And here's the next chapter of A Decaying World. Took a lot longer than it should have, due to me going on a short vacation, finishing up Aedis Tenebrum, working for Textbroker etc... but I'll try to get the next chapters out a bit faster again. Loop is kinda on a backburner right now.
Chapter 18: The Messenger Of Chaos
Drake's feet lifted off the ground when the light receded. He was gripped as if by a tornado and flung through the air, momentarily catching sight of the setting sun before getting entangled in a soft fabric upheld by wooden sticks.
“Guess I should have warned you that this might happen,” hissed Belia as he freed his paws. Light as piercing as the sun's lit up his ashen paws. The fabric was blown apart away and torn to shreds.
The cat freed himself from Drake's grasp and leapt onto a looping branch, just about evading the sight of a dozen elves who came running to investigate the commotion.
“It's the vampire!” yelled the same guard who had been about to fight Maximilian back in the village.
Within seconds, a circle of swords and spears had formed around Drake, with a few archers visible on nearby trees. One of them decided to jump onto the same branch Belia was sitting on, which resulted in him getting smacked into the underbrush without anyone noticing.
“There's no need for that,” said Drake, keeping his voice calm and his movements slow as he stood up with raised hands. “I'm entirely in control of myself.”
His right hand began to twitch and the urge to slap himself welled up within his mind. Only when he bit onto his tongue did the feeling recede. Do you want to get us killed? Just trying to have some fun. And what's so funny about us getting impaled or sliced to pieces? We would have managed. The force keeping your powers in check has calmed down. And even if it hadn't, you could still access the darkness I have amassed within your mind. I'd rather not. Suit yourself. But now that I have gained a bit of control, don't expect me to watch you bumble around.
“We should just kill him. No one would be able to tell if he was about to attack or not!” whispered one of the elves, before an arm landed on his shoulder and turned him around. Alyssa stared at him with cold eyes and he backed off. His feet came into contact with Drake's and he fell over, forcing his companions to pull their weapon's out of harms way, lest they impale him too.
The beast utilized the momentary confusion and catapulted Drake's body to the other side of the camp, where an enormous but artificial-looking tree rose into the sky. A sign with the words “Do not enter the Riddle Tower!” stood next to a gaping hole that seemed to lead nowhere.
An arrow lodged itself into the point of the exclamation mark, narrowly missing Drake's head. He flinched momentarily, then followed its course back to Alyssa. She had already readied another one.
“Don't you dare run away.”
“I didn't plan to.” So stop using my body as your plaything! “But I don't like being threatened.”
“Are you back to your old self?”
Drake turned his head and saw Maximilian standing in front of a tree, with his arms crossed. Feyadal could be seen sitting on one of its branches, but instead of threatening Drake with his bow, he was holding his sword in hand.
“Mostly, yes.” He bent his arm and clenched his fist, constantly feeling a slight pressure coursing through his muscles. “I might even be stronger than before.”
“One more reason to get ri—”
Alyssa lowered her bow and flung her arm sideways without breaking eye-contact. A sticky glob rose from the ground and shot towards the elf. He looked shocked for a moment, then smiled and moved his head out of the way. The projectile instantly corrected its course and slammed onto his mouth, gluing it shut.
“That's not for you to decide.” She lowered her hand and stepped forward, until she was just out of arm's reach. Her other hand was still holding tightly onto her bow, ready to snap back into action at even the slightest hint of danger. “Congratulations on surviving. Not many can claim to have bested that madman's challenge.”
“You meant to say no one, right? They would have had to get through—” Belia's paws shuddered as he collided with the ground, barely missing Alyssa's shoulder. “Hey, you didn't have to step away!”
The elf looked at the cat out of the corner of her eyes and an almost inaudible grumbling noise surged up from within her throat. “Belia … how 'nice' to see you again. I thought you couldn't leave the tower.”
“Maybe not out of his own accord, but carrying him outside proved to be surprisingly easy,” said Drake and smiled.
Alyssa's eyes locked onto his as her lips tightened for a moment. “Looks like I've chosen poorly. I should have killed you instead of risking this beast to attain freedom.”
Belia purred as his fur turned pink and his ass plopped onto the ground. “How dare you call me a beast? What have I ever done to you?”
“You mean apart from ripping off my dress, stealing my jewelry, and being a general pest to anyone who ever dared to venture into the tower?”
“But it's been ages since then!” Belia's ears twitched and his hind paw landed on his head, scratching it furiously.
“About 600 years. Not long enough to forget about your mischief. You could have had at least had the dignity to die of old age by now.”
“Ha, you wish! I'll still be around in a thousand years. But if you'll excuse me, I'll have a world to see.”
“Be my guest. And don't come back.”
Belia's fur turned into a mixture of green and brown, making him almost invisible if looked at from above. Then he sped off into the distance, jumping over sticks and stones like an excited rabbit.
The forest seemed to fall silent for a moment, as if every elf, human, and animal was mesmerized by the cat's departure. Only when his body vanished in the underbrush did everyone's thoughts return to the situation at hand.
“Back to you,” began Alyssa, but she stopped herself when Drake held out his hand.
“I'm Drake.” He smiled and stood there like a puppet, yet her arms remained frozen in place.
“I know.”
His eyes dropped and he mustered his hand, almost expecting something disgusting to be stuck in his palm. It looked perfectly fine, though. Just a bit dirty. He retracted it nonetheless, absentmindedly wiping it on his clothes.
“Sorry, I don't remember us being introduced.”
“We weren't. I was too busy sending you to your inevitable death.”
A few elves chuckled on the quiet but stopped when Alyssa turned her head halfway into their direction.
Drake glanced at Maximilian. A vague smile played around his lips as he shrugged. “I hope you're not planning to finish what the tower failed to do.”
“I stand by my word. You and your companion are free to go. But not until I know what your plans are.”
The vampire opened his mouth and came up empty. All he knew was that Modera had marked this place on a map, as she had done with Arlington and Pagan.
“To be honest, I don't have a clue. We're looking for someone … I guess. But I have no idea who it is or where to find him.”
“So you came here all the way from Pagan, looking for someone you know nothing about, with only a general location to go on?” She furrowed her brow and smirked. “That must be the worst plan I've ever heard.”
Drake scratched his head and eyed the ground. There was no denying her words, but he had acted on the spur of the moment, unwilling to waste even a second, just in case the same event that destroyed Arlington followed him to Pagan.
“Whatever the case, I doubt that anyone would be willing to help you out, even if the fate of the entire world might be at stake. We're busy enough as it is.” Alyssa rubbed her neck and relaxed the hand clutched around her bow. “However, you can follow us back to the village and try your luck if you want. But you'll have to wait until dawn. It's too dangerous to travel at night.”
“I thought the animals wouldn't attack you,” interjected Maximilian.
“They don't,” she replied without turning her head, “but there are other creatures lurking in the woods. You've already met some of them,” and with those words, Alyssa turned around and walked towards the rest of her group, who rapidly stepped aside to let her through. “Oh”—she stopped upon reaching the other side and looked over her shoulder, focusing on Drake once more—“I'm Alyssa Mirazzal. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” The vague hint of a smile flashed over her face before she moved on.