Melvina perked up at Derek’s question. The prophecy. What is it? She was glad that her son had asked this question for it has been ringing in her mind for a while.
She had been hearing about the prophecy since this meeting started, but truthfully, she had no idea what it was. She had only known in the passing, from Agrip, during one of the times she had walked in on him reading one of those his large history books, that it talked about a saviour that would save the entire universe from demise.
She wasn’t aware of the details. So, it was understandable that she was curious. She was also of the opinion that they should work together with the ancients for now, and not worry about the future consequences, because if they don’t, there might not be any future.
She had already communicated her thoughts to her mate, and he agreed with her on this. Their pack needed all the help they could get. And about where Emma would go after all this, they would let the redhead decide. She hoped that by that time, they would have tried to atone for the crimes that they had committed against her.
Right. The prophecy. Why was no one talking? She refocused her attention and noticed the reason for the absence.
Shane had just walked in with the painting. He was currently walking through a paved way, that the people had made. Why hadn’t he followed the other free way by which he had left?
“Shane, why are you walking through there?” Peter asked, voicing his mate’s thoughts. He couldn’t understand the reason why the boy would leave a more cleared path to disturb the other hall occupants for a new path. Didn’t he understand that this was no time for a joke or prance?
“The painting was missing from the common room.” Shane started, the unbelief sketched on his face mirroring the ones on the faces of the pack members including their leaders.
The painting has always been there. It had never been moved. So who had moved it? What had happened to it? Did someone leave the hall to try steal it? What was going on?
“Missing? So where did you find it?” Peter asked, still surprised that someone had removed the painting from the common room. That was his family’s painting for god sake. Shouldn’t that be sacred enough?
“Just outside here. Outside the hall.” Shane replied, his voice coated with shock that resonated on the expressions of the occupants of the hall.
“Outside the hall? I don’t understand. There hadn’t been any painting outside, when we had stepped into the hall this morning. Or was there?” Mike, one of the elders asked(the one that Derek had punished mildly with tons of work and research. Do you remember that episode?? Lol..). He looked at the crowd as he spoke, as if seeking their output.
“No. There wasn’t.” There were echoes of this answer from all sides of the hall.
The connotation of this was obvious too. Someone that wasn’t a part of the meeting, or was probably part of the meeting had dropped the painting outside. But how? Why? Who was that?
“So, how did you know that the painting was outside, since you had strolled to the common room from the other entrance?” Kane asked, looking at Shane keenly.
Shane hesitated, then shrugged. “I am not sure. When I got to the common room and had not seen the painting, I was shocked at first. I had checked around the common room, for perhaps I thought, the wind must have blown it somewhere, even though the windows were shut. And when I hadn’t seen it, I was about to return through the same way I came, when suddenly I heard a voice in the single light breeze that passed by me. I am not sure if it was my imagination, but that was what I think happened. The voice mentioned that I should follow the other entrance, and I couldn’t debate nor negate it. I found my feet walking toward the other door of the common room that led to the outside. It was like I couldn’t control my moving motions. It was until I saw the painting reclining on the outside walls of the great hall, that I was free from the grasp of whatever force was that.”
There was silence in the hall. No one could know what they could make of it, not even the group of nine. Shane had sounded sincere, that Kane had known that the latter was saying the truth.
A strange force? Kane shook his head. Things were getting stranger by the passing minute. He felt they hadn’t much time at hand with the way things were progressing, and they haven’t sent a message to their prince yet.
Peter opened his mouth to speak, then shut it. What could he say? What could he ask? Shane had reenacted the event down to the tiniest details. So, what else could he ask the lad to talk about?
“Well, this confirms my theory that your brother is not the only force at play here. We don’t know what force there was that had done this, but whatever had done this, is long gone. I can’t feel any such presence again. I guess we just have to move forward, and of course move fast. I don’t think there is much time on our side.” Blenda stated, her statement cutting through the silence in the room.
“That’s right.” Sheila concurred. “We need to move fast. Something is happening. Something we are not aware of.”
When Shane had described the force that had spoken to him, Sheila was reminded sharply of Tempest.
Her friend usually used that technique to communicate most of the time if she wanted to cloak her presence. But now she is dead. Wasn’t she? So, who could be the witch or force that spoke to Shane?