Chapter 39: Chapter THIRTY NINE

Night had fallen quickly, the full moon replacing the solar star to illuminate the woods, plains, and rivers that the group flew over. Ethan could make out the outline of the majestic fir trees in the forest they passed through, but their abundant thorns prevented him from being able to observe the natural life beneath that layer of green. There was only a stretch of trees as far as the eye could see, and moon rock lighting their way. Sometimes his ears could hear the hoot of an owl, the howl of a wolf, or the sound of the wind moving the branches of the fir trees to make them creak softly. It was a welcome change of sound since the sound of the wyverns' wings had been bathing his hearing since their departure.

There had been some light-hearted chatter between the pairs for the first dozen minutes of the trip, but their chatter had ceased as soon as night fell. Losing daylight marked their entry into enemy territory. They had to be as unobtrusive as possible, no matter if the lands they traveled were empty at first sight. It was impossible to know how far Impervia had posted her guards and spies in hopes of finding a lead on the whereabouts of the human city. The Resistance was not yet ready to be besieged by thousands of magical creatures who once again wanted to see them disappear from the face of Istarea. This time, they wouldn't have the chance to flee and build a new city to hide in.

Gradually, his mind began to recognize the places they were flying over. With the moon's light and night vision, he had no trouble apprehending the landscapes that paraded before his eyes. The terrain grew in relief as they approached the Arena: there were hills, cliffs, small mountains, and trees whose foliage was so thick that the light had difficulty passing through its layers. They were crossing the Wood of Tears, a thick forest that was home to many Vila families, including his own. In the distance, he even recognized Brandevin Castle, which towered over the woods on its cliff. Allies of his mother.

"We're about a thirty-minute flight from the Arena," he whispered in the blonde's ear.

Their flight formation had moved closer to the treetops, the wyverns' claws almost brushing their branches. They couldn't fly any higher if they didn't want to be spotted. If they could all observe the landscape thanks to the light of the lunar star, that meant that their enemies could also see them crossing the Wood and intercept them or warn Solomon of their arrival. The procession had lengthened in space, each wyvern increasing their distance from the others. They were less noticeable from the ground this way than if they were moving as a block, but they nevertheless remained in the crosshairs of the rest of the group so as not to lose anyone.

The tension of the convoy had increased considerably upon entering these Woods, especially since the various animal noises had disappeared in favor of a deafening and almost abnormal silence. Everyone was on edge.

"Something is off," he remarked aloud. "It is as if all the animals are silent to conceal their presence."

"You mean something would scare them?" Mia asked, the tension palpable in her voice.

Before he could even answer, the wyvern to their right let out a muffled growl before disappearing into the trees, as if pulled by force. The couple abruptly turned their heads at the same time to try to understand what had just happened, but there was only emptiness. The creature and the two Sentinels had completely disappeared and no one had managed to see what had pulled them to the ground.

Zerkan didn't have time to order the group to stop and search for the missing. The information had not been passed on quickly enough. Something grabbed one of Taure's legs and forced her into the treetops like the wyvern before her. Mia screamed in fear and surprise, while Ethan immediately wrapped his arms around his soulmate's waist and clutched his hands to the bar so neither of them got kicked out of the saddle.

"What is happening?" Mia shouted as they were tossed around and the branches clawed and broke on Ethan who was protecting the young woman and on the wyvern who was still struggling with an unknown creature.

Ethan groaned as he felt the bits of wood scrape his skin again and again as Taure struggled to expel the thing that was attacking them with her paws. The weight of their assailant and his power prevented the wyvern from staying the course, making her force her way through the thorns of the fir trees while losing altitude little by little. Clinging to the bar of the saddle so as not to fall, the couple could not see what had attacked them exactly, but Ethan began to have suspicions when he saw the gray hand of the creature trying to scratch the neck of their mount with its long, sharp claws.

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Their fall lasted a good two minutes and had taken them considerably far from their initial position in the aerial formation. Taure crashed to the ground, screaming to scare their assailant one last time. Ethan took the full force of the impact, the entire right side of his body – from his shoulders to his thighs – scraping the ground to shield his mate from being hurt. The blow was painful, but it was nothing for his Vila body that would heal those superficial scratches in a few moments. It was just a few branches and a few small rocks, nothing very sharp. The creature that had attacked them did not avoid the impact and had raked the cold and damp ground of the Wood along with the couple, its body propelled a few meters further after a final kick from Taure.

"Are you okay?" he asked Mia as he stood up.

She looked shaken, but in one piece, he noted with relief as his superficial wounds were already healing.

"Yes, but ..." she began once standing before her sentence was cut off by a threatening growl that announced nothing good. "What... what is this?!"

She screamed her question in panic, her stunned gaze fixed on the creature that had attacked them. The Vila's eyes immediately slid to the source of this guttural and aggressive sound a few meters from Taure who had got up, shaking herself off, and who had positioned herself not far from the couple to defend them, growling in her turn. He had never seen one with his own eyes, but he recognized very well what he had in front of him, and it was not at all a good omen.

"Fuck! It sucks..."

"What? Why?" exclaimed the blonde almost hysterically, watching the creature move on all fours a few steps to the right to better face them.

If I hold back, we're dead.

The creature had the silhouette of a small human, with the obvious exception that its face looked more like an enormous wolf's mouth, its bulging eyes took up a considerable and disproportionate place in its face and its ears were pointed. It had only skin and bones, not even visible muscles, and was naked and devoid of hair despite its half-animal head, like a walking corpse. Its fingers were so thin and emaciated that what he thought were long claws were actually strong, sharp, pointy fingernails. It was the same for its feet whose horns scraped the ground with each movement. The creature did not walk on its two legs but dragged itself on all fours like an animal, its very thin and small body allowing it to move with speed and flexibility. All in all, it couldn't be more than six feet tall if it got up on its two legs, which seemed endless due to the complete absence of fat or muscle, but Ethan knew that their small size in no way reflected their real power.

"It's a wendigo," Ethan announced, not holding back his semi-Vila transformation in the face of the danger that awaited them, claws quickly replacing his fingernails and his eyes darkening to erase the color of his irises.

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