Luna Rising

THIRTY-EIGHT

The cave is a dark and dreary place where the only sound that can be heard is the drip of water above you, even though there isn't water at this level. The air is thick with humidity, and it isn't easy to breathe if you're a human. Since this group isn't human, we proceed through it. The smell here is intense and mixed with the woody scent and dry. Critters crawl next to my feet as I crush the small rocks. Luckily, we have no worries about the darkness since night vision is advantageous for non-human beings.

I wouldn't worry about Camila and Kaze being on the lookout since Jippies created a barrier to keep anyone from entering. But it's strange; since our arrival, I didn't sense any ferals, and they usually are awake once the sun is gone.

The stench of the monster's aura is getting stronger every second we go deeper. I can feel the evil and menacing energy as it collides with my own.

Hate. Sadness. Anger.

Those are the three emotions I'm feeling coming off from the energy. It's so intense I couldn't bear to take it in.

I pause, giving myself a minute or two.

"Lippy, baby, what's wrong?"

Hearing Dominic's soothing voice improved, but it wasn't enough to suppress the negative emotion.

"I'm okay," I huff and pull a forceful smile. "It's just I never felt this energy before."

"It's the monster," Jippies claims, placing his hand over me. I felt his magic warming my body, and suddenly I don't think that pressure. "It's your first time feeding off from something so powerful you aren't used to it."

"Why is it so strong?" I ask; Dominic holds my hand for support.

"Hexia fed it so much of her magic it had also consumed her emotions," Saye explains. "After her heartbreak, Hexia kept things to herself even when we wanted to console her. All she ever wanted was Lord Ruvik."

"Of course, our Lord and Master didn't love her, turning our baby sister into some evil, conniving little brat."

"Arlo," Jippies warns. "She is still our sister."

"When she killed Shazar and Jotun, she is no longer my sister," Arlo snaps as I feel his magic running through his body, confessing his emotions about their sister. "You two seemed to believe if we talked to her, she could return to us, but she killed our brothers without blinking. She decided to take the evil side of her own family."

"But aren't demons already evil?" Clayton questions.

Dominic nudged his elbow at Clayton's side. "Bro, not helping,"

Arlo marched in front of me, then paused. "Blood or no blood, if I ever see her, I won't hesitate to kill her. But for me to do that, we need to kill her fucking pet," then proceed further.

I blink, then glance at Saye and Jippies. "Wow, I've never seen Arlo snap like that before. Worst. Cussed before."

"Arlo kept that anger inside for a long time," Saye looks away and rubs her arms. She felt the same since she hated Hexia for what she did because Hexia's selfishness had broken up their family. "Arlo looked up at Shazar and Jotun as people he had admired. He followed them around and trained with them wanting to be the best warrior for Lord Ruvik."

"And what killed my brothers was the monster," Jippies added, placing a hand on his sister's shoulder. "But Arlo is right. To weaken Hexia, we need to destroy half of her magic embedded inside the monster."

I started to walk as everyone else followed to keep up with Arlo.

"AHHHHH!!!!"

"Arlo!" Saye cried.