Found by the Lycan King

Chapter 121

Zenovia

I tore my eyes away from Callahan as Drusilla grabbed my hand and began dragging me.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

Drusilla grabbed the car keys from the office table and muttered, “Do you think we can perform the ritual in this office? Duh!”

She flicked my forehead, and I rubbed it as she continued to drag me down the stairs and towards the garage.

The garage door opened when she clicked a button and I saw several cars, all sleek and shiny, waiting for us.

“Feeling fancy today?” Drusilla asked, and I shrugged.

I did not understand much about cars or luxury, so they all looked pretty high-end to me.

“Today is a special day, so let us drive you in a special car.”

“Drive me where?” I asked and again she shook her head.

“Will you stop trying to ruin my surprise? I am setting up the mood.” She. pouted.

I looked around, but Callahan hadn’t followed us. “Is the Lycan King not coming with us?” I asked.

The anchor bond had to be established between me and him, right? So, we had to do the ritual together.

At least, that is what I assumed.

“He needed some time to cool off. So, he would join us directly there.”

“Where is there?” I tried again, but she simply unlocked the doors of a car and shoved me in.

“Ow,” I rubbed my elbow when it lightly hit the door.

“Sorry. It is just that I am both nervous and excited. I have been asking him for days…no…years to listen to me. He never did. I spent countless hours locked in a room, studying the visions and trying to analyze a

09:07

pattern. I just hope it works.” Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

She added nervously, her fingers gripping the steering wheel a bit too hard. Her painted nails dug into the soft leather and I tried to calm her down.

“Well, let us just get there and be done with the ritual.”

Drusilla nodded, and she drove the car outside, taking me through the wide empty road that she soon left to drive on a muddy, dirt patch.

The ride wasn’t bumpy, but I saw the way she drove deeper into the forest, leaving the city behind.

I would have asked her where we were going for the umpteenth time, but I doubted she would answer.

Callahan had always asked me not to venture deeper into the forest since there could be rogues and such, but somehow she was taking me there and, given that he let us leave, this could be a safe territory.

That only piqued my curiosity.

The trees were denser here and the moonlight filtering in through the canopy of trees got fainter as we drove forward. However, I did not feel the forest to be eerie or creepy.

Somehow, despite it being nearly dark, the air around here felt calm and relaxing, soothing my nerves.

The forest was quiet and the night animals probably sleeping or hunting. My fear of some rogue or any other wild animal suddenly pouncing on us vanished as a soft breeze kept caressing my face, tickling an idle strand of hair against my skin.

The cool wind and the quiet were enough to lull me to sleep. My eyelids began to droop, and I felt that I would sleep like a baby.

But soon, the car came to a halt as Drusilla hit the brakes and turned the ignition off.

“Hey, get up,” she said, gently nudging me. I had my elbow propped on the window pane and my head was resting on it.

“Don’t fall asleep,” she said excitedly as I stifled a yawn and stepped outside the car. And the scene waiting in front of me was something that wiped off all the sleep from my eyes.

09:07 [

The air was thick with the scent of pine and damp moss as I rubbed my eyes to see the splendid sight in front of me.

The moonlight was shining brightly into this clearing and only now I understood what was lulling me to sleep. A huge but serene waterfall was cascading gently into a crystalline pool below. The water looked sparkly white, whiter than the clouds adorning the night sky. Stars were twinkling from amidst them, the reflection of the night sky visible in the small pool of water surrounded by the rocks. The water disappeared into the crevices, traveling underground to probably join some river.

“Ta da” Drusilla threw her hands open while standing in front of the huge scenery as if she was the mastermind behind nature to create it.

“It is beautiful,” I whispered, not wanting to break the calm silence by shouting unnecessarily.

“I come here to study or just relax when my mind is feeling particularly uneasy or I feel restless,” she added as I neared the cascading waterfall.

“I can guess why. It feels so calm here,” I replied, and she nodded her head. Her hands dug inside her bag that she had slung across her shoulder and she pulled out her diary.

I had been so engrossed in observing the waterfall that only now did I notice something on the edges of the jagged rocks.

Roots of a tree had woven themselves through the numerous crevices. and it stood tall upon the cliff through which the water cascaded down, as if standing guard over something.

The branches were long and elongated, and lush green leaves blanketed us from above.

Its roots snaked across the rock, creating an intricate pattern that mirrored the flow of the cascading waters. The leaves rustled gently in the breeze, whispering tales to anyone who cared to listen.

I wondered how the tree had not fallen down and managed to stay upright while growing on the edge of a steep cliff and a waterfall.

But Mother Nature was mysterious, and her magic was not always understandable to us.

I smiled and thought of sprinkling the water over my face to get rid of the sleep. As I took a step closer, I balanced my foot on the edge of the rocks surrounding the small pool. The water spraying on me was cool and sweet.

I splashed it on my face and gathered some in my palms that I drank heartily. I immediately felt refreshed.

As I wiped my face with my sleeves, I noticed something else as well.

Amidst the moss-covered rocks, partially veiled by the silken spray of the waterfall, an extraordinary sight unfolded-a statue carved out of the very stones that formed the cradle of the stream.

“Is that…?” I started, but could not quite understand it from this angle.

Drusilla came to stand beside me and replied, “Oh, you noticed it right

It took me a while when I first visited this place.”

We were staring at a huge statue carved out of the stone, seamlessly blending with the natural surroundings. There were three figures looking in three different directions. I peered intently and noticed that they were three females, clad in long, flowy robes. A very skilled sculptor had

carved them and it must have taken him months, if not weeks, to chip off the stone and patiently create three distinct identities from a huge rock.

The three women had their faces partially covered with veils that I marveled at how the sculptor created with stone. They stood side by side, their eyes gazing into the infinite. And they all had their hands

outstretched, and there were small branches of various small trees and shrubs weaving through their fingers.

“What is this place?” I asked, after admiring the statue for a long time.

“Well, it is a depiction of the Norns. They are the deities of fate, and together, they weave the threads of fate, determining the destinies of individuals and even the fate of the cosmos.”

“I thought your talk about fate and destiny would be over by the time I reached here.” A familiar voice called out from behind.

I turned around to see Callahan walking towards us, shaking his head in disappointment.

“Shut up, Cal!” Drusilla retorted, but he only smiled instead of getting angry.

“You were supposed to take ages to come here. I figured I would calm my nerves and let her look around as well!” She added.

“I was supposed to never agree to this. But you girls don’t want to listen to me. Stubborn lot”

Drusilla stuck out a tongue as my gaze drifted towards him again. He was trying very hard to act normal, but he was not comfortable about being here.

“Fate and destiny is a thing, Cal. The sooner you agree, the better.” She added and began taking out some stuff from her bag.

“I stand by my words. Destiny is what I make of my life. Fate is what I did not put my 100% effort into. End of discussion.”

I stood around undecidedly, not wanting to take anybody’s side. Drusilla pulled out some candles, herbs, matches, and whatnot while I watched her nervously.

She looked up at the sky, and the moon was shining brightly.

“Please bless us,” she said while looking at the moon and I offered a silent prayer too.

“Please bless us and bless Callahan too,” I spoke in a low voice.

He might be stubborn and arrogant, but he did not deserve the fate he was tied to. And it was almost comical the way he was now standing before the deities that determined fate, trying to change his prewritten destiny.

I could only hope I would be enough and that the Moon Goddess would give me strength and courage to save him from his doom.

“Let us begin”