Haunted

Jamil

After a quick search through the woods that yielded no results, we headed back to the palace with the hearty news. So much for trying to get everyone in a better mood.

"Who do you think they were? You think they..." I stopped mid-sentence but the way Ulo looked at me informed me that he had gotten my message.

"I don't know." He replied brusquely.

I nodded. I wasn't in a very good mood myself. Good work universe. You have successfully ruined a perfectly good mood.

Getting back to the palace, we elected to go see the Beta immediately. Sure, it was the dead of night but that kind of threat could not be dismissed easily. For one, the man seemed to have known a lot about us which was unfair considering that we didn't really know all that much about him. He had not only known about Beta Green but he had also known about his son. He hadn't mentioned my name but I had a feeling that he knew exactly who I was. Blaire too. Another suspicion that I had was that he had known we would be out tonight which meant... I shook my head to dispel the thought. I couldn't afford to jump into conclusions.

The guards tried to stop us but against all three children of the pack elders who were not willing to take no for an answer, they could only hold up for so long. The Beta was still in his office. I would like to say that was a surprise but from the mood I had seen him in earlier today, I'm afraid that it didn't come as a surprise, at all. As I stood before the door, I found it rather annoying that I had come here twice in a day with bad news in tow at both times.

Ulo took the initiative of knocking the door. The Beta did not reply at first, either because he was asleep or he was lost in thoughts. I suspected the latter. He knocked again and this time, the Beta's faint voice reached us.

"Who is there?" He asked.

"It's Ulo, my lord. We have important news for you." Ulo called out as he sheathed his sword. I was surprised to find that he had carried it in hand the entire time. Little wonder that the guards parted ways before us as quickly as they did.

There was silence for a moment during which time I wondered if the Beta was going to ask us to come back the next day but he finally responded with a, "come in."

If the Beta was surprised to see the three of us coming into his office at the same time, he did a good job of hiding it. Right now, it was difficult to believe that he was the man who had almost ripped off my shoulders earlier. I tried not to think of that.

"What are you doing here? It's late." He commented. I noticed that he had spread several more scrolls before him which he was now starting to wrap up. I frowned as I saw one that looked out of place but it was gone before I could get a better look.

"We were out in the woods when we were suddenly accosted by a group of people." Ulo started which got the Beta's attention as he focused on us, his eyes narrowing into slits.

Ulo went ahead to narrate all that had happened at the end of which the Beta had started to look pale again. I had a feeling that he knew who those people were but he was obviously not going to talk about it which didn't feel right, especially since we were the ones who had faced the men.

The Beta remained silent, rubbing his jaw in deep thought. "Where is Indrik?" The Beta finally broke the silence.

Yeah! Where was Indrik? I hadn't seen much of him since the poisoning. I turned to Ulo but he was looking at me for an answer as well. Finally, Blaire cleared her throat. "Uhm! I saw him earlier today. He was going out with his maid."

"Did he tell you where he was going?"

Blaire blushed as she bowed her head, no doubt haunted by a not so pleasant memory. "No! I didn't ask."

Beta Green nodded. Indrik going out was not a new thing. He had a habit of just disappearing without traces and appearing much later. I suspected that he did it in a bid to call attention since no one seemed to notice him otherwise. I didn't think that worked much but he seemed to enjoy it because he continued to do it. "I don't think he is in any immediate danger but keep an eye on him, will you?"

We agreed after which the Beta waved us off, telling us to go get some rest because we would have to recount what we had seen tomorrow. We were already leaving when he called us back on what seemed like an afterthought.

"This man, what did he look like?" His voice sounded tentative like he both wanted to know the answer and didn't want to know because he was afraid of what the answer would be.

Ulo described what he had seen while I also chipped in some parts. Blaire had been hiding for the most time so she didn't have much information to give except that "he was scary" which I thought we all pretty much noticed.

By the time we were done, Beta Green was nodding and he seemed to have a relieved look on his face. Obviously, we had not met the person he was most afraid of us meeting. I didn't know whether to be happy or worried. I decided to not allow myself be any more worried than I had to be. It had been a long day for which there was no better ending than a good long sleep. Hopefully, I wouldn't be haunted by nightmares.