Page 12 of Flower of Seshana

Ten

Quillen followed his female overhead from the trees, his wings helping him glide from one to the next with ease. She had been quiet lately, and he did not like it. Nor did he like that she had snuck away from their nest and the nara at such an early hour to venture so close to the edge of the mountain. It was both out of worry for her safety and how Therxian and his hunters might perceive her activities that sent him after her the moment she was gone. Therxian was just waiting for some small sign of duplicity, and if he thought she was trying to communicate with her alien nara from the mountain in order to betray their position, he would not hesitate to retaliate.

Although he was not certain to what lengths the lead hunter would go to when it came to Alexandra, he was certain that he did not wish to find out. So he maintained a steady pace above her, watching with reluctant amusement as she fought against the brush and trees below.

“What is she doing?” a voice hissed from a branch just above them, startling Quillen enough that he nearly fell out of the tree.

His wings stretching wide, he managed to stabilize himself before delivering a sharp look to his contrite nest brother grimacing apologetically above him.

“I do not know,” he replied, “but she appears to be heading toward Terishal’s Lament.”

He left unspoken any reminder that the cliffside was not only named for ill-fated mates but was the same place where he had discovered his mother. He did not wish to speak of it and summon the sense of dread from the pit of his stomach, but he knew that Kethan recalled judging by the way the male’s gavo flattened uncomfortably.

“Why did you let her get this far?” Kethan quietly called down to him, and Quillen’s gavo snapped irritably.

“As if I have control over her,” he hissed in return. “I am more concerned about Therxian discovering her out here, but I do not wish to frighten her.”

Kethan peered at him in disbelief. “And you think that hovering above her like a gorshiga is not going to do it?”

Quillen quietly groaned. He had not considered that part. Thankfully she had not caught sight of him or else she would have alerted every predator and Vahel nearby with her scream. Although humans did not have vocalizations as powerful as the Vahel, he was certain that it would still attract plenty of attention.

“Our ashlava is a strong female,” he replied confidently instead.

Kethan snorted. “Strong or not, it is better to approach her from the ground where she can hear us coming. Either way, this is not a good place, and I do not think she realizes that it is directly within sight of the path most of the hunters take when they leave the nara.”

That was a good point and one he had not thought out thoroughly. Snapping his gavo in agreement, Quillen droppedfrom the tree, spreading his wings only to slow his descent just enough that he did not land hard. He could not keep his drop entirely quiet, however, and when his coils hit land, he sank low on them with his hands pressed to the ground on either side of him and he waited with bated breath for any sound of alarm. When it did not come, he relaxed and straightened only to snap his wings open with surprise when Kethan appeared suddenly at his side.

“Where did you come from?” he quietly demanded.

Kethan gestured to an open grassy spot a short distance behind them, and Quillen gritted his teeth. Of course.

“You could have said something,” Quillen grumbled.

“You appeared determined to drop exactly where you were,” Kethan pointed out. “I figured that you had the matter handled. I am not the most silent hunter and so I selected a spot to compensate for my shortcoming.”

Quillen sighed, but he did not attempt to fight back his smile at the other male’s logic. As if anyone would ever believe that Kethan would have any kind of shortcoming aside from his unfortunate bond with a cursed male such as Quillen.

“Come on,” he grumbled. “We need to fetch Alexandra before she is spotted, or worse, kills herself on those rocks.”

Kethan murmured his agreement and together they darted forward, their wings fanning the air to increase their speed as they glided over the mountainous forest floor. Small rocks bit into his flesh and some of the tiniest pebbles became lodged between his scales but Quillen did not reduce his speed, nor did he pause to rest. He raced forward, spurred by a heightening urgency. Something was itching beneath his scales, warning him to go faster. He had to go faster to save her. He had been unable to save his mother, but by the gods, he would save his mate!

His breath rushed in and out of him as he pushed his body to its limit. He did not know what he expected to find but hefelt a sense of relief the moment he spotted Alexandra at the edge of the cliff, the short yellow fur on her head billowing with the wind. She was there. She was safe. There was no grisly corpse rattling as it hung from the limbs of the tree overhanging the cliff. Those limbs did not even reach the top of her head as she busily worked with her head down, oblivious to her surroundings.

He intended to call out and alert her to their presence, but his words became lodged in his throat when he saw her lift her hands, holding a strange metal object. A whirling part at its top began to move and it started to rise up from her grasp and into the air, carrying with it a number of Alexandra’s priced specimen boxes. Clarity rushed to him in that moment. She was sending the samples down the mountain! Right under the nose of Therxian. His gavo standing high with his alarm, Quillen wound on his tail, giving him a clear view of the cursed thing. Therxian would certainly condemn her for this. He hissed vehemently, scooping up a rock in his hand as he did so, and tossed the projectile at the strange metal carrier with all of his strength.

The crack of impact rocketed through the air, and Alexandra cried out in dismay as the carrier tipped wildly to the side and plummeted. She was still staring down at it aghast when he arrived, and he could not help but join her in peering down at the bits of metal scattered over rocks where it crashed. Alexandra’s mouth moved silently in shock, but he was relieved that the look she directed was simply one of confusion.

“Why did you do that? My samples?—”

“I will return to collect them later,” he quickly assured her. “But you cannot be caught with this. Not here. You are directly within the flight path of the hunt!”

Alexandra’s mouth parted with horror as comprehension surfaced within her bright alien eyes. “Oh no. Oh my gods,” she whispered as she quickly unattached several little metal thingsand dropped them over the cliff. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble. I just wanted to help the colony, I swear it. I had programmed the flyer to just take the samples there. But I didn’t program its return path. I have enough mini flyers to make several more deliveries—well, had,” she amended as she glanced down the cliffside.

“I will fetch them too,” he quickly promised. “Therxian?—”

“Quillen! They are coming!” Kethan hissed as he elected to fly the remaining distance and dropped to the ground at their side with a whip of his pale tail.

The alarm in his tone made Quillen’s gavo stand starkly upright in panic. Their wings rattled as they snapped them open to shield their ashlava as a shriek filled the air from above.

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