~Chapter 15~

Claws

Taemin’s POV~

            “A toast to all servants! Tomorrow, you will all be heroes!” Jong Kook hyungnim raises his bowl of liquor.

            “Heroes!” We chant back loudly and drink our liquor happily. I let out an “ahh” as I finish my bowl of liquor. I heard people sometimes drink to get rid of their sorrows and make themselves be happy. I have never drunk a lot before, but I want to keep drinking this alcohol. Maybe if I drink enough, I’ll forget about the pain I am in and the worries about my death coming sooner than ever. “You won’t past this month,” I remember Heechul hyung saying. I take the jug and pour another bowl for myself and chug it down. As I keep thinking about what Heechul hyung said, I keep pouring more liquor and drinking as much as I can, trying to forget about it. “If it wasn’t for the maknae ruining everything, maybe they could have had a chance,” I remember what Minho hyung said and grab the whole jug, drinking it all as quickly as I can.

Kai’s POV~

            I walk toward the kitchen with much effort. I am very weak now and the mere attempt to stay human is taking away most of my strength. I hear voices in the kitchen and stop walking.

            “The clan members are pigging out on the food and drinks we served. They’ll knock out in no time.”

            “Shouldn’t we make the dosage higher? Those fighters are strong than they look.”

            “Do you want to knock them out or kill them?” I hear another chuckle. I hide behind the rice storage and try to hear what they are saying without being seen.

            “Does it matter? They’re going to all be dead sooner or later. Master will be so proud of us,” Jiyeon noona laughs.

            “What about the werewolf? What if he comes and saves them?”

            “Please,” Jiyeon noona scoffs. “He can barely walk right now, not to mention protecting others. With the dosage I have been putting in his food, he should be knocked out with just a flick of my finger!” My eyes widen. Jiyeon noona has been feeding me ever since Gun Tae has been gone. Does that mean I have been drugged every day? Who are these people from? Did Taemin hyung bring back a bunch of spies?!

            I reach for my weapon normally on my waist sash, but pull back, remembering that I have left it back in my room since it was too heavy for me to carry around. They are right. At my current state, I can’t even protect myself, not to mention helping the clan out. They must have drugged the drinks and food from the celebration. Will I be able to make it back in time to warn those that have not drank or eaten yet? Even if I make it back in time, will they members believe me? Ever since Taemin hyung brought the new members back, they have won the heart of all of the clan members…No, I’m sure one of them have to believe me. If anything, Taemin hyung will help me capture the spies. We can’t let them destroy our clan.

            I try to get the clan members’ attention, but all of them are busy drinking and cheering, ignoring me. A few of the members have already knocked out, either from drinking too much liquor or the drug has kicked into their system. I look around the chaotic scene and search for Taemin hyung. He has to be here somewhere. “Maknae’s fault!” I hear Taemin hyung’s voice in the crowd. I walk toward the right direction and see him drinking.

            “Hyung, stop drinking!” I grab the jug and pull it away from him.

            “Hey, give that back!” He yells. This is the first time I ever see Taemin hyung like this. Normally, he looks composed and very serious minus the times he was friendly and cheerful. Now, he looks annoyed and really…drunk?

            “Hyung, you have to listen to me! Jiyeon noona and the people you brought back are spies! They are here to kill all of us! They drugged the drinks!”

            “What?” Taemin hyung gets up hurriedly, almost like he was never drunk in the first place. Slowly, his body tilts to the side and he nearly loses his footing. “Sorry, I’m a bit tipsy.”

            “Can you fight in this state?” I ask him.

            “I have no other choice,” Taemin hyung says and picks up his sword. “Where are they?”

            “The kitchen.”

            “Let’s go,” Taemin hyung grabs my hand.

            “Where are you going?” Nam Kyu asks as he walks over toward us.

            “Go find Minho hyung and tell him to go to the kitchen. Tell him we have some spies to take care of,” Taemin hyung says.

            “Spies!? I-I don’t know where he is.”

            “That’s why I told you to find him! He must have taken a nap or gone to the restroom. He told me he was going to meet me here. Listen, Nam Kyu, you have to find him as soon as possible,” Taemin hyung commands. “I don’t know how long I can last.”

Onew’s POV~

            I rub my thumb on the glowing charm as I lay on my bed. Taemin and Jonghyun also have charms. Joon is right, we aren’t meant to be enemies. I should let go of the past and just be my normal self. Since we are all together in the past, we should embrace this opportunity and try to fix things. Outside, the clan members are all cheering while celebrating. The clan will have the event where servants compete and try to upgrade to be a hero. Taemin must need as much as my support as he can get…

            “You finally thought it through?” Joon smiles, leaning against the wall near my bed.

            “How’d you know?”

            “You make this adorable face when you are thinking hard,” Joon furrows his eyebrows and pouts, trying to imitate me.

            “I don’t look like that!”

            “Yes you do~ You know I will never lie to you.”

            “Yeah, but you can exaggerate and make fun of me~”

            “Oh come on, how can I find the heart to make fun of you~” Joon chuckles and sits down next to me.

            “You’re lucky I like you.” I stick my tongue out jokingly.

            “I sure am,” he says and touches my nose playfully. I stop for a second and realize how quiet it is. The loud chatter and drinking is now replaced with complete silence.

            “Don’t you think it’s a bit too quiet?” I turn and walk toward the door. Holding onto my hand, Joon walks with me. We both look at each other and exchange a mutual nod. We both reach to the doors and open both of them wide.

            In front of us are broken liquor bowls, knocked over liquor jugs, and passed out clan members. “Wow, I guess they all drank too much,” I say.

            “Maybe…But don’t you think the rest of the clan is too quiet? Not everyone can be drunk, can they?” Joon asks. We both walk over to the eating area and nearly gasp. There aren’t just a few passed out clan members, but everyone was knocked out. “Do you hear that?” I stand still and listen hard. In a distance, I hear loud growls and weapons clashing.

            “Let’s go check it out.”

Minho’s POV~

            I smile as I walk out of my room holding the spear. Taemin is an amazing fighter and his skills with the spear are even more impressive. As a newbie with the spear, he has already done moves some clan heroes cannot even do. Since he mentioned it will be his birthday soon, I went to the blacksmith and got a spear especially made for him. It is one of a kind. I am sure when Taemin sees this, he will be ecstatic. I touch the design on the spear and enjoy the cold touch of the weapon. I can’t wait to see Taemin’s face. I quicken my pace and walk toward the eating area. “Oppa! Minho oppa!” I turn around and see Naeun running toward me with heavy breaths. “You have to hurry!” She pants in front of me.

            “What’s wrong?”

            “Taemin’s in trouble! There are spies in the clan! He’s going to fight them right now! You have to go help him.”

            “What?! Taemin is injured! He had Jiyeon treat him a few days ago! Where is he?!”

Jonghyun’s POV~

            After the quick nap, we are on our feet again. We finally made it back in the city by sundown. After last night’s talk, Key has been more social with me. He told me everything about his past. How he grew up and what he went through on his killing sprees were all described in full detail. Turns out, this Key and the Key in my past life are pretty similar. They are both very kind-hearted, but are forced to kill. In the past life, Key had to kill to protect the humans, but of course, he wanted peace. The Key walking next to me right now also wants to protect the people around him and has no choice but to do things he is against. I wish Key could like me like how he did in our past life as angels. In this time period, I doubt he would like me. I’m a guy and he is a guy…I don’t need him to love me though, I just need him to be with me. Maybe love isn’t the answer for us. Maybe we should all just stay friends and keep each other happy with our presence. I hope the charms didn’t send Taemin, Onew hyung, and me back just to teach us a lesson about love…

            “I’m injured right now so I can’t walk too quickly, Gun Tae, how about you run ahead and make sure Taemin is okay. We’ll meet you back in the clan,” I say.

            “Alright hyung, I’ll hurry over there!” Gun Tae says and runs off ahead of us.

            “Why don’t you go too? We need to make sure Taemin is safe.”

            “Gun Tae already has that covered. It’s my job to make sure you are safe,” Key says.

            “Oh…” I say, trying to hide how happy I really am.

Taemin’s POV~

            I fall backward and bang my head onto the wall. My sword flies out of my hand and lands with a clink. I step my legs back and force myself to stand up against the wall. I quickly turn out of the way of the flying fist. His knuckles and the wall make a terrifying collision. The male yells and holds onto his fist and falls onto the ground. I smirk and bend down, grabbing my sword. The other men quickly dash toward me and all hit me at once in different directions. I bend down and dodge them and press onto their pressure points, making them freeze in place. Exhausted and beaten up, I walk away from the frozen men and walk over to Kai who is leaning against the wall, tired. “Are you okay?”

            “Never better,” Kai answers sarcastically. “Help me up?” I hold onto Kai’s hand tightly and pull him up. I put his arm around and place mine around his waist, supporting him. “Wait…where’s Jiyeon noona?” I look around and only see the group of guys standing there. Jiyeon was nowhere to be found.

            “Maybe she ran away?” I shrug. In a distance, I hear a low growl. “What was that?”

            “Werewolf…” Kai widens his eyes and looks to the side. I follow his gaze and my jaw hangs open. Jiyeon is a werewolf.