I stand side by side with Klevon, Ninus, and Gezer. I watch the sun dip below the horizon and the sky lights up in a bright orange hue, followed by the appearance of stars.
Outside the castle, everything seems quiet. The Stine looks like an abandoned castle. Other than the ice that cloaks its walls, there is also that aura that suggests something is wrong.
"It's time," says Klevon, his voice low and determined.
The others nod. We talked about the infiltration strategy and the search for General Brandon before, so there is no need for any further instruction.
There are a couple of places where Bryer might keep General Brandon. In the throne room, in the towers, or in the deep dungeons. Since Ninus and Gezer have almost the same aura as Bryer, they can easily confuse whatever creature is on those walls.
"Let's go," Klevon says.
Klevon and I stay at the sideline while Gezer and Ninus walk into the great walls of the Kingdom of Stine. I stare up at them, feeling a sense of awe. Upon closer inspection, the walls are tall and wide. It might be surrounded by icy darkness, but torches are placed strategically to light it up.
When Ninus and Gezer disappear inside the castle, Klevon and I await the signal. It takes ten minutes before finally, Ninus' head bobs up on the top of the walls.
"Ready, Kaiya?" Klevon asks.
I nod. He faces me and suddenly, he takes hold of my head and places a kiss on my forehead. I frown at him.
"Once we are inside, be careful. I still don't want to lose you."
I catch his hands so he can't pull me any closer. "We are going to face the same danger. You should worry about yourself," I say.
He smiles before letting me go. "Let's go," he repeats.
And so, Klevon and I step forward. We begin to scale the walls. Klevon's movements are agile and sure, while mine is clumsy. Hopefully, I won't fall to my death.
When we reach the top, Ninus and Gezer's auras are nowhere to be found. They have completely concealed themselves–mainly to avoid Bryer from being alerted by our presence. And so, we hasten through the dark hallways, taking care to remain as silent as possible.
Thankfully, Klevon is here with me. He is at least familiar with the layout of the castle. The plan is that, Ninus and Bryer will check the towers. Klevon and I are tasked with probing the dungeon. Then we reconvene in the throne room. However, despite being close to our destination, we encountered no black creature. Nothing of the beast that Klevon killed yesterday. Are they all out? Looking for human prey?
When we reach the dungeon's entrance, Klevon looks at me before pushing it open. We step into it, and I sense Klevon stops. I know the cause of it.
As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see Brandon lying in a heap on the cold stone floor. He is battered and bruised. And there are deep gashes on different parts of his body.
I rush to his side and whisper, "General Brandon?" I scrutinize him, checking for any injury that might worsen if we carry him back to our little basement.
Seeing that it's safe, I look at Klevon and nod. Klevon goes to his side and gently lifts him up. General Brandon groans and opens his eyes. "You came, thug," he says weakly.
"I did, captain. So, stay alive."
"And you, Miss Kaiya... Thanks for being here."
I ask, "The other humans in this place?"
"Only me. The rest had been turned."
"Turned into what?" I ask, even if we already know what type of monsters the other humans are turned into.
"Bloodsucking demons," he answers.
"We must hurry, Kaiya," Klevon interjects. "He needs help from Inanna."
And so, we exit the dungeon. Klevon is carrying General Brandon while I make sure that no one's going to ambush us. We make our way back to the top of the wall, where Klevon can use his wind power to bring General Brandon down.
We are about to scale the wall when I notice something is wrong. "Klevon, stop!" I warn.
I move past him and General Brandon, and just as I thought, a barrier has been created. Under the moonlight, the almost transparent wall of magic is shimmering. It is practically the same barrier that kept Theo and the rest inside the ship back when we were in Duran.
"Give me time to create a hole in this," I say. I prepare my magic. "Seems like they only want us in, but not escape from here."
I am still studying the composition of the magic barrier when suddenly, an explosion happens in the direction of the throne room.
"Shit! That's Gezer and Ninus!" Klevon curses.
"Go on, Klevon," I say. "Help them. I can protect General Brandon while I study this barrier."
Instead of running away, he moves closer to me and gives me a long, deep kiss. I freeze midway again. When he pulls away, he says, "Like I said, Kaiya. Don't you dare die on me, okay?"
"Just go!" I scold.
Klevon takes one last look before returning to help Gezer and Ninus. I am about to turn my attention to the barrier when I felt a presence from behind me.
I whirl around to come face-to-face with Bryer. "Well, hello, Moon Goddess Vessel," he greets.
His eyes shift to General Brandon, leaning over the wall, and to me.
"Do you really think I will allow you to leave? I need Brandon Stine. I can't let you take him away from me."
"You only need him as a magic source."
"True, but you can't blame me. Ice magic is magnificent," he admits.
Although, I am sure that General Brandon will disagree. "If we take General Brandon from you, all your dark minions will weaken."
"Thankfully, you already know. Saves me from the hassle of explaining it to you."
Bryer moves towards me, and I take a step back, closer to General Brandon.
"You see, I don't want to hurt you or General Brandon, but the others? I don't care about their lives."
"Both Gezer and Ninus are your previous comrades!"
"They stopped being my comrades the moment they allowed me to be abused by the Blood God! And you!" He suddenly moves closer to me and catches my chin. "You chose to save Inanna rather than me! I am the one suffering from far worse!"
I frown. "It's off my hands. I just happen to appear close to Inanna."
Bryer snorts. "Nevertheless, I remember that I don't care anymore. Still, you can't take him."
"And what if I did?"
Bryer's expression turns ugly. His fangs elongate, and his eyes grow redder by the second.
"I might change my mind about keeping you alive."