Odriel's Heirs Page 6

  Klaus struggled to his feet. “It’s fine. I can walk.”

  Kaia extended a hand to help him up, but he waved her away. “That worm was venomous, Klaus.” She shifted her grip on the hilt. “You need an antidote.”

  Klaus’ face remained stony. “Where did Shad and the Dalteek go?”

  Gus barked from the darkness. This way! This way! The ragehound turned in tight circles and barked again, urging them on.

  Kaia nodded towards him. “Gus smells something.”

  “Let’s hope it’s something without teeth.” Klaus set off with a limping gait after the ragehound. Following close behind him, Kaia kept her eyes to their rear. Still, her thoughts whirled. Even small cliffsnake bites could cause you to lose a limb if they went untreated. And the terraverms were ten times as big as cliffsnakes. There no longer seemed to be anything beautiful about the Carceroc Forest.

  Twenty minutes passed before Klaus lost feeling in the leg and had to lean heavily on her shoulder. Kaia blanched as she thought about the possibility of amputation. She had nothing to sedate Klaus with, and the leg wasn’t even broken. Could he survive the shock of sawing through the bone? Even if he did, cauterizing the wound might kill him.

  The terraverms’ hiss whispered through the trees.

  “Oh no,” she breathed. She caught a glimpse of Gus’ wagging red tail wagging in front of them. Surely, he had to be leading them somewhere. The hissing grew louder.

  “You’re going to have to leave me,” Klaus murmured, his eyelids drooping.

  “Don’t even think it,” Kaia said, stumbling over a root as she searched the nearby trees for a low branch, but the giant trunks offered no such route to safety.

  Gus’ wild barking ahead of them interrupted her thoughts, and Kaia’s head jerked around to find a light flickering between the trees. Her spirits surging, she shuffled as quickly as she could, dragging Klaus behind her. The light bobbed toward them, resolving into a lantern held aloft by a looming cloaked figure, with Gus trotting alongside him.

  With the hiss rattling her brain and no other options, Kaia stumbled towards the silhouette. Panting, she nearly fell at the feet of the stranger. “We need help!”

  The hood of the figure fell back, revealing oversized teeth, wolf-like ears, and a long snout. Kaia’s jaw fell open as she shifted her body, putting her weapon between herself and the beast. His pungent musk burned her nose as he considered her with emerald eyes.

  Before she could form another thought, a terraverm struck at her from the dark. Caught off balance, she could only watch in horror as the wide, fanged mouth lunged at her.

  But the beast was faster. With one smooth, ringing movement, he drew his cutlass and slashed the creature across its tender eyes. The terraverm’s head snapped back, recoiling into the ground with an angry hiss. The hulking beast tipped his muzzle to the sky and unleashed an earsplitting howl. The howl rose and fell like a wave on a shore, flowing and crashing and flowing again, until at it last faded away to nothing. With it, the rattling had silenced as well, leaving the air still and peaceful once more.

  Still bristling with suspicion, Kaia regarded the beast. It–or he, she supposed–was not a man, nor was he an animal. He wore breeches, and his green eyes sparkled with visible intelligence, but he bore the body of a hulking red-brown bear.

  Practically unconscious, Klaus’ ragged breathing filled the space between them, while Gus looked from Kaia to the beast, his tail wagging. Good people, this is good people.

  Slowly, the beast bowed his head towards the ground. His deep voice vibrated in Kaia’s bones. “Greetings, Guardian Dashul.” He straightened to his full height, more than two heads taller than Kaia. “I am Tekoa of the Maldibor Clan. Shadmundar and the Dalteek have already made it safely to the village.” He nodded his lupine nose towards Klaus. “Come, the sooner we treat Guardian Thane, the better.”

  Still in shock, Kaia nodded dumbly.

  Satisfied, Tekoa turned and led them into the shadowed heart of the wood.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The Maldibor

  Kaia sat outside the healer’s cabin, her back against the log wall as she tried to shake off the shock of the terraverm attack. It had been her idea to follow the griegals, perhaps if she hadn’t, Klaus wouldn’t have gotten hurt. Could she do nothing right?

  Gus licked her cheek with a slick wet tongue, trying to wash away the shame. You are good. You are right. You are my girl.

  She leaned into Gus as she took in the village before her. The animal stench of Tekoa and his kin soaked the air, as they walked along the neat rows of wooden dwellings sprouting up amongst the trees, like a natural part of the forest. The cabins pinned in an open lawn that served as the village square, where human women rotated spits of meat above large fires. Meanwhile, beast and men rolled smoothed tree trunks to form rectangles around the flames, and children lit torches along the pathways. Although the presence of the beast-men was impossible to ignore, they were still far outnumbered by other ordinary folk milling through the square.

  Kaia stroked her ragehound’s long ears. “What is this place, Gus?”

  Gus’ wet nose twitched this way and that as he took in their new surroundings. Good place. This is a good place.

  Kaia jumped as the cabin door creaked open beside her. Tekoa lumbered out of the tall doorway, Shad padding out close behind.

  The beast turned his great wolf-head to Kaia, “Your companion will be fine, but the antidote has given him a much-needed rest. He will not wake until the morning.”

  He glanced at the black cat. “I understand you wish to speak to Okoni of sending our jackhawks to rally the Okarrian warrior tribes?”

  Kaia opened her mouth to speak, but Shad beat her to it. “Tekoa, we really don’t want to take you away from a dark moon.” His ears twitched. “We know how much this means to your clan.”

  Kaia’s forehead wrinkled. “A dark moon?”

  Tekoa’s tongue lolled out, revealing his great fangs. “It is a magical night for our people, and there will be much celebration.” He looked out at the preparations in the square. “As friends of Everard, you’re more than welcome to join us.” He held out a thick paw with long claws. “Please, join us for a meal before you turn in for the evening. You’re more than welcome at our celebration.”

  Shad bowed his head. “Thank you, Tekoa, but I’m too old for such revels. I’ll stay with the Shadow Heir.” He turned to Kaia, yawning widely. “I’ll find you in the morning.”

  Tekoa nodded, opening the cabin door so the cat could slip back inside.

  Kaia felt Tekoa’s eyes fall to her as she eyed the crowd uncertainly. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to check on Sunflash for the night first.”

  “Of course.” The Maldibor bared his teeth once more. “I knew there was a reason Sunflash liked you.” He strode off toward the stables, glancing over his shoulder, to meet her curious gaze. “I watched the births of both Sunflash and Moonstreak, you know—both descended from the uncatchable stags of yore.”

  Kaia nodded, her words lost as the hulking beast led her to the far end of the village. A crowd of children chased after Gus as he weaved happily between their feet, looking for tidbits of food.

  She plucked at her sleeve. “There are a lot of children here.”

  Tekoa dipped his head. “We take in orphans and runaways from miles around. Many come from hard pasts that they wish to escape in the seclusion of the forest. Here, they find acceptance and protection from the reach of their own monsters.” Tekoa’s laughing bark sounded like rocks grating together.

  As Kaia watched a bulky beast embrace a young girl, she could no longer contain her curiosity. “Tekoa, do you mind telling me more about your people? I’m afraid I’ve never met a Maldibor before.”

  “Do not fear. Most haven’t.” Tekoa stepped into the warm, hay-scented stable. Sunflash whickered softly from a doorless stall as Kaia reached out to stroke her soft nose in greeting.

  Tekoa rubbed the doe’s shaggy ma
ne with a great paw. “All you see here who look like me—my cousins, father, brothers, and uncles—are descendants of my great-grandfather Elika, who foolishly spurned the magus, Ivanora.” He reached into a threadbare bag hanging from the wall.

  “These are Sunflash’s favorites,” he said, dropping dried periapple into Kaia’s hand. Sunflash’s soft lips snapped the fruit from her palm even before Kaia offered.

  Tekoa paused, reaching out to scratch the base of Sunflash’s branching antlers as the doe loudly smacked the periapple. “As I’m sure you already know, the magi, as a rule, prefer rather…imaginative punishments.”

  Kaia nodded again, thinking of Shadmundar.

  Tekoa called to a nearby beast-child with instructions to stock the saddlebags with food. He returned to Kaia and led her back to the fires. “So, when Ivanora declared her love for Elika, and he told her he loved another, she avowed that she would make certain that no woman would ever love him again. She turned him into a beast like the ones you see before you.” He spread his arms wide, gesturing towards his kinsmen. “Luckily, Everard disapproved of her sentence and took pity on Elika and his love. He made a bargain with Ivanora on their behalf.”

  “Everard was a champion of love?” Kaia’s words dripped with disbelief. The cantankerous magus had attended many of their triennials, but she had never once even seen him smile.

  “Indeed.” Tekoa let his tongue hang out as he sat down on a log by the fire. A silver-haired woman handed him a plate of food and a cup of wine. He passed it to Kaia before accepting his own dish. He brushed a paw across the old woman’s hand. “Thank you, Mother.”

  She smiled back at him. “You are welcome, Teki,” she patted his furry arm before bustling away to serve the others surrounding the fire.

  Kaia added her thanks as she sat down next to Tekoa, eating the meat with her fingers and sharing with Gus, whose wet nose had appeared out of nowhere. “What was the bargain?”

  “We are allowed one human day every moon cycle, but the curse passes from father to son.” Tekoa opened his mouth and dumped the plateful of food straight into his gullet.

  Kaia bit into the hunk of meat, succulent juices running down her chin. “That was a good deal?”

  Tekoa rumbled with laughter. “Elika thought so, I’m sure. He got to be with his love. And look around you now–I see nothing but happiness.”

  Kaia sat back and drank in the atmosphere. The air was filled with shrieks of laughter. Smiling faces and people of all ages and shapes sat close and shared tales in the glow of a cozy fire.

  She turned back to the grinning Tekoa. “You're right,” she murmured. “I’m sorry to have suggested otherwise.”

  He lolled his tongue out in what Kaia was beginning to recognize as a smile. “We must accept who we are, the good and the bad.”

  Kaia sipped her wine thoughtfully, just as the crowd erupted in shouts of excitement.

  “Midnight nears.” Tekoa's green eyes glinted in the flickering firelight. “Now that you’ve seen the bad, you’re about to witness the miraculous.”

  Kaia glanced at the sky peeking through the forest canopy. The clouds had cleared, but the moon wasn’t nestled in the heavens tonight. In its place, Odriel’s guiding star winked back at them from a blanket of black. Just as the shouts reached a climax, the beasts transformed. Their great hulking bodies shrank, their thick fur coats and tails disappeared, and the claws, fangs, and ears all receded. In the space of a few seconds, she was looking at a shirtless, broad-shouldered young man, perhaps ten years older than her—Jago’s age.

  He had shaggy black hair and golden skin taut with muscle, but his emerald eyes still twinkled with joy. The crowd cheered as couples and families embraced. Tekoa picked her up and whirled her around before going to embrace his mother and father on the other side of the fire.

  Kaia’s face burned to match the flames in front of her. Just seconds ago, she had been surrounded by reeking wolfish beasts, and now a slew of half-naked, green-eyed men circled the fire. Even the smell had vanished.

  After embracing everyone in reach—Tekoa sat down beside her once more. “And?” he asked, his words smoother than honey—bearing no resemblance to his previous rumble.

  Kaia stared, trying to order her thoughts. Finally, she shook her head. “I just…I mean…this is incredible.”

  Tekoa grinned. “Now you know why Everard and his friends will always have a place at our feast.” He paused to drain his mug of wine, and then sighed, his smile lingering. “It’s like your flame, Kaia. At once destructive and life-giving.”

  Kaia’s stomach flipped. “You know I’m the Dragon Heir?”

  Tekoa laughed, a whole, rich sound like the tolling of a bell. “I can smell the embers in you as easily as you can smell the beast in me.”

  “Ah,” she said, her eyes falling to study the dark loam of the earth around the fire.

  “My dear Kaia.” Tekoa took her hand. “I see the sorrow that weighs on you, the responsibilities you bear, and I fear you face a difficult future. But enjoy this time while it is ours. Tonight is a happy one. A miraculous night.” He squeezed her hand. “Listen, I can hear the fiddle. Let us dance!”

  Tekoa yanked her to her feet, and they joined the other villagers in a wild, jubilant jig that had no steps. Kaia whirled from stranger to stranger, from man to woman to child. The world spun, and the wine flowed freely, lightening her heavy load, and for the night, the Dragon Heir and the grandsons of Elika danced until they left their troubles behind.

  ✽✽✽

  Kaia did not remember falling asleep. But when Tekoa shook her awake, she blinked with heavy eyelids and found herself next to the fire with a thick quilt thrown over her. Gus snored beside her, his wet nose tickling her cheek. She smiled up at Tekoa’s kind face, but his eyes were hard.

  “Come, Kaia, there is something you must see.”

  Kaia rubbed her eyes, and Gus rose with a yawn. It was still dark, but a few families still clustered around the glowing fires. Their eyes lingered on Kaia as they murmured to one another.

  “What is it?” Kaia asked.

  Tekoa grabbed her hands and pulled her up. “This way.” Gus shook himself before trailing after them.

  The murmurs quieted, and the eyes followed Kaia around the square as they took the main road into the darkness of the wood. Kaia tucked her copper braid behind her ear, her stomach sinking. They know. Memories rose like bile in the back of her throat. She remembered the first time her mother had taken her into Arimoke with Pellie, her first ragehound, at her side. The villagers crossed the road to avoid them and ushered their children inside.

  One brave woman had approached her mother and seized her elbow. “You can’t bring that curse here,” she hissed. “A child who summons fire could burn this whole town down in a fit.” Kaia could still remember the woman’s cringe as they locked eyes. “It’s unnatural.”

  Lost in thought, Kaia almost ran into Tekoa’s broad back as he stopped in the middle of the road. “There.” He pointed a finger down the dark lane.

  Kaia stepped in front of Tekoa and scanned the road, but her eyes couldn’t pierce the moonless wood. She chewed her lip and looked back at the Maldibor, his muscles rippling beneath his open vest. He nodded, his gaze softening ever so slightly.

  Kaia returned the nod and faced the road once more. She reached out a palm and let the fire flow from her core to her fingertips, lighting the path. In the shadows ahead, she could just make out the silhouettes of two dozen Lost crawling over a wagon-sized mass in the road like wriggling gray maggots. Kaia squinted and craned her head forward, but they had already ravaged the carcass into unrecognizable pieces. The iron stench of blood and rot infected the air.

  Gus let out a low whine. Bad, bad smells.

  Kaia felt her fire bubble up with shame and rage as the realization dawned on her. “They followed us.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Light the Dark

  Tekoa growled, a low beastly sound that squeezed Kaia’
s already thrumming heart.

  Kaia flinched as Shad padded up behind them to brush against her calf. “They’ve managed to bring down one of the cyclogres.” He turned to Kaia. “Well, go on then.”

  Kaia shook her head, breaking the strange trance the scene had wrought on her. “Right.” She brought her other palm alongside her burning hand as she sized up the gathering. This would be her largest burn yet. She had to be sure to conjure more flames than she needed. After all, the one thing worse than being attacked by a corpse was being attacked by a flaming corpse.

  She let her rage and guilt at the Lost endangering the Maldibor village flow into her hands. As the flames cut through the darkness, the Lost turned to her, attracted by the yanaa. Their keening call pierced the night air as they shambled towards her at a jerky run.

  Kaia released a horse-sized fireball into the advancing creatures, incinerating the fastest chargers. The fire illuminated the gory body in the middle of the road, revealing another two dozen of the dead hiding in the shadows. They rushed her as she spooled another ball of flame before discharging a surging river of fire with a whoosh. They screeched and scurried, only to regroup and come forward once again, scattered on the road and among trees.

  Kaia changed tactics, hurling melon-sized balls of flames at the creatures as they closed her in. She threw with her right and then her left, picking them off one by one, until she panted with the effort, sweating in the crisp night. The burning bullets knocked them to the ground, screaming as they flailed haplessly. The last corpse edged close enough for Kaia to see the swirling green yanaa in the caverns of his eye sockets before she burned the head from his shoulders.

  The Dragon Heir sucked in deep lungfuls of air as she surveyed the scene. Small pockets of flames burned around the bloody mess in the road, devouring the last evidence of the aberrations. But all was quiet, save for the gentle mountain breeze kissing Kaia’s damp brow.