Dumbfounded by his confidence, she stopped scratching his ear and implored, For God’s sake, how did you come to that conclusion?

He tilted his big head and pushed into her hand, reminding her to keep rubbing. We are Tal’Ai. I feel the magic channeled through me. You have divulged information on the emotions you sense, even from a distance. But you do not have the eyes of one of the Tal’Ai. At the moment of our bond, we were both marked by the magic encircling us. Although I do not have the necessary knowledge or training, all these clues will eventually converge, leading us to something greater than we can imagine at this time.

But I’m a nobody. I’m not even from this planet, she denied with scrunched brows, frowning at Chion.

Have you not wondered that it may be because you are not from this planet that our bond is important, powerful? You were brought here for a specific reason. A reason we must first learn before our questions can be fully answered.

His comment made her stop and think. She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth as she flipped the idea to the other side of the coin. Chion nodded his head in satisfaction. He circled her once more, rubbing his entire body against her before walking back to join the two guards.

Sending a last look toward the Pyranni, Lara walked over and picked up the tossed cup and gave it back to Matu. With a look of respect in his eyes, Matu handed her another cup filled with hot stew and a spoon. Lara took a small bite and hummed in delight. It tasted delicious.

Without looking up from his own cup, Tighan commented, “Your accent is one I have never heard. Ye clothes are tightly woven together. I must wonder where ye from.”

Chion answered him before Lara could think of a reply. Indeed, she has come far to Kureto. Her accent is one not from this land. Their weavers are better than any I have seen as well, Chion said, skimming the truth.

Tighan slurped the last bit of stew from his cup, then asked, “Where do ye call home?”

Again, Chion answered for her with studied indifference. She is from a land that few have knowledge of. My Lady is an Abani, from the kingdom called Abanis. Are you one of the few who know of this land?

You’re such a skilled liar. I almost believe you and I know where I’m from, Lara said in amusement.

I lie only when necessary, My Lady. I do not trust these men or their intent.

Not privy to their discussion, both Tighan and Matu shook their heads. Matu scratched his nose and took over the questioning. “Where’s this Abanis?”

Lara’s lips curved into a small smile when Chion—without missing a beat—gave basic directions. From our continent, Abanis is directly north. The kingdom is so far north it is informally called the Ice Lands. It takes many weeks of traveling by ship before Abanis can be seen through the frozen rains and cold fog.

This time, Lara had a difficult time keeping her laughter from spewing and ruining the tall tale Chion was spinning. You do realize I am from a place that has hot weather. We might have snow once a year, and the snow only lasts a day, if that. Does this Abanis really exist?

Chion chuckled and said, The similarities between the two places are not important. Abanis does exist. I overheard an elder telling another about his conversation with an Abani. I had to choose a place where the physical features are not well known by Kurites. You have very distinct features compared to others living here beneath the ground.

Tighan and Matu shared a look that spoke of years working together. When Matu gave a small nod, Tighan suggested, “Ye traveling t’ Malkese. We’re traveling t’ Areth. Suppose we travel together until we reach the Bithon crossing.”

Chion bowed his head at the offer and said, I thank you for your offer. I agree. We should travel together until we reach the crossing. From there we can go our separate ways.

“I have not seen the Bithon crossing. What is it? None of the other intersections in the tunnels have names. None that I know of anyway,” Lara said in curiosity.

Matu said with a look of contempt, “That’s cause it isn’t an intersection. The tunnel ends at a cliff that falls deep int’ the abyss. I have heard it’s so deep that if ye drop a stone, ye never hear it land.”

In fascination, she queried, “An abyss? Then how do you get to the other side?”

When the two guards stared at her in bewilderment at her apparent stupidity, Chion came to the rescue. At the point of the tunnel’s dead-end, a bridge to Malkese leads to the left and Areth’s bridge heads in the other direction. The two bridges are Malkese’s and Areth’s last defense against our enemies from this direction.

“Is there another way into the cities?”

Yes, but the routes are strewn with danger. If one takes the wrong corridor, the route leads the traveler into a maze of unfinished tunnels. Many people have lost their way and are never found. Only those who know the routes are willing to take that road, Chion explained, sending her vague impressions of the tunnels.

Tighan interrupted Chion’s explanation. “The P’ranni have never come this far int’ Kureto lands. Tis too dangerous.” He smirked before he reached over and snatched Lara’s stew cup and spoon. “I’ll take cleanup duty t’night.”

After watching him carelessly reach over the hot rocks, Lara realized the rocks no longer kicked out heat. She stretched out her hand, testing the temperature. Though still warm, she could pick them up without worry.

Chion got up and arched his back in a full-body stretch. His mouth opened and his tongue curled in a wide, toothy yawn. Her jaws cracked in a full yawn when she joined him a second later. He nudged her with his nose. Let us move to the other side of the cave and find our resting place.

Stolen story; please report.

They walked over to the small pile of blankets left for travelers. She layered the ground with a blanket for Chion and another for herself. The third blanket she kept to cover herself. They both got comfortable, with Chion positioning himself in front of her small nook in the wall.

Curling onto her side, she recalled the fifth person in their party. Lara never learned the Pyranni’s name. Her last thought before falling into an exhausted sleep was if he hadn’t attacked her, she would have made sure he had food and water tonight. But for once, she couldn’t bring herself to care he was going to sleep with an empty belly.

It served the bastard right.

<< >>

On the second day of traveling with the three men, worry gnawed at Lara. She still hadn’t woken up in her bed. She suspected there was a certain pattern in her trips. Each time she came to the tunnels, Lara was here for longer lengths of time. The longer she spent here in this dangerous but complex world, the more real it became. It was her life as a student that was beginning to feel more like the alternate reality. Even so, she was homesick. She missed talking to her parents and her friends.

During their journey, Lara managed to coax the captive into giving her his name. Skye Silverhand had finally relented to her persistent questions when she persuaded him that talking would pass the time as they walked. Every question was answered with brusque, one-word replies—if he deigned to respond at all. It didn’t stop her from rewording the questions.

Skye was from a city called Gharra, which was a prosperous port city. His king resided in the city, so the training compound where he lived was the largest in Pyran. There had been a few minutes of confusion, though, when she asked what he did for a job. His culture, including the Kurite culture, did not perceive their day-to-day activities as jobs. She had learned that the word ‘job’ didn’t translate to anything in their vocabulary. He was a trained warrior who had yet to be blooded.

This description led to another round of questions, and Lara put together piece by obscure piece his meaning. The term ‘not blooded’ meant he had never seen battle. Being held captive didn’t count. After that, her questions dwindled when he refused to respond to any more probes.

By the second day, Lara realized they were walking down a steady but slight decline. The gentle slope continued until she wondered how deep underground they were. When asked, Chion explained, We are indeed going deeper below ground. Soon the temperature will fall and you will feel a slight chill in the air.

“I just assumed the tunnels were all the same temperature,” she said in question. As an afterthought, she added, “And on level ground.”

Chion chuckled at her naiveté and playfully bumped his hindquarters against her hip. She almost smashed into the wall with her right shoulder.

“Oof! Hey, watch it. Besides, how was I supposed to know the tunnels changed elevation? All the ones I’ve been in were exactly the same.”

Lara caught sight of his long tail and couldn’t help but smirk. She slowed her pace until he inched ahead. When the tail came into reach, she snatched a hold of his tail and yanked.

A small roar reverberated around the corridor. Chion whirled around faster than she could blink. His deep chuckle ran through her mind when he saw her innocent expression. Right before he jumped her, he curled his lips and showed her two rows of sharp teeth. Then he vaulted up on her, careful not to place too much weight on her shoulders with his front two paws. She shrieked in laughter when she felt his scratchy tongue rasp her face from chin to nose. She shoved at him until he dropped down from his make-shift perch.

She was still giggling when she accused him, “Chion. That was just mean.” She picked up the hem of her shirt and wiped his saliva off her face.

Matu yelled at them. The other three had kept going while they played. She cocked her head but didn’t hear anything else. “What did he say?”

Merriment still laced his voice when Chion said, Come, My Lady. Our companions are uncomfortable with our teasing. They worry I am not attending to our back trail.

I have to confess I’ll be glad when we are free of those men. I’m tired of sensing their emotions. If they are not feeling grouchy, they are lusty. It is revolting and makes me feel dirty.

I agree. I have grown tired of watching my tongue around the brutes.

Waiting with crossed arms and a fierce scowl, Tighan snarled, “We’re not far from Olun. I want a proper bed and meal in me belly. Are ye coming or not?”

Tired of Tighan’s boorish behavior, Lara held up her hands. “By all means, lead the way.”

The closer they came to the small village, the more signs of people she saw. The rooms they passed showed signs of careful tending. She peeked into the rooms in fascination. Many of the objects were foreign.

But her excitement at seeing signs of civilization was soon dampened by the growing assortment of sensations coming her direction. It was almost as if emotions were emitted by dozens of people. The emotions flickered through her body and mind, confusing her with their bombardment. Then suddenly, the emotions channeled into three or four alone.

The combined effect of receiving the same emotion from dozens of people hit her like a tsunami. Terror hit her so hard she went blind in reaction. She screamed breathlessly as she slapped the emotion away from her chest.

Hatred soon followed like red-hot lava flowing up her feet and legs. The intensity of the emotion left her skin feeling scalded and inflamed, leaving her yelling in agony. A big knife, out of nowhere, hit her in the middle of her chest, and she rocked back and forth from the impact. Still blind from the terror, she clawed for the handle, but her hands met empty air. The knife struck her heart over and over, again and again, before she realized it wasn’t a knife at all. It was the intense pain and sorrow of loss. She collapsed forward with an animalistic whimper, her knees hitting the ground with all her weight. The force of her landing jarred her entire body.

It was just too much. Too much terror. Pain. Hatred. Too much.

Lara panicked when she couldn’t breathe. She lifted her hands to her face even as her skin burned. She couldn’t feel her face; the constant knife burrowing again and again into her heart overwhelmed her sense of touch. She was being pulverized by the deluge of emotions.

Then she felt small, empty pockets where someone’s emotion winked out. At first, she was thankful the load lightened in their ceaseless wave after wave against her. But with devastating clarity, even through the cascade of emotion pommeling her, Lara understood what was happening.

People were dying.

In the midst of the torrent pounding her senses, she felt a soothing breath of air accompanied by a soft whisper. She tried to swim toward the single breath of air before she drowned in agony. As the darkness beckoned, she reached frantically for the voice and heard, for the first time, Chion roaring her name in alarm. Lara. Lara!

When she peered up at him, she realized her eyes were already open. Breathless from the terror encasing her chest, she mouthed, “Chion.”

He rammed himself further into her mind and commanded her, Focus. Focus on our link. She blinked as the darkness closed in despite the presence of his mental touch.

Lara. Focus on our link. Do not let the emotions destroy you.

When she couldn’t get enough air to breathe, she screamed through the maelstrom, Chion. Help me. Oh God, save them. They’re dying. They are all dying.

A small part of her soul was comforted, knowing she had passed the information to Chion. Chion would save them. He had to. Her will to fight the approaching darkness drained out of her, and Lara lost the battle of her body and mind. She collapsed, unconscious, no longer able to feel the villagers.

The last thing she heard was Chion’s cry, My Lady!