by Viola Grace
“Well, daughter, you will have to divvy their inheritances up from your shares on to your offspring, but if they aren’t ugly, I will think about giving them more.”
Lilia laughed, and the door chimed, announcing their visitors.
The oath, blood contract and formal adoption of Lilia into the Zel clan took an hour, and the housekeeper was fidgeting again. It was dinnertime, and the food was getting cold.
Lilia signed in blood, Madame Zel signed in blood and Briel witnessed in blood. The contract was bound, and the notary sealed it.
The officials were dismissed without ceremony, and the ladies headed into the dining room to save the housekeeper from a seizure.
Briel sat at Madame Zel’s right hand, and Lilia was set at her left.
“Thank you, Madame.”
Madame smiled. “Call me Mother. I have adopted you as daughter. That will give the Almoss something to chew on.”
Briel paused and smiled. “Welcome to the family, Aunty Lilia Zel.”
Lilia looked over to Briel. “Good grief, if you have to call me something, call me Aunty Lil.”
Briel’s smile bloomed into a grin. “Aunty Lil it is. I have to say, this is really taking the pressure off me.”
The first course was brought in, and Lilia picked up her eating tines, waiting for Madame to eat first.
“Why is the pressure off you?” Lilia smiled at the servant who brought her her meal and turned her attention back to Briel.
Madame took the first bites. “You are now the inheriting Zel family member. My heir, as it were. I know that with you at the helm, this business will continue to flourish and Briel will be cared for. I need not fear for the next generation and whatever child Briel is carrying.”
Lilia paused and set her tines down. “I am not...I mean, my stay here wasn’t...”
Madame Zel waved it away. “You are a Zel now. Full citizenship of Wralik is yours. It is a burden and a gift. I am sure you will make full use of it.”
Lilia hadn’t been set on Wralik as her home. It hadn’t occurred to her that doing this for the Zels would firmly anchor her to the soil, whether she wanted it or not.
It seemed that she was now in this for the long haul. She had better not get caught during the hunt.
Crawling on her belly through low bushes was not how Lilia normally spent her days, but Briel was following her and checking her trail as they went.
It was five days into survival training, and Lilia hurt in every joint in her body. It was the last day of physical activity, and the rest of the time was going to be spent on figuring out what she could eat in the woods. It would give her muscles time to heal.
“Excellent, Lil. Your trail looks like that of a M’nar sloth. If you have to crawl, you will be unable to be tracked by sight.”
Lilia got to her feet and brushed the dirt off her knees and palms. “So then, I just have to watch out for the Almoss’s sense of smell.”
“Well, they are the best perfumers on the planet. If you aren’t careful, they will be able to track you based on your scent alone.”
Lilia rubbed her back and groaned. “Right. Can I take a break?”
“Take an hour, but we need to practice your tree climbing. You aren’t fast enough for my liking.” Briel put her hands on her hips and scowled.
Lilia patted her on the arm. “Yes, coach. Go and have something cool to drink, and I will meet you at the patio.”
“Where are you going?”
Lilia winked and whistled a low tone, repeated it and whistled a final time. Thudding feet came running, and her Liako beast came out of the woods to kneel at her feet.
Briel shook her head and backed away. “I can’t believe you spent your first two months here learning to do that.”
Lilia laughed and swung up onto the bear-horse’s back, threading her fingers in his mane. “I think it was worth the effort.”
Briel didn’t have time to answer. Lilia leaned forward and the beast under her took off through the forest.
She hadn’t named him because it wasn’t her place to do so, but she loved spending time with him when she wasn’t required to be working.
They ran directly into his herd, and the other members of his family rubbed her legs, the sharp teeth were carefully guarded as they marked her as their own.
It was her favourite way to pass the time, but when her hour was up, she shifted and he brought her back to the house with the thunder of his feet keeping them company as they travelled.
Briel and Madame Zel were waiting with a light meal and some water. The beast Lilia was riding knelt, and she slid off his shoulder with a scratch under his chin before he bounded away.
Briel wrinkled her nose. “You smell like Liako.”
Lilia chuckled. “I know.”
Madame Zel stared and then cackled, clapping her hands. “I think we might just have a chance at keeping the forest.”
Lilia smirked and drank the water set aside for her before quickly consuming the food set out.
Briel smiled. “Everything you are eating has been gleaned from the forest. For the next few days, we are going to be showing you where to find it all.”
Lilia cleared the tray and smiled. “Ready when you are.”
Chapter Three
The day of the hunt was going to be bright and sunny. Currently, the sun had yet to make an appearance, but they were walking to the stones in the Zel family group, all ready for the proceedings.
As the current hosts, it was up to them to prepare the space. The servants had scrubbed the flat central stone and flowers were hanging from all the large standing stones.
In her mind, Lilia had always imagined that the stones were on a plain, but they were actually parked on a hilltop. There wasn’t going to be a quick run into the forest for her, she was going to have to slide down a hillside and bolt for the shelter of the trees.
Briel flipped a drape over the centre stone, and then, she placed a swath of white silk around Lilia’s neck. She would have to leave it behind when she started her run.
Her bag was packed and would be subjected to examination by the Almoss family, but she was sure that what she had packed would meet with their approval.
The first words of the day had to be spoken between the family heads in front of the official who would assure that it was done in Wralik tradition.
It called for a lot of hand gestures, but they upheld the tradition.
The first signs of the Almoss family were sounds and rustling in the trees below. When the men and women emerged, Lilia identified the first three as the matriarch and patriarch as well as their youngest son. When a huge purple Wralik appeared behind them and hiked up the hill with his people, Lilia was slightly less sure that she could evade him for three days.
The purples on Wralik were sent into the army and trained as rangers to protect the forests of Wralik. It was a job dictated by skin tone.
Briel grabbed her arm and stared at her in shock. She pointed down the hill and shook her head frantically.
Lilia gave her a soft smile and a shrug. They were in it now. There was no way out of this arrangement. Madame Zel had already looked into it.
Just to be on the safe side, Madame Zel had a fair-use contract drawn up for the forest fibres they needed in case Lilia was unable to avoid her pursuer.
Lilia settled the badge with the running deer on it between her breasts. When she checked out the opposition, it was the purple hulk who was wearing the corresponding hound badge around his neck.
The two families waited as the official hiked up the hill and joined them.
He caught his breath and finally said, “Once a decade, the Zel and the Almoss families gather for custodianship of the great forest. Today, they once again compete for that custodianship.”
He drew his breath. “Zel family, bring forth and identify the hart.”
Madame Zel put her hand on Lilia’s shoulder, and she walked her to the edge
of the central stone. “I offer my daughter as the hart. Lilia Zel, my legal heir.”
The Almosses gasped and the younger son glared at Briel. The deep amethyst Almoss slowly smiled.
“Almoss family, bring forth and identify the hound.”
The matriarch of the Almoss family came forward with her hand on the arm of the huge man who didn’t look as if he could have been born of a normal Wralik.
“I offer my eldest son as the hound. Xerik Almoss, our legal heir.”
Lilia kept her face impassive, but that was news. Lemko Almoss always strutted around as if he was in charge of the family finances.
She looked up toward the man who would be hunting her through the woods, and his clear crystal-grey eyes were focused on her with scary intensity.
“Do the hart and the hound agree to the terms? The hart must avoid capture for three days or be at the mercy of the hound for three additional days, as well as the lost guardianship for her family.”
“I agree.”
“As the hound, do you agree to hunt the hart within three days or forfeit your family claims to the guardianship for ten years?”
“I agree.”
His voice rumbled out and nearly knocked her knees out from under her.
Madame Almoss looked between the two of them and smirked. “I am going to propose an alteration to the timeline.”
Madame Zel nodded toward the official and turned her head toward Madame Almoss. “We are listening.”
“I am so confident in my son’s abilities that I am willing to compress the timeline provided that he is able to pursue the hart one hour from her egress.”
Madame Zel looked to Lilia. Lilia gave her a short nod.
“How compressed is the timeline?”
Madame Almoss looked to the sun. “Sunset tomorrow is the new deadline?”
Her son nodded and his clearly cut lips curved slightly.
Lilia felt relieved that she was only going to have to run for a day and a half, but she had the feeling that he was far better in the woods than any other member of his family.
“As the terms have been accepted and agreed to, if the hart will drop the silk, the hunt will begin.”
Lilia nodded and lifted her pack, settling it on her shoulders and cinching it around her waist.
Madame Zel challenged the Almoss matriarch. “Did you wish to search the pack?”
“No, Madame, I am sure that your heir is adhering to the letter of the arrangement.” The subtext was that there was nothing Lilia could do that would counteract Xeric’s skill in the woods.
Lilia hugged Briel, and Madame Zel kissed her on the cheek. With a deep breath, Lilia removed the silk from around her neck, tucked the medallion on the ribbon into her shirt and dropped the silk onto the stone. Without looking back, she ran down the hill, whistling low and listening for the beat of a heavy gait. When she heard the thuds of familiar feet, she smiled. It was the sound of hope coming toward her.
* * * *
Xeric walked with his family toward the stones, and he lifted his head to take in the scents of the women on the crest of the hill. There was a bright and wild scent that he wasn’t used to in the gathering of women.
He glanced at his mother and walked slowly behind her as they climbed the hill. Her sudden, desperate, call to him was now making sense. There was a new player in the mix, and it was throwing off the normal balance.
Xeric tried not to judge his brother for bribing their cousin to impregnate the Zel heir. The Almoss family was not doing well, and Xeric had not realised how bad things were under Lemko’s influence. What had been a thriving business was now a faded empire that was hemorrhaging money. Gaining control of the forest was their last attempt to recoup financial footing.
The pale alien was a surprise. To Xeric’s senses, she should have been all the colours of the brightest flowers. Instead, she had soft peach skin, white hair and bright blue eyes. The only colour to her was the eyes and a full curve of deep pink lips. Her clothing was sensible and deep green to blend in with the forest, but her hair and skin would stand out in the living shadows. Xeric was almost ashamed that it would be so easy to track her.
He kept that smug confidence of his win until he watched Lilia run down the hill and he heard the whistle.
Riding Liako was not a common practice, but he knew the sound. When the alpha male came at her call, Xeric knew that he had more than just a woman in the woods to deal with. She pulled herself onto the beast with grace, and when her mount stood, he called his herd and they pounded away into the woods.
Xeric looked to his mother. “It will not be as easy as you thought.”
She looked at the timer in her hand and gestured for him to take the scarf. “Nothing easy is worth winning.”
He took the scarf and held it near his face. The wild, sweet scent was definitely the woman who had just run down the hill.
Ten years of being a forester across the world had left him with a keen appreciation for the property that surrounded his home. The Zel family had always been good neighbours and their sharing of the guardianship had been a generous offering to the Almosses. Xeric sighed and looked around. When he tracked and caught the hart, he was going to have to go back to his home and try to salvage what his brother had squandered. His time of law enforcement in the forests of Wralik was over. It was time to get back to the family concern.
He waited out his time as the two matriarchs discussed their heirs and representatives. When the time was up, he checked his blades and supplies and headed down the hill. He would find the hart and bring her back in under the day and a half. His family was depending on it.
* * * *
Lilia crawled through the brush until she was at the stone crevice, pushing her pack in front of her and moving in behind it. The pungent scent of the leaves and boughs around her should work on dampening her own personal traces. The herd of Liako that were in front of her hiding place were definitely helping her camouflage.
She crept into the crevice, her belly and shoulders scraping the stone as she fought her claustrophobia. The crack turned into a larger space, and she sighed as she was able to get to her feet at long last. Stretching was suddenly a delightful indulgence. This was her hiding hole for the next day and a half.
She covered the entrance to her oubliette with the green fabric and dug into her pack for the sedative. She didn’t want to spend the time in the cave going crazy, so sleep was what she needed. The tiny glow stone inside her pack showed her what she needed, so she took the sedative and swallowed some water.
Huddling in the dark, she curled up on her pack as best as she could and tried not to think of Earth as she slipped into sleep. Home was out of reach. She had made this bed and she was lying in it. It was really not comfortable.
* * * *
It was long after moonrise when Xeric found the herd of Liako. Their scent was overpowering, but a thin tendril of Lilia’s bright pheromones curled through the air. He crouched against a tree and dozed. If anything in the clearing moved, he would wake and the hunt would be on.
Chapter Four
The warmth of the late morning woke her, and Lilia slugged back some more water before taking down the curtain and creeping toward the light.
Lilia tried to move silently, but she could hear stones clattering as she twisted through the crevice. When she made it into the dim shadows of the forest, she stifled her groan of relief. Instead of making a sound, she stretched like a cat in the small space between stone and brush.
She moved slowly toward the meadow and paused when she saw the dark hulk of Xeric across the sunny meadow, lazing in the shadows.
Mentally cursing, Lilia backed up the way she had come as carefully as she was able to. She kept her gaze fixed on her pursuer and decided that if she was getting out, she was going to have to go with plan B.
She was almost out of the brush when a twig snapped and the shadow under the tree moved. She froze and watched
as he stepped into the sunlight, his grey eyes scanning the area, looking for the source of the sound.
She crouched down and relaxed. Waiting.
Her heart pounded in her chest, she could taste the sedative in the back of her mouth and sweat curled down her spine. When he lifted his head and sniffed the air, turning to face her, she ducked back into the stone and wiggled in as far as she could as fast as she could.
She had just tumbled into her safe spot when she heard his low voice.
“Consider yourself caught.”
Lilia cleared her throat. “You have not laid hands on me; therefore, I am not caught. A hound does not simply tell a hart that it has been captured, it has to bring it down.”
She heard a scratching at the mouth of the crevice, and she realised that he was settling in. Her light was gone.
Bastard.
With no light except the small glowing puck in her pack to guide her, she ran her hands along the wall until she struck dirt. This was her escape route, but she had to be careful. It would bring her up and out into a thorn thicket.
She clawed at the dirt until she felt roots and slowly tugged the ball of roots down and inside her tiny hidey-hole. With quick movements, she tied her dark-green fabric over her head to hide her hair and minimize dirt. She kept going until she could see light again, and she inched her way up through the dirt until she was in the middle of the thicket on the opposite side of the hill that Xeric was sitting on.
Summoning her Liako was out of the question, so she moved carefully through the thicket and crept into the forest. Covered in mud and dark fabric, she was pretty sure she didn’t resemble the creature he thought he was chasing.
With the sun high in the sky, she only had to dodge him for another six hours. She was confident that she was going to try.
Her clothing was shredded and she was exhausted, but the sky was turning pink. He was herding her. She wanted to feel resentful, but she was too busy trying to get away.