29 Ljósauki

Raven stared at the creature walking towards them on its hind legs.

The creature's body seemed to be a mix of that of a man and that of a beast. Her eyes swept over its long reptilian tail and slowly her gaze travelled over its large, black body. Her eyes rested for a moment on the big scar on its side that had a faint but familiar glow to it. Her eyes moved to its large claws hanging by its side. They too seemed familiar.

Finally, her eyes reached the beast's face. Its snout was long and its lips were parted to reveal its razor-sharp teeth and to Raven, it looked as if the creature was grinning at them. Ears like that of a fox emerged from its long hair. One of its eyes were black like that of a Shadow Beast's while the other was a deep blue colour. Raven was shocked to see that it looked more like a human's eye than that of a beast.

'Are you shocked, Ljósauki?', Raven heard the creature say.

"What are you?", she asked.

The creature chuckled.

"Is it just me or did 'at thin' just laugh?", Brongr asked.

The creature turned its gaze towards Brongr.

'Your companion is quite…amusing…', the creature said as it chuckled again. 'As for your question about what I am, well…you'll find that out for yourself. But not today. I'm merely here to bring you a message', Raven heard the creature speak in her mind.

"What message?"

Hearing Raven's sudden words, confused the two men.

"Whit are you talking about, lass?", Brongr asked as he glanced at Raven for a moment before turning his gaze back to the creature.

"Bring the sword to the swamp, or else…", the creature said in a deep, hoarse yet powerful voice.

"Or else what?", Axil asked.

The creature chuckled again as an ominous grin appeared on its face.

"Or else the souls of your parents and all those innocent people would be lost and enslaved by the Njóladóttir, daughter of darkness", it said as it looked at Raven.

'Do you really want that, Ljòsauki?', the creature's voice echoed in her mind.

"Ye filthy-", Brongr started to say but the creature continued talking as if he didn't even hear the big man.

"It is quite the decision to make, I know…Thus the Njóladóttir will give you some time to think about it. I will return one week from today. By then, I hope you'll be able to give me a good answer", it said as it turned around.

"Until then, Ljósauki. Enjoy my gift to you!", the creature said as it disappeared between the Shadow Beasts.

"How thoughtful…", Raven said dryly as she watched it disappear out of her line of sight.

"How can that thin' talk? More importantly, what was that thin'?" Brongr asked, confused.

"I think that is a bit irrelevant at the moment", Axil said.

The beasts closed in on the three of them at a slow pace.

"The most vulnerable place to strike is the belly", Raven said as she drew her sword silently.

'Push your thoughts away, Raven. No time to think about that creature. Focus, Raven, focus', she thought as she took a deep breath.

She slowly exhaled as her mind became clear. She stood up straight, the sword in her right hand remaining calmly by her side.

The first beast made its move.

It lunged at Raven with bared teeth. Raven calmly sidestepped the beast. The latter, seeing its attack fail, retreated back to the rest of the beasts.

"They are testing us. Don't waste all your energy now."

"Testing us?"

Two of the beasts made their moves against Axil and Brongr simultaneously. Brongr stepped backwards, narrowly avoiding the beast as Axil ducked out of both beast's way.

"Yes, to determine our speed and strength."

"Anythin' else we ought to know lass?", Brongr asked as he eyed the beasts surrounding them.

"Believe it or not, these things hate being taunted and will be more vulnerable if they attack in anger."

"So when are they going to actually attack us?"

"As soon as their leader gives the signal."

And at that moment, as if on cue, a big beast walks closer. It lowers its head between its front legs as every feather from its mane rises in unison. It opened its mouth slightly to allow the powerful sound to escape its throat. The sizzling whine echoed through the air as the feathers on the beast's neck quiver along to the sound.

Hearing the beast's signal, Raven clutched the sword in her hand even tighter.

"The battle begins…"

***

A shadow passes the bridge in mere seconds.

When it reaches the gate, the shadow pauses for a few moments. After a few seconds, the gate suddenly opens. The shadow passes through and continues into the Death Swamp. It moves through the muddy swamp with unimaginable speed and grace, leaving no trail behind it. It continues on until it reaches a clearing near the ruins of a massive archway.

It stops and suddenly the shadow takes on the form of a man. The man kneels down on his one knee and bends his head down.

"I have done as you asked, my lady", the man said, his voice steady and laced with indifference.

A long silence follows his words but he remains in his kneeled position.

"As expected from my most loyal servant", a female voice sounds from behind what once was an archway.

"And?", the voice asked.

"They seemed rather oblivious, my lady. In fact, I doubt they know anything at all", the man said, his head still lowered in a submissive bow.

A soft laugh echoes through the thick air.

"Good…very good", the voice said with amusement dripping off of every word. "This makes things so much easier", the voice continued.

"Easier, my lady?", the man asked, confused as he dared to lift his head slightly.

"Indeed", the voice said. "My plans are falling into place…"

An ominous silence followed the foreboding words. Another soft, mocking laugh broke the silence.

"That old fool…Oh, how his hope was horribly misplaced…", the voice said in cold mockery. "If he could only be here to see his prophecy be proven worthless. If he could only see his precious Light Descendant – weak and oblivious!", the voice continued.

"Perhaps I should have let him live long enough to watch me rise. Maybe I killed him too soon. I would've enjoyed making him watch as I run the Light Descendant through with that prophecy sword of his. Ah well, we all make mistakes, don't we?"

And once more a sardonic laugh echoed through the air…