127 We meet again

AUTHOR'S POV

"Blood? What do you need with our blood?", Haelan asked as she try to release herself from the tight grip of the rebels on both of her arms and legs.

"Your blood is such an amazing gift to us. We see more color even in the darkness, as it swing our minds away to euphoria. Time seems to go slow, and the motions become more amplified as we see a glimpse of heaven", Andrew explained as his men start to make a cut on Haelan's skin.

"No, no please!", she screamed helplessly so loud as her voice echoed inside the cave. Haelan's hands turned into a fist. Her body stiffened as she feel all four blades slice through her skin all at the same time. Her toes curled as Omar, Matteo, Marco and Nico simultaneously sucked her blood. Like voracious monsters, they drank her vital essence up to their heart's content.

From the tiny scrapes to the deep cuts, they lusted on every drop of Haelan's blood until they have fulfilled their satisfaction. Moments after, their minds started to build its own world, drowning in extreme euphoria that they couldn't even lift a finger.

Haelan dragged herself against the cave wall. Her tears couldn't even fall. It's the first time that she found out that the blood of the soul travelers is some form of an ecstacy. The skin deep wounds have started to heal, yet the more profound cuts were taking slow to close. As she recuperate her lost strenght, it was then she noticed that all the rebels,

except for Andrew, indulge on the taste of her blood. The earl just watched his men get high. As she breath slow and steady, Andrew leaned forward and took a quite close look at her cuts.

"Don't fret, you'll get over this. I know you'll regenerate in a few minutes", Andrew taunted Haelan who can barely open her eyes.

"You're a monster", Haelan said weakly. "… for someone from my own race", she said with slow breaths.

"Oh yes, I know you do know that from the moment our eyes met", Andrew maintained an tyrannic brusque as he look down at Haelan.

"You're a.. ", she said as she peek at the rebels who are too intoxicated to sit down.

"Oh come on. You can say it out loud. They are too high to hear you. What am I?", Andrew exclaimed.

"You're a soul traveler", Haelan gritted her teeth as she meet Andrew's taunting eyes.

"I'd prefer to be called wanderer.", Andrew smirked.

"I prefer.. a monster. How come you live with them?", Haelan wondered how the supercillious traveler like him managed to earn these rebels' respect. "Or… they didn't know..", she assumed.

"Let's just say, I liked playing with fire", Andrew shrugged his shoulders.

"But… how could you do this to your own kind?", Haelan asked.

"You'll know when you get to Valcan territory", Andrew replied as his face turned dull. "And you being the son of the King, if that's true… gives me all the reason to trade you to the Valcan revolt", he said.

"Trade? If it's only me that you'll make use of, then why won't you release my.. my friends", Haelan implored Andrew not to implicate the others.

"They'll make a good use for me too. The prince of Vierme will be ransomed for a huge sum of gold. And the other two would be excellent slaves", Andrew presumed as he stared at Haelan's gray eyes that seemed to slow down the time. 'Were his eyes sparkling the whole time?', he thought. Clearing his throat, Andrew assumed he's seeing things because of the weather change lately.

As he look away, he felt something chilling radiating in the air, followed by the winds thay started to blow stronger. "What's that? Did you sense that too?", he asked as he look out the cave mouth seeing the trees sway strongfully. "It's so wicked", he thought.

Haelan knew what's coming. She couldn't be more terrified especially now that she's not in the best shape to protect herself, or even run. "Oh no…", she uttered as she look for her purse.

"Shhh", Andrew hushed Haelan as he advance prudently out of the cave.

Keeping an eye out, Haelan drank one of Yereah's potions with haste. Despite wanting to save it for later use, she needed to instantly regain her powers for the danger that's about to unfold. She looked at the drugged rebels who were still in fantasyland. Hoping they'd sober anytime soon, Haelan tried to wake them up but none of them were too ready to snap back in reality. Watching Andrew closely, she crawled slowly towards the cave as she wait for the imminent danger that's bound to happen.

As he continously sense something vile, Andrew picked up a piece of firewood from the open fire and led himself out. He reached for his belt pouch hanging on his waist while he scan the area. Just right where he was expecting, three men in black cloak suddenly came into sight. Andrew was taken aback seeing the peculiar looking men who just arrived.

"It's amazing how we hit two birds with one stone", one of the men said as he reveal his face. He's totally unrecognizable with his face fully blackened, and his eyes completely black as the night. The other man just grunted breathlessly as a certain kind of black flame surrounds him.

"Hello Agalea, we meet again", Gaius greeted as he lock his gaze at Haelan. Haelan stood up slowly, feeling more secured at her regained vitality.

"Agalea?", Andrew traced the man's gaze which were leading to Haelan. "I don't know what your saying but, there's no Agalea here", he dissed the uncanny man who called his captive a woman's name. "Who are you?", Andrew squinted his eyes at the men who disturbed his beautiful night.

"I am Gaius", it is evident that Gaius is about to turn to a dark healer like the two other men he's with any moment now. His eyes have turned completely black and his face have charred with only a little part of his skin retaining its color. "We only tracked Agalea and yet, our search is rewarded with another traveler", Gaius said. "Come with us before things turn ugly", he ordered.

Haelan felt something pricked her heart. Seeing her father this way gave her so much sadness. She have never seen his violent side. Actually, Haelan grew up seeing only the bright smiles and warm embrace of a loving father in Gaius. So witnessing him with such murderous intentions is like poisoning her good memory of how a good man Gaius was. With Gaius being slowly consumed by the punishment of the heavens amongst the soul travelers who spilled blood in any way, his memories began to blur and his mind gets more acquainted with only the will to kill.

"I know I have a history of going with strangers.. but I'd like to cut that bad habit of mine", Andrew turned his smirk to a thin-lipped displeasure. He then pulled out a bottle of fuel from his pouch. "Besides, I'm not going to let you take my bounty, even if we're of the same kind", he said as he spilled half his bottle's contents around the cave mouth and lit it with fire.

"Well, let's have this the hard way then", Gaius said as he stood still. One of his companions who was unintelligibly speaking suddenly floated in the air and lunged at Andrew.

Andrew took in a mouthful of fuel and breathe fire as he blow it in the air with the firewood. With her full power regenerated, Haelan called the winds and mixed it with the fire Andrew blew and aimed it to the dark healer. Burning, the dark healer caught fire as it shriek above ground. His screeches were all over the place, dominating the entire forest and making all the night birds fly.

Promptly, Haelan pulled out her hilt and ignited its energy blade. Without hesitating, she wielded her sword at the dark healer splitting it in half before turning into ashes. Andrew couldn't believe that the traveler he caught have magic he have never seen before. Haelan run off inside the cave, followed by Andrew who was still dumbfounded about what just took place.

"I thought we're ready to fight now, Agalea?", Gaius asked as he and his other companion who's turning to a dark one watch Haelan and Andrew go to the cave.