He had to face the very real possibility that his foe departed into the canyon with Beni. It was a smart move, a plan he would have employed himself. It was also a dangerous place for those who were not familiar with the lay of the land. It was the reason why the clan only utilized the caverns at the face of the canyon nearest to the village. It was foolish to go deeper, and no one he knew of had intimate knowledge of the hidden paths within them. Faltz dreaded the thought of Beni being hauled through such a dangerous landscape where she could be injured. He had prayed to Ixa that he would find his mate on the broad face of the plains.
But his prayers had gone unanswered.
A strong wind ruffled his mane, and he squinted at the rock. He had already traveled further into the canyon than he had gone before, every step cautious. Many Mintars had broken or twisted limbs from exploring even the caverns and outlets closest to the village. He would be no use to his danmi if he were hurt.
Bakin drew up beside him, scowling against the grit flying into their eyes with the shift of the breeze. Faltz was well aware of the exact moment his friend’s regard turned and focused on him.
“We should return to the village…” Bakin said.
Faltz shook his head, refusing to hear. “Not without Beni.”
A sigh.
“Faltz, we can’t continue blindly through the canyon. We must report back to the queen so that we can organize and see if there are any among us who are familiar with any parts of the canyon. To rush in here unprepared is foolish. Predators hide in the deeper caverns, as you recall. The sting tail is not something I would wish to be ambushed by.”
A menacing growl rumbled up from Faltz’s chest. He loathed that his friend spoke sensibly when he wanted nothing more than to tear the canyon apart stone by stone.
“I cannot leave her out here. She has already been with the one who stole her for four days. Do not ask me to leave her yet another day to return to the comforts of the village without her. It is my duty to protect my danmi, and I have failed her.”
Bakin shook his head. “You did not fail her any more than you failed your parents. She was stolen away at no fault of your own, and now you are driving yourself to exhaustion in order to recover her, as a good and honorable mate would. You require rest though, and the queen needs to be notified of our progress. We need more help, Faltz. Ignoring this will delay finding her even further.”
His eyes scanned the steep cliff sides, and he reluctantly nodded. Gnashing his teeth, he threw back his head and let out a loud roar. It gave him little satisfaction to hear it echoing off the stone walls.
“Beni, I will find you!” he bellowed with all the breath in his lungs.
Sides heaving and energy spent, he dropped his head and turned away to head back to the village.
By the time they arrived, his eyes stung with exhaustion and his muscles barely had any strength left to carry him much further. He wanted to see the queen at once, but Bakin talked him into resting first so that his mind would be clear to present all the facts he had and to consider their next moves.
It was with a brutally aching heart that he fell onto his bed, the fading scent of Beni surrounding him. How had he ever thought that he would have been able to let her go? Being without her tore huge, gaping wounds into him that would never be healed until he was reunited with his danmi once again.
He did not sleep long. It seemed like he had just closed his eyes when a loud crash shook through his dome. Jerking up, his fangs bared, he blinked when he saw Bakin limping, one of Beni’s supply baskets caged around his foot. The male cursed and shook his leg, trying to get free of it.
“What are you doing here?” Faltz snapped just as Bakin finally managed to get loose. “I thought you were sleeping as well.”
“I was, until I received an alert from the queen. Apparently, she had been waiting for us to return. As soon as she got news that we were spotted, she sent a runner to wake me. So here I am to fetch you,” he grumbled.
“She was watching for us?” Faltz surged to his feet, ignoring the protest of his muscles. “She must have information. We must hurry,” he snapped as he broke into a run.
“That was the idea,” Bakin said as their pace picked up to ground-eating gallop.
Their clan stared after them, several them breaking from the crowd to follow close behind, eager to hear news. Faltz ignored them as he approached the queen’s dome. A harried guard witnessed his approach and, with a relieved shout, opened the entry flap to admit Faltz. Only due to propriety did Faltz slow before standing at attention before the upraised podium.
The queen was not reclining, but paced just beyond the podium, her brow furrowed. Her mate kept pace at her side, his arm reaching out to offer uncertain comfort which Mahini ignored in her anxious striding, her thoughts occupied and far away. Azhem let out a frustrated growl, his head turning toward Faltz. The male let out his breath and reached for his mate once more.
“Mahini, they have arrived,” he said in a quiet, soothing voice.
Her head jerked up, eyes wide and unseeing for a moment before she turned her gaze upon them. Her expression hardened, but there was an air of urgency about her as she leaped across the lush mat on the podium before crossing the short distance to the ground. Faltz dipped his head, no wishing to seem greater than the queen.
“Stop at once. There is only so much ceremony I can take. There is no place for it at a time like this! I am glad to see you have returned. Listen well: I know who has Beni. And I am almost certain that I can direct you to where you might find her!”
Faltz froze, shock immobilizing him. “How…?”
She shook her head impatiently. “Because I have been there. I suspect that Calth has her.”
Mahini held up a hand, halting him before he could turn to tear out of the dome to rip apart the male. He didn’t need to know any more, but she was determined that he hear her out.
“Listen, you cannot go after him unprepared. Where he has her is dangerous. The canyon cliffs leading to the entrance are sheer and unstable, home to all manner of unpleasant predators. Great-wing shriekers and sting tails are numerous, but so are the giant worms who take refuge in the cool canyons during the summer heat. You do not want to be caught unprepared there. It is a terrible place, nigh inescapable for one who does not know the area. I should know.” She took a deep breath and glanced over at her mate for support.
As much as Faltz wished to demand answers, he clamped his lips together in respectful silence before his queen, acknowledging the battle she waged within herself. Azhem came up behind her and placed his hands firmly on the sides of her arms, and Mahini leaned into his comfort. Her eyes fluttered shut only for a moment, and she gave Faltz a haunted look that he felt pierce his soul. “I know because I was there.”
Mahini moved quickly forward, like the strike of one of the great worms. Capturing a handful of his mane, she tugged his head down closer so that she could speak quietly. Bakin edged closer, leaning down to catch her every word, concern flooding his features. Her voice was a soft hiss as she whispered what she knew to them.
“Few know what happened that removed Calth from my favor. It has been a long time, but it is still a raw and painful betrayal. Truthfully, only in recent annums had he convinced me to trust his loyalty once more, that his actions were regretted. You see… Calth kept me prisoner, hidden away in the depths of the canyon. To protect the people and my honor, my guard, under direction of Azhem, provided a story for the clan that I was away on a diplomatic visit to our neighbors. This was false. In truth, they were hunting throughout our territory for me. They never found me. I can tell you now that they never would have located me if I hadn’t, after a great many days, managed to convince Calth to return me. In exchange, I kept his secret so he could dwell among our people peacefully and rear his son. He was allowed this on condition that he never act against me again. Despite his recent arguments against you I would have sworn by any oath that he had reformed… but Faltz, he has been missin
g since the second morning after you left to search for Beni. I fear the worst.”
“You think he is hiding Beni away,” Faltz said. The queen inclined her head regally in agreement.
“I do. The moment I suspected, I sent out a guard to look for you and summon you back, but they were unable to locate you. They managed to track you to the canyon, but lost your trail among the rocks. Since then I have been forced to await your return. I will lead you…”
“You will not,” Azhem interrupted sternly in a rare show of authority.
Mahini bristled, rounding on him, but the male hardened his jaw. “Beloved consort or not—you dare order me, your queen?”
“No.” He growled, meeting her eye. “I am objecting as a male who deeply loves his danmi. I will not see you up among those caverns, reliving the nightmare of the weeks you spent in captivity. I refuse. Punish me for it if you will. I only ask that any punishment you render on me for this that you grant me some leniency in this one thing.”
The queen stared at him. “Very well,” she replied in a voice tight with emotion. “I will make a map from memory to the best of my ability. Faltz, you will take three additional hunters with you in your task. This should show enough force in your favor to avoid any sort of bloody confrontation with Calth. He is to be returned to me for trial. I will hear his reasoning from his own lips.”
“Your will shall be done,” Faltz said formally, earning him the slightest of smiles from the queen before she turned to fetch parchment and ink.
Faltz scowled with the full power of his focus as the queen begin to highlight the paths through the canyon cliffs. Every now and then, Azhem made a small addition to the map, clarifying notable landmarks to keep watch for. Faltz felt his muscles tense as it became obvious that this would be no quick trip through the hills.
His brow furrowed deeper in confusion as the queen finished by marking the location of the cavern she was kept in on her roughly drawn map.
“It is here,” she murmured. “If it is anything like it was when I was kept captive there, she will be reasonably comfortable. There is a mat to sleep on and a fire pit, as well as basic necessities common to our households. They will likely be in worse condition than when I was a guest, unless Calth bothered to replace them, but at least she will not suffer in the chill of the cave during the night on a hard floor with no light or meager comfort. It is a small relief that I can offer, but it is something.”
He nodded silently.
“And you are certain this is the location?” he asked, thumbing the mark with his thick forefinger.
Mahini frowned at his finger. “Yes, of course. I would not forget the return trip from that terrible place. Ahzem?”
Her consort nodded. “Yes, I am quite certain that this is the route. I am familiar with the area. Just here,” he said, making a mark on the map, “is one of the main passages that leads to the territory of my mother’s clan. From what I understand, your people when visiting usually take the longer, safer route, circling through the plains, but this is the route I came by. Clearly Calth was familiar with it, as is most of our clan’s guard, as a point of entry into our territory. I am not sure how he learned of the location of the cave. Though near the path, the cave is not one that you would find easily if you do not know where it is. Calth retrieved me to assist Mahini home so that the guard would not attack him on sight. Then the trip back. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the exact path that we took.”
Faltz leaned forward, exchanging a look with Bakin, his friend also frowning at the map. “Then I have just one question.”
“That is?” the queen asked.
“Calth and his son were in the village after Beni disappeared. How could Calth have kidnapped Beni without outside assistance?”
Mahini paled, and her lips parted. “He wasn’t working alone.”
“It would need to be someone with enough strength to carry Beni some distance, so it wouldn’t have been one of the first-year males. Even the strongest among them would only last a short distance before they tired.”
Faltz leaned forward and met Ahzem’s gaze. The consort kept a careful watch on the entire clan. It was well known that he saw everything that went on in the village, and reported to the queen. He was in fact the true head of the guard, despite Bakin’s noble post. Ahzem would possess useful information.
“Who would have assisted Calth—a male strong enough to carry Beni some distance?”
Azhem hesitated, exchanging a look of silent communication with the queen. Faltz bit back the angry retort he could feel building in him. He wanted answers. He needed to find his mate. This evasiveness was delaying both.
Mahini sighed reluctantly, a grimace pulling at her lips. “It may likely be the same male who helped Calth when he kidnapped me. We could never prove it, and he insisted that he was alone in his efforts, but it did not make sense. At the time, I truly could not see any way that Calth might have successfully removed me from my family’s residence. My dam was still alive, and I stayed in her household, though my brother had earned his dome and no longer lived with us. Still, as the heir, I was surrounded at all sides by the guard. I don’t know how he was able to get me alone. I didn’t believe him at first, but he continued to insist that he worked alone and after a time I believed him. But now….”
Faltz scowled down at the map. Now Calth had stolen another female with the assistance of an unknown male.
“I will set out at first light,” he muttered, his gaze straying to Ahzem once more. “It would be prudent to discover who else is missing.”
The queen’s consort nodded, his lips tipping up in a grim smile. “I am way ahead of you, Faltz, foremost among hunters. The guard have their orders to proceed at dawn before any leave the village for the day.”
He heard the promise in Ahzem’s voice. Never again would the hidden traitor, or Calth, remove another female from the village. Faltz was just fine with that, however it needed to be accomplished.
Chapter 28
Time had ceased being a factor for Beni when it came to waking or sleeping. Day and night had no meaning in the cave. It was always the same: dark and cool, except for the fire. Her days became a cycle established by the lighting and banking of the coals when Isnah decided it was time wake or rest. In fact, Beni made an effort to sleep as much as possible to avoid the male. When that failed, she pretended that he didn’t exist as one “day” bled into another.
Waking to the sound of a strange voice arguing with Isnah, however, was new.
Rolling to her opposite side as quietly as possible, Beni cracked open her eyes as much as she dared and stared toward the center of the room. An unfamiliar older male was pacing back and forth as he ran a hand through his mane in obvious distress. He was eye-catching, not only because of vibrance of his red scales, but because he was impeccably groomed and adorned with polished jewelry of bone, precious stones, and gleaming, hammered metal.
He was definitely no hunter or guard. Who the hell was he?
“Isnah, you are not listening,” he snarled. “I am telling you this only to give you adequate warning. The guard is onto us. The entire village knows that the queen was waiting anxiously for Faltz’s return, and that means that my sister knows the female is here and is waiting to inform her mate. Have no doubt that she will make sure he has what he needs to find his mate, and when that happens, I would not linger, if I were you. I do not know what your plan is, but I am cutting my losses and leaving. I recommend you abandon the female here, or kill her if you must. Try to make your way to one of the coastal clans. That is where I am going. I am not waiting for them to catch up to me, and they will not venture so far beyond our borders, crossing the territories of other clans to hunt for me. If you are smart, you will do the same.”
Into her pillow, Beni’s lips curled. Faltz was looking for her. The stranger was right to be worried! Isnah should be too, if a male who was brother to the queen was concerned for his own safety.
Isnah hissed in frustr
ation. “You swore that the queen would not speak of this place!”
“It is no fault of mine. Prudence was ingrained in her from the time we were calves. She did not speak the first time. How was I to suspect that she would set aside the reputation of the family and clan to help her hunter? It was an unpredictable move on her part. Best that you forget this idea and run.”
Isnah shook his head obstinately. “I am not leaving her, Wynter. Beni is mine! We will take her with us.”
Wynter chuckled sourly. “Us? You misunderstand. I am traveling alone. I only stopped here as a courtesy. You think to get away unscathed without sacrificing your prize? How will you accomplish that without me here to carry her for you? You are not strong enough to carry a docile female for more than a few hours. A fighting or drugged one would weary you within the shortest span. Do yourself a favor and take the western path through the canyon—you know the one I speak of—and leave this territory.”
The younger male jerked back in a flustered manner as if he had been struck. “You will not assist me?” he asked shrilly. “After all my father and I tried to do to assist you…”
“Silence, whelp,” Wynter interrupted in a sharp rebuke that made Beni mentally cheer, even if he was an utter bastard for helping Isnah to begin with. “I owe you nothing. How have you assisted me? Helping you has ended even worse for me than helping your father. All he had to do was keep Mahini out here and there would have been no problem. I would have ruled the clan unopposed, and you would have had your female by now without this covert nonsense. Despite his betrayal, I assisted you with the promise that you would assist me in deposing my dear sister. Not only have you done nothing but hide here in your cave, but now I find that I must flee into exile. I am not of a mind to help you further, Isnah, outside of giving you this warning: run.”
His message delivered, Wynter flicked his tail and turned toward the entrance. Isnah stepped forward, his arm outstretched in a gesture of friendship. The male stared at his arm with narrowed eyes.
Librarian and the Beast: A Mintar Romance Page 18