Veronica's Fallacy

39.

-HER-

I remained close behind Grim as I followed him to the strange sounds that were grating on my nerves, but at the same time, they incited a primal fear in me. Everything in me, including my wolf, urged me to run in the opposite direction and never look back, but my curiosity got the best of me.

Also, Grim was with me, and I oddly trusted him enough to follow him as Karrson led us to the shrill noises. Those noises almost sounded like someone was either dragging nails on the chalkboard or a thousand tortured souls were pleading for peace.

The closer we got, the more the noises made me uncomfortable. I had goosebumps all over my skin, and my steps seemed to falter. I was upright because Grim was holding me. I edged closer to him the more the noises increased.

Finally, we reached a sudden edge surrounded by boulders. Grim and I hid behind a giant boulder together while Karrson took his position nearby, staying low. The noises were the loudest here, and I had the urge to cover my ears because they irritated my eardrums. But that wasn't the primary reason I wanted to cover my ears.

As a few seconds passed, I realised those high-pitched disturbing noises were chanting something in an ancient language whose name had been long forgotten. The realisation had the hair at the back of my neck stand up. I lingered behind Grim as he peaked beyond the boulders. I couldn't see his face but could tell from his tense body that whatever he saw was nothing good.

I wanted to know what was happening even though the chanting of those disturbing noises made me deeply uneasy. Quietly, I stepped away from Grim and peeked through a gap between two boulders.

I first noticed something dark and void-like swirling in the middle of the enormous area dug deep. Surrounding it was a circle of fire. From where I was, I could tell that fire wasn't normal. There was something very different about how it illuminated the place with a green glow.

Several shadows danced around the fire... or I thought until I noticed the glowing red eyes of those shadows. A shiver ran down my spine, and I could feel cold beads of sweat all over my forehead while I took in the view.

Those weren't shadows. No. They looked like them, but I realised they were some creatures I had never seen before. I mentally flipped through the book that recorded all the creatures the Council governed, but those creatures weren't on the list. In fact, I was sure that it was the first time I had seen that kind of creature, and they hadn't been recorded anywhere.

I shot a look at Grim, whose eyes were also fixed on those creatures. His jaw was clenched unnaturally tight, making me wonder if he knew what those were. I glanced back at those creatures and realised they tended to the strange fire surrounding the swirling void.

I moved a little to get a better view and finally noticed a group of humans huddled in the corner. One of those towering, dark creatures lingered around those humans as if keeping watch. I couldn't make out much of their face from where I was, but I could feel their terror from the place of my hiding.

I'd be shitting myself if one of those creatures ever ventured anywhere close to me. The creature watching the humans moved a bit, and suddenly, I saw a familiar face rise from the group of humans. My eyes widened as I stared at him in surprise. It was the man I had been looking for for the past six months— the same man Fiona had been berating me for. And here he was! I finally found him!

"That's Victor!" I gasped. However, the sense of achievement was soon replaced by dread and so many questions. Grim's head snapped towards me, and he hissed at me.

"I told you to stay close to me, Veronica," He moved so fast, his arm going around me. I wanted to push him away, but I clung to him instead as another shiver ran down my spine. Despite the fire, the place was unnaturally cold. I didn't realise this until I felt his warmth.