Destiny (Experimental Heart Book 1)

by Shannon Pemrick

  He approached and sat down on the rock I’d been beating up. “Can I ask you something?”

  I shrugged. “Might as well.”

  “You say you don’t like to kill and yet you did it your whole life. Why? Why didn’t you say no?”

  I leaned against the boulder. “Because I didn’t have the ability to.” He gave me a quizzical glance, and I continued. “Experiments are designed to take orders. We’re tools. We don’t have the physical ability to say no to one.” I grunted. “Well, not without a lot of struggling. Once we figure out how to struggle past that hurdle, we escape our ‘master’s’ clutches, or die trying.”

  His lips slipped into a frown. “That’s a hellish way to live.”

  I stared up at the blue sky. “Life can’t be kind to everyone.”

  “How can you just accept it?”

  I looked at him. “What else am I supposed to do? I can’t change the past, and I can’t jump through the timelines to find one where I would be happy and unbroken.” I rubbed my bleeding knuckle. “The shamans tried to show me a way to live a better life going forward, but not even they could erase where I came from.”

  “The name Maka’shi calls you. Is that your shaman name?”

  I nodded.

  “What about this ‘Laz’ name some have called you?”

  “Laz is short for Laz’shika, but I only allow certain individuals to call me that.”

  “Can I?”

  My eyes hardened. “No. You’re to call me Eira.” He stared at me for a moment, perplexing me. “What?”

  “I’m trying to figure out if you’re being honest.”

  “Careful.”

  “About my name? Why would I lie about something like that?”

  He thought this over. “I guess there would be no reason to lie about that. It would be stupid.”

  “Right, so just call me Eira.”

  He nodded in agreement, and I watched him carefully. If he knew how close to the truth he was, I’d be in hot water.

  I looked down at my hands. Alena would kill me if she found out I banged myself up again after she put me back together.

  “I want to thank you,” Raikidan began, “for defending me. I didn’t mean to cause structural damage to those buildings. I’m just stronger in that form. My size also makes up for my lack of speed, so I thought it would be a better choice than this form.”

  “You don’t need to thank me. You’re my comrade. I may not trust you with everything I know, but that doesn’t change that we’re allies.” My expression softened. “I won’t allow anyone like Maka’shi to insult you for doing what needed to be done to save others.”

  Before he could reply, my attention snapped to the surrounding tree line. Something large was moving around. A bear was a possible culprit, and not a creature you wanted to surprise, but this creature didn’t sound like it was lumbering around. It sounded like a human—a human trying to be quiet and stealthy—In the trees!

  Just then, a figure jumped down from the tree tops. I managed to push Raikidan out of the way and roll on the ground myself to stay safe. I looked at the man who stood above me and scowled. Deformed ears and nose, fangs, and talon-like hands, the man wasn’t exactly pleasing to look at. Hunter. I should have known that it would have been only a matter of time before one made it past the Guardian. With the demons around, they’d have more opportunities to find the construct distracted. I should have been more careful.

  The Hunter suddenly went flying when Raikidan crashed into it. “Wait, that’s a female…”

  I was taken aback by this observation and startled when the Hunter rebounded and threw Raikidan into the boulder I had been punching earlier. The boulder broke apart and he yelled out in pain. Dammit! I never thought to tell him to take a nu-human form now that his true nature was known. He would have been able to take that a little better, especially after all the fighting we’d done with those demons.

  My attention went back to the Hunter, who was still focused on Raikidan. I realized he was right. This was a female Hunter. Female Hunters were rare, and those few that existed cut their hair and bound their chests in order to look more like the males.

  The woman slowly turned her angry gaze at me. For some reason, even though they willingly altered their appearance, they didn’t particularly enjoy being mistaken for men.

  I jumped to my feet and the Hunter came at me with extended claws. She was fast, an enhancement she had over her male counterparts, but so was I. I drew my dagger and parried her sharp claws. Her nails were strong enough to withstand the strength of the blade, another enhancement she had.

  As I kept up my defense to find her weak points, I took a second to glance at Raikidan to assess his condition. He appeared to be in pain but was sitting up, which was a good sign. But it also looked as though he had no intention of helping. I suspected he wasn’t comfortable fighting a woman. He may have harmed me in that cave, and fought the succubus, but a creature with his kind of loyalty and morals around females would make it hard for him to choose to fight a woman.

  I grinned when the Hunter overextended herself, opening her up for my attacks. Going on the offensive, I slashed away at her—my anger and frustration ebbing with each draw of blood. My assault continued until she struggled to stand. She stared up at me with hate-filled eyes.

  As much as I didn’t like Hunters, it didn’t feel right to let her suffer any more, so I plunged the dagger into her chest and then slit her throat. The Hunter caught me off-guard when she continued to fight after suffering such wounds, allowing her to grab hold of my arm and slice into it. I yelled in pain and held my wounded arm. I glared at the woman, but that disappeared as I watched the Hunter fall to the ground and remain motionless. Fight with every last breath.

  I sighed with relief. My head pulsated with each whiff of blood, but I pushed it away, along with the sensation of satisfaction ebbing over me.

  Raikidan approached as I looked down at the body. “You okay?”

  I nodded.

  “Do you feel any better?”

  Instead of replying, I wiped the blood off my dagger. I didn’t want to openly admit that the act of killing this Hunter had nearly pacified my anger. Such a reaction was wrong.

  I looked out into the forest when some bushes rustled. In the shade of the trees stood the featureless form of the village Guardian. I wouldn’t doubt it had been chasing the Hunter before it found Raikidan and me. A quick whistle slipped through my lips as I signaled to it that things were now fine. The Guardian turned away and disappeared into the shadows.

  Raikidan held out his hand. “Let me see your arm. Sounded like she got you pretty good.”

  I tried to hide my arm and ignored the pain pulsing under my skin. “It’s nothing, really.”

  He kept his hand out. “Just let me see it.”

  “How are you feeling?” I asked, trying to deflect.

  “I’ll be fine.” He didn’t drop his hand. “It’ll take more than that to kill me.”

  “That’s good. You should probably consider taking a nu-human form going forward. It’ll be easier to take hits like that.”

  He nodded, still not budging on his request. “I thought of that while watching you fight.”

  I finally gave in to his silent insisting and he looked over the wound, as well as the damage I’d caused to my hands. “Sorry for not helping you. After I realized that Hunter was a woman, it didn’t feel right to have hit her.”

  I let him heal up my arm and then my knuckles. “How were you able to harm that succubus? She was female.”

  His lips pressed into a thin line. “That wasn’t easy, either. I had to force myself to think of her as not really a female, and just a creature that pretends to be one to confuse me.”

  My brow rose. “That’s actually an impressive way to go about it.”

  His lip twitched, and he looked away. He’s remorseful of his actions. Interesting…

  “How do you feel about me letting them go?”

 
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Part of me thinks it was a stupid choice, the other is glad for some reason. I can’t explain it.”

  I nodded and looked down at the Hunter’s body. “I’ll take care of her. Why don’t you focus on changing your form?”

  He agreed, and I went about dragging the body away. When I returned, I found Raikidan in his new form, and Valene with him. They appeared to be having a friendly conversation, based on her smile and his relaxed expression.

  Valene smiled at me when I approached. “Body all hidden?”

  I looked to Raikidan for answers. He shrugged. “She asked where you were.”

  Valene giggled. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Maka’shi. Don’t need another reason for her to go on a rampage.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from making a remark.

  She pointed at Raikidan. “Shva’sika needs him for something, if that’s okay.”

  I pursed my lips. “Maka’shi wants us gone. I don’t thi—”

  She waved me off. “It’s fine. A few of us got Maka’shi to calm down enough to talk some sense into her. We can’t send you away without giving you the chance to properly prepare. We got you a few more hours at least. That’s why Shva’sika needs Raikidan. She’s working on some sort of plan.”

  “Okay, I’ll trust your judgment. While that’s going on, I think I’ll go to the Library. I want to know more about the demons we dealt with.”

  Valene smiled. “I’d be happy to help with that.”

  I nodded. “I wouldn’t say no.”

  She hooked her arm with mine and led the two of us back to the village.

  A page of the book flipped on its own as I held my hand over it. Words played through my mind; the ancient magic laced into the pages. Valene rummaged through a bookshelf nearby. We’d searched for several hours for information. We’d found all kinds of history, but not the information we wanted. Until now.

  “I finally found you two,” came a feminine voice. Valene and I looked up to find Shva’sika and Raikidan approaching. “Raikidan said you’d come here, but I didn’t think you’d be so far in.”

  “Yeah, you’re not the only one,” I admitted. “I hoped the information would be easy to find, but it took a while.”

  She continued her approach. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  “I think so.” I looked at the closed book in my hand and Valene abandoned her search. “Since succubi and incubi aren’t native to Lumaraeon, and only arrived here from summons during the Dark Wars, this is the only text I found that could give a plausible reason for the attack. If this text is correct, the two were a mated pair.”

  Shva’sika rested a finger on her cheek as she thought. “I’ve never heard of it, and that’s surprising with my family’s history.”

  “Mated pairs are rare, even when these creatures were numerous in the past. When it happens, they’re gratifying each other’s sexual desires, but not their desire for temptation and lust for blood, so they seek out prey together. As a mated pair, they would share each other’s strengths and weaknesses, which has its pros and cons. If one hurts, so does the other, but as long as they go untouched, they’re golden.”

  A crystal chair formed next to me from the crystal floor, and Shva’sika took a seat. “That does make sense. So, their attack on our village was just a chance happening.”

  I nodded. “I believe so. They would have been able to sense the number of people in the village, and if they’re fast and elusive enough, they can get past the village Guardian and shaman Guards. Last night, the Guardian was acting strange, quickly moving around in the territory as if hunting. I suspect they found this place yesterday and were scoping it out before their assault.”

  “With Hunters lurking in the forest too, they might have been able to use that as a distraction,” Valene said.

  I snorted. “They probably used them as easy victims first.”

  Shva’sika’s eyes darted between the two of us. “What are you two talking about?”

  I looked around to make sure no one was listening in and then leaned closer to her, keeping my voice down. “Raikidan and I killed a Hunter before Valene showed up to tell us you needed Raikidan.”

  Her lips slipped into a frown. “I’ll be sure to not allow that to leak to Maka’shi. Getting her to hold off her eviction for a few hours has been hard enough. I don’t need another reason for her to banish you.”

  I shrugged. “I am putting you all in danger. She has a right to be concerned.”

  Shva’sika shook her head. “We both know that’s a scapegoat answer. She’s never liked you. From the very beginning, she tried to get rid of you.”

  One side of my lips slid into a smile. “Half the village didn’t want me here when I first showed up.”

  “But once they realized how wrong they were to make assumptions about you, that changed.”

  I looked down at the book in my hands. “They weren’t exactly wrong assumptions.”

  She sighed, knowing full well it’d be pointless to argue with me. “Since you’re still looking at that tome, it’s safe to assume something else is bothering you about those demons?”

  I nodded. “It’s how the two acted. They were both careless about allowing their names to be known, and then the incubus was so protective of his partner, it was almost as if he…”

  “Loved her?” Shva’sika guessed. “That’s a pretty farfetched claim for a demon.”

  “I know, but I can’t see why he’d say those things to me if it wasn’t true.”

  “Is that why you let them go?”

  “He had the chance to hypnotize me. I looked right into his eyes, but he didn’t. He just wanted Rosa to be let go. Such a human-sounding name. I can’t get that out of my thoughts.” I couldn’t let her know there had been something else, unknown to me at the moment, compelling me to let them go. That wouldn’t reflect well.

  Shva’sika held her chin as she thought. “Well, it’s possible she was human once. I’ve heard, back during the days of the Dark Wars, some summoners would perform rituals that would turn themselves into demons. It’s possible that succubus had done that to herself.”

  I nodded slowly. “It’s possible. It might be a reason why the incubus had such a fondness for her. Maybe their past is a lot deeper than just being demons. Unfortunately, the book didn’t talk about those kinds of rituals or how demons feel about certain things, so unless I find a dark ritual tome, a journal, or talk to a real demon, I doubt I’ll know for certain.”

  “Don’t worry too much about it,” Shva’sika said. “Those days are long gone, and there are many out there in Lumaraeon who keep watch for possibilities of those days coming back. That’s not for you to worry about. The now and the future are what you should be focusing on.”

  She patted me on the leg and then stood up. “I need to finish my task, so you can leave. Valene, I need your help with this last part.”

  She nodded, a smile on her lips. “Of course.”

  Shva’sika looked down at me. “I’ll have someone fetch you once we’re done.”

  The two left before I could ask questions. Raikidan took Shva’sika’s chair. “Any clues to what they’re up to?”

  He shook his head. “She asked me about my skills and then measured me with some strange rope. Then said that was all she needed me for.”

  My face scrunched. “Weird.”

  He looked around. “What is this place?”

  “The Library. It holds all of Lumaraeon’s known records, even some not known by those living.”

  “That’s a lot of books.” He continued his gazing. “Not to sound rude, but this is a weird library.”

  I chuckled because he was right. There were no walls, and barely any flooring. It was a dark void, and the only light came from floating flames and candelabras. The floor was made of colored crystal, and if you didn’t watch yourself, you might just fall into the black abyss below… or was it above?

  I looked at the crystal floor
ing above and watched people walk around normally, as if they were the ones right side up. All sense of direction was thrown out of balance here. It was easy to forget where you were or which way you came from if you weren’t careful. This definitely wasn’t your usual library.

  I got up from my spot and stored the book away, pulling another one from the shelf that had caught my eye earlier, and also grabbed one that sat on a small table. Sitting back down, I looked at the smaller of the two books. The book was bound in leather, like all other tomes in here, but the cover had strange designs carved into it, including some odd script I was unable to make out the origins for. I ran my fingers over the engraving. Before I knew it, the book was out of my hands and in Raikidan’s.

  He looked at it intently. “Do you know what this says?”

  I shook my head. “No, I’ve never seen such symbols. Do you know what it is?”

  “It’s my native tongue.”

  My brow rose. “Speak it.”

  “Ion cuvk.” The words sounded more like a combination of grunts, growls, and a hiss, but it also sounded nice. It sounded natural when he said it.

  “What does it mean?”

  “Our kind.” His voice still had a slight growl to it.

  I looked down at the book. “I’ll be honest, even with my knowledge of this place, I wouldn’t have thought this would be a book on dragons.”

  Raikidan slid his hand over the leather. “It doesn’t look old, either. Maybe a few decades or so. We dragons like to keep to ourselves. I don’t understand why someone would put this in here. Or how.”

  “The Library is old and has many entrances; some in the other shaman villages, and others that are scattered across Lumaraeon, so you’ll probably never figure it out.”

  He opened the book and looked at the blank pages in confusion.

  I laughed. “It reads to you.”

  He looked at me, still confused.

  “Here.” I put his hand on the page and held it there. “Just open up your mind. It’s that simple.”

  He closed his eyes and did as I instructed. As the book spoke to him, symbols appeared and disappeared on the page. When the words stopped appearing, Raikidan opened his eyes. I took the book from him and decided it might be best to find out what was in it. He probably wouldn’t tell me much about his kind, so this would be the only way.