Dark Aura (under editing)

Part 2 Wolf's Den: Spirits

Eight meals have been served to me, and still nothing from the alpha, nor Xavier. I've grown more restless and irritated. He must really be considering my offer, otherwise he would've wasted no time in declining my offer. The dark purple and yellow splotches on my skin have faded. My cuts are becoming scars, the more I look at them, the angrier I become.

I take in some deep breaths to relax myself; I have to keep myself levelheaded. The only way for me to achieve that...is to think of all the pain and suffering I will bring upon them. I could almost relish it! First, I'll start off with the little mutts that have been sneering and mocking me.

Then the guards... and then Pierce and the Alpha, I will get to last. I'll make every one of them regret ever... crossing my path. Unfortunately... this only can be done with help on the inside. Xavier is my only resource, if he fails me... I don't know what else I would do.

Each morning a wolf gives me a meal, he mocks me, sneers at me. And I do all I can to hold my tongue, to keep my head down. If I convince the Alpha that he has beaten my spirit. He'll lower his guard... though it will take time. I've played coy with him before, and he saw right through it.

This really is my last and only option. Starving myself has gotten a lot easier ever since the last visit with my mother. I no longer feel the excessive hunger or have unbearable headaches.

I wake up and notice Xavier bringing me my food. Oh, I pray, that he has gathered something over these passing mornings!

He hands me my food and takes his leave. Under orders, he's not allowed to speak to me, isn't he? I retrieve the note on the bottom of the bowl.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, since I am not ranked enough to be allowed to any of their meetings. Gathering intel was rather difficult." I mentally roll my eyes, never mind that.
"I've gathered from a source that the Alpha has been speaking with herbalist and what not. So far, he's consulted with four of them, and in that time only held a meeting once. Whatever you have said to him has really stirred something in him, I don't know any of this helps, but this is all I can give you for now."

He's looked into it, so he is considering my offer. He won't find the truth about the herbs because the herbs I speak about only exist to mages. The Alpha is stressed out. Of what? He doesn't have much to lose, I do! I must be missing something... I need to communicate with him back, I look around me to find anything useful. I notice some rock dust in a corner. I trace my finger through the dust creating a message.

"Are the wolves at war" The message is small, that way only he would be able to read it. When Xavier returns, he notices the message and shakes his head at me and shrugs.

Which is it! I wipe away the message and write a new one, "Are any wolves injured". I kick a rock to get his attention. He turns around and looks at the message and shakes his head. Then what do they need me for? They aren't going to war, and none of them are injured? This makes little sense! They obviously need me for something, if it's not healing, then what?

The final time he comes for my empty platters, I trace another message, "Speak with the herbalist he spoke to, ask them about remedies" He nods his head at me and takes my empty platters. Now I will just wait again, I tear every piece of the note into the tinnier bits. So tiny that you barely see them. It does bring me some comfort that he is looking into my offer.

In the morning, I expected to be able to communicate with Xavier. However, the same wolf as before is bringing me my meals once again. He said he was low ranked. Just how low? Is it only higher ranks that have been allowed to see me? They consider this a privilege to torment and mock the mage? Of course, they do... I rest my head to sleep and get startled awake by a ghastly howl. My heart pounds against my rib cage. It's not from a wolf. I've been here long enough to recognize a wolf howl when I hear one. I sit up and look around, the guards remained still. Unbothered by the sudden noise? Did I imagine it? Perhaps I was dreaming?

Suddenly, a young woman seeps through the cavern walls. She stares directly at me. My blood runs cold... She's wearing a long, plain dress that covers her feet. Her frown is subtle, it almost seems as if I imagined it. Her judgmental eyes bore into mine; I tilt my head at her in mockery. Pretending to not feel her intense gaze on me.

Another one appeared, this time right in front of me! I refuse to react or flinch at their presence. I remain still as the hair behind my neck stands. This one was younger and wore a smirk. Her smirk is the most distinctive feature
about her. It seems so natural on her. That I would bet she was born with that same expression.

She stalks around me eyeing me in a condescending manner. I keep my eyes on her movements. Unaware of her intentions... It's remarkable how clear their features are. They're as detailed as paintings. But unlike paintings, they can seep through objects. All ghosts are bright white. Even evil spirits, that's what makes them dangerous. That there's no difference between the two. Ghosts... rarely terrify me, I wouldn't mind them back at the village. I would often go to the graveyard and see them wandering around and calling to their loved ones. They would ignore my presence, but this time, they were doing quite the opposite.

"What do you want?" I spoke without an ounce of fear in my tone.

"Well, well... look what we have here... Eloise, it's another one of your kind. Let's see how long this one lasts."
They're speaking ill of me as if I'm not in the same room as them!

She sighs. "Probably longer than you, since she's a mage after all, and not a weak human." Oh? A fellow ghost mage? How lovely... Wait, is she standing up for me?

"WEAK HUMAN! YOU SAY?" Ah, she just wants to get a rise out of her. Ghosts fighting?

How intriguing..."You were crushed by the hands of the Alpha..." she said with a grit to her tone. So he has killed other mages before me instantly because of his anger. I wonder what's stopping him from making the same mistake?

"AND YOU WERE KILLED WITH ONE BLOW!" She floated to her in an instant.

"AT LEAST I MADE IT FOR THE BEATING!"

"AT LEAST I LASTED LONGER THAN A DAY!" I've never seen ghosts interact with one another. They must've been stuck here for a long time. Can the guards not hear them? Not see them? The smirky one snaps her attention to me.

"You! How are you still alive! You should've been joining us by now!" She spoke in disbelief. The smirky ghost seemed to be a lot more irritated than the other ghost. Her eyes blazed with fury as her jaw clenched. Even though she asked for a reason I'm still breathing. She seems like she couldn't care less? So why would she demand an answer? Each time, her eyes bored into mine. Her aggravation only grew.

"Give it a couple more sun passes... then for sure- ". She closed her eyes for a moment and huffed out a breath. She spun to face her in an instant.

"UGH! YOU'VE SAID THE SAME PHRASE EVERY NIGHT! CAN'T YOU SAY OR DO SOMETHING THATS NOT CONSISTENT!"

"Oh, why don't you go to hell? The devil is right down there waiting for you!" She waves her arm. Oh? she means literally... quite the entertainment.