Rory and Milo dug tirelessly in the pit in the center of the ruins until the sun rose the next day, piercing through the fog and giving off a faint light. Their paws and hands were covered in dirt, and they were nearly exhausted. Eventually, they dug out an entrance to the narrow tunnel below.
'Can you smell the debris?' Milo asked under his breath, sweat penetrating his cheeks as he wiped his hands on a rock.
Rory's nostrils twitched as she scrutinized the smell. The ancient smell of blood was stronger, filling the tunnel, but it didn't have that haunting, fishy-sweet scent that was characteristic of the Shard.
'Not here.' She murmured, a hint of disappointment in her tone. She looked at the bloodstains Anna had left on the rubble earlier; they still glowed faintly, like they were guiding something.
'She went in that direction.' Rory pointed to the edge of the ruins, where the grey mist was even thicker and the distinctive, heavy, blood-tinged smell of ancient trees could be faintly detected.
They left the ruins, leaving the deep pit behind them in the grey mist. The mountains and forests became quieter and quieter, and all that could be heard was the sound of them stepping on rotting leaves and dead branches, as well as the crawling footsteps of squirrels and lizards. The tattoo on Rory's back flared up as the ancient blood in the air grew stronger, and she could sense the wound bleeding again.
As they enter the more secretive core of the Ancient Tree Zone, Rory sees some disturbing signs. Twisted trees with strange carvings that looked like distorted wolf claws, small piles of stones arranged in odd patterns with dried bloodstains, and even some animal skeletons, arranged in strange shapes. Every trace spoke of a dark ritual.
'Kieran did it.' Rory's voice was steady and calm, a flash of pain in her eyes. She recognized the twisted claw marks that marked Kieran when he went berserk. He wasn't seeking power, he was performing some sort of sacrifice, some dark ritual associated with that ancient bloodline. What was once 'family' was now a curse. The realization hurt her more than any whipping ever could.
Milo followed her, his eyes scrutinizing his surroundings, as a hunter he had never been deeper into the heart of a pack and was wary and amazed by everything. It was only when he saw the flicker of vulnerability and pain in Rory's eyes that he realized how hard Kieran's betrayal had hit her.
'My mother...she too believed that humans and wolves could coexist peacefully.' Milo spoke suddenly, his voice low and sad, with a hint of long-ago pain. He looked at Rory as if he had made up his mind somehow.
'She fell in love with a werewolf. Not the berserk kind, but a...normal, intelligent werewolf. They want to live together, away from all this fighting.'
Rory stopped and looked sideways at the handsome side of his face, his red pupils holding scrutiny and a hint of indifference. 'And then what? The hunter killed her?'
Milo's jawline tensed. 'Aye. My grandfather believed in 'purification' above all else. When he found out that his mother had betrayed the Hunter, he...executed her himself.' His voice trembled slightly, but his eyes were unusually determined. 'I saw him pierce her chest with a silver blade. Her blood...flowed on me.'
Rory sneered, but the laugh had an unnatural rasp to it like stone scraping the ground. She thought of the fire, of the hunter's silver blade, of her parents falling into the flames. This hunter, his pain was surprisingly similar to hers.
'You're so naive.' Her mouth spoke sarcastically, but inside she turned over. His honesty was like a hammer, cracking open the door of her closed heart a little.
'Maybe.' Milo didn't get angry, just said softly. 'But I'd rather be naive than blinded by hate and rules like they are.' He looked at her, a look of unwavering trust in his eyes that gave Rory a twinge of discomfort and a touch of warmth that she resisted.
It was during this brief exchange that a familiar buzzing sound came into the air again.
'Drones.' Rory murmured, the tattoo on her back tingling in warning.
Red light flickered through the grey mist, rapidly closing in on them. The hunter's silver bullets could pour down at any moment.
'Get out of the way!' Milo pulled Rory's arm, and together they rushed towards a huge cluster of ancient trees nearby.
These ancient trees towering like ancient sentinels, their gnarled branches reaching into the grey sky. They were impossibly old, with roots that seemed to merge with A strange energy that seemed to radiate from them, making the air feel heavy and charged. Rory could smell the ancient blood scent emanating from them, stronger here. Emanating from them, stronger here than anywhere else.
They hid in a natural cave formed by the roots of one of the thickest old trees, and Milo pulled Rory behind him, shielding her with his body and arms from any silver bullets that might come her way.
Buzzes and explosions rang through the trees as the silver bullets hit the hard trunks of the ancient trees with an endless muffled thud. Rory pressed herself against Milo's back, feeling his muscles tense with tension and evasion. His warm breath was right next to her ear, a mixture of nitrous and that pine smell that made her feel conflicted. For once, the feeling of an out-of-order heartbeat didn't bring annoyance, but a more wonderful reassurance. Having him in front of her in a life-and-death situation like this made her feel a long-lost, reliable guardianship.
'Don't drag your feet.' Rory pushed Milo away, but instead of the coldness he'd felt before, there was a hint of imperceptible concern in his voice.
'You too, Beast.' Milo responded silently, his tone tinged with a hint of nervousness and jocularity, his hand unconsciously clasped around her waist, pulling her closer.
The explosions and drone buzzing finally subsided, as if the hunters weren't in love with the battle, or because they were hampered by the environment of the Ancient Tree Zone. The air once again regained its relative tranquillity, but the ancient aura of blood and low chirping became clearer, as if it came from the depths of the Ancient Trees, carrying a deep, ancient sadness.
Just then, a voice rang in their ears, like the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves, or like it was echoing directly in their minds.
'Kieran...swallowed by the shard...the shard hides the secrets of the ancient tree...'
It was a clear, crisp voice that Rory instantly recognized, even though it had flown away.
It was Selene, Kieran's subordinate alpha, the only one of her kind Rory trusted.
Had she been here? Or had she somehow made a connection to the power here?
Milo heard the voice as well, and a flash of surprise and alarm flickered in his eyes.
Selene's voice disappeared like a gust of wind, leaving only the meaningful words echoing in the air.
'The shards hide the secrets of the Ancient Trees...' Rory looked towards the Ancient Trees in front of him, their huge bodies seemed to have twisted even more, as if they were hiding countless years and unrevealed secrets. Was the ancient blood aura and the eerie whispering part of those secrets?
However, the ground was still whispering, and the ancient trees seemed to be breathing, emitting a pungent fog. The Ancient Tree Zone of the Grey Mist Mountains is not just a place to hide from hunters, it is the true heart of the area that hides the Blood Moon Curse and the fragment of the Heart of the Blood Moon.
Rory realizes that the danger has not lifted, but rather looms even closer. And Anna's blood trail seems to point to the very depths of these ancient trees.