We sent a letter to Theo, telling him that we would journey to Stine to search for Bryer. We also told him the other reasons we will go there. I told him not to worry and assured him I was being careful while having the most amazing adventure. I also add that Harbin stayed at Owusu and will return to Pitchford on his own.
I know there will be danger, and I already miss him. Yet, I can't help the feeling of excitement. They said that the Stine Kingdom is a land of ice and snow. There are also strange and magical creatures that inhabit their snowy mountains. It is a wonderful Kingdom of tundra and ancient beings.
After traveling for weeks, we set foot on the snow-covered ground of Stine, only it isn't just ice and snow. It is something magical, something almost ethereal. As we trudge through the snow, snowflakes glow brightly in the night sky, illuminating our path.
"This is definitely a perfect place for vampires," Gezer comments.
But Klevon responds with a, "I thought the underground library is perfect for you?"
"Maybe, if I can bring that library here, then it will be double perfect."
Klevon shakes his head. "Forget about it."
Inanna touches my arm and motions for me to stop. She looks around us. "Kaiya, is this place cold because of the weather or magic?" she asks.
"I don't know," I answer with a shake of my head. I turn my attention to Klevon. "Maybe you can ask him."
"Magic," he answers. "General Brandon's Kingdom always had potent and concentrated magic."
"Hmmm, it is amazing," Inanna mutters as she touches the air. "The magic here is sizzling."
I feel the same way as Inanna does. The magic in Stine is not just in the air, but everywhere. I have never been to a place where I feel this much magical energy.
Afterward, we trudge through the wilderness for an eternity with no signs of other humans. Is the bitter chill in the air keeping them locked up in their homes?
But then, something changes. An unseen force shifts the atmosphere, and a chill runs down our spines. We look up and see a grotesque black creature looming above us. Its five-foot wingspan is stretching across the night sky like a plague of death. Its gaze is on us, icy and emotionless, and burning with ferocious hunger.
It looks the same as what we've seen from the Owusu Kingdom. However, this feels like a couple of levels stronger.
"Klevon, Stine Kingdom has that type of creature?" I ask as I move closer to him. "Is that something that can be defeated?"
"We will see," he responds. His hands go to the whip hanging around his belt.
The creature howls and incessantly flaps its wing. It looks violent as it bares its teeth at us. And all I wonder is how many of these creatures are prowling around the Stine Kingdom.
"Don't tell me it's the reason we see no humans?!" I exclaim.
"It might be," he answers.
Klevon takes a step forward and gestures for us to back away. He focuses his eyes on the creature and holds the whip in his right hand while making the electricity crackle against the ground. The sound echoes across the area, and I prepare myself for the incoming battle.
"Do not move," Klevon commands.
The creature cocks its head in curiosity before it flies closer to Klevon. Klevon doesn't flinch, but he cracks his whip again, but this time, toward the beast. The creature swerves from his strike, dodging it with ease before it flies close to us with a shriek.
Klevon steps in front of Inanna and me, shielding us from the beast's attack with his body. It screeches again as it aims with its sharp claws, ready to pierce his flesh. I look at Ruth. Both Gezer and Ninus are protecting her.
Klevon swings the whip, striking the creature in the face with all his might, and with a loud crash, its head jerks backward, and blood sprays from its neck as it falls onto its back. Its body spasms for a moment before it goes still and falls limp on the ground, with its head rolling in a circle until it stops at a dead stop, leaving a trail of black blood behind it.
Klevon wipes his forehead, but the tension in his body is not disappearing. "Thankfully, it's easier to kill than how it looks."
Inanna takes a step forward and surveys the creature, searching for a sign of life in its body, but it doesn't stir. She looks at Klevon with a frown on her lips.
"It is dead now," she confirms.
"What do you think it is?" Klevon asks. He points at the body and asks, "You sense all that black blood?"
"My other senses tell me it's a different blood... No..." she trails off and looks in my direction. Then she kneels beside the creature. She dips her fingers into the trail of black blood and smells.
After a while, she informs us, "This is a mixture of human, vampire, and a god's blood, held together by magic. Bryer made them. The magic knot is still weak, but we won't know with other creatures he made."
"God's blood?" Ninus asks. "Why are you familiar with how the blood of god smells like?!"
Inanna stands up and looks at him. "Because, my dear brother, the Blood God requires me to drink a little of his blood every after our copulation."
He snorts. "You mean after he rapes you?!"
Inanna lies her head low. "Yes, after he rapes me," she admits softly. "The blood of our god tastes like the earth after a fresh rain." She turns her gaze towards me. "The taste of earth when everything has been cleansed," she adds.
It seems like she is waiting for me to respond. However, I have no idea what the Moon Goddess's blood tastes like. I don't even know if I have partaken in a goddess' blood before.
"So, what to do now?" Klevon queries.
"We investigate," she answers.
"Individually?"
"No, it will be dangerous. This time we go together, even if it is inefficient."
"Then let's get this done," Klevon says. "By the way, I think swords will be more useful against this creature."
"Yet, you used a whip," Gezer remarks.
"I only thought to limit its movement. I didn't know its head would fall off."
"Braggart," I whisper. And yet, I can't help but be amazed by the skill he'd shown. No one from Pitchford can use a whip as effortlessly as he makes it seem. I am definitely an amateur in combat by comparison.