Filed to story: Wolf Crying Mate of the Alpha by Jazz Ford
Within this vessel shall hold thee
Forever sealed for eternity
No more harm will be done
Seal the darkness to protect everyone
No more dangers, no more harm.
Seal this creature, and let this be done.
Repeat until they have been absorbed into the location or item.’
I bite my lip and stare at Reaper, preening the quill of all things…
‘It doesn’t sound too hard, I guess,’ I say to Reaper.
He tilts his head, jumps onto the page, and looks up at me, ‘It may sound easy reading it, Nina, but doing it may be a whole kettle of fish,’ he says and jumps off the book.
‘You’re probably right. It could be more difficult than it seems,’ I sigh and push the book to the back of the desk and drag the food tray in front of me.
Reaper’s talons patter across the desk toward my plate of food. Holding a piece of sliced meat in one claw, he tears off shreds and gobbles it down. I take a chunk of bread and dip it in the bowl of soup. It has a nice creamy taste to it. Once we finish the food, I take the spell book and hold it up as I pace the floor repeating the chant over in hopes of remembering it by heart.
‘Within this vessel shall hold thee
Forever sealed for eternity
No more harm will be done
Seal the darkness to protect everyone
No more dangers, no more harm.
Seal this creature and let this be done,’ I say for the tenth time until Alec enters.
He looks over at the desk and then at me, ‘I’m glad you’ve eaten. How are you going with the spell?’ he asks.
‘Other than finding a location or item to seal him in. We’re going well. I think I’ve memorised the spell, but I’ll practice it in the morning before we leave to be sure,’ I smile.
First thing in the morning, I bathe, dress and walk throughout the castle, repeating the spell while looking for an item to seal Thypon. Reaper is perched on my shoulder. We enter the kitchen only to find pots, pans, plates and candle sticks-nothing in here of use. The library had the odd vase of flowers, a plethora of books, and nothing else. I take a random book from the shelf, ‘The Alpha’s Mate Who Cried Wolf,’ I read, then laugh. ‘Sounds interesting. I suppose I can’t trap Thypon in a book, though?’ I say to Reaper.
‘I don’t think a book would be strong enough. Pages can rip easily, and who knows what that would do? Let’s keep looking in the other rooms,’ he mind-links.
We enter the grand hall. I admire the tapestry and portraits, but there is nothing of use here either. I sigh, fall back into the dark wooden chair, and stare dismally at the ground.
Footsteps coming toward me echo throughout the hall. I look up to see its Alec.
‘Are you ready to go, my love?’ he says, extending his hand toward me.
I take his hand and stand, ‘I haven’t found anything to seal Thypon in yet.’
‘Maybe we can keep an eye out for a location as we fly back to Oakpaw mountain,’ he says.
‘Yes, we will do that, but I think we should go to Moon Crest Castle,’ I say, taking a deep breath and placing my hand on my chest. ‘I’m worried more have been killed or hurt. I need to know that Magnus is okay and the others,’ I say to him.
‘Each time we go there, Nina, we are risking our lives,’ he replies.
‘I know, but,’ I gaze up at Alec. My eyes well up with tears.
He sighs, ‘Okay, but we must be careful and not seen,’ he says.
I fling my arms around Alec’s neck and cover his face in kisses, ‘Thank you,’ I smile.
‘Just don’t get hurt. That’s all I ask,’ Alec says.
I nod and take his hand, and leave the castle.
Once outside, I look around, ‘Where’s Vermillion?’ I ask him.
Alec laughs, ‘In the stable.’
‘Can he even fit in there?’ I ask.
‘Let’s just say nothing else can get in there with him,’ he chuckles.
We approach the stable, and Vermillion’s tail sticks out the doors and waves across the ground. We jump over it and walk around to the other side to see his head sticking out, laying on the ground.
I laugh and look up at Alec, ‘I see what you mean.’
Vermillion’s eyes open wide. He lifts his head in delight to see me. Before I can back away, his large tongue comes our way and gently slaps against us and slides over us.
Alec, Reaper and I roll our eyes as we shake the dragon’s saliva from ourselves.
‘Vermillion, you really have to stop doing that,’ I say to him.
He whimpers and lowers his head. ‘It’s all right, Vermillion. We’ll just jump into the ocean waters and wash it all off,’ I assure him.
Alec and I remove our clothes, wash them in the ocean, squeeze them out, and hang them back on the shore on a nearby tree to dry. Reaper rolls across the shallow water many times before shaking off and preening himself. I go back into the ocean and wait for my clothes to dry. Alec follows. I dive in and swim around, exploring the ocean floor. There are many fish and coral too. I swim back up to the surface for air, bursting out of the water. A moment later, Alec resurfaces in front of me.
‘It’s so beautiful down there,’ I say to him.
Alec comes closer, wraps his arms around me, and gazes endearingly into my eyes, ‘Yet, you are still the most beautiful thing in the ocean,’ he says. His lips come closer to mine. As we are about to kiss, I feel something wrap around my ankle. I scream as I’m suddenly yanked down into the water from Alec’s arms. As I’m pulled further down into the water, I see Alec swimming toward me, reaching his hand out for mine. I try to see what has me, but there are too many bubbles, and I can’t breathe. A dark shadow emits from Alec’s hand. The shadow bypasses me and attacks whatever has me. My ankle is released, and I swim into Alec’s arms. He pulls me close against his chest and swims as quickly as possible to the surface. I gasp for air as we burst through the water. I turn my head to see a Troika snake swimming after us and notice a few more in the distance behind him.
‘Sked-skedaddle Dash,’ I struggle to say.
In a blink, we land and fall on the sand, and everything goes dark.
I jolt awake in warm arms and see Alec staring at me, very worried.
‘Nina, you’re okay,’ he says and hugs me.
‘What happened? Wait, there were Troika Snakes after us,’ I squeal as I sit up.
‘It’s okay. Reaper and Vermillion dealt with them when you blacked out,’ he explains.
‘I couldn’t breathe. I almost drowned!’