Page 45 of Lake of Sorrow

“I apologize for not listening to you earlier, for trying to make you change when you wanted me to be safe. I couldn’t leave you, but… that wasn’t a good way to handle things. It was all I could think of at the time, but I’m sorry, okay?”

Surprisingly, he went down to one knee. One paw-like hand curled into a fist to support him as he leaned forward.

“We can talk about it later,” she murmured, suspecting the curse was winding down.

With a soft moan, the beast collapsed.

12

When the stomach orders, the body obeys.

~ Elder Taybarri Seerathi

Kaylina waited until the unconscious beast transformed back into Vlerion before crawling out of the nook. Dirt and pebbles fell out of her hair, and her body ached from scraping against the stone slabs. Further, blisters were rising on her palms from her many futile hacks of the vines with Vlerion’s sword.

He’d collapsed on his back, and she rested a hand on his chest, the leather torso armor slumped halfway off. He was naked from the waist down, with his shirt in tatters, the seams ripped. She hoped he had spare clothing in his pack and looked around, thinking of searching for it—and the taybarri—but she wouldn’t leave him alone when he was vulnerable.

“Did you get all the Kar’ruk, I wonder?” she murmured, remembering how fast and powerful he’d been in the battle, too much for even the powerful warriors to handle. “If more show up while you’re napping, we’ll be in trouble.” She smiled and patted him, hoping his eyelids would flutter.

As magnificent as the beast was, she wanted the man for company. She glanced at the torn earth, its scent lingering in the air, and attempted to forget about the beast digging, trying to reach her, to pull her out and mate with her. She had little doubt that he’d wanted that, and she shivered as she recalled Vlerion’s mother warning her that women didn’t always survive such encounters.

Uneasy, Kaylina drew her hand back, as if her simple touch might make the beast return. “Vlerion, I don’t suppose you know where your underwear is.”

A bird chirped at the edge of the ruins, and a frog in the lake answered. Hopefully, that meant the Kar’ruk in the area were all dead.

Kaylina rose to her feet and flexed her battered body. A few tentative whuffs came from the ruins.

Crenoch and Levitke padded into view, their heads held lower than their long bodies as they slinked forward. They eyed Vlerion warily before looking at Kaylina.

“I don’t think he’s dangerous anymore,” she told them. “Thank you for your help and for coming back.”

They looked at each other, heads still low as they continued toward her. For the first time since she’d met the taybarri, their whuffs sounded apologetic.

“It’s not your fault,” she assured them.

They would have been helpful against the Kar’ruk, but she couldn’t blame them for not wanting to fight at the beast’s side. In that form, Vlerion could have turned on them. No, he would have turned on them. She was positive. When he was the beast, he saw everyone as an enemy. Everyone except… his female. She swallowed, not relieved by having that designation.

Using his snout, Crenoch nudged Vlerion’s shoulder.

“He’ll be all right,” Kaylina told them, glad Crenoch didn’t seem to hold a grudge. He had to understand that Vlerion wasn’t a threat in his normal form.

Crenoch stepped around him, then pointed his nose past the ruins and toward the lake. He swayed his tail, looked at Kaylina, and pointed his nose toward the lake again.

“Is there danger in that direction? More Kar’ruk?”

Crenoch shook his big head, then lifted one clawed forelimb as he pointed his snout toward the lake again. He reminded Kaylina of her Grandpa’s hounds. A few of them also lifted one forelimb as they pointed into the brush at birds. Levitke watched Crenoch but didn’t offer any indications of her own that she wanted to go that way. Maybe when they’d been scared by the shrieking flowers, they’d fled in different directions.

“Do you want me to see something in the lake? Or on the other side of it?”

Whuff.

“All right, uhm.” Kaylina considered Vlerion. He hadn’t yet stirred. He probably would soon if they waited, but she wouldn’t mind getting out of the strange ruins, the strange ruins that more Kar’ruk might visit. She recalled the blowing of that war horn. The warriors might have been summoning allies. “Will you help me get him on your back, Crenoch?”

The taybarri returned to Vlerion’s side and lay down, stretching his long body out. His back was still a few feet off the ground, but that was as low as he could get.

Kaylina grabbed Vlerion’s wrist and lifted him enough to drape his arm over Crenoch’s back, but the rest of him was heavier. Grunting and straining, she struggled to pull him up. She shifted to his leg and got that over, though the muscled limb wasn’t light. Levitke stepped forward and used a paw to pin the leg in place so it wouldn’t slip down again. She used her snout to anchor his arm over Crenoch’s back.

“Thank you.” Kaylina trotted to Vlerion’s other side so she could shove, straining to heft him up. “I was… admiring your… nice muscles before… I realized how heavy they are.” With a final shove, she pushed his body onto Crenoch’s back. The taybarri waited patiently through the manhandling of his rider. “You’re a good boy, Crenoch.”

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