ENCHANTED WORLD SERIES BOOK 4: MOON CHILD'S WAR
Chapter 8

Ruvin wasn’t able to sleep at all. He ended up spending most of the night watching over Corleen’s vitals. Her condition had not changed but neither did she die. Briar and Tron were able to get rid of most of the lethal silver in her blood, exhausting Tron to the point of no return.

As the sun peaked from the horizon, Ruvin demanded that Tron and Willow returned to the enchanted world for the time being and that he needed stand-ins until they were able to return. Raul made sure that, before the birds and other creatures were up and about, he had already driven the two High Mage up to the Devil’s peak gateway.

“Her breathing is regulating but I don’t know how long she will stay like this.” Briar touched Corleen’s pale face then turned to Ruvin. “They are probably looking for her. Without Willow and Tron here, we are like sitting ducks.”

Ruvin sighed and hefted his body from the bed. Ruvin knew of the possibility that they might get raided by Faelen’s weakbloods now that the cloaking spell was down. Ruvin was ready for whatever the clan leader was going to throw at them, but he was not going to let Corleen die because of it. Though she made it through the night, it didn’t mean she was out of the woods yet.

Corleen had a strong will to live. He saw it in her. She had a passion for what she did. She wanted to keep everyone safe. It could be because of her mate who was killed and so she wanted to make sure no one else died like that but at the same time, it could be because she was the only one to keep Alli safe. Whatever the case, it was not Corleen’s time to leave the world just yet. She still had so much to achieve and Ruvin wasn’t just thinking that lightly. Corleen could go far with the spirit that she had.

“Someone will be coming soon from the enchanted world. In the meantime, I want the security system up and running. I want all the areas monitored at all times. I’ll go and talk to the others.” Ruvin moved from Corleen’s bed and made his way down to the basement where all the other members of his team were.

Jake was sitting watching some surveillance footage with Izzy while cleaning his gun. The young human surprised Ruvin too much, because he was up and ready to defend them with whatever he had. That scared Ruvin a little because he had nothing going for him apart from his wits and that gun. Good thing nothing happened to him, or he didn’t know what he would have told Quentin.

Vixen and Lukas were looking over at a few maps, marking out the places they had monitored on full moon. They had two more days of scouting and monitoring as the moon reduced slowly.

“You look like shit.” Edon teased as he came towards him.

Ruvin turned to the smart-mouth and smirked. No one had some decent sleep, so they all had terrible expressions on their faces. “Take a look in the mirror then come and tell me that shit again.”

Edon shrugged softly then sighed. “Last night was the worst yet. It’s getting harder to control these human hunters. If we don’t know where they come from, it is pretty hard to make sure they don’t kill the weakbloods on fullmoon.”

That statement made Ruvin remember Blake. He said something about knowing where the hunters were coming from. It was strange that he disappeared completely from the scene without a trace. “We need to replace Blake. I think he knows something.” Then he turned up and caught everyone else’s attention. “I need you guys to be alert at all times. With Tron and Willow gone, we are at a danger of being discovered. Izzy,” he turned to the bright-eyed baby of the team. “I want your security up and fully running. Make sure all the cameras and our alert triggers are working.”

“I’ll have to go scouting then.” She sighed softly placing her modern keyboard down on her desk.

“I’ll come with you.” Lukas quickly volunteered leaving Vixen blinking in confusion.

“Me too.” Jake got up and joined Lukas and Izzy. “The larger the team the faster we can cover the area.”

“Vixen, you and I are going to make sure nothing crossed in from last night. Edon, I want you to go into town and replace Blake. I need him here.” Ruvin dictated.

“Is that a good idea bringing yet another stranger here?” Vixen asked softly. She was a very hard person when it came to trusting people. She made a big fuss last night when she discovered that Ruvin had brought someone into the house who was not part of their team.

The Duma were very suspicious beings, and it took a long time for someone to earn their trust but they were very loyal once they overcame their suspicion.

“We have no choice. Blake is the black half-blood that appeared in our cameras a few days ago. It seems he has been here for a while, long enough to know the patterns the hunters are using to get to the weakbloods. He might be a little more useful if we pull him to our side.” Ruvin explained.

Vixen wanted to object. Ruvin saw it in her eyes, but she didn’t dare. She knew once his mind was made up, no one could change it. Ruvin was grateful to have Vixen in his team, but she was a little hard to work with, especially with her being too far away from home.

“Alright, everyone move out. Keep in mind that Faelen’s men are looking for Corleen as we speak. They will be searching the woods carefully so be very alert out there.” Ruvin said.

Everyone nodded and moved out.

“Hey, I have been meaning to ask you, where did you disappear off to last night?” Edon asked as he fished out the keys to his truck.

Ruvin turned to him. He was not ready to complicate things further by telling everyone that he had found his mate. Truth be told, he still didn’t believe in it. It felt as if the luna energies were just playing a trick on him.

Last night when she came out of the house right after he arrived, her scent teased and cajoled his senses to the point he thought he was going to die. She was so innocent, trusting him enough to come out and meet him. Although she was a little apprehensive, her little ability must have told her that she was not in any immediate danger from him and that was why she was able to come out like the way she did.

She scared him with her courage. They were complete strangers with nothing in common. She was still in college for fucking’s sake! She was nothing short of a baby, if he was to calculate the years back in the enchanted world. For the years that he lived, a life fit for a stray dog, he had seen it all. He was an ancient in his own right, the last known pureblood lycanthrope. Having a kid such as Alli for a mate, was absurd.

“I went out for a run.” Ruvin lied.

“Okay....” Edon answered passing his hand through his brown locks. “If you need to talk to me about anything, you know you can, right? It’s just that, these past few days I have seen a change in you--like something is really bothering you.”

Ruvin grunted softly. “You sound like a fucking shrink right now. Shut the fuck up.”

Edon raised his hands in surrender, then frowned and spoke. “Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Vixen and I ran into someone last night. I thought it was Corleen with the way she moved and the solo stunt she pulled, but she disappeared right after killing the one hunter we all thought was waiting for the others at the motel.”

Ruvin narrowed his eyes. “How the hell do you forget to tell me such important information?”

“Like I said, I thought it was Corleen--until you called and told me of her situation.” Edon stated.

“Did you get the sight of her face, anything?” Ruvin asked.

“Short of the long straight black hair, and leather--lots and lots of leather...” Edon smirked crossing his arms across his chest.

Ruvin groaned and placed his hand on Edon’s shoulder, his fingers pressing hard on the flesh above his collar bone. “You sure know how to pay attention to details, Edon.”

Edon groaned in pain and moved away. “She was too fast. In fact, it looked like she flashed her way around us until she killed the hunter then disappeared. She had no idea we were there.”

“Next time you see her, make sure you introduce yourself, slip into her bed if you have to but I need to know who she is.”

Edon grinned. “With pleasure.”

As Ruvin moved around Edon, the alarm went off. Ruvin rushed to the monitor to see who was coming and there was a man approaching their house with such ease and knowledge as if he had been there before. Then he passed one of the cameras and looked up his brilliant blue eyes sparkling back up at them.

“Looks like Blake just cut down the job of replaceing him for you.” Ruvin said.

Blake was a tall well-built male. He was dressed in black jeans, a black shirt and a black coat that reached his knees. The male had style, Ruvin thought sarcastically. He had a pale complexion and midnight black hair. When Blake turned to his left side as he stood in front of the vine-suffocated iron gates, Ruvin noticed the tattoo running on the side of his neck and disappearing behind his ear into his hair.

“Open the gates.” He instructed Izzy who had quickly returned after hearing the alarms go off.

“Who is that?” She asked as she brought down her system long enough for Blake to enter.

“That’s Blake, the half-blood beast we have been talking about.” Ruvin assured her.

The gates swung open, and Blake entered.

Izzy giggled softly. “He’s a hottie!”

Lukas suddenly grabbed Izzy’s hand and pulled away from the monitor. “We need to get going, boy-band groupie.”

“Hey! Watch it!” Izzy growled at Lukas and walked away from him.

“Let’s go and meet with him before I go into town.” Edon said placing his gun on the small of his back.

Ruvin nodded and walked out, meeting Vixen in the corridor. She didn’t look happy, but she followed them to the foyer where Blake was chatting to Tessa and Quentin.

“Blake.” Ruvin gave the male a short nod with a warning that told him not to try anything in the house. It was bad enough that Ruvin brought him in without even looking into his background properly. And then he had Vixen breathing down his neck. Lately, he had been making decisions that were so unlike him. What Edon told him earlier was true. Something inside him had changed, making him sloppy and he didn’t like it.

He needed to get his act together before someone paid the price for his recklessness.

Blake turned to him and returned the nod. They stood at the same height with Ruvin but Ruvin hoped that Blake understood who had the upper hand there.

Shadow stirred in Ruvin’s head scanning the other male and connecting with Ryle who was also just as curious.

“I have something to tell you.” He told Ruvin.

Ruvin turned to Edon then Vixen before nodding and taking him somewhere private where they could talk.

Alli parked her car outside the Faelen fortress and unbuckled her seatbelt, before sitting in there for a moment. That morning, after having breakfast at Donny’s place, she lied that she was going home to make sure that Corleen was alright. She knew her sister didn’t make it home last night. Goodness, she didn’t even know if her sister was alive.

The feeling in her gut got worse throughout the night to the point she felt like throwing up. She couldn’t sleep with her body crawling at every sound she heard outside. She wanted to talk to Louise that morning, asking him if he had heard anything about what transpired last night but he was gone before they were even awake.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Donny asked with so much concern in her face.

“Idonea, you shouldn’t move around in the state that you are.” Alyse objected sipping her juice quietly. “Your body is still in shock. You don’t want to catch any attention outside, so you better stay put.”

For once Alli felt Alyse was right. Besides, she didn’t want Donny to come with her because she wasn’t going home. “Alyse is right. Stay here and get better, and I’ll call you later. ”

“Are you sure?” Donny asked.

“I’m okay, Donny.” Alli said her goodbyes and left the house.

She sat for a moment in the car, watching as the people who were visiting were scanned and given cards are the gate and sighed softly. Everyone knew who she was but this time, she had a different reaction at the gates that confirmed her suspicions.

“Alli?” The guard scratched the back on his head nervously. “What are you doing here so early in the morning?”

“My sister didn’t come home last night, and I didn’t receive any information on what happened so I came to see for myself that she is alright.” She didn’t need to beat around the bushes and come up with lame excuses. This was her sister’s life they were talking about.

“Uhm...would you hold a moment and let me check with the department?” He asked as he reached for the landline phone and dialled a number.

Alli rolled her eyes. “Since when, Cash? Is this the first or second time that I come here? Why this, why now? What the hell happened to my sister last night?”

“I am not authorized to discuss any of that with you, Alli. You will need to speak to someone at the department.”

Alli eyed the man like he had suddenly said the foulest thing to have ever been created in the English language. Cash was an easy-going guy and at times Alli felt he treated her overly too well. She was cautious as he might have had a crush on her but at that moment his actions were very odd.

Suddenly he dropped the phone and gritted his teeth. “Lord Faelen was not supposed to return for another week.” He said softly and buzzed for the vehicular gates to open.

Alli turned around in time to see the three black Mercedez enter the premises. She took that brief moment of Cash being startled and quickly slipped through the gates.

“Alli! Wait!” Cash called after her, but Alli sprinted across the yards towards the front entrance, seeing the three cars making their way towards a different entrance, one specifically for those who had titles in the wolf clan.

Suddenly the front car’s door flew open and Faelen came out. Alli felt her feet go numb when he suddenly turned to her and started towards her. Two of his guards flanked him and Alli wondered what sort of trouble she was in now.

If there was ever a man that walked the same earth as her, and was truly hated by her like the way she hated Faelen, then he was yet to cross her. The last time Faelen and her were in the same room was the night she was almost sentenced to death for striking her clan leader. It was right after he instructed Manny to knock Corleen out when she went crazy with grief at the loss of her mate.

Corleen clung onto Xavier’s body, not letting anyone close to it, when Faelen and his guards arrived.

“Why did he have to die like this?” She cried softly, hugging his torn body tightly.

“Even the strongest fall at the end. No one is immortal.” Faelen had told her.

“But it’s not like Xavier to die like this!” She looked up at him with tears running down her eyes. “He shouldn’t have died like this!”

Alli remembered that she was sitting up the stairs, silently crying. This was after her sister had burst inside the house with Xavier’s body in her hands. Alli was so shocked, but had the courage to go and help her sister drag him in. Alli had never seen something so grotesque and so bloody in all her twenty-one years of living. She dry-heaved but all that was short-lived the moment she touched his body, and had the flashback of what happened to him. Her eyes rolled back, and she began convulsing on the floor.

Corleen thought it was from the shock of seeing a dead body, but Alli saw exactly what happened to Xavier that night and what killed him.

“We need to get him out of here, Corleen. We don’t want to make a scene. Not everyone will understand this accident.” Faelen said.

“No!” Corleen exclaimed. “No one is taking him away from me! Not until I replace out what really happened today.”

“Corleen, two of our best hunters died tonight!” Faelen raised his voice. “I lost my head of security, so you are not the only one at a loss here. Now, heed my command and let Manny take the body out.”

Corleen shook her head burying her face into Xavier’s bloody neck. “No.” she cried softly.

“Manny, knock her out and get the body out of here.” Faelen instructed.

“Stop!” Alli exclaimed rushing down from the stairs. “Just give her some time to accept that her mate is dead. Don’t you have a heart?”

“Hearts are for those who can’t move on. She has grieved enough, and it is time to move on!” Faelen growled at her, his eyes glowing to show his wolf was close. “Manny!”

When Manny moved forward, so did Alli. With his big meaty hand, Manny hit Corleen at the back on her neck causing her to lose consciousness and release Xavier’s body.

“You monster!” Alli exclaimed striking Faelen right on his face. She was abruptly yanked from him and slammed against the door with yet another bulky guard. His canines were claws were out, ready to strike her dead at the command. The air in her lungs came out in one short burst as the bones on her back protested at the sudden attack.

“You dare lay your hand on your clan leader?” the guard snarled. “Your crime is punishable by death, do you hear me, little girl?”

“Oz, let her loose.” Faelen didn’t so much as flinch. “I said let her go, now!” He barked.

Oz let go of her so abruptly that Alli found herself crumbling to the ground.

“I hate you so much.” She managed to pass through her lips before Faelen could leave. “I will hate you with all my heart until this hatred kills me.”

Faelen stiffened for a moment that felt like forever, and without looking back, he stalked out with Manny, Oz, and Xavier’s body. That was the last time she had ever allowed herself to come so close to the man, even after she had later told Corleen what she saw when she touched Xavier’s body and her sister challenged the HOS position.

“Alli!” Faelen rushed to her and all Alli could think of was to disappear.

Alli didn’t need this. Every time she saw his face, her rage returned in full force, and it scared her that one day she was going to do something so terrible that not even Corleen was going to be able to help her escape death.

She wanted to ignore him and walk away but she didn’t need to be manhandled by his brutes, especially when she didn’t know what fate her sister had. It took every ounce of discipline and courage to stand there, and wait for him to arrive.

“What are you doing here?” He asked her.

Alli looked up at him. He didn’t have the face of a monster. He never had, but his heart was black through and through. She was very sure of it. She didn’t need her sixth sense to tell that to her. She experienced it. “I am here to see my sister.”

“I got a call from Titus that your sister went missing last night. I want you to come with me right now.” He said holding out his hand.

“What?” Alli managed to pass through her closing-up throat. “What happened to my sister?”

“Alli, don’t argue with me. Come with me.” He spoke.

She watched as his guards moved around him towards her.

“Don’t--” Faelen sighed tiredly and stopped his guards. “Don’t force her.”

Alli knew she had no choice but to follow him, if she wanted to discover what happened to her sister. He had more access to information than her, and it looked as if he truly wanted to help if he was able to cut his trip short because Corleen was missing. She looked at the two guards, who were not at all pleased that their clan leader would allow her to get away with anything, then turned to Faelen--was that sincerity in his eyes?

Alli swallowed softly, and took a step towards him but avoided his hand. She walked ahead of him, something no one should do when in the presence of the clan leader but yet again, she got away with it.

“When was the last time you talked to your sister? What did she tell you?” He started bombarding her with questions, but Alli wasn’t hearing any of it.

She was terribly worried because Corleen was all she had. If she lost her sister, there was no one else to take care of her. Maybe she was somewhere injured? Or what if the hunters had gotten to her?

“Alli!” Faelen’s voice echoed in her head.

She snapped her eyes up at him. “Yes?”

“When did you last talk to Corleen?” He asked again.

“Just before she went out hunting. She wanted to make sure that I didn’t go out last night. You have to replace her! What if she is in the hands of hunters? Oh, shit.” Alli felt as if she was about to get sick.

“Yanick, I want you to tell everyone to expand the search area. I need to know everything that is happening.”

“Yes, Lord Faelen.” Yanick, one of the guards, inclined his head and fell out from the convoy.

Alli had never been on that side of the fortress. It was awfully quiet with very few people moving about. She soon discovered they were not just people, they were guards with guns.

Faelen led her to what looked like an office, where she heard a familiar voice barking out orders. When they entered, Titus was there looking like he, too, didn’t sleep so well. When he saw her, his eyes widened.

“Alli? What are you doing here?”

“Same reason as to why I am here.” Faelen answered tightly.

Titus inclined his head to his brother. “Lord Faelen.”

“What the hell is going on! Where is my Head of Security, Titus?”

Titus sighed softly and turned to the three bulky guards behind Faelen. “You’re dismissed.”

The guards inclined their heads and went out.

Alli was not used to seeing a worried Titus. This was the second time together with the day they were attacked by the Varga and the Ghost Runners came to rescue them.... oh yeah, he told her not to call him that--but what was his name.

Ask me for my name....

She should have asked for his name. She should have asked for his help. She should have....no, no, no, she should stay the hell away from him.

“Corleen disappeared last night after her team was attacked by five human fanatic hunters. I don’t know how they managed to kill all five of them in the state that they were but when we arrived there, we found that we lost one of our hunters and the rest had severe silver poisoning but--Corleen was not among them. It seems that the human hunters are getting more powerful, with weapons not even we can comprehend.” Titus explained, then ran his hand through his hair.

“So, do you think the human hunters captured Corleen?” Faelen asked, taking a sit behind his desk and mentioning that Alli did the same.

Alli literally collapsed on the chair. With the lack of sleep and the horrible scenes of what happened to her sister swimming in her head, she was like a walking zombie. She was tired, but she couldn’t rest until she got down to the bottom of what really happened last night. “Didn’t you replace anything of hers? Corleen is clever. If she was taken away, she would have probably left a clue.”

“We found her phone, her car keys, her watch--”

“All things electrical.” Alli suddenly sat up in alert.

“Every team leader had a transmitter in case something happened to them, and they needed a rescue team. Didn’t you replace it?” Faelen asked.

“We found it with her team.”

Alli gasped softly. She knew where her sister was.

Whatever you hear about Corleen is not true. Corleen will be alright....I promise.

The Ghost Runner told her that last night. Could it be that they took her with them. Was she in danger with him?

“What is it, Alli? What do you remember?” Titus asked her.

Alli clamped her mouth shut and shook her head. “I am just worried that she could be dead right now.”

“Corleen is stronger than she appears. It will take the whole army to kill her.” Titus said softly.

That was true. Alli knew of Corleen’s fighting spirit. Nothing small could kill her, and if her gut was correct and she was in hands of the Ghost Runners, then maybe she was worrying herself for nothing. So far the Ghost Runners did nothing malicious to anyone. They were good guys so maybe they were the best option for her survival.

“New teams have been sent out to search for her, Alli, so don’t worry yourself too much.” Titus said.

Alli nodded softly and sighed lightly. “I think I should get back home, maybe wait for her there.”

“You are not going anywhere.” Faelen objected.

What was his beef? Alli thought in irritation. She gave him the chance of hearing him out, but now she was tired of being in his presence and hearing that voice of his. What else did he want? “See, you don’t get to dictate what I can or can’t do--”

“Alli.” Titus growled in warning.

Faelen held his hand up to stop his brother. “Your life might still be in danger. Look at it this way, why was it that only your sister is missing? Whoever has your sister might come and look for you.”

And that was the whole plan. If the Ghost Runners had her sister, then they were going to come and look for her at the house. She needed to be there in order for them to take her to see Corleen.

“You are safer where we can see you. Titus take her to one of the rooms upstairs where she can rest--”

“No!” Alli stood up abruptly. “I don’t need to rest; I need to replace my sister.”

“Titus.” Faelen turned towards his brother.

“What, are you going to knock me out like the way you did my sister the other time?” She crossed her arms.

“If it comes to that, yes, I will.” Faelen said tightly.

Titus moved from where he was standing. “Come on, Alli, let’s go.”

“And here I thought you truly cared about what happened to my sister. You haven’t changed at all, clan leader.” Alli told him. She would rather call him that than add a Lord in front of his name. He didn’t deserve that privilege from her.

Titus grabbed Alli’s hand and took her out in the hallway before he stopped and turned to her. “Are you looking to be severely punished instead of looking for your sister? Do you know what that would do to Corleen if she replaces out? Why don’t you just grow up and let go of the past for once? This is no longer about you and Lord Faelen anymore. It is about replaceing Corleen and keeping you safe.”

Alli yanked her hand from Titus’ grip. “It’s easy for you to say that because it was your brother that abused my sister that night, and not the other way round. Do you think it is easy to let go of that memory? Do you think it is easy to stop remembering seeing the one person that has taken care of you when you’ve lost everyone else get beaten down for mourning for her mate? Are you seriously telling me to respect the man that practically spat on my sister’s face because she only wanted a few moments to accept that her mate was no more? He was heartless, selfish and cruel and I will not accept that and move on!”

Titus went silent in shock.

“I know where your loyalty lies, Titus, because you have no choice, but don’t you dare try that bullshit about growing up and let go of the past on me again. I will only let it go when either of us are no longer in each other’s way.” Alli started forward and almost crushed into Tyson and Larimar.

Tyson was staring at her wide-eyed with shock while Larimar was hugging his arm as if it was her life-line. Alli was not in the mood of dealing with his childness, so she passed him like she never saw him and concentrated on getting the hell out of there.

“Yo pup!”

Ruvin groaned inwardly, knowing that voice even in his deepest sleep. “When I said I needed Mage substitutes, you were not part of the plan, Zach.” he turned to the male in a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt, with a cheeky grin of his face. That only meant one thing. He was there to stay for a while.

“Oh come on, pup. I know you missed me.” Zach jested and chuckled softly. “I brought you a gift.” He handed him the box of vials. “Courtsey of that savage-of-a unicorn, Steel. He wouldn’t let his mate give out blood though she was willing--the bastard.”

Ruvin couldn’t help but laugh. Zach was right. Ruvin had missed the boys back home. Being alone in a strange land was difficult, even though he was a lycan and the lycans were a shy race. He and Zach were closer than anyone else. They always got into trouble and had to face the Lord Mage together.

“What are you doing here, Zach? Don’t you have a sector to run or something?” Ruvin asked.

“First of all I am the second in command these days, so I have a whole lot of people under me to do such things, now that Drake has gone back to the Fire Realm and second--” He raised his hands and the sudden presence of a cloaking spell was felt rippling through the house with power.

Zach was a half-blood Mage but he sure was quite powerful, Ruvin had to admit.

“How does it feel being the Second in Command, with the Lord Mage breathing on your neck at every chance he gets?” Ruvin said just as Tessa entered the office carrying a tray of food for him.

“Not so bad--”

“Oh!” She gasped in surprise. “I didn’t know you had company. I will come back later.”

Zach turned to the stuttering female then at Ruvin, and his eyebrow arched up knowingly.

Another thing about Zach was that he was pretty good at coming up with terrible conclusions.

“It’s okay, Tessa. This is Zach, and he will be here for little while. He will be replacing Willow and Tron for the time being.”

Tessa nodded and smiled at Zach. “Nice to meet you.”

“Tessa’s family is staying here with us, helping us where they can.” Ruvin explained to Zach, frowning when Zach suddenly pulled Tessa softly towards him and sniffed her.

“She’s human.” Zach announced.

“And you are a Mage.” Tessa answered nervously.

Zach frowned. “So, you are going around and telling humans around here about us, pup?”

Ruvin sighed tiredly. “Her family has been working for the weakbloods around here for generations. I happened to have known Quentin for a while. They are trustworthy.”

Zach gave a little nod, but he still looked apprehensive.

“Are you hungry? Should I get you some food?”

Zach turned to the tray laid for Ruvin and nodded. “If it looks like that then, yes please.”

Tessa managed to blush as she quickly went out of the office.

“Keep your dick in your pants when it comes to Tessa, or I will not be responsible for what Shadow might do to it.”

As if on cue, the beast lazily turned inside Ruvin’s head. If they were in the enchanted world, the beast would have been up and about his mind but because so much energy was used up in the human world, the beast didn’t even bother. He just remained quiet, only voicing his thoughts when he needed to and most of the times, he just let them shimmer into his keeper's mind.

“Ouch.” Zach settled in front of Ruvin. “I thought the human realm atmosphere tamed him a little bit.”

“Not in the slightest. You should see him on full moon’s night.” Ruvin cringed softly when Shadow sent a headache streaking down. “Tell me what is happening in the enchanted world that I don’t know of.”

Zach shrugged. “Same ol’ same ol’. The Mage Queen has been moved to the cold Fortress because her condition is now showing. The Dark Realm, The Fire Realm and the Mage Realm are merging their armies in order to prepare for whatever is coming. Since the fall of the new leader of the Rogue Dragons, they have been silent for a while but now a new danger arises.′

Ruvin stopped what he was doing to looked up at Zach. “What new danger?”

“The mer-rebels and the sorcerers are causing trouble. The Realm of Water is in a state of chaos.” Zach answered grimly. “The Lord Mage fears sending troops there because the mer-rebels want him dead and might use the warriors against him.”

“So what is the plan?” Ruvin asked feeling as if he should return there and help out the Realm. He owed everything he was, to the Lord Mage so he was ready to do whatever it took to make sure the Realm he had called his home for a long time was safe.

“I don’t know yet, but Jax was not pleased by the outcomes and by the looks of things, I have a feeling that fishboy has a plan up his sleeve.” Zach said.

“Is he going back to the Realm of Water?” Ruvin’s eyes widened.

Jax made an oath never to return to the place that condemned him, and left him to lead the life of a fugitive again. If Jax was planning to go back and try and help out, it just went to show just how desperate the situation was.

“I don’t know, man. I don’t know whatever goes through that fishboy’s mind anymore.” Zach looked as worried as he sounded.

“Let’s hope he isn’t stupid enough to go in alone.” Ruvin felt that Jax was going to go to the Realm of Water. It had been a while since he was there, so maybe many of the people might have forgotten what happened to him all those years ago.

“Commander!” Raul came in. “She is awake. Corleen is awake.”

Ruvin jumped up from his chair and followed Raul out with Zach close behind. When they arrived in Corleen’s room, her eyes turned to him.

“I should have known it was you.” She rasped softly staring at him with so much knowlege glittering in her eyes. “I should have known you were a Ghost Runner.”