IVORY: The age of Gloarian

Chapter 25

    Leron had certainly underestimated the severity of the task when he so bravely signed up for it. Though now, at the brink of death, the top guard trembled as he slithered his way past the Lycan guards. He had been a top guard for over 15 years, and never once had he felt the uncertainty that he did in that moment. Perhaps that was because he had never been thrown into a cage with massive Lycan’s who could at any moment, crush the snake between their feet, and rid themselves of a minor issue in their days. Though crossing the guards, who hadn’t the faintest idea of what had been going on just under their noses, had given the top guard more hope than he had expected to receive. He thanked the flame as he watched the guards fail at their duties by chatting to each other instead, and dashed inside territory, doing his best to stay hidden and out of sight. 

    The Lycan territory had been much larger than he had expected to be, He found himself having to camouflage with the bark of a tree at every given moment, though had it not been for those trees, the man would have probably gotten caught and executed immediately. Taking the advice his leader had given him, the man travelled north to where she had said the pack house was located, slithering in all directions possible to avoid local Lycans. The words of his leader remained at the back of his head -regarding his possible torture at getting caugh- and poked at him every five seconds, though he did his best to push the thought aside in an attempt to not get distracted.

    As the pack house neared his vision, the top guard felt a sense of relief wash over him. Just a little bit more to go, he thought, making his way to the back door as instructed. He wondered if Lycans would notice his scent if he switched to his human form and disguised himself as a mere pack member, though decided against the risk, and found himself remaining in his snake form as he slithered his way inside. 

    The pack house had been more of a maze that the leader had explained, and despite having the basic information the top guard found himself completely lost in the massive building. The first floor had more than 20 rooms, and none of them looked like the doors to an office by first glance. The task of blending into door frames had been harder for the man who was cautiously terrified of every Lycan in human form that walked by as he did so. One woman had most certainly seen him, though as she advanced the man luckily managed to slide his way under the door into the random, empty room of a member of the pack. The woman had walked away not too long after, thinking she had just been hallucinating, giving Leron -who had realised after the bathroom door inside the room opened that the room had not actually been empty- the chance to exit the location with a hurry that had him panicking to the core.

    After having fortunately made a quick escape from a sticky scenario, Leron finally decided to enter a room that looked like a toilet, before he switched to his human form and closed the door behind him. The man took a deep breath as he looked at himself in the mirror, placing his hands on the counter and de-stressing for the only brief minute of a break he could afford. He felt the walls caging him as he did so, but reminded himself that he was doing this for his community, for his leader. 

    Back at Hybrid lands the leader who had with a heavy heart sent away her top guard had been waiting anxiously for his return. It had barely been an hour, yet the woman had paced every inch of her office with a gut feeling that told her something big was going to happen. She questioned herself time and time again in those hours why she had made the decision she did and wondered if it had been worth it sending her mate away from her. She envisioned a scenario with Razaar in it, despite not wanting to, and played the scenes in her head to figure out if the man would have been of more use to her. Though she ended up frustrating herself when the scenes had been blocked by the barricades of hatred the woman held for her mate. Armelia had come in every half hour to check on the woman but could only get a word or two out of the leader who would be quick to dismiss her friend back to her duties. She had no way of communicating with her spy, and the thought unnerved her more than she could imagine. 

    To busy herself, the woman had decided to go for a run, one that resulted in no calming down whatsoever,  instead, when she returned she was faced with no news of the man she felt guilty for sending on a mission as risky. Nevertheless the woman kept it together in front of her community members, reminding herself of her duties and mannerisms to uphold as a leader of the Hybrids. 

    Her worries, however, had all been for good reason, as the real danger commenced when the dear Leron resumed duties and exited the toilet he had used a hideout for a brief minute, continuing the search for Balthazar’s office. Noises had covered all air around him, which had made it harder for the man to spot the Alpha. When he spotted a set of twin mahogany doors at the end of the passage, however, he knew he had made it to the correct location. He barely had time to sigh in relief as he raced towards the door, finding a hiding spot right at the edge of the doorway. The doors and walls of the pack house had thankfully been painted black, surely to match the mood of the evil Lycans, though it was a factor that now contributed in aiding the spy to complete the task he had come for. 

    Voices had immediately begun ringing through his ears and he took a minute to adjust to his surroundings before hearing in and being cautious of passers by simultaneously. 

    ‘The woman is certainly attractive and powerful, but she’s a stupid leader. I’m surprised she hasn’t pieced it together yet’ commented Balthazar to his Beta, who as per his job description, sat in front of his leader, smirking for formalities. 

    ‘What surprises me even more is that the Werewolf Alpha hasn’t figured it out either’ commented another female voice, one that belonged to the Amethyst witch: Beneta Lowe. Leron, however, continued listening cluelessly, wondering exactly what was going on, and who was inside the room itself. 

    ‘Oh Razaar? No, that one didn’t surprise me really, he’s an ignorant Alpha and a pathetic excuse of a mate to Eliana, I knew he wouldn’t realise what we were up to. Eliana however, that woman certainly is something. If I didn’t already have a mate my intentions for her would have certainly been different.’ he stated, brushing off the witch’s comment. 

    ‘Well, it’s a shame that in the end the tragic pair are both going to lose their positions and people. How do you think people are going to take your seat on the high chair? Leader of Lycans, Werewolves and Hybrids, how are you going to manage that?’ the witch asked, taking her seat in the chair next to the Beta who remained silent at the interaction. 

    ‘Sounds delightful doesn’t it? Well for starters who really needs Hybrids and Werewolves when you have Lycans? I was thinking we could have a massive addition to underpaid staff, while the Lycans feast and live like kings! That is, after all, what we deserve as the superior race. We may be members of Ivory, but who said we can’t live like the Vermillion?’ he completed, his voice showing a sick excitement that angered Leron to the core. The man wished nothing more than to barge in and finish the cruel Alpha, though he suppressed the thoughts as he completed the only task his leader had sent him there for. 

    ‘That plan certainly sounds fantastic, although I must ask Alpha, if I may have permission to keep the Hybrid girl for myself. She certainly is as tempting as she is...fiesty’ included the Beta who finally decided to open his mouth. His words had not been having a good effect on the top guard who minute by minute was ragin more and more. His prior attention to his surroundings had disappeared as he now was fully immersed into the task of listening into the twisted conversation. Little did the poor man know that he was being set up beyond his control, and it was a situation that was not going to end well for him. 

    ‘Oh Oleg, keep it in your pants for once will you?’ he snapped back, treating his Beta like scum as he always did. The only reason the Beta would put up with his Alpha’s attitude was because the poor man himself feared Balthazar. He knew the only reason he had been alive was because he was the Beta, had it not been for that, the man would’ve probably ended up dead. 

    Leron could hear the smug man silence himself in shame as the Alpha carried on his conversation with the witch. 

    ‘Tell me Beneta, how long do you think before he realises?’ questioned Balthazar, it was a conversation that on the whole, had confused poor Leron, who had no idea where to begin describing what they had been talking about or insinuating. 

    ‘To be honest with you, if he doesn’t realise now I don’t think he will ever realise. Perhaps we should just break the news to him, save him the embarrassment and time’ she responded. The charade they had been playing was one that the top guard had yet to catch on to as he carried on listening to the two actually talk about him. 

    ‘Go on then, let the fun begin’ instructed Balthazar, deciding to terminate the curiosity that lingered within the attentive snake. However it was too late for Leron as the doors blasted and the spy had been dragged inside the room by some invisible force he couldn’t fathom. The witch had encased him in a bubble and left him to hang in the air as the rest made a laughing stock of him. 

    Their laughter lasted a while before they dropped him to the ground and allowed him to return to his human form. The top guard brushed himself off, maintaining a look of anger despite the fear he also felt. He knew that there was no chance of Balthazar allowing him to live past that moment and began counting the minutes to his death. 

    ‘You knew?’ he asked firmly glaring at the Alpha. The man simply laughed as he pointed at the witch with his head. 

    ‘You didn’t really think I’m going to fight a war with not one but two species with no protection did you?’ questioned Balthazar, once again initiating a round of laughter through the room. The witch had been quick to elevate herself and walk to Balthazar’s side. 

    ‘Tell me darling, how would you like to die today?’ she offered, clarifying that the poor man was, indeed, going to die a most probably painful death. Nevertheless, he tried his best to stall as he thought of any way he could escape from the room. 

    ‘You’re an Amethyst witch’ he stated more like a question. 

    ‘I am darling’ she responded, aggravating Leron. 

    ‘Why would you be helping him? What do you get out of it?’ he asked, knowing his time for departure was nearing. 

    ‘You want to tell him or should I?’ questioned the witch, looking down at Balthazar, who simply stood up from his seat, walking tentatively to where the top guard stood, encircling him like a predator. 

    ‘You see, it’s not just Hybrids and Werewolves I’m after dear Leron, I’m after something so much bigger, something I’ve been planning for years now. It’s all part of a master plan you see. I knew that Razaar was an angry man, killing his mother would certainly make him want to attack. Of course I had no way of anticipating for him to have a mate, much less the leader of Hybrids, but that was only a bonus to my plan. Now I plan to execute my plan that’s all.’ His words had opened a much larger whole of confusion for the man who stood motionless, thinking of the right words to utter next.

    ‘What plan?’ he merely asked, though the top guard could never hear the end of the response as Balthazar had chosen that particular moment to attack, snapping the man’s neck from behind. 

    ‘The plan to take over all of Zaleon, of course. That boy, he asks too many questions am I right?’ he asked nonchalantly, walking around the body back to his chair. The witch and Beta remained silent at the events, and refocused their attention on the continuation of their plan, knowing that for them it was a mere sacrifice for the greater good. ‘Now, how should we send his body back to Eliana? I would love to make the greatest impression upon the woman’ he commented, diving into thought on how to pursue his wicked ways. When no one suggested a thing, the man dug up a solution of his own. ‘Oleg, dismantle his body completely would you. I think I want to send his cut up body back like a puzzle. Oh and before you do slice him up maybe scribble a threatening word on his entire body that would shock the woman would you? Beneta darling, would you be so kind as to deliver the floating body past the borders of Hybrid territory?’ he instructed, watching his pawns get to work as he simply sat there and admired the grotesque scene. 

    The horrific doings on the dead man’s corpse had no effect whatsoever on Balthazar, who quickly decided to scribble a note to the brave leader of Hybrids to express his sorrow on the loss of the man he had just taken the life of. Of course, his concern had only been a sarcastic joke to enrage the woman, and the thought of her pain brought back, once again, a feeling of pleasure in his core. Once the tasks had been carried out, the Lycan Alpha sent out the message along with the body back to where it had originally come from, and waited with excitement at the events that would unfold soon after. 

    When the leader had yet again left her office to wander about till her top guard returned, she had certainly not expected to visualise a floating figure approaching her until her eyes bulged out. At the sight of the terrifying scene, the woman found herself hurling her guts out by the tree that the corpse had strapped itself to. She yelled loudly for someone to come, and when the rest of the guards approached the scene, the first thing that had come to their minds was relief. Any of the top guards could have ended up in that position, after all. The petrified individuals looked away almost immediately before helping their leader back to her feet. 

    ‘Eliana, there’s a note attached to it’ commented a scared Armelia, who unwillingly pulled the note off the body of her friend, before handing it to her leader and best friend. 

Dear Eliana,

Forgive me for the theatrics, though I couldn’t quite resist the temptation when I watched his body thump to the ground. I would, on that note, sincerely like to apologise for your loss. I know that Leron must have been very important to you and I offer my condolences at the loss of such a bright, young man. I do hope you won’t go trying to send more spies into my territory though, hopefully this example will be enough to demonstrate to you what happens to those who try to go against me. 

Don’t worry though darling, I will see you soon on the battlefield. Until then, enjoy the last couple days of your freedom, position and people. 

Your favourite enemy,

Balthazar Tin

    As much as the woman wanted to cry her eyeballs out at the doing, she held it in, turning her despair into anger as she crumpled the note in her hand. 

    ‘Dispose of the body and meet me back in the office after you’re done. We need a new plan’ she commanded, walking back to her office without a second glance at the body. Her guilt had finally taken over as she found tears make their way through her eyes in her mere moment of solitude.

    She allowed herself a brief moment where pain could consume her entirely before she halted everything, walking into the office building where her tiny assistant had been present. Skimming past him, she stepped into her space, closing the door behind her, only to have it reopened by Armelia, who closed it behind her. 

    ‘Eliana, I’m so sorry love. What happened?’ she asked, seating herself in front of her best friend and holding her hands with her own. 

    ‘I don’t understand. How did he know? How could Leron have gotten caught? Our snake form could literally blend into the walls of that pack house, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. I don’t know what I was thinking, and now Leron is dead because of me’ she recapped with frustration. 

    ‘That’s not fair Eli, you know it’s not your fault, he volunteered to do this. If anything it’s all your mate’s fault, who put the entire Hybrid species in danger to begin with. As much as I hate to say it perhaps you should let him take the fall for this and call him back to help’ she suggested. It was one that Eliana had been thinking of anyways, though now found herself more inclined to do. 

    ‘I just wish there was another way out. We don’t have the numbers to fight against Balthazar on our own, but perhaps with the Werewolves we will be able to defeat him’ she commented, exasperated by the mere thought of having to call her mate again. It was something that the leader had been refusing to do, knowing it would most probably affect her ego and certainly embarrass her, but just the image of poor Leron’s body hanging from the tree outside had the stubborn leader changing her mind. 

    Eliana dismissed her best friend from the room, thinking of ways in which to reach out to her mate. What would she even say? She picked up a piece of parchment, ready to script out an eloquent message, yet found herself at a loss of words. How nice was she to be? Or should she simply be rude and get it over with? They were concerned that in that moment had been major for the Hybrid leader, but little did the woman know it would very soon become the least of her problems. 

    Minutes passed by as she stared down at the roughness of the paper, losing herself in it’s intensity rather than the task at hand. She let out a frustrated huff and she elevated from the seat, pacing around the office thinking of the right way to approach the scenario. 

Dear Razaar,

I am writing to tell you

    She began, stopping for a second before she restarted her letter. 

Alpha Solonov,

A member of my pack has just been murdered 

    She halted in her tracks as she realised how harsh the letter sounded to begin with, and scrapped the paper before starting yet again another note. 

Alpha Solonov, 

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I have decided to rejoin the Werewolves in the fight against Balthazar in three days time. A member of my pack has been murdered by the Lycan Alpha, and I have therefore had no other option but to resort to fighting with your pack. I would appreciate it if you could send some of your warriors to my grounds at daylight to train with my guards.

I appreciate the help. 

Eliana Genova

    She looked at the note beneath her and sighed with annoyance at the thought of having to see her mate again. Just when she thought she had finally gotten rid of him, she realised she hadn't. The flame certainly had a long play in mind for the pair, and sooner or later the two would see this transparent revelation, though how would they deal with the news? The stubborn pair were much closer to their endless cycle of hopelessness than they knew, and it was just a matter of time before their options would limit to only one: accept each other.