Chapter 18

Walking through the tall trees, I remain alert, although I let my body remain relax in stance. I would rather my enemy attack me not knowing that I'm ready for them than to never take the right precautions and caught off guard. Plus Mr.Kyro would ring me by my neck after some intense training. Little conversations are started with mainly Grant, Katherine, and I focused.

Lilith holds Silas' hand, chatting with him happily. Sometimes I forget how small he actually is, how he really depends on me. It's reminded to me when Silas fidgets a bit, looking at me out the corner of his eye. His cold demeanor to everyone held in place until I give a small nod, letting him know it's okay. It's amazing for someone to trust me like this, but it makes me boil even more thinking about who hurt him so much to make him this way.

Now that he's my son, I won't let anything hurt him like that, not if I can do anything about it.

Focusing back to my surrounding, I hear rustling in the bushes far enough away, tensing up, Grant eases me," Don't worry, Hot Stuff. We haven't gotten far enough into the mountains to really worry about anything attacking us."

"Hmmm. . . Still I rather think twice than to think once and be in danger."

"It's nothing more than a Goblin, probably looking for food," huffs Grant.

"Goblins," I ask. "Don't they run in groups?"

"Mostly, but even if they are, they shouldn't be a problem for you," Katherine jumps in.

Nodding my head, we contiune our walk. It isn't til we are passing our first mountain, taking a route inbetween to actually, that my senses go off. All the training I've gone through jumps out as I catch a sharp arrow with my left hand. Testing the amount of strength, I could easily destroy the arrows , however I refuse to overestimate myself. Grant and Katherine come to my side. Lots of small green bodies come siding down the shallow clifts, armed with knifes and mini shortsword.

"You two take the side. I've got this," I assert. Without a word, they disappear from my side, the only indeciation that they were fighting was the sounds of groans and horrible scremas from on top of the clifts. The Goblins rush at the rest of us, with me in the front. Starting off small, I call upon my darkness, sending a wildly formed river at them. The drak magic rips through them like butter, body parts flying in every direction, blood spraying the air.

I barely did anything.

A little while more, the sounds of pain stop with a few injured but live goblins fall into my dark river, metting death. In seconds, both are back to my side, and we all start our traveling again.

Two hours ticks away, and the sun is going down. We still have quite a bit of area to pass, however, Silas doesn't look to be ready to tip over a any chsnce from sleep. Liam and Elizabeth not far off.

"Let's camp around here for tonight," I suggest. "I can find us somewhere to stay."

Nobody objects.

Sending my magic out, I let it scretch far and wide around me, skimming the mountain floor, giving me a 360* feel of everything around me. Stretching and stretching, I feel the grass turn into smooth stone, eastward. I didn't find any large animals of sorts that seemed to be harmful, so I inform them, leading the way. I pick up the speed a bit, jumping onto a tree branch and begin hopping across each tree. We stay together for the most part, with some of us in the trees and the other on the ground.

It's not long that we reach out destination. Everyone shuffles in the huge cave, getting settle amougst each other.

"Wait here a second, I'll be back," I glance back, thinking of way to make the cave a bit more comfortable.

Ever since the coming of mana and Qi to this world, the flora around the world has ground to an exponential rate, with some trees being 70 something 80 feet tall. That also goes for the leaves that some grow as well. WIth that in mind, I scale a nearby tree, and begin plucking many huge leaves, using my dark magic to pluck and carry them as well. It;s quickly accomplished--my mission-- and I head back to the cave.

Everyone is as relaxed as possible, with Silas already sleep between a sleeping Liam and Elizabeth. Softly chuckling, I lay the giant pile of leaves that I have in the middle of the cave, moving a bit to the side, for starting a fire. As Lilith and Katherine get the leaves arranged, Grant pulls up a few sticks and stones, stacking them like a house, with the sticks on bottom and leaves on top.

Wondering how we'll start the fire, Theo snaps a finger, and a little wisp of a flame flows on top of his finger tip, and he lightly flings it onto the fuel. IN no time, we have things on order.

"I'll take first watch," Grant offers.

"It's fine. I'm taking first watch," I assure. " I know the pass several days have been hard, and I can tell you haven't gotten any good sleep."

"You're not my Dom," Grant growls.

A ping hits my heart a bit to hard, and he sees it on my face, but I quickly hide it. It's fine if he refuses to have anything to do with me, but for now he'll have to deal with it.

"I understand you're ups-"

"Don't pretend where I'm coming from," He snaps, eyes turning a glowing dark red.

"I'm not. I cannot say I know what you're thinking, all I can do is help. Regardless of how you feel, in a relationship with me, I protect what;s mine, from others and themselves," I declare, eyes a frosty domaine.

His eyes widen a bit as I walk pass him, squeezing his shoulder in comfort.

"Get some sleep, Tesoro," I whisper, softly, steeping out the cave entrance.

Emotions conflicting each other, makes my head hurt. Tears that I didn't know I was holding in, try to fall, but I shake them away before they can. My heart pinches thinking about the words he says, how he looked at me. He doesn't want me.

I mean I never expected to get attached with any of them this quickly, never expected for it to work out with so many people invovled, but it's easier than I thought. Excluding Grant, nobody was scarce, always making the place lively and the sorts, heloing around the house with small things, while some were cooking.

Grant was like the oddball after the meeting we had. He was barely seen, only during dinner. However, when I was sleep, he would come into my room to get a were sips of my blood to sate his hunger. If only he would let me in just a bit so I can come in and show him me and visa versa.

For thise words to come out his mouth shouldn't have hurt me the way thet did.

Taking a deep breathe to calm myself and my thoughts, I numb my heart. Before I was turned , I had many close relatives and friends use me over and over, making my life hard. And in the begin, it was hard to put my foot down, and sometimes it didn't work. To have the people that close to you treat you like dirt on their shoe. . . It hurts more than a sting for sure. so after many of years, of trying, something snapped. I stopped caring, and instead I simply wen through the motions until I suddenly moved, changing everything about me and started fresh in another state.

That's what I do now, Numbing my heart. It makes this pain i don't know what to do with ease, and the throbbing to stop. Everything feels bliss.

Taking another breath, I focus back on task, reaching for my darkness and spreading around the cave's perimeter and father, getting signals of anything that moves. Closing my eyes, thinking about nothing, my mind wonders to different things, mostly stupid thinks--like how the bottom of the sea would look lik--but calming things, nonetheless.

All around me, I feel the grass and leaves moving as the wind caress them, the soft thumping of the trees, the cooing of owls, even the crawling of ants on the ground; I feel it all, and I embrace it. I play around with the radar I've made keeping it 50 meter or more but never less. I even find a small lake, we can freshen up in, in the morning, filled with fish that we can eat. Maybe if that big bear on the other side doesn't move before sunrise, I hunt it down before bringing it back for eating.

So many things to think about, to do, to understand. I feel pathetic even though I do have strength of some sorts; how is that going to helo me when I don't know the world I'm facing. Yes I know about the Church and Immortal fued, however I have never been attacked. How can I possible know the feeling? I feel sheltered, and it could be in a good way, however there's also the cons within that as well.

Stopping my thoughts, I push them to the side.

"Yes Lilith," I speak.

Walking out from behind a thick tree trunk, Lilith's figure comes out, her face showing a bit of worry. Jumping onto the same tree as me, she sits beside me.

"He doesn't mean that," she starts. "He's always been our lead, even when we were little,"

"I understand your concern," I ease. "But i would rather hear it from his mouth. If he feels that way towards me, then so be it. That will not change how I react nor feel towards any of you."

"But it will with Grant?"

"How else am I suppose to satisfy him? If he doesn't want me to be his Dom, I'm not going to force him. He has the power to do whatever he wants, and I can only helo him with that."

Lillith gives me a sad smile, anger flickering in her eyes," We all knew what would hapen when you came into the dynamic, and we were all ready for the consequences of those actions. Grant knew what the possiblity was that you would take his 'place'"

"But that doesn't make it any easier, Lilith," I stressed. "Imagine you being in control for so long. Now this stranger of sorts comes in and overthrows everything you have going. Personally, i would rage,and storm."

"It's not my place to tell him how he feels. I'm simply giving him the choice to do as he pleases. If he only needs my blood to keep living then he can take as much as he wants. I will not stop him from taking what he needs, when I agreed to try this out."

"Plus. . .I don't think I could stop myself if I tried," I mutter so softly, Lilith doesn't hear me, but the pain is evident on my face before I quickly wipe it away, sliding my mask back on.

"Don't hide from us, Darling," Lilith pleads. "Of all the people in the world, not from us."

"I need to calm my feelings before I drop my guard. I would never want you to feel this way."

I turn away, settling for my side, implying that I'm done talking. Lilith sighs, leaning over and kisses my cheek.

"Everything will work out."

She walks away, and I 'watch' her, making sure that no danger comes her way.

Time passes as I count the many stars, connecting them into my different shapes. The night sky is so beautiful, I wish I could draw it, to paint my whole wall like this. But it seems that wasn;t the plan as the sun begins to rise, the first little beams coming through the cracks between the mountains.