章 100: - Whispers and Wonders: The Man in the Woods
Lia didn't move, she didn't speak, nor did she let out a single breath from the depths of her lungs. She just stood there, beside Lukali and Rian, who, like her, were tense and writing. They had sensed something, but what it was, they did not know.
Unlike Lia, whose senses were screaming at her, the senses she shared with Cain ramming her skull like a battering ram, telling her someone was there. The chill that ran up her spine, the feeling of loneliness that crept in. They all told the same tale.
Someone was there. Someone was watching.
His breathing was clear in sound, echoing through her ears. It was calm, steady, but warry. Lia knew that someone's mental state could be told by the sound and pattern of their breath, but Lia was too focused on calming her own breath to care. Whatever happened next, she didn't want to turn around and see him there.
See the man in black, waiting, watching with tense eyes.
After a minute or two passed, Lia's senses dropped, shutting themselves off all together. They were no longer screaming, no longer beating against the side of her head in warning.
They just stopped.
Slowly, Lia brought up the courage to turn around, braver than Rian and Lukali, who still did not know what it was they're senses were screaming at them for. But even if they did, Lia doubted they would have turned around in some spark of potential courage or bravery.
They were afraid, just as she was.
Because it was the silence that surrounded them, that scared them. It was the fact that the man, who had to have moved with such swiftness behind his steps, melted into the silence, making his approach unheard, and thus, terrifying.
When Lia turned, swiftly and softly, drawing her blade out from its sheath, she came face to face with what her senses had screamed about.
Nothing.
Whatever or whoever this person was they had long since left, while Lia was still standing there, frozen, trying her best to muster up the courage to turn and face this creature.
A large breath of relief left her, barreling out of her lungs like a bull waiting its whole life to charge, and now, it finally got the chance.
She nudged Rian, who was closest to her, and though her shaking breath, addressed him in a cautious tone.
"There…you sensed it too, right?"
Rian nodded his head, slowly turning, raising his own gauntlets to face whatever he thought had been behind them.
"My instincts were screaming at me. I…."
He clearly had no words to say, yet looked for them nonetheless. He was terrified, but what made him even more scared was the fact that he didn't know why.
An enemy you know, is a battle built on caution and courage. An enemy you don't know, is a battle against your own fear.
Lukali, who was the last one to turn around, drew and loaded an arrow from his quiver, over his bow. He drew back the sting in the same motion he used to turn and face the opening of the cave, his tone just as hushed and weary as his friends.
"You think he's around the corner. He could just be waiting for us out there."
Rian turned to him, eyes filled with caution.
"If that was a person, we'd best go back and report this."
Rian gestured to the forests, the tops of the trees just showing enough over the ledge that they could see the canopy roof that they created. Large oak and pine trees created a pathway, a large and steady roof, of leaves.
Lia, who was still watching the entrance, heeding over Lukali's words of caution, finally spoke, her sword dropping a few inches to the ground.
"Wait. He isn't out there anymore, but still…I think we should wait."
Rian, who had suggested the idea, turned to Lia with worry in his eyes.
"I don't think that's a good idea. There are only two types of people in this world who can impose that fear on someone."
"Oh? And what are those three?"
Lia asked, a half smile on her face, as she humored Rian trying to shift the tension of the conversation to a much light hearted mood.
Though she didn't show it outright, she was looking for any chance to get rid of the lingering fear she had in her heart. And the best way to do that was to talk. On and on, about things that could make her laugh, make her cry, and so on.
So long as they kept her mind busy, and off the topic of fear.
Raising three fingers, the metal edges of his gauntlets creaking as he did, barely holding back the shaking in his hands, he spoke calmly with reason in his gaze.
"Those who can kill, and those who can trick and lie."
"What if he's the latter? He would just be a liar then."
Rian shook his head, his knees quivering from having to stand up in place for so long.
"No. Even then, if he is a liar, what happens if we catch him? He could trick us, lie to us, mess with our head in ways we've never imagined. Killers are dangerous, but tricksters are fearsome."
Lia nodded her head silently, his words making sense to her, as well as the reason he imposed on them. However, she couldn't get rid of the undying sense of curiosity in her blood, streaming from her heart to her mind, fooling herself. Though she didn't forget to curse her curious mind and all its self loathing.
'I can't believe I'm actually considering this. I should just go back! My instincts told me to stay away, so why can't my mind listen?!'
She shook her head, banishing the self loathing she was placing upon herself, clenching her fists at her side.
Though she had power behind her shadow, both in Cain as well as the summoned warriors she now boasted in her army, the two of which were extremely powerful, she was not unkillable. She could still feel pain, bleed, break bones and die.
It wasn't a matter of could she? It was a matter of how would she?
Could she die? Her senses told her eyes.
Would she die if she followed after the mysterious and fear imposing man?
Even her mind told her to stay, yet her heart was telling her something else. A false image forcing itself into her mind, going on repeat after repeat after repeat.
One question.
'What if that was Voln?'
Even if the man she had sensed was not the man she was looking for, it mattered not to her. He was there, he was here in this area, and he knew this cave. In fact, Lia could almost swear he had come here, prepared to enter the cave, but stopped when he saw them.
'Even if it's not Voln, this man will know something.'
Turning to Rian, who could already see the look of confidence as well as determination in her eyes, he sighed, ready to hear her 'valid' excuse for going after him.
"You two go back to the manor. Warn the Dorrow's that there is someone in their forest. Get Saul and Winslow to come back with you -"
"Hold on."
Lukali raised a hand, having placed his arrow back in its rightful spot in his quiver, he interrupted Lia's orders, caution in his tone.
"You're going after him? That…whatever he was? Why - I….Its dangerous."
"I know Lukali, but -"
He interrupted her again, clutching her shoulders on his own, his height being just a little bit taller than her, a fact that Lia must have misplaced or not taken notice of when they first met.
"I can't let you do that. There are no second chances at life and I don't care if you've got….well - practically monsters hiding in your shadow. You. Could. Die."
He was so serious in his tone that Rian placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down, giving him a look that told Lukali everything he needed to know.
"No…no, you're not letting her go after that…thing! Rian she could die!"
Rian waved his hand, brushing off Lukali's concerns.
"You don't think I know that. I know well enough that she could die."
He gave Lia a sideways glance, worry and fear in his eyes, but not for himself. For her.
"...we don't know if he's that strong. Think about it, all he did was get the drop on us. That's why we were so afraid. We knew there was something there , but we didn't know what. He could have killed us, yes, but I doubt Lia will let that happen again."
He turned to her, pointing at her directly in the chest, waiting for her response to his next question.
"Won't you?"
Lia took a deep breath, puffing her chest out to show her confidence.
"I won't."
"Good."
Rian's voice was stern like a fathers to his child, as he turned back to Lukali, shifting those serious eyes between the both of them.
"You see? I get your worries, but look at it this way. Lia can defend herself, plus, if that's not enough, she has three of the most powerful summons I've ever seen in my life at her disposal. She's abnormal in and of herself, with three titans at her back, I doubt that thing, or whatever it was, could do much against her."
Lukali still showed hesitance, his eyes dancing between Rian, who was also secretly on board with bringing Lia back with them but didn't show it, and Lia, who was doing everything she could to hide her fear under waves of confidence and determination.
After several moments of silence, many of which Lia was pondering, worried that the man may have gotten too far into the first for her to track him, Lukali then spoke.
"Alight…"
His voice was a mild whisper but they both herald it, Lia nodding her head in thanks, while Rian patted Lukali on the shoulder, comforting the man.
"The best we can do now is to get the security team here as fast a possible."
"Right."
Determination filled Lukali's eyes and Lia secretly praised Rian for his excellent use of words, or at least she would have said it aloud, had she not found Rian standing before her, looking down into her eyes with a stern look.
"...yes?"
She meekly said, gulping down a mouthful of saliva that had built up in her throat.
"Make sure you come back in one piece, and alive at that. Otherwise, I'll come to wherever you are in the afterlife and give you a piece of my mind."
Slowly, Lia nodded, her eyes filled with a thankful gaze as Rian and Lukali cautiously made their way to the entrance of the cave, still wary about an unexpected ambush.
When they began to make their way down the same pile of rocks, Lia now recognized as the aftermath to a landslide, she turned to face the mountain behind her. Its tall and imposing peaks gave little to the imagination.
Surrounding her was dense forest, tough and large mountain ranges that were hot and dry. Against the tan rock and the sun's rays splashing against the mountain's face, Lia knew that no man in dark armor or leather would be able to stay hidden for long. She was just grateful tha luck was on her side, seeing as though the sun was against the mountain, not behind it.
Turning to the forest, she looked off towards the tall and imposing trunks of trees, dense shades of branches and leaves, the shade and densely compacted brush and bushes made for a perfect hideaway for someone in dark clothing.
Not to mention his sound. He was quiet, yes, but unlike the things around her, he was human. He gave off a human scent, just as he gave off a human sound. Hidden in the dense forest, that sound would be muffled by the echoing voices of nature.
Against the mountain however , she would be able to hear his feet against the rough stone even if she was a mile down below.
'The forest. I'll start there.'
Jumping down to a lower ledge below her, Lia's eyes became level with the bottom branches to some trees.
'Cain…I hate to ask but -'
'You don't need to ask. Kal was ready to lend you his help the minute you were ready.'
His voice came as a soothing reminder that she was not alone, not alone against that eerily silent man. She had help, and the reassurance it gave her was phenomenal.
'Tell Kal I said thank you.'
'Will do. No focus on catching you little muse.'
She chucked to herself, slowly and quick as to not waste time, the feeling of her eys change as she did so already vivid to her.
'Mouse…that name fits. I am certainly hunting a mouse here.'
She opened her eyes, having been closed for the duration of the prickling sensation that had overtaken her sense, the sight of a dense forest once green and lush with colors, now turned a dull gray.
Though she couldn't see it, her eyes had gone from the crimson red she had adopted from Cain, ato a now dull gray, rings of yellow adorning her eyes.
They matched Kal's almost perfectly.
Instantly, Lia was able to see small and subtle glowing tracks of footprints leading off into the forest, deeper and deeper within.
'Strange. I thought he would have taken to the trees.'
A fleeting thought, and as such, she didn't pay much attention to the details and hurriedly ran down the trails, chasing the unmoving and glowing trucks that would have led her to her destination.
'I'll have to ask Kal if I can use this more often. Damn this thing really works well!'
She praised the use of Kal's eyes, as she sped off down the trail.
Eventually, though faint, the glow on the trail began to increase, slowly, subtly, until it was a bright and flashing gold in her eyes, causing her to be blinded to the ground beneath her.
'Your getting close Lia. You're right on his tail.'
'How much farther now? He must be around the corner -'
She never got to finish the thought, as a burning sensation began to build up heating on her palm, like a red hot brand had just been stuck there, burning away at the skin, searing it in pain.
But this isn't what stopped her in her tracks, nor was it the fact that the tracks leading down the trail had stopped, the glow disappearing behind her.
No. It was a much louder and more present fear that overtook her.
The warmth that Lia had reached to, a warmth that had kept her calm, safe, and unafraid when dealing with the most unlikely scenarios, turned an ice chilling cold.
The warmth Cain brought her though his courage and bravery, became an ice chilling fear.
Cain was afraid.
But even as she turned to face the oncoming and glistening white attack that rapidly neared her face, Lia could only hear one thing bouncing and bouncing around in her head.
A voice, filled with fear and warning.
Cain's.
'Lia, look out!'
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