Chapter 298
Clementine:
The rest of the walk was silent. Oriana kept doing what she always did, tripping over things, letting out small moans, then asking for someone’s help.
She did this all the time. Even when we fought the fleshmingos, she never lifted a finger.
She seemed to be enjoying the company of my squadmates far too much.
We finally reached the small city filled with ogres.
It stood right beside the larger one where the towers were.
At the entrance, there was a gate with a narrow opening.
I began to wonder if it was designed that way because the ogres couldn’t pass through it.
But that only made me question who had built it.
Who would make a barrier small enough for humans and werewolves while keeping ogres out?
Were there others like the brown house member?
That question always lingered in the back of my mind.
And then I thought of the lurkers, they might be behind most of the stuff too.
“This looks very scary,” Oriana muttered.
I noticed the others pause at the entrance, hesitating.
Without thinking twice, I stepped through the gate. After I did, the others followed.
“Is she crazy? She has no fear, no emotions,” Oriana complained again.
“Oriana, can you please be quiet for a minute?” Troy snapped.
I heard some grunting and guessed she had turned to face him again, just like she always did.
And, as usual, he softened. I didn’t understand what was happening between them.
It was strange, but I kept noticing the odd signs.
As we walked through the narrow roads and small streets, I came across a confusing sight.
“What is that?” Oriana called out.
I rushed ahead of her, crouching to examine the mess. Tomatoes were scattered on the ground.
They looked fresh, as if someone had just dropped them while carrying them somewhere.
“They’re fresh,” I said, turning to look at my squadmates.
“So?” Oriana, always quick to miss the point, took the chance to sound foolish again.
Maybe ever since she realized someone would look after her, she’d stopped using her brain entirely.
“That means someone was here, someone who isn’t a monster,” Yorick explained in a gentler tone than I would have used.
“Oh, that’s creepy,” Oriana said, completely oblivious.
“This place is so dark and weird, right?” Oriana complained again.
It had been happening far too much lately. Ever since her father died, Oriana had changed, and this was the worst.
She kept clinging to one of them without letting go.
At times they even asked her to let go because it made it hard to fight a fleshmingo with one arm held back by Oriana.
“Oriana, you need to calm down,” I said, finally straightening and voicing my opinion.
She did not seem to like it and immediately frowned.
“Did you hear her? She’s trying to control me,” Oriana told my squadmates as I rolled my eyes. “She’s jealous that I’m your priority p>
“Oriana, she’s just asking you to calm down because you’re panicking,” Haiden said, speaking up in a way that showed he understood my point.
Oriana looked shocked and angry that Haiden had sided with me.
We shared a few words, and then I began to speak, but my words were cut off when my head snapped up.
For a moment I felt chills down my spine.
The minute I recognized them, I pushed the fear away because I knew what they were.
They were searching for a perfect, scared and weak victim.
Everyone followed my gaze and looked at the circle forming in the sky.
“These are sluaghs,” I said, turning to look at Oriana.
“What are those things? They look scary,” she complained, clutching Haiden’s arm. I felt her touch with him and looked back up.
“These are the things that attack the weakest,” I told her, watching her eyes widen.
She looked around at everyone, and then her eyes landed back on me.
“You should be the weak one,” she hissed, shaking so visibly that anyone watching would notice.
“Oriana! Clementine is an alpha,” Troy said to defend me. “She’s not the weakest. That’s why she told you to calm down p>
Troy pulled out a metal rod he had grabbed earlier, and the others did the same, drawing whatever weapons they could find.
I had a bloody knife. I could use it, but I would have to let the sluaghs get close for such a small blade to help.
While we watched, those things began to descend. Their voices grew sharper and more haunting.
We stood our ground, arms stretched out, ready to fight.
As expected, one of them dove down in a fiery strike, aiming to claw Oriana.
The moment it touched her shoulder, she screamed and dropped to the ground.
We formed a circle around her so she couldn’t be reached without the creatures attacking us first.
We fought back, even though part of me wanted to step away and let them handle it.
The only reason I stayed was because of those fools who had fallen into her trap.
I wouldn’t have lifted a finger to save her otherwise, but I still shared a bond with them, and too many memories.
I could reject them, but watching them die felt like too cruel a punishment.
We kept fighting and took our share of scratches.
The creatures were wild. They were all going for her, and she kept screaming, making things worse.
After fighting for about half an hour, I realized there was only one option left.
I reached for Oriana among the others.
Still on the ground and screaming, she didn’t notice me until I grabbed her wrist, pulled her up, and slapped her across the face.
Suddenly she stopped shaking. Her eyes burned with anger, her fists tightening.
“How dare you, bitch?” she shouted, lunging at me.
I sidestepped, and she hit the ground again, even angrier.
I was covered in my own blood, and in the black blood of the sluaghs. Either way, the pain barely mattered.
The moment Oriana’s anger grew, the creatures began to retreat, flying back into the sky.
“Look,” Yorick called, pointing for Oriana, who was still fuming.
She looked up and saw them leaving. A small smile crept onto her lips before her eyes narrowed again.
I followed her gaze and noticed a few of them starting to descend once more.
It was because she wasn’t angry anymore.
Then Oriana did what she always did, ran off in the wrong direction.
Down one of the side streets, still crying, she shouted one last complaint.
“Why can’t these things attack Clementine? Why me? Why always me p>
That was the last thing I heard before she disappeared.
Now that the creatures were gone, it was just the four of us again, me and my squadmates, like before.
The air turned heavy with silence.