Book 4 | Agent 34 and the Last Gem

Chapter 30 | Awake

Thad quickly pushed through the Ar'guals inside the newly finished first floor of the Zena. His eyes darted around frantically as he looked for his throne room.

"Whatcha up to, Thad?" Grari, Lord of the Ar'guals asked as he approached Thad from behind.

"Get me to the throne room," He commanded with a sense of urgency. "Now,"

"O-okay," Grari said, surprised with sudden sense of command. "Right this way," The Ar'gual led the dwarf through a series of short hallways and approached a pair of giant brown oak doors. Both doors looked like a mirrored image of itself. Each door had the same carvings of each species of Renya on them, one door mirrored onto the other.

Thad thanked him quickly and barely made it inside the doors. He locked it from the inside and felt the transformation beginning. He had completely forgotten about his Awakening, which happened once a month.

Thad was a werewolf, or more specifically a weredwarf. He was struck by another werewolf in Urania when looking for a cure for Marque's disease. Once every month a werewolf will have something called an Awakening where they are forced to turn into a wolf and go savage. They have no control over their body and are given animal instincts. When this happened to Thad, he would just lock himself in his throne room back at the old Zena, which was secured with metal upon metal so there was no way his wolf-self could manage to break out of it. He hoped this new throne room was the same way.

Thad felt the hair sprouting quickly. The brown fur soon covered his body, the claws sprouting profusely. His teeth sharpened, eyes turning yellow. His clothing tore as his body grew bigger into the shape of a wolf. A tail grew at his behind and a single howl was shouted from the dwarf himself.

The transformation was complete.

~ ~ ~

Calvin was given a room to stay in, as was Cathy and the kids. Ben and Carter would stay with Calvin, and Rose was going to be with Cathy.

Calvin felt bad for the children. Not because of what they'd been through, but because of their family situation. Their father was presumed dead, most likely killed by their mother. Calvin would like to think that he had somehow survived, but the odds were too small. On the other hand, their mother was a psychopath who's only goal was to kill Calvin. The children were forced to go away from their parents and was thrown into the hands of a complete stranger because their father said to. Without Calvin, they'd be in the hands of their deranged mother and who knew what she'd do to them.

Ben no longer considered Sarah his mother. After he saw her try to kill his friend, he knew it was the not the woman who had given birth to him and raised him for thirteen years.

Rose didn't speak on the topic of her parents. It was obvious she understood their situation and what happened to their mother but didn't like to talk about it.

Carter didn't quite have a grip on much of it. He knew who his mother was but didn't understand why they had to be kept away from her. He sometimes asked where she was and why she wasn't with them. He knew his father was dead. He saw his father and mother fighting before they fled their old city, Urania, and went to the Zena. Cater considered Calvin as a new father figure but hadn't come to terms with calling Calvin "Dad".

Cathy was new to their group. She was recently commanded to lead them to the docks when the children had to flee the Zena during Braunick's attack. She went with them on the boat due to Calvin's weak state and since a Sarah had decided to show up at such a terrible time to try to kill him. She wasn't much of a fighter herself but was good enough to defend. Cathy didn't really understand why Calvin was in charge of the kids and was too embarrassed to ask about their real father.

Their room was illuminated by a single candle. There were no windows to shine light into the bedroom, the candle shining light onto three beds sitting against the back wall. A small bathroom was positioned near the door. Calvin picked the bed closest to the bathroom, which also was the bed closest to the normal door itself. Ben took the one farthest from the door, leaving Carter with the one in the middle.

Calvin sat his little belongings in the corner of the room. It consisted of his sword, a quiver with some arrows, a bow, and a dagger he had had since his mission in Urania. Ben places his sword atop his, which was the only thing he carried. Carter had nothing.

In the other room, Cathy picked the bed closest to the door as well and Rose chose one beside her, leaving one bed empty.

The rooms felt more of a hotel room than a bedroom. Calvin didn't let himself get comfy in this new place because he was constantly on the move—from the Zena to Urania, back to the Zena, on a boat in the middle of the ocean, and now to the Island of Death. He didn't expect to stay mainly due to the fact of rumors spurring by the Ar'gual of the Zena relocating once again and giving up the war. The rumors stated that the Zena would relocate across the ocean to another continent. No one in the Zena knew if there was anything beyond the waters except for one dragon—Barjual. And he was the one talking about relocating.