Chapter 58: Another Anomaly

Chapter 58: Another Anomaly Cedric quickly mounted his horse again, he knew something was wrong. "Will you be able to head back to camp?" He asked Abrielle sensing the danger. She shook her head, they were already deep in the forest and without Cedric’s sharp skills it would be hard for her to leave. Honestly, she would rather not go back to camp because she had an idea of what was going on although she was not completely sure about it. After all, it was an unclear detail mentioned in the novel. Another scream shrieked through the woods, this one coming from another direction behind them. It was the way they came from. Seeing how fast the situation was changing Cedric realized it would be safer for her to stick to him.. "Fine follow behind me," Cedric said as his stallion galloped through the wood away from the direction of the first scream. More screams started to echo from several directions which made Abrielle’s hand tremble. "We should head back to camp." She suggested knowing that was the safest place. In the opening scene of the original book, ’the dragons and the priestess’ when Cedric was called back to the capital from his honeymoon. It was because of a hunting disaster where a couple of noblemen disappeared presumably killed. This was deduced due to blood stains blood stains at the sites they went missing. Abrielle knew of this that was why she insisted Cedric attend the hunt because later in the story it was discovered it was done by a powerful sorcery coven which is strong enough to take him out. It was a simple plan which didn’t put her in any harm because under normal circumstances a princess is not meant to participate in the actual event but here she was shooting herself in the leg. Cedric had insisted she attended with him. Knowing that the plan was going to fail she insisted on staying in the safe zones and no matter what staying away from the red zone but Cedric was hunting in the yellow zone which was close by. She didn’t panic because the Yellow zone was safe but those screams she heard were from the yellow zones. "We can’t go back the way we came," Cedric said referring to the scream that came behind them. "Let’s head west. It is the closest to the green zone and no scream has come from that direction." She suggested it was the plan Cedric had in mind from the start. The situation was strange and it wasn’t his responsibility to play detective especially when he had someone vulnerable with him. "That’s a great idea," Cedric said. "None of this would have happened if you listened to me in the first place." She muttered under her breath which normally Cedric would not hear but he had an exceptional hearing sense. Cedric knew Abrielle had some hidden cards to use during the hunt that was why he insisted on her not attending the actual hunt. He could sense it already, dark magic. A horse came running from the opposite direction scared which startled their horse but Abrielle was able to control her horse immediately. "That was Alfonso’s horse," Cedric mentioned with his eyes narrowed at the horse. "We should continue in the west," Cedric added. The screams were getting faint but it didn’t reduce the risk of danger. They continued in their tracks until the farther they rode the more blood they saw. It was already happening. The book plot was coming into place and they were characters that weren’t meant to be here. The sky got dark and heavy wind started to blow, reducing their visibility. "We should find cover," Abrielle screamed at the top of her lungs because of the loud wind. "There should be a cave nearby," Cedric answered, he was stunned and pulled his horse’s reins stopping it in time before fireballs were thrown in their direction. They were under attack but this was meant to be a safe route. Abrielle screamed while Cedric remained composed, more fireballs were coming from the direction they were heading but it seemed like it wasn’t intended for them. Someone ahead was being attacked. The storm was getting worse with snow piling up. "Let’s head east," Cedric suggested going in a direction that wasn’t in the safe zone. "We can’t go there because it is closer to the red zone." She argued. "Just believe me, I doubt the green zone is safe." Cedric surged ahead leaving her no choice but to follow behind. Things were not going according to the plot, and Abrielle was thrown into deep thoughts wondering if her actions had influenced the plot. Parts of the forest were on fire despite a snowstorm happening. Cedric successfully found a cave close to the red zone where they could hide. That was when Abrielle realized the strangest thing: there were no screams from the red zone. Which was completely different from the original plot where all the noblemen in the red zone disappeared. "Over here," Cedric screamed in the howling wind. Abrielle followed his voice into a cave. It was dark and she could barely see a thing. She quickly dismounted the horse, her hands were hugging her body as her teeth clattered due to the cold. Cedric, using his good vision in the dark, quickly found a dried stick which he used to make a torch with the emergency supplies he made for the hunt. "We should go deeper that way we won’t run into any of the sorcerers." He advised which surprised Abrielle he already deduced the situation. He was very smart. They pulled their horses with them as they entered the quiet dark cave with only one source of lightning. The deeper they went in the stronger the feeling got. "Cedric, I think we are being watched." She whispered to him. His eyes darkened because he had the same feeling. "Leave the horses here. They should be safe at this point." He instructed letting go of the reins as his hand went to his sword. He started to move slowly like a predator. Cedric threw the torch on the floor. Immediately a loud hissing sound and something ran towards them. "Cedric!" She almost screamed, feeling the murderous intention. Abrielle didn’t have night vision like Cedric and could only rely on instinct. He pulled off his sword to block off the target which threw him backwards. The monster then surged towards him on the floor. She quickly pulled out her bow targeted at the darkest. The hissing sound shrieked and she blindly released an arrow.