“Where are we going?” she asked breathlessly as she struggled to keep up.
His eyes slid over to her and he let out an impatient sound. “We will need to journey far, so we will need mounts that my guard has readied for us.” He tipped his head toward the troll waiting for them. “It would be quicker to fly, but you will require rest, and the forest doesn’t allow easy access through the canopy. That would be too dangerous for a human. So, we will go for the next most convenient option. Few things in the Eternal Forest are as quick as the crocotta.”
“Oh,” she said, biting her lip. That he had to make allowances for fragility as a human made her feel like a burden.
He cast a curious glance her way, and his lips tilted in a small smile. “It will also save me the trouble of having to carry my armor, which would be required if I took another form, so it works out well enough.”
She nodded absently. That made sense. She could imagine having to carry one’s armor while in another form would be frustrating… Wait a minute. Her mouth dropped open as she tripped over a massive root and stumbled to a halt.
“Shapeshift?” she blurted out in disbelief.
The male cast an enigmatic grin over his shoulder but never broke his stride. He really wasn’t going to elaborate any further. With a frustrated grunt, she chased after him at a steady jog before coming to a halt some feet away when she got a glimpse of the troll’s companions.
Two enormous sandy-colored creatures stood together, yellow eyes staring balefully as they swung their heads in one direction and then another, nostrils flaring. To Diana, they resembled something almost like a hyena, except for the fact that their backs were more level than sloped. They also possessed long, tufted tail trailing behind their haunches. Sandy brown in color with chocolate stripes, they possessed beautiful pelts, the fur around their necks and down their backs particularly long and thick. Yet for all that beauty, they were monstrous. Their massive jaws parted every now and then to reveal teeth the size of her longest finger, the fangs double that.
Neither creature looked friendly. Even compared to the aggressive hyena, these creatures possessed sharper facial structures and a boxier head. It made them look both elegant and lethal. The only sign of domestication about them were the stitched harness saddles made of layered fabrics. Their eyes, striped in hues of yellow and gold, had the look of polished gemstones, gleaming with intelligence as they stared at her and let out low growls. Unnerved by the blatant challenge coming from the predators, Diana inched closer to the silvanus and troll standing close together in discussion.
“Are you certain of this?” the troll asked in a quiet voice, his eyes darting to her suspiciously. “No one knows how she got here.”
Diana wanted to laugh. He said it like an accusation. What exactly did he think she was going to be able to do? Especially against the lucomo. She met the troll’s stare and raised a polite eyebrow. She didn’t want to be creamed by an angry troll, but she was starting to believe that none of those who dwelled at the palace would make an overt attempt to harm her—and if she didn’t get too cocky, they likely wouldn’t make a covert attempt either when the silvanus didn’t have his eyes on them. At least, that was how she was determined to play her guards. She needed to win their respect to be safe among them.
The lucomo growled, a sneer pulling at his lips. “I am not a fool. I have consulted the oracle and trust my instincts on this matter. Physically, Diana is hardly a danger to me. Do not worry, Raskyuil. Even if she had a mind to harm me, I am difficult to kill, lest you forget.”
“But not impossible to weaken,” Raskyuil retorted. The flash of anger in the lucomo’s eyes indicated that the troll had hit on a sore subject. “Without knowing how or why she came to be here, I feel that it would be wise if I went in your company to protect you, as your guard.”
“And give the strix even more warning that we are coming?” he scoffed
“You may need the distraction. Your pet human may very well faint at the first sight of the creature rather than be of any true assistance. You can see for yourself that she is no warrior.” Raskyuil flung a disdainful hand in her direction.
Diana bristled. She didn’t have any supernatural powers, but she was far from helpless. She might not be a significant asset, but she was confident that she wouldn’t be as much of a hinderance as he made out.
The troll was such as asshole that he didn’t even acknowledge her offense as he continued making his case.
“If not for yourself, then maybe consider for the human. Though I do not trust her and care little for her wellbeing personally, I am sure that you desire her safety. You know how those creatures are,” Raskyuil said. “The strix will use any distraction to aid in her attack, including targeting your little human here. If required, we could use it to our advantage. I could slit your pretty human’s throat to distract her long enough for you to deliver the blow that will allow you access to her cavern.”
A terrible sound burst from lucomo as he stalked toward the troll, the pale orbs of his eyes blazing as the trees shivered, plants rustling and twitching as if threatening to attack. A good head taller than the troll, the silvanus prowled around him, long claws extending from his fingertips. His lips pulled back from wicked teeth in clear warning. Even his hair seemed to float on a current of energy, his black antlers as a void that promised the utter absence of light and life in contrast to the blinding white luminescence he emitted.
Diana shrunk back as she watched the exchange.
“You will not threaten or entertain any idea of harming Diana,” the lucomo growled, his voice echoing over itself as he spoke with crackling energy.
From the corner of her eye, Diana could see the vacant-eyed hamadryads approaching, their lips parted and mouths gaping in silent screams. They seemed to thin out, becoming even more wraithlike in appearance as they stepped further away from their trees. Long fingers became skeletal as they reached toward the troll. Diana whimpered low as Raskyuil dropped to one knee. A cold sweat broke out over him as he wilted in the face of the lucomo’s displeasure.
“My apologies, lucomo. The suggestion was ill thought of, but only for your benefit. I swear I will not raise a hand toward your human.”
The glowing white lucomo’s eyes, so like that sightless glowing orbs of the hamadryads in that moment, narrowed. “Swear to me then, Raskyuil, son of Agranok, that you will protect this woman from harm. You will place yourself before her in danger rather than before me. You will treat her with care and consideration as you would bestow upon me.”
“I swear it!” the male shouted, his head bowing low as the trees bent their branches toward him, insidious vines creeping forward from among the branches and rising from the ground.
Diana watched their progress in horror as they crept up the male’s legs. The trees drew closer as if to swallow him whole.
“Please,” she choked out. “Please do not hurt him. He didn’t do me any harm, other than a foolish idea bid in a moment of desperation in hope that you would not leave without him.”
The lucomo paused, his head tilting as he turned and fastened his eerie eyes on her. “You would stand for him?”
“He is your friend, and obviously loyal to you. This will not earn any trust toward me. He has pledged his vow… Now enough.”
His faced darkened, and Diana felt her throat close in fear, certain that she made the matter even worse. The animals whined, their pacing loud over the forest floor. Finally, his eyes drifted close and he sighed.
With that gust of air that expelled from between his lips, the forest settled once more and the vines fell away, releasing Raskyuil. The troll fell to his hands and knees, his entire body shaking as he whispered fervently to himself. He looked at Diana, his expression guarded and wary, but it was perhaps an improvement on the thinly veiled hostility that had been there before. She only hoped that she had planted a seed of trust between them. Either that or she had been a fool to stop the lucomo. She hoped it was the former.
“You are small and fragile,” he murmured. “Raskyuil is correct about that, but there is no denying great strength in you. Perhaps this is what she saw.”
There was no need to ask who “she” was. Diana presumed that he had to be speaking of the oracle, the woman who convinced him that he needed to drag her along in his tasks—that she was important. Perhaps, even now, Diana was starting to believe it.
He glanced at the troll and grimaced. “You stopped me from doing something regrettable, caught as I was in my instincts. I do not know why they rise so fiercely for you, but you could have used it—could have used me—to your advantage and removed a formidable obstacle that the head of my guard presented. You did not.” He took a long, deep introspective breath, his head cocking as his silky white stag ears tilted toward her.
Diana fidgeted under his scrutiny and felt a flush climbing her neck and flooding into her cheeks. She didn’t consider it all that remarkable, just the right thing to do. She didn’t know how to convey that without sounding weird about it, so instead she shrugged with a small smile.
To her relief, he turned away and approached the troll who had pushed himself to his feet.
“My apologies, friend,” the lucomo muttered gruffly, his ears tilting back in expressed discomfort.
To her surprise, Raskyuil nodded, a wry smile curving his lips. “It is expected that one of the forest would follow their instinct. God or mortal, our kind, we denizens of the woods, are vulnerable to them. Perhaps the potential for it dwelled all this time in you most of all. I am honored to witness its first rise in you.”
The lucomo smiled in return. “Go retrieve a dire wolf while I introduce this pair to Diana.”
A smile flashed over Raskyuil’s face, and he hurried away as the lucomo pulled her toward the hyena-things.
The animals pricked their ears, their fur bristling at the sight of her. The moment that they saw that the lucomo approached at her side, they immediately settled, their ears relaxing as they whined for attention. He smiled and ran his fingers through the thick fur around their necks before plucking up one of her hands in his and directing her touch on the nearest animal. She was certain that she wouldn’t have had the nerve to touch them under her own power if not for him leading the way, directing her every touch and stroke. Pretty soon, his hand left hers, and she had both of her hands buried in the white fur as the animal leaned into her touch.
“What are they?” she whispered in awe, her hand coming up to gently stroke and push away the huge muzzle that shoved into her face.
His smile remained as he watched their interaction. “They are a species called crocotta. In ancient times, lost explorers would enter the Eternal Forest and other worlds and come across some of the creatures who dwell in the various domains where they are not in danger of being hunted to the extreme that they would be in your world. While the crocotta dwell in many places, they are too intelligent to go beyond the borders of the human world unless it is asked of them.”
“They are beautiful,” she observed. “But obviously deadly predators.”
He nodded. “Not only are they strong and intelligent, but their gaze, should their prey get caught in it, has the power to root their victim to the spot to await their death. They are not to be trifled with by any whom they don’t accept into their clan. This is Keech,” he said, nodding to the crocotta who was currently leaning his massive head into the lucomo’s side. “And that is Keena. Keena is the matriarch of my clan, and Keech is her primary mate.”
“Your clan?” she asked.
He nodded. “Like most silvani, I have the ability to shapeshift and take on the form of the creatures that inhabit my domain. They recognize me as an important male in their clan and for the most part follow my lead. You cannot shapeshift, but because I introduced you, it appears they have accepted you as well. Keena seems particularly taken with you,” he observed. “I have no doubt that she will allow you to mount her. We will leave as soon as Raskyuil returns. I believe he went to retrieve Dagani, their eldest pup. He has favored him since the day he whelped.”
Silence fell between them, and Diana hazarded a glance at him and smiled at the look of consternation on his face as he frowned down at the crocotta’s fur he stroked beneath his fingers.
“Thank you,” she said. He glanced up at her with a perplexed expression, and she laughed. “I mean it. You have done a lot more than you needed to, and I know I haven’t been very grateful. You would have hurt him on the smallest suggestion that one loyal to you would kill me. I can’t express how much that means, that my welfare has some meaning in a world where I doubt human lives have much value. Thank you, lucomo,” she finished as she leaned down to bury her cheek against Keena’s pelt.
There seemed to be a softness to his eyes that almost made them appear a pale, velvety gray rather than their usual pearl hue. “Names have power among my people, but I wish to give you mine. You may call me Silvas.”
“Silvas,” she murmured, and she hid her smile of pleasure within the crocotta’s fur.
Chapter 12
Riding Keena was an experience. Diana had limited experience in her youth riding horses, but the crocotta’s gait was more of a rolling lope. She actually found it comfortable to lean forward against the thick padding at the front of the saddle like Silvas and Raskyuil. Two handgrips on the harness allowed her to cling securely. At first, she worried about her ability to direct them without reins, but she soon discovered that a significant shift in her weight or the grip of her legs conveyed a wealth of commands in addition to the verbal commands that they understood.
Keena raced between the trees as green foliage whipped by them, her sharp pants loud in Diana’s ear. The sound was comforting somehow, and Diana was certain that the closer she lay against the crocotta, she could also almost feel the large heart beating and the strong rush of blood through the powerful animal beneath her. Silvas had cautioned that even at the breakneck speed they were traveling at, it would take several days to make to the Hyperborean Mountains. The hours they would ride would be long, but so far, she was enjoying every minute of it. She had the impression that her mount was enjoying the vigorous exercise too. Keena’s mouth gaped wide like an enormous hyena grin. Every now and then, those large ears would turn back toward her as if assuring herself that all was well with her passenger.
Diana had no complaints, although there were times when she was startled by the sudden shifts that had her clinging to Keena’s harness for dear life. The crocotta barely slowed to dip low and wiggle out from beneath obstacles, to climb up rocky hillsides, or leap over a fallen log. Though Diana could feel the pressure of her heart lodged in her throat, a dizzying rush of excitement flooded her, joy singing in her blood.
Just ahead of her, she saw Silvas’s head turn, the long white lengths of his hair streaming behind him, mixing with the gold dripping from his horns, tangled over his face as he glanced back at her. His long tail was looped around the back of the saddle and curled through one of many small rings that were sewn into the saddle to carry supplies. The shift in his weight, however, made him release his tail. It arched behind him, the tufted end flipping in the air.
She couldn’t hold back her grin as she met his gaze. His expression softened, his eyes shining with amusement. The tiny telltale smile tugging at his lips disappeared as Raskyuil made a derisive click in his throat from where Dagani loped at her left. Over the last several hours, she had concluded that the troll was a complete killjoy. Even though she had stuck up for him, he still strenuously disapproved of any unnecessary interaction between her and Silvas.
The moment he had discerned the fact th
at Silvas had granted her use of his name, he had been all scowls, irritated grunts, and grinding sounds beneath his breath. She wrinkled her nose as she glanced over at him. As far as she was concerned, he would fit in pretty well among the wretched ruins of some of the cities, scraping a living from the wreckage, with that sour personality he possessed.
Silvas turned fully in his saddle to call back to them. “We will be stopping just ahead at the next clearing.”
Within minutes, they burst through the trees into a small mossy clearing. There was plenty of hard rock as well, but the moss was at least a small mercy. The crocottas slowed to a walk before drawing to a full halt. The waning evening light dappled everything in shadow. A small stream ran down a carved path in earth and stone, the wet banks providing fertile ground for several spring flowers.
“We could still get several more hours of travel before the dark becomes a nuisance. Why stop now?” Raskyuil asked as he dismounted. A scowl was plastered on his face as he glared at their surroundings.
The lucomo raised an eyebrow as he began to unstrap his armor. “This is a safe place to stop. While even that which is immortal desires rest on occasion, your bodies require it. Given that humans have poorer eyesight, it benefits us to stop now while she still can offer direction to Keena. I can take advantage of this time to scout ahead,” he added as he shucked off the rest of his armor.
His clothes were thrown into the discarded pile, leaving the hard, muscular length of his body bare to her vision. Diana’s tongue plastered itself to the roof of her mouth. Under all that alabaster skin, his muscles bulged as if here stood one of the ancient marble statues that depicted the perfection of gods. She remembered at least that much from high school.
What she didn’t recall seeing was anything like the cock nestled between his muscular thighs. It was nothing like the dick of any man.
It was long and thick, with a pattern of knobs of various sizes that went up its length until it tapered at the head. Even the corona was different. It was fleshier at the top than a human phallus, and it was hard to miss that at the very tip it drew up into a small raised nub. That nub drew her attention until she realized, with considerable embarrassment, that she was staring. Still… What was its purpose? The texture along the shaft was certainly clear enough. It swelled beneath her scrutiny, and she tore her eyes away, heat flooding her cheeks.
Forest of Spirits Page 8
