by Amber Stuart
Hitting the next cavern, he stopped in shock as his eyes absorbed the purple grass and huge tree trunks in front of him. All the colors of a rainbow, a rare phenomenon on this planet but common, or so he’d heard, on Earth, spread out before him. There was water in abundance not only in pools but there was a stream, a large one. It was probably part of an underground river that cut through this mountain. Had he not been hunting his wayward mate, he would have enjoyed exploring and discovering all the plant and animal life present here.
A scream ripped through the air, but it was such an inhuman sound. Never had he heard anything like it. Thankfully it sounded nothing like a human should sound. Nevertheless, he needed to hurry to see what had happened. The grass that looked so lovely was harder to walk on than porous rocks had been. A slithering vine crawled along the ground but when he came near it quickly jerked out of his way. It wasn’t long before he discovered why the vine seemed frightened of him. A foot long section of vine had been separated by a sharp object. It would be his guess the vine was carnivorous and his mate its intended prey. She was probably carrying a knife and that was lucky for her.
Frightened, she had sawed through the vine roughly causing it a great deal of pain. The vine wouldn’t bother her again but it was just an example of how dangerous this cave was. There were things here that neither of them was familiar with. The sooner he found her and they got out of here, the better. Unfortunately, she had put on a burst of speed after she’d broken free of the vine. Looking around, he saw no sign of her and her scent was growing fainter by the second. Terror had given her wings and she was flying away from him.
Moving in the direction she had raced took him out of this cavern. He wondered what the hell would come next. It wasn’t long before he saw another tight passageway. It was passable, but she would get through faster since she was smaller. The best thing to do was just head in as fast as possible and hope at some point it widened. The tunnel was dark but the walls were smooth. It made him wonder if they were natural like lava vents or artificial as in made by an advanced race at a time in the past. This was the worst possible time to discover such an incredible place. Of course without his mate, it would still be undiscovered.
The tunnels grew lighter as he moved along and he entered a small rounded cavern. There was no way out and as his eyes scanned the room he found his mate sitting on the floor completely dejected.
“You are mine now. I am Razar, your mate.” His voice was matter of fact hiding the sense of victory that rolled over him.
“I am Lista, but I will never be yours.” It was easy to see her rebellious nature. Their mating would be a challenge every day. She would make his life exciting and he would make her happy once she accepted she was his.
Razar pulled out his communicator and took a picture of her. “I just sent in your picture which confirms I’ve caught you. You won’t be allowed to leave for one year unless I’m with you. That is the agreement, Sweetheart. The mating is permanent but after a year they will no longer enforce your residence, that will be my job.”
She sent him a look that would make a lesser male doubt his ability to keep her. He had no doubts, she was his and his she would remain. Holding out his hand, she refused to take it and she got to her feet on her own. At least she wasn’t being unreasonable, she did stand up. Motioning for her to walk in front of him, he looked around at the odd cavern. Sometime soon he would come back and explore this place with or without his mate. Whether she came or not would depend on how their relationship progressed.
“Do all the mountains contain caves like these?” She asked as she looked around once they reached the next cavern.
“I really couldn’t say since I was as surprised to find these as you were. We’ve not explored much of our planet but it is something we’ll be doing more and more of.”
“Why wouldn’t you explore such an exciting space?”
“You know we were a political penal colony. There was a small walled off area we were kept in and this wasn’t part of it.”
“I’d forgotten about that.” Lista admitted taking a long look at him.
Now that they had entered the next cavern, they sat and rested drinking a small amount of water and eating some of the food they had. They didn’t talk because the mating hung over their heads. She hoped to avoid it but surely she could see that wouldn’t happen and he was ready to do it now if she would give in.
“Come on. Why don’t we get to my house where we can eat real food, drink all we want, and rest on a comfortable bed? Tomorrow we can argue about whether or not you’re mine.” Razar was tired, dirty, hungry, and frustrated with this woman who had agreed to mate with him but now expected to be let go. It was worse because he wanted her, desperately. Everything inside him screamed that she was his but she denied it.
He held out his hand to help her up and when she took it, electricity zapped him and he almost dropped her. His eyes widened and he stared at her noting she looked surprised too. It was now certain, they were a match. The female might fight him, but given time and close proximity, she wouldn’t win. They worked their way toward the exit which would take them to the desert. He hoped they would make it before whatever was stalking them decided to strike. It was big, judging by the sounds it made as it walked. Bigger, he would guess, than the batar he had killed.
Moving along at the best speed his mate could manage, he was sure that the creature behind them would catch up to them in the most dangerous place along the way, where the porous rock lined the floor. The holes would be harder to avoid during a battle. At least that would be a problem for the animal behind them too. It would help if he knew what the beast was but he had no idea.
Getting to the purple grass in the largest and prettiest cavern was a good thing, but it wasn’t quite half way to the desert. At least there were no holes here, only carnivore vines and grass that was uneven making it hard to move fast. Razar had a sneaking suspicion that a four legged animal would have no trouble running through this grass. Sadly, his mate would never be able to move quickly enough to out maneuver such a creature. She was beautiful and strong for her kind, maybe once they were truly mated she would gain the strength she needed to survive under circumstances like these.
It occurred to him that he might inform her that they were being hunted but he feared she would become panic stricken and that wouldn’t be helpful. Right now all they could do was move quickly in the proper direction. Any deviation from the plan would make them meet the predator pacing them that much faster.
“Can we take a break?” Lista yelled a little louder than necessary.
“Once we’re out of this cavern.” He didn’t even glance at her as he answered. If he did, she might see the truth in his eyes.
A vine slithered close by but seemed to sense his mate’s presence. It let out a sound like a shriek and jerked back to wherever it came from. The flowers shook, it could be a reaction to the light which seemed to blink or a random vine could have bumped them. If they came back to explore this cave system there might be answers to all his questions.
“Why are you rushing me? What’s going on? There’s something you aren’t telling me.”
“We have something chasing us and it’s getting closer. I need you to remain calm and trust me to protect you.” Keeping his face neutral, he hoped he looked encouraging.
“What is after us?” Lista stared at him as if willing him to speak.
“I don’t know. The steps fall heavy so I know it’s large.”
“Larger than the cat thing that attacked you when I escaped into the cave?”
“I believe so.”
“How did you defeat the cat?”
“That was a batar, which is one of the most dangerous predators on this planet.” Razar knew his chest puffed up a little but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to impress his mate so she would choose him.
“You never said what you did. Did you simply out run it?”
Unable to he
lp the look of disgust that came to his face when his female suggested he was a coward, he fought to make his expression neutral. “I fought it with a hunting knife. I made several strikes to give him a chance to flee but he chose not to so I finished him.”
“You? You took on that huge cat with a hunting knife?” Her disbelief was obvious in her expression and her tone.
“You have much to learn about my people and what we are capable of. You will see what is after us before long because the creature is almost upon us.” Lista looked around nervously. Her eyes, a beautiful emerald color, grew wide as she sought the beast’s presence. “He will make himself known before we clear this cavern.”
“How do you know so much about tracking and hunting?”
“Because we have a primitive side not far removed from these beasts in ourselves.” Maybe it wasn’t wise to tell her that, but she might see it soon enough. This way it would be less of a surprise. She stumbled and almost fell but he caught her and the tingles were stronger than before. Razar hoped it was a bond forming and that it would help him convince her to stay at his side. If she had signed up to come here, her life on her old planet must have been lacking somehow. If she gave him a chance he could change all that for her.
Lista still looked unconvinced. It wouldn’t be long now before she would see what he was made of and that he could defend her against anything, he hoped. The sounds weren’t far behind them now but he still couldn’t see or scent anything. This was a beast that liked to play with its food but he would teach it a lesson or kill it. Those were the only two options available to him. A flash of purple, close in color to the grass, flashed up high and then was out of sight. This didn’t look like a place that a large animal would live. There weren’t any obvious signs he resided here. Had he found a different way into the caves?
Razar took a deep breath and caught a faint scent like canine. Having been to Earth and many other planets he found felines and canines were common predators. It had amazed him as he traveled that with all the possibilities in the universe, there were so many similarities from planet to planet. He had spent a year just traveling looking for worlds they could trade with and races with compatible females. That had been his job as the minister of trade.
Rushing his mate through the cavern, he calculated the odds that they make it to the next one before the beast attacked. The odds were slim to none. A sound reached his ears and he had to smile. It seemed the beast was not familiar with the creeping vine. A shriek sounded next and that told him the vine was unfamiliar with the beasts teeth and claws. It was a day of lessons for all concerned.
The distraction would allow them to get farther than they would have otherwise. They still wouldn’t make it outside. The creature howled like Razar had heard wolves from Earth do when they sang to the moon. This was different, this beast was pissed and about to attack. To his relief they slipped into the next cavern as the creature tried to follow and the loud echoes of sound told him the beast was too large to get through. If only that was the end of it, but the creature was pounding the exit trying to force its way through.
The whole mountain seemed to shake with the force of the canine as he rammed against the entryway to the cavern he and his mate were in. It was dark in here and he remembered the pitfalls in the form of randomly places holes that seemed to be bottomless. They needed to move quickly but carefully if they wanted to survive all the way to the next cavern. The sounds of ramming didn’t slow but now the sounds of rocks falling with each hit were also included.
He wasn’t sure if the holes were large enough to slow down the wolfish animal but he had to assume they weren’t. Getting through here and to the next cavern before the beast made its entrance was their best plan. Going faster would help and while the darkness didn’t affect him, the holes did. Grabbing his mate’s hand, he sped her up a bit guiding her through despite the fact that she could barely see.
The noise that filled his ears now was the crashing of the barrier. The beast was now in the cavern with them even though they were only halfway through. The ground shook as the creature ran toward them. A whimper sounded ringing through the cavern and Razar hoped it meant the beasts paw had twisted in a hole. It was hard to tell since it seemed to quickly overcome its difficulties and it ran at them again. Now he could see its face in the distance. Its deep purple fur was thick and glossy, its snout long and topped with an ivory colored nose. Its eyes seemed to be what was called eggplant on Earth. Razar had studied the planet more than most when he decided to take a bride from there.
The beast loped, but his strides weren’t smooth so he had been injured. “Oh my God!” Lista yelled and her mouth stayed open in shock. “What the hell is that? A giant purple fucking wolf? How the hell did it get in here?”
“Something like that and he could have gotten in here through several alternate entrances. This cave system is huge and we’ve only gone through the middle of it. Tunnels split off several times but you just headed straight.”
“It seemed the best idea at the time until it ran into a dead end. We had best pay attention to him now. There’s no way we can outrun him, we need to stop and fight.”
He had no idea that his mate had a talent for stating the obvious. It wasn’t that he minded. He was too relieved she wasn’t panicking to mind it. “We will but let’s keep moving until he’s nearer.”
“How the hell close do you want him to get? I don’t want to get gobbled whole without putting up a fight.”
“He’s not that close yet.” He wasn’t sure why his mate rolled her eyes. What did that gesture even mean? If he’d ever known, it was beyond his recall now.
“I think I can smell his nasty breath. That’s close enough.”
Earthers were just fanciful or they were crazy. His sense of smell was far better than hers and he could only pick up an overall scent. Once the wolf was closer, he’d be able to break down the components but there was no way his mate could smell the wolf’s breath. He was almost close enough now as he leaped twenty feet in one jump. Damn the beast was big, the biggest creature Razar had seen on his planet.
“Go over by those rocks now or head on out to the desert and wait for me.” Razar stood facing the wolf beast not even taking his eyes from him to look at his mate.
“Like hell. We’ll do this together.” Lista’s face was set in a stubborn look that he would normally call adorable just not under these circumstances.
“Do as I say, female. You’ll only be a snack for this beast and you’ll not even slow him down.”
“I don’t think you’ll be a meal either. All for one and one for all.”
As sweet as her desire to team up with him sounded, the creature would clean his teeth with her bones. The farther away she was when the wolf attacked, the happier he’d be.
Chapter 5
Wolves and Demons
Lista watched from behind a rock while Razar stood waiting for the wolf creature to come closer. The giant purple beast looked almost like an enormous stuffed animal if it wasn’t for the black fangs that glistened in his mouth or the sharp looking black claws on each of his four paws. A rumbling rose from his throat, it sounded like a growl. The wolf sniffed the air before he edged forward just a little more.
It looked to Lista like the beast was trying to gobble Razar up since he kept moving his nose in closer. His nose was almost touching Razar when Razar moving lightning fast, smacked it. The wolf fell back on his hind legs as he tried to distance himself from the male and the expression on his face was reproach. He looked just like a puppy that had been kicked. Lista fought the inappropriate desire to giggle. Razar stood ready for whatever the beast would do next.
The wolf reached his paw out towards Razar not touching him but almost like he wanted to shake hands. She wasn’t getting the impression this beast wanted to eat them, but he did seem to want something. Razar reached out and touched the paw lightly. He examined it as if it was a unique find, which it probably was. Mazlan
s didn’t have pets and they only had two types of domestic animals. Grunts, which were beasts of burden used for transportation and work that had been there since the penal colony was first established, and feeders, which were animals that were used for food.
Mazlans only ate a small amount of meat, most of their food supply was plant based. The penal colony had been set up to be largely self-sustaining and had even produced crops that were sent back to the main world. The cost of keeping up the colony was more than offset by the income from the prison. It was no wonder that they never stopped sending new inmates there. Lista had read that half the prisoners had had estates that had been liquidated by the Emperor to fill his own personal coffers.
Razar seemed to have found something he was fiddling with on the wolves paw. “I’ve almost got it, Boy.” Razar pulled something loose then examined it. It was a giant splinter of some sort. Lista tried to remember some story about a splinter and a lion but she couldn’t remember much of it.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Lista stood with her hands on her hips. “We run from certain death but he’s only looking for someone to doctor him?”
“You should be happy that’s all he seems to want.” Razar reached out with his empty hand and petted the wolf. “I’m glad I didn’t have to hurt him, he’s a beautiful animal.”
“Yeah, pretty is as pretty does.”
“What’s that mean?”
“I don’t know but I had a friend on Earth who used to say it all the time and I never got to.”
“You’re a little odd, aren’t you?” Razar looked at her with a smile on his face.
Lista smiled back. “Just a little bit.”
“We need to go. Goodbye, Boy.” Razar turned and led Lista on their way. The wolf didn’t turn and run away as he’d expected. He trailed after them but once they made it to the final exit, there was no way he’d get out that narrow opening. Razar had barely made it down the narrow passageway to the even narrower exit.
