Hunted

Chapter Thirty One

Xander

There's a ringing in my ear as I open my eyes and drag myself up. I love around me in awe at the destruction the blast caused. The pack house wasn't the only thing destroyed. Other houses have been brought down. The trees within the barrier flattened and from what I could tell it's possible the barrier itself has also been brought down.

People around camp seem to be okay picking themselves up. Dragging their families out of the rubble. I turn and watch Adonis help Lucian up who looks around with a saddened expression at what he did. Although it wasn't his fault so he shouldn't blame himself. It's Kenji though who seems to draw everyone's attention.

This is the first time I've seen him fully shifted into his dragon form. He was huge. He looked exactly like the depictions of the Ryū. He had a long serpentine body with a scalloped dorsal fin, claw-like feet and pointed tail. He had four clawed legs with three toes on each. He was covered in scales that were tinted green and blue. He was something I had never seen before. His face had small horns, large eyes with what looked like bushy brows, flaring nostrils, long whiskers and sharp teeth. Really sharp teeth.

Kenji Tanaka, the last descendant of Watatsumi. All 40 feet of him sat there watching me. For a water dragon his ability to produce and resist fire was something I had never gotten to ask him. His Sapphire eyes watched me and then his head snapped up. He rose to the air which amazed me more and took off. I looked at Adonis in confusion and he was already shifting.

"What's wrong?" I asked Luc.

"Mel. She's calling him." And with that he rose to the air his hell hound running after him as he floated away. I shifted quickly and followed the trail of burnt foliage and the smell of sulphur. The black hound in front of me moving like a blur. But I was just as fast.

We ran for hours until we came to a crater sized hole similar to the one Lucian had created only bigger and had caused more damage. We watched the dragon slowly descend to the centre with Lucian right behind him. I moved to step forward but Adonis came in front of me with a growl shaking his head no.

Before I could forcefully remove him from me, Luc was hit with a blast of dark energy and landed next to us groaning. I saw Alistair materialise beside Mel and smirk at me before the three of them, Kenji included vanished.

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Once we had gotten back to the remains of the camp Luc began regrowing the forest. He had simply placed his hands on the ground and closed his eyes and slowly the fallen trunks sank into the soil and new trees sprouted out of the ground. Reforming the circle and rectangle they had around the fallen houses and shops within the barrier. The new forest was healthier greener.

It reminded me that Lucian was the opposite of what Mel was. Even their names were opposites. While his meant light, hers meant darkness. While he was creation, she was distraction. While she was yin, he was yang.

The forest was tremendous, gloomy, and flourishing. Its canopy was competed for by maple, walnut, and alder, which provided just enough openings for light to pass down for a hodgepodge of herbs to take advantage of the insect riddled soils below.

Thick tree limbs drooped from most trees, and a range of flowers, which claimed quiet corners, enhanced the otherwise colourless landscape.

A hodgepodge of noises, most of which were bird songs, echoed in the air, and were accompanied by the sounds of several woodpeckers in the distance.

"What happened back there?" I asked him as we stood listening to the chirping birds.

"When I had blacked out and brought everything within the barrier down it was in response to Mel dying."

"What do you mean Mel died I saw her."

"Don't forget what we are Xander. The first death is kind of like a complete activation of our abilities. Mine happened when I was sixteen and I drowned while trying to get a merman out of a net. Hers happened today."

"Did you blow up like she did?" I asked trying to remember if Mel had had any incident when she was sixteen.

"No. Her death must have been painful. What I felt before the blast was anger, sadness, pain, desperation. Alistair must have tortured her both physically and mentally before killing her."

"What about Kenji. And Mel why did they leave with him?"

"Kenji is Mel's familia. He is loyal to her. She called him and he went to her. She seems to be under Alistair's command from what I could see. I know a spell he might have used to turn her into a blinded soldier once she regenerated." Adonis said appearing behind us.

"We need to find them." I said.

"No. We need to rest. Regroup. Recharge." Luc sighed looking like he wanted to collapse.

"We can't just sit here while Mel is out there being used to do god knows what." I said in frustration.

"Alistair will want her to rest as well before he makes her do anything. And if he was anywhere near her blast then he's just as fatigued." Don glared.

"I'll need to rest and recharge if I'm going to fight her. You need to understand Xander. I want her safe as much as you do."

"What do you mean fight her?"

"Lucian is the only one strong enough to go against his sister. He'll have to subdue her while we try and reverse Alistair's spell."

"It may involve killing her again." Luc whispered watching me. I flinched and took a step back at his words. "I don't like it either but she won't really die. She'll come back."

"I still don't like it."

"If you're buzzing for a fight you can always look for your brother. Killing him might help you get rid of some pent up energy." Don said seriously before helping

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I'm not supposed to be updating. But I just can't help it. It's a good distraction despite my exams just days away looming the back of my mind.