29 Chapter 28 forest of darkness

There is something morbid in the woods and I feel its presence all around us. I try not to look. Keeping my gaze on Azrael's tall form. I realized I'm starting to have an unnatural sixth sense I didn't possess until now. I was changing. something in me was changing and I could feel it. I try not to think about it because it puts me in a state of panic. Right now thats exactly what's happening.

I was Panicking.

light energy starts sizzling from my body again and Azrael immediately stops in his tracks. He turns around and grabs me close to his chest, using his cloak to cover us both making sure the light my body is producing won't be seen.

"Control yourself." He gritted out, annoyed by what was happening. That's not making my situation any better.

"you're going to attract them to you if you don't stop."

well, that was enough to put a chill down my spine. "H-how? I don't know what's happening." I say, my hands trembling at my sides.

"Close your eyes and take a deep breath." I closed my eyes and did just that.

It didn't help.

"Okay now focus on calling back your power. You can do that when you know you're safe." I wanted to snort at that. Safe? with whom? him? Surrounded by what? demons?

"Focus Aurora." Azrael clipped out getting agitated. I can hear the noise of critters all around us, and I knew that sound wasn't normal. It was coming closer.

Azreal pressed me tighter against his chest shielding my view.

Okay focus. I closed my eyes and imagined the meadow I visited with my mother when I was younger. . She loved nature and folklore and would tell me stories about angels that visited the earth for bedtime stories. Images of the cottage I grew up in flashed in my mind's eye. Play fights with Lucy and the fish in clear blue lakes. Mother hated the city and for a good reason. The cities were the first to go down. We were relatively safe away from all trouble at first. That's right. There were times when I was once happy. I let those memories wash over me, allowing them to ease my mind with a sense of calm.

My body's glow dimmed until it faded away completely. The sound of critters around us lessened but I knew they were still hiding in the shadows.

Azrael took a step back, his cloak pulling away from my shoulders.

I glanced up at his face and noticed his frustrated scowl. It's funny because I haven't seen him express this many emotions before now.

He must hate being turned into a human.

"Are you done being an imbecile?"

I gaped at him in response.

"I didn't ask to be here!"

"No you didn't," he whispered in a dry tone.

He turned around and started to walk again.

I tried my very best to ignore whatever it is that was lurking in the dark. I tried to divert my attention by talking to him. To get my mind off the dangers I'm surrounded by.

"Why do you keep me with you?" I ask my tone dripping with frustration as I walked beside him. keeping my fear at bay.

Don't think about it. You're okay. I kept repeating to myself. His pace is slower than usual and I know it's to accommodate my small steps. It feels strange to walk beside him. I was always behind him, forced to follow him like a dog.

I looked up and noticed that he was in deep thought.

He looked down at me from the side, tilting his head curiously.

"Because I can."

I gaped at him again. I swear I hate him more and more every single day.

At least he didn't try to touch me after the incident at the lab. I didn't try to understand the feeling of disappointment at the lack of touch. Nope. I refuse to admit that it's something I enjoyed. I was forced into this situation and brainwashed. That had to be it.

I touched the area on my neck that was bitten. It was sensitive to my touch.

Azrael pushed my hand away from it.

"Don't touch. let it heal."

oh, the audacity.

"No one told you to bite me you- you animal!"

His lips curled up in response.

"I wouldn't if you obeyed my orders and stayed put when I told you to." What does that have to do with him biting me? Is he insane?

"Why would I when I'm held captive against my will."

"you made a deal. you traded your life for your sisters so you have to hold your end of the bargain."

I kicked the dirt in front of my feet in frustration.

"That is unfair you put me in that situation. You gave me no choice."

"I don't care." he retorted. If I could find a way to kill the arrogant creature I would do it in seconds. However, I have no chance against him right now so I'm stuck here. I could see shadows moving in the darkness of the trees and tried my best not to look. Trying not to be scared.

We kept walking until we came across a small clearing with soft grass underneath my bare feet. My feet were swollen and injured but I paid no mind. There is nothing I could do about it anyway.

The trees surrounded the area in a perfect circle, the moon illuminating the forest floor in silver gray.

"we will rest here tonight."

I glanced at Azrael as he lowered himself to the ground gracefully. He's like a giant feline. Every action he took seemed so calculated and it was a complete contrast to my clumsy self. however, It's the first time I've seen him a bit under the weather or remotely tired. His silver strands had turned black completely. No wonder he's so fussy, looks like he hates being human. I supposed karma was real.

"go to sleep." He muttered in annoyance as if he could hear my train of thought. I watched him lay down, his back towards me. I bet he was so angry that he wish I died sooner. It made me wonder why he won't kill me and just get it over with sooner.

I started to grab pieces of wood to start a fire to keep the cold at bay. The forest was misty and chilly and the clothing Ragnar gave me did little to keep me warm.

I tried to make a fire for a good half an hour but everything was just so damp. I let out a yell of frustration and plopped down a good distance away from Azrael's sleeping form. Was he sleeping? I couldn't tell. I've never seen him sleep before.

I stared up at the dark canopy above me trying to figure out what I should do now. The Zakeriens we're actively looking for us and even if I managed to get away from Azrael I'll have to go into permanent hiding. If I do escape I should find Eden and my way back to the resistance. They want me dead and I have a strong feeling it's because of the strange power that's starting to show up inside me. Now that I think back on it I didn't die when Azrael shot his dark energy at me so I may have had this for a long time without even realizing it.

But I don't understand. When I was younger there were no signs of me having such weird abilities.

I thought back to my childhood. Wondering if there was anything strange I was not remembering. I closed my eyes and a memory of my mother shushing me back to sleep came to mind after waking up in the middle of the night. The little plants in the jars that were kept in my room were overgrown with so many colorful flowers within one night. My mother said that they were special flowers and that the fairies probably came and blessed them for them to grow. But even as a kid I knew that wasn't natural. I was too young to question her and when I got older I forgot about it completely.

what...if it was something else? What if she was hiding something from me? She never let me go to school even though Lucy got enrolled when she was younger. Mother said that she was lonely and needed extra hands back at home and that she could teach me whatever I needed to learn. Was that the actual reason? was there another reason she kept me sheltered away?

I palmed my eyes in frustration wishing for my tired body to sleep already. For these confusing thoughts to go away.

grumbling I turned to my side to face the trees.

I froze immediately.

Come on god give me a break.

In the darkness, I could see multiple glowing eyes. Eyes that were shaped into a perfect circle and there were so many of them.

I tried not to move from my spot.

maybe if I played dead they would go away. unfortunately, I've come to realize that im not very lucky.

A creature slowly emerged from the dark and I could hear the noise of critters once again.

Oh no.

It was bony and looked humanoid. It was bent at an odd angle as it crawled forward on all fours. Their eyes were glowing white but their face was bony and shallow as if they hadn't eaten for days. I could see sharp black teeth jutting out from their skinny jaws.

"Azrael," I whispered furiously as I got to my feet in a hurry. The creature took a step forward and another followed.

"Azrael!"

I ran up to him and started to shake his massive form. His eyes were closed and there was no response.

"Come on now is not the time to sleep!" I yelled.

The creatures started to come closer and closer.

I grabbed a long stick that was beside my feet and pointed it at the one that was crawling towards me slowly.

"Back! back you vicious beast!" I yelled threatening to stab it with this useless twig.

Of course, it had no effect.

I started to shake Azrael again but there still was no response. Something was wrong with him.

I whimpered in panic.

This just can't be it.