by Eric Vall
“Oh, thank you, thank you!” Ravi squealed quietly and threw her arms around my neck. “You won’t regret this, Lord Evan, I promise. I will not fail you.”
“I know you won’t.” I smiled at the phoenix to reassure her. “I have every faith in you.”
“We do, too!” Polina whisper-shouted as she and her sisters crowded around Ravi and embraced the phoenix. “You are super pretty and super fast and super smart. You’ll find the cheetah house no problem!”
“And then once you find the cheetah house, Lord Evan will take us all to bed,” Marina sighed wistfully.
“Um, you mean once we save Tikal, right?” I corrected her with a quirked brow. “We still have a few things to do once we find House Jubatus. That isn’t the end of the mission.”
“We know, Lord Evan,” Trina shot her sister a sharp look, “we promise to be patient and behave until you tell us not to.”
Yeah, I didn’t exactly believe the dryad on that front, but we didn’t have time to argue it out right now.
“Fifteen minutes,” I reminded Ravi as I glanced nervously at the brightening sky. Dawn was fast approaching.
“I’ll be back before you can even worry.” Ravi grinned and pecked me on the cheek before she stepped back. Then she took a deep breath, and a column of blue flames encased her body. A moment later, her small orange phoenix form shot up out of the fading fire, and she ascended into the sky like a feathered rocket.
“Be safe,” I murmured after her as my heart clenched in my chest.
“She’ll be fine, Lord Evan,” Polina assured me and placed a hand on my arm. “We weren’t just being silly before. Ravi is very fast and very smart. She can do this.”
“You’re right,” I sighed as I tore my gaze from the sky. “Come on, we can at least start making our way south. I don’t want to just sit here and wait for someone to find us.”
“Will Ravi know where to look for us, though?” Trina frowned.
“She’s got a bird’s-eye view,” I chuckled, “she’ll be fine.”
The dryads nodded, and then we slowly slinked our way out of the alley and turned south.
As we stuck to the shadows and darted down side streets, I kept time in my head. Five minutes passed quickly, and then ten. The sun had finally broken over the eastern horizon, and the sky was now streaked with pinks, oranges, and yellows. I could hear people begin to stir in their houses, but we still hadn’t run into anyone out on the streets. My eyes kept darting up as the counter continued to tick down, though, and the tightness in my chest increased with every passing second.
Right before we hit the fifteen-minute mark, I motioned for the dryads to duck into an alley on our right, and then I pressed my back up against the wall.
“She’s late,” I huffed and scrubbed a hand over my face. “Fuck.”
“Actually, I think I’m right on time,” Ravi’s voice said from behind me, and I gasped and whirled around.
The phoenix was perched on a discarded and broken barrel further down the alley, and even though she was still in her bird form, I could have sworn she was smirking smugly at me.
“Ravi!” Polina giggled and ran over to stroke the firebird’s head. “I knew you could do it.”
“See?” Marina nudged me with a smile. “We told you there was nothing to worry about, Lord Evan.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I chuckled as we approached the phoenix.
“Did you find the cheetah house?” Trina asked as she bounced up and down on her toes.
“I did,” Ravi dipped her small head, “it’s not too far from here.”
“You’re amazing,” I praised the phoenix with a grin, “I never doubted you for a moment.”
“Uh-huh,” the phoenix laughed, and then she transformed back into her human form in a flash of flames. “Come on, we can reach House Jubatus within a few minutes.”
“Have I mentioned I love you?” I smiled.
The phoenix blushed and averted her sapphire eyes. “Lord Evan … ”
“I’ll figure out how to properly thank you later,” I teased before I gestured down the alley, “but for now, lead the way.”
“Okay, but we’ll have to be quick,” Ravi said as she slipped back into mission mode. “It seems Tikal is waking up, and there are a number of cheetah Demi-Humans walking around.”
“What are we going to do once we reach House Jubaba?” Polina asked.
“Jubatus,” I laughed and shrugged, “and I’m just going to walk up and demand to speak to whoever is in charge at the moment.”
“Won’t that be dangerous?” Ravi worried.
“Only for them,” I smirked, “and only if they refuse me. I’m not worried about a bunch of pussy cats. If they want to fight, I’ll quickly show them how that isn’t a smart decision.”
“Sexy dragon body?” Polina gasped as her and her sisters’ eyes went wide.
“Sexy, scary, badass dragon body,” I confirmed with a nod.
“Oh, I can’t wait!” Marina clapped and jumped up and down.
“I hope the cheetahs are very stupid.” Trina grinned as she dragged her jade eyes over my body. “Very, very stupid.”
“Only one way to find out,” I laughed. “Let’s go.”
The dryads shared excited and mischievous grins, and even Ravi looked eager at the prospect of me showing up some cat Demi-Humans.
Well, I didn’t want to disappoint them.
The five of us quickly slipped out of the alley, and we followed Ravi as she darted down several streets. I caught flashes of cheetah Demi-Humans out of the corner of my eye, but we didn’t slow or stop as we ran toward House Jubatus. Finally, Ravi took a sharp left, and then she came to an abrupt stop between two buildings.
“There it is,” the phoenix panted as she looked back at me, “at least I think.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re right,” I muttered while I took in the sight before me.
The streets were wider here, and the buildings were more spaced out with patches of tall green and gold grasses cropping up in between them. Most of the structures here looked less grand than in the jaguar section of Tikal, though. A lot of the huts were constructed out of what looked like adobe with some wood accents, but there weren’t very many trees to speak of. There were some scrub brush trees like you’d find on a savanna here and there, and a lot of the huts were built underneath them to take advantage of the little shade the vegetation offered. There also looked to be wooden platforms woven into the thin trees, and more platforms dotted the spaces between the huts.
I wondered what these platforms were for a moment, but then I saw a cheetah Demi-Human sprint out of one of the huts, take a running leap, and land on a platform. Then the cheetah spread out across the platform with what looked like a plate of breakfast, and the Demi-Human basked in the rising sun.
Beyond the basking cheetah, though, was what I assumed to be the ancestral seat of House Jubatus. It was smaller than the jaguars’ jungle palace, maybe two or three stories at max, but the complex spread out for nearly two city blocks. The headquarters of House Jubatus was tan in color and built between a copse of scrub brush trees, and in all honestly, the building itself blended into the prairie. The swaying grasses and trees partially camouflaged the structure, and if it wasn’t so vast, it would have been hard to spot.
Cheetahs darted between the grasses and the huts as they made their ways to and from the prairie palace, but I knew someone was bound to spot us sooner or later, so I decided to take the initiative.
“Stay close to me, ladies,” I instructed Ravi and the dryads, “and watch our backs.”
“Yes, Lord Evan,” the four women chimed in unison, and then I stepped out from the alley and marched onto the prairie.
Before I even made it ten feet, I felt a shift in the air. I kept my eyes locked on House Jubatus’ palace, but in my peripherals, I saw the cheetah Demi-Humans freeze before they started to slip into the long grasses and disappear. They were quiet as they stalked my party across the prairie,
but I could hear the barest whisper of their feet hitting the ground, and more than once I caught the flicker of a spotted and ringed tail.
Finally, when we were less than twenty-five yards away from the entrance of the prairie palace, a voice cut through the air.
“Halt!”
I came to a slow stop, and my women fanned out behind me.
“I come in peace!” I called out as I held my hands out to show I wasn’t armed.
Technically, I didn’t need to be armed since my dragon body could raze this entire prairie to ashes in a heartbeat, but House Jubatus didn’t need to know that.
Yet.
“Who are you?” a voice shouted to my left, and I saw the long grass twitch.
“My name is Lord Evan,” I replied as I zeroed in on the voice. “I am the Lord of Hatra el Shamash, and I am here to speak to the head of House Jubatus.”
“House Jubatus has no need to speak to a foreign lord,” the voice sneered. “Leave now, while we still allow passage through our lands.”
“Yeah,” I drawled and shoved my hands in my pockets, “I’m not going anywhere until I get what I want. So, you can either stop hiding in the grass and come speak with me, or I can root you out and force you to listen to me anyway. Your choice.”
Several beats of silence passed where nothing moved other than the long swaying grasses. I was thinking that these cheetahs were just going to be particularly stubborn, but then the patch of grass to the left of the palace parted, and three Demi-Humans stalked forward.
The members of House Jubatus shared some similarities with the jaguars of House Onca. They had small, tan rounded ears perched atop their heads, and long spotted tails flickered behind their backs. There were some notable differences between these Demi-Humans and the ones of House Onca, though. Their skin colors seemed to be a little fairer, and the hues ranged from honey, to caramel, to a creamy yellow. The cheetahs’ eyes also looked bronzer in the early morning light, but the most striking aspect of their appearances were the stripes of black that ran from the inside corner of their eyes and down their faces. These lines framed the cheetahs’ mouths until they curved under their chins and disappeared. The denizens of House Jubatus also seemed to wear less clothing than their jaguar and lion counterparts, and they opted for pale loin cloths and chest wraps for the women that blended into the long prairie grasses.
Two of the cheetah Demi-Humans were male, and the one on the left was female. The male in the middle stepped forward when his party came to a stop a dozen yards away, and he lifted his sharp chin as his brass eyes narrowed on me.
“You say you come in peace,” the male began, and his was the voice that had addressed me before, “but threatening us into speaking with you is the opposite of peaceful.”
“Well, I didn’t want to threaten you,” I shrugged, “but you were being stubborn, and we’re kind of under a time crunch. Who do I have the pleasure speaking with, by the way?”
The male cheetah clenched his jaw but responded anyway. “I am called Chidi of House Jubatus.”
“Well met, Chidi,” I nodded my head, “as I said before, I am Lord Evan of Hatra.”
“And the others?” Chidi asked as his bronze eyes snapped over my shoulder.
I cocked an eyebrow. “Well, who are your friends?”
Chidi pursed his lips. “They are of no consequence.”
“Then my party isn’t either.” I shrugged. “Besides, I’ll be doing all the talking, anyway.”
“You’ve been doing much of this so far,” the cheetah sneered.
“Ha.” I smirked dryly. “Fine, we’ll get down to business. Are you the leader of House Jubatus?”
Chidi opened his mouth to reply, but I cut him off before he could.
“Actually, sorry,” I chuckled, “I meant interim leader. I know Lord Chax is currently … indisposed, what with being the prisoner of House Oel.”
The instant I mentioned Lord Chax, the cheetahs hissed and snarled, and they bared elongated yellow fangs. Out of my peripherals, I saw more members of House Jubatus emerge from the long grasses, and I knew I’d touched a sore point.
“Hey,” I raised up my hands, “I’m not the one who kidnapped him. I’m just here to see if you’d like my help in getting him back.”
“And who are you to know of House Jubatus’ plight?” Chidi snarled and flexed his claws. “Are you a spy of House Oel? House Onca?”
“I am no one’s spy,” I laughed. “I told you, I’m the Lord of Hatra.”
“Why would the Lord of Hatra come to Tikal?” Chidi demanded. “From what I’ve heard, Hatra is a long-forgotten ruin on the other side of the Crimson Canyons.”
“You might want to update your information, buddy,” I smirked, “Hatra is a ruin no longer. In fact, it’s a pretty awesome fucking city, if I do say so myself. But that’s neither here nor there. I’ve come to Tikal on behalf of His Eminence, King Rodion, the glorious sun of Rahma.”
The cheetahs began to snarl, hiss, and spit again, but I cut them off with a wave of my hand.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I sighed, “you’re not a fan of the crown, Tikal’s been abandoned, blah, blah, blah. I’ve heard this all before.”
“From whom?” Chidi snapped.
“From House Onca,” I answered truthfully.
“So, you are in league with the jaguars,” the cheetah spat, and I could see several men reach for their weapons.
“I’m not in league with anyone,” I growled. “I’m here because my mission is to unite Tikal and make it a peaceful and prosperous city once again. Only, I’ve learned that’s not going to happen so easily since you three Houses are being kind of idiotic. I’m trying to rectify that.”
“Idiotic?” Chidi snarled and took a step forward. “Why, you insolent--”
I smirked and readied myself to kick this guy’s ass, but then the female cheetah beside Chidi placed her hand on his arm and held him back.
“Chidi, enough,” the female Demi-Human murmured. “We do not have the power to fight this man.”
“What?” Chidi scoffed as he glared down at the woman. “He is merely one man, with a bunch of little girls behind him.”
“Hey!” Polina cried out indignantly. “We’re not so little. Why don’t you come over here and find out how not so little we are?”
“But he is not merely a man,” the female cheetah said as her bronze eyes fell on me, “are you, Lord Evan?”
I blinked in surprise as I regarded the cheetah. She looked fairly young, maybe in her late teens, but there was a sharp intelligence and wisdom behind her gaze. Did she know I was a dragon? But how?
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, miss,” I hedged, since I didn’t want to give away my hand too soon.
“I think you do,” the female Demi-Human said as she stared at me with unblinking curiosity. “I have heard rumors that the once forgotten and destroyed ruin of Hatra has won itself a new lord. A very powerful lord, in fact. A dragon lord.”
Shocked gasps and murmurs passed through the crowd of cheetahs like wildfire, and I smirked as I cocked my head at the woman.
“Not all rumors are true,” I cautioned her.
“No,” she allowed, and a faint smile flickered across her mouth, “but I think this one is.”
I squinted at the cheetah, but didn’t confirm nor deny her theory. “You seem very perspective. Who are you?”
“I told you, she is no one of consequence,” Chidi snapped at me as he tried to step in front of the woman, but she wouldn’t let him.
“It is okay, Chidi,” she soothed before she turned back to me. “I am called Imani. I am the sister of Lord Chax, and House Jubatus has fallen to me in these trying times.”
“The Lady of House Jubatus, huh?” I mused, and my eyes flickered back to Chidi. “Were you trying to pull a fast one on me, dude?”
“I do not know what ‘dude’ means,” the cheetah said as he frowned, “but Lady Imani is my charge, and I will let no harm befall her, be you a d
ragon or a god.”
“Well, then you can relax,” I chuckled, “I mean no harm toward Lady Imani or House Jubatus. As I said before, I’m here to help. I want to aid you in retrieving Lord Chax.”
Chidi narrowed his bronze eyes at me in suspicion. “Why?”
“Because I’m a nice guy like that.” I flashed him a fanged grin.
“You would go against House Oel for us?” Imani asked as she cocked her head to the side. Her long golden hair was braided tightly behind her head, and the thick plait slipped over her shoulder.
“I’m not going against anyone,” I corrected and shook my head. “I’m not here to pick sides. I’m here to keep this skirmish from escalating into a full-on war. Despite being divided, Tikal looks like a beautiful city. I would hate to see it ravaged by war.”
“Is that a threat?” Chidi snarled.
“No, it’s a warning,” I snapped. “If this feud continues, one of the Houses is going to make a mistake and kill their captive, and then how many others will die in the ensuing battles? Hundreds? Thousands? Can House Jubatus bear to lose so many people?”
Chidi’s ears pinned back against his head, but he didn’t reply.
“That’s what I thought,” I sneered. “And while the Houses of Tikal are embroiled in these petty disputes, The Breach continues to grow and threaten the rest of Rahma. Hell, the rest of Inati.”
Chidi opened his mouth, but again I didn’t give him a chance to speak.
“Yeah, I know,” I growled, “you think The Breach is a bedtime story, you think it doesn’t affect you. Well, I’m here to tell you that you’re dead fucking wrong, and if you don’t listen to reason now, then I won’t be able to help you when demons descend upon Tikal and start eating your fucking children.”
Again, the gathered cheetahs gasped and muttered in surprise, and for half a second, I wished I’d brought Alyona with me. The princess knew how to sweet talk people so easily. Then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn’t need to do things like Alyona. Yes, I could try to be a little diplomatic since I was the future king, but I was also a fucking dragon, and dragons lived to be feared.
So, if it got them to listen, let House Jubatus fear me.