Jiah's POV
As Yula and Sungmin arrived, Yangmu, who was sitting on the couch just behind me, was already gone. He must have left because he was shy. I grimaced at Sungmin, everything he did to me still lingering in my head. Yula stood beside him, looking quiet and calm.
"I am sorry for all you've been through, girl," I said, facing the ground as I struggled with my guilt. Tears were already in Yula's eyes. She kept sniffling as she tried to hold back the watery flu that wanted to embarrass her.
"I… I know that I did something terrible to you, but it's just that I had my own personal problems too! You would not understand, Yula."
"I almost got killed!" she managed to be audible in-between tears.
"Jiah, I think it's time for us to make things right, just as Hayan has said," Sungmin added.
"I will advise you to stay out of this!" I said, avoiding his gaze, yet I gave him a warning.
"How can I when you are the only good thing that's ever happened to me in a very long time?" he said, causing me to behold his sight. I felt that familiar connection again as my eyes turned silver and his shifted into a familiar look. I didn't know when I smiled, and he smiled back too.
Before we concluded our happy moment, a strange lightning ran across the sky, taking us by surprise as we rushed out to take a look. Yangmu was sitting by the right-hand side, performing something that seemed like magic or a spell. As he was doing that, something that looked like Arabic language was written on his forehead.
"That's strange?" Yula said. And I recalled that I had seen something that appeared similar on the map that the strange lady from the hut house gave to me, to help me find my way to the mysterious cave.
"Do you know that sign?" Yula asked after reading the expression on my face. Without a word, I rushed in to search for the map and rushed out again.
"Did anyone see a brown map?" I asked, but none of them saw it.
"I kept it here!" I said, scattering the small bag that was in my hand; obviously, there was no map in it.
"Don't you think he knows about your missing map?" Yula whispered, and from the look on her face, I smelt suspicion.
"You think he's got it?" I asked, whispering into her ears.
"I told you he is not what you think he is!" Sungmin interrupted. He was still performing his magic, sitting on a squared mat that could only accommodate a person.
"There's something about him," Sungmin added.
"You guys need to stop suspecting him. He is just like every one of us. The only difference is that he is not a wolf; he is half witch and half…" I stopped.
"And half what???" Yula asked.
"Does he connect with other witches?" she asked.
"I do not think so!" Just in a split second, he wasn't there anymore. The place he had sat was as clear as an empty vacuum. We did not see the smoke that traveled out from the ritual he was performing—no mat, no Yangmu. We looked again at each other, surprise flickering in our eyes.
"I am here!" he said behind us. Sungmin grabbed his small figure, strangling his neck.
"Tell us who you are?"
"Stop it, Sungmin!" I warned, hitting his hands off Yangmu, who was already choking to death.
"Does he see vision?" Yula asked.
"Yes, he does."
"No, I don't!" Yangmu cried out and ran out of our sight.
"You guys have to accept him and stop scaring him away. Yangmu is a child. A poor child with no love from parents. So please, stop the drama!" I cried out too.
"I can see he's brainwashed you into believing his chain of lies," Sungmin said. Yula walked away and suddenly returned back to announce to us that the wolves from Guyong's pack had been released.
"What! That can't be!" We hurried to where we had chained them, and yes, someone had unlocked the chain and released them. I squatted to pick up one of the padlocks that I used in locking the chains as I stepped over the chains on the floor, causing them to clutter.
"I didn't do this," I said, touching the key to the padlock that I clipped to my trouser. The key to unlocking the padlock was with me — how then did they get released? Sungmin growled angrily as he seized my neck.
"Stop it!" Yula screamed.
"I said stop it!" She yelled again, causing a pain in Sungmin's head. He forcefully smashed my back against the wall.
"Do you have any idea how I got the second wolf? He agreed to help us, and besides, he helped me get the diamond stone out of Guyong's territory!" he said with a thick angry voice.
"And the female wolf! She reads stars. She can help us always read our guiding star and other stars that communicated with us!" he yelled in my face, feeling helpless and frustrated.
"You do not deserve to be called a leader! You have fucking failed, dear mate!" he said and dashed out in full force.
"Where is that little rat of yours?" Yula asked, as she did not mind my teary state.
Yula's POV
I searched around for Yangmu and finally saw him sitting in the other room and crying.
"Pa! I miss you. Please come save me. These people do not like me. Not one bit," I heard him say. He did not know that I was standing behind him, so I thought it was the best time to see if I could mind-link him or even get into his head. I tried, but I couldn't mind-link him, but I could get into his head. Wow! This is a red flag for me.
"Did she not say he was one of us?" I thought to myself. He turned his head and caught me spying at him.
"Why?" he asked, not looking back at me.
"I will tell you a story, Seer!… Once upon a time in an old city, a young boy, rejected and unloved by his people, killed one of the daughters of the highest-ranked leaders in the city, and the people dragged him forward to the leader, accusing him of killing his daughter. Some were with stones, others with sticks and broken bottles. They were ready to nail him to the cross like they did to the son of the messiah. But as the leader was passing his final judgement, a book appeared in his hands. It read, 'Tomorrow Is Not Yours!' Then the leader asked them to drop their weapons and move a little behind. As he was speaking, a voice spoke in my head, 'You do not know tomorrow, even if you see tomorrow…'"
"What do you want here?" I asked, interrupting him.
"Nothing, lady. I come for you! To deliver you to my great master, Guyong. He desires to have you in his pack!" I saw his eyes turn black.
"Fuck! Oh! Shhhh!" I said, knocking over a wooden stool that sat behind me. Jiah came in unannounced, and I rushed to her, feeling scared of the boy.
"Are you okay, Yula?" she asked me, but I couldn't reply.
"Yangmu, what's the matter? Why are you crying?"
"She told me that I am not a part of the clan—that she was going to kill me herself very soon." An overwhelming shock wrapped around me like a suffocating cloak. I turned to Jiah.
"Don't listen to him!" I said, not feeling safe with them anymore.