The night before…
Lyle sat with an entertained smile across his face while he listened to the woman sing to the restaurant. Occasionally, he’d join in with her singing by humming the tune or outright singing the words. Around his table, three more sat with him with their own time-passing activities while they waited for their order to come. One leaned back against his tall chair while scrolling through his phone, the other two talked with each other about how their college exams went. Lyle, however, just sat back and listened to the music. He eyed the girl singer quite engagedly, nodding to the music while he continued to smile. Occasionally, the girl would look back to Lyle and shoot a quick smile as well. Soft orange lights decorated the place, with the completion of human laughter and conversation. He had known the girl for years. She was his childhood friend. Almost everyone inside that restaurant… was his childhood friend, or childhood role m
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God Hounds Chapter 62, Part 3: They're Afraid
“Last night, the Ledanai’i got to Matthew’s family,” Alice explained as she heard it from Lyle on the phone. “Kael and the others are dead. They’re taking the family hostage, and they want to talk to Lyle. Just Lyle. I couldn’t stop him. Lyle called only after he got out of town. He’s driving there to the location right now.”“What the hell?” Aden cursed. “What the hell was Lyle thinking? That could be a trap!”“I trust him, Aden,” Alice replied. “He’s got other Kadlum with him. He knows what he’s doing. Lyle said they specifically asked us not to come. They want an agreement but Lyle doesn’t know what it is, yet. Think about it. Why make an agreement now when we’re so close to finding their temple? And why only Lyle?”Aden looked at her with narrowed eyes. “They’re afraid…”Lyle
God Hounds Chapter 63, Part 1: Gods and Men
It had been a few more days since Alice and Aden were back from the forest and village. They were back in the town of Urrutia, and Lyle had since arrived, too. A few hours ago, Alice, Aden, and Lyle spoke in private inside one of the houses just across the street from Zoey’s café. She waited, and—with rewarded patience—watched in relief when they finally came out. Virtually everyone in town knew about the negotiation. They were all just waiting for Alice’s decision. Seeing as Aden himself was in the room, Zoey had expected he at least had a say in the decision-making. The Ledanai’i, the clan who had started the war, now offered them peace in exchange for Aden’s death… by fire. No one knew what to think of it.The three walked out of the house in a calm stride, with Lyle naturally looking nonchalant even if he was serious that time. Zoey rushed to the three, eager to be the first one to hear the news. “Well?” she ex
God Hounds Chapter 63, Part 2: Gods and Men
Alice was a little more quiet than usual tonight. They drove under the gaze of the dark night, sparing little for them but stars and a crescent light. It was silent, and only the humming of the car’s engine was all that gave noise. Alice was driving tonight, and Aden leaned back against the shotgun seat with his head lazily on the headrest. They were so close to the end. They knew exactly what they needed to do. The jar.“We’re so close now. It’s really going to end soon,” Aden quietly said. “Let’s hope this works…”Alice gave a low hum in acknowledgment. “We’re almost there,” Alice said, sternly updating them of their location. They stopped, almost at the highest peak of an odd mountain. The last sign of civilization was nearly a kilometer ago; an elementary school in a small town right at the side of the mountain. The road ended here.Alice kept the headlights on and they got out. N
God Hounds Chapter 63, Part 3: Gods and Men
Replacing the ambient noise of the humming engine was the crackling of the large fire ahead. It was concentrated, far from harming the trees surrounding it. It was encircled by the forest, but it was just a little far enough so the leaves wouldn’t catch fire. It wasn’t a bonfire, no. Aden and Alice walked closer. The crackling was now matched with intense heat. It was a deep depression on the ground, almost like an freshly-dug mass grave. Only, the grave it was housing was that of the embers of the fire.Aden stepped closer to the fire, examining the concentrated flames bursting from within the ground. Alice had not followed him. Instead, she stood far behind Aden in the cover of the trees.A few more seconds, and then Aden heard more than just crackling in the fire. Left and right, from within the shrubbery… movement. Aden looked to the sound. He sighed, as the figures came to light. “We were never here for the jar,” Aden scoffed. His ey
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God Hounds Chapter 64, Part 2 – The Island
As Alice and Karel walked across the paved road towards the island’s centre, the temple, she felt more uneasy. Like the stone pillars from before, the structures that trailed beside the roads were of ancient origin. They were either built for shorter people, or just people with limited resources in an early civilization. They were ruins, traced with squarish patterns of demons and ill kind as engravings. The stone they used to make it was so old the color had seemed to fade. But the Ledanai’i didn’t stop using them. Instead of building newer buildings, they utilized the old ones and repaired them with their own resources. Still, looking at the mix of ancient and modern architecture in one building, Alice felt uncomfortable. She was looking at something new and strange to her, and she had no way of guessing how to understand it. The Ledanai’i, indeed, weren’t just people. Some of them… hardly blinked. All of them were harrowingly quiet ex
God Hounds Chapter 65 – Goddess
“You?” Alice said under her breath. She had had her fair share of meetings with gods and goddesses. But, this was different. She narrowed her eyes at her even more. “Ledanai’i?”The tall woman chuckled softly at her. “You were expecting something else?” Her eyes twinkled against the morning light.Alice remained silent. She gripped the jar of ashes tightly.Ledanai’i noticed the sudden shift in her grip. She looked down on the jar and looked at it with motherly glance. She chuckled. “Ailan’s eyes… you’ve finally come back to me, my child.” She tried to reach out to caress the jar, but Alice slightly jerked the jar away. They met eyes again.Ledanai’i smirked. “I understand.” She blinked softly, then sighed. “How is Kadlum?”“Alive,” Alice broke her silence. “But not so much as to give you his regards,” Alice cocked he
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