Gilded Serpents

Chapter Fifty-Three: Jeaywood

There was a scream, and I fell off of the cot, automatically throwing on the Halmore armor. There was a flurry behind me as Lumo disappeared through the tent door, and I stumbled out behind him, adjusting my armor as I went.

"Was that Cylie?"

I turned, squinting through morning eyes to see a wide-eyed Aixel, scanning the surrounding camp as he adjusted the shirt over his head. Before I could answer, he was already a cloud of black gnats, disappearing into the dark.

I ran to her tent, opening it to find it empty with no sign of struggle, and continued my search through the trees that surrounded us.

"Cylie!" I called, searching as the suns began to raise, casting long shadows all around me.

My mind raced.

If our camp was spotted by one of the patrols, why would they only take her?

There was another flutter of cape and Lumo appeared beside me, shaking his head in amusement as he caught his breath.

"What is it - Did you find her?" I breathed.

"Sure did," he coughed, "Our dear Cylie found a friend."

A friend?

Before I could get any further information out, there was a flash of black in the distance, weaving and hiding between the white trees, glowing with the rising light. I strained my eyes - no, it was far too large to be Aixel.

It was running, galloping towards us, but as I braced for impact, Lumo remained still, patiently waiting for the strange beast's arrival. Four giant clawed paws skidded towards us, sending a cloud of dry, copper dust into the air, with a beaming Cylie upon its high back. She clung to the creature's long, matted fur back, ends dipped clay-red with the plumeing dust as its wide head shook a new cloud into the morning air. It towered over me, almost the size of a horse, with eight eyes - wide with whites like that of men, frantically scanning its surroundings. White, smiling dagger-fangs jutted out of the mass of black fur upon its long nose, menacing and haunting as a spritely Cylie jumped from its tall back in a practiced leap.

I watched, awestruck as she wrapped her arms around the beast's wide neck, almost disappearing into its long black fur, as she cooed to it as if it were a child.

A direwolf.

I, of course, had never seen such a creature in my entire life, but no illustration in any book could match the strange, terrifying creature before me. I took a careful step back as two of the eight eyes stopped their frantic shaking, peering golden iris directly at me.

I watched as Lumo bowed low before the beast, gesturing grandly with his arms.

"Hello, sire," he said.

The strange creature then chattered its many teeth in response, sending a sickly shiver down my spine. I hesitated at first, then followed Lumo's lead, only to be met with Cylie's bright laughter in the small clearing.

"Oh, Gods - no need to bow, Mira. This is precious Sonder - my baby," she lilted, "I knew you would find me."

There was an echoing buzz as a panting Aixel appeared from between the trees. His eyes widened as he absorbed the strange scene before him. He looked equal parts disgusted and confused as Cylie gave the beast another hug, smothering it with kisses.

It took some time to get used to riding upon the great direwolf's wide back. Although the thick fur provided for ample cushion, I felt as though I was going to fall off at every sharp turn. It felt strange to have no means to steer the incredibly fast creature, although Cylie seemed right at home in front of me as I held on to the pack behind her with sweating palms. Gratefully, the beast did not seem burdened by our weight in the slightest, having been bred to carry their bonded hunter's kill - bear, moose or otherwise.