Chapter 56

Kelly I felt heartbroken for my ancestor. There was no sign of him at any of the other places which I’m sure he would have written had he made it. That led me to believe that he was killed somewhere in this forest. He hardly made it through the mission. That thought made me feel uneasy. Sure, the witches were annoying, but certainly not the worst thing we have encountered thus far. It made me wonder if there was something else out here. Something more deadly.

Dismissing my negative thoughts, I carefully put my grandfather’s note away. Emmett and I made our way back to the camp where Thorin and Jonas already had dinner waiting.

“Find it?” Jonas asked hopefully.

“No, but we did find a note from my great-something-grandfather.” I said, taking a seat between Thorin and Jonas.

“What did it say?” Jonas pushed.

“He said they were surrounded by many voices that were trying to intimidate them. I figure he meant the witches.” I shrugged.

“Witches have a distinct smell. I imagine he would have known if it was a witch.” Jonas frowned.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged defeatedly. “Maybe things were different back then. Maybe they didn’t know what creatures smelled like.”

“I don’t think the scent of an entire race would change or go unnoticed…Maybe it was something else.” Jonas suggested, only adding to my unease.

“Like what?” Emmett asked.

“Crocotts, Banshees, Night Hag, Incubus, Succubus, Djinn….” Jonas began listing off.

“Great. Sounds like a party.” Emmett snorted.

“I guess just keep a sharp eye until we figure out what is out there.” I shrugged, my mood dropping by the second.

Something about this part of the mission made me far more emotional. Maybe I was getting burnt out from being nearly killed repeatedly, maybe it was having the idea that Keres could be fixed dangled in front of me, or perhaps finding the note from my grandfather. Either way, I was not in the right headspace.

“I’m sorry, I’m just trying to figure out what he could have been talking about. If I know what we are up against, we have a much better chance at fighting it should the need arise.” Jonas said, picking up on my sour mood.

I nodded and took a deep breath before digging the note out of my bag and giving it to Jonas. He read it over at least three times, but didn’t say anything to me, he just handed it back and we finished dinner in silence. We worked out the night shifts and I fell asleep next to the fire soon after. I was confused when I woke up. I was supposed to have the graveyard shift, and here I was, waking up in the daylight.

“Thorin and Emmett went to go look for the plant,” Jonas said, cooking something over the fire. “We thought you could use some sleep so we spread out the night shifts.” He added.

“Thanks, you guys are the best.” I said, getting up and joining his side. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed contently while I watched the fire crackle away.

“Wwwaaaaaaaaa!!” A woman’s voice hollered in pain.

Jonas and I immediately exchanged a glance before I jumped up and began following the voice.

“Kelly, where are you going?” Jonas asked, a pace or two behind me.

“You heard it too!” I scoffed. “Someone is out there and they sound hurt, we have to help.”

“Then let’s wait for the other guys, we shouldn’t just disappear without telling them,” Jonas protested.

“Wwwaaaaaaaaa!!” She cried again, making me pick up the pace. The sky began to grow dark, it looked like a storm was coming.

“Kelly, we don’t know if that is actually someone in trouble!” Jonas yelled, more firm this time.

“It is, look!” I said, pointing to a figure ahead. “Are you okay?!” I asked, running the rest of the way to her.

“They are all going to die!!” She wailed.

“Who are? What’s going on?” I asked, placing my hand on her shoulder.

She quickly turned around, making me gasp in shock. She had pale skin and unkempt hair. Her clothes were old and tattered, and she had black circles around her eyes.

“She is dead,” She hissed. “And he is next!”

“What? Who?” I said, taking some steps back. “You don’t even know who I am.”

“Kelly? Kelly? Where are you?” She said, my sister Kelsey’s voice pulling through.

“What kind of sick joke is this?” I choked out.

“Kelly, she is a Banshee! Cover your years!” Jonas yelled.

“You will never be queen.” Another woman said, appearing out of nowhere. She held my father’s voice.

“Leave me alone!” I yelled.

I could hear Jonas yelling at something else, until I couldn’t. All I could hear was the ringing through my ears, filled with the voices of my family. I felt like I could almost see their faces. It felt like they were here with me.

“You’ll never be good enough.”

“Who would ever want an addict as their queen?”

“Who would ever want you?”

The voices were crippling. I began to run, but the further I got, the louder the voices got, eventually landing me on my knees. I tried to cover my ears, but my eyes were still a problem. This was bad. This was so so bad.

– – – – – – – – – – –

Jonas I prayed that of all the possible creatures, we wouldn’t have a Banshee. They were awful creatures, playing on your mental status. They didn’t need to lay a finger on you to end your life. You would do that yourself, going completely insane in a matter of hours or days if you had a strong mind. Banshees are associated with death and the spirit world, and are mostly female spirits. They can take on the voice of anyone, making them especially deceptive.

I yelled at Kelly to cover her ears, but I was afraid I was too late. She broke out into a sprint, heading further into the darkness.

“Kelly!” I yelled, trying to keep up with her.

“Jonas! Jonas!”

“Grandma?” I squinted. I swear I saw her standing out in the distance. But I knew better. She passed away years ago. I covered my ears and set my gaze upon the forest floor and began to run towards the last place I had seen Kelly. Goddess, let’s hope I can find her.

– – – – – – – – – –

Thorin We spent hours looking for the special plant with no luck. Emmett and I left early in the morning and planned on coming back around lunch time to collect Kelly and Jonas and further our search. We only had two days and change to find the special plant before we would have to wait until the next full moon.

“Should we head back?” Emmett asked.

“Da.” I nodded, feeling a bit disappointed that we had not found it yet.

We continued along, taking a long way back to cover more ground. Everything was going fine, until I heard her voice.

“Da-da-da-da-da-da.”

“Alina?” I asked, my voice catching.

“Alina? Who is Alina?” Emmett asked.

“Da-de-da-da.” Her sweet babbles continued.

My feet were on autopilot, following the sound of my daughter’s voice. Emmett called for me but I ignored him, my heart pulling towards my daughter’s sweet little voice.

“Alina!?” I called, searching the dark forest, running as fast as my feet could carry me. I had to find her. I have to find her.

– – – – – – – – –

Emmett Thorin took off like a bullet towards the mysterious sound, leaving me behind. I tried to keep up, but Thorin was incredibly fast. I soon realized what this was; a Banshee. I was not familiar with all the super-natural creatures out there, but I knew enough to recognize that this had to be a Banshee. A wailing woman, one who was closely connected with the spirit world. Whoever Thorin thought he was hearing, he wasn’t. I quickly tore the hem of my shirt, jamming what I could into my ears before I started hearing things.

“Jonas? Kelly?” I linked, praying they were close enough to hear me.

When I received no response, I began heading back to camp as fast as my feet would carry me. I could look for Thorin later. First, I had to warn the others. I prayed that they hadn’t already been compromised. I knew very little about Banshees, but hopefully Jonas could offer some insight. Something tells me they weren’t something to joke about. Of course, we would run into them now, only two days away from the full moon. But if they were here, perhaps that meant we were close to the Lunaris Herbs? I could only hope.

“Emmett? Thorin?” Jonas called via link.

“I’m here! There are Banshees, cover your ears!” I warned.

“I know they got to Kelly and I have a dozen trying to harass me. Don’t come back to camp.”

“What are we going to do?” I asked, coming to a skidding stop.

“Look for the herbs, I will find Kelly.”

“Keep an eye out for Thorin too.”

“I’ll try to get them both out.” Jonas said, determination in his voice.

“See you on the other side.” I said, taking off in a new direction, in the hope of finding the herbs. It would seem this mission was resting in my hands now.