Pursuer (Alwahi Series) (17 page)

“
Thank you… clan member,” her blonde curls bounced as she whispered, the tips of her golden ringlets colored red.

He was surprised when they had found them. She met him at the entrance to the cave, her face and body splattered in red. Her stunning green eyes were alive with energy; reminding him of a feral creature protecting her young. Her long black braid hanging over her shoulders, rising and falling as she gasped in breath. She had never looked wilder in his eyes. She had never looked more
beautiful
.

She led them back to Desstina. He glanced over the girl’s wounds noticing the deep bloody gashes on her first; he dismissed them as gory yet superficial. Scanning further, he noticed another gash on the Desstina’s leg that seemed to be the more immediate problem. The wound was bleeding heavily, draining the girl of life flowing energy. Ripping his shirt, he tied the wound tightly closed.

Bodies lay everywhere, floating and bobbing in the water. He quietly instructed the Pursuers to pull them ashore. Turning to Fless, he gestured towards the entrance.

“
I need you to run back to the hold, gather the sling and rouse enough Pursuers to help carry the meat. Meet us at the top of the gorge.” Fless nodded, immediately turning and running over the winding pathways.

Dressdon walked in the glowing yellow water, towards the cloudy swirls of crimson that colored the center. Grabbing the slick skin of one of the beasts, he dragged it ashore. He sliced the center of the animal open, spilling its entrails on the stone beach; the rocky white shores were soon stained red.

He once again started feeling that overwhelming sensation of amazement when it came to the dark haired exotic girl. It was obvious she had killed most of the beasts; Desstina had been too incapacitated to be of much use. Harven were hard to kill on their own, which was how Pursuers usually engaged them. When Desstina cut open her leg, spilling her blood into the yellow waters, she sent all the harven in the immediate area into a frenzied need to feed.

Many harven were dead, but many more lurked deeper in the chambers. They would be in serious trouble if the full strength of the creatures was aroused.
This
is what he needed to be thinking,
this
is what he needed to be getting his team out of. Not thinking about the black haired beauty that had stepped into his midst.

Even though he knew this, he still found his eyes drawn to her, her long form moving gracefully. He loved the way her body tensed when she sliced her blade through the air, her green eyes intense. He was reminded of the night in the city when he held her close and kissed her lips. Dressdon shook his head pulling himself to the task at hand.

There was no time for romance right now. The deadliest of games was still ahead…

They were taken to the medical center of the hold were a woman immediately set to work stitching the wound closed on Desstina’s leg. Zanas let out a hiss as a burning salve was placed on the gashes on her shoulder, the woman explaining a scratch from the harven was poisonous. Her vision began to blur and her speech became slurred, so Zanas was inclined to agree with her. The dark blue liquid the nurse placed in her hands, slid down her throat like ice. She felt tired as she was led to a bed and it felt wonderful to lay her head down, her eyes so heavy.

She awoke disorientated in the cold stone walls of the room. A movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention, and she turned to find Desstina. The blonde girl was lying in the bed next to her, her thin neck wrapped tightly in a bandage. Desstina’s face had begun to bruise, and it looked as though she was developing a black eye. Her cold green eyes stared at Zanas. Zanas was hit with a burning in her toes and fingers and she began to run her hands together furiously.

“
It’s the last bit of poison,” Desstina said. There was a melodious quality to her voice that Zanas had never heard before. Or perhaps it had always been there, but the anger that the girl usually showed was so overwhelming. “Harven are deadly creatures, you cannot stop them once they have been frenzied, and your only option is to kill them all… or be eaten,” the girl said with a wicked grin, her doll face lighting up. She looked down at her hands, her face growing serious.

“
It’s quite obvious you were meant to be a Pursuer,” she began, “It doesn’t matter if you came from above. You’re not going anywhere, this is… where…. you… belong.” The girl struggled slightly getting out the words. She lifted up her eyes and once again looked at Zanas. “You are on my team… and I should have treated you like you were. Regardless of
him
,” she said with a whisper, so quietly that Zanas had to strain to hear it. Desstina gave Zanas one last look, and then she closed her eyes, settling into the furs.

Zanas could tell by the change in her breathing that Desstina had fallen asleep. She thought about what Desstina had said, as she stared across the room at the blonde’s still form. Desstina looked so small and vulnerable, her pale flesh even more so, except now the tone verged on a sickly grey. She was a slight girl, whose extraordinary strength and agility was surprising. It might be easy to overlook her underlying emotions, but the girl felt, and she felt
deeply
.

Her body was still a little shaky, but she felt fine when she sat for a moment on the end of the bed. She tested her feet on the floor, waiting for sudden pain or dizziness. When she felt none she placed her full weight on her feet and stood up. No one had told her how long she needed to stay, and she felt well enough to rest in her own room.

She started down the long hallways with determination that soon faded to exhaustion. It seemed as if the long shadowy corridors went on forever, and she began to forget the way in confusion.
Had she just turned? Which hallway was she in?
Her hands held heavy to the smooth rock walls, her legs growing shaky. She almost cried in desperation.

Two arms lifted her up like she weighed nothing, and Zanas let out small sigh of relief as he held her in his arms, and she rested her head against his shoulder. She heard his soft laughter in her delirium.

“
Only you would try and wander the halls full of harven poison. Tell me, Zanas…” She felt a soft shiver has he hummed her name. “Where are you heading?” Zanas did not believe that he expected her to answer, nor would she have been able to if he had. Her vision started to turn hazy as the venom worked through her again with relish.

The soft creek of a door drew her attention and she opened her heavy eyes to see her door pass blurrily by vision, and then she was lying in her bed, deep in the furs. She could hear him poking at the fireplace, and the warm glow of the roaring fire bathed her skin. Zanas opened her eyes with a struggle one last time and his bright eyes stared into hers. Her eyes finally collapsed closed and she was unable to reopen them. Her consciousness fading, Zanas felt reality begin to slip away. She thought she felt a soft touch of his lips to hers and then the deep growl of Maleek.

She’s mine…

... ... ...

The hall was filled with the voices of Pursuers as Zanas ate her meal. She could hear the laughter of the twins as Desstina teased them. The atmosphere of the team had changed from tension filled, to jubilant. Zanas had become a part of the group, the others listening when she chose to enter a conversation. The relationship between her and Desstina had continued to improve, and she found herself more and more drawn to the girl, who seemed to be caught in a dark brooding at times.

Dressdon continued to treat her with a separated coldness that infuriated Zanas. As her days went on in the clan, she began to notice the way the female population regarded Dressdon. It was clear that many of the women knew him on a more personal basis, although he didn’t seem to give any of them a second glance. Just like Desstina, he was prone to a moodiness that seemed to cause him to withdraw from those around him. He was always on guard and seemed to hold himself apart, always watching. He thought very deeply about what went on around him, but he never seemed to voice his observations.

Maleek butted her hand with his nose and she absentmindedly handed him a piece of meat. He seemed dissatisfied with her attention and stalked over to Desstina. The blonde stroked his wiry coat, and he purred slightly when the girl placed a large morsel of meat into his mouth. He seemed to almost smile as he chewed the piece, one eye slightly half closed. Zanas found herself jealous. Maleek had formed an attachment to Desstina. Far more than the friendly attitude he had with Ressna. He seemed to enjoy Ressna’s company, mainly because she always brought him something to fill his belly.

With Desstina, however, he seemed to seek out the small-framed blonde, overshadowing her presence; one hunter engrossed in another. Zanas growled to herself.
Maleek is won over by anything that will feed him…
she fumed. She was mocked by the soft, amused chuckle of Dressdon.

Her eyes flew angrily up to his. His calm exterior drove her into rage as she glared at him. As usual, all this did was seem to amuse him further, which in turn angered her more. She gathered her plate and stood up quickly, leaving the group. She was at a loss as to what the relationship between her and Dressdon was. He made her so angry, but the few times that he had let his guard down had captivated her like nothing else.

On the long walk back to her room, she tried to calm her nerves. It had been nearly a week since the long journey down into the harven lair. Two of her first days were spent reviving from the poison. Ressna had patiently waited on her, bringing her food and news. By the third day, she had returned to hunting with her team, nothing ever said between her and Dressdon. He spoke to her of useful things, as a team leader should, but nothing further.

Her room was oddly quiet with the absence of Maleek. She opened the shutters wide letting the soft glow of the Ulwahi sparkle down into her room. The town seemed to be full of activity, a tranquil swirling of colors. Her solace was quickly interrupted by the knock she had come to recognize as belonging to Ressna. Without an invitation, the door was pushed open. The fierce anger flowed through her once again.

“
You shouldn’t just walk in whenever you want to,” she said with a low growl. Her hands began to shake and her vision turned a hazy red.

“
Oh stop pouting over your beast liking me better,” a soft voice teased.

Zanas turned around to see behind the wide-eyed Ressna, to a smiling Desstina. Maleek strolled lazily in last, immediately moving over to the bed and making himself at home. To her surprise, Desstina followed the animal, using Maleek as a giant pillow. Her hands began to settle, and her vision returned to normal.

“
You look like someone who is changing too quick,” Desstina said examining her nails and pouting her lips. “Not good, don’t go all crazy, you’ll be very embarrassed when your hormones stabilize. Take it easy killer,” she finished, and then she looked over at Ressna and frowned. “And you, stop looking like your Ma just died, and besides you
are
kind of rude. I’m sure she could have said worse,” Desstina finished, an innocent look across her face. Zanas found herself chocking at the boldness of the girl, it was clear Desstina was thoroughly enjoying herself.

“
So what’s your issue?” Desstina continued turning her face slightly, staring at Zanas. “It’s because of
him
isn’t it?” Desstina asked.

“
Desstina…” Ressna interrupted trying to steer clear of the subject, but Desstina waved her hands and made a shushing sound.

“
Oh come on,” Desstina hissed, her pert nose wrinkling in annoyance. “The boys told me about the dance floor,” Desstina bumbled on. “And now he doesn’t even come near you. Why would he do that? He hasn’t seemed to want to be around you at all. But then again, maybe he just doesn’t want to cloud the last test…” Desstina finished.

“
Desstina!” Ressna exclaimed staring back towards the open door and out towards the hallway. “You know it’s against the laws to speak of the tests!”

“
Blah, blah,” Desstina said with a small wave of her wrist. “I haven’t said anything.”

“
Why are you telling me this?” Zanas asked.

“
It’s in my nature,” Desstina said shrugging.

If anyone else had said this, Zanas would have been angered. But coming from the petite blonde girl it was perfect. Desstina may have stopped hating Zanas, but that didn’t mean that Zanas was going to be treated differently than any other member of the team. Desstina could be an overpowering personality who liked the thought of prey a little
too
much. However, that may have been the part of her that Zanas liked the most. She grinned at the blonde girl.