Ky'Mera: The Next Generation (Sequel Series to the Ky'Mera Adventures Trilogy)

Chapter 3: Blood in the Air

Blood in the Air

It only took about five seconds for me to tell mom, dad, Gabby and Helios what had happened to Chiara. Mom immediately started making plans for what we would need in terms of supplies, while dad and Helios accounted for weapons and guard patrols around the village. Gabby sat next to me on a wooden bench outside Helios' house while all three of them bounced around inside like Mexican jumping beans. I had my chin on my hands and she placed her arm around my shoulders, "Don't worry. We got her back from the Bloodlust once before, we can do it again. And this time mom and dad will be there to help." She patted my shoulder, "Cheer up, she'll be home in time for dinner without a scratch on her."

I shook my head, "The only reason we got you out the last time was because they didn't know we were coming. This time they'll be ready and protecting her like she was made of gold." I brushed off her hand and stood, "Tell mom and dad I'm sorry for doing this, but the only way for us to save her is for me to go alone." I ran off before she could object and stopped by our tent to grab my weapons from my pack. My pistol in its holster and my two daggers on each hip, I ran back out of the tent in time to catch a glimpse of mom running from tent to tent, yelling my name and looking around wildly. I shook my head and hid behind a tent as she raced past, and then crept out of Kioko like a wrath. I set my heading for the forest edge and dropped onto all fours to speed on my way towards Chiara, hoping I could get there in time to save her one more time.

The run was uneventful, though once I entered the trees a silence crept over the woods like a phantom, sending chills up my spine and making me look twice at shadows that appeared to move of their own volition. I walked slowly down a thin trail with my daggers drawn, casting my gaze from left to right in a hope to see anything, or anyone, before they saw me. The light was so dim as to make the trees little more than outlines in the faint background glow, and the only sounds came from faint rustlings of the trees in a barely perceptible breeze. As I crept along I thought about what I would do once I got to Trinlodan, but my train of ideas was derailed as a crack off to my right signaled something close. I dropped into a crouch and scanned the bushes for movement, but nothing further indicated life in this twilight forest. I slowly stood tall, but no sooner had I done so was I smashed into from my left, arms wrapped around my waist as a large weight dragged me down. We crashed to the forest floor in a heap, and I swung my blades in an attempt to kill my attacker before he could sound the alarm. I struggled and slashed in vain as powerful arms pinned mine to the ground, and I looked up to see a Bloodlust boy holding me down. His green eyes glow in the faint light of the distant crystals, and the white fur on his belly shined out while the rest of him was as black as the night. I tried one final time to push myself into a better position, but the boy was stronger than he looked. I couldn't move anything besides my toes because he had my arms pinned with his own and my legs under his rump.

"Go ahead and kill me then." I said as he looked down at me, "Do away with me before your friends get the chance." I turned my head to the side, exposing my neck, "Just bite right here and end it quick."

He laughed, "You think I came here to kill you?" He pushed himself off of me, "I just prevented you from getting killed you silly Furan." He walked over to a tree just in front of where I had been standing before he had tackled me, and pulled out a three-inch dart from the trunk, hefting it over to land at me feet. "That would have squired your brain had I not shoved you aside. You should be thanking me rather than trying to stab me."

I sputtered slightly as he pulled me to my feet, "Why would you help me? Aren't you part of the Bloodlust?"

He shook his head, "Not everyone in Trinlodan wants to go along with the elders in their rituals of savagery." He shivered, "Two of my best friends were put to the flames to sate the deity's hunger. I don't plan on watching from the sidelines again as another young life is cut short." He looked at me, "Are you coming to Trinlodan to save the Delvi they captured yesterday?"