The crunching of dried leaves and small branches can be heard aloud along the pathway that six pairs of feet were walking on. As they went deeper into the forest, so did the silence grow.
Ivan was leading the way. This late afternoon, after the three had arrived from the hospital, Ivan informed Jade that he was able to ask the senior chauffer, Calvin, of where Ziron and the rest were last night.
Jade was a bit relieved as she found someone as efficient as Ivan to help her. Once the man knew the location, Ivan took to himself to see the area first before bringing Jade.
"Are you alright Jade? The night is a bit cold." Hannah asked the younger woman in front of her.
"I'm alright. You dressed me quit enough to withstand the cold Ms. Hannah" Jade laughed.
Jade did not expect this calm reaction from her nurse after telling her that she intended to go to this place tonight. Knowing Hannah, the nurse should have scolded her for being reckless given her weak condition, however, the nurse allowed Jade to go as long as she accompanied the patient. Jade did not refuse. It is comforting for her to know that another person can help her whenever she would need the help.
Fortunately, this night was a perfect time to go out secretly. Ziron was out with Emy and Dmitry in the training grounds. Sardon and Marie rested early tonight as they were tired preparing to host a family event for tomorrow, in which the household servants' attentions were. Jade wanted to go and be fast as she can, so as not to be caught and be in trouble.
"We are almost there." Ivan said as he continued to walk in a pace with which the two young women could follow.
Two minutes passed after Ivan said those words, Jade started to see a clearer path. The trees and bushes became thinner and ahead was a cabin. The cabin was not desolate as Jade would expect for a place like this. Ivan entered the cabin and surveyed the inside. Jade followed him while Hannah stayed outside for a little while as if to make sure they were alone.
As Jade's shoes hit the wooden floor, an unknown sense of discomfort came upon her. She remembered it was the same feeling when she met Dmitry.
'You sense him here, don't you?'-Jade heard the whisper all around the cabin.
The young miss turned and searched for the voice. Ivan and Hannah noticing her confusion.
"Jade?" Hannah asked with worry.
"Can you hear that?" Jade queried the two while pacing back and forth. Both Hannah and Ivan shook their heads.
'He was here,'
'He was waiting.'
'He was here. Where were you?'
The voice kept repeating those questions. Apparently, Jade was the only one who could hear them. Her breathing became rougher and her heart paced faster.
"Shut it!" Jade commanded.
As her command echoed within the cabin, a gush of wind came in from the door and broke through the window glasses and a door on the wooden floor opened.
Jade followed by Ivan and Hannah went down through the stair. On one corner was an empty bed and the other corner was an empty chair. There was no light, but Jade and the rest could see through the aid of the moonlight from above.
'He was here' a woman's voice whispered again. This time it was not repeating her words.
'See'
After the voice told her to see, Jade saw in front of her two old men, a young man and a young woman gathered around the chair that was supposed to be empty.
Jade came forward and saw something seated on the chair. Its arms bound on its back, it's body cloaked with golden fiery strings. Then she saw the creature grin.
'We know of you, your kin and your ancestors. We know the amount of blood spilled in the ground sipping into our realm over centuries of hatred, deceit, and betrayal. The realms are watching over foolish mortal men. The sky watch to guard, but us under, watch to entertain ourselves.'
Then Jade heard a moan of pain from the other corner. Now an injured woman lay in the supposedly empty bed. A young man clothed in black went near the bed to look at the injured woman.
'Dmitry' Jade said in her mind. Then she heard the man nonchalantly comment, 'We better hurry up; this one doesn't have that much time.'
'Alright then.' One of the old men said.
The scenery she is seeing played fast. Now she is seeing the creature's body clenched with chains. The pain is apparent from the creature's groaning and yet Jade cannot help but feel that the beast was enjoying this torture.
'Foolish old men,' it spoke with his gaze directing at the old man in front of it. 'It was not the Pakjawan. It was the Pas-ang!' The beast's laughed, 'The children of Pas-ang are not weak and stupid as you believed so. Haha…I will return now to my realm and watch how this game of yours unfolds…"
As the voice of the beast faded away the room slowly darkened and Jade heard Dmitry's voice fading as well as he said, 'This one is gone too'
Though she did not see, Jade knew that Dmitry was referring to the injured woman.
She took a step forward towards the dark but before she could take another, the beast, that was supposed to have vanished, came rushing towards her. She saw its claws and its teeth as it smiled. She thought that the beast ought to lunge at her neck. To her surprise the beast stood an inch away from her. It towered over her and Jade could feel it breathe.
The beast tilted its head, observing the girl standing in front of it. "You came."
"Have you been expecting me?" Jade inquired.
The beast laughed, "You are not scared. As expected from the true pure blood."
It was true. Jade did not cower. She did not fear this beast, and even she was surprised by how she felt.
"True pure blood?" Jade asked.
"Yes. Are you not?"
Jade was confused. It was her first time to encounter a beast such as this and what it was telling made her more confused.
"But its asleep. The blood in you."
Again, the beast grinned and walked backward returning to the covers of the dark, "Be careful little girl. The ashes are being blown away and the truth will no longer linger under the rubble. Long have we waited for our masters to rise from the soil soaked with blood. The man you seek comes to collect spilled blood and you dear child, are sought to be collected."
As the beast faded in the dark with its warning, Jade stood there still speechless, until she could hear in the background her nurse's panicking call.
"Jade?! Jade?!"
Snapping back to reality, Jade saw herself in the dark underground room. Ivan and Hannah beside her.
"Are you alright?" Hannah worriedly asked.
Jade nodded.
"What did you see?" Ivan asked. The man understood that Jade was seeing something that they could not see, with how she looked a while ago. Her body was here but her mind was elsewhere.
"A Kaleshing, I think"
"Kaleshing are not supposed to come in our realm" Ivan commented.
Jade wanted to ask how Ivan knew but she was preoccupied with something more important to think about.
"Not unless they are called upon. Kaleshing will only return to where they came from if their summoner commands them to or if their summoner dies."
Jade realized it now. The Kaleshing did not vanish like how the vision she witnessed. It was the same beast that Jade saw in the earlier vision when she tried to 'peek' at Dmitry's thoughts.
'The beast knelt before Dmitry. Dmitry was its summoner.'
And as Jade tried to gather all these information in her mind, the words the beast said lingered deeply in her mind, 'The man you seek comes to collect spilled blood and you dear child, are sought to be collected'.