From the corner of my eye, I glimpsed a flash of yellow eyes amid the deepening shadows.
The hunt master was right. This wasn’t natural at all.
Howls raised chills along my arms. When firelight reflected a pair of golden eyes at the edge of the forest, I shifted nearer to Vaughn. He glanced up, his eyes warmed by some emotion, there and gone before I could name it. Ah yes. So like the canis I had compared to his prowess. I jerked my chin toward the tree line. “He’s still out there.”
“He’s marking as he goes, claiming new territory.” He inhaled, scrunching up his face. “Or I suppose he might be leaving a trail for his pack to follow. I’ll admit, despite the family crest, I’m woefully uneducated in the habits of canis. They were native to Cathis once, but not any longer.”
“Your family’s crest, the Mimetidae clan head’s crest, is a canis?” How fitting an emblem.
“You sound surprised.” His brow creased. “Canis embody things prized by my father and forefathers: loyalty, ferocity, intelligence. Father had a breeding pair and spoke of repopulation.”
“I never knew that about Brynmor.” Granted, my knowledge of him was limited and tainted by the grief he had dealt my family, the calculated murder of my uncle, Rhys’s father, Kowatsi.
“Few did.” He grinned. “He told all those who asked that he bred them for their flavor.”
I returned his smile, because it was easy and fond, and because I cherished similar memories of my own father. Exhaling past the old pain, I reminded myself my parents had enjoyed long and happy lives. They had bound their life threads. When a sickness even Old Father had been unable to cure claimed father’s life, Mother had followed him into the spiritlands moments later.
That was the sort of bond I craved, the sort of tie to another person my happiness required. I would find no such soulful connection with Vaughn. I lifted my hand, but strain as I might I saw no aura’s shine. Old Father had explained to me that my condition was common among walkers.
We often lacked the ability to see in ourselves what we saw in others. Lack of an aura didn’t mean lack of a soul, a fear I’d had as a youth and a curiosity I’d had about Vaughn’s blankness.
Since spirit walkers saw auras, we often foretold soul matches among our clansmen, though the gods gave us blind spots where our own souls were concerned, denying us the possibility of matching ourselves. Walkers, on occasion, were blind to their families’ or their loved ones’ fates.
While it puzzled me that I saw Rhys’s aura, yet not Vaughn’s, I learned long ago that it was not my place to question the gods or the wisdom they granted me. Perhaps Vaughn’s line had the equivalent of a walker in its history and he’d inherited the blank trait from them. It was possible.
“I think I lost you,” Vaughn said softly. “Where did you go just then?”
“I was thinking…” of home, of family, of you, “…that the canis should befriend you then.”
“Ah.” He glanced away. His shrug jostled me. “I hoped it might be more personal.”
I cleared my throat. “I didn’t mean for my nerves to push me onto your lap.” Our hips rested against one another, our thighs and knees pressed so close, even our shoulders brushed. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize.” His head tilted back, eyes searching the starry sky. “Really.”
Firelight bathed his profile in flickering reds. The color and the male reminded me of blood.
I let my head fall back and a sense of calm encompass me. “What are you thinking?”
“That I was born under an unlucky star and that I’ll die beneath a blood moon.”
“Death is the only outcome of life.” Yet the idea of him dying one day caused a pang in my chest.
Beside me, Vaughn tensed. “Quiet now. The guards approach.”
I scooted farther from him, turning lest they found us too comfortable together.
“Fortune favors you two.” I recognized Torrance’s voice. “The canis means we keep the fire going—tonight at least. We have no spare blankets. How you keep warm is your own business.” Vaughn grunted as the log rocked. “Keep your teeth to yourself in case Maven Lourdes docks us gold for the bite marks. Heed my warning or I’ll have you tied with the other males and she will be left alone.” I heard the smile in his voice. “I can’t be everywhere, and she is a lovely female.”
Vaughn spat. “I understand.”
“Mana,” Torrance said. “If your furry friend should return, don’t hesitate to scream.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I tossed the words over my shoulder, refusing to face him.
“What about food?” Vaughn challenged Torrance. “Mana hasn’t eaten since this morning.”
“We’re low on stores.” He sounded thoughtful. “I hadn’t anticipated having so many mouths to feed. If there are scraps left after my guards have eaten, I’ll divvy them up between you four.”
“Thank you.” Vaughn sounded as if the words had been carved from his throat.
My throat stung as well, because I knew he had asked for my benefit.
Footsteps shuffled and then Vaughn and I were alone.
“They’ll want to get an early start.” The log shifted as Vaughn said, “We should sleep while we can.” I found him seated on the ground, reclining with the log as his pillow. His head turned toward me. “Join me?” His attention drifted past my shoulder. “I’ll keep you safe if he returns.”
Nodding, I sank to my knees at his side. My palm itched, and I scratched until it was raw.
“Careful you don’t break your skin,” Vaughn chastised me. “You don’t want blood on your hands if the canis returns.” He rotated his ankles and leather creaked. “Our feet are bad enough.”
Knowing he would smell the blood, I balled my fist and resisted the urge to scratch. “True.”
He tilted his head. “It’s warmer over here.”
“Why do I doubt that?” Still I went to him and rested my face against his shoulder. His head propped atop mine. “This is not how I imagined spending my first night in the company of a male.”
“I can imagine.” His chuckle made my cheek bounce. “I’m honored to be your first.”
A furious blush made my face burn. Thank the gods he couldn’t see me from this angle.
“Did I make you blush?” He sounded so sure of the effect of his words.
“As I’m sure you intended.” I burrowed closer because he was warm and smelled nice.
“You did well today.” His voice went soft. “Tomorrow we’ll reach the veil. Your home lies on the other side. I will get you there safely, I swear it. If we reach Beltania, the Deinopidae can defend us until reinforcements arrive. Stay close to me. Just as you did for Lleu, if I say run—”
“—you want me to scurry to safety and leave you to fight.” The idea shamed me.
He nodded.
“I will do as you ask.” I silently added for now. I was not without resources. While it wasn’t safe to enter the meditative state that allowed me access to the spiritlands and my power, I could put my talent with herbs to good use. Despite my response to Bram, I would use poison plants if I found them. Once we crossed the veil, I could use my personal time in the woods for collection.
“Sleep well.” His lips brushed my ear.
“You too.” When I closed my eyes, twin pinpricks of golden light shone behind my lids.
I exhaled into my nightmare.
“Our time is short.” The canis loped from the mists of my dream. “You must listen to me.”
Lethargy weighted my limbs. I was steps beyond my deepest meditation. “Who are you?”
His image flickered from canis to man, then back again. So this was the shade’s doing.
“A shadow of my former self,” he said, “but still I have vested interest in my clan’s affairs.”
All this time I thought the spirit had haunted me, when he had been searching for a conduit? “That tells me nothing. I want your name.” Names held power. “Tell me
now or I will end this.”
How regal he looked as his muzzle rose. “You once knew me as Brynmor of the Mimetidae.”
A shiver started at the base of my spine and radiated out through my fingertips.
“You’re—you’re Vaughn’s father?” My mouth came unhinged, and I feared my mind might have too. “You present yourself as a canis. Are you the beast itself? Or have you possessed it?”
“Your blood gave me strength.” He grinned fiercely. “It allows me certain privileges.”
The bottom dropped from my stomach. I must consult Old Father in this matter and soon. It surprised me how real this place felt, and how empty. “How have you brought me to this place?”
“It’s your dream.” He rolled his shoulders. “I was waiting for you to relax so I could use our link to contact you.” His voice turned serious. “I have traveled far and risked much to find you.”
“My blood forged a link between us.” I stared at my palm and the bite mark whose incessant itching tormented me, the wound which refused to heal. Saliva in an open wound could cause an infection. His essence had been an oily sheen on my skin, which must have permeated the bite. I wished Old Father were here to consult. “I admit I was surprised you followed me from Erania.”
“It’s not you I track, but my heir. My destination is my origin—Cathis—home. When I found you in Erania, I knew it was fate, a sign the two gods blessed my journey.” His head lowered. “I regret our introduction was strained, but to have Vaughn so near and be unable to communicate, it frustrated me. When I realized who you were, what you were, I let my impatience best me, and I am sorry for that.” His grin was sly. “Yet this new link of ours has its advantages, does it not?”
Thinking back on how he’d hurt me in the tunnels, I said, “I have yet to see its benefit.”
“When that guard cast you upon the ground, I aided you. In the woods, when you feared the intentions of another guard, I protected you and escorted you to safety. Was that all for naught?”
He had helped me in those instances. “Are you offering me your continued help in exchange for conveying a message to Vaughn?” He would hardly be the first spirit to make such a request.
“No.” His tail drooped. “It’s best if he doesn’t know of my involvement. Be that as it may, I must trust you to guide him. His mother’s life and his legacy are in jeopardy. See him to Cathis.”
“He plans to return to Beltania. He’s honor-bound to return Pascale and me to my home.”
“There’s no time for detours.” His ears flattened. “The yellow death has come to Cathis. His mother has contracted the plague. If she dies without her heir present, another will be named in Vaughn’s place.” He snapped his teeth. “When a Mimetidae dynasty is overthrown, the beating hearts of the clan heads are consumed by the usurpers.” At my startled gasp, he sniffed. “It’s our way. Through ritual sacrifice, the new dynasty is made pure. Blood that pumped the hearts of the first Mimetidae clan heads infuses the new generation. Isolde grows too weak to defend herself.”
“May the two gods be merciful.” Even in this dream realm, my knees weakened until I sank to the floor. Every time I looked beyond Vaughn’s nature, I was reminded who and what he was. “Wait—the plague affects animals. No Araneaeans have contracted it. You must be mistaken.”
“Yet,” he emphasized. “Livestock in Cathis perished. My clan went without food for a time while arranging for new stock to be delivered. I believe…the poor grew desperate and consumed the infected meat.” His head lowered. “Flesh hunger drives them beyond their control at times.”
Disgust soured my tongue, but I had never been so hungry, and I could not judge. I feared he was right. If an Araneaean consumed infected meat, and the plague was bacterial, it might leap from animals to Araneaeans at last. If it were true, none in the Araneae Nation would be spared.
The plague had come to Beltania, but our losses were minor compared to the casualties other clans had suffered. Several varanus had been sick, but we found the nature of their deaths bizarre. Handlers perished as well. All male, all found with their necks snapped. We lost no females, a minor break in its pattern. Illness had swept through the city, there and gone before plague crossed our minds.
For reasons I didn’t understand, the plague had lost its toehold on herd animals in Beltania. I thanked the two gods for it. But there was a matter of the delicate wing found among the dead…
Tamping my worry down, I focused on the issues at hand. “Vaughn won’t leave his males to their fates, or I, Pascale. Lourdes has lost too much. The loss of her sister would break her, and if she is lost, then so is Rhys. I won’t allow him to suffer more than he already has at your hands.”
His lip quivered. “You prize that bastard’s wellbeing over that of my son’s, my wife’s?”
“Rhys is my family and my blood. You of all people should realize what that means to me.” I kept my tone firm. “Whatever your plans, they must include freedom for my fellow prisoners.”
“We are linked, you and I,” he said softly. “You would be wise not to cross me.”
“I’m your sole link to your heir and his fortune,” I reminded him. “You won’t harm me.”
With a snarl, he lunged at my throat. I clenched my fists and stood firm. This was my dreamscape, after all. Snapping his jaws shut a finger’s width from my nose, Brynmor spun aside with impossible agility. Once his paws slapped the ground, he glanced past his shoulder, grinned.
“Enjoy the rest of your night.” A flick of his tail and he was gone.
Chapter 6
“Mana.” Vaughn jostled me with his shoulder. “Wake up.”
I groaned as he dragged me into wakefulness. “Morning already?” I squinted at the golden red of sunrise bathing the new-fallen snow. All night we had slept on frozen ground, and I hadn’t felt a twinge of cold. Turning my head, I bumped noses with Vaughn. Ah, there was my warmth.
We stared at one another, then his gaze dropped to my lips.
I clambered to my feet before he made good on the promise in his eyes.
He chuckled and stood in one fluid motion. “I let you sleep as long as I dared, but the line is forming. I’d rather we fell in than have to be escorted. We’re going to be model prisoners today.”
“We are?” I knew I sounded skeptical.
“We are.” He grinned. “Tonight’s another matter.” He began walking. “Come on. Keep up.”
“Keep up, he says.” I yawned. “Easy for him to say, his legs are twice the length of mine.”
Hours passed and numbness settled in early. For that, I was grateful.
“We’re close.” Vaughn gazed down the winding road, and now so did I.
The air around us was crisp and cold, but the breeze carried warm undertones that lightened my heart. Home. For a moment, the imagined scent of sweet corn roasting made my gut rumble a complaint. I strained my eyes, desperate for a glimpse of home even though I knew it was wasted effort. The veil loomed ahead, the air pulsing, casting heat mirages from its sultry southland side.
“We’ll be so close to home,” I said. “There must be a way to send a message to my aunt.”
Brynmor’s bleak prophesy made it hard for me to meet Vaughn’s eyes. Near Beltania, roads diverged. One path led to Siciia and the Theridiidae clan home, the other toward the Mimetidae clan home in Cathis. If we allowed our captors to march us into their city, no matter how fast our ransoms were met, Isolde would perish long before Vaughn reached her. Another thought left me cold. If Isolde fell, her successor had no reason to spend valuable assets on Vaughn. Who would free a male capable of reclaiming his family’s title? From what I had seen, the Mimetidae were loyal to Isolde, and Vaughn. His clan would choose a familiar ruler, the heir to their current dynasty, over a new leader. Mimetidae financial and social standings had increased exponentially under Isolde’s guidance, and Vaughn was her right hand, the son of their beloved ruler, Brynmor.
Our situation settled heavy on my shoulders. Vaughn
’s life was forfeit if our captors learned his mother was in no position to bargain for his life. The yellow death left no survivors. Brynmor had been concerned for his son, but there had been no plea for his wife’s life, no request that we do all in our power to save her. He knew or he no longer cared she was as good as dead already.
Vaughn’s shoulder brushed mine. “Once Torrance and his men leave for Beltania and we’re alone under light guard, we’ll make our move. Until then, release your doubts and anxieties. I need you to focus on the positives, that we’re alive, that there is hope of rescue and that we are together.” He said the last with inflection that warmed my bones. “I will make you safe, Mana.”
“Thank you.” I would make him safe as well.
“Can I ask…?” His question trailed into silence.
“You’re curious about the canis?” I waited for his nod then decided on a truthful but vague answer. “He was a messenger of sorts.” I paused. “His appearance is linked to my vocation.”
“A spirit animal for the spirit walker?” he teased. “I didn’t believe those stories were true.”
Truth was in the eye of the beholder, as was the case with most lore.
“It’s rare for an animal spirit to linger after death.” I shrugged. “I think there’s nothing here, no regrets or ties to hold them to this world. They appreciate life and death, and they embrace it.”
Young walkers were taught to follow the shining aura of small animals into the spiritlands. They were simple creatures, their ascension direct and their path safe for young minds to follow. Though I’ll admit I’d sobbed each time Old Father rushed me to escort a dying animal for practice.
Harsh training for the cruel world we lived in and the future journeys I would endure.
Araneae Nation: The Complete Collection Page 31
