Outside, both the warriors of the Blue Moon pack and the various representatives of the other packs rushed into battle.
Four Uruk-hai and six huge Anthrax could be seen attacking. The warriors stationed on the outskirts were not enough to control the attack.
Caspian attacked in his beast form and, together with his men, managed to knock down an Uruk-hai.
As they fought, they noticed some small men running towards them.
A dwarf with a black braided beard and a burly body hurried toward the heat of battle and threw himself at one of the green monsters that was being attacked by the shape-shifters.
"Die, you cursed spawn! Aggggg Die, die!" he shouted as he repeatedly buried his sword in the thing's neck.
Stunned, the wolves watched as the Uruk-hai fell lifeless to the ground.
The dwarf jumped down from his back and kicked the body, spitting on it while cursing in a strange language.
"One down, commander!" shouted another dwarf, raising his fist in victory.
The battle ended with all the monsters dead. There was one casualty among Caspian's wolves and two in the other two packs.
They were all exhausted, their faces showing concern, as apart from the dwarves, it was the first time they had seen the green monsters.
Alpha Tareg approached Caspian and said "These are the monsters the woman described." It was not a question, it was a statement.
Caspian just glanced at him without answering and left the place.
"We must get rid of the bodies or they will attract more monsters," proclaimed Alpha Tareg of the Howlers pack.
"There are too many bodies. It will take at least two days to bury them, especially the Anthrax. Their bodies are huge. I've never seen one this size," added Luk, the Alpha of the Crescent Moon pack.
"We must act quickly if we don't want more monsters to attack us."
The people inside the cargo house were alerted that the battle was over, so they scattered.
Those who remained at the scene were Aliana, Roxi, Ra, Apollo, and Luz.
Out of nowhere, Luz stood up and ran toward the exit of the cargo house and crossed the field that led to the place where the battle had taken place.
Everyone was stunned. The first to run after Luz was Ra. He was very concerned about her health after seeing her so weak, but at that moment, she was running as if nothing had ever happened to her.
Behind them were Polo and Aliana.
The race stopped when they finally got close to the men and saw the monsters scattered across the field. While Ra looked confused at the scene, Aliana took Luz's arm to return to the herd, as there was always the possibility of another attack, but Luz gently pulled her arm away. She wasn't upset, as she understood that her friend was only worried about her, but Luz needed to see with her own eyes what had attacked the place. She needed to see if they were the creatures from her dreams.
Amidst the large crowd and the thick, nauseating smell of the monsters' black blood, Caspian couldn't immediately detect his partner's scent, but when he saw her, he rushed to her side.
As he approached her, Luz managed to reach the Orc's body, opened her eyes, and covered her mouth with both hands in surprise. She knelt down and began to cry.
Caspian managed to reach her side and, seeing her in this pitiful state, knelt in front of her and gently took her shoulders. "Luz, what's wrong? Are you all right?"
The girl, who had her head bowed, raised her gaze to meet the Alpha's, trying to gather her thoughts, but they were chaotic as she realized that these were not dreams. Now she was sure that the vision of the orcs slaughtering a village was real.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Caspian insisted on asking her questions. Before the battle, he had seen her faint and feared she had a serious health problem.
With her eyes filled with tears, Luz brought her hand to her heart and said, "It hurts here."
Caspian understood; he wasn't stupid enough not to understand her. He looked at her adoringly, took her face warmly in his palms, and dried the tears rolling down her cheeks with his thumbs. He leaned in carefully to kiss her forehead and hugged her. She didn't reject him; she needed that hug, she needed comfort for her pain. They remained silent for a couple of minutes in that position.
When Luz was calmer, she gently broke free from the embrace. She stood up and spoke quietly.
"These Ogres, or Uruk-Hai as you call them, are the same ones I saw in my nightmares. They're real."
Luz spoke in general, her words not directed at anyone in particular. Next to her were all those already mentioned, as well as Xioma and Cristian, who had approached a moment ago. The Alpha, Beta, and Gamma looked at each other.
"We'll talk about it when we're calm inside the cargo house," Caspian replied.
"But first we have to get rid of the bodies or they'll attract more monsters," said Beta.
Cristian, who was somewhat impulsive when he spoke, couldn't help addressing Luz. "Can you turn them into ashes like you did the other day?"
Luz opened her eyes wide and blinked a few times. She remembered what had happened during the attack in the forest. At that moment, she thought that she had nothing to do with what had happened and that the monster's conversion into ashes was because of their deaths.
Meanwhile, the Alpha and Beta gave Gamma a disapproving look. What had happened with the monsters was supposed to be a secret. It would be absolutely disastrous for Luz to use her powers, as they were surrounded by too many strangers to ask her Moon to do something like that.
When Luz recovered from her surprise, she thought to herself that nothing seemed impossible anymore. Considering that she had arrived in an unknown dimension where werewolves, wizards, monsters, and who knows what else lived, she decided to give it a try.
She touched the Orc with her finger, but nothing happened. She automatically frowned and tried again, but nothing happened. The Orc's body remained intact. Her frustration was evident. He put on a thoughtful face as the frown left his forehead, walked over to the nearest Antrax, and touched it with his finger, but nothing happened. Meanwhile, the group accompanying him just watched. Caspian was nervous, but when he saw that nothing was happening, he relaxed. He didn't want anyone to see what his Moon was capable of, as he considered it dangerous that they might want to use her for war.
Luz remained standing in front of the Antrax, trying to remember the events of the day of the attack in the forest. She thought to herself, "If only it turns to ash," and then she touched the monster, which disappeared in a cloud of ash. The wizard's reflexes were extremely quick, creating a protective barrier that prevented the group from being touched by the ashes. However, Luz was completely covered and coughed from inhaling too much of it. She looked in disbelief at what she had done. "I did it," she thought to herself.
Caspian quickly left the barrier, worried about his Moon. He wanted to get her out of there immediately, so he took her hand and began to walk alongside her.
Meanwhile, the wolves that had not been paying attention to this maneuver noticed the cloud of ash that was beginning to dissipate, revealing the woman's body covered in it.
"Wow, what happened here?" Rex, the dwarf who had killed the Uruk-Hai, walked over in surprise toward Luz and the Alpha who was dragging her to the cargo house.
"For the love of God, stop!" Rex didn't give up and ran toward them, blocking their path. Gamma and Beta, who were also nearby, growled warningly at the dwarf, making their displeasure clear.
"What's wrong with you idiots? Why are you growling at me? We're supposed to be here with my people to deal with the monster problem." As he spoke, the other two dwarves approached with their swords drawn.
"Stop!" Luz let go of Caspian's hand and stopped, surprised to see the small man. They weren't really dwarves; they looked like normal people, except that they were no taller than 1.4 meters, and compared to the wolves, who were over 1.9 meters tall, these little men would be considered dwarves.
Rex squinted his eyes to get a better look at the woman. When he saw her green eyes, he was surprised. "A human?" he whispered.
With that, Caspian lost his patience and grabbed Luz's hand again to drag her to the cargo house, but she refused to move, so the Alpha picked her up in his arms and began to run.
"Ha!" Luz cries out in surprise. She never imagined that this man would have the audacity and strength to run with her like this. She squeezes her eyes shut as she clings to the man's neck, not wanting to let go for fear of falling. Caspian looks at her out of the corner of his eye, a half-smile lighting up his face.
"Ha! You think I can't catch you, wolf!" Rex shouted indignantly as he ran after the Alpha with his men.
Xioma, Cristian, and Aliana, who were further behind, ran after them when they saw them. Ra and the wizard also ran, but at a slower pace.
When they reached the cargo house, Caspian took Luz straight to his room and ordered the warrior stationed at the door not to let anyone in.
Meanwhile, Luz, who was still in his arms, tried to get down. "Can you let me go, please?"
Caspian didn't want to and reluctantly lowered her from his arms.
"Why did you do that?"
This was a difficult question to answer. Caspian knew the consequences of revealing Luz's abilities, but he couldn't explain to her that she was also his partner.
Luz seemed angry, snorting and pacing back and forth across the room, asking, "Why?"
Defeated, Caspian told her about the risks, that he feared for her safety and didn't want to expose her to battle in a war. After this explanation, Luz was able to understand why Caspian reacted this way, although she wasn't so sure why he was so worried about her, after all, he had almost killed her. Lost in her thoughts, Luz fell silent and stood staring at nothing in particular.
Caspian began to walk toward her, but his steps were halted by the commotion outside the room.