Ben led the way and maintained his usual high spirit as they trudged through the woods. They could still hear the howling of the werewolves from the distance but Alastair was quite certain the Werewolves would not find them, at least not yet. He was using a spell to mask their smell from the Werewolves. He knew about their extremely good sense of smell. Perhaps that could buy them some time."Tell me more about your mother and her illness," Alastair said to Ben while he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Cara and Fristborn were still there. Cara would be the death of him."Well, she has the Hunter's disease. Have you ever heard of it?" Ben asked Alastair who shook his head. Ben was surprised Alastair said no. He was expecting a yes from someone who seemed to be at the peak of knowledge."Some say it is a curse from the gods. You suddenly begin to develop sores that will not heal. It brings excruciating pain and I almost feel like dying whenever I see my mother in such pain."

"No..." Cara whispered defeated as the Werewolves dragged Fristborn into the darkness. In the second that followed, it was like nothing of such had happened recently. The forest was as calm and as still as undisturbed water and the wave of calmness swept across every part of it.Cara staggered back and looked at Alastair who had a surprised look on his face as well. He had not predicted that. He did not think the Werewolves could easily grab Fristborn in that manner, the more reason for him to protect Cara diligently."We need to go follow them immediately. We must get him back. We need to..." Cara said hysterically and was about to stroll off when Alastair held her hand and restrained her.She gazed at his hand in shock like she was not expecting him to do something like that. Her eyes slowly trailed up to his face and she looked at the Stern man staring down at her."What are you doing, Alastair? Let me go. I need to go back for him." She said to him and tried pulling her hand away

Growls...Those were the things Cara heard as she began to wake up. She groaned slowly as she dragged her legs on the ground, them being obstructed by the large chains wrapped around them. Her head was banging. It was a headache unlike what she has ever felt before.How long was she asleep? She could not tell. But as she managed to drag herself onto the ground, she realized that it was not just her legs that were bound by chains. Her hands were bound also. She tried to get her hands out of the chains but she could not. They were fastened tightly to her limbs and she was completely at their mercy. She remembered what she had done with Alastair. She used powers to break his chubs right? Maybe she could do the same thing for herself. She closed her eyes and focused as much as she could. There was pressure building up in her body, her Magic surging like a wave within her. She maintained her focus as the wave began to spread.But then, it stopped. Cara's eyes jerked open as her Magic fad

Slow and steady steps. One foot ahead of the other.That was how Alastair followed the child who was surging with energy. A mage of his caliber could see the energy surging up and down from her body, like fire rays enveloping a piece of dried old stone. But Alastair could also notice a change in her body. She was getting whiter by the passing second and the veins in her body were getting darker.They ran down and formed a dark pattern on her face. Her eyes were sunken in with dark circles beneath them. Her lips were dry and chaffy and there were black lines outlining their edges. Her eyes still burned with fire and her hair, the most distinct feature about her looked like the sun was radiating from it. She looked entirely different from the Cara Alastair knew before now. She looked monstrous.Anyone who saw her in the state would not believe she had a good side to her. All she stood for at that point was nothing but a great evil. Alastair followed her closely without saying anything,

Cara continued to whimper as she kept gazing at the pile of ashes on the ground. It would be sunrise soon but she was not eager from the day. The ashes began to slowly dissipate as a soft wind blew into the tent and scattered them around. Cara got up and gathered the ashes back again with her hand, sniffing as she did so.Alastair's words had hurt her. He would not even give her time to grieve before they resumed training? What kind of a man was that? He knew he was responsible for what happened to Fristborn but he did not even show remorse. He seemed normal in all regards, other than the gloomy look he has been carrying around since they found Ben and the woman.Cara really remembered she had wanted to know what Alastair's deal was with the woman. She remembered how sad he was, the very expression that made her curious in the first place. But after Fristborn's death, She was not sure that she could face him again. She was so angry that she did not want to see him. She Just wanted eve