AEONS: THE GODS ARE DAMNED

Chapter 32

Grimuth released a huge fireball at the castle only for it to be stopped by Eldrin, who was standing on one of the castle’s terraces in human form.
Grimuth smiled and fired another; Eldrin stops the attack with a magical shield; he returns the favor to Grimuth with a rapid attack of concussive magical beams; Grimuth was hit by a few and the impact pushed him backwards, he also shook his head to regain his senses.
“You can’t hold me back forever, Eldrin”
“You belong in chains!” Eldrin shouts back and leaps into the air; Wings spurted out from his back and he headed for Grimuth.
*
Itham moved the rock back to the entrance with magic; Chase looked around and recognizes the area; they were in the innermost part of the forest; they had sneaked out of the castle through one of the hidden passages; Eschallus had gone back for his family and he was here escaping with Aelene, Hycis, Itham and a backpack; his bow was sticking out from it. He could still hear the battle happening on the other side.
“How will we get away without him noticing or tracking us down?” Chase asked
“Through my help” a voice responded from around them; they all turned to see Allania standing not too far away.
“Allania?” Chase recognized her
“You were not thinking of leaving without me now are you?” she said walking closer to them
“No, I was worried”
“Princess, just in time, we need to get out of here now” Itham said as she got closer
Behind Allania eyes glowed from the darkness; huge man-sized wolves stepped into view; at least a dozen of them
“Oh God” Chase said lowly, they all took a step back. “Allania”
“I am sorry but you can’t leave, not when I am this close” Allania said revealing a dagger
“Allania?” 
“What is this?” Itham asks; with a stretch of her hands, the dagger was embedded into his chest.
“No!” Chase shouted
“Father!” the words came simultaneously 
Chase looked at her in disbelief; Hycis fell beside her father and Aelene stood, shocked beyond her limits.
“Don’t look at me like that darling, I am not here to kill you” Allania said with a sly smile, the wolves behind her walked closer; the wolves chuckled and some salivated in anticipation.
Aelene brought out a substance from her cloak, “Run!” she threw it forward; golden dust covered the entire environment; everyone was practically blind.
“Get them” Allania’s voice was heard over the dust and Aelene quickly pulled Chase who was rooted to the spot, as well as Hycis that was kneeling beside her father’s corpse and successfully they all ran away, heading for another part of the forest.
*
Branches snapped as they ran through the forest; Chase’s ears hummed as he ran; he just couldn’t believe it; he was so stupid to have fallen so fast. He jumped over a fallen branch and landed on all fours; he looked back to see the wolves gaining on them; he looked to the front and saw Aelene running for her life with Hycis closely beside her. He burst after them and soon gained ground again; the 3 of them kept running but soon Aelene tired and leaned against a tree.
“Aelene come on” Chase said, Hycis stopped just few meters ahead of them.
Aelene panted, trying to get her breath, “You have to go”
“What!?”
“You have to leave me, they don’t want me, they want you”
“Exactly, which means they will kill you, not me”
“We have to leave Chase” Hycis said and Chase looked back at her briefly before facing Aelene again
“I am not leaving you”
“I foresaw lots of things but I was blind to this, we have failed, but you can succeed where we failed…” Howls echoed through the forest as the wolves drew closer, “…you have to head to No-man’s land, Kelpas must not get you till after the Eclipse; if he fails to have your power till the Eclipse is over, he won’t get another chance and this war can be won”
“What if he holds me prisoner till the next eclipse after this one?”
“This eclipse is special, it happens only once every thousand years, if Kelpas misses this one, he will have to wait at least a thousand years to get another chance”
“We have to leave, I can hear them” Hycis said
“If you end up facing Kelpas, do not fight him, he will kill you; Aeons only gain full immortality after a thousand years of existence; you are only a little above 17…”
“Chase?” Hycis called nervously
“…leave I will hold them off, this is not the end of us” Aelene said and Chase nodded before running off with Hycis leaving Aelene to her fate.
*
‘Gboom’ went the sound as Grimuth blasted the castle and bringing down the Sanctum in a fiery ‘Ragnarök’.
He roared in fulfillment as another Fortress took its place: he looked around for Chase; his nostrils caught the smell of the Aeon and he flies towards it.
*
They both stopped as they saw a huge wolf in front of them; they looked back but saw that this wolf must have found a way to have overtaken them so fast.
“Well, well, well, if it is not my lucky day” the wolf said
Both of them took little steps backwards and the wolf stepped forward; the wolf jumped at them and they both dived out of the way; Hycis rolled and landed on her feet instantly, she quickly held her bow and nocks an arrow; the wolf crashed against the ground; she let the arrow fly and it found its way into the wolf’s fur. The instant it touched the fur, it froze the entire wolf into an icy statue. Chase stood and looked at the wolf.
“We have to leave the forest, the anti apparition spells around here is preventing my teleportation abilities and my magic is weakened somehow” Chase complained
“We cannot go on forever; they will catch up with us sooner or later” Hycis replied him while placing her bow around herself
“Well we can’t stay around here”
“We won’t even be on the run if it was not for her”
“It was my fault, am sorry about your fath…”
“Don’t…” She interrupted him, “…don’t bother apologizing because it won’t bring him back, and besides she killed him, you didn’t” she said and walked away.
Chase had no choice but to follow.
They continued walking till they got to the other side of the forest; they walked out of the woody area and entered the grasslands; as they walked through the fields they heard huge flapping of wings; they both turned to the direction and saw Grimuth coming for them; Grimuth roared and dived for them; suddenly a huge comet like energy bolt hit the giant dragon, sending it away; they retraced the path of the comet and saw Eldrin standing afar off; beside him stood the Drengrin brothers except Aranor. Chase gave a breath of relief.
*
Her feet crushed the leaves as she walked closer to the ice sculpture; she touched it and it burned her skin with an icy heat.
“We cannot track them anymore” one of the wolves said
She rubbed her thumb against the injured finger, “They cloaked their scent and themselves as well”
“Can’t you bypass it?” another wolf asked
“The Aeon is skilled in his spells, it is impossible to get it done; but they couldn’t have gotten far; find them, look out for tracks” She said and the wolves scattered into the forest.
*
Fire crackled as they all sat in a circle around it; no one spoke and they were all too consumed by their thoughts to even say a thing; only Haemir stood afar off from them; he stood on a rock and was looking at the horizon.
Chase stood and walked up to him.
“I suppose there is nothing I can say to vindicate myself” Chase said as he stopped beside Haemir
Haemir sighed, “You need no vindication; your father was a powerful aeon and still didn’t see the betrayal that almost ended him; we were all blind to the same thing; if anyone is to blame then we should be”
“I showed her Grimuth’s prison, I told her everything, I trusted her”
“We trusted her” he faces Chase, “You could not see the future, it was beyond your control; we were outsmarted, it happens” he faces the stars again
“But Itham is dead because of that”
“This is war, Chase, people die, people outsmart, people get outsmarted; it is just a loop of unending chaos and sorrow”
“We didn’t even get to give Itham a proper burial”
“Aranor is on that already”
“And we left Aelene alone in the woods to be eaten by the wolves; we just threw her to the wolves just to save our own asses”
“Do not regret your choices when you had no control of the situation”
“I could have fought back”
“And face a lieutenant of Kelpas? I am sure she won’t be as restrained as you will be; sometimes running is the best defense”
“The warrior who runs from a battle, he is not a coward…” the voice came from behind them and they turned to face him, it was Ralnor, “He is a survivor; and we are survivors, Kelpas can try all he wants but…we have not failed yet”
“So we will run?” Chase asked
Ralnor shook his head, “No, we will survive”
*
With flapping wings Grimuth landed in front of Allania, his landing was rough as the injury from Eldrin still disturbed him.
“What happened?” Allania asked as he landed
“Those Drengrins channeled each other and blasted me from the sky”
“Is the damage much?”
“I will heal, did you find him?” Grimuth asked
“Do I look like I just caught an Aeon? We lost them” 
“We need to return to Kelpas and report to him”
“No need” the word came from the winds and a burst of dark bubble appeared, floating in air just feet away from them. Kelpas’ face appeared in the bubble.
“Master” Allania bowed; Grimuth stood still
“Grimuth” Kelpas greeted
“It seems like we end up on the same side again Kelpas”
“For the greater vision”
“We lost the Aeon, they are cloaked and he is definitely protected by the Drengrin brothers; it will not be easy to get him alone, especially since your so called elite servant failed to capture him” Grimuth said, slightly complaining about Allania
Kelpas spoke with a rumbling voice, “You both did well today, I still need the god stones from the Westland and Northland; Grimuth, I trust you can get it from the Westland”
“Do you need just a stone or should I bring down the entire Westland as well?”
“Just the stone, by the time the fortress of doom appears at the Westland, they will be destroyed either ways” Grimuth nods and took to the wind. 
“I am sorry, Master, I failed to….”
“…go to the North-West, towards the No-man’s land, and bring him to me; I can’t help you there, so you must take as much help as you can get from here and get him; then perhaps I will spare you” the bubble pops and Allania is left standing alone.
*