Daryn had actually run through the mountains to the north. Caleb had joined him an hour later. The two Lykae ran at god speed. And their decision to run up to the edge of the country was better than taking a plane. As soon as they reached the nearest airport, they took a flight to Juneau and once again they ran as werewolves to the interiors of Tongass, the enchanted realms – Whitbörg Forests, the coordinates of which was given by Ileus.

Daryn gazed around at the scenery scanning every little point. The mountaintops in the background were bare even as thick firs covered their base. A thick layer of snow had covered their craggy peaks. The sky was overcast with grey clouds as heavy mist cast a veil around those peaks.

​​

Atop a knoll, Caleb joined Daryn as their backs faced. "Where's Ileus?" Caleb asked as he looked for the slightest trace of his cousin. They were pretty near the coordinates. Irritated, Caleb went down to the north side of the slope. The knoll became gravelly. He stepped on loose stones that were strewn across and he slipped over them. This caused him to slide down further. His claws jutted out to pierce the rock but they grazed the rock and marked it as he kept plunging.

"Caleb!" Daryn shouted behind him and followed.

Caleb landed on his feet and then thudded down on his ass. When he rose to feet, brushing off his jeans, he saw the jagged and uneven entrance of the cave right in front of him. He heard a loud thud and groan behind him. Daryn.

Few large stones were guarding the mouth, and they were arranged in a way that passers by could never spot.

The brother shoved the boulders away with their Lykae strength to clear the passage. They entered the blackness. Depending on their Lykae sense of smell the brothers moved inside feeling the damp wall of the cave with their hands as they went forward.

A weak groan was heard coming from the inside. They increased their pace and were almost sprinting when all of a sudden they saw that the tunnel was lighted up. It was bathing in flickering red, blue and orange glow. There were winged demons flying around something in the center. Their wings flapped like bats. Tall, black, with pointed horns and scaly bodies, they were pure evil. And the beams of lights – it was coming from the center. The cries and groans pierced the cave walls as the demons were being slayed and thrashed. Countless dismembered limbs and heads were rolling with blood spattered around.

"Ilues!" Daryn shouted as his mouth curled up in anticipation of killing these bastards.

"That took you long!" Ileus shouted from somewhere in between the demons. "Now get going and help me out!"

The fangs bared and the claws flared, ready to strike, ready to tear open these evil beings. They let their beast take over as their eyes went blacker with rag. They peeled the demons one by one from the layer, slashing their claws into their faces or torso, cleaving the skin to the bone. Blood poured out as they removed the claws leaving deep wounds.

"By Skadi! I missed this," said Caleb as he caught hold of the wings of another demon and thrashed it to the cave's wall, splintering it to the pieces.

Daryn lunged for the demons, aiming directly at their throats and slashing them neatly. They fell on the ground, nearly decapitated as two around him clamped their hands over their jugular artery that was now split open.

Ileus shouted. "Faster!"

"Why the hell are you here?" Daryn asked, looking at how his elder brother was on a rampage. He had been hacking them, tearing their bat-like wings with pleasure in his eyes.

"Seraph has unleashed his demons on a person I know well. They are chasing her. I am helping her out," he said. Another blood curdling scream emanated.

"She?" Daryn stopped and raised an eyebrow. Who was this 'She' who was making his cousin go to such lengths?

"She better be worth it!" Caleb intoned as he severed a jugular of another demon.

"Oh she is!" Ileus said. "Another thing – these demons rise if they are not fully dead. So make sure that you decapitate them entirely."

So this was the reason why Ileus called them. The bloody monsters had been regenerating at a beastly speed.

"What?" Caleb yelled at his younger cousin. "Could you say that earlier boy?" He could see a demon regenerating fast and lunging at him. "No! You don't do that to a Lykae!" he said and gnashed his throat again, this time not missing that artery.

"How long have you been fighting them?" asked Daryn.

"Four days now!"

"Bloody hell boy! That girl means a lot to you?"

"Aye!"

It took them an hour to clear the winged bastards.

Ileus was standing there, right in the middle, his golden eyes glowing crazy, his hands crackling with magic and his shoulder-length hair, face and body covered with blood. The massive half wizard—half werewolf looked like a perfect sculpture of a Greek God even though he was all bloodied up. Both his hands carried a sword as his ivory claws jutted behind them.

The brothers went to him and gave him a bear hug. They were breathing heavily. And it was fun meeting like this. Boys and their toys.

"Where has the girl gone? And why are you in this cave?" asked Daryn, as bloodied as his cousin.

Ileus gave them the smile that they recognized immediately. The Halfling was lovesick! He turned his stare to the inside. "She has gone further inside. I have to chase her down and retrieve her. I think she is scared." He looked back at his pureblood cousins. "I will take it from here."

Caleb shook his head. "Another mate nonsense! I am going out."

Daryn threw his chin forward and said, "Go Ileus. See you at the next rugby match. You know that the season is coming and you do need practice sessions. We have a team of vampires against you this time."

Ileus darted in, saying, "Oh I look forward to it!" Soon he ran inside or blended with the darkness. Who knew?

Daryn and Caleb made their way back to Bainsburgh.

---

It had been two days since she hadn't heard from Daryn. Dawn was growing worried. In those two days she went to Quetz every day. He goaded her to unlock her powers slowly, one by one. Just yesterday she was able to lift the surface of the water without falling inside. Her vision remained altered—it was silvery. Everything around her was either silver or it had a silver glow.

'You should be able to lift other objects as well, Dawn,' Quetz suggested.

Dawn was resting against the truck of the Eoben, in which Quetz was staying. The tree had offered her food at will. This time she was munching an apple. Her hunger was going all over the place.

She huffed, "I am tired Quetz. Can't you see my baby need food?"

The Eoben lowered a branch loaded with silvery apples and she plucked another one. "I want to eat oranges," she demanded and another silver orange-laden branch was lowered.

'This can be done while you are sitting on that fat-ass!' Quetz chided.

'Quetz!' she looked at him with wide eyes. 'Mind that language!' She obviously hadn't trained him well. 'We'll do it next time. I will skip a day. Have to go for my ultrasound.'

Quetz had to pull out of her mind and the vision restored.