The Blood She Betrayed

Chapter 2

 Chapter Two

 Tension threaded through her muscles as she shadowed the lean boy-man away from the mansion, sidestepping a gold-speckled toad in her path.

 'It's summer.' His amber voice soothed her shot nerves. 'Cane toads are all over the place.'

 'Are they edible?'

 'Heck, no. They're poisonous.'

 'That is disappointing.' Hunger gnawed at her insides.

 'Do you like frog's legs?'

 Just the legs? She was hungry. She would eat the whole thing at the moment! 'Are the legs your specialty?'

'Mine? I can't cook to save myself.'

His distinctive scent, mingled with the tang of unfamiliar plants, stirred her hunger. It was more than she expected from this slight boy-man with unkempt chestnut hair. She bit her lip. He lacked a warrior's muscular build or a magician's runic hand, but the quality fabric and cut of his garments implied wealth. If he were the son of a nobleman, he could prove useful. If only…

She faltered as another spasm of hunger hit.

His heart tempted her with its thick, rich scent and strong, thudding beats. Not since Jada had she felt a response so raw and primeval. This Earthern was nothing like her betrothed but in a handful of minutes he had rekindled the darker cravings she had struggled to repress.

'Are you okay? You look ill.' His warm breath skated across her neck.

Trust no one. Find the Elnara. 'I will regain my strength once we have eaten at your abode.'

'Sure, it's this way.'

As she passed through the break in a tall, stone wall, she gasped at the thousands of lanterns stretching out across the fields and valleys below. So this was Earth. She had never seen so many lights! How could one city spare the expense? How did they acquire the fuel? 'What are all those lanterns? Is tonight a festival?' The warm air suggested summer.

'It's nothing special, only the city lights. Did you just move here? Wait 'til they put all the Christmas ones up — it'll be spectacular in a few weeks.'

City lights? The Twilight Keeper had gifted her mind with a handful of Earthern languages, including English, before she left for this world via the mists. But he had warned some words and phrases might have become out-dated during the past three hundred years since the last Gorian visited Earth. 'These are not for a festival but merely your city's buildings lit up?'

'Of course.'

'But there are tens of thousands of them!'

'This is Brisbane — we've two million people.'

'So many!'

'London and New York each have eight. Don't tell me you're from one of those tiny east European villages?'

She closed her gaping mouth. Her city, the largest in all of Gorias, housed twelve thousand. 'How do you protect so many? Is your city gated?'

'Of course not! Oh, you're back in character again. Are you an actress or something, or do you study at uni?'

Uni? One, single, a prefix? No, perhaps an Earthern abbreviation? Max's misconception that she was 'in character', however, could help conceal her other-world origins. 'How much further?' she asked.

'Five minutes down the street. Come on!'

She marvelled at the expanse of night sky above a city which sprawled unconfined by narrow streets and protective walls. Had predators infiltrated this place? Were they safe on this wide tree-lined street?