cupped palms, which she kept close to her chest. The seventh ball was black, changing its color gradually, without losing its shade as though it had a strange liquid inside. Eventually, the ball started to move from above Alena’s palms toward the Vanamar, pushed from behind by the power of the reddish rays of light, which the six red balls sent to the black one. Thus, once next to the Vanamar’s snout, the black ball stopped its movement, forcing the Vanamar to stare at it. And, so suddenly that even poor Eṉōl winced when this happened, the black ball exploded, splashing the Vanamar with a kind of colorless liquid.
„Damn devilish thing,” Eṉōl thought this time. „That ball was black. How can it be that the liquid from inside it is colorless?”
„It was only an illusion, its black color,” he heard Alena’s answer in his head. This amazed him a lot because he had never thought that he was able to talk telepathically to someone or hear someone’s thoughts. Alena, without paying attention to the surprise seen in his eyes, smiled and told him in a calm voice, „An illusion that works for us this time.”
„I don’t see how, honestly,” the commander whispered.
„You’ll see,” Alena replied. After that, when the Vanamar was completely charmed by her spell and turned his back to them to continue his way, Alena followed him first.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
Eṉōl followed her shortly after this. He was confused and damn irritated even if he couldn’t understand why. Yes, he felt strange because it was dark all around, even if those red balls followed them and the magic wolf that spied on them by then. „As though this madness of playing the game of spies is the only thing we could have done to save our skin,” he suddenly muttered.
„A madness that can work for us in the future,” he clearly heard Alena’s voice in his ears, even if she was enough meters in front of him. „Actually, commander, it’s not that bad to be a spy.”
„What makes you think so?” He asked her, frowning.
„Because it’s the only way you find out what others think about you.”
The fox’s wise answer made Eṉōl sigh. She was right, he was sure of this. Yet… he couldn’t calm down no matter what he did in that Forest of Shadows. All that he could do was to follow Alena and the Vanamar, in silence, waiting for the end of their strange adventure into a magic world, a place he had never thought he could get one day.
***
„Where are we?” Eṉōl asked, surprised, the moment they got to a really magical place. It was crossed by a small stream with dark blue water, on whose surface a strange drawing was seen, formed by the shadows. Then, on both sides of the stream, rocky banks were seen, covered by green moss and other climbing plants. More than that, also on both banks, different bushes and strange trees were seen, trees that were bowing a lot above the water, as though they would have been eager to listen to the music of its waves or maybe to listen to that cry that was heard from the depths of the water.
„In the Camp of the Red Vanamars,” replied Alena after she stopped next to the thick trunk of a secular tree. In fact, that tree was the only one that had such a thickness in the area. Alena realized that after looking around and seeing many other trees with thin trunks. While getting there, Alena and the commander saw a lot of such trees, but none as thick as the one next to which they stopped. At the same time, that tree was different from the rest of the other trees because it didn’t bow to the water surface, but it was proudly towering to the sky. More than that, the tree’s roots were growing right from the rocky soil, having a lot of rocks around its trunk too, a trunk that was so thick that ten men would have barely surrounded it if they grabbed their hands. And, right next to those weird rocks, there was a lot of green moss covering the rocks and the trunk, turning it into a strange soft giant, pleasant to touch.
„In the camp of the Vanamars?” Eṉōl asked, widely opening his eyes. Then, quickening a little his pace, he approached the fox, looking in the same direction she was looking. „Why are you so sure of this?”
„Because I’ve passed by here before,” she replied in a whisper. Her answer confused Eṉōl a lot.
„You’ve passed by here? When exactly?”
„When I was only a child. A few hours after I met Zayleea in the rocky area of Kaṟkaḷ Pēy.”
Eṉōl shook his head, just as the Vanamar, who was stopped on the wooden bridge that crossed the stream, did. The wolf stopped only a few steps taken onto that bridge. Eṉōl also saw the Vanamar shaking his head when he looked in the same direction Alena was looking. Then, so suddenly, both of them saw something real magic: many strange fireflies rose from the water, not tiny fireflies as they saw at the Waterfall of Fireflies in Tenebre’s forest, but big ones, which seemed to be torches about 5 cm in height. They were definitely alive torches, something that made Eṉōl shake his head again as though he copied the Vanamar. After that, he asked, „You came here when you were little? Why didn’t you tell me about this before?”
„Before? When exactly?” Alena asked, smiling.
„When we entered the forest, for example.”
„You didn’t ask this, commander. If you had asked, I would have told you that I had passed by here before.”
„Even so, you could have at least mentioned this,” murmured Eṉōl, feisty. „We would have avoided having a headache now.” Alena stared at him, confused. „I was talking about the concern we felt while coming here and that we didn’t breathe normally. At least I did that because I was afraid that we would eventually enter hell knowing in what den of a strange magic animal.”
„Maybe this was my intention, don’t you think so?” Alena teased him in a cunning voice.
„To see me eaten by a wild animal?” Eṉōl asked, frowning.
„No. To make you value your life, because… people generally appreciate what they have, especially their life, only when they are in danger.”
The fox was right in saying what she said. Eṉōl, like the rest of the humans, never thought too much about the value of his life before. He started to think about this only when he understood that war was inevitable and that he wasted his life. At the same time, Eṉōl realized how much he lost in his life: his family for example, which he lost being very young. And, how he didn’t have children because he considered that it would be easier for him to not have them, Eṉōl was definitely alone. Something he started to regret at that moment because, if something had happened to him in that war, having no siblings or children, his blood would have died along with him.
„You shouldn’t think about this right now,” Alena told him, taking him out of that strange world of memories in which he had sunk so suddenly. Because of this, Eṉōl looked at her, confused. „I was talking about the remorse you feel, commander. You shouldn’t regret anything when you don’t know what Life prepared for you eventually.”
„Are you able to read minds?”
„I always read them. You just weren’t aware of this.”
„Something I hate, actually.”
„Like the rest of the world that had finally realized that was an open book for me. Yet, there’s nothing I can do against this. I can’t control whose mind I read and whose not. It’s a gift, which I got to appreciate.”
„Even so, you should at least not tell others about the hidden talent you have,” Eṉōl told her in an irritated tone because he felt strange after finding out that he wasn’t able to keep his thoughts secret anymore. „You should have at least not told me that you know what I think because… I have to think twice about what I should think or not.”
Alena smiled. „You don’t have to do this actually because… I don’t hear everything you think. I hear something if you are close to me. If we are a few steps away, you are safe for sure. And now… let’s go! We can’t stay behind!”
Looking behind Alena, who followed the Vanamar that finished crossing the bridge over the stream, Eṉōl frowned. „At least she’s honest when you need that,” he thought once he was alone. Even so, the moment he remembered that Alena could read his mind, even though she mentioned that she heard nothing if they weren’t close, the commander decided that being precocious was safer. That’s why he followed her, trying not to think about something in particular. Doing this, even his thoughts seemed to have understood that they should have been quiet, even though they were spinning in his head like a beehive before… looking for regrets and bad things that happened in his past.
Halfway through the bridge, Eṉōl stopped. He did that when he heard the cheerful melody of the birds from on high. Somewhere in the forest, the voice of a nightingale was heard. Then, the melodious voice of a lark was heard, and the insistent knock of a woodpecker’s beak in the trunk of the thick tree next to which they had stood before. After that, amazing Eṉōl even more, a multicolored bullfinch flew, filling the horizon with a pleasant melody.
The splendid plumage of the bullfinch, which seemed to flow above the forest and the stream’s surface, which was illuminated by those fireflies-torches, made Eṉōl smile eventually. „So much beauty in a forest of shadows,” he whispered, completely charmed by the magic of that place. Then, when he heard the voice of a blackbird, somewhere in front of him, he looked for her right away because the blackbird’s music was something the commander always adored to listen to while being in the lap of nature.
Alena’s whisper, which was also heard in front of him, made Eṉōl awake from the daydream and look at her. Looking over there, Eṉōl saw Alena making signs to him to follow her. That’s why the commander quickened his pace, realizing that even though that place was beautiful and magical, it wasn’t a safe place to be alone. Eṉōl followed Alena eventually not because he was afraid, but because he realized that danger lurked in people even in safe places. More than that, he followed the woman because he was aware that his masculine ego didn’t allow him to leave her alone in that world of shadows.
Quickening his pace, Eṉōl caught up with Alena soon after this. He got next to her when they almost reached a shadowed path, where, far in the distance, two sparkling eyes were seen piercing the horizon. „The eyes of the Vanamar,” Alena explained when Eṉōl stopped to her right.
„Why are you so sure that it’s the same Vanamar and not another one?”
„Because another Vanamar wouldn’t have felt us. This one, even though the spell controls him, still manages to take control of his own strength. That’s why he looks for us with a glance because we are still in his head like the prey he had to catch. First, I noticed it at the bridge. Yet, he didn’t see us there.”
„I thought that he stopped on the bridge because of the beauty of that place.”
Alena smiled again. „The beasts like the Vanamars can’t be impressed by the magic of a place.”
„Even so, you can’t deny that they have chosen such a magic place as their house. A really splendid place, one I haven’t ever thought existed.”
„It’s still a place that listens to the evil’s command, commander. A shame in fact!”
„I don’t see why it is a shame because I don’t think that the places where evil generally lives should be always dried and unpleasant to look at. Evil also loves beautiful places, don’t you also think so?”
„Maybe you are right. Yet… I would have liked this place not to belong to the Vanamars,” Alena whispered, sad, continuing her way.
„Do you say this because of what happened two decades ago?”
„Not only because of that event, I don’t want this place to belong to the Vanamars. It’s also because I know how many souls suffered because of them. Innocent souls that deserved to live.”
Eṉōl frowned. And, even though he knew he had to keep his mouth shut, he still told Alena, „The same the Siars deserved. Yet, you and Ahi always attacked them.”
Alena squinted at him, also frowning. Then, feisty, she told him, „This didn’t happen because we wanted this.”
It’s been Eṉōl’s turn to smile. „I see Princess Zeal is right when she says that foxes love to blame others. Yet, I must also accept that it's healthier for your fur this way.”
Saying this, Eṉōl quickened his pace, leaving Alena enough meters behind him. Even so, when he saw that the fox didn’t follow him, and he understood that she did that because his words enraged her, Eṉōl smiled again. He knew that she would have liked to crack his neck as she was doing to the chicken she wanted to eat, just to teach him some manners. At the same time, Eṉōl knew that his neck was safe because… as long as the fox needed him, she wouldn’t have touched him.
Nevertheless, even though the commander knew all this, Alena still managed to scare him to death when she suddenly appeared to his left. She didn’t follow him like the human Alena, but like that big fox, with dark red fur. When Eṉōl saw her, the fox was only a step behind him. Her eyes were savagely sparkling at that moment, piercing the thick cloth of darkness. She wasn’t alone: those six fireballs were following her. Seeing all this, Eṉōl swallowed hard, not sure if she was heading toward him to be by his side or to eat him eventually. Only in the end, when he heard the fox’s voice in his head, teasing him, he calmed down because Alena jokingly told him that time, „For a „brave” man, as you tried to seem in my eyes, you are definitely a coward, commander.”
„Wouldn’t you have done the same if you had been in my shoes and had seen a beast instead of the human you knew that followed you?”
The fox laughed. „You at least could imagine who was behind you. You can’t deny that.”
Well, yeah: the fox was right, Eṉōl had to accept that. Actually, he knew this right from the beginning, who was by his side. Even so, he forgot this, for seconds only. This happened because Alena told him about her past, something that hinted to him that she trusted him. Thoughts that Eṉōl suddenly chased away, seeing the fox’s eyes focused on him. Eṉōl even told her drily, „Don’t take it personally!” shortly after this. „It’s something that every human could have experienced. At least once in his life.”
„If you say so!” The fox murmured, following him.
Suddenly, seeing that the Vanamar stopped, Alena stopped too. She stopped right in front of Eṉōl, forcing him to do the same. Alena even shook her head when she noticed that Eṉōl was about to ask something, hinting to him that it wasn’t a good idea. This made Eṉōl frown because he couldn’t understand what was in the fox’s mind. Only when he looked in front and saw their spy surrounded by other Vanamars, did Eṉōl understand that they were all in trouble. Poor commander even felt his throat dry when he spotted so many wolves passing first by them and then surrounding the Vanamar whom they followed, shortly after this.
Unlike Eṉōl, who didn’t lose sight of the Vanamars and waited anxiously to see when exactly the Vanamars would eat them too, Alena was confident and very calm. She, when all the Vanamars passed by them, slowly turned on her four paws, looking behind them. Alena even focused her glance on the big Vanamar, which had a dark red fur with a gray shade, a hint that he had passed through many harsh times in his life. Not only did his fur hint to others that the wolf had a difficult life but also his eyes. He had a tough glance, which perfectly reflected the darkness of his soul, „A darkness that only a Vanamar like Ṭirākulā can share with the world,” Alena thought eventually.
The moment Ṭirākulā passed by Alena, Eṉōl turned his head to see the wolf better. The poor commander wasn’t even breathing while the wolves passed by them, afraid that they would see them and pounce on them eventually. This made his heart strangely beat in his chest, even if he had thought before that a beast couldn’t scare him that much. Yet, he’d been wrong because, even if he was skillful and knew how to fight, he wouldn’t have been able to defeat the Vanamar, not alone and he was aware of this. Nevertheless, he was convinced not to give up without a fight. That’s why he looked at Alena eventually, whom he saw moving on her four paws and looking behind the Vanamars that headed toward the „Spy” they had followed by then and who was surrounded by 15 or maybe 20 wolves already.
„They are looking for something!” Alena suddenly said, making Eṉōl wince and look at her even more confused than before. Even so, even though he had a lot of questions in his head, Eṉōl didn’t say anything, allowing Alena to continue her thought. „I think that’s something related to our Spy.”
„Why do you think so?” The commander finally dared to ask.
„The hatred from that demon’s eyes. A hatred that has a single target: the poor soul over there and not us.”
„Do you mean they didn’t feel us?”
„That’s right. Even if I thought that I wasn’t able to hide us from him. Not here, in this Forest of Shadows. Nevertheless, we are safe. For the moment.”
„This gives you a certain confidence to find out what they are planning, right?”
„Yes. If Nikkari sent us here, it must be for something.”
„Maybe it’s as you say, but… you said before that we aren’t here because of Nikkari. Why do you think differently now?”
„I never said that not Nikkari sent us here. Yes, she sent us here, but she didn’t do that because she wanted us dead.”
„I also don’t think she sent us here because she cared about us. For God’s sake: she sent us where the Vanamars are.”
Alena smiled again. „And you said that I didn’t trust others. We are the perfect copy of the other one, commander!”
„Did I say that?!” Eṉōl asked, confused. „As far as I remember, the one who said that I’m like Princess Zeal… distrustful, was you!”
„Really?!” Well, if you say so!” Alena replied, somehow bored, even if she felt the adrenaline madly flowing through her veins. She even felt the desire to keep teasing Eṉōl when she felt fear sneaking into the commander’s soul. Yet, she left that thought for later, changing the playful glance to one full of hatred when she heard Ṭirākulā hissing through his teeth while talking to the Spy:
„Once you are back… I hope it’s for something important, Domas! If not… you know what waits for you here!”
The Spy, Domas, bowed his head when Ṭirākulā stopped in front of him. Then, looking around, at his former fellows, who turned into his enemies a long time ago, Domas growled, „Of course, I have something important to tell you once I have met Master Maranam.”
Hearing Domas mentioning Maranam’s name, Eṉōl and Alena exchanged glances. None of them said anything. Only Eṉōl pointed with his head toward the wolves, letting Alena know that it was time for them to approach the Vanamars a little more and listen to what they were talking about, an urge Alena understood right away and took a few steps toward the wolves. About twenty steps from the Vanamars, they stopped, thinking that it wasn’t worth the risk to approach the enemy more and they decided this when they understood that they could hear everything very well from the place they stopped. After that, looking at each other once again, they let each other understand that they had the same thoughts.
After that, what amazed Eṉōl more than the conversation of the Vanamars with Ṭirākulā was to see Alena turning into a human, right in front of his eyes. Because of the amazement, the commander was about to shout. Yet, when that shout was halfway through his throat, Eṉōl covered his mouth with both palms, and only a muttered sound was heard in the end. Yet, even though Eṉōl could control that shout and not let it get out of his throat, he couldn’t control himself because he’d been so amazed to see Alena forming another fireball above her left palm, something that hinted to him she wanted to attack the Vanamars. This made the commander touch her right shoulder, shaking his head that it wasn’t a good idea. This made Alena frown. She was really upset because she would have liked to take revenge on them for what happened to her mother, and this filled her eyes with tears.
Nevertheless, even though she badly wanted to punish the Vanamars for what happened to her when she was only a child, she could control herself. Then, she looked straight at the Vanamars when she heard Ṭirākulā hissing through his teeth, „Master Maranam is here? Don’t talk nonsense, Domas! Why should Master Maranam be here? He’s in his Kingdom of Shadows! If he had been here, I would have definitely felt him.”
„I doubt this once you didn’t know he was here,” Domas said in mockery. The moment he heard the squealing of one of the Vanamars in his left ear, Domas showed his fangs to the wolf, letting him know that he wouldn’t allow being ripped of fur without a fight. After that, he looked at Ṭirākulā, to whom he said, „He sent me here to tell you what his plan is.”
„What plan?” Ṭirākulā yelled, enraged because, finding out that Maranam talked to Domas first and not with him, wasn’t something he liked.
„That it’s necessary to be on the eastern field of Paṉi Makkaḷ in two days. He said not to come alone, but to bring Titanide Tīmai with us.”
A terrific shriek was heard eventually coming out of Ṭirākulā’s throat after he heard the name of the Titanide of Hatred spoken by Domas. Shriek that made everybody wince, including Domas, who could never get used to Ṭirākulā’s madness. Eventually, understanding that he finally managed to revenge on his fierce enemy, Domas looked elsewhere, weirdly grinning because he waited for that moment for a very long time: to get rid of Ṭirākulā and take back the throne he lost when Ṭirākulā defeated. How to get that throne back? Simple: if Ṭirākulā had died on the battlefield, something Domas intended to make happen, he would have had the perfect chance to be king again.