Chapter 18
One went straight through his head, shattered his clavicles and submitted his brain to the ground while the other tore his heart and snatched life out of him. Immediately, he relinquished his clasp on the gun and fell down supinely, dead. Salmad didn’t see his death coming, of course he would have adopted proper measure to debar it. The bullets had been laced with wolfsbane, a dangerous poison to the werewolves kind. He didn’t get to shoot Ryan before death came clasping him away.
“Find Ryan! Kill them all! Meshach voice sounded, while troops of the Lamiae poured out as reply to unleash an extempore attacks on the assailants.
Meshach, who was the leader of the vampires had seen the presage of the demise of Ryan and had immediately assembled the Lamiae soldiers to save him. Salmad was oblivious of danger lurking around the rain. The heavy rain that poured like the days of Noah was enough to hint him alertness, the gust wind that preceded it was the sign he needed to know Ryan had announced his death, but Salmad was consumed by his myopic mind and languor.
Amidst the clunking of horse’s hooves on the earth surface and the clanking of the spears and arrow brushing each other with tons of muffled groans of pain of warriors acceding to death, Regina found a way to untie herself from the fetters shackles and leash keeping her in bondage, then crawled to the point Ryan was dragged to. On getting to the point, raft of dead bodies greeted her sight. The fallen warriors were undoubtedly the Larabas. The Larabas were girded with weapons ranging from spears and arrows, the Lamiae didn’t come with any artillery or handy weapons–they came using their vampirish-stunt, and that had given them upper hand in the fight. They snagged oodles of the Laraba’s assailants and eventually ended their lifes with fatal bites–sliping their deathly toxins into them.
Regina began searching for Ryan among the carcases that littered the ground, but couldn’t find Ryan. Dead or alive–she didn’t find any. She was sure Ryan was not dead. Salmad didn’t get a chance to pull the trigger before he was shot by the unknown
“Where are you Ryan, common where are you ?” Depredation was slinking into her as she couldn’t find him. Ryan was not dead–but worse still, he wasn’t here. But what could have happened ? Her hand caught something among the cadavers, it was a talisman. The talisman Ryan asked her to remove and keep for their unborn child. She picked it up and tucked it into her garment. But Ryan wouldn’t have intentionally left the talisman for her and bunk off. He loved her so he would never avoid her.
“Regina we have to go. Ryan is not here. He is gone. You just have to accept that” Meshach’s voice hoofed in. His voice made her raise her face to see the twerp that just pronounced the most meaningless word she ever heard in her entire life. Meshach words didn’t help matters. As a matter of fact they had stretched the anger in her; the ire that could make her quickly borrow Tom Cruise’s gun to shoot him straight in the mouth, or perhaps begged the ghost of Osama Bin Laden to lease her one grenade to blast his oral cavity.
“What did you just say?” She said, as palpable anger filtered out in her words.
“I said Ryan is gone, and you should learn to accept that” Meshach repeated his gimcrackery statement, fueling the flame of anger inside Regina.
“I’m sorry to say this, but what you just said is the most dumbest thing that ever slipped out of a mouth hole in my life” Regina said then moved closer to Meshach. “I was there when you people shoot the Salmad, the man that held him on bondage, so there was no..”
“We didn’t shoot Salmad!” Meshach defended. “We don’t hold guns, we are not using weapon to fight. You can take a good look”
Regina peered her eyes on the fighters fighting around and noticed the Lamiae were not with weapon. Instead all they did was snag with their claws and bite with their fangs. The sight was horrible to her.
“Who are you people? Are you people monsters ?” She mewled shoulderingly with fears peeping out of her face.
“Look Regina, we have to go. There’s no time to waist.”
“I’m not moving an inch without Ryan with me”
“You see Regina, the truth is Ryan has been abducted. And going by my reasoning, I think the person who is responsible for the death of Salmad is also responsible for his kidnap. So I think the best thing for us to do now is keeping you safe then we will help you find him later. Let us help him keep you save for him”
“Okay” Regina consented. Her anger had fast dissipated. “Promise me you will find him”
“I will” Meshach behest. Then he exited the cave alongside the Lamiae soldiers.
.
Scent of fresh blood pervaded the air. It also hit their nostrils. Every oxygen they took had the stench of blood. Death. They took took further steps inside the cave and the worse hit them. The piles of dead bodies and the gory sight of blood coupled with the scrambled state of the cave yelled to them that something brutal had just happened.
Lazarus and Alzarius had also caught the presage of the demise of Ryan and had come to help him, but the two was late in coming. The first thought that appeared to them was that Ryan had dammed the consequences and had later decided to remove the talisman to fight his assailant. But if that was the case, he wouldn’t have announced his death in such manner. Ryan would only announce his death at the point of dying. He would never cozen anyone into believing otherwise.
“What’s happening? Where could Ryan be ?? The question slipped out of Lazarus mouth without being directed to a particular recipient. But Alzarius couldn’t ignore it.
“I think Ryan has been kidnapped. I have the feelings he has been kidnapped but I can’t say who would do that to him ?”
“Can you find him ?”
There was a long silence. Then a heavy sigh from her punctured it. Accompanied with some incoherent words coming from her mouth in form of whispers. Her eyes were shut tight. While she maintained a yoga position. Alzarius was casting a spell. “I’m trying but the person seemed to be adroit in the use of magic or probably the person implored the help of a powerful witch to help him erase his steps.” Alzarius responded with sad face.
“Ok can you at least see how he is fairing ? Hope is not hurt ?”
Another longer silent presided the moment before Alzarius went on to cast some spells. By the time Alzarius was through, her face was gloomy and crestfallen,– and it carried bad news along.
“He’s in pain. Ryan is dying.”
.
“You’re a failure Luciana. A total failure.” The irate woman slammed at the alpha. Luciana was speechless. Situation had given Xtiana to babbled at her. Xtiana had been her sterling opposition of all time. Right from her inception as the alpha to the werewolves pack in Laraba, Xtiana had always posed her dissatisfaction. Of course she believed she also possessed the same qualities that won Luciana the position. She had always been looking for the right time oust her from her post and now was the time.
“I lost my husband and ..””
“And we lost Ryan too. With thousands of fallen soldiers all because of stupid plans” Xtian countered while the rest of the council members nodded to approve what Xtiana just said.
“But Ryan is dead. Salmad shot him”
“Then prove that with his cadaver Lucy. You can’t expect us to dwell on your filthy hearsay”
Luciana bit her lips. Her face like kaleidoscope portrayed how confused she was and frustrated too. “Give sometime more to prove Ryan is really dead”
“Come of it Lucy. How many time would you ask for that ? This isnt even your hundredth time you demanded for another chance to produce the death of Ryan, so how sure are you you woudn’t flop again ? You see, the truth is that the council won’t hear of this again. it’s over for you Luciana. It shows you are not competent enough, and I think you should step down for another person to take up the task.” Xtiana said. While everything she said was spiced with muffled mumblings and dragging of feet of the remaining members present at the meeting. It meant everyone of them were in support to what Xtiana said. Too bad they’ve all collided to oust her from the position.
“Luciana, you have been removed as our alpha. You no longer hold any authority or whatsoever in the council. Nevertheless you are not barred from being the member of the council but the choice to retain your membership stays with you.” Xtiana lisped with preen aura of authority while Luciana’s eyes flustered with tears. Salmad was gone, while the position she fought inexhaustibly to retain had slipped of her hand–All because of Ryan.
Anyways, the Thalia’s prophecy snuck to her mind and that arose another tiny hope. Her unborn daughter would grow to be the last sentinel and the last hope of werewolf kind. At the surfaced of the prohesy in her heart, a name surfaced along with it. The name she would give her daughter. A smile plopped on her face to erase the cresfallen one.
“Tamara” She muttered. “I will name you Tamara because I know you grow to be strong and beautiful.”
Story continues..