Despite being told off, Cloe tried to start a conversation many times, and Nyell cut her short every time. Her inability to keep her mouth shut was akin to an obsession, and she couldn't help herself. Her impulse to fill up the silence was too strong. Nyell knew about it, and he usually could put up with her constant chatting and lend a deaf ear to whatever gossip she had to share, but tonight, he didn't have the leisure to let her blabber to her heart's content. At the very least, he could use the seriousness of the situation to tell her to zip it without hurting her too much.
Why? Because they had to concentrate if they didn't want a fifth elder to disappear tonight. They had to be on high alert and stop that thing from spiriting away another fellow tribe member. It was their duty as warriors, and they should uphold it.
Or so Nyel said, blatantly lying through his teeth. But then again, Cloe didn't need to know that. The point was to shut her up.
However, Cloe opened her mouth after only a few minutes of restrained silence, earning her a discouraged sigh from Nyell. Just as he was about to tell her for the nth time to talk less and concentrate on the task at hand, she suddenly turned silent and tensed. Her nonchalant attitude was gone in an instant as she readied herself to pounce on whatever prey had caught her eyes. Her sudden shift in behavior sent alarm bells ringing in Nyell's mind. Cloe was well-known for her sixth sense, which was why most warriors put up with her talking habit, and if she felt something was amiss, then something certainly was. He could only pray it had nothing to do with Lapis, Layla, or Myur, although he had a strong hunch his prayers wouldn't be heard.
"Is something the matter?" Nyell asked as he imitated Cloe and positioned his body in a defensive stance. Not reacting would look suspicious. And in the off-case it was something other than his comrades approaching, he had to be ready to fight back. "I don't feel anything out of place. Nothing at all, even."
"Honestly, me neither," Cloe admitted. "And yet, I can't keep calm. Something feels off even if I don't see, hear, or smell anything. It's like my body is telling me not to trust my senses. I don't know where it's coming from, but I have this unsettling certainty that a third party is nearby. The strange thing is that I don't feel any hostility coming from that unknown presence. In fact, it seems to be an emotionless being. Is it even a living being? Leader, I'm sorry, but I'm kind of really, really weirded out by the situation right now. Do you think that, maybe, the ghost of a spirited away person has made its way back to us? Or that the thing kidnapping our people is hiding in our surroundings? What if it's after us?"
When nervous, Cloe could spit out thousands of words in seconds without even stopping to breathe. It took Nyell a moment to register everything she said and another for him to decipher her babbling. She spoke too fast for the strings of sound to be coherent without Nyell having to extrapolate from context. Linking the syllables together wasn't easy, but thanks to his sister, who also had the bad habit of speaking thousands of words per second, he managed to piece the puzzle together rather quickly.
"I don't know, but calm down," Nyell answered curtly. "Don't panic and think carefully: no evil ghost should be able to enter the tribe because of the ancient array, and since you're not feeling any hostility in the air, the thing might be harmless and have nothing to do with the disappearance cases."
Nyell's comforting words worked wonders, and Cloe's heavy breathing evened out. It might not have been as effective if these words had come from another person's mouth, but since it was coming from Nyell, the strongest warrior in the tribe, she felt safe. Whatever lurked near them could be dealt with if that man stood beside her. It was a conviction most warriors of the Black Moon tribe abided by, and she was no exception.
Unbeknownst to Cloe, Nyell wasn't as unshakable as he made it out to be and almost had a heart attack. While he reassured her, something tapped on his shoulder, gently and deliberately. It sent shivers crawling down his spine, and he almost reacted on instinct to try and hit whatever was close by. Thankfully, he was down to earth and managed to stay calm, analyzing the rhythmic taps on his shoulder. He wasn't an expert in Morse code, but he got the gist of it. The problem was that his mind refused to accept it.
How could this be? And what the hell was wrong with his sense of perception…? It was like an external force had rewritten it, confusing his senses into oblivion.
Layla, Lapis, and Myur were at arms' reach, yet he could not feel them. Despite knowing the truth, his mind was still telling him that there was no one, and only emptiness stood before him. No matter how much he tried to convince himself that they were there as he felt someone's hand on his shoulder, his thoughts reverted to the idea that there was no one, just empty air. It was a strange feeling, one he could not quite describe.
No wonder Myrven said Layla would take care of concealing Lapis and Myur. Nyell did not know what trick she used, but he sure as hell wanted to know. He'd need to sit down with these two and get to the bottom of it. Lapis could somehow confuse people's memory for a short time, just like Karen, but it certainly wasn't on Layla's level of mastery. It was an eerie ability, to say the least.
However, now wasn't the time to think of such things.
Nyell discreetly nodded when Cloe turned his head, letting the group know he understood. They would return with the fifth elder possessed in about half an hour, and he had to distract his fellow guard at the perfect time. Layla's ability wasn't without its restraints, and, for some reason, she could not conceal the fifth elder. He'd be visible to everyone once he walked outside his hut.
On the other hand, although Lapis was a good shaman, casting spells after spells within a mere few days was bound to take its toll on his body, especially at his age. He was reaching his limits, and if he could avoid meddling with someone's mind tonight, he wouldn't spit on the occasion. They still had two other elders to take care of after this one, and they needed him to stay sharp. There was no telling how Burg would react tomorrow at the disappearance of yet another elder. They needed to be prudent and keep as many trump cards in their deck as possible.
Nyell didn't know how they planned to mislead the warriors guarding the elder's hut, but he trusted them. He had to concentrate on his side and create a path for them to leave the tribe and disappear into the jungle, for he and Cloe had been tasked with watching the north entrance. Other teams oversaw the south, west, and east.
The security around the tribe had increased like never before, and Nyell was the only one who could create a breach for Myur to escape.
"Oh, I can't no longer feel the presence," Cloe breathed in relief, snapping Nyell out of his thoughts. "Was it my imagination?"
"Maybe," Nyell shrugged. "I didn't feel anything."
"It may be the stress," Cloe laughed awkwardly. "Night watch duty is always stressful, and with the situation that we are in…"
"It's hard on the nerves, I know."
However, in Nyell's case, his nerves were jumpy for another reason. It was strange to be the inside man and not the protector. The shift in position left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Yeah, it feels like my nerves are about to snap!" Cloe let out a mocking scoff. "Really, they're stretched taut to the point of breaking. And here I thought I had nerves of steel…"
"Don't berate yourself too much. The situation is nerve-wracking. But you know, it's always better to be on the cautious side. If you're uncertain about the presence you felt, maybe visiting the other teams and asking them if they sensed it, too, wouldn't be a bad idea. Well, if you're up to wander the tribe alone, that is. One of us needs to stay at our post to keep watch. I'm confident in my capability to fight back against whatever shows up, so you can go with a light heart."
Cloe was stunned. She opened her mouth and closed it, for once unable to speak. Doing the round would take her an hour, and Nyell would have to guard the place alone for the whole time. It didn't feel right, but she also knew she needed to alert the others if the presence hadn't been a fruit of her imagination. What if it was wandering inside the tribe right under their noses…? She could have called every warrior over by blowing a horn if the enemy was in plain sight. However, they, too, needed to keep watch over their post. The best option was for one of them to visit the other and tell them about the potential threat of an invisible and unfeeling enemy. They needed to be ready. Information was power, as they say.
"Alright, I'll be back. Be careful."
"Yes, I'll be."
Without further ado, Cloe turned on her heels, leaving Nyell alone. She trusted her fellow tribe member, unaware she was opening the path for the fifth elder's disappearance.