The Alpha's Fated Outcast: Rise Of The Moonsinger. - Chapter 244

Chapter 244: Neriah – Lyla…
Lyla

Okay, this was a bad idea.

Three days ago, right before Ramsey returned from Blue Ridge, I had this brilliant idea on how to help him. I knew Nathan was hell-bent on fighting Ramsey and Ramsey may not go as crazy as him because of me.

So, deciding I would stop being Ramsey’s weakness, getting my Moonsinging abilities back would be ideal especially now. At least, with it, I would make sure there are no sudden Feral attacks, making sure Ramsey would concentrate on the war.

Not just that, but we need to convert all the Ferals in the underground cage and make them normal enough to form an army for us. The fight against the Dark One was getting closer each day and I knew it.

So, I and Lenny had turned enemies overnight, giving Ramsey the impression that we suddenly couldn’t get along. It was a distraction to make sure Ramsey would not require our presence at the same time.

The plan was simple… take Ramsey’s attention away from me, I slip out of the Pack to the Northern Forest find Neriah’s sword, then go to Blue Ridge and other Werewolf packs to show them my newfound powers and hope I’d be able to influence them enough to stop the fight.

Most importantly, to change Nathan’s heart.

But now standing in the dense Northern Forest, with its heavy silence shrouding it, heavier than I had expected – even though I had prepared for this journey for almost three months now – standing here, I wondered if I had made a terrible mistake.

The towering trees seemed to be watching me with ancient knowing eyes with branches so thick that they created a suffocating darkness that barely allowed any light in. No birds were singing, no rustling leaves, not even the whisper of wind.

Everyone knows that the Northern Forest housed most of the notorious Werecreatures in our world. Ranging from Rogues to Werefoxes and other strays and most recently, Ferals. My heart thundered in my chest as I took a step.

Each step felt like an intrusion into a sanctuary but I had to do this. Sooner or later this had to happen. I continued moving, ignoring the urge to turn back and run back to where I was coming from.

The further I walked into the forest, the more, the path seemed to darken and the path which I used to access the forest seemed to close up from behind. I clutched the satchel strapped to my side and continued walking.

After walking a distance, I paused, looking around. This was the exact spot where I had been attacked by Ferals four years ago. A shiver ran down my spine but I pushed it aside. Crouching to the ground, I opened my satchel.

I could feel my heart pounding wildly in my chest, so much that I was worried it might jump out of my chest any moment now.

“Nymeris!” I called “Are you there?”

“I’m here Lyla!” she said quietly. “Don’t be afraid.”

Since the incident at the Harvest Moon Festival, then subsequently with the frequent mating with Ramsey, Nymeris seemed to be more under my control. Before she shifts and takes up her form, she would always ask me.

“Okay!” I nodded. “We just need to get Neriah’s sword and leave as fast as possible. I want to shift into you, but…”

“Not now, Lyla!” she interrupted me. “Once you get Neriah’s sword, you can take my form. That’s the only way you’d be able to leave the forest anyway. The paths closed up when you were coming in – an indication of the kind of magic that goes on around here. Don’t worry, I can navigate my way through it.”

“Thank you!” I sighed in relief and opened my satchel.

I pulled out an old, leather-bound book from my satchel: “Echoes of the Moonsingers: A History of Guardians”. Lenny had smuggled it out of the library for me from the library’s restricted section. I turned on the small flashlight I had on and opened the book.

I quickly flipped through the brittle pages, searching until I got to the marked page. I ran my fingers in the direction where Neriah’s sword was as accounted for by Aeron – the Moonsinger before me.

“A place where vines grow and no light touches the ground,” I murmured under my breath, tracking them on the page as if hoping to draw strength from them.

Taking a steadying breath, I lifted my gaze and scanned my surroundings. There were no vines here. Putting the book back into the bag, I rose to my feet and continued walking. The thicker I ventured into the forest, the thicker the forest seemed and the more darkened the path became.

The trees grew closer and tighter, their branches forming a canopy so thick that what little daylight remained couldn’t penetrate. Every step forward felt like a step into another world – one where the rules of reality might not apply.

Then that feeling that I was been watched, settled over me. Just as I was telling myself that I would not give in to my instincts and turn back, Nymeris’s voice flitted into my mind.

“Lyla, there is a presence and it is near.”

I tensed freezing mid-step. “What is it? What kind of presence?” I asked cautiously.

“It’s a Trinax, but he is alone. There are no Ferals with him.”

A Trinax. That could only mean one thing – Mr Dupree. I swallowed and forced myself to keep moving. If it was Dupree, then I wasn’t in immediate danger and that would mean, Xander was close too but the thought of running into him now, in this eerie place, made my nerves crawl.

As we continued to move, Nymeris asked me a strange question. Her voice had a contemplative edge to it.

“What is the strangest thing you have ever seen?”

I frowned. “What?”

“I need you to understand something,” she didn’t repeat the question. “Here, in this place, your powers are not useful. Even when you get Neriah’s sword, the creatures here will be immune to it.”

A chill swept over my skin. “Powerless?” I echoed. “Why would you say that to me now?”

“Because when it is time, you must let me protect you. I will take charge and do what I am supposed to do. Also, you know your Moonsinging powers cannot go to work at the same time as me.”

“Yeah, Mother Liora had mentioned that but I’m sure we can find a way around it. I don’t think…”

“There’s no way around it. If you try to use both powers at the same time, you might run mad, Lyla. It’s too much for one person to handle but that will come later. But right here and now I am your only defence and you must trust me completely.”

Before I could process the disturbing revelation, Nymeris continued, “The vine tree lies just around this bend.”

With my heart racing, I rounded the corner. It was as though the darkness deepened two-fold. I had to stop walking for a moment to allow my eyes to adjust to it. Thankfully, my sight could still take it.

I’ve had this special ability since I was a child. I used to think that the Moon Goddess had given me a perfect night vision to make up for my lack of wolf. As my eyes got accustomed to this new darkness, I saw a tree.

It was tall with a thick trunk and branches that were completely overwhelmed by thick, writhing vines. My chest tightened and a strange sensation swept over me, the same kind of feeling I had that day at the old warehouse with Xander and subsequently whenever I felt his presence.

My pulse pounded in my ears, but I forced myself to take a step forward, closer to the tree.

Then – something shimmered.

A tiny flicker of blue light, no larger than a candle’s flame, appeared in front of me.

The tiny spark of blue light floated like a wayward star. I continued watching, transfixed as it grew into a flame that danced through the air and started coming toward me. Then the ethereal fire began to circle my body, moving faster and faster until it was a continuous ring of azure light.

Then without warhing, it expanded, forming a swirling blue fire that opened up like a portal…

I saw a white light moving toward me, slowly… slowly until it came to stand in front of me.

It was a vision of me.

It was me – or at least, someone who looked exactly like me. But the woman wore clothes that belonged to another time, centuries, centuries past. The same I had seen in a vision of Neriah.

The clothes were similar too. This was Neriah. In person.

She was staring at me without so much expression on her face or in her eyes. The fabric clung to her form and her eyes glowed with an ethereal light. In her hands, she held a sword.

Neriah’s sword.

My breath caught.