Faults

Chapter 32: Klaus

"Aydin, where are we going?" I ask him as he pulls me behind Archie and my brother.

"To my house," he responds.

I groan as we walk down the path leading to the lake. Eventually we come upon a small cottage and I assume that's where Aydin lives. I've always seen the house but never really given it a second thought.

When we reach his house, we all go inside and Archie tells me and Aster to sit down at the table. "We would've waited until later, but we were attacked last night," Archie explains.

"Attacked? By whom?" Aster asks.

"That's what I'm getting to. The reason we came to be acquainted with Klaus, as well as you, Aster, and Trey now, is because we need help. We've been fighting in this war–if you can call it that–for over a year now. It's finally time we end it from its source," Archie tells us. "We need to take Christian down."

I yawn, wishing I was home, back in my cozy bed. "Who's Christian?"

"He was formerly my squire. He's plotting something against the Kingdom and we're not sure what it is. He's been attacking my classmates for quite a while. We need to stop him before the situation gets any worse," Archie replies. "On top of all that, he has Exitium Per Maleficia, a black magic spell book that could completely destroy everything this Kingdom is built upon."

Aydin speaks up, "He and my brother, Taylor, killed my mother."

The effects of sleep wear off with that sentence. "Your brother killed your mother?" I ask. I think for a moment and remember that Mrs. Wright was killed not too long ago. "Wait, was Annalise Wright your mother?"

"Yes," Aydin replies, looking away. His eyes are downcast, sad and dark.

I don't know how I didn't connect the dots. Aydin looks just like his mother but with how roughed up he is, it's almost impossible to tell.

"How do we help you?" my brother asks, ending the awkward moment I created.

Archie replies, "We're going to venture out into the forest and search for where Christian and Taylor have been hiding. We were meaning to do that today anyway, without other people, but after the attack, we feel like we need backup. Klaus, do you think you could shift into a bird and fly ahead of us to see if you spot anything?"

"I think I can," I respond.

"Great. Let's go get Trey and Dakota, shall we?" Archie says, walking to the door.

Aster stands up and walks over to Archie. "Again, who the hell is Dakota?"

"Our healer," Archie replies simply.

We all head outside and walk to Trey's house and then to Dakota's house. Once we have everyone rounded up, Aydin and Archie explain the plan and how we're going to potentially fight Christian and Taylor. Just as we're about to set out on our trek, screams come from the village.

Oh, fuck.