Lament of the Slave

Chapter 56: Herding

Unlike the winning smile on the workhand's face, Ward and the bitch looked at each other in dread.

"How many?" she asked without specifying what she meant.

Ward raised one finger. "You?"

"Shit!" she swore instead of answering.

I didn't have to think long to know what that meant. Suppressing the urge to kiss Tate remembered the saying Aspen had told me.

Kill one bear, and you can call it a success.

After killing two, you should be distressed.

Killing three is the end for you.

As the next beast, you will face will be Esu.

The fight did not cease, though.

Shadows, along with the mercenaries, continued to retreat toward the exit of the clearing, an old unused path cutting through these woods. But now and then, some glanced apprehensively at the young man standing triumphantly on the carcass of the mossbear.

Like me, they couldn't understand how Tate had managed to kill it.

The only possible answer I could come to was that the man really had more luck than brains.

However, more important than his luck was the bitch and Ward's reaction. This was the third mossbear to lose its life here.

After a few shallow breaths of tense suspense Ward's look of horror turned to relief as nothing happened. The King of the Woods had not reacted to the death of his progeny as he had expected, and I had hoped he would.

"It was just a bunch of bullshit," the bitch snorted as she herself was relieved that the saying didn't come true.

A disgruntled growl escaped my throat without me willing it, reminding me of the only thing I could do. That was to challenge the King of the Woods in a final attempt to escape my hated fate as a lab rat.

There was nothing to hesitate over, nothing to wait for. So I took a deep breath and shouted as loud as I could, my intent and my emotions focused on the challenge of Esu.

Usually, I would find it rather embarrassing to scream like that. I've basically only done it once on Earth while hiking in the mountains. That time I was alone, not surrounded by people who thought I was a rare wild animal. Here on Eleaden, it was becoming my nature. Although I guess I can thank the [Beast] for not feeling so awkward about it. This skill was affecting me more right now than I was willing to admit and was aware of.

Before the desired answer to my challenge could reach my ears, one of the mind mage-controlled bears knocked me to the ground. Its claws dug deep into my back, leaving behind bleeding gashes. Yet I could only be glad the beast didn't step on me and crush my bones with its weight.

"You stupid cunt, you should know when to stop," the mind bitch snapped at me, but that was all she managed to do before the air shimmered as in the summer months over hot rooftops and got heavy.

Every man, woman, and beast in the clearing froze, even Ward and the bitch, and looked towards the heart of the woods.

Ward was the first to react, already fleeing for the exit of the clearing, away from the forest. "Run, idiots," he shouted to his men.

"For fuck's sake, listen to me, you filthy beasts!" the bitch barked through clenched teeth having trouble controlling the three mossbears. In fact, one broke free from her grasp for a few moments and attacked her before she got its mind under control again.

"Take her," she ordered the beast that attacked me, pointing at me. The verbal command seemed to reinforce her limited control over them.

As I looked into the maw of the mossbear towering over me, I had to wonder how it was going to take me and feared for my neck if the beast was going to pick me up like a bear cub.