Artemus was now in his human form, wearing just a pair of pants since it was easier for shifting. His hair was wet from the rain as he crawled into the narrow tunnel where Abigail was sleeping. Their hiding spot had been good for a while but not anymore.
"We have to go," he whispered to the girl.
"They’ll eat us... I’m scared."
"I won’t let them, Abigail. You trust me, don’t you?"
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She nodded. The temperature had fallen and she was shivering in her muddy pyjama. Abigail’s tears made an appearance when she thought about the monsters that were waiting outside for them.
"Okay," she replied through her tears. This man had saved her when everyone was getting killed. She trusted him, and even though it was scary outside, Abigail felt that her saviour was a reliable person.
___
"We’re getting near," Alka told his companions.
"How many times have you said that?"
"I mean it," the plant mage told Magnus.
Since crossing the swampland, the group had been going through several gates in and out of the path. Judging by the response that the ring gave them after exiting a gate, they were able to determine the shortest path that led them to Artemus.
The plant mage was already very exhausted from having opened and closed several gates. They’d done about twenty in three hours and he was ready for more suffering.
"Would be so much faster if we had a bunch of avians," Lucien said to the others. The journey was testing their stamina greatly. None of them had had any sleep or rest for eighteen hours straight since they’d left home.
"Talk less and preserve yer strength," Sebastian told them. "It’s highly probable that we’ll be thrust into a fight as soon as we get to Artemus."
____
Rain lashed down at the figure of a tall slender man carrying a small child in his arms. They were crouched behind a tree, hiding away from the large group of ghouls that had noticed them despite the rain.
Their beastial grunting sounds and wild snarls came closer to the tree where Artemus was. His mind was overworking itself trying to think of something he could do right now.
"Abigail," he told the girl in as calm a voice as he could muster. "You have to climb the tree and hold tight while I kill the monsters."
While he talked, Artemus took out a smoke ball from his dimensional bag.
"I don’t know how to climb!"
The anti mage tossed the ball and it exploded in the air. Dark grey smoke rapidly grew and engulfed the area where the ghouls were hunting.
"You have to climb," Artemus told her. "I’ll give you a hand, Abigail. Do not look down when you climb. Get to the highest branch you can and hold on tight till I come back to get you. And remember, not a single sound. Do you understand?"
The anti mage hadn’t meant to sound so authoritative but habits tended to take over when under great stress. Without waiting for Abigail to respond, he lifted her to a branch and encouraged the girl to climb higher. He wished that such a young child wouldn’t have to go through such a harrowing experience but it was what it was.
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"Higher Abigail," he told her. "Don’t look down."
The anti mage heard first then saw the first ghoul come lunging at him through the smoke. He was ready with his divine staff. The unremarkable-looking pole of wood split the air with a force that made a satisfying low hum. Grey coloured liquid immediately exploded from the ghoul, splashing the trees and Artemus’ bare skin with the vile goop.
The anti mage then killed two more of its kind before he turned and ran through the trees. He could hear the sounds of his pursuers coming from every direction. All the ghouls in the area had heard the commotion and were now hot on his heels.
______
"They’ve found the rat," Eva said to Theo. She was seated on a chair by the window where raindrops raced each other down the window pane.
A bolt of lightning lit up the sky and they heard a scream that could have been a human but also an animal.
"More food for your babies," Theo replied.
"I would have loved to watch."
Eva’s red lips curved as she imagined her children tearing the rat from limb to limb. There were so many of them and just one rat. The feeding frenzy, she wistfully thought, would have been a beautiful sight to watch. Alas, it was raining and she had no desire to get sopping wet tonight.
____
"One more gate," Alka wearily told himself. The opening of paths didn’t require magic but cost mental stamina to do so. The plant mage was on the last legs of his strength but he was becoming numb to it.
When they emerged out of the gate, the group was met with cold rain that soaked them down to their souls.
"That way," Alka raised his hand and pointed to where the ring was leading him. The band of metal around his finger was burning hot and he knew that his brother was just beyond the forest that stood before them like guardians in the night.
Alka felt his energy run out as he negotiated the wall of mud he had to climb to get up to the forest.
"Hold on tight, Alka," he heard Akida’s voice and suddenly he was airborne.
"What a shit reminder of why I hate flying in the rain," Akida mumbled. His feathers were starting to get wet from how heavy the downpour was. Avians normally had a layer of oil on their wings that gave them protection from water but even that failed when the rain was as unrelenting as it was tonight.
If the sun didn’t shine on the morrow or if they couldn’t get a fire going to dry his feathers, Akida was going to have a lot of trouble with the damn things.
"It’s okay, I can walk," Alka told him breathlessly.
"Doesn’t look like it."
The duo landed near a tree and waited for the others to catch up.
"Do you hear something?" Akida asked the plant mage.
Alka strained his ears. Yes, he could hear an animal grunting in the distance like it was in pain.
"Strange," Akida said to Alka. "It’s the first time I’ve ever heard an animal sound like that."
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