by Oxford, Rain
What would Edward do?
I didn’t want to think of that; Edward would probably face the beast head on and I didn’t like my chances of walking out of that. Faced with few options, I let up on the energy and focused more on control. I immediately stopped sinking and started going up again. The joy and pride I felt from out-mastering the wolf proved hazardous and short-lived, however. While I watched the infuriated wolf, my head collided with a particularly large branch.
Somehow, I managed to grab the branch and heave myself up despite my sudden vertigo and nausea. It was then that I realized how very high I was, which reminded me that I didn’t like heights. I wasn’t afraid of heights; I was afraid of falling.
I closed my eyes and leaned my back against the tree. The wolf snapped and growled but my assumption that he couldn’t climb proved to be right. It was at that time that I decided magic was good. After about ten minutes, the wolf seemed to give up, though I wasn’t stupid enough to go back down straightaway.
Without any way of contacting Edward or Divina, and with my broken internal compass, I was lost. Not only did I not know how to find Edward or Divina, I didn’t know which way to go to get out of the forest. I decided that my best bet was to wait for one of them to find me.
An hour passed with no sound and it was making me paranoid. Though Edward and Divina were very quiet, I wanted to hear them walking around; any sound to show that they were walking around. I thought of calling out for them, but decided that it was probably the fastest way to get eaten. The slow moving creatures in the forest had long since returned to their migrating, which I hoped meant that the danger was gone. Not able to sit still any longer, I held up my rock.
To my surprise, I already had a lot of energy in me, it just felt so natural that I hadn’t noticed it. I really do need to stop gathering energy subconsciously. Energy flowed through me easily into the rock as I willed it to rise. It did with very little effort. Earth took less control and more power than the wind, but I was much more comfortable with it. Not allowing myself a second to feel doubt, I stepped off the branch and held onto the rock for dear life. I sank quickly, but I was afraid to slow it down because I couldn’t hold on for long.
The ground hit me hard so it was a good five minutes before I could get up. It was impossible to stand on my cut ankle, but my other ankle only hurt really badly. Fortunately, the next thing I tripped over was a long, thick branch, which I could use as a walking stick. I stumbled around for about ten minutes in the dark. The creatures in the woods avoided me, which was great by me. That was until I walked right into my doom.
My doom, that day, was the wolf pack itself. By the time spotted the three wolves, they were already growling. There was a bloody carcass in front of them, so I prayed they weren’t hungry enough to attack me. I started backing away.
The growling from behind me made my blood grow cold and I couldn’t help looking around. Four more wolves closed the circle around me. I always loved dogs; they’re best with ketchup. “Um… Nice mutated alien wolfies.” I slowly waved my hand. “You don’t want to eat me. I’ll give you all indigestion.”
“I don’t think they care.”
Divina’s voice was a gift from the gods. I was grateful for her presence, but was upset that she stepped in front of me as if to defend me. Never in my life had a woman tried to protect me. Every foolish thing I was about to say just froze in my throat as the four wolves in front of us stopped growling. It wasn’t even a minute later before they slowly backed away into the dark, abandoning their kill. Divina quickly turned around, still keeping me to her back, and faced the other wolves. They didn’t take as long as the others to back off. Divina finally relaxed.
“We should find Kiro. He’s probably worried out of his mind about you.”
Before I could stop her to demand an explanation, she was off. “Divina! Wait up!” She must have remembered my ankle because she slowed. She never wandered around; she knew where she was going.
“How did you get away from that wolf?” I asked.
“Your shoes. I noticed them under the bed when you tried to ditch them so I bagged them because I thought they would come in handy. The poor beast took one sniff of them and ran howling in pain.”
I couldn’t argue. “That was a good plan.”
“Listen…” Her voice was surprisingly gentle in contrast to her walking. “Don’t tell Kiro we split up. He doesn’t like his apprentice being in danger and it’ll be easier on him if he doesn’t know you were on your own.”
It made sense, but I couldn’t help feeling suspicious. However, when Divina came to my side and held me close to help me walk, that suspicion evaporated.
A few minutes later, Divina slowed until we came to a complete stop. I didn’t have time to worry about another attack before I heard the gust of wind. I allowed myself to be manhandled as Divina grabbed the back of my shirt and turned me toward Edward. He pushed my head up, surprisingly gentle for such a quick movement, and started checking my neck for injuries.
“His right shoulder,” Divina supplied.
Edward let go of my neck and pulled up the sleeve of my shirt until he could see my shoulder, which was still slightly numb. I couldn’t even look.
“What happened?” he asked.
Against my better judgment, I looked. The skin was swollen and purple, even though the wolf hadn’t broken the skin. “Doggy spit,” I grumbled.
“Draxuni venom,” Divina translated. “No cuts. No new broken bones. He has a mildly sprained ankle. He’s fine.”
“Hello!” I cried quietly, finally able to express my horror. “Does this look fine to you?!”
“Quiet. That’ll fade, just don’t rub it. You don’t even need treatment for it. Now let’s go before we attract anything else. How did you get away?” he asked Divina.
She shrugged. “The same way I did last time; I yelled at them in telepathy and made them confused. They can’t stand it.”
“So, are we having fun yet?” I asked.
“We’re getting there.”
Edward helped me as we started on our way again, much quieter than before. Divina held Edward’s bag in her arms so it wouldn’t catch on anything. I kept thinking about how the wolves acted toward Divina. They hadn’t looked confused.
It was hours later that my luck just turned horrendous. Edward was practically carrying me when they both froze, again, and scanned our surroundings.
“I don’t understand,” Divina said, “they don’t hunt in packs. They’re cannibals.” There was the edge of panic in her quiet voice.
“Oh, this is not fair,” Edward said.
I knew we were in trouble since he didn’t even whisper it. Then they came out of the dark cover of the forest and I realized just how dead we were; about fifteen of the raptor creatures surrounded us.
“Can they see us?” I asked.
“It doesn’t matter; they know where we are. Divina, your sun charm.”
Divina was already untying her bag and backing towards us very slowly. I noticed with horror that most of them were focused on me and my ankle.
“Don’t provoke them. Don’t look them in the eyes.”
But one of them didn’t need provoking. It took one large step towards me and opened its mouth to let out a horrible screech. The scaly skin on its neck came up around its head like one of those frilled lizards. As it did, a dark blood color slowly flushed the top of its snout, like the plates of a stegosaurus.
The others all let loose their own screeches. Then the instigator launched at me, Divina shook open the little white cloth bag, and the whole area filled with searing light. The creatures jumped back from the brightness in obvious pain and only a few remained on their feet.
Edward picked me up the instant the light cleared and ran. Divina kept up easily but so did the raptor creatures. It was only a few minutes before I could see the break in the woods, the light at the end of the forest. Everyone ran with all their might, but I noticed that Divina was pulling ahead…
because Edward was slowing. He was breathing heavy, and I was dragging him down. The sun was still far away.
“Divina, can you use your explosive stuff that I almost blew up the ship with?!” I yelled.
“No! Can’t get to it!”
Something had to happen. We would never have made it to the sunlight. I closed my eyes, drew my energy, and did something I would forever deny if anyone asked; I prayed. Please, Tiamat… I’ll be the best Guardian ever if you help us.
Trees were disturbed and branches buckled. A tree collapsed in front of us, forcing us to stop. Edward put me down and pushed me at Divina, who held me upright. I couldn’t close my eyes; I preferred to see my face getting eaten than to close my eyes on my fate. The wings were the first of the beast that I saw. Leathery, majestic black wings created a gust of wind strong enough to push Divina and I back several steps.
Edward was suddenly standing between me and the beast, but I could see enough of him to be amazed. The giant cat beasts were awesome, the giant salamanders were wicked, the raptors were horrifying, and the wolves were bone-chilling, but this beast… I’d never seen a more beautiful and magnificent creature. Solid, lean muscles flexed under slick black hide. He had a reptilian-shaped body but with a feline grace and agility. His long tail ended in a rather wicked looking spike. His eyes were large, fiery amber diamond-slit pupils like a cat’s. Two, sharp, small ears were laid flat against his head in anger. His wings flexed out in a threatening manner as he opened his mouth with a roar, displaying many sharp teeth. Then I realized with great relief that we were not the objects of his wrath.
Fortunately, most of the raptors understood they didn’t stand a chance against the beast that stood not much taller than them, but seemed to radiate power and strength. Several of the raptors attacked while the majority ran, hopefully not for help. Three raptors attacked his face and neck, while another three tried to take him from behind. He struck fast, and suddenly one raptor was on the ground in a pile of pulpy blood. In the blink of an eye, another joined its friend on the ground with its chest ripped out. The third actually bit the snout of the beast, but couldn’t leave a single mark. The beast ripped its head off!
During this almost instantaneous defeat, the beast had driven the spike into one of the raptors attacking its back, but now another was attacking its tail while the third was doing everything it could to the beast’s neck. The beast couldn’t shake the raptor, who was bracing itself with its back legs against his wing blades. His tail was occupied.
I didn’t think; there was no time to. The thick rock was in my hands and I passed Edward before he could stop me. About five feet from the beast, with hand and magic I threw the rock as hard as I could, knocked the raptor square in its eyes, and sent it spiraling into the one attacking the beast’s tail. With his tail freed, he struck quicker than the eye could follow into both chests.
Edward pushed me back into Divina’s arms, but for the first time since meeting her, that wasn’t where I wanted to be. I saw the surprise and intelligence in the beast’s eyes, as well as the way his ears perked up. I wanted to make sure his neck hadn’t been injured. Even covered in the blood of his kills and emanating power, I wanted to make sure he was all right. He saved us, but Edward still stood between me and the winged beast. The beast wouldn’t hurt us and shouldn’t be treated as the enemy.
I shrugged off Divina, but when I tried to get passed Edward, his grip was relentless. I didn’t say anything, just struggled to get out of his hold while watching the beast’s eyes for agitation.
“Let him go,” Divina said, surprising us both.
The beast never took his eyes off me.
“Why would I do that?” Edward growled.
A small flicker in the beast’s eyes told me he didn’t like Edward’s tone.
“Because he’s going to keep struggling and the creature will get angry. Seriously, have some faith and let him go. Dylan is paranoid of everything; if he can walk up to it, it can’t possibly eat him.”
Famous last words?
They worked; Edward let go and I lost my balance. The beast perked his ears up even more and his eyes softened with something close to concern. His smoldering eyes had turned to cool amber, wider with curiosity. I stepped forward slowly, holding my hand out as if to a regular animal, all the while knowing that it would not be the last time I ever saw it again.
Divina was right; I am a paranoid person. I grew up with horrible luck knowing that anything that could, and sometimes could not go wrong, would go wrong. So why did I feel so safe and calm with the beast covered in his foe’s blood?
I was worried about stumbling on my painful ankles and spooking him, but I managed quite gracefully under the circumstances. As I started reaching for his head, his ears bowed back slightly and he pulled a few inches away. I looked at his ears to avoid eye contact and stopped advancing. I could feel and hear him sniffing my hand before slowly touching the tip of my fingers with his tongue. That was odd, but then he leaned forward until he touched my hand. I looked back at his eyes and moved my hand slowly up his snout and between his eyes to pet his head. It was only then that I realized he had a short, velvety coat over a really tough skin. I slowly started touching his ears, all the while watching his eyes for irritation. When he nudged my hand, I started to really rub his ears and was rewarded when he closed his eyes. It took me a moment after the quiet rumbling started to realize he was purring. I looked at Edward’s stunned expression and couldn’t stop grinning.
“No, you cannot keep him,” Edward said.
Petty. It looked like my new friend was going to be much better company than Edward, the overbearing father. Divina, on the other hand, didn’t look the least bit surprised, and even seemed a little proud. Edward glared like the beast was a bully at school who was beating his kid up at the playground. I could see some future arguments between Edward and me.
The beast regained my attention by nudging me in the chest. I started rubbing both his ears and that made him extra happy. He continued nudging me until he was rubbing his cheek on me like a cat. Then he sniffed me, huffed, and nudged me again. I looked down at my shirt, which was now covered in the raptors’ blood. He wasn’t showing me affection; he was wiping his nose on me!
“That’s right, buddy, go ahead and use this shirt as your tissue. It’s Edward’s anyway,” I cooed.
Divina snickered.
“We have to go, or we’ll miss the boat,” Edward said bitterly.
I sighed. “Is there any chance I can see him again?”
“Of course,” Divna said. “He knows you now and obviously likes you. He has your scent, so he can find you anywhere in the world, and I don’t believe you two can meet like this and then just part. No, I predict you two will cross paths quite a few times, but Kiro is right. Come on.”
She took my arm and I leaned against her to help relieve my injured ankle. We started forward again, as quickly as I could manage with Divina’s help. My new friend came with us, his head barely nudging my arm opposite of Divina as if to catch me if I fell.
Although it didn’t look so far away, it took us about half an hour to make it to the edge of the forest, where I could see the shore and several people waiting around. Edward paused and I knew by his expression what I had to do. I rubbed the beast’s ears again and could see in his eyes that he understood.
“I have to go now. You can’t come with but if you ever go to Shomodii, come say hi, okay?” I said. I looked at Divina.
“He doesn’t understand the words, but he surely understands the tone. He knows you want him to find you again, don’t worry. We’ll give you a minute alone to say bye and thanks. Don’t be long,” she said as she grabbed Edward’s arm and pulled him away, despite his reluctance.
I turned back to my new friend. “Thank you for helping us.” I reached up with one arm to rub his ear while I checked for injury to his neck with my other. Blood had matted his short fur and made it sticky, but I could feel no damage. I wrapped my arms as far a
round his neck as I could without strangling him. “I’ll see you later. Don’t forget to find me, and I’ll try to think of something to serve you for dinner. Do you like crows?”
“You’re not giving him Tibbit!” Edward growled in my head.
The beast glared out at the shore, as if he had heard Edward too and didn’t approve.
“Bye,” I said.
I walked carefully towards the ship, but kept looking back to make sure the beast didn’t follow. He remained in the dark cover of the forest, watching me. Divina took my arm again when I caught up to her, but Edward was nowhere to be seen.
This ship, identical to the one we boarded in Shomodii, was a lot more crowded. “How come there are so many people getting on this ship? Where did they come from?”
“The waters are very dangerous around Mijii, even to ships, and there are only a few safe places to drop off and pick up people by sea. These people got here by sky travel, but there is no sky travel around Shomodii, so we had to come by boat. Quiet now,” she said as we approached the crowd. Divina kept her arm around mine with a blood-stopping grip. It was hard to mind even though my hand fell asleep; her warmth pressed up against me was worth it.
The interior of the ship was so familiar to the previous ship that it was almost uncanny. It was almost like everything we had just gone through never happened, because here we were, right back on the ship.
We found Edward and he led us to our room, which was also identical to the one on the other ship. No first-class options at sea, I guess.
“They were following the smell of my blood, weren’t they?” I asked as he shut the door.
He nodded. “I just can’t believe they ambushed us. That couldn’t have been your bad luck; nobody has that much bad luck.”
“Do you remember my heart being fried a little while back?”
“You were asking for it by doing the magic in the first place.”
“Wait, Edward… When we get to Anoshii, how will we get back? We can’t go through the forest again.”
