The Realms of Animar (10 page)

“Not yet,” he replied. “It’s been nearly a month since we found her. Some people wonder if she can even morph at all.”

“I suppose you have noticed Thane has taken an interest.”

“How can I not notice? I was going to take him with me to train and he said he would rather go and ‘sit with her’ as he puts it. I went back to check on him a few hours later and he was just sitting there, staring into the cage, talking away, telling her random tales of his adventures. He has never latched on to a newcomer like this. For all we know she might not even understand him. I just don’t know why he seems to be so infatuated with the poor thing.”

“Well, he did find her,” Felia explained. “I suppose that is the attachment. Trussil is the best at teaching the young ones to morph but I have never seen one take this long. Maybe she has just been through too much. I guess seeing your whole family devoured might be something that just can’t be overcome.”

“Maybe so. There has to be something we can do for her though.”

“What about the cage? Do you think we have to keep her in that much longer?”

“For now I do, it’s pretty large and with the winter weather rolling in soon, we need to protect her. I like Trussil’s idea of keeping it in the school though. Maybe seeing the children will help.”

“I hope so,” Felia said. She bit her lip then continued, “Do you still think there might be more of them out there? It’s been so quiet since the attack.”

“We’ll see,” Avryn replied. “Maybe it was just a random event, but this far from other settlements makes that unlikely. The coming winter will make traveling through the mountains virtually impossible so things should be quiet until spring.”

“What about the messengers we sent out about the Winter Festival?” she asked.

“They all made it back just fine. Hopefully most of those that are traveling here have already made it, I’m sure the first snowfall will be any day now. I am meeting with the festival planners today. Only one day away so hopefully everything is about ready.” He then grinned evilly and added, “You know you are welcome if you would like to join us.”

“No thanks,” Felia laughed as she shook her head. “I’m glad we are still having it but you know I am not much of a planner. I will do my part to cook and entertain though, you can count on me.” She playfully punched him in the stomach then climbed off the bed and stood up. “I am going to go peek on Thane. I haven’t heard a peep from him all morning.”

Felia then straightened her gown and walked to the bedroom door, opened it and then glanced back at Avryn and winked.

She paused at the door to his room and listened for movement. Hearing only silence, she rapped lightly. “Time to get up sleepy head!”

After a few seconds, she grasped the handle, opened the door and walked in. “Thane you need to get up, it’s already—”

She looked down at the floor and screamed.

Chapter 8

D
aylight pierced the thick canopy of trees as the forest awoke from an evening slumber. The air carried the chill of early winter, leaving a thin white frost on the leaves that transformed the landscape into a mosaic of natural beauty.

Well concealed by their surroundings, two shadowy figures wearing dark hooded cloaks were crouched behind a fallen moss-covered tree. Their attention was focused on a small group of people that were busy cleaning up their camp just ahead. The assassins had been following the group for some time and had become quite familiar with their habits and relations.

The oldest of the travelers was a large older man with a massive round belly and equally rounded face. He was frequently in heated discussions with a woman of similar age but slightly lesser size who they had decided to be his wife. Joining the couple on their journey were two other women and two children approximately ten to twelve years of age, a boy and a girl. Their attire was that of typical nomads, worn with age and frequent use. They had clearly traveled a long distance.

Mordigal leaned and whispered to the figure beside him, “A bit too close, but we need to stay in earshot.”

His accomplice turned his head and nodded. His face was hard, with dramatic features - a long nose and sharp, thin eyes and his left cheek bore a large scar, the remnant of a past battle. He had shoulder length brown hair and dark, thoughtful eyes. His name was Ash and he was Mordigal’s half-brother.

They bore almost no resemblance to one-another save their general stature. Each had different fathers and Ash had the unfortunate likeness of his. He was strong, however, and well-respected by the other members of their pack. Mordigal had often left him in charge of his affairs when he traveled alone and Ash had never disappointed him. Although they did not share the close bond of full brothers, Mordigal had looked after his younger brother even still and was at times proud of what he had become.

“Did you talk to the horses?” Mordigal asked.

“I warned them again,” Ash replied quietly.

“Good. The shoes should keep them from changing but we know that they can still give us away.”

Ash began to speak but Mordigal raised his hand when the large man turned his head in their direction and took a few steps forward. His eyes darted around the forest - something had caught his attention. The concealed men were frozen. They knew that any movement, even that in effort to further hide, could be detected. Too much was at risk. If they had to kill the group now they would lose precious time.

The young boy wandered up to the man and tugged at his sleeve. At first he ignored the child and kept his focus on the forest, peering about with purpose. When the young boy failed to steal his attention he tugged once more, this time a bit harder.

“Are we going to be there in time?” the boy asked. “Will we make it before the festival starts?” The cold morning air clung to his words, sending forth small puffs of fog as he spoke.

A few moments passed and then the man lowered his gaze to the boy. He reached out and patted his thick dark hair with his hand. “Tomorrow is the first day of winter and that means the start of the festival. We are close. We’ll be there by sundown tonight. I promised we would make it and we will.”

The assassins watched as the pair turned and walked back to the main camp area where the others were busy stuffing their packs and cleaning up the site. The large man gave one last glance over his shoulder and then turned his attention to the task at hand.

Skilled predators, Mordigal and Ash remained motionless. Their breathing was calm and their weight carefully balanced as to not make noise. When the time was right they gradually crept away from the camp and moved deeper into the trees, making no more noise than the soft breeze around them.

After a brief trek through the forest Mordigal and Ash made it back to the rest of their pack who had been waiting anxiously for their return. There were five others in the group, two men and three women and all wore similar dark hooded cloaks that had become a symbol of their kind. There had once been twelve in the pack but others had been lost to disease and combat. The seven that remained were a strong group and had been used by Fatalis for his most important, and often dangerous, tasks.

A vulture lingering in a tree above the pack squawked lightly, causing Mordigal to cast him an angry stare.

“Quiet you stupid bird!” Mordigal said in a whispered but angry tone.

Critias looked away and picked at his feathers with his beak.

Scattered about the small clearing were seven horses, tied securely to trees. They were sturdy and some of the best from the stables but the prize among them was a brilliant black horse that Mordigal had taken for his own.

Horses were extremely valuable to the carnivores due to their usefulness in travel and in combat. Fatalis had allowed Mordigal to take some of his best and this further stressed the importance of the secondary mission that had been told to him alone discretely. His task was simple – kill Avryn’s son. He knew nothing else about the boy nor did he know the reason behind the hatred Fatalis had for Avryn, apart from the natural conflict between the two realms. Although Mordigal had never been fond of killing children, he knew better than to question the order.

The journey to the village had taken several weeks but this had been necessary. They needed to be careful and stumbling upon the herbivore travelers had been worth the delay. The travelers had revealed that a festival was soon to take place and this distraction would greatly improve their chances for success. Using this information, they decided to use the horses to gain access to the village, hoping the guards would welcome those traveling with their own kind. Clearly this was not without risk. If the horses were somehow able to give away the nature of their riders after they had breached the village walls they would be doomed. They would need to act quickly and once inside, the others would scout the village while Mordigal hunted the boy and when they were finished they would escape, hopefully without alarm, using the festivities of the day to help hide their activities.

Vital to the plan was the use of shoes on the horses. Although rare, they were at times used by horses for their own purposes - to protect their hooves on long trips that required their animal forms. They also served a more sinister purpose in that they also kept the creatures locked in animal form since the metal in the shoe prevented transformation. The shoes, along with the threat of certain death by their riders, would hopefully keep them under control.

Mordigal walked to where the pack was gathered and the group stood when he drew near. One of the women stepped forward as he approached. She had long, straight blonde hair and a stunningly beautiful face with bright green eyes.

“I was beginning to worry,” she said.

Mordigal eyed her warily. “I know better. We weren’t gone that long.” To the rest of the group he continued. “They are packing up to move out. We leave in a few minutes.”

The group separated and began clearing their site while Mordigal walked to the black mare and began securing his gear, ignoring the woman who had followed him to the horse. A scowl had formed on her face.

In quiet but angry voice she began, “Why must you treat me this way? Other men would kill to have my love.”

Mordigal glanced at her and then returned his gaze to the saddlebag he was securing on his horse.

“Will you never give me a chance?” she said before affectionately placing her left hand on his shoulder. “Your brother is more than willing.”

Without looking away from his work he replied, “Then perhaps you should take the matter up with him.”

“We mate for life, you know that, and I am clearly the superior female in our group. I should be with the Alpha.”

“But I have a say in that,” Mordigal said. He paused a moment then continued, “Ash has been after your heart since you joined us. You should give him a chance. I will not claim the woman he loves. Besides, you know he will take over the pack if I die.”

She took her hand from his shoulder. “Ash is not the one I want.”

“He won’t give up on you and I can never love you,” he said sympathetically. “Ellyn, you are a beautiful woman and will make him, or any man, many beautiful children. Don’t waste your time on me. He loves you and my bond with him is more valuable than the touch of any woman.” Mordigal then glanced over at Ash who was busy checking the shoes on his horse. “Now go get ready. We need to leave.”

Chapter 9

A
vryn ran into Thane’s room when he heard the scream. He glanced down at the small pool of blood on the floor next to the bed while Felia looked out the bedroom window. He kneeled down and touched it. When the cool moisture tickled his fingertip he knew it was fresh.

“This isn’t enough to be a serious wound,” Avryn said. “It couldn’t have been too long ago. I will check the training area and see if any of the guards have seen him, maybe you should check the school.”

He then noticed the tears that had formed in Felia’s eyes. He stood up and walked to the window and embraced her. “I’m sure he is fine,” he said. “He is probably running in the fields or checking on his new little friend.”

“I hope you are right. He never wanders off without telling us and the blood…what if he is hurt really bad?”

“I’m sure he is fine,” Avryn said. He then grasped her hand and led her from the room. “Come on, let’s go track him down.”

***

Felia arrived at the school after a short sprint. It was not a school day and thus the shutters on the windows were closed and the building appeared vacant. She reached the main door and pulled it open. The hinges creaked in defiance.

Although dawn had recently broken the classroom was dimly lit with only small scattered beams of light trickling through the cracks. As she gained her focus she spotted Thane sitting with his back to her facing a cage that rested along the left wall of the room.

“Thane!” she cried out.

He turned and lifted a finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet.

Felia scowled and walked toward the boy. “I will not be quiet! We were worried sick. What was the blood from? Are you ok? What are you doing here? You need to leave this poor little rabbit alone.” As she drew closer, Felia noticed the cage door was open.

She was surprised when Thane slowly pointed to the far end of the school. There, covered mostly by shadows and perched on a stool, sat a small teenage girl. She was curled up in a ball with her legs and feet pulled up on the seat in front of her and it was obvious that she was terrified.

The girl had long blonde hair that was ratty and unkempt and unfortunately matched her dress that was tattered and filthy. It was obvious to Felia that though her face was spoiled by filth the girl’s features were soft and perhaps even beautiful when properly bathed.

Felia was rendered speechless for a moment but then whispered to Thane, “Has she said anything?”

“Not a word. This just happened a few minutes ago though.”

Felia took a few slow steps toward the girl and held out her right hand. “Hi there sweetie, what is your name?”

The girl pulled her legs tighter to her chest. Felia stopped her approach.

“It’s ok, we won’t hurt you,” she said sincerely. “We are just trying to help you.”

Felia glanced at Thane and then to the girl. She was unsure of what to do next. An awkward stillness fell over them but it was quickly dashed when Avryn, Trussil and a short, stubby guard with dark spiked hair stormed in.