The Alpha's Temptation

The light-yellow orb of light floated in front of them, guiding them into the temple's interior. Tania felt like puking when the rotten scent of decayed bodies along with a strong coppery smell of black magic crawled over her skin. The orb emitted only enough light to throw light in their near vicinity but she could make out the broken beams and rafters that were barely hanging.

As she moved forward, she made out the cracked marble floor of the temple which was coated with dust and leaves and more weeds. This time the weeds didn't do a thing even if they brushed them or walked over them because the black tendrils could not sense the presence of intruders. Ahead, she noticed an assortment of tattered blankets, bits and pieces of what once were torches, water skins and torn rugs—things that were abandoned by those who might have come inside the temple. It was the next room where she gagged. There were two skeletons of women, covered in frayed clothes, their hands frozen right over their skulls as if they died screaming or covering their ears from something that screamed.

Even though from the outside the temple looked like it was a small place, but on the inside, it was a maze of moderately sized rooms. They went up the stairs on the left only to find more skeletons and came to a courtyard that was bathed in the darkness of the dense clouds that hung overhead. "Where is the arcana?" she asked because Eltanin was the one who had taken the lead midway and navigated them to this place. He seemed pretty familiar with the temple's labyrinth. "I mean how much further do we have to go?" She almost bumped into him as he stopped and scanned the place.

"The arcana is in the library of the temple," he said in a low voice. "And if my guess is right, it is on that side." He pointed with his finger to the north-east. "Once we reach there, all you have to do is cast a spell to diffuse the ancient spell that is around the shelf containing the arcana. The moment the ancient spell is lifted, I will extract the book and we will run back, okay?"

Tania was eager to extract the book and get out of the ruins as soon as possible. The rancid smell of rot was too overbearing. "The place smells of dark ancient magic, Your Highness," she whispered. The yellow orb hovered on her left as they walked. Glenn followed them close on the heels, his face ashen white.

Eltanin opened the library's door and the orb fluttered inside. It cast its soft glow in the small room. Tania's breath lodged in her throat at the sight of small shelves on which there were several books that seemed ancient.

"These books are spelled. They contain dark art beyond comprehension," said Eltanin. "These contain black magic that was practiced when the elves inhabited this realm. They had some elves who were witches and wizards as well. They wrote all the spells and kept them stashed here. The elves had long abandoned the place. When Draka was ruled by the sixth king, it was gripped under dark magic of a crimson mist that affected its people. The sixth king ordered his troops to find the reason. They found out that the priest of this temple was into dark arts and that he was responsible for the crimson mist. They brought the priest to the capital and he was burned at stake. This temple was destroyed by the soldiers and spells were cast so that no one could enter it." He waved at the library. "As you can see, these books are the treasure that everyone wants because they contain dark spells."

The library was in shambles. It was small with a broken floor that was covered in dust. The scent of rot was stronger here. There was a large wooden table in the center that cracked in the center and had caved in so much that it would fall any moment. The chairs were overturned and she almost shrieked when she saw a skeleton stashed in the corner with its hands on its skull. The books were neatly stashed on the shelves, but the furniture was overturned. It meant that people had managed to come to the library but none had been able to take even one book out.

"How do we identify Yunabi arcana?" she asked, surveying the shelves.

Glenn was wary of entering the dingy room. "I will stay here and guard the door."

"And who exactly will come after us, Glenn?" Eltanin growled.

"There could be wild creatures," he squeaked. Glenn wasn't so much afraid of the humans for he could kill them, but dark magic… it could kill him.

Eltanin shook his head. "I should've asked you to stay out. Now keep a watch on anything untoward around us, okay?"

"I will, Your Highness," he said hurriedly.

Eltanin saw Tania going towards a shelf. He followed her. "How are we going to identify the book?" she repeated her question.

"From my memory, I remember the Yunabi arcana having a brown leather binding with golden words Stargyza written on its spine. The words weren't exactly that, but they resembled those letters in our language."

Tania shook her head and he shrugged.

They scanned the first shelf and then the second. Finally, when they came next to the shelf on the side of which the skeleton was lying, they found Yunabi arcana on the top row. "There it is!" Eltanin said with excitement and Tania's eyes followed him. He took his hand over there when the whole room swum before his eyes. He shook his head but again the room swum. "Fuck!" he rasped as he brought his hands to his head. Black magic touched him.

"What's wrong?" Tania asked, scared that he swayed a little.

"Can you identify the spell?" he asked. "We have to hurry."

"Let me try," she said and stepped in front of him. She brought her hands in the air and waved them in the front as if trying to feel the magic. Something very cold touched her and icy fear ran down her spine. She jerked her hands away, recoiling in shock. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath in and then waved her hand again. She felt the icy layer of magic and as if on an instinct, she chanted, "Dexa la calor ompli." Something groaned around them, as if trying to come to life. The walls appeared to warp as the layer of magic shattered under the spell, emitting tiny sparks of green light. "Try taking it out now," she whispered to Eltanin.

He reached for the Yunabi arcana and plucked the book from the stack. The moment the book was in his hand, something groaned as if in a lot of pain and misery. The walls began to split with fissures. "Run!" he said as he grasped Tania's hand and dashed outside.

Something vicious was coming for them to hunt them. "Swords!" he shouted as he unsheathed the sword. Glenn too took his sword out. "Where's your dagger?" he asked Tania. She reached her thighs and unstrapped her dagger beneath her tunic. "We are being hunted."