Chapter 13 courage grows stregnth

The dark night sky lightened up with its trillions of stars, revealing its darkest shadows in hiding, the world is a prominent place, and here I am sitting at the window, alot has happened today, things I couldn't make sense of.

Jia was a different person, someone I no longer recognized. It's been weeks, and I still haven't heard of Maka. I've been warned not to cross the lake. Maria doesn't scare me.

What scares me is what is on the opposite side of the lake.

I walked over to my bed, hearing the door screeching open with its rusted hinges. It was Jia; she had her Ipad playing a game. She was calm as she walked up to me and sat on the bed, "are you okay?" she said in a soft voice.

I felt like the kid, her checking up on me. Her hair had changed into Auburn brown, her eyes light brown, her skin was glowing, and I was sitting like a wolverine.

As much as I shaved, the hair on my face and arms kept growing.

Jia used the back of her hand and touched my beard, "Mom would probably tell you to go shave." she joked.

I could picture moms face right now. I miss her laugh, her smile, her eyes, and her moodiness, alot had not made sense to me. How did she know she was going to die?

I looked over at Jia, "do you think mom knew she was going to die?"

Yes, it sounds odd speaking to my six-year-old sister like a grown-up, but in the few weeks she had been here, she sounded three times her age.

"Mom knew."

"What about you, Jia," I said hesitantly, "do you even miss mom? You treated me so shitty when I was around, and then miraculously, you transformed overnight."

Jia turned to me. Why does she look older every time I see her? "I was preparing you for this day."

I frowned, "you saw all this coming, and you never stopped that man from killing mom?"

Jia shook her head, "you haven't learned, have you?"

"Jia, show some gratitude and respect when speaking to me," I snapped.

Jia stood up and walked to the window, "Kai, mom wasn't killed by just any man," Jia used her index finger to draw a star on the misty window, then blew on it.

"What are you saying? They clearly said mom was murdered."

That's when I noticed a silvery ring on Jia's thumb. The ring had a blue stone on the top, which lightened up the room.

That happened right after she stood by the window. I stood up, distracted by this sudden blue that lightened up the, "what is that ring?"

Jia turned and looked at me, then walked over to me, reaching for my chest. I stepped back, "What are you doing?"

"Relax, brother. I won't hurt you. Even if I wanted to hurt you, I couldn't."

This was too much information to take in. She moved closer, removed her ring, touched my chest, and pulled out the chain.

All the stones lightened up; it was like Christmas light, just so much brighter. The room looked like a disco without music.

"I'm still confused about what this means."

"You will understand soon."

"Why do all the lights glow when earlier only the yellow one was glowing?"

"The same reason mom said we need to stick together."

Everything started to make sense. Mom saw this coming, but why would they kill her, and who had murdered her?

"The vampires," Jia replied.

Had she just heard what I thought, or did I say it aloud? "What about the vampires?"

"They killed mom.

They discovered Maka was protecting you, and now she is incarcerated."

"Why didn't you tell me this, Jia?"

Jia looked up, "because it's a dark path you will be walking, but I saw you wouldn't give up on Maka."

Jia's eyes had a red circle around them as she took a deep breath, "they are going to kill her. I just saw it."

"What do you mean you saw it."

Maria pushed open the door. Her eyes were wide open as if she had seen a ghost, "Maria?"

"You need to go save her now!"

Jia looked at me, "you will be fine," she touched my shoulder, "you will be fine."

It felt like I was blowing up like a balloon filled with water as my clothes tore, every bone in my body ached, and my fangs pushed out. It felt like having teeth extracted without any anesthetic.

My breathing sounded louder, and I felt stronger and faster. The dew-covered forest floor oozes itself between my toes as I try to absorb every exquisite detail of the forest.

The stars and my stones set a glowing array of color on the rims of the moss-cloaked figures in front of me. The birds chirp high above in the crowd of trees to generate a beautiful melody for the atmosphere.

Drawing a deep breath, I analyze each scent, aroma, and fragrance of the woods I've encircled myself in, each odor bringing me into more engrossed tranquility.

It's times like these that I long for my unborn inner wolf so I can connect with nature on a closer level.

"Kai," Maka's fierce voice echo's in my head, calling me from my dream-like state. Like I've been splashed with a bucket of cold water, a rush of fear courses through my body, and the realization hits me, I need to get to her before it's too late. I ran as fast as I could.

Like a strong cologne, I can smell her scent right under my nose.

Turning on my paws, I dash toward the direction I came from.

Jumping over fallen trees, boulders, and bushes, the landscape around me becomes a blur from the speed at which I am running. Although I didn't look like a wolf, I was still fast like any other werewolf, actually, much faster and more robust, and all my senses were even more heightened.

Arriving in the clearing of the packed village, I see a few wolves already waiting for me. Upon seeing me, they lowered their head and howled; this sounded like classical music, something I enjoy.

They were welcoming me as their king.

No time wasting, I ran past them as they followed until we reached a hill with a river flowing across.

There they were, as if they were expecting us. I heard Jia whispers, "dont be afraid."

The stones lightened up. They looked surprised. I could hear them whispering, "he is the chosen one."

I saw Maka tied to a cross with her arms and legs spread out. I felt anger and rage like never before. I growled; as the pack of wolves took a step back, I was ready to kill.

The confidence I had was unlike anything I had felt before. I was not afraid; this was it. Maka looked up and made eye contact, revealing her fangs. She had been expecting me.

I ran down the hill as the red stone had a light of a flare being shot up in the center of the ocean; darkness vanished. Everything was red, including the blood I was about to spill.

My pack of wolves surrounded me as I ran towards the vampires as if they were protecting me, I felt Jia's touch on my hand, and there she was, right in front of the Vampires.

It's as if she created this invisible wall that the pack wolves and I couldn't get past, like the river's flow pulling us back. There was this sudden bright light, "Jia," I panicked; they were going to hurt my sister.

I pushed through the stream. The other wolves couldn't get across. They had to retreat, and the brighter spark of flames turned each vampire into ashes.

I couldn't see the front of Jia, but by the look of Maka, she carried fear I'd never seen before. She tried to break loose, but Jia walked over to her slowly.

Maka was so terrified she passed out. The stones stopped glowing all at once except the yellow stone, which had switched me back into a human. I could easily walk up to Maka and loosen the ropes that carried her back home.

Jia was silent as she walked behind me. The terrified look Maka had on her face indicated she saw something about Jia she had not expected.

We arrived at the house where Maria was waiting. She looked my age.

Jia didn't look too surprised at her appearance and walked past her. Maria rushed to help Maka lay down on the bed and dabbed her face.

I sat in the corner, realized I was naked, and ran for a towel to cover me; Maria smiled. Admittingly she looked beautiful, but the thought of her old stuck in my head, so her and me? No, that was not going to happen.

I had many questions about my sister and Maria, but if there is one thing I learned, it is to ask no questions and hear no lies.

Observing with them exposed more answers than they could give me. Maka had been through alot, and I wanted to ensure she was safe and well looked after. I sat by her bedside, dabbing her face with a wet cloth and sitting on a stool until I dozed off with my head on her chest.