Chapter 29- Wicked Forest

Further down the path they followed came a river. The water glistened and the sound gave off a calming effect. Levi dipped his snout into the water then lapped it up. Crystal cupped the water between her hands and drank it steadily. She looked at the wolf, really looked at him. His fur was pure white, and his eyes were the brightest blue she had ever seen. He was big, bigger than Drake was on Halloween. But it was the red stains of blood that made her gulp and look away.
Crystal looked back to that dreadful night, when so much had gone wrong. “Why are you still in wolf form? Why don’t you shift?” she felt uncomfortable, and it was only making her squirm.
“Because he has no clothes,” Crystal spun around as excitement filled her pores. Drake stood smiling at her. With a squeal of joy, she ran into his arms hugging him tight.
“I was so worried? What happened? Where have you been? Are you okay?” she rattled off question after question.
“Hey, slow down a minute. Here,” he tossed Levi a bag. Levi caught the rucksack in his mouth and trotted off into the cover of the trees. He looked back and Crystal caught his eyes, she saw suspicion flash in his iris, and she turned away choosing to ignore the look. Why would he be suspicious? He should be happy that Drake was safe.
“So?” Crystal sat down beside the water waiting to hear Drake’s story.
“Let’s wait for Levi.”
Levi appeared a few minutes later, dressed in khaki slacks and a matching t-shirt.
He sat on the grass, legs crossed, arms folded. Crystal could see his annoyance in his eyes. He should be grateful and happy that Drake is still alive, given what they had been through. Despite this, he appeared to be anything but.
“This better be good,” Levi’s voice carried a warning edge. What was his problem?
“Okay, I went hunting. But instead, I became the hunted. I have been running form the elves for days, until you killed them,” he pointed at Levi.
“The elves?” Levi asked, not convinced.
“You saw how many of them there were. At first, I was just going to lead them away. But hey man, they are a lot more skilful than I remember.”
Levi gave him a stern look. “You better be telling the truth.”
“Why would I lie? Like I wanted to be out here alone.”
Levi shrugged his shoulders, yet his face was still set in stone. Drake chatted as they moved along in search of the vortex that would take them home. To think that once her people called the Wicked Forest home, Crystal just couldn’t imagine it. Why would they want to go back to a place that was riddled with monsters?
Perhaps that was what she was. A monster. Just like the mortals thought them to be, they dressed as witches every Halloween along with other monsters. It was their fear. One they had no problem in letting others know. Deep down, Crystal knew it wasn’t the fear of the supernatural world that they feared but the not knowing. They didn’t know what made them tick and that is what scared them.
“We need to head south,” Drake said moving in the opposite direction.
“Heading that way will put an extra few days onto our journey,” Levi said matter of factly.
“Yeah, well the Athos have made up home on Creek Mountain. I for one don’t want to upset them.”
“How do you know this?”
“I listen,” Drake winked at Crystal.
“We carry on, this is the fastest route,” Levi said.
“Not me, I will head south and see you at home if you make it. What about you Crystal. Do you wanna follow Levi into the den of the Giant’s or go around them? I should add that witches used to be their favourite meal,” Crystal pictured herself on a spit roast slowing cooking while a bunch of Giants licked their lips.
“I am with Drake,” she said in a rush. She wasn’t about to become no meal for a Giant.
Gritting his teeth “Fine,” Levi snapped. He stayed a few paces behind Crystal and Drake. Drake chatted no stop about all the things they would do together once they returned home.
“I will take you on a real date, dinner and a movie,” Crystal couldn’t wait. When she got back, the first thing she was gonna do was confront her mother. She would make sure that her mother stops the sacrifices and that her marriage to Levi didn’t go ahead.
With Drake back and his carefree manner filling the void of silence, she found herself laughing and joking around.
She had missed him in the few days that he had been gone.