Awakening the Lion

by Crymsyn Hart

  For the rest of the day he followed the travelers. They got closer to the mountains, about two days’ walk to his village if they went in the right direction. The woman did not shift, but she stopped to consult the map once in a while. Her companion took to the skies to scout ahead for her, leaving Ohanzee to wonder if she was a shifter, too, or some kind of mystic. He had to stay behind them to not be discovered, as it seemed the male was on to him. And every time he did get ahead of them, the wind still did something to obscure her face.

  Ohanzee was intrigued by them, but especially her. Something about her called to him, almost as if they had some sort of kinship he could not pinpoint. From their conversations, it appeared that she was anxious about finding a shifter village. Should he reveal himself and lead them back to his village? They did not get that many visitors this close to the seasons changing. He could smell the snow on the breeze. It was one, or maybe two, weeks before they would have it. Already the mountain air was crisper, and it was noticeable that they were not prepared for the winter.

  After another day of tailing them, he had finally made up his mind about what he was going to do. They started the fire and were erecting the tent when he transformed to human form and donned his clothes. He stayed in the shadows and rethought his plan now that he was about to confront them. What if he did bring them back to the village and he was drummed out because of bringing in outsiders? What would the others think? He shook his head. It did not matter what the others thought because they already shunned him anyway.

  Ohanzee shook his head. He had to know who this woman was and where she had come from. He ran his fingers through his hair and felt the hawk come to attention. It normally did not want to have any part of his conversations, but tonight it wanted to know what was going to happen. Maybe it was intrigued by all of this. He gathered up his courage and stepped out from behind the tree and walked into their encampment.

  “Hello,” the little girl noticed him first.

  “Hi.”

  Her small brow furrowed. “Who are you?”

  “Marta, who are you talking to?” the woman turned around.

  When his gaze met hers, everything in Ohanzee froze. This was the woman he had been dreaming about for months. The same oval face with the high cheekbones that his dream woman possessed and the same dark eyes that knew more than he could ever know. The same curve of her lips and the spacing of her eyes gave her an exotic look. Her eyes opened in surprise, and when her dark hair stirred from the wind that suddenly blew up, he saw the necklace resting between her breasts. The pendant and the stones drew his attention. That was something he recognized.

  “Where did you get that?” he inquired.

  “I think she asked who you were, friend.”

  Ohanzee turned and saw the raven shifter standing behind him was gripping a dagger. He put up his hands. “Whoa, I’m not here to harm you. I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Ohanzee.”

  “You’re not going to harm us? We’ve heard that before,” the man spat.

  The wind curled around his face as though it were running fingers down his cheek. Strands of her hair floated around her face. She cocked her head as if listening to it, walked over to her man, and put a hand on his arm. He lowered the weapon. “I’m Illiana. It’s all right, Belik. He’s okay.”

  “Are you sure?” Belik asked.

  Illiana nodded. “I’m sure.”

  “You can control the air element?” Ohanzee asked. He said her name in his mind and liked how it sounded. How would she sound if she moaned his name?

  “I can. Who are you?”

  “I’m Ohanzee. I’m from one of the two-natured tribes.”

  Illiana glanced at Belik and then at Marta. “Two-natured tribes? Are they close-by? Could you bring us to your village?” she asked, and he saw the tears that had formed in her eyes. This was the thing she had been searching for. He saw it written on her face. But why was she searching for a two-natured tribe?

  “I can bring you, but first tell me where you got that pendant,” he asked her again.

  “Why is it so important?” Belik asked.

  He turned to him and felt his temper rising. This man annoyed him more than he could fathom. What did this woman see in him? “Why does it matter when I’m not asking you?” he snapped.

  A soft touch on his arm made him face the woman. Her caress sent a zing along his flesh and stopped his heart for a second. But something else stirring inside of him that he had not felt before. It was deep within his mind, but he shook it off to focus on their conversation. “My mother gave it to me. Now please, can you bring us to your village so we can talk to your chief or shaman?”

  Staring into her dark eyes, he wanted to make sure that all of her wishes came true. Ohanzee found himself lost in her gaze. She had to be some kind of a shifter, too. He could feel it in his bones. What did she turn into? And what did she see in the raven shifter? “Yes, I can take you to the village. It’s not that far. About a day’s walk from here. Faster if you can fly.”

  She glanced at Belik and gave him a small smile. “Walking would be better. Marta can’t shift yet. Look, we were about to sit down to eat. You’re welcome to join us. We don’t have much, but we can always share.”

  He smiled. “Maybe I can find some game and bring it back for dinner.”

  “That would be nice. Thank you.”

  Ohanzee slipped back into the woods and wondered what he could find. There was no way he was going to be able to hunt game without any weapons on him. He took his clothes off and donned his feathers. He scoured the ground until he found a rabbit that was hopping along. Once he noticed it, he captured it between his claws and made sure it was dead so they could have it for dinner. Once he had it, he dressed and brought it back to the camp. The woman was playing with Marta, and Belik was rummaging through his pack.

  “I caught a rabbit. I hope that’s okay.”

  Illiana nodded and prepared it for dinner. Once she had gutted and skinned it, she set it on a spit over the fire. It was not a large rabbit, but with the other food they had, it was enough to make a modest meal. While he was gone, she had gathered some herbs and a few wild vegetables. As the hare cooked, she had set aside some coals that the vegetables were roasting on.

  “That fire shouldn’t be so low. It’s like it’s burned for hours already. Unless you can control fire, too?”

  “She can. Is that an issue?” Belik asked.

  “Why can’t you control any of the elements?” Ohanzee probed.

  “That’s none of your business,” he snapped.

  “Enough, both of you. Belik, we don’t want to upset our guest.”

  Ohanzee tried to keep his temper under control. “Sorry. I don’t mean to overstep my boundaries. My sister can also communicate with fire. I think you might have a stronger gift for it. It comes within varying degrees in our tribe on who controls what elements. Not that it runs in families. Sometimes siblings can control different elements.”

  “Are you able to speak with any elements?” she asked.

  He placed his hand on the earth. The vibrations of the energy ran along his arm and helped to ground him. Ohanzee reached further down and asked it to move. The ground groaned, but after a moment the dirt rippled outward from the fire. Marta giggled. Illiana’s eyes filled with astonishment.

  “You can talk to the earth.”

  “Yes, and water. I’m better with earth, though. My power comes in handy when I’m searching for the stones I use to carve.” Ohanzee dug into one of his pockets looking for something to show her when his fingers traced over the onyx raven, but he was not ready to show that to anyone else. Instead, he brought out a simple carving of a seashell made from rose quartz he was working on for his sister. It was a surprise for her birthday, but he needed to etch more detail into the stone. “This is a piece I’m making for my sister. When I’m getting ready to do a piece, I ask the earth to show me the rock or crystal that will best fit the design I’m hoping to do.”

&
nbsp; “May I?” she asked.

  “Sure.” He held it out to her. Illiana traced the etchings in the quartz, handling it delicately. She handed it to Belik, and he looked it over rather quickly before giving it back to him.

  “It’s beautiful. It rivals some that I’ve seen the carvers in the flock do. Although they use wood and bone mostly, sometimes stone.”

  “Flock?” Ohanzee was intrigued. He was always interested in hearing how other people did things even when he traded with other tribes of the two-natured from across the mountains and into the desert. They all had different ways of doing things. But he was unaware of any one tribe being called a flock.

  She glanced at Belik. Ohanzee noticed some kind of silent exchange between them and wondered if she was saying too much. “Yes. We’re raven shifters.” Belik answered. “But I think you knew that from when you followed me the other day.”

  He glanced at the seashell before slipping it back into his pocket. He had been discovered. “Yes, I admit I was following you.”

  “Why?” Belik’s jaw clenched.

  Ohanzee sighed. “I saw you were heading toward the mountains, toward my village, and I figured we were heading in the same direction. But I wanted to make sure before I revealed myself to you. That, and this close to the coast, some of the villagers don’t welcome shifters so much.”

  “Yeah, we figured that out with the sailor who helped us cross the lake and well . . . with Marta’s village, too.”

  “You mean she isn’t yours?” Ohanzee asked.

  Illiana glanced at the little girl who played with her doll. Illiana got up and removed the hare from above the fire and plucked out the vegetables. He inhaled the mouthwatering aroma and waited for her to answer. “No. Marta is not our daughter. She was given into our protection by her sister because of what she is. She’s a two-natured shifter, and that was something frowned upon in her village.”

  “I’ve heard of such things. It is a sad day when other shifters do not accept the two-natured, but it’s not an uncommon thing in some of the other shifter communities. We are not like that.”

  “That’s good to hear.” Illiana ate her dinner, but refrained from speaking the rest of the night.

  Ohanzee did not want to ask questions she did not wish to answer, even when inquiries burned within his mind. As he sat and ate, contemplating everything he had learned, he did know one thing: there was more to this woman and her mate than they were letting on.

  Chapter Eight

  Illiana held her breath while Ohanzee led them closer to his village. They had walked for two days, venturing higher into the mountains, with each day growing a little colder. Belik still did not trust the other man, which she understood because of their last encounter with shifters. She was a little leery about him, too, but if Ohanzee was telling her the truth about being two-natured, then at least she could make sure Marta would be cared for. If he was not from her father’s village, then maybe someone there knew him or knew of him. It seemed she was in the right place now. From looking at the map she had, she would never have known which way to go even if they did go through the pass. She could have wandered in the mountains and found the wrong village. Her fingers brushed the pendant, and the warmth of the stones on her palm helped ease her nerves.

  Belik slipped his hand around her waist as Marta skipped ahead and stayed with Ohanzee. “Nervous?”

  She nodded. “A little. More excited, I think, too. What if my father is really in the village? What am I going to say to him? What will he even think of me? He doesn’t even know that I exist. How is he going to react to me? Or what if after all this time he died? You think someone will know him, even if he’s not from here?”

  He kissed her cheek. “I’m sure he’s alive. He’ll think you’re great. Just the way I do. Or be intrigued by you as Ohanzee is. And if this isn’t the right village, then maybe we can get some direction as to where to head next.”

  A small giggle left her lips. Why would their guide be intrigued by her? She was nothing special. “I doubt that. He’s curious about us.”

  “No. It’s more than that. The way he stares at you, I can’t help but think he already knows you. I don’t like it.”

  She turned at him and stared. “Are you jealous?”

  Belik trailed his fingers over her shoulders. “A little, I guess, but I want you to be cautious and not trust him so openly.”

  She touched his cheek, feeling the slight stubble underneath her fingers. “I didn’t say that I trusted him, but he is the only lead we have. We have to give him a chance. Besides, it’s getting colder and we need to think about finding a place to stay for the winter. If they can provide that, then we can think about heading into the desert once spring comes if we have to.”

  “I know. I just . . . I don’t want him to get the wrong impression, Illiana.”

  “Wrong impression? I’m not flirting with him, and I haven’t even answered all of his questions. These past couple of days I’ve been trying to make sense of everything.”

  “I didn’t say you were flirting with him, but there’s something about him that isn’t—I don’t know . . . he’s not . . . whole, I guess.”

  “Why would you say that?” Illiana asked.

  Belik shrugged. “I don’t know. A feeling.”

  “We’re almost there,” Ohanzee announced.

  Illiana pecked Belik on the cheek and moved closer to Ohanzee and took Marta’s hand. The little girl smiled at her and squeezed her fingers. “Are we going to be okay?”

  She nodded. “Yes, we are.”

  They walked a little while longer, and Illiana could hear the commotion of people. It sounded like a rather large community. She hoped they would be friendly. Or friendlier in that they were not going to threaten to kill them.

  Too many things could go wrong, so she blocked them out and concentrated on the one thing she hoped she would find. Her father. Once she found him, or at least someone who knew of him, then maybe she could learn more about her heritage. If she could figure out where she had come from and learn more about her abilities, then she would at least know that there was a place for her in the world.

  Questions lingered in her mind, but she did not want to ask Ohanzee because she did not know if he had the answers. That and she did not want to say anything out of turn and anger him. If he left them stranded in the wilderness, Illiana did not know where to turn. It was too late to return to the forest.

  Ohanzee walked farther ahead of them when they arrived at the outskirts of the village. Illiana could feel the eyes on her and Belik. The breeze played over her arm, swirling around them. When she inquired what it was doing, she realized it was not answering her summons. Someone else was controlling the air element. She could not pinpoint who was doing it, but it was intriguing and scary at the same time to know she was not the one in control.

  Illiana noticed the homes were square and built from a mixture of wood and stone. Some doors were open, and others were closed or covered with an animal hide. In the center of the village was a large fire pit that reminded her of the gathering place in the flock where everyone went when there was a ceremony. She silently counted over thirty huts scattered around. Were there more away from the center of the activity, maybe where the priests resided or the craftsmen? It all depended on how their society was set up. The wolf within her paced her mind, aching to run, because she had not done that in weeks. The raven screeched in her mind because her nerves were so wound-up. Illiana clutched the necklace again and sent a prayer to the spirits that she would find another lead and give them a path to move on.

  Ohanzee stopped at one of the houses and started talking to the woman there. She was not as tall as Ohanzee, but her features were similar. They had the same deep-brown eyes. His dark brown hair was streaked through with red and gold. Their skin had the same deep reddish brown hue that most of the village had from those she saw. They were all bigger-boned and more muscular than the flock. If her father truly did originate from this vil
lage or these people, then she could see now that she was a mixture of both the flock and these shifters. It was still not something she set her heart on until she was sure. The woman threw her arms around Ohanzee and pulled him into a hug before jabbing her finger at him. Illiana knew that look all too well, of getting reprimanded. She had gotten it enough from her mother. After a moment, Ohanzee brought the woman over to meet them.

  “This is my sister, Asha. Illiana and her mate, Belik, have traveled from across the Great Lake.”

  Asha wiped her hands on her dress and stuck out her hands. “It’s nice to meet you, Illiana.”

  She nodded and noticed the slight accent that Asha and Ohanzee spoke with. It gave her speech a lilt and a twang at the same time. It made her recognize how far they had traveled. “You, too.”

  Asha had a similar pendant around her neck, with the same markings, although the stones were different. Questions and joy choked her up at the same time. This is the right place. She knew it down to the marrow of her bones. She squeezed Belik’s hand and nearly jumped out of her skin to tell him what she noticed. It took everything in her not to start inquiring about it, but she bit her tongue.

  “My brother said you traveled a long distance. I’m sure you’re hungry and tired. Who is this little thing?” Asha asked when she noticed Marta.

  “I’m Marta.”

  “Well, Marta. Why don’t you go inside and see if you want to play with my daughter. She is about your age.”

  Marta glanced at Illiana, who nodded. “It’s okay. We’ll be here.”

  The little girl went into the house without any fear, and Illiana felt a sigh of relief flood her. This was where Marta needed to be. Here they could show her what it was to be two-natured and not be afraid of it.

  “Your daughter is lovely.”

  “She’s not our daughter. It’s a long story,” Belik explained to Asha.

  Asha’s eyebrows lifted. “Sorry, I just assumed.”