Pursuer (Alwahi Series) (12 page)

Deep within the thick forest, a movement caught her eyes. Zanas reached back and pulled out her bow, stringing her arrow and sending it flying before Dressdon had even come to stop. It hummed through the air passing by his body and soaring out into the darkness. They heard a high-pitched squeal that permeated the glowing night and they followed the sound to its source. The animal had dragged itself down a small ravine. They crouched under a ledge as Zanas leaned down and silenced the animal’s cries. She pulled her arrow out of the animal, and its iridescent purple blood streamed onto the earth.

Dressdon moved down next to her and pulled out his knife. With one quick swipe, he slit open the animal and began butchering it. His words from earlier echoed in her mind and she was once again overcome with anger. He seemed to sense the change in her and his green eyes looked up and into hers. Once again, that mocking smile came across his face and Zanas felt that he was enjoying himself. She found herself baring her teeth in aggression, and was met by his soft laughter.

Out of nowhere, she was lifted and flung back against the rock wall behind them, Dressdon’s purple stained hands pinning her by the shoulders. Her vision turned red and she felt her mouth opening wide in fury. She brought down her teeth to the hard muscle of his shoulder, and he gave a grunt in pain. He tightened his grip on her body, until she felt a pain where his strong hands squeezed her flesh. And then she heard the sound of animals moving through the forest.

There seemed to be dozens of them, their soft whines echoing to each other in the night. She could hear them sniffing the spilled blood where she had pierced the animal with the arrow. They were bickering with each other, a snarl echoed by a yelp, as one injured another. The animals were just above them on the ledge of the rocks. Her skin began to prickle, as she sensed them staring down the darkened ravine. Another squeal echoed in the night as a ground beast was flushed out by the pack of predators that sped off in chase of the yelping animal.

Zanas came back to the realization that she was still pinned against the rocks by Dressdon. She could taste the sweet flavor of his blood in her mouth. Her anger towards him had not subsided, and she felt her eyes burning into his. He laughed.

“
I love it when you’re angry, your eyes dance with fury,” he whispered, and Zanas suddenly realized how close his face was to hers. She felt as though her heart would explode, as it pounded furiously in her chest, and she began to feel faint. He reached back, grabbed her braid with his hand, and pulled on it roughly, tilting her head up towards his. She felt the vibration as she began to growl, and his arms tightened around her. Echoing her growl, he brought his lips roughly down onto hers. Her breath was taken away as she felt the soft velvet touch of his skin on hers.

A sound behind them brought them back to reality and he let go of her. They turned to see Desstina staring at them. First, she gave Dressdon what appeared to be a hurt look, and then she turned to look at Zanas, a burning hatred glowing in her eyes. Before either of them could say anything, she had turned and disappeared back into the forest.

Dressdon said nothing for a moment as he stared where Desstina had been, his face serious once again. Then without a word, he stooped down and began to finish butchering the animal. Zanas glanced up at the sky and realized the bright star was almost directly overhead.

She found her anger had completely dissolved, and she was left feeling confused. She had no idea why Dressdon had kissed her. There had been an irresistible urge in the air between them, one that she could not understand. In all honesty, she had not had very many interactions with the other sex. That was her sister’s domain. Zanas had never even had a boyfriend. It was not that the boys in her class found her unattractive; in fact, they found her breathtakingly beautiful. But she was not like other girls, she had never been. Zanas never lacked confidence or the fierce need to compete. For some reason, that seemed to intimidate the boys who wanted to approach her. This had never bothered Zanas however; where the boys were intimidated by her, she was disdainful of them. There was just something about them that she found unable to respect.

Her lips burned where his had been and she reached up and touched them with her fingers. Her heart began to pound in her flesh once more as she glanced down at him. She shook herself, her head buzzing with excitement, and pulled out her knife. Ignoring the flipping of her stomach, she leaned down and began assisting in the butchering.

“
Soon the sun will come up,” he stated, no trace of the mocking tone. “We must make sure that we are back below way before then. We are adapted to below. You will not be able to come above when it is day, or you could go blind. Never come above alone,” he finished. Zanas nodded, not saying anything.

Weighed down with her kill, they began to jog back through the green jungle. Instead of watching the forest as she ran, she found herself watching him. His strong legs pounded steadily on the earthen ground, his toned arms moving in rhythm. He was once again without his shirt, and she found herself mesmerized by the way his line of soft glowing tattoos moved as he ran.

“
Come on girl, you can run faster,” he growled over his shoulder.

Zanas felt her anger return, and in a flash, she had darted around him and took the lead. She felt her breath quicken and she let all her mental restraints fall away. Zanas stopped pacing herself with imaginary limits. If she had any before, Alwahi had long since dissolved them.

The brightly lit forest around her sped by, colors blending into each other like a stretched rainbow. The wind of the forest pulled at her hair, and she let out a small cry of ecstatic joy, startled when she heard it echoed closely behind her. She leaped over a log that lay across her path, ducking under the branches of a fallen tree, the vibrant colored forest flowing past her vision. The bright stars shined through the trees, making the dark aglow, as the crunching of their steps echoed in the night.

Zanas saw the small cave up ahead and she raced toward it stopping suddenly at the entrance, her bare feet skidding on the earth. Dressdon quickly followed behind her coming to a sliding stop, a wild windblown look about him, his eyes dancing with excitement.

They stared at each other, neither saying anything, as they inhaled deeply. The forest stirred once again, and the rest of the hunting party came into the clearing. The pangerra flowers had made canvases of all of them. Zanas found herself gazing at her team, each one alight with the bright colors of the flowers. Each of their bodies were covered in bright splotches of glowing pollen; with green, purple, pink and blue mixed together. There were streaks of colors, where hands had grazed across bodies. Their faces looked like wild exotic animals, a Technicolor display of light.

As quickly as they met, Dressdon turned and led them down the tunnel. Zanas took up the rear next to Ressna, and they lit up the tunnel as they ran through it. Zanas was reminded of how different their ascent had been. Before, the gentle blue glow of the Ulwahi had lit their path, and now they blazed through the tunnels, casting shadows on the walls as they ran. Before long, they had made their way to entrance and with a push, the door swung open, and they exited into the hallway.

After unloading her meat at the kitchens, Zanas paused by her room long enough to give Maleek some choice pieces and then headed to bathe. Once again, the pool was tainted with color, but this time it bubbled with bright swirls. She soaked in the steaming water thinking once again of the kiss. Dressdon had completely ignored her after they had reentered the hold. After unloading his meat, he simply disappeared into the dark tunnels.

When Zanas finally made it back to her room, she found Ressna curled up on her bed with Maleek. She was not surprised to find the girl in her room. Ressna had long ago made herself at home, sometimes even forgetting to knock before she burst in on Zanas. Although this could have upset her, she found the girl’s behavior welcoming, as it reminded her of her sister. Asenya had never felt the need for Zanas to have privacy. As far as Asenya had been concerned, Zanas was just an extension of herself. The thought of her sister brought an aching pain to her heart.

“
So…” Ressna began, “what’s going on between you and Dressdon?” she boldly finished. Zanas stopped mid-step, her mouth open.

“
What do you mean?” she asked, dropping her clothes into a pile and collecting the clean ones that once again were left for her. “Who leaves the clothes?” she asked absentmindedly, and she was answered by Ressna’s amused laugh.

“
Yah, change the subject,” she said, rolling her eyes. “The drudges bring them,” Ressna said shrugging. “Not all the city folk find cushy places. Some of them have no choice but to be servants to the clans.” She frowned slightly. “It’s that or starve, I guess.”

“
Why don’t they join the clans?” Zanas asked and once again, she was answered by Ressna’s laughter.

“
You don’t realize this, because you’re not from here, but the city born are weak and fear filled. They would rather live a life of drudgery, than risk their lives pledging a clan.” Ressna grunted in disgust. Zanas thought about this for a moment.

“
But weren’t all Pursuers once city people?” Zanas asked. She could see the conflict that flashed in the girl’s eyes. Ressna did not reply for a moment, and then simply nodded in confirmation. Zanas knew that she was upsetting the girl, but still she continued.

“
Then you were city born,” Zanas stated. “There are no children in the Pursuer hold.” Now she could see pain mixed in with the conflict in Ressna’s eyes. It was quiet in the room, only the chewing of a bone by Maleek to break the silence. Finally, Ressna sighed and then began to speak, as if she had come to some kind of resolution within herself.

“
Yes I was city born. My father was…” she paused for a moment, “is a member of the assembly. The assembly makes the laws of the city. We lived in a grand house and father was constantly surrounded by supplicants trying to earn his favor. I was given anything I wanted, except the one thing I ever asked for, his blessing to pledge Pursuer. He saw no reason for me to join. He did not want his daughter joining a pack of heathens, as he stated it. I knew nothing else would make me happy, and that I could not live in his comfortable little world of pleated clothing and constant frivolous chatter,” Ressna said, pulling absently at a nonexistent thread on her clothing.

“
I always knew I was meant to run with the Pursers, and so, I walked into the pledge house and I declared Pursuer. I have never seen my family since, although we are not banned from interacting. They have never tried to reach me, and I long ago lost the need to be accepted by them,” she finished quietly, shrugging her tired shoulders. Although she said this, Zanas could tell that Ressna truly did not mean it. Being ostracized by her family still brought pain to her.

“
Anyway,” Ressna said climbing to her feet. “We are all going to meet at the rec center. Dressdon reserved the course for our team and we are going to play.” The energetic grin had returned to Ressna’s face, and all signs of the sorrow reflected there moments before were gone. “So grab your bow and let’s go,” she finished. They left, walking excitedly down the hallways.

Although Zanas had never played, she understood the concept of the game by watching the Pursuers in their game of choice. They called it “the run” and from what Zanas had been able to gather, it was a type of hunted/hunter game. Half would carry bows and the other half would don a protective suit, complete with a mask that covered the face. She had watched the teams heading into the course, those in protected gear heading in first, and the hunters second. Zanas had also watched them exit the course, the hunted with arrows jutting out from their protective gear. The suits appeared to protect the wearers from the brunt of the injury. However, some deftly flown arrows still pierced slightly through the armor and into the flesh, leaving a shallow bleeding wound.

Even the bloody aspects of the game did not draw away from the fact that it was, indeed, a game. The teams that left the course always had the wild look of excitement in their eyes, and their laughter and teasing echoed the halls as they left. Zanas felt the rush of excitement she had come to expect in the world of Pursuers.

They met at the entrance to the course, a small room equipped with colored arrows and black hanging suits. The rest of the team was already assembled.

“
So nice of you to join us,” Desstina growled as she gave the girls a narrowed look as they entered the room.

This seemed to amuse the twins and they quickly added, “We don’t have time for you girls…” one started.

“
and your beauty sessions…” the other finished, both of them with wide grins.

“
It must be sad to have to work at being good looking,” the first sighed in mock sympathy.

The team erupted in laughter, Zanas laughing heartily. Desstina let out a small huff of anger, and then began to pull herself into one of the suits hanging on the wall. Tress and Ressna glimmered in their black suits, the hoods pulled over their faces, reminding Zanas of some kind of phantom.