by Amber Lynn
“You didn’t think I was too young to be your spy, so I’m pretty sure I can take whatever reason you’ve come up with to follow her hallucinations.”
No matter what she said, Krinla liked the idea that Krinton was keeping something from the know-it-all. The whole spy thing was something that eventually needed to be addressed.
“I’m not at liberty to say what I believe we’re dealing with. You just keep watching our rear. They’ve realized we’re gone and won’t be far behind us.”
A groan escaped Krinla’s lips. She assumed they’d be followed, but didn’t like hearing it. She hated that she couldn’t pick up the fact herself. With all her trips out of the fortress, she prided herself in knowing when people were on her tail.
“I’ve got them, but you need to tell me something about what we’re running into.”
The insistent personality of Rya didn’t seem to go away even after running a long distance. Krinla wanted to hear the signs she was winded coming from her or something that indicated all the running was tiring her out.
“Is it not good enough that he’s the only reason I left with you guys?”
It wouldn’t have been for Krinla, so she wasn’t surprised by the response Krinton got. It did surprise her that it seemed Krinton didn’t have a problem with the little girl talking back to him. Krinla rarely did. When she did, he got a look in his eyes that made it clear he didn’t appreciate it. The look didn’t stop her from doing it other times, but for an outsider, it should’ve been enough to keep them from talking.
“No, it’s not enough. I don’t like it when you get locked up like this. You’ve asked me to help keep her safe, so you need to give me a clue about what we’re walking into. At the very least, I need to know what faction you think this man belongs to. I brought a few blades, but they’re mostly to protect against the people chasing us.”
Krinla tried to sit up. The idea that a child was sent to help protect her demanded an explanation. Her body fought against her, along with the large hand of her father that settled on her chest. She tried to growl at him, but if any sound came out, it was nothing more than a sigh.
Whatever was going on with her body, it needed to get fixed quickly. She was known for using her words, and at times fists and feet, to get her point across. Krinla would’ve given anything to have some strength so she could stand on her feet in front of the man they were looking for.
“I’ll tell you about it later,” he said to her, supposedly understanding what part of the conversation interested her before she started thinking about her condition.
“No, you need to tell me about it now,” Rya said, her voice coming from in front of them instead of from behind. The girl had a lot of courage trying to stand up to her king when she wasn’t tall enough to reach his hip.
“I wasn’t talking to you, Rya. Krinla is trying to figure out why you said you were keeping her safe. How close are we Krinla? We’ve got maybe half a position before they catch up to us, and I’d prefer we were on our way with your friend before then.”
If Hulin and his friends were that close, they had to have started following not long after they went into the tunnels. Krinla was confused about why she hadn’t noticed.
As far as answering the question, they’d already determined Krinla wasn’t her vocal self, so the question wasn’t getting answered anytime soon. She didn’t have a great reply for him. She thought the draw to the man had maxed out while they’d been running. It was like the cycle before, when she felt him and called out to get him to show himself.
She whimpered slightly, not being able to articulate what she was thinking. Thankfully a voice echoing around them made it unnecessary for her to respond.
“What did you do to her?”
The fierce voice was music to Krinla’s ears. She wanted to open her eyes to verify he hadn’t changed since she last saw him, but her eyes remained closed.
Chapter Nine
“So it’s as I assumed. You are human.”
There was a hint of wonder in Krinton’s voice as he sat Krinla down. The warmth of his body went away as a furnace appeared next to her. She wanted to curl up into the heat, but couldn’t make her body move.
The fact that her father had said something about a human was totally lost on Krinla. It made her think maybe the talk of her having hallucinations was true. Humans hadn’t existed for hundreds of years, so the chances they’d found one out in the woods seemed like a fantasy.
“Nothing you just said explains what’s wrong with her. Does she need blood?” The man seemed more commanding than Krinla expected.
“Are you willing to give her some?”
Krinla tried to shake her head to wipe the idea from her father’s mind. She was afraid to take any blood from the man. His blood called to her, and it was dangerous to let her anywhere near it.
“If that’s what she needs. Since you two have the same complexion as her, I assume you’re not able to give her anything fresh.”
He was smart, which he’d already proven to Krinla by calling her a blood drinker and knowing that was what she needed. The only idiotic thing about it was the fact that he seemed to be offering up his blood for the job.
Krinla felt a burning hand touch the side of her face. The heat felt good and offered a few tendrils of tranquility to run through her body. She knew she needed more to get up on her feet, but she also didn’t want the touch to go away.
“Giving her energy back won’t do us a lot of good if the people chasing us catch up to us. I don’t know what time you’re from, but can you take her there?”
There were a few moments of quiet before there was a response. Krinla didn’t understand the question, so she fought to try to ask some qualifying questions of her own.
“Did the people chasing you do this to her?” The hand moved across her cheek, with the thumb gently massaging as it did.
“No, she did this to herself. The person leading the group behind us is supposed to become her husband in a few cycles. If he finds you two together, he’ll kill both of you, so it’s imperative that you take her away from here now.”
“I don’t think you know what you’re asking.” Krinla picked up a little worry in the man’s voice.
“I know exactly what I’m asking. If there was another choice, I wouldn’t have to ask. She’s my only child and I can’t let the man coming for her kill her.”
The hand that wasn’t stroking her face moved down to her wrist to the scar that wasn’t quite healed over. It hadn’t bothered Krinla, but his touch made it sting.
“Why hasn’t her wrist healed?”
The man didn’t seem worried about the time crunch they were dealing with. Krinla wished she could get a sense for how real the crunch was. She didn’t have a clue how long they’d been stopped or a good estimate of how long the trip had taken.
“Is there any way you can wait for an answer to that question until after you take her to where you’re from?”
Since the man had sidestepped Krinton’s original request, Krinla was pretty sure his second one wasn’t going to get very far. It made her wonder exactly where Krinton assumed he was from. Standing still wasn’t solving the Hulin issue, and as far as Krinla knew, there wasn’t anywhere they could hide.
“What if I just give her some blood? Will she be able to bounce back and continue to run?”
Krinla groaned. Even to her ears it wasn’t clear whether it was meant to dissuade him or tell him to hurry and feed her already.
“You giving her blood will only make things worse.”
“But doesn’t she need some?”
The man interrupted before Krinton could say anything more. Krinla was hoping he’d explain why he thought the blood exchange would make things worse. She knew why she didn’t want it to happen, but she was curious why her father was against it.
“Yes, she needs it, but more importantly, she needs to be anywhere but here. We can keep running, and we’ll probably be able to elude them for a while, but
he won’t stop coming for her.”
“Was she trying to kill herself?” Through most of the conversation the man’s voice had been forceful, but as he asked the question his voice dropped to a soothing level.
“I’m going to have to stop this endless circle you two seem to be going through.” Krinla was surprised it had taken Rya that long to say anything. She seemed to like to be noticed. “If he isn’t going to take her, we need to get out of here.”
There was a soft growl from the man touching her face. Krinla couldn’t see if there was something more than the words that provoked it, but she thought it was funny to hear him make the noise, especially if it was directed at her father.
Krinton was supposed to be the alpha of the alphas, so challenging him wasn’t the best idea. Hulin would’ve been stupid to try if he didn’t have some kind of army backing him up. Thinking about the army heading towards them, Krinla tried to focus in on anything her senses could pick up to let her know how far away they were, but she still couldn’t find anything.
“I’m not supposed to bring people back.”
An arm snaked underneath as the man pulled her closer to him. It was easy to tell it was him because of the heat he was giving off. The sugary scent coming from him already clouded her head, so it didn’t increase to drive her into total insanity.
“If you don’t, she will die,” Krinton said for what felt like the tenth time. Krinla was sure it wasn’t that high, but she was getting tired of hearing about her impending death.
“If I do, she may die just as quickly. In this state she’s too vulnerable, so you’d have to come to make sure the people waiting for me don’t take advantage of the situation and kill her.”
It sounded to Krinla like there was a good chance she was going to die that cycle. It felt like she was over halfway there already, so it was hard to muster up much emotion when she thought about it.
“I’d prefer to stay and fight my battles here. That’s the only way she’ll be able to come back. Rya can go with you and protect her.”
Krinla could imagine what an outsider would think of that statement. She wasn’t sure what she thought of it. It was one thing for her father to protect her, but a little girl who couldn’t be more than a third of her age seemed a bit insulting.
The idea of Krinton staying behind by himself was more of an issue in her mind. His nonchalant attitude towards the threat of death didn’t give her a lot of confidence that he’d be able to secure his position by himself.
“The only way I’m taking her is if you both come with us. I understand you have a situation here, but that can wait until you regroup and get her healthy. You’re the one who has said repeatedly that can only happen if I take her and I’m telling you what has to happen in order for me to do that.”
It sounded like they were at an impasse. Krinton was quiet as he weighed his options. The way Krinla saw it, there was only one option, and it sounded like a good one to her. She had no idea where the guy was from, or how he was going to get them there before Hulin and his forces were upon them, but she was ready to go.
The waiting seemed to go on forever, long enough that Rya found her voice again. “I know how much you want to stay and fight, but we both know how important she is, Krinton. If there’s a threat waiting for her wherever he’s from, we need to be there to help her.”
It still disturbed Krinla how grown-up Rya sounded. Draculs grew up fast, but she was different.
“Fine. We’ll go, but I want you to send me back after she’s healed and we’ve secured the area. I have a fight I need to finish.”
The man didn’t respond as he moved the arm that wasn’t under Krinla’s body and fumbled around with something. The jostling Krinla felt was minor, but it frustrated her that she couldn’t see what he was doing.
“Okay, some quick advice before we do this. Try not to kill anyone right out of the gate. There are going to be misconceptions on both sides and chances are they’ll at the very least point weapons at you. Some of the people who will be waiting for us may be a little trigger happy, so don’t be surprised if they actually shoot at you. I don’t think any of the ammunition they have will kill you, but it will probably hurt and I don’t want it setting you off on a killing spree.”
He paused for a second as he ran the hand that was done fidgeting down her cheek again. “If they think you’ve come to fight, they will put up one. With the firepower they have, I’m not really sure how that fight would play out.”
“We get it,” Rya said before he could continue painting his picture of doom.
It sounded like all the man was talking about was guns, weapons Draculs didn’t use. Unless the ammunition he was talking about was highly specialized, it wasn’t going to be made of a material that would kill them. Since he seemed frightened about it, it had a better chance of hurting him in the crossfire, which didn’t settle well with Krinla.
“Okay,” the man said, letting out a big breath of air. “You’ll have to carry the girl to make sure you travel together. The device I just gave you has a button in the center of it. You’ll have to press it when I do mine to make sure we arrive at the same time.”
Krinla didn’t like the fact that their mode of travel involved her father having to do something. She wanted to tell the man to figure out another way, because she was worried her father would wait for them to go and stay behind.
“Have you ever transported another species?” It seemed a little late for Krinton to be asking that question, but it was probably an important thing to ask.
“No, my explorations haven’t led to that yet. I’m supposed to just observe and report back what I see. I wouldn’t have agreed to this if I didn’t think you’d make it through the process. It may tickle a little, but it’s always been quick and painless.”
“Well, since I’m sure even you can hear our company is almost here, we should get this over with. I’ll let you count it down. What do you say, on three?”
It wasn’t right that Krinla still couldn’t sense anyone else. It made her wonder if there was some kind of trick being played.
“One. Two.”
The arms around Krinla tightened and she found herself taking a deep breath and holding it. At the same time, she thought she felt something stab into her side, but her pain receptors had been a little out of whack, so she wasn’t sure.
“Three.”
The voices of the man and her father blended together for the last number. Krinla hoped that meant Krinton was hitting whatever button he’d been instructed to.
Chapter Ten
“Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot.”
The man was quick to repeat the words a couple of times to whoever would listen. Krinla didn’t hear shots being fired, so she assumed they didn’t fall on deaf ears.
The room wasn’t exactly silent. Shuffling noises made it to Krinla’s ears. She tried to open her eyes to see where they’d gone, because it clearly wasn’t somewhere in the woods. The place was too warm to be out in the wilderness.
“What did you do, Hunter?”
The voice was angry, causing Krinla to attempt to curl up into the body holding her. She didn’t move, but he gripped her tighter.
“We need to get her some blood, then I can explain what’s going on. Or at the very least try, since I’m not sure I really know.”
Krinla thought she felt an elevation change, which resulted in a number of odd clicking noises to sound around the room. She couldn’t place what the noises meant, but she doubted they’d lead to something positive.
“Don’t move, Hunter. Big guy, you able to understand what we’re saying?”
It was hard to tell if it was the same voice that had first spoken. Something seemed to be slightly different in the cadence, but the change could’ve been caused by emotion.
“My name is Krinton, and obviously I can understand you.”
Krinla sighed when she heard her father’s voice. She hadn’t felt anything when they moved from place to place, includin
g her father coming with them.
“Good. Why don’t you explain what you are and why you’re here? I’d ask Hunter, but I think you know just as much, if not more.”
“I will echo this man’s request for blood, if that’s not too much to ask, before I start explaining. My daughter has a blade sticking out of her side that I’d really like to see removed while we’re at it.”
Krinla wasn’t surprised to hear there was a blade in her. She thought she’d felt something, but it was hard to tell when the nerves in her body weren’t reacting properly.
“Are you sure she’s not dead?” There was almost a hint of sarcasm in the man’s voice, which made Krinla want to grind her teeth together. “Generally, there tends to be blood around a wound and I’m not seeing a drop of red on that white dress of hers.”
It was impossible for Krinla to tell how many other people were in the room, but with the movement she sensed, she knew there was more than just the one other person outside of her group. She was getting tired of hearing the man speak, so she hoped someone else would add something to the conversation.
“She’s alive,” The man holding her said with conviction. “Can the blood come from me now?”
“No,” Krinton said sternly at the same time Krinla thought it. “She’s not dead. In fact, she’s conscious. She just can’t move. If you need some explanations before helping us, as I mentioned, I’m Krinton, King of the Draculs. Your man is holding my daughter, Krinla, and the child in my arms is her sister, Rya. We were under attack from a group trying to overthrow me and kidnap Krinla. Your man helped us out.”
There were a few things in his story that weren’t exactly true, but Krinla assumed he was trying to simplify matters. Rya looked enough like Krinla that they could pass as sisters, and it made sense to try to come off as one big happy family.
“That knife sticking out of her side tells me you guys must have a funny way of kidnapping people. Unless of course one of you guys stabbed her or she did it herself.”