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“Oh, put her in a tree or something,” he replied, in the process of rolling his eyes again. I was already bending down. I wiped the girl’s blood away with my thumb, only for another bead to appear, slowly moving across her skin. Her body was limp, her mouth hanging open. I held her like a doll, slinging her arms around my shoulders and holding her by the waist.
“This is going to go a lot easier if you help me,” I said.
“You know, one day I’m going to be the Alpha and when I tell you to do something you’re going to have to do it,” Divad said with a tone of frustration as he put his arm around her waist as well and helped me carry her away.
“That day has not come yet, and hopefully will not come for a long time. Our fathers have many years left first.”
“Yeah, well, the point still stands.”
I glanced at him and said nothing. I tried to swallow the burning resentment within. Divad had the power of a world walker and he was the son of Axanar, the alpha of our pride. He was destined to become the next Alpha. I was son of Axanar’s companion, Volkan. We shared the same mother, a woman from this world who had been rescued many years ago. I was always to be the second child, the companion to Divad. He had been taken away for special training in how to best utilize his talent of world walking, a skill that had been absent from our people until Mom had been taken from this world. He was always the special one, destined for greatness, and I was the one who had to stand by and keep him safe. I did not mind most of the time, but I hated to be reminded that there were limits to what I could accomplish.
“Just so you know, I’m not going to take the fall for this one. If this goes wrong then this was your idea.”
“I know,” I said.
We carried the girl through the forest, sharing her weight between us. We did not speak much until we reached the sacred mountains that contained the passage to our world. We walked the path our mother had done many years before, when she was our age. She had told the story so many times and with such vivid detail that I felt as though I had been here before. I could smell the Night Fangs as they chased her, and the fear that she left behind, drenching the air with it. I looked at the small passage she had followed down into a cave, following it to an ancient room that had been hidden from most people. There were carvings and statues that had been left here as a message from our ancestors. They had traveled from Orestes to this world, carrying the spirit of the lion with them. Mom was the first one to pass back to Orestes for generations. She had found sanctuary there after the evil Night Fangs had destroyed her pride. Eventually she took vengeance on them, and now portals to other worlds had opened up, thanks to Divad, who had inherited her gift.
Sometimes I wondered why the luck had fallen his way when it could so easily have been passed to me, but there were never any easy answers.
Divad slipped away from me and the girl as he came to the portal. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, preparing himself for the ritual. He made strange shapes with his hands and chanted ancient words. As much as I could resent him for what he was capable of, I never tired of witnessing it. Magic was conjured before my eyes as he formed a bridge between two worlds. There was a bright light that shone, almost blinding me, and the air shimmered as though it had turned to liquid. As I breathed in, I could smell the familiar air of home, and I was looking forward to returning.
“Come on then,” Divad said, gesturing for me to join him. I slipped my hands under the girl’s body and carried her through the portal, hoping that our parents would not be too angry.
Chapter Three
Divad
I felt a rush of energy as I stepped through the portal. It never got old. There were hundreds, if not thousands of new worlds to explore, and I wanted to see them all. I was hungry to know what each of them had to offer, even if Mom’s world was a place that I returned to often. In many ways it was one of the more mundane worlds that I visited, yet there was something special about it. It must have been because of all the stories that Mom had told us. And this time, of course, Naaro had to go and bring something back. It didn’t matter how many times I tried to tell him to not be so suspicious he was always looking out for danger. What would have been the harm in letting the girl run? Now we had an uninvited guest and I knew our parents were not going to be happy.
“Who is that?” Marrin asked. The veteran guard often chose to stand sentry by the portal. I never understood why. Perhaps it was simply because he could have moments like this. It was a position that he had held when he was a younger warrior, working up the ranks. Now he could have any posting he desired, and he chose something that he was comfortable with. His eyes widened as he saw Naaro carrying the girl.
I sighed. “It’s just something that Naaro picked up.”
“It wasn’t all me,” Naaro replied through gritted teeth.
“I think you’re going to have to see your parents about that. Where are you going to put her?” Marrin asked. “What if she wakes up?”
“Oh, you and Naaro are so alike. There’s no need to worry about anything. We’ll just put her down somewhere. It’s not like she can go very far.”
“We should take her to mother. She might know what to do since they are from the same world,” Naaro said. Marrin nodded, as though we needed his approval. I strolled out of the portal room and headed up to the towering elevator that would lift us through this great fortress. Naaro stepped beside me. The girl showed no signs of waking.
We waited in silence until the doors opened again, this time into the throne room. In the middle of the room there was a great golden throne that would one day be mine. I remember how father had sat me on it when I was younger. It had seemed so big then. It still was now. At the moment it was empty. My parents, Axanar and Kara, were standing by the window, along with Volkan. The three of them were mates. Naaro and I were their offspring. The window offered a glorious view of Orestes, especially now, when the sun was setting. It made the sky bleed orange.
I cleared my throat. The three of them turned to face us and their expression immediately fell when they saw what, or rather who, we were carrying.
Dad’s face fell, while Volkan wore a thoughtful expression. Mom was worried though. She rushed up to us. Naaro set the girl on a table.
“What happened?” Axanar asked in his stern voice, while Mom fussed over the girl.
“Oh, it was nothing really,” I said casually, but Naaro, as always, was ready with the truth. He stood to attention as though he was on parade. His body was straight as an arrow, and he held his head high.
“We were in the other world, bathing, and I noticed there was another presence. I turned and noticed that she was looking at us. I was afraid that she was there to discover our truth. I wanted to know if she had any prior knowledge of us, or if she was involved with the Night Fangs. I gave chase and then,” Naaro’s voice faltered a little.
“Then she cracked her head against a branch and fell down,” I finished for him. “It was just a little accident. Anyway, Naaro was worried about leaving her by herself so he wanted to bring her back here to make sure that she got treatment.”
“You were wise to do so,” Axanar said. “She could have died if you had left her, and nobody wants an innocent soul weighing on their conscience.”
“Well, we both decided really,” I muttered. Axanar glared at me.
