HEY EVERYONE!!!!!!

I just wanted to dedicate this chapter ChildOfTheNight!!! She drew me another BEAUTIFUL picture!! AND HERE IT IS!!!!! ='D THANK YOU AGAIN <33333333333 I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!!! ='DDD!

ALSO, ENJOY THIS CHAPTER EVERYONE!! =D!

-Luckycharms!

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“That’s impossible.” Master Odysson said. “She didn’t even have the scent of a Raakshyan.”

      “She changed though!” I argued. “Into a deer! A female deer with antlers!”

      Serpethion, who had just joined us along with Chirpy, shook his head. “Kero… even if we couldn’t see it… there’s no way Master Odysson couldn’t have seen it.”

      “Then where the hell do you think I got this from?” I asked, gesturing at the wound that Serena and Seretha were patching up.

      “Stop moving.” Serena said.

      I winced as she put alcohol on it.

      “It was definitely definitely something long and sharp, if not an antler.” Serena said. “She got you real deep.”

      I felt a little relieved when they started to put the bandage on me, because that meant I could go find Aathy now.

      Master Odysson shook his head. “Something very strange is going on.”

      “No really?” I asked, getting more and more mad as the seconds ticked away. “You think we hadn’t figured that much out already?”

      “Keroshan.” Serpethion called, clearly warning me of my disrespectful tone.

      But I couldn’t help it.

      “Aathy needs to get back here.” I said. “We need to fix it! She has school, and grades to keep up… and universities to apply to!”

      No one said anything.

      “She has a life.” I said.

      And as I did, I felt horrible.

      This was my entire fault.

      If I hadn’t made that stupid choice back then… none of this would have happened.

      I swallowed hard and looked at Seretha, who was being strangely silent. “Where’s Aathy’s father?”

      “He’s gone to get his wife. He has to tell her what happened.” She said.

      “And he has trusted us in bringing her back.” Master Odysson finished.

      I took a deep breath. “Then let’s get moving.” I said as I turned around and headed for the door.

      Master Odysson sighed. “Keroshan we need-”

      “We don’t need to do anything!” I yelled as I turned around. “The more and more we wait here the harder it’s going to be to find her!”

      Everyone continued to stay silent.

      “You guys can stay back for as long as you want and make your plans, but I’m going now.”

      And with that, I left the house.

      As I ran towards the fountain, I heard someone ran after me.

      “Kero!” I heard Chirpy call.

      I turned around and saw him run after me.

      Running after him was Serpethion.

      I started to smile.

      “Master Odysson, Seretha and Serena are going to stay back and figure things out.” Serpethion said.

      “And we’re coming with you!” Chirpy smiled.

      “Thank you, you two.”

      “You really think we’d let you go fight Darius alone?” Serpethion asked.

      I shrugged. “For a second, yes.”

      Chirpy laughed. “Silly Kero.”

      We arrived at the fountain within seconds of our departure, and we stepped in without a hesitation.

      When we arrived though, was when the problems all started.

      “Do you smell that?” I asked my friends when the bright lights faded and I could see the large trees and scenery of Raakshya.

      Chirpy hesitated, looking right past me.

      “It smells like Raaksyans.” Serpethion said, rolling his eyes. “A lot of them.”

      “I think we have a problem.” Chirpy said as he pointed past Serpethion and I.

      We both turned around, and I raised an eyebrow.

      The army of Raakshya was standing in front of us.

      And at the very front of the formation was Jasmine and a lady who looked so familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on her name.

      And Aathy.

      “Aathy!” I called as I stepped forward. “You need to-”

      Jasmine started to laugh. “Oh Keroshan, I always knew you lost your touch, but this is too much.”

      Now both my eyebrows were raised.

      Suddenly, Aathy started to disintegrate into dust.

      My heart stopped as I was about to run to her, but I froze.

      This wasn’t Aathy.

      It was never Aathy.

      I looked up at the other woman. Her long brown hair was what confused me. Her eyes should have given it away.

      It was Sestra. My mother’s eldest, most hateful sister.

      I stepped back and shook my head. “I should have known.”

      She was laughing now.

      “What… what’s going on, Keroshan?” Chirpy asked.

      I took a deep, angry breath. “Sestra. My mother’s sister is the lady with the black hair.” I said. “She has the ability to create walking, talking people with sand. And all she needs is-”

      “A teaspoon of as many of the persons emotions as I can get.” Sestra finished with a smile. “Of course, this replication was horribly imperfect. But I blame the lack of time I had and this girls strange obsession of always trying to be happy.”

      “What?” Chirpy asked.

      I frowned. “She needs to absorb the aura that Aathy would emit when she feels a certain way. To give the fake a personality.”

      Chirpy nodded. “Oh… so…”

      “The thing that attacked you wasn’t Aathy.” Serpethion said.

      I felt like she had violated Aathy in so many ways, which made me furious.

      “But thankfully, Darius helped by helping me collect sadness with the first relative he changed, fear with the second and anger with the third. You helped me get horror and disgust… and getting a few of the other ones were a little easy.”

      “Where’s Aathy?” I asked, angrily.

      Jasmine walked towards me. “Keroshan, you made a fool out of me.” She said. “Did you really think I was going to let that go?”

      I frowned. “I’m sorry Jasmine. I really am.” I said sincerely. “But that wasn’t me. That was Darius.”

      She let out a small laugh. “Right.” She said. “And this army is not going to break your bones.”

      “You can’t do this. I’m the Prince of Warriors.”

      “Exactly.” Jasmine hissed. “Your father, the King is alive. Which makes you not as important as you think you are.”

      I took a deep breath.

      But she stepped even closer to me. “Keroshan, you can stop this though.” She said, tilting her head to a side. “Just leave the human and come back.”

      I shook my head. “Sorry.”

      She looked at me for a moment, then the frown on her face deepened as she stepped back.

      I turned my attention to Sestra. Not caring much for Jasmine anymore. I had apologized for tricking her. That’s all I needed to do.

      “You’re a witch. You know that?” I asked her.

      Her gold eyes flashed with pride. She seemed to like it when I said that.

      “I know you have your issues with my parents, but you go against every moral a Raakshyan should have by bringing innocent people into this. All because you’re jealous!”

      She laughed. “Well I must tell you, my dear, beloved nephew, that I had a lot of fun.”

      I gnawed on my lip angrily as she spoke.

      “I was pleased when your father was said to be dead. That’s why I didn’t care so much for you… but now that he’s back, my anger returned too. I knew I had to do something to hurt him. And what better way to hurt him then to hurt him through you?”

      “You… bitch!” I growled. “Don’t you even know what family is?”

      “And you do?” She asked, raising her eyebrow. “Boy, I know more than you ever will. I still had a father and mother who loved me and I loved back. I had sisters who I cared for too, excluding your mother, of course.”

      I frowned.

      “And you? Well, you have a sister, right, who you abandon every now and then to satisfy your own needs by returning to the human world.”

      “He has us!” Chirpy yelled. “We’re his family!”

      “That’s right you bitch, shut the hell up before we make you.” Serpethion added.

      She burst out laughing, not giving me enough time to feel the joy of having my best friends here.

      “Foolish children. You think you can challenge me? Challenging me is the same as challenging Aarvind. I am his equal.”

      “You will never be the equal of the King of Warriors!” Chirpy continued to yell. “Kero’s dad was pure at heart. He was a good man! You’re just a selfish old hag.”

      Her eyebrows rose, but she didn’t respond to that.

      “Where’s Aathy?” I asked her, breaking the short silence.

      “She’s dead.” Jasmine smiled and then turned to the men who were standing behind her.

      The formation split in two, giving Jasmine and Sestra some space to walk through.

      “Make sure you beat all of them to the bone. But don’t kill them. I want them back at the palace alive.” She said as she walked off.

      Serpethion snorted. “We can take you on, boys.”

      Chirpy looked at him.

      I smiled. “Do you really think you can beat us?” I asked the men, who prepared themselves to fight us. “I was your leader for a bit, remember?”

      Chirpy looked forward now. “Guys…”

      Serpethion and I looked at him.

      “I get that both of you have the pride… and ego…” He hesitated. “But lets be a little realistic here.”

      Serepthion and I were about to argue, but Chirpy went first. “This is the entire Central Raakshyan army.”

      Serpethion shrugged.

      I winked at Chirpy.

      Chirpy took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Listen, you all…” He said to the army. “Let’s be reasonable here and make a truce.”

      And as he got the armies attention, Serpethion and I had already attacked three of them.

      I heard Chirpy chuckle as he changed.

      But as we fought, I realized that Chirpy was right, there was no way we could actually beat all of these men.

      There were just way too many.

      Plus, I still had the wound from earlier.

      “Why are there still more of them coming!” Serpethion hissed after he changed back.

      I didn’t respond to that, mostly because I was a little too busy being surrounded by five Raakshyan warriors.

      “You guys are horrible.” I said. “Backstabbers.”

      “Orders are orders.” One said.

      But two of them looked at me with some doubt in their eyes. I guess some of them didn’t really want to be fighting me.

      Suddenly though, as I watched those other men, two others pounced onto me, one grabbing my arms and locking them behind my back and the other holding a knife at my neck.

      “Oh you’re playing!” Serpethion yelled, angrily as he watched me get caught.

      But a moment later, he was too.

      And when Chirpy landed in exhaustion, a fireproof net was thrown over his body, tangling him up.

      He made a loud screeching noise before he changed back and a warrior grabbed his arms too.

      “Enough playing around boys.” One of the warriors said. “Let’s get this over with. We don’t want to hurt you more than we need to.”

      The Raakshyan who was holding a knife at my neck scratched a thin line to it.

      “We’ll cut you up only a bit if you stay good, then we’ll take you to the Queen.”

      I growled at him, changing suddenly and knocking the men off of me.

      But I suddenly felt one of them, who had changed into a horse, kick me hard where my wound was.

      Instantly, I changed back, wincing in pain, cursing and falling to my knees.

      “Kero!” Serpethion and Chirpy yelled together.

      The horse changed back and the man with a bald head looked down at me. “Listen, kid.” He said as he bent down and grabbed my collar. “You will do as the queen says. And after she’s done with you she’ll make sure that the human world is cut off for good.”

      My eyebrows rose, but what he said made me angrier. “Fuck you.”

      The man raised his hand to punch me, but I suddenly felt a gust of wind and he was thrown off balance.

      When I turned my head to look at him, I saw him lying on the floor, unconscious.

      I turned my head slowly, looking at where the Raakshyan was standing before he was knocked out.

      Standing in front of me, with his back to me, was my father.

      I saw the faces of Chirpy and Serpethion light up as the Raakshyans who were holding them let go, just as the ones holding me let go of me.

      “How dare you.” I heard my fathers’ deep voice say. “I once trusted every single one of you with my life. I was clearly mistaken.”

      I swallowed hard, hearing the anger in his voice.

      “My own son. You chose to betray my son?” He asked. “And you thought I would say nothing?”

      The men silenced themselves, looking at each other. They had clearly not expected my father to show up.

      I pressed my lips into a thin line as I stood up.

      “Those of you don’t want to be here, leave now.” He suddenly said.

      Some turned away immediately, retreating as fast as they could. Others thought for a moment but left only after another moment.

      But some stayed.

      My father raised his head, and from where I was standing, I could see him clench his jaw.

      Suddenly, he threw himself forward and in less then a minute, every man who stayed was knocked down to the floor, just like the first.

      That was power.

      I guess that’s why he’s the King of Warriors.

      He turned around and looked at me after knocking out the last guy. “Keroshan, you can heal your wounds, why have you not done that?”

      “I… I didn’t want to waste my strength.”

      “So you chose to run around with a hole in your abdomen?” He asked me.

      I hesitated, realizing how stupid I sounded.

      He shook his head and placed his hand on my wound.

      I blinked and the pain was gone.

      “You need to snap back into your senses and remember what I taught you about priorities.” He said. “Do you hear me?”

      “Yes…”

      My father stepped back and turned to Serpethion, who was helping Chirpy out of the tangled net.

      “Chirpy.” He called.

      Chirpy straightened up immediately, looking nervous. “Yes sir?”

      He walked over to them, taking the net from Serpethion when he reached them. “This rope is not even as close to as strong as you think it is.” He said.

      He then proved it by putting it in his mouth and ripping it.

      Chirpy’s eyes widened.

      “Your beak is sharper than my fangs. One snap and you can cut it like a scissors.” He said. “Don’t lose hope just because there seems to be no way to win.”

      Chirpy nodded his head quickly. “Yes sir!”

      My father then turned to Serpethion. “You, my boy, get distracted way too easily. It’s happened multiple times, hasn’t it?”

      Serpethion crossed his arms and frowned. “I guess…”

      “Work on that.” He said. “The best warrior learns from his or her mistakes.”

      Serpethion hesitated but nodded.

      My father then turned back to me. “Sestra was a part of this?”

      I nodded.

      My father shook his head. “I kept her alive because she was your mothers sister… but my care for that has ended as of today.” He said. “I will kill her.”

      I nodded, not really knowing what else to do.

      Suddenly, I sensed the presence of someone else.

      We all turned around at the same time and saw Aathy’s chemistry teacher walk towards us.

      He bowed when he saw me, surprising me, then he turned to my dad. “I don’t know who, but someone we know is the one who did this to Aathy.”

      “Did what to her?” I asked. “Is she okay?”

      “We believe.” My dad said.

      “Believe?” I asked.

      My father nodded. “Someone who we believed was trustworthy took her.”

      I didn’t even need to think to guess who. “Jace. It has to be Jace.” I said. “I knew I sensed something strange about him.”

      The Chemistry teacher looked at me. “I do believe it is him too, however, he’s doing a good job at acting normal.”

      My father looked at him. “Keep you eyes on him though.”

      The teacher bowed. “Yes, master.”

      Then he disappeared.

      My father then looked at me. “Keroshan, do you really believe that you can challenge Darius?”

      I frowned.

      “Darius is almost as good as me.” He said. “If you can’t think right and beat a group of regular Raakshyan warriors, how can you challenge Darius?”

      My frown deepened.

      “You need a lot of time and you must train-”

      “I don’t have that kind of time!” I argued. “Aathy’s in danger-”

      “And I will find her, son. I will bring her back.”

      That thought made me feel relieved, but at the same time, something made me feel hopeless.

      “After we find Aathy-”

      “We?” My father asked. “I don’t think-”

      “Of course I’m coming!” I growled. “You really think I’m gonna sit this one out?”

      He hesitated.

      “Now listen to me!”

      My father relaxed his expression and looked at me.

      “After we find her and bring her home… can you train me? Make me better? Make me… like you?”

      My father raised his head a bit. “Keroshan, you-”

      “I would have been much better if you had stayed. This is the least you can do.”

      He sighed and thought for a moment before he nodded his head. “You’re right.” He said. “Alright, I will help you.” He smiled like he used to and then looked down at me. “I think it’s about time I started acting like a father.”

      I held back my own smile, not really knowing why. “Thanks… dad.”