The Coming Dawn Trilogy

by Austen Knowles

  She didn’t need to make her life harder than it needed to be by traveling outside in a wicked world with a warrior who refused to love her. Clearly, Cobaaron wouldn’t take her with him anyway. Besides, the union made her feel a strong attachment to him, and his protection surely intensified her emotions. Ky never developed feelings so quickly, other than her love of theater. Her feelings were born of the union.

  She was foolish to think Cobaaron would be happy to learn she was no longer confused but had grown very fond of him. But he was the first person to mention feeling something. Now all Ky wanted was space; the more distance, the better. She didn’t want someone who was so growly anyway.

  She strolled down a long slope until she could see the end of the tunnel. Cold wind blew across her face, and then changed directions exiting the cave. She could hear a low rumble coming from—somewhere—it sounded like the rocks grumbled. She put her hand on the stone wall, surprised to feel the subtle vibration. The closer she walked to the mouth of the mountain, the stronger the breeze blew past her, and then with the sound like a soft snore, the draft once again changed directions. Ky realized the mountain was breathing.

  The air freshened; the stench of must cleared with each gentle gust. The end of the narrow passageway opened wide. Jagged rocks stuck out of the ceiling and the floor like huge fangs. She passed the teeth, and to her horror saw the entire landscape was engulfed in shades of black under a starless sky.

  The entire world was shadowed in darkness that could be felt as a depressing gloom. Everything looked eerie and dead. There was a deafening silence, and she was surprised anything lived outside. The air was cool, much colder than in the cave. The chilly wind stung her warm skin.

  Far below the cliff where she stood, a vast dark woodland stretched below. Trees shuddered from things moving in the forest. Then Ky saw a parliament of owls flying above the wildwood. The only light was a dimly lit moon that shone wheat brown, almost the shade of peach. Far in the distance, were adjacent mountains, and to Ky’s left was an enormous frozen lake. The rest of the land was a desert of dim terrain. She no longer wanted to be outside; she wanted to be in a city, and stay there. She spun around to head back into the mouth of the mountain.

  Something caught her eye. Crouched above the mouth of a cave was a white tiger, twice as big as her. It watched her as if stalking prey, and squat, ready to pounce, but the tiger didn’t lunge. Ky’s heart instantly began pounding because of the way the creature fixed its eyes on her. She wasn’t sure if she should scream, run, or both. “Nice kitty,” she crooned, deciding a soft, soothing voice would tell the tiger there was nothing to fear. She inched toward the cave while anxiously shuffling closer to the enormous tiger.

  Ky ran. She sprinted to the mouth of the mountain. To her surprise, as she ran the enormous cat shrunk. Ky hurried into the cave as the white feline hopped down to where she had been standing. She scuttled into the cave, and glanced around seeing the cat had shrunk to the size of a cub only a few months old.

  She backed up, until she was pressed against the wall. The feline pranced into the cave, and continued to reduce in mass. It was the size of a tabby when it brushed up against the tooth-like rock and purred loudly.

  Ky wasn’t sure if she should laugh or run. Maybe it was a trick, like the little thing was luring her in, only to grow and eat her. The small white tiger pawed at a pebble on the ground, ignoring her. As the stone rolled the cat chased it, batting the rock with both paws as it zigzagged along the ground. Once the feline became bored, it slowly moved to the corner of the cave to lie down.

  It wasn’t going to hurt her. If it wanted to eat her, the cunning cub would have done it by now. The tiger shifted again, until it was once again enormous. The tiger pointed one ear directly at Ky, but that was the only sign it was paying any attention to her. The purr became even louder when its eyes closed.

  The resemblance to a white tiger was uncanny. Except it was twice the normal size and its fur was much longer and fuller. Ky accidentally cranked her neck too far while looking at it, and had to catch herself from falling. The rocks under her feet crunched with her sudden step to catch her balance, but the beautiful creature didn’t mind. It opened one eye to stare at her, but when she froze, the cat continued to purr again. The feline stretched, stood, and then wandered over to her.

  She held her breath, fearful of what the large tiger would do. Once the wild cat approached, it nudged its nose under her hand. The animal wanted petting. Ky nervously laughed. She rubbed the soft, thick fur on the top of his nose. The tiger purred louder.

  A second later Ky screamed. The cat thrust its head under her, and tossed her onto his back. She landed hard in a belly flop. Her ribs slammed into its shoulder blades. She let her legs fall to the sides and she gripped the thick fur to keep from falling. The tiger was sidetracked and chased a much larger rock. She screamed trying to hold on.

  Heavy stomps could be heard from the men running toward them. The feline froze and then backed up when the men jogging drew near. The cat shrunk enough to squeeze between the teeth of the cave. Moments later, all the warriors spilled into the mouth of the mountain. The tiger separated them by the enormous rock teeth, and once again grew. Cobaaron halted the men with his arms outstretched. “Give her back,” Cobaaron commanded. The tiger hissed. “Ky, get down!”

  Ky tried to get down. She flung a leg over, but the determined thing bounced her back into place. “Ky get down,” Cobaaron demanded for a second time.

  “I’m trying,” she exclaimed, and once again flung her leg over and began to slide, and once again she landed in a belly flop onto the tiger’s back.

  “Not hard enough,” Cobaaron barked. An idea came to Ky. This time she stood on its back, and hurdled off by leaping over its head. “Now, shoo your mangy cat. Git!”

  “Is it dangerous?” Ky asked, looking at the snow white creature. It didn’t seem dangerous, but she still backed up a few inches. The tiger watched her move, and then anxiously watched at the warriors.

  “If you’re nice to it, the stupid thing will follow us around like a flurry. It’s white, and will draw attention to us. You shouldn’t have touched it.” Cobaaron growled: “I hate cats.”

  “Cobaaron, the thing likes the girl,” one of the warriors pointed out, with amusement in his voice. He was the tallest of the men, and the thinnest. He carried a bow and arrows on his back. His voice was low pitched, and harsh.

  “I know, Ly, that is why I want her as far as possible from that pest. I’m not about to adopt a vermin . Seven warriors are more than capable to keep a Star safe.” For added argument Cobaaron gave another reason to leave the tiger be: “They stink; they’re fusty.”

  “But it’s fast,” another warrior added. Ky observed that he was a very talkative man. He wore spiked hair with bleached tips, which made him several inches taller, distracting from the fact he was a head shorter than the rest.

  In a moment when the men exchanged looks, Ky was thrust once again onto the back of the sneaky tiger, who’d managed to take her at the exact moment no one was looking. It knocked the wind out of her. She lay there a moment to catch her breath. She sat up as Cobaaron said, “I don’t care, Edom.” Cobaaron once again commanded Ky to get off the cat. “Quit being nice to it!” Cobaaron then stared at the tiger, before he glared. “Get off, Ky. I’m sure it’s the gift from the woman; I don’t trust it.”

  The warriors all peered at Cobaaron, surprised by what he said. Of all the men, it was Noxis who asked, “What woman?”

  “It doesn’t matter. Get off the cat, Ky,” Cobaaron demanded. She was trying, but to no avail.

  “But we could reach the city in no time. We’d be there by morning if we walked all night,” Noxis said. “Brother, you may not like pets, but the beast could be useful. You wouldn’t be stuck with the bothersome creature—it will be her who has to suffer its existence. You won’t finish the bond with the girl. It’s a commitment for a day.”

  “Do you all feel this way?”
Cobaaron asked, still eyeing the tiger unhappily. “Who stands with Noxis?”

  They all shifted toward Noxis. Cobaaron shook his head, not pleased, but he stated he’d let the animal watch over her. Ky was impressed that such a great leader would bend his desire for his men.

  “No one would send her a snow tiger to protect her. It couldn’t be a gift. They have no magical powers beyond shifting in size, and they startle easily. He may get use to excitement, but one short trip to the next city isn’t going to make him brave. I’ll bet at the first hint of danger he’ll run off.” Noxis chuckled, and slapped Cobaaron on the shoulder.

  “Yes, then we would never find her again,” Cobaaron stressed, sounding displeased. The men grinned and sniggered as if that was fine with them. “But I’ve been outvoted.” He glared at Ky because she was petting the cat. She hadn’t known she was until his eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute. Snow tiger’s have saddles with a hidden compartment.”

  “Is it not a snow tiger?” X-avor asked.

  “What is it then, if it’s not?” Ly asked.

  Bubbles manifested out the skin of the cat’s back. The globules transformed into solid metal, lifting Ky off the fur. Seconds later, she was sitting on a silver saddle with a long handlebar in front and a comfortable backrest that stopped below her shoulder blades. The bar curled snuggly around her hips making it impossible to fall from the seat.

  “So, it’s a snow tiger,” Cobaaron said. “The mangy thing can accompany us, but only to the City of Sterlings. From there it must leave, Ky, because I still don’t trust it.”

  “So, it’s Huntra? The gift from the woman?” Ky asked.

  Cobaaron wasn’t happy, but nodded that he believed the tiger was the gift. He walked up to the cat, and pointed to it with both index fingers and gruffly commanded, “You take Ky to the City of Sterlings. You protect her, and if you panic, you run to the City of Sterlings without stopping.”

  Cobaaron turned to the remaining two warriors, referring to them as Davior and Brute. They were twins; both had blond almost white hair, and pale, silver gray eyes. They were identical, even having matching slashed scars on opposite cheeks, as if the old marks were given to them years ago to tell them apart. “It’s your turn, you two.”

  Ky watched them nod in response to Cobaaron. Then they both sprinted toward the edge of the cliff with no sign of stopping. She gave out a small squeal when they bound from the ledge with all their strength. Their leap wasn’t extraordinarily long, or high, and it was then she realized how unique she was making Cobaaron. She was making him do unnatural things.

  Even though Cobaaron and Ky were fighting and she was trying her best to not care for him, she couldn’t help but feel immense pride in him. He was a great warrior, and truly remarkable.

  “Where did they go?” she asked Cobaaron with concern.

  “Making sure we don’t jump into a...situation. We can’t risk it with you here. If it were we men…” Cobaaron shrugged.

  The men peered over the edge of the cliff in silence. Even Huntra was quiet. “They’re in trouble!” Cobaaron exclaimed, and without pause he got a running start before he kicked off hard, and flew high into the air. His arms outstretched. He jumped with such power that he flew past the edge several feet before he started to descend. At that moment an enormous bird like a vulture appeared, flapping its long wings. It squawked loudly. Huntra began to swell and hiss at the bird.

  Cobaaron reached for the bird by its jaw, as he freefell. He ripped off the top of its beak with the momentum of his fall. He then gracefully swung around its neck. The bird gave out an alarming crow of pain as Cobaaron took the beak and slit its neck with the sharp tip. They both dropped out of sight when the bird could no longer stay in the air. Moments later Davior and Brute bound up onto the ledge, and then whirled around to peer down, watching the bird and Cobaaron fall.

  “Is that all that was down there?” Noxis asked.

  “Yeah,” Brute said. “We were almost on top of it, but the beast must have heard the wind whistling as we fell. Then it flew up, ensnared us with its talons, and tossed us into the cliff.”

  “It was feeding on a dead snake before it saw us.” Davior smiled as he bragged, “It should have tossed us harder if it wanted to stun us.”

  “Well, let’s go,” Ly said. “I imagine he’s waiting for us down there.”

  Huntra seemed to understand their conversation, because he was the first to reach the edge of the cliff. Huntra hopped like a sheep before leaning forward over the cliff. The next thing Ky knew, they slid over the edge, and like a rollercoaster she plunged straight down the enormous cliff. She gripped the handlebar tightly and shrieked. Huntra was clawing at the rock to keep them close to the cliff. She could hear rock scrapping and tumbling over her loud shriek. Huntra began jumping from rock to rock, no matter how little the stone protruded.

  Ky was sure Huntra would misstep and roll, making them both crash into the side of the mountain. Though that didn’t happen, Ky continued to scream until she was safe on solid ground again.

  Ky scrambled to try to get away from Huntra, no longer wanting to be on the tiger’s back. Huntra gladly let her, as the seat bubbled into his skin. Ky jumped off, and rolled away from the tiger. She was panting and out of breath while Huntra was crouching down, looking even more scared than Ky.

  The warriors dropped all around her. “You could have handled that a little better.” Cobaaron smiled as he walked up.

  “She’s more trouble than she’s worth,” X-avor growled. “She probably woke half the forest with all that noise, and with that much attention drawn to us, surely there are creatures running this way as we speak. She has the tiger now. I say we let the feline take her to the city. You were glad the moment she left the cave telling us to let her go, wanting to be free of her for good. Let’s tell the cat to take her, and we’ll put distance between us.”

  “She’s a Star, X-avor,” Edom snapped. “Not a worthless woman.”

  Ky looked at Cobaaron. The moonlight was dark and hid his face. Ky hoped shadow hid her expression as well, because she was hurt. He wanted to get rid of her, and was letting her wander outside alone in hopes it was the end.

  Huntra unexpectedly tossed her onto his back as he increased in height by several feet. Without warning, Huntra rocketed off. Ky held on tightly to his fur, until the saddle began to form under her again. She wasn’t properly on the seat, as she rode sidesaddle. The bar continued to bubble and crowd her off. She struggled to fling her leg over the bar with as much jostling Huntra was causing. Forcing her thigh under the handlebar was a tight squeeze. She used both her hands to push her leg down. The bar grew until it began to pinch her thigh. She screamed with pain. Then she shoved harder until her leg slipped down. Her glowing skin bruised faint silver. It hurt far worse than a normal bruise because it was hot.

  She looked back sure she would see the men still debating if they should follow her or let her go, but instead she was surprised to see they were all fighting a flaming tree that was slashing blazing branches like whips. Boils on the bark burst, and anywhere the sap landed the whipping branches lit on fire.

  Another tree ablaze, joining the fight against the warriors. Even as Huntra ran and grew, trees around them erupted to flames. Ky was spattered with sap that was black, thick and tar-like.

  The last thing she saw was a third tree burning and attacking the warriors. One of the men was plucked off the ground, hanging upside down by a whip. It was Cobaaron, who commanded his men to climb the cliff and leave the battle to him. He was drenched in sap and then lit on fire. Ky screamed, seeing a ball of fire engulf his body, and his men didn’t even argue to save him.

  Huntra whizzed back and forth with jolting movements and yanked Ky around, as he dodged trees afire and their sap. He was nimble and swiftly escaped the reach of the burning branches. However, a twig lit the sap on Ky’s hand. She tried to put it out, but the sap was extremely flammable making the fire inextinguishable. Oddly, she didn’t feel the
heat of the fire, and her hand wasn’t burning. In fact, it felt warm and soothing like her hand was bathing in hot water. She watched the flame dance on her hand, entertained by the calming beauty of the amber blaze.

  Trees burst into flames after they passed, but Huntra continued to run. Soon they were out of the fiery danger and under a canopy of much taller trees. Ky petted Huntra. “Good boy.” They were alone, and far from the warriors. She wanted to say, “Good boy,” one more time, but Huntra began to crouch and stalk with caution.

  She heard snapping branches to the right. Ky closed her eyes. If this was anything like the night wolves, the skeletons, or even the large vulture she didn’t want to know. Her screaming made her protector skittish, and she needed Huntra to be brave now that they were alone.

  Ky pinched her eyes shut, and gripped the handlebar tightly, ready for sudden jerks or leaps. The saddle bubbled, pinning her tighter into the seat until she couldn’t budge and her bruised leg throbbed.

  Huntra proceeded slowly, and he once again swelled in size. Ky could feel the wind brush past her as he increased his mass. Suddenly Huntra hissed. Ky heard a roar so loud it hurt her ears, and she covered them. Huntra sprung and collided with something much stronger. Ky didn’t dare open her eyes. She covered her mouth with her hands determined not to make a sound.

  Huntra was knocked onto his side and yelped. Ky gripped the bar again, as Huntra rebounded to his feet. She felt him increase his height even more, and she pushed away tree limbs. He grew until they passed the height of the canopy. Without warning he pounced. The roars Huntra and the other creature made were bone chilling. They fought, each taking hard blows. Huntra’s hiss was low and menacing; he sounded ferocious when he struck. Ky heard a crack, and then a howl. At first Ky thought it was Huntra, because he fell still. He began to shrink, but a moment later, he skulked off with a limp. Because he was fleeing at a slow pace, she knew he killed the other beast.