<h4>Chapter 278 - The Air Rippled</h4>


    Quetznded safely over a small clearing where he could barely spread his wings fully. He half closed his wings and allowed Dawn to get down. She had been on him for six hours and he was afraid that she might stumble on the ground. He lowered his wing in the front to catch her in case she stumbled. Dawn caught one of his spikes and slowly hopped to the ground. Her knees were wobbly. Every muscle in her body ached as she touched the ground and her instincts told her to sit down immediately and tend to her aching body, but she staggered towards the crash site, which was about hundred meters ahead.


    ''Take to the sky Quetz,'' she said as she moved forward.


    Quetz was aghast at the way the ne had crashed. The broken pieces of metals had flung everywhere. It was so badly wrecked that there were little chances that anyone survived, and there was no chance that the beasts of the forest hadn''t eaten them to the bones. He shivered on the inside because of Dawn. Tension rose in his already strained muscles. ''I want to wait for you here,'' he said. He would go to her if she fainted. Fear gripped his mind. ''I don''t want to leave you alone.''


    Dawn continued to walk forward. ''Go Quetz…'' Her breathing became ragged. As she walked towards the ne, her feet went into several puddles. The ground was wet and?the metal of the ne shone faintly against the receding moon. Her lips trembled and her mind was in turmoil. There was no putrid smell of rotting meat… still.


    She neared the site, dazed. Suddenly, the air around her rippled when she passed through it. "Shit!" she said aloud.


    ''Dawn,e out of there now! It could be an illusion.'' Quetz opened and closed his wings in panic. He had noticed the air ripple. He started to walk towards her but she stopped him.


    ''Don''te near. Fly now!''


    He screeched. ''No, I want to be there.''


    ''If I am in danger, at least you won''t be. Between the two of us, one has to have advantage. So. Fly. Now.''


    Angered and dismayed as hell, Quetz turned and took to the sky. He hovered lower, as he watched his rider walking inside. ''Why don''t youe out?''


    ''Because I have to find Daryn.''


    The ripple in the air meant that the ce was surrounded by magic, which also meant that it was a trap. And if this was a trap then someone had alreadye here earlier. In that case, Daryn was alive. In that case, was Daryn used to trap her? Or were they both targets? Thinking that Daryn was alive, made her feel better. She walked closer and with every step she took, the air grew heavier. It smelled of magic, of copper, of moisture, of burnt metal.


    She investigated the cockpit, the remains of it. It appeared as if it was bombarded or it sted. She walked around to see if the pilot''s body was there, but there was nothing.


    The moon hung pale in the sky and the stars had all disappeared. There was faint morning light that lit the area vaguely. Her attention was caught by his half-open suitcase from which his clothes had flung outside. She went there, knelt on the wet grass and picked up his shirt. She pressed it against her chest and tears dropped. "Where are you baby?"


    "He is where he should be," a dark, ominous female voice from behind startled her.


    ''Dawn!'' Quetz yelled through her mind.


    ''Stay up there,'' she instructed.


    "Who are you?" She tried to turn to take the woman down, but a sword on her throat stopped her. Daryn was alive. Her heart elerated at the thought.


    "Turn slowly because I won''t think twice about killing you," the female hissed. "Put your hands up in the air."


    Dawn got up and turned slowly while keeping her hands in the air. So this indeed was a trap.


    "Who are you?" she asked again. "Where is Daryn? Take me to him." Dawn looked at the tall woman with ck and red silk gown and hair as ck as raven''s feathers. She was voluptuous to the level of being vulgar and very beautiful. Her red eyes zed with fire, and her sharp fangs were visible. Vampire.


    "I am Emma," she said and circled her. "Though I was asked to collect the booty and deliver it, I think if I kill you here, everything would be so much simpler."


    "Take me to him," Dawn demanded in a harsh tone.


    "What if I don''t?" said Emma. "Because of you there is unrest in the kingdom. Because of you too many things are not happening." Emma circled her full and came to stop right in front of her. She opened her mouth and licked her fangs. "Your blood is infused with so much magic. If I drink you dry, I can''t imagine the powers I will get."


    Dawn stepped back a little. "That would be unwise Emma because if you are here to collect the booty, then someone would be very angry if you don''t deliver me to them."


    Emmaughed. Her pearly white teeth bared and the fangs lengthened. "No one would evene to know." She brought her sword on her tummy, held her wrist and yanked her to her chest.


    Dawn flinched. Never in her life had she seen a real vampire. And this woman appeared so strong. "You will be upsetting so many people Emma. Think about it."


    But Emma had located the pulse point in her neck, which was throbbing with blood. She was about to pierce her fangs in them when she was yanked by an invisible force and hurled across the ground. Emma was thrown against the surface of the broken rear-half, which shattered on impact. She got up immediately and looked wildly around. She swayed her sword in front. "Who is there?" she asked.


    All of a sudden there were shadows and smoke and mist around Dawn, which twirled in her direction. "Wh— who is there?" she asked again, brandishing her sword.


    A man in ck leggings, white shirt and a trench coat appeared from the shadows.


    "How are you doing Emma?" asked Ileus with his trademark lopsided smile.


    She wiped the blood from her cheek and looked at him with hatred. "I would love to kill you!" she said and attacked him. "Once I kill you, I will take her down!"


    Ileus dodged her attack with n as once again his body disintegrated into smoke and mist. Emma walked through him and losing bnce she fell on the ground.


    "Take us to Daryn," he said, materializing in front of her.


    "No. I would drink you too!" she said and lunged at him—the most powerful wizard, no Lykae, no warlock, whatever... of thends.


    Dawn''s eyes were wide. How did Ileus find her there? While she was in a daze, a grotesque fight between them erupted. Dawn saw two powerful beings appearing, disappearing, trying to catch each other in the form of smoke and mist and fire. She saw electricity flying, metal crashing against metal and curses in Russian? It was difficult to keep the track and to say that she was deeply impressed, was an understatement. So this is what the creatures of the Lore were. Strong, feisty, crazy powers and mad.


    ''What is going on?'' Quetz asked.


    ''Ileus is here.''