Chapter 62 - Hiding from the hell hounds.

AFTER EATING WHATEVER THAT WAS, Lena decided she had to speak to her mother about escaping. Her mother laughed when she mentioned it, but as soon as she saw that Lena was being serious, she stopped laughing. Instead, she started cleaning up what was left of their dinner while explaining they had to keep all the food hidden from the hell hounds. Their strong sense of smell would draw them to the food, which made Lena frown.

“But didn’t we take a chance by cooking it?” This place didn’t make any damn sense! Her mother sighed and sat down after throwing the last bone into the fire.

“A long time ago, the first blood witch made a deal with a crossroads demon. That deal gave our kind our power. Since the first blood witch couldn’t speak for any of her descendants, they couldn’t make a deal on our behalf, but they did come to an agreement. If a blood witch uses the death spell, they will be brought here. We could have the power as long as we didn’t kill anyone with that damned spell. Over time, unfortunately, the deal became a mere myth and not many of us believed in it anymore. Well, I didn’t until I showed up here after I died. Our punishment is to hang around in this place until the dogs come for us and drag us down to hell.” She took a deep breath before looking Lena in the eye. “I was supposed to warn you. When you started your training … I was supposed to warn you about the spell and about coming here, but I was killed before I could do that.”

Lena was shocked! She couldn’t believe that they were paying for the sins of an ancestor of theirs! If she didn’t get blood magic from the demon, they would never have been in this situation in the first place! Blood witches wouldn’t have become assassins and the supernatural world wouldn’t have turned against them. It was a lot to process, but something else was nagging at the back of her mind.

“Mother, I still believe that if there is a way in, there has to be a way out.” She shook her head, lowering her eyes.

“Believe me honey, I’ve looked. It’s as if this world is never ending. I don’t know if you noticed, but no matter how far you run you always end up at the same place you started. It’s a strong ancient magic that none of us can break.” She slumped down on the ground, making herself comfortable. “I suggest you get as much rest as you can during the light hours. When night returns, the hounds are going to be hunting us again.”

Her mother was snoring before Lena could even ask her another question and, since Lena wasn’t tired yet, she decided to go outside. Her mother said that they were safe whenever there was daylight, which meant she should be able to walk around. The place was pure evil. You could feel it in the air. A shiver ran down Lena’s spine as all sorts of stories of purgatory and the creatures living there came to mind, but she pushed ahead and walked in the direction of their old camp.

With her arms tightly crossed over her chest, she breathed softly so that she could listen for any strange noises, but nothing came. There was nothing out there which made her wonder if all the beasts rested when the light came out. It made sense that something like this would happen to people here. Give them daylight so that they have hope again, just to crush it when night returns.

This was worse than being Alaric’s prisoner. This was worse than running for her life during the war. Back then she only had herself to think about, but now she had a family. Her mind drifted to her family and how much she missed them. She wondered if they had already held a funeral and if her living body was even still there or if they had already said goodbye and moved on.

She wouldn’t even be able to figure it out, since time here was so damn confusing! Lena made it to the tree and there was nothing left but the burnt-out pieces of what used to be her mother’s furniture. She looked around feeling lost when she noted it becoming dark again, and fast. For the first time since she arrived, she was experiencing what her mother had talked about and she started to run in the direction of the cave.

Seconds later, she heard a howling echo from behind her and she wondered if she should even dare to go back to the cave! She reprimanded herself for leaving in the first place, but she didn’t have time to waste! She had to get back to her mother as fast as possible! Lena reached the cave just as her mother stepped out looking panicked and she rushed Lena inside, pulling a cover with dry dead leaves over the cave entrance.

Her mother pushed her all the way to the back as they listened for any movement outside the cave. Going back to the damn tree was the biggest mistake Lena could have ever made! It gave the hell hounds a brand-new fresh scent to follow and before long, they were outside the cave sniffing and howling. Something pulled at their makeshift door and they both held their breaths. That was it! Lena thought to herself. One stupid mistake had cost them both their lives!

ALARIC WAS PACING BACK AND FORTH while one of the council doctors checked Lena out from head to toe. He wasn’t going to ask for their help at first, but when it became clear that nobody else could help his beloved Lena, he had no other choice.

The council were the ones who knew most about the blood witches and all he could do now was pace and wait for the doctor to tell him what is going on. The doctor sighed before packing his things into his bag and finally indicating to Alaric that they should talk outside the room.

“She’s not dead, yet.” The Councillor sighed before finally looking Alaric in the eye. “But that is also a good sign. She seems to be in some sort of coma, but it doesn’t seem to be life-threatening just yet. Although it seems like it. I would, however, suggest that we give her the best chance she has by at least putting her on a drip for now. That way her body will be able …” Alaric waved his hand through the air to stop the doctor. He had heard just about all he could take and he told the doctor to do whatever he felt was necessary.

They couldn’t really tell him what was going on with her, but at least they would be able to give her body as much as they could while it hopefully healed on its own and, hopefully, she would eventually come back to them. He would wait for however long it took for her to wake up. He would never leave his mate. He sighed before opening their bedroom door.

Lena was lying on their bed looking as though she was just asleep. Her chest rhythmically moved up and down, and the only sign that there was something seriously wrong was the fact that she was so deathly pale and cold. He pulled the blanket back over her and sat down beside her, stroking her cheek.

“Please come back to us. To me. We need you.” A tear rolled down his cheek and a sob burst out from deep inside. “I need you.”

LENA’S EYES GREW WIDE as she heard Alaric's voice in the distance. She couldn’t make out what he was saying, but she was sure that it was him! Was he there as well? Dammit! Was he outside?! Did he know about the hounds?! Her heart raced and she tried to push past her mother, but her mother stopped her and pressed her finger against her lips as she glared at Lena.

The hounds were still outside their cave and the slightest movement could alert the hounds that they were there. Lena was beginning to think the hounds already knew that when, out of the blue, they seemed to lose interest in the cave. Seconds later, they could hear the thud of the hound’s feet as they quickly moved away from the cave and the women could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Mother, I have to get out of here. I heard Alaric and I need to find him if he’s here! I need to warn him about the hounds!” Tears filled Lena’s eyes but her mother wasn’t letting her go.

“You said that he is a half-breed. Did he do the spell?” Her mother frowned and Lena couldn’t understand what her mother was getting at.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure. It’s all still a bit foggy.” She was getting really frustrated with her mother and all she could think about was finding Alaric!