Chapter 154 - 154- We Need A Plan

"I don't know how much of a good idea it is for us to unprepared there." Theseus stated. 

They had returned to their cars and began driving heading to their final destination. Through a short chat everyone had agreed to actually keep going and not waste any time. A wise decision or not only time would show. Allias as he stared in front of him, driving he was just seeing a very deadly dead end even though the road ahead of his extended endlessly. He sighed and the back of his head touched the seat's cushion. 

"I know; I know but what do you expect us to do? We have zero allies. We are in this alone. Like always." He told him, exhaustion obvious by the way he talked. "We literally left her half dead in there. I am sick of hurting people and I was so pretentious that I scolded Mark for wanting to give Lily's name. I am ridiculous." 

"We all know why you said that" Ares mumbled. "You just don't want your human friend to be like us."

"And that's reasonable." Ea continued. "The flow of life, the rules…those are not the same for humans and immortals. The guilt, coping with taking a life… Mark would not be able to handle that. Even if he did it for Mikael. It was a good thing you stopped him."

"Was it really?" Allias said mostly asking himself. Maybe getting rid of Lily would be beneficial in the long run too, he thought and instantly frowned. That was the kind of think, the kind of feelings he didn't want mark to have. Thinking if someone's death was a good idea, scheming and plotting. Playing with people's lives as if they were toys. He had many times been forced to make decisions he did not like, he had been raised like that, getting ready for his cruel reality as a ruler. Yes, there had always been a choice, but sometimes it wasn't better than killing someone. He didn't want mark to bear the burden of choosing. He wanted him to be normal, as normal as he could be, having a best friend like him and loving a werewolf. 

"Have you thought of sending Mark back? He has a life. He is a student right? What about his family?" Theseus asked the king and the green eyed elf felt his chest tighten. "I know we've talked about this before but I feel like you don't understand the situation your friend is in. I just think that…" 

"Mark will leave when he wants to. I do not wish to continue this conversation any further."

"It could be a good chance now. He is mad at you so he would probably leave easily" Ares commented and Allias started to get angry. 

"My friendship with Mark is not so fleeting as to end with a silly fight." He told them raising slightly his tone, it was obvious that he was upset. 

"Humans are fleeting" The red eyes boy continued. 

"Well, that human is not. End of conversation." He said and hit the gas on the highway, making everyone fall back on their seats.  No one understood. The friendship between these two. How important was Mark to Allias and why he just couldn't let him leave. Why he wanted to stay with him. He was his only support, his only friend that he was sure would always think what was best for him and advise him honestly. He would never sugarcoat his thoughts and even though he was just a human in everyone's eyes Mark was the only family he had. If he told him to leave he knew he would never get the chance to see him again. No matter how much everyone was trying to convince him otherwise. Even if he was selfish, even if he was taking Mark his chance of returning to his human and normal life he just couldn't tell him to leave. He knew all about that. About how he was putting him in danger, even now, how he had forced him to make life changing decisions but he just couldn't find the power in him to do so. Telling Mark to leave would be one of the hardest things he would be forced to do. He just needed to give himself a little more time. Become familiar with the thought, with the reality of them being apart. 

"Okay then. What do we do about the Hunters? We have zero clues. We just know the city they will be in. There are so many grey areas it almost feels like we will be stepping into a trap. I think we should take a bit more time, clear things out." Theseus said bringing back their most recent problem. 

"There is no time. We will not get another chance like this. It's important we make it this time, even if we end up falling in a trap. I have thought of something. But it's risky." Allias told them. "I think once we settle down, at a hotel or something you should sent out your shadows to scout. Then they can return and give you information."

"Allias, my shadows are not scouts. I don't even know if they can cover such a huge radius away from me. They're glued to me. Also if I sent them out I will use too much energy. I will be mostly useless for days." Theseus warned him. 

"I think it could work." Ares said. "Just send them out in search of Joe. That kid, you seen him so they would be able to spot him. If we succeed we might not even need to fight. We will just snatch him away. You could either spot the source of magic." He said and Theseus seemed to be thinking about it. He needed to be ready to fight at any time. He didn't want Allias out there alone. 

"It is a solid idea. They also can't spot us that way. There is no way mere hunters will be able to sense their presence." Ea added and Allias nodded, satisfied that these two seemed to agree with him. He took an open turn making everyone slightly fall to the left and finally found the sign that signaled them that they were close to the city. Tall buildings seemed faintly from distance and looked right in front of him, feeling his heart racing. This was it. Their final destination on the map. Up until now they had one success and one failure. They were at fifty percent. The failure should be forgotten. They should act like it never happened and boost their morale. This was the time the result mattered the most. 

"We are almost there" He mumbled and the car seemed to get awfully quiet. Everyone knew it. How serious passing the border of this city was. They were entering a possible warzone, and this human place suddenly seemed a lot more hostile, a lot more suspicious. 

Tall buildings, rushing people and loud noises in the streets. Bright shops and speeding cars, this city was no different than any other. Filled with normal humans. It had not a face nor a significant aura but the deeper they got searching for accommodation Allias felt more and more anxious like something was terribly wrong. His throat felt dry and he began to feel dizzy. There was something all around him, a force he couldn't really pinpoint at first but it was so strong that it made him sick. It was all around in the air like an invisible veil that wrapped everyone, leaving traces everywhere it touched. So much he realized he couldn't drive anymore. Violently he drove the car to the side and began taking deep breaths. 

"Allias? What's wrong?" Theseus asked him surprised. "What's going on?" 

"This is not possible." He muttered. "No." 

"What is it?" Ares asked too, getting more and more impatient. What was that affected only Allias in such a way. The king opened his car door and stumbled outside, finding himself at the entrance of an alley where he threw up all of the food he had eaten. His stomach burning. He was supporting himself on the dump moldy wall as the idea hit him again. For a second he had denied it saying it was impossible but as time passed, as the seconds ended he felt it more and more and was beginning to recognize the sensation. It was the idea of what it meant that made him sick. That was the thing he could definitely not process. The possibility of something like that happening meant too much, it could even decise how things would end. 

Soon the second car, after they caught up stopped behind them, the wolves and his best friend rushing out in shock as they showed the king, sweating and gagging. His face had turned pale and his eyes were wide, like he had just realized something horrible. 

"What's going on?" Luke asked confused.

"Can't you feel it?" Allias asked all of them. Looking at them with a disoriented eyes. His voice rough from the acid on his throat.

"Feel what?"

"Elf magic. All around. It's overwhelming." he said. 

....

hmmm what could it be? I wonder.