The Fanged Throne

Chapter 13

Elora froze and held her body as steady as she could with the point of the arrow inches away from her nose. The blood coursing through her veins had stopped, she could hear Banu's shocked gasp behind her. Behind the arrow was a large man, his dark tanned skin shone in the light. His arms were large, bursting from the confines of his top, he screamed danger. Her light eyes met his green eyes, narrowed and expectant.

She could feel Banu's tension, without looking she knew his fists were closed, getting ready to cast his magic. The expression in the man's eye was that he knew this and was daring Banu, he wanted a reason to shoot.

"Banu don't." She warned him, her voice low and firm. He sighed and relaxed his hands, his anger radiating in the air. She looked the man in the eye and raised one eyebrow as if to say, well? He hesitated for a moment, deciding that this small girl wasn't a threat to him, and lowered the weapon.

She let out the breath she had been holding the entire time, another near escape. Slowly, she stood, keeping her movements cautious. The man kept his bow in his hands and eyed them, his hard gaze never leaving them.

"You guys kill the Serza's back there?" He asked, Elora detected a hint of admiration in his tone.

"What's a Serza?"

"Yes."

She and Banu answered at the same time, the man ignored Banu and addressed her. "They're a hybrid lizard who once were men. They were created by the witches who once lived here, kept as pets until they attacked and ate the witches. It's best to avoid them, a bite from one of them is instant death." Elora shuddered at the thought.

He hooked the bow over his shoulder and held out his hand to Elora. "Names Thayer." Still numb from the deathly revelation about a Serza, she gingerly shook his outstretched hand and introduced herself and Banu, vaguely noticing him drop his hand to nod a greeting at Banu.

"We shouldn't stay here too long, they have a nest near here," Thayer informed them, gesturing for them to follow him. She looked at Banu, who shook his head vigorously. "We don't even know the guy!" he whispered.

"So? I didn't know you either." she countered.

He huffed. "That's different! Look at him, the man's built like a rock." Elora rolled her eyes at him, her mind was already made up.

"Fine stay here then, he obviously knows the area and looks more than capable of defending himself. I'm going with him." She told him and turned around to follow the man, smirking to herself when she heard Banu's angry footsteps follow her shortly.

Thayer led them up a steep trail through the cliffs, his steps sure and steady. Stopping only briefly to let them catch their breaths in the changing altitude. His well-worn boots sidestepped a deep hole. "Watch your step" He warned them after Banu narrowly missed tumbling down it. "Thanks." He replied sarcastically. They walked for a long time before Thayer stopped them at the mouth of a large cave.

He pushed aside the hanging fir leaves forming a curtain from outside and welcomed them inside. Banu and Elora carefully entered the large alcove. A solid roof hung above their heads, disappearing into the darkness. In the centre of the cave was a fire pit fashioned out of stone with a potholder raised above the flames. The right side of the dwelling had a series of crudely made wooden furniture. A wonky table was pushed against the rock wall, atop the wooden surface were piles of different plants and pottery. Next to the table was a large bookshelf that was balanced on a flat rock. The bookshelf had not a single book stored on it, instead, it was filled with an assortment of different weapons, bows and arrows, swords, blades, hammers and smaller wooden items with sharp rocks filed onto the end.