Chapter Three

I knocked on one of my neighbor's doors, more specifically one of the Demigods. I knew that I might be a day or two away from my home and I couldn't let just my dogs fend for themselves. They also were picky about the people they liked and I was picky about who I (now) let into my space. Luckily, Adrian, who was half god half nymph, had been sort of my friend since I moved here and my dogs adored him. Plus I knew he wouldn't ask too many questions and would keep everything a secret.

"If you knock any harder you might break my door!" He growled as he swung the door open but his face relaxed when he saw it was me.

"Sorry, I didn't know if you were in the water or not." I offered a shrug with a light smile.

He sighed, "I was about to be, but what brings you over."

It was rare that I came over to bother Adrian, he was always the one coming over to my house. Although I'm sure it was more for the dogs and my food than to actually hang out.

"I'm leaving and I might be gone two days so I need someone to tend to my dogs."

"Two days? Yeah, I can do that. When are you leaving?" He propped his hip up on the door edge.

"Now. I already set their breakfast out and the sooner I leave the sooner I'm back." I explained.

He nodded, "Sure, I see no problem with it. Plus I love them dogs anyway."

I flashed him a smile, "Thanks, Adrian. I owe you one."

"When you get back you can just cook me two days worth of food to take back with me." He laughed.

"Deal."

We said our goodbyes and I quickly jogged back to my house to get my bag I packed. I didn't know what to expect so I packed the basics like water, food, backup clothes, and a first aid kit. I made sure to say goodbye to every dog before I closed my eyes and focused on my new location.

Teleporting between worlds took a lot of energy and focus and focus and not many people could do it or do it alone. The feeling was like having your body become like air as your entire body felt like it was being spun around in millions of circles at once. If you weren't careful you could find yourself dizzy and nauseous when you landed, which could lead to a very bad landing. Also if you weren't focused enough you could end up somewhere completely else, which wasn't fun. Trust me.

When I opened my eyes I was in Berber.

I was standing in what looked like a dying field. The grass was browning and the trees had very few leaves. The wind blew softly but still managed to kick up dirt while doing so. The air seemed to carry the smell of decay with it. There were no sounds of birds but I could see little critters traveling on the ground. I also spotted what looked like a dead deer on the ground as flies circled it.

I didn't know where I was located in Berber but the sensation of pulling told me I was close to where I needed to be. I followed the sensation and turned left before walking from the dying field and into the trees. I didn't have to think about every turn or twist because the sensation was guiding me and I chose to trust it.

The more I walked the more the dying trees seemed to become one more alive and I felt I was close but not there yet. I paused when I heard the sound of rustling and listened to see if I would hear it again. I looked around as I turned in a circle slowly, trying to see if I spotted something.

"Shit!" I ducked down when a crow flew at me.

I let out a sigh as I stood back up and started walking again. I can't believe I let a crow scare me, I grumbled to myself as I stepped over dead animals and crunching leaves. The area I was now in seemed to have dead animals at every couple of feet and I started to notice crows pecking at them or sitting in the tree. The trees seemed to be healthy but they didn't move and there was no wind like before.

And then I heard it.

A screeching roar that seemed to scare the crows into flying in the trees or the sky. Following the sound, I watched a little and medium-sized animals came running past me, clearly frightened. I wanted to turn away but I had to go in the same direction the sound came from.

"It just had to be Berber," I groaned as I let my sword materialize in my hand before straightening my shoulders and heading in the same direction the pulling sensation wanted me to.

I walked for about ten minutes before I saw it.

The word "It" seemed to fit it more than anything else I could think of. It stood bigger than ten of me stacked on top of each other and greek gods were tall. It was covered in matted brown fur but had missing patches where skin and bones would show. It seemed like maggots and flies took up home in those spots but the thing didn't mind. Its body seemed to be built on pure muscle and a little fat.

I stared at it eating what looked to be a bear, chewing on its torso like it was natural. The teeth of the thing were sharp and had chunks of flesh stuck between them and soon to be bear chunks. There were horns coming out of its head, one being broken, as the nose seemed to jut out from the rest of its face. The smell that was coming from it was worse than a week old decaying body and it made my nose scrunch up in distaste.

I moved to step back a bit and stepped on a twig, making it snap. It was at that moment that the sound of the twig seemed to have the same effect as a mass explosion ringing through the air. It stopped chewing and looked at me, dropping the very dead bear down to the ground with a thump. The eyes are a faded grey and it relieved me to know that it couldn't see me but only hear.

It stuck its nose up a bit and smelled the air before letting out another screeching roar.

Great, it can hear and smell me! I jumped to the side as it came barreling towards me, managing to dodge the attack of its body. I turned around and jumped back so I was now on the opposite side of it.

I ready my sword as my hand tightened on the handle, ignoring the sound of my heart pounding in my chest. As the thing turned towards me I noticed a wound on the side of its neck and knew if I struck there the blood loss would kill it. Well, I hoped the blood loss would kill it and do so fast.

It charged.

I jumped into the air and twisted to the side.

I let my sword swing out and slash the spot.

Its hand swung out and smacked me and I flew to the ground against a tree. Despite the ringing in my ear I quickly got up, stumbling a bit as I focused my eyes on the thing. I saw blood gushing out from where I had cut and the thing looked at me and roared in anger. It moved to come at me and I readied myself again but before it could it stumbled to the ground.

The wound on his neck was actually bigger than what I thought I had made, spilling blood out fast. Although it wasn't dead I knew as long as I didn't try to get close to it it wouldn't be a threat to me. I decided to just rush away, following the pulling sensation, as I kept my eye on the creature until I was far away from it.

Once the adrenalin washed away I could feel the pain beginning to rise in my body and knew I would be sore the next couple of days. I let out a groan as I stopped to rest for a few minutes so I could grab some water from my bag. I drunk the water like I didn't have water for days and it helped give me a bit more strength.

"Hoo." I looked up and saw a pure white owl looking at me.

"Hoooo."

I quickly gathered myself realizing I had managed to make it to Owling Night Forest. I thought I would have to worry about the maze and the owls driving me mad but it was like the pulling sensation canceled that out. I was able to ignore the owls if I focused clearly on the sensation guiding me.

I soon found myself entering a small cleared area and noticed the body laying on the ground. It was surrounded by a shimmering shield but I knew that was the guy. I remembered how he looked in my dreams and knew he was the one. The pulling sensation was so intense that I could help going over to him. The shield seemed to give way for me before solidifying again and I found myself a few steps away from him.

I dropped my bag down on the ground and took soft steps towards him. I let myself drop to my knees next to him and stared at him. He was completely naked like in my dreams and his tattoos seemed to stand out against his olive tan skin. His hair pooled around him like a jet black ink filled river and his body put even mines to shame.

I reached out to touch his face and the moment my hand touched his cheek the pulling sensation disappeared, only to be replaced by something else. I gasped and went to snatch my hand away but it was grabbed and I looked up at red eyes staring back at me.