Chapter 23 ~ Enryx
It was afternoon, the sun starting to fade away and preparing to duck below the horizon. It was Enryx's turn to drive the caravan. It He was happily settling down in his seat when he felt Lysandra sit down next to him. He involuntarily looked away, his face on fire. Why'd you do that for? He scolded himself, She's your friend. Nothing more.
"So, uh," Enryx lost his train of thought for a moment, "Where are we settling for the night?"
"Well, we just passed the Arkansas-Mississippi border," She said. She was reading a really thick book - Harvey Patterson, or something. He half-wished she would look at him. The other half was fine with her not.
"So, we're gonna stop at Mississippi to restock on food and stuff," Enryx said, looking at the road and certainly not at the rearview mirror.
"Hm."
"Do we need more toilet paper?"
"That's great."
Enryx rolled his eyes and waved his hand in front of her face, causing her to look up suddenly, then close her book after marking the page, "What?"
"I was just wondering where the nearest general store is. And how far the trailer park is from there."
"Oh," She rummaged around for the map and pulled out one that was around as tall as she was, "About half an hour's drive. Oh, while we're there, we should get more toilet paper."
Enryx rolled his eyes again and continued to drive in silence.
They parked the caravan in the carpark of a local supermarket, and Lysandra divided everyone into groups of three.
"Alright," She read the list she made minutes ago and compared it to the shopping list, "Enryx, Nethrys and Vyt, grab the bread, milk and anything we need in the dairy section. Elektra, Trudy and Kat, toilet and basic supplies. Rosamynd, Adrian, come with me to the medical station. We need more gauze and stuff. Got it?"
The others nodded meekly, then split up to their sections. Enryx and the others walked in silence, having nothing to say to each other. They got all the items from their part of the list and was just about to go back when a high pitched scream pierced the aisle. They abandoned the cart and rushed over to the source of the the noise, and saw a girl being cornered by what seems to be a huge lion. Except when Enryx got closer, he saw a sorry excuse of a crossover between man and a lion's face, a deadly scorpion's tail and a pair of gigantic bat wings. Without thinking, Vytoni and Nethrys charged at the beast, and Enryx cautiously notched an arrow, searching for an opening. Vytoni shoved the victim aside impatiently (she was fighting a losing battle with an old woman's cane) and was almost stung by the poisonous scorpion tail, but Nethrys defended her, by blocking off the tail while attempting to slice it off. Vytoni snarled and brushed him off, rolling into the impact, and stabbing the Manticore's underbelly with the short dagger she'd drawn. It roared and collapsed, and for a heart stopping moment Enryx thought she was crushed, but she had dodged out of the way and was signalling Enryx to shoot. The monster roared again, and Enryx shot an explosive arrow into it's mouth. It exploded in a flurry of dust and sand.
"You okay?" Enryx heard Nethrys comforting the shaken girl, who was staring open-mouthed at his sword and shield.
"You have a sword," She breathed, her chest rising up and down. "Is that, like, legal?"
Enryx rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, feeling the Mist at his command, "You were assaulted by a mysterious man who resembled a lion with the shaggy hair and all. We saved you by hitting him repeatedly with crowbars. And you certainly did not see swords."
"Don't be stupid," The girl said, "Of course I saw swords and arrows and that weird glowy staff thing." Vytoni glared at her, obviously offended by her lack of gratitude or describing her favorite weapon as a 'glowy staff thing'.
"Wait a moment," Enryx cut in before an argument could start, "How can you see our weapons? Can you see through the Mist?"
"Mist? I'm not blind if that's what you're saying," She replied hotly, "But yeah, that was not a definitely man, I see your swords and other weapons. No biggie, it happens a lot."
"Oh...um...this happens a lot?" Nethrys asked her, confused.
"Well not the monsters thing but seeing strange people with weapons."
"What are you doing here?" Vytoni questioned, "Where are your parents?"
"Oh," The girl bit her lip, looking down at the surgically clean floor, "Well... I was kicked out of a boarding school because nobody believed me when I said I saw all these weird things and they thought I was crazy. I guess they didn't want a lunatic at their school. I couldn't tell my parents, so I'm just trying to go to my Aunt's house. I stopped here to grab some stuff to eat and, well, you know the rest."
"Oh," Enryx said sympathetically, "I'm Enryx, by the way, and this is Vytoni, and Nethrys."
"Weird names. I'm Scarlett," She replied. The girl had strawberry blonde hair in faint ringlets, and deep purple highlights were in random streaks. Her skin was fair, and she had, watery, bright blue eyes. She was wearing skinny jeans and a pretty lavender top matched with some brown flip flops. She looked around fifteen or sixteen. She seemed like the kind of girl to have been given everything in her life - the prissy type.
"Listen," Nethrys said, ignoring a shake-of-the-head from Vytoni, "We've got a few friends at the entrance, and you can crash with us. We're going to Florida."
"Thanks, from there I can get back to my parent's house," Scarlett replied, relieved, "I'll just grab a couple of things and meet you at the front?"
"Well-" Vytoni began, before Nethrys cut her off.
"Sure."
"We need to talk to the others about this," Vytoni told them, glancing back at Scarlett, who was peering at the makeup display.
"We'll just bring her to our caravan and let her rest," Nethrys said
"What if she's lying and is going to steal from us?" Vytoni countered. Enryx could see whatever friendship they managed to create over the past month or so was starting to fade.
"Would anyone lie about monsters and weapons?" Enryx stepped in tactfully.
"Okay fine, we'll talk about it with the others first before we help her out," Nethrys gave in.
They apologized to the store manager about the mess they made and explained to him that a man tried to attack Scarlett and rob her but they dealt with him. He looked a little suspicious, but let them return to their friends.
"What happened?" Lysandra glanced at their dusty figures.
"Sorry," Nethrys quickly explained to Lys as Enryx kept an eye out for Scarlett, who emerged from the checkout center carrying four bags of Gods-know-what.
Enryx quickly made introductions to each other and they headed back to the caravan. Nethrys was driving now, with Vytoni as guard. They now had a frosty silence between them, and Enryx had a sinking feeling that whatever progress of being more civilized to each other had evaporated.
"Uh," Enryx gestured towards the remaining bunk, which was above Adrian's, "You can sleep here, but not if you don't want to," He added quickly.
"Personally I wouldn't, that's was Adrian's 'food storage area' so it's probably a mess, reeks with week-old food and covered with stains" Katerina commented, raising an eyebrow at Scarlett. She's probably trying to decide whether she wants to be friends with Scarlett or not.
"Oh," She glanced at the bed gingerly before going to the love seat that Adrian and Trudy usually occupied, "It's fine. I'll sleep here instead." Enryx saw Kat turned away and sit on her bunk, seemingly ignoring her.
"How did you survive on your own after getting kicked out of boarding school?" Elektra asked her.
"It wasn't that hard, I had plenty of cash with me and I had already learned how to live by myself," She shrugged.
"I wish I had money at my disposal," Rosamynd said wistfully.
"It's not that great, really," Trudy cut in, walking in with Adrian. Katerina nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, my dad, Hades, is really rich considering he's the God of wealth and all." Katerina chimed in. Scarlett smiled sweetly at her which Katerina returned an attempt of grin, though it was more of a grimace.
"Woah, what, you're children of gods?" Scarlett looked at them, thoroughly confused, "I learned about the Greek and Roman myths in fifth grade."
"Don't call them myths," Katerina said sharply, "'Cause they aren't."
"Don't take it personally," Lysandra said warmly, "Most mortals are confused at first, too."
"Wait. You guys are Gods!?"
"Plus, there's a difference between the Greek and Roman Mythology," Lysandra continued as if she hadn't heard her.
"Yeah," Enryx quickly added, "Well, Minor Gods. Godlings, if you will."
Lysandra quickly explained the differences and some similarities, going over some of the gods as examples. She is so smart. Enryx almost slapped himself for his stupidity. Oh gods, did I say that aloud? No? Phew. He could see Trudy looking at him knowingly, and he quickly averted his gaze, focusing on tying and retying his shoelaces.
They had quickly got Scarlett settled in by giving her a brief tour of caravan and a short introduction to each of them apart from Nethrys and Vytoni, who were at the wheel. Enryx thought Katerina and Trudy didn't really like her much, but he kept that thought to himself. They parked the caravan and Elektra went to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Enryx followed her and Elektra cooked tomato sauce while Enryx made the pasta, just like they used to. They brought it out to serve dinner (Scarlett sat at the last place) and the meal contained a lot more talking that it usually did.
"Wow, finally a home cooked meal," Scarlett sighed contentedly, digging in with considerable enthusiasm.
"Thanks?" Elektra laughed, unsure of what to say. Vytoni was silent, and left right after she cleared her plate. Enryx had the impression that she wasn't very fond of Scarlett, either.
"Wow, someone's moody," Nethrys scoffed slightly. Scarlett smiled at him, and Enryx felt slightly uncomfortable. She was talking to Nethrys now, batting her eyelashes and twirling her hair. Nethrys looked a little overwhelmed by the sudden attention, but he continued to talk to her. Guy's gonna get himself in deep trouble one day. Enryx rolled his eyes and stood up to bring his dish to the sink. He let cool water run through his fingers, making a small waterfall.
"You shouldn't waste water, you know," Lysandra came up behind him, pulling his hands away from the running water then and shutting the tap. He was suddenly aware how close they were - he could smell her floral scent, getting himself lost in her clear, light brown eyes. He found himself leaning closer, closer...
"Oh!" Enryx looked up frustratedly to see Scarlett stand awkwardly at the door frame.
"Ah, sorry... I'll just... uh, go." Scarlett turned away, swiftly walking out and back to the bunks.
Enryx glanced down at Lysandra, who was blushing furiously, not meeting his eyes. He muttered a quick goodnight. He was just at the door when he felt Lys put a hand on his shoulder. He turned around, his heart beating erratically, and searched her face for any clue what she was going to do. She stood on tiptoe and kissed him softly on the cheek , murmuring a soft, sweet 'goodnight'. She left the kitchen, where Enryx stood stock still, touching the spot she kissed, where it left a burning, lingering feeling.
Elektra stormed into the kitchen, "Group meeting, c'mon!" He shook out of his daze, walking to the second floor where everyone was on the beanbags, successfully crashing into the dining table along the way. He occupied the only seat left, which was conveniently next to Lysandra's, who wouldn't meet his gaze.
Trudy made eye contact with him yet again, and her eyes were twinkling triumphantly. He rolled his eyes at her, sticking out his tongue and diverted his attention to Katerina's laptop in the center. She had typed up the three stanzas of the prophecy the Oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, had recited to them. So far they had:
Nine godlings must unite,
and plunge into darkness and the night.
To face their own greatest fear,
and lose a loved one they once held dear.
You must face others like yourselves
In family history you must delve
There's no need to scour the earth and seek
For your deadline arrives at winter's peak.
From now on you must journey east
Mind the dragon when you expect it least
Your trust will fall into the dark shadows
One mistake and you'll give into your sorrows.
"Wow," Scarlett was the first to break the silence, "That was very depressing."
"Oh no, I didn't think that's what the Oracle was going for," Vytoni said sarcastically. Nethrys gave her a disapproving glare, which she promptly ignored.
"Anyways, guys - we have to figure this out." Rosamynd said, as Lysandra jotted down notes on her already filled up notebook, feverishly. Enryx tried his best not to look at her.
But of course, he looked at her.
"So we got the first line, which is kind of obvious considering there are nine godlings in this room right now," Katerina pointed out.
"And I'm guessing the third line is talking about how we will probably get the same fate as Kyle and Trudy did, with the whole fear thing- unless we find Phobos," Adrian supplied.
"We're not that sure about that line about losing your loved ones, " Trudy stated, "I mean, we just don't know who it's going to be," She said, clutching Adrian's hand, tightly. Katerina quickly marked down the lines that they weren't sure the meaning of.
"And it clearly states that our deadline for this quest is on the Winter's Solstice, so that's that," Elektra clarified.
"Plus we've journeyed east - well, we are in the midst of journeying east!" Nethrys declared. Vytoni muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'Great job, genius'. He ignored their silent fight and focused on the three prophecies, "And trusting the shadows? What's that about? And I don't really like the sound of the last line, either."
"And what's this about a dragon?" Rosamynd frowned, "When you least expect it..."
Enryx rubbed his temples, where it had announced a very large headache, "One prophecy at a time, okay? I guess we'll figure all this out along the way. Oh, and I guess we have to keep our eyes out for the dragon, but what's the point, because when we expect it we can't get to it..." The others were looking at him with slightly alarmed expressions, and he felt a gentle arm on his elbow.
"Come on, Enryx," Lysandra murmured, "You need to get some rest."
He stumbled to his bunk and climbed onto his bed, his headache not quite subsiding. Lys returned with an aspirin and a glass of water. He swallowed it and punch his pillow until it was comfortable. He crawled under his covers, but he stayed awake the whole night, even when the others returned to bed. He singled out Lysandra's even breathing and mimicked it, and slowly, he drifted off to sleep.
~END OF CHAPTER 23~