The Artifact of Dissium (Demona Book 2) (10 page)

A strange voice echoed in Demona’s head.
You are in Dissium.

“I think I’m going crazy,” Felix said.

“If you just heard a voice too, you’re not,” Ileana said.

“Who’s there?” Felix asked.

Come into the clearing,
the voice said.

Demona looked around in the darkness, but only found the outlines of trees and shrubs that seemed to dissolve into the darkness around them. “What clearing?” Demona asked. “Should we even be listening to a voice inside our heads?”

“I think I found it,” Ileana said. She grabbed Demona’s hand and pulled her forward.

They emerged through brush into a treeless field. The moon glowed, bright, and full above. It cast enough light to see their way through the sea of blacks and grays towards an open field. A figure emerged from the forest across the field from them and reflected the moon’s glow. The illuminated figure of a horse trotted through the tall grasses. It seemed to turn to look at the moon.

“Is that a horse?” Demona asked.

Felix gasped. “No! That’s a unicorn.”

Demona narrowed her eyes enough and could make out the singular horn that protruded from the animal’s head. She marveled at the creature’s stature from the distance. The profile of such a strong, muscular animal was something Demona never thought her eyes would see. She almost thought she was dreaming, but quickly remembered what she was and all that she had been through.

It really is a unicorn
. “I didn’t think they existed,” Demona said.

“Not outside of Dissium,” Felix replied. “I’m not sure but I think that is where the voice came from.”

Felix and Ileana walked in the unicorn’s direction. The unicorn did not turn to run away, but walked through the grass towards them. They met in the center of the grassy field and waited for the animal to speak once more.

Ileana tried to pet the unicorn’s muzzle, but it stepped back from her and snorted. Ileana withdrew her hand. “How amazing!”

I am Aero
, the voice said.
I am no pet
.

Demona looked at the unicorn. “You are the voice we’ve been hearing?”

Yes
.
I was sent to guide you
, Aero said.

“How did you know we were coming?” Felix asked.

Secrets are not meant to be known
. Aero tilted his head in Ileana’s direction and he snorted at her.
There was only to be two of you
.

Ileana stood with her hands on her hips. She cocked her head to one side. “What can I say? I couldn’t resist an adventure.”

An owl hooted from the forest and drew the attention of the group away from the conversation. Demona looked at the bordering forest around the field and wondered what other creatures lived in Dissium. She heard Aero stomp his hoof and turned her attention back to him.

“I’m Demona. This is Felix and Ileana.”

Come, we must leave this clearing in search of safer land
. The magnificent beast turned and trotted in the direction it had come. Aero whipped his head back at them.
Do not waste time
.

Demona, Felix, and Ileana picked up the pace and jogged behind their four legged guide. They entered the forest and continued to follow him on a narrow trail that wound through the trees. The cleared path made it easy to follow the unicorn without running into brush.

“How did you get through the portal without anyone noticing?” Felix asked.

“Easy, I asked. I ran up and placed my hand in the Power’s outstretched hand. He unfolded his wing for me, just like he did with you,” Ileana said.

“I’m surprised. Powers only let people into Dissium if they have good intentions,” Felix said.

“What can I say? It must be because I am a fellow feathered friend,” Ileana replied. “Or maybe I’m just that awesome.”

“Here we go with the bird jokes,” Demona replied.

They could not make out much of their surroundings other than the towering trees above. It seemed like they had been jogging through the forest for hours without pause, until Aero began to steadily decrease his trot, to a stroll. Demona’s nose caught the scent of fire as they trailed along behind the unicorn.

“What was that?” Felix whispered in response to a noise nearby.

Aero stopped a moment.
We are near a dark being camp. Be silent as we pass by. Keep your eyes on my rear. Do not get separated if something should happen
. Aero seemed to resume a slow pace. He deliberately lifted each leg high and gently stepped downward to keep from kicking any rocks across the forest floor.

The rest of them tiptoed as quietly as possible behind the four legged animal. Demona could hear the heavy breathing of her two companions and how they tried to steady their breath, despite the adrenaline that rushed through their veins. Soon, they heard voices and laughter ahead. The forest seemed to glow from a roaring bonfire in the center of the dark being’s camp.

“Washi Xun, kill that fool!” a woman screamed.

Cackling laughter filled the air and was joined by a chorus of laughter.

“As you command Queen Yuriko,” a man’s voice responded

Demona turned in the direction of the voice, taking her eyes off of Aero in the process. She saw nothing other than shadows that danced across the tree trunks that had been cast from the roaring fire. She did not like the sound of these dark beings. Snap! Demona froze and the rest of her group stopped mid-step. She looked down to see that she had wondered off of the path in her distraction and in the process she had stepped on a dry twig. Demona grimaced.

The sound of metal scraping metal could be heard above the raised voices from the camp. The dark beings jeered and looked at one another murderously. A chilling scream echoed under the tree canopy. Then, there was a moment of silence before voices rose in a cheer.

Some poor soul has lost their life
, Aero said.

Felix breathed a sigh of relief as the ruckus in the camp continued. Demona’s mistake had not drawn the attention of the dark beings. They had been too preoccupied to notice the four beings that made their way cautiously away from the camp. Aero continued down the trail and it took a moment for Demona to shake off the guilt before taking another step.

I will not make that mistake again
.

They drew away from the camp and the voices grew fainter.

Aero returned to a steady pace on their current path.
We must remain quite awhile longer. The smoke of the camp will draw others in. Do not misstep
, Aero said.

They followed Aero through the forest. Other beings scuttled through the forest as they carefully made their way from the camp. The sound of snapping twigs was too close for comfort.

Aero raised his muzzle into the air and let out a long neigh.
We must hurry
.
A werewolf has picked up our scent
. He began to gallop down the path leaving Demona, Felix, and Ileana struggling to keep up.

As their pace increased a howl ricocheted through the forest. Several other howls joined in the chorus. They cried in unison as a way to warn the other predators they had laid claim to their prey. The hunt was on.

Aero whinnied.
Run
faster
!

The four of them flew through the forest as quickly as possible. At times Demona was certain that they would lose their four legged guide in the chaos. He was farther down the trail and their legs struggled to keep up. If it had not been for the moonlight illuminating his brilliant coat as he passed through the streams of light that flowed through the tree tops, Demona knew they would never have been able to follow like that much longer.

Demona heard the bark of a wolf as it drew nearer. She would not risk taking her eyes from the unicorn to look back at Felix and Ileana. She knew they were there by the sound of their quick heavy breathing and of their feet hitting the ground. Demona caught a glimpse of something large and furry racing beside her. She heard snarls to her left.
Do not look
!

Aero halted.
Hurry, stop here
!

The three of them skidded to a halt where Aero waited for them. They turned to look for their stalkers. The three stood with their backs against the side of Aero’s lean body and braced themselves for the attack.

The attack never came. Instead, the wolves began to circle their prey, but came no closer. The large beast’s glowing eyes watched them carefully. They remained just a few feet away from where the predators snapped their jaws at their vulnerable prey.

“These don’t look like werewolves to me,” Demona said.

These are grey werewolves, the largest werewolves there are
, Aero replied.

“Why aren’t they making a strike?” Ileana asked.

“She’s right. Why aren’t they? We’re an easy kill standing here,” Felix said.

We are standing in a pixie ring
, Aero said.

Demona glanced down to observe the ring of flowers that encircled them.

The werewolves continued to circle the group. Some snarled and others snapped their jaws in hopes of scaring their prey out of the circle. Their eyes glowed in the darkness and their bared teeth were illuminated when they walked through the patches of moon light.

Aero blew from his nostrils at the creatures.

A chattering noise came from above as tiny creatures propelled themselves down from the tree above. They hung by one hand and a leg that was wrapped around a vine. Each little pixie measured no longer than finger length and were a multitude of colors. The little beings landed on Aero’s back and hopped up and down as they looked at the circling beasts.

One of the pixies lit a twig on fire and threw it in the direction of the wolves. They hopped around excitedly as the werewolf darted away from the flames. The twig extinguished with its impact on the ground and the werewolf snapped back at them in irritation. A giant tongue unraveled from one of the werewolves mouths and drool hung from its jowls.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Demona said. She had no need to focus on what she wanted to do; the
mageia
in Dissium was readily available. She willed a flame into the palm of her hand and used the
mageia
to build it into a fiery ball.

Demona flung the ball at the wolves hitting each one intentionally. One of the wolves caught aflame and ran into the woods howling in pain. Demona heard whimpering as the flaming wolf disappeared deeper into the forest. Many of the wolves were smart enough to know that fire was dangerous and moved farther into the trees to avoid being hit by the flaming orbs. Soon, they had all disappeared from sight.

“They’re still there,” Felix said.

Yes, they circle at a distance. We should be safe here for the night
, Aero said. The little pixies were clinging to his mane. They wove in and out of his long shining, wiry hair.

Demona heard the snarls of some of the werewolves as they stalked around the pixie ring at a distance. Aero settled himself onto the forest floor. The little pixies hopped about his muscular form. After a while, the pixies’ chattering quieted also.

Demona, Felix, and Ileana decided they had better get some rest, while the time allowed. They lay on the peat moss coated ground and used their packs for pillows. Demona watched the pixies make a chain of flowers and wrap it around Aero’s horn. She heard the unicorn’s steady breathing of a peaceful slumber and knew they were safe. Their little guardians would keep watch, until morning. She blocked out the snarls and barks of the wolves and quickly found sleep.