Chapter 48 – The Separation
The road changed after sunset.
Brook noticed it before anyone else.
The forest had become denser, but that wasn't what bothered him.
It was the silence.
No insects.
No distant animals.
Nothing.
He slowed his horse.
Henry looked over.
"What?"
Brook stared into the trees.
"Nothing."
Henry raised an eyebrow.
"You sure?"
Brook nodded.
"Keep moving."
They continued.
Elias rode near the front, occasionally checking the compass they'd taken from Blackhaven.
Sera was beside him.
Crowley stayed at the rear.
Brook glanced back.
Crowley was looking into the darkness.
Not at them.
Beyond them.
Brook almost asked what he saw.
Then decided against it.
He was tired of asking questions that ended with another mystery.
The group eventually reached an old stone road.
It ran through the forest like a scar.
Elias dismounted.
"This wasn't on the map."
Henry looked around.
"How old?"
"Very."
Crowley approached.
His expression changed.
"Don't cross it."
Everyone stopped.
Brook looked down.
"Why?"
Crowley pointed toward the road.
There were markings carved into the stone.
Six circles.
Brook's hand immediately burned.
He pulled his sleeve down.
Sera noticed.
She said nothing.
Crowley crouched and examined the markings.
"This isn't a road."
Henry frowned.
"What is it?"
"A boundary."
"Between what?"
Crowley stood.
"We should leave."
A deep sound rolled through the forest.
Not a roar.
Something lower.
Older.
The horses panicked.
Elias grabbed the reins.
"Move!"
The trees behind them exploded.
Something enormous crashed through the forest.
Brook barely jumped away before a massive limb struck the ground where he'd been standing.
The group scattered.
Henry drew his sword.
Sera raised her hands.
Elias shouted:
"Don't fight it!"
Brook looked at the creature.
It was enormous.
Four legs.
A body covered in bark-like armor.
Antlers twisted from its skull.
Its eyes glowed faintly green.
It wasn't an Abomination.
Brook knew that immediately.
The creature looked at the six markings on the road.
Then at Brook.
Its eyes narrowed.
Crowley stepped forward.
"Back away."
Brook frowned.
"You know it?"
"No."
"Then why—"
"Because it isn't attacking us."
The creature lowered its head.
The ground began trembling.
Roots erupted from beneath the road.
Henry jumped back.
Sera shouted:
"Move!"
The roots split the group apart.
Brook was thrown toward the western side of the forest.
Henry disappeared behind a wall of roots.
Sera was dragged toward the opposite side.
Elias and the horses were forced farther south.
Crowley remained alone on the stone road.
Brook shouted:
"Henry!"
Nothing.
"Sera!"
No answer.
He drew his sword.
Then heard something behind him.
He turned.
A masked warrior stood between the trees.
Brook sighed.
"Of course."
The warrior raised a blade.
Brook attacked.
Henry landed hard against a tree.
He rolled immediately as a blade cut through the bark above his head.
He looked up.
Three warriors stood around him.
He raised his sword.
"You again."
The tallest one smiled.
"You remember us."
"Hard to forget people who keep trying to kill me."
"We aren't here to kill you."
Henry frowned.
"Then what?"
The warrior pointed toward the forest.
"Your friend."
Henry's expression hardened.
"Stay away from him."
The warrior smiled.
"That's exactly why we're here."
Henry charged.
The fight began.
Sera fell into a narrow ravine.
She landed hard.
Pain shot through her ankle.
She looked up.
Two figures stood above her.
One carried a bow.
The other carried a curved blade.
Sera sighed.
"Seriously?"
The archer smiled.
"You have nowhere to run."
Sera slowly stood.
"You're right."
She raised her hand.
"Good thing I don't need to."
Fog exploded from the ravine.
The two attackers disappeared inside it.
Sera smiled.
Then lightning cracked through the fog.
Elias pulled the horses away from the chaos.
He looked back.
"Brook!"
No answer.
He looked toward Crowley.
Crowley stood alone on the ancient road.
The creature had disappeared.
Elias approached.
"What happened?"
Crowley looked toward the forest.
"They separated us."
"Who?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Elias frowned.
"That wasn't an accident."
"No."
"Then someone planned this."
Crowley nodded.
"Yes."
Elias looked toward the trees.
"We need to find them."
Crowley drew his sword.
"Not yet."
Elias looked at him.
"Why?"
Crowley stared into the darkness.
"Because whoever planned this wanted me separated too."
Elias understood.
"And you know why."
Crowley looked at him.
"Yes."
"Who?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Instead, he walked into the forest.
Elias followed.
Brook's fight was different.
The masked warrior didn't attack wildly.
Every movement was controlled.
Precise.
Brook blocked a strike.
The warrior stepped back.
"You rely too heavily on strength."
Brook attacked.
The warrior dodged.
"You're wasting the power inside you."
Brook swung again.
The warrior blocked.
"You don't even understand what the second Source is doing."
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"Then stop talking."
He released the first Source.
Blue energy spread across his sword.
The warrior stepped backward.
Brook attacked.
The blade moved faster.
The warrior barely blocked.
Brook struck again.
Then again.
The warrior was forced backward.
Brook suddenly changed direction.
The energy left the sword.
It traveled through his arm.
He struck the ground.
The impact sent a shockwave through the forest.
The warrior was thrown backward.
Brook stood.
Breathing heavily.
He looked at his hand.
The first Source was becoming easier.
Not stronger.
Easier.
He understood its movement now.
He understood how to redirect it.
How to hold it.
How to release it without wasting energy.
The warrior rose slowly.
"You've been learning."
Brook looked at him.
"Yes."
"Who taught you?"
"Nobody."
The warrior stared.
Brook raised his sword.
"I figured it out."
The warrior smiled.
"That's what makes you dangerous."
He charged.
Brook didn't move.
At the last second, he stepped aside.
The warrior's blade missed.
Brook struck his chest.
The man crashed into a tree.
Brook stood over him.
"Who sent you?"
The warrior coughed.
"You'll find out."
"Who?"
"Not yet."
Brook's eyes hardened.
"That's getting old."
The warrior laughed.
Then bit down.
Brook's expression changed.
"Wait."
The warrior collapsed.
Brook checked him.
Dead.
Brook stared.
No satisfaction.
No anger.
Nothing.
He looked at the body.
Then walked away.
That bothered him more than the death itself.
Henry's fight was becoming worse.
His shoulder was bleeding.
One of the warriors had broken his sword guard.
He was running out of room.
The tallest warrior attacked.
Henry blocked.
Another came from behind.
Henry turned just in time.
Their blades collided.
Henry kicked the attacker away.
He looked at the three of them.
"You know…"
He wiped blood from his mouth.
"…I was having a pretty good day."
One warrior laughed.
Henry charged.
His fighting style changed.
Less defensive.
More aggressive.
He used the terrain.
He forced one warrior into the path of another.
Then struck the tallest across the face.
The man staggered.
Henry drove his sword into the ground beside his head.
"Where is Brook?"
The warrior smiled.
"You really care about him."
Henry stared.
"He's my friend."
"No."
The warrior looked at him.
"He's your responsibility."
Henry's expression changed.
"You're wrong."
He pulled his sword free.
"He's my family."
The warrior attacked.
Henry met him head-on.
Sera's battle was nearly over.
The archer couldn't see her through the fog.
He fired blindly.
Sera moved.
Another arrow.
She moved again.
The curved-blade warrior charged through the fog.
Sera waited.
Closer.
Closer.
Then she dropped the fog.
The warrior saw her.
Too late.
Lightning struck from above.
He collapsed.
The archer turned to run.
Sera raised her hand.
The fog swallowed him.
A scream echoed through the ravine.
Then silence.
Sera lowered her hand.
Her breathing was heavy.
She looked at her ankle.
It was swollen.
"Great."
She limped toward the exit.
Crowley moved through the forest.
He found the first body.
Then another.
He crouched beside them.
Both had the same symbol burned into their necks.
Crowley's expression hardened.
He recognized it.
"You're getting desperate."
A voice came from behind him.
"You recognize it."
Crowley didn't turn.
"I was wondering when you'd show yourself."
A man stepped from the shadows.
Older.
Tall.
Gray hair.
No weapon.
Crowley slowly stood.
"You've been following us since Blackhaven."
The man smiled.
"Since before."
Crowley looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because of the boy."
Crowley drew his sword.
The man laughed.
"You still protect him."
"Yes."
"Even knowing what he will become?"
Crowley's eyes narrowed.
"You don't know what he'll become."
"I know exactly what he is."
Crowley attacked.
The man moved.
Fast.
Their weapons collided.
The impact shattered several nearby trees.
Crowley stepped backward.
The man smiled.
"You've gotten weaker."
Crowley looked at him.
"Or older."
"Both."
The man attacked.
Crowley blocked.
Again.
Again.
The fight became faster.
Neither gained ground.
Then the man whispered:
"Tell me, Crowley…"
He smiled.
"…how long do you think you can keep pretending?"
Crowley's expression changed.
He struck harder.
The man flew through a tree.
Crowley stood still.
His sword remained lowered.
The man slowly rose.
Blood ran from his mouth.
"There's the man I remember."
Crowley's eyes were cold.
"Leave."
"Or?"
Crowley looked at him.
"Or I stop pretending."
The man's smile disappeared.
For the first time…
he looked afraid.
He stepped backward.
Then vanished into the forest.
Crowley remained still.
His hand trembled slightly.
He looked at it.
Then closed his fist.
Not yet.
He wasn't ready for them to see.
Not yet.
Brook finally found Henry.
Henry was sitting against a tree, wrapping his shoulder.
Brook approached.
"You alive?"
Henry looked up.
"Unfortunately."
Brook smiled.
"Good."
Henry studied him.
"You're bleeding."
Brook looked down.
A cut crossed his side.
"I didn't notice."
Henry frowned.
"You didn't notice?"
Brook shook his head.
"It's nothing."
Henry stood.
"You're getting worse at pretending."
Brook looked at him.
"So are you."
Henry laughed.
"Fair."
They started walking.
A few minutes later, they found Sera.
She was limping.
Brook looked at her ankle.
"You're hurt."
"Nothing serious."
Henry looked at Brook.
Brook looked at Sera.
Then the three laughed.
Sera pointed at them.
"Don't."
They continued through the forest.
Eventually they found Elias.
Then Crowley.
Brook looked at Crowley.
There was blood on his coat.
"You're hurt."
Crowley shook his head.
"Not mine."
Brook stared at him.
Crowley met his eyes.
Neither said anything.
The group stood together again.
But something had changed.
They had been separated.
Tested.
Watched.
And whoever had orchestrated it had learned something about all four of them.
Brook looked toward the road.
"Where are we going?"
Elias held up the compass.
The needle pointed north.
"There's a city ahead."
Henry frowned.
"How far?"
"Two days."
Sera sighed.
"Finally."
Brook looked at the others.
"What's it called?"
Elias hesitated.
"Veyra."
Crowley looked at him sharply.
"That's not where we're going."
Elias turned.
"What?"
Crowley looked toward the horizon.
"We're going somewhere else."
Brook frowned.
"Where?"
Crowley looked at him.
"There's an old Xcution outpost three days east."
The word hung in the air.
Brook stared.
"Xcution?"
Crowley nodded.
"It was abandoned years ago."
Henry looked confused.
"Why would we go there?"
Crowley looked toward the forest where the attackers had disappeared.
"Because whoever is hunting Brook knows more than they should."
He looked at Brook.
"And that outpost may contain the first real answers about why."
Brook's expression hardened.
"Then that's where we're going."
The compass needle suddenly moved.
It no longer pointed north.
It pointed east.
Toward the abandoned outpost.
Brook stared at it.
For the first time, he wondered whether his father's compass wasn't leading him toward his parents at all.
Maybe it was leading him toward the truth.
And somewhere far beyond the forest, something watched the compass change direction.
Something that had been waiting for them to find the outpost.
End of Chapter 48