Chapter 68: Two rules broken
KOL
Rule number one: Do not make unnecessary noise.
"Elyse?!" Eric shouted, his voice booming through the trees. "If you can hear us, say something!"
My jaw clenched tight as I glared at him. He was spinning around like a dog with its tail on fire, desperate and reckless.
He opened his mouth to shout again, but Elliott was faster — locking him in a headlock and clamping a hand firmly over his mouth.
"Idiot!" Eric grunted, struggling against the hold, muscles straining.
I marched forward, stepping right in front of them. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I whisper-yelled, my eyes darting.
There was a reason that the first rule existed.
This place wasn’t just home to the Hollow Hound. It was crawling with things that reacted to sound — creatures that hunted by vibration, by echo, by the smallest break in silence.
The Goddess forbid one of them was already tracking us because this brainless idiot couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
We had barely made it halfway into the forest.
Eric furrowed his brows in confusion and mumbled something I couldn’t catch because Elliott’s hand was still pressed hard over his mouth.
"Have you forgotten the rules?" I hissed.
"Loud noises here only attract more danger to ourselves."
Eric said something else, muffled and angry.
I shook my head and palmed my face in frustration. It probably didn’t even matter what he was trying to say. He would just argue anyway, escalating everything like always.
Elliott released him with a yelp.
"Eww, Eric. You’re fucking gross." He gagged, staring at his wet hand in disgust.
Eric stuck out his tongue in retaliation. Elliott narrowed his eyes and immediately started chasing him through the trees like little kids playing tag.
"This is worse than when they’re actually fighting," Lance murmured, sidling up to my side.
We watched the two of them running around for a brief moment until a familiar voice cut sharply through the air.
I froze. That was Elyse’s voice.
"Eric!" she cried out desperately. "Help me!"
My jaw clenched. A weird, ugly sensation unfurled in my chest — jealousy, hot and tight, squeezing around my heart.
She should be calling me. Or all three of us. Not just him. My lips parted to respond, but Eric beat me to it.
"Where are you?!" he shouted.
The second rule slammed into my mind like a warning bell.
If you hear someone calling your name, do not answer.
The forest did not always use its own voice. It could mimic a friend, a family member, a teacher... or a mate.
My heart jumped. An unfamiliar heat prickled at the back of my neck. A sudden cool wind brushed my arm from nowhere, sending a violent shiver racing down my spine.
I fought back the shudder, my stomach twisting with dread.
"Eric, no!" I cried out as he opened his mouth again. I didn’t care if my shout alerted every creature in this cursed place. I couldn’t — wouldn’t — lose one of us.
"Too late," a voice cackled from nowhere, cold and mocking.
Eric dropped to his knees instantly. He clutched his head with both hands and let out an ear-splitting scream.
I winced, slapping my hands over my ears to block the shrill sound, but I could still hear him. Raw, agonized, and terrifying.
I could feel his pain.
Eric collapsed into the heap of dead grass in front of us, writhing violently, guttural grunts tearing from his throat.
The rest of us stood frozen, eyes wide with shock.
"Leave me alone!" Eric growled. "Let me go!"
There was nothing physically holding him. At least, nothing we could see with the naked eye.
A bright, blinding light suddenly flashed where he had fallen. I shielded my eyes, grimacing against the searing glow.
An odd warmth surrounded me, one I had always felt around my mother. It urged me to open my eyes. To step forward. To answer the damned voice whispering inside my head.
"Kol, it’s me,"
"You’ve got to fight it," I grunted through clenched teeth.
If it was hitting me this hard, I was sure the others were hearing it too.
"Damn right," Azrael and Raphael said at the same time.
"Like I’d ever listen to what that bastard is saying," Elliott snarled.
Good. They were holding strong. Eric was strong too if he hadn’t charged ahead so recklessly.
"Eric?" I called when I no longer heard his voice. Nothing. "Eric?"
"Help!" Eric’s broken scream pierced straight into my skull. "Help me, please!"
The sound was so raw it granted me an instant headache. Then everything went deathly silent.
For a few terrifying seconds, I listened. No more grunting. No more screaming. I slowly peeled my eyes open and glanced at the spot where he had been moments ago.
He wasn’t there.
I looked at the rest of the boys in confusion. They all stared back at me with the same stunned expression.
"I could have sworn he was right there a few seconds ago," Azrael said, pointing to the flattened patch of leaves.
I was sure of it too. Eric had been there. There was no logical explanation for why he wasn’t anymore.
I pushed forward cautiously. "Eric?"
All I got in return was the echo of my own voice bouncing back through the trees.
"I think he’s gone," Elliott muttered.
I turned and glared at him. Wasn’t it fucking obvious?
"According to the guide," Elliott continued, voice low, "the one who answers the call from the unseen voice will vanish and never be seen again."
My throat closed up tight. I knew exactly which guide he was talking about. The one we were all forced to memorize in our first year. The Forest Guide. Dry, boring pages we had all skimmed through, never imagining we would actually end up in this cursed place.
But I refused to believe it. "Perhaps he’s trying to prank us. Our eyes were closed, remember?"
Elliott snorted. "Where exactly do you think he’d be hiding in this place, huh?"
Where? I asked myself, eyes moving desperately around the area. Tall, twisted trees. Thick undergrowth. Small bushes that barely reached our knees...
"Nowhere," Elliott answered his own question. "The trees are too tall for him to have climbed that fast, and I doubt he’s hiding behind them." He tilted his head back, dragging in a deep breath through his nose, then exhaled slowly. "I can’t smell him anymore."
"No," I started forward, shaking my head vigorously. I didn’t believe it. There was no way he was just... gone.
Yes, he was an annoying idiot most of the time, but he was still one of my best friends.
I refused to accept it.
Elliott’s hand snapped around my wrist, stopping me in my tracks. "Whether you choose to accept it or not, it’s the truth." His grip tightened, almost painful. "He’s gone. We need to move on!"
"Move on?" I let out a disbelieving laugh, yanking my hand free and stepping back. "You want us to just move on when one of us is missing?!"
"Yes!" Elliott shouted, voice rising with frustration. "Elyse needs us. Dash needs us!"
"They could be dead for all I care!" I snapped back, breathing hard, chest heaving.
No. Not Elyse. Definitely not her.
But it still felt wrong. Leaving without Eric. I held Elliott’s hardened gaze. "Eric might be a lot of things, but he’d never abandon someone he considers a comrade."
I spun around, looking at each of the boys in turn. "We’re rivals. But the whole point of this mission is for us to work together and come out victorious. Not to sacrifice one of our own."
"I didn’t sacrifice him!" Elliott shot back. "He was the one who answered the voice when he knew the damn rules!"
I didn’t blame Eric. I had wanted to answer it too. He must have forgotten the rules in the heat of the moment, just like I nearly had.
"I say we go find Elyse right now and get the hell out of here," Elliott insisted.
"You’re a piece of shit," I murmured coldly. "I wonder if you’d act the same way if it was your own beta in trouble."
He snorted angrily. "My beta wouldn’t be stupid enough to fall for it."
There was no point arguing with him. I could see he wanted to push forward. I glanced at the others again. "If you want to move on," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm as I mimicked Elliott’s earlier words, "by all means, you’re free to do so."
"As for me, I’m going to find Eric," I added, "and I won’t rest until I do." I shoved my hands into my hoodie pocket and started walking away from them.
"I’ll come with you," Lance, Raphael, and Azrael said almost at the same time.
I paused and turned back. Elliott was the only one still standing there. "Safe El—"
"I’m coming too," he cut me off with a sharp glare. "Although I still think it’s a waste of time."
I ignored his remark. As long as Elyse was with Dash, she would be safe. But I couldn’t say the same for Eric.
