Kiatana's Journey (Creatures of the Lands Book 1)

by Natalie Erin

“She?” Ionan lifted into the air and flew as fast as he could. She slept on his back between his wings, and he wondered if she would ever recover.

  When they found the fairies Ionan dropped down into the trees, right next to Kia’s small hut. Kia rushed over and cradled the sleeping Lottie in her arms.

  “Make sure the Great One sees her,” he told Keota. “We’ll talk later, I promise, but now I fear for Lilja’s life.” He took off again and Keota watched him go, his face filled with guilt. Vixen took Lottie from Kia, looked her over quickly, and placed her into Casiff’s arms.

  “What are you doing?” he asked in bewilderment, cradling the wolf gently.

  “She is sick,” said Vixen. “Kia needs rest, and Vixen needs to take care of things in her place. Watch over this pup for me.” She then helped Kia flutter back to her house and Casiff looked at the sleeping little one in his arms, feeling strangely attached.

  LILJA HADN’T MOVED an inch from where he stood. The Terror in front of him let out a loud cry and began charging towards him, wrath in its eyes. Lilja broke into a run towards the beast, his paws extended furiously and ready to jump at the Terror’s neck.

  Before he got the chance a herd of unicorns made of fire bolted out from within the trees. They spread past him and leapt upon the Terror, goring it with their horns and setting him aflame, leaving him to smolder and burn as he slowly sunk to the ground and died.

  “No!” Lilja growled in frustration. He instead charged at the fire unicorns. All he could do was whimper as his mind thought over and over, She’s dead. Lottie’s dead. I have no family. My only sister is dead. His father and mother had both died, leaving them orphans. Now he was all alone. I loved her! I loved her! How could you let her die! He screamed in his mind at everyone he could think of...Kia, Keota, Malaki, Ionan, Vixen, the unicorns, Kikan, and even the Creator Himself. He ran as fast as he could towards his one destination, the creatures of flame. Before he got there, though, a certain dragon landed in front of him, spreading out his enormous wings wide and blocking his view.

  Lilja glared at the Changer with all of his might and then, in a final act of defiance, he ran to the cliff with what was certain oblivion under him. His body would bash onto the rocks and he would be thrown into the lake far below, where he would drown. It was an insane thought, but to Lilja it seemed saner than anything that was occurring. He ran fast as the fire that had taken the Terror to the cliff edge where he, without a second thought, catapulted himself off and let his body fall to what was a certain death, one that would be a sweet relief.

  Everything was in slow motion as he fell. He was seconds from cracking onto the rocks when he suddenly felt scales under his paws and a voice repeat,“Gotcha.”

  “No!” Lilja sobbed. “Let me go!” he cried. “Let me die!”

  Ionan let him struggle in his claws and Lilja gave up. What did a wolf have against a Changer, anyway? Ionan landed back at the top of the cliff and Lilja sat in his claws, not knowing what to do.

  Ionan let him go. Needing comfort, the wolf pup crawled over to his head and snuggled up next to it. He didn’t want to be a warrior anymore. He was tired of being Lilja Nightcoat of the Black Hearted Stream. All he wanted was to go back to his old den and sleep with his mother and Lottie beside him.

  Ionan lifted the pup up with his teeth and put him on his neck, and then began to hum. The beautiful sounds that only a Changer could make began lolling Lilja off to sleep, where he wouldn’t have to be bothered by the horrors of the current world. He watched the sun rise higher over the horizon and cast the forest in light. He hoped he wouldn’t have any dreams. He was too tired for nightmares.

  Ionan made sure he was asleep before taking off again.

  LILJA’S MIND came about very slowly. The pup stood up and realized his battle gear was gone. Someone had removed it, and given him a bath as well. Lilja wondered who could have done this, but he was so miserable he couldn’t have cared less.

  He wondered how he could sneak away from the forest. He could become a lone wolf. Become one of those desperate wolves he and…no, he had always been so afraid of. He pondered it, but imagined Ionan must be keeping an eye on him after the dramatic run off the cliff. He saw Kia sitting near to him, watching the clouds drift by.

  He tried to sneak away, but there was no getting past his fairy. He tried to run but Kia got up and scooped him up in her grasp quickly, smiling. He decided struggling wouldn’t be a good idea and he sat in her arms grumpily. She rocked him back and forth and tried singing a lullaby, which was entirely off key.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Practicing my mothering skills,” she said. “Keota and I are going to be parents.”

  “What!” Lilja exclaimed and jumped out of her arms.

  She smiled and said, “We’re having a baby. The wedding will be soon. I’ve already got a ring, see?”

  She showed him her emerald ring and Lilja turned his back on her. “Great for you,” he grumbled.

  Kia reached a hand out to stroke his fur. He whirled around and snarled at her, and she recoiled her hand. Then Kia’s old self was back and she yelled at him, “Don’t snap at me! I’m pregnant, you little punk!”

  Lilja looked at her with sad, round eyes, realizing what he had done. Her face softened and she said, “Oh, Lilja, I’m sorry.” Kia looked at him and she suddenly smiled brightly, her wings fluttering in excitement. “Come on. I’ve got someone you really want to see.”

  She led him to a clearing, one with the brightest new flowers pushing out of the ashes and the prettiest little sprouts popping up from the ground. Ionan was lying down, with Keota relaxing against him. Casiff and Vixen were sitting up in a tree, with Dragonstar resting beneath. The one that Lilja wanted to see more than anyone was not here…and he knew she never would be again. His ears dropped and he shut his eyes, trying to block out the world…its hurts…its pain….

  Just then, Kia laughed behind him and he seemed to hear a sound…a light howl brushing past his ears and warming his heart. He turned around and couldn’t believe his eyes.

  At the top of a hill was his sister. “Lottie!” he cried. She turned and saw him, letting out another bright, cheerful howl. He ran towards her as fast as he could, whimpering and sobbing as wolves do when they truly love and lose someone. But he had her back! He charged and she hobbled down the hill, seeming to favor the shoulder the blade had sunk in.

  He jumped and they tumbled head over heels, laughing. She sat on top of him and he whispered, “I thought you were dead.”

  She giggled and said, “It’s not time for me to die yet, brother.” She playfully bit him and they romped in joy, batting each other with their paws gently.

  When they were finished, Lilja looked at her. “What’s wrong with your leg?” he asked.

  She glanced down at her leg and casually said, “Oh, that? Ionan said it’s injured. The unicorn horn that healed me had to go in pretty deep.”

  “Unicorn horn?” he said inquisitively.

  “Yes. Lavender fell and broke her leg. Vixen couldn’t save her. Ionan used her horn to cure the poison. But I could have a bad leg for the rest of my life,” she shrugged.

  “How can you say that so calmly?” he questioned.

  “When you know what I know now, you can face a lot with bravery,” she said, her eyes sparkling.

  “Know what?” he asked.

  She smiled mischievously. “Not telling!”

  Lilja noticed Lottie’s clean coat and lack of armor. “Where’s our gear? And who cleaned our coats?”

  “Ionan is keeping the gear for us, for now,” she said. “I don’t really know who gave us a bath, but I think it was Casiff. I needed it anyway. I was covered in blood.”

  “Casiff?” he questioned and looked over at the haughty figure in the tree in doubt.

  She nodded and they walked towards the others side by side. Keota and Kia had their arms wrapped around each other, with Ionan standing over them protectively although there
was no threat. Kia smiled and she said, “Well, I guess everything turned out all right. You two are reunited, Keota and I are engaged and pregnant, the forest is well, Ionan is back and the other two can’t stop falling for each other.” She cast a glance at Vixen and Casiff still up in the tree.

  “It all did,” smiled Casiff and he took Vixen’s hand. “Especially since Vixen will be coming back with me,” he beamed.

  Vixen took her hand gently away. “Vixen likes Casiff very, very much,” she whispered. “But Vixen has her own land and unicorns to take care of, as well as her duties as the Great One. She can’t be with you.”

  Casiff looked at her, brokenhearted once more. They both jumped down from the tree. “But I don’t have anyone left!” he exclaimed. “Caini’s dead, my father hates me, and my own land creatures no longer trust me.”

  “Vixen is sorry,” she said, “But she can’t stay here.”

  Casiff cast down his eyes, trying not to lose control of his emotions. He sat on the ground, looking abandoned and lost. Lottie gazed at him with compassion in her eyes. A spark seemed to ignite in her brain and she looked at the fairy closer, as if in a new light.

  “You two fought like true warriors,” said Kikan, gazing at them proudly. “I would love to have you in my pack.”

  Lilja looked at him and said, “Thank you, Kikan, but I don’t think we’re ready to be true pack members yet.”

  “All the same,” he said, “I would like you to become one of us. Someday you will be strong enough to truly be wolves. Until then, we would love you to be a part of our family.”

  Lilja gazed in amazement at his sister. He then whooped and spun around her. “Did you hear that Lottie? Kikan wants to adopt us into his pack! We can be a family again! We have a home!”

  Lottie laughed and sighed, “Only one of us, brother.”

  Lilja stopped dancing and stared, confused.

  “Someone told me,” she said with a strange look in her eyes, “That when the time came I would know what to do. I was confused, but now I understand.”

  “What are you talking about?” he asked, puzzled.

  Lottie started to walk slowly towards Casiff. “We must go our separate ways. Your destiny is to live with Kikan and his pack. Mine is different.”

  “No!” he cried. “I just lost you!”

  She looked back and said with love in her eyes, “We shall always be more powerful together, and we will be, often.”

  “But not like we used to,” he said weakly.

  “It is time for us to be apart,” she said. “I will never leave you, but this is one thing we have to do alone. I know you understand.”

  Lilja looked at her and realized he did. He watched bewilderedly as his sister, the one who knew him better than he did himself, crawled into Casiff’s lap. The fairy was holding his head in his hands. She wiggled under his arms and he looked at her in confusion.

  “I’m Caini’s daughter,” she whispered. “I’ll be your companion now and forever. I won’t abandon you.”

  Tears welled in his eyes. He stroked her silver fur. “You look…so much like her,” he whispered. “And your eyes are her eyes. You’re just like my Caini.”

  Lilja walked over to take his place by Kikan. He rose his head up proudly and looked out towards the sun at a brand new tomorrow.

  The forest was quiet and gentle for a moment. Then Ionan spoke, gazing at each of his friends one by one and finally letting his gaze rest on Kia.

  “Everything is right once more.” Ionan said. “Let us all go to plan the wedding. These two are due to have a little one, and who knows what the future may bring us?”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  A PROMISE MEANT FOR ALWAYS

  When Kia and Keota made it back to her house Kia saw Snow Drop standing by her front door, her one wing bent and her head bowed in pain. “Hello Snow Drop,” Kia called softly, and the lovely Pegasus’s eyes opened. She looked up and whinnied happily at seeing her owner. “I’m glad you got home okay,” the pegasus whimpered, breathing heavily.

  “My dearest friend,” Kia whispered, and she touched the wing that had been crushed. It quivered once and Kia drew her hand back quickly. “You fought for me bravely. Thank you for being my second in command.”

  “Anything for you, Kia.” Snow Drop let out a squeal when Kia touched her wing again.

  “I don’t think it’s broken, only a little sprained,” Kia said after a few more minutes of observation. “Keota, go to that tree over there and rip off a few branches.”

  The Accompany walked over to a young sapling and started tearing off the limbs. Kia took them and smoothed them down with her knife, then fashioned a splint out of some rope she still had in her pocket from the journey. She and Keota fashioned the splint on the mare’s wing, stepping back to observe their work.

  “That should work fine,” Kia said. “In a few months your wing will be healed and it should be almost as good as it was. But no flying until then.”

  “I’m okay with that,” Snow nickered. “After this long battle, and all the traveling too, I think that all I need is a long nap. I won’t be doing much of anything for a long, long time.” Snow Drop propped up her one back leg on the ground and closed her eyes, slowly falling asleep.

  “Don’t listen to her,” Kia rolled her eyes. “She’ll be frolicking around friskily in a few days.”

  She turned to Keota and she saw that he was watching all the other creatures crawling around in her front yard. All of those injured had been tended to by this time, and the head count had been totaled. There had been more who had perished than they had thought. The two walked hand in hand through the forest and watched as bodies were buried and tears were shed. It had taken all night to clean the battlefield of their own dead. Ionan was now on the plains burning the bodies of the Night Mares and Night Terrors, with Dragonstar to help him. If the couple looked up, they could see ashes flying through the air. It took a long time before they found someplace where they could be alone.

  “I think we should find a way to honor those who have died. Before we start planning the wedding,” Keota said quietly.

  Kia looked back from where they had come. “You’re right. We will do so first thing in the morning. But it’s getting late, and we all need a little rest before tomorrow.” Kia smiled at him with her hand on her stomach. “It feels wrong, somehow, with all this pain and grief going around, but a little bit of me is actually smiling. I’m so happy about this baby, I think I may burst.”

  “Well don’t explode until the baby is born, okay? I can’t lose you and my son all in the same day,” Keota said jokingly. They both laughed.

  Kia flew them onto the tops of the trees and they sat there watching the sunset. They rested in their own personal heaven, he with his arms around her and she so close to him that she could feel his heartbeat pounding through his body and into hers. The lovely pinks and oranges reflected on their skin and hair as they turned their back on the battlefield and towards the north, towards a great expanse of forest and sky. The day was calm at last. The fighting was over and the sickness was cured. Life was good.

  “KIA!!” a small voice screamed from behind them. They turned to see a tiny little red bird hovering in the air, his breast heaving with anxiety.

  “What is it now, Scarlet?” Kia moaned.

  “The Great One wishes to speak with you. She says it’s important,” the small bird told her quickly.

  With a moan, Kia pulled herself out of Keota’s arms and rose into the air, her wings sparking in the light. “I’ll be back.” Kia kissed Keota upon the cheek lovingly, and then followed Scarlet back to her hut.

  KEOTA REMAINED in the trees alone. He watched her as she went away, smiling at the fairy he loved. When she vanished from his view he plucked a single leaf from the top of the tree. The lovely green color was almost identical to that of Kia’s hair, and he twirled it between his fingers gently.

  “What would I have done if I hadn’t met her?” he asked himself, lookin
g off into the sky. “Would I have found happiness elsewhere or nowhere?”

  A face appeared in his head, one that he missed sorely and greatly. It doesn’t matter what would have happened. All that matters is what did happen, a soft voice said in his head, a voice he knew all too well. It was a saying that his best friend Luciana had always used when they were young. Keota realized that she had been right. It didn’t really matter what would have happened if he never met Kia, because he did meet her and a lot had happened.

  Keota sat in the tree and stared at the sky, truly happy for the first time since he had lost his best friend.

  “WHAT DO YOU NEED, Vixen?” Kia asked as she walked in front of her house. All the creatures were gone now. With one look at Vixen Scarlet let out a tiny peep, then flew off for the safety of the trees.

  “To tell you the most wonderful news,” Vixen beamed at her. “Casiff is going to live with Vixen and the unicorns!” The fairy began bouncing up and down, twirling around with the greatest of excitement.

  “That’s wonderful!” Kia placed her hands on Vixen’s shoulders to calm the woman down. “But why did you need to tell me now?”

  “Because there is more that Vixen must tell Kia,” Vixen smiled broadly at the younger fairy. “Casiff is giving all of his land to you because he cannot take care of it from so far away. Your territory is expanding.”

  “He’s giving me all of his land?!” Kia’s eyes widened in amazement, then began to jump up and down much like Vixen was. “I can’t believe this! I have to thank him! Where is he?”

  “I’m right here,” Casiff came out from behind a tree and smiled broadly.

  Kia ran up and wrapped her arms around him, nearly tackling him to the ground with her joy. “Thank you! I always loved the plains!”

  “Yeah, I would think so. You’ve made a lot of friends there, after the battle and everything. If that’s not enough for you, I have an early wedding present. You are also freed from our marriage. I talked with my father and he said that the deal was off. He’s not going to go crazy or attack you or anything if you don’t marry me,” Casiff told her, obviously extremely happy with the idea himself.