Kiatana's Journey (Creatures of the Lands Book 1)

by Natalie Erin

  It was a fearful yet beautiful sight. It took the form of a gray horse, with a flaming white mane and ruffling tail. When it snorted black smoke furled out of its nostrils, and it clenched its teeth in rage. Lilja couldn’t understand what caused people to die on the spot…until he looked into its eyes.

  There were no pupils, only deep moons inside the sockets. Lilja was paralyzed as he saw the depths of them, the terrifying whiteness. The battlefield seemed to sink around him and there was no noise or sound. There was no up, or down, or left and right. Life was devoid, blank, just a large white box that he couldn’t escape. There was no smell, taste or touch to the whiteness, and it was like he was floating on solid air. Every step he tried to take led to nowhere, and Lilja thought that there was no forest. There was no prairie, no Kia or other wolves or friends. He had all just made it up, and it had all been a lie. There was no such thing as him…he had never existed. It had all been a lie! His chest began to pound and he knew right then his heart was going to explode.

  “Don’t look them in the eyes!” he heard a voice roar in his ear. He was snapped out of his trance to see Kikan leap upon the Night Mare and begin tearing at it with his large, exposed fangs. The battlefield came back into Lilja’s view and he saw dozens of animals transfixed, calling out for help while they walked around in a panic, seeing nothing. Many were simply dying of fright on the spot, while others resisted the white power that was enveloping their minds. The Mares just drifted over to them and finished them off, crushing their limbs or tearing at them with their teeth or claws.

  Lilja saw a fox crawling along the dirt, his eyes blank while he called out, “There’s nothing here! It’s all gone!” Lilja leapt upon the smoky coyote that had him spellbound and bit sharply into his neck, tasting blood. The blue liquid ran from its veins and the coyote attacked him next, opening its mouth and spurting out red flames. Like Ionan, the Night Mares could breathe fire.

  Lilja rolled aside and bashed the coyote’s head down against the ground with his large paw. They tumbled and tussled for a bit, until Lilja finally used his heavier weight to force him down and rip out his throat.

  The Night Mare moved no more. With the fox saved Lilja took off, his eyes scanning the crowd. One down, he thought. Now to find Lottie.

  Lottie herself was doing quite well. She had already fallen two Night Mares and was starting on a third. But before she could launch herself to claw at the Mare’s face Kia was behind it, slicing its throat with her knife.

  “I’m glad I found you! Where’s your brother?” Kia asked.

  “I’ve lost him! We got separated!” she yelled over the roar.

  “Find him, and don’t lose him again! It’s too dangerous for you both already!” Kia urged her guardsmen forward and surged back into the crowd.

  Lottie pushed her way through the battle, snapping at a Night Mare’s heels as she went. She wondered how she would ever find her littermate in this mess, but she looked as hard as she could, tearing out the throats of her enemies along the way.

  VIXEN AND CASIFF had met up along the center. They had managed to stick together through the chaos, and had fallen more Night Mares than they ever could alone. Casiff wasn’t exactly an amateur, but he was impressed with Vixen’s skill of the sword. This battle was certainly not her first.

  “You are strong,” Vixen said, kicking down a Night badger as Casiff blacked the eye of another.

  “Yes,” he said, “but you are much stronger.”

  She smiled at him and they continued, taking down foe after foe. Their unicorns fought beside them, a brilliant glow emitting from their horns. Dragonstar himself was taking down five at a time. When a smoky Night bear tried to pull him over Dragonstar simply let himself fall on top of her. His weight crushed her instantly.

  Kia appeared out of nowhere, all alone. Vixen’s eyes dilated and she yelled, “Where are your guards? Vixen told them to stay by you!”

  Kia shook her head. “They’ve all fallen, and I couldn’t save them. Have you seen Keota?”

  “We thought he was with you,” Casiff said quickly.

  Kia swore. “Where is he? He has to help!” She brandished another Night Mare down and Casiff stabbed it with his spear. “Nice one! I’m going looking for him. Don’t let them push us back!”

  “Princess, you must not be unprotected!” Vixen screamed in a panic. Kia didn’t seem to hear her. Vixen tried to follow her but it was useless. She had lost Kia in the crowd.

  KEOTA RACED through the forest as fast as he could, far from the battle but not abandoning his friends. He knew unless he found Malaki and stopped him from commanding the enemy, it would all be useless. He had seen from the huge forces the Night Mares commanded that there was no chance for them. The enemy was far too organized and the forest was too outnumbered…there was only one chance. If he killed Malaki, he killed his army. The Night Mares were conjured by whoever had sold their soul to own them. If you killed who summoned them, there would be nothing to keep them tied to this earth.

  Keota wished with all his heart that Ionan was here to help him. But he was not, and now it was up to Keota alone. The only thought in his mind was to find Malaki, otherwise, they were all doomed.

  “DIE, pitiful beasts!” Snow Drop snapped, and she knocked a Night vulture out of the air so it was sent spiraling to the ground. She whinnied in triumph and turned in the sky, but her laughter was cut short in her throat.

  Birds the size of dragons hurdled towards her at a vicious speed. Black like tar and with beaks of silver, they opened their mouths and screamed out a shriek that sounded like nails scratching steel. They could have been eagles, yet there were large, long feathers on their heads that flowed behind them like a veil. The fire they breathed was hot enough to be felt from hundreds of feet away. The only one left to fight in the sky, Snow Drop held her ground. The Night Terrors didn’t even notice her as they buffeted her out of the air.

  Snow Drop’s scream could be heard from the deepest parts of the forest as she plummeted to the ground. Once she hit the earth a cloud of dust rose up from the battlefield and a loud crunch vibrated on her one side. Her left wing twitched once. Because she had managed to slow her fall, she wasn’t going to die, but her wing had paid the price. The adrenaline pumping through her kept the pain to a minimum. Staggering slowly to her feet, she simply watched as, one by one, more Night Terrors flew in to darken the skies by the spread of their wings.

  Snow Drop looked back to her army, most of them dead or already dying. The rest were tired, and very outnumbered. She saw the Terrors file in, circling while they decided where to dive. A Night Terror landed and started walking towards her, slowly planning to devour her whole with his massive, sharp beak.

  A large, formidable unicorn came forward and stood protectively in front of her. Dragonstar reared and shook his head at the Terror, demanding a challenge. The Night Terror cawed at him and struck out with its talons, but Dragonstar remained where he was. Lavender came up by his side and took her stand, while behind her were Vixen and Casiff, both with weapons at the ready. Vixen looked calm, relaxed even, but Casiff seemed as scared as Snow Drop was. He looked meekly at his spear. It would be like poking the Terror with a stick.

  Dragonstar lowered his horn and charged. Trembling, Snow Drop whimpered, “Creator help us. We can’t hold them back.”

  LOTTIE GROWLED MENACINGLY. Night Mares were closing in from all sides. She couldn’t handle all of them at once. She backed up slowly as they closed in fast, gasping as she bumped into something behind her. Frightened, she whirled around and saw her brother growling back at her. Once they saw it was each other, they smiled.

  “Together,” they said. Then they whirled into a frenzy of fighting. They fought as one, taking down Mare after Mare, until there were pools of blood on the ground. Triumphant, the pups threw back their heads and howled.

  Their victory didn’t last long. The pups stopped cheering and saw the Terrors file in, devouring the bodies of both sides of the dead or going
for more live prey, breaking them with their talons or crushing them in-between their beaks.

  “Where’s Ionan?” Lilja asked, and he looked around in panic. “He could take them down!”

  Lottie shivered. “Lilja…I don’t think Ionan’s coming. I don’t think he was ever here.”

  The only sounds that could be heard were the screams of the dying. The pups watched the massacre but were helpless. Any closer and they too would be eaten.

  Out of the corner of his eye Lilja saw a fairy run from the scene behind the edge of the forest. “It’s Malaki!” he yelled. “The one responsible for Mama’s death!”

  “Let’s show him what happens when he messes with our family!” Lottie yelled.

  They bounded off after him. The chase was rough, with the battlefield littered with bodies and debris, but the pups made sure they kept up. Malaki tried to fly, but his wings weren’t strong enough to lift him into the air.

  Lilja reached him in the clearing first. He leapt up to try and tackle him to the ground but the old man spun aside and Lilja missed.

  The glimmer shone mockingly through the trees, creating a patch of moonlight, and Lottie finally caught up with them. “This is for Mama!” she yelled. She jumped up and clawed at Malaki’s face, turning the old, withered mask into a bloody pulp. He let out an anguished moan and slapped her aside into a tree.

  “Lottie!” Lilja yelled. A fury unlike anything he had ever known rose in his chest. “For my sister!” Lilja yelled and he latched himself onto Malaki’s arm.

  Lilja sank his small fangs in and drew blood. Malaki yelled and tried to shake him off, but Lilja held on. “You little runt!” Malaki roared. He grabbed Lilja and tossed him into a boulder and Lilja slunk to the ground, stunned.

  Malaki laughed and brought out a little blade within his coat. “Poisoned blades,” he snickered. “Very hard to come by but worth it for getting rid of little pests. The blade barely leaves a scratch, but once the poison sinks in you’re dead within minutes. Be glad I didn’t choose to kill you in a more painful way.”

  He threw the blade at Lilja. Time seemed to slow as the blade came rushing towards him. Still confused, he cocked his head to one side, and he stumbled to his feet slowly.

  Just as the blade was about to sink in he heard a scream vibrate in his ears. “No! Lilja!” There was a flash of silver, and the next thing he knew Lottie was lying still on the ground.

  VIXEN LOOKED around her with confidence. She knew they were vastly outnumbered, but her faith in those around her could only grow. They seemed at a loss, but she knew that they could win. These creatures, the ones fighting for good, had a power on their side that none of them knew. Casiff stood beside her, silent and tired.

  “Dragonstar!” she called.

  “We may not be able to take them,” Dragonstar said sadly as he trotted over to her. “There are far too many. You remember how it went last time. They will win.”

  Vixen smiled. “Have you forgotten who Vixen is? Vixen can do anything and Vixen knows this battle will be won!”

  “How?” Lavender questioned. She had a deep gash across her side that still oozed slightly. “We are falling quickly. Soon there will be no one left to fight.”

  “Vixen will fight even if no one is left!” the fairy declared, raising a fist into the air.

  “What about leaving them to win their own battles?” Dragonstar asked. “Though I do have to wonder…will she stay hidden or will she come out?”

  “Sometimes one must stand and fight even if it is not their place to do so. Vixen has stood by idly for too long! She must fight as who she is!” Vixen yelled back.

  “Then I stand by you all the way,” Dragonstar bowed his head slightly.

  “As do I.” Lavender copied Dragonstar’s bow.

  “Vixen wants to see blood!” The fairy whooped as she ran toward a group of Terrors. She launched herself into the air and screamed as she fell onto the back of the smallest of them. Vixen snapped its neck easily and kicked it to the ground, jumping up and landing on her feet as she did so. Casiff’s mouth dropped open. No fairy had the strength to do that.

  “Vixen will win for the princess of these lands!” she declared. “Join me, my friends!”

  LAVENDER AND DRAGONSTAR RAN FORWARD, responding to her battle cry. Their horns were pointed straight at the group of Terrors. Casiff charged with them, the will to fight written across his face. They would win or they would die trying.

  MALAKI LAUGHED as he stared at the tiny pup lying still on the ground. “Lottie! Lottie!” Lilja screamed, coming out of his stupor. Lottie didn’t respond, the blade sticking out of her shoulder like a thorn. Lilja grabbed it with his teeth and ripped it out but there was no use. The damage had been done. Somewhere close by there were footsteps, and Malaki fled.

  “Lottie! Lottie!” he cried. Her chest heaved up and down and her silver coat began to turn red. Lilja looked back and forth over her body, feeling helpless.

  “It’s…so hard to breathe,” she said. “My body is numb…I’m dying. I’m going to die.”

  “No! You can still make it!” he said, growling and begging all at once.

  Lottie put one paw on the ground and tried to stand, but her legs failed. “I…can’t. The poison is paralyzing me.”

  “You’re going to make it! You can’t…”

  “I am, Lilja. I’ll see Mama so soon…I can feel it. I know it.”

  “No…” He was shaking now, unable to comprehend the reality before him.

  “Lilja…look at me.” He gazed at her with her two mismatched eyes, the eyes that were so much like her mother’s.

  “I love you,” she said. She gave a last breath, and then she was gone.

  “Lottie! Lottie! Stay with me, speak to me! Talk to me one last time!” he licked her face and nudged her body. It was motionless.

  “No!” he yelled and his anguished cry turned into a howl.

  Keota appeared out of the bushes. He saw Lottie lie still and he whispered, “I was too late.”

  Kia, her hair full of branches, appeared behind a tree and let out a cry of joy when she saw Keota. She ran towards him and buried her head in his chest, but when he did not return her affection, she turned around and looked to where he was staring.

  “Creator…why?!” Kia cried out as she saw. Together they ran to Lottie’s side. Too shocked to think, tears began sprouting from both their eyes. Sick with pain, Lilja backed away from his old friends. He couldn’t stand it anymore. He had lost his pack, his mother, and now the wolf who had meant everything to him. He turned from them all and ran away, his black tail fluttering behind him. He ran from his life, his pain, and the memories of those he lost. His life would never be the same. It never had been the same, since the fire. His life was now even more shattered than before, and he would run from it as long as he could.

  “Oh Ionan,” cried Keota, Kia sobbing as she ran her hands through Lottie’s coat. “I needed you! If you had been here it wouldn’t have ended like this! Why did you go!”

  “I never left.”

  Kia and Keota both gasped, gazing upward. They saw a brown hawk trail down from the skies to land and become a powerful green dragon, his face full of grief.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  THE DARKEST HOUR

  T he silence was only broken by the sound of the wind ruffling through Lottie’s white shroud of fur, and Kia’s gulping sobs.

  “Ionan!” Keota gasped, and he fell against his Changer’s side. “You came back for us!”

  “I was never gone,” Ionan said comfortingly. “Didn’t you recognize the brown hawk following you? I was merely watching from afar.”

  “Why didn’t you help us?” Kia asked, her throat choked. “We needed you!”

  Ionan trembled. “I had been there…at the start. I followed you back into the woods and hid in some of the trees while everyone was getting ready. A short time later I scouted ahead and found the Terrors hiding in the low lands of the plains. I took down three of them by
myself. I felt that Keota was in danger and I flew back to watch over him. I plummeted several times and took out a few Mares in order to let Keota look for Malaki quicker. I heard Lilja scream, and hurried here as fast as I could. But I failed them. I couldn’t get here in time.”

  “Is there a way to save her?” Keota asked, and he touched the wolf’s body. “Any way?”

  “We know that unicorn horns revert any poison. If I can find one and take its horn, perhaps I can jolt her body back to life. I haven’t much time though.”

  “You mean, kill a unicorn?” Kia asked, shaking.

  “There may be a way that I can take it without shedding its blood, or perhaps they will give it up…they can live without their horns, you know.”

  Kia and the others sat around the young wolf pup. No one spoke, but Kia cried softly and Keota’s tears ran without sound.

  “I can handle things here,” Ionan said gently. “You must go and fight for your forest while I do what I can. Go with her Keota.” He scooped the limp Lottie into his claws and pushed the two away from him.

  “He’s right.” Kia rose, wiped her face and started hurrying the other way. “Come on Keota, we have to find my father and end this, before anybody else gets hurt.”

  Keota grabbed Kia’s hand and began to follow her, pausing only once and looking back towards his Changer. “I’ll return, Ionan, I promise,” he said.

  “Please let it be alive,” Ionan said in a voice only his Accompany would hear. Then Keota and Kia ran off into the forest and left the Changer alone with the lifeless pup.

  CASIFF AND VIXEN charged through the oncoming army and killed the Night Mares one by one. The enemy’s numbers were depleting, but so were their own. The Terrors were giving the other side a very unbalanced advantage.

  “I’ve got to gallop over and help the east side,” Snow Drop said, wincing because of her injured wing. “Try and get them out of there…”