Ascension of a Gamma novel Chapter 35

Chapter 35 Sleeping Ace

-Liam

Behind the mansion, deep into the woods where wolfsbane grew in abundance, which was about a kilometer and a half from the territory’s boundary, was an isolated house. It was a bungalow like the rest of the pack’s houses, painted in the same red and gray motif. The only difference was that the blinds were all drawn, and the outside was unkempt.

One person lived here, and no one else was to come near this area except for Rigel, Gale, Lexy, and myself. The rest of the pack knew better than to take the risk of getting close to the house anyway since he accidentally zapped a few members thinking they were intruders. Their timing was unfortunate – he had just woken up.

“Is he awake?” I asked Gale.

We stopped at about ten meters from the entrance. After the last incident, he might’ve set some traps around the house. He didn’t like being disturbed. At least not when he was asleep, which was

st not when he was asleep, which was almost an entire year.

“If I knew, we wouldn’t be standing here with you,” he replied.

I surveyed the surroundings. Brown fallen leaves covered the ground thickly. I f there were markings, there was no way o f telling. The trees could’ve been marked

too.

“Do you want to do it?”

“No,” he said. “I don’t like pain.”

“Still going on about that?”

Gale wasn’t weak. He just abhorred pain with a passion he’d do almost anything t o avoid it.

“Your arm,” he said, pointing to it.

The lines lengthened, creeping up from m y elbow to my upper arm, intertwining to follow the same pattern. It was almost sad to see this lovely piece of art be regarded as a marker of the remaining time of its bearer.

“Leave it,” I said. “The match will be over soon.”

over soon.”

Gale shifted his attention back to the house.

“I’m sure you need a warm-up before the duel,” he said.

Going down on one knee, he picked up a piece of stone and threw it carelessly. We held our breaths as we waited for something explosive or flashy – whatever performance he wanted to show off. The stone landed on the ground. Nothing happened.

Eight…nine…ten seconds, still nothing.

Gale exhaled in relief.

But it felt wrong

“He must’ve undone them?” he asked. “ Maybe he’s awake! We could be in luck, Liam.”

It didn’t feel like it. I picked up a stone and threw it as well. It landed on the ground and –

One after another, rings with written sigils around the inner area lit up on the ground. The colors were red and yellow.

Fire.

Pire.

“Stand back!” I shouted at Gale and pushed him to his side.

We each hid behind a tree, and a blast of

fire blazed past between the trees. It lasted for a few seconds. The heat was more than enough to burn the skin.

Thanks to Luca, I didn’t have to worry about getting a burn.

Peeking behind the tree, the other half of the trunk had burned to charcoal, and all around were embers from ashes of burnt leaves and nearby trees. That was overkill, even for him.

“Is he trying to kill us!” Gale shouted in frustration. “Jaymer, you ass! Get out of here!” 1

“Hey, hey, hey… don’t – “he protested but I shoved him down the once marked areas anyway. “I’m indispensable you ass!”