And What I Found There - Book Two

49. With Shaky Hands

We've been traveling for a few hours on the backs of our animal soul spirits, I'm doubled with Quill and Bishop on his painted horse. Cornelius leads the group with his polar bear, and Adisonia keeps close to the lead with the Knave of Hearts hitching a ride on her spotted serval. Vyndren and his wolf are constantly on the move, ever on high alert.

"So..." Bishop glances up at me before anxiously looking away. "Now that you don't have any...nightmares anymore, will you not need me hangin' around?" His eyes are downcast.

"What?" I startle. "Of course I'll need you! You're like, one of my best friends! You are coming to the Palace with me, aren't you?" I ask quickly.

"I dunno..." He shrugs. "I hate loafin' around, I ain't no bum if that's what you take me for."

"Of course not! If it's work you want than I can get you a sweet job at the Palace so we can still be close."

"Really?" He instantly perks up.

"Yes! Um...I'm sure there's always something to do at the Palace -"

"Like what?" He eagerly presses.

I don't really know but luckily I don't get the chance to makeup something as Vyndren finally speaks up.

He calls out to Cornelius, "I sense something up ahead." His wolf comes to a halt before the rest of us, blocking the way.

"Oh?" My mentor sounds soo exasperated with the Dark Rider. "And what would that be?"

"Tyranspines, a whole herd of them. They're branching off right now, I suspect they're going to try and surround us... Just thought I'd let you know," he shrugs and hops off his wolf. He summons the beast back to his soul in a flash red light.

"Tyranspines? That can't be right," Quill shakes his head. "The moon isn't even out yet." He glances up at the cloudy sky.

"Yeah!" Adisonia seconds. "Tyranspines only hunt in moonlight."

Vyndren scoffs. "Aren't you two a little old to still be believing in fairytales? You're both thinking of outdated myths. Trust me, the truth is deadlier than legends."

"So how the bloody hell are we supposed to protect ourselves from Tyranspines?!" Adisonia demands with aggravation. "They feast off magic! Any spell we use, they'll just absorb and get stronger!"

"Then don't summon any magic to fend them off with," the Dark Rider huffs with an eyeroll and drawls his swords.

"He's not wrong," Cornelius reluctantly admits and hops off his polar bear. "Everyone, summon your animal soul spirits back at once. Whatever else you need, I suggest summoning it now." In flashes of blue, green and gold light, their animal spirits vanish and now Adisonia summons a pair of golden seis.

"This should be fun," she huffs and whips them around in her grip once.

"Let's keep moving," the White Knight insists. "Perhaps if we push on, we'll outpace the Tyranspines."

Vyndren snorts and rolls his eyes as he slinks along the fringes of the group. We're all moving quickly even despite the rough, rocky terrain. Vyndren suddenly stops short with a soft hiss, tilting his head back to stare into the deep, dark sky. A silver fog covers even the sky and casts an eerie, garish light over everything.

"What is it now, Von Vesymir -" Cornelius's frustrated call to Vyndren is interrupted by the screech of Phantoms descending from the misty skies.

I gasp and stagger backwards as the winged, ghostly cloaked creatures swoop into the forest; their boney, clawed fingers curled around their glowing white scepters.