Seeing the blood, Dawn dashed at him with full speed. Daryn pressed his hand on his arm but the blood trickled out.

"I asked you not to run," Dawn scolded him and stopped. Her heart became restless. There was nothing around to stop the blood, so she picked up a fistful of dust and applied it on his wound.

​​

"Don't worry so much, Dawn. The wound will heal up soon." More arrows were shot and Daryn pulled her close to him. "How do we stop them?"

On a quick thought, she put her hands up in the air and said aloud. "We are here to meet the Shaman." She had to clear the intent of purpose. "We mean no harm."

The ravine became quiet for a moment and then small rocks flumped as they hurtled down the slopes when the shadows descended. As they came down, they seemed to meld with the lights of the dusk. There were at least ten who were constantly merging or walking through each other, leaving smoky trails behind. As the smoky, translucent, grey silhouettes came near her, she felt icy chills down her spine.

Dawn swallowed rapidly and stumbled backwards, trying to put distance between herself and the shadows.

'Cadvals. These are the monsters I was telling about,' Daryn conveyed mentally. 'They were humans who were burnt in the fire but decided to stay back and protect the Shaman instead of leaving for their heavenly abode.'

The shadows circled and prodded them with arrows to walk forward. "Walk," hissed their leader in a ghostly voice through his faceless, black mouth. They levitated above the ground.

Both had little choice but to do what the shadows forced. They approached the base of another hill and the leader walked through it. A few minutes later, with a rumbling sound, the mouth opened revealing a dark cave. The Cadvals pushed them in.

"Who is there?" A creaky old voice came from inside.

The interior of the cave was dark and the roof was low. Daryn had to bend his head in order to walk. The stones and gravel beneath them crunched.

At the far corner of the cave was a pale figure, on whose face dim fire light of a nearby hearth was falling. As they went near him, his ghostly eyes became wider over his very wrinkled face, as if to see them clearly. "What do you want?" he asked in a hoarse and strained voice.

Daryn bowed to the Shaman at the waist. 'Bow to him,' he communicated Dawn mentally. Dawn immediately did as instructed.

Dawn decided to tell her problem head-on. "We have to find the Stone of Solaris but we don't know where it is."

The Shaman stared at her. Semblance of a smile surfaced on his gloomy face.

She continued, "Also we are traveling under several restrictions and one of them is that we can navigate through enchanted forests."

The Shaman's eyes glinted with interest. "The Stone of Solarissss," his voice hissed. "Many have lost their lives in its pursuit," he whispered. He looked at Dawn and asked, "What is your name, Bitten?"

How did he know that she was bitten? "Dawn," she replied softly.

"I don't know where the jewel is. If I had known I would have got it here by now," he croaked, "and recreated this place."

"Recreated?" Daryn asked, doubting his intentions.

"Chimala's sacred stone is one of the most powerful jewels ever present on the face of the earth. It had the power to bring fertility even to the barren lands. If I knew where it was, I would have installed it in the Derize Barrens and never parted." Greed dripped from every word he spoke.

Dawn shuddered. Telling this old man about her plans was not a good idea.

The Shaman picked up ash grey powder from a small vessel and threw it in the hearth. The fire rose higher. It became greenish-blue and took the form of a tree. The rising flames hissed, "The prophecyyy of the Bittennn."

The crackling fire enraptured Dawn. They were trying to allure her to become one with it. She could feel the leaping flames of the tree passing through her mental barrier. Loaded with fury, rage, heat, lust and malice. She wanted to cry. She wanted to be one with them.

"The Bittennn hasss come." The tree started to burn. "Come to me, come to me."

The Shaman sniggered.

Daryn's muscles tensed. What prophecy? He looked at Dawn who appeared to be in a trance.

The fire died down within a few seconds.

Dawn's body relaxed. The whole experience left her drained out. "What did that—" she pointed at the hearth, "What did that mean?"

The Shaman ignored her words and said, "I will point you to the person who can guide you in getting it, but you have to promise me something in return."

She was desperate to get some pointers, but the condition that he was about to state made her nervous. Given their limitations she had to act craftily. "Please let us know," she whispered. He definitely had the information.

"When you get the jewel, you have to give it to me for a period of one year."

Dawn glared at the canny Shaman.

"That is impossible!" Daryn rasped. Brantley had said clearly that they wouldn't be able to go back to the same enchanted lands once they had visited it. If they ever find it, how would they bring it back?

"And why is that impossible?" asked the Shaman.

Dawn could feel his hesitation in parting the information. 'Stay quiet Daryn,' she said through their mental link. The circumstances weren't in their favor and the need of the hour was a modification in plans. She took in a deep breath and said, "It is not impossible. As soon as we find the ruby, we will come to Derize Barrens."

'But we can't enter the same lands!' Daryn scolded her. 'Why are you telling him a lie?'

'Do you want to go around telling him that? Then what was the purpose of coming here? I just need the information,' she replied as anger burst in her mind. 'At the moment, I am sorry but I need to circumvent the protocol.'

'If he comes to know about this, he won't let us leave this place.'

The Shaman narrowed his eyes with apprehension to look at Dawn who looked flustered. "How do I know that you are speaking the truth?"

The shadows around them slithered and passed between them. Icy chills ran through their bodies. One of them stood inches away from Dawn's face.

"The Cadvals want to inspect you and are going to convert you into walking dead bodies if they as much feel that you are lying."

Dawn's throat dried. She swallowed her saliva but stood in her place, frozen to the spot. She allowed the shadows to probe her. Her heart was racing like that of a hummingbird. It was necessary to calm herself and divert her mind, so she closed her eyes for a moment when a shadow curved around her in a twirl. It was like passing through an icy shower. She thought of the time when Daryn kissed her for the first time. The beautiful memory slowly washed her body with tranquility. When she opened her eyes, the shadow was gone. Her breath hitched and she looked at the Shaman, awaiting his analysis.

The Shaman picked up more powder in his hands and let it slide back into the vessel. "Do you know what this is?"

She shook her head.

"These are the ashes of werewolves who died in the great fire."

Dawn's mind stuttered.

After a moment's silence, the Shaman said, "You have to go to the Temple of Anubalis where you might find the clue."

Daryn was feeling proud on the inside. Dawn had successfully extracted the information from him. He was a legend and so feared that no one dared to come near him.

"Dawn, the Bitten, in order to go back to Ulfric, you have to pass through the skies of Derize Barrens and when you do that, my Cadvals will be waiting for you. No portal, no forest and no cave in this world will be able to hide you," the Shaman warned in a cold, dead voice.

"O— okay," she sputtered.

"Release them," he said and the shadows slithered past them, goading them to walk out of the cave.

They turned to leave and as they neared the entrance of the cave, they heard the crackle of the fire growing louder. It hissed, "The prophecyyyy of the Bittennnn."

Dawn felt as if the flames were leaping towards her, trying to engulf her. The temperature of the air rose. She started sweating profusely and gasped for air. The fire sissed, "Bittennn, come back…" It wanted her to burn with it. "The dragon riderrrr…"

The rocks slid past and Dawn dashed out. Daryn followed her. The entrance closed and they were alone. On the outside, the night had fallen. With no lights, the naked ravine rocks were like looming tall columns. Howling winds stirred up the wispy sand.

Dawn was gasping for air.