Chapter 214

214 Chapter Two Hundred Fourteen

“Umm, Katie, how long have you been following us?” Lina asked her, “And how the hell are you keeping up in your human form. Is that a quiver?”

“One question at a time, little sister. Do you remember that thing that we talked about the other night? The one that you weren’t supposed to tell anyone,” Katie spoke, running closer to her sister.

“Yeah, I remember that... What about it? I noticed you were using it earlier at the...”

“Yeah, that’s the one. I’m glad you remember. Well, I asked around about the set of flowers that you’re looking for and found out something a little disturbing,” Katie said to her.

“What did you find out?” Honour asked before the princess could say a word.

“Well, the moon lotus flowers haven’t bloomed in a very long time which makes them almost impossible to find,” Katie replied.

“That doesn’t make them impossible to find,” the girl replied.

“Well, where do you plan on finding them?” Katie asked her, curiosity etched in her voice.

“Well, plants that follow the sun and not the moon grow in a pattern that’s the opposite of that of the moon lotuses. We would be running deeper into the woods... specifically looking for what I might call, the heart of the woods.”

.....

“Honour, nature girl, you’re not making much sense right now,” Katie tried. Everything the girl had just said had gone in one ear and out the other, making absolutely no sense in her mind.

“Oh, it’s no use... Lina, turn here and pay attention to what I keep asking you to pay attention to,” the girl said, leaning into her friend’s ear. Katie backed away from the pair and watched in amazement as they weaved through the trees. The further they ran, the more the trees pressed closer to each other. They kept getting closer until the wolves all came to a stop...

'

“We can’t proceed beyond here while shifted. Let’s proceed from here on foot,” Caden’s voice rang through the mind link. The girl on his back slid down and they began the walk through the closely packed trees. It was as though someone had planted the seedlings with the worst kind of spacing in mind.

“What would force a forest to grow so oddly?” Katie mumbled. The trees had very thick stems and yet, they still grew next to each other so closely. Their large buttress roots got entangled with each other, restricting access to the ground as the group went through the small gaps which only got smaller. The gaps became smaller and more winding as they proceeded.

“Honour, are you sure this is where we should be going?” Derrick’s voice bounced through the tight spaces they were moving through.

“We’re almost there,” she said to him.

“Well, how do you know where we are going?” the boy asked her, “No one has seen the moon lotus flowers in a very long time.”

“I know, I know, you’ve said that a dozen times already,” the girl replied, once again stunning the boy. This was the second time either of the two girls was talking back at him. He froze for a moment, losing sight of where they were all going. They had gotten separated while trying to find different routes to the same destination. The mind link allowed them all to keep track of their own movements... “You stopped. Why did you stop? Did you find something?”

“No...” he paused, “I haven’t found anything. Let’s keep on going. That’s if you’re sure we are moving in the right direction.”

Katie was still quiet and moving through the forest. Her curiosity was now beyond what she could contain. She was eager to find out what was on the other side of the mass of compact trees they were trying to find their way through. Leaves and branches had become scarce at the bottom and looking up didn’t help either. The branches at the top merged and sealed away the top of the trees. No light came through... It was dark, however, she didn’t find any other way for light to come through even if it was daytime.

“Anyone having trouble seeing what’s before us?” Caden asked them.

Being werewolves, this hadn’t seemed to be a problem and for once since Katie had become one, she couldn’t see nothingness on the other side of the trees. On the upside, the odd formation of the trees was coming to an end. However, they were all blind for once, “Hold on, I have my phone...”

Katie’s senses flared up at the mention of a phone. She’d been focused on where the girl was taking them that she hadn’t taken into account the darkness of the forest at this time of the night. The moon was out, but the canopies were so thick that barely a trickle of moonlight came through, “No, wait...” the flashlight flickered for a moment.

Everyone went silent, waiting for the royal to explain her sudden outburst. The girl’s senses brought everything crashing into her mind all at once. The light had been noticed by three hostile wolves and she was sure of all their locations, “We proceed through the trees to the clearing at the centre without light,” Katie’s voice sounded through the mind link.

“Are there rogues outside the clearing?” Lina asked her through the mind link.

“Just move it, little sister. The faster you get there, the easier it will be for me to explain everything,” she responded. Tension filled the wolves as they went through the thinning spaces they had to go through until they plunged into the darkness. Once they were in the clearing, their vision was lost for as long as they tried to make out anything that was in the clearing. The small openings in the tight defence of the trees were all their eyes could see at the moment.

“What now, Katie? You have us all on edge,” Derrick’s voice tore through the darkness, followed by the sound of a growl.

“I guess that answers your question,” Katie replied, “Lina, turn on your flashlight... No, in fact, all of you, flashlights on... I want this place glowing...”

They all did as they were told, lighting up the clearing they had trapped themselves in. All hope seemed lost until a metallic sound of an unfurling bow reached their ears. Lina looked at her sister and saw the girl draw an arrow from her quiver and nock it... She aimed it straight at one of the gaps in the compact trees and drew the string back before letting it fly. Katie’s hand swiftly reached for another arrow without paying attention to the other’s destination.

Her movement was fluid as she immediately retrieved another arrow and nocked it, changing her target to another spot and letting the arrow fly just as quickly. This one was followed by a loud whimper. She’d hit something... The sound barely fazed her as she drew another arrow and let it fly, her speed increasing as she continued to let arrows loose on the wolves that had surrounded them. Lina watched her sister in awe as she let the arrows loose as though everything was moving slowly. Well, for a werewolf as fast as she was, everything could have been moving slowly for her.

The hunter shot with deadly accuracy. Her sharp ears confirmed that each arrow was making contact with flesh that belonged to one of their enemies. However, the most surprising part was the fact that Katie had her eyes closed the entire time. Her ears had grown longer and white fur covered the back of them. After what seemed like an eternity for the girl, the arrows came to a stop and the hunter furled her bow, “That takes care of six of them,” Katie mumbled, using her abilities to search for more rogues in the area. Three of them had seen the flash of light and had alerted three others who’d made it to them in time.

“How could you...”

“I’m a hunter. Some questions should just be left unanswered. I don’t think we’ll be able to hide the bodies of the ones we’ve killed. Even if we could, the scent of blood will give it away...” Katie said, thinking to herself, “You can turn off the flashlights now... Before they attract any more rogues.”

“The rogues... How many of them are there?” Caden asked her.

“About forty of them, give or take a few. I haven’t had the chance to count them. That will take much more concentration and they would all have to be within range for me to count them,” she replied.

A squeaky sound reached Katie’s ears, along with information, ‘The other hostile wolves are far from here, but there was another that didn’t get within the range of your arrows. Would you like the creatures of the wild to snuff the life out of him before he warns his comrades?’

“Yes, that would be helpful. Thank you,” she replied, with as much authority and respect as she could muster for the small woodland creature.

“You’re learning to speak like a wolf... fast learner, I see. And you found the moon lotuses without our help. Fascinating,’ the squirrel was gone before she could ask him anything else. The girl looked about, but failed to see something in the pitch-black darkness... ‘What do you mean we found the lotuses?’ she thought to herself.

“Who are you talking to?” Honour asked her... “and why did I understand you yet you sounded like you were speaking a foreign language?”

“That’s a story for...”

“Oh come on, Katie. It doesn’t hurt to tell the werewolves of your abilities,” Lina groaned, interrupting her sister’s thought process. Having the power to move so fast and a lot of strength was one thing, but being able to understand animals was another. Katie thought her world would crumble the moment she realised her secret was about to be revealed.