The air was calling. Like whispers upon whispers, beckoning them to come closer. Aden had heard this before. The wind’s call. And he had understood it for far too long. With the flow of the air came the soft rising of drums in his ears. Although, he knew, they weren’t really there. The light from the early morning outside lighted the first few steps for them. But after that, they were on their own.
Aden and Nukasuni stood, at the mouth of the cave, staring into the god hound’s solemn abyss. Nukasuni took the first step. Aden watched him, no doubt the god was eager. The dragon. They had been here before, he knew. But this was far more different. Like all things that had recently happened, this was feeling like another beginning.
Soon, Nukasuni walked past the final inch of the light touching the farthest point it can inside the cave. Nukasuni and Aden stepped their first step into the cave darkness.
But, as expected, the torches lit. In his left
The dragon stared intently into the god hound’s eyes as they both stood opposite to each other at the round table. Aden stood behind Nukasuni, looking up to the tall bestial being in front of him, then off to the colossal hound as well. Now was the time to plan.Alice, Miko, and Lyle stood behind Kadlum as well. The only two voices that were allowed in the room were the two gods in there. Staring each other in the eyes, as if sharing information towards the other’s soul, Kadlum pondered and looked at the ancient green ground for a moment. “Nukasuni,” he said. “Who is Ledanai’i?” he looked back to Nukasuni with a question that parted his lips.Nukasuni wasn’t surprised to hear Kadlum’s question. It was, after all, only he and a few more others who knew Ledanai’i’s true identity. And those ‘few more others’ were probably dead or hiding. Or wasting in the void. But, Nukasuni was sure, Ledanai&rs
“I’m going back to the void,” Aden said. His eyes stared and glinted at Kadlum for a moment. Nothing but a hint of determination and resolve.Kadlum tipped his head to the side and looked intently at him. “Well,” said Kadlum. “You have done it a couple of times…”Nukasuni nodded. “He will lead us to her. And we can end this. I promise,” he said.Kadlum nodded back at them. “So, that’s it then…” he said. “An alliance is formed?”“An alliance is formed,” replied Nukasuni promptly.By now, late into the meeting, and about to end…. The dust from the ancient rubble had surely settled. Through the cracks on the ceiling was a light now unmarked by little freckles of particles floating around. And now, in the room, they were passing around a small cup.The same chalice used years ago by Alice’s father to form the alliance with t
The blue overhead sky had enough tint on its face that it emanated enough a wonderful picture of the sun and its background white. Below the skies, was the green, seamlessly nurtured, grass taking over the calm gardens. Villa Urrutia. Aden had not been back here since… since they were planning on kidnapping Matthew Palad. That’s right, he thought in his head. Now, he was brought back to stay so he can get himself ready for the journey back to the void. The void was dangerous and virtually illegal enough for Aden to not come back to. This was even deadlier. To find something Ledanai’i was trying to block access from, was almost considered suicide. But Aden had no choice. He had to be in his best condition. The beautiful scenery of the place helped. But, Aden thought, what helped most was the fact that Alice and the Kadlum weren’t trying to chase him down anymore.Aden looked to the sky, his eyes squinting from the rays of the sun, as he pondered about
Aden couldn’t do anything. He helplessly watched their enemies come closer to the villa while he laid motionless on the ground. Shots were fired and one by one, he watched the guards fall to their knees with bullets stuck in their chest. Everyone was shouting all around him, or was it the guns firing?Aden’s eyes widened, when he saw another man—walking towards him with a grenade launcher in hand. That was what caused the explosion, he thought. As the numbness faded away from his body, he tried to crawl towards the villa with his elbows. But the man was already getting closer. His enemy, the one just coming closer and closer to him, had finally gripped the launcher---and it was now pointing at him.Aden’s vision cleared, and he was starting to regain more of his senses. The ringing stopped, but he was still staring at the man with the launcher. They locked eyes with each other, a glint in the eyes of the man against the starting fire. Then, just
Brushed up against the gleam of the soft, morning light, Aden laid unconscious on a white clinic bed. Only the sound of the single air-conditioning unit could be heard. The rays of the sun had sprinkled some warmth to him, and some striking light. But only the tension growing inside his head was waking him up. Aden heard fire. The sound one would hear from the crackling of wood and the falling of the roof. Then he heard an explosion. A single one. Meant to silence. Meant to take away. Meant as one final spark to make it all end. The feeling of dirt and soil rubbing against his cheeks, as he felt his body flying across a few more meters before going limp. Gunfire. Around him. Things were starting to manifest in the darkness of his head. The recent. And then, the voice of Miko. “Aden!” shouted Miko, as if he could sense the man rushing towards him to help.Aden gasped as he bolted up from the clinic bed. He heaved and sweated, eyes widened and looking for a threat o
There was a growing source of chitter and chatter as another group came, from just outside the town. With them were black cars, a few vans, and whatever else they could salvage. Outside the town, The Kadlum were pretty much in disarray. They arrived one day after another, some hours after the previous group came. But, soon, Alice suspected they were going to be complete. Like caravans from the outside world, the scattered members of the clan would come in and meet with Alice and the others and share a drink or two. Some have left for the other safehouses around Manila, making sure they could still operate. But, this town, was ultimately the rendezvous point. A place where they could build, after everything that has happened. If the town was this generous to them, then Alice and her family must’ve had an incredible mark with its people. In fact, Aden wondered if it was a town at all. It seemed more like a splinter community hidden from the outside world. A society the
Aden blinked at the little ray of the sun that had been lingering inside his room. He was quite surprised at the revealing possibility that a light could still actually enter his ‘totally-decent’ room. He was up in the attic, and he had learned to just call it that. The light of the sun came from the small round window pane fixed just above his head, raised just a few inches from his bed. He blinked and stared at the specks of dust flying around. This was worse than Nanay Wang’s place, he thought to himself. At least Nanay Wang’s claustrophobic space was kawayan and had air inside it. In here, Aden was barely breathing.He lied on his small bed with the first sign of sunrise. In his view, the sun had only risen just a few inches rom the horizon. He couldn’t tell the time, but he figured it must already be time for him to get up and go downstairs. He could smell the food in the kitchen. Breakfast.Aden walked towards the small spac
“Her name’s Aurora,” Alice said. Aden had already taken off from the small town, riding in one of the cars the Kadlum had prepared in the place. He had his phone up to his ear, listening to Alice speak while he drove to the main road. “I’ll send you the location. She lives in a girl’s dormitory right beside her college in Manila,” Alice said.“What should I say?” asked Aden. He hated being the harbinger of grave news, and it creeped up on him quite distastefully. No one should just knock on someone’s door and tell them their father is dead. He knew the police had not identified most of the man caught up in the fire. And Mark had decided not to contact Alice, yet. He knew they were in hiding.He figured that maybe Alice knew how to do it. But they couldn’t risk bringing Alice out in the open. Not yet. It was better if Aden did the job for them.“What do you mean ‘What should I say&rsquo