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The day had passed without event and still she had not returned.
“I believe we should send out a scouting party to retrieve her body,” I remarked.
“Give her time. I think she might surprise you Axanar,” Volkan said. I pressed my lips together, forming a thin smile. My eyes glazed over. I was sitting in the village, waiting to see the result of the hunt. Others in the village had expressed the same opinion as Volkan. There had been wagers and debates all during the day regarding whether Kara would be able to survive the hunt or not. Despite my attitude, I hoped that she would, for then it would mean more for our people, but from what I had learned so far, I did not think it would be possible. She was from another world, a world where the lions had lost their way, where they were subservient to the humans. Even the mere thought of it left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I could not imagine that one of them could prove themselves to be worthy of living in our world.
And as the hours wore on, I knew that I was being proven right. It rarely took a day for a hunt to succeed. Already, she was behind the expected time and I could not imagine her coming back to surprise us now. Of course, I had to consider the possibility that she had taken this opportunity to flee, although I did not think this was likely. Even if she did, then it would only be a matter of time before we found her again, and all my worst fears about her would be confirmed.
I listened to the chatter around me, but paid scant attention to it. The only moment of annoyance for me had been earlier in the day when Tania had stormed up to me and glared at me. In a low voice she had practically demanded my attention, so we had gone somewhere quiet.
There, she had been incensed. “Why did you not tell me you had a world walker among us?” she hissed in a low whisper. I could see the lion inside her eyes, raging and furious. It was good to be reminded of the power of my people.
“I was not sure she was a world walker. In fact, I’m still not sure now. It seems as though she came to us by accident.”
“Accident or not, the fact that she is here proves that she is special. She should have been brought to me. Where have you been keeping her?”
“That is none of your concern,” I bristled. “I am the Alpha.”
“Oh, of course, and that means you get to decide what happens,” Tania rolled her eyes. “Just remember that I am the wisdom, and I know things, secret things. You should have consulted with me on this Axanar. You should have brought her to me so that I could assess her.”
“You would not have been able to ascertain anything that I could not have.”
“That remains to be seen. As soon as she returns, I want to see her, if the Alpha allows it,” she said with a bitter tongue.
“All you had to do was ask,” I replied, bowing in response, and leaving with an amused look on my face.
I had reflected on the conversation for the rest of the day. I did not wish Kara to have more access than she should have. It was a risk to allow Tania to talk to her, but now that the secret was out, there was little I could do. As the wisdom, Tania had the right to question a world walker, and I suppose it might help to determine the exact nature of Kara’s gifts, if she should return.
There was a feast as the light faded and people were mocking others for ever betting on the outsider. I could feel uneasy tension from Volkan as well, and I suspected that he might be more impressed with our guest than he was letting on. I decided to let the matter pass for now though, not wishing to make things complicated. I was just about ready to call for a search party to go and search the plains for her body. It was disappointing really, for I would have liked the opportunity to visit another world and test my strength against new enemies. If there were people who could walk between worlds, then we would just have to wait for another to present themselves, and perhaps they would be more worthy of our attention than Kara.
But then, in the starry haze, people started to call out as they learned of a figure approaching our tower. Surely it couldn’t be…
They rushed out to greet her, and the ones who had bet on the outsider now whooped with delight and threw their hands in the air in triumph. I narrowed my eyes, watching carefully as she returned. She was in human form and walked directly up to me. She was illuminated by the fire. Her hair was straggled lines, her clothes were stained with blood, while there was evidence of wounds upon her body. Her skin glistened with sweat as well, and her lean muscles were taut as she dragged behind the spoils of the hunt, and it was enough to make even my eyes grow wide.
She had fashioned a wide land raft out of logs that she had fastened together, and upon these were small rocks she had made into wheels. They were tied together by vines, and she had looped one of them around her shoulder, which she used to drag it. Upon this land raft were the dead bodies of around a dozen animals, perhaps more, all their eyes lifeless, their tongues lolling out. She jutted out her chin and looked at me defiantly, a sneering look in her eyes.
“Is that enough to prove I’m worthy?” she asked, and then turned away from me. I arched an eyebrow and went to examine the animals, noting the way she had killed them all. Most of them had been killed by the weapons of a lion, but I noticed that one had been killed by a dagger. It seemed she was adept at using both her forms to deal damage, and I was forced to admit that she might have had the strength of a hunter inside her after all. I snapped my fingers and gathered a force of lions to take these animals and strip them of their resources, while I pondered on what this meant for the future.
Chapter Eleven
Kara
I strode away from Axanar, my body still aching from the toil of the day. It felt nice to hear people cheer for me, but I had to remind myself none of them were my friends. None of them were my pride. I had staved off death, but that didn’t mean I was going to stick around.
“That was incredible! I knew you would succeed,” Volkan exclaimed as he caught up with me. There was a wide smile on his face, and he looked at me with pride and respect. He then placed his fist on his heart and bowed in my direction. “You have succeeded in the hunt. You have my respect,” he said.
“Thank you, but right now I could just do with a shower. Is there anywhere I can go to wash away all of this?” I asked.
“Of course, but you must return later and enjoy the spoils of the hunt, as well as telling the tale. Everyone will want to know how you killed so many, and it was inventive of you to bring them back using that land raft.”
“Yes, well, Mom taught me to be creative,” I replied. “Now, that was?”
There was a demanding slant to my voice, not that I was apologetic for it. I figured I had the right to be moody after all they had put me through. I hoped this might buy me some leeway in the future though, and maybe I would be able to get back to that doorway.
Volkan took me back inside the tower and escorted me to a room where I could bathe. The room was wide, and I got the sense that it was a communal bath, although, at the moment, I was the only one inside. There were gowns similar to the one I had worn before, laid out among towels, as well as bowls filled with creams and soaps sitting by the baths. The baths themselves were square things set into the floor. The water steamed and writhed and bubbled, almost as though it was a living thing. The room had a mist of steam coating the walls. I glared at Volkan.
“I’m not going to bathe while you’re watching me,” I said.
He cleared his throat. “I need your dagger,” he said. I rolled my eyes.
