Aceso seemed to understand what Nicolas had been trying to say and asked the question that instantly made William feel really stupid for not seeing it before. “Where is Achelois?”
William involuntarily whipped his head around the den. They were missing their sixth member. William jerked his head up and out of the den entrance. There were no tracks leading away from the den. There was no depression to suggest that she had jumped over the stone overhang and gone in another direction. In the clean morning air William could detect no trace of her scent. William tried to remember what had happened last night. There must have been a reason why he had been so restless. Had Achelois still been there when Nicolas had cried out earlier that morning? He couldn’t be sure. Right now, he wasn’t sure of anything. He ducked back down into the den.
Aceso was looking directly at him and he sat back down again. The only thing William could do was shake his head from side-to-side. He knew that Achelois had not been happy with the way things were going in the pack but to go against everything that she believed in and just walk away? That is not something that Achelois would do, was it?
“We need to split up and find her,” Katherine said as she raised herself to move out of the den.
“You won’t find her,” Nicolas said in a very quiet voice. “Not out there you won’t.”
Katherine stopped and looked back toward Nicolas who was staring down at the floor. Charles was regarding Nicolas and Aceso had a stern look on her face. “What do you mean, Nicolas?”
The blonde turned toward the pack alpha. His eyes were still much too wide but at least there was a light of intelligence where before there was nothing. He stared at Aceso as if trying to figure out if what he saw was real or not. When he spoke, it was as if his tongue had swollen and now filled his entire mouth. “Achelois isn’t out there.” He said as his head turned painfully slowly toward the entrance of the den. It was as if Nicolas’s mind had become unhinged and he was trying hard to hold on to his reality. If he moved too fast. or talked too swiftly. his tentative grip would slip and he would spiral down into madness.
Aceso grabbed Nicolas by the neck. The grip was not hard it was a gentle pressure that seemed to soothe Nicolas somewhat. “Nicolas? Do you know where Achelois is?” The blonde looked up at her and nodded his head.
“Where is she?” Charles asked, his deep bass voice filling the room with its quiet power.
Nicolas seemed to be coming around. He blinked quickly at the sound of the new voice. His eyes focused on the all-black werewolf. He blinked and shook his head slowly at first, as if trying to shake off a blow. He blinked again staring at Charles. His eyes roamed around the den and met the other’s eyes in turn. William saw something in his eyes that terrified him. He had never thought about it. He had done everything he could to forget about it.
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“I saw her in my dream.” The rest of the pack waited for Nicolas to explain. He wasn’t comfortable. Being at the center of such rapt attention was not something he was familiar with. “My teacher, Asteria, always told me that we Scouts had lost the ability to see the future clearly.” He shook his head as if saying it would make whatever had disturbed him go away. “She said this wouldn’t happen…” He trailed off into silence.
Aceso pinched at his neck. William could see the muscles tense and there was the faintest flicker of recognition from Nicolas but other than that he remained silent.
“What did you see?” Aceso asked
Nicolas sat there staring at the ground between his legs. Aceso griped his neck and twisted his head around so that the blonde had no choice but to look at her. Aceso stared hard into his eyes. “Where is Achelois?”
Nicolas shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“What did you see?” Aceso pressed.
Nicolas withdrew into himself once more. It was as if the memory that Aceso was demanding of him was painful. Just when it seemed that Nicolas was not going to answer he said just barely loud enough to hear, “She was someplace that was entirely white.” He gulped in a breath of air. “But it didn’t seem real. The whole place looked like a dream. It was huge and open and I felt very small, but the world seemed to swirl around itself as if it was made of nothing but clouds and mist and shadows.” This stopped him cold. “Shadows, with no substance, nothing about them was real…except their mouths.” He looked up at Aceso. “They are so hungry, always hungry. When they eat you, they eat everything, everything.” He looked down at Aceso’s chest.
“How long has she been there, Nicolas? Do you know?” William asked aloud.
Nicolas seemed to have regained some of his mental faculties and turned toward William. He didn’t say anything for a moment. He just stared at William as if trying to figure out what good the answer to that question could possibly be. “A few hours.”
“Where has she gone?” Charles looked between William and Aceso. “What are you two not telling us?”
William froze with his eyes locked on Aceso. The pack alpha let go of Nicolas’s neck. The blonde seemed to wilt without the support Aceso was giving him and he collapsed in on himself staring at the ground. William felt for him. Nicolas had seen what he had willingly gone into, all that time ago.
Aceso turned toward the tracker. Charles and Katherine both looked lost. William wasn’t sure they were ready for what Aceso had to tell them but they didn’t have a choice. “The place Nicolas is talking about is called The Whyte Plain.” There was no sign of recognition on Katherine’s or Charles face. “It is a domain that our ancient ancestor shape shifters created for our use.” William found that he was just as interested in this bit of history as Katherine and Charles was. Even Nicolas appeared to be listening though he continued to look at the ground in front of him. “Once, it allowed our kind to travel great distances in minutes.” Aceso’s voice became soft and quiet. “That was before the attempts of one caused that place to change. It became inhabited with those shadows and now it is one of the most dangerous places you can imagine.”
“The mistake of one?” Charles asked.
Aceso nodded. “Yes, but that’s not important right now. What we need to do is get Achelois back.” She turned back toward her Scout. “Nicolas, can you follow her through the mist and lead us to where she is?”
Without moving his eyes from the ground in front of him he nodded. “The way she went is like a trail in my mind. I don’t know why but I know where she went and I could follow her.” He jerked his head toward Aceso. “You’re going in there? You’re not seriously asking me to go in there?” Nicolas took on a wild panicked look. “If you go in there you’re never coming back out, we’re all gonna die if we go there!”