Oceanum Collis

•Chapter 30• Saved from the Devil

"He's a man," Finn said. The elf stepped forward."He's frightened," Callodir says. "He's human!" Finn exclaimed. He took a deep breath. "Humans are nothing compared to you and me, Elf. They don't have magic. They don't know what it is, they don't know how to control it. Do you know what happens when men can't control something? They get scared. And when men get scared, they kill and destroy." Finn points out. The werewolf turns to the boy standing against a tree. "I say we kill him," Finn whispered. "We're not killing him!" Callodir protested.

 Misty's eyes scanned over the forest and in between the trees. "Anything?" Orlando asked her. Misty shook her head. "Nothing." She said. She turned around to look at the young man. "They should've been back by now." She added. Orlando let out a sigh. "We should go looking for them." He tells her. "Asher said we should stay here until they got back." Misty reminds him. Orlando stepped closer to the young werewolf. He looked directly into her black eyes. "I don't care what he said. For all, we know they're bashing each other's heads in somewhere." Orlando pointed out. Misty let out a sigh. Orlando quickly grabbed the weapon Hayes had given to him. Misty kicked out the fire with her foot. Together they made their way into the forest. Within a few seconds, Misty could hear some grunting in the distance. There was, indeed, a fight going. She stopped her pace. Orlando turned to look at her. "What?" He asked her, "Do you hear something?" He added. Misty nodded in response. She suddenly heard a wolf howling. She quickly started to run as fast as she could. Orlando tried to keep up with her as she ran further into the forest. She suddenly stopped again. Once Orlando had caught up with her, he saw why she'd stopped running. The two leaders, Callodir and Remus were still fighting each other. "What are they doing here?" Orlando asked her. "Not what they're supposed to," Misty replied. The young werewolf's black eyes turned bright golden. She growled loudly, earning the attention of both men. Misty panted slightly as she glared at the two leaders. She stepped forward. "Well, now that I have got your attention," She started, "Can you stop acting like children and help us instead of fighting each other? Because you were the ones that sent us on this mission in the first place!" She exclaimed. The leaders glanced at each other. "Are you going to help us?" She repeated. 

"Sir, some of the maids are getting worried. A-and some of our men too." The young man spoke up. Erix glanced down to look at the end of the stairs. He pointed his dagger at the guard standing by the end of the stairs. "I don't care if they're scared! This is for the sake of the empire! " He tells him. "B-but sir-" The guard stuttered. "If they're so scared, you should keep them away from the doors!" Erix exclaimed, cutting the young man off. The guard nodded in response and disappeared again. Erix turned back to she-elf. Serena was once again covered in blood. The skin between her eyes and cheeks had been cut by the dagger in Erix's hand. A rusty chain had been wrapped tightly around her neck, leaving burn marks all over her skin. She couldn't help but scream at the pain. She had been holding it in for a while now. And she finally broke. "Tell me where she is." Erix tells her, "Tell me if she'll be in my future. Tell me if I will see her again!" He exclaimed. A small tear trailed down Serena's cheek. "Please, please, I don't know." She pleaded. A slight tremble could be heard in her voice. But Erix didn't care. He wanted to know if Rachel would be in his arms again one day. The emperor growled and tightened the chain around her neck. Serena let out a scream of pain. "Stop!" She screamed loudly. Erix only tightened the chains. The louder her screams became, the tighter the chains got. "You're going to tell me. And you're going to tell me now if you want to keep breathing." Erix threatened. He was slowly starting to choke the poor girl. She was trying to speak but she couldn't from the lack of air. She shut her eyes, trying to stay calm. Suddenly, the chain around her neck was released. Serena opened her eyes to see Erix knocked out on the ground with the chains lying next to him. She turned her head to see a familiar face. A weak smile appeared on her lips. "Hayes?" Serena questioned. Hayes quickly unchained his sister from her restraints. "Don't worry, you're safe now." He tells her. He picked her up. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," he tells her. Serena held onto her brother tightly. "You're forgiven." She smiled. 

A few hours had passed. As the two leaders were standing on the lookout, the kids were all gathered by the fire. Asher sat next to Orlando by the campfire. "It's pretty cool, huh?" Orlando spoke up. Asher looked at the flames. "The fires of hell she called to make that fire? Not really." He replied. Orlando rolls his eyes at him. Asher's eyes trailed up towards Serena standing a few feet away from them. "You shouldn't trust her," Asher tells Orlando. The young man tossed a small branch into the fire. "And why not? Because she's an elf? We're back to that?" He questioned. "It's more than that." Asher started. He turned to look at the young man. "She has dark magic." He said, almost in a whisper. "And people turning into actual animals isn't dark?" Orlando replied. The young werewolf glared at the man. "Don't be a smart-ass." He snapped at him. Serena appeared in front of them. "He's right." She said quietly. Asher's eyes widened slightly. "Well, there is something I thought I would never hear." He smirked. Serena shot a glare at him. "Shut it, dog." She barked at him. "Whatever you say, Princess," Asher replied. Serena walked up to the two young men. She sat next to Orlando. "How are you doing?" Orlando asked her. Serena nodded in response. Orlando gently rubbed her back. "I'll get you some water." He tells her. He stood up and left the elf and werewolf by the fire. Serena looked up at the young werewolf sitting on the other side of the fire. "You should be more trusting." She tells him. Asher pointed his finger at Serena. "It's dark magic." He said. "It's a way of healing for us elves." Serena's hand turned back to normal as she spoke, clearing all the wounds from her skin. "You're evil," Asher said. "At least I don't have fleas." Serena snapped at him. "And I'm not the princess who will bring death upon us all." Asher barked at her. Serena jumped up from her seat. She pulled out her dagger, holding it up against Asher's throat. He chuckled at her."Brave Princess." He said. He rested his hands on her waist. "I've got to be honest with you. I thought we lost you there." He tells her. Serena pressed the dagger into the skin of his neck. "And since when do you care about me?" She asked. Asher shrugged. "You're not all bad." he admitted, "You've got some good qualities that I missed." He added.