Lyra maintained a vigilant watch over her young charge as they darted through the dense forest, their agile paws propelling them forward for hours on end. The familiar landscape was a mere blur as they navigated the terrain. Ralina appeared unscathed from her sudden disappearance, but Lyra couldn't be certain if the ordeal had left any lasting effects. Ralina had confided in her about Karn's magic book, and the mere mention of it sent a chilling wave of fear coursing through Lyra's chest.
All Lyra knew was that they had to reach Drell as swiftly as possible. Though his heir was currently safe, the timing couldn't have been worse. With the emergence of both the Elementlet and the magic man, it was evident that something was on the horizon. If their clan wished to survive the impending storm, they needed to be prepared.
As they neared their home, Lyra gradually slowed her pace, transitioning from a run to a purposeful stride. Ralina fell in step beside her, their paws crunching softly on the forest floor. Gradually, the sight of the tribal walls came into view, accompanied by the unmistakable scent of their kind. They had arrived.
Lyra pawed the soft grass and arched her sore back, focusing her mind on the mission before her. The cover of the trees hid the two of them from view, allowing a moment of reprieve. Her paws ached.
Three sleepless days and nights and finally Lyra’s charge was safe—for now. She gazed back and watched the humanised Ralina breathe heavily. A nearby tree supported her weight, easing the burden on her legs.
The two had run far into the night and dawn was only a few hours away.
Lyra knew time was slipping. She needed to control her ragged breathing.
“You ready?” she asked Ralina.
“I am.” Her shaking limbs betrayed her. Still, Lyra hoped she had enough energy for this.
“Okay, Ralina,” Lyra whispered. “We’ll have to do this swiftly and quietly.”
Ralina nodded. “Does my father know I’m here?”
Lyra shook her head. “Not yet.”
Ahead, moonlight revealed a heavily fortified wall and countless leather-skinned roofs within. Small campfires and torches lent weight to shadows as smoke billowed into the darkened sky. A slight gap in the wall revealed forms of beasts moving in and out of focus.
“The clouds will shift soon. Follow closely, and if we get split up, head straight for your father’s tent.”
Ralina shifted into her Felren form and crouched low beside Lyra behind the tree she’d been using as cover. Lyra thanked her gods that the grazing animals hadn’t been through the tall grass surrounding the fortification.
She paused. Why was that? Where were they?
Patrolling around the wall were two enormous Felren with blackened fur not thirty paces from their position. Lyra peered past the tree, hoping to get a better view. A cloud shifted and a sliver of moonlight flashed over the beasts.
“Shit,” Lyra swore low.
Their fur was stained red in the ritualistic fashion of their clan.
“The Bloodspirit’s are patrolling tonight,” whispered Lyra.
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She could feel Ralina tense next to her.
Lyra clenched her jaw. They needed to get through undetected. The two red stained beasts continued to pace together in the opposite direction, eyes constantly darting. Lyra bit the inside of her mouth as the anticipation built.
In Lyra’s peripherals, she could see Ralina’s hackles rise.
“Calm yourself,” she berated the young Felren.
Wind shifted the clouds, obscuring the moon.
“Now.”
They bent low and sprinted for the gap in the wall. Tall grass whipped by as they bounded low with the scent of dew washing their flanks.
The wind picked up once more, shifting the clouds to reveal the moon.
Damn it, Lyra thought bitterly. She risked a glance towards the two patrolmen. Their backs were turned, yet Lyra was unsure if they’d sensed anything.
Darting through the gap in the wall. For a brief instant, they were in full view of the campfires. Then they darted behind a nearby tent.
Lyra lowered herself to the ground and slinked into the shadows with Ralina closely behind. Closing her eyes, Lyra concentrated. The sound of tiny paws padded the floor on the other side of the thin leather wall of the hut.
No other presence disturbed the light reverberations. Her nostrils flared but couldn’t distinguish all the scents over the smoke of the fires and something else. Blood and boiled lime.
Her hackles instinctively flared up.
“Stay here,” she whispered.
Peering around the tent, she carefully searched for the source. Laying on the floor in the middle of a small clearing was the crumpled body of a white furred beast. The pale Felren had been seared by the contents of a boiling pot nearby, then indiscriminate attacked.
Lyra’s' jaw worked furiously as she returned to Ralina’s side.
“The Bloodspirit clan are whiting Felren in the open,” Lyra said.
Raina's eyes widened.
Lyra sniffed the air once more. “Ok, I think we are in the clear. Let’s edge our way through the camp. Your father's hut isn’t far from here.”
Ralina nodded and followed closely.
They moved slowly in the dark through the camp as the sounds of sleeping beasts echoed around them. Lyra was dismayed to find that there were far more tents than before. Almost all the recent additions had red stained symbols across them.
Are the Bloodspirit on the move? Lyra wondered. Why are there so many more of them here?
The two stalked in silence through the camp past dozens of unfriendly tents until they spotted their target. Drell’s hut was in sight.
"Nearly there!" drawled a deep voice followed by a humourless laugh.
Lyra froze.
A mass of blackened fur rippled as a head of a large male Felren turned around a hut. His snout was etched with an amused sneer. The Felren's head was easily the size of Lyra’s entire body. A long broad line of red paint ran down the contours of his spine, starting at the nose and ending at the tip of his long wiry tail.
"Grawnash. What are you doing here?" Lyra stared up in defiance. He approached leisurely with heavy steps. His toothy smile widened as his hulking figure cast her into a deep shadow.
"Why following you of course!" He chuckled. "I’m told you showed the men a very daring display."
Grawnash pointed behind her with his snout as two large patrolling guards appeared behind Ralina.
"Guards, bring them to mother.”
The two guarding Felren were no way near as large as Grawnash however, Lyra knew the two guards could easily overpower them and would prefer if they struggled. Bloodspirit Felren indulged themselves in inflicting as much misery as they could.
“Ralina. Just go with them,” Lyra said begrudgingly with a heavy heart.
Ralina snarled as the guards forced them away from Drell’s hut but did what she was told. A small group of onlookers gathered as Lyra and Ralina were Shepperd through the narrow streets, making their way towards the centre of the village.
Lyra’s mind raced, looking for any escape, but none came.
Where are our clansmen? She wondered as she was escorted through the sea of red stained Felren.
Hundreds of eyes watched as a struggling Ralina was marshalled into the great wooden hut, disappearing within the folds of red stained leather and out of sight.
"I will see you soon, Ralina." Grawnash chuckled as he squatted outside the chambers.
Lyra didn’t like the way the hulking Felren eyed his charge. She gritted her teeth and moved towards the tent when a massive paw halted her in place.
“Stop,” Grawnash said. “We don’t need you.”
Lyra bared her teeth and took a step back.
Are they really going to let me go? A chance? No.
Lyra knew if they weren’t worried about her, then what they had planned for Ralina was going to be swift and severe. She needed to find Drell.
Her tail whipped around as she bounded back, the way she’d come. No matter how much her limbs hurt, she had to find him now.