Venator Lunae

Chapter 3:Family Ties

Kalan awakes to a world of devastation and destruction.  He stares down at his hands, cut and bleeding.

“What happened?” The old man sat there looking confused.

“I was hoping you could answer that question.” Looking at his hands that were just as devastated as Kalan’s. Kalan sits up to see him better.

“Sorry. Can’t help you there.” He looks at the old man’s now battle scared face, as he watches he could only imagine what his looks like. The old man stared at Kalan puzzled.

“Wait your eyes, they were silver. I think.” Kalan was starting to get worried.

“Fully or partially?” He stares at Kalan confusion plain on his face.

“Fully, but that was only near the end.” He stares off into space and sighs.

“I have no idea the cause of that was just curious.” The old man sat there frowning and puzzled. Kalan sits there staring at his armour, it should have been scratched and dinted or parts miss, but where the wolves had gone into him it was completely restored.

“You know, you never told me your name.” The old man stands and walks over to Kalan.

“Didn’t I? Sorry it’s John. So what are we to do now?” Kalan lies back and yawns.

“We rest now and when we wake we will search for Selena and the others.” The old man looks around, looking disgusted.

“Can we please rest someplace else?” Kalan stands and kicks the nearest body to him.

“Come on, they can’t hurt you, they’re dead. Plus if an enemy finds us, they’ll think we’re dead as well.”  He lies back down and closes his eyes, letting that moment slip away, passing into the abyss that is exhausted sleep.

Kalan wakes in the middle of the night. He can’t tell what woke him. He just felt compelled to wake up. As he stands, Kalan takes two swords from the dead guards and hung them across his back so the hilts pointed out from the opposite shoulders and they formed an X. He wasn’t going to walk anywhere in this godforsaken place without being armed at all times. While he did this the old man slept on peacefully. He sees a strange light that looked like a human being that was walking in circles. Kalan pauses for a moment wondering whether he should leave the old man or stay. He decides to walk towards the light. The only problem was that every time he got closer it seemed to draw him out. It was like the light was leading him somewhere. Maybe into a trap. Yet still he followed. Where it was headed he could only guess. So on he walked following after the ever elusive light. Never getting closer, but never losing it either. Kalan keeps walking until he realised the light had stopped moving and was diminishing in size. He approaches it at a cautious pace. Feeling wary of its presence. He feels anger and amazement in the same turn. Anger at himself because this light could be his enemies and they could be leading him into a trap, but amazed because, he felt like he had seen it before. Somewhere in the distant past. Kalan suddenly feels amazed with himself; he doesn’t usually go gallivanting about, leaving anally alone and unguarded. With each step taken closer he begins to make out a frame of a human being. It was a woman, who was roughly five foot eight, long wavy amber hair. “Selena?” The frame turned around to face him and he sees the face he recognises as Selena as she turned around. He stands there surprised by her sudden appearance. “What are you doing here?” She stood there for a few seconds, before she collapsed into his arms. He picks her up and carries her the way he had come. He couldn’t help but feel that something was seriously wrong, he didn’t know what but he was about to find out. He places Selena in a dark secluded corner where she couldn’t be found by accident. When he had placed Selena into a safe place he ran all the way back to the old man. Kalan runs and runs till he got back. He hadn’t realised he had walked so far. But that didn’t matter; on he runs. When he finally reaches the old man, he finds John crucified against the wall. Kalan drops to his knees, he failed to protect John and those savages decided to spite him. He walks over to the guard captain stabs him releasing some anger, walking over to John and he cuts him down, without knowing Kalan then set every body alight with a single burst of magic. When the task was done he could feel the anger rise within him and yet he felt strangely calm. He sits there and watches the fire dance along its own merry dance, destroying all evidence of the past. After a few minutes Kalan remembers about Selena. He gets up and runs to where he had left her. When he found her, she had awoken and was sitting against the wall rubbing her head. “Feeling okay?” She stood up quickly and nearly fell down again.