Elemental Warriors (Volume One)

Chapter 02

Toru followed his alpha down the dirt road with Naomi and Ophelia close behind. Reading Haruki's dark mood, he stayed silent as he dragged his feet passed collapsed homes, scattered belongings, and splintered carts. The stench of blood hung heavy in the hot, humid air. The only signs of life were scurrying rodents and cawing crows, each searching for a meal to scavenge. Overhead, dark clouds loomed.

The pack soon arrived at the edge of the village. What should had been green farmland before them was a trampled field of dirt and rotting saplings. Flies swarmed the landscape, its buzzing deafening in the otherwise lifeless field. No wind blew in spite of the high altitude, offering little relief from the pungent smell that attracted the insects.

An uneasy sense of dread slithered up Toru's back. He glanced behind him towards Ophelia and Naomi. Ophelia wrung her hands, her eyes big and pleading. Even Naomi couldn't feign indifference. She gave him a subtle nudge on his back, pushing him to Haruki. Toru obliged to the wordless request and reached for Haruki's shoulders.

"There are no corpses," Haruki muttered, his eyes still surveying the field.

Toru recoiled his hand at Haruki's voice. Usually flat and monotone, there was now a breathiness to it that made his hairs stood on end. "Uh, y-yeah," he answered as he threw the same hand to the back of his neck. "I've never heard of a half-breed eater, before. Really taboo."

"Five warriors were with him," Haruki continued. "Only one made it back to report the incident."

At a loss for words, silence descended upon the pack. The sky darkened, save a fleeting lightning bolt cutting the sky in the distance. Thunder rumbled shortly after. The heavens refused to deliver the rain however, and left the humid air even more suffocating.

"Don't worry, Haruki," Toru said, his cheerful voice slicing through the solemn atmosphere. "We'll take care of that asshole when we find him."

Haruki spun around. His eyes locked onto his pack for the first time since their arrival. "You are only here to locate him. If you get a visual of our target, do not engage him. Taking him down is my responsibility."

"Who exactly are we looking for, Haruki?" Naomi asked.

"Yeah," Ophelia added. "You've been very quiet about the mission."

Haruki's eyes narrowed into golden slits, but his pack didn't waver. They tightened the huddle instead, eager for the answer that had eluded them for so long. The shrill of an unseen cicada penetrated the silence. Only after its song dissipated did Haruki finally speak.

"The target is Kana, an earth-breed warrior. His last position before he was declared rogue was alpha-in-training."

Toru looked over his shoulder back towards the village. The larger, stone buildings lay in rubble along with the smaller wooden ones. Thick, iron beams protruded from the pile of stone, snapped in two like twigs. What appeared to be small craters littered along the dirt road were actually pawprints. His brow furrowed. "Five warriors couldn't stop this? How strong is this guy?"

"He's very powerful." Haruki's stoic expression faltered for a brief second. "Even though I recruited and trained him, he surpassed me years ago."

"Then why did you take this mission?" Naomi asked.

Haruki turned towards Naomi, but he said no words. Instead, Ophelia stepped forward and answered for him.

"Because he feels responsible." She tilted her head, her raven fringe dangling down the side of her round face. "Um, right?"

"Hmph." Naomi rolled her eyes, not the least bit moved. "It's silly to put your life on the line because of misplaced guilt. You're not the one who did this."