Chapter 15 Morpheus
Lulu
The magical grip dragging me into the centre of the room finally dissolved… only to be replaced by dozens of eyes burning into my skin—hotter than my own elemental fire.
The ritual symbols carved into the floor still glowed gold-red, growing brighter as I was pulled closer. The underground air was damp, but the heavy stench of sorcery dried out my throat instantly.
“We’ve got an uninvited guest,” the sorcerer with one eye covered announced.
So he was the one who dragged me here. His aura slithered across my skin like smoke—powerful, invasive—even without using a binding spell. Meanwhile, the chubby little sorcerer who had caught me hiding squeaked like an excited donkey, clearly thrilled with his “catch.”
Whispers sparked around the circle.
“That’s her…”
“The last elemental fire wolf…”
“Her blood can open the path…”
A chill shot through my spine. Path? Don’t tell me this is some gateway to something awful.
Someone stepped forward—a frail old man in a dark green robe, dried twigs hanging from the collar. His aura was thick with earth and wood. Ancient. Heavy.
“Mary Ann McCarthy of Ignith is dead,” he said calmly. “But her daughter is alive. And the Havent Ritual will never be recognised by the Sorcerer Council without a sacrifice from a rare supernatural being.”
A sacrifice. Bloody hell!
My fists clenched hard. The heart beating in my chest—my mother’s heart, not mine—throbbed violently. Fire sat inside it, but not enough to let me shift. Not enough to burn them all to dust.
But maybe enough… to survive.
“I didn’t come for any of you,” I hissed. “I’m only looking for someone.”
Laughter erupted around the room, echoing off stone walls.
They moved in, circling me. Auras of water, fire, earth, even traces of ice—twisting together, pressing in on me from every direction. It felt like invisible ropes squeezing my lungs.
I inhaled sharply. A small flare crawled up my arm—just a spark but it heated the air enough to tremble.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Even I could hear how thin the threat sounded.
“Who do you think you are to order us?” someone sneered. “Your claws and teeth mean nothing here.”
The binding spell wrapped around me again, stronger this time. I struggled, desperate, but it was useless.
“Bloody sorcerers!”
The earth-user lifted his staff. “Begin the ritual.”
Cracks split across the floor. Blood-red flames circled me, as if the ground itself was opening wide to swallow me alive.
I stumbled back. “No—!”
A water whip snapped forward, wrapping around my waist and yanking me so hard my knees slammed into the ground. Air punched out of my lungs.
“I’m not your sacrifice!” I shouted.
Flames surged up my arm, my entire hand burning bright red—until suddenly it was extinguished, snuffed out as if drowned by a greater force.
I snapped my head up.
The sorcerer with the water whip smirked. “You’re nothing without your wolf form, Little Ignith.”
A bitter, helpless burn rose in my chest. My shifting was gone. They knew and they were using that against me.
When the ritual circle tightened and their energy peaked—ready to rip my life away…the wind stopped.
Every light died. Darkness fell like a living fog.
“Who’s that?”
“Elemental disruption? Impossible—!”
“Where are the guards?!”
Chaos exploded instantly. Sorcerers panicked, calling their elements, but their magic collapsed—devoured by something darker.
And from that darkness… someone emerged.
A long grey cloak drifted like mist. His face was hidden, swallowed by shadows that even the firelight couldn’t pierce.
But one thing shone clearly:
His water aura—so dense, so powerful—it felt like the whole room sank to the bottom of the ocean.
He flicked his hand. The water whip binding me evaporated. I gasped then free.
Before the sorcerers could counter, the grey-cloaked figure moved again. The walls burst under pressure jets of water, sending bodies flying into stone with sickening thuds.
“Get her!” someone screamed.
They late, my luck. The stranger gripped my shoulder.
A thin whirlpool of water spiralled around us—teleportation magic, and the room vanished.
I sucked in a sharp breath as we appeared in the forest near Sapphire Water pack house. My back hit a tree, but the mysterious sorcerer stood tall, completely unshaken.
“Who are you…?” My voice trembled.
He didn’t answer. He simply looked at me from within the shadows hiding his face.
His water aura flowed smoothly, soothing… yet impossibly deep. Like a midnight tide ready to drag anything into its depths.
“You’ve put yourself in danger going there,” he said at last. His voice was low, cold… and achingly familiar. “And now they’ll hunt you until they get what they want.”
“Why? Why do you care?”
Silence. Then softly:
“Because your life shouldn’t be wasted.”
A strange tremor fluttered through my chest.
My heart—my mother’s heart—seemed to recognise him.
“I feel like I’ve seen you before,” I whispered. “Your aura… it feels…”
Close to me.
I swallowed. “Who are you?”
No answer. He stepped closer instead, lifting his hand. Water gathered from the air, forming a veil of cool fog that wrapped around us as we walked toward the pack house. The wolf guards didn’t detect a thing—the mist hid our scent, our magic, even our footsteps.
Within minutes, I was back inside my room. Safe.
The grey sorcerer stood by my window, cloak swaying gently. He was leaving, I could feel it.
“At least tell me your name,” I said softly, almost pleading. “You’re the same one from before… aren’t you?”
This time he met my eyes and I finally saw a flash beneath the shadows. Blue. Cold. Endless. Like the deepest part of the sea.
His name slipped from his lips like a whispered secret.
“Morpheus.”
Before I could ask another question
about who he was, why he felt so familiar, why he only came when I was seconds from death
Then, he dissolved into drifting water mist.
Leaving me alone… with my heart racing uncontrollably.