Jamal's POV
I told him everything, trying not to leave out any details.
"A twisted version of the Black Witch?" He asked when I finished, frowning slightly.
"Yeah, a twisted vision of the Dark Witch, AND she turned into Xander. What does it mean?"
The Watcher studied me for a moment, the air thick with the weight of his knowledge. "Dreams are the whispers of destiny, Jamal. Your path is intertwined with the staff, and the staff with the darkness that looms. The answers lie in the depths you fear to tread."
"Oh for fuck sake, this again? And I was just starting to like you!" I snapped pushing away from the table.
"You have to go back to this sewers Alpha Jamal."
"What good has that fucking done me all this while?" I snapped, already tired out by the thought of going back down there again.
"Listen to me for once." He snapped, slamming his open palm down on the table, making me jump. "This is important, these rats, the maze, the fact that you keep getting lost in the sewers, it's all part of the staff's defensive systems, or whatever is protecting it. You have to ignore it completely, cut your way through all those vermin if you need to find the staff and let's get this over with. Is that clear?"
I nodded, backing away. Crystal."
With his cryptic words echoing in my mind, I plunged back into the sewers, my determination burning brighter than ever. The foul scent and the echoing sounds of my boots against damp concrete guided me through the maze, but after all these nights. I barely noticed them anymore.
I was hyper focused on that staff, it was now or never.
This time it felt different, knowing exactly what I knew, knowing what to expect, I wasn't blundering into the maze like a mad man anymore, I made my way straight into those tunnels again, expecting the rats. This time there was no trying to skirt around them, no running. I was going to get that staff no matter what.
On cue, I smelt them. Just as numerous as before and just as bloodthirsty. I realized that no matter how many I killed, they just needed a few hours for whatever deep magic was in these sewers to regenerate them. That meant I couldn't back away, this right here was it.
Sure enough, they burst through that particular tunnel in their hundreds, scuttling to surround me, their chattering filling my ears with that irritating noise I had learned to hate so much.
I faced the rats again, their beady eyes glinting in the dim light. "This is for Autumn and Summer," I muttered, feeling the wolf strain right beneath me, under my subconscious, begging to be released. To have a go at the animals he had been fed for the past few days.
And that was exactly what I gave it. With an angry snarl, I shifted.
As I reached the end of the sewer, an eerie silence descended. No more rats, no more scuffles—just an unsettling quiet that set my nerves on edge. The air hung heavy with anticipation.
Then, a subtle movement in the water caught my attention. A ripple of unease coursed through me as I strained to see. Before I could make sense of it, something surged from the depths, dragging me beneath the water's surface.
I fought against the unseen force, catching glimpses of a massive tentacle. Panic gripped me as I struggled to break free. "No, not like this!"
The sewer became a battleground, my heart pounding with each desperate breath. I dodged and parried, the tentacle relentlessly pursuing. Fear clawed at my throat as I realized the true depth of the danger lurking below.
My mind raced, searching for an escape. "Think, Jamal, think!"
The water churned, and I darted between shadows, attempting to outmanoeuvre the relentless adversary. But the tentacle was relentless, a force determined to drag me into the abyss.
In a final, desperate bid for freedom, I sprinted towards the exit. The water roared behind me as the tentacle closed in. I could feel its icy grip, inching closer with each frantic heartbeat.
As I reached the ladder, hope surged within me. Almost there, I thought, my fingers scraping against the rungs. But the tentacle coiled around me, its grip unyielding.
I fought with everything I had, adrenaline pumping through my veins. With a burst of strength, I broke free and emerged gasping for air. The sewer's stench clung to me like a curse.
But before I could fully comprehend my escape, the water erupted. The tentacle, now revealed in its monstrous entirety, rose high, its grotesque form casting a shadow over the dank surroundings.
With a thunderous crash, it descended, wrapping its slimy coils around me. I struggled, but the strength of the creature surpassed mine. It dragged me back into the water, the world above disappearing in a watery abyss.
Darkness enveloped me, the muffled sounds of the sewer fading away. The tentacle's grip tightened, its serpentine body constricting around me. Panic and despair melded into one, and as I sank deeper into the suffocating embrace of the unknown. I snarled, trying to use my claw to crawl my way through it but in response, it raised me high and before I knew what was happening, I got slammed hard against the ground, knocking the breath out of me as the room went hazy.
I had the faint sensation of it pulling me back down, scraping me against the floor.
As the cold water engulfed me again, I had only one name on my lips as I drifted into the darkness...
Methis.