Author Note: This will be the last chapter I changed/edited/removed to make the story better. There will be some edits and changes in the next chapter, but that is to match up with this one.
"Claire!" Nymeria howls.
I turn around and she stands away from me, looking worried.
"Behind you!" She barks.
I turn around again, and a huge black creature with red, bloodshot eyes is in front of me. I scream and back away, but I trip and fall to the ground. The creature snarls, slowly approaching me, showing out its sharp teeth.
"Stay away from her!" Nymeria growls and jumps in front of me, attacking the creature.
I can't move and helplessly watch Nymeria fight and win against the dark creature, making it run away, but she gets seriously injured. She shakily walks to me and collapses in exhaustion, closing her eyes. "Nymeria!" I cry and examine her. The more I touch her, the more blood I get on my hands. Blood spreading on the ground, making my heart sink. "No! NO! Nymeria, wake up! Stop! STOP!" I beg, trying to heal her with my magic, but it won't work and only makes the bleeding worse. "NO! Nymeria, please wake up! Please wake up! Please don't leave me! Please, I need you!"
Nymeria doesn't move or open her eyes, lying lifelessly on the ground. I cry and shake her, not wanting to lose my familiar, whom I've grown close to over the past few days.
"Claire, wake up!"
I open my eyes and shoot up from my sleep, panting and shaking.
"Claire, what's wrong? Why were you screaming?"
I turn my head to Jim's scared eyes and worried expression. I try to speak, but the words are trapped in my throat, and I am too scared to make a sound. I close my eyes and start crying softly, leaning on Jim's shoulder.
"Shhh! Shhh! Shhh! Claire, what's wrong? Shhh! Shhh!" He says softly, wrapping his arms around me.
"It's Nymeria," I mumble through my tears. "It's Nymeria. I saw her die because she protected me."
"Shhh! Shhh! It's ok, Claire; Nymeria is safe with us." Jim shushes me, rubbing my back
"NO! I need to check up on her." I reply, pushing Jim away and getting off the bed. I grab my dressing gown and rush to the door. I open it, and my heart sinks when there's no wolf. Oh no! "Nymeria!"
"Claire, what is it?" Jim asks, walking up to me.
"Nymeria, she's gone. She's supposed to be in front of our door when we sleep." I reply, panicked.
"Calm down, Claire. Maybe she's just doing her business or something." Jim tries to comfort me.
I shake my head and walk back into our room to my clothes.
"What are you doing?"
"I have to find Nymeria. She's my familiar, and I don't want to lose her too." I say determinedly, taking my dressing gown off. Jim turns around when I lift my nightgown up, and I quickly get dressed. I turn around, and Jim is dressed, too. "What are you doing?"
"If Nymeria is really important to you, I'll help you find her." He replies before we walk out of the room.
Amber greets us, and I instruct her to find Veronica, wake my friends, and tell the other fairies to look for a wolf wandering around the castle. After many complaints and explanations, everyone searched for Nymeria, calling her name.
"Claire!"
I turn around to Veronica, looking at me with worry, making me sense something is wrong.
"The fairies searched the entire castle and couldn't find Nymeria." She says.
"No, she has to be here! She wouldn't just leave me while I sleep!" I deny. "Where else could she possibly be?"
"She might be outside." Darci comments.
I begged Amber to lead me to the door, and we walked to the entrance of the castle. I open the door and run outside, looking frantically for a wolf, but it's dark despite the bright gemstones above our heads. I call for Nymeria, but her name echoes across the cavern. As we walk around, I pick up a low feral growl echoing throughout the walls of rocks from my heightened hearing senses, much like Jim's sense of smell. I consider it as nothing and shrug it off, but the growl echoes and becomes louder after every second. I look around and begin to tense up. I look behind me, and the growling stops. I shiver when I hear it behind me again.
"Claire, what's wrong?" Jim asks with concern.
"I heard an animalistic growl," I whisper, slightly scared. "I think something is watching us."
Jim raises an eyebrow at me but picks up something, too. After a moment, his face turns pale. "I hear it, too." He whispers, slightly nervous.
The growling continued, and I rushed in front of the shouting group. "Guys! Shhh! Stop! Something is watching us!" I hiss.
"Who?" Steve asks before we hear a loud echo snarl, making us all jump and freeze.
"What was that?" Darci squeaks, trembling in fear next to Toby.
We all glance at each other, wondering who or what is making that noise. The growl becomes louder from the walls of the rocks, making everyone, specifically Mary and Darci, nervous, but we can't see or find anything but darkness between the stones.
"Nymeria?" I call out, wishful thinking.
Douxie summons his staff and lights up the big blue gem on it. "Where are you? What do you want?" He shouts, waving his staff around, looking frantically for something.
Suddenly, the growling stops. We all wait silently, looking for something or someone to come out.
"Claire, Master Jim, behind you!" Blinky shouts.
Jim and I turned around and saw a creature on a cliff jump launch itself towards us. Its sharp claws and teeth were out, ready to catch its prey. Jim freezes, his feet locked to the ground; he is too scared to move and looks like a deer in headlights, but adrenaline and rage boil inside me. No! No way am I going to let anything harm my friends, let alone my boyfriend. My magic races with the pace of my heart. I jump before him, bend my feet, and launch at the creature. My body changes with the same features. In time, I get in front of Jim and push the beast out of the way. I wrestle the creature to the ground, but the beast pushes me back. I keep my balance and stand between the animal and Jim, growling in anger, preparing to pounce if the creature moves forward.
I launched myself toward the beast and struck them in the chest. I scratch the beast, and it tries to swipe at me, but I dodge it. I open my mouth and press my teeth on the beast's leg. We continue to wrestle, and there's a stabbing pain in my shoulder. The beast is on my back and is tightly holding its teeth onto me. I struggle to push the creature off my back. I groan as my skin or fur ripped off my back. The beast runs back to me, but I hit them against their side. The creature seems slightly bigger than me, but the adrenaline of protecting my friends kicks in, and the pain fades away, making me stronger against the monster. I growl at the creature, trying to intimidate it, but the beast still runs to me, and we fight violently again. The creature throws me hard to the ground, but I quickly get up and dig my teeth into the creature's leg again. It howled in pain and tried to bite me back, but I ran around before the beast tackled me to the ground, trying to get a bite. I struggle with all my strength and latch the creature's neck, kicking it off me. So much pain is flowing in my body. I struggle to get up, only to fall, crying in pain. The creature gets up and runs toward my friends, ready to attack them, but I won't let that happen. I stand up, run, and push the beast away from my friends. We wrestle, our mouths on each other's necks. It is a struggle.
I get out of the creature's grip and tackle it to the ground, but it slashes me in the face and bites me on the neck. It grips me so hard that I feel blood—my blood soaking against my fur. I struggle with all my strength to get up, but the creature is too strong. It throws me several feet, and I fall to the ground. The adrenaline fades out quickly, causing blood to rush to my head. I become weak and change back into my human body. I think of blood around me, making me lose all the feelings in my limbs.
"Claire!" Jim screamed behind me. A moment later, a hand presses on my shoulder. "Claire! Claire! Please open your eyes!"
I slowly open them to a blurry vision of my boyfriend before me. "Jim-" I groan in pain.
"Shhh! Shhh! Shhh! It's ok. You're safe, and you're going to be alright." He whispers. Jim takes off his jacket and places it on my shoulder, near my collarbone, pushing hard on it.
I moan and cry. "Stop, Jim! I can-"
"No, Claire! You're bleeding so much! Let me help you!" Jim protests and continues to push harder on my wound.
Soon, footsteps circle around us. I listen to them yelling out questions and shouting. There isn't enough room to breathe. I open my mouth and suck in as much air as possible, but the pain pulls back my breath, feeling I'm being deprived of oxygen, and something is on my chest, pushing down on my lungs.
"Guys! Guys! Give her some space! She's bleeding, and she's stressed!" Jim hisses.
"Let me help," Zoe says calmly.
I hear footsteps near my ears and look up to a blurry vision of Zoe's vibrant pink hair. I shiver as her cold fingers press upon my forehead. She shushes me while I feel a sharp sting before a soothing liquid-like travels through my body. It cools down my muscles, letting my healing magic spread, but it sucks out my strength more, feeling the sensation of free falling. I try to stop and fight my healing powers, but that makes it worse and drains the life out of me. So I quit, not wanting to die from my magic.
I hear growling from a fight. Thankfully, it ends, but I'm scared of the aftermath. "It's ok, Sis. Nymeria won." NotEnrique whispers.
"Is she ok?" Nymeria asks softly.
I feel lightheaded and exhausted from the fight. I slowly look at Jim and close my eyes.
Nymeria waits until the creature runs from view before rushing toward the group. "Is she ok?" She says softly.
"Claire is bleeding very badly, but now she's calming down and healing herself," Zoe replies, her hands still on Claire's head.
"But that means she'll be too weak for a while, maybe even a whole day," Douxie says with concern.
"Douxie, it's an instinct, and she can't help when stressed." Zoe hisses at him. "We need to get her inside."
Jim nods his head. He takes his jacket off her shoulder, showing Claire isn't bleeding anymore, but her wounds aren't gone. They look too severe for her to heal, and the jacket is soaked in blood stains, but he couldn't care less. "Once we get inside, Zoe and Darci will address Claire's wounds in her bedroom." He says flatly.
"Good! I'll carry your jacket, Jimbo, while you carry Claire." Toby agrees.
Jim gives his friend his jacket, gently carries Claire in his arms, and everyone starts walking back inside the castle. "Don't worry, Claire. You're going to be ok." Jim whispers, looking down at his peaceful sleeping girlfriend covered in her own blood.
When they get inside, Veronica has disappeared. Amber leads Jim to his bedroom with Zoe and Darci behind him. They enter, and after Jim sets Claire on the bed, Zoe and Darci get to work undressing and bandaging up her wounds. While that was going on, Douxie and Nymeria waited outside. They are both worried about Claire, but Nymeria feels guilty about the attack, pacing back and forth, thinking time is too slow.
"You're going to get dizzy if you do that too many times." Archie points out, catching up to the two with Nari.
"She feels guilty of what happened to Claire, Archie." Douxie hisses, leaning on the wall.
"Why were you even out there in the first place?" Nari asks her, concerned. "You scared Claire half to death that you were missing."
"An animalistic growl in the castle walls woke me up. I searched everywhere before I went outside, thinking there was something that was going to harm Claire, but it seems I brought the danger to her." Nymeria replies, panicked, panting, and still pacing back and forth. "I should've not left her."
"It's OK, Nymeria; Claire will be alright after tomorrow," Jim says, walking out of the room.
"Jim!" She says, surprised, and stops. "Can I see her?"
"Not yet. Zoe and Darci are undressing and bandaging up her wounds." He says, making Nymeria feel worse.
"What was the creature that just tried to attack us and tried to kill Claire?" Douxie asks worryingly.
"It didn't try to kill her or you guys. Claire just intervened, and it was a Gwyllgi."
Everyone looks at her in confusion. "What's a Glui-ing?" Jim tries to pronounce it.
"A Gwyllgi. It's a Welsh mythological dog called 'The Dog of Darkness' or 'The Black Hound of Destiny.' It comes only under the cover of darkness. It doesn't come to kill you but will attack if you provoke it. It comes as an omen of bad luck or death." Nymeria explains.
"I read about them in a Welsh mythology book but didn't think they could attack." Douxie comments. "How do you know about them?"
Nymeria sighs, looking away in shame. "Because I'm a Dire Wolf and know what they are." She admits.
Douxie and Archie stare at her in shock. "I... I thought you guys were extinct 16,000 years ago. How is that possible?"
"Some of us survived until the 10th century. My pack and I were the last of my kind. As a puppy, I was saved by a human. I remember my mother placing me somewhere safe to hide, but she never returned. So after that, I was on my own."
"Oh!" Douxie replies, embarrassed. "So you are about my age. Nine hundred years old, right?"
Nymeria tilts her head, confused. "Well, it is the 21st century, and my years differ from yours, but yes! You're right." She agrees.
"I hate to interrupt, but can we focus on the fact that this creature is supposed to represent an omen of bad luck or death." Jim hisses. "Could this mean something bad is going to happen to Claire?"
"I don't know. I don't really believe in omens that much." Nymeria says defensively.
"Maybe it was," Archie says calmly, making the atmosphere worse between them.
The door opens, drawing everyone's attention to Darci and Zoe. "Done! You should check up on her, Jim. She's all dressed and clean." Zoe says, looking at him.
"Thanks, Zoe." Jim sighs with relief and turns to Darci. "Sorry, you had to see that."
Darci was shaken up from seeing Claire in blood but nodded her head. "Don't worry, Jim. It wasn't that bad." She replies, but she still looks white as a ghost. "Do you think she will be ok?"
"Despite losing blood, Claire should get better by tomorrow," Zoe replies and turns to Jim to have his acknowledgment.
Jim agrees, and everyone but Nymeria and Jim leave. He turns to her, making her lower her head. "It's ok, Nymeria, I'm not mad at you. Come on, you can see her." He says and opens the door.
Nymeria slowly walks inside and sees her familiar sleeping on one side of a huge bed. She rushes to her side and feels more guilty, seeing the bandages on Claire's body. "Was Zoe right about Claire?" She asks nervously.
"Yes, but she might not wake up until tomorrow. She's already spending too much energy on healing herself." Jim confirms.
Nymeria notices one of Claire's hands lying on the edge of the bed. She gently touches Claire's hand, but there's no reaction, making her sad.
Jim makes sure Claire is comfortable and turns to Nymeria. "Can you stay by Claire's side and watch her when I'm gone?"
Nymeria smiles, and her tail wags. "Yes! Yes! Thank you! I promise I won't leave her side again! I'll keep her protected for you!" She says with excitement.
"Thanks, Nymeria!" Jim sighs and lets her sit on his side of the bed as Nymeria doesn't shed like many dogs do. She lays down and snuggles herself against Claire, whimpering with sadness before closing her eyes.
Jim smiles with relief and leans down to kiss Claire on the forehead. "I love you." He mumbles and leaves the room for the two to sleep in the peaceful darkness.
I groan in pain, getting out of a horrible dream, but I can't seem to open my eyes. Those wolf eyes are staring at me. That creature almost hurt my friends and killed me if I didn't shake it off.
"Claire, shhh! Shhh!" Someone beside me says.
I turn my head, and a blurry vision of my boyfriend. "Jim... What happened? Where's Nymeria? Is she ok? Did you find her?" I gasped, feeling something pushing against my chest, making it hard to breathe.
"Shhh! Shhh! Stay still. Don't worry, Nymeria is next to you." He replies.
I turn to my other side, and a peaceful sleeping wolf is beside me. "Jim, I-" I try to say, turning back to him.
"Shhh! Claire, you were attacked and badly injured. You need to rest. I'll tell you everything when you're done healing." He interrupts me, but his voice seems to be fading away.
My eyelids become heavy; I lean on the pillow and drift into a deep sleep.
Author Note: I hope you like this chapter. Please review and tell me how I'm doing.