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Chapter 9 – The Gatekeeper
JwgstoutSome of you already guessed, I mean I kinda made it obvious
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Dawn of the Hunters Chapter 10 – A Hunters Quest
RHETT It’s not like me to be nervous. Yet timidly I take one step forward, then another. Until I am standing beside the bed the demigoddess lay upon. Ashe lifts her hand and reaches out for me. Compelled by an unknown force and feeling I take her hand. Warmth washes through me and a sense of clarity. My inner demons and fearful thoughts fade to nothing as I stand holding the hand of the closest thing, I have known to be a goddess. It was surreal, to say the least. Intimidating but with a profound emotion of feeling important. “The tree of life is where you will find the dagger of death.” She coughs and wheezes, trying to catch her breath. The last time I saw the demigoddess she was all-powerful looking, driving Aodh from the battlefield. Now she looked like a frail being whose life force was depleted. I felt pity for her. We thought she had abandoned us. Ran away without helping when she had been the one to create this mass mess in the first place. Or at least she had a hand in i
Dawn of the Hunters Chapter 11 – Night Callers
RHETT The late evening had drawn into the late night. Most were in bed except those who patrolled the border and palace of Riocht. I sat sipping whisky I had just poured from the decanter in one of the many parlors. Pondering Ashe’s words and wondering if she knew who the gatekeeper was. She had to. She was an oracle according to her own declaration. She didn’t mention Travis’ name or allude to her knowing who it was but… “Don’t look so glum bud,” Tobias says walking in and immediately pouring himself a drink. Tobias takes a seat across from me, propping his feet up on the table, and leaning back in a casual way. He sips his drink letting out a satisfied sigh, licking the remaining liquid from his lips. “It's just a trip to the mountains. Nyctimus will give you the location of the tree. Retrieve the dagger, figure out who the gatekeeper is, and we're golden.” That was easy for him to say. Little did he know it wasn’t the quest Ashe was sending me on that had me bothered. It was k
Dawn of the Hunters Chapter 12 – Raven
RHETT I woke in a daze, my body feeling like it had gone several rounds with Mathias. The sun poured into the room as the big orange ball peeked up over the horizon of the trees. Freely and demanding through the white curtains. It wasn’t the sun that had me waking from a heavy sleep, but the sound of a bird squawking. A noise that should have been comforting and familiar, but it wasn’t. Birds had left the sky. Either flown off or had suffered the same demise as the rest of the wilds and fallen prey to the monsters. The squawk comes again. This time, with resistance from my body, I climbed from bed and made my way to the window drawing open the thin fabric that blocked my view. There, on a ledge, sitting opposite my window perched the biggest raven I had ever seen. I stared at it confused. My forehead creased as its bright yellow eye blinked at me. I hadn’t seen a bird in months, years. Yet there sat the enigma of a raven. Its black feathers glistened under the early morning sun's
Dawn of the Hunters Chapter 13 – Secrets and Lies
RHETT Marcus leans over a map, pointing to where the Northern Lycans village can be found. It’s close to Mount Xenia. At least that’s what it looks like on the map when in truth we were looking at a four-day hike through the mountains. And that was in wolf form. I don’t have a wolf form. “They are old school up there Rhett,” Marcus explains, eyeing Finn Mason and I. “What do you mean by old school?” Mason crinkles his nose obviously not liking the sound of that. “They live off the grid more than most. More than they did here at Riocht. At least they had a form of electricity here.” Mathias gives a rare chuckle. Marcus eyes Mathias, still hunched over the map, “Not just that, they live by different rules.” Straightening himself he offers a grim look to me. “Nyctimus is old, very old. Lycans live much longer than any other species of shifter including werecats.” His eyes roam to Mason then to Finn and back to me. “think… dark ages.” “But they haven’t always lived like that have th
Dawn of the Hunters Chapter 14 – The Journey
RHETT They all stood outside as we loaded up the convoy of vehicles. We would be traveling back to the Kodiak Kingdom and staying at the Clan Mansion overnight. From there, Xander would fly us out to Mount Xenia via Birdie. Dropping us at the closest point to the village. Mathias told us that once we were dropped Xander would point the way and there should be a century or guard that would greet us. They would either let us into the village or direct us immediately to the Lycan Clans' whereabouts. That was if Nyctimus was willing to see us. We were warned that he may turn us away. Refuse to entertain us and hear us out. What we were meant to do if that happened, I had no idea. We all said our goodbyes and we were wished good luck. The last person I said farewell to was Tala. She stood there with eyes rimmed dark from lack of sleep and worry. Little Connor in her arms. “Stay strong,” I told her as I wrapped my arms around her and the little prince. Squeezing them both a little tight
Dawn of the Hunters Chapter 15 – Xenia
RHETT Tiny cabins were dotted around as the path and Lycan centuries led us into the village of Xenia. Crossing through an invisible barrier that began as the giant red trees gave way. I felt the temperature in the air change. The atmosphere becomes lighter and somehow comforting. We were in a magical place. I could feel the hum of it surround me and tingle my skin. Finn lets out a small growl, one that’s full of contentment as if his beast was being scratched behind the ear. “I don’t like the way this place makes me feel.” He says, his lilac eyes slightly glowing as we are led further into the village. Smoke billows from a few cabins, puffing out from the short chimneys. The smell of freshly baked bread and something sweet fills my senses. “As Ashe is not here.” One of the Lycans turns to inform us. “We will take you to an elder of the village. They will determine if you can stay here while we ask Nyctimus to grant you an audience." Following them we are led to a larger-looking
Dawn of the Hunters Chapter 16 – Nyctimus
RHETT As soon as dawn broke, we gathered our things and walked out of the cabin. Last night's experience was still fresh in my mind. When Mason and Finn asked about the experience, I told them what was said to me, but never disclosed that the lady of the lake appeared to me as Jonda. That was for me to know only. At least until I made sense of my muddled thoughts. We set off, the two Lycans leading us. We were forewarned that we would be crossing over rough terrain and through dense forest. They weren’t wrong. There was no easy path to the Lycan village, up one side of a mountain and down another. Through a forest that was so tightly packed that if it hadn’t been for the Lycans, we might have lost our way. It was easy to get turned around in the dark shade beneath the trees. I kept up easily, running on foot as they all shifted to their wereforms. Once, for the first time in my life, I wished I had a spirit animal. Maybe then my feet and legs wouldn’t be aching so much. We didn’t
Dawn of the Hunters Chapter 17 – Maple Feast
RHETT We took our time and rested in the large bedroom. It only had two beds and I opted to sleep on the futon that was in the room. There was no chance in hell I was sharing a bed with either of those two. And they refused to share too. “What? you mean you don’t want to be big spoon big guy?” Mason teased Finn, smirking as he pulled fresh clothes from one of his bags. I had just showered in cold ass water and didn’t want to spoil the surprise and tell the other two there was no hot water. I found it odd that Nyctimus would allow us to stay after declaring that Finn and Mason were less than welcome in the Lycan village. However, I was interested in witnessing the feast they would hold. Knowing our luck, it would be another meal of vegetables and potatoes. Not that I would complain, their hospitality was enough. “Mother of the moons!!!” I heard Finn cry out loud, “There’s no fucking hot water!” A second later he came out, towel slung low around his waist hopping from one foot to
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