"Now answer me, what is a "person"?" Zarek sounded stern and serious. It struck a nerve in Yilas, she didn't want to risk any more danger for herself. If she were to reveal anything about her reincarnation, she would definitely be seen as batshit crazy.
"Ah… it's just something that my clan made up a long time ago… it means a beast that I know that's all…" Yilas nervously answered, she kept on putting on new clothes to hide the fact that her voice was shaking.
"Is that so? Then who is the beast that you are missing?" Zarek's ears could hear all of Yilas's movements. So when all the noise stopped after he asked that question, Zarek got curious. 'What is she doing now?' He thought.
Taking a peek around, Zarek saw Yilas in her new white dress, more beautiful than a blooming lily at night. His heart had skipped a beat and his eyes couldn't move away. If before he had thought she was a devious, foxy beast who had tricked many beast-man by her sorcery. But now, she looked as innocent as a dove, just a sad flower bathing in the golden of the dimly lit fire. There was something bewitching that pulled him in. Demanding him to put her in a cage and watch over her forever so that nothing can hurt her so that no beast can ever take her away from him.
Zarek caught himself dozing off to a ridiculous dream, he took a deep breath and turned back to face Yilas. Her tormented expression bothered Zarek, a beauty like that shouldn't worry about anything that much.
"Was it Mohsen?"
As soon as Mohsen's name escaped Zarek's mouth, Yilas opened her eyes in shock and looked at him. She couldn't even start on how he found out. Yilas stared at him in both shock and fear yet that man stared back at her with a smirk on his face. She had reacted too much, no wonder it was easily read by him.
"Wonder how I know?" Zarek's smirk smeared even wider seeing Yilas's response, he knew he had hit the bullseye. "It's quite simple actually. The day you appeared in the city was the same day my brother was brought back on another beast's back and that beast Mohsen got locked away by his father. They made such a big fuss about your emergence that most of them forgot about the other two. But it wasn't hard to put two and two together. They were both at the training ground at that time, and knowing my naive brother, he was definitely roped into one of that sly rabbit's schemes…"
"I-It wasn't like that!" Yilas felt like a nervous wreck, she was shaking furiously while listening to Zarek. He was spot on, except for one thing. "We never wanted for Zassar to join in, he followed us…"
Yilas's voice was light as a fly but Zarek still heard it loud and clear. He stormed up close to her in a flash and gripped her whole face with one hand. While yelping in pain, she could see the anger in his eyes, burning like raging fire.
"So I was right! It was you and Mohsen that made him into that state!" Zarek squeezed Yilas's cheek until it was close to suffocating her. Only then did he throw her onto the bed harshly, leaving Yilas gasping for air like a fish out of water.
"I-I know you are angry…*cough cough*…but without my help, Zassar will never get better" Yilas heart must be beating louder than a drum. She didn't know where she found the courage to say such words but it wasn't baseless. Knowing how much this man cared about his brother, it could be the only thing she can use against him.
But as soon as Yilas had gotten some air back into her lungs, Zarek grabbed her by the neck again. He was furious, his nostrils were practically breathing fire and his eyes had turned red. Yilas wished she hadn't said that now. Her thin and weak spine could easily be snapped in half by just one hand. Moreover, his grip was like an iron shackle, Yilas tried to pry with her fingers but there was no use.
"You dare to threaten me?" Zarek shrieked over his grinding teeth. Their faces were so close to each other that Yilas could feel the burning heat of anger in his breath.
"I-I-it's true, he wi-will never wake u-up if it wasn't for-or me…" Yilas could barely slip out a few words before Zarek threw her away again, this time even more forceful.
*cough cough cough*
"So-So if you want to see him wake up… *cough*… bring Mohsen to me and I will continue to heal him."
***
Patiently waiting for the city guards to switch shifts, Sabal and Viosus hid themselves up in a high tree, just enough distance for them to jump the city gates. They had been watching the city guards the whole night. They had only switched once before but in between, there was about a minute gap. It was enough for the both of them to sneak in.
Seeing the current guards starting to stand up and moving toward the watch house, Viosus made a small noise to wake Sabal up and the both of them jumped from the tree branch onto the gate's wall. As the guards walked further and further away, two shadows jumped off the wall and hid once again, between the empty stalls of the market. The plan had worked out just as they had expected.
Once they were far enough from the gate, Sabal and Viosus hid in a dark corner, out of sight, before opening the map they had. The city map the Goat Doctor had drawn out for them was detailed enough for them to make out where they were and where they needed to go. First, they must head toward a place just outside the outskirts of the main city. Home of a beast-man the Doctor called the smartest general of the Goat City.