AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I took my leave of him and went to do my duty, but I could not push thoughts of this woman out of my mind. They careened inside, and I was eager to see her again and to find the truth. There was something about her that twisted inside me, something about her eyes that would not leave me alone. It was almost as though I was tormented by her, and I wondered, if she was from another place, then what abilities might she have? Perhaps she had already cast a hex upon me.
Chapter Four
Kara
As soon as the door closed, I ran around this strange room and clawed at the walls, testing the door, looking for any way to escape. They were all smooth though and flawlessly made. I beat my fists against them and cried out in anguish as I slumped to my knees, exhausted and tired from the ordeal.
One moment, I had been in ancient ruins, and the next, I was in this strange place. I had no idea what had happened. I had escaped the Night Fangs, but it had led me here, and where was here? The ruins, when we left that dark place, looked similar to the ones I had been in before, but why couldn’t I get back? What was that strange energy barring me from returning? How had I walked through it, but was unable to walk back? It did not make any sense and all these questions made my head hurt.
Life was supposed to be simple. The Night Fangs had changed all that. I longed to see my parents again, and could only hope that they had made it out of the attack alive. Some of my pride had to. The thought of them all being slaughtered was too much to bear. I hated that I couldn’t do anything to help them, and my heart filled with guilt. Perhaps, I should have run back to them and ignored the wishes of my parents. Why had that been the one rule that I was determined to follow?
I couldn’t think of that too much here though. I had to focus on getting out of this alive. I had no weapons with me, other than the ones that were inherent to my nature. I had no idea who these people were either. They might have been associated with the Night Fangs for all I knew, but if they wanted me dead then why were they keeping me here? It didn’t make any sense.
The room was Spartan in design. There was a single bed, and nothing else. I lay upon it. The mattress was firm and offered little comfort. I stared at the ceiling, forming a lattice with my fingers as I rested them on my chest. It was humiliating being manhandled by them when I was naked, lost and alone in this unknown part of the world. There was a dark and ironic thought that took hold of my mind. There were always stories that spirits lurked in the mountains, perhaps these men were spirits.
There was another story as well, a story that had been passed down from generation to generation, one that I had always thought was nonsensical. When I closed my eyes, I could hear my mother telling me the story as I slept. For a moment, it seemed as though everything was right with the world again and that, when I opened my eyes, I was going to be at home waking from this nightmare as though nothing had happened.
*
It was a long time ago, when the plains of the world were deserted, when the humans had yet to spread across the world in vast cities. The sun was young, the land fresh and ripe to be conquered, and the first lions wanted to see all they could see. They peered into other worlds and saw what awaited them, and their adventurous spirit led them to investigate these new lands. Different prides left, knowing they may never return, all because there was something new to be seen. You come from a brave people, Kara, a people who have never shied away from a challenge. They came to this new world and seeded the prides of the lions. They are our ancestors, and our true home is far away. It is said that, one day, we shall be there again, that there will be one who walks the ancient path between worlds but, until that day, we remain separate, taking this world as our own, and we must honor the ones who brought us here.
*
My thoughts were shaken as the door opened. Standing there was the man who had grabbed me so roughly before. I could still feel the sting of his grip upon my arm. He was tall, powerful, his body stacked with muscles. He wore a long tunic that was a strip down his torso and left his arms exposed. His biceps swelled with strength and his forearms were lined with thick hair. There were scars upon his body. His jaw was square, his eyes gleaming and golden, while his hair was a thick mane that cascaded down to his shoulders. I suspected that he was a lion, for even in his human form, he had the look of one. He threw a gown at me.
“Wear this,” he said. I unwrapped it, almost refusing to put it on purely because he had ordered me to, but I did not wish to remain naked in his company. The fabric was soft, unlike anything I had ever felt before. It was white in color. I fastened it with a cord, and then brushed my hair away from my face, revealing my eyes to him. I glared at him, wanting to show that I was not afraid, even though my heart beat rapidly.
“How did you come to be in our shrine?” he asked. His voice was deep, rumbling like thunder. He exuded strength and authority. If they were lions, then I had no doubt that he was the Alpha. I had to figure out if he was allied with the Night Fangs though, and I wasn’t about to give him any information about myself.
“Where am I? What is this place?” I asked. I attempted to keep my voice steady and still, but I could feel the naked tremors of fear.
“I ask the questions here.”
“Are you with the Night Fangs?” I blurted out. He tilted his head towards me and gave me a quizzical look. I breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed as though he had not heard of them.
“How did you get into the shrine?” he asked, and then began to pace before me. He clenched his hands into fists and, with every step he took, I could feel the room shudder. It was as though the very world shook under his presence.
“There is no use in you being silent. At the moment, you are an intruder and, by all rights, I can punish you how I see fit. You have trespassed on sacred ground, so I have the right to kill you. I could break your neck now and think nothing more of it, and that is exactly what will happen if you do not begin telling me how you arrived in our shrine,” he said. I remained silent, while he continued pacing, until he eventually stopped and towered above me. His body bristled with rage and his face was twisted.
“Do you wish to die? Do you wish to throw away your life like this? Is there nothing inside you that wishes to fight? Perhaps you are just here by mistake. Perhaps I should just kill you,” his words were bitter as he reached out his arm, thrusting it towards my throat. I hadn’t come all this way just to have him kill me though. I raised my arms and shifted, embracing the lion inside me. I felt myself get stronger and I crossed my arms, blocking his hand and pushing it away. I leaped towards him, hoping that I might be able to use the element of surprise to overcome him. I slashed wildly with my claws as I soared through the air, but he stepped away, shifting all his weight to the side, and I went crashing to the floor, groaning upon impact. I shifted back into my human form, and to my surprise my gown remained with me. Usually, our clothes were left behind when we shifted.
“An impressive show of bravery, or foolishness,” he said, arching an eyebrow towards me. “At least, I can see that you are not a complete outsider. Tell me, to which pride do you belong? Is this an attempt to infiltrate us?”
“I’m not going to tell you anything,” I said, scowling as I spoke. “I just want to get home.”
“And where is home? What pride are you from? Where do you belong?”
“I don’t know! I just want to get home. Just let me go! I don’t even want to be here. I don’t know who you are. I don’t know where this is. I just want to get back. Just let me get back!” I screamed, the frustration getting the better of me. I beat the floor, for there was nowhere else for my anger to go. I beat it so hard that my fists ached, and all the while this stranger just stood there staring at me. I had no idea what he thought of me, probably that I was some hysterical girl who was more trouble than she was worth. I don’t know why he even wanted to keep me around. Why couldn’t he just send me back to that shrine, so I could walk through the doorway again? The Night Fangs would have been gone by now. I could walk away and sneak back to my pride, pick up the scent of any survivors… or I could find the Night Fangs and punish them for what they did to my pride.
“You are going nowhere until you answer my questions.”
“I need to leave. I need to go. I can’t stay here. I need to get back.”
“Back where?” he hissed. As I looked up at him, I saw something strange in his eyes, a look that suggested he was almost as scared as I was. This place might have been unknown to me, but I was unknown to them.
That gave me power. I just had to figure out how to use it before it was too late. I turned my face away and slunk back to the bed. I pulled the blanket over my shoulders and showed him my back, refusing to speak to him. If he wanted to kill me, then he could go ahead and put me out of my misery, because what use was there for me to live if I couldn’t avenge my pride or find my parents again? Then again, if I did not survive, I would be rendering my parents’ sacrifice moot. They had fought so that I could survive, so now I had to keep fighting as well, in whatever shape it took.
Chapter Five
