Chapter 14

Dawn of Glory [The half-breed]



Chapter fourteen



Theme: Book of the Undead, 3



"Seems like the tread is split here," Joy said as she crouched low, her gaze wandering around for the track which she had been trailing since. "Conceivably they suggested that someone might be following them. That's why they did this to confuse us." She said, and let out an exasperated sigh.



"You can do this, Joy," Dan encouraged her. "If you don't prove yourself worthy of redeeming the middle land now, there is a possibility that people won't trust you. Besides, if you don't do this, none of us can."



"Joy," Mrs. Sandra called, with a soft tone. "Look very well, and I'm sure you will know the right track."



"I'm sure you chose the wrong person." Joy said in frustration. She ruffles her long black hair in irritation and lets out another deep breath. "Listen, I'm not the savior; everything is a mistake. Even the power I was welding earlier was a mistake. If it wasn't, how could I not feel it again? One moment, I feel stronger than the universe, and the next second, I am useless." She complained bitterly.



"You are not the wrong person, and I know how you are feeling." Dan insisted. He walked closer to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Joy," he called her again, in a soft voice. "You are tougher than this." 



"Can't you do anything to help?" Joy implored, her gaze now resting on Mrs. Sandra. "I thought you called yourself an ancient scarlet witch. At least you should be able to help with the track." She said, using her eyes to sketch the track again.



They were now at a T junction, and the track she had been following had now been divided into two. She didn't know whether they should follow the right or left route. Joy knew very well that any single mistake she made would mean losing the book forever. Not only that, it means Lord Darius would enslave all the middle land people, and that would mean her mother's death would be in vain.



Hell No! She couldn't allow that. Even if it would cost her life, she shouldn't allow that evil tyrant named Darius Rucker to enslave the world. "What did you suggest that I do now?" Joy asked.



"Did you remember when we always ran in the woods?" Dan asked. He raised Joy's head with his hand and stared directly into her eyes. "When I always warned you to run ahead of me, and I will still catch you."



"What does that have to do with this?" Mrs. Sandra asked when she didn't understand what Dan was talking about.



"Be patient, ma'am." Dan retorted, and his gaze returned to Joy. "Did you know why I always asked you to run ahead? Did you know why I always knock you whenever I caught up with you? Did you know why I always told you not to walk on the dry ground, but you should be swinging on top of the tree instead?"



"That was different between this," Joy said. "We are always doing that for fun. Or let me just say, we are doing it to sharpen our speed. "



"Exactly," Dan said, while Mrs. Sandra and Joy gave him a look of "Are you crazy?"



"Remember that you used that speed to your advantage when Delta Logan and Rebecca's crew were chasing you in the woods. I knew all that might happen to you one day. That's why I have been training you. "



"So, what are you suggesting?" implored Mrs. Sandra.



"Be patient, ma'am," Dan said again, and he focused his attention back on Joy. "Remember the day bingo snatched your dress on the river bank and hid it under a tree?" Dan said, and Joy nodded her head to assure him that she remembered.



"Did you remember that she walked all over the river bank and used her footsteps to confuse us?"



"I remember everything perfectly." Joy exclaimed. She couldn't forget that day in her life because it was one of the funniest and most embarrassing days of her life. After she and Dan had finished their normal evening running in the woods together with her dog, bingo. Dan had suggested that they take a bath in the nearby river so as to relax their psyches. Both of them were so lost in their playing that they didn't notice when Bingo carried their clothes and hid them under a thick shrub.



Dan and Joy had to trek some miles naked before they were able to trace Bingo's footsteps. Even though it was hard at first, However, Joy ended up tracking her footsteps despite how the dog cleaned them. Even though it was hard and took a lot of effort. Nonetheless, she ended up catching her.



"I'm sure you still remember how you did it," Dan said, and Joy nodded at her. "Great!" Dan complimented. "Now use the same techniques." 



"This is different from Bingo's track, Dan." Joy argued. "This is D'arcy's soldiers' track, not some dog footsteps. Besides, we found Bingo's track easily because the wood is closer to the river, and she didn't want to disturb us." She grumbled bitterly.



"Exactly what I'm trying to say." Dan insisted. "Now imagine that this is one of your dog's tricks."



Letting out a sigh of frustration, Joy decided to give it a trial and focus on the track. She stands up from her sitting position and moves back a little. Instead of doing it with her own will, she allowed her instinct to take over. If it was before, Joy would have forced out her power like she always does. However, she didn't do that this time.



She allowed her power to flow freely. She focuses her gaze on the track, then searches deep down for the source of her power. As she did this, Joy could feel a tie-up that was stopping her power from flowing upward. Without being told, Joy knew the blockage was the hatred she was sheltering for Lord Darius and those that killed her mom. 



Instead of fighting against the blockage, she left it there. Then she uses her power to create a new alley for her power. As she started doing this, Joy could feel herself sweating profusely. It was because she was getting burned in the gut. It was like a spell caster had bound her heart with a flaming chain spell. She let out a small hiss as she felt her power forcing itself through the new path she had just created for it.



Joy, seeing that she had succeeded in that, grabbed hold of her power, then wrapped it around her whole body. She imagined herself taking out the power and throwing it at the footsteps she had been trailing. Surprisingly, she could see clearer than before. It was like she had activated her wolf vision. Then she could see the reason why the track she had been trailing on since morning looked the same. Those lycans divided themselves into two.



"They stop here," says Joy as she moves towards the T junction end, while Dan and Mrs. Sandra move closer to see what she has just discovered. "It seems like they received a message here. Perhaps someone told them that they were being followed." Joy explained and bent down. She used her hand to trace the track and saw a quill, which proved that her suggestion was right.



"Perhaps Lord Darius told them about us," Dan said, and Joy nodded her head to confirm her assumption.



"After that, they split themselves here. a few went right, while the other odd went left." Joy explained and followed the track. "It doesn't end there. The odd numbers return, then walk forth and back along this path so as to confuse us." She explained.



"Does that mean we are heading right?" Dan asked.



"Absolutely yes," Mrs. Sandra said. Not wasting any seconds, they walked towards the right path and continued the trail.





"Three hours of pursuing, no resting, no eating, no drinking." Joy complained bitterly as she continued after the trail left behind by the D'arcy lycan. She was fretting profusely, and she was sure that she wouldn't last another hour.



"Keep going, we have almost met them." Dan encouraged her, but she hissed instead. "Don't worry Darling, I can scent them.'



How can he say we have almost met them? Joy thought inwardly. She eyed Dan from head to toe and hissed again. "If we don't catch up with them till sunset, then I'm stopping this stupid, useless chase." 





"Perhaps you don't need that," Mrs. Sandra said and stopped in her tracks. "There they are." True to her words, right in front of them were about half a dozen D'arcy soldiers. They are in their lycan mode, and they look ready for battle. It was like they had been waiting for Joy and her followers.



"Seems like they have been expecting us," Joy mumbled to Dan.



Lycans have a high sense of ability, unlike werewolves. They might have sniffed our scent from afar just like I did." He explained.



"Listen, men, we don't want another bloodshed. Kindly hand over the book, and we can go our separate ways." Mrs. Sandra said, and she moved towards the D'arcy soldiers. Their red armor was scattered all over the floor, and one could presume that it was torn when they transformed. It's flickering in the sun, and its brightness could blind someone if care isn't taken.



"You want this right?" The one who seems to be the leader said, And stretch forward the book. "Then come and get it."



"Very well then," says Dan, as he steps forward. "Let's do this as you suggested." He howled loudly into the sky, and his hybrid Alpha mod surfaced. However, he managed to keep his anger and lycan at bay to avoid further damage. With unimaginable speed, he dashed at the lycan who was holding the book, snatched it from his hand, and threw it backward.



Before the rest of the lycans could comprehend what was happening, Joy bounced at the book with her newfound speed, grabbed it in mid-air, and returned to Mrs. Sandra's side. Without hesitation, she whisked back towards Dan, who was battling with the lycans.



One of the lycans was made to thrust a claw into Dan's chest from behind, but Joy grabbed his neck instead. She clamped it hard, and she could feel the lycan's esophagus making a cracking sound. She's still not sure how she did it because the lycan she was holding was twice her size. The lycan is stronger, and it has big bulging muscles. Without being told, Joy knew she was able to do this because of her new-found power.



Then she went for her power, which she had just unlocked. Luckily for her, she found it this time. Unlike before, when she wanted to use her power, she felt nothing but a vacuum. This time, she found it right there, in the exact spot. It was flowing through her veins like water that was running through a pipe. Then Joy wrapped her mind around the power as if it was her thought. Then she yanked it up and threw it at the lycan she was holding. 



As Joy did this, it was like throwing a net into an ocean and using it to drag out a whale. The lycan's eyes turned red, fell on his knee, and said As soon as she finished this, Joy felt herself losing balance. "Command me, mistress, what should I do?" said the lycan as he got on his knees in a sign of respect.



"Defend him against your friend with your life," she managed to say, her gaze resting on Dan, who was busy fighting the rest of the lycans. As she finished uttering those words, she collapsed. Before her body could reach the ground, Mrs. Sandra, who had been watching the whole situation, stretched her hand forward. 



A scarlet light emitted from her hand and circled itself around Joy. Mrs. Sandra stretched her hand backward, and Joy's body landed in front of her. She placed the book in her pocket and went to join Dan in the battle against the remaining four lycans.



One of the lycans who saw Mrs. Sandra coming towards them darts at her. A few inches for him to meet her, she held her hand forward, and the lycan started choking. "Possa il tuo istinto di lavorare l'uno contro l'altro." Mrs. Sandra chanted, and the lycan vomited black blood. "Lascia che la tua anima riposi con I morti." She said it again, and the lycan went ablaze.



Dan shifted back as a lycan gashed him in the face. He ducked aside to evade another claw, that came for his face from another lycan, and he swung his body aside to avoid a deadly gust. He tapped into his power and grabbed a Lycan hand as he swung his claw at him. Dan twisted his hand, then used it to yank him forward. He grabbed the lycan by the neck, then pierced his chest with his claw, and brought out his heart.



"Behind you." Mrs. Sandra screamed at him. However, it was too late to react. A lycan was swinging a silver sword towards Dan's neck. A few inches from the blow colliding with Dan's head, the lycan splits out blood instead. His body went cold instantly, and the lycan fell on his knee.



"Mistress orders me to protect you with my life," the lycan that Joy grasped earlier said, as he licked the blood of his ally that he had just killed.



Mrs. Sandra drew a strange pattern in the air, then directed it at the last lycan. As she did this, the lycan went cadaver, and white substances emitted from his body. Not wasting any seconds, Dan flickered at him and brought down his head. 



"That was awesome, wasn't it?" Joy complimented them as she worked towards them. "Why did I pass out after using my power?" She implored from Mrs. Sandra with a frank face.



"That's because you are yet to be chosen," Dan answered instead. "Besides, you are new to such fabric. Don't worry, you will soon get used to it." He said and tapped her on the soldiers.



"Now what next?" Joy asked. "And what will become of this man?"



"We shall keep him for now," Mrs. Sandra said. "Now it's time to read the book."



Not wasting any seconds, Joy opened the book, and she was surprised by what was written inside. The words inside the book were written in a strange language that she didn't understand. "How did you expect me to read this ancient language for a goddess?" She asked, in annoyance.



"It's a must." Mrs. Sandra insisted. She walked towards Joy and stared directly into her eyes. "If you can't read this book, then no one else can read it. Not even Lord Darius or any powerful being here in the middle land. That also means you are not the true prophecy half-breed, and that will also imply that the middle land will forever remain in darkness. Not only that, but it also indicates that the prophecy from the hall of fame is fake."



"This is insane," Joy screamed in frustration. "If Lord Darius couldn't read this, then why would he order his men to bring it?" She asked, with confusion written on her face.



"I don't know how Lord Darius intended to read it. All I know is that no one else can read it except you and me." Mrs. Sandra clarified



"If you can read it, then why can't you just tell us what to do?" Dan joined the conversation.



"You already know the answer," Mrs. Sandra answered him. "Please, stop adding salt to the wound and let her concentrate."



"Joy, trust me, you can do this," Dan said, her gaze now resting on Joy. "All you have to do is just allow the power to flow through you. Just like how you track those soldiers down." 



Taking another deep breath, Joy stares at the book. This time, she consolidated all her attention on it. She shut out all the noise that might distract her and allowed herself to focus only on the book. After what seemed like forever, she finally read it. "Οι λέξεις και η δύναμη του βιβλίου μπορούν να διαλυθούν μόνο από τον αληθινό ημίαιμο με τη βοήθεια της αρχαίας μάγισσας." Joy read while Mrs. Sandra and Dan smiled.



"What does it mean in English?" Dan asked.



It means, "The words and power of the book can only be deciphered by the true half-breed with the help of the ancient witch." She said, and the book went up in flames instantly.



Joy jerked back in shock and threw the leftovers of the book away as the heat of the flame started hurting her. "What the hell is that?" She asked in a panic.



"That's the work of Lord Darius," Mrs. Sandra replied. "He's watching us with the help of the cloud tracker. We have to hide now."