Threads of Fate

Chapter 38 ~ When the Past Calls

Azael pressed himself as flat to the ground as possible, pinning Raxys's sheathed blade beneath his legs in the process to avoid the weapon from making any noise. He had a dagger in his grasp, though with luck he wouldn't have to use it.

He steadied his breaths until they were noiseless as heavy boots marched into view. He spared a thought to wish his body was a little more compact, even though he knew the bracken was covering him entirely. It would simply make him feel less conspicuous.

He held his breath as the warriors, six in total, strode beneath Talarion's tree and came into his sight. Dismay pooled in the pit of his stomach. They were from Lochren. If this led to a fight, would Talarion be willing to possibly kill his own people? He waited impatiently for the group to move along, but they seemed content to mill about this area.

Presently, two of them broke off and moved ahead, but the rest remained behind. "Think we might be done here soon?" One of the male's asked, catching Azael's attention. "We've scoped out this area three times and found nothing."

Another male who he guessed to be the group's leader answered. His voice was deep and gruff, layered with a slightly different accent from the rest. "We pull out when we're given the order to and not before."

"But if we're just wasting our time..."

"Lord Roshan would not keep us here if he believed we were wasting time. This is the area he believed they would be heading to, and his source hasn't been wrong yet."

Azael's eyes narrowed. He already had a good idea of what it was Roshan had his warriors searching for, but the male's last sentence... Had someone been following them this whole time? It wasn't possible. They would've noticed. Unless...

A chill ran down his spine. Astaroth. If the Spawn had been hidden somewhere in the Vidar like Kaius, Talarion, and Tissaia suspected, he could've been following them this whole time without them knowing. And if he really was able to glean information from Kaius's visions somehow, and had been passing it along to Roshan Lochren for some dark purpose...

Azael's heartbeat quickened. They might have no choice but to kill these warriors. It would announce their presence to Roshan when he inevitably learned about it, but they couldn't have such a large group on their trail. He stiffened as the two warriors who had departed came stalking back.

"We found signs of a large animal, possibly a wolf or a bear, in the area, but no Fae."

The leader rubbed his bearded chin. "Track the animal," he ordered.

The two scouts glanced at each other. "Why?" One asked.

"It might be one of the Fae we're looking for, and even if it's not, it will make a hearty meal, don't you think?" The mountain male flashed them a cold grin, revealing teeth sharper than the average Fae's.

Azael had heard rumors that the males from the mountain Clans would grind their teeth into sharper points to make it easier to eat the tough meat of whatever animals they were able to hunt in the mountains, and to use as weapons, but he'd never known it to be true. Then there were the females of the Clans, rumoredly witches of some kind.

He had read about the Matrons in ancient history texts from the Elder Age, and their strange, dark practices. They were the ones to sharpen the males' teeth, and did so to their own as well, but their teeth were used for bloodletting in their rituals.

What little he knew about the Mountain Fae was enough to tell him why they were best left alone, and he couldn't help but wonder how Roshan Lochren was on good enough terms with them to have brought several males back to train his son. Perhaps this was one of those very males.