"I have an idea."

River pointed at the fluttering decorative tapestries hanging from the ceiling. The dark blue fabrics, painted in gold, depicted various figures from the Legend of Vorine. Even in the shadows of the chamber, River could see the drawings of the four great warriors, the divine emissary, and the Final Hourglass.

"Can you set those on fire?" He asked Wolfram.

Wolfram gulped thickly and nodded solemnly. "God will be after my head next."

Defacing a Vorine Shrine was an offense punishable by death. River tried not to think of the consequences Wolfram and Einar would have to face for disrupting a ritual of sacrifice.

"If I were in your position, I'd gladly take the option of war over displeasing God."

River scrutinized the man's face for a hint of dishonesty, but there was none. He was as scared as he was. But why would he disobey the gods? To save his pathetic life?

Now was not the time for that discussion.

Wolfram's palms were illuminated in a soft light, a telltale sign of his putting divine essence to use. River gazed at the tapestries expectantly, but nothing happened. There was no sign of smoke or flames emerging.

Wolfram clicked his tongue, annoyed.

"Apologies, this is not my forte."

"Take your sweet time."

Wolfram's brow twitched at the heavy sarcasm. However, he kept his focus on the task at hand. Within seconds, the edge of the fabric successfully burst into flames.

Fire quickly licked up the tapestry next to the first one. The decorative fabric was thin, decades old, and flammable. In a blink of an eye, every single drapery around the shrine was burning, filling the chamber with thick clouds of black smoke.

The retriever unleashed an earsplitting screech, prompting River to cover his ears. The bellicose monstrosity thrashed around, obviously bothered by the heat and the billowing smoke.

"Let's go," River stammered.

Wolfram grasped River by his bicep and dragged him out of their hiding place behind the pillar. They dashed out of the entrance, not sparing a glance over to see if the monster was pursuing them.

Once they had made it safely outside, River stared up at the imposing building. Columns of fumes bellowed from its windows and dissipated in the sea wind. The agonized thundering of the beast continued from inside. There was no sign of the High Priestress.

River drank in large gulps of fresh,salty air as he sprinted. It somewhat cleared his muddled mind. Wolfram nudged him in the direction of the stone steps on the side of the hill, urging him to run down. Time was of the essence. The smoke wasn't going to distract it—a heavenly beast for that long.

But where could he hide? Where could he run to?

"River! Watch out! !" Wolfram cried out, alarmed .

River didn't see what hit him.

A monstrous force slammed into his chest, violently propelling him backwards on impact. Air was forcibly expelled from his lungs, leaving him knocked out of breath as he tumbled across the ground.

The sheer power of the blow left him completely disoriented. He was hearing white noise, seeing bright spots in his blurry vision, and then the pain registered.

Struggling to regain his bearings, River looked down and felt faint.

Blood soaked his front—his blood.

Four claws had torn through his flesh, leaving a ragged, bloody gash in its wake. The gaping wound seared with white hot pain, the edges raw and oozing.

River's heart galloped. His breath came out in shallow gasps as he tried to process the pain he was feeling. In the distance, he saw a dark cloud of a creature lurking, obstructing the route down the hill.

He squinted his eyes, forcing them to focus on it. This one was much shorter than the monster of a feline they had just faced. As his vision returned, he realized that it was a hound.

A hound with two heads.

Two heads of razor-sharp fangs and gleaming golden eyes. It was those bloodied claws that viciously swiped him, inflicting the injury.

It howled at the sky, in harmony with the roar echoing in the shrine.

A small voice whispered in his mind, saying that he was not going to make it.

River bit down on his lip and crawled to his wobbly feet, clutching his wounded chest. He might die today, but he will do so on his feet.

The hound advanced towards him, four eyes fixated on him with killing intent. River held his breath. The air seemed charged with malevolence as the hound closed in on him.

Wolfram, recovering from his initial shock, rushed to River's side. The hound sniffed, seemingly reluctant to charge at the elder boy.

"Sugar plum! Butter cup!" Wolfram was scolded. "Back off"

Had it been a different situation,River would have slapped his friend back into his mother's womb. But the hound seemed hesitant to inflict harm on its beloved master.

River whirled around, just in time to witness the haunting sight of Kaizer Schulz crawling out of the burning shrine on his hands. His limp legs dragged behind him as he slithered, like a venomous white snake with yellow eyes.

The giant feline loped out of the sanctuary, the pendulous frame of Einar Ashford firmly clutched between its teeth. River's heart dropped at the sight of his master looking like a dead rat in the mouth of a cat.

The hound started whining, agitated by the larger entity. Its ears drooped, and it whimpered. No, it was not the retriever. Its tail was tucked in between its hind legs as it gazed at the direction of the ocean, like there was something far more menacing than the giant,six-eyed cat.

The retriever gently laid the limp body in its mouth on the stairs to the shrine, out of harm's way. It then bared its sharp teeth, hissed and galloped, charging at its prey.

That's it.

He was going to die.

Then he heard it.

It was faint and distant at first, like a sound from a dream. It intensified in volume as it approached, a sharp whistle piercing the air. It reached a quivering cresendo, the sound as loud as the sky splitting.

Then he saw it.

A golden needle against azure skies, flying at blinding speed before sinking into one of the six golden eyes on the Retriever with a resounding thunder.

The beast screeched and writhed in pain,clawing at its own eye, trying to free it from the golden arrow. The second arrow came flying with another sharp, shrill whistle and hit the beast on its side.

River stared at the glowing golden arrow, his mouth agape.

He had seen this very arrow before, nocked up on a huge golden bow, aimed at the heart of Shu Huxley.

The Whistler...

River's trembling feet carried him to the edge of the clearing on the hilltop, his heart pounding in anticipation and hope. He momentarily forgot the burning pain on his chest as his blue eyes scanned the expanse of ocean in front of him.

His gaze plummeted onto the sea surface. A single majestic sail ship cruised towards the hill, its sound a majestic, thunderous applause.

It was too far to see properly. He strained his eyes further and caught a glimpse of a golden blink and a conspicuous mass of vivid red hair on the main mast of the ship.

Aithan Alistair....

Author has something to say.

Author apologizes for the late update.

Author was having a very bad slump. Author started doubting if her story would ever reach anyone's heart or it would make an impact. Author felt her writting was as flat as her and felt very ..very sad.

But Author picked herself up. And then her phone crashed . Author sent it to repairs. Author just got it back.

Author apologizes once again.

Alistairs are making a comeback!!!

Aithan to the rescue !!!

Author would like to use this oppotunity to show an art a fan sent her.

AriUd2 sent me this AMAZING image board of Aithan Alistair few weeks ago and Author saved it for this chapter where he makes a grand entrance .

Needless to say Author did the only sensible thing and printed this to hang over her bed.

Author appreciates this so much. This made Author bounce back from a very depressing place and continue writting !

Another huge thanks goes to Arkhane_Remirez for her comments ! There had been more than one instance when I picked up this story again from where I have abandoned it on the floor thanks to her comments.

She is also a writter I look up to so go check out her work !! 

Also thanks to nipvider , who never lets me give up on writting and always supports me .

No Im not dying .

Im just very grateful .
Thank you for reading my story !