Lament of the Slave

Chapter 57: Back to the Roots

That was all. I had no more words for him, excuses or lies, which I was never good at. So I just stood there awaiting my death, trembling with every breath Esu, king of the woods, took. The suspense was nerve-wracking, almost making me scream at him to get on with it.

Of course, I didn't.

I wasn't stupid, nor was I suicidal, and that's why I just waited for the judgment of the King with my mouth shut, sweating from head to toe under his watchful eyes.

"Weak, caught, chained," he stated in a measured tone of his growls after what seemed like an eternity and paused. "Mixed-breed, but still my spawn."

I paused briefly, then blinked as my brain processed what my ears had just heard. Nani? What? What did he say? Wait, wait, I think there was a translation error.

Weak, hmm...I guess from his point of view. Caught, unfortunately. Handcuffed, apparently. Mixed-breed, didn't sound flattering, but yes, I was.

So why the error, because it must have been a mistake. I must have heard wrong. After all, my father was on a completely different planet, in a different realm. He was a man, not a huge ancient beast.

I wasn't Esu's spawn. I couldn't be. Right?

Blinking again, I refocused on the King of the Woods, my self-proclaimed father, and realized I was staring open-mouthed at him for who knows how long. Licking my dry lips, I gulped, just to open my mouth again. "I'm your spawn?"

My respect for him faded from my voice, from my growl, lost in my confusion. Luckily, it didn't seem to bother him.

"Stupid too, of course you are, cub," his deep growl resonated in my bones, yet his answer bothered me more. I was baffled by it.

So yeah, I must have been dumb. Because I still didn't understand how it was possible for him to think I was his spawn. He should have seen me as his rival, a beast that came to his realm, his woods to challenge his right to rule, not to see me as his incompetent offspring.

"How?" I asked, knowing my growl meant more than just one word. How? How was that possible? How could I be his spawn? When he snorted hard at my question, I had to close my eyes and brace myself as his warm breath washed over me.

"Twisted magic," he growled, the disgust in his voice unmistakable. "You're full of it, cub."

That's when it hit me. I almost laughed at my stupidity and cursed myself for not putting two and two together right away. I really was dumb. But in my defense, since Esu showed up, I was scared shitless. I dare say everyone in the clearing felt the same way.

It was now obvious to me what Esu was referring to, that the mossbears were the beasts whose essence, as Dungreen called the liquid in the shots, had been injected into my veins. The blood of these beasts coursed through them. More than that, one of the mutations on my body had originated with them.

But which one?

Eight injections, eight mutations.

I looked at Esu, then the young mossbears and wings were out of the question immediately. None of them had them, and the idea that the hill in front of me could fly was ridiculous. I could proudly state, the short tails of the mossbears were no match to Sage. Esu's, I wasn't sure about that. But to find out, I'd have to move from my spot. Which, despite my excitement at discovering the origin of the mutation, I didn't dare.

"Is she crazy, or is she that brave?" I heard some Shadow whisper when I grinned. An action that might have looked to him like I was baring my fangs at Esu. Explaining would be pointless, though. So I ignored the mumbling and continued to ponder my mutations.