I pointed at Nicolas, saying, “I’m still pretty mad at you, I don’t know if I can even look at you right now.”

“You’ve a right to be mad,” he acceded, “I am partly responsible for the death of your mentor, a man I cared for a great deal. I would like to begin making amends for that by sharing some information with you. I learned a fair amount about the Regent’s organization while they were questioning me.”

I glanced at his face and felt the anger rise, my hands itched to wrap around his neck. Quickly directing my gaze elsewhere I clasped my hands behind my back and started walking to try to cool down, then asked, “What have you got?”

Following behind me, Nicolas began, “Ok, we’ll start off with a small bit of information. The name of the Regent’s lieutenant. The man who took Kearse from us. His human name is Walter Cain, but the Hybrids call him Gorefang.”

Admittedly, it was a small bit of information, but it felt good to put a name to the beast that had done so much harm to me and mine. I looked up and nodded as we walked past Jason. He was chatting with one of the female rebels.

“Hey boss,” he called, “What are you doing with him?” Venom dripped from this last word, his eyes bored into Nicolas, who, to his credit, took this stare evenly.

“He’s giving me some information,” I told him, looking at the confused brunette next to him I added, “Don’t let us interrupt anything.”

Smiling sheepishly he muttered, “If you’re sure you’ll be alright.”

“I’ll be fine, you just keep talking to...”

“Kaylee,” she supplied.

“Kaylee. She seems lovely,” I smiled as she blushed and looked away, “Come along Nicolas!” I ordered crooking my finger.

As we left Jason’s hearing range, I gestured for Nicolas to continue, “You were saying.”

“Yes,” he started, “yes, right. You have met Gorefang already but there is another lieutenant you should know about as well. She isn’t as outwardly violent as Gorefang but is equally dangerous, and as beautiful as he is ugly. She attacks you mentally, however she can, using her feminine wiles to wear you down. I believe she may be host to an Avatar herself, possibly one with the power of hypnosis.”

“I was reading about an Avatar like that last night,” I shared, “Chirene, Avatar of the trickster god Artokkor. Not much is known about her. What’d she look like?”

“Ah, short, red hair, slender waist. Her skin was quite pale, she walked with a lithe grace reminiscent of the Great Plains Sabertooth,” As he continued to describe her, I realized I had met her before. It was the enchanting woman who had disappeared from The Graceless Griffon. “I believe I heard Walter say her name was...”

“Felecia,” I finished.

“Yes,” he cocked his head to the side, a look of surprise on his face, “How would a book written so long ago contain the name of a future host of an Avatar?”

“It was not in the book,” I revealed, “I had a run in with her before we met.”

“Indeed?” he queried, “Where was this?”

“Dawns Vale,” I said, then gave him a brief version of the events surrounding her appearance. “I definitely felt something from her, but she didn’t seem hostile.”

“She may have been sizing you up,” he theorized, “or planting seeds of good will for later harvest.”

“Hm,” I grunted, “The book didn’t even have any information on which side she took in the war.”

“Tricksters are often on no side but their own,” Nicolas opined.

“Too true. Was that all you had for me?”

“That was the information pertinent to you, yes,” he said, “You heard everything else about troop composition and placement that I learned in the meeting.”

* * *

As the evening passed on into night, the squad was shown to a group of cabins that they could use. Clustered together on the western side of the clearing, the ten cabins had been kept relatively clean and would house up to five people each. With our squad of thirty, we were able to sleep a more comfortable three to a cabin.

Before going to bed that night I took some time to begin familiarizing myself with the other Avatars chronicled within the book Eldarion had supplied. Those who were known to have sided with Khaos had their entries marked with a whorl of chaotic energy and those on the side of Ordus bore a small scale. Neutral Avatars were marked with a stylized ‘N’ and those that the Elves were unsure of had question marks on their pages.

The Avatar of Protection stuck out to me, marked with a scale of Ordus, its aspect was that of a Grizzly Bear. It brought Kearse’s transformation and noble sacrifice to mind. I withdrew Kearse’s medallion from my pocket and sat there staring at its golden countenance until Karan and Isaac entered the cabin we shared. I closed the book and wiped my eyes as Karan came over and drew me into a hug.

“It’s alright,” she whispered, “We all miss him and we’ll get through this together.”

“That’s right my friend,” Isaac added, tossing his milk-stained shirt on the ground and leaning back on his pillows, “Together we are unstoppable.”

* * *

Kearse stood in the center of the floor, grasping his medallion in his right hand. Drops of blood splattered the floor from his clenched fist and a red glow lit the room. His dead eyes stared at me as he lifted his fist, turned his hand palm up and slowly uncurled his fingers like the petals of a red flower. Revealed in his palm was a black medallion, slick with his blood.

Next Chapter: Chapter 19