Dead Men Smiling

3.0 I'M IN DANGER

I can be the fire that lights your way or destroys everything in mine- you decide.

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Since Leilani's encounter with that Jack of Rosewood character, it had come to Dolan's attention that something dormant had awoken deep within her.

That or she just finds it fun to attack and injure him at any chance she got.

At first, the attacks were a concern, now Dolan finds them as an annoyance and is just about ready to sacrifice a virgin in order to make the violence stop.

He scowled as he looked into a pool of water as he stared at his once unblemished skin that had a scar running over his left eye. "None of the salves are working," he noted to himself.

Malum bumped her head against his shoulder, letting him know that the cauldron was now empty.

He looked at his reflection for the last time and let out a sigh as he untied his hair, letting his bangs fall over his left eye. Once he determined that he looked somewhat ok, he walked to the cauldron, removed ten blue pills and put them in a box.

A small smile appeared on his face, he now had fifty pills which meant that Leilani would be ok for fifty weeks; hopefully.

He then cleaned the utensils before shrinking and pocketing them. He took a deep breath before returning to the campsite, praying that Leilani was in a better state than when he left her with Reign.

"Hey, Lani," he said tensely.

She let out a groan as she opened her dark eyes, "Am I going to die?"

"You just caught a bug but I did the research and this should help."

He held up the clear box for her to see the numerous pills inside. "You take one every week and you'll stop feeling how you feel."

Leilani remembered when he said the exact words to Maximus who had taken to hiding in room back then. The only difference is that he has to take a pill a day. She nodded her head barely paying attention to Dolan's explanation as she let her mind wander. "So the condition is permanent?"

Dolan shrugged his shoulders, "Probably. I'm not certain on what you have so..."

Her nonchalance quickly morphed to concern as she stared at the pill in her hand. If he wasn't too sure on what was wrong with her, wasn't taking the pill a bit too risky? She processed the pros and cons of not taking the pill and took the pill, quickly following it with water.

She shuddered at the bitter taste and asked Dolan why hers was bitter but Maximus's aren't. "Now I know you weren't listening," he muttered under his breath. He then spoke up, "I literally said that flavoring yours would have altered the pill's chemical structure which would make it ineffective."

The pain and heat had stopped and her limbs finally felt like her own. She smiled at Dolan who no longer looked like an enemy.

She pulled the white haired male into a tight hug while repeating her thanks over and over again. Instead of trying to push her away, he let out a snore, causing the dark haired female to frown in concern as she pulled away, holding the younger at arm's length.

A soft smile placed itself on her features as she carefully placed Dolan on the makeshift bed. Malum curled on his chest and purred softly, making Leilani smile; her and Reign acted a lot more like animals than the remnants of stray magic.

"Let's go for a little adventure Reign."

When the pair reached a village, the female placed the mask on her face and twisted her hair into the signature style everyone knew King for while Reign shifted into his wolf form and howled, letting the villagers know that King had entered their territory.

Leilani held her breath as she felt everyone's gaze on her. They were expecting her to attack; that much was obvious due to how some people tried and failed to conceal their weapons.

To their great astonishment, she walked into a cafe', ordered a sandwich and some raw slices of meat and took the table in the corner where she wouldn't be noticed at first glance.

Leilani then put on the hood to shadow her upper face and took off her mask. After making sure that Reign was comfortable in his seat, they begun to eat.

Reign, who was facing the door, made an odd noise at the back of his throat and bowed his head. This action did not go unnoticed by Leilani who lifted her spoon slightly, using its reflective surface to see who had walked in. she paled at the sight of none other than her husband who probably thinks she committed suicide.

She put some money on the table as she picked up her mask and stood. "we have to go now."

She dropped the hood and attempted to hide the mask a she walked past the King while cursing herself out for not remembering that this village had been annexed by King Leonardo as a wedding gift.

She didn't slow down until she was in the forest which instead of bringing the usual comfort it did, she felt the hairs at the back of her neck stand upright. A quick glance at Reign confirmed her suspicions.

Someone is following me.

She walked in the opposite direction of the campsite and broke into a run when she felt a sharp pain in her left shoulder. Heavy boots crunched the dry leaves, urging her to run faster until the trees were a blur around her. She didn't have to check behind her to know that Reign was right on her tail.

She spotted a tall tree in a distance and grinned to herself as she quickly climbed up its branches and settled there. She then pulled out her hand gun and fired at the figure who followed her- barely wincing at the loud noise that reverberated in her ears.

She frowned when she realized that the person was a female before putting her maskon her face and blasted the fellow woman's face beyond recognition. She blew araspberry as she walked away from the dead body, vaguely wondering how shenever suggested killing all who stand in the way of The Rebellion's goal. She decidedthat she'd take the suggestion to Dolan and this time she wouldn't let him brush her off with that mocking laugh if his.

As the forest got darker, Leilani began to wonder if she was lost. She instinctively sniffed the air and frowned to herself; she was definitely lost.

She took off the mask once more as she pushed through a curtain of thick vines, only to trip over a tree root and close her eyes, preparing for the impact that never came.

She opened her eyes and frowned at the paled irises she met, "Uhm... who are you?"

The person set her upright and took a step back as he assessed her. She took in his pale skin, tall sickly appearance and pale hair. She furrowed her brow as something in her stirred with recognition. "Dream?"

The suspicious look immediately left his pale gaze and was replaced with a small smile. He held out a hand which she hesitantly took. He then pulled her towards a group of people who parted as they walked towards the front of the crowd.

A golden casket with carvings sat in front of them.

Dream stopped walking and when she gave him a questioning look, he nodded, allowing her to take a look at who lay inside. She gulped before looking into the casket and immediately backing away.

That glance may have been quick but the image of the battered black wolf in a casket had permanently seared itself into her memories.

Khione.

She shuddered at the thought, not realizing that she was shaking until Dream placed his jacket over her shoulders.

Once she pulled herself together, Dream held her hand I his while explaining what was happening. The whole was important and had been in that horrid condition for five years. Due to circumstances he still wasn't certain on, Khione- he called her- was dying faster and needed help.

With each passing second his grip on her and got tighter and before she knew it, he was pressing a knife against her throat. In a fit of panic, she managed to disarm him and fled the scene. His last words echoing in her mind.

I'll give you about three years to find us. If you don't, I'll find you and kill you.

Leilani shot up and gasped, drawing Dolan's attention to her. He quickly rushed to her, "Reign brought you here on his back. Also, you had a bullet, a thin cut on your throat and a foreign jacket. What happened?"

She flexed her left shoulder experimentally and winced at the pain that she felt. At Dolan's stern gaze, she caved ad gave him a recap on her adventure.

"-I felt an odd connection to Khione." She concluded.

Dolan looked past her and smiled slightly. "Did I tell you that one of the side effects of the pill was weird dreams? At least I know that its working."

She opened her mouth to argue when he looked at her with urgency in his golden eyes. "I' the healer, Lani. Trust me."

"OK, Dolly, I'll trust you."