AETHER BEASTS

The blizzard finally abated two hours later, and I was very thankful as I'd grown less and less comfortable in the tight space. It had been cramped with just one of us, but with all four of us, I quite literally had to keep my knees close, and my back against the wall. It also didn't help that I couldn't stand and that the air had quickly become stale, which wouldn't have been as bad if we'd been in a cave back above, but something was up with this piece. There was barely any ambient aether in the cave, and thinking back, it had lessened the further away we'd gotten from Allana's home.

I was the first out and was quickly followed by the others.

Sandra let out a breath. "The cold is gone."

That wasnt quite right, the cold was still there, but it no longer felt like it was attacking us. It was more of a slight chill now rather than the biting cold from before. The land looked a lot more beautiful now and with the blizzard gone, I could acutely see more than a few feet around myself. There wasnt much to our right but more flat terrain covered in snow, but to our left, in the distance, I could make out some trees and behind that a large mountain which spoke to the sheer size of this place. Piece of a world, indeed.

"Alright, let's head back quickly," I said. "I don't want to stay here any longer."

The others agreed, especially Hope, who after waking up seemed to be full of energy and eager to get back home. I had Misty watch over her as she was the fastest and Sandra and I, took up positions beside her, though I was slightly ahead while Sandra took up the rear. If the beasts here had any form of intelligence then they would go for Hope so we needed to limit any chance of that.

"Hope, why did you run from Allana?" Misty asked as we traveled.

"Who?" Hope asked.

"The pretty woman in the house," Misty answered.

Hope looked confused. "What pretty woman? All I saw was an old woman, and she gave me some tea that smelled weird. I drank a bit and it made me feel sleepy so i ran?'

I froze and turned to Misty and Sandra who both had confused expressions, and at that moment I felt myself straining against something, no, not myself, but my bloodline. A sliver of golden power was attempting to break through something that was wrapped around my mind. I felt a wave of dizziness wash over me followed by a feeling of clarity as my golden light broke through whatever had been influencing my mind. Suddenly, things became clear and I felt fear rise as I turned to the other two.

"We left her," I muttered. "We just left her… with a stranger. We believed everything she said."

Both Misty and Sandra seemed to have gone through a similar revelation and I swore their eyes shone golden for a moment.

"Oh shit," Sandra cursed as Misty shook her head. "She did something to our minds."

"We need to get back there now!" I shouted. "Misty, carry Hope."

I didn't wait for a response and instead began to sprint towards the direction of the home. If I hadn't been bonded with Zirani I wouldn't have known where to go, and perhaps the witch or whatever she was had been hoping I'd get lost? Whatever the reason, she had messed with our heads and there was no way it was for anything but a bad reason.

I was such a fool. I'd so easily fallen under her power and had left Zirani with her. Dozens of possibilities of what could be happening to her raced through my mind, each worse than the last, and increased my speed, using aether burst to enhance myself. I heard the crunching of snow from behind me, so I knew the others were following.

"Aiden look out!"

Despite my focus on getting to Zirani, I had enough awareness left to heed Misty's warning and dodge the snow wolf that leapt at me, mouth open and claws extended. I turned as it hit the snow and jumped once more.

I felt rage that this thing was wasting my time and stopping me from getting to Zirani. I formed a bark spike and stepped to the side, shoving my hand with the spike attached, into its mouth. I felt its mouth snap shut as its whimper was cut off, but I'd formed bark armor all the way up to my shoulder, and while its teeth grazed my skin, they failed to penetrate, and I lengthened the spike while it was still inside the wolf. It convulsed and flayed for a few seconds before it went limp, its jaws slacking and allowing me to extract my blood and gore-covered hand.

I flicked the blood and guts off the spike before dispersing it and turning to the others who'd stopped in shock.

Hope flinched as she met my eyes, but I ignored her fear. "Come on."

If there were any more snow wolves then my gruesome display must have aced them off as none bothered us and we arrived back at the home in only two hours. Still, even that felt like too long and I raised a foot and kicked the door off its hinges, sending it crashing into a wall.

I ran inside and almost immediately fell to my knees as yellowish vines grew rapidly and leapt from a nearby plant and wrapped themselves around me.

"Well, I didn't expect you back for another day or two."

Allana's voice was not the only thing that sounded different as the once pretty woman had shed her fake visage and now stood hunched over in the form of an old woman, face so wrinkled, that it was hard to tell where some of her features weres. Her eyes, however, pitch black and gleaming with malice, were very visible.

"Where's Zirani!" I yelled, my voice strained as I tried to fight against the vines. Where the hell was Misty and Sandra, they had been right behind me. I turned my head and saw that an invisible wall seemed to be blocking them from getting inside, though that didn't stop them from trying to beat it down. Shadow tendrils attempted to pierce through as did Misty's death claws.

It was hopeless though as neither seemed to be doing anything.

"She is in her room." Allan chuckled. "Almost ready for what I have planned. Honestly, I expected it to be done, but here you are."

She shook her head and spoke as though she were scolding a child. "It's rude to interrupt your elders, boy."

"You bitch!" I hissed as I tried to pull aether from my core, but something was blocking it.

At my words, vines from another plant extend and lashed out like a whip to strike my right cheek. I hissed at the pain, that seemed greater than normal.

Allana tutted and shook a boney finger. "That's no way to speak to me, now is it. No matter, I can teach you some manners while I drain you of your divine essence, and well, everything else."

Her last words turned into a cackle, and she pulled a wicked dagger from a fold of the dark robes she was wearing.

I felt my blood run cold as she walked over to me, her mouth open in a smile to reveal black and yellow teeth. I remembered an old-world book full of old-world myths and fables, and one, in particular, had been about a witch who disguised herself as a beautiful maiden to lure in unsuspecting victims. Another that came to mind was about a house made of candy to lure in children.

"I will do so much with what I harvest from you, boy." Allana chuckled darkly. "Perhaps if there's anything left, I'll make some stew, perhaps bonemeal, and some fried liver. I haven't had that in a long time."

I felt sick and made a disgusted face which caused Allana, if that even was her name, to make a face of mock hurt. "What, you don't like dear old Allana anymore. Not pretty enough, nothing for you to stare at. Perhaps I should have a ride to see why those three share you."

My fear increased as the image appeared in my mind, but I banished it as soon as it had formed.

She was only a few feet away now, and as she raised her dagger, I cursed myself for a fool. If only I'd been less naive and more careful.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see anymore. Seconds passed and I heard her chuckle once more as her footsteps stopped and just as I heard the sound of the dagger wooshing down, there was a loud crash followed by a loud curse from Allana.

My eyes snapped open to see that the dagger had fallen from Allana's hand which had been severed cleanly at the wrist, a fountain of blood leaking from the wound as Allana shrieked in clear pain. I turned and let loose a shaky breath as I saw Zirani standing in the doorway, two sets of arms open, and a pissed-off look in her eyes.. "Get away from him, you bitch."