The North.
"There was only one thing we had to do." Zander said pacing up and down the tent. He had three or four of his lieutenants eyeing him down as he walked. "Someone needs to tell me how the hell one of our people was slaughtered five meters from where we are standing." Zander said glaring at all his lieutenants. "I think we have a bigger problem, actually." A private said as they came in from the outside of the tent. "What problem?" Zander said darkly. "A scout went to check out the perimeter and they found out that we are being watched by a pack of wolves."
"Wolves?" Zander said raising an eyebrow. "Yes, wolves." The private said. "We think Silas is one of the wolves. And there's something else." The private said. "I don't think I can actually physically take any more bad news." Zander said his eyes dark. "The prince is with them."
"He's still alive?" Zander said his eyes widening. "Which means the witches didn't hold their end of the bargain." The private said. "Julia, go find out. What the hell. HAPPENED." Zander said biting off his words. The private nodded. "Wait, what about the wolves?" Julia said, her eyes filling with concern. "Find out what the witches did to screw up the easiest plan in the world. I'm going to make sure this prince breathes his last."
Julia had been Zander's private for as long as she could remember. This plan they had, had taken years in the making. Years of getting the Vampires to side with their cause. Years of arranging the witches to work for them instead of against them. Years of convincing Zafira, that they needed Nathaniel to return. Julia climbed up the cresting hill, watching out carefully for the werewolves she knew was out there. The Wolves of war was a quiet bunch. They slinked back and forth through the trees. Julia eyes them down with bated breath. Thankfully for her, she was a Bakeneko what is known as a shape-shifting cat. Which means she had the ability to change her eyes from human ones to cat pupils allowing her to see in the dark. She could transform herself fully as a cat, but she'd rather not. She was still pretty young in Neko terms, so her transformation was still in a kitty form of a cat, and a rather small one at that. She blinked her now cat eyes and waited for the wolves to all be turned in a different direction and then she ran for it. She made it to the tree line with no trouble, and she walked through the trees as quietly as she could mindful of the many werewolves that were currently slinking in the area.
She made her way to the clearing in the forest where she knew lay a portal that would give her a shortcut to where the witches usually made camp. As she was nearing the area she heard a rustling in the trees, she knew that someone was approaching she closed her eyes and let the change take over her, and immediately jumped into a gap in the roots of one of the trees that she had just stood beside.
She peeked through the gap in her cat form looking up at the place where she had heard the rustling initially come from. And out of the shadows she saw two humanlike creatures burst out of the trees. Burst out because they were currently so closely embraced they were basically the same person. Julia's eyes widened as she realized one of the people was Raphael Dark the very same prince they had just been talking about. The one that should have died by Eliza's own hand. He was currently running his hands through the body of a very petite girl with long dark hair. She was small but clearly had the strength of a man by the way she was standing her ground with Raphael, kissing every bit of him she could get to. Julia's cat nose scrunched up in distaste, the scent of sex was permeating the very air. She slunk out of the tree roots, quietly making her way around the two in their close embrace. Julia's eyes widened as she heard the prince who should've been dead moan so enthusiastically. "I think I'm going to throw up." Julia thought, as she slinked away. She made her way towards the center of the forest where the portal that would take her as close to the witches' encampment as possible. She had almost made it too, when she was bodily lifted and thrown into another tree trunk. She transformed back so quickly that she lost her breath. "I knew there was no cats that belonged to this forest." A dark voice said. Julia looked up into baby blue eyes, and dirty blonde hair. "Hello Juliana." The voice said. Her eyes darkened as she remembered days in the bright sun of her childhood. Running side by side with the children of her youth. Such as the man who now stood looking at her with such dark eyes.
"George." She said as she leaned up on her elbow, raising herself as best as she could with the little strength she had. The transformation from cat to human always took most of her strength away which was something that George was extremely familiar with. "What the hell are you doing in this forest?" Julia said angrily. "The Wolves of War is here, not to mention a battalion of Spanish soldiers in the hills."
"And the Wraiths that they are currently waiting for." George said pulling aside the shirt he was wearing to display a mark of crisscrossing triangles that lay above his heart. Julia took a deep breath her heart beating fast in her chest. "Your one of them." She said her voice dark with betrayal. George's eyes darkened hearing what was in her voice. "And you are one of them." He said fury mounting in his eyes. "How could you join Zander's army? You were such a good little girl." George said his voice dropping as he memories he had long forgotten resurfaced. "A good little girl who watched everyone leave. I had no choice but to join Zander. Vemos deserves its rightful ruler. We need someone like Nathaniel. Someone who doesn't bend to the will of the council." Julia said her eyes dark. George scowled. "The council and their rules are what keeps the monsters in line." He said. "Monsters like us?" Julia said trying to stand and then falling back landing hard on one knee. She felt blood dripping down her forehead and cursed. "We are both shapeshifters, wouldn't we be classified as the monsters in the dark. "Everyone is some sort of monster." George said. He was watching her movements darkly. His eyes held none of the warmth she had remembered him having as a child. "I have a job to do, just like you." Julia said. "You need to choose. Are you going to give me up? Or are you going to let me go?" she said her voice full of strain. "What was your job Julia? Were you sent here to see where each wolf was located? Were you going to report back the easiest way to kill us all. To kill all my brothers and sisters? That's what you are, isn't it? A killer."
"I'm sure you have done no better, as a Wolf of War." Julia said. "Our job is to protect all. To prevent war. You and your people are trying to destroy a whole kingdom to bring back a merciless ruler, who won't be grateful for all your trouble." George said. Julia glared hatefully at George, even though she knew he was right. "You can't stop this. This has been years of careful planning in the making." Julia said. "But not all plans are perfect. Are they, Neko-girl." Julia looked up her eyes wide as she heard the new voice. She looked at clearly another one of the wolves, wearing a skin-tight leather pants and tank her eyes deeply rimmed with blue. "You came in search for the portal. I know that it's only five feet from where we stand. You were going to the South, where the Witches' make camp." She said crouching down to her line of sight. "What was the plan? What became broken? Clearly something became messed up with this great plan that was years in the making." The girl said her tone mocking. Julia glared her mouth turning up in a small thin line as she refused to speak. "What did the witches fail to do?" She said jabbing Julia in the side with a silver arrow that she produced from her back. Julia screamed with pain, as the arrow dug in and spread its silver venom through her body. In all the ancient stories silver was always the way to destroy and kill werewolves, but the truth of the matter was silver was truly poisonous to demon cats. Like her. "THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO KILL RAPHAEL." She screamed, tears running down her cheeks with the pain of the silver that was now running through her veins. "The witches." She said her voice going down into a whisper. "They were supposed to kill Raphael. With his death, the prophecy would have been fulfilled."
"What Prophecy?" Raphael said approaching them his eyes dark with anger. He looked at Julia with hate filled eyes. "What Prophecy led to me being kidnapped by witches'? That led to Zafira trying to take Laurena?" Raphael said. "The prophecy of nines."
"Please tell me Zander isn't that much of an idiot. The prophecy of Nines was told by Gianna. THE CAPTOR. The woman who was being held captive and raped by Nathaniel. There were years that she was basically just bat shit crazy." Helena said with exasperation. "You are a disgrace to your kind!" Julia screamed, tears still coming out of her eyes. Helena scowled glaring at the girl who still held the silver arrow in her hand. "Rai, did you seriously just stab Julia with a silver arrow? Those things seriously hurt, Cat-demons." Helena said stomping around Rai and George who were both still glaring at Julia. "Here," Helena said putting a hand on either side of her head, everyone watched as the silver that you could see running in her veins started to move around her body all the way to her head and then into Helena's palms.
"Won't that hurt you?" Raphael asked.
"Not even a little bit." Helena said, looking up glancing at Raphael. She inwardly sighed, her eyes going straight to Julia's who was staring knowingly at her. Helena scowled, "Julia, you don't have to follow Zander's rules. You have a choice." Helena said. "I do have a choice, and I choose to follow Zander." Julia said her eyes narrowing back into a cats'. Helena smiled cruelly. "I was actually hoping you would say that." Helena said putting her hands back on her face making her stare straight into Helena's as her eyes turned from its normal violet, to a dazzling emerald. Julia screamed as every memory for the last day and a half came rushing to the surface.
"NO!" Julia screamed, throwing her hand forward pushing Helena off of her. Helena stood up, moving away as George and Rai both grabbed a now unconscious Julia and took her to what was now being served as headquarters while they waited for the return of Darius and the Skyphos. Coincidentally their headquarters were also where the portal was located, so Julia never would've been able to get to it.
Helena glanced at Raphael, who was already looking at her curiously. She twisted her wrist, a reflex from the power she had just used.
"What the hell did you just do?" Raphael asked. "I'm a Ariste like Dorian. I just accessed her memories of the past day and a half." Helena said glancing at Raphael. She recognized the surprise in his eyes and immediately looked away. She could still feel the heaviness of his body on top hers, the taste of his tongue, and the softness of his lips. She didn't want to look into his eyes when he came to the realization that he had just been making out with a former slave. "How is that even possible?" he asked his voice steady and even. "It doesn't matter. What matters is what I found out. You are supposed to be dead." Helena said her eyes dark. "Their plan depended on you being dead." Helena said, looking at Raphael somberly. His eyes widened, his mind whirring at the possibilities of why he would need to die in order for Nathaniel to rise to power. There was a sound, and Rai stormed back through the trees. "You guys have to come over here. Terry and Darius are back and they brought the Skyphos with them."