Chapter 32 Chapter 32
"So, where is our first stop for this?" Leora asked her friend.
"Shhh..." Aurora shushed her, scanning the woods with her gaze.
"Why?"
"I felt someone watching us. Over that way!" The young woman pointed with her chin toward the thicket. They shared a nod and vanished from their spot simultaneously, yet they found nothing at the location where Aurora had sensed a presence.
"Nothing’s here. I don't smell anything strange either."
"Weird," Aurora whispered to herself. She was certain there was another creature in the area besides the two of them. What puzzled her was how there wasn't a single trace left on the ground by whoever had been spying on them.
"Let’s go. Maybe that rustle you heard was just an animal that ran off when it sensed us approaching."
"Where are we headed now?" They walked away from the overgrown area toward the road—a trek that would take them another five hours on foot.
"To Garantiara."
"What?" Aside from the fact that she had never heard the word 'Garantiara' before, it sounded bizarre. "What’s there?"
"It’s an island of warriors. If they don’t like us being there, our heads will surely roll away from our bodies."
What the fuck?
Was her friend being serious? "Are you joking?"
Leora pointed to her own face and smirked. "Does this face look like it knows how to joke?" She flicked Aurora’s forehead. "I’m telling the truth, so let’s prepare if we want to get out of there alive."
The young woman suddenly felt nervous. Sure, she had trained and experienced real combat, but an island of warriors? What chance did they have? There were only two of them, and her abilities were "seasonal" at best!
What if she blacked out again like she did underwater earlier? Chiz wiz! She’d die without even putting up a fight! She hadn't even said goodbye to Fiel or her daddy.
"Are you okay?"
"How can I be okay if we’re going to die?" She felt sad because she was still young, unlike Leora who was already old.
"Who said we’re going to die?"
"You did! Did you forget already?"
"Crazy you... I didn't say we’re definitely going to die. I said it’s a possibility."
"Just stop talking. You’re making me nervous," Aurora admitted. "Which way? Isn't the island accessible for teleporting?"
"Hmm, wait, let me think." Leora closed her eyes for a moment and pressed her index finger to her temple. "Nope."
"And you actually had to think about that? Are you always like this, Leora? Do you change when you're not in the mountains?"
"Hmm, yep."
"So, what are you? Do you have Multiple Personality Disorder? Gosh!"
"Wow, okay? You act like your brain is perfectly sane. Tell me something." Leora turned to face her, causing her to stop walking. "Don't the vampire and the wolf inside you argue with each other?"
Aurora thought about how to answer. The wolf inside her was laughing because her friend was right. The vampire and the wolf within her often clashed.
"Well... okay, fine, you're right."
The two continued walking. Unbeknownst to them, the creature from the thicket was still following. It was waiting for the right moment to approach, wondering how to get close without being hurt by the two women.
"Leora?"
"Hmmm?"
"Papa Sapiro... what was he like back then?"
"He was a good friend and an ally. Your father was brave and skilled at everything. But what I liked most was that he was a loving father. You have no idea how happy he was when you were born. He was probably the happiest man in the world when Laura gave birth to you."
Hearing this made Aurora sad because she couldn't feel that love from the father she faced now. Perhaps it was true that a person could change after being betrayed by someone they trusted.
"Was Mama Laura beautiful?"
"Hmm. In the mountain palace, there’s a room filled with pictures. There’s a picture of your whole family there. You, your papa, and your mama. If I’m not mistaken, you were only three days old when Ryuk drew you all."
"What? You mean, Ryuk is an artist?"
"Yes. Oh, we didn't mention it to you, did we? He’s a famous artist in the mortal world. He’s the artist who uses the initials 'R.K.'"
"No way..." She couldn't believe it. Her daddy was a fan of R.K.’s masterpieces and had spent billions collecting them.
"R.K. He used the first and last letters of Ryuk’s name," Leora explained.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner? Daddy would surely jump for joy if he found out that Ryuk is the anonymous painter he admires."
"Well, you didn't ask."
"How was I supposed to know you had talents other than decapitating people?"
"Is that a compliment, my dearest friend?" Leora grumbled.
Aurora remembered the painting hanging in their mansion's library. It was a painting of a waterfall—their family's favorite because the artist had done justice to the spectacular scenery. The waterfall in the painting looked alive.
Only now did she realize that the waterfall in the painting and the one in the mountains were identical.
"Did Ryuk paint the waterfall in the mountains, Leora?"
"Yep, once. He said a couple bought it—"
"Eight years ago," Aurora finished for her.
"How did you know?"
"We still have that painting. It looks exactly the same today as the day it was bought."
"Naks, you guys really are loaded, huh?"
"Why?" Aurora asked, puzzled.
"That painting cost no less than a billion."
Even Aurora was stunned by the price, but as her daddy said, no amount of wealth could match that painting because a large part of it reminded them of her mommy.