Page 10 of Heart of the Cursed
Chapter 4
He was surprised at how easy it had been to get away from Taredd and Dain. He thought he’d have to come up with some bullshit excuse as to why he wanted time alone, but it had been a lot easier than that.
A bet placed between him and Taredd over who was the better hunter, had done the trick. Dain had unwittingly helped. He’d been pestering for a few days off, so Arun just jumped on the bandwagon.
Between them, they had worn Taredd down until he’d agreed. Then the bet had come into play. While they had been drinking in a rundown tavern, they had joked around about who was the better hunter, him or Taredd. Next thing he knew, they were each placing a bet and setting down ground rules.
Basically, they had to be the first to capture a Human alive and show the others. Easy enough. The only problem was, Arun wasn’t interested in winning the bet.
He wasn’t even interested in taking part. But it was a better excuse for spending some time alone than anything he’d come up with prior to that. So, he ran with it.
After agreeing to the terms of the bet, he had downed the last of his drink and then retired for the night. At least, that’s what he told Taredd and Dain. Instead, he’d gathered what he needed for the journey and left the tavern before dawn.
Arun hadn’t expected to see either Taredd or Dain until after he’d found and warned the female, but within hours, they had both caught up with him. It was his own fault for changing direction.
He had initially been heading south, since most of the Humans preferred the warmer weather. But after an hour or so, Arun realised he’d gone around in a massive circle. The mountains, which should have been behind him as he moved further away, were in front of him and getting closer.
He didn’t question why he’d changed direction, neither did he turn back around. Instead, he had continued north, heading towards the mountain path.
Since he didn’t know where the female was, he had decided to let the magic of the realm guide him. He hadn’t tried anything like it before. He wasn’t even sure if it would work. But he had to try something, and it was the only thing he could think of, so he went with it.
Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t ask Dain or Taredd for help. Taredd’s tracking skills were equal to his own, so he wouldn’t be much help. Dain was a different matter. He could track anyone, anywhere. Unfortunately, he needed more to go on than a voice in Arun’s head.
If he had something with her scent on, then he could turn to Dain for help, but without that, there was nothing he could do that Arun couldn’t do himself. Even without their help, Arun was confident he could find her. It might take longer than he’d like, but he would track her down eventually.
He had stayed with Taredd and Dain as they made their way through the mountain pass. Just after they reached the other side, they had gone their separate ways.
As he headed further north and away from civilisation, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was going in the right direction. It was rare for Humans to travel so far north. They had a very good reason not to.
As much as Humans tried to stay away from the rest of the world, they tended to stay close at the same time. Since most species preferred the warmer weather, there were very few settlements in the far north or far south of the realm. With fewer settlements, came fewer opportunities for the Humans to scavenge from them.
The growing season in those areas were a lot shorter, as well. Which meant it was more difficult, if not impossible, in some areas, for anyone to grow enough food to survive on. Hunting opportunities were just as bad in those areas, especially for Humans.
He could understand if the female he was looking for was a Shapeshifter. Arun wouldn’t say it to Dain because his head was already big enough, but Shapeshifters were the best at hunting. Whereas, Humans were one of the worst when it came to hunting.
Arun didn’t think he was looking for a Shapeshifter. He wasn’t sure what the female was, but he was certain she wasn’t a Shapeshifter. She couldn’t be Human, either. Not with the amount of magic that was coming from her.
It wasn’t unheard of for Humans to have magic. Most had gained it because of being bred from Witches and other magical beings. It was rare for a Human to be born with magic otherwise, but not impossible. After all, nothing was impossible.
When the war broke out between the paranormal creatures, the Humans with magic had tried to use it to defend themselves and those they loved. Especially after the war had finished, when everyone turned their sights on the Humans and began slaughtering them. Unfortunately, all it did was paint targets on their backs, and they were the first to be taken out.
It was possible a couple of them had survived, but their magic wouldn’t be as powerful as what he’d felt coming from the female. However, it would be more diluted, possibly to the point where they wouldn’t be able to cast a simple spell, let alone one as powerful as she had cast.
Even if the female was part Witch, it wouldn’t be easy for her to live alone so far north. There were bound to be more people with her. Whether or not they also had magic, remained to be seen.
Arun hadn’t felt the presence of anyone else’s magic mixed with hers, and hers was the only voice he’d heard in his mind. He assumed, if she was with other people, that she was the only one with magic.
Admittedly, he’d been preoccupied at the time, so it was possible she hadn’t been alone in chanting the spell. Either way, he needed to warn her about the danger she was putting herself in. If she continued on the path she was on, then she was going to bring down all manner of trouble on herself.
After two days of heading in the same direction and not seeing any sign of life, Arun was about ready to give up when something in the distance caught his attention. He couldn’t make out what it was at first, but as he drew closer, it soon became clear. Beehives.
Not just one, but several were scattered about. They were mostly concealed by the woodlands, making them difficult to see. It was obvious whoever had put them there didn’t want them to be found. If Arun hadn’t been looking for any sign of life, he wouldn’t have noticed them.
It was just the kind of sign he was looking for. It wasn’t what he was searching for, but it was enough to let him know he was heading in the right direction.
As he closed in on the beehives, he used magic to produce a cloud of smoke around them. The bees instantly calmed down, turning docile enough for him to look inside their hives.
The first hive he looked inside hadn’t been disturbed recently, and neither had the second or third. However, there was no doubt someone had harvested the honey from the final three hives.
It might not be the female he was looking for, but someone had been there, and recently. Thankfully, whoever it was, they hadn’t been too concerned with covering their tracks as they moved around the hives.
Arun didn’t know if the tracks had been left on purpose, but it worked in his favour. Not only did the footprints tell him the person responsible was female, but they also showed him which direction to go.
Arun hoped it was the female he was searching for, but only time would tell.
