What Lies Beneath His Pelt?

CHAPTER 8: ESCAPE

"What happened when they faced off?" It was Edmund who spoke. I realized that his bruises and cuts were gone.

"No one knows. That was the end of the legend." Ciara replied as she stretched and I caught a glimpse of her stomach as her shirt rose a bit.

My mind went somewhere else once again and I tried my best to inhale the smell of pine instead of her lemon and lavender.

Maldicidenti! Why is it so strong?

"What? That can't be it. I mean how did they name the creature? And how did that creature come to be?" It was Liam who spoke. He was angered.

"The story was written in Ghigau's language, so their word for the monster was 'Hadansmuto'. That's how it got the name. As for how it came to be, my grandmother told me that the Hadansmuto were mages who practiced dark magic and when they wore the pelt of the animal, they got the energy of the pelt and mixed that with dark magic, and well…" she shrugged.

"Ghigau's language? What language was that?" I was glad that my curiosity won over my lust.

"The original language of Daemomachi-Dachi. Only those from the royal family know it, but my grandmother learned some from the Queen before. She was her lady-in-waiting but after they were overthrown by the current Regno, she was also removed. We're lucky they kept her alive, you know, otherwise, I wouldn't be here."

I was about to say something else when she straightened up. She put a finger on her lips and told us to keep quiet. A servanuli appeared beside her and whispered something in her ear. She nodded.

She spoke with it and I couldn't listen no matter how hard I tried, even with my superior hearing. It took a few seconds before she turned to us.

"Guys, we need to go. They are coming." She said as she drew lines on one of the counters.

"They? As in they?" Edmund asked. His heartbeat sped up and his breathing came in short bursts.

"Edmund, you need to relax. You're still exhausted. And yes, they, the Kage Opus." She finished and at the same time, she lifted her finger from the countertop.

"What? How did they know where we were? Aren't your barriers working?" Liam asked hysterically as he pulled out his gun from beneath his coat. I watched as an orb appeared in his hand and he used it to load his gun.

"They are working perfectly, thank you very much! Your car was tagged, i***t! They saw it enter the Silvaten!" Ciara shouted and I was surprised by her outburst.

"But they won't hurt us, right? I mean I can just be a friend visiting late at night with my other friend." Liam said and the glare that Ciara shot him burned through me as well.

"Oh yeah, that's normal. Just two friends coming in for a late-night visit with two children who were tagged as missing." She said sarcastically, but when she turned to Victor and Edmund, her gaze softened.

"Don't worry, I am not blaming you two. Liam was just stupid for not informing us before you came, so we could have employed a mirage to mislead them."

"Hey wait a minute!" Liam exclaimed, but I knew that the longer they argued the closer the Kage Opus was, so I decided to step in.

"Shut up both of you! Instead of arguing, why don't we think about how to get out hmmm?"

Ciara took a deep breath and straightened, once again retaining her composure.

"Yes, you're right. I apologize. We will deal with them as issues like this might ruin our image. You four will head on to our other house and wait. Ignis will lead you." And at once the counter she drew on glowed and a huge flame shaped like a bird burst out from the hole that appeared on the surface.

There was a caw and slowly the flame vanished, leaving a phoenix in its wake. It brightened up the entire room and it was twice the size of a peacock.

Ciara spoke with it in a language I couldn't recognize and it turned its attention towards us.

"If something happens, I'll know. Now, go. I will take care of everything, just watch each other's backs." An opening appeared on the wall and the phoenix went in first. Liam followed, Edmund and Victor trailed afterward, and then me.

Before the opening closed, she popped her knuckles and a grin appeared on her face.

Before I could say anything, we were engulfed in darkness but it only lasted a second before we found ourselves inside a cave with a glowing water hole in the middle.

The Phoenix jumped into the hole and we followed suit. The water was strangely warm and as we sunk into the bottom, another hole appeared. The phoenix went through it as well. When we emerged, we were in another cave and we were met by a tall and slender girl. Her black, shoulder-length hair was adorned with side braids and I noticed that her eyes were golden.

"I'm surprised, Liam. You don't look ashamed. I was hoping Cia screamed your ear off." She mused as she trained her gaze at us.

"I was saved by an angel, Lils." Liam mused as he pointed at me. Her gaze turned my way.

"Uh-huh. Alright, before we let you in, we have to cleanse your energy. It's usually the three of us who do it, but since Cia had to clean up your mess, it's just Grace and me." And as if on cue, Grace appeared beside her.

"Alright. Ready?" Lils mused as Grace moved to the other side of the cave. We simply nodded and they stretched out their arms to the side. At once, indigo-colored lines appeared on the floor and the walls. It formed a grid and I felt a surge of energy around us. It was pure, strong, and powerful. I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by it.

It took a few seconds before everything died down and they directed us toward a passageway that opened up to a lobby.

The lobby was wide and huge, probably the size of a football field, and it also had high ceilings.

A grand staircase stood in the middle and behind the staircase was a huge floor-to-ceiling window that was draped with red and black curtains. The moon on its waxing gibbous stage peeked through.

A huge cascading chandelier flooded the room with light and there were small chandeliers around it.

There were three sets of indoor balconies, each had a glass window that covered them.

Four sets of double doors decorated the sides. They protruded from the walls and when I walked to one side of the door, I saw that a narrow staircase led up to the second floor.

"Wow. This place is huge!" Edmund exclaimed. I nodded in agreement.

"Indeed it is, so Calum, Victor, and Edmund will be staying here with us for now. Liam can take care of himself." Ciara's voice came from behind us. When I turned, she was already locking the door.

She now wore a loose black t-shirt dress that had moon phases lined in the middle, leggings, and her boots. Her hair fell like waves until her waist with only a crescent moon clip pinned on one side. She seemed to glow differently and a heavy feeling settled in my gut, but I ignored it. Victor ran towards her and she carried him again.

"Can't I stay here?" Liam pouted and it was Grace who gave a humorless laugh.

"Oh yeah? I hope Lexus won't mind. Why don't you ask him first?" She hissed. That was the first time I heard the bitterness in Grace's tone.

"Grace, there are sweets in the pantry. Let's get some? Cia will tour them around." Lils mused as she grabbed Grace's arm and dragged her away. She gave one last look at Liam before they disappeared.

"Who is Lexus?" I asked as I turned to him. He looked away.

"My twin. He doesn't like going out too much and keeps a lot to himself," Liam mused. I simply nodded.

I wanted to ask more about it but he seemed uncomfortable so I let it slide and turned my gaze toward Ciara who cooed at Victor.

"So uh how did the talk with the Kage Opus go?" I asked. She turned towards me with a smile.

"Oh, it went well. Don't worry about it. They favored Daemomachi residents after all. I let them off with a...warning."

"Oh, alright, I see. That's good to know."

"Indeed it is. Let's check the living room, yeah?"

Ciara toured us around the house, which was a mixture of floor-to-ceiling windows, dark wood, and rustic-style furniture. I was beyond amazed by this mansion.

However, as we walked around, I didn't see anyone else and my instincts started screaming.

"Hey, Cia, it's just the three of you here?" I asked as I used the nickname Grace and Lils referred to her. I waited for her to tell me to not call her that but was surprised when she didn't.

"Most of the time. My older brother is always in his room because of his job and our parents are in another country doing whatever. If we need help cleaning up, we ask the servanuli to come." She replied. I rubbed the back of my neck.

"You have an older brother?" I asked and she opened her mouth to reply when a low voice came up.

"Yes, she does. I'm surprised, Ciara, you don't usually bring home strays. Are they for dinner?"

What the f**k?

Slowly, I turned and I found myself face-to-face with a guy that was taller than me (which was something since I stood at 6'5"). Although he was slender, the way he carried himself was enough to intimidate me. His hair was sky blue, the same color as Victor's and he had a high fade. The thick part of his hair was long and braided and his grey-green eyes were ancient-looking. He smelled strongly of tobacco and as he moved toward me, I took a step back.

"Figlionii!" Victor shouted as he jumped out of Cia's arms and latched himself onto this guy's legs.

"What on-" he paused as he looked down at him. I knew I should take Victor away from him but I was frozen in place.

"Figlionii!" Victor continued, and I was surprised at what the other guy did.

Why? Well, it was because he cried. No scratch that-he bawled. And sniffed. And cried some more.

*****

Thank you so much for your support and patience! You can see chapter art from the story on my i********:, artbyellysse, or my Deviantart, reza-delavega. Do not forget to leave a comment if you want!