28 Strange creature

Raven bundled the wet clothes together and stood up.

Her gaze rested for a few seconds on the white-haired man's back. He still sat in the same position as he did before her outburst.

{"Maybe I overreacted? Perhaps he just wanted to help me?"}, she thought. {"No! He shouldn't have stuck his nose into my business…"}, she thought, angry all over again.

She marched past Axil.

"Raven wait!", Axil called out to her.

She ignored him and kept on walking. He quickly got up, grabbed his satchel and followed Raven. Finally catching up to her he spoke.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have pried like that!"

Raven scoffed.

"Yes, well…it's a bit late for an apology, don't you think?", she said sharply.

Axil sighed. "All I can say is, I'm sorry…I just wanted to help…"

"I don't need your help!", Raven snapped as she swirled around to face the white-haired man.

Axil stopped dead in his tracks.

"Why can't you just leave me alone!?", Raven yelled at him, tossing the wet clothes down furiously.

"My life was perfectly fine before you and Brongr came here!", she bawled as she planted her fists firmly on her hips.

"Somehow I don't think that is the truth", Axil suddenly said.

Raven looked at him stupefied. Realizing what he had just said, Axil mentally smacked himself.

Raven could not believe her ears.

She gave a step forward, lifting her hand threateningly to his face and nearly pressed her finger against Axil's nose as she looked at him angrily.

"You just don't get it, do you?", she said. "I don't like people sticking their noses in places that they shouldn't. So stop bothering me, or else I will-", Raven said threateningly, but suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

A strange, cold darkness suddenly washed over her.

She froze.

Axil noticed Raven's sudden behaviour and looked at her with a frown.

"What is it?"

Raven backed away from Axil and glanced around.

"I don't know. I just…I got this strange feeling…I've felt it before, but I can't remember where or when", she said, the frown on her face matching the white-haired man's.

Axil silently looked at Raven as he thought about what she had just said. "What kind of feeling?", he finally asked.

"I told you, a strange feeling…one that I am sure I've felt before. I've felt this…coldness…this…darkness before", Raven answered.

"Cold darkness?", Axil asked, tone laced with worry and anxiety.

But before Raven could answer, she felt a cold sting in her right shoulder. She gasped at the sudden feeling and clutched her shoulder in surprise.

And then it dawned upon her.

She had felt this coldness before.

The night her parents died.

The night she was attacked by that beast.

As the memories flashed through her mind, a familiar smell entered her nostrils. The smell of moist soil mixed with the peculiar stench of death, laced with the sweet smell of wildflowers.

"Oh no", Raven muttered as she recognized that smell.

"Oh no, what?"

But before Raven could answer, they heard a scream.

"Run!", the voice shouted.

A big figure suddenly appeared between the trees, running towards them.

"Run ye fools!", the figure yelled at them.

"Brongr? What's going on?"

"Black beast, lass! Run!", Brongr yawped.

His words barely left his mouth when Raven and Axil spotted the black beast at the same time as it leapt at the still approaching Brongr.

Raven reached for her dagger at lightning speed while Axil summoned his magic. With one swift motion, Raven swirled around and hurled the dagger at the beast. A ball of silver mist followed her dagger as the two reached their target in unison.

The beast's limp body fell on top of Brongr and he tumbled to the ground.

"Shadow Beasts", Raven said. "Running isn't going to help you, Brongr", she said as she scanned their surroundings.

Brongr pushed they dead beast off of him and stood up. He looked at the dead beast for a few seconds before he bends down and pulled the dagger free from the beast.

"Lass, runnin' was th' only option at th' time", he said as he glanced around. "There was at least twenty ay these things", he said as he walked up to Raven and handed her dagger back to her.

"Twenty?", Raven asked as she took the dagger.

"Aye, maybe more…did nae have time tae count properly."

Axil looked at Brongr and then at Raven.

"How can we escape them? I know we can take them but I'd rather avoid the conflict."

Raven sighed.

"We cannot escape them", she said. She sighed again and started to explain. "Shadow Beast usually stay in the Middle Ring and the Inner Ring. They never enter the Outer Ring. These beasts stay in the shadow and the only thing to give their presence away would be their stench".

"They all smell like 'at?", Brongr asked.

Raven nodded.

Axil frowned. "If they never come here then, why are they here?"

Raven looked at him. "Beastie wants me, for some reason, and since he can't leave the swamp, he is sending the Shadow Beasts to get me".

" 'at thin' doesn't sound like a creature…creatures can't be 'at intelligent, reit?"

"There's something else…do you smell that?", Raven asked them.

"I suppose it smells like a Shadow Beast."

"Yes but, it smells different…"

"I smell somethin' sweet…like…flowers?"

"Yes. This beast is different. It's watching us…stalking us. It looks different too."

An image suddenly appeared in Axil's mind. A flash of steel. Something dark, running off into a thicket. He looked at Raven. "The creature from your memories?"

Caught off guard by his sudden question, Raven just looked at him silently. "Yes", she finally answered.

A Shadow Beast slowly emerged from the shadows.

"Uh…we have a beast problem in case ye haven't noticed…", Brongr said as he reached for his sword.

"Wait!"

The beast growled loudly.

"Keep your movements slow…don't make a sudden move!", she said as she slowly moved her hand towards the sword on her hip.

One by one, the beasts emerged from the shadows, surrounding the three of them.

"Look out for the larger beasts. They are the pack leaders and are twice as strong as the rest of them."

"Lad, may I borrow 'at sword ay yours?", Brongr asked, his eyes firmly fixed on the beasts in front of him.

"What am I supposed to use if you take my sword?", Axil asked indignantly.

"Ye can use yer magic", Brongr stated.

"You do know that wielding magic isn't as simple as wielding a weapon?"

The three of them slowly retreated until they stood back to back, each of them prepared to defend themselves.

"Just give me th' sword, lad!", Brongr said urgently.

Axil hesitated for a few seconds before he slowly removed his sword from its scabbard and carefully handed it to Brongr.

"You'd better make sure I don't regret giving you my sword, old man."

"Thes sword is better off in my hans than in 'at novice hans ay yours", Brongr said as he readied himself, a sword in each hand.

"If by some luck you are still alive after this, I'm going to make sure you regret saying that", Axil threatened.

"Och, don't underestimate me, laddie!"

"Would you two stop your bickering?", Raven asked, annoyed.

Suddenly a loud, screeching roar filled the air and a strange creature approached the three of them.

'Well, well, it seems that you can sense me…how sad…I was truly hoping to surprise you, Ljósauki'…