Soul Lovers

The Frigid lair of the Ice Bears.

Young Peirce couldn’t believed his eyes.

“An Elder?!” Without hesitating, he scurried as his legs could, unknowingly dropping a piece of paper near young Vanilla. She looked at him in disappointment then she sighed, spotted a piece of paper on the floor near the stone young Peirce sat earlier. it's contained drawings and information of a specific weapon which hasn’t been invented yet.

She picked it up, "Hmmm, What is this?"

Her father came closer.

“What were you doing with that boy?!” Bolu asked. “Don’t tell me he was the one with you, two days ago.” Vanilla couldn’t answer before turning to her Father removing her mask and stared at the ground, feeling sorry. Her father sighed. “Let’s go your mother is having a baby soon.” Vanilla face brightened up and ran to where her mother was. “Ah! Look how happy she is!” Bolu said with a smile staring at young Vanilla for a while as she ran towards where her mother was, after that, he glanced at the direction were young Peirce ran to and frowned.

-

Back to the present.

“So it was you then. You were the girl I was longing to meet again… I'm such a fool... and a coward.” Peirce murmured as he clustered himself sobbing inside the cage where he was as the Expats moved him with the others still unconscious in their cages except Jared who was chained on the back of a huge Expat who was more bigger and taller than any other Expats around.

Few days later, through the snowy forest as the wind slowly dropped gently, flustering down around, resting on everyone’s body and to the ground under the waxes and wanes of the full moon.

Azra was at the fore front leading with everyone behind following. Most of their heads and shoulders were slightly covered with snow, vapouring through the mouth as they breath. Azra signaled them to stop then he looked around, hunched as his furry cape and long knotted dreads touched the snowy ground.

He placed his hands on the ground, feeling the surroundings from his palm then he stood up.

“There is a huge snow storm coming this way.” He mentioned, “Aquila!” suddenly a lady appeared at his front on her hands were daggers stained with blue blood from her prey.

Swiftly, she scabbarded her daggers, placed her hands on her chest joining her legs together.

“Azra Miller. There were many packs of snow tiger-wolves in front waiting to ambush us but they were all slain by me, strangely the ice bears were no where to be found. I assumed they may have taken shelter from the storm coming.”

“Yeah I noticed so. The shelter?”

“In a cave. I will lead the way. Azra Miller.” Aquila assured.

“Woooo. Aquila as fierce as always.” Aghul smirked, the Expats around him all sniggered as they followed her to the snowy path leading to the cave.

Entering the cave, it seems it was no longer a cave as it gets deeper, darker and colder from miles after miles. What it seems to be a cave it was a tunnel leading to where the ice bears were.

Node slowly opened his eyes, it was all pitch black, no signs of light and no idea where he was, he could only see glowing eyes of big and small as he was moved along side with Peirce and Sniffia.

He swallowed, slightly tightened his body then he glowed in his purple form which shone around everyone as broad day light only to be a purple glowed light. The Expats all froze then looked including Azra and Aquila at the direction of the source from where the amazing still entangled light was coming from. It shined so brightly that surprisingly he didn’t blind anyone looking directly to Node.

He looked at everyone as they glanced at him.

“Well you aren’t the only ones that sees in the dark.” He continued. “Your eyes were creeping me out.” He looked at Sniffia’s cage near his.

Why did they took her? He thought. Peirce also. Hmmm and the distinguish scar on this man's face… it seems… staring at Jared tightly chained on the back of the biggest Expat in front of him.

I came here hoping to rescue them but why was the reason they attacked us in the first place. He looked at Peirce. What have he done again?

“Hey kid what are you looking at? Are you planning a escape or what?” Aghogho asked,

“How could he? Even the great Jared can’t escape from us, how much possible this puny.” Ade said, Aghul licked his lips, staring at Node.

“Can we keep him?” Aghul said, "I feel something peculiar about him."

Azra and Aquila turned then walked, entering deeper into the cave,

“Let’s go. We have some business to take care of at the end of the tunnel.” Azra commanded.

Few moments later. Walking another miles, everything around was getting extremely colder and the wall were totally freezing, immediately, Node, Peirce and Sniffia were shivering uncontrollably. Azra observed the freezing walls,

“The ice bears know we are here they tried freezing the walls and make the atmosphere extremely cold to warn us to back off because we are getting closer to their liar.”

Ade clapped his hands together, “Nice. And we will show them who the real beast are.” he looked at Sniffia then at Azra. “Azra Miller, Are we sure she is the one, because cold like this don’t make us shiver.”

Azra side stared at Sniffia while walking then he looked at his front as they were getting closer, they noticed an entrance of light shining brightly at there front,

"Hey, lantern?" Aghul called, talking to Node, "turn off your light, we can see now." Node immediately, unglowed as they entered.

As soon as they entered, most of the Expats eyes were wide opened at the astonishing view of the towering lair which consist of water falls that formed a lake running through on both ends of the lair producing mists that filled the lake and an ice wall enclosing the lair, filled with glowing white huge crystals attached on the walls.

“Wow!” Node said as his mouth opened wide. Then he heard something groaning coming from a distant, he looked at the directions, “Great, you guys are here.”

The ice bears were groaning and stamping and feet on the ground as the icy spinal nodes on their back grew larger waiting for an attack.

“Aquila!” Azra said, immediately Aquila tightened her gripped on the daggers, swiftly unsheathed it and zoomed towards the ice bears taking them down with a single cut from her daggers. Then, she zoomed back to her position.

“That was quick.” Aghul said.

“Are ice bears this weak?” Aghogho asked.

“No.” Azra with Aquila both answered almost together.

Aghogho and Aghul looked at Azra.

“Azra Miller what do you mean?”

“They are not the one we should be worried about.” Azra said, “They’re just cubs who came to fight us due to their curiosity.”

He looked at the slightly melted lake far from them as the lake water boiled with bubbles, suddenly, huge pointed icy spinal nodes arose from the lake under the spinal nodes, big and muscular with dripping white fur came out showing the huge heads of the older ice bears with their frenzy blue eyes and their long sharpened canine teeth reaching to their jaws as they groaned, they stood up high in the lake and walked with their legs from the lake to the shore, dispersing the mist around their legs.

They took noticed at their cubs slaughtered on the floor. Immediately, they whole eyes turned dark-red glaring at the little subjects in front of them, knowing they were the ones who did it, then all of them roared which shook and slightly crumbling the few crystals around.

“This is what we should be worried about.” Azra exclaimed.

There are at least five feet taller than the tallest Expat here who is right in front of me... Node thought staring at the Expat who chained Jared at his back.

“Aquila, Aghul, Ade, Aghogho and… ” He looked at the Expat who Jared was chained on his back. “Aguda. We need you also to finish this quick without any delay.”

Aguda nodded with a groan, removed the chains from his back and dropped Jared, which created a carter on the icy ground.

Node widened his eyes.

"Who are we dealing with here? These guys are monsters. An Epic battle of Monsters versus Beasts." He said to himself as he swallowed.