The Tribes Luna

CHAPTER 18

ASTRID'S POINT OF VIEW

It was harder saying goodbye to my father than I ever thought possible. Maybe because it was so sudden? Maybe because of a threat? It felt forced in a sense. I knew I'd see my father again soon, but somehow that still felt too long.

I allowed Erik to cradle me in his arms, making me feel safe and warm. I listened to his heart beating and felt myself drift off into sleep. Without realising it, I started to dream.

At first it felt very different than any other dream I've ever had. Like I was just floating, not really existing even in my own dream. Less than a fly on the wall.

I saw Mathias being dragged into his cell by Geir and the gate locked behind him. This must have been after the challenge. He seemed to be physically steaming with rage. Geir walked away, well more like, skipped with excitement. There was only one guard at the main entrance to the cells. It is one of a few buildings that are made from stone. Within moments of Geir being out of sight, Mathias had somehow manged to pull at the bars of his cell, till they bent enough for him to slither through, despite them being coated in silver. I could see and almost smell the flesh of his hands burning and melting away. He had to get his hands and arms to shift in order to do it.

He managed to squeeze himself through the gap he had made, causing the skin on his back and chest to burn. He had an inhuman look on his face and his eyes seemed wild, he was practically foaming at the mouth. Teeth bared, he marched to the door, yanked it open. Gaurd, a young man of 20 years, barely had time to turn around, before Mathias put his hands on either side of the man's head and twisted it in one swift movement. He didn't even break his stride.

He blurred through the trees of the forest, in the opposite direction of where every one else was. By fate or luck or maybe he just knew where and when the guards would be, he didn't see anybody else. He crossed the border of the tribe. He seemed to know what direction he needed to go in, as he never changed direction, or second guess. He definitely had a destination in mind.

I followed behind him like I was just floating in the air next to him.

He ran till it was so dark you couldn't see the trees if you were human.

The next thing I know is Mathias had run into a cave up in some mountains. There was a group of women in there. He started barking orders at them, his voice was muffled and I couldn't hear what he was saying exactly. The women had started chanting and gathered in a circle around him.

We had somehow moved from the cave to the river at the edge of the tribe where I liked to relax. A few moments later, I went into the clearing. It was the morning after my birthday party, when I had run away from the meeting with Erick and my father. Someone was watching me. But why didn't I see or smell him?

He approached me while I was lying down and leaned over me, whispering something in my ear. I went to tackle him, but then I saw myself sit up and start to panic. I also saw that I moved through Mathias, like he was a ghost.

Well, I guess that explains that little mystery. He started laughing and smirking, the more panicked I got like he was enjoying it. When I saw myself running, he started laughing more, then the scene shifted. In the cave again, he was shouting at the witches, ordering them to do some kind of ritual on him. I couldn't hear them properly still, but I caught a few words of what he was saying, something about changing fate and and wanting help from the gods. The witches were saying that it was a delicate spell and needed a lot of work instead of being rushed, yet he was still demanding it.

The witches had gathered round Mathias, painting some ancient runes and symbols on his naked body in what I want to think is red paint, but it probably wasn't. They were burning something and chanting in a language I couldn't quite understand. Mathias stood in the middle with his arms raised out to the side. A storm started up outside, so viciously that the wind blew through the cave and swirled round his body, there was some flashing of light and a strong blast of power knocked the witches down.

When the dust settled, I saw Mathias was crouched on the ground. He slowly stood up and my eyes followed his movements as he uncurled his body. Something was very different about him now. The runes on his body seemed to have been seared into his skin now. He wasn't standing in his usual intimidating way, instead he seemed more stoic, yet this intern made his Aura seem even more powerful. It was when I saw his face I knew something had gone very wrong. I saw that his right eye was clouded over, but what was worse, he seemed to be looking right at me, like he could really see me, and then a smile slowly formed on his face. My instincts told me who this now was, but how in the name of all the gods was that even possible? I can only describe his aura as pure evil.

I gasped and my eyes flew open, and I saw I was still in the car. I looked around franticly until I felt Eric put his hands on my shoulders, calming me down instantly.

"What's wrong, Angel?" He asked, cupping my face, making me look at him.

"We might have a problem." That is all I could say, my heart still pounding against my ribcage from fear.