The Land In Between

C H A P T E R 1 7

The night was quiet. And that, in itself, was suspicious. So much so that Hiwaga brings out her leather-wrapped left hand. She unravels the leather wrap, and reveals a dark black forearm. Amihan almost retracts away from Hiwaga's side, but the other woman doesn't seem to notice. Slowly, there was dark sand seeping out of her forearm that crawled up to her hand.

It becomes a small formless mass until Hiwaga closes her eyes and the mass explodes into a crow with glowing eyes. It cawed loudly for a bit and it made Likha squirm in her sleep, to which Hiwaga winces in apology. The Lower Slave ruffles its feathers as its sharp claws seem to bury itself in Hiwaga's hand, but it doesn't bleed. And then, it flies off into the night sky, the sound of flapping wings being the only interruption in the otherwise deathly silent surroundings.

Hiwaga's eyes still remain closed though her tilts from side to side. It takes Amihan a little time before realizing that Hiwaga was using her Lower Slave as eyes, scouting the area around them without having to leave the group.

Amihan also utilizes any of the knowledge he has on the Alliance and whether or not they were anywhere closeby. He may be tired but he's not willing to risk anything, especially not Banawag and Likha. He asks just in case, "Any signs of other Lower Slaves?" Hiwaga shakes her head, "None. Other than natural darkness, there is nothing out of the ordinary."

Amihan hums, "What are the chances of something occurring in the Underworld?" Hiwaga takes some time before carefully answering, "Quite high, since they're no longer interested in Banawag tonight." Amihan raises an eyebrow despite knowing Hiwaga can't see it, "They can have meetings without you?" Hiwaga sharply exhales, "As I've said, I come and go as I please unless I am personally called. I have yet to be contacted by the High King thus am not needed for now." Amihan doesn't know if that was a good thing or not.

Distant, he hears the coo of a pigeon somewhere down south and with Amihan's trained ears, he knows for a fact that it was man-made. He says to Hiwaga, "Humans. South." Hiwaga nods, eyes still closed and focused. "Got it." The wind picks up and flows towards the southern area. Hiwaga moves her head a bit more as she murmurs, "Orange. I see orange." Amihan nods and relays, "Third House, Dagangbulan compound." It does make sense, given that Ma-i and Kaliraya are neighboring provinces, as well as the new personal grudge Ginoo Kabay has now with Banawag.

"How are they proceeding?" asked Amihan. The High Priestess has her eyebrows knitted in concentration, "They're all heading towards the old Ulalong compound, by my guess. Nowhere too close to us." Just as Amihan was about to sigh, Hiwaga added quickly. "Wait."

Amihan doesn't even breathe while waiting for Hiwaga to speak. She says, "A stray separated from the party. He's wearing violet." The man feels an inkling of disbelief, 'What is a Second House member doing joining a different retinue?' Rarely do Allied Houses do joint hunts with just a single person. The hesitation of Amihan grows, and he requests "Is he someone familiar?"

Hiwaga seems to listen to her suggestion but gets immediately thrown back by something before steadying herself. Amihan had been ready to catch her lest she fall. Hiwaga lets out a grunt of frustration and opens her eyes.

Amihan sees a dark inky black all over them, as if the whites of her eyes were gone. Above head, he hears the returning caw of Hiwaga's Lower Slave. The way it flies was hurried yet swayed, a trail of black smoke following the crow as if a wing was injured. Hiwaga pants and lets out her hand, soon enough the Lower Slave uses it as its personal perch before disappearing.

The High Priestess gasps as her eyes return back to normal. She yanks her own arm hard, as if it was needing a good whack. Hiwaga rotates her left shoulder gently, "He looked familiar, from the lodge. Heavily armed against dark attacks." Amihan searches through his memories before pointing to one mousy looking member of the Second House who was flanked by his clan members. 'Ligid is his name, I think.'