Page 44 of Shifter King
"Practice for what?"
Phobos tossed his hands up in the air. "It'd be easier to show you, but I'm not helping you."
"Not asking for your help."
"You might be after you see what this is about." Phobos plucked a blade of grass and rolled it between his fingers. "I don’t know what the Abliatos are like where you’re from, but here they don’t play. And we don’t even have the worst of it. Bad as the mantises and the sand sharks and everything else are down there, what they’ll do to you if they catch you is worse."
"Is this outer processing unit difficult to access?" Naatos turned his gaze back toward Darmoste.
"No." Phobos scowled as he tossed the grass blade away. "You’re really serious about this? Why do you want to go if they don't have someone of yours. Are you planning on helping me get my cadre mates back? Why would you care about that?"
"We are both Vawtrians."
Phobos laughed. He set his hands on the top of his head. "Yeah, but...when you’re nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose. Now me? I’ve got a cadre and a family. I’m here for them. I’ll fight for them. I’ll die for them. But not you. And I won’t risk them for you either. You got that? Even if you help, I owe you nothing, all right? My cadre owes you nothing. And if I have to choose between helping them and helping you, it’s not even a choice. You get that, big guy? You can't use this to make me owe you something."
He chuckled. This youth was an idiot, but he appreciated the honesty as well as the loyalty. "I also have a cadre and a family, and I feel the same way."
"So you do have something to lose?" He tilted his head.
"I do."
"All right. I guess it can’t hurt. As you’re new here, it’d be best if you saw what you’re up against. It’s only a matter of time before one of yours gets caught by them if you go anywhere near the city." He gestured toward the walls of the city and then started forward, avoiding the edge of the pit. "You dealt with Abliatos before?"
"Tiablos, not Abliatos." Naatos waited until Phobos moved a few steps ahead and then sent the signal out on the whistle. It was possible he could handle this entire situation on his own, but if any of his brothers were near, they’d understand that a minor situation had emerged and their aid might be needed.
Phobos tilted his head back as if searching for the sound, then shook his head.
"You heard something?" Naatos asked.
"Sort of, but not really. It’s fine. It’s been happening more over the past few days. Some of us have heard this sort of...whistle sound. But it’s not quite right. My sister thinks it’s a sign. Spirits are coming to walk among us. Or maybe the Aberrants. Or the Blessed Spear. Or well, basically anything that would make her and the others feel better. We’ve got this Machat who keeps saying it’s a part of the prophecy."
"What prophecy?"
"Hmm. It’s stupid. But he means well. And everyone else in the cadre loves him. I don’t mind him, but they’re just words. We’ve been hearing for years how an end is coming to all this. It’ll get better. My father died believing that. And one day I’ll die, but it won’t be believing something that’s never going to happen. If I’m lucky, it’ll be knowing that I did all I could and my cadre and family are safe."
"So why have a Machat if you don’t believe what he says?"
"Because someone else’ll grab him and chain him up somewhere if we can’t get him to one of the sanctuary tribes. Even then, no guarantee the Abliatos won’t grab him and drain him. They’re worse to Machat than us. Machat can't stay free long anywhere. Besides, he helps. Saved one of my cadre members. And he had a couple warriors who followed him too. So, he stayed. Plus." He sighed. "My sister loves him. She can be sharp as a sand shark, but he told her something and...I don’t know. Changed everything. At least for now. By next month, she’ll probably be—" He shook his head. "I don’t know why I’m telling you all this. Point is, it’s probably just some natural phenomena we don’t know about yet."
Or maybe it was yet another sign of how far their kind had fallen.
The wind stirred a little as something moved over the trees. A couple seconds later, AaQar landed behind them on silent wings, his silver-blue water dragon form far smaller and slimmer than usual but also less likely to draw attention. The deep scar across his chest over the toal had returned, but it faded as he moved back into his state of rest as effortlessly as water poured into a form. He strode up to Naatos, making no sound at all.
Phobos started when he glimpsed him. "Where did you come from?"
AaQar’s gaze tightened on the youth as well, confusion briefly apparent in his face before returning to his usual mask of calm. "There is a minor situation?"
"This is Phobos, leader of the Golden Fox Cadre. He can turn into a golden fox that is roughly the size of a grey wolf on Eiram and with a bite force like a fox."
Phobos gave a satisfied nod, looping his hands through his worn belt loops. "That I can. But I’ll tell you what I told your friend. I can’t promise you’re going to get out of this all right, and I'm not going to be stepping in to save you."
"Please." AaQar inclined his head forward. "Don’t trouble yourself. I wouldn’t dream of asking for your assistance."
"Two of his cadre members are in an outer processing unit, and Abliatos are going to be using them for some purpose. He’s going to show us what we are up against. But he has been clear that we do not owe one another anything."
"Of course not," AaQar said evenly.
Naatos gestured toward Darmoste as he looked at Phobos. "Shall we continue?"
