L'oeil du Loup

Chapter 1: Confrontation at the Circle of Stones

9pm - Valedale - next to the Stone Circle

Alex, Linda, Lisa and Anne meet in the middle of the circle on their horses. Each holds an orb in hand

Anne: Good, I see you have all completed your tasks. The orb of fire, earth, water and air are now in our possession.

Linda: Exactly. And according to my research, by placing them around the circle, we can reopen the passage leading to our leader. Elizabeth also corroborated this story, didn't she, Alex?

Alex: Yeah! And I confirmed before leaving for my quest. Shadowhunters were tough, but at least I was able to collect my share of the lot

Anne: Shadowhunters? This was not the case for me. I found my orb in a labyrinth, with a few pitfalls, but nothing insurmountable for us

Lisa: Is everyone okay? Personally, I had to follow a music through a forest and it was the orb that it came from.

Linda: And a hermit on top of a mountain gave me my orb in exchange for my answer to a riddle. There seems to be one thing in common between these trials: They were no doubt designed to match our personalities.

Alex: You're probably right, you're the best at finding this stuff. But what should we do now?

??? : What question ! Give them to us, of course

The Soul Riders turn around only to find that they are surrounded on both sides by hooded riders on dark horses. Among them are Katja and Sabine, and Darko is behind them

Darko: It was a masterstroke, to be able to get your hands on the four orbs of power, I must at least admit it. And you made it easy for us

Alex: Grrr! You've been waiting here all this time to ambush us. How did you know we would be here?

Sabine: Don't tell me you don't recognize me, not even you Linda? We worked together at the Silverglade stable for years. I came to ask you questions every day about the works on the program in class. Sabine Quindou!

Linda: Come to think of it, I remember you but... wait, does that mean you were spying on us all along?

Sabine: Not really, at first I wanted to be your friend. I admired your intellectual curiosity, and everything you knew how to do. And then I was struck by your indifference. One day, this man came to see me to offer me money, in exchange for information, and a place in his team. He was the first person who accepted me

Katja: And thanks to his contribution, we learned everything about your project. And now you're going to give us the orbs, otherwise!

Before she could utter her threat, Lisa clapped her hands. Energy surged through the floor, then neon pink barriers rose around the Soul Riders, protecting them behind a wall

Lisa: Girls, these people are dangerous. I protected you temporarily, so we'll have to hurry and use our orbs before they destroy the barrier

Anne: Alex, Linda! I get how that feels, but don't fall into that Sabine's emotional trap. Your true allies are here, not on the other side

Darko, with his voice muffled by the barrier: Do you want to play this? Fine, we'll stay here as long as it takes until you give us the orbs.

Linda: Good! Let's investigate. There must be a way to use these items somewhere.

___

Meanwhile, on the way to the stone circle
Luca Lightchild, 17, a final year student at Jorvik Academy, following the instructions of his Botany teacher, Elizabeth Sunbeam, heads to the hollow woods to harvest plants to concoct a potion with relaxing effects. Along the way, he contemplates recent events. Indeed, his teacher seems to have had a strange interest in him for a while. On the day of his arrival at the academy, she had even offered him to join the student council. However, he is also not very good at botany, although standing near certain plants causes him to feel particular effects.