Another battle won, but at what cost? The enemy has finally stepped forward and his identity and powers are now known, but Oliver has lost part of himself, a part his enemy will use against him.
But now he has allies, an army of his own, and it gro...
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-Oliver-
After hours of traveling down the hill, I was exhausted, even though I wasn't let to walk at all. I was just so weak that simply holding onto Jaden's shoulders was draining my energy. But I didn't complain even once, because Jaden had it so much worse. He had to be careful with his every step as we descended the hillside or we both could've ended up rolling all the way down to the river. Sure, he was a werewolf empowered by gods, but I could tell my weight was taking its toll on him.
That was why I got really happy for both of us when the sun was finally setting, and the river was so close we could hear the stream crashing into rocks. That meant the shelter was close. But there was a downside to it. Fenrir kept encouraging us to keep moving with a cheerful expression on his face, but we all could tell he was getting more and more concerned the lower the sun set.
The beasts guarding this dimension were waking up, and we were not supposed to be in their kingdom.
But we made it just in time. The riverbank suddenly came into our view right as when the long shadows behind us were turning so dark they looked like patches of pure void.
"Here it is, here it is..." Fenrir spoke cheerfully, like we weren't in any danger at all, and practically ran the last steps to the riverbank where the trees no longer grew. "There it is!"
The rest of us hurried to him to see this shelter he'd been talking about. It was a very large cave, surrounded by massive boulders that stuck out from the hillside like someone had put them there on purpose. The large cave entrance could've fit in a small army at once, but it was completely built shut with large logs that were three times wider than me.
"Quickly now," Fenrir said, peering at the sun as he ushered us to the cave.
And suddenly, I heard a chilling sound coming from somewhere above us on the hill. It was almost like a howl, but it sounded almost metallic. It hurt my ears even though the being making that noise was far away. I also realized the forest was growing louder. I'd thought it was the wind I was hearing between leaves and brushing past foliage, but there was no wind. The air stood still.
I think we all got a little scared since we ran the last steps to the wooden walls. There was a set of simple double doors made of thinner logs, and Fenrir hurried to open them for us.
"Get in, get in, get in..." he said without taking his eyes off the shadows.
My heart was racing when we burst through the doorway. Once everyone was in, Fenrir slammed the doors shut with such force I expected to hear hungry beasts attacking it next, but nothing seemed to be following us. He still didn't waste any time to lock the doors with three thick wooden bars that had been left leaning against the wall. Arch helped him to slide the bars into their hooks, and once the doors were completely blocked, they stepped back to listen in silence.
