The Dawn of Light

(30)Hunter and Hunted (Part 1)

Hunter and Hunted (Part 1)

Triton's POV

There weren't many places to hide in Mania anymore, but leave it to Estra to find the last one.

She'd disappeared the moment she'd heard the news about what we were from Manos, who had through some means discovered our identities.

I personally suspected either his dodgy wife or the wolf itself, but either way, Estra knew now and my element of surprise was completely gone. She'd sent word to the other members of the inner circle and I hoped to all the gods that Narray would be careful. She was much like me- she had this tendency to be reckless and too brash in situations. For me, it was still alright, but Narray was a demi-goddess. If she died, she died.

Narray's body had limited healing ability and I hoped to gods Keya wasn't going to find some way to exploit that. If anything happened to Narray...

No.

But right now, my main concern was Estra and ending her reign of horrible leadership style.

I shook my head clear and focused. It was time that I cut off the head of this eagle before she had the chance to ruin more towns and villages with her army of obedient soldiers. Although, I'll give her some praise... She'd managed to build one of earth's mightiest and most powerful forces. No small feat. It's just too bad she used her might and influence for the wrong things.

I'd searched the entire fortress for her; scanning every nook and cranny to spot the famed Aetos leader, but it was empty. Of course, I found quite a bit of trouble along the way. You see, Malreus and Casseus were more of the stealthy type, Claudeus, Morpheus and Asclepius relied upon their magic and Theia somehow always found a way to spare any blood being spilt, but Narray and I were messy. Very messy.

I dealt with the guards that were hindering my search for Estra- and there were quite a lot of them too.

After some time, the fortress grew too densely packed with hunting Aetos and I had to move to higher ground to be able to avoid any more fights. It was starting to take up too much of my time.

And still no sign of Estra...

So I decided to move my search east- towards the grand arena where the three teams had originally been introduced to the rest of the island. It was empty now; most of the residents of the island locked up in their homes or scattered in taverns and bars, trying to avoid the heavy rain and dangerous lightning falling from the dark sky. The fact that there was a hoard of palace and Aetos guards running around the city didn't exactly ignite a sense of security and calm either. The residents of Mania were on edge. Something more than just a storm was brewing...

I stepped through the stone archway of the arena. The colossal structure was barren and eerie on the inside. I snuck through one of the obscure entrances and checked the corners for any stowaways. I found none.

The arena was empty.

But I wasn't giving up any hope just yet. There weren't many places I thought Estra could hide in that I wouldn't eventually get to, but then, just when I thought about the next place I could quickly run to, I spotted her.

Estra stood in the centre of the arena, her sword and shield hanging elegantly at her side and her eyes locked onto the main entrance. She was waiting.

I hadn't even attempted looking at the centre- I thought it wouldn't be of any use. What idiot would try to hide in plain sight? But that was just it; Estra wasn't hiding.

I stepped out from behind a pillar and walked out into the rain.

Her dark, bushy hair was wet and matted to her head. She shifted her eyes to meet mine and smiled; "Did you get lost?"