I can't believe what I am seeing.Here, in front of me, is my dad whose face looks a decade older than when I last saw him, just a month ago. I wonder what happened between him and Phillius and why he is here on the turf of his late wife's brother.His head hangs low as we sit in the receiving area of Uncle Sam's humble home. He couldn't meet my gaze and I don't know what to say to him either because my mind is full of questions right now that overwhelms me. I just watch his hands clasped together as if in prayer."I'm baffled to see you at our doorstep, Edmund. What happened to you after Phillius took over the clan? We have never heard from you since then." Uncle Sam asked when silence fell upon me and my father. His head is still bowed low like he's ashamed over something that he cannot say to me or his brother-in-law. "Tell us what happened, Dad. Why did you let Phillius do all these unacceptable things! He even left me in the old Manor to die!""That is the reason why I am here,
I can sense something strange, something that is not pleasant in my feelings.There are pairs of eyes that are watching me among the crowd of people in the airport. I am finally back after my three and a half hours trip from Dallas, Texas, the headquarters of my Uncle Sam's turf. It took me half a day to convince him that I have to go back here to New York to settle things down with Phillius and to let him know I am not here to kill him for whatever he did to me but to try and negotiate with him about Sapphire's situation.But I think, there is no negotiation happening because it’s clear that Phillius made sure I won’t make a single step into the mansion by sending these assassins lurking among the thick crowd. I am impressed by how fast he knew I’m coming back for Sapphire and I wonder if Kelly had also sold me to him. I sigh. I think I should stop doubting people around me. I believe no matter how in love Kelly is with Phillius, just like what she told me before, she doesn’t like se
Kelly…I can’t believe she’s here!Wishing that I could somehow connect to her mind to ask what the hell she’s doing in this place, exposing herself in front of Motley and my former squad members whom she’s also a part of. But since I am now stigmatized as a Rogue, I can’t communicate mentally with any of them because Phillius had already severed my connection with his pack.I have no idea what came to her mind, why she suddenly appeared when we had both already agreed to meet at the port area. I glanced at my wristwatch. The glass has broken but it’s clear that I am already an hour late from the anticipated time.No wonder she’s here looking snarling like mad behind me.“Hey Kelly, I’m sorry I had a situation. You didn’t have to come,” I apologized to her without turning my head to look at her reaction because I could feel she was really upset for making her wait that long. I was expecting that she’ll shift back to her human form and pretend that she has no connection with my plan bu
What I said to Kelly is somehow impossible to execute right now.We both went straight to the port where we met his younger brother, Frix, the kind young guy that serves as guard and watchman at the gates of the Clarkson Mansion. Aside from Hazel and Anna, Sapphire also considers him her friend and I know it is also hard for him to know about the real situation of Sapphire in the hands of Phillius.“Master Xeno!” he exclaimed in a low voice, scared that an enemy might suddenly appear if he kept on saying my name. He swallowed, looking nervous before he spoke again, “It’s been a long time. So many things happened! Sapphire—““Calm down, Frix. He knows what’s going on,” Kelly tried to pipe down her brother who looks like he is going to crack up any moment, thinking about Sapphire and the fact that the three of us are now hunted by the demon Alpha and his Clan of fanatics.I don’t like the sound of it but there is no other description that could match Phillius other than that.“So how ar
I bared my teeth at him and I looked at his face. I noticed that he looked younger than the last time I had seen him and I knew it was because of Sapphire’s mana and her ability to heal. Kelly and Frix are also forced to kneel in front of Phillius too. Like he’s some sort of a god for these stupid fanatics that want the Clan to reign over this continent.“What you’re doing is insane, Phillius,” I grunted and growled when the one who was grasping my hair pulled me more to let Phillius have a good look on my face. I am not used to the way his eyes look at me with coldness and resentment. It’s like the curse has been eating the Phillius I used to know and making him a spawn of a demon, using his body to create chaos everywhere.“What’s insane is you, going back here, Xeno. I am well aware that you have lost your ability to shift to your wolf form and now you’re marching back into this place?” Phillius snickered “I never thought you are that dumb to do that but there you are!” “I need so
"How the f*ck are we going to find a black witch?!”Kelly’s so enraged after she heard everything I have said to Phillius, the negotiation that I settled with him which is the only way that I can save both him and Sapphire. Despite the evil nature that is surfacing in him, there are still people who care a lot about my twin, and one of those is Kelly, whose face is so red in anger.“It’s the only way I know, Kelly. I believe there’s a way we can find that witch.” I averted my eyes from her and brushed my hair with my hands in frustration. “We just have to be more patient and investigate more about it,”“We don’t even know if that creature really exists,” she grumbled and rolled her eyes at me as she leaned against the wide window of the study room that Phillius allowed us to use. Although wolfless, I could still hear the tapping of the shoes of the guards on the other side of the door as they walk back and forth while making sure we won’t get out of the room.If only my senses are str
“I wonder who is this Felrim you mentioned to Kelly, Master Xeno,” Frix curiously asked while we are both heading towards the secret dungeon. Two huge men are following us, preventing us to go from any place other than the spot that I requested to go. I don’t know these two men behind me and I thought maybe they were from other Clans that were sent here for added assistance to Phillius’s growing empire. "You'll see when we get there, Frix. Just prepare yourself for it. I don't think you're going to like what you'll see." I replied to him, wary about the guards behind us. I look down at Frix who is just a few inches shorter than me. What’s his age by the way? I lost track of time since I became the Commander of the first squad. Since then, all that was important for me before was my mission to be successful so that my father would somehow appreciate that I was doing my best for this family. I became the shadow and Phillius was the light that everyone loves to praise. The surroundin
Everything happened that I didn’t expect.A flash of bright, dazzling light filled my mind. The hues of colors swirled like paints mixed in water, and the dark and cold tone with streaks of red gave me an uncomfortable and alarmed feeling about what Felrim wanted me to see. Then the colors moved and smoothly turned into a dark scenery, a picture of barren, stony land with thin clouds that looked more like thin fogs of smoke above the dark, starry sky. It’s being lit by occasional lightning and the booming of the thunder reverberated in the area, the vibration I felt in my bones gave me a strange shiver in my body. It’s a feeling I have never felt before which I cannot tell if it’s fear or amazement or maybe both at the same time. I wonder why Felrim made me see this place and I thought maybe it’s the real face of the Underworld.To my surprise, I felt a tingling sensation in my head and after I blink my eyes, I was transported into a place filled with flowers. I was so stunned by th