The Dawn of Light

(2)Into the Jungle

In celebration of my birthday, here is the second chapter. The book is still in progress, but I made sure that the second chapter was totally complete to upload for my birthday. Enjoy!

"Theia," Narray scolded me with a stern tone, "I'm fine. Stop fussing."

I sighed and lifted my hands up in defence, while we continued to walk on in the thick, overgrown forest. "Okay, okay... Just checking." I'd noticed her pull a pained expression a few seconds ago and had asked if we needed to take a break, but leave it to Narray to get more annoyed with concern than anyone else I knew.

Malreus was walking in front, leading the way towards the spot where the bomb had detonated earlier. The area where we were walking was once a large desert called the Sahara. Now, three thousand years later, the foliage and vines descending from the tall trees in this vast rainforest were irritating the crap out of us.

Narray swiped her dagger across the air and cut down three or four vines in our path. She tried it again, but nearly sliced off a part of my face. I grumbled; "Hey!"

"Sorry." She pulled a face and continued forward, cutting and slicing a path for herself. I decided to redirect my own steps towards Malreus- I didn't want to lose my head before we'd even reached the location.

Malreus shot me a sly look when I appeared beside him; "Miss me?"

"It was unbearable. Five minutes is far too long..." I teased him sarcastically and he rolled his eyes, but his smile grew wider.

Narray cussed under her breath and loudly exclaimed; "Could this jungle be any more idiotic! I mean gods!"

"You're a ray of sunshine today..." Malreus muttered, but didn't mind it when Narray flicked her tongue at him and kicked his backside with her hard, black boot.

He chuckled to himself and kept his remarks silent. Narray was already irritated that she'd been caught off guard and slightly injured; this little expedition was her chance to regain the supposed 'dignity' she'd lost. She still had a deep cut across her cheek from where some debris from the blast had sliced across her face. She was a demi-goddess, and therefore didn't heal as quickly as we did, but give it another two hours, and the cut would be nothing but a memory.

"So your father says that mortals did this? How odd." Malreus said absent-mindedly as we continued to trek through the jungle.

I adjusted my black cloak. Luckily for me, it was shorter than my father's and hung over one of my shoulders, which made it easier to traverse through this compressed area without getting caught on any branches or trees. "That's what the report says, but I can't help but wonder why on earth mortals would do such a thing? I mean, reapers aren't exactly a secret anymore, and haven't been for quite some time, but they are feared."

"Perhaps it was meant for someone else?"

"Narray says that only reapers use this path. This connects directly to the Necropolis."