Chapter 59

Chapter 59
Erin smiled to herself as she entered the dark interior of the hut. She did not have to search for long before finding the bag of glistening powders. She tied the top of the bag tightly and dropped it on the floor quietly.

“What is taking so long?” The guard asked nastily from outside.

Erin did not respond because she had shapeshifted into a giant wolf and was watching the guard intently. He became nervous when his question was unanswered, so he bent forward to peer into the hut. Just then, she shot forward, capturing his head in her mouth and clamping her jaw down.

The guard did not stand a chance of survival in that position. His neck snapped and he collapsed to the ground as soon as she freed him. Satisfied that he was no longer a problem, she changed back to her human form and went into the hut to grab the bag of powder. As she emerged from the forest, she caught sight of Timah peeking out of the women’s hut and she waved at her to come.

Timah looked about wildly before sneaking out of the hut to join Erin under the tree where she was hiding.

“There is going to be a change of plan now,” she said to her friend. “I am taking this bag of powder to Nikjin and I need you and Rowana to take the one I hid in your hut and use it to open the other portals.”

“I do not know where the portals are,” Timah said fearfully.

“They are beyond the archway in the forest,” Erin explained. “Wait until Nikjin and I go inside before you follow us. Blow a small portion of the dust into the forest ahead of you and repeat the process as you go in deeper. Once the portal opens, tell whoever is inside to come and fight for the Alpha King. That is all they need to hear to spring into action. Rowana will open the portal leading to the cave. I believe it is on the far end of the forest. She is to say the same thing to whoever comes through the cave. Hopefully, my father and his warriors would be waiting out there by now.”

“This is a lot,” said Timah, shakily. “I am afraid. I do not know if I can do this.”

“You can and you must,” said Erin. “If you do not do this, Nikjin might defeat our Alpha King and kill us all. Is that what you want?”

“No,” said Timah, shaking her head.

“Then go now and do as I say. Do not let anyone see you two, so you need to be careful and move quietly. I have to go now.”

Erin was surprised when Timah embraced her tightly before running off toward the hut to relay the message to Rowana.

“Where is the guard?” Nikjin asked when Erin showed up alone.

“I killed him,” she matter-of-factly. “He was threatening to kill me once I delivered the powder to you, so I acted fast and killed him first.”

Nikjin’s frown deepened. “I have truly underestimated you. First, you kill my righthand man, and now you kill my guard. How many more people do you intend to kill before today is over?”

She shrugged. “Was I supposed to let them kill me instead?”

“I see…” he replied thoughtfully. “Is that the powder?”

“Yes,” she said, looking deeply into his eyes. She knew he was contemplating killing her because he could now see that she was no pushover when it came to fighting.

“If you kill me now, you will not be able to unlock the portals,” she said, reading her mind.

“I should have known you were a threat when I heard that you are a warrior’s daughter,” he said pensively. “I shall keep my eyes on you closely. I do not trust you at all.”

She smiled. “I never thought that I would see the day that Lord Nikjin would declare how afraid he is of me,” she said.

“I am not afraid of you!” He spat angrily. “If you do not mind your words, I shall damn the consequences and kill you right now.”

Erin was quiet. She did not doubt that he could kill her and she did not want to goad him into doing it. What purpose would her death serve at this crucial point in time? Timah and Rowana’s freedom was heavily dependent on the success of her plans and she must not fail those innocent women.

“I apologize,” she said finally. “Shall we go now?”

Her apology calmed him down a little. “Very well,” he said in a calmer tone. “Lead the way.”

She stepped out of the longhouse ahead of him and made her way toward the forest. It took all of her willpower not to turn back to look at the women’s hut to check if Timah was watching. The young woman should be on standby now to follow them as soon as they entered the forest. Erin kept on walking, hoping that the women knew what to do without being reminded. Their lives were at stake, so they couldn’t afford to be careless now.

“We are here,” she said when they got to the archway in the forest.

“Good. You will open the portal and follow me in,” he said.

“Why?” She asked, pretending to be afraid.

“Because I intend to use you as bait for my brother,” said Nikjin gleefully. “He has been locked up in there with no food for weeks and I am sure he is feeling quite ravenous right now. When he pounces on you and begins to devour you, I shall come in from his back and kill him.”

Erin was disgusted by his cowardly game plan, but she was not surprised. “I thought you were going to fight with him,” she said. “You never said anything about distracting him and then attacking him from behind. Would you still call that a victory?”

He glowered at her. “You keep talking and I will kill here and toss your body inside for him to eat your carcass.”

“Whatever…” she muttered.

“Now, open the portal,” he commanded her.

She untied the bag and retrieved a small portion of the powder, then she blew the white dust into the air in front of her. The portal opened slowly like a mist of smoke, parting and revealing the cell where Vak Smallchief was being held captive.

“Go inside,” said Nikjin.

Erin only hesitated briefly before stepping into the forest cell. The moonlight had illuminated the place and she could see everything clearly but there was no sign of her father-in-law. Nikjin followed her in and he immediately made himself obscure by hiding behind some tall grasses.

“Father? Father are you there?” She called out tentatively. “It is me, Edvana.”

“I know,” came the reply from shadows. “Have no fear, my child. I will not harm you.”

Erin immediately felt at ease. She could imagine how shocked Nikjin must be now, seeing that Vak recognized her and has vowed not to harm her. She wondered what his next move would be now.

“Are you going to come out and fight me, or will you spend the entire night hiding behind bushes?” Vak asked his step-brother.

Nikjin reluctantly stepped out of his hiding place, looking sheepish. “You sound very confident for someone who is about to join his ancestors.”

Vak chuckled in the darkness. “Is that so? Where is your evil friend, Zokman? Why is he not here to compete with you for my title?”

Nikjin glared at Erin. “How does he know this?” He asked.

She shrugged. “I told you Zokman was trying to doublecross you, did I not? He must have come here to tell Father about his plans.”

“Nonsense!” Nikjin spat. “That is not possible.”

“It is, dear brother,” said Vak. “Your dear friend has been feeding me and fattening me up for tonight. He wanted me to kill you for him.”

These unexpected revelations were messing with Nikjin’s mind and he couldn’t take it anymore. “Lies! I do not know how this female has managed to pull this off, but I am certain that she set up my friend and then killed him!”

“Zokman is dead? What a shame,” said Vak with a chuckle.

“I should have killed you when I had the chance,” he said to her furiously. “I am going to kill just as I killed your mate. You do not deserve an honorable death.”

He dove at her at the speed of light, becoming a giant white wolf as he did. “I will tear you to shreds, just as I did to Danshak!”

Nikjin lifted his paws and took a swipe at her with so much force, slicing through her skin and drawing blood.