APOCANGELICA Wild Beasts

Chapter 22

 "Did you see th that?" asked Dug in a worried tone.

"What?" asked in turn Evi

"Through the fo foliage of the trees... I thought I saw angels' fl flying."

"You saw them or you think you saw them?" Asked Ophia.

"I saw them... I saw wings!" Said Dug determined, but then he added hesitantly: "At least that's what I tho thought... maybe."

"If they sent someone after us, they couldn't have arrived here before us... They don't even know where we are heading," said Jörg.

"Talking of which" asked Tim "Where exactly are we heading to?"

"To the Castle" replied Jörg.

"To the Ca Castle?" said Dug while swallowing.

"Yes," continued Jörg. "Soon we will get to the opening of a cave. A couple of years ago my father took me there and told me that it was the entrance leading to the cavern where the Castle was."

"And did you enter the cave?" Tim asked. "And the cavern? Did you go in? Did you see the Castle?"

"No," said Evi for Jörg. "Well, I was there with them," she explained with a shrug. "Jörgs father warned us not to get into trouble if we ever were to come in the area during our excursions."

"You mean you never come back just to explore the cave?" Asked Tim.

Jörg grimaced. And Evi explained: "Well, let's say that Jörg has always wanted to see the Castle, but I've always prevented him from, to put it in his father's words, getting into trouble."

"But now we will inevitably see it" concluded Jörg.

*

The five judges were flying in close formation behind Chancellor Trinkiel and instructor Galghiel.

It was time, thought Trinkiel, to give a strong and striking example to all students. Something to be passed on from course to course as a warning to possible future rebellions. That's the reason why he was being accompanied by the five student Judges: as witnesses to what would have happened to the five deserters... Maybe he could even ensure that each judge executed on the spot one of the deserters, making students accomplices as well as witnesses. He was so taken by his reflections that he nearly missed a faint pulsation: an aura had expanded. It was distant, not exactly in the direction of the Citadel. It was further south but still it did not come from the Manor and those places were almost certainly deserted apart from the presence of the five deserters... there were substantial probabilities that the boys had committed a carless act, for some reason. But little did it matter. The important thing was that now they had a clue of where to look. Trinkiel looked back at Galghiel.

"I heard that too" he answered to the questioning gaze of the other.

"They went to the Castle" said Trinkiel.

"They must have thought that if they returned to the Citadel we would have intercepted them" said Galghiel.

"The last report of the Judge of the Crimson team says that among the students there is a rumour saying there are sentinels along the roads leading to the Citadel."

"That's better for us" said the other, "and worse for them: at the Castle we will have more 'room for manoeuvre'; let's head down there."

Galghiel turned to the five guys who had followed and ordered: "Change of direction. Follow us!"

*

"Wait!" He tried to restrain him.

Jensieel stopped in the cold and damp air of the cavern, flapping his wings furiously to stay in the air. "Why? We arrived before the others, what are we waiting for? Let's go and get the human!"

"It is not wise," suggested Parasiel; he also had stopped in mid-air a few hundred feets above the Castle. "We don't know the entity of the enemy forces. Let's wait outside the walls of the Castle. The rest of the flock is certainly heading here and will be here soon."

"Stormriel appointed me as his lieutenant. So it's up to me to decide" replied the other in an irritated tone. "I want the credit of having recovered the human, if you want to share it with me then follow me... otherwise please continue being a scaredy-cat and remain here waiting. I'm going to earn a promotion!" and so saying he headed towards the Castle.

Parasiel watched him while, going down in altitude, he flew over the area of the Castle and approached a tall tower.

He looked around. The others were yet nowhere to be seen and Jensieel had disappeared inside a window.

"Fucking hell," he gnashed and he too headed for the castle, in the wake of the companion.