Chapter 39

Daylight shone through the cave entrance upon all three of them as they got ready to head out for the day. Within the day the three of them would reach the gateway to the Void where Jade could return to the Void to cleanse his soul. What the three of them were not hoping to see when they came to the edge of the trees after passing through the mountainside was the sight of Logan and Silvester standing tall in the clearing waiting for them. Behind them they could see the gateway to the Void.

The gateway was in the middle of the clearing and looked like the frame of a doorway made of bricks. There was no real door on it but if you glanced at it you could see the hue of blue, white, and purple distorting about in the air within it as if it lead to a whole new dimension. The gateway to the Void was as its name suggested; a gateway that lead into nothingness. That was in fact what faeries of the Void were made of. If Jade wanted to cleanse himself he would have to return to the Void. It would not harm him because he was apart of that Void but the idea was still enough to make one who'd never experienced it shudder at the sight.

In order to get to the gateway though he would have to pass Logan and Silvester who were standing in wait for them. There was no way Jade felt comfortable leaving Noel behind in the situation where he would become alone with the man. Knowing how Logan and Silvester were if he left them both behind for the gateway he knew something would happen to the barkeep. As he turned to glance at the two of them he could see Capricorn's face as he tried to think of a plan to get him past them.

Stepping out into the clearing he could hear the silent protest that Capricorn wanted to make as they both reached out to stop Jade but couldn't. Leaving the coverage of the treeline he took slow steps towards Logan and Silvester with his head held high. The small calico on his shoulder nestled in his hair purred away at the warmth of its master as they moved forward. Jade thought about putting the calico down in the grass but as he reached his hand up to grab hold of it the cat smacked at his hand as if in protest causing him to leave it where it lay.

"Don't regret it later." Jade whispered to the calico as he offered it the chance to change its mind. The only response the cat gave was to meow and glare at the two men they were approaching as if it wasn't going to waver in its choice to remain with its master. Its loyalty to Jade was unwavering in the slightest. Behind him he could hear Capricorn and Noel coming out of the treeline as they were unsure what was in store for them. Capricorn held out his arm slightly to the side to keep Noel from darting after Jade.

"You actually came out," Logan shouted out at Jade as he remained standing in place. "I don't know whether to consider you brave or simply arrogant."

"The one who is arrogant is not me." Jade spoke back without wavering. The sound of the purring calico and the memory of the warmth Noel had given him in his heart kept him going. He would not allow himself to waver and let Noel fall victim to Logan by abandoning him for the gateway.

"Let's see who's arrogant when you're nothing but a corpse. I warned you before you belong to me, Jade." Logan smirked with a icy cold glare in his eyes.

"Today, Logan, I wont be the one who's a corpse." Jade glared back at him with a fire in his eyes that Logan had never seen before.

It felt to Logan as if he was staring at someone he had never met before. The look that was in Jade's eyes was much more content and at peace with himself than he had ever been before. He was not certain what had happened to give the man such faith in himself but he did not care in the least. Logan could not let go of the rage in his heart. Wanting badly to see Jade fall to his knees in front of him he could only think of putting an end to the life that so badly wanted to run from him.

The nails on Jade's fingertips began to extend like blades from his hand. His single black wing pinned tightly back against his back as he took a few more steps in Logan's direction. Silvester was off to the side standing silently as he watched. He was aware that Silvester was watching him closely and could only watch him carefully from the corner of his eye that the man did not make any underhanded move against him. No matter how he expected the man to react, however, Silvester slowly turned and walked in Capricorn's direction with a playful smile on his face.

Capricorn quickly shoved Noel down into a bush away from him as a loud roar erupted from his throat like a wild beast. Launching themselves from the ground Capricorn and Silvester collided with one another in a head on collision. Capricorn knew he stood no chance in a head on battle with Silvester but he would not back down without a fight for the sake of his prince's life. At the very least he could buy time for Jade to take care of things on his end while protecting the one who he knew was important to him.

Silvester did not care about Noel in the slightest because he was nothing but a flea in his eye. A regular human was nothing to him who was also a faerie of the Void, of normal standing. He was still someone of a ranking that was hard to be pinned up against.