Pursuer (Alwahi Series) (10 page)

Zanas lay on the floor, staring upward. Her vision was blurry for a moment and then it came back into focus, everything colored blue. Sitting up, she looked at the tunnels, seeing down the long expanses.

She could also sense where the others were nearby, at the same time she realized that all the tunnels led to the same place. Zanas quickly got up and began to run down the closest tunnel. The things that she could see amazed her. It was incredible how each nook and crevice reflected in the blue tones. She saw movement up ahead and she came across Desstina. It was as simple as willing herself more speed, and she overtook the blonde. Zanas heard the girl let out a gasp as she sped past her. Her vision began to take on a red hue and she knew that her prey was close. She clenched her knife tightly in her hand and ran full speed around a corner. The beast was standing in front of her.

It was enormous, wheezing through a large snout. Zanas saw sharp fangs protruding out of its mouth, as it clawed at the earth with its large hairy paws. She smelled something in the air that made her mouth begin to water. It took her a moment to realize that it was blood. This creature was a predator, a meat eater. And it did not seem that the recent kill that he was currently eating was enough to fill his belly. He growled at Zanas, his bloody teeth flashing.

It came at her. There was a high-pitched howl and after a moment, she realized it was coming from her. Her teeth were bared as she growled at the animal, her hand clutching the sharp blade. It made a small lunge with its paws outstretched, and with one swift swipe, Zanas sliced off three of its fingers. It let out an eerie scream, echoing through the long corridors that surrounded them.

Other sounds surrounded her and she realized that the rest of the hunting party had followed the commotion to the beast. Before she had more time to think about this, the crazed animal launched for her again. It jabbed its sharp mouth at her, trying to get her arm into its mouth. Zanas brought the blade across the beast again and it screamed as she stabbed its meaty shoulder. Her blade was caught in its hardened body, and it flung her to the ground in rage. She felt the weight of it on her torso holding her down, its hot gasping breath blowing on her face, growling through dripping teeth. It prepared to kill her.

The earlier pain returned and her mouth erupted. She screamed as the pain continued, her vision turning an even redder hue. She twisted her body and brought down her teeth onto the animal’s neck, feeling how easily she sank into its flesh. Applying pressure, she ripped back her mouth, tearing out a large chunk of flesh. Her mouth filled with its blood, and part of her wanted to gag in disgust. But that part was silenced, as the rage filled her. She regained her footing, leaping at the animal and ripping out her knife from its shoulder. With one mighty slap, she knocked the creatures head to the side, and slashed her blade across its neck.

Her breath came out in small, excited gasps, her teeth still bard, blood dripping down her chin. She could hear the sound of her own growling as her heart pounded in her chest. Her vision began to clear slightly and her team came into view, reminding her of another hunting party. Just like then, she found all eyes staring at her, and she recognized the familiar emotion…
respect
.

She found herself face to face with
him
. She looked into his eyes searching for the other emotion she always saw in people once they had truly seen her for what she was, a predator. But she saw nothing but wild excitement reflected in his eyes.

There was no fear.

They quickly went to work butchering the animal. It was a long process because of the massive size of the creature. They were heavily weighed down with meat as they hiked out of the cave. Zanas began to think of the long swim and climb that they would have to complete. Her mind drifted as she stood by the entrance to the lighted tunnel, staring down at the glowing tube. The twins walked over to her, drawing her attention.

“
I am really liking you,” one said.

“
Ruthlesssss,” the second interjected. They flashed matching sharp teeth and then began walking towards a tunnel that had gone unnoticed before. Desstina passed by her next saying nothing, but giving her a hateful look as she walked by.

“
Nice job on the kill,” Ressna said, as she followed the others out. Dressdon passed her by, meeting her eyes for a moment, and then called over his shoulders.

“
I like the eyes…”

Zanas was confused for a moment. As she walked past the water towards the tunnel, she glanced down at her reflection in the water. A pair of glowing green eyes stared back at her.

They picked up speed and Zanas found that her legs were tiring with the added weight of the meat she carried. She was thankful that they had no water filled passages or cliffs to navigate, and realized this was the other passage they could have taken. Desstina had arranged it so they would go the most difficult way. Zanas grinned to herself, remembering the thrill of falling through the air, weightless and free. Her heart began to race again at the thought. Unwittingly, the girl had done her a favor.

As they made their way through the dark tunnels, Zanas allowed herself to look closely at the passages. With her added eyesight, she could see that all the surfaces were covered in Ulwahi, but before her eyes had been unable to see it. Everything gave off a faint glow that made the dark beautiful and accessible at the same time. She noticed they were coming to the interior of the hold when the walls began to smooth and take on a uniform shape. The cafeteria was empty as they crossed the large stone room, and they were quickly unloaded of the meat as the cooks rushed forward.

Zanas looked at herself and realized she was covered in blood, her fingers sticky, her face streaked red. The twins had quickly disappeared, giving her looks through their long lashes as they left. Desstina ignored her completely and left without saying a word to anyone. Zanas found that she was walking with the two remaining, Dressdon and Ressna.

“
Excellent kill, Zanas. You really annoyed Desstina,” Ressna said, her eyes dancing merrily. “See you later,” she called, as she turned down one of the hallways. Dressdon and Zanas walked for a moment and then he spoke to her.

“
You did excellent. I was impressed with your kill; I have never seen someone move with such ferocity,” his voice teased. She found herself once again soothed by the soft purring of his voice.

She recognized her door up ahead and turned to him, her hand pushing it open. “Thank you. I need to get cleaned up,” she said. He flashed his familiar mocking smile; his green eyes seemed to glow brighter.

“
You look good covered in blood…” he whispered and then he had turned and disappeared down the hallway. She felt that usual skipping of her heart.

... … …

Maleek met her at the door and she quickly gave him the chunks of meat that she had saved him. He greedily swallowed them up, curling by the fire to nap. She found herself laughing at his vicious nature and quickly unloaded herself. Zanas hurried down the torch lit hallway, feeling as though she where the only one that lingered in the long passages.

The hot water was welcoming on her skin as she soaked in the deep stone pool, the water turning a dark crimson. Using the bath salts, she began to scrub her body, leaving bloody handprints here and there on her body. Zanas thought about the days hunt. She knew that she should probably feel some kind of sorrow for the animal whose blood she was covered in. However, there was no such feeling, only the satisfaction of feeding her clan, and the end of a successful hunt. The animal was taken with honor.

By the time she was finished bathing, the water had already begun to clear. There was now only a slight reddish hue to the liquid. Zanas had already guessed that the water constantly circulated, but seeing it in action was still interesting. Wrapping herself in the long towel, she made her way back to her room. Once again, she had clean clothes laying on her bed and wondered who deposited them. She glanced at Maleek who still slept by the dying fire. He was not a very good watchdog, apparently. She grinned to herself with this thought and pulled on the clothes. Her hair was quickly braided, and hung down her back like a long black rope.

Walking over to the window, she pushed it open and stared at the lighted city below. She could see the busy hustle of people walking down the stone streets, their bright colors like a dancing field of cloth. Zanas raised her eyes to the tall ceiling of the mammoth cave, and was instantly soothed by the warm glow of the Ulwahi.

A knock at the door startled her. She opened it to find Ressna, sporting a sheepish grin.

“
We have time before dinner and we are going into town.” She grabbed Zanas’s arm and pulled her out the door, making it clear in her actions that Zanas no choice. She did not mind, however, and welcomed the excursion. She followed her down the hallways, their bodies casting shadows. She was thankful for Ressna’s extensive knowledge of the corridors as they wound through them. They walked down the stairs and came to a large door. Ressna pushed it open with a heave, and the city stood in front of them.

Although Zanas was no longer walking the streets of the city with a wanwalf, she still received the same reaction from the town’s people. However, it was in response to the two of them. She took notice of the weary way the brightly colored people cast their eyes aside, as if afraid to make eye contact. Zanas felt herself feeling scorn for the gutless people, when she was one again grabbed by the arm and pulled down a side alleyway. It seemed darker here, as they passed lighted entranceways, the noise of people drifting to her ears. Zanas watched as Ressna ducked into one of the doors.

The stone room was aglow, as Ulwahi covered the ceiling. The room was filled with people, all dressed in black. It reminded her of a store full of goths, and she found herself smiling. Then she realized that these were not goths, they were in fact members of her clan, killers and hunters. There were chairs placed throughout the building, Pursuers lounging. One of the attendants hammered softly into the skin with a long pencil like barb, the rhythmic tapping made a melody, as the line was continued.

Ressna pulled her towards one of the empty chairs, and then the girl sat down. Ressna pulled her shirt up and Zanas saw her trail of tattoos ended just below her chest. She found herself wondering how far Dressdon’s went down, and her cheeks began to burn. A slight tapping on her back brought her back from her thoughts, and she turned around to see a girl standing behind her.

“
Are you here to add to your line?” she asked.

Zanas thought for a moment and then nodded. She sat in one of the empty chairs and turned her face to the girl. The girl’s eyes lingered on her face for a moment. “My name is Kesstra.”

Zanas studied Kesstra as she readied her tools. The girl’s facial profile was lined with delicately flowing tattoos, starting at her temples in a dark circle, and continuing down her neck.

When she was above, Arrelia had explained to her how tattoos were created and by whom. Only a few were chosen to create
the line
. It was the artist that came up with the next link in the chain that would continue winding its way down the body, each link representing a glorious kill. Zanas wondered what kill Ressna was signifying.

Kesstra picked up her hand for a moment and closed her eyes. “I see perfectly the next link,” she said, her face serious.

Zanas turned her head slightly as Kesstra began the steady tapping on her cheekbone. There was something calming in the pain of the point piercing her flesh, driving in the ink. A pair of green eyes appeared above her head, staring down.

“
I love it!” Ressna said grinning, examining the design that Kesstra was tapping into her skin. Kesstra was quickly finished and handed Zanas a flat metal plate. The plate was sanded to a shine, and she could see the reflection of herself depicted on its surface. The new link was added just below her falling leaf. It was the shape of a snail with small tendrils. The tattoo itself was a red color, reminding her of the color of the pool she had bathed in when she washed away the blood of the animal. Zanas knew that in the dark her tattoo would glow with the Ulwahi mixed in the ink. She had to admit that she loved the design. Zanas gave Kesstra an appraising look and the girl smiled back at her.

“
Come to me the next time you add a line,” Kesstra said.

They left the way they had come, with Ressna’s laughter echoing in the streets. They began to run, townspeople quickly moving out of their way with looks of shock on their faces. Zanas loved the feeling of freedom she had at that very moment, running the roads with Ressna. Before she knew it, they were back at the large door that led to their hold. Instead of leading Zanas back to her room, Ressna led them to the dining hall, where their team was already seated.