Come Love A Stranger

Thirty

“What!” Mariah couldn’t stop herself from shouting, she looked from Azura to Bamushka and then to Azura and Bamushka again, “wh-I-yo-…” she kept stopping before she could finish what she wanted to say.
“Aye, you heard me well. My dear Bamushka was betrothed to Alador when she was barely a year old, I believe six months and Alador was already fifty years by then but he was still a very young god. As they grew older, they became friends but on Alador’s hundredth birthday, he went out to the forest for the first time on his own and he did not return the same. My innocent son had seen and fallen at first sight for black haired and green eyes human. In his own words: ‘Her emerald green eyes reminds me of the forest in a bright day’,” she scoffed with a small smile and shook her head softly, “he had rejected Bamushka the next day and t’s been like that ever since, so imagine my surprise when she saved your life just now, when you were the one that rubbed her off her mate and took all his affection that should have been hers.”
Mariah looked from her to Bamushka who rolled her eyes at her and turned to Azura, “let us not talk about that, mother, her knowing does not change anything.”
“I know, but she should be reminded every time she looks at you that she is the reason you are still without a mate till now.”
“That is not necessary,” Bamushka shook her head, “tell her why you brought her here, we must not forget the reason she is here in the first place, Alador’s life depends on it.”
“Aye, you right,” Azura nodded and glanced at Mariah and in a blink of an eye, she was before her immediately, “I did not just bring you here, Mariah, like I told you, Alador is on a death mission and t’s because of you.” Seeing the lack of understanding on her face, she didn’t need to read her mind to know what she was thinking, “Alador wants to change your fate, he does not want the life of missing you and you would be nowhere to be found. He prefers waiting for you to reincarnate and knowing that when he dies, he would be able to see you again and live eternally with you, so he is planning to embark on a journey that would stop you from dying. He would not listen to reason, no matter what I say or Bamushka, he ignores us and do what he wants but we know that as the one he is doing this for, that if you talk to him, he would listen to you and who knows, he would see the failure of what he is about to do.”
Mariah didn’t need her to say anything further for she already figure what Alador was trying to do and she gasped and stared at Azura in fear, “he wants to kill the Hackeries?”
“You are a wise human, I never expected you to figure it out on your own,” Azura complimented with pure feelings visible on her face, “but you are right, Alador believes that if he eradicate the Hackeries then Ilayas cannot send them after you in this life, which means, when you die, your soul would go to the eternal world and he could peacefully join you there. But like I said, no god has ever engage in a combat with the hackeries and no one believes that they could be killed but one thing was for certain, if Alador provokes them, they would kill him and as you know already, we gods do not reincarnate, so he changes nothing, because even I would summon the Hackeries to kill you on behalf that he died because of you and I do not care if I have to beg on my knees for Ilayas to summon them on my behalf because he is the king.
But what good would that do to me? When I die, I would not be in peaceful terms with my son and I would watch him live forever in pain, do you understand the difficult situation you put me in? I cannot revenge my son without punishing him in the end, so you must try to avoid his death, you must talk him out of this so that I would not be the one to order for your death, do you understand me, human?”
“But…why would he…what…” Mariah was at lost, she finally understood the feeling she felt that morning Alador left her room, so his plan was to kill himself for her? What difference would it make?
“Exactly, but Alador is not understanding that, he believes he has to try first. But no god has ever fought against hackeries, even Mighty Darian was killed on first attempt when the king sent them after him and he thought he could win against them,” Bamushka climbed down to stand next to Azura, “you must convince Alador to not try that stupidity of his, I can understand if he would never choose me but I wouldn’t want him to die either.”
Mariah didn’t hear the last thing she said, all she knew was that she has to stop Alador and she would do whatever it takes, only one problem, “Where can I find him?” she looked at Azura.
Azura and Bamushka looked at each other before Bamushka spoke, “I shall take you to him,” and with that, she grabbed her hand and they traveled through a portal and in a matter of seconds, they appeared in a dark cave. “He is in there, but he built an invisible wall so that neither I nor his mother nor anybody can enter. We believe the force won’t stop you because you are just a human, he made it with elements that could be found only here which is able to stop us because it can detect our supernatural powers but you have nothing, you are just like a clothe casted aside, it won’t do you any harm, now go,” she pushed her forcefully that Mariah lost her footing and fell deeply into the dark cave.
“I would have been light for you but as you can see, I cannot pass through so you must continue in the darkness. If you need help, then you must hurry to find him because there is no way I can enter to help you. Good luck and try not to kill yourself,” she scoffed and with that, she disappeared.”
Mariah heaved a deep sigh and forced herself up on her feet, the cave was pitch black that it was hard to see anything. She almost turned back but she overcame it, there was no way she would allow Alador to kill himself for her. The cave was gigantic and she looked so small like an ant walking inside it.
“Alador,” she whispered as she ventured deeper into the darkness, not seeing where she was going, “Alador, it is me, Mariah, please, show yourself to me. You don’t have to do this, I know everything now, you don’t have to hide from me.”
She kept walking deeper and calling out to him softly until she heard a soft growl and turned at the speed of lightening but she could see nothing, not even her own hands, “Alador, is that you?” She asked, hoping it was him in the panther form but the growl came again and it was a lot louder and heart ripping then a sound coming from a panther, “Alador,” she called, scared this time that even her voice was trembling.
The growl came louder this time like a roar and the earth shook and she felt the cave vibrate, that was when she knew she was not alone in the cave and the creature with her was not her beloved.