Veritas

Chapter 62

Aislinn's heart dropped at the feel of the cold hand, realizing she was about to die. She closed her eyes and reached out for her family one more time, wishing she could tell them how much she loved and cherished them. When she was once again met with an abyss that swallowed her words, though, her heart crumbled and tears welled in her eyes. How she wished she could hear Ryan's laugh one more time, and sleep with Kenji curled around her for warmth. Her heart hurt, as if urging her to fight; but, after her last vampire encounter, she knew it was a losing battle. Still, she shook her head, shaking off her tears and readied herself for a fight to the death.

"Aislinn?" Came a familiar, monotonous voice connected to the icy hands that were pulling her to an upright position. "What are you doing here?" Drystan asked once he could see her face to confirm that he was correct.

"Drystan?" Aislinn gasped, her once-tense muscles relaxing instantly at the sound of his voice. "I am so happy to see you!" She exclaimed, then threw her arms around him in a hug while she hiccuped, laughed and sobbed all at once.

Drystan was surprised by the hug, and unsure how to react; so, for an awkward moment he simply stood there while Aislinn hugged him. Eventually, though, he patted her back, clearly unused to physical contact with others.

Feeling his awkwardness, she blushed in embarrassment at her own reaction. "What are you doing here?!" She demanded, turning his question back on him while stepping away in what she hoped wasn't an awkward transition.

"Well...I have decided to work for the vampires, and came here to—" he began to explain, as if he wasn't bringing Aislinn's world crashing down around her.

"You...What?!" Aislinn demanded, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Why would you—" she started, stepping back away from Drystan with a horrified expression.

Realizing his error, though, Drystan was quick to cut Aislinn's sentence off to correct himself. "Ah, no, I do not mean I am aligned with them, Aislinn. I am merely working for them, which allows me to gain intel...Vampires are exceedingly arrogant, and when they believe they are in the right, they will easily expect others to follow...So, there was no doubt from them when I asked to join their cause. It was the logical thing for everyone to do, in their eyes" he explained, motioning to the King. "It was how I learned of the King's abduction; however, I was incapable of ignoring his plight."

"So you managed to sneak in here?" Aislinn asked, frowning. "Where are the guards? I swear I saw one of them, and not you, come in here."

Drystan tilted his head slightly as he considered how to answer, which Aislinn mused was one of the most emotive things she had seen him do. It made her a bit nervous.

"There were two guards stationed here" he explained, glancing behind him. "I did not encounter the other, though...This one believed I was here for information on the captives" he said, gesturing to a pile of dust and clothing on the ground.

Aislinn examined the pile he motioned to, not having noticed it before now. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise as she asked "Oh! So that scream...You killed him?" 

"I destroyed him, yes. We should make haste before his friend returns...There were only two guards stationed here because it is located beneath a witch coven" he explained, walking towards the King to assess his state.

Once again, Aislinn was shocked, only this time it came with a much more foreboding feeling. "A witch coven?! Is that what they meant when they said there was a blocker or something? Are the witches helping them?" She demanded, beginning to panic. Vampires were dangerous; but, they had weaknesses. To take on a witch in a fight was something she hoped she'd never have to do, as she didn't know what they were capable of.

"They are" Drystan answered matter of factly. "Hurry" he reminded her.

"Oh, I killed the other guy, I'm not worried about him. How are we going to get past an entire coven of witches, Drystan?!" She whisper-shrieked, still cognizant of the likely need to not draw attention to them.

"You killed...A vampire?" He asked, seeming more shocked by this fact than Aislinn was by his assertion that they were under a witch's coven. Despite his monotonous voice and expressionless face, his eyes were wide. He turned back to her and looked her up and down for signs of damage.

"Yes, and I'm fine...Just tired. How can we get past the witches, let alone while dragging a giant, unconscious man?!" She asked, trying to contain the panic that was mounting inside of her. The emotional roller coaster she was on was basically the only thing keeping her going at this point.

"But...How?" Drystan asked, realizing that Aislinn was still naked. He pulled his shirt off in one swift movement and, while she was trying not to internally spiral, he pulled it over her head to offer her some cover. "Did you get your wolf?"

"No, and I don't think that's the piece to focus on, Drystan" she said, her voice semi-pleading for him to focus on the witches.

Confused; but, recognizing how badly his friend needed him to focus, he pivoted back to the topic of witches. "Well, I believe there is an alternate exit. It is uncommon for witches or vampires to trap themselves in one spot...I will locate it for you to take the King and escape. Unfortunately, I am uncertain where the exit will lead; so, there will still be danger of being caught. It will theoretically be less dangerous than the alternative, though. Additionally, I may be able to pass myself as one of the guards to allow for further delay before they realize that you've escaped."

"No! You'd be caught and tortured for helping us! Don't be silly, you're coming with us" Aislinn ordered, frowning at him in disapproval.

"You may be unable t—" he started, trying to point out the risks of him not buying her more time.

"Drystan. You're coming with us" she said, stomping her foot. "So, lead the way to this exit" she added, then turned towards the King. "I'll carry him."

"Very well. I will come with you; however...I mean this with the utmost respect...You look awful. I believe the proper course of action would be for me to carry both of you" Drystan suggested. "I will be cold to the touch; but, for a werewolf, it will do no harm" he added.

Aislinn couldn't argue that she was dead on her feet, and with Drystan undead on his, it did make sense to let him give her a break. She nodded, then ran back to her cage to retrieve her talisman while Drystan picked up the King as delicately as he could manage. When Aislinn walked back to Drystan, she was securing the talisman around her neck.

"Ready?" He asked.

Aislinn stopped, though, and frowned when the talisman didn't work. She took it off again, then put it back on, and still she remained a woman.

Drystan, who didn't know what the talisman was for, was watching her curiously. "Aislinn?"

Uncertain what that meant, since she thought that Gwen had said the magic would hold if she removed the talisman and put it back on again, Aislinn decided it wasn't important in the moment. She nodded to Drystan and jumped on his back, allowing her the opportunity to close her eyes and get some rest while Drystan carried the two werewolves further underground.