《Demon Blood: Book I The Arrival》


 Prologue

    A peel of laughter drags me out of my feverish slumber.


    I try to open my eyes. My eyelids feel like someone has gummed them together. I can''t stretch my limbs. They feel so numb!


    Still, I drag myself on my feet and try to look around. Where does the sound of laughter come from? Has someone sneaked into the room? Is there anyone hiding here?


    I am like a game animal. A rabbit or a deer. Chased by blood hounds; cornered into this dilapidated mansion at the back of nowhere!


    My heart is broken, my body feverish. It has been almost two days since I ate my last crumb of bread, drank my last drop of water.


    What am I waiting for? There is no hope anymore! It is the end of everything!


    What a fool I have been!


    With my small band of rebels I dreamt of overthrowing an omnipotent ruler!


    With a few firearms I hoped to win over an array of dreadful weapons!


    With a few hundred hungry, broken men I dared to challenge an army of ruthless killers!Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Inevitably, we were torn to pieces; trampled and mutilated. By a freak chance of luck I have survived, but I know that I cannot cheat my destiny for long. It is only a matter of time before they find my hide-out here and flush me out.


    I grope my pistol inside my cloth. Two bullets are still left in it. They are for myself. But I doubt if I shall be able to pull the trigger when the time arrives.


    Can I be strong enough for that? I don''t know!


    I drag my aching body out of the room. The roof of the dilapidated four-storied mansion lay stretched in front of me. When I had first arrived here I tried to find a shelter inside the building. But the rooms were all full of dust and debris. Surprisingly, the once magnificent staircase stood mostly intact. I had dragged my injured body up here and found a small room on the roof which seemed habitable. Since then I have been curling myself in a corner there and raking my feverish brain for a way to survive, but in vain.


    As I look around, my eyes fall on three little boys flying kites on the roof. In the cold afternoon breeze their kites are flying high in the sky.


    The boys are laughing and chattering among themselves and I am alarmed by the way they are carelessly trotting about on the crumbling roof without ever noticing where they are stepping next!


    As I watch, one of the kites is blown away by the wind and the boy who has been flying it steps back in an attempt to control the thread and hits the moss-eaten parapet. In an instant the bricks start to crumble away. As the boy loses his balance, my body lurches forward before I know it. I catch the boy and throw him backward into the hands of his friends, but the roof beneath my feet gives in. With a roar the bricks and debris rush towards the ground and instantly, I am airborne. The next moment the ground rushes at me. But before I hit the ground, a cloud of black smoke swirls up and I am engulfed in a smoky darkness which enters my mind like rainwater sipping into my clothes and erases everything...

 CHAPTER ONE: THE BEGINNING

    Juran stood still on the sand dune while his eyes scanned every inch of the desert stretched around him. The sun was rapidly sliding towards the western horizon. Its amber glow lit up the tanned faces of men and women in the caravan which was coming from behind the dune and threw long slanting shadows behind them. The metallic bells and trinkets adorning the camels sparkled like diamonds in the glow of the setting sun.


    Suddenly, Juran''s eyes fell on a strange object. From the place where he stood, it looked like the carcass of a huge black bird lying folded in a shallow depression on the sandy ground. Juran squinted his eyes and tried to focus. But it was so far away that even his trained eyes failed to detect the exact identity of this strange object.


    Juran looked at the setting sun. Hardly an hour of daylight was left. He shook his head. It was not enough to reach the Gate of the Sun before sunset. The Gate would be closed right at sunset, so he was going to be forced to spend the night with his people on the freezing desert, anyway! ''Why not have a look at this one at hand?'' He thought as he got down and went to the other side of the dune to find his camel resting there. The huge animal was sitting on the still hot sand, munching some fodder with its eyes closed. But the sound of its owner''s footsteps alerted him. It opened its eyes and looked at its owner.


    Juran scratched the animal gently below its throat and got up on the seat at its back. The camel tilted forward and backward and erected itself in a somewhat funny manner. Juran drove it towards the place where he had seen the strange object.


    As they came closer to the object, Juran realized that it was not a carcass but a man clothed in black and lying face down in the sandy depression. Was the man alive or dead? Juran could not confirm from his seat at the camel''s back. So he stopped the camel, alighted from it and got down into the depression to check on the man lying in it. To his surprise, the man was alive.


    Juran slowly turned the man and found himself looking at a young face with sharp yet delicate features. Under well defined brows and long eyelashes his large eyes were closed in peaceful sleep. Juran quickly searched through his ragged clothes but could not find anything which would give any hint of the man''s identity. What he found instead surprised him. It was a pistol with two bullets in its magazine.


    Juran took out the bullets and put the empty pistol back inside the man''s pocket. He stared at the sleeping face of this stranger who seemed to have sprouted suddenly from the desert below him. There was no sign of another caravan passing from this place in two or three days.


    Then where did this man come from? With his exotic features and his strange clothes he could never be a citizen of Anakra. Who was he, then?


    What made Juran more curious was the firearm on him. Firearms were rare and expensive in Anakra and only a few privileged people could afford them. Juran was one of them. But he did not prefer to carry them. In the world where he belonged firearms could protect him from another human, perhaps, but they were completely useless against the fierce creatures of darkness whom he had to face quite often.


    There was no apparent sign of any serious injury on the man''s body. Juran heaved a sigh of relief and took out a small leather pouch from his pocket. He sprinkled a few drops of a clear fragrant liquid from it on his palm and rubbed them gently into the man''s smooth forehead. As the faint smell mingled in the air, the man slowly opened his eyes.


    *************************


    Ethan had long been trudging through darkness. A man was walking in front of him, leading him through the pitch black darkness only by the faint murmur of his voice. Ethan could neither see the man nor could he make out what he was saying, but he knew instinctively that he must follow this man. Suddenly, the man stopped and spoke in a clear voice, "Go ahead, Ethan! Change it the way you want."If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    As he spoke, the darkness around them started to crackle and faint streaks of light appeared everywhere. Soon it was bright light in front of Ethan''s eyes and he could see a smudged face near his own. Slowly his vision cleared and he could see a young man kneeling by his side and looking at him with a pair of bright warm eyes. As he struggled to raise himself up on an elbow, a pair of strong arms embraced his shoulders and helped him to sit up. There was something oddly reassuring in this man''s touch. Still, Ethan was too shocked to utter a word or to move his limbs on his own.


    Juran understood what the man in front of him was going through. "I am Juran." He said. "What is your name?"


    "...Ethan." As he spoke, Ethan''s voice felt strange to his own ears. He still could not clearly remember who he was or where he had come from. But a vague memory lurked around the edge of his mind from where the name ''Ethan Black'' popped up. Was it even his own name? Ethan was not sure. ''But this will do for now.'' He thought.


    "Where are you from?" Juran asked.


    "Can''t remember..." Ethan said apologetically."Juran, can you tell me what this place is?" He asked.


    "This is the land of Anakra and right now we are in the desert outside the City of Sun, the capital of Anakra." Juran explained slowly. "I am going there with my caravan. But the sun is setting and soon the gates of the city will be closed for the night. So we are going to camp here tonight."


    Ethan remained silent for some time. Then he raised his head and looked at the sky. "What shall I do now?" He asked himself.


    Juran was looking at him intently. "Stay with us till we reach the city. Perhaps your memory will return by then?" He said.


    Ethan nodded slowly with a grateful smile. Juran had probably saved his life and he could not find enough words to express his gratitude. He dragged himself to his feet and realized that though he felt a bit dizzy he could manage to walk. Seeing that, Juran climbed out of the depression and dragged Ethan out of it. The two of them stood there waiting for the caravan which had rounded the dune and was approaching them slowly.


    All on a sudden the ground beneath them started to shake violently. Before they could think anything, both Juran and Ethan were thrown on the ground. The silent desert had instantly turned into a heaving and roaring sea which tossed around screaming humans and animals alike. Amid the chaos, in front of Ethan''s awestruck eyes, a part of the desert heaved and shifted into a monstrous shape which faintly resembled a gigantic snake. But this snake sparkled in the light of the setting sun and breathed fire! The ground had stopped shaking and Ethan stood there, staring spellbound at the glowing monster.


    Juran had already recovered himself and was now preparing to attack the monster. In his hand had appeared a long spear which also glowed in sunlight. The monster swooped at Juran, but before he could make a move with his spear, a white light glimmered in the sky and slashed open the monster''s face from its right eye to the side of its jaw.


    The monster let out a deafening roar and thrashed its gigantic tail. A horseman had appeared on its right side. Ethan could not take his eyes off the man riding the huge black horse. The sword in his hand shimmered and glowed. In an instant, it slashed open the other eye of the monster.


    As soon as the horseman had appeared, Juran had retreated. He was now standing by Ethan''s side and staring at the warring man and monster in front of them. His men had already scampered away behind the dune.


    The injured monster now thrashed in rage and stirred the desert into a blinding sandstorm. The horseman was flung on the ground and the monster swooped on him. Juran hurled his spear at the monster. The glistening spear embedded itself into the monster''s throat, but failed to impede its advance.


    As Ethan struggled on his feet, his right hand instinctively dug into his pocket and fished out the pistol. He tried to fire at the monster but the pistol only coughed a clicking sound. His eyes fell on Juran who was shaking his head. Ethan could see the despair in his wild eyes. He felt an oddly familiar surge of fire running through his blood. Without thinking anything, he gripped the pistol and the next moment he hurled it at the raging monster.


    The two other men stared in shock and disbelief. The ordinary pistol glowed like a charmed weapon and struck the monster at lightening speed. Immediately, the monster began to melt away. In front of three pairs of awestruck eyes its huge sparkling body crumbled and melted into thin air.


    The horseman stood up from the ground and looked at Ethan who still stood there looking dazed. A curious light played in his eyes as he sheathed his sword with a Clang! ''Well, what do we have here? A Forger!'' He said in a spiteful voice.

 CHAPTER TWO : FORGER

    The horseman stood up from the ground and looked at Ethan who still stood there looking dazed. A curious light played in his eyes as he sheathed his sword with a Clang! ''Well, what do we have here? A Forger!'' he said in a spiteful voice.


    With a deliberate step, the horseman walked towards Ethan, but Juran moved faster and stood in front of Ethan like a shield. "You should be thankful to him for saving your life!" he spit out the words.


    The horseman looked amazed. "I am thankful to him," he said and bowed to Ethan. Then he turned to Juran. "But my friend, how did you manage to get a forger here?" he asked sarcastically.


    Ethan couldn''t make out what this man was talking about. Confused, he glanced at Juran who looked alarmingly pale. A blue vein had popped up in the middle of his forehead and his eyes were bloodshot. But when he spoke, his voice was calm and steady. "Leave him alone, Gailar," he said.


    ''So this man is called Gailar,'' Ethan thought. ''And it seems these two aren''t friends, at least. What can be the meaning of this?'' He wondered.


    Gailar had already stepped back. "We''ll meet again, young man!" he said in a threatening voice. Then he sprang into the saddle and kicked the horse fiercely. As the horse whinnied, it reared on its hind legs and then galloped away with its rider. Juran stared at the trailing cloud of sand in its wake and shook his head in disgust. Then he turned towards Ethan. "Let''s move out, too," he said and the two walked back towards the dune where Juran''s men had hidden themselves.


    Daylight had died out already. Juran decided to camp for the night behind the dune. Some of the men had been injured in the commotion, but no one was killed and there was no fatal injury. Some goods and a few carts were destroyed, but that didn''t seem to bother Juran at all.He gathered his men, created a large circle with the hooded carts and arranged for a huge fire in the space created at the centre of the circle.


    The men took out large cans of salted meat and other food and started to cook them on the fire.


    The pit of fire exuded warmth and light. The sound of voices hung over the desert like humming of thousands of bees. The chaotic battle scene from a few hours ago seemed to have existed in some nightmare only.


    Ethan had a strong feeling of homecoming. The crackling fire, the delicious smell of food, the warm faces of people and their voices- all seemed to make him somewhat euphoric. When was the last time that he had felt so blissful and secure? He couldn''t remember.


    As dinner was served everyone gathered around the fire. They ate and talked, sending a cheerful humming sound over the freezing dark desert. But Juran did not join them. He brought two plates of food, gave one to Ethan and settled inside a cart along with him.


    "You still don''t remember anything?" Juran asked.


    Ethan shook his head helplessly. Juran knew that he was telling the truth. "Isn''t there anything you want to ask me?" he said.


    Ethan looked into his eyes. "There''s so many things I want to ask you", he said. "But my thoughts are all jumbled up. Can you tell me what''s going on here? And what did that Gailar fellow mean to say?"


    Juran kept silent for a few minutes. Then he said, "This land, Anakra, is vast and mysterious. I''m a merchant and I have to travel far and wide. Still, I don''t know all its people or all its mysteries. The monster you saw today is not a rare thing in the wilderness of Anakra. We have to face them often. But I must say I haven''t seen one so strong before. You saved us today. Thank you, friend!"Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Ethan was visibly embarrassed. "I didn''t do anything there!" He protested. "I don''t even know what happened back then!"


    Juran looked straight into his eyes. "Didn''t you know that you are a forger?" he asked.


    "I don''t even know what a forger means!" Ethan said.


    "A forger is someone who can turn an ordinary thing into a Cereb weapon." Juran said.


    "What is a Cereb weapon?" Ethan asked again.


    "A Cereb weapon is a powerful magical weapon which is useful in fighting with the creatures of darkness, like the one you defeated today."Juran said. "Look, there are two types of people in Anakra. The Cerebs are the elites who rule over Anakra. They make machines, weapons and laws. Then there are the Citizens, the common folk who do all kinds of manual works. I belong to this second class," smiled Juran.


    "I don''t understand anything!" Ethan sounded exasperated. "How could an ordinary man like me turn an ordinary pistol into a magical weapon?"


    "Ethan, a forger is not an ordinary man. Only a person with true demon blood in them can become a forger; which is something very rare and very dangerous." Juran said coldly. Ethan was surprised by the sudden change in his tone. He looked up at Juran whose face had become stern and mirthless.


    "Wh-what do you mean?" Ethan blurted out.


    In the same cold voice Juran said, "It means that you are in grave danger. By the law of Anakra forgers are captured and thrown into dungeons whenever they are reported to the Cerebs. Even if you don''t remember who you are or where you came from, you can''t escape your fate."


    Ethan couldn''t believe his own ears. He stared at Juran''s face with shocked eyes. As Juran stared back at him, slowly his eyes softened. He put his hands on Ethan''s shoulders. "Don''t worry! I''m not going to hand you over to the Cerebs! I have my own accounts to settle with them. If you help me, I''ll help you, too," he said.


    "I''ll do whatever you ask me to do, anyway", Ethan said in a low voice. "You saved my life; gave me food and shelter without knowing anything about me. I''ll be glad if I can do even a little bit in return".


    "You don''t need to be so grateful!" Juran said, laughing. "It''s a deal then."


    "Deal!" Ethan said. "But that Gailar fellow knows about my ability. What, if he turns me over?"


    "Don''t worry about him! He is a rotten fellow, a bounty hunter; kills monsters because there is bounty on them. But no one trusts his words. So you are safe there."


    The two men sat there silently for some time. In front of them the white sandy ground was bathed in silvery moonlight. Most of the men had retired into the hooded carts. Only a few people were still around the fire. The temperature had been falling rapidly and Ethan could feel the bite of cold. Juran saw him shivering. He dug out a fluffy blanket and a pillow from the pile of clothes and other things stacked at a side inside the cart and tossed them at Ethan. "Sleep here," he said. "We have to take a long journey tomorrow. Good night!" He gathered their plates and got off the cart.


    Ethan looked around inside the cart. A huge mattress served as the seat of the cart. At the other end of it a heavy curtain was hung, blocking the passage of wind from that side. A similar curtain was rolled up and held with fasteners on his side of entrance also. Ethan rolled it down and lay down on the mattress. He drew the blanket over his head and tried to relax in its cosy warmth. But sleep still eluded him. So much had happened within just a few hours that his mind was still processing them feverishly.


    ''Why can''t I remember anything?'' He thought. ''Why am I trusting Juran? Why am I even believing his wild story?''


    But he had no other way out of it. He had to trust Juran. He had to believe that the only reason that he could destroy a fire breathing giant of a snake was that he could turn a junk piece of metal into a magical missile!


    ''A Cereb weapon'', Ethan recalled what Juran had said. ''What else had he said beside that? About the forger?''


    Ethan sat up abruptly. Juran had said that only someone with true demon blood could become a forger! His mind could not process it before. But now those words came back to haunt him.


    What did it mean? Who or what was a demon? Ethan vaguely recalled childhood stories about demons and monsters. Were not they just stories? How could he have arrived in a world where those bedtime stories became alive? And, how could he become a demon blood?


    Ethan could feel his temples throbbing as blood surged to his head and made him dizzy. He felt so weak that he lay down again. Slowly, he regained his composure. As his excitement thawed he realized that a new feeling was growing within him. A feeling of excitement at a new beginning! "I''ll see what awaits me in this new world!" He said to himself and this new resolve set his heart at ease. Slowly, he sank into a dreamless slumber.

 CHAPTER THREE : HERE SHE COMES

    Early in the morning the caravan set out for the city of the Sun.


    Before they started the journey Juran had come to wake Ethan up. He had brought with him a bundle of clothes. As Ethan sat up rubbing his eyes, Juran thrust the bundle in his hands. "Change into this." he said.


    Ethan unwrapped the bundle. It contained a set of new garments which looked similar to the ones Juran wore, except in colour. Juran seemed to prefer black, but this one was dark blue. Ethan couldn''t help but appreciate the rich embroidery and the soft feel of the cloth.


    "Won''t I stand out too much in these clothes?" He asked.


    "Well, I don''t think you''ll look very convincing as a camel keeper or cart driver either!" Juran chuckled. "Better to make you stand out then," he said.


    Saying this Juran brought out a small metallic cube from inside his clothes. "Here comes the most important thing," he said.


    Ethan was surprised by the sudden change of tone in his voice. Juran''s low voice sounded grave and serious as he put down the cube in front of him.


    The little cube was made of some unfamiliar material which gave off a metallic hue and yet looked soft and pliant to the eye. Intricate designs were curved on it. They looked like some exotic coat of arms.


    Ethan tore his eyes off the cube and looked at Juran. "What is it?" He said.


    "The mark of your identity." Juran said. "Give me your right hand."


    Without asking anything more Ethan extended his right hand, palm open. Juran pressed the cube on his palm and held it there for a few seconds. As soon as the cube touched his skin, Ethan felt a tingling sensation spreading from his palm to his fingers and crawling up his wrist to his hand. Then his hand went numb and Ethan couldn''t feel anything more.


    Instead, he stared at his palm with awe.


    Bright red tentacles of light were spreading out from the cube, curving intricate designs in red on his pale skin, similar to the coat of arms curved on the upper side of the cube!


    In a moment, Ethan''s right palm was covered in those ornate designs which glowed and pulsated like some living tentacles. Then they seemed to crawl into his skin and were hidden from view.


    Ethan felt sensation coming back to his hand. He looked up at Juran who was staring intently at his palm. "What does this mean?" He asked Juran.


    Juran was busy removing the cube and putting it away inside his clothes. He looked at Ethan; his face still devoid of the smile he usually wore.


    "This is the coat of arm of my family. The mark of identity which will make others recognize you as one of my own people. Not that there is anyone left now..." His voice trailed off.


    Ethan could recognize the sadness and pain in his voice. He gazed in wonder at Juran''s face. ''What could have this man gone through?'' He thought.


    But Juran didn''t explain anything. "Change your clothes and get ready now. We must hurry and reach the city of the Sun by afternoon today." He said and left.


    ****************************************


    The sun was well above their head when the wall surrounding the city appeared in the distant horizon.


    It looked as if a towering grey mountain rose straight from the white sandy desert and blocked the view on the western frontier. In the middle of it a huge square of an area seemed to shimmer and glow in the light of the sun.


    Ethan was riding a camel by Juran''s side. As the grey mountain with that shimmering square appeared in view, the camels increased their speed on their own, as if the outlandish view in the distant horizon attracted them like a mirage. The sun dipped more and more towards the massive mountain of a wall, and keeping in pace with it, the caravan moved faster and faster. The shimmering square in the wall slowly took the shape of a huge gate which seemed to reflect the rays of the setting sun. As Juran and his ride approached it, the gigantic gates swung open without a noise.


    The men riding the camels entered, followed by the carts. As the last cart crossed its threshold the gates swung closed on their own.


    Within the gate, lay a wide courtyard. It was cobbled with square tiles made of some coarse material which gave off a rusty hue, making the ground look like an abandoned battlefield covered with blood clogged and dried off long ago. In the middle of it, a giant round stone rose from the ground. It had a flat top which made it look like a round stone table.


    Juran got off his ride. Ethan and the others followed suit. The cart drivers parked their carts neatly at one side of the courtyard and gathered around Juran who quickly organized them in a single queue in front of the stone table. Then he called Ethan and stood at a side with him.


    One by one the men went to the stone and placed their right palm on its flat surface. Ethan watched with amazement how each time the stone surface glowed and some intricate pattern spread on it like delicate veins of light. He realized that it was some sort of identification system which ran automatically. For a moment he felt bewildered. There was no security at the gate; no human guard to check their identity or to seek any sort of papers from them.Stolen story; please report.


    Only a soundless automatic system which identified people with some sort of codes embedded into their skin by some God-only-knows sort of technique!


    Ethan felt a chill speeding down his spine. What was this place? Run by what kind of monstrous people?


    Silently, all the of them got themselves identified by the strange stone table. No one came to look into the carts which made Ethan believe that they were probably checked by some secret invisible method at the time they entered the gate.


    The men talked with Juran for some time and then left with carts and camels one by one. The two of them left the courtyard too and started walking on a path which ran by the side of the gigantic city wall. The path was cobbled with the same material as the courtyard and Ethan felt creepy walking on it.


    "Let''s go to the inn." Juran had said before they left the courtyard. But as they arrived at the gate of the large building which flaunted a signboard where only the letters ''...nn'' could barely be read, Ethan was caught in surprise.


    The building was surrounded by a high wall with a huge iron gate which made it look like more of a jail than an inn!


    The gate was wide open, though. Inside of it a guard in faded livery sat on a low stool. As they entered the guard struggled to his feet and bowed to Juran reverently. Ethan understood that Juran must have been a well-known guest there.


    Juran returned his bow and started walking towards the plain two-storied building that stood at the other end of the walled courtyard. Ethan followed at his heels.


    A wide open veranda ran in front of the building. Two people stood there looking their way. As they drew near, one of them jumped from the veranda and ran towards them.


    It was a boy of about fifteen years. He wore elegant clothes and a sheathed sword was hung on his back. "Juran! You are back at last!" The boy beamed. Juran laughed and messed up his hair. Then he looked at the other person who, too, had walked up to them. "Have you been alright?" Juran asked.


    Ethan turned his eyes towards the newcomer. For an instant, he felt as if the ground beneath his feet had melted and he was sinking into it deeper and deeper. His cheeks burnt as blood rushed to his face.


    It was a tall, slender girl with long, elegant limbs. The last rays of the setting sun shimmered off her red hair and surrounded her face in a golden halo. Ethan felt he could stare at her forever, but just as the girl looked at him, Ethan lowered his eyes. He was deeply embarrassed and at the same time, angry with himself. ''Why did I have to make a fool of myself in front of an unknown girl?'' He wanted to go to some corner and bang his head into the wall!


    Juran noticed his uneasiness. With a curious smile he patted Ethan''s back. "Liz? This is Ethan. Our new friend. Ethan, this is Liz!" Juran introduced them.


    The girl had stretched out her hand towards Ethan. That made Ethan more embarrassed. "Liz...Lis...Lisabeth?" He stammered out.


    The girl laughed. In Ethan''s ears a silver bell tinkered somewhere. "Liz as in lizard!" She laughed harder.


    Ethan couldn''t believe his ears. What was this girl talking about? He turned to Juran with bewilderment in his eyes; knowing perfectly well that he was making a prodigious fool of himself!


    Juran laughed and rolled his eyes at the girl. "There, Liz!" He said in a mockingly serious tone. "Don''t just freak him out on his first day here. Ethan? This is Liz and this boy here, is Ahir. They are the nearest of a family that I have now."


    The girl stopped laughing, though her expression clearly said that she was having a hard time suppressing her laughter. The boy looked at Ethan with a friendlier smile. "Welcome, new friend!" He said.


    The three of them walked towards the front door on the veranda. Liz and Ahir had already arranged for three rooms on the first floor of the inn. Juran talked with the innkeeper and the fiesty old woman quickly arranged for another bed in the spacious front room which Ahir had booked for Juran. "Go take some rest." Juran advised Ethan. "You rode a camel for too long today and I guess this is your first camel ride in a desert? You must be tired there," he said.


    Ethan was really tired. His eyelids felt like lead and his limbs felt like some weightless feather. He dragged himself to the room, washed his hands and face reluctantly and nibbled on some food that Ahir had brought for him. Then he sank in the soft bed without changing his clothes. As soon as his head hit the pillow, sleep engulfed him.


    ****************************


    Ethan had been asleep for how long he didn''t know himself. He woke up as Juran touched his shoulder and shook him a bit.


    As he opened his eyes, he couldn''t remember where he was at first. But soon enough he remembered it all and sat up on the bed at once. As he took in the sound of people hurrying and shouting below their window, he knew instinctively that something had gone wrong.


    A huge fire blazed outside. In its red glow Ethan could see Juran''s face set in hard and determined lines. Ethan jumped out of the bed and followed him outside the room. Liz and Ahir had also come out of their rooms. They looked fully prepared for a fight or flee situation. The only thing they needed was a command from Juran.


    Ethan, too, looked at Juran expectantly. Juran took them to a back staircase which spiralled down into the dark courtyard. The four of them went down the stairs one by one and found themselves at the back of the building. In the hue of the fire that raged in the front side of the building they saw a wall towering over them.


    Juran drew the others close to him and said, "We have been ambushed. If we stay and fight a lot of innocent people will be killed. So we must flee at once. Liz?"


    Ethan stared in awe as Liz ran to the wall and started to climb the wall without any kind of rope! Earlier, he had noticed her wearing high spiky boots, the spikes of which now dug into the stone wall and provided her support. But there was no way that an ordinary human girl could climb such a high wall with only her hands and feet!


    But in the blink of an eye, the impossible became possible!


    Liz had reached the top of the wall. Sitting there, she took out a coil of rope from a small backpack that hung at her back. She dug a long hook into the wall with her bare hands and tied one end of the rope with it. Then she flung the other end of the rope at them.


    With its help the three people below crossed the wall one by one. As the three of them reached the ground at the other side, Liz took off the hook and the rope, stuffed them in her backpack and climbed down using only her hands and feet. As Ethan stared at her climbing down the wall at an incredible speed, suddenly a thought flashed in his mind! "Liz, as in lizard!" She had said, laughing!


    So this was what she had meant! Her lizard-like ability to conquer any height!


    Ethan found himself in a dazed state!

 CHAPTER FOUR: DEMONS AND SERAPHS

    Ahir came to call Ethan for dinner. Ethan followed him outside the tent and found Juran sitting alone in front of the fire. He went there and sat by the fire.


    It was the first night of their journey after they had escaped the ambush at the inn. Early in the morning they had procured four horses from a shady dealer at a backstreet. Ethan had been quite surprised at finding that he could easily ride a horse. He had realized that even though he had no memory of who he was or where he had come from, his learning experiences were still intact.


    The four of them had been riding through the barren outer stretch of the capital city for the whole day.


    It was a gruelling journey through a rough terrain sprinkled with barren hills and huge crevices. They had to lead the horses very carefully through the broken and mauled landscape. A moment''s carelessness, and the horse and rider would fall into some treacherous pit! A cold and dry wind kept hauling at them, making their progress slower and slower.


    Towards the evening they had arrived at the back of a low range of hills where the ground was less broken and the wind was tolerable. Juran had decided to camp there for the night. Ethan was surprised to see that the small backpack of Liz actually contained two small tents and some strange-looking objects. Within half an hour they had erected the tents and made a fire with those strange -looking objects.


    Ethan had by now got accustomed to the weirdness of this world. The city of the Sun had been artificially created in the middle of a desert. Everything there was run automatically. Even the people there didn''t seem to be real people, but puppets, identified by some weird marks crawling under their skin!


    Everything here was too mechanical! Too lifeless!


    But this was not the time to speculate about them.


    Ethan had flopped on the bed Liz had prepared inside the tent. He was too worn out to sit up any longer and had fallen asleep immediately. So Ahir had come to wake him up for the dinner.


    Ahir had brought their dinner with him. He spread a mat beside the fire and placed the tray of food and drink on it. Then he went away, leaving the two of them sitting there silently and staring at the fire.


    The night was chilling. But in front of them, the fire continued to sizzle and radiate warmth. Ethan noticed that Juran was too silent and gloomy. It made him feel uneasy.


    "Why are you so silent?" Ethan couldn''t help but ask.


    Juran sighed. "Nothing! I''m just thinking about tomorrow''s trip," he said.


    Ethan gazed at him expectantly. But Juran didn''t elaborate on it. The two of them sat still for a few minutes more. Then Juran suddenly said, "You saw Liz and Ahir. What do you think about them?"


    Ethan was taken aback. Was Juran asking for his opinion on them? What could he say about them when they were absolutely unknown to each other?


    But Juran didn''t expect an answer from him. Holding his gaze he said, "Do you want to know who they are?"


    "I remember you said they are the nearest of a family that you have now?" Ethan said.


    "They are the tools and weapons that I had to win through fights." Juran said.


    Ethan was too surprised to ask any question. Instead, he stared at Juran silently.


    "Yes. I won them in fights. They are priceless as weapons, so you can acquire them only through some crazy means, not just money."


    "You mean they are slaves used as weapons?" Ethan asked.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    "So they are called slaves in the place you came from? It seems your memory is coming back slowly." Juran said.


    Ethan doubted it. He still couldn''t recall a single piece of personal information. He decided not to dwell on it too much. Right now, he was more interested to know about this world where humans were traded as weapons.


    "Can you tell me more about this? I mean, why are you calling them weapons?" He said.


    "Didn''t you see yourself? How Liz had helped us to escape? Well, Ahir has a similar ability, too. Though it is not required often."


    "Yes, I did. That''s why I''m intrigued. You see, if you need me to be a weapon as well, you must tell me more about this world; about what''s going on here. Without knowledge, I don''t think I''ll be of much help to you." Ethan said.


    "Yes, you are right there!" Juran sighed. For a few moments, he stared at the red glow of the fire which had started to die down. Then he began in a low voice:


    "In the beginning of this world only the Demons were here. Guided by their instinct only, they were one with the Elements. They could use the forces of Elements at their will. Then the Seraphs arrived here from another world. They created a new race out of the Demons and gave them the name of Humans. "


    Juran stopped speaking and poked the glowing ambers with a long stick. Ethan couldn''t help but speak out, "What are you saying? The Seraphs created Humans from Demons? Who are these Seraphs, anyway? I''m sure even in the world I came from, we used to call ourselves Humans. Doesn''t it mean that you and me, we are part of the same world?"


    "Yes, we are both Humans. But I don''t think you belong to this world. Don''t you think that, too? Does this world seem similar to you?" Juran said.


    Ethan shook his head. There was a sad look on his face. No, this world was too unfamiliar to him. Still, he felt that the Humans in this world were no different from those in his world. "Tell me more, Juran," he said.


    Juran continued with his story. "The Seraphs wiped out the original Demons so that Humans could live safely in this world. But this new race of Humans was not uniform. There were intelligent people who could build complex machines and invent new knowledge. They were called Cerebs. Then there were common people who could only run those machines. They were called Citizens as I have told you already."


    ''Yes, you have told about the Cerebs and their weapons before'', Ethan remembered. There was something else he talked about, too. It was Demon blood.


    ''Will he explain it now?'' Ethan thought excitedly.


    Juran had continued to speak in that same low voice, "In between the Cerebs and the Citizens, there is a small group of people who carry some mutant genes which give them random abilities like the one you saw in Liz. These genes appear randomly. Those who show its effects are taken away from their families and raised as weapons and tools. For, no machines are yet made which can rival these mutant humans in their abilities."


    Ethan couldn''t help but interrupt Juran. "You mean these mutant Humans carry Demon genes?" He said.


    "I am coming to this now." Juran said. "No, this is just a mutant gene. These Humans have some abilities which allow them to use the powers of Elements to some extent. But they can''t control the Elements like the Demons could. It takes true Demon blood to be able to do that."


    Ethan was totally confused now. "Then who are these people with true Demon blood? Didn''t you say that the Seraphs had wiped the Demons out from this world? By the way, who are these Seraphs?"


    "So many questions! Let me answer them one by one." Juran smiled. "The Seraphs came here from another world and went back there. Yes, they did wipe out the Demons, but it seems that a few of them survived and hid themselves among the Humans. That''s why the Cerebs are always watching out for them."


    Ethan realized his predicament fully. By some unknown fluke of fate he was endowed with powers similar to the forbidden Demons! But something in his heart told him that in his previous life he was a common human being without any supernatural power. ''Just where did this Demon blood come from then?'' He thought.


    But he couldn''t find an answer to this. Not even Juran could provide him with an answer there. Bewildered and exasperated, Ethan hurled a last question at Juran, "What am I to do now?"


    "Ah, relax there, man!" Juran said cheerily. "As you know by now, I''ve some old scores to settle with those Cerebs. They suspect me, too. But they can''t destroy me openly. So they are taking some covert measures, like the one you saw yesterday." He patted Ethan''s back, "Now let''s go try to catch some sleep. Tomorrow morning we''ll reach the town of Karna. We have a lot of work there," he said.


    With this, he stood up and picking up a small bottle from the food tray, poured a dark liquid on the dying fire. The fire was extinguished at once. Only the starlight gleamed in the darkness and showed vaguely the outlines of their tents. Liz and Ahir had already been sleeping inside one of the tents. As they stepped inside the other tent Ethan felt a sudden tingling sensation in his body. It went away as swiftly as it had come.


    ''Some kind of force field has been activated around the tents,'' he thought. ''Or Juran wouldn''t allow everyone to go to sleep without arranging for a watch.''


    Relieved, he sprawled himself on the sleeping mat and soon fell asleep.

 CHAPTER FIVE: BETRAYAL: PART I

    As soon as they took a bend around the hill, a dazzling scene appeared in Ethan''s view.


    In front of them a valley stretched out far and wide. It was dotted with tents decked up with colourful flags, bits of embroidered clothes and all kinds of beads and shiny trinkets. Merchants sat with their goods sprawled in front of them. Men and women in colourful attires crowded around the makeshift stalls, bargaining, chatting and laughing.


    The four travellers got off their steeds and led them gently through the crowds. Ethan couldn''t help but marvel at the variety of goods laid out there. It seemed that everything from clothes to food to tools were available there.


    The four of them meandered through the pressing crowd and reached a large tent at the back of the fair-ground. It was an ornate tent made with camel hide. Around it a number of small tents were sprinkled.


    As they approached the tent, a man came out of it and hurried towards them. He was a gaunt and tall man, but his bearing showed that he held considerable strength in his long limbs. As he came near and greeted Juran with a slight bow, Ethan could see his face wrinkled and crisscrossed with thousands of lines. ''The man might be actually old or he might be one of those high mountain tribes whose skin ages early due to constant exposure to extremely dry and cold winds,'' Ethan thought. ''Must be the second one, ''cause this man is all agile and youthful, otherwise.''


    "Dovak is at your service, friend! Tell me, what brings you here?" He said, smiling.


    Juran returned his bow. "Can you please arrange for a place where we can stay for the night?" He asked.


    "Here, or in the town? You must be going there today? Or is it that you have just come to the fair for some shopping?" Dovak''s eyes crinkled with amazement.


    "In the town. We''ll proceed there in the afternoon. But we''ve to buy a few things now. Can you look after our horses and arrange for some lunch?" Juran said.


    "Sure, mate!" Dovak smiled. "Leave your horses here. My people will look after them. Come back here at noon for lunch?"


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source."That''ll do," Juran said and leaving their horses there, the four of them came away from the tent.


    "Liz, you get the things you need. Take Ethan with you. I''ll go arrange for our next journey. I''m taking Ahir with me." Juran said.


    So they split up there and went their different paths. Ethan felt a bit apprehensive at being tucked with Liz. He didn''t know why his heart raced and his cheeks felt hot as he followed Liz through the crowd of crooning and haggling traders and buyers.


    Ethan couldn''t bring himself to be too close to Liz, so he followed the trail of her blazing red stole that she had casually wrapped around her shoulders. Earlier, she had taken off her black cloak, unveiling the ornate purple clothes she wore beneath it. Ethan had a hard time looking away from her as he didn''t want to make himself look more awkward than he already was. Still, whenever their eyes met, Ethan had cringed from the hint of an amused laughter in the corner of her eyes.


    So, there he was now, standing in a small clearing, some feet away from a stall where Liz had been rummaging through a dazzling display of trinkets.


    "Ah! Buying bits of stone and metal even at such a time! Girls will always be girls, I guess!"


    Startled, Ethan spun around only to find Gailar standing behind him, his eyes fixed at Liz and smiling in amusement.


    "You, again! What are you doing here?" Ethan asked.


    "Just what you guys are doing! Shopping, I think!" Gailar said in a mocking tone.


    Ethan didn''t know what to say. So he chose to keep silent there. It was Gailar who spoke again.


    "I can see that you are still following at Juran''s heels, like an obedient dog!" He said in the same mocking tone.


    Ethan seethed inwardly, but he kept his face emotionless. "Leave me alone, Gailar," he said coldly.


    "Why forger, are you that angry with me? I just came to say ''thank you'' in a proper way. For saving my life there." Gailar said.


    Ethan was surprised to hear the tone of sincerity in his voice. But the next thing that Gailar said caught him off guard.


    "I came to warn you there." Gailar was saying. "Juran sells information to the Cerebs. Can it be that he is shielding you so that he can hand you over to them by himself?"


    Ethan took a few seconds to process Gailar''s words. But he was not surprised much. He had realized long ago that Juran was more than just a common merchant and he knew that Juran would rather protect him as a unique weapon than turning him over to anyone else. "Thank you for warning me. Now go away, please!" He said.


    Gailar ignored him completely. "And another thing. That Dovak scum, he has sold himself away! Tell your friend not to trust him anymore."


    Ethan stared at him silently as Gailar sauntered away. ''Why is it that I want to believe in him? Why does it seem to me that he''s saying some truth here?'' He couldn''t understand himself.

 CHAPTER SIX: BETRAYAL: PART II

    Liz turned from the shop and found Ethan standing a few feet away, lost in thought. His smooth forehead was crinkled, his brows furrowed. Liz was taken aback by his look.


    "Is anything wrong there?" She asked.


    "No! It''s just that I really can''t understand a few things," he said absent-mindedly. "Do you know Gailar?"


    Liz seemed surprised. "How do you know about him? Have you met him ever?" She asked.


    "Yes, I have. And I remember Juran saying he is kind of a scum. But right now I think he is telling some truth."


    Liz stared at him in disbelief. Ethan''s usual bashfulness around her had disappeared. He looked hard and determined, but still lost in thought. For a moment, it seemed to Liz that this young man who barely appeared to have reached adulthood, was actually a strong fighter, seasoned by many battle-scars. But she didn''t get much time to dwell upon such thoughts. Out of the corner of her eye she saw that Juran and Ahir had returned and were approaching them.


    "Sorry, we are a bit late!" Liz said, turning around. "I''ve just finished my shopping here. Let''s go."


    All four of them returned to Dovak''s tent. They were shown into a specious tent where they ate their lunch and rested for a while. As daylight started to fade they set out for the town of Karna on horseback.


    The fair-ground had been situated on the western fringe of the town. A well-trodden road connected it to the town proper. The road went through a barren stretch of land dotted with a few stunted trees and thorny bushes.


    As the travellers rode towards the town the sun went down deeper and deeper into the horizon behind them and the shadows falling in front of them got more and more elongated, unless they became one with the darkened ground below the horses'' hooves. As the lights of the town started to gleam in the distance, they arrived in front of a small makeshift stall where a large kettle of tea sat on a stove, exuding the refreshing smell of freshly brewed tea.


    Juran got off his steed. The three others followed suit. "Let''s take a break here," he said.


    Ethan stood at a distance and looked on as the other three walked in front of the stall. "I don''t feel like it. Just go on without me," he said. Juran gave him a curious look, but didn''t say anything.


    Ethan felt restless. He had been silent all this time. A tempest raged inside his mind. He knew in his heart that there was some truth in Gailar''s words. He hadn''t lost his faith in Juran, but he couldn''t believe in Dovak. His instinct had tugged at the strings of his heart, making him willing to believe in what Gailar had said about him.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    "Tell your friend not to trust him anymore," he had said. But what was he to do now? Should he tell Juran about it? Would he believe in him? It was clear as daylight that he hated Gailar!


    Lost in his own thoughts, Ethan wandered from there. Suddenly he felt that the darkness around him had deepened and somehow hardened! It pressed against him, making it hard for him to breathe freely. In front of him, stood a familiar figure. It was the man whom he had followed through that dark tunnel that brought him into this world!


    Ethan felt his limbs going numb. He didn''t know how he could see in that pitch black darkness. Still, the figure of the tall, lean man hovered in his view. A familiar voice buzzed in his ears, "A Demon''s instincts are his best guide. Trust your instincts, Ethan."


    "W-wait! I''m no demon! I''m just a man!" Ethan cried out. But his voice was soundless. Slowly, his vision became darker and darker.


    *******************************


    A splash of cold water on his face brought Ethan back into reality. As his eyes flung open, he found himself half-inclined on a wooden bench in front of the tea-stall. He tried to smile weakly as the worried faces of his friends hovered in front of him.


    "What happened there? Are you alright?" Juran asked.


    "Nothing! I''m fine now. Juran? There''s something urgent I want to tell you! Let''s go!"


    As he said this, Ethan stood up and walked to his horse. Juran had followed him silently.


    "Juran, I met Gailar today. He asked me to tell you not to trust Dovak anymore."


    "Do you trust his words?" Juran asked.


    "I do," Ethan said simply.


    Juran looked into his eyes. "You could have told me this in the afternoon. I trust your instincts and it''s time you, too, start having faith in them," he said gravely. Then he waved at the other two, indicating them to come near. As Ahir and Liz drew near, he said, "We are not going to stop at Karna. We''ll just pass through it and head towards the city of Rucco. Do you all agree here?"


    "What about our horses? They won''t be able to run all night! They are already tired," Ahir said.


    "We''ll take them as long as they can go. Then we''ll let them go. They are trained well. They must be able to return to their masters," Juran said.


    "Alright then." Liz said. "But I''m worried for Ethan. Will he be able to walk such a long way?"


    Hearing this Ethan felt elated and embarrassed at the same time. Liz did care for him then! But how could she have such a low opinion about him? Did she took him to be that weak? He wondered.


    By this time they had been passing through the heart of the town. Ethan couldn''t help but admire the bright spacious town square as they traversed it diagonally. But there was something eerie about the place. It was almost deserted. Most of the shops had put down their shutters though the lights in front of them continued to glow.


    Sound of horses'' hooves on the cobbled path broke the silence of the night. Not just the two pairs of horses!


    At least a hundred horses were coming from behind them. Through the dark night, they came charging at them.


    The four riders started galloping ahead. "Out from the town!" Juran cried at the top of his voice. "Let''s get to open fields!"


    So they galloped out of the town into the barren wilderness, the charging troop of riders following close at their heels!

 CHAPTER SEVEN: DEMON SLAYER PENTACLE

    As they galloped out of the town, Liz and Ahir hurled something at the approaching riders. With an ear-splitting roar they exploded, creating a huge curtain of smoke behind them. ''This will give us at least a few second''s relief!'' Ethan thought.


    The four riders gathered together. From inside his backpack Ahir brought out a folded metallic stick. As he unfolded it, a long metal tube appeared in his hand. A small chain hung from its sealed mouth.


    Ahir pulled that chain and a long, beautiful sword came out from the tube. He handed the sword to Ethan.


    "This is your weapon." Juran said. "You are not going to use your power here. Do you understand?"


    Ethan nodded. The exquisite Cereb weapon in his hand gleamed in starlight. He felt a strange surge of power as he gripped the sword.


    "This is an intelligent weapon. It will guide you in its way. Don''t worry." Juran assured him and drew out his spear. "Stay at the back. Don''t go into action unless it''s absolutely necessary. The three of us should be able to defeat them."


    As they took position the thick wall of smoke rippled and a long row of horsemen emerged from it. Cloaked in black, armed with gleaming spears and swords, they looked like an army from hell.


    "Mercenaries!" Liz muttered as she drew out a small bow and a quiver full of arrows, "Scums! They don''t even have the courage to send the troops after us!"


    "They can''t, Liz! Don''t forget that." Ahir said in a calm voice. Ethan looked in admiration at the teenager who looked collected and determined like a battle-hardened soldier. A long lasso dangled from his hand.


    The enemy was still a few meters away from them when Juran and Ahir charged at them from the flanks. Ahir threw his lasso in the air creating a huge arc of blinding light which instantly created a wall of fire around the advancing riders. At the same time, Juran''s spear glowed, sending a flash of lightening up in the air which tore open the sky above those riders and searing balls of fire rained down on them. In the blink of an eye the front line of enemy was destroyed.


    Liz shot five arrows at a time which rained down in front of the riders advancing from the back of the enemy line, creating a wall of swirling tentacles of lightening which lashed at them with fury. In the meantime, Juran and Ahir flanked the enemy from both sides, mowing down the horses and riders with scythes of fire. Ethan was astonished at how the intelligent Cereb weapons adapted themselves to the way their crafty masters wanted to wield them.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Under the barrage of the threefold attack the enemy numbers started to dwindle rapidly. Even though some of the mercenaries wielded Cereb weapons, they were not as swift and skilful as Juran and his companions, and either died or retreated. But the sheer number of them had made the situation tilted in their favour. For, even the Cereb weapons had their limitations. They couldn¡¯t go on forever; they needed to be rekindled.


    "We need to finish this fast!" Liz said as she released a new flurry of fiery arrows over the enemy line. Ethan looked at the glowing weapon in his hand. It was getting more and more impossible for him to stand there passively while his friends battled for their lives. Bloodlust raced through his veins, the Demon in him reared to go and smash the attackers in front of him.


    Suddenly, a blazing tentacle of fire emerged from the back of the enemy line and spread itself towards the spot where Liz and Ethan stood. It came at Liz at lightning speed, sparing her no time to move away from its path. In a flash, Ethan flung himself and his horse in front of Liz and blocked the blinding ray of light with his sword. But the searing light concentrated on the sword¡¯s blade to form a glowing star which melted the blade and lodged itself right in the middle of his chest.


    Ethan felt like some giant had hit his chest with a massive hammer! His grip on the rein loosened and he started to slide off the horse''s back. With a sharp cry Liz jumped off her horse and came rushing at him. She caught him with both hands and brought him down gently.


    As soon as the fiery tentacle had emerged from the enemy line Juran had turned his horse towards the place where Ethan and Liz stood and galloped at full speed. But he was just too late! As he knelt by Ethan and looked his face slowly turning blue from the pain, he could only blame himself. ''Damn it! Why didn''t I think of it before? That Dovak scum! It must be those camel-keepers who gave him the information!'' He thought.


    The glowing object that had lodged itself at Ethan''s chest was a Demon Slayer Pentacle. Even with a cereb weapon, it was extremely difficult to kill a Demon. But a Demon Slayer Pentacle had the power to poison a Demon''s blood and kill him slowly. Even if it was taken out, death was inevitable, for there was no way of sealing the wound and preventing the loss of blood!


    ''The only way to save him is to take him to Nana right now!'' Juran thought. But could he win the battle at hand immediately? No, in his heart he knew that he couldn''t.


    Juran straightened himself. He had made up his mind.


    "Liz! Take Ethan to Nana immediately. I''ll hold the enemy up here. Ahir?"


    Ethan could hardly breathe now. A searing pain gnawed at his chest and slowly spread itself into his limbs, making him unable to move them. But he didn''t miss the look of horror in the eyes of Liz and Ahir as Juran leaped on to his horse and charged at the enemy. As the horse and its rider tore open the enemy line, Ahir kneeled on the ground and touched the soil with both his palms. The ground beneath them roared and trembled and a row of jagged rocks rose from the ground, hiding them from the scary battle scene in front of them. "This will give us a few minutes'' lead," he said.


    But Ethan was sinking rapidly. Ahir cut open the front of his cloth only to find that streaks of blue had already started to spread out on his pale skin from below the glowing pentacle. Nana and the city of Rucco was still far away from there. Even if they were able to reach there it would be too late!


    A faint sound reached his ears. The sound of a horse''s hooves on the stony ground. Far away from the direction of Rucco a lone horseman was galloping towards them at full speed.

 CHAPTER EIGHT: CAPTURED

    As the dark horse came galloping towards them, Liz and Ahir were surprised to see that the rider was none other than Gailar. Ahir''s fingers tightened around the lasso which was still dangling from his hand, but a swift glance from Liz told him not do anything in haste.


    As the horse drew near Gailar reined it in, which made the horse rear up on its hind legs. Gailar calmed it down and jumping off its back, he came running towards Ethan who sat on the ground, leaning in Liz''s arms, his face blue with pain and suffering.


    As he knelt beside Ethan and held the protruding edge of the Demon Slayer Pentacle cautiously between his thumb and index finger, Liz gripped his wrist, her eyes wide with fear. "What are you trying to do? Do you want him to bleed to death?"


    "He''ll die anyway!" Gailar snapped at her. "Trust me, I won''t do any harm."


    Gailar''s usual mocking tone had vanished. He sounded ardent and sincere. Still, Liz couldn''t believe him.


    "You''ve never been our ally! Why should we trust you all of a sudden? Beside that, there is no way we can stop the flow of blood once you remove the Pentacle! He''ll die right there!" Her voice choked with tears.


    "Trust me there!" Gailar said in a soft, affectionate voice. Liz was so surprised by the sudden change in his voice that her grip on Gailar''s wrist loosened. In one swift movement he yanked out the Pentacle from Ethan''s chest. The glowing object dripping with blood lay there on his palm for the fraction of a second, then it melted away into air.


    Blood had started to pour out of the open wound. Without wasting a moment, Gailar brought out a dagger from his waist and slashed open his left hand. He then held his hand over the wound in Ethan''s chest, letting his own blood flow and cover the wound. Liz and Ahir stared in awe as the blood gushing from Gailar''s wound covered Ethan''s chest and coagulated immediately, blocking the flow of blood from the gaping wound there! In a few seconds it hardened like a plaster, sealing the wound beneath it.


    Gailar untied his sash and bandaged his own wound with it. He glanced at Ahir, then turned his eyes towards Liz. There was a silent plea in that look.


    Liz understood it. She was going to comply anyway. What she witnessed just then was beyond her knowledge and imagination. But it was not the right time to contemplate about such things. They needed to move out. As soon as possible!


    Ethan''s strength was coming back slowly. He could stretch his limbs now. The Demon slayer poison spreading through his blood had made him inert but his mind had been working all the time. He had only writhed within as he saw Juran going into the battle all alone, so that they could have a chance to escape. But at that time there was nothing he could have done about it. He just lay there, held in Liz''s arms, her face pressed against his head, her silent tears sipping into his hair. Then Gailar had appeared and saved his life as if in a miracle.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Ethan straightened himself up, trying to distance himself from Liz as much as possible. Liz understood and instantly released him from her hold. Ethan looked at Gailar. "Thank you, Mate!" He said. Then he turned to his friends and said, "Goddamn it! We must hurry and help Juran now! Hope we aren''t too late!"


    Gailar laughed and said in his usual mocking tone, "Mate! What made you think that we are mates now? I just returned your favour. Guess we are even now?" He stood up and went to his horse. "As for Juran, I think he''s more of a charred meatball by now!" He said with a chuckle.


    "Gailar!" Ahir snapped. He had been watching them silently all this time. Now he spoke up. "Ethan, don''t believe his words. Juran will be alright. But we must get going right now! Come on! Can you ride a horse now?" He said.


    "I guess I can." Ethan said. Gailar had already mounted his horse. "See you again!" He shouted. Then he turned his horse towards the town of Karna and sped away.


    Ethan mounted his horse as well. ¡°Let¡¯s go look for Juran,¡± he said.


    ¡°But Juran has ordered us to leave at once!¡± Ahir protested.


    ¡°I can¡¯t run away like this, Ahir!¡± Ethan said. His voice was hard and determined. Involuntarily, his eyes fell on Liz. Pain and suffering were wrought in her face, yet a faint smile of silent gratitude lit it up. ¡®Liz doesn¡¯t want to leave without him as well!¡¯ He thought. A sudden pang of envy crossed his heart, making him feel guilty and ashamed. ¡®How can you even think in this way!¡¯ He scolded himself.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go! Too much time has been wasted already!¡± He shouted and directed his mount towards the line of jagged rocks which Ahir had summoned as a barrier between the enemy and themselves.


    As soon as they reached the other side of the rock wall, an appalling sight took their breath away. The ground in front of them lay strewn with charred corpses and carcasses. It seemed like an inferno had engulfed the whole place, snuffing out every breath of life from there. As they took in the scene slowly, their hearts sank into despair.


    Still, they went over the place and looked at the corpses. Most of them were charred beyond recognition. But the sight of them didn¡¯t repeal Ethan much. Memories from some distant past seemed to tug at the corners of his mind, yet he couldn¡¯t grasp at them. Reluctantly, he resigned and turned his attention towards Ahir and Liz. ¡°How are we going to find out if Juran is here or not?¡± He asked in a strained voice.


    ¡°The mark of identification,¡± Ahir said. ¡°Unless the body has been turned into ashes, the mark will show.¡±


    As he said this, Ahir took out two small square objects from his backpack and handed one to Liz. The two of them checked every single corpse there, but Juran was not among them.


    Ethan heaved a sigh of relief. But the next moment an unknown fear gripped him. Could it be that Juran was captured by the enemy? That must be the case! What could he do now to bring him back?


    His mind was at a loss.

 CHAPTER NINE: A SORDID TALE

    The three of them stood there on the charred battleground, looking at each other. What should they do now? They were worried and confused.


    It was Liz who talked first.


    "We should first go to the city Rucco to meet Nana and then decide how to start looking for Juran," she said.


    "How can you be sure that Juran is still alive?" Ethan said in an exasperated voice.


    "Juran is too valuable for them to be killed right away", Ahir said. "They''ll keep him as a hostage. But before they can use him as a pawn, we must rescue him."


    "But how? How are we to know where to look for him?" Ethan said.


    "That''s why we need to find Nana first," Liz said. "She is the only one who can show us a way now. Let''s hurry now! We must reach Rucco as soon as possible."


    So the three of them had decided to go on with their journey towards the city of Rucco.


    *********************************


    The night had started to fade away. Patches of blue and purple appeared on the eastern horizon. Three horses trotted on the barren land towards Rucco.


    Ethan and Liz rode side by side. Ahir brought up the rear, silently carrying out the task of wiping away traces of their mark on the stony ground. Their progress was slow and laborious, but they had no other choice there. The horses were tired from their long journey and battle. They could not take any more strain.


    They had been riding silently for a long time. Liz was lost in her own thought, her face gloomy and stern. Ethan couldn''t help but glance at her from time to time. Suddenly he spoke up.


    "Liz?" He said. "Do you know Gailar?"


    Liz was startled. "No! I mean I never had the chance to know him personally," she said absent-mindedly. "He and Juran had never been on a friendly term."


    She remained silent for a moment. Then she said, "Ethan, I think we should not tell anyone about what Gailar did today. I''ve no idea how he did it, but I think he doesn''t want anyone to know about it."


    Ethan nodded. He had felt the same way, too.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    A thought had been disturbing him for some time. He decided to ask Liz anyway. He turned his gaze away from Liz and said, as if talking to himself, "You are fond of Juran, aren''t you?"


    Liz was surprised by his sudden question. It showed in her voice. "I guess I am? But why do you ask?"


    Ethan didn''t reply. He felt too awkward and ashamed of himself.


    The two of them rode in silence for some time. Liz broke the silence first and when she spoke, her deep and melancholic voice seemed to come from afar.


    "When I was a child, I was quite awkward. My limbs were long and slender, making me look ugly. Other kids of my age often used to bully me. I had a brother who was just two years older than me. For my sake, he used to get into fights quite often. Then one day, some of the older boys who bullied me often, chased me. I climbed high up a tree and hid myself inside its leafy branches. The boys couldn''t find me, but they guessed I was hiding close somewhere nearby. So they didn''t buzz from that place. They stood below the tree, waiting for me to show up eventually."


    Liz stopped and gazed into distance, as if she was trying to see things hidden far away in some distant past. Then she resumed her tale.


    "My brother had seen me hiding in the tree. He fought with those boys so that I could escape. But they were bigger and stronger than him. They thrashed him brutally and left him writhing on the ground. I was so afraid that I couldn''t come down and help him, but as soon as they left I climbed down and ran to him. He lay there, bruised and mangled, panting for breath. As I took him home, half-carrying and half-dragging him, I kept sobbing unknowingly, tears running down my cheeks all the way. All night we sat by the side of his bed, me and my parents, while he tossed in his bed feverishly, and by the time daylight came he was already gone far away..."


    Liz''s voice trailed off. Ethan didn''t know what to say. Silently, he cursed himself for opening the floodgate of such a painful memory.


    ''So it''s the same here, too!'' He murmured to himself. ''The same tale of pain and suffering...of the strong trampling the weak!''


    ''Guess it''s the same sordid tale everywhere!'' He said in his mind.


    Liz seemed to have recovered though. "Whenever I''m around Juran, it is my dead brother that he reminds me of," she said. "He''s been there protecting and comforting me whenever I needed him. So isn''t it quite natural that I''ll be fond of him as well?" She asked.


    Ethan could only nod in response. He was still going through Liz''s tale in his mind. ''God! How much this girl had to suffer!'' He thought in his mind.


    But there was more to come.


    "Has Juran told you about how he got us?" Liz asked.


    "Not much really," Ethan said. "I remember him saying something like human weapons and tools and that he won you in fights."


    "Well, I''ve been more of a tool than a weapon," Liz said. "I had been used in cleaning the glass fronts and windows of those skyscrapers!" She chuckled. "Guess, it''s always more profitable to employ a human tool there than investing in a specific automatic machinery! Juran discovered me during one of my assignments. He then challenged my employer in a fight and won me over," she said.


    Ethan had been listening to her intently. "What about Ahir?" He asked.


    "Same there." Liz said. "Ahir''s ability was used in excavation and mining. He had a gruelling life there. You can say Juran freed him, too. But none of us are actually weapons ourselves, though Ahir is really good with Cereb weapons."


    "What are the human weapons, then?" Ethan asked.


    "You won''t understand unless you see one!'' Liz chuckled. "Anyway, I must say that you surprised me there. I never knew that you were such a brave man! I like you!"


    As Ethan fully grasped what Liz was saying he blushed deeply. Seeing this, Liz laughed hard.


    "Why are you blushing like a girl? And, it''s not me who''s after Juran! There are some other persons too, who may be running after him!"


    Laughing, Liz urged her horse which broke into a canter and the gap between the two widened. Ethan stared at her direction. He was happy to see that the veil of gloom had been lifted off her.

 CHAPTER TEN: GLOAMS OF DARKNESS

    The dusk had fallen already. Three horse riders were approaching the city from the west. In the deepening twilight they drove their tired horses carefully over the broken and uneven ground.


    The city wall had not yet appeared in the horizon. Liz looked restless. Ethan knew the reason. He was not sure whether they were still being pursued or not. In that case, spending another night in the wilderness might prove dangerous for them, especially when Juran was not with them anymore.


    In other words, they must reach the city before nightfall.


    They had been urging their horses for some time now. The horses had been fed and rested well during the day, so they had been galloping at a considerable speed. Still, it seemed that they would not be able to reach the city before nightfall.


    The ground below them had already darkened. An early moon had just started to show its thin scythe in the far-off firmament. The stars had not yet come out to play. Ahir had brought out a small lamp which blazed enough to give them a good view of the ground below and around them. But outside the circle of light created by it, lay the vast wasteland engulfed in darkness.


    It was in this darkness that two pairs of murky red eyes glowed a few feet above the ground and started to bound forward in the direction of the three horse riders.


    Ethan was the first one to notice them. Suddenly he felt a chill running down his spine, giving him goose bumps. Swiftly he turned in around and saw two huge quadrupeds bounding towards them. Curved out of solid darkness, the tips of their fur glistened, making them look like silver-tipped needles were protruding from all over their bodies. They bodies were not taller than four feet from the ground, but they were long and slender. Their face resembled that of a wolf, but in every other aspect they were far from being just ordinary wolf. For, their open jaws were full with rows of shark-like teeth and their murky red eyes gleamed with the fire of hell!


    Ahir was the first on to react. "Gloams!" He cried out. "Stay back, everyone!"


    As he said this, he brought his lasso and threw it at one of the advancing monsters. But the silver-tipped spikes of fur tore open the noose of fire around its body. In an instant, the lasso retracted into Ahir''s hand.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Liz had brought out her bow and quiver. She now took aim at the four horsemen who had been galloping down the slope of the hill behind the charging monsters. From the hand of one of them dangled a long whip of fire which he wielded at the monsters, making them double their speed.


    By this time, their horses were mad with fear. The sight of the ghastly beasts of darkness had unhinged them. So they dismounted and let the horses gallop in the direction of the city.


    Liz released a set of arrows at the charging horsemen and pulled out some more from the quiver. Ethan couldn''t help but ask, "Gloams? What are they?"


    "Creatures of darkness!" Liz replied, releasing another set of arrow and erecting a wall fire in front of the enemy. "But I''ve never seen anyone controlling them!" She exclaimed in a confused voice.


    There was no time to say anything more. The two Gloams had dodged the wall of fire and jumped over the rocks which Ahir had sprouted from the ground. Now they loomed large over them.


    Ethan snatched the lasso from Ahir''s hand. In his hand it turned into a long spear which he hurled at the Gloam which was preparing to pounce on Ahir. The spear created an arc of blinding light and pierced the Gloam''s throat. It howled as it fell on the ground and melted into it. Instantly, the spear reverted back into the lasso and returned to Ahir''s hand.


    The other Gloam was already on Ethan. With an inhuman shriek, Ethan thrust both his hands into the Gloam''s chest. Like two sharp silvery blades his hands went deep into the Gloam''s body. There was a sickening sound of ''crunchhhh!'' as the bones and flesh gave way to the blade-like hands and the Gloam''s body flopped on the ground. Within a moment, it, too, melted into air.


    But the horsemen still came charging at them. The fiery whip which was previously being wielded at the gloams, were now pointed at Ethan and his friends, its tip creating an arc of fire from time to time. Cereb swords glowed in the hands of the other three.


    Liz had exhausted her arrows. Throwing away her bow and quiver, she had taken out a sword, too. Ethan picked up the empty quiver and hurled it at the charging horsemen. The glowing projectile hurtled itself into the ground before them. It tore open the ground, sprouting magma and throwing the attackers off their horses.


    But that didn''t stop them; the assassins. They picked themselves up and charged at them on foot.


    With his lasso Ahir bound one. In the blink of an eye, the man was charred to death. But another man had swung his sword at Ahir, sending a streak of lightening sizzling through air towards him.


    Without a moment''s hesitation, Liz threw herself in front of Ahir and put her sword diagonally across the path of the lightening. It entwined itself with her sword and the sword was yanked out of her hand and thrown some feet away. Before she could retrieve it, another streak of lightening came charging at her.


    Instinctively, Ethan thrust out his hands in air in the direction of the assassin who had attacked Liz. His hands didn''t show any sign of change, but the air around the man suddenly sizzled and crackled. In an instant, his body was on fire. The man cried out and started to run in the other direction, but he couldn''t move further. Within a few seconds, his body turned into a heap of charred bones and ashes.


    Recovering her sword, Liz turned to Ethan. He was panting from exhaustion. He had been instinctively using the powers hidden in him, but it was taking a toll on him.


    Only one assassin was standing now. The one with the fiery whip. Something in Ethan''s heart told him that it wouldn''t be easy to defeat this one, and he was right there.

 CHAPTER ELEVEN: NEW ALLIES

    The assassin cracked his whip and two more Gloams materialized from thin air. They resembled the previous ones in their wolf like shapes, but they looked more lethal and abominable, as if coming out from some horrible nightmare!


    Ethan and his friends stared in horror as the two Gloams attacked them head on.


    "Liz! Ahir! Get that assassin there! I''ll take care of these two!" Shouted Ethan. He shut his mind from every rational thought and let his instincts reign over him. Surprisingly, he found that all his senses worked better in that way, letting him use his body as a shield as well as a weapon. His bloodlust had unleashed itself and unblinking, he went for the kill.


    Ethan untied his sash and turned it into a long snakewhip. As one of the Gloams pounced upon him, the whip in his hand cracked and landed on its back. Instantly, its body was torn into pieces and vanished in air. But, before he could take care of the other Gloam his attention was diverted to the place where Ahir and Liz fought with the lone assassin.


    The assassin had turned his whip into a sword now. He seemed to be an excellent swordsman. With amazing skill he flicked his sword and blocked every attack from his opponents. Though he didn''t get a chance of counter attack, it was clear that the two fighters before him would soon tire out. Ethan admired Ahir''s swordsmanship, but Liz was not well versed with the weapon in her hand. She was loosing ground rapidly.


    ''Ahir alone wouldn''t be able to win the fight,'' he thought. He couldn''t go help them without taking care of the Gloam first!


    But they were not alone anymore!


    A girl had appeared in front of the charging Gloam! With a shrill cry, she jumped high in air and landed on the Gloam''s back. With both her arms she braided its throat and neck and in one swift movement, brought the huge creature down on to the ground, making an almost unseen manoeuvre at the last moment, so that she was not buried under its massive body. Like some iron claws her long pointed nails tore open the Gloam''s belly and some black tar-like substance started oozing out from it. Then the Gloam''s huge form melted into the ground.


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    Ethan didn''t stop to watch the Gloam''s end. He had jumped into the fight between the assassin and his friends. Liz had been kneeling on the ground, panting, blood flowing from a wound in her right arm while Ahir fought with him alone. As Ethan turned and looked at her, Liz flung her sword towards him which he caught mid-air and rushed into the combat.


    But the assassin was not interested in fighting with him. He must have felt that he couldn''t have won the combat there. He lowered his sword and retreated a few steps. A blue column of light hid him from the view and disappeared in an instant, taking the man with it.


    "Arcus of Cerulean light!" Liz said, astonished. "It must have been a Cereb there! Ethan, they will know about you now!" She said, her voice strained.


    "As if they don''t know enough by now!" Ethan exclaimed in a bitter voice. Ahir had already bandaged Liz''s wound. The strange girl who had appeared out of the blue and helped them, now kneeled on the ground by her side. A group of five people was coming towards them from the direction of the city. By the relaxed look of his friends Ethan knew that they were friends, not enemies.


    As the newcomers came near, Ethan''s eyes fell on the woman leading the group. There was something about her that caught his attention. She was exquisitely beautiful, like a flawless statue curved out of jade, but in comparison to Liz, who was vivacious and full of life, she looked ethereal. It seemed to Ethan that her mere presence was enough to inspire awe and admiration.


    "Nana! You came for us yourself!" Liz exclaimed as she stood up and held out her hand towards her. Nana took her hand and pressed it lightly. "Welcome, Liz! But hasn''t Juran come with you as well?" She said. The tinge of worry in her voice didn''t escape Ethan''s ear.


    Liz shook her head sadly. "He went to fight alone, so that we could escape, and was captured," she said.


    For a second, Nana''s jade like face looked ashen. But when she spoke, her voice didn''t waver. "Come, let''s go into the city first. This place is not safe at all," she said and turned her gaze towards Ethan. "You must be the Forger? Juran had sent me the news of your arrival," she said.


    "....your arrival." The two words buzzed inside Ethan''s head. It seemed as if she had known for sure that he would arrive in this world!


    ''I''ll have to ask her what she meant there,'' he thought. ''But not here.''


    Liz looked at him. "Ethan, this is is Shura. Shura, this is Ethan!" She introduced the girl who had killed the Gloam with her bare hands.


    Involuntarily, Ethan''s eyes fell on her long, slender fingers. Her claw like nails had retracted now. Still, her fingers looked quite out of place in her small hand.


    "Didn''t you ask what a human weapon is? Well, she''s one!" Liz said. The petite girl chuckled. "I''m still learning!" She protested. "I''m still far from becoming a lethal weapon."


    Ethan looked at her with admiration and awe. ''What a strange world this is!'' He thought. ''This girl is with Nana, then! But who is this Nana? Just a look at her is enough to tell that she is not a mere Citizen. Who is she, then?'' His mind kept on churning out questions. But there was no one to answer him there.


    By this time they had started to move towards the city. The fleeing horses were captured by Nana''s companions and brought back to them. All nine of them rode towards the city gate.

 CHAPTER TWELVE: SCARLET ARMOUR

    Inside a dimly lit room Ethan sat in front of Nana. The room was simply decorated, yet the few paintings and artefacts that adorned it, spoke highly of the master''s taste. A paper lantern glowed at one corner of the room, giving it a soft yet radiant ambience.


    Nana sat upon a mat spread on the floor, her legs folded beneath her, hands placed neatly on her knees. She looked grave as she spoke.


    "Juran wrote to me about you," she was saying. "Told me how he came upon you. He was sure that you came from a world different from ours. Till now we have only speculated about its existence..."


    Ethan was surprised to hear her words. "Why do you even think that there is another world somewhere?" He asked.


    Nana hesitated for a moment. Then she said evasively, "Juran travels far and wide as a merchant. He knows a lot of things which others do not know."


    Ethan couldn''t help but say, "Well, someone told me that he is an information dealer; sells them to the Cerebs."


    Nana smiled. "Information can be more valuable than gold and diamonds. Well, he knows certain things better than others, and being the Priestess of Sun, I, too, know a few things. But all I can tell you at this moment is that, there really exists a world separate from this land of Anakra and that you have arrived from there. Wait for your memory to return and it will be clear to you," she said.


    Ethan took some time to process what she said. It was still beyond his imagination and he decided not to dwell on it too much. ''Let''s wait and see how things turn out in course of time,'' he thought. There was a lot of things he didn''t know yet and he had started to look at himself as a pawn in an unseen battle of chess which was still beyond his comprehension. But he had resolved to play his part in it.


    "We need to find out and rescue Juran at once!" He said. "Can you help us there?"


    All the calm softness were gone from Nana''s features. Her face looked like a mask curved out of cold white marble. "Juran is being held by Svald, the High Elder of the Cerebs. I don''t have it in my power to oppose him."


    "What do you mean?" Ethan asked.


    Nana sighed. "The Council of the Cerebs rules over Anakra. The highest position in the Council is held by the High Elder. Svald holds this position. He is the one who controls the Arcus of Cerulean Light and hence, the most powerful Cereb there," she said.


    Ethan felt dizzy under the barrage of new information. "Wait there!" He gasped. "What is this Arcus whatever?" He asked.


    "It is the technology that runs Anakra," Nana said. "It has helped the Cerebs to transform the barren lands into cities, to cultivate crops, control weather and to create weapons."


    "Alright! I understand now," Ethan said. "But why has he captured Juran?"


    "The two are sworn enemies since the time Svald killed Juran''s brother," said Nana. She paused for a moment, then said, "He killed my sister, too..."


    Her voice trailed off. Ethan looked at her in surprise. There was so much pain in her low voice! ''Why is there so many tales of loss here? How is it different from my world?'' He thought. For, he knew that the world he came from was full of wrongs, too.


    But he refrained from saying anything. After a brief silence Nana carried on, "My sister had fallen in love with Juran''s brother. He was an excellent young man from every aspect, so there really wasn''t anything to object. But Svald wanted to keep her for himself. So he separated them; decreed that the second young mistress of the family of the Priests of the Sun couldn''t see a merchant boy from the Citizens. Leon was banished from entering the city of Sun and sent on a mission to another part of Anakra. On his way he was assassinated by the men sent by Svald."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Nana fell silent again and with unseeing eyes stared in front of her, as if the bitter and painful past had been enacting itself again in front of her eyes. Then she spoke again. "My sister knew what would happen. She followed Leon out into the wilderness and was killed in that assassinating attempt, trying to save Leon. When Svald came to know what had happened, there wasn''t anything left for him to do. Since then, Juran and Svald are sworn enemies."


    "What about you?" Ethan asked in an ardent voice. "As I can see, you have power and resource. Why didn''t you revolt against him?"


    "Revolt?" Nana asked curiously. "That''s the first time that I''m hearing this word! But I know what you mean to say there. Ethan, you must have heard by now about the Demons and the Seraphs? Do you know what the main difference between them is? Well, the Demons were purely guided by their instincts, while the Seraphs had their set of rules and roles. They created the humans after themselves, so we have no way of challenging the High Elder or the Council of Elders. We are bound by our rules to obey them."


    ''So this is the difference between your world and my world!'' Ethan said in his mind. ''At least we can rebel against our oppressor! You can''t even afford to do that!'' He felt really sad.


    "How are we to get Juran back then?" He asked. "You can''t go against Svald, but I''m not bound by your rules, I suppose?"


    "No, you aren''t." said Nana. "You can take any decision on your own. You can also control Liz and Ahir as Juran has recognized you as a member of his family and given you the mark of identity. I''ll also help you in whatever way I can. Now go, take some rest while I try to gather as much information as I can."


    As Ethan was about to stand up, Nana suddenly said, "Wait a second! Can I see your wound? I know it''s healed now, but I''m kind of curious." She smiled.


    Ethan felt a bit uneasy; still he took off his robe, unveiling the undershirt which Ahir had cut open to look at the wound. As his eyes fell upon it, he couldn''t believe what he saw there. Hastily, he took off his undershirt and stared at his naked torso with unbelieving eyes. Then he remembered that Nana was also present there and looking up at her, he blushed deeply.


    Nana didn''t notice his embarrassment. She was as surprised and captivated as Ethan. With incredulous eyes she, too, stared at Ethan''s chest which was now covered in a red glistening stuff that also spread over to his back. It looked like an exotic armour-plate curved out of a gigantic ruby and chiselled into his skin! As Ethan touched it gingerly, he felt the familiar smooth touch of his own skin. It had become a part of his own skin!


    Confused, Ethan looked at Nana. What on earth was happening to him?


    "This is a Demon protecting Scarlet Armour," Nana said. "Whoever saved your life has given you a great gift. This armour will protect you from any Demon Slayer Pentacle."


    Nana''s brows were knitted together. She was lost in deep thought. "What are you thinking about?" Ethan asked.


    "I''m thinking about that Armour of yours," she said. "I had only heard that such an armour exists, but never saw one till today. You see, it was the Vernik who could heal and create armours like this, but they are no longer in this world."


    Ethan remained silent. He had decided not to speak of Gailar to anyone. Nana was their ally, but she was a Cereb as well, bound by the rules of their Council.


    ''Perhaps it would be better not to burden her with any secret'', he thought.


    Still, he asked, "Who are the Verniks, anyway?"


    "A tribe of humans who could use the Elements of earth to heal and regenerate," Nana replied. "They could create any sort of armour to protect the human body from the Cereb weapons, so the Cerebs eliminated them."


    "The Cerebs eliminated a whole tribe?" Ethan asked incredulously.


    "Yes," said Nana bitterly. "The Humans have a huge flaw. They are greedy. In their pursuit of greed they have broken the most important rule made by the Seraphs."


    "What rule?" Ethan''s own voice sounded unfamiliar to him.


    "To abstain from killing another Human," said Nana. "They have destroyed the balance of this world. Now it is only a matter of time before this world crumbles. Perhaps you are here to hasten its fall?" She looked up at Ethan with a strange expectant gaze.


    Ethan stepped back involuntarily. He was still uncertain about his role in this incredible plot of changing worlds and races, but he was determined. "I''ll do what I must do," he said gravely.

 CHAPTER THIRTEEN: SNAKE SVALD

    Slowly, Juran returned to consciousness. Opening his eyes, he found himself lying on a long, narrow metallic bed. The cold touch of bare metal made him shiver. Looking around, he saw that he was in a small, white room. Except for the bed in which he was lying, the room was empty. There was no window in the room. Only a closed door stood at the opposite wall.


    At first Juran couldn''t remember anything. His head felt heavy. A dull ache throbbed inside it. Sitting up, he clutched it in his hands. What had happened? Why was he here in an unfamiliar room? He searched inside his mind for an answer.


    Slowly, his memories started to float back. ''Yes, I had tried to engage the enemy so that they could escape,'' he thought. ''But what happened after that? Have I been captured? How could a band of mercenaries defeat me and capture me there?''


    He remembered the scenes from the battleground; the horses and rider going up in flames from his crazy attack. Then he remembered something else; the dark form of two giant wolves materializing from the darkness around; the dark rider cracking his fiery whip at them...


    Juran''s mind jerked into full consciousness. A chill went down his spine. ''The gloams!'' He thought. ''How could anyone summon and control them? Weren''t they just creatures of darkness appearing in random?''


    But he couldn''t disbelieve his own eyes. There was someone who could summon those abominable creatures and control them with his whip. ''It must have been a new Cereb technique then'', he thought.


    He remembered how he had managed to destroy the two gloams, only to be surrounded by the enemy. As he thought of charging blindly and taking a chance there, the dark rider had appeared before him and with a swift crack of his whip, had paralysed his horse, sending him crashing down with it. Before Juran could recover himself, the enemy had surrounded him, pointing their swords at him.


    ''That''s when I had been captured, then!'' He thought, wondering how they had managed to knock him out and where they had brought him to.


    Just then someone opened the door from outside. Two men entered the room. From their uniform and insignia Juran knew that they were personal guards of the High Elder of the Council of Elders. He felt strangely elated. After so many years he was going to face his archenemy once again!


    "Come with us," one of them said in a mechanical voice. Silently, Juran followed them out of the room and down a dimly lit narrow corridor. At the other end of the corridor stood a heavy, ornate door. The guard who had spoken before, knocked at the door lightly. Then he gently pushed the door open and stood at a side, holding the door, so that Juran could enter the room. Then he pulled the door close from outside.


    As Juran entered the room, his eyes took some time to adjust themselves to the soft red glow emitted by the walls as well as the roof. The room bathed in that red glow, making it look like the bottom of a sea reddened with blood. ''A fit place for a bloodless killer!'' Juran thought.


    The room was scantily furnished. Only a large table and two chairs stood there across the room. A man was sitting at one of the chairs, looking at him intently. He was clad in heavily ornate scarlet robes; his features set in elegant, yet stern lines. His face looked youthful. He didn''t seem to be more that twenty-five years of age.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ''Snake Svald!'' Juran thought bitterly. ''Looking as young and as unscathed as always! There''s no way you can tell from his face what a scum he really is!''


    ''Snake'' Svald looked unwavering in front of Juran''s reproachful gaze. "Hello, Juran! Glad to meet you after so many years! Sit down, please! We need to talk." He said.


    Juran sat down. "Is there really anything that we can talk about?" He said bitterly. Just the sight of this hated man had made his blood boil, but he chose not to reveal the turmoil in his heart. He knew that Svald had brought him there for something very important. He needed to know what it was.


    "As you may have guessed already, I need some information from you," Svald said as he stood up from the chair and placing his hands at the table, leaned towards Juran. "Just where did this forger emerge from? He couldn''t have appeared out of thin air, could he?" He hissed.


    ''So Dovak''s camel-keepers couldn''t give him full information about Ethan!'' Juran thought. ''Snake hasn''t yet suspected that he might have arrived here from another world.''


    "I found him lying unconscious in the desert. He said that he had been travelling solo when desert hunters attacked him and took away everything he had. After that he had managed to survive without food and water for one day and two nights, before fatigue and hunger got the better of him," Juran said casually.


    Svald stared at his eyes with an unblinking gaze. "Is that all?" He said. "Why didn''t you hand him over at the city gate? Do you know that you have broken a rule there for which you already deserve some harsh punishment?"


    "Why would I?" Juran said sarcastically. "After all, I''ve hardly been a law-abiding Citizen these past years! You know pretty well that if I weren''t bound by the rules there, I''d have long ago cut off that forked tongue of yours."


    For a second, Svald''s blue eyes seemed to burn with rage, but then they resumed their unwavering coldness. "It''s alright! Your slanders aren''t going to affect me at all. Let''s talk business now. Don''t you want to know why you are still alive?" He said.


    "Yes, I know pretty well that you need me so bad that you can''t bring yourself to kill me," Juran sighed. "Before I start answering your questions you need to tell me one thing," Juran paused for a second and took in a deep breath. "Have you been using the Arcus of Cerulean Light for creating gloams and controlling them?"


    "Yes, I guess I am?" Svald chuckled. "Do you have any objection with that?" He asked sarcastically.


    Juran was speechless with hatred. When he spoke, his voice was full of bitterness. "Snake, do you really have to destroy everything here?" He asked. "Isn''t it already enough that your distorted use of the Arcus has resulted in spawning those gloams randomly? Why are you going one step ahead and creating and controlling them purposefully? What is it that you are hankering after?"


    Svald glared at Juran as he spoke in a tired voice. "Why am I doing it? Well, isn''t it that till now we have devised weapons to get rid of them? Won''t it be better if we start to make them useful instead of trying to eliminate them?"


    ''This man is definitely mad!'' Juran said in his mind. ''He can''t see that he is playing with fire there!''


    Svald was talking again. "We are trying to know the reason behind the random appearances of gloams and in the process we have just been able to create them at our will. Now we need to know how to make them more powerful".


    Juran stared at him silently. He knew what Svald would say next.


    "We need to acquire full knowledge of Dark," he said after a brief pause. "And that is not possible without your help." He put emphasis on the word ''help'' and chuckled. "Juran, you are to lead us to the Dark, or I''ll make everything you still cherish just go up in flames," Svald paused and took in a deep breath so that his tongue clicked. "Including that girlfriend of yours, that Priestess of the Sun." He said in a cold voice, separating every syllable as he uttered them.

 CHAPTER FOURTEEN: CONFLICTING LOYALTIES

    The heavy door behind Juran opened with a ''click''. "Honourable Elder! Greetings from Astor!" A deep voice resonated through the room as the man who had just entered, stood in front of the door and bowed to Svald slightly. Juran turned to look at him and recognized him immediately. It was none other than the mysterious dark rider at the battlefield who had been controlling the gloams. The whip still dangled from his waist, its ebony handle tucked in his sash. His tall and muscled body was clad in black entirely, giving him quite an elegant air. In the eerie red light of the room his face looked indefinable, vague.


    ''Who could this man be? He must be someone very close to Svald, or he wouldn''t be coming here without even knocking once!'' Wondered Juran. He had neither seen him before nor had he ever heard of the existence of such a man in Svald''s inner circle.


    "Astor? Where have you been? I had sent for you at least an hour ago," Svald said.


    "I am just coming up from the 1000 Miles cave!" Astor said in an apologetic tone. Then he turned his gaze to Juran. "So you are already up?" He asked. But before Juran could say anything, Svald said, "What did you see there?"


    The note of eagerness in his voice didn''t escape Juran''s ears. He was surprised. The 1000 Miles cave or simply the Cave was the powerhouse of Anakra. Lying 1000 miles deep within the mountainous heart of the city of Sun, this place was where the Cerulean Light, the source of all energy in Anakra was found. ''What could have happened there?'' He thought.


    "Same as before," said Astor, his eyes still fixed at Juran. "Can I talk to him now?" He said. "We don''t have much time in hand."


    "Of course you can. Take him with you," Svald said and stood up.


    "Come with me," Astor said to Juran who also stood up, facing him. "Why should I go with you?" He asked.


    "Because it will take some time to explain it to you and perhaps some display, too," Astor said. "Let''s go!" He started to move towards the door. Juran followed him without further argument. He was curious to know more about Astor. The two walked down a long corridor which ended in a cavernous opening. The floor beneath their feet was rough and uneven. The shadowy walls tapered off to form a dome way up above their heads. An eerie silence reigned there.


    Juran was taken aback. This place was the entrance to the Cave. Though he had never been to this place before, he knew its descriptions minutely. But before he could say anything, Astor spoke up.


    "Aren''t you surprised that I have brought you to this sacred place?" He asked. "I need to show you something, but before that let me tell you a few things." He paused for Juran''s response and when there was none, resumed his narrative.


    "You know well that Gloams appear as freak accidents when too much Cerulean Light is concentrated at a certain point. But recently this chance incident has increased so much that it has turned into a matter of grave concern. We can create and control some low level Gloams now but there are fierce and intelligent ones which are beyond our control. In the last couple of months they have started to appear more frequently."


    For a second the image of the fierce monster at the desert flashed in Juran''s mind. ''That''s it, then!'' He thought.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "It''s your hankering after more and more power that has destroyed every balance in this world," Juran said bitterly. "Why did you have to create Gloams? Wasn''t there enough powerful weapons at your disposal already? Why did you have to bring this upon us?"


    Astor was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Juran, you know who is responsible for this mess. I can''t oppose him. But I''m doing everything in my power to find a solution to this. That''s why I''m seeking your help."


    Juran was surprised by the sudden change of tone in Astor''s voice. He actually sounded sincere and ardent in blaming Svald! ''What does it mean?'' He thought.


    But he didn''t say anything. In a world where greed led to wavering and conflicting loyalties it was wiser not to make any commitment before understanding what lay beneath the fa?ade. He waited for Astor to explain himself more.


    But Astor wasn''t talking anymore. Signalling Juran to follow him, he had started walking towards a metal structure standing near the wall at left. The huge metal structure looked like a glistening cage. As Astor touched it, a red button glowed on its metal body and a part in front of it swung open like a door. As the two of them entered it, the door swung close on its own. In an instant the cage was flooded with a soft blue light. Then it turned dark. For a few seconds Juran felt weightless and dizzy. ''What is happening here?'' He thought with some apprehension.


    ''We are inside the Cave now.'' Astor''s booming voice sounded muffled and far-off in Juran''s ears. He took a few seconds to take in what was going on around him. "Why do you have to bring me here in the Cave? He asked.


    "Wait for a few seconds. You will see by yourself," Astor said. Sure enough, as Juran''s eyes got accustomed with the darkness he was able to see a faint light swirling in the deep darkness below his feet. He had a strange feeling that he was just floating and hovering over a volcano that had been brewing a fire of a strange blue hue.


    "The Cerulean Light!" Juran gasped. But Astor didn''t speak. Staring intently at that swirling, churning column of light, he seemed to be waiting for something to happen.


    Then, all on a sudden, the air around them resonated with a long deep howl. It seemed as if the gates of Hell had opened allowing the growl of Cerberus to reach them in this uncanny Cave!


    Juran felt a chill down his spine. He glanced at Astor only to find that his face was ashen with a wild look in his eyes.


    "Did you hear it? Look, it is taking form now!" He exclaimed.


    From the blue glowing pit, a shadow was slowly emerging. It looked like a giant beast trying to drag its body out of that cavernous pit of cerulean fire. As the two of them stared in awe, it slowly dismantled and merged with the light again.


    "It is still unable to gather its form, but once it fully emerges from there, all hell will break loose, for the source of the Cerulean Light will immediately shut down and the Arcus will no longer function. Can you imagine what''s going to happen then?" Astor said in an imploring voice.


    "The Doomsday will arrive!" Juran couldn''t help being vicious. "What were you guys thinking when you first started breaking the rules?"


    "Don''t blame me! I''ve only done what I was ordered to do. But now I''ll try to redeem myself. Look, Svald wants your knowledge of Dark to control gloams and I need it to stop them from appearing. Do you get what I''m saying here?" Astor said.


    "Is it even possible for you to oppose Svald?" Juran asked.


    "No! And I''m not opposing him." Exclaimed Astor. "I''m asking for the same thing; the control over the Gloams. It''s only that I want to stop them from appearing at all."


    "Why should I trust you? You are already betraying your Honourable Elder. Why should I start believing that you have the best intentions here?" Juran asked.


    "Do you have another choice?" Astor flipped it back at him. "If you want to save your beloved Anakra you''ll have to support me here," said Astor in a passionate voice.


    "Perhaps you are right," Juran said, his mind still occupied with the image of the monster he saw moments ago.

 CHAPTER FIFTEEN: JOURNEY TO SAROHA: PART I

    "What are you thinking about?"


    Juran was startled by Astor''s sudden question. He had been lost in his thoughts for a long time. His eyes fell on the sparkling red liquid in the clear crystal goblet in Astor''s hand. Astor was sipping the liquid slowly. The two of them had just finished their dinner and the empty plates and bowls were still stacked on the table between them. Astor had offered drinks to Juran, but he had refused.


    "As if sitting and eating with the enemy isn''t enough that I need to drink with them, too! He thought.


    They had been sitting at a table in the large dining lounge of the Base Sector where Juran was being held. Situated right above the Cave, this was Svald''s headquarter in the capital. The whole place was situated under the ground, but its huge proportions saved it from being claustrophobic. The dining lounge was bright and cheerfully decorated, though the number of people eating there was very small. Only a few tables here and there were occupied.


    Astor had taken Juran there for dinner who was surprised to see that he was not being kept in confinement. "I can''t run away from the Base though!" He thought. But Astor''s hospitality had started to make him a bit uncomfortable. He had been talking too frankly for a stranger.


    Taking another sip from the goblet Astor put it down on the table. "By the way, that boy, I mean that forger of yours, can really fight! He is quite a diamond in the rough, I should say."


    "Where did you meet him?" Juran asked, forcefully keeping up his indifferent look.


    "Outside the city of Rucco," Astor said. "He slipped through my hands, thanks to the Priestess and her people. He fought quite well though!"


    ''So they have escaped after all!'' Juran thought happily. But his face retained its calm indifference as he asked, "Aren''t you going to capture him?"


    "We are not in a hurry! They will eventually come looking for you."


    Juran was speechless by Astor''s blunt sarcasm. Astor, too, remained silent for a few minutes. Then he started to talk again.


    "Now tell me what you know and what you think about this," he said in a flat humourless tone.


    Gathering his thoughts, Juran began:


    "The Dark is essentially a form of energy, just like the Cerulean Light, the only difference being that it swallows all other energy that come in contact with it.


    The Gloams are creatures born out of darkness when a huge amount of Cerulean Light is distorted and concentrated at a certain point. So it can be said that they are also a kind of energy. The Dark can swallow any distorted energy field, thus preventing the occurrence of Gloams.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.Now, where can we find Dark and how can we control it? Well, it originates from a Demon''s heart, but even a Demon is unable to control it automatically. Towards the west of Sun, at a distance of 200 miles as the crow flies, lies the mountainous province of Saroha. A small tribe of the same name inhabits its almost inaccessible forests. They have the forbidden knowledge of a ceremony which enables a Demon to formulate and to control the Dark. But it is extremely dangerous to go there and search for them, for they resent outsiders trespassing in their territory."


    Astor had been listening to Juran with rapt attention. Now he spoke up.


    "So you are saying that only a Demon can access and control this energy? Where is our chance then?" He asked.


    "This is the only information available on Dark. You can use it and see if there is any way that may enable the Cerebs to get hold of it. Unless you don''t give it a chance you don''t know, isn''t it?" Juran asked.


    "In another word, a wild goose chase and a dangerous chase as well!" Sighed Astor. "It seems that you are eager to give it a try. Very well, then! I''ll go and make arrangements so that we can start early tomorrow morning. Laka!" He raised his voice as he spoke the last word. A man in a Guard''s uniform stepped out of a shadowy corner of the lounge and stood before them. "Take him to his room at the Quarters. It''s Room No. 206." He ordered.


    Laka bowed and turned to Juran. "Follow me, please", he said in a restrained voice.


    Juran stood up from the table. "Thank you for the meal, Astor," he said. "I guess I''ll have to work with you for some time now. But never try to put a dagger at my back. You''ll just regret it." He said in a calm, measured tone.


    Astor looked surprised. "Of course I''ll remember!" He said. Then he bowed and left. Juran turned towards Laka. "Let''s go, too," he said.


    ********************************************


    Six horsemen rode through the forest, almost groping in the mist that seemed to swirl upward all around them. The ground below the horses'' hooves was under a few inches of moss and rotten leaves. The horses had to drag themselves through it. It was green everywhere, not the cheerful verdant green, but the depressing shades of mossy and sap green. As the evening approached and the already scarce daylight started to fade away, the feeling of gloom and apprehension weighed upon the travellers more and more.


    "We need to look for a place where we can camp for the night," Juran said as Astor rode from behind and caught up with him. "Soon it will become so dark that we won''t be able to see our own hands."


    "Don''t worry! We have means to make enough light here," chuckled Astor.


    "But we can''t!" Juran protested. "This is called the Silent Forest of the Light Bats. These bats live deep inside the forest, unseen to human eyes. But they are attracted towards light at night and attack the source of it in thousands. So we must be careful and use light as less as possible after it gets completely dark."


    Astor nodded and ordered his men to prepare for setting camp. There was a small opening nearby which looked as if the place had been recently cleared for a camp. Stumps of a few trees still stood there. A small mound of ashes in a pit showed that a small fire had been made there, perhaps for cooking. Astor decided to camp there for the night. "Make a small stove with stones," he advised his men. "The fire inside the stove won''t be visible from a distance."


    They followed his advice and made the stove. After lighting a fire in it, they started preparing the meal. Everything went smoothly up to this point, but things went haywire when one of Astor''s men accidentally ignited a powerful searchlight. The column of light generated from it pierced the darkness and illuminated for a second a long path in front of them, running through the forest. The next moment Juran snatched the searchlight from his hand and put it out. But as he put the searchlight away in his bag, an eerie sound began to emerge from the surrounding forest. It was the sound of thousands of Light bats, flapping their wings as they came charging through the forest.

 CHAPTER SIXTEEN: JOURNEY TO SAROHA: PART II

    The first wave of Light bats smashed upon Astor and his men. The small, yet fierce creatures covered the whole place in an instant, bitting the open skin of men and crawling into their clothes and accessories. The horses were affected the most. Blind with pain and fear they rose on their hind legs and cried out fiercely. Luckily, all of them had been tethered already, or they would have run away into the forest and would have been lost forever.


    Juran drew out his Cereb spear. It sizzled and shimmered in the darkness and set ablaze all the flying creatures in a twenty feet radius circle. In the meantime, Astor managed to crack his whip and summon a blazing dome of fire above and around them. The glowing red of the fire lured out swirms of Light bats incessantly and kept on swallowing them instantly. Soon the forest around them fell silent again, all the bats in the vicinity having been destroyed already.


    Astor patted Juran''s back. "That was pretty fast and effective! Seems you''ve been in such a situation many a time!" He said.


    Juran didn''t bother to reply. He had taken out a small bottle from his backpack and was busy rubbing its roll-on cap on the numerous small wounds made by the bats on his open skin. Having treated his own wounds, he passed it on to Astor.


    "Treat yourself and your men with it and return it to me," he said. Then he moved away towards the horses. The animals needed some treatment, too. Astor stared at his back as he walked away. He couldn''t help but feel admiration for the man there.


    The night turned out to be a cold and dark one. It was two days after New Moon and the lean scythe of moon hid itself behind the canopy of leaves and branches above their heads. The men had eaten their meal and were now making themselves comfortable inside their portable pods. Juran couldn''t sleep so early. He sat on the stump of an old tree, a few feet away from the sleeping men and stared intently into the darkness in front of him.


    Slowly, the darkness stirred. A small and furry quadruped as black as night emerged from the darkness and trotted within a few feet from Juran. There it halted and tilting its face in his direction, sniffed his smell.


    ''A Sarohan dog!'' Juran thought. It was a unique species of dogs, found only in the mountains of Saroha. They were yet to start climbing the mountains and it was really unlikely to spot one of those dogs in the foot of the mountain. ''Perhaps we are already being watched and this dog is here to track us?'' He thought at first. Then he discarded the idea. ''It can''t be! A trained tracker dog would never expose itself in this way! Perhaps it really is a curious one, separated from its pack?''


    As he turned these thoughts in his mind, the dog inched closer to him. Finally, it came in front of him and wagging its tail, stood up on its hind legs, putting its front paws on his knees.


    Surprised, Juran patted its head. "This dog must have already been trained. It can''t be a wild one!" He thought. But he didn''t have any means to confirm it. The dog on the other hand, let Juran pat him and lay down at his feet, curling itself into a ball.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ''So it''s a watchdog indeed!'' Juran thought as he picked the dog up in his lap. ''You''re gonna stick around us and watch our way! Fine with me!'' He thought and smiled to himself.


    Wrapping himself in his hooded clothes Juran sat down under a tree and leaned against its trunk. As he spread out his legs, the dog came and lay down by his side. Soon he fell asleep but the dog stayed awake and vigilant.


    **************************


    The sun had rolled to the middle of the sky when the six horsemen started climbing the first mountain of Saroha range. It was not very steep, but the dense forest covering the mountain made their progress slow. Quite often they had to clear the undergrowth with axes and hunting knives to make a path.


    Towards afternoon they reached the summit and stood there looking at the valley downward. It was a narrow one, tucked behind another gigantic wall of mountain which rose to the sky in front of them. Astor declared that they should ride down the mountain into the valley and make their camp for night in it. So they started climbing down into the valley.


    It was a majestic view from every point. A small stream ran eastward through the valley. Around its banks lush meadows sprawled, dotted with colourful wild flowers. The water of the stream was clear, revealing the colourful fishes moving beneath the glassy surface. The men stood there, rendered speechless by the serene beauty of the place.


    "Let''s prepare for the night camp," Astor said. "Juran? Is there anything about this place that we should be careful about?"


    Juran was staring at the mountain in front of them, his brows drawn together. "There''s something off about this place, but I can''t tell exactly what it is," he said absent-mindedly. "Anyway, we should be vigilant here," he said and went to pick up the dog which had kept at their heels all the day. Tired, it had still been following Juran around. Now he picked it up and scratched it behind its ears. Then he took out a tin of salted meat from his backpack and started to feed the dog. It tilted its head and ate from his hand with its eyes closed. ''Eat, mate!'' Juran murmured, and leaving the dog to eat to its heart''s content, he went to make his bed on a large, flat stone on the side of the stream.


    Soon after the night fell, the men completed their meal and retired for the night. Like the previous night Juran sat on the stone sleepless for a long time. Astor joined him for some time and talked about their next journey, but he, too started to feel sleepy after some time and went into his sleeping pod. Only Juran and the dog stayed awake and waited with bated breath, for the air around them slowly started to feel heavy and oppressive.


    As Juran felt the sudden change in air, he went to Astor''s pod and shook him awake. "Get your men ready. We are in grave danger," he said as soon as Astor opened his eyes.


    Astor didn''t lose a second. Within a few seconds the men gathered in a small circle in the middle of the valley. With their backs towards the centre of the circle, the men stood, armed and expectant.


    The first rumble of thunder reached their ears in a few minutes. It didn''t take them long to understand that it was not thunder, but huge boulders running down the mountain in front of them, that had been making that ear-splitting noise.


    Astor''s men started throwing fiery arrows to break the boulders in millions of tiny pebbles. As they began to shower down upon them, Astor''s whip created an arc of fire in the sky above them which melted and vaporized the pebbles before they fell on them.


    Juran used his fire-breathing spear to break particularly huge blocks of stone. But they were just too many and came crashing at them relentlessly. The resistance from Astor''s men started to falter. Chunks of smashed boulders began to reign down on them every now and then, hitting them occasionally.


    Suddenly, a boulder the size of a fist shoot down in a lightening speed and hit Juran in the head. With a muffled cry he fell on the ground. In a few seconds he was almost buried in chunks of stones. The same fate followed Astor and his men, too.


    Slowly, the valley fell quiet again. The stream flowed murmuring, its banks covered with stones. A faint barking sound was heard as the dog wiggled its way out of the debris and began to dig around a mound of stones. But it was an impossible task for it. So it resigned, and after standing there for some minutes, it began to run in the opposite direction. It was going to look for help.

 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: JOURNEY TO SAROHA: PART III

    "So this is the weapon you want me to use?" Ethan said. In front of him a long white sword lay on a low table. The sword was made of a material which he had never seen before.


    "This is an extremely useful weapon. You know, you can''t always go on making weapons out of stones and twigs," Ahir chuckled.


    Ethan smiled, too. Then he face clouded again. He couldn''t shake of his feelings of worry and uneasiness about Juran.


    "There you go!" Ahir sheathed the sword and handed it to him. "Nana has told me to bring you to her. Let''s go!"


    Ethan followed him through a winding corridor into a spacious hall. Looking around it he felt that it was some kind of a prayer room. At the left side of the wall opposite to him a low door stood half-open.


    "Go and see her. I''ll go have something to eat now." Ahir said. Nana must have heard him, for she opened the door fully and called Ethan. As he went into the room, his eyes widened with surprise. A massive black stone stood in the middle of the room. It looked like a huge stone tablet, except for the fact that nothing was written on it.


    Nana sat at its foot and asked Ethan to sit down as well. He was curious about the stone, but chose to keep silent. Instead, he said, "Have you got any news of Juran?"


    "Yes, I have. That''s why I have called you," Nana said. "He is going to Saroha with one of Svald''s most trusted generals, Astor. It''s a mountainous region and the only people living there are the Sarohans, a small tribe who doesn''t prefer contact with outside world."


    "Why are they going there? Do you know anything about it?" Ethan asked.


    In a few words Nana explained about the power of Dark and the Sarohans'' knowledge of the forbidden Demon ceremony related to controlling that power.


    "Juran must have a reason for assisting Astor in that search," she said. "Now you have to decide what you want to do."


    "I''ll follow their trail. It''s the only way to reach him now. Can you help me in this journey?" He said.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Of course, I''ll help you!" said Nana. "I''ll make all arrangements and you can start early tomorrow morning. Shura will be going with you as your guide. She is from that part of Anakra anyway and knows the place very well."


    Ethan couldn''t be more grateful. Having Shura with them was a big advantage, after all. But before he could thank Nana, she talked again.


    "Ethan, do you know why I''m called the Priestess of Sun?"


    "No?"


    "Well, my ancestors took that fancy name. But actually, we are the keepers of the secrets of the Seraphs. In the beginning they were involved in the affairs of the Humans here. Later they couldn''t afford to do it any longer. They chose my ancestors as the medium. But they connect to us only when a catastrophe looms large."


    "Does this giant stone tablet has anything to do with that?"


    "Yes, it has. It is called the Guardian and let me tell you that it was through the Guardian that I was first shown your arrival here."


    Ethan felt elated. If the Seraphs had anything to do with his coming to this world, then perhaps he was going to play a part bigger than a mere pawn in this world changing game.


    He stood up. "Thank you, Nana!" He said warmly. "Please see that we can hit the road as soon as possible!"


    Nana stood up, too. "I''ll go make all the arrangements now. Please eat and get some rest now," she said and left the room.


    **********************************************


    On the second day of their journey they reached the Silent Forest. Shura was actually a wonderful guide. She had taken them on the paths followed by wild animals and they were comparatively free from dense undergrowth.


    "How are we going to track Juran and his companions?" Ethan asked Shura.


    "From what I have seen so far, I can say that a troop of six horse riders have gone through the forest nearby us not more than a day ago. It is highly possible that they are the ones we are looking for, because Anakrans generally avoid the forest and mountains of Saroha. This is a pretty dangerous place," she tried to explain.


    "Should we hurry and catch up with them?" Ethan asked as if talking to himself.


    "Don''t worry! I''ve the world''s best tracker for you!" Shura said cheerfully. By this time, they had stopped by a small stream to replenish their stock of water. Shura made a strange whistling sound by using her tongue. The wind carried it far away and the tree trunks seemed to resonate it back.


    A small furry animal came scurrying through the undergrowth and jumped on Shura''s lap who was kneeling on the ground as she made that whistle. Ethan was startled at first, but then he recognized it to be small dog. "What is it?" He asked Shura.


    She laughed. "It''s my old friend, Kite! He''s my friend since the time I was forced to hide in this mountains for a few months," she said, hugging the little dog. "It''s a Sarohan dog and you won''t find a better tracker anywhere."


    Ethan watched curiously as Shura made some strange sounds and put a piece of cloth in front of the dog''s nose. The dog sniffed it a few times and then made a small whining sound. Then it ran into jungle and vanished.


    ''That cloth must have belonged to Juran'', Ethan thought. ''Shura must have brought it here for this purpose.''


    "Kite will track him and stay with him until we catch up with his troop", she said as she stood up. Now let''s start moving as well. We need to find a place to camp before the night falls."


    They moved faster than Juran and his companions and reached the mountain before noon next day.

 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: JOURNEY TO SAROHA: PART IV

    The sun was just preparing to go down behind the massive mountain wall behind the narrow valley. The four riders stood at the summit of the mountain they just climbed and looked down into the valley. It was quite opposite to the beautiful scenery Juran and his companions had seen about twenty four hours ago.


    The small stream still babbled and ran through the valley, but the grassy meadow on its banks had been destroyed by stones of all sizes strewn all over the place. At places they were heaped into small mounds, but mostly they just lay scattered all over the place.


    Ahir gathered their horses which were grazing and relaxing in the small flat piece of grass bed on which they were standing. As they were about to get on them, a small black animal came running out of a bush and jumped upon Shura.


    It was Kite, Shura''s tracker dog. But he looked shabby and exhausted. His silken fur was covered in dust and his sunken belly showed that he didn''t have anything to eat for a long time. He was not the kind of domestic dogs to depend on humans for food and comfort, so he must have been really busy otherwise, or he wouldn''t become so tired and famished. ''I wonder what he had been doing!'' Ethan thought.


    Shura picked Kite up and brushed his fur with her fingers. Ahir opened a can of meat and fed him with his own hands. For a few minutes he savoured his food, chewing contentedly with his eyes closed. Then he jumped down from Shura''s lap and began to run down the mountain. The four riders followed in his steps immediately.


    As they reached the valley below, Kite ran to a place where a huge pile of jagged, broken stones were scattered. Kite scurried around the place and whined. Then he bit the leg of Shura''s clothes and tried to drag her toward the West in the direction of the mountain beyond the valley. They understood at once what Kite wanted to tell them. He was telling them to follow him.


    ''What could have happened here?'' This was the uppermost question in the mind of everyone. Anxiously, they looked at each other''s faces. Liz''s face was ashen. When she talked, her voice trembled.


    "W-What happened? Is Juran alright?"


    "He should be." Shura said. She picked up Kite who was rearing to go running in the direction of the mountain and held him firmly in her arms.


    "How can you say that?"


    "Well, as we can see, something must have happened here, because all these rocks are here for not more than two days. Look at the grass here!" As she said this, she turned the rocks here and there with the toe of her boots and pointed at the grass buried under them.


    "See, they haven''t started to yellow yet! Most probably these have fallen here from above not a long ago," she said.


    "Can it be that they had been attacked here by someone?" Ethan asked.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Very likely." Ahir said. "In that case, the attackers must have come from the direction of that mountain wall there, for we didn''t see any sign of an ambush on the way we came here."


    Ethan nodded. Ahir was probably right there.


    "Are you people trying to say that they were buried under the stones here?" Liz asked, her voice still worried. "How can they even be alive after that?"


    "Liz, most of these stones are not bigger than small pebbles! And more than that, there is no corpse here and no significant blood trail. I can see blood splattered here and there but that is not enough to say that a massacre took place. So, don''t be worried! I''m sure they are still alive."


    "Let''s follow Kite then!" Ethan said. "He must have seen something which he now wants to show us."


    Shura put Kite down and he started to run immediately. Without wasting a single a moment they started to follow him.


    The darkness of night seemed to have been lurking in a corner all this time. Now all on a sudden, it came out of hiding and pounced on them. Everything plunged into it. The horses were confused and started whining. The riders had to rein them immediately and comfort them. A few feet away Kite started to bark suddenly, as if trying to warn them that a ruthless predator was on the sprawl nearby.


    It was Liz who reacted first as she had the ability to see in darkness. From inside her backpack she brought out a few small flattened disc shaped objects. As she pressed one of them to her chest, it attached itself to the front of her cloth and started to glow. In a second an area with a four feet radius around her was illuminated in a soft yellow glow. She gave a disc to each one of them. Now they could see themselves as well as the area around them.


    The ground below there feet started to shake as a deep rambling sound rolled down the mountain in front of them, bringing with it a flood of gigantic boulders. For a brief second, everyone froze in their places. Ahir was the first to recover himself. Jumping down from his horse he ran a few feet forward and stood with his hands outstretched towards the tumbling harbingers of death. "Ethan! Do it now!" Liz shouted.


    Ethan also ran towards Ahir and stood by his side. He drew his sword from its sheath and pointed its tip towards the moving boulders. A strange white ball of fire started to form at the tip of the sword. In the blink of an eye it took a gigantic shape and with a thunderous ''WHOOSH! it flew towards the mountain. As soon as it came in contact with the boulders, it spread over them like a sheet of semi-transparent milky white light and froze them in the place. In a few seconds, everything calmed down. Only the boulders remained still, looking like part of some giant staircase, rising to the mountain top step by step.


    Ethan put down the sword and took a heavy breath.


    ''I''ve done it!'' He thought ecstatically and said, "Thank you Liz, for showing me what I could do!"


    Liz smiled. "Nana and me talked about it. Your Demon instincts are so strong that it''s not impossible for you to enhance our abilities and use them as weapons, too. See, you just enhanced Ahir''s ability to control rocks and used it as your sword''s power!"


    Ethan nodded and looked for Shura. She was holding Kite all this time. Now as soon as the danger was over, Kite wiggled out of her arms and jumping down, started running in the direction of the mountain. With incredible agility he climbed the stairs of the frozen boulders and was halfway up the mountain before his companions could even start to climb the boulders. Shura whistled repeatedly and called his name. At last he paused and tilting his head, waited for them to catch up with him.


    "He seems to be very eager to continue our journey!" Liz said.


    "He is taking us to the place where Juran is, or at least where he has seen him last," Shura said with conviction.


    Soon they caught up with Kite and continued to climb the mountain.

 CHAPTER NINETEEN: JOURNEY TO SAROHA: PART V

    It was around midnight. Bathed in silver moonlight the forest took an uncanny look. A small dog was scuttling through the dense undergrowth of the forest. It stopped every now and then and sniffed the air, as if trying to find out a certain smell. Suddenly, it gave out a stifled cry and started to run forward, barking.


    A group of men was coming through the forest path. Clad in green clothes and high leather boots they blended perfectly into their surrounding. As the dog ran towards them, they stopped and looked at it. One of them said, "Hey, Lucen, isn''t it Kite? I think it had run away from the village some days ago!"


    Lucen was the leader of the group. He was still in his twenties, but his stern, thoughtful features made him look older. He nodded slightly and went towards the dog. Kite rolled at his feet revealing his joy at meeting him. Then biting his clothes, he tried to drag him.


    "He''s trying to show us something. Let''s follow him!" Lucen ordered his men. They followed Kite to the banks of the small stream in the valley where the smashed rocks still lay heaped.


    "So this is where he wanted to drag us!" Lucen said to himself. ''Wonder who the victims could be!''


    "Come, boys!" He shouted to his men. "Let''s clear the debris and rescue those trapped under it."


    The men took out several small sticks which looked like silver wands. They started to examine the rocky mounds with those sticks. Sometimes they would start to glow with an iridescent light and immediately the men would start to clear that mound so that they could rescue the man or animal trapped beneath it. They worked fast and within half an hour the six men and their horses were brought out of their rocky grave and laid on a grass bed already cleared by the side of the stream. They were all injured more or less, but none of the injuries were fatal. Lucen and his men treated the injured with liquids and ointments brought with them.


    Lucen himself treated Juran. His brows were gathered together as he cleaned the wound on his head with a clear liquid and covered it with a stick green substance. One of his men drew near and said, "Isn''t it Juran? What is he doing with these Cereb Guards?"


    "That''s something we''ll know only after his consciousness returns. Keep a watch over him and call me as soon as he wakes up," he said and went to supervise the other injured people.


    Some ten minutes later, Lucen was called back. Juran had woke up. He was not surprised to see Lucen as he had already recognized the Sarohans around him. Lucen was the most efficient leader of their hunting parties. So he kind of expected to see him as the leader there.


    "Hello!" He said in a weak voice. "Thank you for rescuing us!"


    "You should rather thank Kite!" Lucen said, smiling. "We were out hunting and we would come and see what had happened here only the next morning or after that. By that time you would all be dead!" He said in a casual tone.


    Juran smiled. Lucen had always been blunt in his words and expressions. "Why you have put up such a defence system here? And why haven''t I faced it when I came here before?" He asked.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    "Well, you didn''t come with a troop of Cereb Guards before!" Lucen said. "This mountain is a virtual one and it is part of a three dimensional defence system. You didn''t see it before because you came as a merchant. But this time it is activated because of the people you brought. Cereb Guards are not welcome in our place."


    This was a new information to Juran. He had known that the Sarohans didn''t want outsiders to visit their village, but he was not aware that they would go to such a length to prohibit the Cerebs from entering their place. ''So this must be the reason that many a Cereb expeditions had met a catastrophic end here!'' He thought.


    "What will you do with us now?" He asked. "We certainly want to know something from you and this is important for us all, or I wouldn''t have brought them here," he said.


    "What is it that you want to know?" Lucen asked.


    "The forbidden ceremonies of the Demons," Juran said cautiously.


    In an instant, Lucen''s face became ashen. "You have brought these Cereb Guards here to enquire about the Forbidden Ceremonies? What are you even thinking Juran?" He asked, his voice trembling with emotion.


    "Calm down, Lucen!" Juran said in a low voice. "We have reached a critical stage where the knowledge hidden till now has become the most important thing. If we are to save Anakra from falling into ruins, we need to arm ourselves with knowledge from the past, and without your help, nothing can be done."


    "I''ll take you all to the village," Lucen said after a moment of silence. "There we''ll decide on what should be done with you all."


    He stood up and went to have a look at Juran''s injured companions. Juran, too, went with him. Astor was awake by then. Seeing Juran come with a stranger he sat up weakly.


    "What did happen here?" He asked.


    "There had been a huge landslide in that mountain." Juran lied with a straight face. "These are old friends from the village of Saroha. They were hunting nearby and found us here."


    "What are we going to do now?"


    "Excuse me, but I''m going to take you guys to our village. I''ve heard that you were going there anyway."


    Astor glanced at Juran and then shook his head. "Yes, it''ll be easier for us if you take us there," he said thoughtfully. "How are my people? Are they even alive?"


    "Yes, they will be fine in an hour or so. Then we can all start together. Now, take some rest."


    Casting a meaningful glance at Juran, Lucen stood up and started to walk up in the direction of the horses which were being tended by his men. Juran came from behind and walked side by side with him. There were still some questions in his mind which needed answers.


    "Why did you come and help us?"


    "Because of that dog of yours... what did that girl call him again? Well, I remember now! Kite! He brought us here, so I thought that it might be a friend buried here."


    ''So it is actually a trained dog then! I was right in that.'' Juran thought.


    "Who is this girl that you are talking about?"


    "Don''t you remember? Its Shura." Lucen said. "She bonded with him when she was hiding there in our village. He ran away from the village some time ago. Tonight he came looking for us and brought us here."


    Juran was taken aback. How could it be that Shura''s dog came looking for him and watched over him? Could it be that his friends had also followed him there?


    ''If it is true then Ethan, too, is there with her. That''ll make my work easier.'' Juran thought and smiled to himself.


    In the next hour all the injured men and animals had recovered quite well and they started their journey to the village hidden in the forest.