Page 33 of Rhaz's Redemption
“I want to,” he confessed, “but Viana insists on staying. I think soon we will have no choice but to leave. She’s an adult now, so I can’t just throw her over my shoulder and force her to leave, so I’ve been trying to think of a way to convince her to come with me.”
“That’s a tough spot to be in,” I sympathized.
“Yes,” Zander nodded his head as he held back a large branch for me to walk past. “She’s stubborn like our mother was, and she’s at that age of young adulthood where she thinks sheknows all the right answers and does not desire any advice from me.”
“I’m sure things will get better with time,” I tried to offer him some comfort.
“Maybe,” Zander sighed.
We kept walking for a while longer when Zander suddenly stopped ahead of me. His pause in walking was so abrupt that I nearly ran into him.
“What is going on?”
The tall hunter swung around and put a hand over my mouth. “Do not speak. Someone is coming our way.”
I nodded my head and he removed his hand from my mother. He motioned for me to sit behind a bush, and I did as I was instructed. He stood for a few moments longer before squatting down next to me.
“I hear a great many voices,” he informed me as he furrowed his brows. “It sounds like half the dekes is walking through the forest.”
He and I waited silently for the group of hunters to walk past us on the trail. Long moments passed by until I could finally hear them too.
“Today is a day of glory,” A loud booming voice could be heard above the rest, and I assumed it was Dameron’s. “We will take what is rightfully ours and ensure the future of our own dekes.”
Then my heart nearly stopped beating in my chest as I watched Rhaz, whose hands had been bound at the wrists being led like a dog by a rope that was tied around his neck.
There were at least twelve adult male hunters walking behind their Savrix but the one holding Rhaz’s leash, he looked like the youngest among them. He had long brown hair that was tied back at the nape of his neck and he kept looking over his shoulder at Rhaz, his prisoner. I wanted to be angry with thisyoung male, but the look of concern that crossed his face every time he looked back was unexpected.
“Favalor,” Zander growled the young male’s name as if it were a curse. Then the strange scars on his arms started to glow orange. “I knew he was a bad male,” he grumbled.
“Is that who’s leading Rhaz?” I asked in a whisper.
“Yes,” Zander acknowledged, then he took a calming breath and the orange glow disappeared.
I sat up to get a better look at the group passing us. I knew it was a risk but I had to get a glimpse of Rhaz. I needed to know what kind of condition he was in.
An involuntary gasp escaped my throat as I took in the sight of his bruised body. He had a black eye, a cut along his cheek, a split lip, and he walked with a limp. What had they done to him, and why? He was on a mission of peace. He was asking for mercy.
Rhaz swung his head in my direction and for a brief moment his eyes met mine. His eyes widened in surprise then he quickly shifted his gaze back to the front in order to make sure no one else looked in my direction like he had.
I quickly hid behind the bush again and bit my lip as I thought about what we could do.
“You don’t have to do this!” The words were garbled and weak. I looked through the leaves of the bush and found Rhaz had stopped walking. His split lip was bleeding and made it difficult for him to speak.
“Fighting the other dekes in their own home is a death wish!” He shouted the best he could.
This message wasn’t for the males that held him captive, it was for me and Zander. He was giving us a warning.
The young male who was leading him, Favalor, placed a firm hand over Rhaz’s mouth and pleaded with his prisoner,“Please, I’m begging you to be silent. Your sire will beat you again if you keep on like this.”
The young hunter might be walking with Dameron, but I got the impression he wasn’t one of his followers. It brought me a small amount of hope that someone was looking after Rhaz, even if it was in a limited capacity.
Zander didn’t seem to share my opinion, however. He bared his teeth in Favalor’s direction even though he couldn’t see us.
“We have to go back,” I tugged on Zander’s arm and whispered. “We have to warn them of what’s coming.”
Zander nodded his head in agreement. “We will wait until they are far past us, then we’ll take a shortcut back to the mountain.”
“Alright,” I agreed.
