Chapter 12

Dawn of Glory [The half-breed]



Chapter twelve



Theme: Book of the Undead, Part One



As the sun began to break in the sky, the loud chirping of birds could be heard, followed by the rustling of panes, escorted by different footsteps. Walking amidst the thick oak trees and maple hedges are Dan, Joy, and Mrs. Sandra. From the way they are walking, someone could suggest that they are in haste.



How long had they been walking? Joy couldn't guess. All she knew was that ever since they mysteriously disappeared from the black venom's coven, they had been walking all night without taking a break. Where are they going? She didn't know. They are just following Mrs. Sandra's lead. Joy was walking behind Dan, and one could guess the reason for that.



She had killed the old woman's daughter. Not only that, she and Dan had killed hundreds of lycans and forced the woman to leave her pack. They even murder some of the elderly. 



They didn't deserve it. She heard her subconscious telling her.



Hell No! They deserve it. She answered her subconscious back. They begin the war first by bullying her in school and breaking all the bones in her body. Not only that, they had killed her mother. 



You caused that old woman's death. She heard her inner mind rebuking her again. She could feel guilty about eating her, and she felt bad for that.



Hell No! She thought again. Delta Logan and those ridiculous animals killed that woman. She didn't. Thank the moon goddess. They have been killed. Breakfast has been served to them. All thanks to Dan. 



Hell No! She shook her head. It wasn't breakfast, it was dinner. That war alone is enough for dinner. 



How does it begin? Her inner mind asked again.



Joy wrapped her arm around her body as the morning breeze hit her, and allowed herself to go deep into her thoughts. That is exactly what she always does whenever she is feeling frustrated. She allows her brain to drown her in her imagination. She will be out of this galaxy soon.



Where are they going? Her inner mind inquired from her. She can't guess, neither can Dan. "Ptcheew," she hissed loudly, then placed her hand behind her. Seeing this, Dan moved closer to her and placed his comforting hand on her shoulder. Can she do it without Dan? 



Hell No! She couldn't. Brain, where are you? She thought. Perhaps she could get the bloody scene away from her head, and stop her subconscious mind from tormenting her.



Brian, what are you doing? She thought again. Nonetheless, her brain won't respond. She was left alone with her memory and subconsciousness. Not having any choice left, she decided to break the awkward silence. At least, if she couldn't get those bloody scenes out of her head, a little interrogation would do.



"So, where are we going now?" She implored. Without being told, Mrs. Sandra knew she was directing the question at her.



"We have to reach the Black Tide Coven before the sun reaches its highest peak in the sky." Mrs. Sandra retorted. 



"What are we going there to do?" She asked again.



"There is a book that we must get from their temple before Lord Darius knows about it. If we fail, then I'm afraid that your mission has failed." Mrs. Sandra elaborated.



"What mission are you talking about?" Dan joins the conversation. "And what is this book about?" He quickly jumps in front of Mrs. Sandra.



Mrs. Sandra took a brief stop and stared directly into Dan's eyes. "I can see through your soul, and I'm certain that you know the mission I'm talking about." She retorted then pushed him out of the way, and Dan bowed his head in a rout.



"That doesn't answer my question. What is the purpose of this book, and why must we get it before Lord Darius does?" Joy asked, more with a pleading tone.



"This book was created by the ancient gods, and it consisted of how to use different dark magic, control evil entities that were sealed a long time ago, and how to use the resource of the book to rule the middle land. With the aid of the book, he is invisible. Not only that, the book is the one that will let us know whether you are indeed the prophecy's half-breed or not." Mrs. Sandra heightened.



"How did you know all this?" Dan asked to clear up his curiosity.



"Because I'm ancient." She replied. "I have been existing ever since the supremacy of the first god, ruler of the middle land. Lord Rey. I was there when they fought the first ancient war. That's the war of the hybrid and titan. I was also there when his vessel was created and when the second ancient war occurred. That is the war of the vessel. Lastly, I was also alive when the last and final ancient war broke out. That's the war between Lord Rey's vessel and the empire god." She clarified while her speech left both Dan and Joy flabbergasted.



"Hell No! That's impossible," Joy said in incredulity. She couldn't believe it. She was walking with her antecedents. Who will believe that tale? Perhaps she is suffering from old age. Her interior mentality clarify.



"How old are you, and how come you are still alive?" Dan asked again. "How can you be in this era, and how did you know about both the prophecy half-breed and Lord Darius?"



"Easy Boy, a question at a time." Mrs. Sandra said with a sly smile. "If my guess is right, I'm not a thousand-year-old being. I don't even remember my age." She said, with a chuckle. "Here is the story concerning how I was in this era and how I knew about Lord Darius. After the war between Lord Rey's vessel, the Empire god, and a young boy from Gaea, whose name is Rey Reed, All the Saviours were teleported to Olympus, where they are still dwelling till now. We are granted the power of immortality by Lord Zeus himself."



"Why would the great Lord Zeus grant you immortality?" Joy asked in confusion.



"Because Lord Rey is from the Olympian gods' bloodline. Even if Zeus doesn't grant us immortality, Lord Rey will do that as compensation for us." She elaborated. "We're all in Olympia and can't leave the middle land alone without a ruler, that's how we decided to make Darius Rucker, one of the crow master's servants, the ruler of the middle land." She said and took in a deep breath. "That is to compensate him for how Theo, the crow master, surrendered his life to the void and other members of the god when they went to retrieve the hand of god on the island of Crete."



"Why would they make Darius Rucker the king of the middle land when they already knew the damage his generation would cause? That's insane." Joy yelled in frustration.



"Either we make him the king or not, the prophecy will still be fulfilled." Mrs. Sandra elaborates. "Any prophecy that was written in the hall of fame will never fail.



"I don't believe in any crazy prophecy." Joy yelled while Dan and Mrs. Sandra let out a scoff.



"All those beings, are they still alive?" Dan asked.





"Sure," Mrs. Sandra replied. They are strong and healthy. It's just that they can't interfere in the middle land's affairs anymore unless Lord Rey permits them."



"If my guess is right, Darius Rucker is the first Alpha and leader of the middle land after the war," Dan suggested



"You are right," Mrs. Sandra clarified. But he was murdered by his son, who is now the ruler. We had already foreseen this. That's why I was sent here to help aid you in your mission."



Joy took a deep breath as she tried to absorb everything she had just heard. Then she realized that everything was more tricky than she had thought. After what seemed like forever, her mind drifted to Rebecca and her crew, whom she had murdered. She was wondering how the woman would react.



You did better apologize. She heard her inner mind saying, more with a threatening tone. When she realized her guilt was eating her alive, she decided to spill the beans."I'm sorry about your daughter." She apologized. "I didn't do it intentionally. I was out of control, I mean, I didn't know what I was doing."



"Oh, you mean the death of Rebecca?" Mrs. Sandra said casually. "It's nothing. That's bound to happen. Besides, I had a son named Helium. You don't need to blame yourself for her death. "



"You mean I was forgiven?" she asked in bewilderment.



"Yep," Mrs. Sandra retorted, as she used her hand to brush her scarlet witch's back. The morning sun shone directly at her face, which made her face look younger. "Just pray that her father doesn't come for your head. Nope, I mean our heads." She said, and Joy let out a giggle.



"If my guess is right, do you mean the man you married in this era?" Joy implored, and the woman nodded her head. "So, who is her father, and where is he?"



"Her father's name is Edgar, and he was serving Lord Darius." She elaborated.



"Who did this?" Dan's voice broke into their dialogue.



The duo jerked away from their discussion, and they were greeted with different dead bodies. Right in front of them are people who have been massacred. Some had their heads decapitated, and some had lost their hearts. They had different claw marks on their bodies, which suggested that they were murdered by some pack of wolves.



"The D'arcy soldiers are here before us." Mrs. Sandra said, "That means Lord Darius must have known about the Book of the Undead."



"What are we going to do now?" Dan asked.



"Follow me," Mrs. Sandra said, and dashed further into the fortress, while Dan and Joy followed behind.



They made their way further into the Black Tides Coven fortress, and dead bodies littered the way. Some were seen hanging on the huge gate of the fort entrance, where some were pinned to the fortress's gate. 



"They broke the magic boundary," Mrs. Sandra said, as she stepped inside the gate.



"What did you mean by a magic boundary?" Joy asked.



"A boundary is what protects each territory or pack from outside invaders," Dan answered her instead. "It was supposed to be invisible and resist the D'arcy soldiers from entering. So, does that mean they destroyed the boundary? "



"That means they had the rune compass with them." Mrs. Sandra corrected. "Joy now is your chance to prove yourself as a great leader. Your work as the prophecy half-breed begins now."



"What did you suggest that I do?" She asked, in confusion. "Besides, you said I can't do anything unless we retrieve the book."



"Your instincts will always guide you, just like they did for the previous half-breed. All you have to do is to concentrate, and it won't lead you in the wrong direction. " Dan assured her.



"What if it leads us the wrong way?" She implored again.



"That means you will be leading us to our destruction." Mrs. Sandra said casually. 



"Because from now onward, we will be depending on your instincts and you will be leading us." Dan retorted.



Hell No! Joy thought. She couldn't fail them just like she had failed her foster mom. Not only that, she was ready to get vengeance for the people that were massacred by Lord Darius's dog. Yes, those D'arcy's are dogs. Now that the responsibility has been shifted to her head, she is ready to fulfill the prognosis.



Acting on instinct, she walked back towards the fortress gate and squatted down. Dan and Mrs. Sandra trailed behind, their eyes wide with curiosity, and they waited with bated breath to see what she would do."Those D'arcy soldiers stayed here after they killed those at the gate," Joy began as she used her hand to examine a smidgen. "They had already transformed before they got here. That is why they were able to kill those bodies outside the fort so fast without alerting those that are inside the fortress."



"That means they caught them unawares," Dan suggested.



"You are right," Joy retorted. She crawled towards the next print, examined it very well, and said. "Before those guards could ring the bell, they shot an arrow which pinned them to the wall." She mumbled, her gaze returning to those that were pinned to the fortress wall by an arrow." She took another notch, her gaze tracing the footsteps as they went. 



"Those that were hanging outside the gate are the wall watchers," she explained. "And the D'arcy soldiers transform back to humans here," she clarified, as she stopped beside another footstep.



"Why did you say that?" Mrs. Sandra asked. It was obvious she was testing her mastery and techniques.



"Because these footsteps are not too deep, unlike the rest. Besides, this print shows that they were kneeling with their hands on the ground." Joy explained as she used her hand to trace the print.



Both Dan and Mrs. Sandra examined the print, and Joy was indeed right. Even though the black tide is not close to the sea, the prints were hardly visible to the naked eye. Nonetheless, Joy could see it. "After they transform here, they walk towards that direction, and start killing all those beings with an arrow," she explained and pointed in the right direction.



Not wasting any seconds, Joy dashed in the right direction while Mrs. Sandra and Dan followed. The Black Tide Coven temple greeted them as they turned beside a corridor. It has been ransacked, burned beyond recognition, and turned upside down.





"The book must be inside that temple," Mrs. Sandra said, and they nodded their heads in approval. Dan sprinted towards the burning door and kicked it open with his leg. Dan was welcomed with thick smoke, and he quickly activated his hybrid Alpha eyes, which enabled him to see everything.



"We are late," Mrs. Sandra said. "Seems like they have left here for a long time."



"Not too long," Joy insisted. "The footprints are still active and visible. So, they couldn't be more than half a day ahead of us." She suggested while Mrs. Sandra and Dam watched her with amazement.



"Then we have to hurry up if we want to catch them on time." Mrs. Sandra said, "I'm sure they didn't expect someone to follow them, that's why they didn't bother to trim their track."



"Besides, we couldn't afford the consequences if they succeeded in delivering the book to Lord Darius. Dan chirped in. "Joy, lead the way." He said, his gaze returning to her. Reluctantly, she nodded her head and followed the footprint that was left by the D'arcy soldiers.