CHAPTER4:NIGHTMARE
1129 Words
Selene POV
The night air felt dangerously thick, almost unnatural. The previously dark sky was now choked and filled with storm clouds filled with dangerous dark purple lightning. The ground shakes beneath us, as if the earth itself was aware of the impending threat and danger. My heart raced, and my legs led me forward as we followed Elder Miriam deeper into the dense forest.
Silence covered us. There was no need for words.
Luca was out there, and Morgana was waiting for us.
As we advanced further, the chill intensified. Frost coated the leaves, and our breaths turned to vapor, an unnatural sight.
Kieran remained close beside me, his jaw set, muscles held with fury and desperation. I could sense the tempest brewing within him, his wolf barely composed. He was prepared to unleash chaos to retrieve our son. So was I.
Abruptly, Elder Miriam paused. Her white eyes glinted with an unreadable expression as she turned to us. "We have arrived."
Confusion flooded my mind as I looked at our surroundings. All that encircled us were trees and mist. No fortress. No lair. No trace of Morgana. Just an unending forest looming ahead.
Kieran narrowed his gaze. "Where?"
Miriam released a measured breath and raised her hand. She whispered something, and the wind flowed in response. The trees before us shifted, not swaying gently like normal trees, but parting as though compelled by an unseen force hidden beyond.
And then we saw it.
A colossal, ancient fortress concealed within the forest, entwined in thick, black vines that pulsed like living arteries. The walls seemed to draw breath, and dark energy crackled in the surrounding air.
Luca was inside that damn place.
I could feel it.
As I stepped forward, my stomach knotted, but Miriam grasped my arm with a serious expression. "Be careful, Selene." This place is more than it appears."
Kieran had already removed his blade, his silver eyes alight with fury. "We don’t have time for caution. We enter, we rescue Luca, and we end this."
But Miriam remained unmoved. "It’s not that simple."
I frowned. "Why not?"
Miriam's gaze met mine. "Because Morgana seeks more than just Luca's powers." Her calm tone was unsettling. "She desires his blood."
A chill ran through me. "What?"
Miriam's white eyes seemed to pierce my very soul. "Luca is not merely a boy with abilities, Selene. His bloodline is ancient, filled with prophecies that scare us. His power represents the equilibrium between time and fate. Morgana… she doesn't wish to control him."
I swallowed hard. "Then what is her objective?"
Miriam's expression darkened. "She wants to consume him."
I felt a freeze seep into my veins.
Kieran let out a sharp growl. "Then we eliminate her first."
Without uttering another word, he charged toward the fortress, his movements lethal, dangerous and precise.
I followed close behind, my heart racing against my ribcage.
We were hurling into a nightmare, and I was uncertain if we would all emerge unscathed.
The fortress entrance viewed before us, a massive archway with doors already ajar, as if Morgana had anticipated our arrival. The interior halls were adorned with dark, glowing symbols, and the air was filled with the aroma of ancient and dark magic. The deeper we ventured, the more unnatural it became in their.
The walls whispered.
It was real; I wasn’t imagining it. They truly whispered soft voices murmuring in a language I couldn’t comprehend. My heartbeat quickened as I proceeded cautiously, trying to shake the sensation of unseen eyes observing me from the shadows.
Then
A scream.
Luca.
My heart ceased.
I ran.
Kieran followed closely, his breath labored, consumed by rage, anger.
We burst into a vast chamber, and horror filled my stomach.
Luca was at the center, placed within a circle of dark magic. His small form trembled, his golden-silver eyes shining very brightly.
Morgana loomed over him, her black robes swirling, hands outstretched, measuring his power.
Rage blinded me.
"Get away from my son!" I shouted.
Morgana turned, a slow, wicked smile spreading across her lips. "Ah, you’ve arrived."
Kieran lunged, but before he could reach her, the shadows animated.
They rose from the floor, morphing into creatures wolves forged of pure darkness.
As Kieran cut through one, another quickly took its place.
Morgana laughed. "You are too late, Selene." Her gaze moving to Luca. "He belongs to me now."
Luca raised his head, his face pale. "Mama…" His voice was so small, so fragile, it shattered my heart.
I charged at Morgana, but with a flick of her wrist, an invisible force pulled me back.
I hit the floor hard, pain radiating through my ribs.
I struggled to breathe.
Morgana approached, her dark eyes shining. "Do you know what makes him special?" she pondered. "Why is his bloodline unparalleled and flawless?"
I forced myself to rise, my hands quivering. "Shut up you bastard."
She smirked. "Luca’s power is intertwined with his father, with you, tied to something far grander than you can imagine."
I clenched my fists. "You will not take him from me, NEVER."
Morgana knelt beside me, her voice almost soothing. "But what if I already have?"
Before I could respond, Morgana raised her hand. The magic circle encircling Luca shimmered and then shattered.
For a fleeting moment, relief washed over me.
But then
Luca stood.
And his eyes
His golden-silver eyes transformed to black.
A dark mist coiled around his small frame. His expression was vacant, devoid of emotion.
I froze. No. No, no, no.
Morgana grinned. "He is mine now."
Kieran snapped.
With a feral snarl, he moved at Morgana, the blade slicing through the air, cutting nothing.
But Luca acted.
Just a boy, yet he halted Kieran with a single hand.
A wave of black energy hurled Kieran across the chamber.
I screamed. "Luca! Baby, it's Mama!"
Luca's head tilted slightly, as if he didn’t recognize me. As if I were a stranger.
Morgana's voice dripped with wicked malice. "You should have stayed away, Selene."
Tears clouded my vision.
Morgana had twisted my son against me.
I stumbled to my feet, my body quaking. "Luca," I pleaded, stepping closer.
He remained unmoved.
I reached towards him, hands trembling.
Then
His darkened eyes flickered.
His lips parted. "Mama…"
For one brief moment, he sounded like himself.
But then, Morgana seized his wrist.
And Luca screamed.
The darkness surrounding him surged.
The ground beneath us opened.
And then
Everything shattered.
I couldn’t tell if I was dead.
All I knew was that I was falling.
Falling through darkness.
Through time.
Through agony.
I screamed Luca's name.
But the last thing I glimpsed before the world vanished. The last thing I saw was his blacked eyes looking back at me.
And then
Nothing…..
- Writer
