Original Stories Fan Fiction / Other Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness ❯ Meeting ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter FourMeeting

 

 

The clearing was bright and open as Soren and Chimadori knelt behind the bushes and watched the two deer peacefully graze, completely unaware of the predators that stalked them. Chimadori kneaded the soil impatiently with her claws as her gaze flicked between the young woman and her prey and then towards the young dragon and the small, gray wolf, Joko, that crouched beside him. Thus far, they had lost six deer, twelve rabbits, and two fox to the two youngster's enthusiasm for the hunt.

 

Only now, when the sun was hanging low in the afternoon sky was Soren finally able to get a hold on their energy. For the last hour they had shown the pair how to hunt and track using only the faintest signs and the best ways in which to follow prey quietly. Now, the only thing left to do was to show them how to corner and kill their prey with as little fight as possible.

 

Why do we wait? If we do not strike now we could lose this chance. There may not be any more animals close after all the hunting the village has done these last months, Chimadori pointed out.

 

I know, but we only need one, Soren replied.

 

Homuna is still growing rather quickly. He needs more food than you and I, Chimadori reminded her and Soren reluctantly agreed, trying not to shudder at the thought of the weight she would be carrying. Homuna's Kingen and I can carry most of the meat and you can be stuck with whatever is left over.

 

Alright.

 

The wind shifted subtly, carrying their scents into the clearing and beyond where the two deer raised their heads in alarm and just like that the chase was on. Soren tore after the doe with Homuna on her heels while Chimadori hunted the male with the little wolf at her side.

 

* * *

 

The wind stirred his waist length silver hair as he turned to the bear. “Is it her? Did we get the right scent this time?” he asked softly, his eyes shimmering with some untamed emotion.

 

“Yes, it's her. The scent of a female dragon lingers around the woods as well as the scent of a male dragon that has been through here recently,” the deep voice of the bear replied as he took a step away from his master. His head snapped around as he caught a new scent. “This may be more trouble than we anticipated.”

 

“Why?” he asked with a frown, the muscles just beneath his light skin rippling as he followed the bear's gaze to the forest. “Hm…perhaps, but nothing we haven't handled before. He won't be expecting us. Now go.”

 

* * *

 

Soren had the doe cornered and dead before a full ten minutes had passed with Chimadori not far behind. Homuna and Joko watched intently as they watched them begin the process of skinning and gutting the two deer. While they skinned and gutted the pair Soren and Chimadori laid plans and discussed where the best place would be for them to head for next. They came to the agreement that they would stay within Regenku's borders as the surrounding countries were still too unstable, but beyond that they couldn't agree on which city or village they might go to.

 

Though it wasn't discussed between them, they both felt the other's unease at Sais' absence. She had been gone longer than she had ever been in the last week than she had been in the last six months. Oh, they knew very well that a dragon was restless by nature and temperament, but Sais was an even tempered woman and she had never shown any tendency to leave earlier than Soren was strong enough for. So, the two of them silently agreed to leave that subject untouched and wait to see when she would show up and try to throttle them for leaving her wards without telling her where they were going.

 

Chimadori plucked at her thoughts and prodded her to monitor her body's response. You skipped breakfast again. Eat some of your catch, she said when she saw that Soren weight had dropped yet again.

 

No, I'm not hungry. `sides, I don't need to eat three meals a day like you insist. I can last on less than one a day for a while, Soren responded automatically, allowing herself to fall into the old argument as she strained her hearing for that whisper again. We'll be able to spread the food out a little better this way, especially if we run into an area whose game has been hunted too thin.

 

You haven't eaten in two days, Chimadori protested indignantly. I don't think Homuna would thank you kindly if you were to fall ill in the middle of a desert or…

 

Hush, Soren said suddenly. Her head snapped around as another twig snapped and more rustling ensued. I think I'm being stalked by something bigger than a deer with far more cunning.

 

Sais? Chimadori offered doubtfully.

 

Perhaps. Out loud Soren asked, “Sais? If that's you, quit playing games. You remember how the last one ended, don't you?” Beside her, Homuna turned his head to watch her, his energy from earlier vanishing as he caught the caution with which she searched.

 

Silence was her only answer. The soft green of the surrounding oaks and willows suddenly made her feel too vulnerable. She wiped the blood off on her breeches and stood up, disregarding her kill for the moment. “Sais?” she asked, softer this time. Her keen eyes danced around her clearing, taking in each leaf the wind rustled and every shadow that could have been hiding her predator. Her breath caught in her throat as she heard another twig snap. The familiar cold twisted at her stomach as she turned to face the direction the sound had come from.

 

Soren, I'm coming!

 

No! Stay where you are. Wait a while longer.

 

She felt Chimadori hunch her shoulders in agitation at the order and begin kneading the soil in worry. Then her attention was diverted by a dark figure that darted from the trees faster than her eyes could follow. Before Soren could register more than its size a warm, solid mass of muscle and fur slammed into her left side, crushing her left side to the ancient oak behind them. A set of sharp fangs pierced the skin of her shoulder and bit deeply into the muscle. A scream of agony ripped through the air.

 

Soren seized a fistful of its brown fur and yanked futilely in an attempt to dislodge the teeth that were slowly sinking closer to the bone. The bear shoved her harder against the tree and dislodged her grip. She screamed again as it's claws raked over her face and slashed so close to her right eye the claws gouged a chunk out of her skull. Blood immediately began pouring from the wound, hindering Soren's sight.

 

Homuna, enraged by the scent of her blood, leapt from the shadow of the tree he had been hiding by and transformed midair. He got his teeth locked in the bear's shoulder and ripped away a chunk of flesh. Then, he was thrown carelessly against a tree with enough force to partially uproot it. The young dragon landed on his side and didn't move.

 

Cold fear clenched her as she saw Homuna. Janelle's pale face and grave flashed through her mind even as the bear continued to maul her. Not Homuna. Not again. Never again.

 

Chimadori!!

 

An angry yowl filled the clearing before the snow leopard slammed her body into the bear's with enough force to rip the teeth from Soren's shoulder. They tumbled to the ground as a mass of fur, claws, and teeth. The sounds of snarls and snapping teeth filled the air as Soren stumbled towards Homuna's too still form, the pain of her arm dulled and all thoughts of escape forgotten. Joko hovered uncertainly over his master, his green eyes wide and scared.

 

Down!!! Chimadori harshly ordered her and her knees buckled just before a flash of metal glinted in the shadows and a blade lodged itself in the wood with a satisfying thunk. Strands of crimson hair fluttered down to rest in the dirt. Her breath stilled as she stared at the strands.

 

A quiet oath sounded above her. “Just a girl, this one,” a voice like wind whispered.

 

She tipped her head back to meet the dark gaze of a slender, silver haired male. Neither Sais nor Farin a Riagenkai stood above her, staring dispassionately down at her. His shoulders were broad and his stance spoke of a warrior carved from battle. “You are too young for my apprentice to have chosen you as his newest queen,” he stated coolly, shifting slightly to easily tear his blade from the tree, “and yet you are the one that Askerin sent us hunting for. Why?”

 

Soren's breathing began to speed up as she used her good arm to push herself up, blood pouring unheeded from her wounds. She staggered upright and swayed on the spot as though uncertain what to do. A haze was just beginning to settle over her from blood loss when Chimadori's panicked voice broke through it.

 

He's a dragon! Call Farin to you! We cannot handle this pair! Then she had to turn her full attention back to fighting the stronger bear Kingen.

 

Farin. Riagenkai. Dragon. Bastard. The thoughts formed and dissolved within the space of a second. Still she had not answered his question. He made no further move of aggression towards her. The air between them held an intangible tension.

 

“What is it about you that stirs so many dragons, chit?” he asked softly, taking a step towards her and raising his sword slightly even as he glanced at Homuna and his Kingen. His voice held no malice, no hint of the emotion his eyes so willingly displayed. “You are young,” he repeated, “barely an adult by human standards and not even old enough to breathe your first fire by ours.”

 

Soren raised her chin in defiance of both the dragon before her and the fear she could feel building in her stomach. “What does it matter? Call your Kingen back and leave this place. I have done nothing to warrant the anger of you or your ruler,” she said

 

A rippling laugh left his lips as he smiled sorrowfully. “I do not hunt you for my ruler. I hunt you for the orders of my king. Because you are Farin's chosen you are to be killed or controlled. Which will you have? Become a puppet ruler for him or die?”

 

She couldn't help it. She laughed, soft and cruel. “My aunt tried to break me for that same purpose. If she wasn't able to succeed after a year and a half what makes you think that you would be any more success? What is it about the Regenkan throne that makes so many covet it and its power?”

 

The dragon took a step back, alarm showing clearly in his eyes. Whatever he had expected from her it hadn't been this. “It is not the throne Askerin seeks, but a hold over his son and you are the most convenient rope he can use to strangle him with. Nothing more, nothing less. If you will not accept then I am forced to follow through on my initial orders and kill you, youngling.”

 

An odd smile crossed her lips that made him falter for just a moment before he took three more steps forward and leveled the sword at her and swung the blade through a deadly arc. She lurched back to avoid the flashing metal and fell to the ground, narrowly avoiding smashing her head against the ancient oak's trunk.

 

When the sword met nothing and continued through its deadly arc, he followed it's path and allowed the momentum to carry him around in a circle. He came out of the spin crouching. Slowly he rose to his feet, turned, and looked at her from beneath his dark lashes. “You are a crafty one, I assume that you've received some training in the past,” he said, his voice suddenly rich with laughter. “Perhaps you will get away and I will not have to kill you, but…I doubt it.”

 

Soren rolled away from him, ignoring both the throbbing of her shoulder and the blindness of her right eye. She was suddenly grateful to Kaji for all the hours he had spent drilling the basic evasion techniques into her. The world tilted and spun as she dodged, danced, and avoided his sword and the entire time he smiled.

 

Fury hot and strong pounded through her veins to drive away the pain as she realized he was toying with her. She could see it in the way he moved his wrists, the way he would pull the attack at the last moment to make a potentially lethal strike into a minor cut. He suddenly dropped the sword and jumped at her and she fell beneath the swift, violent attack. Cold fear replaced the fury as she threw her hands over her face to protect herself from his claws.

 

Then, he was gone and the sound of snarls and grunts from another fight reached her ears. Slowly, she sat up to see two flashes of silver whirling around the clearing at a speed almost too fast for her to see them. Soren flinched slightly when Chimadori materialized next to her, bloody and beaten from her battle.

 

Her Kingen eyed her wounds with distaste, but made no comment as she lowered her head to Soren's and began to gently lick the wound over her eye clean. Soren didn't flinch away, but fisted her hand in her familiar's fur and turned her good eye to Homuna. Joko was nosing at the younger dragon and he was stirring ever so slightly. Relief pulsed through her.

 

Homuna will live, but if these wounds don't stop bleeding soon, you'll die.

 

I'll live. I always do, she replied absently, turning her attention to the fight. She couldn't help but flinch at the sight of the male dragon slashing Sais' cheek, but she paid no mind as she repaid her wounds twice over. What about the bear? Did you kill it?

 

No. Josaline relieved me of that responsibility right about the time Sais saved you. That is her, isn't it?

 

Yes.

 

Then you did not call Farin?

 

No.

 

You are queen to this country and he is your Riagenkai. You need to reconcile yourself to that fact sooner rather than later before another dragon is sent hunting for you.

 

Soren ignored this in favor of watching Sais pin the male Riagenkai. The female Riagenkai's stocky frame trembled with the exertion, but she managed to keep him pinned beneath her lighter weight long enough for them to exchange a few snarling words that escaped Soren's hearing.

 

Her attention was drawn back to Homuna as he slowly rose on unsteady legs. She pushed away from her familiar and rose too quickly to her feet. The world spun, but she paid it no mind as she stumbled to the young dragon. Homuna chirruped and transformed back to his human state to hold his shaking arms out to Soren. She caught him up and held him fiercely, not noticing her blood staining his clothes.

 

Sinking to her knees, she held him and leaned against the tree to watch the fight. Joko pressed his trembling frame against Soren's leg as Chimadori stood guard over them.

 

It was as Sais was being thrown through the air that Soren felt the hair on the back of her arms stand up. She shivered at the feeling, but didn't look away. Whatever it was it could wait until after she was sure that Sais would win, but both dragons froze as the wind shifted and carried a new scent to them. They turned to Soren and Chimadori and Soren tensed, preparing to run until their eyes slid past her and stared just beyond the tree.

 

The male backed carefully away from Sais as she scowled at the newcomer. Soren glanced over her shoulder and then stared. Silver hair glinted in the early evening sun. Another Riagenkai. Of the five known dragon guardians four were standing in the same clearing, one intent upon his kill.

 

Farin. He looked just as she had last seen him. He still looked at others around him with a slight arrogance that bordered on disdain. His body was just as lean and well muscled as she remembered. And his eyes still softened with affection when he looked at her.

 

The memory of the last time they had parted tugged at her mind, even as she felt Homuna curl deeper into her lap. He had taken her flying and then gently touched her cheek when she had thrown a fit after he'd told her that he still didn't think she was ready to rule. He had called her “silver-eyes” and said goodbye, sadness reflected in his gaze as she flung every curse she knew at him and then ridden away. He moved towards her and the memory faded.

 

The wolf Kingen paced silently beside his master as he walked slowly forward, his eyes fixed on Soren as though she were the only person worth his notice. His muscles rippled slightly beneath the thin, worn cotton shirt and breeches he wore, belying the fact that he was a warrior forged from the fires of battle. He walked with a grace that underscored his deadliness.

 

He stopped six paces short of Soren and studied her for a moment. His looked at her with a hunger that made her want to look away, but she couldn't break the hold he had over her. “Do you know how hard to keep track of you are?” he asked with an almost sheepish smile.

 

“I'm sure it's so very hard to do so, Riagenkai,” she replied bitingly.

 

Soren… Chimadori began warningly.

 

Stay out of this.

 

The amusement died abruptly in his eyes. “I failed you,” he said, “and for what it's worth, I'm sorry.”

 

Her heartbeat tripled as she heaved herself to her feet. The world tilted and spun, but she backed away from Farin's outstretched hands and cradled Homuna against her chest. “Don't touch me,” she hissed. “You can't ev-”

 

Whatever she would have said was abruptly cut off as a white hot pain pierced her shoulder. Any pain she might have felt was dulled by the pure shock of seeing the claw-like fingers protruding from her left shoulder, barely missing her frightened charge. Tilting her head back she met the eyes of her assailant and read the regret in his eyes.

 

Sound took on an unreal quality as blackness began to creep along the edge of her vision. The world tilted strangely and spun after he yanked his hand from her shoulder and stepped away.

 

She swayed dangerously, her head spinning all the more. Her eyes landed on the second silver haired man as he advanced towards her, fury twisting his handsome features. When her knees gave way the ground rushed up to meet her. Before she had the chance to collapse or drop Homuna strong arms closed around her and pulled her into a sturdy embrace with her cheek resting against his chest. Barely conscious, she noted the interesting slickness that seemed to be pressing at her from his shirt. A gentle drowsiness was beginning to envelope her senses. Distantly she could hear Chimadori's panicked voice calling to her and then the comfortable abyss of unconsciousness claimed her.

 

The next thing she was aware of was a great rushing of air all around her and the sensation of being carried very fast. She opened her eyes to the sickening view of the land sliding away at an alarming rate beneath her. Turning her head slightly she saw the great midnight blue underbelly of a dragon. Something unknotted in her stomach as she recognized Sais's dragon form. A slight movement to her left caught her eye and she snapped her head around to see Homuna clutched in her other claw.

 

She could feel herself fading again and slowly became aware of the relative loss of feeling in her shoulders. So, the wound hadn't been closed before Sais grabbed her and fled. Distantly she wondered what had happened to Farin and the other dragon before a shadow dropped across her line of sight. Then darkness claimed her again and the last thing she heard was a deep-throated roar of agony.