Hexa Melodies of Peace: First Melody

32. The Ones Lurking in the Shadows

'Guys,' said Lance, 'I don't think that I should sit this one out. This place is dangerous.'

'Not more than the thing that is inside you,' said Seth, 'you said it yourself when we entered the vicinity of this place, "you are feeling like you are home".'

They were in a dark room dimly lit by a feeble candle stick. The wooden beams of the house were rotting and the smell was making them sick.

'I don't know why I said that,' said Lance.

'That was not your feeling,' said Seth, 'we are all going to leave after two hours. The sunlight may not reach this place but I still think that it would be better to enter the forest during day.'

'Guys,' started Lance.

'No Lance!' said Selena forcefully, 'it is too risky to take you with us.'

Lance felt angry and annoyed. Didn't they realize how dangerous this place was? The things they might face wouldn't just die from swords and scythes. He grabbed Misha by her wrist when no one was looking and took her out in the dark hall.

'Listen to me,' he said. She looked at him confusedly. 'I am feeling things I have never felt before. There are creatures in this place that don't even come close to your or my understanding. Seth knows a lot about them but he alone won't be enough.'

Misha looked more confused now. Her red eyes showed furious struggle to figure out what to say or how to say to him. She pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders. They heard footsteps and a moment later Pyna appeared.

'Oh!' she said looking at Lance standing leaning over Misha in the dark. 'I'm sorry. I didn't know... didn't mean to...'

'Pyna,' said Lance, 'that is your name right?'

She nodded, not looking at them.

'I just came to ask if you needed anything,' she said.

'Can you translate?' said Lance.

'Hmm?' she seemed confused.

'My friend will write and I want you to translate,' said Lance.

'Alright,' she said uncertainly.

Misha wrote and Pyna started speaking.

'Lance, don't be so stubborn. We will be back soon. Chances are there is nothing in the forest worth investigating. Selena will soon realize that it was pointless coming here.'

'But still,' said Lance, 'what if you run into one of those lurkers that the old woman mentioned.'

'I would prefer running,' Misha wrote, 'as an assassin, I have been taught to avoid fights if possible.'

'But what if it is not possible?' asked Lance.

'Rain and Seth are gonna be with me,' she wrote, 'we'll be fine.'

She smiled, clapped him on the shoulder and went inside the room again. Lance sighed in frustration.

'I can understand why you are so worried,' said Pyna, 'the forest is a dangerous place.'

'Not just the forest,' said Lance as he walked back in the room.

One hour passed in silence. Lance stood in the corner of the room. No one felt like talking. Rain had no proper weapon. He was holding Misha's small katana. After a while, Lance couldn't stand the strange atmosphere and decided to take a walk. He walked out the room and looked out the window. It was still dark outside. There was no sign of light. Lance started walking. As he reached the end of the hall, he felt an overwhelming aura. His eyes widened. What the hell? He thought. He gulped. This aura was very strange, akin to Sin's aura but stranger. In a way, he felt like something was going to happen. Who did this aura belong to? Lance had a strange feeling that only he was able to feel it. Was it normal? Did aura like that often envelope this place? It was hungry, Lance could tell. This thing was hungry. He could feel the bloodlust. Lance started walking. The dark hallway seemed to stretch forever. There was no light at the end of the hallway; just stairs leading to the floor below. Lance tired his best not to make a sound but the wood creaked under his weight. He took a deep breath and kept walking. The aura was getting stronger. Lance walked towards Jaiza's room but the aura got fainter so he walked back and headed to the back door. The aura intensified. Lance's fingers twitched and a few lightning bolts sparked. He was on edge and ready. He opened the door and walked outside. The dark back lawn was unkempt. The bushes were overgrown and the grass was littered with fallen leaves. The stables were on the left side and that is where the aura was coming from. He took a step towards it. The smell of horses reached his nose. He could also hear them. Something was disturbing them. He quickened his pace and reached the entrance. The sound of hoofs was loud now and the horses were restless and scared. He moved a bit to the side and peered inside. A disgusting sound of teeth munching meat and bones reached him. He gulped. He tried to look through the darkness. Luckily, the clouds gave moon just a little permission to shine enough light and Lance saw it. A dead horse was lying on the ground. The last horror the poor creature witnessed was still in its dead eyes. Blood was flowing out the stables. It touched Lance's feet. Bent over the dead horse was someone, hungrily eating the animal. It tore apart the flesh and munched it down. Lance felt sickened but only for a moment for what he saw next was too shocking for him to feel anything else. Her white night dress sprawled to the ground, her bare back visible in the moonlight, her long hair wildly over her face was Pyna. Lance took the entire image in and still couldn't believe it. She had no care of anything. The fact that she was naked and eating her mother's horse was too much for Lance but she was oblivious to everything around her. But she was changed. Her Mictlanian characteristics were the same but she had additional features as well. Her teeth were six inches long, all of them. She was easily eating the bones as if they were butter sticks. Her eyes weren't visible.